JULY 2015

OLD

HEADMASTER’S EDITORIAL

As another academic year draws to a close, this issue of the Old Bede’s newsletter provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on the myriad achievements of pupils past and present.Reading the profiles of our alumni covered in this issue I am struck by how Bede’s diversity of aspiration, interest and ability is reflected in these pages. You Bedians enjoy-ing careers in the world of sport, in the arts and in public service, as well as those many alumni engaged in voluntary projects, serve as outstanding ambassadors for the School and I thank you for your many and varied contributions.At Christmas, my introduction to the Old

Bede’s newsletter reflected the achieve-ments of our pupils in last summer’s public examinations. In this issue, I’m pleased to reflect on the further evidence of the aca-demic progress of the school in the form of the Value Added league tables published by the Department of Education in the New Year. That Bede’s ranks higher than any other school in Sussex, and that we were eleventh in the whole of the South of England, is a reflection of the wholehearted commitment we have to bringing the best out of each individual.Our School continues to value breadth and diversity, not least in the form of our pupils’ multifarious interests. This holistic brand of

education has always been, and will always be, what makes us who we are although, as those who have recently attended Alumni Reunions will attest, we continue to passion-ately pursue the ongoing development of a truly world-class campus.As someone who loves the game of cricket, I was immensely proud when we opened our new M-J Pavilion by hosting a match between Bede’s 1st XI and the MCC – a development made possible by the generosity of the Mar-tin-Jenkins family in memory of Christopher Martin-Jenkins who attended the Prep School along with other members of the family. The Pavilion’s opening was a day when the whole school community came together with teachers and pupils past and present, as well as many members of the Martin-Jenkins family. I am proud of each new development in the Schools’ facilities - that the pavilion was built wholly by our own staff is something I am particularly proud of - but as we reflect on the importance of progress at Bede’s, I am also mindful of Mr Rimmington’s recent words at the the May Reunion, “As much as things change, they also stay the same.”

With best wishes,

Dr Richard MaloneyAlumnus and England U21 Rugby player Rob Buchanan with ex and current Prep Headmasters Peter Pyemonth and Giles Entwisle at our Prep School Speech Day.

CRICKET PAVILION OPENING HONOURS CMJ

The May Day bank holiday saw over 150 guests attend the opening of the M-J Pavilion at Bede’s School in Upper Dicker, with a match between Bede’s First XI and the MCC.It was apt that Bede’s should celebrate the opening of its new pavilion on the same weekend that alumnus Shai Hope made his debut, opening the batting for the West In-dies in the test match against England. Shai was a pupil at Bede’s School between 2011 and 2013, captaining the First XI in 2012 and 2013, scoring close to a thousand runs across the two years. The day started with a champagne reception which was attended, not only by the family of late Bede’s alumnus, Test Match Special broadcaster and MCC Chairman Christopher Martin-Jenkins but also Bede’s parents, governors and Bede’s alumni, Sussex CCC players Luke Wells, Callum Jackson and Fynn Hudson-Prentice. Callum Jackson said “It is lovely to be back. Every time I return the facilities have improved. Bede’s set the foundation for my cricket career and these new facilities will support the careers of

future generations of Bede’s cricketers.” Ex-Sussex and British Universities cricketer Robin Martin-Jenkins, son of the commenta-tor known to the nation as ‘CMJ’, signalled the start of play by ringing the M-J Pavilion bell, remarking, “My dad would have loved today, a quintessential British scene and he, more than anyone else, valued the impor-tance of school cricket and would have been proud to know that such a great facility has been built in his name.”When play began, the MCC batted first and declared their innings on 191 for 7. The wick-ets were evenly shared and the Bede’s team quite happy at restricting them to a total they felt was within their reach.Bede’s lost a couple of early wickets but ral-lied with a good partnership between Phelps and Hodgson. Unfortunately the partnership was broken when Phelps fell for 54. However, all the time captain Hodgson was at the crease Bede’s always looked likely winners.As is often the case in cricket however, one wicket can change the game. Hodgson fell when just 40 runs were needed off 11 overs. Wickets then fell at regular intervals and the

MCC ran out winners by 11 runs with just 8 balls to spare. During a break in play marking the end of the first innings, speeches were given by Chair-man of the Bede’s Board of Governors Major General Anthony Meier and Bede’s Headmas-ter Dr Richard Maloney.Following this, the official unveiling of the M-J Pavilion was undertaken by Judy Martin-Jenkins, widow of the late Christopher.Mr Alan Wells, Bede’s Director of Cricket commented “This is a proud day for the whole school, not just for the cricket community here. This is a facility which will be envied by schools throughout the county thanks to the generosity of the Martin-Jenkins family.” Bede’s Headmaster Dr Richard Maloney said of the day, “It was a great pleasure to share such a memorable occasion with so many familiar faces from the School’s past and present – headmasters, governors, coaches and pupils – all of whom have helped earn Bede’s a reputation as one of the finest cricketing schools in the country.”

Ex-Sussex and British Universities cricketer Robin Martin-Jenkins rings the pavilion bell to signal the start of play.

Alumni Luke Wells, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Director of Cricket Alan Wells and Callum Jackson.

When were you at Bede’s and which House were you in?

1968-1977. I also came back to teach French, Maths and History dur-ing my year off before university in 1984. I was in Hawk House.

What are your fondest memories of your time at Bede’s?

The stunning location beside the Downs and Beachy Head. I loved what was called “Rambling” in which we were simply left to play as we liked in “The Hollow” above Holywell!

Who were your favourite teachers at school and why?

Mr Cousin was popular with everyone, both because he was a nice person and taught Science in a way that made it very enjoyable for children. Also Mr Pyemont (Peter) who taught English and always chose excellent books to read; and Mrs MacDonald (Mrs Mac) was a popular Art teacher.

What were your particular hobbies or interests at School and do they feature in your life now?

I particularly love Purcell and Handel, which are thanks to our music teacher, Mr Woodcock’s influence. He taught us the Jacobite period of history when I was in the Third Form, which has had a major influence on my interest in History.

He had the inspirational idea of teaching us the history, music, art and architecture of the period all together, including us performing a musical about Bonnie Prince Charlie and the ‘Forty-Five’ which brought the whole period to life.

This is a period I remain interested in, both professionally, since as a specialist in Old Master Paintings this is the period I cover.

What was your academic journey into the world of art?

After leaving St Bede’s I went on to Eastbourne Grammar School

(which subsequently became Eastbourne Sixth Form College). I then read History at Downing College, Cambridge, after which I was deter-mined to pursue a career related to History and since my father was a collector of antiques I wrote to the London auction houses and got a job at Bonhams. After a brief period doing Prints, I became Head of the Old Masters Department.

How long have you been working at Bonham’s and what does your role involve?

I started at the end of 1987. I then worked from 1994 at Phillips but returned in 2000 to Bonhams, a company I have always been fond of and in which I have many friends. In fact, it so happened that the two companies then merged the following year, so I am now lucky enough to work with good friends from both companies.

I am in charge of the Old Master Paintings Department, which handles European paintings from the late middle ages to the early nineteenth century.

It is largely a business-getting role, involving much travel in the UK, Europe and the United Sates, as well as researching and writing about the pictures we sell.

What is the most interesting ‘auction moment’ you have ever witnessed?

A year ago I sold a portrait by the 18th century French artist, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, which sold for £17.1 million and was the most expensive Old Master Painting sold that year at auction anywhere in the world.

If you were to offer advice to any Bedian who is just about to start their career, what would it be?

No doubt everyone is different but I have always found that it is easier to be good at something if you find it interesting and ideally love the subject.

ALUMNI PROFILE: ANDREW MCKENZIEUK Board Director, Master of Old Paintings at Bonham’s in London, Andrew McKenzie was a pu-pil at Bede’s Prep School from 1968 – 1977 and received a degree from Cambridge.

SOLLY MARCH RETURNS TO BEDE’S

Solly, what advice would you give to Bede’s students who wish to become professional athletes?

You have to work hard, be dedicated and you have to enjoy it, if you don’t it’s not worth it!

What did you enjoy about Bede’s?

I came from Ringmer School and started Bede’s in Year 9. As soon as I saw Bede’s, I knew I wanted to come here to do sport. It’s is a lovely school, the people are all friendly and it has great sporting facilities.

The school has definitely helped me get where I am today, not only on the pitch but off the pitch too. Mr Leggett was a big help to me and with my football, he coached me for over 3 years and I can’t thank him enough for the time and effort he put in with me and the rest of the team back then.

How do the facilities at Bede’s compare to those at Brighton and Hove Albion?

They have just spent £30 million at Brighton and Hove Albion, so quite considerably! If I could bring something to Bede’s from the club, I would introduce the 3G artificial grass floodlit pitch as it is perfect for training on during the dark winter days and nights for both Football and Rugby.

Why have you returned to Bede’s to train?

I’ve been injured for the past year and fractured my leg and hurt my back which took me out for 8 months. I have been working with Tony Morriss, Bede’s Strength and Conditioning Coach, to rebuild my strength and fitness for the last 8 weeks.

I was looking for someone to give me a tough few weeks and ensure I was ready for pre-season training with Brighton and Hove Albion, so I got in contact with the school and spoke with Mr Legget, Mr Byrne, Mr Hibbert and Dr Maloney about using the gym, so I would like to say a huge thank you to them for allowing me to do this.

I saw Tony and we both thought it would be beneficial for us to work with each other, having worked with Tony for a few years when I was at the school, as part of my training back then. Tony is one of the best strength and conditioning coaches; he really knows what he is talking about, so he gets the best out of me.

What were your greatest footballing achievements?

Playing in the FA Cup against Arsenal and playing for the England U21 squad.

Who is your footballing Hero?

Thierry Henry - he made football look effortless whist being one of the greatest footballers of his time.

What are your future aspirations?

My future aspirations are high - I think they have to be if you really want to get yourself to the top.

As for any footballer, the pinnacle is playing in the Premier League and this is where I want to be in a few years’ time. It would be a dream come true to play for Arsenal in particular, and England.

A few players recently made debuts for England after coming up from non-league clubs, so I don’t see why I can’t achieve this as long as I work hard and believe in myself over the next few years.

Bede’s strength and conditioning coach, Tony Morriss recently welcomed back Brighton and Hove Albion football star and Bede’s alumni Solly March (Knights, 2008 - 2011) for his pre-season strength and conditioning training, help-ing him get back to full fitness in readiness for the new season.

Whilst Solly was training at Bede’s, we took the opportunity to catch up and shoot some questions at him, which he tackled beautifully!

Fynn, Luke and Callum Light-Up County Scoreboards2014 alumnus Fynn Hudson-Prentice, who hails from Haywards Heath, made his first-class debut for Sussex in May, taking to the crease during the entertaining opening day of the four-day LV= Coun-ty Championship Division One match against Hampshire at Hove.

Sussex managed to total 251, largely thanks to the fifth wicket stand of 115 in 24 overs between Luke Wright and Chris Nash, with Fynn batting at 9 and scoring a respectable 15.

With fellow Bede’s alumnus Luke Wells also starting for Sussex and scoring 16, and 2013 Bede’s leaver Callum Jackson on the bench at Twelfth Man, Bede’s Director of Cricket Alan Wells was happy to note that a quarter of the Sussex team for the ongoing four-day competi-tion is made up of Bede’s Cricket Academy old boys!

Shai Makes Test Cricket Debut

Bede’s alumnus Shai Hope was handed his Test Cricket debut as part of the West Indies’ final 11 for the third Test against England, handed his cap by legendary West Indian cricketer Clive Lloyd at Kensington Oval on Friday morning.

During the first day’s play, Shai was instrumental in the run-out of

Moeen Ali, and took a catch to end Ben Stokes stay at the the crease.In an unaccustomed position, Shai opened the batting on a challeng-ing day for batsmen, when six wickets fell in the first session before lunch.

Unfortunately Shai was another victim of record-breaking England supreme James Anderson.

Shai’s Test debut came after an outstanding season for Barbados Tridents in the inaugural Professional Cricket League during which Shai scored 628 runs at an average of 44.85 and made international news for scoring a double-century against the Winward Isles.

Shai said of that accomplishment, “Throughout the innings there were many challenges. I had to fight through the tough periods but I felt relieved and contented when I reached the landmark. It was a dream which became reality.”

Acknowledging that he could never have made the journey alone, Shai has been full of praise for his parents, family, friends, teammates and coaches, including Bede’s Director of Cricket and ex-England International cricketer Alan Wells.

Mr Wells said of Shai’s accomplishments, “We are extremely proud of and happy for Shai. Everyone at Bede’s is following his progress closely and is wishing him the very best for the future.”

Shai joined Bede’s for the Sixth Form on a scholarship partly funded by the Barbados Cricket Board. He captained the School’s First XI in 2012 and 2013, scoring close to a thousand runs across the two years.

Shai then made his second Test Match appearance for the West Indies against Australia in June, opening the batting and top-scoring during his team’s first innings.

Shai scored 36 runs on a challenging day for the Windies before falling to an excellent diving catch by Australian gully fielder Shaun Marsh off the bowling of Mitchell Johnson.

A SUMMER OF ALUMNI CRICKET SUCCESS

OLD BOYS CHALLENGE BEDE’S 1ST XI

Not long after the last Old Bede’s newsletter went to print, 11 alumni returned to Upper Dicker to put Bede’s 1st XI Football Team through its paces.The 1sts took an early lead through a well taken goal by Jacob Merrick and then doubled their lead in the second half after a fine lob by James Allen embarrassed the ex-Bede’s pupil and current groundskeeper Paul Turner.As the Bede’s 1st XI tired however the Old Bedians showed their experience and pulled two quick goals back to set up a nerve-

wracking finish.In the dying moments, alumnus and current Bede’s Sports Complex Assistant Dan Gorringe scored a dramatic winner for the Old Bede’s side.

After the match, Bede’s Head of Football Dave Caryer added, “It was to great to see some old faces out on the pitch today, many of whom showed they can still really play - even if some of them are not in the best physical condition!”Mr Caryer and the 1st XI had a brilliant time and hope that such fixtures will be repeated every year from now on.

If you would like to take part in the Old Boys’ Football match, please contact our Head of Football via david.caryer@bedes.org.

The Bede’s Sports department hosted a friendly Football match between the current Bede’s 1st XI and an Old Bede’s XI on Saturday 3rd January.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?1970’sJackie Vance (1976 – Prep)

Jackie now works as a freelance post produc-tion supervisor in the film industry, living in Pinner, North West London. She attended St Bede’s Prep School from 1964-1976 in the Sixth Form with the wonderful Sam Gray as Form Master.

1980’sSimon Gough (1988 – Prep)

Simon completed a triathlon sprint in Nant-wich for charity at the end of May, ten days after his 40th birthday.

Simon became a pilot and has been flying professionally since 2000, the last ten years for a private jet company NetJets, transport-ing “rich, famous and very wealthy people.”

In 2009 he married Jennifer and they now have two children, Georgia 5 and Seve 3 and a half.

Simon is lucky enough to have a great work life balance, giving him lots of time to spend with his two children and pursue hobbies including, cricket in the summer, running, cycling and swimming, all of which he devel-oped a love for from his time at St Bedes.

Simon would love to hear from anyone who remembers him from school and can be con-tacted at sgoughred21@hotmail.com.

Laars Vilmar (1984)

After St Bede’s and completing his A Levels in Germany, Laars went on to qualify as a Master of Economics at the University of Bayreuth, Germany.

After having worked in the car manufacturing industry he started his own business in wind farm development in Germany and the UK ... until he realised that there must be some-thing more beyond the apparent natural law of working hard which we all were taught!

“Nothing in the material world can be as ful-filling as the true inner immaterial freedom which I have only found within myself. Even though it sounds paradoxical I was amazed how enjoyable everything can be once I let go of it,” he says.

Laars, who is living in Germany, is now back into his true vocations; contemporary dance and the fine arts. He is sculpting and paint-ing and “encourages everyone to follow their hearts.”

Crispian Emberson (1982)

Crispian has been working on a charity pro-ject at the Kyabobo National Park in Ghana recently (pronounced CHAY-a-bobo). As a way of giving something back to the world, each year his company HDC Ltd donates a bit of time and expertise to deserving historic areas, heritage sites, nature reserves or national parks in third world countries.

The 140 sq mile Kyabobo National Park is located in the Upper Volta on the border with Togo and is home to forest elephants, leopards, buffalo, waterbuck and at least 500 species of butterflies and 235 birds!

Kyabobo National Park has 2 major problems: very few visitors and a very large poaching problem. Crispian spent a couple of weeks working with the management team to develop their product and marketing strategy and trained the 12-strong anti-poaching ranger team on patrol tactics with the result that they caught 3 poachers red-handed.

If anyone knows of a deserving project that would benefit from some free help please get in touch at cemberson@hdc-americas.com.

The Ghana National Parks are looking for some investors to run visitor services as some of the parks (accommodation, res-taurants, activities and so on) so if anyone would be interested in running a national park in Africa please get in touch directly with Crispian!

Sirichok Sopha (1981 - Prep)

Sirichok went to St Bede’s Prep School from 1979 -1981.

Sirichok was appointed the school prefect in his final years after which he went to East-bourne College and then later graduated from King’s College, London.

He went back to Thailand and became a Member of Parliament (4 consecutive elec-tions) for The Democrat party for whom he is currently the Deputy Secretary General.

Charlie Northey (1985)

Charlie Northey was a student in the early days of St Bede’s Senior School from 1980 -1985.

Charley reminisces: ‘Those heady early days of the school’s history were an interesting mix of seat of the pants experiences and fun when the school felt like an extended family as student numbers were less than 100 in 1980 growing steadily over the next 5 years to 200-odd.’

After time away in the Army from 1986-1997 in the Royal Engineers and Physical Training Corp where he saw service in Iraq, the Falkland islands, Belize, Canada and Germany, founding Headmaster Roger Perrin asked Charlie to return to be on the P.E. staff at Bede’s in 1997, primarily as a sports coach looking after the training of the sport scholars at the school, and to manage the ever-growing sports facilities.

When Steve Cole took over as headmaster in 2001, Charlie and Steve could often be found training hard together putting in the work alongside the swim scholars with hours of swimming training in the St Bede’s pool whilst Steve’s dog (Tess) watched patiently from the side lines.

In 2008, Charlie moved over the border into Wales and settled for a time in Hay on Wye (well known for its annual literary festival, hippy alternative culture and rain!) where he coached swimming at Brecon swimming club and athletics at Brecon Athletics Club, where he is still coaching secretary in charge of U13 and U15 youth development. In 2011-2012 Charlie completed a Master’s Degree in youth sports coaching with top grades and having moved to Brecon now works in the P.E / Sport development depart-ment at Brecon High school.

Charlie introduced extensive Basketball, Athletics, Cross Country and Swimming programmes to the school and is Head Coach of the very successful junior and senior Basketball teams, Welsh Schools U13-U15 Track and Field Athletes and Powys Schools’ Swimming team.

In his spare time, Charlie competes in Senior and Masters’ Track and Field events; in 2014 he became Welsh Athletics Mens 35-49 Champion. He also umpires Netball for the Powys Schools’ Netball League, coaches the U13s and U15s at Brecon A.C and coaches Swimming and Water Polo at Brecon Aquatics Club. Charlie is also planning to complete a PhD by portfolio in Youth Sports coaching over the course of 2015-2017.

Charlie is still in touch with many of the staff still at Bede’s and his Old Bede’s colleagues as he continues to take a great interest in how the school has continued to grow and go from strength to strength.

1990’sJulian Jones (1990 – Prep)

Julian Jones was made Professor of Biomate-rials at Imperial College London in 2014, in recognition of his research in new materials for healing damaged bone and cartilage and

for his teaching in Materials Science.

He is married to Claudia and has two chil-dren (Lucas 6 and Sofia 2).

Tchaiko Omawale (1991)

Tchaiko Omawale recently made her feature directorial debut with “Solace” (www.solace-film.com).

A previous version of the script was a semi-finalist for the 2012 Sundance Writers Lab and is being produced by Jerrika Hinton, who currently stars on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy.

“Solace” is a coming of age story that explores young black girlhood, self-discovery and the communal nature of being alone.

The successful Kickstarter campaign for the micro-budget film received support from other St Bede’s alumni, celebrities such as Chelsea Peretti, Nick Kroll, Jordan Peele, Jenny Slate and global thought leaders such as Natalia Kanem, Helen Gayle and other UN officials.

You can follow the film’s progress on twitter and instagram: @tchaiko @hellojerrika @hopeolaide or by signing up on their website to receive exclusive updates.

Tchaiko’s previous work can be seen on www.tchaiko.com

2000’sCharlotte Scott (2009)

Charlotte lives in Tunbridge Wells and works at a local healthcare company, which she loves.

She also completed the Tunbridge Wells Race for Life 5k on 7th June. Well done Charlotte!

Karolina Lebedeva (2009)

Since leaving Bede’s Karolina completed a BA in Economics in Real Estate (back in late 2012) and is now at the end of her first year studying Acting for Theatre and Cinema at the M.S. Shepkin Higher Theatre Institute in Russia.

Natalie Morey Smith (2009)

Natalie used to board in Dorter House and was in the same year as James Norwood, with Faith Agaba as one of her House Tutors.

She completed her internship in the Maldives last year, starting off her spa career and then decided she wanted to combine her love of travelling with her work.

Natalie is now working as a spa and beauty therapist and just finished working a ski season in Courchevel as she continues her career in beauty.

She would love to share the importance of what hard work and you can really achieve anything if you set your mind to it!

Lily May Pearl (2008)

Congratulation to ex-Bloomsbury and Charle-stone House member Lily May who left Bede’s in 2008 and graduated from the European School of Osteopathy with a 1st Class Mas-ters Degree in Osteopathy on 9th July.

Emma Long (2008) and Luke Fisher (2008)

Congratulations to Emma and Luke who met at Bede’s Prep School and remained close friends after the Sixth Form. They were married on Saturday 23rd May 2015. We wish them every happiness!

2010’sMarco Izura and Tracey Aryee-Quao (2014)

Tracey Aryee-Quao and Marco Iurza, 2014 Deputy and Head of School, came to visit us at the Marketing Office at Bede’s after their University Summer Terms ended.

Tracey is currently at the University of West-minster studying Politics and International Relations, whilst Marco, who is studying Accounting and Finance at Kingston, has just finished a one month Internship at Green-Lam in India.

Georgia-Mae Ellis (2014)

In March, alumni Georgia-Mae Ellis (who has just won a place at the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester) re-turned to her Alma Mater, Bede’s Prep School, and sang a duet from Bizet’s colourful opera Carmen. Thank you Georgia!

If you have Bede’s related stories that you think might be of interest to others, please send them through, with photos, to caroline.harms@bedes.org

Alan came to us with rich international credentials, hailing initially from north of the Border, and as an alumnus of the pres-tigious University of St. Andrews, Scotland’s ‘Oxbridge’, with a degree in Maths. These Caledonian roots were a source of pride to Alan which he celebrated wherever his footfalls took him around the globe. Burns’ Night was always special to him, resplendent in kilt and sporran, savouring the delights of a wee Lafroiagian dram, the bagpipes’ haunting drone accompanying the procession of the haggis to top table, and the Selkirk Grace so meaningfully bestowed. His ‘Red Red Rose’, Alan’s ‘only love’, his Jackie (archetypically English, but a quarter Scottish), appreciated almost literally the quintessential sentiments of Robbie Burns that ‘I will come again, my luve, though it were ten thousand mile’: having sent for her to join him in Papua New Guinea on the other side of the world, he presented her with a marriage ceremony as a ‘fait accompli’. All she had to do was rock up: loyal to the last, this union produced three sons, Andrew, Jonathan and Jamie. Among the many qualities Alan has be-queathed to these young men is a compre-hensive value system which goes far beyond the measure of mere material enrichment; we may be allowed to concede, however, his intuitive and unconditional support for Hearts F.C., a legacy which his sons will have no difficulty in perpetuating.Having qualified as a teacher at the Univer-

sity of Bath and a year or two’s tour of duty at a school in Papua New Guinea, Alan and Jackie returned home to take up a post in the West Country. However, the lure of the South Seas proved irresistible. Alan and his growing family moved to Port Vila in the Commonwealth archipelago of Vanuatu, where he taught for several years at the capital’s International School. Here, his wide range of enduring friends and contacts is testimony to the endearment and esteem in which he was held. It was here that Alan and Jackie’s three boys enjoyed their formative years, and to which the family has periodi-cally paid return visits to great acclaim. Eventually Alan bade farewell to the island paradise to become part of the management team under the inimitable Mr. Giles Sutton at Buckswood Grange School in Uckfield, and where he was joined by our own Mr. Scott Clark who later followed Alan to Bede’s. Alan was instrumental in facilitating Buckswood’s relocation to the outskirts of Hastings, prior to his joining us at Bede’s as a key player in the Maths department. His classroom presence at the school was legendary; more performance than precep-torially structured: inventive, innovative and interactive, punctuated not only by the soothing background strains of ‘Classic F.M.’ but also by wholesome joshing and banter, to the delight of his students. Mr. Wilkinson has reminded us of the aphorism attributed to Alan: ‘You’ll no’ fail wi’ McPhail’…a truism if ever there was one! Yet, Alan’s involvement with the school went far beyond the confines of the classroom. His caring side prompted him to involve students in the school’s outreach programme with the Quicken Trust charity. This helped to cement our relationship with the village community at Kabubu in Uganda. Work-ing alongside Ms Wainwright and Ms Excell he afforded our pupils the opportunity to experience at first hand the life of a com-munity less materially advantaged, by living amongst them, and by making a material and spiritual contribution to the villagers’ well-being whilst there. For several years Alan masterminded our students’ participation in the annual inter-school Mini United Nations Group Association (MUNGA) Forum whereby they re-enacted UN

procedure in articulating universal problems and brainstorming potential solutions. On a lighter note, Alan’s termly visits to Dim Sum Chinese Gastronomy in Brighton was always a hit with the boarders, which he organised with Mrs Jenny Parfitt: always technically oversubscribed, but he crammed them in somehow. As the co-ordinator of the school’s complex internal examination programme, Alan palpably exhibited his meticulous sense of order and planning, whilst keeping his cool under the strain of chasing those of us whose strategic capacity was less well structured than his own. It is fitting that his last formal connection with the school, following retirement, was to act as an adjunct invigilator for external examinations. As a colleague, Alan was invariably affable, warm-hearted, and blessed with a beguiling sense of humour; always the catalyst for ‘get-ting up a table’ with his mates at ‘Cabaret’, cinema visits to the Uckfield ‘Playhouse’, followed by a communal meal at an exquisite Indian nearby. A bit of a History aficionado, Alan could engage any of his professional historian colleagues with erudition on many an eclectic topic, especially when it touched upon Ban-nockburn, John Knox, Braveheart, Lucknow and General Napier’, James VI, The Union and Keir Hardie. A keen cyclist, Alan was frequently joined on intrepid ‘Tours de France’ with his friends and colleagues Dr. Paul Allison and Rev. Simon Morgan.Those who have come under the influence of Alan McPhail at Bede’s, and beyond, will certainly reap the benefit of their association with a thoroughly knowledgeable, sensitive and caring person. Having known him, we are all the better for it. To Jackie and the boys, we extend our sincere condolences on the loss of a dear husband, father and brother. Rest assured, he will be well received into his eternal peace. Just DMTW, Alan… God Bless.

John Berryman Teacher of History, colleague

and friend

ALAN MCPHAIL: A TRIBUTEOld Bedians who have attended the school since the turn of the millennium will be saddened to learn of the untimely passing of Mr Alan McPhail, barely a year since he retired.

I came to St Bede’s in the summer of 1950 at age 7.

My first memory of St Bede’s is of being taken by my parents to look round the school. I recall in particular the changing room down-stairs, with all the lockers with football boots in them. Also on the ground floor was the ‘train room’, which Mr Keeling had built and occupied the entire room.

Apparently Mr Keeling had also carved all the pews in the chapel, and had built a mag-nificent wooden model of Westminster Abbey which included electric lights.

The school had approximately 80 boys divided into 4 ‘sections’, Eagle, Falcon, Raven and Hawk. The only girl I ever saw at St Bede’s was the headmaster’s daughter, Mary, who joined us in Form 1.

I was in Hawk, which proved to be a very suc-cessful Section. Performance was measured by means of a scoreboard. Good work was rewarded, as was playing for the school in inter-school matches.

At the end of term the section with the most points was treated to a day out, which included a visit to a place of interest such as the cricket bat factory in Robertsbridge, or a silk worm factory somewhere nearby, followed by lunch and possibly a trip to the cinema in the afternoon.

The Masters and Ms Barnard

The Headmaster was Mr Candlin and his main deputy was Mr J B Keeling (‘Jack’) who taught history among other subjects. His wife, Mrs Keeling also taught biology. She had various notebooks with exquisite nature drawings such as cobwebs and insects.

Mr R A Lord and Mr K de Torre were the other senior masters. Mr Lord was one of the best masters I ever met. He taught Latin at St Bede’s, as well as coaching games such as cricket, and was never known to raise his voice to the boys. Mr de Torre was ex-army, the PE master and coached us in gymnastics and boxing. The First Form mistress was a Mrs Barnard who I think was French. She would go back to France regularly in the holidays, it was

said in order to keep up her French and I think it was due to her that I excelled in that language.

GamesMy first term at St Bede’s was the Christmas Term in 1950, when I was introduced to football.

For my first game, at our football pitches at All Saints convent, where nuns looked after the sick, I was put in goal for no good reason. The first time the ball came my way I stuck my arm out - not knowing really what I was supposed to do - and as a result it sailed passed me, into the goal!

A short while later, the ball came my way again; this time I stuck my arm up in the air and again it sailed past me.

It was then decided, and obvious to all, that I was not a goal-keeper and I was let out.

I did much better at running around the pitch on a free rein. I enjoyed football very much and was in all the school teams up to the 1st XI. Even in those days we were ‘bending’ the ball, a speciality we developed was to swerve the ball from the corner post directly into the goal. This was especially effective if the wind was blowing in that direction.

During the Easter term we played rugby and hockey. Rugby was mainly played between our own teams on the ‘Hollow’ pitch on the Downs to the west of the school. This was an excellent pitch as it was turf on chalk so drained very quickly.

(continued overleaf)

MEMORIES OF ST BEDE’S PREP SCHOOLMichael Jobson, who attended St Bede’s Prep School in Eastbourne beteween 1950-1956, shares some of his reflections on life on Duke’s Drive - from when he joined in the First Form onwards!

Even if we had heavy rain the morning, provided it cleared for an hour or so, we could play on it in the afternoon.

Hockey was also played against other schools in the Eastbourne area. I was left-handed which meant I could not use a hockey stick as it was supposed to be used. So once again I was put in goal, which seemed to suit me quite well as I could kick the ball away if necessary, and use the stick back to front.

Although the goal keeper used cricket pads against on-coming balls, this was scant protect against anything much above knee height, especially as some boys shooting balls at you could be six feet tall by the age of thirteen.

Extras

In the 1950s an ice-cream seller used to come to the green next to the school. Once a fortnight in the summer we were allowed to buy a 6d (2½p today) wafer ice-cream. The boys who collected the ice-creams for the rest of the school were given an extra one by the seller!

Two events of special significance in the summer were the Fathers’ Cricket match which is self-explanatory and good fun. The other was the sports day to which parents were also invited (see a photograph of Michael and his mother during sports day, right).

This also involved a PE display, much along

army lines as can be seen from the photos on the previous page.

A number of optional extras were available including music, shooting on a .22 rifle range and riding. The one extra that I was allowed to do and did most of the time whilst I was at St Bede’s was carpentry in a workshop near the rifle range down the drive at the side of the school.

On Wednesday and Saturday afternoons Mr Keeling would issue our sweet ration. These sweets were brought at the beginning of term and at half-term and were kept in our own tin.

We were allowed ten sweets at a time so, for example, a bar of Dairy Milk chocolate counted as six; individual sweets such as tof-fees were counted as one each and they had to last until the next sweet day.

After Bede’s

By the end of my time at Christmas 1956 I was Head Boy at St Bede’s. I left St Bede’s at the end of the Christmas term in 1956 and entered the Middle IV Form at Lancing at the beginning of 1957.

Boys from St Bede’s had a good reputation at Lancing, and were often described as ‘char-acters’, which I took as a compliment.

Having spent six years at St Bede’s, and then four years at Lancing, both overlooking the English Channel, it was not surprising per-haps that when I left Lancing I went to sea.

My first ship was the British India Steam Navigation Co’s cargo-carrying cadetship ‘Chindwara’, on which I spent the next 3 years learning my trade as a Deck Officer on runs between the UK, India and East Africa.

BEDE’S PREP SCHOOL REUNION 2015

The second annual Bede’s Prep School reunion was held on Saturday 23rd May in the Prep School Dining Room. There were several familiar faces from last year’s reunion, but it was great to see lots of new alumni joining in the celebrations.

The day saw over sixty people attend, from vintanges including the early 1960s right through to the end of the century. Some alumni also brought along their fami-lies to see Bede’s, and it was brilliant to hear everyone’s memories of the people and the place. Guests had travelled from the four corners of England and we even had visitors from as far

away as Italy and Abu Dhabi! One of the first girls at the school, Sally Ayers, attended this year’s event having previously returned to the school to work in the office for a short time. It was great to see so many alumni, former staff and current staff, comparing their time at the school. Peter Pyemont made a very dapper appearance in his top hat and tails as he appeared in between the wedding ceremony and reception of two of our Alumni, Emma Long and Luke Fisher.

Everyone enjoyed the afternoon, reminiscing about the old days, having a laugh at the photos and catching up with old and new friends alike. There was the annual tour of the school to see the changes, and I did not realise it could take so long to walk round the building. We must have looked into every classroom, inspected every facility and peered into every cupboard too!

Several of the girls who had been boarders, visited Meads End with the assistance of Mr Atherton, who made several trips across the road, reminscing about their time there. Finally, at the end of the afternoon, some of the men challenged alumni and staff mem-ber Peter Meier to a 50m race. The sprint was started by Gavin Coventry, who commented on the fact that they still

remembered how to do a sprint start! Peter Pyemont was the finish judge and I am pleased to report Peter Meier was victorious over Mark Bishop and Martin Lulham! As people left they said they were already looking forward to next year, which was won-derful to hear - not least because with every returning alumnus who visits we discover new photographs, memories and accounts of Bede’s Prep School’s rich history.All of these accounts of attending school on

Duke’s Drive are added to the Prep School archive - something which had not, until recently, been formally maintained.Each new piece of the puzzle makes life for our returning alumni all the richer, so if you have keepsake photographs you might scan and email or accounts of school life you would like to share, please contact caroline.harms@bedes.org.

Long-time Bede’s Prep School teacher Mrs Morgan reports on this year’s Bede’s Alumni celebra-tions, which saw a meeting of ex-pupils from over 40 years of the school’s past.

A select gathering of Old Bedi-ans spanning two decades joined us at the Senior School on Saturday 23rd May, with some travelling from Germany to join us in in Upper Dicker for our first Old Bede’s Reun-ion of 2015.

After catching up with one another and being treated to some delicious nibbles, Ros Nairne, Director of Marketing and Communications officially welcomed the Old Bedians, followed by our very own Mark Rimmington who made a poignant and heartfelt speech leading us nicely onto a tour of the school.Highlights of the tour included visiting the

old Crossways House dormitories, which are now our music rooms but have remained unchanged in décor! We also visited a number of old classrooms, the old Dorms House and - of course - the lake, which brought back a lot of happy memories. Throughout the tour, alumni shared a number of highly amusing stories, and there were some heavy hearts when it was observed that the old ‘Chicken Sheds’ had gone! For as many changes made to Bede’s as it lived in the memory, it had to be noted quite how impressed everyone was with the new facilities.

Many of the alumni had not visited the school for decades, so particular compliments were paid - inevitably - to the Sports Complex, the new Stud and Crossways boarding houses and the very new M-J Cricket Pavilion; many were tickled by the life-sized images of our cricket Alumni which adorn the walls! All in all it was a lovely morning which was

brimming over with the spirit of Bede’s - an attitude which was well summed up by Mark Rimmington who said during a beautiful speech on the day, ‘Bede’s today is about the people - as it always has been. It is about helping students to achieve the best they can, enabling them to enjoy the multitude of activities we offer and helping them to learn how to live and work with others. As much as things change, they also stay the same.’

BEDE’S SENIOR SCHOOL REUNION 2015Bede’s Alumni Coordinator Caroline Harms gives her account of the recent Bede’s Senior School reunion, which saw pupils from the 1980’s visiting and touring the school’s ever-evolving campus.

For the first time in almost a decade, February saw inde-pendent schools in the United Kingdom given a Value Added ranking for A Level in the Department of Education’s League Tables.Within these rankings, Bede’s was rated 1st in Sussex, 1st in the Southern Region, 11th in the South of England and 31st out of the 2,674 schools in the whole country for pupil progress, ranking far above all local rivals.Unlike traditional League Table rankings, “Value Added” scores are government calculations which compare pupil performance in and between public examinations. They are designed to provide a measure as to how much more or less successful stu-dents have been by virtue of the school they attended, declaring how much ‘value’ their school has added to their results.Bede’s Headmaster Dr Richard Maloney said, “We traditionally pay very little attention to League Tables but on this occasion we can hardly help but express pride at the government’s findings. They serve as testament to the hard work of our pupils and teachers and, I believe, underscore the strength of our unique and holistic educational philosophy.” John Tuson, Bede’s Academic Deputy Head, added, “We can now state unequivocally, we add more value to A Level grades than every other school in the South.”

BEDE’S IN TOP 1% FOR VALUE ADDEDFigures released by the Department of Education in February showed that Bede’s is the Number 1 School for student progress in the Southern Region.

The Good Schools Guide is, of course, the recognised ‘go to’ guide for families in search of the right school for their children.The Director of The Guide’s Advice Service, Susan Hamlyn, recently visited Bede’s Prep and Senior School to update their reviews.The Guide is an important reference for parents because it is the only publication that researches and publishes impartial and independent reports on schools, consulting with parents, pupils and staff.For Bede’s the importance of the review was accentuated, as it is the first full update since Dr Richard Maloney, Headmaster of the Senior School and Trust CEO took up his appointment in 2009. Indeed the new review focuses on the many changes in the Senior School since Dr Maloney arrived, focussing on improved academic performance, the enhanced values and ethos of Bede’s and its unique features.The review also covers developments at Bede’s Prep school initi-ated by its headmaster Giles Entwisle since his appointment in 2013.Dr Maloney said “Whilst we are immensely proud that this review is so positive, there is of course no question of us doing anything other than striving to be better.”

The Good Schools Guide published new reviews of Bede’s Prep and Senior Schools in June, both of which are readable via the respective School Homepages on www.bedes.org.

NEW GOOD SCHOOLS GUIDE REVIEWS

The students who left Bede’s at the end of this year are as talented a group of young people as one could wish to meet. Their brilliance musically, dramatically, artistically and on the sports field was rightly celebrated at this year’s Prize Giving, and their departure sees the school lose a body of students who have, collectively, given an enormous amount to the school during their time at Bede’s Senior School. The academic futures of our leavers are exciting, however, this year, we are delighted to have seen Abigail Burton earn a place at Oxford Univer-sity, to study Mathematics, and to see both Laura Adebisi and Anna Moody win places at Cambridge, where they will study English Literature. Similarly impressive is Meg Brad-ley’s accomplishment in winning a place to study Medicine, at Southampton University: with medical places more commonly given to students who are applying post-A Levels, such an offer is unusual.Also studying English will be Bogdan Kagan and Olivia Prince-Smith (both at Edinburgh), and Grace Gregory, at East Anglia. Maths is being pursued by Hal Potter, on Warwick University’s acclaimed course, and Max Fisher, who will also be heading to Edin-burgh. Scotland is a popular destination this year: also heading to Edinburgh will be Zachary Law (History) and Panayoti Kalome-nopoulos (Chemistry), while, along the M8, three students will be in Glasgow: Marella Reis (History), Martha Reynolds (Politics) and Elly Stephenson (History of Art). Several students have chosen to head to Wales, as well: James Allen (Business), Cole Cornford (City Planning) and Joshua Novell (Business) will all be in Cardiff, while, nearby, Samuel Grant will be studying International Relations in Swansea.A number of students have decided to go westwards from Bede’s: Lily Gao (Account-ing) and Michael Ori (Computer Science) will both be moving to Southampton, as will Harry Tate, who will be engaged with Football Stud-ies at Southampton Solent. Bath will welcome two outstanding Bedians: Harry Thorpe (studying Politics, which will come as no surprise to those who saw him performing in the school’s election debates) and Jason Wang, a brilliant student who will be studying Economics. Another impressive

pair – Anthony Donaldson (Geography) and Edmund Cudlipp (Mechanical Engineering) – will be in Bristol, while down in Cornwall, Helen Lang, Rosie Stephenson and Caspar Walsh will all be embarking upon one of the country’s most highly-regarded Photography courses. Exeter has always been a popular Bedian destination, and it remains so this year: Daniel Cook (History), Cameron Christie (Law), Rebecca Fellows (Geography) and Ruth Godfrey (Anthropology) will be heading to Devon’s county town.A handful of students have elected to remain in Sussex: both Kayleigh Bonwick and Kellie Larkin will be studying Sports Coaching at Brighton, while Amy Sharp (Geography), Evangeline Eastwood (Music) and Louis Clayton (Media) will all be across the road, at Sussex University. London hosts a large number of different universities, and a correspondingly large number of Bedian students will be heading to the capital next year. At King’s College will be found Sally-Ann Wild (Religion & Philosophy), Niko Sistovaris and Candida Myers (both Eco-nomics) and Joseph Juran (Physics). Jonathan Sparkes (Physics), Yuki Wat (Linguistics) andBryony Dennis (Architecture) will all be at UCL, while Piers Nathan will be studying Politics at the LSE.

Remarkably, Kayah Worrall has received an unconditional offer to study Chinese at SOAS.Two of the most competitive universities are Durham and Warwick, so it is pleasing to see a number of students heading to the north-east: Rebekah Canby (Natural Sciences), Sean Deans and Shona Kent (History), and Ellie Nightingale (Geography). Moving to the Midlands will be Alistair Brazier (Film), Ilayda Gezegen and Oliver Morriss (Law) and Callum Friedman (Physics). A list such as this can give only a snapshot of the destinations to which our students are heading, to courses long-established (Lily Draper, off to York to study History) and new (William Corver, heading to Salford to study Wildlife Conservation with Zoo Biol-ogy), to destinations where we will hope their wonderful talents will continue to shine (will George Sillett be maintaining his tennis while studying Computer Science at Nottingham? And Sian Walsh continuing to sing as she explores Criminology, at Surrey?). But as each of these students – and those who have not been mentioned as well – leave Bede’s, they do so with our thanks, for all they have contributed during their time with us, and our very best wishes for the wonderful futures that lie ahead of them.Make sure to stay in touch!

THE NEXT CHAPTER – A SNAPSHOT Bede’s Academic Deputy Head John Tuson reflects upon the destinations of this year’s Upper Sixth students and wishes them well in their bright futures.

UPCOMING REUNION EVENTS

REUNION FOR 1995-2010 BEDE’S ALUMNIThursday 17 September 2015 7pm – 9pm@ Broadway Bar & Grill, 474 Fulham Road, London, SW6 1BYPlease RSVP to caroline.harms@bedes.org

OLD BEDE’S VS BEDE’S 1ST XI FOOTBALL GAMESunday 3 January 201611am kick off@ Bede’s Senior School, Upper DickerIf you are interested in playing then please contact David Caryer at david.caryer@bedes.org

REUNION FOR 1980-2010 BEDE’S ALUMNISaturday 2 July 2016 4pm – Late@ Broadway Bar & Grill, 474 Fulham Road, London, SW6 1BYPlease RSVP to caroline.harms@bedes.org

REUNION FOR 1960-2000 BEDE’S PREP ALUMNISaturday 28 May 2016 Time TBC@ Bede’s Preparatory School, EastbournePlease RSVP to angela.morgan@bedes.org

BEDE’S CAREERS FAIR (SPRING 2016)Would you like to share your experience of work or university with our current crop of students?

Bede’s Careers and Higher Education Fair will be taking place in the Spring Term of 2016 and Mr Gibbs would very much welcome as many Old Bedians as possible to pass on their advice and guidance.

Please do get in touch via paul.gibbs@bedes.org and par-ticipate if you can.

CONTACT USIf you would like to visit Bede’s, have any contributions for the newsletter or to update your personal details, please contact us at:

Caroline Harms, Bede’s Alumni OfficeBede’s School, Upper Dicker, East Sussex, BN27 3QH

Email us on caroline.harms@bedes.orgvisit www.bedes.org/alumni Follow us on Facebook: Old Bede’s

OLD BEDE’S EVENTS