Perse Annual Review 2022-23

OUR YEAR 2022 - 2023

Annual Review 2022-2023

Head’s welcome One hundred and seventy five days is the length of a Perse school year. The 2022-2023 Annual Review demonstrates just how much Pelican, Prep and Upper pupils can pack into 35 weeks and the breadth and quality of their achievements recorded in the Review’s words and images are exceptional.

The Perse is shaped by its values which unite the Pelican, Prep and Upper together. The Perse’s commitment to intellectual curiosity and scholarship can be seen in the original research undertaken by pupils and staff, the varied series of talks and lectures, the national and international competitions and awards, and our outstanding success in public exams and university entrance. These academic achievements are fostered by a genuine love of learning and the mastering of intellectual skills such as the ability to critically evaluate evidence, and construct or deconstruct reasoned arguments. This is what we mean by scholarship that will last a lifetime.

Personal development is so much more than academic success. That is why The Perse is passionately committed to breadth and balance, to encouraging pupils to have a go and try new activities in sport, outdoor pursuits, creative arts, clubs and societies which develop inter and intrapersonal skills whilst having fun and generating happy memories.

In life, as in most systems, inputs are broadly proportionate to outputs. Therefore we encourage a sense of endeavour in our pupils so they will work hard and take on new challenges but also take good care of themselves.

The Annual Review is a record of pupils’ achievements. To paraphrase Albus Dumbledore, it is the choices we make that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities. This is why we emphasise the importance of valuing one another and our environment. In a troubled and polluted world, The Perse has a duty to promote the importance of kindness, care and consideration to one another and to our planet. Our job is to make the future better and we do it by giving children a first-class education in the knowledge, skills and qualities needed to live happy, successful and good lives.

Ed Elliott Head

Shaped by our values A clear sense of purpose, shared by pupils and staff, lies at the heart of everything we do.

Intellectual curiosity and scholarship

Breadth and balance

Endeavour

We love learning, thinking

We are involved, engaged

We aim high and

We each play our part

deeply, being creative

and committed, and

challenge ourselves,

in creating a kind and

and welcoming reasoned

we take full advantage

try our best and are not

considerate community.

debate.

of the opportunities we

afraid to make mistakes.

We care for ourselves, each

are given.

One another and our environment

other and those in need.

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Contents

6 PELICAN

16

PREP

41 Geography 44 History 45 Philosophy, Ethics and Religion 46 Classics 48 Maths 49 Independent Research 58 Art 64 Design and Technology 66 Modern Foreign Languages 71 Economics

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71 Psychology

UPPER

72 English and Drama 80 Music

31 National Schools’ Challenge

86 Politics

32 Chemistry

87 42 Society

34 Physics

88 Outdoor Pursuits

36 Biology

96 Charities and Community Outreach

38 Computer Science

104 Sport

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Annual Review 2022-2023

120

UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS

122

SUMMER SCHOOL AND CLUB PELICAN

116 EXAM RESULTS 116 GCSE Results 118 A Level Results

124

PREFECTS AND LONG SERVICE LEAVERS

123

ALUMNI AND DEVELOPMENT

5

Pelican

PELICAN

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Roald Dahl celebrations are choc-full of fun The wonderful world of Roald Dahl was just the ‘Golden Ticket’ for Year 2 children at the Pelican.

They celebrated Roald Dahl Day by taking part in a parade while dressed as their favourite characters from some of the much-loved writer’s cherished children’s novels, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The children also had a sweet time when they visited a real-life version of Willy Wonka’s famous factory – Cadbury World in Birmingham – having been learning all about where chocolate comes from, the history of chocolate and how it is made.

ham Cadbury World, Birming 7

Pelican

Magical scenes at Pelican Fete Everyone had a wand-erful time as the Pelican Fete took on a magical theme.

Staff, children and even some parents dressed up for the occasion and enjoyed all the fun of the annual summer fair.

A million smiles at NSPCC Number Day A sum total of one million x fun was had by Pelican children as part of the NSPCC’s Number Day. Anna Milbourne’s book How Big is a Million? was the basis for the Pelican’s activities as youngsters joined in the charity’s national numerical fundraising event by dressing up in mathematical style.

Inspired by the main character Pipkin the Penguin’s mathematical curiosity, children also enjoyed taking part in lots of fun number-based activities.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

History comes to life A special History Day saw Year 1 children travel back in time to experience life in the Middle Ages.

Pupils ‘visited’ a medieval castle and had a go at traditional crafts, as well as taking part in an archery competition and experiencing life in battle before settling down to a bountiful banquet, where they danced, jousted and juggled.

Farming fun at Nursery Nursery children were treated to not one, but two special farm visitors.

Farmers Simon and Sarah arrived in their enormous blue tractor and after giving the youngsters a tour of the cab, they showed them some ears of wheat and explained how they get the grain out to produce flour.

The children were also joined by some cute and cuddly visitors thanks to shepherd Lou from Chishill Farm.

Lou brought along five of his lambs and his trusty sheepdog Spot and he set up a pen on the front lawn of the school where youngsters were able to feed the young sheep their bottled milk and pet them.

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Pelican

Pelicans get into Coronation spirit A right royal celebration was enjoyed at the Pelican to mark HM King Charles III’s Coronation.

Youngsters wore patriotic red, white and blue to mark this historic occasion, with many fittingly topping off their outfits with colourful crowns.

However, a Coronation celebration would not be complete without a good oldfashioned tea party.

With Union Jack bunting decorating the scenes, children tucked into a picnic lunch of sausage rolls, finger sandwiches and Coronation cupcakes.

Pelican pupils certainly got into the spirit of an occasion that was fit for a king.

t “I was really excited abou the picnic lunch, especially with all the bunting, and I enjoyed making a crown with newspaper and putting flags on it.”

Henry

“I really enjoyed the specia l lunch and I’m going to celebrate the Coronation with my cousin.”

Lara

“I’ve cut out a picture of King Charles on the tablet and I’m going to put a picture of my crown on his head.”

Amelie

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Bee Musical gets Pelicans buzzing There was a brilliant buzz around the Pelican when Year 1 pupils performed their heart-warming and thought-provoking production of The Bee Musical.

The children turned the school hall into a hive of activity in their performance which had a sting in the tale, highlighting the importance of bees to the environment.

Mystery and intrigue in Year 2 play Suspenseful performances were brought to the stage by Year 2 with their production of Treachery at Traitors’ Quay.

Set at the mysterious location in World War II, a group of evacuated children discover smugglers’ caves and find there is a spy in their midst in this tense, ‘top secret’ musical.

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Pelican

Top children’s author and illustrator is a big draw Renowned children’s writer and illustrator Chloe Inkpen entertained Pelican youngsters with wonderful workshops inspired by her much-loved characters.

Pupils across all year groups had an amazing time as Chloe led fun-filled interactive sessions and encouraged them to let their imaginations run wild.

They loved hearing about her fictional favourites, such as Fred the Dog and Mrs Blackhat the Witch, and joined in the fun by having a go at drawing their own creations and developing stories about their characters.

Quick on the draw at Anglesey Abbey Super sketching skills were on show when Year 1 took a trip to Anglesey Abbey.

They had investigated the life and work of the 19th-century artist John Constable at school and viewed some of his paintings on display at the National Trust property.

Children learned more about Constable and studied his landscapes, before having a go at drawing their own pictures of the historic country house and its grounds inspired by his style.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Science Centre visit is plain sailing Year 2 pupils set sail for special workshops at Cambridge Science Centre.

They explored the concepts of friction and air resistance during science lessons and the visits provided the chance to put their learning to the test, with children given the challenge of designing the best possible land yacht considering these factors.

Pelicans are flying high Year 2 pupils took to the skies as they discovered more about military aircraft during a trip to the RAF Museum at Hendon.

They enjoyed touring the hangars filled with RAF aircraft, including World War II planes such as the Spitfire and the Lancaster, after learning about them as part of a wider topic on life in the 1940s.

Meanwhile, Year 1 were up in the clouds after an exciting trip to Stansted Airport’s Aerozone, having studied aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright.

Children saw aeroplanes taking off and landing from the viewing platform and got to look behind the scenes as they learned about Stansted and its history, as well as dressing up in airport uniforms.

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Pelican

Pupils complete Charity Marathon mission Pelican pupils took it all in their stride as they raised funds for good causes with their annual Charity Marathon in aid of The Sick Children’s Trust and Make-A-Wish.

Overall, the Pelicans’ painstaking efforts saw them manage a total of 2,519 laps of the Pelican site, which equated to almost 13 whole marathons!

Nursery children put their best feet forward to finish 251 circuits (just over one marathon) and Reception pupils did 565 laps (almost three marathons), while Years 1 and 2 completed 786 (about four marathons) and 917 laps (almost five marathons) respectively.

A spot of fundraising fun for Children in Need Youngsters had spectacularly spotty fun to raise funds for BBC Children in Need by taking part in lots of events and activities themed around the appeal’s mascot Pudsey Bear.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Pelicans get back to nature in local countryside Pelican pupils got closer to nature as they explored the picturesque Cambridgeshire countryside.

Reception youngsters visited the National Trust nature reserve of Wicken Fen and were engrossed in hands-on activities, such as pond dipping, and discovered more about the importance of the bugs they found in terms of the historic wetland’s ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Wandlebury provided the setting as Year 2 pupils enjoyed learning about the flora and fauna of the local country park.

They found out about the pond and woodland habitats and had a great time searching for minibeasts in the water and the long grass.

On your marks, get set, go!

Pupils braved the sweltering conditions to sprint for success at the Pelican Sports Day. Youngsters took part in a multitude of entertaining races, including the tennisthemed egg-and-spoon event, shopping and obstacle races and even a tyre push.

Year 2 say farewell at Burwell An action-packed leavers’ day at Burwell House provided a wonderful finale to Year 2 youngsters’ time at the Pelican.

They enjoyed a carousel of activities, pairing up to take part in the blindfolded Burwell Challenge, as well as having a go at shelter building and trying their hand at batik art.

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Prep

PREP

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Learning and laughter in Activities Week From the seaside to the science lab, amazing experiences were savoured by pupils during Prep Activities Week.

The world of science provided a constant thread with many

Beyond science, Years 3, 5 and 6 had a taste of outdoor

experts visiting the Prep to share their insights into the subject,

adventure with team-building exercises at Abington, while

as well as giving youngsters the chance to take part in hands-

Years 3 and 4 visited Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

on experiments.

Year 3 enjoyed animal antics, especially seeing the red panda

A plethora of Prep parents working in various fields shared

at Shepreth Wildlife Park, and a sunny day saw Year 6 children

their knowledge on everything from renewable energy and the

have a brilliant day on the beach at East Runton. Year 4 pupils

science behind construction and architecture to circulatory

got to grips with The Playground assault course at Waterbeach.

systems, surgery, genetics and the immune system.

Pupils in Year 5 produced and performed a play in a day, as

Meanwhile, Year 6 visited the Upper for a special Science

well as trying out geography, classics and computer science

Day, where they tested the electrical conductivity of fruit and

activities during an Academic Day at the Upper, while Saxon

vegetables, captured their own DNA and created colourful

and Viking times came to life for Year 4 with a special History

chromatographs.

Day.

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Prep

Amazing art showcase

Futurist artist Giacomo Balla set Year 5 imaginations ablaze as they produced oil pastel pieces sparked by his work The Lighthouse. Using corrugated cardboard and thick paper,

Sensational pieces created by pupils provided a vibrant

pupils also made 3D lighthouse models.

vision for visitors to this year’s Prep art exhibition.

Meanwhile, Year 6 gained an insight into architecture by

Year 3 youngsters produced eye-catching paintings based

delving into the designs of the Peter Hall Performing Arts

on Vincent van Gogh’s work The Starry Night and lustrous

Centre at the Upper, as well as the University of Cambridge’s

ceramic leaves in autumnal colours, as well as pencil drawings

Faculties of Law and Education.

of vintage toy cars.

Influenced by what they discovered, the youngsters made

Henri Rousseau inspired Year 4 as they used oil pastels to

initial sketches for their own inventive building plans and

create jungle landscapes and blended bright colours to make

learned about scale and proportion before constructing their

drawings and clay models of tropical birds.

models.

Constructive creations on display at DT exhibition Ingenuity and creativity combined as Prep pupils displayed their amazing work during the school’s design and technology exhibition.

Year 3 designed wall clocks in the style of homeware manufacturer Alessi and explored pneumatics to build a functioning mechanical hand.

Pop-up books were produced by Year 4 pupils, having looked at a variety of paper mechanisms to bring their stories to life. They also experimented with different folding techniques and materials to design stylish and practical bags.

Year 5 engineers investigated the scientific concepts of trusses, stability, strength and triangulation to build structures from chairs and tables to bridges and towers.

Meanwhile, Year 6 created controllable vehicles, considering mass, lift, drag, surface area, friction, aerodynamics, wheel alignment, energy transformation, thrust and inertia in the designs.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Hitting the right note in concert Prep youngsters across all year groups showcased their musical mastery with fantastic Michaelmas and Summer concerts in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre at the Upper.

A wide range of ensembles, groups and orchestras filled the auditorium with sensational sounds with pitch-perfect performances at each event.

Talented violinist performs at top international venues For gifted violinist Francesca He (Year 6) just such a dream a came true after she performed Kreisler’s Tambourin Chinois on both of these celebrated stages. A Grade 8 player, Francesca earned these amazing opportunities as rewards for success in the American Protégé International Music Talent Competition and Paris Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition respectively.

Francesca, who is also a talented Few musicians get the chance to play in prestigious international concert venues such as Carnegie Hall or Paris’ Cité de la Musique.

pianist, was delighted to have played in such world-renowned concert halls, with performing in New York on Christmas Eve being a particular thrill.

Gifted recorder player earns top accolade Robert McFadzean-Ferguson (Year 6) hit the right note to claim an ASRM award on recorder.

He achieved the ASRM – the level

Music success

above Grade 8 – in performance on the

Prep pupils also passed 120 music exams, achieving 40 Distinctions and six

and Bach. Robert, who is also a flautist,

instrument, with stunning renditions of pieces by Vivaldi, Castello, Telemann

Grade 8 certificates, across a variety of instruments including cello, flute,

began playing recorder seriously three

piano, trumpet, violin, cornet and saxophone.

years ago and had previously attained Grade 8.

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Prep

Pupils savour stage productions

Classic children’s novel The Twits was brought to life brilliantly by Year 5 Centre Stage actors.

The cast of 20 young stars staged a hilarious take on Roald Dahl’s book, which included original songs from Mr Harris and Head of English Raph de Albuquerque.

Centre Stage also performed an updated version of the famous Greek myth Theseus. The actors enjoyed working on this dramatic retelling, which also featured many moments of ironic humour.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Year 6 pupils ensured good triumphed over evil in their excellent production of The Demon Headmaster.

Staged over three nights, the sensational show featured original songs from Head of Music Paul Harris and Director of Enrichment Jules Reston and was triple cast, allowing children the chance to play different parts.

Full of intrigue, danger and heroism, the story followed Dinah, an orphan girl, who defeats the dastardly headmaster, foiling his evil plans to hypnotise the country via the Eddy Hair Television Show.

Year 4 delved into The Button Box for an engaging show full of marvellous music and great humour.

Inside the box were a plethora of old and interesting buttons and as children pulled them out one by one, the stories they brought to life weaved a tapestry of family history from sailors who travelled the seven seas to soldiers who fought in World War I. Meanwhile, Year 3 took a festive trip down memory lane with their show Christmas: What’s It All About?

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Prep

Renowned writers inspire pupils Leading poet Joshua Seigal and best-selling children’s author Christopher Edge entertained youngsters during inspirational visits to the Prep.

Joshua, who won the 2022 People’s Book Prize with his latest anthology Yapping Away, provided a flavour of his humorous and creative performance poetry during a special wholeschool assembly to mark National Poetry Day. After tickling funny bones with his lively rhymes and witty puns, he led a series of wonderful workshops with Year 6 pupils.

Christopher, whose hit books include The Longest Night of Charlie Noon and The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day, paid a visit on World Book Day. He delighted pupils with interactive presentations inspired by his latest novel Escape Room, with children working in teams to solve a series of cryptic puzzles and escape each imaginary room in the book, ranging from Mayan tombs to galactic battleships.

Excitement builds with Engineering Day

Working in House families, youngsters were tasked with building the strongest possible crane using simple materials such as art straws, paperclips, craft sticks, string and pipe cleaners.

Pupils had their design and construction skills put to the test

Teams tried to construct a crane that did not tip over as

with a range of fun projects during an exciting Engineering

increasing weights were added to be lifted.

House Activity Day.

Pupils also gained an insight into structural engineering as

A colourful kaleidoscope challenge kicked off proceedings as

they attempted to build tall straw towers and tested how

children each created two mesmerising patterns representing

much weight they could bear.

different feelings and emotions.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Getting into medieval mode The Middle Ages were brought to life for Year 5 pupils during a marvellous Medieval History Day. As part of their studies on medieval times, the event provided plenty of fun for the youngsters as well as stretching their knowledge.

An exciting conclusion saw pupils get to grips with the weapons and armour of the era and take to Leighton Lawn for a historical re-enactment of the Battle of Bannockburn.

The Prep goes Green The Prep was awarded an Eco Schools Green Flag award for its work on reducing waste and supporting biodiversity across the school site.

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Prep

Unforgettable Bawdsey Manor adventure An action-packed adventure at Bawdsey Manor provided a thrill for an intrepid group of Year 6 pupils.

The Suffolk activity centre provided the perfect backdrop for the children to immerse themselves in thrilling challenges, including conquering the climbing wall and Jacob’s ladder, as well as having a go at coming back down by abseiling.

Raft and buggy building tested their creative and teamwork skills, while problem-solving and sensory trail activities saw the power of partnership come to the fore.

Youngsters also hit the bullseye after being introduced to archery and target shooting during a memorable long weekend.

Fun in France Bonjours and bienvenues were back as Year 5 pupils relished taking part in the first Prep trip to France since 2019.

More than 70 children travelled to the town of Rue and stayed in a chateau as their base for a fantastic four-day adventure.

During the trip, they visited Nausicaa, the largest aquarium in Europe, and had a guided tour of key World War I sites, such as the Beaumont-Hamel trenches, the Lochnagar Crater and the Thiepval Memorial.

Pupils had a go at making mayonnaise and croissants, as well as goats’ cheese during a trip to a goat farm, where they also milked and fed the animals.

The group practised their French skills while shopping in the local market, with sweet stalls doing a roaring trade, while they also tasted a traditional supper of snails and frogs’ legs.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Coronation celebrations fit for a King Patriotic pupils wore red, white and blue as they celebrated King Charles III’s Coronation.

A street party was enjoyed by the children with a picnic lunch featuring Coronation cupcakes amid a sea of Union Jack bunting.

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Prep

Going global at International Activity Day Youngsters embraced the rich

As part of their look at Asia, Nomads

with some Greek dancing as they

tapestry of cultures and countries

had fun playing the Indian sport of

discovered more about Europe.

from around the world during

kabaddi where raiders attempt to tag

International Activity Day.

as many members of the opposing

From Turkish to Tamil and Hungarian to Hindi, children learned common

team as possible on their side of the court without being captured.

phrases and words across a wide

Corinthians created carnival masks

variety of languages as each House

during their session on the Americas,

focused on different continents.

while Barbarians strutted their stuff

Absorbing activities mark Wellbeing Week From singing songs to mind mazes, pupils got involved in lots of fun and fulfilling activities during Prep Wellbeing Week.

Year 4 pupils pulled some strings as they were joined by musicians from The Utterly Butterly Ukulele Project while Year 5 and 6 took part in a Stomp-style percussion workshop.

The water beckoned for Year 3 children as they made their own rafts before floating them at nearby Vicar’s Brook. Pupils in Years 3 and 6 also crossed paths with a special treasure hunt and playground challenges, while Year 4 had a go at the inclusive sport of sitting volleyball.

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Meanwhile, Foresters tried traditional board games and made 3D maps in their workshop on Africa.

House groups performed themed segments on their continents for the Let It Go global show that provided a fitting finale to the occasion.

Annual Review 2022-2023

Independent learning on show Year 6 pupils displayed a range of interesting and intriguing projects based around their passions in this year’s Independent Research Exhibition.

Forty-five youngsters showcased their excellent efforts, put together as part of the regular homework timetable, across a wide variety of areas from gardening to photography.

Pupil cracks the code to reach prestigious computing final Oliver Roland (Year 6) became the first-ever Prep pupil to qualify for the final of the OUCC (Oxford University Computing Challenge).

From a field of more than 6,300 pupils, he was one of just 20 youngsters who took part in the junior final of the illustrious coding competition after not only claiming a Distinction, but also scoring full marks in round one of OUCC. Oliver was among 22 Prep Year 6 pupils to qualify for OUCC from the top 10% of entrants globally from last autumn’s Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge.

As well as Oliver reaching the final, two Prep children came in the top 1% in round one of OUCC, and a further two came in the top 0.4%.

No question about general knowledge success

Maths success 25 Year 5 and 6 children

Prep quizzers showed a gist for general

qualified from the Primary

knowledge by coming third in the Quiz Club

Maths Challenge and took

national finals.

part in the bonus round.

The team, featuring Shashwat Sharma (Year 3),

Seven pupils came in

Anneliese Heck (Year 4), Steven Wang (Year 5)

the top 4% nationally

and Eunice Stewart-Wallace (Year 6), was among

and went on to qualify

20 school groups competing in the finals at the

for the Junior Kangaroo

University of Oxford having won through two

competition.

previous rounds.

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Prep

Historic national title for hockey team The boys’ U11 hockey team made history as the first team from

Table tennis title Sophie Hull (Year 6) was crowned girls’ singles champion at the IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools) national table tennis finals.

the Prep to be crowned IAPS

She won every match in her pool and moved into the semi-finals where she

(Independent Association of Prep

won 2-1, after taking a tense deciding set 11-9, before going on to win the final

Schools) national champions.

2-0 to take the title.

Having won the regional IAPS title without conceding a goal to qualify for the nationals at Repton School, they went on to reach the final where they defeated St Faith’s School 2-0 to secure the honours.

Striking performances at International Taekwon-do Cup Hockey teams go Dutch Pupils in the boys’ and girls’ U11 hockey teams enjoyed a tour of the

Sophia Alexander and William Reddy (both Year 6) were as pleased as punch to take part in the International Taekwon-do Cup for Children in Poland.

They met opponents from across the world at the tournament in Lublin, with Sophia competing in the girls’ U11 blue belt section and William in the boys’ U11 green tag category.

Netherlands playing matches against

Sophia and William both train with the after-school club, run by Cambridge

local clubs.

Taekwon-Do lead instructor Mirfet Hassan-Spiller.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Cricket sides are big hitters The girls’ and boys’ U11 cricket teams proved to be big

38 runs as well as taking an outstanding 13 wickets in 12 overs

hitters after success in their respective ESCA (English

to be crowned East champions.

Schools Cricket Association) regional finals.

Meanwhile, the boys’ team came third in the ESCA national

In the girls’ tournament at Framlingham College, the team

finals at Oakham School after topping their pool in the regional

topped their pool and met Bancroft’s in the final, winning by

finals at the Old Chigwellians Club.

National success for tennis aces

Leaping for joy Hugo Lindemann (Year 6) earned silver

Prep tennis teams aced the IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools)

in the boys’ U11 long jump at the National

national finals for the first time.

Prep Schools Athletics Championships.

Etienne Lamb and Beau Martinez-McCune (both Year 6) won the boys’ U11

He leapt 4.46m in the national finals

title, while Lillian Ke and Anamaya Kumar (both Year 5) claimed the girls’

at Nuneaton to clinch a medal, having

U11 honours in a clean sweep of the tournament at Rugby School in just the

previously won the East Area Prep title.

second year that the Prep has entered the competition.

Etienne also helped the Great Britain U11 tennis team to victory in a fixture against France. He was part of a mixed team for the event in Nottingham, which featured singles and doubles matches, with GB running out 50-30 winners.

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Upper

UPPER

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Annual Review 2022-2023 Meanwhile, the Junior team, including captain Yajur Sanath-Vijay, Lynden Long (both Year 8), Benjamin Danesh and Alexander Walker (both Year 7), won their general knowledge competition in style at The Hall School in London.

They beat City of London School 730540 in the quarter-finals before coming through 750-200 against The Hall in the semi-finals.

An impressive 790-190 triumph over Magdalen College School in the final saw the team take the honours.

In addition, the team, with William Robson (Year 7) in place of Alexander, were crowned Regional Schools’

Perse quiz teams secure national Schools’ Challenge double There was no question about the winners of the 2023 Senior and Junior Schools’ Challenge competitions as Perse quiz teams claimed both national titles.

It is the third time The Perse has won both categories in the same year, having achieved the feat in 2014 and 2019.

No other school has won both titles in the competition – the schools equivalent of University Challenge - in the same year.

Challenge junior champions following a 490-130 victory against Beeston Hall School in the final.

The students are outstanding quizzers and they were over the moon about winning their competitions.

Perse maths teacher Fred Jayatilaka,

The Senior team, featuring captain Sean Ridley, Shaaon Bhattacharya (both Upper

who oversaw both the Senior and

Sixth), Djia Sanath-Vijay and Ruairi Wallace (both Year 10), got off to a great start

Junior teams, said: “The students are

in their national finals by winning their quarter-final against City of London School

outstanding quizzers and they were

550-320.

over the moon about winning their competitions.

They went on to defeat King Edward VI Grammar School Chelmsford 980-480 in the semi-finals to set up a meeting with King Edward’s School Birmingham in the final.

“It was particularly nice for Sean and

The Perse team found themselves trailing for much of the first half of the match,

on a high. They were stalwarts of the

Shaaon to end their Perse quiz careers but they got into their stride and a fantastic second half saw them race away to a

school quiz scene for the last five years

comfortable 720-420 win.

and seven years respectively.”

The team of Ardhra Radhakrishnan, Rosamund Riordan, George Tysome (all Year 9) and Jasmine Christmas (Year 8) were runners-up in the 2022 Junior Schools’ Challenge after narrowly losing 650-630 in the final against King Edward’s School Birmingham.

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Upper

Chemistry

International Chemistry Olympiad Gold Kiran Diamond (Upper Sixth)

Kiran was delighted to earn Gold as well as

demonstrated his scientific skills by

enjoying the whole experience of the IChO.

claiming Gold at the IChO (International Chemistry Olympiad) in Switzerland.

He said: “I was surprised to do well as I found both papers quite difficult and

He came 13th overall in a field of almost

very time-pressured, but I’m very happy

350 young chemists from around the world,

with the result.

scoring 78.15% following a tough practical test and a five-hour theory exam.

Kiran was the highest ranked member of

“The non-exam days were packed with well as tours of the ETH Zurich campuses

the four-strong British team chosen to

and Zurich, we got the opportunity to explore Lucerne and Bern.

UK Chemistry Olympiad.

“We had a visit to the Paul Scherrer Institute and a tour of its electron synchrotron and

After qualifying from round one of the

we were able to ride a cog wheel train up

UK Olympiad, Kiran took part in the

Mount Rigi to experience the beautiful

final stage of the national competition

mountain landscape.

alongside 32 other participants, including fellow Perse students Hongli Hu and Yunlin Chen (both Upper Sixth), from an initial field of 11,300, at the University of Nottingham.

8

visits to see the sights of Switzerland. As

compete in the IChO in Zurich following an excellent display in round two of the

Overall, it was an amazing, but very intense experience.

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27

Overall, Perse students “Overall, it was an amazing, but very

achieved eight Golds, including

intense experience. I’m so grateful to have

notably Roy Han (Year 9), 19

had the opportunity to meet so many

Silvers and 27 Bronzes in round

people my age from all over the world

one of the UK Olympiad.

passionate about science.”

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Annual Review 2022-2023

2

17

Cambridge Chemistry Challenge for Lower Sixth Perse students claimed two Roentgenium awards, 17 Gold, 27 Silver and 30 Copper awards in the C3L6 (Cambridge Chemistry Challenge for Lower Sixth).

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The Roentgenium winners, John Lau and Dominic Rogers, were among the top 0.59% of entries. They were invited to take part in a residential chemistry camp at the University of Cambridge for their exceptional achievements.

Middle School Challenge Top of the Bench

The new Middle School Chemistry Challenge was open to all members of Years 9 to 11 with 70 pupils taking part.

The Perse team, featuring Ellen Halsall (Year 11), Ashvik Goel (Year 10), Anirudh Menon and Eva Jonas (both

It gave pupils the opportunity to look at challenging chemistry

Year 9), reached the national final of the Top of the

problems beyond the scope of the GCSE syllabus, with

Bench competition.

questions ranging from how sulphuric acid is made to how gases absorb heat under different conditions.

They qualified for the finals, which involved a mixture of theory tests and practical investigations, after

Pupils gave a range of excellent answers with the top 25%

successfully getting through a poster round and an

securing the Gold award. Of those, Ryan Stubbs (Year 9) and

in-person practical challenge.

Neelkantha Mukherjee (Year 11) came joint top with both scoring 90%.

Schools’ Analyst Competition Around 20 Lower Sixth students took part in the Schools’ Analyst Competition on the theme ‘Sabotage at the County Bake-Off’, carrying out a series of experiments to discover what was causing cakes to collapse and buns to burst.

33

Upper

Physics

Crater research leads to w-hole lot of awards Perse physics students made a massive impact in prestigious

He said: “I was elated to win the competition after all the

competitions with their in-depth research projects.

hours that were put into it, but that’s just an extra bit on top of what I actually gained from doing the project and I’m really

Gabriel Cirstea (Lower Sixth) won Gold and the overall title in

thankful for having had the opportunity.”

the British Physics Olympiad (BPhO) Experimental Challenge, while Sourish Sharma and Kuan Kuan Lin (both Lower Sixth)

Meanwhile, Sourish and Kuan Kuan, who had also been

teamed up to claim the Gold CREST Award, with all three

working towards the BPhO Experimental Challenge, entered

students investigating impact craters.

their project into the CREST Award scheme and achieved a clean sweep across all criteria.

I was elated to win the competition after all the hours that were put into it

Kuan Kuan said: “We were trying to create a model that would be applicable to a larger scale. We particularly focused on the Moon and we were able to try to model it in sand in such a way that it would be as close as possible to the real situation.”

Gabriel Cirstea

Sourish added: “It was really rewarding to design an experiment, then run it and reflect on what went well and what didn’t.”

They spent many painstaking hours in the lab before and

at The Royal Society, said: “You could pick what data you

We were trying to create a model that would be applicable to a larger scale

wanted to investigate, so there was a lot of creativity which

Kuan Kuan Lin

after school dropping ball bearings into sand, varying the drop height and density of the objects to assess the diameter and depth of the craters created for their respective projects.

Gabriel, who received his BPhO prize in an award ceremony

was really nice. I went for a simple experiment, but went into

I t was really rewarding to design an experiment, then run it and reflect on what went well and

it in a lot of detail to see what effects it would have.”

After collecting his data, Gabriel produced a 5,000-word evaluation, analysing the relationships between the depth and diameter of the craters and the effects of the ball bearings to create an index that could be used to calculate the energy

what didn’t

of an impacting object.

Sourish Sharma

34

Annual Review 2022-2023

Top Gold for physicists in national olympiad

Challenge competition results 11 18

19 27

8

2

Three Perse students achieved the

Senior Physics Challenge:

Online Senior Physics Challenge:

Top Gold award following excellent

(for Lower Sixth):

19 Gold, 8 Silver,

11 Gold, 18 Silver,

2 Bronze.

work in round one of the British Physics Olympiad (BPhO).

27 Bronze.

Emma Harris, Yunlin Chen and Kiran Diamond (all Upper Sixth) were

15

among just over 180 students from across the country to make the elite

27

grade from a field of more than 2,800 entrants.

Due to their success, the Perse students went to take part in the

20

124

12

Intermediate Physics Challenge:

4

Online Intermediate Physics

(for Year 11 and below):

Challenge:

achieved two Silvers and a Bronze,

15 Gold, 20 Silver,

27 Gold, 12 Silver,

as well as the British Astronomy &

124 Bronze.

4 Bronze.

12

14

second round of BPhO, where they

Astrophysics Olympiad, where they earned one Gold, one Silver and one Bronze.

In addition to their achievements, Daniel Chen, Alex Johnson, Sean Ridley, Elvira Munteanu and Rory Proudfoot (all Upper Sixth) attained Gold awards in round one, while Perse students also gained 12 Silvers, nine Bronzes and two Commendations.

3

2

4

3

Junior Astro

Junior Physics Challenge:

Challenge:

(for Year 10 and below):

(for Year 11 and below):

14 Gold, 4 Silver,

12 Gold, 3 Silver,

3 Bronze.

2 Bronze.

Pupils inspired by lab visit Year 10 pupils took part in a special Physics at Work event at the University of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory to highlight the careers to which studying physics can lead.

They listened to talks from physicists and researchers, as well as having a go at practical challenges.

35

Upper

Biology

European DNA essay honours

Dushan said: “I find the genetics of biology one of the most interesting areas, as I’m looking at going into biological natural sciences, so it was very enjoyable to do and I was pretty shocked to win.”

Dushan Gunawardena and Rachel George (both Lower Sixth)

Meanwhile, Rachel commented: “I didn’t know much about

scrutinised stem cells to seal success in an international

genetics, but I thought this was a good opportunity to have a

biology essay competition.

focused way of looking at this particular area. I never expected to do so well though, so I’m really pleased.”

They came first and second respectively in the European DNA Day Essay Contest, with both investigating the pros and cons of the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) – labdesigned cells that can be turned into any cell in the body.

I really liked looking into the ethical concerns

Izzy Rumsby (Lower Sixth) also received an honourable mention for her essay on the same subject.

Rachel George

It is the second year in a row that Perse students have taken the top two spots in the competition, organised by the European Society for Human Genetics, following on from the success of Sheen Gahlaut and Sneha Goni (both Upper Sixth) in 2022.

They both looked into the applications where they felt iPSCs would be helpful or should not be used after delving into scientific articles on the topic.

I t was very enjoyable to do and I was pretty shocked to win

Dushan said: “One of my points was that they should be used for the creation of organs, so then they can be used in organ transplants.

na

Dushan Gunawarde

“On the other side, I felt their use in editing the human genetic sequence should be avoided because there are a lot of ethical issues involved in that.”

As reward for their work, Dushan and Rachel received cash

Rachel said: “I want to go into medicine, so I mainly looked at

prizes, while The Perse was awarded funds to be used for a

the medical applications of iPSCs, such as disease modelling,

biology project.

drug discovery and organoids. However, I really liked looking

Both were encouraged to take part by their teachers, Claire

into the ethical concerns, such as cloning and editing the

Smith and Head of Biology Nicole Copeland, while Rachel was

genome, and also the use of embryonic stem cells.”

also inspired by her friend Sheen’s triumph last year.

36

Annual Review 2022-2023

Racking of brains in neuroscience competition final Six Perse students displayed their neurological knowledge

70 anatomical structures and more than 30 histological sections

after making it to the British Brain Bee national finals.

(examples of tissues under the microscope).

Lower Sixth students Gabriel Cirstea, Kelda Lee, Ellice Chen,

The final began with a written paper, followed by an anatomy

Charlotte Hipperson, Nikita Spivak and Sang-Ryun Kim were

and histology test in which students were required to label

among just 32 entrants from across the country to qualify for

parts of the brain and their functions from dissections and

the neuroscience competition finals at London Metropolitan

microscope slides.

University.

Students continued with a clinical activity, in which they were

They reached the finals following their success in the online

given information on a patient’s symptoms and history before

first round, in which participants had to answer 50 challenging

being asked to provide their diagnosis.

neuroscience questions in just 30 minutes.

Gabriel and Kelda both made it into the top 10, which saw

In preparation for the national finals, the students had less

them go on to take part in a live question-and-answer session

than a month to revise the 600-page textbook Essential

to further test their neuroscience know-how.

Neuroscience, and learn 20 neurological disorders, more than

Competition results

12

19

26

Perse students achieved a fantastic haul of 12 Gold, 19 Silver and 26 Bronze medals in the first round of the BBO (British Biology Olympiad).

Of the 12 Gold awards, six of them were awarded to Lower Sixth students, which is a great achievement as only the top 5% of participants achieved the highest standard.

Top-scoring Perse student Hongli Hu (Upper Sixth) qualified for round two of the BBO, while Juliette Brooking (Lower Sixth) and Imogen Rainey (Upper Sixth) were the second and third highest-placed Perse students respectively overall.

8

12

41

13

41

90

Intermediate Olympiad:

National Biology Challenge:

(Lower Sixth)

(Years 9 and 10)

8 Golds, 12 Silvers and 13 Bronzes.

41 Golds, 41 Silvers and 90 Bronzes.

37

Upper

Computer Science

Stellar success in space design competition There was extra-terrestrial elation for four Perse students

Ashvik said: “We used a lot of biomimicry in our design of the

after playing their part in the winning entry at the UKSDC

living quarters to resemble things on Earth and make it homely

(UK Space Design Competition).

because we had to think a lot about people’s mental health.

The Perse Space Squad of Sai Batchu, Ashvik Goel, Hercules

“We also thought about how they could have fun with

Voultsos (all Year 10) and Edward de Ferrars Green (Upper

recreational activities, so within a low-gravity environment

Sixth) joined forces with groups from other schools to form

we tried to incorporate a big trampoline park without padding

the victorious Olympus Mons Trading Company in the UKSDC

and space shuttle racing!”

final at Imperial College London.

Meanwhile, Hercules’ operations department investigated

Olympus Mons were one of four ‘companies’, each made up

energy production and transmission, atmospheric regulation,

of around 50 students whose school teams had qualified

waste management and even agriculture.

from regional rounds, given the task of designing a space

He added: “We had to find a way to produce 250 megawatts

settlement orbiting only 0.25 astronomical units (just under

of energy for the other fictional space settlements and design

40 million kilometres) from the sun.

the infrastructure for that to happen, so we had to do a lot of research.”

Set in the year 2095, teams were challenged with designing a settlement capable of housing 2,500 people, aligned to a group of fictional existing space colonies.

It showed it’s not just knowledge you need, but how to work as a team.

Each ‘company’ split into five departments – structural, operations, human resources, business and automation – to make a pitch to impress the ‘Foundation Society’ judges.

SAI BATCHU

Ashvik and Edward were part of the Olympus Mons HR team,

Sai said: “I really saw the value of people with different skillsets,

while Sai and Hercules were involved in the structural and

whether they were really good at materials science or CAD

operations departments respectively, with each group having

(computer-aided design), coming together.

a checklist to work through towards the overall design.

“One person can’t do everything on their own, so it was great

Sai also had the honour of winning a Randall Perry Award

to bridge all these ideas into one functional settlement. It

for Leadership for his efforts at ensuring joined-up thinking

showed it’s not just knowledge you need, but how to work

between his department and the others in the ‘company’.

as a team.”

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Innovative experiment set to go into orbit A team of Perse pupils saw their excellent experiment go extra-terrestrial following success in the European Astro Pi Challenge competition.

Using Raspberry Pi computers, teams were challenged with designing and coding programs for innovative experiments on the theme ‘Life on Earth’ that could run from the ISS (International Space Station).

Year 11 pupils Marcus Wentzell, Tom Hammond and Dhruv Radhakrishnan earned ‘flight status’ with their project, which aimed to predict rates of dengue fever across the globe, running on the ISS earlier this year.

They were delighted to discover their program, which took images of Earth every 10 seconds over a three-hour period, had been chosen after working on it for several months.

Computing competition success

Elsewhere in the finals, Jem Bennett and Daniel Chen (both Upper Sixth) were fourth and fifth respectively in the elite category, with Sourish Sharma (Lower Sixth) in 10th place.

Ryan Stubbs (Year 9) finished fourth in the intermediate

Perse students solved programming problems in style

class, while in the senior section, Hanli Jin and Tom

with excellent results in the OUCC (Oxford University

Hammond (both Year 11) came seventh and ninth

Computing Challenge) finals.

respectively.

Keen computer scientist Batu Yoldas (Year 7) came top in

There were also terrific performances from Oliver Gibson

the junior section and he was pleased with his achievement

(Lower Sixth), Neelkantha Mukherjee, Marcus Collins (both

after taking on 12 coding-based questions in the space of

Year 11), Daniel Weglowski (Year 10), Angela Savini (Year

just one hour.

9) and Oliver Roland (Year 6), who was the first-ever Prep pupil to qualify for the finals.

39

Upper

Record-breaking entries for 2023 Perse Coding Team Challenge A record number of budding computer scientists from across the country cracked this year’s PCTC (Perse Coding Team Challenge).

Competing in teams, more than 7,500 pupils from Years 7-11 entered round one of PCTC – a 50% increase in the number of entries from last year’s edition – with almost 650 teams qualifying for the second round.

Perse pupils Neelkantha Mukherjee and Hanli Jin (both Year 11) came third overall with 100 points.

Perse Head of Computing and Digital Strategy Paul Baker

“Year-on-year, we see growing participation and confidence

commented: “Students across the country and beyond once

which is a tribute to the national drive and investment to

again demonstrated some superb problem-solving skills to

develop computer science education over the last decade. Our

achieve highly against the clock in solving a range of problems

brand new PCTC website, which was launched this year, has

within their teams.

also helped to raise the profile of this popular competition.”

Roboteers build up to Lego League Challenge

Pupil on international space mission

Perse roboteers took part in the FIRST Lego League Challenge at the University

Sai Batchu (Year 10) enjoyed an

of Cambridge.

out-of-this-world experience after

Year 7 members of the Perse Lego Robotics Club formed two teams to enter the tournament, which aimed to encourage youngsters to apply their STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills in a practical way.

Inspired by a recent trip to Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, they designed and programmed Lego Education robots to compete against teams from other schools, while gaining invaluable experience in coding and overcoming engineering challenges.

being chosen to represent the UK in the ISSDC (International Space Settlement Design Competition).

The competition took place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, with teams of budding young scientists and engineers joining together from around the world to design a

One of the Perse teams, featuring Vasilis Van den Bergh, Sylvan Amads, Millie Underwood, Lekhana Katuri, George Crosby and Zac Clark, won the innovation project award after presenting their excellent research on an ingenious solution to an energy problem.

40

futuristic space colony for humans.

Sai was one of 12 students selected for the British team.

Annual Review 2022-2023

Geography Students get world wise with Purple Planet

Julia explained: “The articles are all

World watchers at The Perse got the

climate change affects its availability.

lowdown on the biggest global issues

There’s a really interesting and broad

with student-led magazine Purple

range of content.

related to a particular theme in some way, so for example, there’s an article on plastic water bottles and how they are impacting the environment and another on water scarcity and how

Planet.

“We’ve also got a section on students’ Organised by the Perse geography

work in geography, which includes

department and edited this year by

posters and photos of fun activities that

Julia Marshall (Lower Sixth), the termly

happen in the classroom, such as the

Purple Planet publication gave pupils

Lower Sixth making ‘glacier’ cakes, as

a chance to write about international

well as a section on the field trips that

topics that matter to them.

took place during the term.”

Old Persean shares insight into exploring Mount Vesuvius Lizzie Bourne (OP 2022) shares her experience of benefiting from a Perse Travel Award.

With the help of my travel award, I wa s a b l e to t rave l to M o u n t Vesuvius in Naples. I chose this location to do a small study on the psychological impact of the volcano on the population in Naples using my geography A level knowledge of tectonics.

My findings were interesting with

Mount Etna is a more active volcano

to see the devastation which the

many of the tourists I met being

than Mount Vesuvius and is located

volcano has caused.

unaware of the risk that the volcano

in Sicily. The receptionist told me that

imposes and what to do in the event

the risk imposed by Mount Vesuvius

of an eruption. The locals, however,

was much smaller than Mount Etna

were much more aware of it, including

and, as a result, she thought about

a hostel receptionist who told me

the possibility and effects of an

about the different presence that

eruption much less than when she

Mount Vesuvius has to Mount Etna.

lived in Sicily. I also visited both Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius itself

41

The money which I was granted we n t t ow a r d s t h e t ra ve l a n d accommodation required for this trip and was extremely helpful. I am planning on using the findings of this study in my psychology degree at Durham University.

Upper

Unveiling Iceland’s geological tapestry on an unforgettable journey through fire and ice

Iceland, the land of fire and ice, has long captivated the imagination of adventurers and nature enthusiasts. In a bid to deepen their understanding of the world’s geological wonders, a group of 42 enthusiastic Year 10 students embarked on an extraordinary geography field trip to this enchanting Nordic island. Over the course of their expedition, these young explorers experienced first-hand the awe-inspiring landscapes, volatile geothermal activity and unique cultural heritage that makes Iceland a geological marvel and an educational paradise.

Led by Head of Geography James Riley, the students were eager to unravel the secrets of this geologically diverse wonderland. During a very packed five days, students ventured to awe-inspiring waterfalls, including Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss and Gullfoss where the cascading waters carved their way through the rugged terrain, showcasing the raw power of nature. The students couldn’t help but be inspired by the sheer force of the glacial meltwater thundering down the falls, leaving them with a deep appreciation for the forces that shape our planet.

42

Annual Review 2022-2023

“So many great lifelong me mories were made on this

trip.”

Fridheimar Geothermal Greenhouse, as well as the well-known Blue Lagoon learning more about the benefits of geothermal energy — a sustainable power source that Iceland harnesses extensively.

One of the favourite days for many students was the trip to Heimaey, the largest island of the Westman Islands and the only one that is inhabited. Following the boat trip, students visited the Eldheimar exhibition, learning more about the volcanic eruption on the island 50 years ago, before trekking to the summit of what remains of the volcano itself.

Reflecting on the trip, Mr Riley commented: “Witnessing the students’ enthusiasm and growth throughout this journey has been incredibly rewarding. It’s not just about ticking off

No trip to Iceland would be complete without exploring its

destinations, it’s about nurturing a love for our planet and

vast glaciers. Equipped with crampons, ice axes and a sense

empowering these young minds to become responsible global

of adventure, the students embarked on a thrilling glacier

citizens.”

hike on the mighty Solheimajokull glacier. As they traversed the icy expanse, they learned about the impacts of climate

From the shifting tectonic plates to the majestic glaciers,

change on glaciers, witnessing first-hand the receding ice and

the black basalt beaches to the puffins and whales, Iceland’s

its implications for global sea-level rise. The experience left

geothermal wonders left an indelible mark on the hearts

them acutely aware of the need for environmental stewardship

and minds of the Year 10 students, who will be able to use

and ignited a passion for safeguarding the world’s vulnerable

what they have learned and experienced to support their

ecosystems. In addition to trekking up a glacier, students

understanding of geography moving forward.

also enjoyed the rare opportunity to trek into a glacier, again experiencing the impact of climate change on a glacier that is predicted to have disappeared in 75 years’ time.

Iceland’s unique position atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge blesses the island with a wealth of geothermal activity. The students visited the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant and the

been on that showcased “The best trip I have ever dic culture.” the best of nature and Icelan 43

Upper

History Archaeological inspiration Pupils got a feel for the past with hands-on opportunities to explore local historical finds.

Year 10 students enjoyed a visit from Cambridgeshire County Council’s Historic Environment Team as they discovered more about local archaeological finds as part of their GCSE topic History Around Us.

Air museum trip hits the heights

Meanwhile, Year 8 were treated to

Perse pupils were flying high after taking an insightful trip to the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

an amazing exhibition of coins and other objects Perse caretaker and keen detectorist John Webb has

The group toured the historic hangars and had the chance to get up close to some

collected in the local area.

gigantic aircraft from different eras at Europe’s biggest aviation museum.

Teacher helps solve mystery of historical letters Perse history teacher Alex Courtney is playing an important role in unlocking the secrets of a centuries-old mystery.

The Perse Assistant Head (Teaching & Learning) is helping to transcribe a series of letters written in code by Mary, Queen of Scots in the late 16th century after they were recently discovered and deciphered by cryptanalysts George Lasry, Norbert Biermann and Satoshi Tomokiyo.

Dr Courtney contacted George Lasry after being intrigued by the group’s research findings in an online journal. He was already carrying out his

Lower Sixth historians travelled to Newark Civil

own research for a biography on Mary’s son James VI of Scotland/I of

War Museum for a special study day to learn

England and Ireland and found the newly discovered letters reflected

more about the Stuart dynasty.

extensively on her relations with James.

With his understanding of the historical context and the Middle French

A level students attended a special exhibition

in which the decoded text is written, Dr Courtney has helped uncover

and seminar on the defacement of currency

what Mary had to say. He is also the first historian to have read most

throughout history, with speakers including

of the letters.

artists and historians, at the Fitzwilliam Museum.

He said: “I have enjoyed this immensely. The process of interpretation and discovery happens while editing a GoogleDoc, line-by-line checking through the text of a letter, trying out different approaches to problematic phrases, posting comments to George and debating alternative solutions.

It is like completing a Middle French word puzzle online!”

44

Leading art historian, curator and art dealer Dr Amy Lim was guest speaker at a History Society meeting, giving a talk on ‘History, Material Culture and Heritage’.

Annual Review 2022-2023

Philosophy, Ethics and Religion Student research published in leading journal Babhravi Krishnan (Upper Sixth) had her investigation into approaches to tackling social inequality published in a leading online journal.

She looked into whether American philosopher Martha

“The capabilities approach was originally created by an

Nussbaum’s ‘capabilities’ approach would provide a better

economist called Amartya Sen as a way of bringing ethics back

framework for dealing with social inequality than utility-based

into economics, considering not just measures of monetary

welfare economics for her Rouse Award project in Lower Sixth.

growth in development, but also welfare and economic and social wellbeing.

Her work has now been featured in Questioz, an international journal of high school student research.

“Nussbaum added her own ideas to this with capabilities she thought every nation should meet which would provide a

For her project, she wanted to examine a topic linking

framework for tackling social inequality.”

philosophy and economics to tie in with her plans to study PPE (philosophy, politics and economics) at university and

While Nussbaum focused on India, Babhravi transposed

found Nussbaum’s ideas resonated with her.

those ideas, which include freedom of choice, dignity and opportunities for social mobility, to the social inequality of

She said: “Nussbaum is interested in human rights, as I am, and

women in Brazil, a country with a similarly rapidly growing

I started looking into her theories, which combined economics

economy with regards GDP.

with ethics, and I thought it would be interesting to draw upon.

Philosophy essay success James Roskilly (Year 11) considered whether AI (artificial intelligence) can have a mind of its own in his winning entry to the Sheffield University Philosophy Essay competition.

His submission was one of just 10 chosen by the judges

James also appraised AI and thought from the viewpoint of

at Sheffield – one of the country’s leading institutions for

a belief in an external mind, using renowned US philosopher

philosophy studies – for the top prize, which included an

John Searle’s ‘Chinese room’ theory as an example.

invitation to a virtual workshop and a £25 voucher.

He said: “The argument is that a person in a closed room

James investigated how AI systems work and whether

who doesn’t understand Chinese would be able to converse

they could ever be understood, as well as considering the

with a fluent Chinese speaker outside by following a set of

distinctions between thought and consciousness in terms of

algorithms on how to produce written replies.

machine learning.

“I concluded that the only possible way that AI can ‘think’ is if

He looked at the question from the perspective of biological

you believe in the computation of the mind and that thought

computationalism, which reflects on the relationship between

comes from biological, chemical and physical systems which

physical processes in the brain and their correlation with

can be recreated by AI using ‘noughts’ and ‘zeroes’.”

thought and consciousness.

Caitlin Stockwell (Year 7) received

Sienna Sharma (Year 10) carried out

A team of nine philosophy and

a commendation for her entry

independent research into cultural

religious studies students participated

to the Independent Schools

relativism and presented her findings

in the Ethics Cup at King’s College

Religious Studies Association Essay

to an audience of interested staff and

London, where they were narrowly

Competition.

students.

defeated by Eton College.

45

Upper

Classics

All roads lead to Rome

During the trip, the students also explored the Vatican Museum, Ara Pacis, the Pantheon and Ostia Antica - the archaeological site of a Roman harbour city at the mouth of the Tiber.

Classics students explored some of the most famous sites of the ancient world during an inspiring trip to Rome.

Carole Tucker (Lower Sixth) reflects on her overall experiences of visiting Rome.

Constanze Topel (Lower Sixth) gives her thoughts on some of the historic places the group visited on just one day of

All roads lead to Rome… or at least that is where the classics

the tour.

trip led us! Geographical accuracy aside, Rome is undoubtedly a place where many paths of history converge. Led by five

The Colosseum was a mesmerising starting point, prompting us

brilliant classics and history teachers, we were able to explore

to imagine gladiatorial fights and throngs of Roman spectators

many wonderful aspects of this city, ranging greatly across

like never before. The Palatine Hill and its astounding view on

the spectrum of its historical timeline.

to the Forum left a similar impression on us as we marvelled at the layers of history below us. We then roamed the Forum

From its position as the centre of the Roman world, through

itself in an attempt to decipher its development from one

its Baroque and Renaissance virtuosity, to its contemporary

emperor’s rule to the next.

liveliness, this trip certainly enabled us to catch a glimpse of the multi-faceted and intricate essence of Rome.

We visited the Capitoline Museum – home to the famous Lupa Capitolina and the Statue of Capitoline Gaul. This trip

However imperfect an individual impression of its ancient

really did bring textbook pictures to life! We then let off some

magnitude may be, I believe all those who took part in this

steam in the Circus Maximus. There was even a whole-trip

voyage would have truly been inspired either in their classical

running race as a tribute to charioteering. Finally, we visited

or historical studies, or simply uplifted by the imperceptible

the Trevi Fountain, which was basking in the moonlight in all

influence of the past on the very essence of contemporaneous

its Baroque beauty.

memory. I for one certainly was.

46

Annual Review 2022-2023

Lots of drama with Latin play competition The Perse once again played host to the annual Latin play competition Ludi Scaenici.

Four very different performances came from the competing schools, including

Banham-Hall, Eleanor Blazeby, Henry

Seb Foster, Perse Head of Classics,

St John’s College School, St Mary’s

Greatorex, Alice Argent Hare, Oscar

said: “Our Perse cast threw themselves

School and Norwich High School for

Klein, Suhana Sajid, Thomas Miller and

wholeheartedly into rehearsals and

Girls, on the Peter Hall Performing Arts

Dexter MacFarlane.

soon made the classic animal characters

Centre stage.

Head judge Rosanna Omitowoju, from

their own.

A Latin adaptation of Prokofiev’s Peter

the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of

“They approached the performance

and the Wolf, written by Lower Sixth

Classics, was very positive about their

with great zeal and delivered the

Latin students Susanna Millhouse,

performance, praising in particular their

concept in a very convincing manner,

Harry Purvis, Constanze Topel, Carole

use of music from Prokofiev’s original

showing understanding of their lines,

Tucker and Hannah Wicks, provided

and the delivery of some quite obscure

expressive actions and at times great

the Perse entry.

Latin, including the verb “to quack”!

comic timing.

The cast of Year 8 pupils featured Jo

However, St John’s won the competition

“All participants should be very proud

Zhou, Alisha Agrawal, Edward Samson,

with a Star Wars-esque take on the

of their efforts and at the end of the

Sophie Ramsden, Zoe Khaliq, Joe

story of Caecilius’ long-lost daughter.

day, the real winner was classics!”

Classical reading competition success category with a super performance of an excerpt from Euripides’ Hecuba.

The Perse was also represented ex t r e m e l y w e l l i n t h e s e n i o r c o m p e t i t i o n by J e m B e n n e t t (Upper Sixth), Harry Purvis, Susanna Millhouse and Constanze Topel (all Lower Sixth).

Meanwhile, Jo Zhou (Year 8) was runner-up in the junior Latin prose category and she was also part of the team featuring Zoe Khaliq, Naomi Hoare, Margo Beznosyuk, Sophie Ramsden and Edward Samson (all Perse students enjoyed plenty of success in the Cambridge Classical

Year 8) that came second in the Latin

Association Reading Competitions this year.

dramatic reading section.

Neelkantha Mukherjee (Year 11)

Classics, as well as being runner-up in

produced standout performances

the intermediate Greek verse section.

to win the intermediate Greek prose and Latin prose categories at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of

Carole Tucker (Lower Sixth) was second in the senior Greek verse

47

Thomas Welchman (Year 9) was highly commended in the Greek prose class, while Ellie Skordos (Year 9) also performed well in the competition.

Upper

Maths

Senior

Intermediate

Junior

The Senior Maths Challenge saw 173

The Intermediate Maths Challenge was

All Lower School pupils attempted the

students from Years 9 to Upper Sixth

taken by 434 pupils ranging from Years

Junior Maths Challenge, with 112 Gold,

take part, with 83 achieving Gold, 68

7 to 11. Between them, they achieved

78 Silver and 68 Bronze certificates

Silver and 37 Bronze certificates. Fifty-

146 Gold, 153 Silver and 84 Bronze

being achieved, and Daniel Fannon

one students qualified for the follow-on

certificates.

and Yixuan Hu (both Year 7) scoring

Senior Kangaroo competition, with 14 receiving a Merit.

Round one of the British Maths Olympiad (BMO) was entered by 30 students, a national competition with around 2,000 entries. For finishing in the top 25%, Distinctions were earned

by Ryan Stubbs (Year 9), Arthur Depledge, Tom Hammond, Neelkantha Mukherjee (all Year 11), John Lau, Mabel Symes (both Lower Sixth), Jem Bennett, Daniel Chen, Kiran Diamond, Andrew Girgis, Emma Harris, Hongli Hu and Elvira Munteanu (all Upper Sixth), while a further eight received Merits.

Daniel and John both placed in the top 100, with the former also winning

Ninety-six pupils qualified for the

full marks.

Intermediate Kangaroo round, with 22

In the Junior Kangaroo, 26 out of 60

achieving Merit certificates.

pupils were awarded a Merit, while

Meanwhile, 36 pupils took part in the Intermediate Maths Olympiad, with three separate categories for Years 7 to 9, Year 10 and Year 11. Distinctions were gained by Daniel Fannon (Year 7),

the 21 pupils who took part in the Junior Maths Olympiad produced The Perse’s best-ever results in the competition, with 13 Distinction and 5 Merit certificates, including 8 Medals.

Roy Han, Ryan Stubbs (both Year 9),

Silver Medals went to James Cheng,

Akshith Katuri, Zoe Walters (both Year

Alexander Walker (both Year 7), Yilu

10), Arthur Depledge, Tom Hammond

Liu and Marco Sabot (both Year 8)

and Steven Kong (all Year 11).

Ryan and Arthur also received Gold Medals, Steven a Silver and Akshith and Tom Bronzes. A further 18 pupils received a Merit.

and Bronze Medals were claimed by Daniel Fannon, Yixuan Hu (both Year 7), Sophie Ramsden and James Towers (both Year 8).

The remaining Distinctions were awarded to Rachel Wang, Conrad Wu

a Medal. In round two of BMO –

(both Year 7), Marcus Li, Nick Sanders

the highest-level UK Maths Trust

and Tianyi Shan (all Year 8).

competition – Daniel and John both achieved Merits.

Olympiad for Girls Thirty-five students from Year 10 to Upper Sixth took part in the Maths Olympiad for Girls – a UKMT initiative aiming to raise participation in STEM among female students.

Zoe Walters (Year 10), Ellen Halsall, Rena Li, Yijin Liu (all Year 11), Ellice Chen, Bibi Elliott, Kelda Lee, Rebecca Li, Shirley Meng, Natalie Ronco, Mabel Symes, Alina Turchyn, Katya Verzhbitskaya, Yolanda Xue (all Lower Sixth), Imogen Beaton, Yunlin Chen, Emma Harris, Elvira Munteanu and Imogen Warren (all Upper Sixth) were awarded Distinctions. Notably, Bibi scored full marks.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Independent Research This academic year, 412 pupils undertook research projects beyond the curriculum, supported by 47 members of staff.

Running research projects for all ages is key to a Perse education, nurturing students’ intellectual curiosity, while also exposing them to cutting-edge scholarship.

Aristotelian Award “When I heard about the Aristotelian Award, I knew that I would enjoy participating in it immensely.

“Upon looking at all the research questions, I found that the history topic was the one that truly resonated with me.

“The writing of history has always fascinated me, and to finally get the chance to properly delve deeper into whether ‘History is written by the victors’ was an opportunity I knew I couldn’t miss.

“However, I was completely taken by surprise when I learned I was the winner of the arts/humanities category.

“I feel so honoured that my essay was chosen out of so many other excellent entries for this category across the country.”

Lili Angus was among the winners in this year’s Aristotelian The sciences category was won by Woodford County High

Award, the national research essay competition run by The

School for Girls pupil Shravani Bacchu, who researched

Perse for Year 9 pupils.

whether technologies from her favourite science fiction film She won the arts/humanities category with her investigation

The Matrix could become possible in the next 20 years. Highly

into whether history is written by the victors. Lily Haines

commended were Calvin Dean (Dulwich College), Rishi Showan

(Barnwell School), Diva Bansal (The Grammar School at Leeds),

(Loughborough School), Roberta Doe (Royal Grammar School,

Sara Kanjirathingal (The Cathedral School, Llandaff) and Sissi

Newcastle) and Hannah Wiseman (The Perse).

He (The Perse) were highly commended.

Winners of each section received £70 while the four highly Lili said: “I have always loved researching topics in depth, be

commended pupils in each section were awarded £20.

it inside or outside the curriculum.

49

Upper

Lower School Project Qualification Sixty-seven Year 8 pupils completed the Perse Project Qualification (PPQ) process. They independently formulated a research question, identifying sources, analysing them and developing their findings and conclusions into an essay.

Meanwhile, 103 Year 7 pupils successfully completed the Perse Research Skills Qualification (PRSQ). The PRSQ allows them to learn key research skills, assessed via online quizzes after each module, so they are better equipped to tackle an independent PPQ project in Year 8. The skills are invaluable in helping them be smarter in the way they search for information, read sources and make notes.

Chrysalis Voultsou

Henry Tysome

Kaiyang Guan

Gemma Savini

Ana Bingipur

Oscar Klein

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Fraya Sudeep

Debayani Chaki

Zoe Petheram

Olga Kislova

Sophie Ramsden

Junha Park

51

Upper

Higher Project Qualification Forty-one pupils in Year 10 completed their Higher Project Qualification (HPQ). Pupils undertook research in a wide range of subjects including science, history, computing, religion, politics and maths.

To what extent is cortical reorganisation a correlate of phantom limb pain? Cheyoon Kim

I found the whole process of learning to condense a large quantity of information into a limited-word report incredibly challenging yet rewarding at the same time.

My initial research revealed many flaws

commented on the significance of

concerning my topic area, largely

this relationship as understanding

regarding the complete lack of both

the phenomenon would be the first

the number and quality of sources, as

essential step towards formulating

PLP is neither commonly researched

effective treatment systems, including

nor understood. In consequence,

VR therapy.

research during the first weeks was based around simple websites and infographics, which slowly built up to The dawn of my HPQ topic came

online articles written by subject area

about relatively spontaneously from

specialists, providing much-needed

my natural interest in medicine and

necessary academic material.

psychiatry.

As my research developed, I found a

Originally, I had planned to investigate

multitude of potential factors related to

the impact of depression regarding

PLP, from psychological trauma to the

phantom limb pain (PLP) intensity

formation of neuromas. Despite these

however, the severe inadequacy of

theories and hypotheses, I examined

sources and conflicting opinions

cortical reorganisation as my primary

resulted in a slight shift in focus from

objective.

depression to cortical reorganisation.

The HPQ was a highly fulfilling project to undertake and strengthened my research skills further. I found the whole process of learning to condense a large quantity of information into a limitedword report incredibly challenging yet rewarding at the same time.

This research project not only opened my eyes to a unique phenomenon, but advanced writing skills from analytic to descriptive were explored, as well as different research techniques, including case studies and literature/data

By acknowledging each theory and

analysis. Learning these skills coupled

Not only did phantom limbs pique my

their respective contradictions I

with critical organisation and stringent

interest as a unique phenomenon, but

concluded that there was a strong

time management has enabled me to

my personal desire to research a topic

correlation between PLP and cortical

enhance this research overall.

which would not have clear-cut ‘yes’

reorganisation, yet more studies must

or ‘no’ answers formulated the basis

be conducted in order to strengthen

of my title.

this claim. My project further

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Annual Review 2022-2023

How will nanotechnology pave the new era of winter sports? Vivek Kommi My HPQ stemmed from my passion for nanotechnology and the relevance to my start-up company that focuses on nanotech for curing type 2 diabetes.

While researching applications for

I never knew that wonder materials

nanotechnology to solve big problems,

like graphene and CNTs (carbon

I discovered a niche but impactful

nanotubes) could truly be revolutionary.

problem - the material malfunction of

For example, graphene is one of

winter sports equipment.

the strongest if not the strongest

I enjoyed researching about it due to the novelty around this area and looking into the emerging products

material on the market and is used in applications like water filtration, drug delivery and flexible electronics.

helped me grasp an understanding

Another skill that I learned is that of

of how fast the world is developing.

mind-mapping to ideate for a project

Moreover, the process of using AI tools

and it will help me in my project

and Google Scholar to find the latest

building and creativity skills for later

research is very intriguing to me.

in my career. To conclude, I found the

I gained a much deeper understanding of the applications of nanotech and the various problems it could solve.

HPQ experience to be a way to enhance my independence and creativity in an emerging field of technology.

Serpents in the Bible and in Greek mythology: A comparative analysis Daphna Portugaly I have always been interested in snakes, from the adder in England to the taipan in Papua New Guinea, so when deciding the topic of my HPQ, they were a strong candidate from the start.

I knew that looking into specific

tales from Greek mythology. Therefore,

wider differences between writings of

ophiology (as was tempting) would

these became the basis of my HPQ.

monotheistic and polytheistic religions.

I began to research them, reading as

I also researched the effects different

many opinion pieces as I could find (not

representations of snakes have had on

an excessive list), and (with the help

modern society, such as snake-handling

of expert teachers from my school)

churches in America or the Caduceus.

prove to be difficult in the limited span of a year, so I began to lean towards a more sociological aspect of them, to see how humans apart from me viewed them.

reading extracts from the Bible and the

At first, I wanted to produce a map

Iliad, and extrapolating my own take on

displaying how various interactions

their representation of snakes.

between nations led to the modern day accepted negative view of serpents, but quickly this led me to two core sources which impacted the types of stories around them consistently, not just under this topic - the Bible and

The HPQ was a great opportunity for me. Never before could I carry out a research project in such depth and

My findings included many similarities

now I have the experience. Being able

(such as the sexual representation

to tailor the topic to myself meant that

or the consistent position of power

I never lost interest and no part of the

through knowledge), and some

process ever felt like a chore to do.

differences, which I mainly attributed to

53

Upper

Extended Project Qualification Twenty Lower Sixth students undertook research for the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) – an externally-assessed project amounting to half of an A level.

The ‘Elephant Man’ drug trial: What went wrong? John Lau

back, this is perhaps the most important tool I used to help with time management and organisation. I also used a critical analysis grid to create summaries of the

a disaster and whether the drug

papers I read, as well as checking the

developers were to blame for these

validity of these resources. The most

factors.

useful resources have been JSTOR and

I decided to split my essay into two

which contain so many peer-reviewed

sections to look at the pre-clinical trial

papers that were extremely useful for

and human trial of the drug. For each

my research.

the British Medical Journal, both of

section, I used papers and scientific journals to find out what incorrect

One of the most enjoyable parts of my

decisions were made by the developers

EPQ was researching about the different

and evaluated how significant these

cellular receptors of the immune T cells

decisions were.

and the mechanism of the drug as a

was sparked after hearing about it

To ensure I had a balanced argument,

about what a cytokine storm is. My EPQ gave me a valuable opportunity to

My interest in the Elephant Man drug trial (the TGN1412 drug trial)

superagonist, as well as the details

in an after-school Biology Club. It is

I also looked at how the developers

widely regarded as the worst clinical

had attempted to minimise the risk

trial catastrophe in British history

learn about interesting biological details

of the trial and the role of misfortune

beyond my A level course.

and almost resulted in death of the

in causing the trial to fail. I have also

participants in the trial.

used several Covid-19 vaccine trials

Doing an EPQ on it therefore provided me an excellent opportunity to dig deeper into a topic I found very interesting. After carrying out some initial reading about it, I decided to research the factors that contributed to why the drug trial evolved into

Overall, I found doing an EPQ a very

to compare the human trials in recent

rewarding learning experience. There

years with the TGN1412 human trial and

are so many useful skills that I learned

was surprised by the differences and

through doing my EPQ that I would not

similarities between them.

have picked up from normal lessons.

To help my research process, I used a

don’t cover in our A levels and the

It also made me realise how much we Gannt chart as a timetable to outline

importance of our own curiosity to

what I needed to do and when. Looking

discover what else is out there.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

To what extent is semiconductor nanotechnology more likely than current photovoltaic solar technologies to increase the efficiency of solar cells by 2045? Aknur Mavyyeva

After listening to the late US theoretical physicist Richard Feynman’s lecture ‘There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom’, I was inspired by the potential of nanotechnology and how manipulating atoms allows us to alter the bulk properties of certain materials.

Therefore, I was curious to find out whether this can be applied to solar technology. Although solar cells possess an immense amount of potential within the global energy sector, the efficiencies of current solar photovoltaics, such as firstgeneration wafer-based cells and second-generation thinfilm cells, are inadequate in terms of PCE (power conversion efficiency), flexibility to varying environmental conditions and light absorption capacity and must be ameliorated to compete with fossil fuels.

I had the opportunity to attend a lecture about how defects of quantum crystals used in solar cells can constrict the flow of electrons and, therefore, decrease their PCE. In turn, creating a cell that collects all charges except for defect charges means the PCE can surpass the Shockley-Quiesser limit, which is the theoretical efficiency limit that a solar cell can reach.

Semiconductor nano-cells can achieve this.

Once I understood this, I began to research emerging thirdgeneration semiconductor nano-cells, such as perovskite-

Moreover, it was important for me to analyse the inadequate

sensitised cells, quantum-dot cells and dye-sensitised cells.

regulations of semiconductor nanotechnology as this

This involved reading academic journals, websites and books

is hindering the large-scale commercialisation of third-

to help me understand the characteristics of each cell and

generation cells. The lack of international regulations and

the science behind this novel technology.

guidelines for nanoparticles has prevented the public from

Perovskite-sensitised cells displayed the highest amount

gaining access to official definitions and information, meaning

of potential out of all other third-generation cells. For

investment towards these cells is currently very low.

example, since 2016 they have been the fastest-growing solar

Once nations and consumers have understood the risks that

technology with a PCE of over 25% today compared to only

nanotechnology presents, we can take more active steps

3% in 2009 and the simplicity of their manufacturing process

towards creating an environment where semiconductor nano-

ensures their economic viability.

cells can thrive. This will likely happen before 2045.

Furthermore, these cells exhibit exceptional environmental

I have developed many skills in Microsoft Word and improved

stability with operational lifetimes of around 3,500 hours.

on research skills such as summarisation and referencing. In

Although this is much shorter than current wafer-based cells,

short, this project has been very fulfilling and I am extremely

we must consider that perovskites have been in research for

proud of everything that I have achieved.

a much shorter period.

55

Upper

Rouse Award The Rouse Award is an internally-assessed programme for Lower Sixth students judged by a panel of leading academics.

Students participating in the Rouse Award had supervisions with a subject specialist teacher guiding them through the research process. Their submissions were then assessed by the award panel based on the intellectual curiosity, depth and quality of research that had been undertaken.

The latest winners were announced in September 2022, with three students taking the overall honours. On top of this, 51 gained Distinctions, 70 were highly commended, 43 were commended and 11 received awards.

Her project looked into how biomimicry could be used in the design of buildings to improve their sustainability.

With plans to study architecture at university, Jemima was intrigued by the idea of taking the way nature functions and bringing it into building design.

Jemima researched examples of different architecture projects that had taken biomimicry on board, such as pioneering architect Michael Pawlyn’s Abalone House design, based on the structure of mollusc shells which take their strength from their shape, before developing her own work.

Jemima Fung designed and created an example of

Along similar lines, she designed an office, which also featured windows based on the

eco-friendly architecture

iris of an eye, opening and closing in response to light to reduce energy waste within the

inspired by nature to win

building, an idea inspired by the responsive façade of the Institute du Monde Arabe in Paris.

the Rouse Artefact Award.

After making initial sketches, she used computer-aided design software for her work and created a cardboard prototype before 3D-printing much of her finished model.

She also programmed a motor to react to the external environment to demonstrate how the windows could work.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Evelyn Marshall earned

Sophie Chiang investigated

the Rouse Award for

the extent to which machine

her examination of how

learning could be used to

Charles V of France used

predict the outcome of table

visual culture to build his

tennis matches for her Rouse

authority in medieval Paris.

Award-winning project.

As an A level history and French student, she wanted to

A former national junior table tennis champion, Sophie

tackle a topic combining her knowledge and interest of

decided to combine her passion for the sport with her

both subjects.

interest in computer science and maths for her research.

Evelyn chose to consider Charles V, who ruled France from

Sophie began by reading more deeply into machine learning

1364 until his death in 1380 and became known as ‘Wise

– a branch of artificial intelligence in which models are built

King Charles’.

that learn patterns and relationships from inputted data.

Using her linguistic skills, she read a French biography of

She then took statistics collated from the Tokyo 2020

Charles V to delve deeper into the subject.

Olympics table tennis tournament and the professional German Table Tennis League, such as the percentage of

She considered how his additions to the Louvre Palace,

points won on or against serve by individual players in

which was initially constructed in the late 12th century

matches, to work on her project.

under the preceding Capetian dynasty, and statues around Paris had helped bolster his royal legitimacy.

Sophie, who plans to study computer science at university, also developed her own features – one taking account of

However, Evelyn felt depictions of him reading or being

player rankings, another considering players’ all-round

surrounded by family in the numerous illuminated

ability from backhand and forehand strength to their

manuscripts that he had commissioned went a long way

capability in long or short rallies – for consideration.

towards the way he was viewed by his subjects.

She found the best machine learning model provided around 70% accuracy in predicting the outcome of the matches from the above competitions.

The Rouse Award programme is generously sponsored by Alan and Valerie Hirzel.

57

Upper

Art

Colours of Cornwall inspire artists Ben Nicholson, who were enticed to live and create in the Cornish resort during the mid-20th Century.

Their introduction was a sketching tour with local artist Greg Humphries, exploring key concepts of those Modernist artists who formed a prominent movement centred on the coastal town.

Hepworth’s legacy is especially linked to St Ives and the students had the chance to visit her former home and studio and learn more about her life and work and discover more about the materials and techniques used in her sculptures.

They then visited the Tate St Ives and saw an exhibition of Hepworth’s pieces.

The students also enjoyed a day-long workshop with the St Ives School of Painting, allowing them to respond creatively to the local landscape.

The light and landscapes of St Ives provided a beautiful

After a morning of sketching at The Island, actually a rocky

backdrop for an inspiring Perse Sixth Form art trip.

headland on the edge of St Ives’ town centre overlooking the

Students spent several days following in the footsteps of

sea, they returned to the studio at Porthmeor Beach to work

influential abstract artists, such as Barbara Hepworth and

on their projects using a variety of media.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Heller Prize winner Caitlin Stockwell (Year 7) won the Heller Prize for Creative Arts with this eye-catching artwork.

The long-running prize was established by the late Old Persean, businessman and philanthropist Sir Michael Heller (1954), who sadly passed away in January, aged 86, and Lady Heller.

Pupils were invited to submit artworks linked to the theme of ‘Celebration’, with Caitlin’s piece, entitled Summer Solstice Celebration, coming out on top.

Perse Head of Art Ben Keeble commented: “The winner was chosen from the field of entries for her use of oil pastels and unique approach to subject matter - the personification of spring, greeting flora and fauna in a forest setting – and tackling the theme of celebration in a complex close-up composition.”

59

Upper

GCSE Art Pupils in Year 11 studying the GCSE fine art course looked at natural forms as a starting point for their projects in the personal investigation, researching numerous artists to inspire the development of heir ideas. They were encouraged to develop sustained final outcomes in the media of their choice, reflecting the diversity of media and techniques available to them during the course.

Elspeth Owen

Daisy Scally

Emma Tomlinson

Jonathan Hamilton

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Amelie Bacon

Emily Peckham

India Carroll

Alisha Brown

Daisy Wallman

Beatrice Hutchings

Tom Hill

Noah Morrison

61

Upper

A level Art Those studying the A level course started a series of skills-based workshops in their first year looking at the human form, beginning their personal investigations exploring a wide variety of themes and historical approaches to art-making depending on their interests. This led naturally into their research for the related study essay where they were required to research an aspect of art and design, extending knowledge gleaned in their practical portfolio. Their stunning outcomes were the culmination of two years’ practical and written work.

This page: Elin Oliver

Opposite top: Jemima Fung Opposite bottom: Erik Astigeevich

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Annual Review 2022-2023

63

Upper

Design and Technology

Sought-after scholarships for budding engineers Four Perse students gained prestigious Arkwright Scholarships after being identified as potential future leaders in engineering.

Sourish Sharma, Mabel Symes, Sam Burnell and Cecily Taras (all Lower Sixth) earned the sought-after scholarships, which provided them with an opportunity to build connections within the industry as well as £600 to support their studies.

While in Year 11, they each submitted a detailed application highlighting their interest in engineering before taking part in an in-depth interview and an exam as part of the selection procedure.

Sourish demonstrated his CREST Gold Award-winning word clock, extending the project further by coding in a wireless game of Snake, using gyroscope data sent by radio signals

help her sister keep track of and budget her money as she

to provide the controls.

headed off to study.

He said: “I applied because I’m laser-focused on becoming

Fittingly, she is being sponsored by Finbourne Technology,

an engineer. It gives you the opportunity to make something

a finance company creating developer-friendly investment

that changes the world and I just love messing around with

data platforms.

all sorts of electronics.

For his application, Sam highlighted his design and technology

“I knew the scholarship could support me both financially and

GCSE project, a folding picnic table which can combine with

through having a mentor. I believe my passion for engineering

others to increase the size of the table and allow it to be

showed through the interview.

customisable.

“The aptitude exam was also quite tough, but I had the

He also put forward his CAD (computer-aided design) of a

opportunity to design a few things such as an automatic

single cylinder engine that used a high-pressure gas source

sheep feeder and kitchen tools intended to help people with

controlled by a ball valve to create a rotary motion.

just one arm.”

Meanwhile, Cecily is being supported by research and

Sourish, who has secured sponsorship with cyber security firm

technology organisation TWI following her successful

Crowdstrike, is considering using his funding to put towards

Arkwright application.

buying a 3D printer or components to build a drone.

She said her aspirations to become an engineer had been

Meanwhile, Mabel showcased a university expense tracker

augmented by summer courses she had attended organised

app that she programmed using Java and Android Studio to

by the Industrial Cadets and the Smallpeice Trust.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Electric debut for Perse Engineering Club race car Perse Engineering Club’s electric racing car made a charge on its debut in the Greenpower Education Trust series.

The Greenpower initiative aims to inspire youngsters to develop a passion for science and engineering by designing, building and racing electric cars.

More than 20 Perse students worked on the project as part of the Engineering Club, overseen by physics teachers Sam Patterson and Myles Thompson.

After gaining an understanding of what goes into designing and building an electric vehicle, they put together their own car from a kit, courtesy of

Kuan Kuan Lin and Dominic Rogers

“We had some issues with the drive and

sponsorship from Vindis Group.

(both Lower Sixth), who led the

making the car move, but it was great

As Team Paradox Motorsport, they have worked on the vehicle since March, carrying out testing in the Upper car park before taking it to the Lotus test track at Hethel, Norfolk, for its first race.

project’s bodywork and battery teams

how we banded together and everyone

respectively, were thrilled to see the car

worked as a team to achieve our goal.”

come to fruition and take to the track.

Dominic said: “It was so rewarding and

Kuan Kuan added: “I’ve been to a racetrack before, but to have something

it was just a great feeling for everyone

you’ve built on the racetrack is really

who had contributed to have a product

quite different. Once we got the car

that worked and that we could race.

going, it was great to see it out there.

one hour as possible, with the Perse car,

“The race day was good. We could see

“We got to see the other teams and

driven by the team’s project manager

the designs of the groups that were far

look at how other people interpreted

Thomas Pape (Lower Sixth), finishing

more experienced. I think it was nice to

the same problem. I think we can take

five circuits of the 2.2-mile course.

see what other teams had achieved and

inspiration from that and look at what

look at where we can progress.

we could do better.”

The format of the event saw teams attempt to complete as many laps in

65

Upper

Modern Foreign Languages

Spanish style and French flair on stage

Les Mains Sales by Jean-Paul Sartre and Isabel Beaumont and Gabriella Bedford (both Upper Sixth) portraying a oneact sketch from Samuel Beckett’s work Fragment de Theatre.

Modern foreign languages teacher Hannah Sherry, who helped

Upper students combined acting ability with a love of

organise the event, was delighted with how the students

languages in a showcase of Spanish and French drama.

engaged with the project, which was held to coincide with the European Day of Languages.

An 11-strong cast staged an abridged version of 19th-century Spanish writer Jose Zorrilla’s Don Juan Tenorio in the Gallery

She added: “It was a very relaxed environment for them to

Studio.

perform in, with the emphasis being more on the opportunity to use their languages outside the classroom.”

The focus then turned to French with Eleanor Brinsden (Upper Sixth) and Elif Cektir (Lower Sixth) performing a scene from

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Mandarin students relish Singapore experience Upper Mandarin students had an

also enjoyed answering Singapore

Away from the classroom, they had

pupils’ questions about life at The

plenty of chances to practise their

Perse Cambridge before heading off

Mandarin by taking part in Chinese and

to climb the nearby Bukit Timah hill.

calligraphy workshops and talking to

The Mandarin group also spent time at

local students, business owners and

Nanyang Girls’ High School, a partner

tour guides. The group were able to

school of The Perse in the Strategic

immerse themselves in Singaporean

Alliance of Global Educators (SAGE).

culture by eating out at the city state’s

exciting cultural experience savouring

Pupils spent time in lessons and made

the sights and sounds of Singapore.

friends with Nanyang students over

As part of the trip, the group of Year 10 and 11 pupils visited sister school The Perse Singapore, supporting the learning in a range of classes. They

brunch in the canteen before watching the morning assembly, which featured flag raising and the playing of the national anthem.

Languages spell success for Upper pupils Alexander Walker and Tanvi Kommi (both Year 7) demonstrated linguistic speed and skill to make it through to the Foreign Languages Spelling Bee national finals.

They qualified in German and Spanish respectively following success at the regional finals In Peterborough, where fellow Perse pupil Maggie Kent (Year 7) also performed well in the French category.

To get to the regional finals, they had already gone through two rounds of competitions, learning a growing number of words in their respective languages and attempting to spell as many words as possible in one minute.

Both Alexander and Tanvi went on to finish in the top 10 in their categories in the national finals at the University of Cambridge.

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‘hawker centres’ (street food stalls), as well as learning to cook some local dishes themselves, as well as visiting the Gardens by the Bay and taking part in a night safari.

Upper

Global glory for Upper pupils in Japanese competition Japanese joy was had by Upper pupils taking part in the EP (Education Perfect) Global Languages Championship.

The week-long online competition saw participants allowed to select any content they wished to study on the EP languages platform and pick up points from answering questions correctly.

A team of Year 9 pupils took part and they came first overall among the British schools competing in the Japanese section.

Laetitia Lowe and Kiana Mackie both received Bronze awards after scoring more than 1,000 points, while Nachiketh Prabhu

Milton Saibrosa replicated the individual Gold he won in the

and Theodore Chui gained Credit certificates (over 500).

EP International Languages Championship in October after collecting more than 3,000 points.

Japanese teacher Sibylle Wilson said: “This is a super achievement by the students, congratulations to all of them.”

Code-crackers triumph in National Language Competition A group of Year 9 pupils came out on top among a field of more than 3,000 teams to win the prestigious NLC (National Language Competition).

The Wacky Blue Robin team, featuring Kiana Mackie, Hanrong Zeng, Ryan Stubbs and Roy Han, triumphed in the linguisticsbased code cracking competition, organised by GCHQ, the UK’s intelligence, cyber and security agency.

Teams could choose which questions they wanted to tackle in

As such, no previous language skills were required, but it

the online event, held over the course of a week, accumulating

was a tremendous achievement from the Wacky Blue Robin

points for correctly solving puzzles based around largely rare

team, who were invited to visit GCHQ’s Cheltenham offices

and even made-up languages.

to collect the champions’ trophy from the agency’s director Sir Jeremy Fleming.

MFL Debating Competitions Each year, The Perse School hosts the MFL Debating Competitions for Sixth Form students in the Eastern region.

Many schools send teams to compete in French, German and Spanish. Successful Perse Lower Sixth students this year included: French – Silver Prize

French – Bronze Prize

German – Gold Prize

Spanish – Gold Prize

Tom Macfarlane

Bibi Elliott

Constanze Topel

Natalie Ronco

Gabriel Cirstea

Lila Rickett

Carole Tucker

Catherine Balfour

Hendrik Hohnsbein

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Spain experience savoured by students We also ate lots of different delicious Spanish food.

Whether it was croquettes, jamon iberico or even churros with chocolate, it was all fantastic and we were more than satisfied.

We even got to go to Reina Sofia (an art museum) and IKONO (a sensory museum), which were both so enjoyable to walk around. We appreciated the art as well as taking group photos, which is always fun.

Lots of experiences were new and also familiar at the same time, such as the escape room we tried. It’s something we’ve done in England, however never in the Spanish Willow Wallman and Maria Manini (both Year 10) reflect

language. It was a whole lot trickier, of course, but we

on the Spanish trip to Madrid and Toledo.

managed to pull through as we worked together as a team.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Spanish trip this year. It was

The Year 10 Spanish trip was wonderful and many of us

such a marvellous experience with so many opportunities

have made so many memories which we will cherish. We

to explore Spain with friends.

just wish we could experience it all over again!

Our favourite aspect was going to Toledo, to visit the Maristas school. Although some of us were quite nervous to meet the Spanish people, they were very welcoming and we were able to form connections with strangers in such little time despite speaking different languages.

However, departing our newly-made friends was a very sad goodbye for some. We shared conversation over food, played some volleyball, learned the history of Toledo and even did a little bit of dance!

Throughout this trip, we were able to immerse ourselves within the Spanish culture, visiting landmarks and cathedrals in both Madrid and Toledo, and watching the Puy du Fou, a show about the history of Spain. It was an outstanding portrayal and such a spectacle to see through dance, acting and epic light shows.

UK Linguistics Olympiad Fifty-five students from Year 9 to Upper Sixth took part in Round 1 of the UKLO,

Oxford German Olympiad

which was the school’s largest ever turnout. Twenty medals were awarded: five Bronze, 10 Silver, and five Gold. All the Gold winners – Jem Bennett, Kiran

This year’s Oxford German Olympiad was

Diamond (both Upper Sixth), John Lau (Lower Sixth), Neelkantha Mukherjee

on the theme of food. Pupils from Year

(Year 11) and Rachel Liu (Year 9) – were invited to take part in Round 2.

9 to Upper Sixth submitted entries ranging

Neelkantha achieved the highest mark in the school, and Rachel was the school’s

German version of the ‘Bake Off’ and an

youngest ever participant in Round 2, and only the second girl from the school to

essay in German about Roman culinary

get through. Jem was awarded a distinction in Round 2, an amazing achievement

culture! George Tysome, Lucas Hobson

which placed him in the top 25% of all 89 candidates for that round nationwide.

and Daniel Wicks (all Year 9) were runners-

The Perse is currently one of the highest achieving schools in the UKLO.

up in the ‘humorous video sketch’ category.

from humorous videos about food, to a

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Upper

German Christmas markets trip Seventy-two pupils from Year 8 and 9 visited the Christmas markets of Cologne and Aachen. As well as scouring the stalls for gifts and sweet treats, everyone enjoyed an Advent cruise along the Rhine and were even visited by St Nicholas himself! The Lindt chocolate factory and museum provided the perfect opportunity to sample more culinary delights and see festive chocolates being made. Those with enough energy left had the chance to visit Cologne’s magnificent cathedral and take in the fantastic views from the top.

I enjoyed participating in this competition because it allowed me to deepen my love of languages.

AAMARAH KHURRAM

Anthea Bell Prize

The Perse had four category winning students with Aamarah Khurram (Year 11 – Mandarin), Rachel Liu (Year 9 - Mandarin), Alexander Walker (Year 7 – French) and

Organised by The Queen’s College, Oxford, the Anthea Bell

Carole Tucker (Lower Sixth – German).

Prize for Young Translators is inspired by the late renowned literary translator and aims to encourage youngsters to go

Aamarah also went on to win the national title in her

further with modern foreign languages.

category.

Ashanti Twi

A survey on the European Day of Languages

To mark Africa Day in May, languages teacher Rebecca Mitchell gave a workshop on Ashanti Twi which is one of

As part of the European Day of Languages, the school

the main languages of Ghana.

launched its first ever language usage survey.

The students and staff who attended learnt to greet others, introduce themselves and say which languages they speak.

The survey sought to gauge the extent of multilingualism

In addition they learnt about Akan naming conventions and

within the student and parent body. The 2022 survey revealed

about the language situation in both Ghana and sub-Saharan

that there are speakers of over 60 different languages within

Africa as a whole, where many indigenous languages are under

the school and that around 40% of the student body speaks

threat. The workshop also involved a quiz on language use in

a language other than English at home.

Africa and an African map quiz.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Economics Julia Marshall (Lower Sixth) was accepted on to the Future Thought Leaders programme, run by the Institute of Economic Affairs.

Emma Harris, Saskia Stock (both Upper Sixth), Julia Marshall and H a n n a h G o r d o n ( b o t h Lowe r Sixth) were invited to take part in a Goldman Sachs Women in Finance

Lots of investment from students in new club

event.

The Perse Economics Society Perse Investment Club was launched by economics teacher Katharina Sennitt,

enjoyed talks from a number of

an expert in the subject from her previous career.

guest speakers, including Graham

The club aimed to introduce students from Year 11 to Upper Sixth to financial markets and investments by learning about equity and bond markets.

Stock, from BlueBay Asset Management, on emerging market bond trading, and Dr Su-Min Lee

They presented their own research on companies and markets and attended

on modern economics bridging the

talks by senior professionals from a range of financial institutions.

gap between academia and public policy.

Speakers this year included Jonathan Graham, Head of Large Corporates UK at HSBC, John Sawtell, Head of European Equity Research at Goldman Sachs, and Neil Graham from Fitch Learning.

Psychology The Psychology Society welcomed a range of guest speakers to talk to students this year.

They included Professor Richard Holton from the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Philosophy, who spoke about addiction, and Emma Woodberry, joint Head of Neuropsychology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, who outlined her work with dementia patients.

Perse Head of Careers and Work-Related Learning Wendy Hodgkiss also talked to the students about where psychology can take them in terms of university courses and jobs.

Meanwhile, pupils gave a series of insightful talks, including Anshuman Gunda (Lower Sixth) on Vygotsky and language development and Hannah Pang (Year 10) on prosocial psychopathy.

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Upper

English and Drama

Actors take the stand with Legally Blonde show Sixth Form actors were a hit with

Izzy Bevens (Upper Sixth) and May

He said: “I was blown away by what the

their sparkling production of Legally

Busher (Lower Sixth) shared the

students were able to achieve in such

starring role of Elle Woods, who

a short period of time.

Blonde The Musical JR. Audiences were treated to a marvellous musical show, based on the wellknown romantic comedy film, across four performances in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre.

overcame stereotypes about her appearance to become a successful lawyer. Perse Theatre Practitioner in Residence David Barrett was thrilled by the quality of the performances.

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“The reason why it was so successful is because the students had a massive love for the show in the first place and really threw themselves into it in every possible way.

Annual Review 2022-2023

I was blown away by what the students were able to achieve in such a short period of time.

DAVID BARRETT

“From the choreography to learning the

Mr Barrett said: “After every show there

songs, the buzz was there from day one

were big smiles on people’s faces in

and they really put their heart and soul

the audiences. I’ve had so many people

into it.”

message me to say they were singing

During rehearsals, Helen Petrovna (OP), who played the character of Brooke in the UK tour of the production, gave

the songs or were going home to watch the film because they had been inspired by what they had just seen.”

a special skipping workshop to cast members involved in a particularly technical scene.

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Upper

Production of The Railway Children is just the ticket A massive cast of 65 Year 7 and 8 pupils were on the right track for the Lower School performances of The Railway Children.

With a further 20 students working behind the scenes, it is thought to be the biggest number of pupils ever involved in a Perse production.

Perse Theatre Practitioner in Residence David Barrett directed the production and decided to have two completely separate casts for each show.

He said: “It wasn’t pre-determined that we were going to do it like that, but because we had so much talent and interest, especially with Year 7 coming in, we wanted to give them an “When we auditioned, there was so much interest we thought

opportunity to showcase what they could do.

it would be a good chance to be really inclusive as we want pupils to keep doing drama moving forward.

“We also broke the main characters down further, so we had three people playing Bobbie, three playing Peter and three playing Phyllis in each cast.

“I thought it was quite a challenging piece without being too dark or heavy, but it had some substance to it and it’s also a really lovely story that people enjoy.”

In addition to full houses for both shows, the Lower School actors also performed their dress rehearsals in front of audiences of children from Fen Ditton, Queen Emma and Queen Edith Primary Schools.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Taking on The Wolves of Willoughby Chase Middle School actors ventured into an alternative past with

Miss Salmond said: “We really liked it because it had a mix of

their production of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.

comedy and a dark, serious side. We’ve had a lot of intense, emotional school productions this year, so we thought this

Based on Joan Aiken’s children’s novel, the play was set in

would be a nice contrast.”

early 19th-century England when a huge number of wolves invaded the country via a tunnel. Cousins Bonnie and Sylvia

Meanwhile, Miss Flowers was pleased to see the large cast

find they are not only chased by the animals, but also have

featured quite a number of pupils who had not acted in Perse

to thwart the evil schemes of governess Miss Slighcarp and

plays previously.

workhouse owner Mrs Brisket.

She said: “It was really nice to see how many people

English and drama teachers Kathryn Salmond and Hannah

auditioned who had never done drama before. We had quite

Flowers directed the show and felt The Wolves of Willoughby

a big ensemble and they were all super-committed.”

Chase had been a good play for the Year 9 and 10 actors to get their teeth into.

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Upper

Student pens impressive Senior Middle School play The latest Senior Middle School play broke new ground for Perse productions, as well as entertaining audiences.

Rather than taking a script by an established writer, drama teacher and show director George Smith decided to stage The Blood on the Bannisters, penned by Perse student Elif Cektir (left, Lower Sixth) and longlisted in this year’s National Theatre New Views play-writing competition.

He said: “There were moments when you had to take a step

“It was a uniquely rewarding experience and unlike any other

back to remember this was written by someone while they

piece I’ve directed.”

were studying for GCSEs and I think it’s a marvellous thing

Although Mr Smith directed the production, Elif played a major

for us to have done.

role during rehearsals, explaining the characters’ intentions

“I think it’s the first time we’ve done a student’s work as one

and motivations with the actors and making minor edits to

of our major productions and I’m very proud we were able

the script along the way.

to do this.

She said: “It was a great privilege to have been able to impact the play in terms of direction. Mr Smith checked the story and understood it perfectly, but it occurred to me during the dress rehearsal that I should have written a character for myself!”

The dress rehearsal was the first time Elif had seen her play brought to life and she was thrilled with the outcome.

“When I watched it, I was just so moved because the words I’d written were being said back even better than I’d imagined them in my head,” she said.

“Everything was so vibrant and to see what I’d written on paper become animated was amazing and strangely intimate.

“The cast was incredible and I’m really proud of them. They were like professional actors, they could definitely make careers out of it!”

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Students do their talking in major debating finals Alina Turchyn and Rebecca Li (both Lower Sixth) made their point to reach the grand final of the Manchester Schools Debating Competition.

They finished third overall amongst an international field after coming through several rounds of debating on the day to make it to the final.

The pair also took part in the Oxford Union Schools Debating Competition finals after finishing first out of 70 teams in the online regional round.

Pupils up for international debate

Alina and Rebecca were also joined by Sanjana Bhatnagar (Lower Sixth) as they

Cheyoon Kim (Year 10) and Sissi He

put their debating skills to paper after qualifying for the IPPF (International Public

(Year 9) talked their way into the finals

Policy Forum), a competition organised by the Brewer Foundation and New York

of an international debating contest

University featuring school teams from across the world.

following success in the regional

Sixty-four teams were chosen having submitted essays for or against the motion ‘NATO is an effective model for international co-operation’.

qualifiers.

They came fifth in the regional round

The competition saw teams make arguments via essays with judges selecting a winner to move into the next round.

at The Cambridge Union to book their place in the finals of the International Competition for Young Debaters, which

It was the first time a group from The Perse has entered the IPPF and Alina, Rebecca and Sanjana were the only UK team to be selected to take part.

took place at the same venue and featured teams from as far afield as Hong Kong and Kazakhstan.

Making a case in mock trial competition Perse students had their day in court when they took part in the Independent Schools Mock Trial

Participating students were:

In the regional finals, the pair won two

Upper Sixth

of their four debates on the topics of

Alice Ede

the imposition of a 100% inheritance tax

Harry Knight

should be imposed and the banning of

Isabel Beaumont

social media influencers from featuring

Lower Sixth

children in their content.

Elif Cektir Reaching the final was a particularly

Wincy Jeyaraj Catherine Balfour

impressive feat as Cheyoon, who

Ioanna MacKenna

was ranked in the top 10 of individual

They were among groups from nine

Hannah Wicks

speakers, had not taken part in an

schools who descended on Inner

Year 11

London Crown Court for the event,

Ryan Croke

part of Young Citizens’ SmartLaw

Year 10

programme aimed at helping young

Eloise Bowler

They were joined in the regional round

people understand how the legal

Alysha Djamarani

by two further excellent Perse teams –

justice system works. Despite not

Ianthe Carr

Magnus Burt and Vivek Kondel-Laws

making it to the final, the Perse

Imaani Morris

(both Year 10), who won a debate

Competition.

in-person event before, while it was Sissi’s debut in any form of debating competition.

students were able to convince two

Lyla Keith-Roach

on whether a BBC-style impartiality

of the three juries who heard their

Clancy Wild

requirement should be imposed on all

cases to agree with their arguments.

Djia Sanath-Vijay

news platforms, and Freya Aidt and Sophie Zhang (both Year 9).

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Upper

Perse Players perform moving production of A Monster Calls Audiences were treated to exceptional performances across the Perse Players’ four-show run of A Monster Calls.

Talented actors from Year 7 to Upper Sixth came together to star in the moving play, adapted from the Patrick Ness novel, which told the story of Conor, whose mother has terminal cancer, and his relationship with the Monster, who is formed of the yew tree in his back garden.

Notably, the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre was given a major makeover with the stage set up in the centre of the auditorium so that performances took place in the round.

Carole Tucker (Lower Sixth), who, along with Liviana Alliott (Upper Sixth), was co-assistant director to Perse Theatre Practitioner in Residence Andrew Pritchard, was delighted with how the production had gone, having witnessed it come together since the start of term.

She said: “It looked so professional. The cast members really developed their acting through the rehearsals and were able to create their own versions of the characters and that was really impressive.

“I’d never worked in the ‘backstage’ aspect of a production before and hadn’t realised the whole process involved.

“Before, I’d just look at a play and focus on the storyline, the plot and the dialogue, but I never realised elements such as the lighting or costume choices really had such a significant impact on the development of the show.”

The main roles were double cast including those of Conor – Emma Walshe (Year 9) and Sam Ronco (Year 10), the Monster – Rory Ward-Thomas (Year 11) and Izzy Bevens (Upper Sixth), and Conor’s mum – Paloma Bargh (Year 10) and Gabriella Bedford (Upper Sixth).

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Centre stage in Shakespeare finals Hanyu Zeng (Year 9) made a dramatic entrance at one of the UK’s most famous theatres after qualifying for the English-Speaking Union’s Performing Shakespeare national finals.

Shakespeare’s Globe provided the

She said: “I was so excited just to be

stunning scene for the final, with Hanyu

in the competition. I like acting and

treading those illustrious boards after

Shakespeare, so I’ve found it really fun,

winning the regional finals in Colchester

and I’ve enjoyed seeing other people’s

with her recital of Shylock’s monologue

pieces.

from The Merchant of Venice.

“I chose Shylock’s monologue as he’s

“The Merchant of Venice is also the first

Along with several other Perse pupils,

explaining why he wants revenge

Shakespeare play I studied, so I already

Hanyu was chosen by Director of

against the main character from The

knew it quite well.

English and Drama Chris Green to enter

Merchant of Venice and I thought

Performing Shakespeare following an

it would be nice to show someone

“I’ve definitely become more confident

in-school competition.

standing up for themselves.

at speaking in front of people and it’s just been a really fun experience.”

Student achievements

Union East Region Sixth Form Public Speaking Competition.

Izzy Bevens (Upper Sixth) was offered a place to study

Jack Shaw (Year 11) was named as one of the winners of

on the Actor Musician course at Mountview.

the Simon Powell Poetry Prize following great feedback

Ioanna MacKenna (Lower Sixth) won the English-Speaking

from Daljit Nagra.

Freya Grigson (Lower Sixth) was named as a finalist in the New College of the Humanities essay competition.

Lila Rickett (Lower Sixth) received a commendation for her essay in Queens’ College’s Estelle Prize for English.

James Roskilly (Year 11) was longlisted for the National Theatre New Views Playwriting Competition.

Short story success for student

She was runner-up in the 12 to 18-year-

“To get it to 100 words while still having

old category of the Reader’s Digest

a storyline, I wrote a longer story of

100-Word Story competition with her

about 300 words and it really helped

emotive work A Living Monument to

as I felt I knew my characters and

Us and received a £100 book voucher

the background and I could work on

for her efforts.

brutally cutting it down.

Having heard about the intriguing

“It’s all implied meaning because you

competition during creative writing

don’t have the time and space to

enrichment sessions, Alice was inspired

describe things, you have to read

to have a go.

between the lines.”

“I like writing short stories – I wrote one

Alice, who plans to study English at

as part of my Rouse Award artefact

university, was thrilled to discover she

project – and for this competition I

was runner-up, with her story one of

wanted to do something on the theme

three shortlisted by judges for an online

of time passing and make it evocative,”

vote by the general public.

she said.

She said: “I had no idea it was going to

“There’s something about weeping

be on the Reader’s Digest website for

willows that sparked my imagination.

people to vote for their favourite, but

Alice Wentzell (Upper Sixth)

Sitting within the leaves became the

it’s great that so many liked it.”

demonstrated a wizardry with words

main character’s safe place to go with

in a national short story contest.

someone else.

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Upper

Music Gifted recorder player crowned Perse Musician of the Year

“The Actor with the Monkey is a contemporary piece written for recorder, but which harks back to Renaissance times.

“The second piece was by Telemann, my favourite Baroque composer. I think his music is wondrous and fantasy-like and it’s very good to play with a pianist.

“With playing two recorders for the Bedford piece, it was only for around 10 bars. They were two melodies that crossed and I think for the composer it was more a clever way to swap over instruments!”

Highly commended were Oliver, with a rocking rendition of Guns ’n’ Roses’ heavy metal classic Nightrain followed by performances of three of his own songs – One Track Mind, Rockstar and Never Say Never – and Sakura, who played a traditional Japanese folk song bearing her name, Sicilienne by von Paradis and Brahms’ Sonatensatz in C minor.

Edward performed a varied programme of pieces by Haydn, Rafael Mendez and Harry James and Andrew showcased his powerful baritone with a range of works from John Dowland’s Flow My Tears to Some Enchanted Evening from Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, while Jack provided excellent recitals of works by Chopin and Liszt.

Recorder player Alice Shaw (Year 9) blew away tough

Perse Director of Music Ben Wingfield said: “Alexis was bowled

competition to win the Perse Musician of the Year title.

over by the talent of the six musicians and commended both the musical personalities each performer brought to the music

She came out on top in the grand final, which was adjudicated

they chose, and also the clear evidence of ‘hours and hours’

by classical soul piano pioneer Alexis Ffrench just ahead of

of practice that had gone into honing their recitals.”

his stunning performance at King Charles III’s Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle.

Alice played The Actor with the Monkey by Isang Yun and Telemann’s Essercizii Musici: Sonata in D minor before demonstrating her dexterity by playing two recorders at once during a performance of Bedford’s Recorder Concerto Movement V. Besides Alice, the final featured the extremely talented likes of violinist Sakura Fish, singer Andrew Girgis (both Upper Sixth), trumpeter Edward Taylor (Year 10), guitarist Oliver Massey (Year 11) and pianist Jack Fan (Lower Sixth).

They were whittled down from more than 470 submissions to the House Music Marathon competition and qualified for the grand final from individual instrumental/vocal finals during the Lent term.

Alice said: “I’m so pleased to have won. Especially as a

s ad judicated by This year’s competition wa r Alexis F french classical soul piano pionee

recorder player, I think it’s quite an achievement because it’s an instrument that’s often under-rated.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Renowned musicians headline Festival of Song The Perse was alive with the sound of music during a

“Nicky’s approach was very friendly and jokey and he got the

wonderful week-long Festival of Song.

audience involved as well.

A masterclass with BBC Music Magazine Personality of the

“He got me thinking about the way you use words to portray

Year and top tenor Nicky Spence and acclaimed pianist Joseph

what a song is talking about and little tricks you can use, as

Middleton launched the celebration in style. Piano and vocal

well as just general vocal technique.”

duos worked with Nicky and Joseph on pieces they had been

Stella, who has been playing piano for around 10 years, said:

practising ahead of a recital held later in the festival week.

“Joseph was very nice and got me to think more about the

Singer Andrew Girgis and pianist Stella Baek (both Upper

atmosphere of the song.”

Sixth) were among the students who were thrilled to have

Following their entertaining and engaging workshop, Nicky

the opportunity to gain inspiration from acclaimed musicians

and Joseph gave a sensational concert in the Peter Hall

as they rehearsed Haydn’s The Spirit Song.

Performing Arts Centre, performing a wide repertoire from

Andrew, who performs with the Perse Chamber Choir and

musical arrangements of Robert Burns’ poems to the stylish

Senior Voices group, said: “It was great to work with two

sounds of Stephen Sondheim.

professional musicians who gave really valuable advice.

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Upper

Singers ROAR with world-class consort Perse choral singers from Years 9 and 10, as well as some Sixth Form students, took part in the rare opportunity to perform with the acclaimed Gabrieli Consort and Players in Ely Cathedral.

The Perse pupils sang hymns, carols and canticles in a 400-strong choir, which included singers from schools all around the South of England, filling Ely Cathedral with sound. The concert was part of the Gabrieli Consort’s ROAR programme.

The performance was themed around 17th-century Christmas music by Michael Praetorius and Heinrich Schütz, while the consort themselves also sang some 20th-century music by Ralph Vaughn-Williams and Herbert Howells.

Pupil wins prestigious piano competition

For his recital, Maito played three of his favourite pieces from Bach’s Goldberg Variations, as well as Chopin’s Impromptu in A flat.

He said: “With Bach, I just like how the different voices

Talented pianist Maito Shiode (Year 8) struck a chord to

interact to form a contrapuntal dialogue (contrasting

win the illustrious Emanuel Trophy.

melodies that harmonise when played together). The Chopin piece is much more lyrical and fluid. I like it because

The 2022 Perse Musician of the Year lifted the silverware and earned prize money of £750 with a sensational

it is gracious yet mysterious, making you wonder how it will

performance at the prestigious piano competition in

unfold next when you listen to the piece for the first time.

London.

“I tried to pedal light and re-pedal more than usual, as the

Maito qualified for the Emanuel Trophy Piano Competition

powerful tone of the Steinway concert grand piano was

having won the senior music prize at the Cambridge

slightly overwhelming for the acoustics of the church.”

Competitive Music Festival in 2022. He was among 19

It was Maito who stood out for adjudicator and acclaimed

pianists from across the country taking part, all of whom

international pianist Professor Frank Wibaut.

had won local music competitions over the past two years.

Students add a Latin string to their bow in masterclass Pupils were treated to a special masterclass with fusion music group Classico Latino.

Classico Latino, who specialise in melding authentic Latin music with the Western classical tradition, brought signature sounds to workshop sessions with the school’s strings players.

Gifted violinist performs in national finals Sakura Fish (Upper Sixth) reached the national finals of the Rotary Young Musician competition which

Students learned and rehearsed classical string arrangements of Latin pieces of music, such as Alma Llanera, in preparation for a concert with the ensemble in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre.

took place in Manchester.

Sakura said: “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind and I really didn’t expect

The Perse musicians had a fantastic time learning from Classico Latino, especially benefitting from styles and rhythms that were not familiar to them from playing classical music.

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to get this far.”

Annual Review 2022-2023

Musicians learn from world-class trombonists Musicians enjoyed a masterclass from

of their existing pieces, with the day

renowned trombone quartet Bones

culminating in an after-school concert

Apart, an all-female group who have

in the Lecture Theatre.

toured all over the world and won multiple prestigious awards.

Perse Director of Music Ben Wingfield said: “The masterclasses with the group

The day began with the group holding

gave the students an insight into the

“The evening concert allowed our

45-minute workshops with the Senior

strategies Bones Apart use during their

ensembles to rub shoulders with a

Trumpet Ensemble and Senior Brass

rehearsal process, developing their

professional group at the top of their

Dectet.

skills working in an ensemble.

game.”

A rehearsal and recording session followed for brass players in Years 7 to 10, conducted and led by Bones Apart performers.

Perse pupils contributed solos to the quartet’s arrangement of The Lily of the Valley. These new pieces allowed the students to explore some rhythmic structures they may not have previously been used to.

They worked on a varied repertoire, playing some of Bones Apart’s own arrangements, as well as honing some

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Upper

Musicians paint pictures in symphonic showcase

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, written by the composer in response to paintings he viewed in a St Petersburg gallery, was brilliantly performed by the Symphony Orchestra.

It was important that all our Upper Sixth musicians had a chance to shine.

Meanwhile, the Chamber Orchestra

BEN WINGFIELD

and Wind Band 1 produced excellent

Saens, while harpist Eos Liao was

Musical Pictures were painted by

performances of Lully’s Le Bourgeois

joined by the Chamber Orchestra for

talented Perse musicians in the

Gentilhomme and Alfred Reed’s El

a movement by Boieldieu.

school’s annual Symphonic Showcase

Camino Real: A Latin Fantasy to an

at Saffron Hall.

enraptured audience.

Perse Director of Music Ben Wingfield said: “It was important that all our Upper

The concert included virtuosic recitals

Solo performances included pieces by

Sixth musicians had a chance to shine. In

by the Perse Symphony Orchestra,

Upper Sixth students. Violinist Emma

their own various ways, they have given

Chamber Orchestra and Wind Band 1

Harris and cellist William Dickens were

so much to music here and have grown

with a programme exploring the power

backed by the Symphony Orchestra

so much as musicians and people, so the

of music to evoke images to life.

as they performed concertos by Saint

concert was a fitting send-off for them.”

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Summer sun and sensational sounds provided a blissful backdrop to this year’s Proms at The Perse Around 300 Perse musicians played their part in creating an amazing atmosphere with performances across three venues – the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre auditorium and foyer and the Lecture Theatre.

There was something for everyone in the 600-strong sellout audience, from Handel to Coldplay, as bands, ensembles, choirs and orchestras produced a whirlwind of marvellous music.

Perse Director of Music Ben Wingfield said: “The weather certainly helped and there was a lovely summer vibe which lent itself to the wonderful festival atmosphere.

“The audience was able to listen to lots of different styles of music, as well as enjoying street food and picnics in between.”

As a fun finale, the musicians and keen audience members joined together as the Perse Mighty Orchestra to play Offenbach’s Can-Can in Ellison Court.

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Upper

Politics Dipping into diplomacy at US embassy A level politics students heard from experts and grilled congress people on a trip to the US embassy at the Congress to Campus event.

Students listened to six talks throughout the day, with opportunity to ask questions a f te r wa rd s . Th ey h e a rd a b o u t t h e presidency, the function of the judiciary in the US and recent rulings on Roe v Wade.

A particular highlight included a discussion between two Democratic and Republican congress people, where they fielded questions from the students. They demonstrated that political disagreements could be held, while remaining calm and respectful with one another and with their questioners.

Populism, Putin and more at the PPE Society Students from Year 10 to Upper Sixth stretched their

She said: “It was interesting to explore both the impact this

intellectual muscles with the PPE (Politics, Philosophy, and

ruling has had on low-income women and women of colour,

Economics) Society.

but also on the mid-term election results.”

The society aims to give an opportunity for students to learn

Other topics discussed at the PPE Society this year included

about and express their views on the great debates and issues

‘Marxism in 20 minutes’, ‘Putin, Ukraine and the global order’,

facing the world today.

and ‘Is the internet a force for good in the world?’

Organising member of the society Babhravi Krishnan (Upper

Overseen by Perse Head of Politics Peter Richards, Babhravi

Sixth) gave a talk on the impact of the repeal of Roe v Wade

organised the society with three other Upper Sixth students

earlier this year.

– Ebrahim Daultana, Chicko Ndumu and Kristof Allen.

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42 Society Our 42 Society series of lunchtime lectures challenges our students to think about different ideas and concepts to broaden their horizons. Named after Douglas Adams’ ultimate answer to the ultimate question in The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy, the programme featured a wide range of impressive and interesting speakers throughout the year.

Inspiring Josef Behrmann Lectures provide food for thought

Dr Kessler said the validity of one point of view did not exclude another and felt it was by reaching out to others from different backgrounds, cultures and faiths and exchanging perspectives that people could co-exist.

Meanwhile in his lecture ‘The past is a foreign country: Britain and the Holocaust’, Dr Adamson, a consultant for the BBC History Network, reflected on the UK’s response to the atrocities carried out against Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II. Dr Adamson felt its portrayal in educational settings lacked depth and detail, with the idea that the Holocaust only occurred in continental Europe, while failing to consider the ‘human dimension’ of its links to the UK. In conclusion, Dr Adamson believed that while the Holocaust may never happen again, it is only by learning from the mistakes of the past that the course of the future can be steered.

Dr Edward Kessler MBE and Dr Daniel Adamson (OP 2014) gave thought-provoking and hopeful talks as the Perse Josef Behrmann Lectures returned after a three-year break due to Covid.

Held in memory of the Old Persean and Holocaust survivor, who went on to become a Hollywood actor, the series resumed with lectures around the Holocaust Memorial Day theme of ‘Ordinary People’.

Dr Kessler, who is Founder President of the Woolf Institute – an organisation aimed at improving inter-faith relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims, spoke entertainingly and evocatively on the topic of ‘Living Peaceably Together’.

He told students that while bigotry did not have a place in civilised society, ignorance about others’ faiths and beliefs can lead to fear, which in turn lies at the heart of religious discrimination.

Julia Shvets - It’s not just about the money: How

Other 42 Society lectures included:

economists use maths to understand people Dr Stephen Webb - Intensive care: Treating the sickest

Dr Kirsty MacDougall - Can a voice identify a criminal?

patients in hospital

An introduction to forensic phonetics

Dr Madeline Lancaster - Growing brain tissues in a dish

Dr Sarah Bowden - What’s the point of the Middle

to find out what makes us human

Ages?

Dr Stuart Holmes - The electronic properties of

Dr Manolo Guerci - London’s ‘Golden Mile’: The great

semiconductor nanostructures

houses of The Strand, 1550-1650

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Outdoor Pursuits

Breath-taking Bolivia expedition is ‘trip of a lifetime’

Journeying the following day to the back of the Sleeping Dragon, we climbed well over 4,000 metres and had an Toby Westcott (Lower Sixth) shares his thoughts on the

amazing view of Lake Titicaca.

PES Summit 12 expedition to Bolivia.

Having conquered the Sleeping Dragon, an Andean feast Our tour began in Bogotá, with our layover allowing us to

awaited us, made of food grown and prepared by the locals,

explore the rich culture of Colombia through the medium of

providing full bellies and smiling faces all around. A particular

wall murals and graffiti in the favelas.

highlight for everyone was the quinoa soup.

Landing in La Paz and making a swift journey to the Hostel Copacabana, we later explored the markets. Having outfitted ourselves with various items of clothing and enriched ourselves in Bolivian culture, the capital city would have to be left behind for now.

Journeying to Santiago de Okola, our community homestay location, the group gazed upwards in awe at the Sleeping Dragon, a challenge to face in the coming days.

Whilst staying with local people, we found a peaceful way of life in this quaint village. We were welcomed with open arms, happy faces and plates of delicious locally-grown food.

A quick journey to Turtle Island in the morning was followed

The dry season!

by a trek up the Sleeping Dragon’s head, which helped greatly with the acclimatisation to 3,800 metres above sea level.

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Bidding farewell to Santiago de Okola and the stunning views of Lake Titicaca, we headed for the trek phase. The weather, helpful as ever, came crashing down as a mix of hail and snow– not what we were expecting in the dry season!

After conquering two passes in a whiteout, more soup came as a reward for our hard work, followed by a day of rest, music and yet more soup.

A river crossing came as the next challenge. Going barefoot, we braved the freezing cold river and continued the arduous journey over another pass to a second campsite. More soup was relished and devoured by all. Squeezing everyone around the table brought the group a whole lot closer, giving everyone a nice warm feeling after a long day of trekking.

Dulce de leche and bread in our bellies, we set off for Tarija in the very smallest hours of the morning, before being roped to a guide and setting off up the mountain. A long and hard climb filled with exhaustion for all, the views proved a worthy reward with us all feeling like we were on top of the world.

A swift bus journey to Huayna Potosi base camp left all in need of some soup and sleep, before heading off to high camp the following day, where everyone scrambled over rocks towards a glacier.

Tied together in a line, the team moved as the close and solid unit we had become, summiting after a difficult but rewarding five hours.

The views atop Huayna were breath-taking, everyone feeling exhausted but pleased. We all gained valuable skills as well as After a third restful night of sleep in a tent, the group set out

countless memories with a truly wonderful group.

on a final day of trekking before Tarija. An easier hour’s ascent

We are all extremely grateful to the amazing and dedicated

followed by flat terrain and downhill led us around a lake and

outdoor pursuits department who mentored us through the

to the breath-taking sight of Tarija.

struggles, leaving us all with a little bit more resilience. This truly was the trip of a lifetime.

The group embarked on a short skills day before attempting Tarija, allowing us to familiarise ourselves with the skills of crampons and ice axes once more, and to get a sense of the walk to Tarija we would be taking in the dark the following morning.

A t the summit of )!

Huayna Potosi (6,088m

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Upper

Stunning snow scenes savoured in Lake District

temperature inversions providing mesmerising views above the clouds.

Pupils ascended the surrounding fells and took part in winter skills training on the ascent to Wetherlam, including using ice

Seventeen resolute Upper pupils braved the cold as they

axes and crampons.

visited the winter wonderland of the Lake District.

The trip culminated in an ascent up the east ridge of the Old

The aim of the trip to Coniston was to undertake some winter

Man of Coniston which put into practice all the skills developed

hill walking and the conditions did not disappoint with a

over the course of the weekend.

fresh deposit of snow on the night of arrival and calm, cold conditions following on.

Perse Head of Outdoor Pursuits Ben Parker said: “Pupils had an excellent time in some of the finest conditions we’ve ever

As a result, the group were treated to stunning crystal

seen in this long-running trip. They even cooked their very

clear scenes, fresh powder snow, glittering hoar frost and

own Christmas dinner in the youth hostel!”

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Hitting peak form in Scottish Highlands

The intrepid team learned about terrain interpretation, avalanche risk, group management, safe descent and ascent routes on steep slopes, plus anchors and mechanical advantage systems to enact rescues.

Twenty adventurous Upper students went on a

Over the course of the trip, students climbed to the summit

mountaineering mission to the Scottish Highlands in

of Cairngorm Mountain and discovered how to arrest falls

preparation for the PES Summit 12 expedition to Bolivia.

using ice axes in Coire Cas.

They travelled to Aviemore to get a sample of what to expect

Their training concluded with avalanche scenarios, with the

when they tackled the Andes at Easter.

group using transceivers, probes and shovels to locate and

Strong winds and consolidated snow only on the steepest

rescue a buried victim, followed by first aid and improvised

slopes meant the conditions were not ideal, but the students

evacuation to a safe location, while communicating with a

got stuck into training nonetheless, focusing on using ice axes,

‘home contact’ via a real satellite link.

ropes and crampons.

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Upper

Pupils take on expedition to Dalsland Pupils hit the water with exciting Summit 11 canoeing

ensuring it had been prepared correctly using the groups’

expeditions in Sweden during the summer.

cutting tools.

During their six-day expeditions, students covered the entire

The full experience also included sleeping in hammocks

length of Stora Le, a large lake peppered with remote islands,

under tarpaulins, something which most of the pupils had

as they paddled by day and set up camp on a new island

only experienced in training for this trip.

home each evening.

However, despite the hard work of the expedition lifestyle,

The journey was self-sufficient with all food for the trip carried

there was still a chance for students to relax by swimming

by the groups and dinners cooked on open fires. This relied

and rock jumping or developing their wood carving and fire

completely upon foraging for appropriate fire wood and

by friction skills.

PES Ascent Group Fire Section pupils took to the water at Milton Country Park.

Foundation Climbing Club enjoyed a trip to the Peak District.

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Key outdoor skills developed by Ascent Group Around 230 Upper pupils enjoyed experiencing life in the great outdoors at the PES Ascent Group half-term camp.

They began with the task of pitching 48 teepees, 24 dining shelters and eight marquees for their stay at the Abington camp ground.

The purpose of the training camp was for pupils to learn how to use all of the equipment needed to look after themselves and their peers over an extended period outdoors.

As such, patrols purchased their own food from the local supermarket, cooked for themselves and staff/volunteer guests, in addition to taking part in a range of activities.

These included a navigation and team-building trail, as well as learning cutting tools skills, testing out their ability by carving Halloween pumpkins.

Armed with the necessary skills, the Ascent Group travelled to the Isle of Wight for an exciting summer camp.

As well as having the opportunity to put what they had learned to the test, pupils also tried surfing on the nearby beach and built their own assault course in a fun end to the school year.

Paddlesport pupils enjoyed a trip to Scotland including time on Loch Oich and Loch Ness, but they didn’t spot the Loch Ness Monster this time!

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Upper

Climbers learn the ropes in Snowdonia A gripping time was had by Perse Development Climbing Club during their adventure in north Wales.

The students spent three days in Snowdonia National Park practising their climbing and caving techniques, while camping and catering for themselves in the mountainous environment.

They headed to a secluded crag and had a go at single pitch climbing and abseiling with excellent weather and dry rock providing perfect conditions for pupils to push themselves.

Pupils also sampled underground caving, rafting and ziplining at Go Below in Conwy.

Going for Gold (and Silver) on expeditions Adventurous students took part in tough expeditions to earn Duke of Edinburgh Gold and Silver Awards.

Those going for Gold practised in wet conditions in the Lake District before travelling to north Wales for their qualifying expedition, while Silver Award students took on a tough trek of the Brecon Beacons.

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Pupils hit the water at Norfolk Broads The Norfolk Broads provided a scenic setting for Upper pupils to make a splash during their PES Summit 10 trip.

During the visit, pupils had the chance to sail dinghies, paddle in canoes and turn their hand to stand-up paddle boarding.

They also had opportunities to drive the motor cruisers, which acted as both journeying craft and accommodation for each crew. Students socialised, cooked and slept on their boats, taking pride in their temporary homes.

Each crew designed and flew their own flag and competed in various inter-crew competitions including the ‘Broads Olympiad’!

Perse Assistant Head of Outdoor Pursuits Kieron Taylor said: “All pupils enjoyed a varied programme of activities and came away with great memories of a unique experience.”

Paddlesport Club makes waves in Wales Perse Development Paddlesport Club members made rapid progress as they headed to north Wales for a whitewater weekend.

The first day saw pupils travel down

Students headed for the upper section

the lower section of the river, with

of the river on the second day and split

students newer to the environment

into two groups, allowing them to work

brushing up on the basics, while the

at their own pace and develop their

more experienced members were

proficiency on a more challenging set

mentored in the skills needed for group

of rapids.

leadership.

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Upper

Charities and Community Outreach Innovative student reduces period poverty during Ugandan trip Jazzie Heslop (Upper Sixth) was inspired to continue helping the battle against period poverty after visiting a school in Uganda.

She spent a week in Entebbe and met a group of around 30 girls from the city’s Early Learning School, educating them on the menstrual cycle and giving advice on sanitary products and hygiene.

Jazzie also gave the girls ‘period packs’ with contributions donated by the Perse community, including underwear, Vaseline, sanitary pads, flannels, soap and roll-on deodorants.

“Just seeing how happy the kids are despite having so little

She was humbled by meeting the girls at the school and

really impacted me and one of the things I’ve learned is to

explained how difficult life is for them regarding period

be grateful for the simple things we have.”

poverty having heard their stories.

Jazzie plans to return to Uganda during her gap year and

Jazzie said: “It’s quite hard to put into words and until

has launched her own charity scheme, Crimson Tide, to

you’ve experienced it yourself, you’re never going to fully

ensure girls at the Early Learning School receive ongoing

understand what it’s like there.

period-related support.

The Perse gets glowing to raise funds for Christel House Perse staff and students lit up the Upper site when they tried to Glow the Distance to raise money for Christel House Schools.

Around 110 members of the Perse community took part in the event, running or walking five one-kilometre laps of the school grounds in teams, with many dressed in creative and colourful costumes that brought a shine to the night sky.

Each team was challenged to collect five stickers – one being awarded on the completion of each circuit – to represent the Christel House Schools in India, South Africa, Mexico, Jamaica and the USA. BandSoc musicians provided a mix of acoustic tunes and up-tempo rock to keep participants going, while Sixth Form marshals were on duty to ensure everyone stayed on the right track.

Perse Head of Computing and Digital Strategy Paul Baker, who helped organise Glow the Distance, said: “The event went really well. Everyone had a lot of fun and it was a chance to raise some money for a great cause.”

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Fun and laughs at pop-tastic charity Lip Sync Battle Students and staff let their hair down for a fun-filled night of

However, the ‘most innovative’ award went to the computer

music and laughs at the annual Perse Charity Lip Sync Battle.

science department with their jokey spin on Billy Joel’s The Longest Time while dressed in Squid Game outfits.

More than £900 was raised for teenage mental health charity Stem4 thanks to a variety of hilarious takes on the biggest

Form group U6CKB won the ‘most entertaining’ accolade as

names in pop and rock.

they donned double denim and cowboy hats for a priceless performance of Timber by Pitbull and Kesha.

The event was compered entirely by students for the first time with Tengyu Zhao, Harry Knight, Edward de Ferrars

Dr Blaxill, who helped organise the event, commented: “We’ve

Green and Awbery Shapiro (all Upper Sixth) keeping the

always said it’s the thing The Perse does really badly, really

show on the road.

well!

Sixth Form tutors kicked off proceedings as they joined forces

“There was such a variety of performances and different

to perform Koukou Move and despite their early slot on the bill,

interpretations of songs and it was a really fun night. It’s also

they could not be pipped in the award for ‘most horrifying’ act!

great to have raised so much money for such a worthwhile cause.”

From Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood and a mash-up from musicals by the ‘Drama Nerds’ to a Pitch Perfect performance by the ‘Treblemakers’ and the traditional Senior Prefects songand-dance routine, Sixth Form students provided a series of sensational star turns.

The economics department were on the money with their version of Jessie J’s Price Tag and maths staff strutted their stuff with Mark Ronson hit Uptown Funk.

A side-splitting take on Mr Mister’s eighties classic Broken Wings was served up by Director of Music Ben Wingfield and design and technology teacher Anna Wingfield.

Meanwhile, Head of Sixth Form Guy Couper-Marsh and Head of Upper Sixth Rachel Sharp were joined by maths teacher Lilian Blaxill and Director of Wind Bands Viv Halton to summon the spirit of ABBA.

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Upper

Powerful performance brings Perse and primary pupils together

The Upper and Prep choirs linked up with Year 5 groups from St Alban’s Catholic Primary School, Cambridge, and The Bellbird Primary School in Sawston for the O Fortuna concert at Saffron Hall.

Combined with the might of a full orchestra, a massive and

Scores of singers from The Perse and local primary schools

moving sound was created by around 250 singers performing

joined forces in a powerful performance of Carmina Burana.

Orff’s classic work.

The concert was the result of a Perse community outreach project which saw Upper Sixth students mentor pupils from St Alban’s and The Bellbird in music as part of their enrichment sessions.

Perse Director of Music Ben Wingfield was thrilled with how the choirs had risen to the occasion and the reaction from the packed audience.

He said: “Whether it was Year 5 pupils just getting into music or professional musicians, everybody knew the common purpose of what they were working towards and there was a huge amount of support from everyone.”

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“The class was sitting behind the timpani drums which created an atmosphere and an energy that filled us with excitement and joy. It was truly memorable and the whole thing will stay with me forever.”

ST ALBAN’S PUPIL

“The project has helped our children grow in confidence and express themselves. It has made them believe that they can take on difficult challenges and overcome them.”

TERRI COLLINS, THE BELLBIRD SCHOOL

Mr Wingfield felt the response to the Carmina Burana project

He said: “I’m keen to get our pupils to share their musicianship

from St Alban’s and The Bellbird had been amazing.

with people they don’t know, whether it’s in care homes, local churches or primary schools and to get an insight into what

“They were brilliant and really enthusiastic,” he said. “When

it’s like being on the other side of the classroom.”

you’re that age, the size, scale and bawdiness of Carmina Burana is really exciting. When you have the power to make

Bellbird teacher Terri Collins said taking part in O Fortuna

music with 250 people and create something bigger than the

had been a wonderful experience for her pupils.

sum of its parts, that can be immensely enabling, especially

She said: “Mr Wingfield immediately sparked an interest and

if you have people who aren’t so confident.

excitement in our children with his boundless enthusiasm.

“Quite a lot of the children were inspired by the fact that

The Sixth Form students were brilliant in their delivery of

these texts were nearly 1,000 years old and they were singing

the warm-up and our children loved getting to know them.

something from history.

“The concert itself was truly an incredible day and one that

“Our visits to the schools were partly based on games and

our children will remember forever.”

workshops, so they were about having fun. It was our ambition

Meanwhile, Ruth Burrows, St Alban’s teacher, commented:

even with pupils who might not take to singing first time to

“Our children thoroughly enjoyed the O Fortuna project. It was

come away feeling exhilarated.”

fantastic to see them grow in confidence and competence with

Mr Wingfield believed it had also been a useful experience

their singing and to see their sheer enjoyment of the music.”

for the Upper Sixth mentors.

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Upper

Charity Cabaret goes with a swing Perse singers and musicians stole the show as the school’s annual Charity Cabaret came back in its traditional setting.

Marvellously compered by Kashvi Sivasubramaniam and Malachy Wallace (both Upper Sixth), the show included performances from a variety of talented soloists, duos and groups.

From Tom Hammond (Year 11) playing Dave Brubeck jazz standards on piano to William Walker (Year 10) blasting heavy metal hits from Van Halen and Guns ‘n’ Roses on guitar, there was something to suit all tastes.

In amongst the classic cover versions, pianist Gerri Shi (Upper Sixth) was joined by Maggie Zhang (Upper Sixth) for a performance of her own mesmerising composition, Homecoming Book of Odes.

The Perse Big Band gave their sumptuous backing to a range of favourites including Back to Black, You Make Me Feel So Young, Someone to Watch Over Me and They Can’t Take That Away from Me. It was left to the Senior Prefects to provide a traditional fun dance finale to an entertaining evening.

The event raised around £500 for the DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal.

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Pupils take it all in their stride to help wildlife appeal Year 7 pupils put their best paws forward to support an

1km stroll on World Wildlife Day, which this year had the theme

Old Persean’s appeal to raise funds for a major wildlife

of ‘Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation’.

conservation trust.

Inspired by her mission, Year 7 took part in a cumulative

Lucy Chimes (2016) set herself the goal of trekking 259

259km sponsored trek, with each pupil striding around two

kilometres in aid of Wildlife ACT, with whom she is working

kilometres at the Upper School site, to coincide with the

as an intern on conservation projects in South Africa, the

conclusion of Lucy’s challenge.

distance marking the same number of rhinos poached in the

The event took place as part of an animal-themed non-uniform

country in the first half of 2022.

day in aid of Wildlife ACT, while Year 7 youngsters also held

She achieved her Walk for Wildlife challenge with a series of

fun stalls and games with a total of more than £3,000 being

hikes over a period of several months, culminating in a final

raised for the Walk for Wildlife appeal.

It’s a wrap as Perse community supports Christmas shoebox appeal An incredible total of 612 shoeboxes have been donated by the Perse community to boost the Link to Hope Christmas appeal.

The parcels, gifted by staff and pupils at the Upper, Prep

Perse Head of Computing and Digital Strategy Paul

and Pelican, contained a range of useful items including

Baker, who co-ordinates the school’s shoebox appeal, was

hats, gloves, toothbrushes, toothpaste, candles, sweets,

delighted with the response to this year’s shoebox drive.

flannels and small games.

“We are very happy with how the appeal has gone,” he Link to Hope will deliver the shoeboxes to families in

said. “It’s an opportunity to think about people who are

need and elderly people in Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria and

less fortunate and remember what Christmas is all about

Romania in time for Christmas.

by trying to help others.”

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Upper

Students make a song and dance for charity For One Night Only, performers came together in a student-

numbers from musicals as diverse as Our House, based on

led show to raise funds for charity.

the music of eighties band Madness, to the classic Singing in the Rain.

Organised by Sixth Form Charities Committee music and drama leads Alice Wentzell and Imogen Warren (both Upper

All performers came together for a rousing finale of You Will

Sixth), the event was a celebration of musical theatre in aid

Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen.

of EACH (East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices).

Imogen said the response to the event had been tremendous

Alice and Imogen took on compering duties, as well as opening

with a full house in attendance helping to raise around £550

the show as part of the Senior Dance Club’s performance of

for EACH.

One Night Only – inspiring the title of the concert – from hit

She added: “I’m really proud of how it went because at the

musical Dreamgirls.

start it was just an idea and I wasn’t sure if we would actually

Featuring pupils from Year 7 to Upper Sixth, the show included

do it. It would be great if someone could carry it on next year.”

a range of acts from soloists to dance groups performing

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Homelessness charity helped by Perse pupils sleeping out More than 70 Year 9 pupils took part in a sleepout to raise money for Emmaus Cambridge.

They laid their heads down for the night around the Upper School site to raise more than £4,350 for the local homelessness charity.

A group of eight Sixth Form volunteers also supported the sleepout, as pupils participated in a game where they had to earn

Six Emmaus staff and companions – formerly homeless

‘money’ to buy cardboard to sleep on by doing different tasks.

people who have been helped by the charity – came along to tell the pupils about the work of the charity and share their

Perse Charities Co-ordinator Emma Kenzie said: “The pupils

experiences of living on the streets, as well as giving advice

had some really good conversations with the companions and

and snacks to those taking part.

it was fantastic they raised so much for the charity.”

Brass for Africa Students busked around the Upper site during a special weeklong fundraiser for Brass for Africa. The charity provides music and life skills lessons to young and disadvantaged people in Uganda, Rwanda and Liberia.

Local history is brought to life Year 5 pupils from King’s Hedges School enjoyed discovering more about the history and geography of Cambridge during a special trip led by Upper Sixth students and Head Ed Elliott.

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Upper

Sport Hockey U13 Girls (below left) were National runners-up and East champions U14 Girls were County champions U16 Girls (below right) reached the National Tier 1 Cup semi-finals Selma Rahmoune, Millie Ely (both Year 11), Verity Valentine, Rosabel Clarke and Willow Wallman (all Year 10) all earned places in the England Hockey Girls’ Talent Academy.

U12 Boys were East runners-up U13 Boys (below left) were County champions, East champions and fourth at the National Finals U14 Boys were County champions, East champions and sixth at the National Finals U18 Boys (below right) reached the National Tier 2 Cup quarter-finals Laurie Simpson-Biles, Marc Rocca (both Lower Sixth) and Theo Hofer (Year 11) all earned places in the England Hockey Boys’ Talent Academy.

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Boys’ teams head to Barcelona The U18 and U15 boys’ teams travelled to Spain for an action-packed tour.

England debut delight

After a training session at the Olympic Stadium, both teams

Elliott Kirkpatrick (Year 11) helped the England U16 boys’

matches and came away with 1-0 wins.

faced their counterparts from FC Barcelona in their opening hockey squad to a series victory over Ulster U17 following

The U18 side went on to face Castellfedels, while the U15 team

his first international call-up.

played Athletic Terassa, before both teams wrapped up with games against sides from another local club, Iluro.

He featured in two of the three matches at England Hockey’s national centre Bisham Abbey as they ran out

There was still a chance for the players to experience the

2-1 winners overall against an older Northern Ireland side.

sights and sounds of the city, including visits to the Sagrada

Elliott, who plays at full-back, came through several trials

Familia and the Nou Camp (home of FC Barcelona), as well

to earn his place in the 26-player national squad.

as watching a La Liga game between Espanyol and Real Sociedad.

Indoor hockey U16 Boys were County champions, East champions and fifth at the National Finals U18 Boys, U16 Girls and U18 Girls were all County champions

105

Upper

Argentine visitors are good sports Sport was the winner as Perse teams enjoyed a friendly

Teams from Balmoral College also visited the school,

rivalry on the pitch and court with visiting opponents

drawing with the Perse girls’ 1st XI and losing to the U16

from Argentina.

side on the hockey pitch.

Sides from St Luke’s College took on the girls’ 1st and 2nd

As the action moved indoors, plenty of fun was had as the

XI hockey teams, with The Perse winning both matches.

Perse mixed U18 A and B teams met their South American visitors on the volleyball court. The home team won the

However, there was consolation for the Buenos Aires

A fixture, while Balmoral took the spoils in the B game.

tourists as they edged an evenly contested rugby encounter against the Perse 2nd XV at Shelford’s Davey Field.

106

Annual Review 2022-2023

Rugby Yujian Zou (Upper Sixth) played for Northampton Saints U18 Junior Academy.

Tom Meadows and Ollie Brierley (both Year 11) were selected for Northampton Saints U16 Player Development Group.

Alessandro Podesta, Alex Mead, Evan Jarman and Thurston Edwards (all Year 10) were selected for Northampton Saints U15 Player Development Group.

Nico Harter (Upper Sixth) played for Eastern Counties U18 against Middlesex.

Tennis Gabriella Zailer-Fletcher (Lower Sixth) was selected for the Cambridgeshire ladies’ team and reached the girls’ U18 doubles semi-finals at the National Finals of the Play Your Way to Wimbledon competition at the All-England Club.

Jonny Cross (Year 10) won the boys’ U16 singles and doubles titles at the LTA Junior Welsh Open.

107

Upper

Cricket

Batting and bowling highlights

1st XI Boys drew their annual fixture with the MCC. The Perse scored 116 for 9 in reply after the MCC had declared at 208 for 7.

Top 5 batting partnerships

1st XI Girls reached the East final of the School Sport

1.

Magazine Cup.

Bella Howarth (Upper Sixth) & May Busher (Lower Sixth) 248no (1st XI Girls v Oakham School)

U15 Girls reached the East final of the School Sport Magazine 2.

Cup and were County champions in the Lady Taverners

Elliott Kirkpatrick (Year 11) & Ashvik Goel (Year 10) –

indoor competition.

167 (1st XI Boys v Durham School) U13 Girls were County champions in the ESCA Cup and the

3.

Lady Taverners indoor competition.

Ted Bowers & Alexi Demetriou-Foale (both Year 9) 165 (U14 Boys v Norwich School)

Bella Howarth (Upper Sixth) was selected for elite women’s 4.

side The Blaze’s Academy squad.

Bella Howarth (Upper Sixth) & May Busher (Lower Sixth) –

May Busher (Lower Sixth) and Lulu Harding (Year 11) were

137 (1st XI Girls v Forest School)

selected for the Emerging Players Programme with Sunrisers,

5.

the ECB East and London Regional Development Centre

Ritvik Mohan & George Smith (both Year 10) –

for Girls.

134no (U15B Boys v Kimbolton School)

Top 5 Individual innings: 1.

Freddie Doel (Lower Sixth) – 113 (1st XI Boys v Park View Academy of Sport)

2.

Bella Howarth (Upper Sixth) – 109no (1st XI Girls v Oakham School)

3.

May Busher (Lower Sixth) – 108no (1st XI Girls v Oakham School)

4.

May Busher (Lower Sixth) – 103no (1st XI Girls v The Leys)

5.

Girls hit it big with historic MCC fixture

Ashvik Goel (Year 10) 103 (1st XI Boys v Durham School)

Top 5 individual bowling performances 1.

The girls’ 1st XI rose to the occasion when they had the

Taneesh Singh (Year 10) – 5 for 14 (U15 Boys v Norwich School)

honour of facing the MCC women’s side for the first time.

2.

Charlie Stock (Year 11) – 5 for 36 (1st XI Boys v Colchester Royal Grammar School)

They played two T20 matches against their illustrious visitors, with the MCC winning the opening encounter by seven wickets.

3.

Matilda Wells (Year 10) – 4 for 3 (U15 Girls v King’s Ely)

Batting first, The Perse registered a total of 94, including a 4.

knock of 49 from captain Bella Howarth (Upper Sixth), with

Jonathan Tan (Year 9) – 4 for 5 (U14 Boys v New Hall School)

the MCC chasing the score down in the final over, despite Georgia Abensour (Year 10) taking 2 for 8.

5.

George Waller (Year 8) – 4 for 6 (U13B Boys) v Wisbech Grammar School)

The MCC batted first in the second match and set a target of 100 for the girls to win, which they duly did by nine wickets, with the help of 51 from Bella Howarth and an unbeaten 35

Gyaan Pademar (Year 7) took a hat-trick during the

by May Busher (Lower Sixth).

Perse U12 Festival.

108

Annual Review 2022-2023

Netball

U16 team were County champions and

Izzy Rumsby (Lower Sixth), Isabel

Caitlin Wade (Lower Sixth) won a

reached the East finals

Smith, Emily Young, Aimee Reed (all

silver medal playing for the Republic

Year 11) and Ellie Newitt (Year 10) were

of Ireland at the Netball Europe U17

selected for the Saracens Mavericks

Challenge tournament in Gibraltar.

U14 team were County champions and reached the East finals

Future Academy.

She also earned Ireland’s player of the competition award after a series of

U18 team reached the East finals

excellent performances at goal-defence.

They particularly focused on driving on to the ball with intent and feeding shooters from the edge of the circle before putting what they had learned into practice with small matches.

Perse Assistant Director of Sport (Operations) Emma Jones, who trained Rhea between the ages of 14 and 19 in Surrey Storm’s performance pathway squad, was thrilled to have her coach the school’s netballers.

She said: “It was fantastic to have Rhea join us for the day and deliver three attacking masterclasses to our pupils.

Netballers enjoy masterclass with Superleague star

“Rhea got them thinking about their movement and attacking play and our staff also really benefited from her knowledge, experience and passion.

International netballer Rhea Dixon put Perse players through their paces with super skills masterclasses during a special visit to the school.

“It was a brilliant day of netball and

Rhea, who plays for Vitality

England at U21 level, worked on

a player of Rhea’s calibre spend

Superleague team Loughborough

attacking drills with the Perse U14,

time with our pupils and pass on her

Lightning and has represented

U16 and 1st and 2nd VII teams.

knowledge.”

we feel very privileged to have had

109

Upper

Athletics Key individual performances included: Thurston Edwards (Year 10) – Intermediate Boys, 49 points (26 in 300m) Jasmine Christmas (Year 8) – Junior Girls, 47 points (32 in 1,500m) Harry Simpson-Biles (Year 10) – Intermediate Boys, 44 points (28 in 100m) Lola Endacott (Year 8) – Junior Girls, 44 points (25 in 100m) Zara Osei (Year 10) – Intermediate Girls, 44 points Jonathan Tan (Year 9) – Intermediate Boys, 43 points

National Prep Schools Championships

Athene Ross (Year 8) – Junior Girls, 43 points

Jasmine Christmas (Year 8) won Gold in the U14 girls’ 1,500m in a time of 4min 52.4sec.

Charlotte Deacon (Year 10) – Intermediate Girls, 42 points

ESAA Track & Field Cup

Kiana Mackie (Year 9) – Intermediate Girls, 40 points

The Intermediate Boys and Intermediate Girls teams

Verity Valentine (Year 10) – Intermediate Girls, 29 points

reached the East Anglia A finals and the Junior Girls

in 1,500m

qualified for the B finals.

Runner on track at major US indoor meet Isaac Rothwell (Upper Sixth) shared a track with the stars of athletics at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston.

He was invited to compete in the junior boys’ international mile race at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meet, which featured big names such as Laura Muir and Noah Lyles, having been the No 1 ranked U18 athlete in the UK for men’s 1,500m in 2022.

In what was both his first indoor and overseas race, Isaac finished eighth in a time of 4min 14.53sec.

110

Cambridge & District Jubilee Cup win The Perse team, featuring pupils from Year 7 to 10, won the overall event in the local schools competition.

Annual Review 2022-2023

Orienteering The Year 11 boys’ team of Marcus Wentzell, James Rix and Marcus Collins won Bronze in their year group category.

British Schools Score Orienteering Championships The Years 7-9 girls’ team of Amy Keen, Siobhan Monteith (both Year 7), Emily Cheng, Lila Martin, Sophia Candiah, Saachi Sama and Lara Zhang (all Year 9) won Gold in their category.

The Years 7-9 boys’ team of Erik British Orienteering Championships Erik Biernacki-Jablonski (Year 7) won Bronze in the boys’ U12 individual longdistance event and the mixed U12 relay race.

British Schools Orienteering Championships The biggest-ever team of 27 students secured a historic first medal for The Perse in the whole school category by claiming Bronze. The results were based on the placings of the top nine participants from each school within

The Year 10 girls’ team of Hebe Darwin,

Biernacki-Jablonski, James Cheng,

Isabelle Hunter and Emily Cheng

Fionnan Twentyman, Daniel Fannon

(Year 9) won Silver in their year group

(all Year 7), Charlie Fleming, Edward

category. Hebe also won individual

Samson, Alex Darwin (all Year 8), Ryan Stubbs, George Hunter and Steve Tsui

Bronze.

(all Year 9) won Silver in their category.

The Year 8 boys’ team of Alex Darwin, Edward Samson and Charlie Fleming won Silver in their year group category.

Hebe Darwin (Year 10) and Erik Biernacki-Jablonski won Silver in the girls’ Years 10-11 and boys’ Year 7

The Year 7 boys’ team of Erik Biernacki-

categories respectively.

Jablonski, James Cheng, George Hunter and Fionnan Twentyman won

Hannah Wicks (Lower Sixth - girls’

Silver in their year group category. Erik

Years 12-13), Marcus Wentzell (Year 11

also won individual Silver.

- boys’ Year 10-11) and Amy Keen (girls’ Year 7) won Bronze in their respective

their individual categories.

categories.

Cross country ESAA National Schools Cup Junior Girls (U13) were County champions, East Central champions and came 10th in the National Finals.

Senior Boys (U17) were County champions and came fourth in the East Central finals.

Junior Boys (U13) were eighth in the East Central finals.

ESAA Schools Championships

Jasmine Christmas (Year 8) won a British Athletics Cross Challenge Series event in Liverpool.

She beat a field of almost 120 athletes to win the girls’ U13 race in a time of 11min 10sec, six seconds clear of her nearest rival.

Jasmine was also joint-third in the girls’ U13 event at the Mini London Marathon – a 2.6km race along the closing stages of the legendary

Verity Valentine (Year 10) won the Anglian intermediate girls’ race.

111

race – in a time of 9min 00sec.

Upper

Taekwon-do Lulu Harding (Year 11) won Bronze in sparring at the ITF Taekwon-do World Cup in Slovenia.

She came through five rounds to reach the girls’ black tag U60kg semi-finals at the competition in Koper.

Rebecca Alexander (Year 9) was fifth in the special technique event in the girls’ black tag 12-14 category.

Rebecca Alexander and Alysha Djamarani (Year 10) also took part in the European Taekwon-do Cup in Poland.

Curling

Judo

Lina Opel (Year 8) swept all before her as by far the youngest competitor at the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships in Korea.

Antony Villaverde (Year 8) won Gold

At the age of just 13, she teamed up with dad Michael to represent England at

category at the British Judo Eastern

the tournament in Gangneung following on from the pair being crowned national

Area Championships.

in the boys’ 12 to 15 years old U50kg

champions.

Despite finishing bottom of their pool at the World Championships, they faced extremely tough opposition, including the eventual respective gold, silver and bronze medal-winning teams – the USA, Japan and Norway.

Ice skating Alesya Turchyn (Year 9) took part

For Lina, who trains with her dad once a week at Cambridge Ice Arena, it was an

in the Skate London Synchro Open

amazing experience to be playing against the world’s elite curlers.

synchronized skating competition with Lee Valley Skating Club’s Stardust team.

She said: “It was really good fun and I enjoyed playing with my dad. Getting to play against really good teams while we represented England was pretty special.

“We didn’t expect anything and there were one or two games each day, so it was very intense.”

Real tennis Isabella Harvey (Lower Sixth) took part in the World Women’s U19 Real Tennis Championships after being ranked among the top 16 players in the age

Football

group from across the globe.

She also won the doubles and was runner-up in the singles at the British

Lynden Long (Year 8) helped Norwich

Women’s U19 Championships.

City’s U14/U13 team to victory against an international field at the prestigious Ateitis Cup tournament in Vilnius, Lithuania.

112

Annual Review 2022-2023

Talented athletes put through paces at England training centre

the pupils were quickly into their first session on dynamic

Members of the Perse Talented Athlete Programme

of aerobic tests, which included 12 100-metre shuttle runs

were given a glimpse into the lives of professional

and a 400-metre sprint.

movement and stretching drills with coaches from Game Changer Performance.

They then developed sprinting techniques during a speed workout before taking part in a gruelling post-lunch session

sportspeople during a special visit to St George’s Park.

There was no let-up as the pupils moved into the gym for

The school’s top sports stars were put through their

strength and conditioning work before recovering after an

paces as they experienced the rigorous regime elite

intense day of physical activity with a hydrotherapy session,

athletes undergo to stay in peak condition at the training

featuring hot and cold pools and an underwater treadmill.

headquarters of England’s football teams in Burton.

The pupils also enjoyed a tour of the FA facility, including

After the excitement of spotting England men’s team

the main pitch, which was designed as an exact replica of

manager Gareth Southgate eating breakfast in the café,

that at England’s home stadium Wembley.

Sailing

Basketball

Joey Taylor (Upper Sixth) represented the UK in the men’s U19

Spyros Mantis (Upper Sixth) captained Cambridge Cats’

category at the European Youth Windfoiling Championships

U18 side as they won the National Basketball League, East

in Brest, France.

Conference title, winning all but one of their 18 matches.

113

Upper

Shooting BSSRA National Schools Championships Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa (Year 10) won the BSSRA Junior Championships title with a phenomenal total of 199 out of a possible 200, lifting the prestigious Yool Cup after finishing four shots ahead of her nearest rival.

Yining Lan (Year 11) was joint-third and Rena Li (Year 11) joint-fifth, while Alisha Brown, Sophie Ji (both Year 11), Maia Polonius (Year 10) and Arina Milke (Year 8) were joint-eighth.

In the Senior Championships, Eos Liao (Upper Sixth) was the pick of the Perse participants as she scored 295 out of 300

Eleanor Brinsden, Liliana French, Cara Hollis and Eos Liao

to finish joint-second.

were fourth in the fours event, while Rena Li, Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa, Sophie Ji and Maia Polonius were seventh

BSSRA 50m Open Championships

and Peter Santarius, William Smith, Miles Cobley and John Hansen 10th.

The Perse team of Eleanor Brinsden, Liliana French, Cara Hollis, Eos Liao, William Smith, Miles Cobley (all Upper Sixth),

BSSRA 50m Challenge

Sophie Ji (Year 11) and Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa (Year 10) were runners-up in the eights competition.

Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa (Year 10) and Alina Milke (Year 8) were the top scorers in the age 14 and age 12 categories

Peter Santarius, John Hansen (both Upper Sixth), Rena Li,

respectively.

Yining Lan, Kalyani Cole-Parnaik, Esme Hallam, Sophia Chua (all Year 11) and Maia Polonius (Year 10) were seventh in the

Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa and Sophie Ji (Year 11) were

same event.

runners-up in the junior pairs.

Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa and Sophie Ji were runners-

International honours

up in the junior pairs, while Sophia Chua and Maia Polonius were seventh.

Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa (Year 10) was named in the

Cara Hollis was third overall in the individual competition and

Association National Match.

England A team for the British Schools Small-bore Rifle topped the age 17 group, while Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa Liliana French, Eos Liao (both Upper Sixth) and Sophie Ji

was the highest scorer in the age 14 section.

(Year 11) were selected for England B, while Miles Cobley, Cara Cara Hollis and Eos Liao were fourth in the senior pairs, with

Hollis and Eleanor Brinsden (all Upper Sixth) were picked

Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa and Sophie Ji sixth.

for England C.

Rowing Ben Mead (Lower Sixth) put in an ‘oar-some’ performance to clinch the boys’ single sculls title at the National Schools’ Regatta.

After winning his heat and semi-final at Dorney Lake, surged ahead in the final and crossed the line in an impressive 7min 33.88sec, finishing almost 14 seconds ahead of his nearest rival.

Following this success, Ben was named in the Great Britain U19 squad for the Coupe de la Jeunesse in Amsterdam, where he won silver in the men’s double sculls with crewmate Harrison Harper in a time of 6min 35.23sec.

114

Annual Review 2022-2023

Skiing

Tom Meadows (Year 11) reflects on the Perse half-term ski trip to Italy The school ski trip was an extremely enjoyable experience, both on and off the slopes. The Folgarida Marilleva resort accommodated the wide range of abilities whilst also allowing for a bit of exploration, most often led by adventurous Mr Ingram.

With regards to the skiing, days were divided into two

Off the slopes, the morning would start with a filling

parts, split by lunch where all groups reconvened to talk

buffet breakfast. We would return from the day of skiing

about the fun and the tumbles of the morning.

at around 4pm, feeling a little spent but looking forward to the evening to follow.

In the mornings we were led by amusing and very helpful instructors and in the afternoons skied with a teacher that

Each night there would typically be a different activity,

changed each day for most groups.

such as ice skating at the rink opposite the hotel, or just free time to explore the local town. In town, we would

The ‘Beginner One’ group, however, would spend the

stock up at the mini-mart on a few sweets or take a more

morning and afternoon with an instructor getting to grips

leisurely approach by going to the fantastic pizza and

with the basics of skiing prior to the eventful final day,

gelato restaurant La Buca. There the friendly staff would

where they showed off their honed skills.

whip up a delicious pizza in a couple of minutes.

The final day was certainly where the most memories were made. Pupils were divided by year group and people dressed up in choreographed outfits such as convicts, food, traffic cones and superheroes. The most notable outfit of the day was undoubtedly Mr Baker’s full body suit that transformed him into Maui from Moana.

Throughout the day, groups took on slopes that catered for beginners. However, the difficulty of the slopes meant very little as every group just had a laugh jostling and competing with friends, laughing at the stumbles, but picking each other up at the same time.

It was a fantastic end to the week and epitomised the allround good fun, laughs and team-building skills that the ski trip delivered.

115

Upper

GCSE results 2023 Year (% cumulative)

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2023

45

71

86

96

99.5

99.9

100

2022

57

80

93

98

99.6

100

100

2019

62

84

94

98

99

100

100

In 2023, all subjects followed Ofqual-regulated GCSE qualifications. In the pandemic years 2020 and 2021 there were no public exams. Grades were determined by the centre assessment (2020) and teacher assessment (2021). In 2022, the grading standards were set at the midpoint between 2019 and 2021 levels.

GCSE by subject Subject

Candidates

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

Ancient History

40

18

9

9

3

1

0

0

Art

22

6

6

5

3

2

0

0

Astronomy

3

2

0

0

1

0

0

0

Biology

189

102

48

16

19

4

0

0

Chemistry

188

102

45

24

10

6

1

0

Chinese

26

21

5

0

0

0

0

0

Computer Science

94

49

34

5

6

0

0

0

Design & Technology

42

14

15

8

4

1

0

0

English Language

190

40

47

43

43

16

1

0

English Literature

190

47

52

43

38

8

1

1

French

132

56

26

22

18

9

1

0

Geography

134

74

42

14

3

1

0

0

German

13

2

5

1

4

1

0

0

Greek (Classics)

9

4

3

2

0

0

0

0

History

130

53

33

27

13

4

0

0

Italian

4

3

0

1

0

0

0

0

Japanese

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

Latin

36

16

13

3

4

0

0

0

Maths

190

82

62

20

16

8

2

0

Modern Greek

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

Music

26

23

3

0

0

0

0

0

Physics

186

102

49

18

12

5

0

0

Portugese

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

Religious Studies

55

28

14

9

4

0

0

0

Russian

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

Spanish

51

21

13

10

5

0

2

0

Totals

1956

871

524

280

206

66

8

1

116

Annual Review 2022-2023

GCSE results by subject, other year groups Year 10 Subject

Candidates

9

8

7

Chinese

4

4

0

0

German

1

1

0

0

Hebrew

1

1

0

0

Italian

2

2

0

0

Music

9

9

0

0

Subject

Candidates

9

8

7

Chinese

3

3

0

0

French

1

1

0

0

German

1

1

0

0

Italian

1

1

0

0

Music

1

1

0

0

Spanish

1

1

0

0

Turkish

1

1

0

0

Subject

Candidates

9

8

7

Chinese

1

1

0

0

Japanese

1

1

0

0

Year 9

Year 8

Further Maths results Subject

Candidates

9

8

7

6

5

Further Maths

120

70

33

14

2

1

HPQ results Subject

Candidates

A*

A

B

HPQ

32

21

8

3

Results correct at the time of going to print (September 2023)

117

Upper

A level results 2023 Year (% cumulative)

A*

A

B

C

D

E

U

2023

48

78

93

98

99.4

100

100

2022

52

84

96

99

99.6

100

100

2019

49

79

92

97

99

99.3

100

2018

49

84

95

99

99.6

100

100

This table includes Pre U equivalent grades (for years 2018-2022) using the standard D1/D2=A*, D3/M1=A, M2=B, M3=C. The results for 2020 and 2021 were the outcomes of CAG/TAG process and as such are not directly comparable. In 2022, the grading standards were set at the midpoint between 2019 and 2021 levels.

A levels by subject Subject

Candidates

A*

A

B

C

D

E

Art & Design

3

2

0

0

1

0

0

Biology

70

24

16

20

6

4

0

Chemistry

75

30

22

15

6

2

0

Classics: Ancient History

6

1

2

3

0

0

0

Classical Greek

2

1

1

0

0

0

0

Computer Science

18

12

6

0

0

0

0

Design & Technology

2

0

0

2

0

0

0

Economics

54

25

25

4

0

0

0

English Literature

32

16

11

4

1

0

0

French

10

6

4

0

0

0

0

Further Maths

58

38

9

6

4

1

0

Geography

41

20

15

4

2

0

0

German

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

History

47

28

15

4

0

0

0

Italian

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

Japanese

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

Latin

3

1

2

0

0

0

0

Maths

152

71

44

28

8

0

1

Music

6

3

2

0

1

0

0

Philosophy

18

3

7

4

3

0

1

Physics

67

37

19

7

4

0

0

Politics

16

12

4

0

0

0

0

Psychology

32

11

11

5

3

1

1

Religious Studies

7

2

4

1

0

0

0

Spanish

2

0

2

0

0

0

0

Totals

724

345

222

107

39

8

3

118

Annual Review 2022-2023

93%

63%

93% of entries were awarded A* – B grades

135 students attained three or more A* or A grades. 36 students secured four or more A* grades

AS levels for subjects taken in the Upper Sixth Subject

Candidates

A*

A

B

C

D

EPQ

26

17

9

0

0

0

Further Maths

7

n/a

1

3

0

3

Totals

33

17

10

3

0

3

AS levels completed by members of the Lower Sixth Subject

Candidates

A

B

C

D

Computer Science

2

1

1

0

0

English Literature

2

2

0

0

0

Totals

4

3

1

0

0

A levels completed by members of the Lower Sixth Subject

Candidates

A

B

C

D

French

1

1

0

0

0

Turkish

1

1

0

0

0

Totals

2

2

0

0

0

Results correct at the time of going to print (September 2023)

119

Upper

University Destinations 2023 UK Destinations

Oxford

29

London School of Economics

4

Cambridge

17

Newcastle

4

Durham

15

Loughborough

3

Bristol

14

St Andrews

3

University College London

14

Cardiff

2

Leeds

13

Queen Mary, University of London

2

Exeter

10

AECC University College

1

York

10

Brighton and Sussex Medical School

1

Warwick

9

East Anglia

1

Imperial College London

8

Kent

1

Nottingham

8

Lancaster

1

Manchester

7

Liverpool

1

Sheffield

7

Oxford Brookes

1

Edinburgh

5

Reading

1

King’s College London

5

Royal Holloway, University of London

1

Bath

4

Surrey

1

Birmingham

4

Sussex

1

Leicester

4

Total

212

Overseas Destinations Harvard, USA

1

Yale, USA

1

Connecticut, USA

1

Fairleigh Dickinson, USA

1

Hokkaido, Japan

1

Sciences Po, France

1

Leiden, Netherlands

1

120

University Course Choices 2023 Aeronautical Engineering/Aerospace

5

Finance

1

Fine Art

1

Engineering/Aviation Engineering with Pilot Studies/Automotive Engineering Ancient History/Ancient Modern History

3

Food Science and Nutrition

1

Anthropology/Archaeology and Anthropology

2

German

1

Architecture

2

Geography/Global Sustainable Development

16

Arts and Humanities

1

History/History and Italian/History and Politics/

14

International History and Politics Biochemistry

3

Biology/Biological Sciences/Biological

13

and Medical Sciences/Medical Sciences/

Human, Social and Political Sciences

1

Law/Law with Business Studies

15

Mathematics/Mathematics and Computer

9

Neuroscience Business Management/Business and

Science/Statistics

4

Management/Management Chemistry

3

Chiropractic

1

Civil Engineering/Civil and Structural

2

Engineering

Medicine

27

Music/Music, Multimedia and Electronics

4

Natural Sciences

5

Philosophy/Philsosophy and Mathematics/

5

Philosophy, Politics and Economics Classics

2

Computer Science/Computing

9

Earth Sciences

1

Economics/Economics and Management/

16

Physics/Physics and Philosophy

6

Politics/International Relations/European

6

Social and Political Studies/Politics and International Relations

Economics and Economics History/Industrial

Psychology/Psychology and Language

Economics

Sciences/Psychology and Philosophy

Engineering/Electrical and Electronic

16

8

Sociology/Sociology and Criminology

2

Veterinary Medicine

1

Zoology

1

Total

212

Engineering/General Engineering/Integrated Engineering/Mechanical Engineering/Chemical Engineering English/English Literature

5

Information correct at the time of going to print (September 2023)

121

Summer School and Club Pelican The Perse Summer School welcomed 636 children who took part in a range of courses including print making, photography, sports, murder mystery, forensics, graphic design and bushcraft over four weeks. Club Pelican children enjoyed a wide range of fun-filled themed weeks including Superhero Sports, Art Attack and Under the Sea.

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Annual Review 2022-2023

Alumni and Development Widening access to excellent quality education remains one of The Perse’s main priorities. This year, we have supported 76 pupils through means-tested bursaries and continue to work with other schools in outreach projects.

Together, you have raised over £230,000 which has contributed to bursaries, outreach and building work. Thank you to everyone who has supported us this year, whether you have donated your time, money or expertise to The Perse.

How you made a difference this year Money raised

Donors

Outreach

£230,528

385 donors / 63 new donors

We have had partnership projects with

Bursaries

Upper Sixth Leavers’ Gift

76 pupils received a means-tested

£39,023

bursary. 14 received a 100% bursary.

27 primary schools, four secondary schools - including one hospital school - and two sixth form colleges.

Year 6 Leavers’ Gift £2,734

Who gave to The Perse?

What did you support?

Old Perseans: 252

Bursaries: £112,199

Current parents: 58

Unrestricted: £104,444

Past parents and Friends of The Perse: 58

Outreach: £1,293

Current/former staff: 6

Other: £12,592 Total: £230,528

Corporate: 2 Other: 9 Total: 385

Events This year, 60 guests attended the Half Century Club Lunch and we were delighted that so many from the Perse community came to the Benefactors’ Garden Party which was, for the first time, held at the Prep.

Our sports events continue to be popular as the OP Sports Festival had over 100 Old Perseans attending, and it was

Volunteers

fantastic to see cricketers return to The Perse to take part in OP Cricket Day, where they played matches against the boys’

A big thank you to all of the Old Perseans and Friends of The

1st XI and the staff team.

Perse who have donated their time, expertise and skills to the Looking forward, we intend to host even more reunions

School. We have had excellent 42 Society Lectures, career

in the next academic year. Please stay tuned for OP event

talks, training sessions, pupil mentoring and workshops all

announcements soon!

led by members from our talented community.

123

Upper

Prefects 2022-23

Student Council

Huge thanks to all our prefects for their commitment and kindness while supporting the school community.

in the Student Council for all their

Heads of School Emma Harris

Many thanks to everyone involved hard work in helping to give pupils a voice in school matters this

Alex Cross

year, especially our Senior Team including:

Senior Prefects Eduard Baroyan Izzy Bevens Shaaon Bhattacharya Alice Ede Andrew Girgis Alistair Goodman Joely Harrison

Hilary Hawthorne Bella Howarth Harry Knight Isabella Li-Yan-Hui Helena Rothery Kashvi Sivasubramaniam Malachy Wallace

Prefects

Evelyn Marshall Emily Martinez-McCune James McAleer Benedict Meissner Chicko Ndumu Raffie Phipps Florence Prichard Jones Rory Proudfoot Sithu Rajendran George Richards Will Roddis Isaac Rothwell Lucy St Clair Holborn Awbery Shapiro Omer Shaukat Charlie Stalker Saskia Stock Renee Van den Bergh Austin Wang Imogen Warren Holly Webb Alice Wentzell Isabella Wickham Weiqi Ye Tengyu Zhao Yujian Zou

Year 11 Alicia Li-Yan-Hui Versha Wahid

Lower Sixth Joe Bowler

Sophie Allen Liviana Alliott Thea Ancliff Stella Baek Imogen Beaton Isabel Beaumont Olivia Bogathy Hannah Caley Ben Clarke Dominic Collinson Edward de Ferrars Green George Demetriou-Foale Isabella Ellis Sakura Fish Sophie Forster-Lewis Sheen Gahlaut Isabel Gibbes Sneha Goni Angela Han Helen Henwood Jonny Howard Hongli Hu Eos Liao Maria Lovegrove Ananya Malaviya

We thank long-serving staff members Julia Halbert, Jonathan Green and Dennis Strong for their contributions to The Perse as they retire from their roles at the school.

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Gabriel Cirstea Sofia Dance Sudevi Hoare Wincy Jeyaraj Siddharth Kambli Haram Nam Harry Purvis Sourish Sharma Mabel Symes

Upper Sixth Eduard Baroyan Imogen Beaton Andrew Girgis Natasha Haworth Maria Lovegrove Chicko Ndumu Helena Rothery Kashvi Sivasubramaniam Tengyu Zhao

perse.co.uk Written and produced by Claire Ziwa and Aaron Mason.

Design by Steve Welch at Svelte Design.

Cover photo taken in Bolivia by Flo Brimblecombe.

The Perse School is a charitable company limited by guarantee (company number 5977683, registered charity number 1120654) registered in England and Wales whose registered office is situated at The Perse School, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8QF.