News From Tonbridge, Spring 2020

A round-up of school news, events and achievements

Spring 2020

Independent Boys’ School of the Year – Page 2 Pages 2 & 3 University Prizes Aerospace

Pages 4 & 5 Poet Laureate Music Art

Pages 6 & 7 Space Sport Trophies

Page 8 Fundraising Sri Lanka Clubs

And the winner is … Tonbridge School and imaginative ways in which schools prepare young people for their futures.

The judging panel praised Tonbridge for its programme of co-curricular breadth and depth, for developing a keen sense of social responsibility in its boys, for showing environmental commitment and for its record of academic and pastoral excellence.

This year’s awards attracted a record number of entries from hundreds of independent schools across the country. l James Priory with the trophy

Tonbridge has been named the Independent Boys’ School of the Year in a prestigious national awards ceremony.

Set up to celebrate the student experience, the Independent Schools of the Year awards highlight the varied

The school’s Headmaster, James Priory, said: “This award is a tremendous tribute to the hard work, dedication and commitment of our staff and boys.

There is much to celebrate in our thriving school, and I’m delighted to see recognition too for our outreach work, the boys’ volunteering activities and the good use of our facilities made by the wider community.”

Arkwright Scholarships Lower Sixth boys James Goh (MH4) and Ernest Ng (FH4) have both won renowned Arkwright Engineering Scholarships.

The most prestigious award of its type in the UK, an Arkwright Scholarship has the aim of inspiring and nurturing school-age students to become the country’s future leaders in engineering.

James, pictured below right, is being sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers and Ernest (left) is being sponsored by the Arkwright Benefactors Trust. The companies offer support in various ways including hands-on work experience, advice on curriculum projects and the allocation of a personal mentor.

Medals for Maths masters Tonbridge boys put in top performances in a national competition testing mathematical ability.

In the British Maths Olympiad Round 1, seven Tonbridgians were awarded distinctions for being ranked in the top 25 per cent of all competitors.

They are Ben Gardner (CH4), Hayden Lam (FH2), Victor Lin (MH4), Isaac King (CH1), Kevin Lee (MH5), Godwyn Lai (MH5) and Sherman Yip (HS4).

Four of these boys – as pictured above, Godwyn, Kevin, Sherman and Isaac – also received medals for achieving a place in the national top 100. Seven distinctions equals the school’s best performance in the British Maths Olympiad, and four ‘top 100’ prizes is its best showing to date.

Sixth Formers head to leading universities The school’s Upper Sixth students are starting to look forward to the next phase of their education at many of Britain’s elite universities.

A total of 18 Tonbridge pupils have recently been offered places to study at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Subjects they will be reading include Architecture, Economics, Engineering, English Language and Literature, Maths, Maths and Computer Science, Modern Languages, Natural Sciences, Oriental Studies, PPE and Physics, which means that many of the school’s departments have played a key part in this success.

The total is made up of nine offers from Cambridge and nine from Oxford, and comes at a time when competition from national and international candidates is stronger than ever.

l Some of the boys who have won places at Oxbridge

Last year Tonbridge leavers had 100 per cent success rates with applications to Warwick, Manchester and York universities, and success rates of over 90 per cent for Exeter, Bristol, Nottingham, Bath and Birmingham.

Each year Tonbridge leavers also take up places at other elite universities such as Imperial College, London School of Economics, University College London, Edinburgh, St Andrews, The number of Durham, Bath, Bristol, Manchester, Tonbridge boys receiving York, Warwick, Leeds and Exeter. The Oxbridge offers since large majority of the Upper Sixth 2015 achieve their first-choice destination.

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Aerospace accolade

A proportion also choose to study abroad and progress to leading universities around the world. Recent destinations have included Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, the University of Toronto and Hong Kong University.

‘Best in UK’ for Physics

Tonbridge Sixth Formers took the top prize at the prestigious Schools Aerospace Challenge.

Entrants had to write a report about potential threats posed by unmanned aerial vehicles (such as drones) to UK airspace, finding practical solutions.

They also had to present their ideas to an audience of aerospace industry professionals.

The winning team, ‘Dye Hard’ – Ollie Poole (WH5), Cristian Smith (PH5), Chris Leigh (WH5) and Ben Burgess (WW5) – were presented with a trophy and cash prizes at a London ceremony.

Tonbridge boys emerged as the ‘Best in the UK’ after taking part in the International Physics Brawl, a three-hour online contest. More than 400 teams from across the world competed for top honours and were awarded points for problem-solving.

In the Upper Sixth contest, a Tonbridge team was awarded first place in the UK, and 21st in the world. A Lower Sixth team achieved 9th place in the world, making them the highest placed UK team at that level.

Boys wax lyrical after Poet Laureate class

Boys said they were ‘excited’ and ‘inspired’ by the visit of Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate.

Simon held a creative writing workshop, where he gave boys tips and advice on their own storywriting and poetry. He also took part in a question and answer session with Lower Sixth students who are studying his works for their English A-level.

“The workshop was brilliant … you could tell the boys were hanging on every word,” said Patrick Davies Jones (Sc4). “He pushed us to find more unconventional ways to express our thoughts, summing up his approach as ‘write whatever you want as long as you do it in an interesting way’.”

Archie Capon (WH5) added: “It was probably the best experience of my life so far.”

In the evening, he gave a reading at the EM Forster Theatre in a sold-out event which included a book signing and questions from the audience.

English teacher Peter Carpenter said: “It was wonderful to see the Theatre full for a poetry event, and Simon’s workshop was inspirational.”

A great day in court

Hello to the Hospice

A Tonbridge team won a place in the regional final of the Independent Schools Mock Trial Competition.

The event gave students the opportunity to work together in teams as prosecutors and defence barristers. Cases were prepared by legal professionals and the trials were carried out in front of actual judges at Inner London Crown Court.

Hospice in the Weald and Tonbridge School have launched a partnership which aims to greatly benefit the wider community. The news comes as the Hospice plans a series of events throughout 2020 to celebrate its 40th anniversary.

Those taking part had to display skills in teamwork, public speaking and verbal reasoning. Teacher Lindsay McDonald, who helped prepare the team, said: “This was a superb performance by the boys.”

The partnership sees Tonbridge boys and staff taking part in voluntary and fundraising activities, while the school is also hosting a series of Hospice events this year. The first of these is the Art of the Weald exhibition on 28 and 29 March.

l The school’s latest concert season took its inspiration from the city many consider to be the musical capital of the

world – Vienna. Five concerts, with the theme of Vienna:Tradition and Innovation, featured performances by the school’s musicians, including the Chapel Choir, String Ensemble and soloists.

The series finale saw the school’s Symphony Orchestra taking to the stage for A Viennese Symphony, combining movements by Haydn, Mahler, Bruckner and Mozart.

Phileas pays a flying visit

A truly wild exhibition!

Work by five internationally renowned artists was on display for ‘Beast’, an intriguing exhibition at the Old Big School Gallery. Featuring photography, paintings, sculptures, drawings and film, the artists explored the human-animal divide in a unique exhibition which was only staged at Tonbridge.

Beast included large-scale drawings of a gorilla using sign language to communicate, a five-foot sculpture of an elephant boy in pyjamas, a pipe-smoking cat and a round oil painting depicting a minotaur’s eye.

More than 50 characters were involved in a madcap journey by train, boat, sledge and even elephant in the production of Around The World In 80 Days.

The show told the story of wealthy gentleman Phileas Fogg, who with his French valet Passepartout leaves behind Victorian London for the exotic sub-continent in a race against time. The lead role was played by Hector Day-Lunn (MH4), with Zac Sampson-Regal (FH4) as Passepartout. The cast also featured pupils from three girls’ schools: Tonbridge Grammar School, Weald of Kent and Hillview. l A Whole School Concert is taking place on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 March. Hywel Davies,

the school’s Composer in Residence, has written a new piece, The Argo, which half the school will perform each night. It tells the story of Jason and the Argonauts, their journey to Colchis and the quest for the Golden Fleece.

OT Zak shows he’s up to the Test In the 4th Test in Johannesburg, Zak (WH 2011-16) became the youngest Kent cricketer to score 50 in a Test for England.

He was 21 years, 10 months and 22 days, which beat the record of Colin Cowdrey (also an OT).

Zak made his Test debut against New Zealand in November last year, and began to establish himself in the series in South Africa with innings of 25 (2nd Test), 44 (3rd Test) and 66 and 24 (4th Test).

He took two vital catches in the 2nd Test in Cape Town, which saw England clinch a thrilling victory. l Picture by Max Flego

Former Tonbridge pupil Zak Crawley wrote himself into the England cricket record books during the national team’s tour of South Africa.

Golf teams lands trophy

Zak has become the 8th Tonbridgian to play Test cricket for England.The Tonbridge line-up of England cricketers reads: J C Hartley, K L Hutchings, M C Cowdrey, R M Prideaux, C S Cowdrey, R M Ellison, E T Smith, Z Crawley. l Tonbridge was named in The Cricketer

magazine as one of the top senior schools in the country for the sport. The Cricketer noted: “Overall, 67 first-class cricketers, 49 county players and 7 (now 8) England players came through the school.”

Tonbridge’s golf team has won the West Sussex Invitational Tournament scratch trophy.

James Earl (JH5), Fergus Jacobs (MH5), James Chapman (JH5) and Harrison Blake (WW5) saw off tough competition from schools including Eton, Wellington, Charterhouse, Westminster and Harrow. It is the first time that Tonbridge has won this prestigious tournament. l The Ist XI hockey team

won the Frank Mason Cup for the second time in three years. In a contest which saw 18 teams competing from Kent, the side achieved six wins out six, including a thrilling 3-2 victory in the final against St Lawrence College.

Ben Earl made his England debut in the Six Nations Rugby Championship. Ben (JH 2011-16), who plays for Saracens, came on in the second half in the win against Scotland. He had previously represented England at U16, U18 and U20 level.

Super Sevens bring the shield home The Rugby Sevens side lifted silverware after the first tournament of the season, which took place at Shiplake College. The 1st VII recovered from an early defeat in the group stages to go undefeated for the rest of the day, conceding only one try. The shield final saw a fantastic display, with Tonbridge beating Bedford School 38-0.

Students’ experiment is heading into space

A science experiment designed by a team of students from Tonbridge School and Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School is heading for the International Space Station.

The experiment will be placed aboard NASA spacecraft Space X, CRS 20, launched to the International Space Station and carried out by astronauts based there.

The students came up with their entry as part of the ‘Mission Discovery’ competition run by ISSET, the International Space School Educational Trust, which took place at Tonbridge last year.

The winners, pictured above, were Sixth Formers Thomas Stack (FH5), Edward Barry (Sc5) and Godwyn Lai (MH5), all from Tonbridge, and Sarah Prescott and Abigail Colley from Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School.

The winning team carried out an investigation into whether yeast (specifically, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae species of yeast) can successfully sexually reproduce under the stress of microgravity.

Edward said: “Knowing that something I directly contributed to will be put into space is an incredible feeling. Teamwork was the key to succeeding.”

On Top of the World . . .

A blossoming project Sherman Yip received a Cambridge Top in the World award following his IGCSE Music exams in 2019.

This prestigious accolade is made by examining board CAIE (Cambridge Assessment International Education) to those who achieve the highest standard mark in the world for a single subject.

A ‘cherry blossom avenue’ and Oriental garden is part of a new scenic walkway outside Old Judde, home to the Modern Languages Department.

The trees have been funded in part by Chinese parents, with additional contributions from the Tonbridge School Foundation. The project owes much to the vision of teacher Xiang Yu, who is pictured with James Priory planting the first tree.

School has a fantastic year of fundraising

l Pictured, clockwise from top left: Alex Trigg with Child Action Lanka’s Debbie Edirisinghe; The Novi Sleepout; Pink Day;

The Colour Run; Flying the Breast Cancer Now flag; Containers arrive in Sri Lanka.

Tonbridge’s community of boys, staff and parents raised more than £113,000 for charity during the academic year of 2018-19. This total sets a Tonbridge record for funds raised in a single year, resulting in donations to more than 20 local, national and international charities.

During the year the school raised £69,000 for Child Action Lanka, a charity which works with street children in Sri Lanka. A total of more than £82,000 has been donated to build and equip a new Child

Development Centre in Batticaloa, on the country’s east coast. Events for this cause included a concert organised by music scholar Alex Trigg (CH5) and a ‘Colour Run’ involving all boys and many staff. Two 40-foot containers filled with educational resources, toys, musical instruments and bicycles were shipped out to help equip the new centre.

Pink Day raised £3,000 for Breast Cancer Now, while First Years braved the elements to sleep rough in the Quad, raising £16,700 for Porchlight.

Sailing Club soaks up the sunsets …

These keen Tonbridge sailors, pictured doing some winter training at nearby Bough Beech Sailing Club, have been enjoying some fantastic scenery and sunsets. The school’s Sailing Club is just one of the many clubs and societies boys can join. The website has details of what’s available, from Astronomy to Sub-Aqua, and from Art and Beekeeping to Robotics and Rocketry.

News From Tonbridge: Editor: Nick Ellwood, Head of Communications Designer: Jody Taylor, Reprographics nick.ellwood@tonbridge-school.org