The Warwickian - Michaelmas 2023

Michaelmas 2023 Edition 69

Cover art by Gianluca (Year 10)

Letter from the Head Master Dear Parents and Guardians A chilly, drizzly term has ended with sad news.

Flicking through this term’s Warwickian is a wonderful tonic for any seasonal blues. Looking over the following pages, it is clear that the past three months have been a time of remarkable achievement and joyful moments. Of which perhaps the most joyful was the now legendary Christmas Cracker. An evening of rare musicianship featuring 21 different ensembles.

Culminating in over 200 musicians, The Massed Band of Warwick School performing a version of Slade’s hit ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’. An incredible display of ambition and skill only possible thanks to Mr Robertson and his remarkable team.

Ekam’s essay on silence for the Warwickshire Essay Competition and Max’s on the theme of power are remarkable examples of scholarship.

Building on last year’s success at the Independent School Awards this term has seen the school gaining further recognition. The Arts Council for England recognised the school’s commitment to the arts with the Artsmark Platinum Award the highest level of recognition for schools. Our commitment to innovation was recognised at the Independent School of the Year Awards where we were named a finalist in the Outstanding New Initiative category for our Design Thinking Course. Last but certainly not least our Pastoral Care and Wellbeing provision was also shortlisted at the Talk Education Awards.

These awards are a recognition of our commitment to a holistic vision of education that does far more than simply prepare young people to pass exams, but rather aims to provide them with a breadth of opportunity that develops skills and qualities of character that equip them to become happy and fulfilled adults.

Another highlight from a busy term is the opening of our new Food Science Laboratory. Food Science has proved incredibly popular. Over half of Year 9 have chosen the subject as one of their options and early indications suggest that the vast majority of them want to continue with their studies at GCSE level. The subject has proven just as popular with parents and staff! Apple pie and one-pan bolognese have been among the tasty treats, that in some cases at least, have made their way home at the end of the day.

Activity in the concert room has been mirrored on the stage, in the Senior Production of The Great Gatsby, and on the sports field with Warwick sportsmen participating in huge numbers across an everincreasing range of disciplines.

I hope that you enjoy reading what follows and look forward to seeing you all refreshed and ready to take on and overcome new challenges in September, whatever they may be.

This term’s magazine also features examples of pupil’s independent work. The seasonal Christmas Card competition produced some outstanding work and

James Barker Head Master

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Contents Letter from the Head Master

2

News at a Glance

4-7

Foundation News

8

A Note from the Principal

9

Festive Artwork Competition

10-11

Best In Class - Award Wins

12

Global Connections

13

Junior School News

14-15

Warwickshire Essay Competition

16-17

Y9 Independent Essays Winner

18-19

Pupil Voice Report

20

CCF Update

21

PAWS Update

22

Alumni & Development

23

Music To Our Ears

24-25

Food Science Launch

26-27

Sport Update

28-31

Content, layout, editing, and distribution by Mr Cobble and Mrs Young

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News

At a glance A selection of this term’s news and stories in one place

We are so excited to welcome Coten End Primary School into our science labs for our ongoing weekly collaboration days helping the pupils to learn new science skills with equipment they might not have used or seen before.

Congratulations to some of our Year 7 cohort who have written winning poems that have been chosen for publication in a YoungWriters anthology!

Warwick School’s wind orchestras and jazz big bands showcased their exciting repertoire at the National Concert Band Festival, hosted at Warwick Hall on Sunday, 3 December.

The results were incredible: Jazz Lab – Platinum Big Band – Platinum Little Big Band – Gold Foundation Wind Orchestra – Silver Supertonics – Gold

In December, the Warwick School Jazz Lab played at the Eastside Jazz Club, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

On Friday, 8 December Warwick School held a Christmas Jumper Day in support of the Kissing it Better and LWS Night Shelter charities. The decorated hampers were gifted to patients on the ward at Warwick Hospital and surrounding community care centres. We hope that the generosity of our pupils, parents, and teachers will once again have a positive impact on our community, at a special time of year when we reflect on how fortunate we are, and how we can help others who are less so.

Jazz Lab, Big Band, Little Big Band and Supertonics have all been invited to the National Finals in March, which will also be hosted here at Warwick School.

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News

Just a week after starting their journey at Warwick School the Year 7 boys were heading of on their first adventure, the bonding trip.

When we arrived, the boys were shown around their campsite. A series of pods nestled in beautiful woodland, which was home to a variety of activities (and animals). Everyone found their bunk and left their bags before eating a hearty lunch and setting off to the first of five activities.

The pupils had a go at rafting, which proved to be extremely popular. 90% of the boys chose to test the temperature of the water with a quick swim, including Mrs Browne who looked quite at home. Next up was several, rather intense, games of capture the flag in different areas including a castle, lorry and of course woodland. A network of low ropes provided a challenge for all the boys. The ropes required skill, balance and crucially team work to progress. Especially the blindfold challenge, where one boy would guide a blindfolded partner along a course with plenty of obstacles, including Mr Etheridge pretending to be a tree, a cow and a swarm of bees.

Following a busy schedule, delicious food, and a good nights’ sleep, We were all sad to board the coaches and return to school. The atmosphere on the bus had changed completely from loud excitement to silence with intermittent snoring. Ultimately, the bonding trip had accomplished exactly what it was supposed to - the boys had bonded, made new friends, shared experiences and memories and were clearly more comfortable around each other. A special thanks to the staff, year 7 tutors, prefects and Oaker Wood for a wonderful trip. We hope the boys got to know each other a bit better and made plenty of memories for their first year at Warwick.

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News

Year 7 Mother and Sons Time and Space Evening and the Year 8 Father and Sons Time and Space Evening took place in November. These events allow parents and pupils to connect over important issues at a key time of their school journey, and were well received as always.

Warwick School’s Fanfare Team are always honoured to perform at the annual High Sheriff’s Legal Service which was held on Tuesday, 3 October at St Mary’s Church, Warwick. This was a wondrous occasion attended by Warwickshire’s VIP’s and local dignitaries including The High Sheriff, The Lord Lieutenant, and various Mayors from across the county.

This year, some members of the Sixth Form and staff proudly grew a moustache to raise money for Movember.

Fanfare Team, conducted by Warwick School’s esteemed Head of Brass Mr Tibbitts, sounded the fanfare ‘A Canterbury Flourish’ to commence proceedings and heralded the arrival of the legal procession. This was followed by an opening prayer, various hymns and readings before hearing from The Lord Bishop of Coventry who gave the address. The service concluded with everyone singing the National Anthem, whereby the congregation were treated to a magnificent and polished performance from Fanfare Team playing the infamous Gordon Jacob’s opening and verse 2 fanfares. Congratulations to all boys involved – Will, Jamie, Chris, Freddie, Flynn, Edward, Will and Hugo.

This charity was designed specifically for men and to raise awareness of men’s issues such as mental health, prostate and testicular cancer, and the moustache being a symbol for better men’s health and starting that important conversation.

We has raised an astonishing £3521; an amazing achievement. A special mention to the boys who worked hard at fundraising: Joel, Felix, Brynn, Will, Kaan, Charles. Thank you to all who donated and those who took part in the event, it is an incredible accomplishment and for a worthy cause.

Every year, the Upper Sixth undertake Job Interviews with first-class interviewers with a wealth of experience and expertise. Thank you to all who supported this year!

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News This term’s joint Senior Production of The Great Gatsby was a roaring success incredible costumes, sets, and acting all rolled into one showstopper at the Bridge House Theatre!

On Monday, 16 October a group of Kissing It Better (KiB) volunteers from Warwick and Kings High met with Dementia Nurse Consultant, Emma Jones at Warwick Hospital, for a talk about the different forms that dementia can take and how to behave around and care for a person with dementia.

One of the most interesting parts of the day was the explanation of not only Alzheimer’s but the less common dementias where the memories of names and faces disappear, but feelings and thought are still prevalent. After talking about NHS schemes for recognising dementia on wards I think everyone appreciates the struggle of the patient and their family. KiB regularly takes pupils to visit the wards at Warwick hospital with music, singing, to chat with and do activities to cheer up older patients. Many of the volunteers are interested in careers in Healthcare.

We are immensely proud of two boys from our Warwick School community who are currently starring in the Bridge House Theatre’s productions of ‘Nativity!’ from 8 to 28 December.

Ptolemy. Year 11

Patrick (Year 11, top image) and Harrison (Year 6, middle image) have joined pupils from both Foundation and local schools, as well as adult community cast members and professional actors to bring this beloved story to live right on our Warwick Campus!

On a related note, Year 9 pupils have been exploring lighting, sound, costume and set in their ‘Theatre Design’ module this term. The boys designed some costumes for ‘Nativity!’, using labels to give extra detail (bottom image).

Foodbank Fridays is a joint initiative between Warwick School and King’s High School. Every week, a different year group donates items for our local Warwickshire foodbank and points are allocated to the joint house teams depending on how many items are donated.

The generosity of parents, pupils, and our wider school community has been breathtaking and makes a real difference to those that the foodbank supports. A huge thank you!

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Foundation

FOUNDATION NE S

SWAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA LAUNCHES

SPORTS DEVELOPMENTS FOR THE FOUNDATION

Orchestra of the Swan have launched the Swan Youth Orchestra in partnership with Warwick Schools Foundation and the Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull Music Hubs; open to all music pupils in Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull that have ensemble experience and are working at Grade 6 and above.

Sport is an integral part of a Warwick Schools Foundation education. Enabling all our pupils to develop their sporting interests requires outstanding facilities. Our ambition is to ensure that we can offer unrivalled opportunities for those whose interest is recreational as well as our elite sportspeople.

The launch of the Youth Orchestra is synonymous with Warwick Schools Foundation’s belief that excellent music opportunities should be accessible to all pupils. With the aim of increasing accessibility to this opportunity, financial assistance is also available to some applicants on the basis of a means tested application.

Developments include refurbishment of 17 acres of the Kingsley Sports Fields in Leamington, as well as new cricket nets, additional Astroturf pitches, tennis and netball courts, and a new pavilion with changing faciltiies and associated support for sports services and hospitality at the Foundation’s Warwick campus.

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ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN On Tuesday, 12 October at the ‘Neoclassic’ concert, Orchestra of the Swan’s professional chamber orchestra produced a hugely impressive performance at Warwick Hall in front of a bumper crowd.

The evening also saw Foundation music ensembles perform before and during the interval of the concert; their talent was clear to see, and their performances only acted to enhance the experience for those who attended. Without doubt, they should be truly proud of themselves - as we are.

For the audience at Warwick Hall, including many of our Foundation music scholars, it was a truly excellent display of musicmaking, and a fantastic evening.

Foundation

A note from the Principal

PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION On Friday, 8 December, students taking part in Psychology in Action for Friday afternoon activities presented their research. Over the term, small groups pupils from Warwick School and Kings High designed, carried out and analysed their findings in a variety of interesting Psychological studies.

The winning year 11 group investigated the effects of caffeine on short-term memory and visual perception - congratulations to Michael, Seun, Tommy, Milan and Moosa, pictured above.

Other prize winning studies included an observation on the bystander effect by Sixth Formers Aiden, Marcus and Matt. As well as an investigation into peer pressure and how it can influence your opinions by Melanie, Yangi, Kaitlyn, Ingrid and Lucy.

Well done to all of the groups who completed the Psychology in Action course this term and a special mention to Ari for their impressive presentation skills.

A new course will commence in the Lent term for any pupils interested in learning more about Psychology - we encourage Year 10, 11, and Sixth Form to apply!

Earlier this term, we celebrated our annual Service of Thanksgiving, filling St Mary’s Church with representatives from across our schools and the wider Foundation family. This is the only time in the year which brings together representatives from all aspects of our charity’s work and reach, including our vital community partners - trustees from the town charities which support our endeavours and representatives from the town’s schools with whom we have special relationships.

There is much talk of educational charities currently, and it is useful to remind ourselves that we exist solely because we are a charity with a very particular object: in summary, to operate schools in and around Warwick. As with every charity, we operate in line with the laws of the land and are accountable to the charity commission, and in our case, the Department for Education too via the Independent Schools Inspectorate for the quality of education each school provides.

We are proud that each of our schools provides a wonderful environment for our pupils, and of the commitment of the senior teams in the schools to enhance opportunities for all, thereby living out our charity’s purpose: to transform lives through the power of education.

Close to home, that shared mission of transformation has unlocked opportunities across our schools. We see this in the lived experience of our pupils and the everyday opportunities they have to work together. New ways to do this emerge both organically and strategically, whether that is through societies where pupils share and explore interests, new clubs to develop skills and talents, new educational pathways, or structured opportunities to work together.

Three particularly important developments this term have been the Link Day for Years 5 and 6 across Warwick Prep and Warwick Juniors, the Global

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Universities programme and the arrival of Stuart Thompson as the Foundation Executive Music Lead.

All of these, and more, mean that by being part of a larger whole, everybody benefits. That is also a useful life lesson, too.

This also means that there is more to share for everyone in our wider community too. The very special relationship we have with the town of Warwick is one we are gradually extending to Leamington, working with schools to support in areas most impactful for them, which beyond educational partnerships directly for pupils and staff, is now embracing support for parents too, for example through the pastoral forum on online safety.

This increasing connectivity makes our charity more relevant to more people. This feels especially important as we head into 2024. The combination of our five schools’ anniversaries - which include Warwick celebrating its 1,110 anniversary, King’s High 145 and Kingsley 140 - means that we collectively celebrate 1552 years of education. That is an extraordinary legacy and one on which we are proud to build.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year and would like to thank you for the individual and collective support you bring to our schools and therefore our charity..

Richard Nicholson Foundation Principal

Arts

Aaden, Year 10

Oliver, Year 10

Yannic, Year 10

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Arts

Gianluca, Year 10

‘Tis The Season We invited pupils to take part in the termly competition to submit an original piece of artwork or photography for The Warwickian cover - and once again, they did not disappoint! Well done to all who submitted, Mr Barker was so impressed and it was difficult to choose just one for our cover!

Marcus, Year 8

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Community

This year we were awarded the highest level of recognition by Arts Council England, the Artsmark Platinum Award.

The Artsmark Award is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It supports schools to develop and celebrate arts and cultural education, putting creativity and wellbeing at the heart of the curriculum. Artsmark ensures every young person can be creative and access a diverse, high-quality cultural education.

Warwick School were finalists in this year's Independent Schools of the Year 2023 awards, hot off our success as Independent Boys’ School of the Year last year. We were recognised in the Outstanding New Initiative category, for the outstanding and innovative work surrounding our Design Thinking course.

We were absolutely thrilled to have been shortlisted in the Pastoral Care and Wellbeing category of the Talk Education Awards 2023. This was our first year entering these particular awards, and it was brilliant to see our pastoral care offering was recognised for all the support and help it offers, and continues to offer, to our whole school community.

BEST IN CLASS

Warwick School has once again been recognised across a number of categories and awards for the excellent teaching, facilities, and support that we offer.

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Community

Ukrainian Leadership Academy

We were truly honoured to host the University of Warwick and Ukrainian Leadership Academy in September. A selection of our pupils (including boarding pupils chatting in their native language!) spoke about transformative education at Warwick. This follows on from last year’s fundraising drive which saw the Warwick Schools Foundation send two ambulances, laden with medical supplies, to the Ukrainian front line.

Global Connections

Fukuoka Girls High School

In December we welcomed 22 Japanese students and 4 of their teachers from Fukuoka Girls High School in Japan. These students were participating in their school’s International stream of study, and spent an afternoon sharing Japanese culture and experiences with pupils from Warwick and King’s High. From Japanese tongue-twisters to J-Pop quizzes, everybody had a fun time and learned so much! Arigato!

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Juniors

Note from the Headmaster

What a term it has been! From raising money for Guide Dogs for the Blind, to going on tour with rugby to London, to learning how to safely navigate dangerous environments at Hazard Alley, it has been wonderful to see the boys making the very best of all the opportunities available to them since September.

This is the inaugural stand-alone Junior School edition of The Warwickian. It is always such a treat to see the boys’ achievements and advantures chronicled in the Senior School magazine, but to be able to gift our families with their own end of term round-up is especially welcomed given how much goes on in our school. If the format is well received, we hope to grow the size of this magazine in terms to come so watch this space.

It is at this time of year that we are reminded most about the importance of community. As I rapidly approach my first full year as your Headmaster in January, I am reminded yet again of the incredible community that we have here at the Junior School.

On that note, I hope you enjoy reading these pages as you prepare for the festive season, reminiscing about what has been and what is to come. I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

New playground!

London Rugby Tour

Over the summer, our playground got a huge upgrade for the start of the year!

The boys have loved using features such as the new play structure, basketball hoops and handball courts, while the pop of colour has added a lovely touch.

On Friday, 1 December, thirty-seven Year 6 boys went on a rugby tour to London.

Highlights included; fixtures against Donhead Prep School and Hertford RFC; a trip to Hollywood bowl and the arcade; a tour of Twickenham stadium; a training session ran

by Saracens academy coaches and a truly amazing experience of being on the pitch before the Saracens v Northampton Premiership match.

Pizza Express under the Wembley Arch to top off a remarkable day!

Who let the dogs out?

Ignis!

On Friday, 24 November, Ignis held their charity day to raise money for their chosen charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind. Boys had a great time coming to school dressed as dogs and took part in a range of activities, such as making jam sandwiches blindfolded, playing ‘name the dog’, and showing their creative skills in an art competition - all while donating money. We are so proud of the boys, who managed to raise £806 for a great cause!

The boys were also visited by Fin Smith (OW 2021), who started fly half for Northampton and came into the stands after the match to share a few words and a have his photo with the boys - an inspiring moment for everyone involved.

The boys on tour were an absolute credit to Warwick Junior School - their maturity, attitude and perseverance throughout made it a very enjoyable trip for everyone involved.

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Christmas Concert

Juniors

On Thursday, 30 November, we held our Christmas Concert in Warwick Hall.

The concert was a sparkling showcase of the musical talent of the Junior School, with boys from Years 3 to 6 demonstrating their proficiency of a variety of instruments.

Colourful Christmas hats and tinsel adorned the instruments, all adding to the glitter and ‘feel good’ glow of the afternoon.

Bravo boys!

House Captains and Prefects

Chess Success

Congratulations to the Prefects, and House Captains of Aqua, Terra, Ventis and Ignis, who have been elected for this academic year.

We look forward to seeing the boys continue their great work as role models within the school as the year progresses.

It has been a stellar term for Junior School chess; around 80 boys across from all age groups play chess in lunchtime clubs; we were recognised by the English Chess Federation (ECF) for outstanding achievements in chess; and our Junior School chess team has made great progress, including success in the Warwickshire Primary Schools Chess Championship and the Warwickshire Junior Chess Championships.

Hazard Alley Earlier in the term, Year 4 visited Hazard Alley Safety Centre. The boys had a gerat day being introduced to risks, dangers, and hazards in a safe environment. Building on from our school PSHEE curriculum, the boys continued to develop their knowledge of personal safety, but also finding out about water, fire, road, and railway safety to name just a few.

Link Day with Warwick Prep

The first link day of the academic year took place earlier in the term, with Year 6 girls from Warwick Prep School hosting the Year 6 boys from Warwick Junior School, and the Year 5 boys hosting the Year 5 girls.

The theme for Year 5 was the Coldplay song ‘a sky full of stars’, with pupils enjoying a carousel of activities centred around music, art and dance. Year 6 worked together to create a recycled fashion show.

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Academic Last term, Mrs Hodge launched the Warwickshire Essay Competition. On the theme of silence, the competition gave Sixth Form students across Warwickshire schools the opportunity to respond to literature in a personal critical essay of no more than 2000 words.

Submissions for the competition, which closed in September, were very impressive as entrants deftly explored examples of the use of silence in texts, in film versions of texts, and in drama too. In a whole school assembly, Mrs Hodge presented prizes to Ekam who won first prize and to Aidan for his highly commended entry. Well done to both of them for their superb efforts.

Read Ekam’s winning Warwickshire Essay Competition essay on silence below.

‘Silence’

‘– The rest is silence.’ – Hamlet, Act 5 Scene 2

And so Hamlet’s last words, immediately preceding the inexorable stage direction, ‘[dies]’, perpetuate that clichéd semantic association between silence and death.

But in many ways, even within the confines of the play, this is an oversimplification.

Throughout the play, there is a talking ghost, and Ophelia’s abstract linguistic excesses do not so much equate to vitality, as to desperation and madness. Though it could equally be argued, as Fischer does (1990), that Ophelia’s language is ‘an index to her enforced silence and circumscribed self’, and that ‘her sole rhetorical remedy is elliptical.’ Thus, in Hamlet, as in all literature, ‘silence’ takes many forms, and is endlessly interpretive.

In this essay, I will attempt to identity some of the general trends of ‘silence’ in literature, by looking at texts as case studies, and grouping them, from a wide range of periods. However, first, I will define exactly what I mean by ‘silence’, which necessarily must not be the mere absence of a thing, for in that case any omission, deliberate or otherwise, would fit that criterion. Instead, I define ‘silence’ as either: firstly, the theme of silence – i.e. meditations on the concept of silence itself; or, secondly, the intentional exclusion of a thing (e.g. withheld information crucial to a full understanding of a narrative), where the significance of that thing can still be perceived via subtext, allusion, or in any other way. To clarify, we the reader must be able to understand that it is silence we are experiencing – on the part of a character, or the author – rather than mere indifference or absence. To illustrate that point, Du Maurier’s lack of insight into, say, the heroine’s favourite colour in her novel Rebecca does not constitute ‘silence’ on her part. However, if one takes the heroine’s lack of a first name, that would qualify, as we the reader would expect to be informed of this vital piece of information. Thus, Du Maurier’s omission of this breaks normative expectations and can be considered silence on the part of the author – as not for one moment do we

Ekam, Year 13

entertain the notion that she accidentally neglected to name the narrator. So, ‘silence’ in literature must take the place of something we do not expect silence on, yet still be apparent sub silentio.

Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day is a paragon of wider trends in 20th century literature – i.e. the tendency to ambiguity, absurdism, streams of consciousness, and the rejection of a traditional, linear plot structure. The theme of silence pervades the novel in three main ways. Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, it manifests itself in the narrator Stevens’ interactions with other characters.

For example, the relationship between Stevens and his father is characterised by reservedness, and therefore periphrasis, as evidenced by the detached use of the third person, “I might have known father would be up,” rather than the more informal vocative we might expect befitting a filial address. The conversation between Stevens and his father is one of abstracted formality, with meaning relying more on the implications of what remains unsaid, rather than what is explicitly stated, “I get all the sleep I need”. Thus, it is a conversation of silence. Another rather stark example of silence on Stevens’ part with regards to his father is his decision not to say a final goodbye, “This is most distressing.

Nevertheless, I must now return downstairs.” In many ways, the character of Stevens perfectly embodies the theme of ‘silence’ itself – as a butler, his role requires him to be constantly dutiful, and therefore constantly silent (the critic Berberich denounces him as a ‘silent tool’), expunged of all personality and individual thought. This repression is clearly visible in his interactions with other characters.

However (secondly), silence is also present in his interaction with the implied reader. Whilst the novel takes place in July 1956, Stevens is suspiciously quiet concerning the Suez Crisis, an enormously significant event which symbolically confirmed Britain’s declining power as an imperial nation (in many ways – the nation of country-houses and butlers Stevens represents). Whilst we might expect such an event to overshadow a novel set in

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this period, Stevens remains silent on this subject. Thirdly, there is on Ishiguro’s part what could be described as a ‘tone of silence’. For example, we only learn that Stevens is crying after his father’s death indirectly, when it is implied via other characters’ comments, “Not feeling unwell, are you?” This is strongly reminiscent of Ernest Hemingway’s ‘iceberg technique’.

The ‘iceberg technique’ is a defining feature of Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway’s theory suggested that readers would be able to pick up on details explicitly omitted in the text, “he [the writer] may omit things that he knows and the reader…will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them.” The resulting sparsity of language is characteristic of the narrator Frederic Henry’s narrative style.

However, there is nuance and, according to the critic Davis-Wood, present in the text is a tension between the silence of trauma (the unsaid) and the compulsion to narrate (logorrhoea). Thus, Hemingway explores the theme of silence in relation to the noise of war and the (often repressed) voice of the individual.

Likewise, the relationship between silence and speaking is explored in Ian McEwan’s Atonement. The expected parallels, however, between voice and truth, and silence and suppression, are inverted.

In Briony’s case, her silence, rather than her testimony, would have led to justice, or at least avoided such a disastrous miscarriage. Her authorial compulsion to narrate, unlike Henry in A Farewell to Arms, leads to ruin, not relief. McEwan also draws attention to authorial omnipotence by revealing that Robbie and Cecilia’s ‘happy ending’ was a narrative disruption, and ‘not real’. Thus, McEwan himself is silent on the truth of his own fiction, refusing to convey the entire nature of his narrative to the reader.

Similarly, in William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies, the whole truth is not satisfactorily explained to the reader. In order to increase the illusion of complete tropical isolation in juvenile ignorance,

Golding makes very few allusions to the war taking place in the outside world: these are limited to a plane crash at the beginning, the dead parachutist, and the arrival of the naval officer at the end. Thus, when the outside world does make an unwelcome intrusion into the potential idyll, and the silence is broken, it is all the more powerful. At the end of the novel we are brought back to reality, but up until that moment the insulation of the island is total, and the noise of the outside world at the end is jarring, both to the schoolboys and the reader.

All of the texts I have so far discussed are 20th century novels (2001, in the case of Atonement). They have in common, as mentioned previously, certain hallmarks of ambiguity and subjectivity, which necessarily demand the presence of some form of ‘silence’. Whatever the reason for this, whether it be increased, conflictinduced disillusionment, or the exhaustion of the potential of the 19th century novel, I believe we can better understand this trend by examining an author on the cusp of the Victorian and Modernist novel forms - namely, Henry James. Silence plays a key role in James’ structure of The Portrait of a Lady. Luckhurst (2009) points out that, whilst the novel begins with an omniscient, occasionally intrusive, narrative voice (reminiscent of the stability and confidence of novels like George Eliot’s Middlemarch), after the arrival of Madam Merle, crucial information is withheld from the reader.

This is particularly jarring as, up until this point, we the reader have been led to believe that we are reading a Victorian, Realist novel. Thus, we are disoriented when silence is introduced, and we find ourselves reading a Modernist, Impressionist novel.

For the sake of balance, I will now briefly touch on silence in pre-20th century texts. To take a founding example, the Old Testament of the Christian Bible has a certain distinctive style of omission, similar in many ways to the ‘iceberg technique’.

Linafelt describes this style as “including very little in the way of detail that is not strictly necessary to the plot.” He argues, though, that this is not evidence of an absence of style, or artlessness, but rather a technique designed to push ‘the reader’s attentions from the foreground, where such details might be described…to the background, where…motivations [are] left unexpressed.” The reader is left to ‘fill in the gaps’, as it were, and John Milton responded particularly strongly to this silence in scripture (Swann, 2011). To take another founding Western text, the Iliad displays significant silence on the effect of the Trojan War on women and slaves.

This has been rectified in the modern day by authors like Pat Barker (The Silence of the Girls) and Margaret Atwood (The Penelopiad), retrospectively filling in those silences.

Whilst silence in the Bible is stylistic, and thus serves a similar purpose to the 20th century novels discussed above, a distinction can be made between silence in the Iliad and in later texts. The Iliad omits what we might consider certain crucial details because, for the Greeks, they did not hold the same importance as themes such as honour, heroism, and piety. In this instance, the differing priorities between

our culture, and those of antiquity, influence our readings of ‘silence’ in certain texts. Silence in Shakespeare, and in Hamlet in particular, as illustrated in the introduction, is infinitely interpretable, and thus beyond the scope of this essay.

However, I do think it is relevant to point out some similarities – namely, the effect of early modern hierarchies on the play’s presentation of silence: according to Bock (1976), Hamlet’s grief over his father’s death is silenced by his subordinate position in his uncle’s court: “But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue.” As in the Iliad, the historical context remains important.

Having explored the presence of silence within works of literature, I will finish by considering silence in an extratextual sense (i.e. silence on the part of the author). To take an example from the early 20th century, in the 1922 abridgment of The Golden Bough,, James George Frazer omits a particularly daring passage on the symbolism of the Crucifixion of Christ, for fear of it being too controversial. Another example of silence outside of the thematic content of a text is silence in terms of an artistic movement. The Pre-Raphaelites, for example, are particularly silent on modernity in their poems and art. This silence is more intentional than a selective interest in mythic, medieval scenes. It is rather a conscious decision to avoid all modernity, evidenced by their philosophy, which spurned the rise of factories, and eventually resulted in the Arts and Crafts movement.

In conclusion, ‘silence’ in literature is multifaceted, but my research has revealed three primary groupings: firstly, the 20th century unreliable narrator, where certain pieces of information crucial to our full comprehension of a text are withheld; secondly, the ancient omission of historically culturally irrelevant details; and finally, the extratextual, authorial silence, the impact of which cannot help but be felt in the text.

Bibliography Bock, P.K. (1976). ‘I Think but Dare Not Speak’: Silence in Elizabethan Culture.

Journal of Anthropological Research FISCHER, S.K. (1990). Hearing Ophelia: Gender and Tragic Discourse in ‘Hamlet’. Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme James, H. and Luckhurst, R. (2009). The portrait of a lady.. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.

Linafelt, T. (2016). The Hebrew Bible as literature : a very short introduction.

New York Oxford University Press.

Swann, A. (2011). ‘Silence and Sufferance’: The Tacit Milton. Renaissance Studies

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Academic

Academic

‘Power corrupts and Absolute Power corrupts absolutely.’

When we set the challenge to the Year 9s in the Summer Term to write an essay in response to the theme of power, many turned to psychology, politics and sociology to explore ideas of power as something eminently corruptible. Many of the boys responded to what they had witnessed in social media and explored it through a range of disciplinary lenses. Many also responded to power in terms of energy and we were impressed by their commitment to powering the world in an environmentally-conscious manner. We also enjoyed reading essays on mathematical and chemical powers where boys had gone beyond the syllabus to explore their own interests. It was difficult to judge and we applaud them all for their bravery in tackling the topic and their enthusiasm for intelligent, critical research. You can read Max’s First Place slightly abridged essay below.

Kimberley Wyatt | Senior Deputy Head

Laura DeVouge-Bernards | Head Librarian

The intoxication of power: how Putin became the political psychopath of the modern age Max, Year 10

and reputation in Russia. Putin gave no thought to human life, callously abusing international humanitarian laws by ordering the complete destruction of the Chechen city Grozny. Tens of thousands of civilians died and Putin showed no remorse, instead coldly stating that Russian troops “fulfilled their task to the end.”6 It is no coincidence that at the same time Putin proactively began building relationships with the West, evidenced by his attendance at the G7 Summit in Tokyo and meetings with NATO. Putin displayed psychopathic behaviours, deceiving, and manipulating the West, creating a picture of trust between him and world leaders to increase his power while denying and concealing his conscienceless actions in Chechnya.

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”1 During Vladimir Putin’s 23 years as Russia’s president, not only has he assumed absolute power through cruel and brutal methods but has also taken the country from an autocracy to a dictatorship built on the foundations of repression and fear. According to the neuropsychologist, Ian Robertson, “Putin’s personality and thinking have become grossly distorted by the effects of enormous, largely unfettered power on his brain…. Absolute power makes you blind to risk, highly egocentric, narcissistic.”2 These are the traits of a psychopath. In fact, Putin easily fits the description of a psychopath – a charming, ruthless and highly manipulative individual who lies for personal gain, someone who lacks empathy or remorse, an egotist who believes they are beyond the law. There is no doubt that Putin has been intoxicated by the power he holds but what is it about his life and leadership that has created a deluded psychopathic dictator?

Putin’s psychopathic tendencies have developed from building a government built on corruption, secretly controlling the majority of wealth in Russia. Putin’s most prominent political opponent, Alexei Navalny, believes that “the seeds of corruption were planted” when Putin as a KGB agent “developed relations with figures who later formed his oligarchs, financial elites and political supporters.”7 The 1992 “food for oil” scandal occurred whilst Putin was the mayor’s official in St Petersburg. In a 100 million US dollar scheme, raw materials were meant to be exchanged for food to help the city’s starving people.

Although materials were exported, food never arrived and the money disappeared.

Putin’s signature was on the paperwork. He was prepared to cruelly sacrifice the starving Russian public for private gain.

Many of Putin’s behaviours were learnt during his time working as a foreign intelligence officer at the KGB, Russia’s ruthless intelligence agency and a force of secret police designed to quash political dissent. Every KGB agent was required to pledge allegiance to the state. This patriotism was used to justify the KGB’s brutal tactics of terror, intimidation and execution. Corruption and bribery were the norm. Agents were programmed to lie and deceive; to scare and manipulate the public, and to exert control whilst also rooting out opposition to the government. John Sipher, a former US CIA officer, described the KGB as “a terrorist organisation... all about keeping the leadership in power at all costs.”3 Putin’s psychopathic methods of intimidation and deception were implanted in his mind by the KGB’s perspective of necessary acts to maintain power.

In his 2000 autobiography, Putin admitted that the appeal of joining the KGB was the personal power KGB agents enjoyed: “One man’s effort could achieve what whole armies could not.

One spy could decide the fate of thousands of people”4, showing Putin was always attracted to the prospect of power and its endless opportunities for control. Putin’s time in the KGB taught him how to use corrupt and psychopathic methods for absolute power, pushing these boundaries to significant effect. The KGB planted the seeds for Putin’s nationalistic, extremist methods of rule in Russia and taught him that absolute power could be achieved using secrecy, lies, institutionalised murder and repression, all justified to safeguard the State.

In 2014, Russia hosted the Sochi Winter Olympics, costing over 50 billion US dollars, the most expensive in history. Putin gave no thought to the Russian people struggling as the country was close to recession. Sochi was his pet project to present Russia as a strong world power and himself as a great leader.

More than 30 billion US dollars of the total cost was said to have disappeared by way of bribes to Putin’s oligarch cronies, as secret payments hidden within infrastructure contracts. Putin exploited this global event, using government money to satisfy his close network of oligarchs and keep a polarised hierarchy in society, by

Deception and manipulation are psychopathic traits, and they are also skills Putin learnt to use throughout his career to achieve his objectives. In 2023, Putin’s former speechwriter, Abbas Gallyamov, called him “a chameleon”5 because of Putin’s ability to adapt to people and circumstances for personal gain.

For example, in 1999, the year Putin became Prime Minister, he was still relatively unknown to the Russian people. Around that time, there was a series of bombings in Moscow, blamed on Chechen separatists seeking independence from Russia. In truth, the bombings were believed to be orchestrated on Putin’s orders by the FSB (as the KGB became known) to give Putin an excuse to start a second Chechen war and improve his visibility

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Scan here to read all the essays

Academic

later, defending and rebuilding a powerful “Mother Russia”.

granting wealth to the rich rather than the poor.

Psychopaths have a controlling nature and Putin is the perfect example. Putin has been ruthless in his actions taken to consolidate power solely in his own hands. In the 2000 presidential election, Putin won 53% of votes. However, the Moscow Times discovered that “fraud and abuse of power …. have been decisive.”10 Vote counts were falsified. Putin had used fraud to win power but still the election result was extremely close. Putin learnt a valuable lesson, that democracy and elections must be suppressed. In the 2018 elections, Putin won 76% of the vote whilst his biggest opponents were prevented from running at all. A recent example of Putin’s obsession to preserve power is that in 2021, he passed a law that extended his time as President by another two terms, allowing him to remain in power until 2036 at the expense of democracy in Russia. This law also gave him lifetime immunity from prosecution.

Corruption in Russia is deeply rooted within the government, in fact it is a fundamental pillar of Putin’s power base. Putin developed relationships with the Russian mafia while working in St Petersburg. He collaborated with the infamous Tambov and Malyshev crime groups to gain control of St Petersburg’s gambling industry and used his mayoral office to launder mafia money. During this time, Putin also enjoyed the influence and personal benefits that crime could give him, learning that corruption could protect him from accountability.

Today, most Russian organised crime is arranged directly from the Kremlin. In fact, Putin leads just like a mafia don.

For him, it is much better to cultivate power than friends.

He keeps his distance and only builds relationships that fit his purpose. The Kremlin runs on a culture of fear. Many government institutions are run by Putin’s ex KGB contacts, men with the same mindset as Putin, prepared to use brutality and intimidation to get results. Russian analyst, Stanislav Belkovsky who advised the Kremlin in the early 2000s, explained that Putin “dislikes being surrounded by people who feel untouchable because of their personal closeness to him… his allies are also the greatest threats to his rule.” 8

Putin controls the Russian legal system. As President, he took over control of the courts in Russia in 2013, abolishing the highest commercial court and giving him the right of appointing and firing prosecutors. Steven Lee Myers, a journalist of the New York Times, described Russia as “a country where suspects can be detained indefinitely, where arbitrary, politically and even economically motivated prosecutions are common.”11 The ability to ruthlessly use this tool of blind prosecution to imprison businessmen and political opponents who fall foul of the Kremlin, such as Alexei Navalny, indefinitely for challenging Putin’s rule, has helped to create a megalomaniac. In addition, in 2017, Putin consolidated Russia’s security agencies, including the FSB, into one super-agency, the Ministry of State Security. He gave himself sole control over this agency’s powers including domestic and foreign intelligence, border controls and hacking. Putin also took control of the Russian military from the moment he played a major role in the second Chechen war.

Oligarchs who have made their fortunes on the back of Putin’s patronage have a price to pay, loyalty at any cost. Any threat to Putin’s power is quickly suppressed. For example, the oligarch Boris Berezovsky faithfully supported Putin, using his media network as a propaganda tool to help Putin win the 2000 Presidential elections. However, less than a year later, Berezovsky was forced by the FSB to sell his business to the Russian state and flee Russia. Berezovsky’s crime? His media had criticised Putin for the government’s poor response to the Kursk submarine disaster.

Putin saw this as betrayal and punished him, sending a message to other oligarchs that they can make their fortunes but only under Putin’s rules.

...

To conclude, Putin has been corrupted mentally and physically by absolute power, influenced by the merciless tactics of a terrorist force, the KGB, and its extreme patriotism. Power has become so intoxicating for Putin over the 23 years of his leadership, as he has learnt by experience the benefits of using ruthlessness and brutality, manipulation, deception, and murder to become ever more powerful. The Ukraine war has already cost the lives of many thousands of innocent people. However, Putin’s narcissism and arrogance have stopped him from admitting any weakness.

His psychopathic desire for power whatever the cost has led to him using heavy propaganda in Russia to present the perfect strong man image as well as to conceal his failures and crimes and perpetrate lies about his enemies. However, in a modern world, power is precarious. It is almost impossible to stop the spread of the truth via social media into Russia and so Putin’s absolute control is being tested. The attempted Wagner coup in June 2023 has created a significant crack in Putin’s armour, showing his vulnerability and susceptibility to challenge. For a psychopath who has built a hierarchy of power which relies on and revolves around him, this time his usual weapons of fear, manipulation and corruption may not be enough to stop it from crashing down.

Autocratic leadership has created a psychopath, surrounded by advisers too scared to challenge or question.

Consequently, Putin has developed his own distorted view of the world which in his mind justifies his right to act without consequence.

According to his inflated ego, he and Russia are one and any threat or opposition to him is unpatriotic. For Putin, the fall of the Soviet Union was a “tragedy. Millions of … Russian citizens …found themselves beyond the fringes of Russian territory.”9 He refused to believe that neighbouring countries were desperate to become independent of Russia, free of communism. In July 2021 Putin published an essay (“On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians”), arguing that Russians and Ukrainians are one people with the same culture, faith and language, and that there is no historical basis for a separate Ukrainian nation. This manipulated version of Russian history was used to justify his psychopathic invasion of Ukraine months

1 ‘Test a man’s character’ quote attributed to the politician Robert G. Ingersoll in 1883, praising Abraham Lincoln – Reuters, 3 August 2021 - https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-abrahamlincoln-power-idUSL1N2PA1V7.

2 Ian Robertson Ph.D – “The danger that lurks inside Vladimir Putin’s brain” – Psychology Today 17 March 2014 3 Haltiwanger, J. - Putin’s KGB past is key to grasping what he might do next in his failing Ukraine war, ex-spies say. - Business Insider – 24 February 2023. - https://www.businessinsider.com/putinkgb-taught-him-lie-think-like-terrorist-ex-spies-2022.

4 Putin autobiography “First Person: an astonishingly frank self-portrait by Russia’s President” first published 1 June 2000 5 Abbas Gallyamov – interview with TSN Daily News January 2023 6 McQuilkin, H. and Chakrabarti, M, 2 March 2022 - What Putin’s destruction of Grozny in 1999 means for Ukraine now - https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2022/03/02/putin-grozny-chechenukraine-russia-military-past.

7 Noble, B, Dollbaum, J.M. and Lallouet, M. - 2021. Alexei Navalny: thousands defy state crackdown to support jailed Russian opposition leader - The Conversation -https://theconversation. com/alexei-navalny-thousands-defy-state-crackdown-to-support-jailed-russian-opposition-leader-159456.

8 Stanislav Belkovsky – interview with Die Welt 21 December 2007 9 Vladimir Putin - “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians” first published 12 July 2021

19

Pupil Voice

Pupil Voice

Noah Saxton Head of Pupil Voice ‘23-24

I

am pleased to announce that Pupil Voice has had another productive term, with committee leaders spearheading many new and exciting initiatives, as well as the return of many firm Warwick School favourites.

Anti-Racism Week kicked off the first of our wellbeing themed weeks this year, with a fantastic whole school assembly incorporating a large number of committee members from across all year groups. Other highlights from the week included the return of the now customary ‘Big Conversation’ on racism across the Foundation, ‘Wear Red Day’, and a special Friday Encounter with Neil Sanyal OW, which was an incredibly powerful and moving event.

The return to school after October Half Term once again heralded the start of ‘Movember’, and some impressive moustaches have been seen around the Sixth Form Centre over the last few weeks! So far the school community has done a fantastic job in raising funds for the Movember charity, with nearly £3,000 being raised by the end of the month. Pertinent and personal assemblies from Mr Etheridge and the Gender Equality Committee on the importance of men’s mental health also added to a great month, culminating with the launch of the ‘Dough for a Bro’ project, where students were encouraged to purchase a donut for a friend and write an accompanying message to check in with their feelings.

In the wellbeing calendar, things quickly progressed from Anti-Racism Week to Anti-Bullying Week, with the AntiBullying Committee focusing on the theme of ‘Making a Noise about Bullying’. Odd Socks Day kicked off the week with as much colour as ever and the first ‘Big Buffet’ brought lots of discussion about making school an even friendlier place to be. The changing of the school bell sound to ‘Smoke on the Water’ by Deep Purple and committee’s whole school assembly, during which our student-led ‘Standard Revolver’ rock band played, will certainly live long in the memory of students!

The Catering Committee has also introduced a new initiative coined the ‘Pupil’s Choice Lunch’, whereby

students are given the chance to vote to choose which country they would like their meal to come from, once a half term. This half term Italy has been chosen, and students can look forward to enjoying produce from a wide variety of different cuisines and cultures as the year progresses. Other notable projects this term have included a student consultation from the Teaching & Learning Committee on the use of AI to positively contribute towards the student experience, and a new ‘House Mascot’ programme from the Eco Committee, which will see our six houses going head to head to try and come up with the most effective and innovative ways to raise money for environmental charities.

Finally, we are very pleased to report that, following consultation with our student body, a new Pupil Voice committee has been launched in order to promote awareness surrounding disabilities and improving accessibility for these students within our community. A recruitment video is currently being filmed, and existing committee members are already excitedly working towards the committee’s first wellbeing themed week, which will be held in May. On behalf of the entire committee, I would like to thank all members for their positive contributions over the last term. I hope you have a wonderful and restful Christmas, and look forward to seeing you all at January’s committee meetings.

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Combined Cadet Force

Co-Curricular

WRAST 23 competition took place on Sunday, 19 November at No.1 Radio School, RAF Cosford. It was a regional event which saw 15 RAF teams competing in various rounds including Drill & Turnout, aircraft recognition, shooting, first aid, RAF knowledge and a command task. The cadets trained hard for weeks and did very well against some incredibly strong competition!

8 cadets participated in the Regional Cadet Skill At Arms Meeting in October at Kingsbury Range.

The team took first place in the CCF category. Cdt. Ptolemy won best shot and Cdt. Theo joined him to win the best pair award.

This year’s October Half Term Exercise took place in Leek, Staffordshire. An excellent show of endurance and teamwork was on display - well done all.

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Community

PAWS Update T

Junior PAWS has had a busy Michaelmas term, starting with a meet and greet with new and old parents, a great event to bring parents together. We followed this with Hallowe’en treats and a cake competition. We finished the term with some Christmas festivities, a Mulled Wine and Mince Pie event after the Christmas Concert and a Christmas Fun Afternoon for the boys on the penultimate Friday of term. - thank you to everyone who has supported these initiatives and helped to make them a success!

his term saw the return of our everpopular Macmillan Coffee Morning, supported by sixth formers and raising money for this amazing charity. It was wonderful to see so many parents and staff popping by for coffee, orange juice, breakfast baps, and a slice of cake for later, all for a good cause.

Thank you to all parents who donated to another amazing collection for the Nearly New Uniform Shop, and to all the volunteers who helped to sort and organise everything - we are so pleased to be able to offer this opportunity for parents to access uniform at a reduced rate. The next sale takes place in January.

You can follow both arms of PAWS on Instagram: @pawswarwick and @juniorpawswarwick

Senior PAWS has been working on a sport supporters line to give parents the chance to cheer the boys on in approved gear. Keep an eye out in the parent newsletter and on social media to find out what items are available and how to order.

If any parents would like to get involved, volunteer, or just find out more, please get in touch at warwickschoolpaws@gmail.com or juniorpawswarwick@gmail.com as we’d be delighted to hear from you!

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Community

News from our Old Warwickians The Old Warwickian Association offers a great range of opportunities for networking, friendship and camaraderie in the years to come. The School is also very grateful for the way many OWs give back, both financially and in terms of offering talks and careers support.

OW Cross Country It was good to see a team of OW runners competing in the Thames Hare and Hounds Alumni Race over Wimbledon Common.

OWA Annual Dinner The OWA Annual Dinner is a great opportunity for OWs to gather again in the Pyne Room, which was once the School Assembly Hall and later the library.

OWs in Hong Kong Head Master James Barker and Foundation Head of Boarding David Bull were delighted to meet up with twenty OWs living and working in Hong Kong. The Indian Recreation Club was a perfect venue for a relaxed evening with good company, food and drinks.

CCF Corps of Drums The School was delighted to take delivery of the new Corps of Drums, generously funded by a number of OWs with additional support from the West Midlands Reserve Forces & Cadets Association.

Wessex Old Warwickians OW Nick Fogg, third-time Mayor of Marlborough, kindly hosted a reception at Marlborough Town Hall for the fifth gathering of Wessex Old Warwickians (WOW). WOWs enjoyed a fascinating insight into the town before heading to Stein’s for a great lunch.

Next stop Winchester!

The Mulley Plaque In Noivember the Head Master, accompanied by School archivist, Mr Frykman, and Mr Jefferies attended the unveiling of a blue

plaque at Clemens Street in Leamington Spa commemorating the life and achievements of Fred Mulley OW. Four Sixth Formers, Noah, Ekam, William and Ryan, all holders of the Mulley tie for academic achievement, also attended the unveiling.

Careers Speed Interviewing Thank you to OWs, parents and friends who supported the Careers department’s Speed Interviews for Sixth Form.

Happy 100th Birthday The Head Master visited former Second Master Ralph Thornton on his 100th birthday. Ralph was one of our longest serving members of staff (WS 1948-89).

Encounters There was a good turn out for PoliticsJoe speaker Oli Dugmore OW – one of many great ‘Encounters’ this term.

New OW War Memorial Members of the Warwick School community, including a number of OWs who served with the Armed Forces in recent years, attended the dedication of a new war memorial in Warwick School Chapel on Remembrance Sunday. In the decades since the World Wars ended, names have come to light of at least 13 Old Warwickians who lost their lives in the service of their country but whose names, for various reasons, were missing from the original WWI and WWII memorials in Chapel.

OddBalls Will Callan (WS 2004-21) returned to Warwick School to deliver an excellent assembly to the Lower Sixth. Will, in his final year at Nottingham University, volunteers as an Ambassador for The OddBalls Foundation, raising awareness of testicular cancer – one of the most common forms of cancer in young men aged 15-49.

For further OW news and images see www.oldwarwickians.org

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Music

Music To Our Ears

At the Warwick Schools Foundation, we go to great lengths to ensure our provision is as inclusive as possible, that music is a part of every pupil’s education, and that music making is weaved into the very fabric of our school communities. Our instrumental schemes in Years 3 and 7, for example, are a testament to this ethos. If these initiatives, alongside our thriving ensemble and concert programmes which support them, form the base of our musical pyramid, then our Foundation Symphony Orchestra concerts sit at the very top of that pyramid.

As our flagship ensemble, the Foundation Symphony Orchestra (FSO) brings together over eighty of the best orchestral musicians from across the Foundation, to rehearse and perform the greatest orchestral music ever written, to a standard on par with any youth orchestra in the country. Not an easy task, so how do we aim to achieve this?

First and foremost, we have a highly dedicated, tallented and reliable membership. Entry to the orchestra is by invitation only, and a minimum of Grade 6 standard is required for most instruments (although, as is the trend with entry to national youth ensembles and conservatoires, the required standard is higher for some instruments - sorry flutes). Pupils can be invited into the orchestra from Year nine onwards.

In addition to the excellent young musicians who make up the orchestra, we are fortunate to have a team of professional orchestral musicians from within our own Music staff, who tutor

the individual sections of the orchestra on a weekly basis. The involvement of specialist tutors has had a hugely positive impact on the confidence and the cohesion of the orchestra since they came on board just over a year ago.

Music selection also plays an important role in the success of any young orchestra. How to choose a stand-alone programme of just a from the last four hundred years of classical music? The formula which seems to work for FSO is to keep everyone busy, make it challenging yet achievable, and make it engaging for players and audience alike.

Foundation Symphony Orchestra benefits enormously from its relationship with Orchestra of the Swan. We have developed a programme of side-by-side events, conducting workshops, open rehearsals and come-and-play days with the Swan, giving our aspiring orchestral players the chance to rehearse, perform and learn from their professional counterparts.

Foundation Symphony Orchestra doesn’t belong to one school more than any other. Instead, it exists as a shared platform, on which pupils come together in pursuit of something greater than the sum of their parts. What better analogy for the Foundation as a whole?

Dan Robertson Musical Director, Foundation Symphony Orchestra

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Music

25

Academic

Cooking Up A Storm Warwick School was pleased to welcome Old Warwickian Nick Deverell-Smith to officially open the new Food Science laboratory. Nick joined a Year 9 class as they made Butter Chicken and Naan from scratch, learning key food skills in the new facility. After working with the boys on perfecting their meals,

Nick officially opened the space with Head Master James Barker and Head of Food Science at Warwick School, Meagan OSullivan. The new Food Science lab was made possible with the generous support of parents, and is already a hit with boys across all year groups. All pupils up to Sixth Form are timetabled at least one session per week in the new space, with additional co-curricular opportunities at lunchtimes and after school.

With a focus on learning to cook meals they enjoy, the pupils are already excited for what the future of Food Science at Warwick School looks like – many of the Year 9s were keen to pursue a GCSE in the subject next year.

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Academic

27

Rugby

Sport

The first term was extremely busy with over 200 fixtures being played across the age groups, against some of the strongest opposition in the country.

Some incredibly successful starts to the season have been delivered by: the 4th XV; U16Bs and Cs; U15Bs, Cs and Ds; U14Ds; U12Cs and Ds; all of whom have either only lost one game, or have gone unbeaten so far.

Over the course of the first half term there were many highlights across the teams – most noticeably Harry’s 1st XV try against Bedford, the 1st XV’s first ever draw away at Sedbergh, playing Rugby School as part of their 200 year anniversary since the birth of rugby, Louis’s four tries against Harrow U14s, and some of Dexter’s crunching tackles in the U15s.

Another highlight of the Michaelmas term was the U13s rugby tour to Scotland. The teams played games against Glasgow Academy and Melrose Rugby Club, as well as enjoying lots of activities - from bowling, to paintballing, to Ghost tours of Edinburgh and visiting the National Stadium (Murrayfield) where the players got to sit in the home changing room and run down the tunnel.

The group also got the opportunity to meet Scotland and Glasgow Warriors Winger Kyle Steyn, whilst in Glasgow, as well as watch the whole Edinburgh Rugby squad train - followed by selfies and autographs with Scotland Players Pierre Schoeman, Duhan van der Merwe, Captain Jamie Richie and Warwick Old Boy Tom Dodd. After an adventurous trip home, no doubt every boy on the tour will have some lasting memories of their time away.

In the various National Cups: the U14s lost out in a close encounter to an unbeaten Denstone team who possessed some strong threats across the pitch. The final score was 8-13, but the team worked fantastically hard throughout, and have shown great progress this season. The U15s battled with a very strong Stowe team, and with game was poised on a knife edge in the final minutes at 19-19, a breakaway try broke Warwick hearts in the final play of the match. The U15s are another group who have taken great strides as a group this year with the support of Mr Skyrme. The 1st XV were knocked out of the National Cup Competition with a gutwrenching loss away at to Uppingham in November, but have bounced back with some great performance and results since then.

Rugby continues to be support the school values of Curiosity, Creativity, Courage, Perseverance, Responsibility and Humility on a daily basis. We are proud of the values our players have shown on may occasions throughout their games this year, and will continue to champion these character traits throughout the season and in the future. Across the age groups and teams, numerous players have demonstrated fantastic commitment to their sport, showing great progress in their skill development and game understanding. Competition for places in teams has never been more fierce, with numerous players putting in strong performance with their teams. Long may this continue...

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The hockey teams have had a busy start to the term across all the year groups.

The Year 7 teams have shown real enthusiasm and a great deal of promise. Unfortunately the A team have lost twice to Solihull, but they have made huge improvements and convincingly won against KES Birmingham and Bishop Vesey’s. The B, C and D teams have had mixed results but have made huge improvements in their play in the last few weeks.

The Year 8 teams have continued to build on their excellent form from last season. The A team still have a 100% win record and the B team not far behind having won 3 of their 4 matches so far.

Year 9 have made a good start to the full 11 a side game and put in some excellent performances. The highlight of this was on the tour to Jersey where, supported by a number of Year 8 players they beat Jersey Hockey club 9-1. The B and C teams have struggled so far this season but with most of their fixtures against other schools A and B teams the results do not always reflect their effort and quality of the performances.

Their recent 1st round cup match against Solihull with some Year 8 boys playing up lead to a convincing 8-2 win and another local tie against KES Birmingham in the next round.

The U15A team continue to develop and have made a promising start to the season with wins at KES Birmingham, Loughborough Grammar, KES Stratford and Bishop Vesey’s.

They have lost only one game to Solihull. The B and C teams have been playing ‘up a team’ against most of their opposition so far and the B team had a well-deserved win against KES Stratford with some impressive teamplay.

The senior teams have had a busy term so far and it’s been great to have a 5th team consistently playing. Their first win is just around the corner!

The 4th team have been in great form winning 4 of their 5 matches last half term with Edgar Dumbreck topping the scoring with 5 goals.

The 2nd and 3rd team have had similar starts to the season with some promising performances that have not quite resulted in wins. This will undoubtedly change if they continue to work hard for each other.

The first team have played some tough opposition and have made good progress with a new look squad from last season. Captain Will has led the forward line and scored some great goals with Charles also scoring from midfield. Oli and Keeran have struck up an excellent partnership in the middle of defence and are controlling the game well. Draws with a strong Bromsgrove and Bishop Vesey’s side have been encouraging and they played well under lights to beat a strong Abingdon team last week with a late winner from Charlie. Last week in the England Hockey Schools Championship round won they put in their best performance of the season and won 5-1, demonstrating how hard they have worked to improve this term.

Hockey 29

Sport

Sport

On Monday, 9 October, nine boys travelled to Princethorpe to take part in an ESAA cross country cup event. Five out of the ten Warwick boys had topten finishes. Ollie finished 2nd and Lex Proger finished 9th in the junior boy’s race. Jonny finished 3rd and Josh finished 10th in the intermediate boy’s race. Ruben did well to finish 3rd in the senior boy’s race, in which there was strong competition from KES and Princethorpe.

On the 4 November, a number of Y7 boys ran at Stratford at the Warwickshire Schools cross country event.

Tom, George, and Freddie placed in the top ten in their race and have been called up to represent Warwickshire at an Inter County event.

Boys are encouraged to sign up for the next big event; the King Henry relay race on 31 January – it promises to be a large, exciting event in the cross-country calendar!

Ski racing

The Ski Racing group are continuing to train hard and after the English Schools Ski Association races prior to half-term, we are delighted to congratulate the following boys on their selection to ESSkiA training squads for the forthcoming winter: Tom and Dan - Cat 4 Squad Josh - Cat 3 Squad Fenton & Hugh - Cat 2 Squad They will all have the opportunity to train in Norway with ESSkiA during this next season.

There was also a training session at Swadlincote Dry Slope on Sunday, 12 November with several pupils new to ski racing in attendance. The next race meeting is the first of the Midland Ski Club Winter League Race series.

Hopefully with plenty of Warwick skiers in attendance.

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Badminton Sport

This year has seen competitive badminton enter the sports provision with U14 and U16 teams being entered into the national cup competition. Mr Willis has been proud to see the commitment and effort shown by both year groups and the increased interest with more numbers coming along to the Wednesday lunchtime sessions as well as the afterschool club.

Shiv has been exceptional for both teams. As a Year 8 he has been playing against older opponents, sometimes 3 years older, and he has fully taken this challenge on. He has also formed a strong doubles partnership with Xuanlin! Sarthak, Alex, Jaden, Zack and Jerry have made selections difficult for the team and each player has done very well when they have played.

The U16 team narrowly lost their 4th round fixture against Haberdashers Boys School due to points difference after the match was tied 3-3. The U14 team lost in the 3rd round against a very good Perse school side, who had 3 county players, but have learnt lots in preparation for future years.

Sailing

The sailing team have had their first two fixtures of the year vs Cokethorpe school, with three double handed boats per school racing in the first and 2v2 in the second.

The Warwick teams have included Jerry, James and James helming with Edward, Matt and Andrew crewing. Both fixtures provided testing conditions, Warwick have won 1 and lost 1 so far and look forward to more fixtures next term.

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