City Lights Autumn 2016

CITY LIGHTS Autumn 2016

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR | IGEM | NEW LIBRARY | AUTUMN CONCERT | ECUADOR | ROME

Head’s Editorial Sarah Fletcher This has been an extraordinary term.

It all began with the installation of our new library, the Levene Learning Centre (LLC). It is a wonderful mix of traditional and contemporary; light oak alongside brushed steel and glass echoing the Millennium Bridge and the Shard beyond.

Its glass walls have opened up amazing views across the City of London, connecting the inspiration of the modern world with the first class education our staff provide, and giving proper emphasis to the importance of independent learning, modern ways of working, and creative thought. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Lord Levene and his family for their sponsorship of this project, and for their continued support of the School.

Lord Levene was educated at City of London School, something of which he is very proud. He speaks highly of his time at CLS as helping to shape the extraordinary career that followed. He is currently Chairman of Starr Underwriting Agents but has held numerous Chairmanships and Directorships. The following list is not exhaustive but gives an indication of the breadth of his experience. He was Chairman of Lloyd’s of London, Vice Chairman of Deutsche Bank, Personal Adviser to Michael Heseltine in the MoD, Chief of Defence Procurement, Adviser to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Adviser to the President of the Board of Trade, to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and to the Prime Minister John Major. He has been Alderman, Sheriff and Lord Mayor of the City of London. He was awarded the KBE and is now a Life Peer in recognition of his services to the country. We are extraordinarily lucky to count him as one of our greatest allies, and to retain his direct influence on the School through his membership of the Board of Governors. His vision, clearly expressed in the design brief for the LLC, is of a school strongly aligned to the challenges and imperatives of a changing world, a vision which I strongly endorse.

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You will see some of the highlights of the term in the pages that follow. The boys continue to surpass expectations, producing work of a quality that would grace undergraduate study, entering national and international competitions and winning accolades that do themselves and the School proud.

The entry of ten boys to the IGEM competition (International Genetically Engineered Machines) is a significant achievement and a milestone for the School. This is one of the most prestigious competitions in molecular biology that any university, let alone school, can enter, and the boys not only won a silver medal at the Jamboree in Boston but attracted boundless praise for the quality of their research from leading scientists across the world. CLS is the first school from the UK to have taken a team to the Jamboree, and the boys were the only “high school” group to modify the DNA of a cell in line with their brief with just the facilities of a school laboratory at their disposal. I invite you to read the article in the pages that follow.

The Senior School production of Jesus Christ Superstar was breathtaking. The choreography, staging, and technical prowess were excellent, and the music and acting were little short of astonishing in their power and professionalism.

The Autumn and Christmas Concerts were ambitious in their range and highly successful in showcasing the energy of music in the School.

As I write, the Carol Service in the Temple Church, always moving and beautiful, is yet to come. The sports teams have done themselves proud, as have those representing the School in chess, debating, spelling, and mathematics, to name but a few.

Congratulations to all the boys for a very special term.

Autumn 2016

Charity Appeal

Last year’s charity appeal raised money for Farm Africa. Boys from OG to Sixth Form worked tirelessly to raise an impressive total of £63,812.32. Our fundraising broke records at a number of events, including the Quiz, the Jazz Concert, the Christmas Busking and the Sponsored Row (which more than doubled the previous record). The reintroduction of the Apprentice-style £10 Challenge for OG and First Form produced some noteworthy returns, and the initial Ceilidh Evening and 24-hour Sponsored Fast were both highly successful. UniverCity Challenge,

first introduced in the Summer Term, has already been expanded into an eightteam competition for this year’s appeal for Centrepoint.

With generosity having been selected as a central pillar of the school’s ethos, it is easy to see why the charity appeal is such a key part of CLS life. Every year, our appeal raises more than any other annual school appeal in the country.

But while we raised an average of £350 for every school day last year, which is enough to help one family out of poverty

CSO: Coaching and Mentoring

with Farm Africa, the appeal is about much more than the number on the cheque. One of the key aspects is that the charity is chosen democratically. Each year, between the Nominations Assembly and the voting day, there is a week of frantic lobbying during which boys try to convince each other of the merits of their favourite charity. Supported by the excellent framework of the charity appeal, the CLS community will continue to have a lasting impact on a wide range of excellent causes for many years to come.

CLS has a strong record of helping the wider community, but we also remember those who need encouragement in school. This term, 80 Junior Sixth Formers and 30 Fourth Form boys volunteered to become either coaches or mentors to younger pupils.

The academic programme pairs up older and younger pupils. Not only can this improve grades and academic confidence, but it can also rekindle a pupil’s interest in a subject.

The pastoral mentoring programme is new this

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year. Whereas coaching focuses on academic issues, mentoring aims to offer boys the opportunity to talk through problems, listen to advice of someone who has had similar experiences, to gain tips on how to become more organised or simply to provide someone to listen. All 20 of the pastoral mentors were trained externally by NCVO/ Mentoring and Befriending and they found the day extremely useful not only in their work as mentors, but also in developing a skill to take into the workplace.

Autumn 2016

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Biology: IGEM

A team of boys from CLS has been awarded an impressive Silver Medal in the School’s first-ever entry at IGEM, the international competition for Synthetic Biology, in which high schools, undergraduate teams and postgraduate teams play against each other and against the same set of tough criteria.

Clemens Von Stengel, Cameron Anderson, Naail Kashif-Khan, Jake Mendel, FrederickTyler MacBruce, Gulzar Uddin, Elias Manuelides, Jake Hung, James Ng, and Michael O’Connor have worked tirelessly since May to create new gene constructs with which to transform cyanobacteria for

easier use in Synthetic Biology and to be more efficient when used in the Biological Photovoltaic cell. The work carried out by these boys continued into the summer holiday. It is worthy of third and fourth year undergraduate students and the levels of both practical and theoretical science involved were beyond anything studied at school level.

Clemens, Cameron, Naail, and Jake, along with Instructor Mr Zivanic made it to Boston over Half Term where, surrounded by three thousand other synthetic biologists from all over the world, they represented the team

John Locke Essay Prize

Exam Results

Congratulation to all those who took public examinations last year. The results speak for themselves. At A Level the results were 93.6% A*-B; 73% of candidates scored A*/A. There were 62 boys who got straight A*/A grades. 2016 was a recordbreaking year for GCSE results, with 92.5% A*/A, of which 72.2% were A*.

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at the competition’s Giant Jamboree. They presented their project and findings in front of the judges and their fellow competitors, many of whom were under- and postgraduates from leading universities. As well as achieving a silver medal, they were nominated for best wiki. The praise from university academics was high, not least because the team’s practical had been done at CLS with minimum help from Universities.

The 2017 team is now being put together and we will follow their progress with interest.

The John Locke essay competition encourages young people to investigate a subject beyond the curriculum; their submissions are judged by Oxbridge academics. A winning essay is chosen in four categories: Philosophy, Politics, Economics and History. There is also an overall prize for the best essay.

Of the thirty people invited to the John Locke Institute Gala Dinner there were seven boys from CLS. Many congratulation to Victor Wang, Victor Jack, Rupert Thomas, Oliver Schönle, Jamie Robertson, Jake Simms and Rahul Shah who represented the School admirably in this scholarly enterprise. A special mention to Rahul who was the overall

winner of the Politics section. His essay ‘Is Political Ignorance a Problem? What is the Solution?’ was awarded first prize in the Politics category. For a boy to achieve this at the end of his Fourth Form year is quite exceptional.

Oliver Schönle was highly commended in the Philosophy Section. Victor Wang wrote in the Economics category on What proportion of GDP should be controlled by the state? This also was highly commended. Victor Jack considered the nature of political consent. He was commended for this entry, as was Rupert Thomas in the Philosophy category. Very well done to all who entered.

Autumn 2016

New Library

After three years of discussion and planning, the new School Library finally opened to Staff and Boys in the first week of the Autumn Term. There was much anticipation as the Head cut the ribbon across the entrance. The objectives of the refurbishment were to make the Library a brighter and more comfortable area for study, research and recreational reading. There is an improved outlook on the amazing vista of iconic London landmarks; the aim was to maximize the opportunities to display these and incorporate aspects of them into the design. Flexibility is at the heart of the new design. Mobile shelving, seminar rooms with variable configurations, a cabinet of laptops, smart study desks and comfortable seating combine to create an excellent new resource. The formal opening will take place later in the year.

Chess at Eton College

A team of six boys from CLS took part in the English Chess Federation (ECF) Rapid Play Tournament at Eton College. Sacha Brozel, Partha Mulay, Jacob Yoon, Aadarsh Saravanan, Anthony Bolchover and Dylan Hung quickly established a strong position and moved towards the top table winning our first couple of matches easily. In the end the CLS boys finished seventh out of 50 teams.

CITY LIGHTS

Computer Science at UCL

This term, a group of Sixth Formers with an interest in studying Computer Science attended the Computer Science in Action conference at the Institute of Education, UCL. The day started with a talk by author and BBC correspondent, Gordon Corera about the history of hacking, surveillance, digital espionage and why cyber security is a growing industry. Professor Leslie Goldberg from Oxford University discussed algorithm complexity, fast algorithms and

the unsolvable P v NP problem.

After lunch, the engineer Abigail Hutt shared her insight into engineering for the Red Planet and her contribution to the ExoMars Rover Project. Professor Conor McBride of the University of Strathclyde explained the use of Functional Programming through the use of the sorting code. The day concluded with eminent scientist Sir Nigel Shadbolt of Oxford University discussing the practical impact of artificial intelligence now and in the future.

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Drama: Jesus Christ Superstar

The Drama and Music Departments have had a very busy term preparing for Jesus Christ Superstar. Finally, the School got to enjoy the fruits of their labours over a brilliant fournight run in late November. Director Miss Dobson had already explained in Assembly that this is a musical whose themes stretch beyond the biblical story. She had given the production a clever modern makeover, making stylish use of projection in order to underline the struggle the main characters face in the conflict of duty and personal loyalty. Freddie MacBruce gave a standout performance as Jesus, who is depressed by his followers’ misinterpretation of his message while he struggles with his own agonising personal doubts.

His performance of Gethsemane was truly heart-breaking. Jamie McDermott was compelling as the disillusioned Judas; Mathilda Whitehead was a soulful and tender

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Mary Magdelene. Other notable performances were Sol Alberman as the authoritative Pilate and Danny Traves as the flamboyant, pleasureseeking Herod. Above all, it was the commitment, energy and focus of the entire ensemble which gave the show its winning blend of pace and professionalism. Nowhere was this more evident than in the sharp, imaginative choreography of the big company numbers. None of this would have been possible without the talents of the entire band and crew. Thanks go to the stagehands, Anna Kalish, the tech team, Oliver Pitt, Simon Cummin, Laura Dobson, Joe Oliver, Chris Traves, Megan Franklin, the wonderful Band, Mr P. Harrison, and, of course, the entire cast for their enthusiasm, commitment and fantastic work on this show. It was a production whose message will continue to resonate for some time to come.

Autumn 2016

Autumn Concert

This term’s Autum Concert was of an exceptionally high standard. Led by Jorrit Donner-Wittkopf, the First Orchestra played the Suite from Henry V and the Hall was filled with the beautiful sound of the Overture and the subsequent haunting Death of Falstaff. The sensitivity of the play­ing was consummate as they moved onto the Charge and Battle and the Agincourt Song. Mr P. Harrison conducted with familiar panache; his orchestra are an absolute joy to listen to.

The Grand March from Aida was the next treat and the Second Orchestra really

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Lunchtime Concert

delivered. Led by Hieu Wilkinson and with Miss Jones conducting, this was a sensational piece of playing. The musical talent from many younger players making their debut was mag­nificent.

The Junior Strings came next and their rendition of Simple Symphony by Benjamin Britten was terrific and, not to be outdone, this was followed by the Senior Strings play­ing Bartok’s Romanian Dances. Jazz Orchestra finished the evening with some aplomb and the four pieces, admirably conducted by Mr J. Harrison, were exciting and memorable.

In November CLS’s two string orchestras made their annual visit to St Lawrence Jewry, the Corporation Church at Guildhall Yard. The Junior String Orchestra gave an assured performance of the last two movements of Britten’s Simple Symphony. The third movement encompasses a wide range of expression from the most tender to some fully gutsy string playing. JSO were more than equal to this task, with every section having its moment in the limelight. Next came Victor Wang who dazzled and moved the audience with a recital within a recital on the church’s impressive piano, playing works by Liszt, Brahms and Rachmaninoff. The programme ended with the Senior String Orchestra performing Bartok’s much-loved Romanian Dances in which the leader Jorrit Donner-Wittkopf provided a beautiful violin solo.

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Classics: Trip to Rome

House Competition The House Competition has been in full flow this term, with many competitions making welcome returns and a few in remodelled form.

Old favourites have included the Volleyball, swimming and Creative Writing (thanks to Mr Norman for the latter), whilst Mr Rey ran a highly successful revamped team squash tournament.

Crossword returned following its successful trial last year, and Dr Dugdale has taken over the running of Chess to keep the sport on the roster. At the time of writing Seeley are leading the way and top the table, but there are lots more points on offer as we go into the new year, with three competitions making their debut (Music, Drama and Languages spelling bee).

It is definitely all to play for!

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During Autumn Half Term a group of fifteen boys, accompanied by Mr Swann and Mr Pile, spent several busy days sight-seeing in Rome during Half term.

The Colosseum, which is three times the height of CLS, was their first stop.

They saw where the gladiators entered the arena and where the Romans set up pop-up shops selling food to the spectators. The sights continued en route to dinner, as they passed the Victor Emmanuel monument and the house where Napoleon’s wife stayed.

Day Two was the Vatican Museums and

Model United Nations

St. Peter’s Basilica after which, fuelled

by Pizza to go, the group travelled out to the Borghese gallery on the outskirts of Rome. It was back into town on Day Three for the Palatine Hill and the Forum, before defying the train strike to reach the coastal town of Ostia, with its remarkably well-preserved houses and the remains of its pubs, baths, gymnasium and amphitheatre.

The final day was spent back in town, taking in the Spanish steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and a last gelato to see them on their way home.

Seven future diplomats from the Fifth Form and Senior Sixth, representing the interests of Yemen and San Marino, were joined by 900 students from around the world at this year’s Paris Model United Nations.

In addition to sampling the best of Parisian culture and food, the boys threw themselves wholeheartedly into the conference, discussing issues as varied as genetically modified crops, drone strikes and privacy online.

Directed by Mr Crowther, the boys proved themselves highly committed to furthering their country’s interests, imploring delegates from other nations to back their clauses and amendments over breakfast in the hotel and on crowded metro journeys.

Although all the boys impressed with their excellent research and tireless diplomacy, of particular note was Sean White, whose eloquence and commitment to Yemen’s interests in the Disarmament Committee earned him a commendation by the committee chairs, upholding the school’s perfect record. This bodes well for CLS’s own MUN conference in March.

Autumn 2016

Geography: Trip to Ecuador

“Safe in a dangerous country, poor in a rich country, happy where the music is sad.” So wrote Alexander von Humboldt, one of the pioneering explorers of Latin America, about Ecuador. And weren’t CLS about to find out! From landing in Quito our travelling group was exposed to extreme altitude, heat and humidity, to the most active tectonic landscape in the continent and to a country deprived in financial means, but one of the most resource rich in South America.

The result: a fantastic journey into a country that gave glimpses of beauty and wonder throughout our travels, before offering an even better one round the next corner! What better way to explore the country than white water rafting down an Amazon tributary, biking round active volcanoes and trekking the high plains before bedding down in a traditional hacienda. From the sensory overload of the rainforest, to the desolate isolation of the almost lunar landscape of the high altitudes, Ecuador is truly a land of wonder and, thanks to the organisational efforts of Miss Low, one that we were fortunate enough to spend ten days exploring.

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Autumn 2016

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Societies

One of CLS’s greatest advantages is its location in the heart of the square mile. We have been most fortunate once again to be visited by an impressive number of speakers. The following is a just a snapshot of this term’s talks.

Economics Society: Ben Broadbent and Alexander Jan Baroness Mendelsohn CBE Vice President EMAE, Facebook

Economics Society’s first talk of the year was from Ben Broadbent, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. He spoke to a packed audience in the Great Hall, focusing particularly on the role of central banks and the divisive policy of Quantitative Easing.

Beginning by introducing the new £5 note, he then talked about the functions of money. He explained

that the two key roles of the bank are monetary policy and financial stability, before debunking media myths about QE. Later in the term the Society welcomed Alexander Jan, who came to talk to the Sixth Form about the benefits of the night tube. His explanation as to how the government works out the viability of such a major project was especially enlightening.

In November Baroness Nicola Mendelsohn CBE agreed to come down to Queen Victoria Street to talk and answer questions from a lively CLS audience of boys in the Fourth Form and above. Currently the Vice President of Facebook in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Mendelsohn’s main point was that the “fourth industrial revolution” – the technological revolution – w ­ as taking place at such unprecedented speed and scale that we had entered pretty much into a “state of constant disruption”. She emphasised the role of smartphones, pointing out that in the space of five years they have shifted from their status as a luxury item to an everyday necessity. After a lively question and answer session, Baroness Mendelsohn concluded with the sobering statistic that an estimated total of $10tn would be added to the world’s GDP if every boardroom were made up by an equal number of women and men.

Politics Society: Peter Hitchens

An animated man of great determination in spreading his view of the world and of skill in defending it, Peter Hitchens — a longtime contributor for The Mail on Sunday and notable political commentator — visited CLS in the penultimate week of November. He was quizzed and challenged on his views, which he brands as “social conservative”. Hitchens voiced his concerns at the state of the modern world, with the rise of “low quality” right-wing leadership emerging internationally. This absorbing and intriguing speaker moved to the Great Hall, where he faced further questioning. His conclusion is that Britain post-Brexit is facing its largest constitutional crisis since Henry VIII’s break with Rome. Unfortunately, Mr Hitchens had no solutions, but we are grateful to him for coming to CLS and for encouraging such lively debate.

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CLS welcomes HRH The Princess Royal In November Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal visited the School to meet members of the National Firefighters Memorial Trust. The Princess Royal was joined by the Lord Mayor to attend a service held for the illumination of the Fallen Firefighters National Memorial, which is located at Carter Lane Gardens.

This involved a dedication and

switching-on ceremony. Prior to the memorial event, the Firefighters held a reception in the Great Hall at the School. A small number of pupils and staff were able to meet HRH including Charlie Pentol-Levy, Freddie Bartlett-Evans, George Rosenfeld, Abe Tolley, Ziying Zhang, Misha Handley and Felix Wallop.

Autumn 2016

Basketball

It has been a promising term for the CLS Basketball Club. Preparations began in August with a week-long preseason training camp packed full with basketball, strength and conditioning and yoga. The regular training for the Second Form and below is already bearing fruit, with over twenty boys attending on a weekly basis. A number of the younger boys have already

represented teams in year groups above their own and the future looks positive. Highlights of the U18 season include Sevenoaks going down 35-59 and St Paul’s could only muster 29 points to CLS’s 52.

With the business end of the season around the corner, we look to the Senior team to continue to raise the profile of CLS Basketball in the National Schools Competition.

Water Polo

Football Third Former Ollie O’Neill is the youngest boy ever to play for the CLS 1st XI. He came on at half time in the London Schools’ Cup and scored two goals in a 4-2 win. Ollie has recently signed to Fulham, with whom he has beaten Chelsea and West Ham. His actual age group is U14 and their team is currently through to the last 64 of the English Schools’ FA Cup, in which over 700 teams compete. The highlight was beating National Champions Whitgift in the fourth round, with Ollie scoring the winning goal.

Water Polo at CLS has had a great season at all levels, with success at the top of the School inspiring younger teams. The Sixth Form team qualified for the second round of the London Schools’ League with very good performances against Queen Elizabeth Barnet and London Oratory.

The Fifth Form side has only lost one of its six matches this term; the Fourth Form side has also performed well and qualified for National Plate

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competition. Elsewhere, the Third team has been training well and won four of their five matches this term. A highlight for the Second Form team was a powerful 10 – 5 victory against Alleyn’s. With the First Form club growing and gaining momentum, there are some promising players who are looking forward to their first taste of competitive Water Polo and continuing the tradition of aquatic success at CLS.

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Other News 1

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One of the many highlights of the Autumn Term has been Mr Norman’s enormously popular Open Mic events. Pupils are invited to share music, poems, jokes and any number of other talents. [1] The School held its annual Remembrance Service on 11th November. Wreaths were laid beside the memorial plaque in the School’s courtyard by the Head and Chair of Governors, Ian Seaton. The CCF brass band accompanied proceedings, with the last post played by Joseph Emanuel. [2] [3] Congratulations to Rory MacGregor Smith for winning last term’s City Life Photography competition. His entry of a pupil running the courtyard dash in the pouring rain was a deserving winner, and won the first prize Apple Watch.

Runners-up included Oscar Simms, Adam Zerlin, Gabriel Kagan, and Claudia Wordsworth (parent).

Each won a £20 book token. We hope to run another photography compe­tition soon, so watch this space! [4]

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Pupils receive their A Level exam results [5] Jack Curtin performs a jumping lunge during fencing practice. [6]

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Next Term Dates Spring Term 2017:

Tuesday 10 January – Friday 31 March

Spring Half Term:

Monday 13 – Friday 17 February

Contact information Web www.cityoflondonschool.org.uk Tel 020 3680 6300 Twitter @CityLondonBoys Email admissions@cityoflondonschool.org.uk

CITY LIGHTS Autumn 2016

City of London School finance@cityoflondonschool.org.uk Queen Victoria Street head@cityoflondonschool.org.uk London, EC4V 3AL