The Warwickian - Lent 2023

Cover photography by Max Stanojevic Year 7

Letter from the Head Master

Dear Parents and Guardians

Memories of the past term will understandably be centred on one thing. Arun’s tragic death will continue to affect our entire community for a long time to come and I am sure like me you continue to hold his family in your thoughts. It has been an emotional period throughout which my most consistent emotion has been sorrow; overwhelming sorrow for Arun’s family, his parents, his brother, his friends and for the loss of a young life so full of potential. The world is a poorer place without him. At times however, I have also felt an enormous sense of pride. Pride in our community and the way that we have come together to support each other throughout this incredibly difficult time. Pride in my colleagues who have put their own feelings aside to provide remarkable pastoral care for young people attempting to process their trauma. But perhaps an even greater sense of pride in the compassion displayed by the pupil body, compassion for each other, and compassion for myself and other staff, particularly when they took the time to go out of their way to check on our wellbeing.

Our vision is that Warwick School become the most caring boys’ school in the country. Whilst there is and will always be more that can be done in this regard, there have been times over the past few weeks when the behaviour of the pupil body has indicated that considerable strides have been made toward this goal.

Throughout the past weeks, as well as providing emotional support, the school’s role has been to provide routine and stability. It is evident from the pages of this magazine that life at Warwick School has done just this by continuing to offer pupils a huge range of opportunities. These have brought much needed joy to their lives but have also served to provide an environment in which they can grow morally, spiritually, intellectually, physically, and socially into young men who play a positive role in the world. Young men who have dealt with recent events in their own unique way with courage, perseverance, and responsibility.

I hope you enjoy reading what follows and it fills you with the same pride it did me. The summer is just around the corner, and I look forward to seeing you all refreshed and ready to make the most of the opportunities it will bring.

Letter from the Head Master Foundation News

A Note from the Principal

James Barker Head Master

Captain’s

Layout, editing, and distribution by Miss Peacock and Mrs Young

A note from the Principal Foundation Foundation

FOUNDATION NE S

ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN

Orchestra of the Swan held two sold-out concerts at Warwick Hall this term. Their next event is set to be equally successful. ‘Into the Woods’ is coming to Warwick Hall on Saturday, 13 May – experience two classic tales, wickedly retold by legendary author, Roald Dahl in this family-friendly concert.

As always, it is a joy to support our pupils in their many and varied endeavours. On the sports fi eld, in the concert hall, and - for Warwick Junior School recently - in the theatrethe achievements of our pupils are remarkable. These wonderful outcomes are enabled by dedicated and expert staff, both teachers and our professional services colleagues - and of course you, our families. I thank you once again for the support you bring, not only to your children but to the schools in their entirety, and by extension to the Foundation more broadly.

ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP SKI RACE TRAINING CAMP

Dan, Tom, Ptolemy and Tycho took up the incredible opportunity to train with Kandahar Racing in Bormio, Italy as a result of their participation in the ESSKIA British Finals last September where they represented Warwick School for England in the GB finals. The camp was a hardcore experience; the boys were treated as athletes with early mornings, serious race training during the day, both slalom and GS, and fitness, video analysis and ski care in the evenings.

Four girls from King’s High also attended making this a great example of the sharing of cocurricular opportunities between the two schools.

JOINT YOUNG ENTERPRISE

Warwick and King’s High pupils launched their Young Enterprise company, Snatched Apparel earlier this year.

As a team they have been creating vintage clothing mystery boxes with the aim of encouraging others to shop more sustainably by choosing secondhand clothing over fast fashion.

Items include pre-loved t-shirts, sweaters, jumpers, cardigans, and jackets.

So far they’ve successfully hosted their first sale of vintage clothing with live music and a doughnut sale and created their own video advertisement.

FOUNDATION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Following their jubilant New Year’s Concert under the baton of Mr Derrick, Foundation Symphony Orchestra enjoyed a residential trip to Dunfield House on the Welsh border in January.

They have also been making the most of the fantastic mentor scheme with Orchestra of the Swan, where they have had the chance to rehearse and perform with professionals and discuss music making beyond school.

Their last performance on 27 March was also a brilliant success – our young musicians performed a smorgasbord of orchestral treats from Mozart, Beethoven, Sibelius and others.

JUNIORS/PREP LINK DAY

Years 3, 4 and 6 at Warwick Junior School recently enjoyed successful link events with Warwick Prep. Year 3 enjoyed a morning creating collaborative pictures of Warwick Castle, whilst Year 4 competed in a ‘Guess Who’ tournament and a competition to build the tallest tower from marshmallows and spaghetti. Year 6 worked in mixed groups to create themed outfits from recycled paper before putting on a fashion show to show off their designs!

Earlier this term, I was delighted to share with the Foundation community our new Strategic Plan. This brings to life our ambitions for everything which sits within the charity of Warwick Schools Foundation.

A particular priority for this year is engaging with our pupils in developing meaningful ways for them to work together. Whilst this is well developed between our senior schools on the Myton Road campus, there are opportunities to enhance this still further and extend opportunities between younger pupils and the pupils at The Kingsley School.

To this end, we have held our fi rst Foundation Pupil Conference, workshopped by the Heads, and involving pupils from Year 2 to Upper Sixth. Our pupils are quite rightly very proud of their individual schools and

talked eloquently about their educational journeys. They also spoke positively about many of the shared experiences - the ‘added value’ of being part of a bigger whole - for example the joint PSHE programme in the Sixth Form, and the ‘link days’ between Warwick Prep and Warwick Juniors. I look forward to seeing how these discussions with pupils develop over the months to come, and I am sure hugely benefi cial experiences will grow from them.

Finally, last year we ran our fi rst Future Fwd conference. Details about this year’s event may be found at futurefwd.org/about. As last year, we would be delighted to welcome parents to this event - but please do sign up quickly, as places are limited!

Richard Nicholson Foundation Principal

Photography showcase

See the top 3 finalists in this term’s cover photography challenge - well done to all who submitted, it was a very close call for Mr Barker!

Cyrus Tse, Year 10

A sunny morning over the 1st XI cricket outfield

Thomas Russell, Year 10 The Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, Greece

Max Stanojevic, Year 7 Kingfisher Pool, Myton Fields

Wednesday’s Child

Moosa, Year 10, is currently starring in Netflix’s big-budget teen drama ‘Wednesday’ – featuring a glittering cast of Hollywood actors including Christina Ricci, Catherine Zeta Jones, Jenna Ortega, Gwendaline Christie, and directed by none other than Tim Burton.

We caught up with Moosa about how he landed this incredible opportunity, how he juggled his school work around filming in Romania over the pandemic, and what advice he would give to his fellow pupils interested in a similar career.

Hi Moosa, thanks for sitting down with us. So, tell us about how you got the role.

Let me go back a few years to when a casting director visited Warwick School for auditions for a different TV show. When was in Year 5 I did a musical, and I absolutely loved it, so I kind of thought I might as well go for this new audition because, you never know! hadn’t done acting in a long time but I went for the audition, I did my first video, and then I had to wait a bit - like 2 months!

Then the casting directors asked me to come to London - so had another audition in London, where I met the director, and then had to do a chemistry audition in London one more time. ended up getting that job when I was in Year 8, at which point I realised that I needed an agent. Luckily, my next door neighbour works for Netflix, and by chance she saw my name on a list for this other show – she was then able to recommend me an agent.

So I got an agent, and I filmed that first show which came out last year, and then because of my agent I got an audition for ‘Wednesday’. I went to the audition and somehow I got it! I was really quite surprised! But then from September 2021 to March this year was in Romania filming – and that’s how I got the role!

Sounds like quite the process! Once you got the part in ‘Wednesday’, what was filming like?

I was in Romania in blocks at a time - I was there for a month, then I left for a week and a half, maybe two weeks tops at Halloween time. I went back until the week before Christmas, when came back to England. So back and forth – but then I had visa issues so I was stuck in England for a while! When finally got back, I was there for another three and a half months.

How did you manage all your school work while being away for so long?

So I had a tutor, and then with the tutor did everything online. Luckily everyone was studying online at that time anyway because of Covid, and Warwick had

everything available remotely so was still doing Teams assignments and looking at the OneNote for my lessons. still had my tutor on set, so it was easy to keep in the loop with all my school work.

Community Community

What was it like working with those big names?

Yeah, to be fair on the first day was a bit nervous, but by the second day I really wasn’t - they’re just normal people really, but it was cool to be able to work with them. The director, Tim Burton, is obviously really big, really famous, and he’s really good at his job which makes everyone else’s job a lot easier, which is really nice. It was really cool to work with someone of his stature, Tim Burton is very cool!

How did you find moving up to a project of this scale, having done your earlier filming in Year 8?

It was a big jump, because it was from a mid-level filming set-up and budget straight to high end high budget filming, and there were a lot of differences – the filming obviously took place in Romania, and they built all the sets for real - the whole school grounds were built in the studio. That was really interesting to see, and the whole process was a lot smoother than productions I’d been involved in before.

You’ve just got back from Los Angeles where you walked the red carpet at the première - what was that like?

That was quite exciting, remember a couple of weeks before contemplating whether or not to go. The flight was a bit long, but I ended up thinking I might as well, it’s one of those things that you don’t know if you’ll do again! So I was in LA for a bit, I went around the city and did some sightseeing, and then on the day I got ready for the première, they picked me up, and when I arrived I was the first person to arrive from the whole cast! was the only person who was on time, which was kind of funny. The premier was cool, had to take a bunch of photos, do a bunch of interviews on the red carpet, and then afterwards we got to watch the first episode in a screening. Overall it was just a very cool experience.

Looking back on the whole experience, which isn’t really over yet of course as the show continues to stream on Netflix - what would you say is your favourite memory?

There were some things I preferred over others to film, some of them were kind of annoying to film, some of them were fun, but guess being in a different country

during Covid was kind of interesting, just to kind of see the differences between there and the UK. It was cool to live in the capital city of Romania for seven months, that was probably my favourite part.

And finally, what would be your advice for anyone wanting to get into acting?

I think if you want to pursue acting in a professional manner, just be realistic with yourself because it’s really hard – I’ll be completely honest, I think a lot of my career is based off luck. As good as you can be at acting, a lot of it is just luck, and I think you just need to up your chances by keeping trying, eventually there will be something that fits you. The first show I filmed, just happened to be exactly what they were looking for, but eventually you’ll find something and someone that’s looking for exactly what you are.

So the way I see it, if you just keep going for auditions, keep finding ways to get auditions, maybe get an agent possibly if you’re really interested in pursuing acting as a career. Go and audition for anything you can to put on your CV, keep trying at it and eventually you’ll get your big break!

You can watch Moosa in ‘Wednesday’, all episodes streaming now on Netflix.

Giving Back

Every morning our pupils arrive to school weighed down with books, folders, instruments and kit. However, on Fridays, one year group can also be seen lugging bags and boxes of tinned and dried food, and toiletries.

The reason? As part of our commitment to contribute to our local community we have decided to regularly donate to Warwick District Foodbank. Our school values include Humility and Responsibility and it is with this in mind that we encourage every pupil to habitually donate to our local foodbank.

Prefect Roddy has been helping supervise on a Friday and shares his thoughts on what it has meant to be part of this special initiative.

“Throughout the past academic year pupils from all year groups have shown us what it is to be a Warwick School student, marked by considerable generosity. Foodbank Friday is one of the newest charitable initiatives adopted by this school and it has been a huge success. Every Friday, pupils

have had a chance to gain points for their house by donating to Warwick District Foodbank and helping those in need in our local area. This was especially important for Christmas time as it is when people are most in need and it is safe to say Warwick School did their bit for the local community.

Pupils have come in every Friday morning with bags full of food and other essential items to the point where the space allocated was not even enough. The quantity of donations were so large that we often found ourselves giving up on trying to put the items on the allocated table and instead, having to put them on the floor next to the table. Thanks must go to all pupils throughout the school for making this new charitable idea such a great success and hopefully, it can become a tradition at Warwick School as it truly does have an impact.

Thanks also to Mrs Quinn for organising such a lovely initiative which has helped so many in our local area and helped them get through the tough winter; her idea has had a profound impact for many.”

Roddy, Year 13, shares the success and impact of the amazing Foodbank Fridays initiative.

Ian and Rob, our brilliant team who load the bus and deliver all donations to the warehouse!

JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS

A very warm welcome to our new Headmaster, Mr Bond!

Porridge play

World Book Day

New house names

During the summer of last year, Mr Hymer suggested that it was time for the House names to be decided by the boys of Warwick Junior School. School Council collected the votes and the winner, with an overwhelming majority was Elements. From September 2023, the Houses will change as follows:

Nelson – Aqua Scott – Ignis | Wellington – Ventis Drake – Terra

A big thank you to the School Council for all their input and to the boys for voting. We look forward to rolling out the new House names in September.

Year 6 Warwick Sevens

For thirty-two years, the first Wednesday in March means the Warwick Junior School U11 7s Festival. Leo, the captain for the day, shared his experience;

“Our second game went super well! We won against RGS who we had never beaten before in any sports. After 9 games of exhausting but exciting rugby we had finished! Our bodies were bruised and battered but it was still worth it. We all had a great time, and it was an amazing experience. (7s is super fun!)

We have learnt for next time that we should back our speed and pass to the wings for almost guaranteed tries! Thank you for the support of the parents; the host; and the whole of the U14 A Rugby 7’s team! But we couldn’t have done it without Mr Homan.”

Pro Corda success

The Year 4 boys showcased their talents when they performed a musical comedy called ‘Porridge’. When a crime wave hit Happy Valley, there was a caseload of mysteries to be solved! Who’d stolen Ma Hubbard’s recipe book and what dirty secret was Papa Bear hiding behind his Porridge empire? The singing, dancing and acting displayed by Year 4 was exceptional and left the audience hungry for more entertainment at the end of each performance.

Terri Daneshyat

Author and ex-King’s High girl, Terri Daneshyar, paid Year 5 a visit in March. She read an extract from her novel The Treasure Thief, led an activity based on the book, and talked about how she was inspired to write her novels.

On Sunday, 12 March, the eSQuires sextet from Warwick Junior School headed o to Brighton College where they had successfully come through two rounds to gain their place in the final of the Pro Corda Chamber Music Festival. The boys played extremely well proving that they had rightfully earned their place. We are so proud of them and would like to thank the boys, Oscar, Ethan, Dylan, Reuben, Freddie and Harvey for all their hard work and an enormous thanks to Miss Turk who coached them and spent her Sunday supporting the boys in Brighton. A massive achievement. Well done!

Computing success

Huge congratulations to Ethan who was one of only 20 boys in the Year 6/7 age group nationally to get through to the Finals of the Oxford University Computing Challenge. This is the culmination of the national Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge, in which over 106,000 pupils competed from Ethan’s age group. Ethan’s performance in the Final shows that he is 16th in the country overall, despite being in the younger half of the age group. We are sure he has a bright future in Computing.

Plas Y Brenin residential

When the bags were all lined up mine seemed like the smallest compared to everyone else’s body bags. I was worried I hadn’t packed enough- did miss a page of the kit list?

My 3rd day of the trip was one of my favourites. It was the day we were going to go down a mine. thought it would be an ordinary history talk, but there was nothing ordinary about being down this mine. Once the iron barred gate was opened the adventure of the mine began and also a birthday was celebrated in the dark cavern – with hot chocolate!

The most exhilarating activity of the great week was the gorge walking. It was so cold it felt like your feet were frozen but the giggles were infectious as the water suddenly got deeper.

In February, Year 5 & 6 Piano Party kicked o with over 60 pianists from Warwick Junior School and Warwick Prep School. The pupils had two sessions, one on the keyboards learning about the Blues Scale and the 12Bar Blues chord sequence. All pupils improvised using the Blues Scale and performed over the top of the chord sequence – much fun was had by all!

This trip has been my favourite during my time at the Junior School as it was so di erent and adventurous. The experiences were absolutely unforgettable, and so fun. It was a great chance to talk to more people than I normally chat to. It was well organised and the food was amazing, especially the full English breakfasts! This was a brilliant adventure and one you should be definitely looking forward to!

Freddie, Year 6

Thomas, Year 10

Podcasting 101

The end of March and start of April not only signifies the annual Christian celebration of Easter, but also the first anniversary of The Box Box Podcast.

In under a year, after over 20 episodes and with 8,700 listeners, this Formula One podcast has attracted an audience from across the globe: 61% of these are from the United States of America, plus we have achieved an average audience retention rate of 70%. The podcast can be found on all notable sites, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Samsung Podcasts, Google Podcasts and YouTube.

So, how do you develop a podcast idea into reality?

First, make sure that you choose a topic and make sure that you are unique. Maybe explore a subject and explain it in a different way, or take your listeners on a journey with you. Just remember, the world does not need another football podcast, but it might need a football podcast that explores specifically the Championship or one particular club. Once you have an idea, then choose how many presenters you wish to have: for example, The Box Box Podcast comprises myself, James and Seb, but sometimes we offer an opportunity to guest speakers. Remember though, this can be fluid, and differences between episodes can be refreshing for your listeners. Then choose a name, ideally catchy and short. Make sure it is related to your topic and incites excitement from your listeners.

How do you record a podcast?

When you first begin, you can record on a phone: The Box Box Podcast only progressed to a professional microphone in January, before that we recorded in a Physics classroom on my phone! Just open your recording app, and begin. Once you have an initial recording, you will need to set up an account online to host your podcast. Mr O’Brien and Mr Jefferies’ Heaton Podcast is hosted on Buzzsprout, which is a great source for intermediate podcasters. For beginners, would recommend to

start out with Anchor, which is a free website that allows you to create or transfer a podcast. All instructions are simple, and it will share your podcast to many sites automatically. It even includes a tutorial on how to progress to Apple Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Amazon Music etc.

What is an RSS Feed?

An RSS Feed shares and distributes your podcasts. It contains all the details (e.g. name, overview, link, website) of your podcast and is required when you want to add your episodes to external sites.

I have started my podcast, but I cannot seem to bring in more listeners. How can I change this?

The most important part of running a podcast is knowing your audience. Create an imaginary character who is your ideal listener. What makes them listen to your podcast? Every time that you record an episode pretend that only this one person is listening, and tailor your content to them. This makes the audience more engaged, and your podcast episodes will be easier to follow.

More on The Box Box Podcast:

Do you ever sit down, turn the television on, find some racing on, and wonder: “What are they talking about?” Cue The Box Box Podcast – the only podcast that strives to explain the ins and outs of racing’s greatest spectacle: Formula One. 20 cars battling for the coveted Drivers and Constructors Championships, speeds of up to 210 mph, new tracks, new countries, new drivers, an annual strive for more environmentally friendly events. From Physics to Geography and Art to Politics, F1 has it all. To learn more, join The Box Box Podcast for your pitstop.

Make sure to check out The Box Box Podcast’s latest episodes, including Livery Ratings, Preseason Testing Analysis with guest Noah Sales, and the Bahrain Grand Prix Review.

CAREERS FAIR

2023 Careers Fair

This Valentine’s Day we welcomed back the biennial Careers Fair in collaboration with King’s High School. Both Warwick Hall and King’s High Hall were full of pupils, parents, and exhibitors from local and national employers, as well as over 50 higher education institutions.

After not being able to hold the event for a number of years due to Covid, the turnout was a record-breaker. Pupils from Years 10-13 came away inspired, uplifted, and excited to continue on their careers journey.

PAWS Update

The Parents Association of Warwick School (PAWS) is going from strength to strength.

Following on from the hugely successful Macmillan Coffee Morning and Big Breakfast, we held a Mince Pie and Mulled Wine afternoon just before Christmas and this term hosted a meet and greet which was well attended by parents.

Junior PAWS has been busy with regular get-togethers and there are plans afoot for various fundraising events including a BBQ and Headmaster’s Quiz next term. In May a first aid induction course is being planned which will count as diploma points for the boys.

Senior PAWS has been making connections with those involved with Pupil Voice with a view to assisting the boys with their charitable endeavours.

Projects and events for next term include helping out at the various Moving Up and Induction days for new Year 7s and their families.

Several very successful Second Hand Uniform Sales have been held and we are keen for there to be at least one per term in future. Parents who donate any item of clothing, footwear or sports kit to the sale can now get a percentage back from any sales.

Old Warwickian updates

We are grateful to all those parents who have volunteered at all our events so far and helped to make each one such a success - if you would like to be part of future events or would like more information please do get in touch!

Keep your eyes peeled for information about forthcoming PAWS events - we aim to advertise them in good time via the weekly newsletters and all our social channels. You can visit us on Instagram @pawswarwick and on Twitter at @PAWSWarwick

If you would like to get in touch, help out at any of the events, or want more information please email warwickschoolpaws@gmail. com as we’d be delighted to hear from you.

When students leave Warwick School at the end of the U6 they automatically become a member of the Old Warwickian Association (OWA). The OWA is a brilliant network of over 6,000 old boys around the globe. Membership is free of charge. The OWA offers lifelong opportunities for friendships, camaraderie and networking. There are annual events and reunions, drinks and dinners, sporting fixtures and informal get-togethers back at school and around the world. We are currently in touch with

over 6,000 OWs. Many return to the school to support our Careers programme and offer mentoring. - OWs from many decades returned for the OWA Annual Dinner in the Pyne Room in December - Three OWs recently competed in the annual Thames Hare and Hounds Cross Country Race across Wimbledon Common - Over 150 OWs are signed up for our anniversary reunions on 10 June - Over 30 Wessex Old Warwickians are meeting for lunch and a tour of Salisbury Cathedral.

Individual OWs in the news

Former National Security Adviser Sir Stephen Lovegrove KCB (WS 1978-85) relinquished his role to fellow OW Sir Tim Barrow MBE (WS 1977-82). Surely a first!

Duncan Nealon (WS 1989-96) is training to become the third OW to row the Atlantic. He will join the ranks of Dan Byles (WS 1985-92) and Roy Dixon (WS 1973-81) who have completed this exceptional challenge. One ocean, three OWs, 3,000 miles of rowing.

James Parris (WS 2003-10) produced the three films in the ‘Days that shook the BBC’ series.

Rugby journalist working with the Daily Mail, Alex Bywater (WS 2001-08), interviewed “one of English rugby’s brightest

prospects”, Fin Smith (WS 2013-20), after his move to Northampton in October 2022 (both pictured above, left).

James TW (WS 2005-15) started his exciting Another Heart Tour in Dublin on 7 March.

King’s Singer Edward Button (WS 1997-2008) recently returned to school to run a choral session with the Chapel Choir and give a masterclass to some of the Foundation’s choral students (pictured above, right, with John Jefferies and Simon Chapman).

Father and son, Roy and Guy Dixon (WS 1973-81 and WS 200920), cycled to Paris in the Royal British Legion Pedal2Paris fourday ride from Eltham Palace

in London to L’Arc de Triomphe in Paris (pictured above, middle).

Pupil Voice

Ben, Senior Prefect for Pupil Voice, reports on another busy term

This has been another busy half term for those involved with Pupil Voice. The Mental Health Subcommittee ran the Children’s Mental Health Week (6-12 February) and marked Random Act of Kindness Day on 17 February.

The team, including Mrs Leaf and Dr Nuttall, worked hard in the run up to Mental Health Week to produce material for form times for the Lower, Middle and Upper school, alongside section assemblies, and the main event, the whole school assembly.

Delivered well by Frankie, Kane, Ben, Thomas, Alex and Toby, it aimed to promote the wellbeing benefits of making new connections, as well as providing some suggestions of how to do so. The team has received congratulations from many members of the school community for their delivery of an assembly that was praised for raising awareness.

The team then turned their attention to Random Act of Kindness day, and to how to promote the event through a combination of smaller assemblies, as well as a Sixth Form wide email. Whilst this term has been particularly challenging for many members of the school and the wider Foundation, the Mental Health Subcommittee has continued to deliver well.

The Charities Committee have also been busy. At the end of term, they coordinated the Foundation-wide non-uniform day for ‘Kissing it Better’. This charity works to reduce loneliness among elderly patients in care

Floreat Domus

Aristotle believed that education not only needed an intellectual focus, but also a focus on character. In Aristotle’s eyes, education should create an ethical and virtuous person.

homes and hospitals and bridge the gap between generations.

There has also been the continuation of the ‘Foodbank Friday’ programme organised by Mrs Quinn where members of each year group donate food to Warwick District Foodbank. The donations are sorted by houses and the house that donates the most wins, this has proved to increase incentive to donate.

Our entry for the Goldsmiths Award is progressing with the ‘staff summary’ submitted, detailing all the school’s charity initiatives from the past year. A team from the Charities Subcommittee has now been selected to represent the school in the Heats stage of the competition.

Finally, our Eco Team have been busy as usual. Currently, an eco-photography competition is taking place across the school (there is still time to enter!) and there have been efforts to confirm Ecosia as the default browser of the school system’s computers in the senior school.

In addition, the Gender Equality Committee have been finalising details for their assemblies they will deliver as a part of International Women’s Day – watch this space. Well done to everyone for their participation in Pupil Voice this term.

We share Aristotle’s views. We do not believe education should just be delivered through the confines of a school curriculum. We believe that a holistic approach to education is required and central to this is the development of our pupils’ character. Our aim is to ensure students develop a well-rounded set of character traits which will equip them for life beyond Warwick School.

Central to our aim of character development is the school’s bespoke Floreat Programme, which the school has created to focus on four ‘building blocks of character’ (otherwise known as ‘virtues’):

The school’s Floreat Programme is a multiyear, interdisciplinary initiative designed to incorporate the following four virtues: Performance, Civic, Intellectual, Moral.

Throughout their time at Warwick School, pupils will complete the following:

• The Floreat Certificate – this is for Year 7 and 8 only, and it is intended to serve as an introduction to character education at Warwick School.

• The Floreat Award – this is for Years 9 and 10 only, and it is designed to build on the pupils’ Floreat Certificate and also to allow them to take advantage of the new co-curricular opportunities.

• The Floreat Diploma – this is available for pupils in Years 11, 12 and 13. The requirements of the Diploma are much more extensive than the Certificate and Award, as pupils are required to amass 80 hours of identified activities within each ‘virtue’. Pupils who successfully complete the Diploma will be awarded an EduQual accredited qualification.

If you are interested in the Floreat Programme and would like to find out more, please contact Mr Bennett, the Assistant Head of Sixth Form and Acting Head of Character Education.

Up For Debate

Thomas, Year 10

n Friday, 3 February Mrs Hardiman and Mrs Wyatt led a team of eight debaters to St Edward’s School in Oxford for the regional round of the Oxford Union’s Oxford Schools Debating Competition. With over 100 teams debating, many of whom were Sixth Formers, all of the competitors performed skilfully. The round was composed of two debates, the first being “This House Would Abolish Private Schools”, and the second being “This House Would Not Provide Developmental Aid to Countries Which Regularly Violate Human Rights”. These two motions allowed our teams to convey their

arguments and express their expertise, with a mixture of British politics and geopolitical topics arising.

Our ‘B Team’ of Arjan and Will S made it through to the next round of the competition, which took place on 3 March. A massive congratulations to all that competed, especially our ‘Year 11 Team’ of Frederic and Ryan and our ‘Year 10 Team’ of Thomas and Ptolemy, who debated against older and more experienced opposition.

Frederic, Ryan and Pranav took part in the Rotary Youth Speaking Competition (below, left), and the regional round of the ESU Public Speaking Competition (below, right). Unfortunately they did not progress, but gained more expertise for the future.

Finally, a team of six debaters attended the Cambridge Debating Competition on 3 March. Held virtually, Barnaby, Osian, Thomas, James, Ptolemy and Frankie spoke on four motions, covering immigrant assimilation; the most effective methods to invoke change for environmental activists; the harms of romantic

storylines in children’s movies; and whether a government party should rebel against or accept an authoritarian government. A special congratulations to the teams of Barnaby and Osian, and Thomas and James, who managed to win at least one of their four debates against Sixth Form opposition.

From left to right: Back - Frederic, Ryan, Arjan, Will, William. Front – Thomas, Ptolemy, Atticus

CAPTAIN’S CORNER

Every term, we ask one or more of our sports captains to give a summary of their season so far. This term we caught up with Cam, our school Captain of Rugby - and how he’s feeling as he prepares for his final term at the school.

To be given the role as Captain of Rugby at Warwick School is my proudest achievement to date and personally, I hope I have left Warwick Rugby in a much stronger position than I took it over in. However, before talking about the rugby I would like to take the opportunity to formally thank the leadership group I worked with this year who together have worked extremely hard to up standards and performance to try and reinvigorate Warwick Rugby back to the levels it is accustomed to.

Now to the rugby. The season started out with a tour to North Wales where the boys underwent pre-season training that would set the tone of hard work for the rest of the season alongside climbing mountains and swimming in the sea. This preparation came to the forefront as the 1st XV began their cup run against Rugby School, who had knocked us out the previous year, in late September. Three tries down with 10 minutes to go it looked as though Rugby were going to do the double however this year’s team is different and so Warwick scored the three tries we needed, the final try through a rumbling maul the Warwick scoreboard would become very thankful for as

the season went on. However, the boys’ dream of getting back on that Twickenham patch fell at the next hurdle in the form of finalists and potential winners Oakham. An excellent first 55 minutes from the team kept Warwick closer than any opposition has come since but a late flurry of tries for Oakham left us watching that Twickenham dream an unfulfilled one.

The boys came back from the half term break with new targets. First up was an unbeaten Bedford team who’s winning record was ruined after an outstanding performance from the team. Next up was a Stamford team who frankly embarrassed us last year. Not this year however, a 20-10 victory made for some sweet revenge. Asking a lot of the team about which game they would choose to have again the reply “Sedbergh” is high up that list. 10-0 up at half term and some resounding defence left us at this same 10 point margin with 10 minutes to play. Sadly it was not to be the upset of the season and the boys came up short 21-10.

Post Christmas a few of the team would leave to represent their academies but the 1st XV continued to motor on. An unbeaten spell would follow in the new year including a resounding 43-5 win over rivals NSB as well as a hat-trick for the maul in a 24-17 win against Sir Thomas Rich. The season culminated in a fixture against national cup semi finalist Finborough and a last game performance to be proud of would follow from the boys. A final score of 31-3 showed the quality this team had and how, had a few things gone differently, the team was not far off a record breaking season. Instead, it was a season of just falling shortnevertheless, a 70% win percentage and a strong positive points difference will make sure the 1st XV 2022/23 is one to be remembered for years to come. A final thanks to our coaches and parents but most of all the 1st XV squad who have helped make the privilege of being 1st XV captain at Warwick School so enjoyable.

Cam, Year 13, Captain of Rugby