by May Bullock

The Dolphin 2014

EDITOR’S LETTER

This year has been a busy year for the editors of The Dolphin. As well as the desperate revision and the nerve-wracking exams, we have also spent much of our time try-ing to navigate the convoluted world of InDesign, the software that helps us design and produce this magazine. We hope you enjoy the final product. However, we

have been very much aware as we have put this magazine together that our stress levels are nothing compared with the anxiety suffered by our Brutonian forebears who fought and died during the First World War. As Hugh Pomeroy and Ellie Longman-Rood suggest in their Abrahall’s Analysis ar-ticles on page 10-11, it’s important that we take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices these young men made a hundred years ago. The world we enjoy today would not be the same if they hadn’t been prepared to lay down their lives for their country. As we look back to the events of 1914 and beyond, it’s easy to focus on the smaller (relative) issues, like trench foot, shellshock, barbed wire and propaganda. However, it’s even more important, we feel, that in this particular year, we should try and evaluate the cost of the war. Many histori-ans will see the number 900,000, the total of British soldiers killed in World War One, in the same way we Brutonians regard the number 55, the young men from this School who died between 1914 and 1918. Were their deaths futile, a tragic loss of life for no clear purpose or end-goal? We don’t believe so. These deaths, however monstrous and seemingly unjust in their own ways, were not a pointless waste of life. That doesn’t mean to say that we shouldn’t contin-ue to be appalled by what happened on the Western Front. Yes, it was necessary to avoid barbarity across mainland Eu-rope and a theoretical Anglo-German War. But we cannot ignore the trauma. Men were left psychologically scarred by the unprecedented horror of trench warfare. The crippling Edwardian ideology (nowadays this would essentially trans-late as ‘Boys don’t cry’) meant that these men were left iso-lated and emasculated by society. The ‘Great Advenutre’ of a ‘Great War’ that was supposed to be the epitome of mas-culinity and heroism turned into a ‘Great disappointment’ with feet rotting in flooded trenches and month-long stale-mates. This feeling of helplessness on the frontline meant

that men did not generally share their experiences and as a result were forced to suffer in silence. But we also need to be aware of the good that emerged from the terrible deprivation. Women, for instance, found themselves in a different world after 1918. While the fighting took away fathers and sons, brothers and husbands, it also emancipated women and delivered the United States of America to superpower status. Munitionettes and other factory workers were key to the war effort, and with the men away on the Western Front, women became the homeland heroes. After The First World War, Western women left be-hind their aprons and ovenmits for a place in society, a place where they could vote and work. Since then, these women have been gaining even more ground, toppling the sexist pa-triarchal hierarchy of the past. Perhaps it is fitting, therefore, that 100 years after the start of The First World War, King’s Bruton has appointed its first female Head of CCF, Evie Gra-vatt. By reflecting on the war, as we do in this Cente-nary Edition of The Dolphin, it is clear that it was a force for good as well as bad. It took a great deal away: money, lives, resources and peace. However, it also gave us much in return: security, honour, freedom and equality. On the front and back cover, you can see the faces of 50 of the 55 Old Brutonians who died during the First World War. Their names are emblazoned over the final rest-ing places of two of them, Stanley Henson (top picture) and Arthur Clayton. Over the next four years, our successors as editors will continue to trace the lives and deaths of these gallant Old Brutonians. We are indebted to Andrew Leach for his painstaking research into these OBs over a number of years. He has visited many of their graves, and knows the ins and outs of their lives like they were his own sons. Which brings me back to the reason we have devot-ed so much space in this issue to the war. These boys were, of course, sons. They had fathers and mothers. It’s unnatu-ral for a child to die before a parent. This has happened at King’s over the last few years with boys like Alex Buckler, Alex Edwards and James Liddicoat. It was hard to find any consolation in the way these boys met their deaths. However, with the 55 Old Brutonians who died in the First World War, there is at least the knowledge that the world we live in today was partly shaped by the sacrifices they made all those years ago. It’s essential that we continue to remember our fallen soldiers, both at Bruton and in the wider world.

Editors: Charles Oulton, May Bullock, Matthew Pryke, Susie MacDonald, Helena Davidson-Houston, Ellie Longman-Rood, Luke Reynolds

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NEWS, FEATURES AND COMMENT

CONTENTS:

1: Editor’s letter 3-7: Far Cry from Cogley: focus on lives of three OBs who died in 1914

8-9: King’s family torn apart by the First World War

10-11: Abrahall’s Analysis: was the war justified?

12-13: Water, water, everywhere - flooding on the Somerset Levels by Charlie Maltby

14-15: Falklands diary: mystery close to being solved

16-20: Old Brutonian Interview: four OBs swap notes with their King’s children

21: Day in the life of ... a Resident Tutor

22-23: India: a personal perspective by Helena Davidson-Houston

24: Stella Fox writes about success story of Hauser and Wirth Somerset

25: The day Jack Corbett saved a woman’s life

26-27: Family business or outside world? Ellie Longman-Rood says cheese may not be enough

28-29: What you shouldn’t be wearing when you rob a bank - Luke Rowlands on school fashion

30: Technology Corner - Serafim Gunin

31: Coffee Break

32-35: Saratoga Trunk

36: Valete: Alison Jeffries, Jack Cropper, Jo Taylor

37: Call of Duty

38: Faith

39: A Helping Hand

40-46: Curtain Call

47-49: Art Scene

50-59: The Trumpet Shall Sound and Lift Up Thy Voice

60-69: Pastoral Heart

70-111: Sport

112-117: Prizegiving

118-120: King’s in 1914 - Photo Special

THE SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPH1911

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cricket career, Stanley Henson was continuing his career with the Indian Police with some excellent academic credentials. He had left King’s in the summer of 1904 as a House Prefect destined for Pembroke College, Oxford. On leaving Oxford, he had travelled to the Malay Peninsula to join the Indian Police, moving from there to Lahore. He was in India when the British government passed the Indian Councils Act, pav-ing the way for a self-governing India. Times were changing, and not just in India. The Edwardian “golden afternoon” was coming to an end.

testing resolve

THE FIRST WINTER of the First World War was already testing the resolve of the British soldiers. After the allied plan to turn the German right wing and drive

Harold Hippisley

County Ground, Worcestershire

A FAR CRY FROM

COGLEY IN

MID-NOVEMBER

One hundred years ago, hundreds of Old Brutonians signed up, or would sign up over the next four years, to fight for their country in the First World War. Fifty five of them were killed in the conflict. Between now and 2018, we will tell the stories of many of these gallant Old Brutonians. In this issue, May Bullock and Susie MacDonald focus on the lives of the three OBs who were killed before the end of the first year of the fighting: Harold Hippisley, probably King’s greatest ever sportsman, Eric Barnes, another talented sports-man, and Stanley Henson, an Oxford graduate.

It was late August, that slightly nostalgic period in the cricket season when the heat of summer begins to give way to the mellower strains of autumn. Batting at number 9, 18 year old Old Brutonian Harold Hippisley, only a few weeks out of school, had watched his new Somerset teammates - including fellow Brutonian Leon-ard Sutton - from the pavilion at the County Ground, New Road, Worcester. At the fall of the eighth wicket, Hippisley strode to the crease

at the start of his first class cricket career, took guard, and started to do what he had done so freely during his spectacu-lar school career. Some time later, he returned to the pavilion unde-feated with 40 runs to his name. For Hippisley and Sutton, the latter a left hand bat and slow-medium, left arm bowler who had also broken into the Somerset side that year, the cricket season might have been drawing to a close, but life was really only just beginning. The date was 23rd August, 1909. Three years later, Eric Barnes left King’s for Sand-hurst after a distinguished school career, playing in the 1st X1s at cricket, football, and hockey. A House prefect, he was described by the Headmaster in his final report as “an ad-mirable specimen of the best type of all round usefulness at athletics and good intellectual attainments”. Meanwhile, as Hippisley was starting his first class

WORLD WAR ONE CENTENARY

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the enemy back through Belgium had failed, the troops realised the conflict would not be over by Christmas. In the first year of the war, trench warfare was still in its infancy. The elaborate defence systems of wire and duckboards were at this stage non-existent. Despite this, the soldiers - caked with mud, sodden clothed, afflicted with trench foot, fighting passionately for every inch of soil - held the line with determination and bravery. The golden afternoon had been replaced by a brutal and bloody dawn. In October 1914, French and British troops arrived in Ypres, Belgium, passing through the town to the east and taking up defensive positions to hold up the advance of the German Army. In the battle of Langemarck, to the north-east of Ypres, the French and British denied the Germans a route across the country to the French coastal ports of Calais and Dunkirk.

his last cigarettes

HIPPISLEY WAS one of the British soldiers in the thick of the fight-ing. He had been commissioned as a second lieu-tenant in the first battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1914, marrying on the day his regiment set sail for France. At L a n g e m a r c k , Hippisley’s com-pany was occupy-ing a trench that was heavily at-

tacked by hos-tile German infantry. At the height of the battle, the British troops came under se-vere rifle fire, and Hippis-ley’s platoon suffered heavi-ly. However, the men had faith in their officers and the situation was handled. At the height of the battle, Private O. Prosser lay wounded, looking up to find Hippisley attending to him, binding his wounds, giving him his last cigarettes and a drop of brandy as he did so.

at the heart of the action

MEANWHILE, BARNES WAS also fighting near Ypres. After passing through Sandhurst, Barnes had been ga-zetted as Second Lieutenant to the 1st Lincolnshire Regiment on February 1st 1914. In November that year, his regiment, along with others, was confronted by six German battalions on the Ypres Salient, with the German soldiers outnumber-ing the British by twelve to one. The Germans had overrun the village of Wytschaete and Barnes was one of the officers leading the attack on the morning of November 1st to regain it. Like Langemarck, Wytschaete (known by British troops as “whitesheet”) was seen as an essential route across Belgium to Calais and Dunkirk. After being taken by the Germans in November 1914, it was retaken by Common-wealth forces during the Battle of Messines in June 1917, then fell into enemy hands once again in April 1918, before it was finally retaken in September 1918. As well as taking Wytschaete, the Germans had also acquired Messines and Hollebeke. Barnes was at the heart of the action. Lieutenant H. Ingoldby, a brother officer of

Eric Barnes

Stanley HensonStanley Henson’s grave in Ploegsteert Wood.

Eric Barnes’ inscription at Menin Gate

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Barnes, wrote: “It was a terrible battle when we came in con-tact with the enemy in pitch darkness. Eric was just near me in the advance, and when I got up to take a few men forward in a rush, he was the next to come.” WHILE THIS WAS happening, Henson was marching towards Ypres with the 3rd Somerset Light Infan-try, having resigned from the Indian Police and signing up to fight for his country as a 2nd Lieutenant at the age of 28. Al-though the Somerset Light Infantry were not engaged in any significant action during the six months between November 1914 and the 1915 Battle of Ypres, this time proved to be one of extreme discomfort when, according to one observer, the “men grew old in a single night”. Since late October, Henson’s battalion recorded that the trenches were ‘absolute quagmires’ and that con-ditions were growing steadily worse. By November, Henson and his men found themselves knee-deep in slime and filth. December treated Henson no better, and the continual pumping of the trenches proved to no avail. As a result, his company had to withdraw into Ploegstreet Wood. The dawn of December 19th broke brightly with the guns opening fire by 9am. The British began to break through the German wire so that the infantry could advance. At around 2.30 in the afternoon, Henson and many other gallant men advanced towards the enemy trenches.

a distinguished cricketer

AS WELL AS distinguishing himself on the cricket fields of Bruton and the County Ground at Taunton, Hippisley was also a supremely adept rugby and hockey player, captaining all three teams at King’s for an unprecedented three years. He won the Ridley Cup three times, marking his contribution to boys’ sport on and off the field (Harry Charlier won the Ridley Cup this year). After King’s, Hippisley continued his first class cricket career with six more games for Somerset, including a successful game against Northamptonshire in 1913 when he made 14 and 36. In minor cricket, he scored 150 for the Old Brutonians team against Sidmouth in 1911 sharing a second wicket partnership of 396 with Peter Vasey, who made 282. Hippisley also continued with his hockey career after School: he played for Somerset, as well as for the West of England in

two international trial matches in the spring of 1914. He entered the Royal Agricultural College in 1909, taking scholarships most terms as well as the Diploma of Membership in July 1912. He also won the Haygarth Gold Medal. He was in the cricket XI in 1910, 1911 and 1912, cap-taining the side during the latter two seasons. He was in the Football XV, for 1909, 1910 and 1911 and was an important member of the Hockey team. His links with King’s were strong and he became a regular visitor between 1909 and 1914, playing for the Old Brutonians as well as in invitational teams in football, hockey and cricket. In his last cricket game at Bruton, in May, 1914, he scored 99 to ensure victory for the Bruton Nomads over the School. After he left Cirencester, Hippisley spent time in land-agency work, and he was about to secure a post under the Board of Agriculture when war broke out.

a born optimist

UNLIKE THE TWO other Old Brutonians, Barnes was as prepared as anyone could be for the outbreak of war, having passed through Sandhurst, commending him-self to everyone he met. His friends saw him like this: “There are some boys who possess a certain indefinable charm which makes them general favourites. Barnes was one of these. One of the traits that made him such an attractive character was his cheer-fulness; he was a born optimist, and genuine optimism is infectious. Another was the frankness so clearly expressed in all his features. A third was the keenness he displayed in everything he took up. He may not have achieved any great distinction either intellectually or in athletics, but he was an admirable specimen of the best type of all-round usefulness that is turned out by our public schools.” BORN ON JUNE 20th, 1886, Stanley Henson joined King’s in the autumn of 1900 as a Third Former in Old House. Son of Dr Henson, of Elmsett Hall, his decision to join the Indian Police after leaving School in 1904 was an indication of the imperial world Old Brutonians lived in before the war. He had been in India for 10 years when he returned to England in 1914 to fight for his country.

shot in the head

IT WAS THE 23rd of October and the German on-slaught on the British trenches at Lankemarck was intense. The casualties began to mount. Hippisley would not survive the day: he was shot in the head and died instantly. The war was only 11 weeks old. Five years after scoring that 40 not out at Worcester, Harold Hippisley had become the first of 55 Old Brutonians to die during the Great War. 2nd Lieutenant Baxter commented: ‘He died like a soldier and a gallant Englishman.” And back home in Bru-ton two months later, the December issue of The Dolphin car-ried the following tribute: “Such was Hippisley’s record, and it is one which bears no uncertain testimony to his character. Intellectually he was not especially gifted by nature, but by honest and con-scientious perseverance he achieved results which brought

Wytschaete as it was before the fighting

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credit alike to himself and to his School. In athletics he was eminently naturally endowed, but here again it was not the success – which seemed to come so easily to him – that ap-pealed most forcibly to those who watched his performances, so much as the spirit in which that success was won. Essentially a trier, he never knew what it was to be beaten and was never satisfied with anything short of his best. The peculiar charm of his personality will be readily recalled by all who knew him here: modest and unassuming, healthy in mind as in body, cheery and equable in temper, he stood for all that is best in public school life, and has left be-hind him a host of friends to whom his memory will always be a treasured recollection. It is sad indeed to think of his life being cut short on the very threshold of so promising a ca-reer, and it is sadder still to think of the domestic happiness which we had all anticipated for him, coming to so untimely an end. At the same time one cannot but feel that in his case no end could have been more appropriate than that which came to him in the loyal performance of the highest of all duties. Our hearts go out in fullest sympathy to his young widow and his parents”.

plucky little fellow

ON NOVEMBER 1ST, Barnes was part of the ad-vance at Wytschaete. Lieutenant Ingoldby reported: “It was a terrible battle when we came in contact with the enemy in pitch darkness. Eric was just near me in the advance, and when I got up to take a few men forward in a rush, he was the next to come. As he immediately stood up from the ditch we

were lying in to lead his men forward under very heavy fire, he was shot straight through the head and, I believe, died immediately. I was so fond of him, and never have I known such a plucky little fellow – always eager and active in the firing line, regardless of shell or bullet.” Lt. Col. Smith, his commanding officer, went on to write: “He fell whilst gallantly leading his Company. He died as he had lived, upholding the best traditions of the Regiment he loved so well, and his loss is deeply deplored by us all.” Every evening at 8pm, Barnes’ life - and Hippisley’s - can be remembered by those attending the ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres, where their names are carved.

never made it to the wire

BY 9AM ON the clear morning of December 19th, the guns started to fire in Ploegsteert Wood. It was a sign for the British to start breaking through the German wire to en-able the infantry to advance. At around 2.30 in the after-noon, Henson was one of many British soldiers advancing towards the enemy trenches. However the leading platoon had only gone forward about 50 yards before shells from the divisional artillery fell amongst the British, inflicting consid-erable casualties. Despite this, the survivors pressed on with great courage, finding a small gap in the wire. Henson never made it to the wire. He had already fallen in battle with a bullet in his heart. His commanding officer wrote: ‘He died as a very

1910 King’s 1st X1: Harold Hippisley, captain, middle of centre row (see Headmaster’s speech at Prizegiving on page 113)

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brave man. He was leading his men in the attack on the Ger-man trenches, and had outstripped the rest of his Company by about 20 yards, when he was shot through the heart and killed instantly. He is a great loss to the Regiment.’ Ten years after leaving King’s, Henson’s body was laid to rest in the Military Cemetery in Ploegsteert Wood. ...............................................................

Back in 1908, when Hippisley and Sutton were playing for the Ist X1 at King’s, another member of that famous team, Edward Trotman, was storing away some treasured memories. He was not to know then that Hip-pisley, the team’s captain, would be dead within six years. Nor could he have known that Hippisley’s Old Brutonian and Somerset team-mate, Leonard Sutton, would also have died, by June 1916, from shrapnel wounds at Zillebeke, near Ypres. Eleven years after the end of the First World War, some of those memories surfaced in the following poem by Trotman published in the Easter 1929 issue of The Dolphin:

PRE-WAR by Edward Trotman

Past four, by Cogley, and school four-thirty;A hound spoke on the far side of the wood.Three of us, out since lunch and blown and dirty,Eyed the crowding field at the gate, and stood.

Lionel, clutching the Colonel’s stirrup-leather,Pounded on, and vanished into the ride;Wace, whose form we were in – we had run together –Bared his head to the effort and stretched his stride.

‘Away to Stourton,’ said Sutton. ‘And mighty handy,What!’ said Charles, with his Charles-the-Second grin’‘See that trap on the road? B’Jove, it’s Candy!Time for a bath and tea before he gets in.’

Three of us sat demure and clean in our placesWhen Wace limped in, some fifty minutes late,Caught the look on the form’s expectant facesAnd laughed till he cried. This was in nineteen-eight.

Sutton was killed at Tillebeke – June ‘sixteen –A far cry from Cogley in mid-November –And Wace on the Somme, and Charles before Messines;And Lionel’s back in Egypt . . and I remember.

Stanley Henson’s final resting place in Ploegsteert Wood

Eric Barnes’ name engraved on Menin Gate

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IN SICKNESS, LOVE AND DEATH, A FAMILY TORN APART BY WAR

Mr and Mrs Clayton, of Glastonbury, sent their four sons to King’s Bruton. By the end of the First World War, they only had one son left. The eldest died when falling ill while still at school. The next

two sons were both killed in action on the Western Front. Only their youngest son - mercifully too young to fight - lived to see his parents into old age. Here, Helena Da-vidson-Houston retraces the heartbreak endured by the Clayton family.

In 1907, widespread concern about the number of infant deaths in Britain started to be seriously addressed with the appointment of Dr Arthur Newsholme as chief medical officer at the lo-cal government board. This appointment was followed by the passing of Part One (Health) of the National Insurance Act, a measure that improved the standard of living of doctors, and helping to improve the medical inspection and treatment of children in the nation’s schools.

Sadly, this raising of standards didn’t come in time to save the life of Robert Clayton, the eldest of four brothers from Glastonbury who would all be educated at King’s. After three days of illness, he died, while still at King’s. The date was September 5th, 1907. Robert was only 15 years old. Born in 1892, Robert had entered the Junior School when it was first opened in the Summer Term of 1902. Pass-ing into the Upper School in 1903, he won a Foundation

Scholarship and a Senior Sexey Scholarship, the start of contin-ual academic success over the next few years. His name ap-peared in every prize-list from 1903 to 1906. H i s death shocked everyone at King’s. His obituary in The Dolphin read as follows: “From this brief record

it will be gathered that intellectually at any rate the life which has been cut short was one of more than ordinary promise. But what we especially lament is the loss of those moral qual-ities, which enabled him, in spite of a singularly modest and retiring disposition, to exercise from the first an influence for good on all who were brought into contact with him. Robert did not seek popularity, and gained a great amount of respect and affection. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his parents and to his brothers, of whose irreparable loss we are deeply sensible.” Robert’s younger brothers Arthur and James had arrived at King’s in 1903. A day boy in New House, Arthur became a boarder a year after Robert’s death, leaving the School in July 1911. While at King’s, Arthur was a School Prefect, a Sergeant in the O.T.C., and a member of the Crick-et and Hockey XIs.

1st X1 cricket for five years

James, meanwhile, was not particularly academic, but he loved playing sport and he ended up representing the School, first in the junior teams, and then at the senior level. He was one of the only boys at that time to play in the Crick-et XI for five seasons, playing cricket for Somerset Juniors in 1910, while he was also a member of the Football and Hock-ey XIs for four and three years respectively. In his final year, he was made a School Prefect and Head of New House. When he left King’s in July 1914, he had been at the School for eleven years.

After his time at King’s, Arthur went on to work for the Bank of Mon-treal at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada. Shortly af-ter the outbreak of war, he was enlisted as a private in Prin-cess Patricia’s Light Infantry, a regiment singled out by Earl Kitchener for the honour of being the first Canadian reg-iment selected for service at the Front.

Arthur Clayton’s cemetry: Voormezeele Enclosure No: 3

Arthur Clayton’s grave in Voormezeele Enclo-sure No: 3

Arthur Clayton

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Meanwhile, James joined the Dor-setshire Regiment at the outbreak of war, training at Weymouth before crossing to France early in 1915. In late spring he was wounded, mentioned in despatches, and returned briefly to England. Later that year, he went

back to the Front where he was attached to the 1st Battalion of the Northamp-tonshire Regiment. Still grief-stricken by their eldest son’s death at King’s, the Clayton parents must have been dreading any further family tragedies. The boys’ father, AG Clayton, had enjoyed a successful career, serving at this time as second Principal Assistant to the Colonial Secretary of Ceylon. However, his professional life would have meant nothing to him now as his worst fears were again soon to be realised. He and his wife would be in turmoil again. Arthur’s regiment had suffered heavy losses in February 1915. On the 15th of that month, the Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry were fight-ing near La Brasserie in France. Arthur was on duty in a trench when he was killed by a piece of shrapnel. Eight years after the loss of their eldest son through illness, the Claytons had now lost their second son.

loved him as a gentleman

Lieut Colquhoun wrote: “Private Clayton was a splendid soldier and one of the most popular men in the Company. He proved himself a brave man among brave men, and he died a hero’s death. He was a loss to his compa-ny and regiment that cannot be filled.” Corporal Leaky, from Arthur’s Platoon, wrote: “We all loved him as a gentleman, and as most of us were acquainted with him both in a social and business way in Saskatoon, we feel his loss very deeply.” Arthur lies buried in Voormezeele Enclosure No: 3 Cemetery, alongside, incidentally, George Llewelyn Davies, J.M. Barrie’s ‘real’ Peter Pan. Voormezeele Enclosure No.3, the largest of these burial grounds, was begun by Arthur’s Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry regiment in the month of his death. It was only a few weeks later that James, the third Clayton son, had been wounded and returned to England. When he returned to the Front later that year, he fought in the Somme at High Wood with the 1st Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment until August of the following year. His parents again received the news that one of their sons had died. For the second time, they had to be told that their son had been killed in action. This time, only 18 months had passed since the death of their second son on 20th August, 1916. James lies buried in Bazentin-Le-Petit Communal

Cemetery Extension. His Colonel wrote: “I was very, very fond of him personally, and considered him to be one of my best officers. He was young, but very cool in action and very brave. His loss to the Regiment is very great, and at present irreparable.” The Second in Command added. “His sunny and sanguine temperament al-ways appealed to me, and showed up especially when he and his Company were in circumstances of dan-

ger, difficulty or discomfort. I happen to have been with him more than once under such circumstances, and each time I came away with a greater liking for him personally, and a still higher opinion of him as a soldier.”

The 1916 issue of The Dolphin described James’ sin-gularly attractive personality: “one had not to look at him twice to realize that here was genuine health of body and mind, a nature obviously frank and fearless. A certain quiet reserve had led one to infer underlying strength, and rightly so, for a more sturdy independence of character it would be difficult to meet with. As a boy he won the affection and regard of all his schoolfellows, as a Prefect he also won the implicit confidence of his superiors. His was the sort of char-acter which in its full development must have been a source of strength to all who were brought in contact with him, and which cannot but be an inspiration to those who follow him and endeavour to tread in his steps.” The Claytons had now suffered the loss of three of their four sons. Many parents and school friends of fallen Old Brutonians will hve been deeply affected by the follow-ing sentiments expressed in that Christmas 1916 issue of The Dolphin, but perhaps no one more than Mr and Mrs Clayton: “In the ever increasing toll which the War is exacting from us, it is our sad duty almost every term to chronicle the loss of some who have made more than an ordinary mark on our School life. Nothing is more striking in our own share of the losses entailed by this war than the fact that those who have been taken have just been our very best, surely a fact full of significance. Last term, we had to record the death of Nigel Bartlett, an this term, we are lamenting the loss of James Clayton; two of the brightest and most hopeful lives that we had launched into the world.”

exercised an influence for good

James ClaytonJames Clayton’s grave

James Clay-ton’s grave in Bazen-tin-Le-Petit Communal Cemetery Extension.

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ABRAHALL’S

ANALYSIS

100 YEARS ON, THE DEBATE ABOUT THE JUSTICE OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR RAGES ON...

The First World War was not a point-less waste of life, argues Hugh Pome-roy

Later this year, I will again be marching around the streets of Bruton with the School military band. I will stand next to the Rev and play the Last Post in remembrance of all those who died during conflicts around the world. This will have a special poignancy this year as we mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. For me, it is very easy to concentrate

solely on the music and trying to make sure that I don’t split any notes. However, it is also a good time to reflect.

The names of all who have died in conflicts during the past hundred years will be read out, emphasising how even though the fighting took place hundreds of miles away, across seas and sometimes continents, we all feel its effects wherever we are. At School we are surrounded by reminders of the ultimate sacrifice paid by previous members of our community. All of us will have at some point during an assembly or concert looked at the plaques around the Memorial Hall and reflected on the sacrifice made by so many who were hardly any older than us. With so much talk at the moment about the futility of the ‘great’ war, it seems appropriate to try and tie some of those thoughts together. As we look back to August 4th, 1914, we might ask ourselves whether we needed to get involved in the war at all. For many people you only have to look at the death figures to find the answer – 1.15 million dead from the British Em-pire, with nearly 900,000 from Britain itself. This monstrous loss of life for some people is enough to declare that the en-tire First World War was futile and that no good whatsoever came out of it. This stance has a genuine point – 55 Old Bru-tonians alone were killed during the First World War, which shows the breadth of the war’s impact. Some historians such as Niall Ferguson argue that Britain rushed into the war with an army that was completely unprepared for conflict, and that if we had waited to intervene, we would have had the strategic advantage, making the most of our strong navy. This is a valid view, but I think ignores some of the key reasons that we went to war. We had promised to guar-antee Belgium, should she get invaded, and when she did get invaded, Britain duly intervened. However, our reasons for interference were far more complicated than that. As the historian Garry Sheffield points out, our reasons for getting involved in the First World War were similar to our reasons for joining the Second World War: “to prevent an authori-tarian, militarist, expansionist enemy achieving hegemony in Europe and thus imperilling British security.” We went to war not only to honour our word to the Belgians, but also to stop Germany’s war of aggression against its neighbouring countries. Sir Max Hastings argues that if Germany had won the war, Britain could never really have co-existed peaceful-ly with a German Europe, and that an Anglo-German war would have been inevitable soon after. We went to war not only as a matter of honour, but because we recognised that we would be drawn into the war despite our best efforts to stay out. One could also argue, however, that sometimes it is better not to uphold one’s honour when so many lives are at stake. Ferguson suggests that being realistic and looking at what was likely to happen would have helped avoid the huge slaughter that took place - that staying out of the war would have been far more in the nation’s interest than entering it. Britain’s aim in entering the war was to defend and maintain liberal democracy on mainland Europe, which many believe the Germans would have put an end to. Fergu-son has argued that if Germany won they would have tried to

Hugh playing the Last Post in 2013

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create an early form of the European Union, but many have pointed to the brutal way that the Germans acted when they invaded France to show that their impact was unlikely to be benign. Civilian murder was commonplace with more than 6,500 innocent civilians killed within the first few weeks of the German invasion of France in what Hastings calls a fash-ion of “systematic barbarity.” Another argument for the futility of the First World War is the destruction of the prosperity of the previous 50 or so years in Europe. It is very true that the economic success and stability of the 19th Century was washed away with the First World War, but it also ushered in a new age of revolu-tion in Europe which massively changed the face of Europe, helping to bring more equality to the world. In Britain the First World War was essential in the suffragette movement, showing the importance of women, as everyone saw their influence in work while the men were away at war. The First World War also saw the start of the process of the collapse of the British Empire. For many this is seen as the end of the ‘golden days,’ and is a huge disadvantage of the war. Howev-er, to me, this seems to be massively important in allowing ex-colonies the freedom and democracy that they had been denied until that point. The war was still horrendous and the numbers are mind numbing. However, one can argue that it did bring about some important shifts in attitudes towards liberty and self-governance. So as I take my place next to the Rev this year, I will most likely be panicking about my lips and whether I can remember the right notes. However, hopefully the occa-sion will help everyone there to reflect and commemorate the tragedy of the First World War and its catastrophic con-sequences - but also contemplate that, as the Reveille that follows the Last Post suggests, it was not a pointless waste of life.

King’s could only have done so much to shield its pupils from the reality of war, concedes Ellie Longman-Rood.

This year we celebrate the centena-ry anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. This is an appropriate time therefore to look back and review to what extent the war changed the School. Was the School changed by the unspeak-able horrors of the First World War? Or did the propaganda of the day mean our predecessors

were largely unaffected because the pupils were unaware of the enormity of what was happening on the Western Front? There is no doubt that the boys at King’s were not getting the full story. Was this a good thing? With the youngest in the School only 13, should boys of that age have been given the full picture? Was it right that the boys should have been encouraged to hero worship the boys who had left King’s to join the war effort, if that’s what was happening?

Was it helpful for these young boys to be encouraged to ap-plaud warfare as glorious? So what was going on at King’s back in 1914? Look-ing back at the School magazines of that year - there was more than one issue each year in those days - there’s certain-ly no doubt that the war had a big impact on the School, as indeed it should have done. In the Christmas edition of The Dolphin, the very first line pointed out that ‘it is impossible to deal with usual subjects’ whilst the war is going on in France. This is constantly reiterated in the editorial. Even the most routine events of School life were seemingly shaken up and turned upside by the events of 1914. The topic of war worked its way into every aspect of School life, whether it was wanted or not. Take, for example, the reports about the debating so-ciety. On October 9th the following motion was proposed by Mr Dover: ‘no peace terms can be satisfactory which do not crush Germany’. This is, in many ways, shocking. Pupils were clearly being encouraged to believe that Germany should be shown no mercy in the event of a British victory. There is no suggestion here that the puils were being given both sides of the story. Did the teachers here forget that British generals were instructing British troops to kill Germans too? In the Easter term, there was another motion for debate. It read: “It is in the best interests of the country to de-clare war on Germany at the first possibly opportunity”. This debate took place a few months before Britain did indeed declare war. What happened to Churchill’s famous saying at a later time: “jaw jaw, not war war”? With hindsight there is something surreal and haunting about this King’s motion. Back in 1914, the CCF played a prominent role during School life. The Easter edition of The Dolphin reports on a number of marches that term that apparently went well. Shooting on the miniature range increased in popularity that year. Again in hindsight, should shooting at the School even have been allowed? Did it not merely encourage the young boys to glorify a war they did not truly understand? Even the general language of The Dolphin seemed to change because of the war. In the reporting of matches, teams seemed to “suffer defeats” rather than merely win or lose. However, perhaps none of this is particularly surprising. There is, I suppose, only so much a School can do to shield its pupils from reality, particularly when 55 Old Brutonians would eventually have been killed by the end of the war.

How The Dolphin broke the news about James Clayton’s death

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WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE: LIVING WITH FLOODING ON THE SOMERSET LEVELS

Over the winter, the Somerset Levels made national news for several months because of the terrible flooding that devastated the area. Sixth Former Charlie Maltby lives

on the Levels and here gives a first hand account of what it was like to be flooded.

In the middle of December the South West was hit by heavy rain driven by gale force winds. Just before Christmas, we had high tides which increased the level of water in the rivers. On the 23rd of December, the River Parrett burst its banks. Five hours later, most of our farm was under water.At a party just before Christmas, two miles away, we travelled a higher route than normal. Ccming home, we had to turn around and go

even higher, moving branches and rubbish off the road as we went. The 200 sheep that were here for winter keep had to be rescued fast, as they were likely to drown. The shep-herd was unable to get to us as the roads had all become impassable, so the sheep ranged freely on the island that had become our home. Living on one of the lost islands of Somerset has its advantages; we had to continuously pump water out of the cellar, but the house, barns and livestock were all dry. Feed became a problem as we had been flooded in 2012, which made silage and hay making last summer very difficult, and we had been unable to make the quantity we normally do. The houses on Aller Drove flooded, and after much persuasion the occupants were moved to holiday lets, granny annexes, and anything anyone had spare. This was devastat-ing for them as they had only just recovered from last year’s floods. The road was shut, however despite the notices, driv-ers still attempted to get through and then expected to be

rescued. A vil-lager decided to make the notice more decisive! (left). They still tried – by the time they got here, they had already driven through five

road closed signs! It was only really the Prince of Wales’s visit in January that highlighted the extent of the disaster, bringing the start of any real aid to the now stricken communities. Muchelney and Thorney were completely cut off, the only way in and out was either by boat or amphibious truck. The church became the drop off point for groceries and medicines collected by the emergency crews, and I am told the only way to the pub was on the fire truck!

refused to answer questions

Lord Smith (Chairman of the Environment Agency) arrived. He was greeted with hostility, arriving without his wellies and refusing to answer questions from home owners, land owners and businesses. This avoidable disaster was due to a decision he had made some years ago to cease maintaining the water courses and rivers and stop dredging. In the 1980s, Government policy was centred on protecting the wildlife. Dredging was stopped and all the equipment was sold. The money was spent on a £31 million nature reserve on the Somerset coast. The community’s attitude towards Lord Smith was understandable. David Cameron arrived, with his wellies, and pledged the government would find however much money was needed. Bastions, sandbags and stone lorries arrived.

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So, too, did 40 Commando, who are much more effective at the construction, placing and filling of the bastions. The Dutch arrived with their huge pumps. Help was here at last! Getting anywhere took everyone much longer in both time and distance. A trip to Taunton, which is normal-ly twenty minutes, could take up to two hours; a trip to the bakers, only two miles away, took a good half an hour and fifteen miles. You could not see where a field ended and the rhynes (ditches) began. There was a sea of water, with white horses and visible currents. And the rain ... well it kept falling. Compounding the problem were the high spring tides: the water went where it wanted, and we were all powerless to stop it. Farmers had to evacuate cattle and their homes; the water was some eight and ten feet deep in places, with people kayaking down the main roads! The farming community across the country rallied round with tractors and trailers, lorries, anything that could carry fodder and bedding beginning to arrive at Sedgemoor Auction Centre, from as far as the North of Scotland. This support has been inspirational to us all. Finally, the rain stopped. The gates at Monksleaze Clyse, which let the water into the Sowy relief Channel, were opened fully; the water rushed out of the River Parrett down the Sowy to the Dutch pumps which then pumped the water over the main A372, down into the Kings Sedgemoor Drain

and out to the tidal gates at Dunball. The Sowy however, could not cope with the quantity of water and even more water was pushed over the banks and into Aller Moor and Middle Moor.

clean-up will take months

The water has finally gone, leaving behind land that is covered with debris and a dreadful smell of rotting vege-tation; roads have had to be shored up and repaired before traffic could travel them again; home owners continue to live elsewhere as they gut their homes for a second year. In many cases, having to strip out the plaster and electrics and start again, the side of the roads have skips for all the destroyed furniture, carpets and white goods. The clean-up will take many months. As for the farmers, they are now trying to get the land back into a fertile and productive state. Winter crops and new grass leys were completely washed away, the older grasses have stood the water better. The consequences of this disaster will be endured for some time to come; this year’s silage, hay and harvest will be affected due to the volume of water and the length of time it was here, for some turn-out is a long way off, if at all this year. Home owners will find insurance premiums huge, if they can get insurance at all. It is time for the people who know how the rivers and watercourses work, to be heard - if necessary, they need to take back control of the maintenance and management. Whilst flooding on the levels has alway happened, it has nev-er happened to this extent or at this cost. Our dairy herd are now out during the day and when they come in for afternoon milking, we turn the hors-es out. The ground is slowly drying out; cultivation is in full swing and crops are being sown. We are slowly returning to “normal” – whatever “normal” is! Donations can be made to the Bath and West Flood Appeal at:w w w . j u s t g i v i n g . c o m / S o m e r s e t - C o m m u n i -ty-Found-Flood-Appealor by calling: 01749 344949

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FORMER ARGENTIAN CONSCRIPT TO BE REUNITED WITH LONG LOST FALKLANDS DIARY THANKS TO FATHER OF KING’S SEAMUS HARKNESS Thirty two years after picking up an Argentianian con-script’s abandoned diary on Mount Tumbledown during the Falklands War, Neil Harkness, the father of King’s art teacher Seamus, is close to solving a mystery after tracing the diary’s owner to the Argentine Ministry of Defence. Here he tells the story so far.

In 1982 I was serving as a Surgeon Commander (D) on board the aircraft carrier HMS INVIN-CIBLE when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. Most of the ship’s company were enjoy-ing the Easter leave period when we were im-mediately recalled to the ship. Three days later, we set sail on the 26 day journey south. Much of January and February had been spent in the north of Scotland and then in arctic Norway so we were contemplating an interesting Spring de-

ployment to the Mediterranean with an opportunity to get some sun on our backs after a long cold winter. That was not to be. Argentina deployed a comprehensive invasion force which landed and spread throughout the islands. Many of the soldiers were well trained professional men but a signifi-cant number were young conscripts who were inexperienced and ill equipped for the role they were ultimately called upon to play. Falklands Islands’ weather is notoriously inclement and April is part of their winter so living conditions for the invaders were far from pleasant. Gale force winds often blow over the flat terrain and are generally accompanied by driv-ing rain, sleet or snow. It was a miserable place to survive for weeks on end with so little shelter.

invaders well dug in

Following the British troops’ landing at San Carlos on 21 May 1982, the various groups fanned out across East Falkland and were assigned specific targets to engage prior to reaching their ultimate goal of Port Stanley. One such force was 2nd Battalion Scots Guards who were tasked with secur-ing Mount Tumbledown, a rocky outcrop some four miles to the west of the capital. The mountain was held by the Argen-tine 5th Marine Infantry Brigade - a very proficient force of professional soldiers accompanied by a contingent of young conscripts. The engagement commenced at 20:30 hours on 13 June and lasted well into the next day. It was a difficult

battle because the invaders were well dug in and generally concealed by the granite outcrops which are a dominant fea-ture of the mountain. Eventually around 8.15 am next day and well after dawn, Tumbledown was in the Scots Guard’s hands after losing eight men killed, together with a Royal Engineer. The Argentine losses amounted to 30 men. The war ended shortly after this epic battle as Brit-ish forces advanced into Stanley. HMS INVINCIBLE had operated some distance east of the islands during hostilities but came closer in after the ceasefire. Having learned of the Scots Guards’ heroic battle, the Captain asked their Colo-nel if he would like the two units to form a liaison so that soldiers could spend a few days on the ship having a show-er, a decent bed and a few cans of beer. The proposal was embraced by the Guards and some of the soldiers were wel-comed on board. In return the Colonel offered four senior officers, including me, a guided tour of their battle route from the base of the mountain up to the summit.

then pages went blank

The scene that greeted us was quite chastening for the ground was littered with the panoply of war from weap-ons and ammunition to personal effects. Amongst the debris my eyes alighted upon a small black notebook which ap-peared in remarkably good condition, bearing in mind that the ground was frozen. It transpired on opening it that this was the diary of an Argentine conscript who had arrived on Mount Tumbledown on 8 April 1982. He had made entries every day until mid May after which the pages were blank. I was intrigued. Why had he stopped writing? Perhaps he had become bored with the repetitive nature of his life on the mountain or maybe he had been injured or even killed by the shelling which the Royal Navy undertook prior to the battle. It was difficult to solve the conundrum so the diary

Neil Harkness (right) on HMS INVINCIBLE on return from Falklands

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was put in a drawer and for-gotten about until a strange turn of events. Earlier this year my son Seamus married his fian-cée Tamsyn. Shortly before the wedding she revealed that they had decided to honeymoon in Argentina as members of her father’s family had a ranch in the north west of the country. It transpired that her great grandfather emigrated there

in the late 1800s and started a sugar plantation which was

subsequently requisitioned by the state in 1952. Her grand-father then bought a large ranch which some of her cousins now run. With this connection in mind I showed her the di-ary and asked if she could find somebody over there who could research the owner. They made tentative enquiries in Buenos Aires but found that the Malvinas War is still a very sensitive topic so decided not to pursue it. However, when they subsequently visited her relatives a friend of the family decided to take the matter up. She researched the conscript’s name and found out that he was still alive and working for the Argentine Ministry of Defence. In the few weeks since their visit she has not been able to make personal contact with him but we hope that he will soon be reunited with his diary and the mystery of the missing entries will be solved.

SELECTED EXTRACTS FROM THE CONSCRIPT’S DIARY TRANSLATED BY LAURA SMITH, A KING’S SPANISH TEACHER

29 April:

Today all the troops are starting to move to gain territory and position all the materials.

30 April:

I’ll never forget this day because we were attacked by a heli-copter, there were no casualties, but the helicopter attacks were frequent and strong. 1 May:

It’s 0305 hours. I have got together my 11 soldiers and our equipment. We’re manning the anti-aircraft gun, ready to confront air attacks that our radar tells us will happen at about 0655 hours. They attacked the aircraft pan firing 6 guided missiles, but the Argentinean Airforce didn’t let them get through and we shot down two of their [Harrier] aircraft. We were firing high powered 35mm ammunition as well as smaller ammunition. This was the hardest attack

so far. Afterwards at about 1233 hours, a [British] warship bombarded the aircraft pan, as it continued the Argentinean Airforce went to the warship’s position and Mirages from the Escuadrilla [Argentine Aviation Squadron] and another squadron of Pucaras successfully attacked the warship.

6 May:

At about 1246 hours I was on sentry duty. I felt an explosion and at that moment naval aircraft started to attack our posi-tion. I switched off our equipment and went to shelter in a trench with my soldiers, and waited to see what happened. At this time I thought about my mother and asked that she bless me and remember me. I decided to pray to God and the Virgin, and also to Saint Miguel and Saint La Muerte. I could hear the bombs falling only about 70-80 metres from our position; however, we managed to survive this bombard-ment. Right at the end of the bombardment one bomb fell between our two anti-aircraft guns and that really shocked me. At that moment, I said to myself that St Miguel and God had not forgotten me. That’s how it all happened but I never stopped being strong. I have the strength to carry on. This is how my military career has started – with my head held high and with a lot of courage. I carry the glorious flag that our heroes gave us; the light blue and white flag. It has united us and made us feel more Argentinean and that these islands are ours.

6 May: [actually the morning of 7 May]

Today at 0130 hours I woke up calm to do the guard duty. I was happy, but thinking about my family and all my friends.

7 May:

Today the weather was horrible, so it allowed me to write some letters and chat with my soldiers about general things, and we all remember our families.

8 May:

At about 0236 hours I got out of bed and thought for a while. Afterwards, one of my soldiers asked me if I would like a drink of maté [a traditional South American caffeine rich infused drink] and I agreed. We reminisced about things that had happened in our lives and those who had died for their country.

Mount Tumbledown

Seamus Harkness

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OLD BRUTONIAN INTERVIEW

Mary Stonham –Ask (nee Ston-ham): 1979-1981talking to Charlotte and James Ask

James: What was the sports like for the girls in the 1700s, errrm… sorry, when you were at school?Mum: What sport? There were no timetabled sports for the girls. The closest to a sports field we got was up at Hyde, bringing the oranges on at half time and flirting with the opposite team to distract them from the game during the 1st XV rugby matches. I do though remember play-ing a lot of squash which I have kept up. What is sport like for the girls now Charlotte?Charlotte: I wouldn’t really know, to be honest. I would prefer the sport in your day! We do now have loads of choice though. At the moment I am playing volleyball and rounders and as I’m in 5th form I don’t have to do athletics! (YAY!!! J )James: So did you do CCF?Mum: No, girls weren’t included in CCF so we could do as we pleased on a Friday afternoon. I managed to arrange with a kind famer’s wife, to ride one of her horses every Friday afternoon. I had to walk a couple of

miles there and back, no minibuses, but I loved the freedom. In fact we had so much freedom that I remember when I had been visiting a friend at Redlynch when it was a finishing school one Sunday morning we were riding tandem bareback at a fast trot down the road in order to get me back to chapel on time! James: If we want to go anywhere at the weekend we need to sign out, get parents to send emails to Housemasters and we are only allowed three weekends off per term.Mum: Ah, yes but I was in the Sixth F orm, and we didn’t have e-mail. James: So you had to sign out with a stone and chisel?Mum: We didn’t even have that. There was nowhere to sign out as we lived with a Bruton resident in the town, there were no girls’ houses.Charlotte: So where was the house you lived in?Mum: One of the other Lower Sixth girls and I shared an attic bedroom in a lovely house called Grove House in Quaperlake Street which was owned by an elderly lady who kept us in check and looked after us well. Two of the masters lived in houses opposite where a few Upper Sixth boys also lived. This made for a few interesting prep sessions trying to get paper planes through each other’s windows with notes about post prep pub plans.Charlotte: Was that your alternative to the Sixth Form Club then?Mum: Yes, there was no Sixth Form Club. Our socials were the pub and “meeting” in the Bartons.

Traditionally for this feature, the Editor of The Dolphin has always interviewed an Old Brutonian who has distinguished himself or herself since leaving King’s. This year, we decided to have four interviews with the simple criteria that each Old Brutonian had to have a son or daughter - or both - currently at the School. The Editor gave herself a few hours off, asking the Old Brutonians and their children to have a conversation amongst themselves which we would then publish. On this page, Mary Stonham-Ask, one of the first girls to come to King’s, is grilled by Charlotte, now going into the Lower Sixth, and James, going into the Fourth Form. Mum doesn’t let them have it all their own way, however, and the same can be said for the other Old Brutonian interviewees: Chris Barber and his daughter Ellen (p17); Tom Clothier and his daughter Emily (p18); and Tim Robinson and his son Will (p19-20).

OLD BRUTONIAN PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN DEBATE THE MERITS OF A KING’S EDUCATION YESTERDAY AND TODAY

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Charlotte How many girls were there when you were there?Mum: When I was in Sixth Form there were three of us in my year and five in the year above.James: Wasn’t that quite daunting?Mum: Very much so, especially as I had come from eight years at a convent, going to the dining room on the first morning of Lower Sixth was terrifying! But there were lots of advantages: the boys always used to carry our folders from lesson to lesson and walk us back to our houses and they always used to buy us stuff from the tuck shop at break.Charlotte and James: So overall did you enjoy your time at King’s?Mum: Absolutely, I have very fond memories of my time at King’s, having made some lasting friends and having been taught by some inspirational masters: David Hindley for English with whom I am still in contact, Roger Lowe for Biology and Alan Dunlop for French. I would though have enjoyed all that is on offer now for the girls. I am so thrilled that you two are now at King’s and so enjoying it.James: So what did you do after leaving King’s?Mum: I took a gap year working in Germany and then trained as a Physiotherapist at St Thomas’ Hospital.

Chris Barber: Old House

1980 - 1983 talking to Ellen Barber

Ellen: Hi Dad, I’ve been asked to interview you about your time at King’s when you were my age. Can you remember anything that far back? Or are we going to have to do this a little slower..?Dad: Okay, well I remember a lot of things I got up to at Bruton. I was always an early riser at school (as Malcolm Jeffrey might have found out with the family resemblance). I was always the first to breakfast and would make a lot of noise when I woke up. As we slept on old hospital beds, on one occasion, the rest of the dorm decided to put a whole bed on top of mine when I was sleep-ing, and drape sheets all around it, so it was pitch black. I didn’t wake up till Matron (Jean Bryant) found me in my bed around 9 o’clock. That was the one and only time I ever overslept at school! Ellen: Well luckily for us our beds are not too bad now. Do you have any stories where you were quite naughty or rebellious?Dad: Well, there was one time at school, and it was Mr Watts’ first term teaching at school. We were waiting outside the Maths room in the Mem Hall. I remember that there were several fire extinguishers hung up on the wall. A friend was holding the nozzle, pretending to squirt it everywhere, and then I managed to strike it and set it off, just as Mr Watts was walking round the corner, just watching the water go everywhere!Ellen: (laughing) That’s quite funny actually, good old Mr Watts! Those Maths rooms now in the Mem Hall are now English rooms, so that’s really swapped round. Have you any others?Dad: Yes (laughing), I remember this one time I had a chemistry lesson. My teacher Mr King had a false leg. The dare was to stick a compass in his false leg!Ellen: Oh dear God.. and?Dad: Well.. I managed to stick it in his actual real leg!Ellen: Not surprised, to be very honest, that’s very smart of you Dad, well done! Dad: Well yes, I had to write many lines, that’s for sure. But none of these stories compare with my father and his brother, who were again in Old House.Ellen: Spill the story!Dad: Well, it’s the story trying to blow up Plox Bridge. They tried to do this with gun powder and by firing rockets from the church yard as the trains past!Ellen: Wow (laughing), that’s impressive. Dad: I know. In this day and age it would probably lead to prison sentences, but back in their day it was their idea of fun! A day to remember. Here’s another story for you. It was May 13th, 1981. It was a very hot sunny day, which was quite unusual at Bruton in May. The Colts cricket team were playing Sexey’s School on the Abbey Field. I got bowled this great ball, but slogged it for a six. It managed to go over the church wall, bouncing off a gravestone and going straight through the stainglass window. I was so chuffed at that shot.Ellen: What happened after your match then?Dad: After the match, the coach at the time (Richard Hastings) said I had to report to the Chaplain (Martin Barber) to report the broken window. He then referred me to the vicar, who promptly told me ‘I do not have time to worry about this. The Pope, John Paul II, has just been shot.’ So the matter had to be referred to the Bursar (who lived in Wellesley House) and who I guess had to put in an insurance claim to repair the window.

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Tom Clothier: Old House

1979-1983talking to Emily Clothier

Emily: So tell me Dad, what was life like when you were at King’s? Do you see any similarities or differences when you see me at school?Dad: Well, first of all, when I was at King’s it was a boys’ school so obviously there’s a big difference there! Generally, when I see the School, it looks similar to my time except for buildings such as the Basil Wright Building. Emily: Were you at King’s when Mr Wright was here then?Dad: Oh yes, I remember Mr Wright. He would lean down and whisper in your ear whilst pulling a small piece of hair at the back of your neck: “you and I are going to fall out, Mr Clothier”. He was a great teacher but I was very poor at English!Emily: Oh so you had hair back then? Hahaha.Dad: No wonder you kids today are so cheeky, punishment isn’t the same anymore!Emily: Do you remember other teachers?Dad: Yes I had Mrs Linney for Maths in the building which is now the JCR. I would sit at the back and look out of the window and she would shout: “you won’t find your Maths O Level out of the window, Clothier”. I did get Maths O level, largely thanks to her! Emily: So what are the good memories from King’s then?Dad: Definitely my favourite times at King’s were the times my friends and I went flying with the RAF for a CCF trip to Filton. We were taken flying in Chipmunk training plans by retired Second World War RAF pilots. The planes had two seats and the pilot sat behind you. Once off the ground we were able to fly the plane ourselves. The pilot would also do dives and loops – one of my friends was sick on the victory roll and spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning out the plane! Do you still have CCF?Emily: Oh yes, we have CCF on a Friday afternoon, it’s taken very seriously, of course! There are often opportunities to go on expeditions such as sailing with the Navy and Army trips up in Scotland.Dad: So what do think of the food at King’s then?Emily: To be honest, it’s pretty good. There are two main options and a warm salad option. There are also cold meats in the salad bar with an array of salads to choose from, not to mention the choice of fruit, yoghurt or a main dessert after your main.Dad: Wow, that’s luxury, there was only one option when I was there.Emily: Was it any good?Dad: It wasn’t Michelin starred! But it did the job for hungry young men! Haha. Emily: I though you rarely stayed for lunch?Dad: Well, sometimes I would come into School for morning lessons and slip home via Lower Back Way when the teachers turned their backs!Emily: How did you get away with that?Dad: Well, Mr Lowe implemented a signing in and out system which he had perfected by the time my younger brother Richard came to King’s. Mr Lowe made him sign in three times a day in fear he would be like I was!Emily: Wow, we would never get away with that, the School has a frenzy if you’re late for a lesson, let alone if you just leave.Dad: Yes, government regulations weren’t as strict back then!Emily: So when you come to King’s for matches or concerts, do you notice any similarities to when you were at King’s?Dad: Well, when I watch your matches, I notice that the grounds are still kept perfectly, just like they were when I was at King’s. That must be because Adie is still there?Emily: Is that the man who looks like Bruce Willis?Dad: Haha, yes I suppose. Emily: So finally, did you make friends at King’s that you still keep in touch with today?Dad: Definitely, I met my closest friends at King’s. I often see them now. Do you think you will be able to say the same thing at my age?Emily: I am sure of it.

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Tim Robinson: Lyon House

1973-1978compares notes with Will Robinson (Old House: 1909-1914)

Many things have not changed:

Jumping out of classroom windows, running around to the classroom door and apologising to the Master for arriving late!

Tim’s time – Jock Morton Latin master in class next to JCR. Will’s time – Maths master.

Running ‘Far Fields’ as a punishment (Tim clocked up 100 in the 4th form Christmas term) but cheating by crawling along the dip halfway around and waiting five minutes behind the pavilion.

Punishments – writing four sides on the ‘sex life of the inside of a ping pong ball’.

Haircuts – am I on matron’s list?

Shaving cream fights – Tim’s time: only foam; Will’s time: shaving gel – better range and accuracy.

Barton ice slide – Tim’s time: Bartons were never salted / gritted making them death slides. Will’s time: School canteen trays used as slides.

School snow ball fights on Abbey Field – the gentlemen of Lyon and Priory were always hammered by the New, Old and Blackford yobs and yickers!

Many things have changed:

The Sun Inn - Tim’s time: the Master’s pub – beware / enter at your own peril. Will’s time: source of the ‘Sun Inn’ take away – best oily cheesy chips this side of Hull.

Grub outlets - Tim’s time: nothing. Will’s time: Chippie (battered Mars bars a delicacy), Chinkie (expensive though), Chapel (Pizza heaven).

At The Chapel on the High Street - Tim’s time: dusty, damp, unheated establishment equipped with alter and pews – where rock bands used to hang out and practice – Pete Coates and I would illegally sneak in, sit at the back and watch in awe.Will’s time: boutique establishment for the senses – often found in the Weekend section of the Telegraph – sipping latte’s and mar-garita’s ok.

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School food

Tim’s time: pre-canteen time- in a long wooden hut built during the War – food was inedible and pungent – tapioca and pigs heart were the delicacies of that time. You could see the mould on the Bread and Butter pudding. One day the cook who had been given the sack put a good dose of salt in all the tea urns!

Will’s time: vegetarian option, brunch on some Sundays, quality dining.

Fagging

Tim’s time: each House Prefect had a 3rd former personal servant called a ‘fag’ to make his bed and polish his shoes. Fags had to ring the morning bell, clean and tidy the prefects study and scrub the saucepans in which the prefects had let milk boil dry – too cruel!Will’s time: no fags but 3rd formers still ring the morning bell and get noise trauma deafness.

Dormitory high jinks

Tim’s time: apple pie beds – folding sheets back making it impossible to get into bed and meaning that you have to remake the whole bed. Lamp posting beds meaning standing the rigid caste iron bed vertically on its end so that the mattress, sheets and blankets all fall off. Lyon House dormitories were conveniently out of ear shot from the senior studies and common room – as soon as lights went out the 4th form dorm would invade the 3rd form dorm and lamp post all the beds – carnage and chaos ensued.

Music after lights out

Tim’s time: transistor radio listening to Radio Luxemburg or Radio Caroline through a single poorly fitting plastic earphone.

Will’s time: no apple pie beds because everyone has a duvet. No lamp posting because the beds are now made of Scandinavian soft wood. Music – ipods with anatomically fashioned earphones, of course.

Clothing

Tim’s time: tie dye t-shirts (made in the House changing room), denim flares and Oxford bags, cheesecloth shirts and Polaroid sunglasses.

Will’s time: chinos, docksiders, board shorts, onesies.

Tim Robinson’s life and career since King’s

Went to London University to read medicine at The Middlesex Hospital.GP in West Dorset for 25 years – soon to become senior partner.Also practises complementary medicine (homeop-athy, acupuncture and nutrition) privately in Sher-borne (Glencairn Clinic owned by Alex Gibbs / Old House KSB) and previously off Harley Street, London. Recently achieved Master’s degree in Nutritional Medicine, University of Surrey.Married with three children.

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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ... A RESIDENT TUTOR

Stefan Davies has been the Resident Tutor in Blackford House since 2010. Here he talks us through a typical day in a job he loves.

The day starts with a wakeup call from Kiss FM’s Ricky, Melvin and Charlie. Their thumping tunes begin to give me life as I stumble about in pre-contact lens fuzziness, pulling on shorts and T-shirt in readiness for the gym at 06:30. Lacking the necessary motivation to train solely for my own purposes, the half hour of

morning torture is performed whilst supervising a group of 4th Formers in their daily attempt to find exercises that will best isolate and enlarge their bicep muscles. After showering etc. I am left with a few minutes to read my bible in quiet, unless the morning peace is disturbed - some unfortunate Sixth Former having enraged Mr Bunday sufficiently to merit his use of ‘the fog horn’ as an aid to timely extraction from bed. The day’s lessons tear by in a flurry of fun-filled fascination at the wonders of the universe. That is they do for me, the number of pupils filled with the same passion is somewhat variable, but we can at least agree that lunch time is a very good time indeed. 17:30 is time for roll call, always performed in the heat and aroma that can only be generated by 50 teenage boys fresh from the sports field, and squeezed into a con-fined space. The end of roll call ushers the start of prep, and the games begin. Round 1: The object of which for the boy is to keep hold of one’s phone during prep through various means of deception (beginners will merely ‘forget’ to hand in the phone, whereas more advanced players will move onto such techniques as ‘the double’ where an old phone is handed

in ‘the stunt double’ where a purpose built mock phone

is handed in, or my personal fa-vourite the ‘stick something that’s not a phone into your phone case’). The object of the resident tutor is of course to uncover said deception – the winner either

gaining, or maintain-ing possession of the phone. Round 2: The object of which for the boy is to success-fully game/watch videos on his laptop whilst maintaining the appearance of do-

ing prep. Once again the object of the resi-dent tutor is to uncov-

er the deception. Techniques range from ‘the race against time’ involving furious clicking as the resident tutor moves from knocking to a position where he can see the screen, to ‘the eye strainer’ where the offending software is shrunk to a miniscule size in one corner of a screen that is dominated by an authentic word document. The resident tutor is not without techniques of his own, however. I will remain eternally grateful to the boy who taught me the four finger side swipe on a mac book keypad which changes the screen instantly, and I look back fondly on some successful coups involving a quick walk around the outside of the house for a peek in through the windows. After a break for supper, second prep begins. Rounds one and two recommence with significantly greater ferocity, much of the day’s work having been completed as 20:45 approaches. The end of prep marks the beginning of a tempo-rary truce where, in the summer, the boys take great delight in distracting me from marking with some touch rugby. And in the winter the boys take great delight in distracting me from marking with the best new songs or videos clips with-out which, apparently, my life will not be complete. Round 3: Bedtime. Thankfully the busy School day makes this round significantly shorter and more infrequent than it potentially could be, with boys often just as keen to get to sleep as I am. Also with minds numbing as tiredness creeps in, the skills of the players can be a little diminished. Boys regard tutor with disbelief as if it could only be by some black magic that he knows that three boys are giggling in a dark room where there should only be two. The boys asleep (hopefully), games complete, mark-ing done, I am able to head for bed looking back on another day in a job that I LOVE.

Matron Janice Jeffery with her boy

Housemaster Nick Bunday with his trusty resident tutror

Blackford staff say goodbye to U6 leavers

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which, of course, pleased my parents hugely! One other memory which has firmly stuck in my mind is the swimming club that we used to go to which was based around a huge outdoor salt water swimming pool. The club came into existence in 1878 with a Europeans-only tag and threw its doors open to Indians in the 1960s, following a public outcry. However, we rarely saw Indians swimming because, generally, they are not taught to swim from a young age. Although in England, we are all encouraged to learn to swim from a young age because it is seen as a basic skill for safety, in India it is simply not part of their culture. My experience of India was very enjoyable, but I was young at the time and so I did not see the world as it re-ally was: now I realise how fortunate we are. As most people are aware, there was a tragic incident of gang rape in India in

INDIA: “I DID NOT SEE THE WORLD AS IT REALLY WAS - NOW I REALISE HOW FORTUNATE WE ARE.”

In just seven years, 80 students from King’s have spent a few months serving at the Indian Christian Mission Centre in Tamil Nadu as part of their Gap Year. Helena Davidson-

Houston is one of the next group looking forward to spending time at the orphanage later this year. Unlike most of the students, however, Helena already has some experience of India. Here, she describes four formative years on the sub-continent, and assesses how the country has changed since her early years.

India is known as the land of colours and prayers – it is full to bursting of incredible buildings, di-verse cultures, religions and people. Although it is a country full of beauty, we cannot forget that as well as being the second most populous na-tion in the world, India is home to a staggering number of people who live below the poverty line. I had the privilege of living in Mumbai – called Bombay at the time – for almost four

years because my father worked there. I was very young at the time, but I still remember all the amazing people I met and the stunning culture I was so lucky to be a part of.

the horrendous Mumbai traffic

I went to a kindergarten called ‘Sunflower Nursery’ where I learnt a little bit of Hindi and even managed to sing the national anthem (not anymore!). I remember break times sit-ting outside and eating water-melon with my other Indian classmates. We had a family maid called Indira who lived with us and helped by looking after my brother and me. We also had a driver called Rocky who for six days a week saved my parents from having to drive in the horrendous Mumbai traffic. Indira used to make yoghurt from scratch and put it in the fridge. A little later, my father would come along and try to throw it away because it looked so disgusting! When we didn’t need the car, Rocky used to drive to who-knows-where to have a cigarette with his friends while my parents thought he was actually doing something useful. He was also fond of sitting in the car with the air condi-tioning on at full blast to keep cool in the Mumbai heat

Helena: middle of three children on top row, left of picture

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December 2012. Rape in India is one of the most common crimes against women and more women were raped in Delhi than in any other of India’s large cities in 2012, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. The 23-year-old woman was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and this crime shocked the nation so much because of its sheer brutality. The attack sparked days of angry protests which sought to highlight the poor social and economic conditions which many Indian women suffer. Baby girls are killed after birth and female foetuses are aborted, leading to a dreadful-ly lopsided gender ratio. Those that survive often face dis-crimination, violence and prejudice for the rest of their lives. Shocking statistics illustrate the horrific deaths from fires, domestic violence and inadequate healthcare. What is even

more atrocious is that many in-cidents of rape and other crimes against women go unreported. In this case, four of the men were found guilty of rape and murder and sentenced to death. Rightly, justice was served, but this doesn’t excuse the fact that an innocent woman was killed. The protests in Delhi after the woman’s death offer some hope. Hopefully, it served as a wake-up call which will force the government to introduce harsh-er laws and make people think about the treatment of wom-en and children. Jayaraj’s children, Bright and Neva, kindly came and spoke to us in October about their father’s orphanage in southern India. This was certainly an eye-opening experience for the whole School as it made us realise what a fortunate position we are all in. They talked about why Jayaraj set up the orphanage and how the children came to be orphans. Completely innocent children had lost their mothers in hor-rific acts of domestic violence and some had just been un-wanted by their parents who had left with other partners.

orphans have done something to deserve fate

I personally found this deeply upsetting because these children had done nothing to deserve the loss of their parents. Furthermore, Neva told us how many of the orphans hadn’t even seen the faces of their parents and they didn’t know what it felt like to have someone to love them. Bright and Neva explained that once you are an orphan, you are insignificant in Indian society because in their culture, it is the ‘survival of the fittest’. Hinduism teaches that if something bad happens to you, it is a punishment for something you have done wrong in your previous life. In other words, in the eyes of Indian society, the orphans have done something to deserve their lonely fate. Of course, we don’t believe that this is true and Bright and Neva told us that that is why they had chosen the path of Christianity. In the UK, if you are an orphan, you are given support and care. This is one of the many reasons why our connection with Jayaraj’s orphanage in Tamil Nadhu is so special. At King’s we are lucky to have the opportunity to travel to Jayaraj’s orphanage to help out with important

projects as part of our gap year programme in association with ‘Shining Faces in India’. In just seven years, 80 pupils have gone out and raised a grand total of £100,000 for the orphanage. The subtitle of this programme is: ‘Changing chil-dren’s lives and changing ours.’ Surely the perfect way to sum up a life-changing experience in just a few words.

Helena: middle of three children on top row, left of picture

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OLD BRUTONIAN RETURNS TO FAMILIAR TERRITORY AS A GALLERY INVIGILATOR AT HAUSER AND WIRTH Hauser and Wirth Somerset opened in July to rapturous acclaim. Stella Fox, about to start her final year at Warwick University reading History of Art and French, was one of the fortunate applicants to be given a summer job. Here she outlines her job description and describes what lies in store for Brutonians five minutes up the hill when they return for the Christmas Term.

If I were to tell my 18 year old self that four years after having left King’s I would return to Bruton, my response would have been one of disbelief. Surely there would be no reason for my return other than for social reasons, since for me Bruton was intrinsically associated with school and friends. However, my interests were awakened after catching wind of the new Haus-er and Wirth gallery which was to manifest itself among the disused and dilapidated buildings

of Durslade farm (about which I knew nothing other than “’Chocolat’ was filmed there”). The acquisition of land by the Wirths was a surprise, and consequently confirmed to all that the rumour of Johnny Depp purchasing the buildings was in fact nothing more than mere speculative talk. As a History of Art student, particularly interested in architecture and contemporary art, I was keen to see how the architecture of this ‘model farm’ would be used so as

to complement the art soon to inhabit the spaces of this at

once ancient, yet avant-garde gallery. And so, after a small and efficient game of email Ping-Pong I had secured myself a summer job as a ‘Gallery Invigilator’ (not of the exam va-riety). During the opening event, I managed to steal a few moments with Phyllida Barlow (the artist of the inaugural exhibition, GIG) to discuss some of her works. Other than gaining greater insight into the ideas behind GIG, I was touched by her humility and her sensitive concern for her work; an attitude which I am convinced is the product of a lifetime of teaching followed by international recognition within the last four years. Phyllida’s perseverance and pas-sion is surely a lesson to us all; she is 70 and she is in her prime.

refrain from touching

A career of constant creation has led Phyllida to master and challenge the notion of space, in relation to her works. She manipulates the space to which the viewer is per-mitted in a subtle but forceful manner. The pom-poms, ir-regular in their size, colour and suspension, provoke in the viewer a physical response both to touch, and to dodge the magnified objects. Such a reaction, compelling the viewer to manoeuvre oneself around a work, I have never experi-enced. This irresistible desire to encounter the tactile nature of Phyllida’s works, is one which unites the entire exhibition. Hence my job’s main challenge: the prevention of the curi-ous visitor from yanking on a chord, batting a pom-pom to and fro, or accidently pushing over a post. The aforemen-tioned actions are promptly followed by a “polite request to refrain from touching” - a phrase now very familiar to my lips. I firmly believe that with Hauser and Wirth Som-erset in Bruton, people will come to love and appreciate the new lease of life breathed into the old buildings, along with the art work contained within their walls. They will marvel, as I do, at the sensitivity, beauty and harmony with which Luis Laplace restored the buildings. They will await in an-ticipation for the September opening of the Piet Oudolf meadow, and attend the meticulously planned educational events. Above all, they will take a new interest in the wealth of possibilities which are found in an unusual collection of 18th century buildings, five minutes up the hill.

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THE DAY I SAVED A WOMAN’S LIFE AT A RAILWAY STATION

Jack Corbett tells Susie MacDonald about the moment he stopped a woman throwing herself on the railway track at Southampton Central when he was only 16.

The evening was drawing in and the rain continued to fall, making it difficult for passengers waiting for their train at Southampton Central Station to see clearly. However, they could see enough to realise that something untoward was happening. It seemed to them that a youth was attacking a woman who was standing close,

perilously close, to the edge of the platform. Stricken by the social psychological phenomenon that inhibits passers by from involving themselves in a drama if other people could do so instead, everyone looked away and continued waiting for the train. Everyone, except one young man who stepped forward to see if he could help. As he drew closer to the incident, he realised that this was not an attack by the youth. The youth was actually trying to help the woman who was threatening to throw herself onto the railway track.

this woman needed help

The youth in question was Jack Corbett, the King’s Ist X1 hockey captain who was then a 16 year old making his way home from Southampton. Unlike his fellow passengers, Jack had quickly realised that this woman needed help. She was threatening to killl herself, and he needed to stop her.

“She was standing over the yellow safety line, with her head in her hands,” he said. “I approached her along with someone else and asked her if she needed any help. She started to scream and shout and asked to be left alone to jump. That’s when I grabbed her and put myself between her and the platform edge and moved her away.” According to police, the woman had a history and would definitely have jumped. She is now in a safe environment and responding well to treatment. Towards the end of the Summer Term, Jack received a police commendation for bravery. The commendation, presented by Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent Paul Brogden, of British Transport Police, read: “For his bravery when, without fear for his own safety, he went to the aid of a suicidal female at Southampton Central Station. By courageously positioning himself between the female and the platform edge, he managed to usher her to safety.”

help someone in difficulty

Certificates of commendation are awarded to people who have shown “special zeal, courage, skill and resourcefulness in detection of crime or some other form of police work.” These commendations are one of the highest forms of recognition awarded by the police. Jack was by far the youngest at his awards ceremony. Most of the other recipients were police officers. A high proportion of the awards were given to people preventing suicides. Jack’s mother Barbara said: “he is very humble about the whole thing and says he just wanted to help someone in difficulty”. She said none of his peers had believed him when he first told them about the incident. Reflecting on his award, Jack said it had taken half a hour for the shock about what had happened to sink in. On station platforms, he is now no longer able to relax; he stands up and is alert to his surroundings so he is always aware if a similar situation is occurring. He said the most shocking aspect of the incident was that while some came over to see the commotion, there were still many who ignored it and walked on. The bystander effect may be some explanation, a phenomenon that refers to cases in which individuals do not offer any means of help to a victim when other people are present. The probability of help therefore decreases as the number of people present increases. If there is one thing to take away from this experience, it’s that you should always look twice at a person or situation and help if necessary. Don’t stand by doing nothing. One day, it could be you who needs help.

Southampton Central Station

Jack with Chief Superintendent Paul Brogden

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WHAT IS IT WITH CHEESE IN BRUTON?Three King’s families have become a byword for Somerset cheese. Currently, the families each have a daughter at the School. Will these daughters stay in Somerset and continue in the family tradition? Or are the families encouraging their daughters to look further afield when they leave King’s? Here, one of those daughters, Ellie Longman-Rood (Longman Cheese Sales), talks about her pride in the family name but also suggests that a wider world may well await her, Emily Clothier (Wyke Farm Cheese) and Ellen Barber (Barbers).

Our backgrounds have the power to define our char-acter and our future. But to what extent should we let them? 100 years ago the answer to the question was often inevitable: our duty was to carry on family tra-ditions. If your father was a butcher, then the likelihood

of you being a butcher was high. However, times are different now. Parents now push for children to follow careers they enjoy and can thrive in, often irrespective of what their fam-ily have done before them. Is this the right path to follow? Should we be so keen to push away what our ancestors have achieved before us and start new traditions? Should old tra-ditions only be appreciated and not carried on? There are three traditional family dairy based

businesses at King’s: Longman Cheese Sales, Wyke Farm Cheese and Barber’s. Longman’s began in 1783 with W H Longmans and Sons that separat-ed into Longmans Cheese Sales and Cheese mak-ers in 1997. To this day it is still based on the same acres of land that it began on. Wyke’s began producing Farmhouse Cheddar in the traditional heart of Somerset in 1861. What really high-lights the family tradition with this business is the way they

still use the same rec-ipe for cheddar used by Ivy Clothier, the grandmother of Old Brutonian James and current Brutonian Em-ily. Barber’s has

been going for six generations, starting in 1833 with Dan-iel Barber. This became the name of their famous Ched-dar, ‘Barber’s 1833’, a cheese that still uses the same recipe dreamt up 181 years ago. So, what is it with cheese in Bruton? The answer is location. It’s no surprise that Somerset should be the home of these three dairy businesses (in the same way that ait wouldn’t be surprising for a school in Kensington to produce bankers and stock brokers. It’s chalk and cheese. However, although these cheese businesses seem linked, there are also differences.

Longman’s cheese farm at North Leaze

The Wyke’s modus operandi

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Longmans is now as much a wholesale business as it is a dairy production business, selling products from other business-es. From chorizo to cooking wine, Longmans has now ex-panded beyond cheese. However, it is still in touch with its foundations of Somerset cheddar with the traditional ‘Long-man strongman’ and the newly branded ‘Vale of Camelot’. Wykes Farm Cheese also separates itself from the other businesses with its new 100% Green initiative programme. In this programme, Wykes promise to strive to become the greenest grocery business by encouraging wildlife to the Brue valley, reduce factory waste and maximise the use of organic nitrogen on their farm. Barbers, on the other hand, pride themselves on the way they appreciate both the science and art in cheese making. At the Barbers factory, fresh milk is produced daily before being pasteurised and pumped into cheese vats as it begins its journey to become the famous ‘Barbers 1833’.The cheese then goes through several stages until the team are ready for it to go out onto the shelves packaged. This is only possible when the entire process is completed. As the Barber mantra maintains: ‘it only leaves us when its ready’.

The three businesses that have led to three current pupils coming to King’s (Ellen Barber, Emily Clothier and me) have created a special family tra-dition. However, our current generation - and no doubt fu-ture ones - feel no obligation to

follow in our forefathers’ footsteps, although we will always appreciate what our families have done. With an aspiring politi-cal writer (me), a student interested in reading ge-

ography and anthropology at university (Emily) and a most brilliant athlete (Ellen), it would appear that not all of us are automatically destined to carry on producing and selling cheese. None of us can know what the future holds for us until we have been out and seen the world. Our families have encouraged us to be outward looking. I have been told by my family on numerous occasions, ‘we don’t want to see you after university until you have been out, seen the world and made up your mind for yourself!’ So, instead of defining us, our dairy backgrounds have given all of us the opportunity to venture out into the world. We can do so in the knowledge that we are not be-traying where we came from. Rather, while honouring the success of previous generations, we can now use this as a platform for our future lives.

Longman’s cheese farm at North Leaze

Tom and Emily Clothier

Ellen Barber on left

The Barber family

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IF YOU ROB A BANK, DON’T WEAR YOUR UNIFORMLike it or loathe the school uniform, it’s here to stay, says Luke Rowlands, as he traces its history from mediaeval times to the present day and beyond

Do we really need to wear a school uniform? This question has echoed through the corridors of King’s for at least a few decades, and possibly longer. It’s hard to believe, for example, that the long suffering King’s boys in the 1911 school photograph would have actually enjoyed wearing those Eton collars and waistcoasts. Esprit de corps is always important, in whichever era, but there surely must be limits to what a mere mortal can put up with around his neck and waist. Not to mention on his feet and on his head (there didn’t seem to be hats in 1911, but I’m sure there will have been the equivalent of top hats and bowlers in Victorian and pre-Victorian times). These days, the modern King’s pupil is more comfortably attired during the school day. This is the result of modern technology and changing attitudes to what is considered formal and infor-mal. I’m sure it will always be argued by most schools that a uniform helps to maintain standards

of behaviour. If you go out and rob a bank while wearing a King’s blazer, the School will clearly be brought into disrepute. Wearing the same clothes as your next door neighbour doesn’t go down well if you are a girl at a wedding, but the chaps at that wedding may well feel that their morning suits - if it’s that kind of a wedding - somehow ties them together in a way that would be impossible if they had all turned up in a wide variety of smart casual. If that was the case, a chap might not know exactly where he stood. Was he at a wedding, or a vicarage fete? So uniforms have their merits. And, I would suggest, they can almost be fun. Now that last word may have jarred a little with some of you, but bear with me. If we had all been at school in the Sixties, we would have had the chance to wear skin tight drain pipes. If we had been around in the Seventies, it would have been bell-bottoms and flairs. Another change in attitude at least will have come in 1979 with the introduction of girls. Skirts started to be seen around the place. Certainly by 1997 when King’s became fully co-educational, there was a more relaxed feel about what we were all wearing. Formal, tidy but relaxed was the order of the day. A far cry from mediaeval times when pupils would usually wear just a plain wool tunic. Today, the uniform refects a modern, professional world with Sixth Formers, both boys and girls, wearing suits. In the future, our grandchildren and great grandchildren may well have a totally different type of uniform to clamber into at the start of the school day. Who knows? It could look something like the picture at the top of the page with pupils wearing a double tie. What I do know is that there have been quite a few changes in the way we look at school since the 1911 School photograph, whether it’s the daily uniform, or what we wear on the games field or on the parade ground on Friday afternoons. No longer, in the CCF, do we parade in serious dark green or wear hats that resemble police officers’ caps. Instead we wear khaki and wide-brimmed hats. In sport, we will be wearing new strip from next term. All of this, of course, costs money, and this is actually another advantage of wearing a uniform. It prevents peer pressure requiring pupils to wear more and more expensive “mufti” as fashions change. Mr Oulton tells me his 1963 prep school uniform (plus a tuck box and rug) from Harrods cost £125. You can add a few multiples to that these days.

1877 King’s cricketers in relaxed mode The future?

Officer Training Corps before becoming CCF in 1918 Outgrowing the uniform in 1919

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BOYS’ UNIFORM LIST

3rd, 4th, 5th Form No. required Blazer, navy blue with School crest 1*Charcoal grey trousers 2*White long sleeved shirts (cotton or cotton/polyester) 8-10Short sleeved optional for summer Ties, one House and one School (also available in school shop) 2Dark grey socks of plain design 12 pairsPullover, V-neck, navy blue (optional) 1*Black (only) polishable formal shoes (not boots or suede) 2 pairsCoat/raincoat/anorak, plain navy blue (optional) 1*KSB scarf (optional) 1* 6th Form

Suit of black, navy blue or charcoal grey 1Shirts, formal style of your choice (not bold colours, bold stripes, 6+bold checks, bold patterns). Short sleeves are permitted Navy blue, black or grey V-neck sweater to match suit (no emblem or logo) 1Black (only) polishable formal shoes (not boots or suede) 1 pair Grey socks 12 pairs

Number One Suit in addition, 6th Form boys need to have, for formal occasions:Suit, charcoal grey, single-breasted of a design chosen by the pupil 1Black (only) polishable formal shoes (not boots or suede) 1 pairWhite shirts, formal style 2Ties, one House and one School (also available in school shop) 1 each *

GIRLS’ UNIFORM LIST

3rd, 4th, 5th Form No. required Blazer, navy blue, with School crest 1*Skirt, pleated, tartan (length between knee and calf ) 2*Blouses, white, open-neck, long sleeve for winter, short for summer 6*Pullover, V-neck, navy blue (optional) 1*Black (only) formal and well-polished shoes (max 3cm heel height; the 1 pairdiameter of a heel should be no smaller than a £1/1€ coin ) Tights – black, nearly black or natural 6 pairsSchool brooch in House colour (only available at school) Coat/raincoat/anorak, plain navy blue (optional) 1*K.S.B. scarf (optional) 1* 6th Form

Trouser or skirt suit, black, navy blue or charcoal grey. Trousers and 1 skirts to be ‘on the waist’ and skirts on the knee; trousers to be tailored Navy blue, black or grey V-neck sweater to match suit (no emblems or logos) 1Plain or striped light-coloured shirts of a formal fitted style 6Black (only), formal and well-polished shoes (max 6cm heel height; the 1 pairdiameter of a heel should be no smaller than a £1/1€ coin ) School brooch in House colour (only available at school) Tights - black, nearly black, navy or natural 6 Number One Suit in addition Sixth Formers need to have for formal occasions:Skirt Suit, black (on the waist, skirt length on the knee) 1White shirts/blouses 2Black (only) formal and well-polished shoes (max 6cm heel height and the 1 pairdiameter of a heel should be no smaller than a £1 or 1€ coin ) Tights – black, nearly black or natural 2 pairs

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TECHNOLOGY CORNER

Serafim Gunin reviews the modern world of gadgets and gizmos, tracing where they come from and, guardedly, concluding that they’re good news for education.

Education is a crucial part of today’s society. It has helped build modern society by training, educating and inspiring people. Technology is used in education to enhance the process of learning. The introduction of the printing press has been revolution-ary for education, as it has allowed for mass production of textbooks which allows for more independent

learning. The mass production of computers has changed education dramatically. The internet’s ability to act as a vir-tual library allows for the speed and resources of modern research. Technology has a great impact on education. In the past, inventions such as pens and the printing press were considered revolutionary and revised education methods dramatically. However, the recent invention of the modern computer and related technologies has had an enormous impact on education. The modern computer has negative and positive aspects like many other technologies; while it is mostly beneficial to education, it is important to analyse whether modern technology is actually useful.

Current use of technology in schools

One of the most common appearances of technol-ogy in schools is the computer. There are many uses of com-puters in education. Computers are often used for language related subjects, as the ability to easily edit sentences without rewriting them on paper can potentially save countless hours of time. Computers are often used for maths or science sub-jects to demonstrate mathematical ideas or experiments. Im-age manipulation programs and digital cameras have revolu-tionised photography. A few schools now require all students to buy iPad tablets for educational use.

Potential use of technology

While technology is often used in school lessons, it also has the potential to be very useful for independent learning to either supplement lessons or learn entire subjects with little to no help. The internet provides access to many tools such as YouTube. YouTube hosts a large variety of vid-eo lessons for all subjects. These videos are normally com-posed of someone explaining a topic while creating notes, a diagram or animation. This is very useful for visual learners, but equally useful for auditory learners. A popular video re-source for mathematics is ‘Exam Solutions’, a channel and website dedicated to mathematics. ‘Exam Solutions’ was cre-ated by an experienced teacher who explains all GCSE and

A-Level topics with well laid out notes and diagrams, while maintaining a sense of simplicity. Khanacademy is a more well-known YouTube chan-nel and website which is similar in style, but provides more subjects including humanities subjects and sciences. There are many websites which provide exercises for various subjects which can be used for more active learning. These are especially useful for learning grammar, as the rep-etition of many similar questions is very helpful for learning grammar. A more interesting method for learning used by some schools is to host virtual lessons in a ‘sandbox’ com-puter game called Minecraft. This creates a visual-spatial en-vironment that can allow for learning large amounts of infor-mation. This is effective as it simulates a memory technique called memory palace. Online university, tablets in schools

Some schools such as Millfield require all students to buy iPad tablets to use in lessons and for study outside of lessons. It can be argued that this is a step too far in using technology for education, as having the skill to write on paper is essential. There are many negative sides to this also such as students being distracted from learning while using tablets and there is a high risk of digital work becoming corrupt or being lost due to tablets being damaged. Tablets are very expensive to buy, especially in large quantities and generally need to be replaced yearly to work with new software and be supported by companies like Apple. If schools provide iPads for students, this usually costs millions for the school which could be (better?) spent on new equipment, better teachers and more. Online universities exist now which can provide an academic degree that can be earned by using a virtual univer-sity on the internet. This allows individuals with physical dis-abilities, full-time employees or those living abroad to access higher education. However, the quality of online degrees is in dispute.

Future use of technolgy in education

There is a lot of potential for the use of technology in the future. Research into how the brain works could be used to study optimal learning methods such as repetition at certain intervals which could be implemented into computer software to memorise things quickly. School work could be stored on the internet for easy access while on holiday or for students who are not able to take physical books [Cloud…]

Philosophy

While technology can be useful for education, it is important to keep a balance between traditional methods of learning and modern technology. Traditional learning meth-ods have countless advantages over technological methods for learning. Digital work can be lost or become corrupt with little to no warning which can result in important course-work or exam preparation work being lost. Storing work on paper and using physical books doesn’t come with risks like this, provided that the student is organised enough to not lose any work. People shouldn’t need to rely on computers being available to perform daily tasks.

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Word Search

The field by the church - The newest building in School - The oldest building in School - Where you work out - The name of the Maths/Languages block - Where The Rev hangs out - Only for the seniors - Where the juniors buy cookies - Where it echoes

COFFEE BREAK

A £15 voucher for a meal at Hauser & Wirth Somerset for the funniest captions for our three pictures. The winner must also complete the Word Search to our editors’ satisfaction.

Picture A

Picture B

Picture C

Picture D

A H D M I L L E N I U M CB V R L L R E A J M Q Z IH G A P E V B Q S J O D RT C H A P L A I N C Y W CI U C B M W F H S R I T LE L R B N X C I A B E U EF Q O E Z A M O F C M O PC O G Y G Y M N A S I U MB U L C M R O F H T X I SX G O D I X Q H S P V T EE Y T H G I R W L I S A B

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SARATOGA TRUNK

World War One Battlefields by Charles Oulton

B y the time this article is published, much will have been written about the centenary of the start of the First World War. Indeed, much will have been written in this issue. However, without wanting

to minimise the effect of the written word in bringing the horror of this war alive, there is no real substitute for visiting the battlefields themselves. Only then can you truly appreciate what it must have been like to live and invariably die with only human companionship and in some cases, faith in God, to help keep some semblance of sanity. One departure this year from the usual itinerary was a sortie to the chalk quarries lying underneath the streets of Arras. Mr Fletcher had lost confidence in our old faithful museum in Ypres and his decision to take us all to Arras instead was vindicated. In 1916, the British re-used these quarries to help their offensive against the Germans whose trenches ran through what are now the eastern suburbs of the town. The quarries were to be linked up so that they could be used both as shelters from the German shelling and as a means of conveying troops to the front in secrecy and safety. The tunnel system could accommodate 20,000 men and were fitted out with running water, electric lights,

kitchens, latrines, a light rail system and a fully equipped hospital. Thousands of soldiers were billeted in the tunnels for eight days prior to the start of the Arras offensive on 9 April 1917. At 05:30 that morning, exits were dynamited to enable the troops to storm the German trenches. The Germans were taken by surprise and were pushed back 11 km. This count-ed as an extraordinary success by the standards of the time. However, the offensive soon bogged down and it was even-

tually called off after casualties reached 4,000 a day. Before heading down in the lift

to the tunnels, we were reminded of the lines from Sassoon’s The General: ‘He’s a cheery old card,’ grunted Har-ry to Jack/As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack...../But he did for them both by his plan of attack.’As we all walked through the tunnels, we were struck by some of the graffi-ti and painted signs carved into the rock, together with relics of the troops such as cans of bully beef, helmets and bottles, all of them bearing testimony to the everyday lives of the soldiers as they waited for the battle to start. For us old-timers who hadn’t been to Arras before, this finale to the trip was particularly interesting. But the more familiar excursions to Vimy Ridge, Tyne Cot, Plug Street and the Menin

A quarry underneath Arras

Charlotte Mansergh

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Gate will never cease to move us. My great uncle is buried at Vimy Ridge, Mr Fletcher’s great uncle at Serre. As he stood beside his great-uncle’s grave, Mr Fletcher told us: ‘We’ve got what we’ve got because they did what they did.’ I echoed the same words about my great uncle. If these Battlefields trips stopped, the sacrifices made by our two great uncles would obviously be no less important, but we all feel it’s import-ant that the School’s young should continue to be given this valuable opportunity to reflect on the bravery and selfless-ness of previous generations. Thanks, as always, to Peter Williams, our tour guide, who always inspires us with his ability to communi-cate his knowledge so we all feel slightly wiser by the time we return to Bruton. We hope very much he will take up our invitation to visit King’s before our next trip.

Peter Williams explains all

Thiepval

Archie Warsap and Sophia Duval laying the wreath at the Menin Gate

Charlotte Mansergh

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History Trip to Budapest and Viennaby Ellie Longman-Rood

A t 10:30 in the morning King’s School Bruton historians left a slightly snowy Bruton to head towards Gatwick to see the sights Budapest and Vienna had to offer. The coach was filled with

the classic comments of ‘Oh do we need our passports?!’ and ‘where exactly is Hungary?!’ and one iPhone that had managed to escape from the owner’s pocket after leaving Bruton for the grand total of two minutes and was found in the storage cupboard of the coach an hour and a half lat-er once we had reached Fleet before proceeding to Gatwick airport. Now, huge congratulations must be paid to Mr Fletcher and Mr Bunday at this point as they managed to successfully ensure all 34 pupils got onto to the right plane in tow with passports and health insurance cards which is no mean feat. Mr Bunday doing so in such a militaristic man-ner that would make the King’s Bruton CCF and indeed the British Army proud! Once reaching Hungary we visited some historically inspiring and influential museums such as the Holocaust Documentation centre, which to say the very least was extremely moving, poignant and thought provoking but most importantly pays great respect to those who were dehumanised and lost their lives in the holocaust, and the House of Terror that shed light on the horrors that faced

those who challenged or supposedly challenged the Soviet ideals and were captured by the AVO (the Hungarian secret police) during Hungary’s Soviet occupation. Thus able to hit home some of the text book facts the GCSE students had been learning back in Bruton. Hungary also offered some historical monuments such as the ones in the Statue park, perhaps the most memorable being that of Stalin’s boots that are the only part left after his statue was torn down,

or the Bronze cupped hands holding and concealing a ball to represent Hungarian politics. On the fourth morning we departed for Vienna where arguably the most interesting and beautiful place we were lucky enough to visit was the Schon-brunn Palace which provided a visual aid for those A-Level students studying Napoleon. Overall, the History tour was a huge success and the students’ congratulations lie with Mr Fletcher and Mr Bunday for ensuring no one lost a passport or broke a bone! They also have the students’ immense grat-itude as without their organisation the tour would not be possible and we would not be able to view some of the most historic sites that allow one to understand more about these significant events of the past.

Tour party on History trips to France 2013, and Vienna and Budapest 2014

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Geography Fieldwork Course on Exmoorby Dan Hodder

Lower Sixth Geography students enjoyed an excellent three day fieldwork course on Exmoor. A group of 18 students conducted fieldwork on the rivers, coastline and urban en-vironments of North Somerset and Exmoor for their A-level exams. Starting early and not finishing in the classroom un-til 8pm most evenings, the students were outstanding; they worked hard throughout the day while still finding time for humour and fun in the evenings. Field Studies staff and staff from other schools commented on the good behaviour of the King’s students around the centre and on the excellent level of work put in by all of them. Congratulations also to Lauren and Susie for picking up this year’s Geography Pub Skittles Prize for the highest scores during our social night!

Chilling time on beach

Connor Deacon

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VALETEDr Alison Jeffriesby Ann Sherrard

A lison came to King’s some four years’ ago and very soon it seemed as if she had always been in the LS department. Her passion for assessment and testing, as well as just

being an excellent listener, allowed her to unravel the diffi-culties of many students. Working out ways to surmount the problem was always a joint exercise between teacher and pu-pil. In particular, she helped those who found the concepts and language of science a challenge. At King’s she taught A level economics. She has also been an exceptionally special tutor: many students too appreciated her official and unofficial help with their UCAS statements. Alison was instrumental in helping to establish MUN at the School and her approach to widening under-standing of international affairs was gently to nudge the thought processes of students, encouraging them to think more widely and make connections. Sixth formers too expe-rienced this in the Headmaster’s essay society meetings and in Oxbridge preparation. I know she would have liked to spend more time in the music department but she did manage to metamorpho-se into a viola player, demonstrating her ability to transfer skills so effortlessly. She also spent time in choir as well as enthusiastically encouraging girls in Saturday afternoon so-cial games. Her experience of education is eclectic: primary school teacher; middle years science teacher; university lec-turer and academic; mental health worker. This has allowed her to understand education in its widest sense. At Oxford she knew Seamus Heaney and her rooms in Magdalen had also been those of CS Lewis. In another life she might have been head of a women’s college, had a chair at a top univer-sity or followed her fascination with all things ICT on the senior management of Microsoft. Instead, many of us have been lucky enough at King’s to know her as a teacher, col-league and friend (always slipping in the answer to the most erudite of crossword clues in the staff crossword club!)as she pursued her interest in tracing learning back to its source and working out why and how things can go wrong. We wish her well in her new position at Sidcot and feel sure she will feel spiritually at home in a Quaker foundation.

Jack Cropperby Henry Eriksson

I n September we were very fortunate to have the loveable (and some-times grumpy!) Jack Cropper join us as our new hockey Professional.

Blessed with his Northern charm, Jack has become a popular member of the

Common Room, thought fondly of by both his colleagues and pupils alike and it is with great sadness that we see him leave us. However, we are pleased to see Jack moving on to take up his exciting new post as Head of Hockey at Stam-ford School in Lincolnshire where I have no doubt he will have success as he looks to develop hockey in the school. I cannot thank Jack enough for his efforts this past academic year. When coaching the U14 girls, his enthusiasm and abil-ity as a coach provided the team with a solid platform from which they have continued to improve and will continue to do so in the future. I know that they will miss having Mr Cropper as their coach next year just as much as I’m sure he will miss coaching them. Equally, Jack fully immersed himself in his role as Assistant Coach for the U16 boys who gained qualification to both the indoor and outdoor Nation-al Finals, an achievement of which I know that he is very proud of having been part of and one of which I am very grateful. We have been lucky enough to see Jack stay on for the Sum-mer Term too, where he has used his cricketing expertise to help run the 1st XI, an experience which he has thoroughly enjoyed and I know that he will treasure his team’s victory in the New House Sixes Competition for many years to come.As we say goodbye to Jack, I want to wish him the best of luck for the future and in his new job as well as thank for him the huge contribution he has made not only to the hockey, but general school life at King’s Bruton.

Jo Taylorby Andrea Maistrello

Jo’s contribution to the EAL dept. has been relatively short but significant. Arriving in January 2013 having taken over from the previous teacher should not have

been easy but Jo’s ability to be extremely flexible while main-taining her professionalism was evident from the start as she was plunged into Third Form PET preparation. Jo quickly established her teaching credentials with this baptism of fire and was felt to be a safe enough pair of hands for the rigor-ous Friday afternoon double IELTS class. Individual classes followed and Jo was able to cope with anything the EAL de-partment passed on upstairs to M7. Jo also attended after-school events, particularly if food was involved, singing Mandarin for her supper at the Chinese New Year Dinner and chasing errant Sixth Formers back into the Chapel for the Sixth Form Christmas party. Latterly Jo was volunteered to organise foreign language ex-aminations for the Chinese and Russian pupils. This she did with her usual thoroughness although she was often heard muttering that it was like ‘herding cats’ as she climbed up the four flights of stairs to M7. Jo successfully juggled part time teaching at KSB, with her part time role as an EAP (English for Academic Purposes) Teacher at Bath Spa, both roles mutually sup-porting the other. Her talent as an exemplary EAL teacher combined with her forward planning and understanding of overseas pupils’ needs should stand her in very good stead in her new role as full time Head EAL Teacher at Leweston. I and all her past and present pupils wish her every success.

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CALL OF DUTYEnd of Year report

by Al Moxham

A nother hectic year has passed by, and another clutch of Sixth Formers has had their opportunity to take charge of the School’s Combined Cadet Force (CCF)

Contingent in their roles as Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs). The success of the CCF in the School is always reliant upon their enthusiasm and determination, and I have been delighted by this year’s cohort: they have provided the driving force to make things happen and much of their in-struction has been excellent. I hope that they have also gained a huge amount from it in terms of confidence, self-reliance and experience of leadership, even if perhaps they sometimes wished that they had chosen an easier option to occupy them on Friday afternoons. However, with Sam Hughes as Cadet Sergeant Major and Harry Charlier, Ben Carretta and Beka Finch in charge of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force sections, they had some excellent role models. Certainly, in the scramble of the weekly programme, it is often too easy to forget the fantastic quality of the people involved but at this year’s CCF Dinner, held in early May, the first-rate quality of the NCOs was obvious; and not just because the boys had managed to tie bow ties successfully! They certainly looked the part but also exuded a quiet confi-dence and good humour which made it a pleasure for every-one to be there. As always, the kitchen staff produced a fan-tastic meal, which was expertly served by the School’s BTEC students, and all were entertained during the meal by the hugely skilful playing of the Military Band. We were espe-cially lucky to have a fantastic guest of honour in Billy Sewell, whose grace under extreme pressure – having survived crit-ical injuries in Afghanistan – was an exceptional example

to all of us. His key message of self-belief, de-t e r m i n a t i o n and a refusal to yield to self-pity was inspiration-al. Of course, the CCF isn’t just

about the NCOs and their lead-ership: it should also be about fun for all of those who take part. This year there has been a huge effort to follow that mantra, and in the case of the Royal Navy section that has meant sail-ing – and lots of it. David Cowley, as the officer heading up the section, did a fantastic job of organising the trips and as a result the section has been away numerous times to Bristol and to Cheddar for some excellent sailing. The Army sec-tion went through a programme of tactical field exercises and also had a Range Day on a chilly November day, when the ca-dets had the chance to fire full bore ammunition. They also changed their appearance, by switching from the old camou-flage pattern uniforms into Multi-Terrain Pattern ones. The Royal Air Force section programme suffered a little this year: somewhat carelessly, all of the aeroplanes used for cadet fly-ing spent much of the year in an unserviceable condition (something to do with propellers falling off of their own ac-cord) and a degree of churn in the external RAF staff who support the section meant that they had to improvise their training by using model helicopters and flight simulators. A gallant attempt to fill the gap and excellent initiative, if not quite as exciting as the real thing, so hopefully all will be back to normal next year and the RAF section will be able to live up to its name. On top of the military training, it was also a hugely successful year once again for the School’s Ten Tors entry. The team did an amazing job, using sheer guts and willpower to drag themselves around the Dartmoor course on a some-what wet and blustery weekend in May. The character that this takes should not be underestimated, and the experience is a fantastic way to develop fortitude and robustness in the young people who take up the challenge. The Duke of Edin-burgh’s Award also ran a full programme, with cycling expe-ditions at Gold and Silver Award levels complemented by a walking expedition for those tackling the Bronze Award. So another academic year ended with a Cadre course to train and select the next generation of NCOs. As always, there is a huge debt of thanks owed to the staff who volunteer to help make it all happen, not only in school time but also during the many trips away at weekends and during holidays. Next year, the Contingent will have a Biennial In-spection within the first couple of months of the new term during which a visiting senior officer will inspect our train-ing, programme and plans. Perhaps more importantly – cer-tainly for those pupils who take part in CCF each week – the programme will try to maintain at least the same prospects for the NCOs to develop their leadership skills, together with an increasing level of adventurous opportunity for all. If we can do that, while keeping Billy Sewell’s message in the forefront of our minds, then the School’s CCF will certainly be meeting its remit to foster leadership, responsibility and endurance; and, of course, to have fun.

Evie Gravatt takes over as CSM from Sam Hughes

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FAITHEnd of Year reportby Nigel Wilson-Brown

T hey had only just escaped with their lives. A jeal-ousy-fuelled riot was raging in the city and Paul and Silas were the targets. Their ‘crime’ had been to preach boldly of the suffering and resurrection

of Jesus and many had responded in faith. A night-time extraction from the city with the help of their Christian brothers and sisters saw the pair arrive safely at a little town a short distance to the south – Berea – where again they began to preach. Here, we read in Acts 17, Paul and Silas encountered citizens of noble character who ‘received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day …’ That narrative rooted in one of Paul’s missionary journeys in 1st century Greece has fuelled a riot of a different kind in King’s this year. A riot of reading! Not any old read-ing, but Berean reading just like those citizens of noble char-acter in Paul’s day. If our conviction is that the bible is God’s word through which He speaks today, then the greatest work the Chaplaincy here can do is not only preach it, but encour-age its reading and examination day-by-day. We’ve done this in the past by recommending notes that take readers through sections of the bible with helps and pointers; this year we’ve taken a huge new stride with the launch of ‘Bereans’ for staff, and ‘Berean Students’ for pupils. The plan is simple. Do whatever we can to encour-age commitment to regular bible reading with the conviction that this will lead to a closer and closer walk with the Lord who speaks through it. When God’s voice is heard, lives are changed. But what could we do to encourage more than we already were? For me one answer lay in the whole area of personal commitment and accountability. What if a commit-ment was made on the one side to write personal daily notes for our readers? Would that build a greater sense of team and togetherness than simply buying something ‘dry’ off the shelf? A year on and I think the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. We now have 23 staff and 19 pupils signed up on our Berean pro-gramme, each morning receiving by email a short set of notes written personally for them to help them get to grips with the day’s passage. We’ve now read our way through John’s Gos-pel, Acts, Philippians and the first 6 chapters of Luke. It’s been a fantastic journey even though I’m sure for many it’s a struggle to get to it every day. Even if by being a part of it the bible is opened a bit more than normal then it’s worth every

note-writing effort. If it’s opened regu-larly for the very first time then what effort is too much! Partic-ularly exciting

is how this is working for staff. I’ve been concerned over the years to make sure that the Chaplaincy at King’s doesn’t only provide for pupils, but it’s been difficult to find ways to help staff with such busy and varied timetables. Bereans offers the best type of help with the greatest degree of flexibility. It’s very exciting indeed and we pray that much spiritual fruit will grow in and through this new Berean community. Aside from Bereans we’ve had another terrific year of opening up the bible in all its fullness in all sorts of set-tings. In Chapel we’ve been in the Psalms, John’s Gospel and some brilliant ‘Hidden Gems’ in the Old Testament. It’s been a challenge for both preachers and hearers this term to investigate entire Old Testament books in a single sermon! On Sundays we’ve taken time in Matthew’s Gospel and Prov-erbs, as well as investigating some of the weightiest words that explain just what the cross achieved – justification, redemp-tion, reconciliation – each word a true heavy-weight in life. TGI took up new residence in it’s weekly-constructed venue in Paddock where we convert the JCR into a London-club style lounge each Friday. There we’ve journeyed into some common challenges to Christian belief, through core ele-ments of that belief, and into some essential out-workings of true belief to bring the year to a close. We’ve also delighted in some highlights that have punctuated the familiar weekly Chaplaincy routine. In the autumn we had our first ever visit from Jayaraj’s family all the way from our link orphanage in Tamil Nadhu. Over 100 Old Brutonians have now been over to serve the hundreds of needy children there for two months in their Gap Year. At last we had a chance to welcome them to King’s but sadly Jayaraj himself was refused a visa. His son Bright and daugh-ter Neva did make it over, though, and spoke in Chapel very powerfully of their work and ministry amongst so many of the world’s neediest children. The Easter term brought our annual Lenten Addresses and another strong team of helpers to serve among us alongside Rev. Anthony Bewes, our main evening speaker. Three evenings immersed in the Parable of the Lost Son drew in roughly a hundred a night to make good use of this very special time of year when we encourage a spiritual ‘stock-taking’ beyond the norm. We’re indebted every year to the young men and women who freely give up time to come to King’s and help so many in our community to take steps forward in their faith. The Summer term brings two significant events at opposite ends of the spectrum. Commemoration Day is by nature at the more formal end of the spectrum and we were fortunate to have Bishop Wallace Benn with us who spoke faithfully on our Deuteronomy reading and its relevance for today. At the other end of the spectrum is our intimate and powerful end of year service with its family feel as we say fare-well to our leavers and pray them into their lives ahead. It’s one of the most moving moments for me as Chaplain, look-ing out over such precious characters who end their King’s career later that same day and preaching one last time the great truths that could become for them their only secure foundation for this life and beyond. It was those same truths Paul and Silas took around their world two millennia ago. Now many Old Brutonians are doing the same with life and lip because of their encoun-ter at King’s with the Lord they serve today. We go on giving God great thanks for his goodness to us through yet another super Chaplaincy year.

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A HELPING HANDEnd of Year reportby Tabby North, Community Service Prefect

T his year I was given the role of Community Service Prefect. One part of the role was to help put other students in placements best suited for them. This allowed me to see the full range of options open

to every student in the sixth form for Community Service. For the second year running I chose to visit a home in Castle Cary. When I first went to my Community Service in Lower Sixth I didn’t really know what to expect when vis-iting an old lady in a home in Castle Cary, but by the end of the first term I knew for certain that not only did I make the best decision but I would choose to do the same next year. I visited Cynthia every Friday from the beginning of the Christ-mas term to the end of the Easter term. When I first went our relationship started like I expected with conversations about her life and her family. It was simple but it was a way to get to know each other. By the end of the third week I knew that she had lived an incredible life. She was intelligent and

very open to the new world. She was very like me, not from around Som-erset, new to the area and enthu-siastic to try new things. She educated me on how relationships

worked in her time and I edu-

cated her on how relationships work now. We spend much of the time drinking tea and giggling like school children. Although the conversations were often very light hearted we did discuss some very heavy matters which I found very up-setting. By the end of my time at Highfield House in Cas-tle Cary I knew not only had I made a friend for life buy I learnt that no matter how old we get we can still giggle for hours on end. I can honestly say doing Community Service has changed me for the better. I have learnt that there may be an age difference between us and the old but that is the only difference we have. Community Service has encouraged me to take a placement in a school before I go off travelling. I feel very strongly now that volunteering at schools or old

people’s homes should be done and from now on no matter what I am doing in my life I will always find a way to give back. Cynthia not only shared her time and her experiences but she kindly donated a huge amount of money for a charity in India where I will be going in 2015. I would love to thank Cyn-thia for in a way signing up to community service herself and spending those Friday afternoons with me but also Mrs Bray for giving pupils at King’s Bruton the chance to do something good with their time. This year I was lucky enough to visit the South Cary Residential Home in Castle Carey for my Community Ser-vice, writes Flora Jackson. Last year, I worked at Wincanton Catholic Primary School and really wanted to view the other end of the spectrum so asked to work with the elderly. I was dropped right in from the start and intro-duced to a number of residents ranging in ages and disabili-ties. However, the one I felt I had the most connection with was David Hickley, previously the Bursar at King’s who af-ter losing his sight had to move to South Cary. He spent a substantial amount of time both here and at Hazlegrove and had such a significant impact on both the schools. I had the privilege to listen to all his stories every Friday afternoon. He was fascinating to talk to and I was able to hear a vast amount about the history of the School. He managed to paint a very clear picture of the School 40 years ago and I was really able to get an insight into King’s back in time. After my first intro-duction to David I spent nearly every Friday chatting to him. Occasionally I was joined by his sister, Patience and his good friend Ronnie. We tended to talk about a variety of things over Quality Streets and Murray Mints ranging from nature to politics, they even managed to help me with some Food Science coursework! However, I most enjoyed hearing about their endless stories. I never imagined that speaking to three frail elderly residents in Castle Cary on a Friday afternoon would really give me so much pleasure and inspiration. I still have a con-nection with David and plan to visit him monthly to check how he is getting on. I strongly suggest to anyone who has the opportunity to visit the elderly for their Community Service as I have made a really special connection - both the residents and I have managed to get so much out of one afternoon a week.

Eunice Wan

Tabby North with Cynthia

Gardening at Sexey’s Hospital

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CURTAIN CALL

Old Brutonian actor John Sandeman gives some advice to outgoing Head Boy and would-be thespian Toby Ste-venson

Toby: When did you leave King’s, 2003?

John: Yes, 2003

Toby: Did you know when you arrived at King’s you wanted to be an actor?

John: No, not all. In fact until half way through L6th my plan was to go to Sandhurst, to join the army. I was very much involved with CCF , was Company Sergeant Major with in-fantry, and then one of the girls in U6th decided to do a 6th form play, prompted by Ms King. It was “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” I was in the dining hall and a couple of girls asked if I wanted to be in it. I said “Yeah, OK”. We did it in the John Davie Room and I remember coming off stage after the first night and feeling a sensation like my body was on fire. I was completely buzzing and feeling I need to do more of this. I had a place at Edinburgh University to read History, but I chucked that in. In my final year at King’s I auditioned for the National Youth Theatre and the National Youth Mu-sic Theatre, and did shows with both companies. I took a gap year in Stratford-Upon- Avon to complete a one year course with the Year Out Drama Company. This confirmed where I wanted to push and it all carried on from there.

Toby: What would your advice be for someone leaving King’s wanting to become an actor?

John: I think it depends on the individual… whether they want to go to university, which drama school they wish to go to. For me, university was three years in which to grow up, and to see whether in three years’ time I still wanted to act. I had seen friends who had had that as their main focus, but after three years re-routed. It was useful to me as a buffer. Also, I slightly regret not having gone to Edinburgh. I went

End of Year reportby Maggie King

Head of Theatre Studies

T here are many vivid memories of the theatrical productions of the past year. Without doubt, the highlight for me was staging Anything Goes, the Christmas Production. The commitment, team-

work and flexibility required for staging plays should not be under estimated: the team involved in Anything Goes were delightful, and gave two stunningly lively, musical and witty performances at the end of an exhausting term. Lead-ing actors from the Sixth Form showed their impressive acting, vocal and dancing talents, as well as excellent comic timing, supported by an able group of supporting cast, and backstage crew. The House Plays rose to the challenge of staging two contrasting, but equally slick productions: To-wards Zero and Daisy Pulls It Off. Unofficial competition between the Houses for the best show ensures high quality and serious commitment from those involved: New and Arion did not disappoint! The Junior Play, Sparkleshark, a directing debut for Will Stainton, our all dancing and singing Theatre Manager, was the final triumph of the year. A wonderfully witty script, the play afforded the junior cast opportunity to display strong characterisation, comic timing and ensemble playing. Examination performances were breathtaking: two A2 groups performed their Devised Pieces in the Spring Term. The first, performed in the Squash Courts, tracked the final hours of a prisoner on death row; this was a chill-ing, thoughtful drama confirming a great deal of maturity from those involved. The second used the more traditional staging offered by the Fitzjames Theatre, however the dra-ma was far from traditional: it was a powerful, emotional journey through a kidnapping, which took surprising turns with unexpected consequences. The AS group performed their monologues with focus and commitment, finishing the evening by performing their piece Blue with confidence and flair. Beasts & Beauties was staged by the GCSE group, who did an excellent job of ensemble playing. Finally, the Fourths performed superbly in their Trinity Guildhall Group Performances. I am immensely proud of all the stu-dents for the progress they make in the course of the year; growing in confidence, improving their teamwork, working through difficulties and finding problem solving and cre-ativity deeply rewarding. Well done to all who took part backstage and onstage. I look forward to next year’s shows!

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to Manchester to read Drama, but it’s not necessary to do so, one can, but there is no reason why you can’t keep other irons in the fire, not necessarily as a back-up, but just because you’re interested in them and it’s all analytical…if you want to do it, shoot for it.

Toby: What would you say you specialise in, in the theatre world?

John: Classical theatre and also I work as a fight director; I’m fight captain on this show and playing Mercutio I do a few fights here. When I went to Bristol Old Vic I was really looking forward to it, but I was also concerned I might be absolute rubbish at it, that I wouldn’t have an aptitude for it.

Toby: Do you think that came from your passion in the mil-itary and the army?

John: Yeah, potentially but also from sports. It’s more about physical co-ordination and working as a team. As I was saying in the workshops earlier, the more you work together the saf-er it is, and the more dangerous it looks. Also, I like to think that I’m like an 8 year old boy with better toys, and I’m get-ting paid for it; I’ve been riding in full plate armour, riding

on horseback, throwing javelins, shooting arrows…it’s fun as well as being quite excit-ing.

Toby: You went to Bristol Old Vic. Did you get in first time?

John: I did. I au-ditioned for Bristol, LAMDA and Royal Welsh College be-cause I was looking for a two year course: after three years at uni I did not want another three year course. Royal Welsh was one year, but I am glad I did two: one year in to my course I was not ready to go out into the real world.

Toby: When you finished, what happened next?

John: I was very lucky, when I finished I went straight into a combat job. From there I have tried to build, to keep a momentum going. There have been high points, there have been some pretty low points. I have been very lucky to be in some way continuously performing ever since: not necessar-ily conventionally in terms of acting: I worked at Hampton Court and The Tower of London doing improv based things. I’ve been lucky in that way. It’s not an easy industry in any-way and it’s not for the faint hearted. If you’ve got a fire in your belly about it, you need to explore it, try it.

MHK: Which production have you most relished being in-volved with?

John: A project I have just been involved with, a month ago, was a Berlin cabaret show, using songs from Weimar caba-

ret, the original for the musical “Cabaret”, using poetry and prose from 1930s which is a revolutionary and subversive performance. I’ve been working on that project for years and we’ve gone through different things, but it’s being very ac-tively involved, honing in and creating it that I enjoy. All the things that I’ve researched, then performed and have fed in, have become an integral part of it. There have been parts in workshops where I have realised I am an artist, and I realised we are honing together as a team this piece of art. We were lucky enough to win Best Cabaret at Brighton Fringe Festival when we did it last month and we’re hoping to take it on further. I think it’s really that collaborative and artistic in-vestment, which might sound like trite comments, but when it does happen you realise that’s what it does mean. It can be incredibly powerful. We had a number of audience mem-bers who lived in East Germany: it was very visceral to them. Even a lot of the songs are concerningly relevant to today. For example, songs relating to the treatment of women, to Gay rights and even some levelled at the Nazi regime, which are still quite appropriate, which is distressing, but why that sort of performance is important.

Toby: Where would you see yourself in the next ten years?

John: I can tell where I’m going to be for the next four months, but that’s as far as I’m going! That’s the thing; you don’t know what’s coming up. The thing I’ve always aimed at…I have no particular wish for fame. That actually sounds quite tedious. Obviously I’d like to be comfortable financial-ly, but the thing I really like is to be working consistently and on varied projects, engaging projects with various media, but also to be respected by my peers. If you’re an actor that actors, directors, choreographers, fight directors, whatever your sphere, respect and they want to work with you again, then for me you’re doing the right thing.

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Lower Sixth Theatre Studies and 4th Form Drama

Students gave their “ice-breaker” performances to an appreciative and supportive audience. It was a good example of the high standard the students have been maintaining all term. We are now looking forward to seeing how the staff perform in the pantomine.

In the academic performances, the GCSE group delivered an amusing tale of rivalry, entitled “Baggy Trousers”, which began in a classroom setting, but quickly evolved into a restaurant, with apparently appalling cuisine. The blues and reds lost no opportunity in fighting out their differences. Well done to all involved in what was a well- balanced and interesting piece of physical theatre. The Lower Sixth students used the evening as a mock practical for their monologue component of Unit 2. Students had selected their text and role, had researched their interpretation of the piece and had two minutes to deliver. Well done for delivering an interesting array of solid performances.

School Play - Anything Goesby Mark Hambleton

W hen Cole Porter sat down to write his big and brassy score, it is unlikely he envisaged his stage as a boarding school in Somerset. Yet, Broadway met Bruton over two dark nights in December, and left the Fitzjames Theatre ringing with the zing of the jazz age. As Ed Lawson [Old Lady] was wheeled on to bemused laughter in floral dress, straw hat,

rouged lips, and with all the feminine charm of Les Dawson, an apt tone was set. Winter was forgotten, gender cast aside, and the self-assuaging mantra of Anything Goes embraced. Though the SS America was a graceful transatlantic liner capable of transporting her passengers at speed and in opu-lence, this was a craft hewed from MDF and riveted by an artisan’s mix of tape and nails: Mr. Stainton and his team had surely fashioned a fine ship. This mighty vessel was kept gleaming through the broom-mastery of Sam Hughes, whose rhythm and timing in his routine wowed his audience and demonstrated Ms King’s directorial precision and judgment in its every detail.

Every facet of a true whole-school production was to be found here; from comedy cameos, to some truly brilliant performances. Bethan Jackman as Reno Sweeney sang with the power, precision, and control of one beyond her years. Indeed, any ac-tor capable of bringing out The Gypsy in Charlie Auckland [Sir Evelyn Oakliegh], driving him to dance manoeuvres previously uncharted on the civilized stage must be seen as compelling. Her partnership with Toby Stevenson [Billy Crocker] left their audiences not only convinced, but also ruing the fact that King’s would be losing two hugely talented servants of School Drama at the end of the year. Octavia Cobb as Hope Harcourt brought a refined delicacy to her role, hitting high notes with aplomb, and leaving poor Billy Crocker swooning in her wake. For all this soaring romance, Phil Class’s brilliant Moonface Martin provided a clear-cut ri-poste. His accent was faultless, and movement imbued with the slick and quick slip of a wanted man fearing nothing. A man not even to be reached by the theological might of Hugh Pomeroy [Rev Henry T Dobson]. If loose lips sink ships, it was just as well that the SS America lay in the capable hands of its Purser played by the clipboard-wielding Harry Harman - a man pushed to the ragged edge by his unruly passengers, but one drawn moth-like to the lime-light. Reymond Karago was, as ever, impossibly cool as the Captain, and oversaw his ship’s passage with all the unswerving dedication of his Italian counterpart, just off the island of Giglio. While his crew appeared preoccupied with a desire to exert their burgeoning masculinity, and direct it mercilessly toward the alluring Erma [Emily Down]. Matthew Pryke, Jasper Cable-Alexander, Lucy Tyack, and Sharon

Xu, all struck poses that would have been at home in a low-rate Victorian travelling Menagerie. Of a similar ilk was Callum Thorner’s wonderfully desperate Elisha J.

Whitney, who appeared to convulse, groan, and lose control of every fibre of his being upon the very sight of Evangeline Harcourt [Kate Pollitt], her part played with a mixture of calculation, and necessity that was very finely fabricated. Propelling the SS America was the unstoppable throb of the Band, led by Messrs. Marshfield and Gorodi. The talent of King’s musicians once again providing a richness and variety of sound that would be at home in any West End or Broadway pit. Though many names are singled-out, this was a remarkable ensemble performance from Ellie Loughery, Annie Black, Olivia Har-rison, Jill London, Amber-Rose Salmon-Brown, Caitlin Marsh and Darcy Bounsall. They all acted with an accomplished sense of style and energy. Ben Piggins fell over himself to entertain as the hapless FBI Agent, and Daria Zotina also showed she knows how to act. Ms King’s production was marked-out by a sense of professionalism, and in equal measure joy. It lit, and warmed a win-ter evening, and left audience, cast and crew alike, sailing blissfully into the night.

Toby Stevenson and Bethan Jackman in earnest discussion

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Staff Pantomime by Kate Pollitt

A fter another successful School musical, the pupils’ attention turned to the Staff pantomime. Once again, the play was written by Mr Harkness and whilst we were promised that it would be better than last year, many of us hoped that it would not include Mr Barron in a golden

shiny catsuit.... ‘Clone Home’ is set in an old peoples’ home run by an evil couple who exploit the elderly residents by forging wills and asking them to steal from the public. To this day, no one is really sure where this Care Home is as Mr Fagin’s (eccentrically played by none other than Mr Barron himself ) accent started off in a typical cockney dialect, but swiftly travelled further and further up North, even daring to briefly cross the border into Scotland before taking us back through a tour of the many dialects of England. The plot

progresses when Lord Stefan (Mr Davies) arrives. Mrs Fagin (Mrs Ashworth) doesn’t miss a trick and immediately begins plotting with her husband to take his money. With the help of the rest of the elderly residents, Lord Stefan is able to trick the Fagins and morality is only restored by Mr Cupit. Whilst all this is happening, secret agent Hercule Marrow (Mr Beverly) is on the look out for a croissant thief in the ‘Palace of the Pensioners’ and to fill up the rest of the plot there is a great deal of marching, singing, Bingo (courtesy of Miss L-G and Mr Loveless) and Elvis.... I kid you not, Mr Spilsbury... The staff took on the play with surprising enthusiasm, even after having only one rehearsal. The auditorium was in fits of laughter from the onset. Whilst there were no golden cat suits this year round (thankfully) there are images that many pupils probably won’t forget any time soon. Mrs Jeffrey... Sorry MR Jeffrey took on his role of Felicity with such gusto, many of the School were left worriedly questioning whether he enjoyed his role a little too much. Mr Beverly also is worthy of a mention, it’s not every day you see a near 7 ft man dressed as a French maid

prancing around the stage with an Inspector Clouseau mannerism. With many jokes and lines that could possibly cost some teachers their jobs, it was undoubtably enjoyable (if slightly uncomfortable at times: and yes I am referring to seeing Mr Davies and Mr Jeffrey perform a stage kiss) to watch the

staff take to the stage, albeit with scripts stuck to every prop on stage, including Mrs Bowes Lyon’s knitting. Whilst the leads did an incredible job of keeping the production running smoothly... or as smoothly as possible... it was the cameo roles that did the play justice. Seeing the likes of Mr Oulton, Mr Slingo, The Rev, Mrs Vigers, Mrs Simper, Mr Lowry, Mr Barrow and even Mrs A-K hobbling around on stage was a priceless sight which kept the laughs going throughout. Mr Moxham and his army of Mrs Mais-

trello, Miss Swindall, Mr Hambleton and a surprise appearance from Debbie Hillier-Paul did a good job of confusing everyone by randomly starting to march across the stage in a style that would put even the 4th Form cadets’ drill to shame, with the Navy and the RAF taking much of the stick in The Drill Sergeant’s brief appearance on stage.

It was great to see almost every member of staff on stage, including the Headmas-ter and Mrs Wilmshurst who shocked us all with their Tango skills, but special mention has to go to Mr Harkness who once again managed to write a thoroughly entertaining piece of theatre and even made an appearance himself alongside Mr Saunders as Fagin’s Shoulder An-gel and Devil. Thanks must also go to Harry Harman and Mr Stainton who helped keep the staff in check and also constantly reassured the student body that they had actually rehearsed at least once.

Jamie Barron makes a point

The Rev looking slightly older than he really is

Parlez-vous Francais? George Beverly

Emily Down in high spirits with Sam HughesBethan Jackman: power and precision

Ship shape: Remond Karago and Harry Harman:

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U6th Theatre Studies Devised Pieces

Students performed their A2 Devised Work to enthusiastic audiences. In September the group were given the stimuli of a photograph of Syrian refugees sheltering inside a makeshift tent and a copy of the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller; they were split into two groups and used the stimuli to create their own original piece of theatre. Students need to conduct exten-

sive research and apply their knowledge of theatre practitioners to the development of the work, showcasing their understanding of how theatre works as well as creating a meaningful and entertaining performance. The two performances were distinctive and effective: The Last 24 group interviewed a number of people who worked in prisons to gain insight into how guards and prisoners interact, and with the help of Sammy, Mr Barrow’s brother-in-law, they were able to visit the gaol in Bristol. The untitled piece used physical theatre, strong musical influences and clever lighting throughout. Audiences were impressed by the power, intensity and polish of the performances. Well done to you all!

New House Play - Agatha Christie’s Towards ZeroRemond Karago, Upper Sixth

C omedy, drama, Mr. Beverly coming out of the closet, literally! New House’s take on Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero had just about everything a theatregoer could ask for. Everything about this play can be summarized in one word: “Fun”. Even reading

the programme notes was entertaining. For example, George Collet’s ability to “Zone Out” or Harry Charlier always wearing a new sleeveless vest to impress a new young lady. Or Toby Stevenson needing his own trailer (although I’m not sure if Toby felt that was a joke!). From the start of the play, audiences were hooked when Harry, Dom Baldwin, and Carlos Munoz-Rojas hobbled and wobbled onto the stage, playing Old Brutonians on their way to a reunion dinner. I was in hysterics at the way they poked fun at the other Houses as

well as their own Housemates; my two favourites were the crack at Old House “Out with the Old and in with the New” and the prospect of Toby and Enfys Evans (the Head Boy and Head Girl respectively) having eight children. I also enjoyed the way they poked fun at the school

ethos with the Headmaster’s voice being beamed into the auditorium. He was still commenting on the school in his 51st year of service! Despite the comic opening, the play itself seemed to have a dark undertone. The drama takes place at the home of a wealthy elderly woman (played by Matthew Pryke) who invites a whole slew of houseguests. Tensions are high, particularly between an unhappy couple, Toby Stevenson, as the husband, and Rory Cad-bury, doing a disturbingly good job as Toby’s unhappy wife. Harry Harman entertainingly provides Toby’s love interest (again, something about New House boys and playing women very well) while Nico Hayward put on many different accents in his role as one of the chief murder suspects. Hugh Pomeroy was fantastic as the brains of the show, and so was Angus Fox as the secretary (or dog’s body as she preferred to be called). However, the man who stole the show was the great Mr. Dawe as the inno-

cent gardener Mr. Pitcombe who had many amusing lines. The audience was sent into a frenzy of boos when the gardener’s fate was ultimately revealed. Another amusing moment came with an intense stare-off between Toby

and Ben Piggins, but they both kept their professionalism when it would have been very easy to laugh. Another moment that stood out was the “interesting” dance number that took place to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s “Chicago.” Aside from the humour, when the play got serious, it got serious! The unveiling of the murderer proved to be an intense and at times frightening ordeal which included a somewhat comical scene when the villain climbed onto the stage through the window. Besides the performance, I was also very impressed with the amazing set design, which matched those you would see in the West End. The costumes were also great, as was the makeup, particularly on the girls! Overall, the New House play was one of the best House plays I’ve seen in years. I only wish I could have watched it more than once.

Old school: Harry Chichester, Carlos Munoz-Rojas and Dominic Baldwin

Cameo: Will Dawe

Toby Stevenson and Rory Cadbury: do you remember the time when?

I remember the time when: Ben Piggins and Matthew Pryke

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Arion House Play - Daisy Pulls It Off

A rion’s version of Daisy Pulls It Off was per-formed to great acclaim, writes Maggie King. For those not familiar with the play, it is a

satire of the Famous Five type adventure stories, or the yarns that filled the pages of Girl’s Own Annu-als in the 1940s and 1950s. Daisy Meredith, a gift-ed elementary schoolgirl earns a scholarship place at Grangewood School, a place littered with the outra-geously snobbish and singularly unpleasant offspring of rich parents. Daisy and her pal Trixie set about try-

ing to find the long lost Grangewood treasure in an attempt to help their beloved Head Girl, Clare and to entertain themselves, however they discover, unexpectedly, much more than they imagined…….. Strong lead roles from Susie MacDonald as Daisy, Cara Valentine as Trixie and Emily Clothier as Sybil provide the driving force behind the tongue in cheek comedy that unfolds. Daisy’s boundless pluckiness and optimism is hard to resist, Trix-ie’s bounciness and cries of “Jubilate” are delightful, both a suitable counterweight to the simply horrid antics of beastly Sybil. Supporting roles, too many to mention here, are all well drawn and convincing as individuals; the girls have so obviously enjoyed stepping back in time to wear the boaters and gymslips of an earlier era. A huge well done to everyone involved: cast, crew, includ-ing Old Brutonian May Liddell Grainger, and of course to the director, Sophie Liddell Grainger, whose hard work, and impressive organisational skills have pulled off (pun intended) another triumph in the Fitzjames Theatre.

All smiles: Susie MacDonald and Cara Valentine

Leading from the front: Susie MacDonald

Getting shirty: Susie MacDonald and Flora Jackson

Megan Jonesand Emily Clothier gang up on Susie Mac-Donald

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5th Form GCSE Drama - Beasts and Beautiesby Maggie King

E ight GCSE performance students presented their delightful version of Beasts and Beauties, adapted by Carol Ann Duffy. The set, props and costume were minimalist, allowing the actors to move effortlessly between their multi-roles as the plays developed, or as one ended and another began. Actors made themselves into beds, table, doors, snowstorms, trees, or pro-

vided sound effects and innermost thoughts. The plays themselves were by turns, thrilling, comical, romantic and gruesome and all skilfully played by the cast, who gave an energetic, warm and engaging performance of the four familiar tales of Blue Beard, The Three Wishes, Beauty & the Beast and The Emperor’s New Clothes. Strong performances were supported by a fantastic audience made up of friends, family, staff and 25 pupils from All Hallows. A big pat on the back for everyone involved!

Lower Sixth Theatre Studies Monologues

C ongratulations to Jill London, Lucien Carey and Ben Stevens on their impressive performances in “Blue” in front of the external examiner in the Fitzjames Theatre. They all gave well-defined, pol-

ished and credible performances both in the play and their monologues, a result of the significant effort all three have made to improve their per-formance skills. My grateful thanks to the staff and students who came to support the LVIth and provided such a receptive audience for the perfor-mances.Harriet Grasby

Junior Play - Sparklesharkby Maggie King

E ssentially, Sparkleshark deals with the power of story-telling, and how, amongst many other things, it can heal division. On the roof-top of a block of flats, a group of London school children gather together. Initially, there is bullying and disagreement amongst the group, however the conflict is alleviated by acting out a narrative created together. Heavy

stuff? Not really. The script is quick and witty, and the characters delightful. The junior company performed superbly well over two hot, sticky evenings to large audiences in the Fitzjames Theatre. Good ensemble playing was crucial to the success of these performances, so the whole cast should be applauded for their teamwork. George Pease portrayed Jake with a good deal of com-mitment and empathy; Livvy Hughes was alarmingly convincing as Natasha, as was Ellie Loughrey her “wannabe”, and Hamish Ryall clearly relished his role as “Russell with the Muscle”. Congratulations to Mr Stainton on his first production as director at King’s!

Aggravation: Jill London, Lucien Carey and Ben Stevens

George Pease: empathetic

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ART SCENEArt Showby Wayne Spilsbury, Head of Art

T he annual art show attracted a good number of students, staff and parents. As usual there was a wide range of highly individual pieces in different media including painting and drawing, photography, video, textiles, printmaking and sculp-ture.Highlights included Tatyana Pachina’s photorealist pieces; Eiko’s charging horse from scrap; Ollie Pearce’s colourful

portraits and Art History submissions and Elissa Barber’s jacket. All our Upper 6th are going on to Art or Architecture related courses. Next year, I am planning to invite some governors to see the work as well.

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Arts Weekby Seamus Harkness

T o have a week of glorious weather and exciting workshops for our Arts Week here at King’s felt truly special. The antici-pation of it all began building after half term, reaching a crescendo in the penultimate week of school before the holidays when the pupils were able to relax, enjoy some wonderful and diverse workshops and create some lasting memories.

The week began with the annual invitation to Prep and Primary schools on the Monday which went off with a bang thanks to the organisation and entertainment of Mr Beverly and his L6th helpers. Mr Spilsbury producing a wonderful black and white film was one of the highlights of a great day. On the Tuesday, our Shakespeare day, pupils began by creating puppets out of socks and acting out Romeo and Juliet in groups from which winners were to perform in the theatre to an audience. It proved to be great fun and a wonderful precursor to the main event which was the arrival of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. They began by giving workshops in acting, improvisation, sets and costume and stage combat and had the pupils enthralled from the beginning. It was also a poignant day for a member of the cast, John Sandeman, who was coming back to King’s, having left in 2003. You can read Toby Stevenson’s interview with him on Pages 40-41. In the afternoon the cast put on a breath-taking performance of Romeo and Juliet with the seven members of their troupe. It was magnificent to watch them perform out on the Orchard Lawn with the sun blazing and the audience spell bound. The quality of the acting was unsurpassed and with their impressive set as their backdrop it really was a unique experience here at King’s. On the Wednesday the pupils created their music videos in groups and this year the pupils were even more inventive with their lip-syncing and choreography than before. They all appeared to have lots of fun and the competition was judged by Mr Barron and Mrs Grasby. On Thursday author and journalist Gavin Knight gave a talk and delivered workshops for the pupils to respond to with the aim for them to write a journalistic piece. An inspiring morning and one that the pupils seemed to really engage with.On the Friday the pupils enjoyed a variety of workshops which included Photography, Street Dance, African Dance, Steam Punk Hats, Giant Sculpture Animation, Metal Casting and Graffiti. The finale this year included some pranks from the staff and a very wet goodbye to the 3rd and 4th Form leavers. It was a fantastic week; creative, fun yet purposeful and of course very much helped by the weather.

From top left clockwise: Emily Wastell, Millie Regan, Megan Ward, Megan Jones

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Eyes up: Ignacio Bersoza Portela

Skyfall: Amber-Rose Salmon-Brown and Olivia Hughes

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THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND

A Music Scholar’s Perspectiveby Lauren Glover

B eing a music scholar at King’s has given me so many new opportunities and opened lots of doors for me in the future that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. There’s always something to do and musical activities to be involved in. For example, I am in the choir, the orchestra, Temperance 7, Big Band and Military Band.

There’s also many opportunities to perform such as in concerts and events like the Inter-House music competition. Frequently performing at King’s has greatly increased my confidence and I feel like I have grown not only as a performer but as an overall musician. Saying that, there’s always a new

challenge and something else to achieve. An example of an opportunity that the music department has offered me is going to see the Royal Marines Band in the Mountbatten Concert in the Royal Albert Hall. Since this experience I am now interested in joining the Navy as a Royal Marine Bandsman. We also went to the Royal Albert Hall with the choir to perform Handel’s Messiah as part of the Scratch Youth Messiah. This has inspired me to one day perform in professional concert venues at the highest standard I can attain.

End of Year Report by David Gorodi, Director of Music

I t’s been another fantastic year for the music department. The variety and scope of genres has been huge, from Mozart to heavy

rock in no time. With five choral groups, four jazz bands, a piano trio, a string quartet, a wind quintet, flute ensemble, a brass ensemble, an orchestra and a Military Band, the op-portunities for young musicians to thrive are never ending. As I write this report eight student rock bands and two staff bands are preparing for tonight’s Battle of the Bands. We’ve performed 47 concerts, ranging from Choral Evensong at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, to singing The Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall, local charity events and performances here in School. I hope over these pages you’ll gleam a taste of the ethos and passion of the Music Department. It’s been a real pleasure to work with Ashley Marshfield, our peripatetic teachers and, of course, our musicians. I congratulate them, one and all. Eleanor Little sets the tone

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End of Year Report by Ashley Marshfield,

Director of Choral Studies

W hat a year it has been for choral singing at King’s. In the Christmas term the School choir were set the task of mastering Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem in preparation for a

combined performance with Bruton Choral Society, Bruton School for Girls, Parents and Friends, with a professional string orchestra and organ providing the accompaniment. A particular highlight of the performance for me was the sensitive singing of the baritone solos by our Head Boy, Toby Stevenson. Later in the term the school choir made its way to the Royal Albert Hall to participate in a Youth Messiah from Scratch project, conducted by the choral singing expert Suzi Digby. King’s provided the second largest group of singers for the day with a total of 1,200 aged 10-25 taking part in the afternoon performance. It was fabulous to sing at such a prestigious venue with a professional Baroque orchestra and superb vocal soloists. In the Easter term the chapel choir were privileged to sing a service of Choral Evensong at St George’s Chapel ,Windsor. Pupils and staff alike came away in awe of such a special place and heritage site steeped in history. The Summer term saw King’s School choir, chapel choir, girls’ chamber choir and chamber choir return to Hazlegrove for the now annual Joint Choral Concert. The concert concluded with over 100 King’s and Hazlegrove pupil and

LIFT UP THY VOICE

staff voices joining forces to perform an exciting West Side Story medley. Meanwhile, the chapel choir returned for a second year to Bristol Cathedral to sing Choral Evensong; it was a beautiful afternoon and the choristers were able to enjoy the peaceful cathedral gardens before singing so well for the service. It is always a pleasure to sing in a building with such a fabulous acoustic! These are just a few of the choral highlights of the year; there have been many outstanding performances, in the end of term concerts, carol service and Commemoration Service - too many to mention here. The variety of repertoire covered at King’s is quite astonishing, from Handel’s Messiah and Stanford’s evening canticles in B flat to Duke Ellington and the Bee Gees; this ensures that King’s pupils have the opportunity to experience many different genres and styles of choral singing.

Bethan Jackman

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King’s and Hazlegrove Joint Concert

T he joint King’s Bruton and Hazlegrove concert was a great success. My favourite items are always when the students from both Schools are involved. The concert started with March to the Scaffold from

Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, with four timpani, a bass drum, cymbals and snare drums. This was always going to be a noisy performance! The or-chestra managed to create real contrasting dynamics which helped to bring the music alive. The schools combined again a little later in the programme but this time it was the turn for choral music to shine. Sanctus from Faure’s Requiem was beautiful, the soprano line in particular really shone. The joint Wind Band performed Espana Cani, which was played really well by a band of about 40; once again there was some really good contrasting dynamics and attention to detail. The programme ended with a powerful performance from the combined Swing Band performing Splanky - I particularly enjoyed the alto solo. Congratulations to all those involved.

Keep in time with me: Fabrice Le Blanc

Woodwind Concert

T he Woodwind department gave a delightful concert. The flute group were outstanding although I also enjoyed both the clarinet ensemble and saxophone group. There were 17 soloists as well as a lovely saxo-phone duet. For some students this was their first solo at King’s. Several performers were playing grade

VIII pieces. There were many excellent performances but I think my favourites were Eleanor Little who played two movements from Telemann’s Sonata in F minor. She has a beautiful rich tone and excellent technique; the same could be said of Lauren Glover who played Prelude by Finzi, another outstanding performance. Well done and thank you to all involved.

Remembrance Sunday

R emembrance Sunday is always an important event at King’s and this year was no excep-tion. The band numbered 28 and played rousing marches as they paraded through Bru-ton. The band this year were particularly good; it’s never easy playing and marching at the

same time but the band performed admirably. The Last Post and Reveille were played by Hugh Pomeroy (pictured) who did an excellent job - congratulations to him and to the rest of the band.

Lucia Pretor-Pinney

Fauré’s Requiem

W hat better way to spend a November afternoon than to rehearse and perform Fauré’s Requiem? That’s what our Choir, Bruton Choral Society and a number of friends, parents and Old Brutonians decided to do.

Directed by Ashley Marshfield the choir made a wonderful sound, accompanied by an orchestra made up of students, teachers and friends. Mrs Little and Toby Steven-son were our two vocal soloists, both of whom were outstanding. It was lovely to see Lorna Blackmore return to perform the solo violin part which she played beautifully. This was a superb community event, one which we are sure to repeat in the future.

Winter Concert

T he Winter Concert was the highlight of the Chritmas term’s performances. The evening started with the orchestra perform-ing the two pictures and a Promenade from Mussorgskys’s Pic-

tures at an Exhibition. The Gnome is very challenging because of the frequent changes in tempo and time signature whilst the Promenade calls for a number of solo passages from several different instrumen-talists. Congratulations in particular to Hugh Pomeroy (trumpet) (continued on p53)

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The Military band performed Liberty Bell and the theme from The Magnificent 7 with real precision and balance under the direction of Mr Philip Lambton. Of the other instrumental music performances, I really enjoyed the Piano Trio’s playing of the last movement from Haydn’s piano trio, the string quartet’s first performance and the Temperance 7’s performance of Ja da. Beth Jackman and Sophie Sage gave their very first performances with the Big Band; both these young ladies show great promise, we will hear more from them. The choral music was excellent; all the music performed was written during the last 50 years including a wide variety of musical styles ranging from “Staying Alive” to Dyson’s Magnificat. I particularly enjoyed the Chamber Choir’s performance of Rutter’s Jesus Child which sounded beautiful in the Memorial Hall. Congratulations to all involved.

Indian Orphanage Concert

T he latest fundraising event for the Indian orphanage was also one of the most impressive – a vocal concert organised by Flora Jackson (Upper Sixth) who will be serving at the orphanage during her Gap Year. Flora, pictured top, has a lovely voice but had never performed in public

before. She opened the concert with a moving rendition of Pie Jesu, setting the tone for many out-standing contributions from other singers, experienced and inexperienced alike. The evening started with a reception in the John Davie Room and then moved to a packed Memorial Hall. After Flora’s debut, the audience was treated to many other excellent performances, including delightful duets from Jill London and Octavia Cobb, taking it in turns to sing with Olivia Harrison; Fabrice le Blanc singing some Tchaikovsky; Imogen Moore singing Brahms, and Sophie Sage who brought the evening to a close with “Somewhere over the rainbow”.

Octavia Cobb and Olivia Harrison

Lucia Pretor-Pinney Fabrice Le Blanc

Flora Jackson

Arion and Lyon House Concert

W ith both Houses bursting at the seams with musical tal-ent it was time once again for Arion and Lyon to host a joint concert to celebrate these talents, and with the

Inter-House Music Competition less than a week away it gave the Houses a chance for one final dress rehearsal. Under the leadership of Flora Jackson and Fabrice Le Blanc the pupils in the two Houses put together a wonderful programme with a vast array of musical in-struments and genres of music. This included classical pieces from Octavia, Flora, Lucy and Charlotte, numerous modern pieces from Fabrice, Imogen, and Olivia and various duets and ensembles.

A number of girls and boys took to the stage to perform solos for the first time in their King’s careers, including Robert with his own composition on the piano, Skye on the cello, Artem on the guitar, Bastian on the piano, Sam with her voice and guitar and Abagael and Kitty with their voices. Although some of the girls required gentle persuasion to sing in public, their performances suggest it will not be long before the music department has them back up on the stage again. The concert most definitely came to a climax at the end with the Lyon House Elite Choir and the Arion House Song. The Lyon boys performed Mr Marshfield’s medley of Lion King Songs followed by Arion House’s Uptown Girl. Both Houses managed to raise the roof, with the audience dancing (including the Headmaster) and clapping along to their pieces, and gen-erally having a great time! All in all it was a superb evening of musical talent and I am sure ev-eryone in the audience would agree that we left the Memorial Hall on a cold, wet and extremely windy February night with a spring in our steps, a smile on our faces and a real buzz in the air!

Lucy Tyack

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Inter-House Music Festival

T he Inter-House music festival was a great success, thanks to some excellent performances from both our regular musicians and from mere enthusiasts who see the festival as their one musical excursion of the year. Our thanks to Mr Fawbert who adjudicated all three rounds. Tom Hudson won the solo round for the juniors, scoring almost maximum marks, although

Sarah Hechler was not far behind him. Lauren (Lower Sixth) won the senior solo section for Wellesley with another very high score although Fabrice le Blanc of Lyon was very close behind her. The ensemble round was really exciting, with all Houses pro-ducing a very high standard of performance. Lyon took the honours with an excellent rendition of Winter Winds by Mumford & Sons, New were 1 point behind them, leaving the overall scores before the final round as follows:

Lyon 44.5New 43Blackford 42.5Arion. 42Priory 41.5Wellesley 41.5Old 38

With 50 points for the final round, anyone could still win – although Old House would have to make up some ground. Once again the adjudicator found it very difficult to separate the Houses. In the end, it was New House who won with 48 marks with a Brian Adams medley arranged by Charlie Berkeley, showing excellent diction, some effective harmony, great overall sound and dynamic contrasts. This secured them the overall victory in the Music Festival with a score of 91. In second place was Lyon House with a score of 90.5, and in third place Blackford with 89.5. My congratulations to all the Houses who made it such a memorable evening.

In full voice: Blackford boys led by Will Kingsberry

Hilarious: Ellen Barber, Brogan Sellar and Tabby Collett

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Big Band warm up for Swing into Spring

T he Big Band had a very successful and busy few days leading up to Swing into Spring. They performed in Castle Cary to celebrate the opening of a performance area; the crowd very much enjoyed the band’s perfor-

mance although we were not quite as “hot” as we’d like (Saturday morning is perhaps not the best time to play jazz!) Two evenings later, the band performed at Batcombe Church, producing an outstanding concert; all four singers were at the top of their game, Toby Stevenson producing a lovely rich full sound, greatly contrasting with Fabrice Le Blanc’s bright and punchy voice. Sophie Sage and Beth Jackman also did brilliantly. Phil Claas on drums had an excellent night too, playing several solos and adding an energetic rhythmic vitality to the band; together with Charlie Berkeley (bass), they kept really good tempos in a challenging environment. Henry Smith, Lauren Glover and Jake Lane all produced stylish saxophone

solos, all playing confidently and lyrically. Hugh Pomeroy and Fabrice played some fine trumpet solos too.

Chapel Choir sing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor

T he King’s Chapel Choir headed to St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle to sing Choral Evensong. It was a huge privilege for the Chapel Choir to sing in such a prestigious venue steeped in a rich history of the Monarchy extending right back to the reign of Henry I; the castle

is the longest occupied palace in Europe. The Chapel Choir sang superbly and several members of the congregation congratulated the choir on their clarity of words and purity of tone. The Dean commented not only on the singing but also on the exemplary behaviour of the pupils. The chapter were so impressed by the singing that the Chapel Choir have been asked to return in the future and to explore the possibility of a weekend residency during the holidays. A fantastic time was had by all, including myself, as I conducted the choir in the Chancel whilst standing on the tomb on Henry VIII!

Swing into Spring

Swing into Spring was once again an outstanding success. Although all four bands played really well it’s the Big Band who I’d like to write about. All the vocalists were at the top of their game; from the very first note that Toby Stevenson sung in “Beyond the Sea” to Bethan Jackman’s performance of Proud Mary at the end of the evening they gave their all. Fabrice Le

Blanc perhaps got the loudest applause when he performed “You can leave your hat on”, Sam Hughes was simply brilliant when he sang “Cry me a river” and Callum Thorner gave his first performance with the band singing “Knock on Wood”. Sophie Sage gave her best performance so far of “Respect” and all the vocalists appeared at ease on the stage and so were able to enjoy the moment. The band itself was really tight, thanks mainly to Phil Claas on drums and Charlie Berkeley on bass; between them they worked tirelessly to keep strict tempos and establish some really funky grooves. My thanks to Mr Stainton and Nico Hayward who were doing the sound; the Mem Hall presents a very difficult acoustic for a Big band and the results that the sound team achieved were perhaps the best we’ve had so far. Congratulations to all involved!

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Spring Concert

T he Spring Concert was a great success. The Orchestra opened the con-cert with Beethoven’s overture Leonore No 3; Hugh Pomeroy played the off stage trumpet parts very well, capturing the dramatic nature of

the work by performing from the balcony. The Military Band played Slavonic Dances by Dvorak with the characteristic precision that we are used to - real balance and dynamic control is becoming the hallmark of this ensemble. The Piano Trio also played very well; this young group of musicians are beginning to develop a real sense of ensemble. The Chapel Choir were on top of their game, back from their very successful performance at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. The attention to detail in their singing and the beautiful sound that they make are without doubt the reasons they were invited for a weekend residency at St George’s over the summer. The Wind Quintet, like the Piano Trio, are learning to take control of the balance; clear signals from Lucia Pretor-Pin-ney helped to give this performance some lovely moments. The Choir were excellent. My favourite piece was Les Miserables: numerous soloists were used but I particularly enjoyed hearing Imogen Moore’s and Charlie Berkeley’s solos - they both have outstanding voices. The flute ensemble performed Sarabande by Debussy; this was excellent, a clever arrangement played accu-rately - it sounded magnificent in the Mem Hall. The Girls’ Chamber Choir then sung Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy; the close harmony sections were really well performed. The Brass group then played a Rhumba with some really nice phrasing from Hugh Pomeroy, Fabrice le Blanc and Lucas Gorodi; they really captured the feel of this dance. The Chamber Choir were outstanding; they create a wonderful sound, their voices blend beautifully and the balance was excellent. The evening was brought to a close by the Big band - Sam Hughes was outstand-ing, bringing the house down with his rendition of Cry Me a River. Congratulations to all those involved for giving us such a memorable evening.

Chapel Choir at Bristol Cathedral

O n Thursday, the Chapel Choir travelled to Bristol Cathedral to sing Choral Evensong on the feast of St Philip and St James, Apostles. The Chapel Choir were on top form and sang bril-

liantly. The music for the service included: Responses by Ayleward, Evening Canticles in B flat by Stanford and the Anthem ’The strife is o’er’ by Ley. The Chapel Choir has continued to impress me during the course of the year in their quality of tone and clarity of diction and Thursday was certainly no exception! The choristers particularly enjoyed the fabulous acoustic and super organ. Bristol have once again invited us to return whenever we can to sing Choral Evensong – it risks becoming an annual event in the Chapel Choir calendar!

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Joint King’s and Hazlegrove Choral Concert

K ing’s choral groups travelled to Hazlegrove to participate in a second Joint Choral Concert, now established as an annual event in the Schools’ calendar. King’s School Choir gave a superb performance of a Les Misérables Medley which includ-ed a number of excellent soloists. A personal highlight for me would be the beautiful soprano and tenor duet in ‘Bring

HimHome’ sensitively performed by Flora Jackson and Charlie Berkeley. Special mention must go to Jake Lane for stepping in to cover a solo for an indisposed chorister and for performing it so brilliantly! The School Choir also gave a memorable perfor-mance of Laurisden’s reflective ‘Sure on this shining night’. The Chapel Choir were also in good form, singing two anthems recently performed at St George’s Chapel, Windsor and Bristol Cathedral. The Girls’ Chamber Choir continues to go from strength to strength in a performance of Fauré ‘Ave Verum’. The Chamber Choir performed two movements from George Shearing’s setting of Shakespeare’s Songs and Sonnets. The concert concluded with the combined choral forces of both King’s and Hazlegrove with more than one hundred voices in an exciting performance of ‘Something’s Coming and Tonight’ from Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story’. The whole evening was a wonderful celebration of the diversity of choral music and how important choral singing is at both King’s and Hazlegrove.

Old House and Wellesley House Concert

I n an excellent House concert, Old House and Wellesley House joined forces to deliver a varied programme of musical talent. The Old House Choir started the concert with their rendition of ‘Keep on Moving’ ahead of superb individual performances from Lucy

on ‘cello (Prelude), Yan on Piano (Clair de Lune), Lauren on Clarinet (The quick brown fox )and Eleanor on Bassoon (Buffoonery). There was a great saxophone duet from Sam and Henry and a Saxophone group comprising of three from Old House and three from Welles-ley House, who between them played five different sized saxophones from Bass to Sopranino – brilliant! The penultimate piece got the room swaying as the lively trio of Arslan, Charlie and Callum sang ‘Ho Hey’ before the Wellelsey House Choir closed the concert singing ‘Valerie’.

Brass and Percussion Concert

T he Brass and Percussion concert was without doubt the noisiest concert so far this academic year. The brass ensemble performed with great precision and accuracy, Fabrice Le Blanc and Hugh Pomeroy both playing some tricky passages faultlessly.

Lucas Gorodi performed a beautiful piece by Richard Strauss - the tone of the French Horn sounded beautiful in the acoustics of the Memorial Hall. I really enjoyed Fabrice le Blanc’s jazzy version of Frankie and Johnny; he really established the style with great authenticity. My favourite moments however involved the percussionists: Tom Hudson and Eiko Mitsui’s duet was brilliant, they seemed to have limitless energy. Charlie Berkeley “guesting” with Phil Claas was another highlight - the humour went down really well too!

The percussion group gave the loudest performance of the night using bins - our very own version of Stomp!

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Piano Concert

T he piano concert proved to be a delightful evening. There were some really excellent performances and I would like mention a few of my favourite moments. Tom Hudson performed Comtine D’un autre Ete really well; the attention to articulation and phrasing was excellent. Holly White played Schumann’s Furchtenmachen with great care and sensi-

tivity, a charming performance. Eleanor Little gave perhaps her best performance at King’s (on the piano), when she played Sartie’s Gnossienne No. 3 - there was a clarity of line which is not at all easy to achieve and some beautiful phrasing. Perhaps the outstanding performance was from Le Yan: he played Rachmaninoff’s prelude in C# minor. Immediately he established his authority and personality, there was great control but also moments of passion in this performance. All of our pianists are to be commended for producing such a high quality concert, especially whilst sitting public examinations.

Commemoration Service

T he Choir led the procession into a packed St Mary’s for the annual Commemoration Service. They were in excellent form as they performed John Rutter’s This is the Day, creating a beautiful sound annunciating the words with great precision; there was

careful attention to the dynamics too. A little later they gave a very impressive performance of Handel’s Zadok the Priest. The ensemble and attention to detail was excellent with great phrasing in the tricky semi-quaver passages from all sections - the final tutti chords were magnificent and exhilarating!

Third Form Concert

T he 3rd Form concert was a delight - a great variety of styles and instruments was enjoyed by all. A few of my own personal highlights were

Tom Hudson’s performance on the drums (pictured); he displayed great control both in terms of dynamics and tempo, shifting between 4/4 and 12/8 - it was very enjoyable to listen to. Abagael really captured the feel of the Blues when performing Bygone Blues on the clarinet; she has a very rich and warm sound in the lower register. Charlotte Mansergh chose to perform a very difficult piece, Scott’s Lullaby; there are plenty of difficult intervals to overcome. Charlotte performed really well; some of her top register was sublime. My congratulations to all those who took part.

Tom Hudson

Le Yan

Holly White

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Summer Concert

T he Summer Concert was the highlight of the term’s formal performances. The

evening started with the orchestra performing the overture from Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville”; there were plenty of challenging and exposed passages for most

of the woodwind section as well as for the French horn - some very mature phrasing made various solo passages stand out. This was followed by the 1st movement from Haydn’s Violin Concerto in G major played by Charlie Berkeley. Charlie performed with a delightful, bright sound, excellent intonation and some beautifully played lyrical passages too. Toby Stevenson then performed La Catologo from Don Giovanni; it was a bit of a show stopper; with a translation in the programme, everyone was able to enjoy the humorous nature of this aria which Toby really brought out. The Military Band were outstanding; the attention to detailed articulation, phrasing, dynamics, balance and intonation really made this one of the stand out performances of the night, particularly when they played Brown’s excellent arrangement of Abba on Broadway. All of the choral singing sounded magnificent in the Memorial Hall. My own particular favourites were the Chamber Choir when they performed Gibbons’s “The Silver Swan”. The voices blend so well, again the balance and intonation was exceptional. I also thought that the Chapel Choir sounded wonderful, one of their best performances of the year. The Flute trio and Brass Ensemble were also in fine form, again it was the attention to the fine details which marked these performances. The Big Band said goodbye with some final performances from Toby Stevenson, Bethan Jackman, and Fabrice Le Blanc, all of them very moving, perhaps none more so than the finale when Sam Hughes performed “My Way”. My congratulations to all who were involved, especially as they managed to put on such an outstanding event during the examination period.

Fourth Form Concert

T he 4th Form concert was very impressive; there are some superb musicians developing here at King’s. Sarah Hechler began the concert with Stamitz’s Rondo concertin in Bb; Sarah rolled off tricky passages with ease and con-

fidence, there was some delightful phrasing too; it was Sarah’s last concert here at King’s before she returns to Germany; we will all miss her greatly. My other favourite performances on the night were Denis Leung’s performance of Sonata in B by Soler; Dennis played with great precision with real attention to details, excellent control and careful balance between the hands. I very much enjoyed listening to Edward Jiang’s performance of Malaguena; it was a warm evening and for a few moments Edward made me feel as though I was back in Andalucía! Rebecca Bracey’s performances on the Flute and Viola were both her best so far; she is beginning to develop an excellent tone on both instruments and her care to produce accurate intonation is really paying off. Lucy Little performed Brahms’s Menuette & Trio really well; she played with rhythmic vitality and there were some beautifully phrased passages. At times she really made the cello sing. Oscar Farrell’s per-formance of Martyn’s “Go down easy” was completely convincing, mature and mesmerising. This was something really special.

Leavers’ Concert

T he Leavers’ Concert is always a bit like a Mahler symphony: bitter sweet. It was great to listen to these young men and women perform whilst reminiscing about their time here at King’s, both their successes and their failures. It was an emotional night; several of the perform-

ers were blinking back tears as were many in the audience. I really don’t want to single out any one performance, but for those of you who were unable to attend, we have a recording! As always, there was a great mixture of genres performed, from heavy rock to satirical comedy, from Brahms to own compositions and arrangements. I wish these fine young men and women, for that’s what they are, continued success, and I hope a life full of music too.

Yuli Hu

Lucy Little

Toby Stevenson

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PASTORAL HEARTArion House by Bethany Griffiths

I feel as though the only way to open this report is to begin with by far the biggest highlight of our year - Dai-sy Pulls it Off, our very successful, unforgettable House play. From the leading stars on the stage, Susie, Cara

and Emily C, to Tilly the broom cupboard, to Imogen step-ping in for a poorly Lucy five hours before the curtain went up, to the backstage gang and the front of House crew, it was one giant House effort. Rehearsals began promptly in September and by the time we returned in January everyone was really beginning to feel the nerves as March drew nearer and nearer. However Miss LG had it all under control – much to my relief. She was spot on with her castings, she kept the girls motivated all the way through, she gave up hours of her time to spend on the play and she quite simply pulled it off! Well done Miss LG, director supreme. Susie was quite rightly crowned the star of the show with her first class performance of Daisy alongside her frightfully posh side kick Cara and her arch enemy Emily C (who managed to get the biggest laugh of the night, even though she was a nasty piece of work). Sophie managed to come a close second on the laughing stakes with her unforgettable Welsh accent and random comments. Me-gan Jones more than impressed us all as the only 3rd Former brave enough to take on a main speaking part, then there was Lucy and Olivia Harrison who excelled in many ways, but my favourite has to be their hockey skills. Octavia was a very believable Headmistress (watch out Mr Wilmshurst), and finally we cannot forget Flora will her hysterical Russian accent which developed through many Counties and Coun-tries and Tabby with her believable facial hair! Not only did we manage to impress everyone with our acting skills this year we also continued to shine as a very talented musical House, particularly with all of our vo-

calists (although we were unable to regain our Inter-House Mu-sic Cup.) Early in the year Flora hosted a wonderful ‘Night at the Opera’ to raise funds for her GAP year project where a huge number of our

girls performed breathtaking solos and duets, including Oc-tavia, Olivia H, Imogen, Sophie and of course Flora who opened the concert with a sensational piece that blew every-one away. A few weeks later we all returned to the Memorial Hall for our Biannual Joint Concert with Lyon House and once again the Arion girls were sensational. Solos from Abs, Skye, Sam, Imogen, Kitty, Lucy, Charlotte, Octavia, Olivia H and Flora, some performing solos for the first time at King’s, were excellent. We were then provided with a sneaky preview of our House song; Uptown Girl. It was a very proud evening for me – showing off my young ladies. Back in September we welcomed eight new 3rd Form girls to the House, including a large handful from Hazlegrove, one from Sherborne Prep, one from Port Regis, one from Millfield Prep and finally another Kenyan from Pembroke House to add to our growing Kenyan family. They didn’t seem to arrive shy and timid this year though and slot-ted in well to House and School life. It was clear we had a very talented (particularly sporty) bunch of girls when they stole the show at their first ever final assembly at the end of the Christmas Term. Unfortunately we didn’t receive any House prizes in that assembly but Millie, Megan, Megan, Emily, Abs and Katie all featured in the team of the term, Millie was also part of the U16 Indoor Hockey Regional Winning Team and Millie, Emily, Megan and Megan all played a part in the U14 County Netball Runners Up Team, which happened to be a first in the history of King’s netball. The 3rd Form continued this success in the Easter term and once again featured highly in final assembly, with Abs, Emily, Megan, Megan and Millie making up over half of the U14A netball team of the term. In addition to this we managed to secure our first trophy of the year by comfortably winning the Senior Inter-House Netball with our unstoppa-ble team; Tabby, Octavia, Olivia H, Susie, Cara, Sophie and Lucy. Megan Ward was awarded the Most Improved Junior Player of the term and Sophie the Most Improved Senior Player and finally Cara and Octavia gaining half colours for their outstanding shooting duo in the 1st VII. In addition to our sporting success Flora and Tabby both received Com-munity Service Awards and Sam and Susie were both highly

commended in the Inter-House photog-raphy competition, although unfortu-nately we had to give the fabulous House Trophy back. On the whole it was a modest year for our trophy cab-inet, although we still managed to se-

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cure a few wins. I think the highlight for me in terms of Inter-House com-petitions has to be the Inter-House Science Quiz. Our team, made up of Emily C, Susie, Cara and Emma, stormed through the rounds then knocked out the favourites in the final to win the quiz for the first time, and not only that but we were the first girls’ House to win the competition in its 10 year history. We did however once again manage a clean sweep in the swimming, winning the senior cup, the junior cup, the relays cup and Lucy and Sam won the senior and junior individual medley trophies, and our success continued into the tennis with Emily C, Cara, Olivia F and Sophie winning the Senior Inter-House Tennis Cup in style. So although we started slowly at least we ended on a high. To end I feel as though I need to make some extra special thank you mentions this year as I have needed my amazing team around me more than ever this year with it being my first full year as a Housemistress and a ‘mama’. Pat has once again been a wonderful and supportive matron who has run the House with tight reins. Thank you Pat. I also have a great team of tutors that have put up with a lot of my forgetfulness this year (due to a lack of sleep), thank you Emilie, Zanna, Sharon, Mel and Louise for being patient with me. However I really couldn’t have made it through this year without my superstar resident tutor Sophie LG. Not only did she relieve me of all the stress and pressure of a House play, she has also been a huge support to me in the House. Always willing to help out and go the extra mile for the me and for the girls. Thank you, Miss LG. Well that is the end of another incredibly busy year for the Arion girls. We all have so many happy memories to look back on and we wish our leavers all the best for their exciting futures ahead of them: Tabby and Flora with their trip to the India Orphanage before starting University and Gloria and Angel as they begin University. Good luck ladies.

House photograph: Back Row (left to right): Jo Adams, Lucy Tyack, Cara Valentine, Sophie Finch, Sam Walker, Harriet Matthew, Millie Regan, Charlotte Ask. Middle Row (left to right): Chloe Slingo, Abagael Hyde, Imogen Moore, Philippa Deacon, Hannah Snow, Megan Jones, Me-gan Ward, Olivia Williams, Katie Hawkins, Skye Neal, Kitty Geach, Emma Houldsworth, Emily Wastell, Matilda Houldsworth.Front Row (left to right): Octavia Cobb, Mrs Zanna Wilson-Brown, Olivia Harri-son, Mrs Sharon Carpenter, Gloria Leung, Miss Sophie Liddell-Grainger, Tabatha North, Mrs Bethany Griffiths, Flora Jackson, Mrs Patricia Stokes, Angel Zeng, Mrs Emilie Loveless, Emily Clothier, Mrs Louise Bray, Susie MacDonald.

Blackford Houseby Nick Bunday

A nd so, amazingly, another academic year comes to an end and it has been another great year in Blackford, where the boys have worked hard, per-formed well and played with great gusto. At the

end of our third year in the House, despite our disappoint-ment as boys leave, Gilly and I cannot believe that each year seems better than the last. The highlights are many and numerous (and all of which have been well documented on Gilly’s excellent blog, the link for which is http://blackford-blog.dreamwidth.org/)but certain events linger longer in the memory than others. The boy’s excellent performance in the Inter-House Music Competition was a real highlight. Coming third overall was a truly great effort and whilst everyone played their part, Tom Hudson winning the Junior Solo Competition was fan-tastic as was the leadership and direction that ‘Choirmaster’ Sam Hughes gave to the entire House for the song which also came second on the evening. I would be a liar if I did not say that the winning

of the Inter-House Hockey Competition gave me a huge amount of pleasure. The senior hockey players produced a series of great performances, their joy was clear to see when they won by the narrowest of margins and so doing were the first House ever to win the trophy back to back! Although the House failed to win the Inter-House Cross Country event, we had winners in both races with James Ask and Toby Kingsberry crossing the line together to win the junior race, whilst James Plummer won the senior race (which as a 5th Former was a fantastic achievement). However the House can be very proud of the manner in which they approached each competition and the way that they reacted to victory as well as defeat. Blackford has contributed fully to the plethora of School teams with the vast majority of the boys representing the School at some sport during the year. The stand out boys’ team of the year was the U16 hockey team who did so well at the Nationals. The majority of this team com-prised boys from Blackford (Jack Hudson, Archie Cobb, Josh Meates, James Plummer, Hamish Donnelly and Ryan Long-man). A further mention should also be made of James Ask

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and Toby Kingsberry who were the only boys in the Ten Tors Team which did very well to complete the 35 mile march in gruelling conditions. Alex Gavrilov won the Colquhoun Plate Fives trophy which was the first trophy won by a King’s player for a very long time. Mention should also be made of the fantastic musi-cians that we possess in Blackford who have played in a dizzy-ing array of concerts including Sam Hughes, Lucas Gorodi, Nick Poll, Jake Lane, William Hu, Tom Colebatch, and Tom Hudson. 3rd Former Ollie White also deserves recognition for doing so well in the School athletics team and for coming second in the Somerset Schools Pentathlon. The House has also been busy raising money for charity again this year. The very popular film night concept has again worked well; this year we ‘show cased’ ‘Despicable Me’, to popular acclaim. The boys have been heavily involved in helping with other Houses’ charity events, including the chance to dress in skirts to play netball and winning the tag rugby festival to name just two.

It is at this time of year that one’s thoughts turn to the shape of things to come next year and thus by extension to those whom we will be losing this year. The leavers will be Florenz Dietz (who was with us for just two terms), Wil-liam Hu, Adam Leigh

and Nikolaus Raskin. Of the U6th leavers, we

will sadly lose Charles Allen, Adam Attewell, Dan Crockatt, Alex Gavrilov, Sam Hughes, Jamie Ronda and David Zhu. The entire House is indebted to the excellent House prefect body of Charles Allen, Alex Gavrilov and Sam Hughes, and also to Adam Attewell our Deputy Head of House. Particu-lar thanks should however go to Dan Crockatt who has led the House in a quiet and sensible manner which has won him the respect of everyone – especially me. We wish all our leavers the very best of good fortune for their future en-deavours and we remind them that we want to hear all about them! Please stay in touch. The boys continue to be served by some dedicated staff who have the wellbeing of the boys at the very top of their priorities. Our Domestic Staff of Claire and Amy (and Marina for a short spell) have been wonderful throughout

the year combining hard work with good humour. Blackford continues to be lucky enough to have the best Matron in the School in Janice and we all remain grateful to her for all that she does. On those days when Janice is not in, her du-ties are covered superbly by Sue, Lisa (who left us during the year) and, more recently, Claire. The tutors (Mrs Vigers-Bel-geonne, Mr Walker, Mr Barns-Graham, Mr Barrow, Mr Eriksson) give readily of their time not only to support the boys but also Gilly and I: we are all indebted to them. The ever cheerful Mr Davies, our much respect-ed Resident Tutor, is thanked for all that he does and the manner in which he does it – he has been, once again, a star this year. Finally, I wish also to formerly record my grateful thanks to Gilly who has been sounding board and advisor to me and a constant pres-ence in the House for the boys, often with food in hand! This year has been an exceptional one and one that Gilly and I will look back upon with very fond memories. We will miss those who are leaving but look forward to the year to come with confidence based on the quality of those who remain. 2013-2014 has been a very, very good year. Thank you to ev-eryone, pupils and staff alike, who have made it such a good year.

House photograph: Back Row (left to right): Simon Chu, Cameron Main, Samuel Adenuga, William Kingsberry, Samuel Chan, Harry Ewins, Nikolaus Raskin, Hugo Cockram, Jake Lane, Lennart Fieber, Nick Poll, Adedapo Adejonwo, Yuli Hu. Third Row (left to right): Freddie Nickerson, Misha Kulkov, Rory Crockatt, Tom Colebatch, Jimmy Zhu, Jack Potter, Jack Hudson, Mark Catley-Day, Matthew Tomes-Smith, Max Cohen, Adam Leigh, James Plummer, Archie Cobb, Archie Warsap, Hamish Donnelly. Second Row (left to right): James Ask, Albert Shuck, Hamish Ryall, Archie Potter, Daniel Wylie, Ollie White, Ryan Longman, David Zhu, Alen Safaryan, Tom Sellar, Rory McAfee, Simon Kulkov, Toby Kingsberry, Tom Hudson. Front Row (left to right): Mrs Janice Jeffery, Mr D.R. Barns-Graham, Jamie Ronda Martinez, Mrs R. A. Vigers-Belgeonne, Samuel Hughes, Mr S. A. K Davies, Dan Crockatt, Mr N. P. Bunday, Mrs Gilly Bunday, Adam Attewell, Mr T. R. N. Walker, Charles Allen, Mr O. H. Eriksson, Mr C. A. Barrow, Mrs Sue Pitt. In Absentia: Alex Gavrilov, Lucas Gorodi, John Nishanov

Will Kingsberry and James Ask after win-ning the Junior Inter-House Cross-Country

Tom Hudson on his marimba

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Lyon Houseby Stuart Hamilton

Back Row (left to right): James Evans, Cory Tam, Stephen Grant, David Van Wickeren, Dane Yeandel, Jack Corbett, James Vita, Josh White, Harry Corbett, Milo McCloud, Matt Trickey, Nathaniel Mainoo, Jarod Tasdelen. Third Row (left to right): Will McArthur, Santiago Fernandez, Harry Hunter, Jordan Adams, Harry McHugh, Alexander Artemenko, Max Behm, Bastian Maiworm, Chris White, Edgar Leung, Edwin Leung, Hugh Edgar, Owen Mansfield, James Laver, Peter Nefedov. Second Row (left to right): Myles Yeandel, Danil Suetin, Joe Carretta, Sebastian Claas, Henry McCosker, Thomas Dickson, Thomas Alderton, Hugo Tyson, Ben Thomas, Robert Jin, Oliver Crossfield, James Mitri, Yusei Fukazawa, Finlay Rose, Tom Williams, Guillermo Garcia-Valdecasas. Front Row (left to right): Mrs Sue Pitt, Artem Voronov, Mr Jamie Barron, Max Mont-gomery, Mr David Cowley, Philip Claas, Mr Ashley Marshfield, Ben Carretta, Mr R.S. Hamilton, Will Tuson, Mr Tim Fletcher, Ross Valentine, Mr S.W. Spilsbury, Bartie Pitt-Brown, Mrs Melanie Bowes-Lyon, Fabrice Le Blanc, Mrs Deborah Biddiscombe.

Y et another academic year passes and Lyon House once again has been a vibrant and happy place. Even after the length of time I have been House-master, I never fail to be struck by the camaraderie

and the spirit of the boys in the House. It has been great to see the new Third Formers at the start of the year embrace the ethos of the House and take on board the way in which we go about our business. The senior boys must take much of the credit for this. I have hugely appreciated their hard work this year. I am especially grateful to both Will Tuson and Ben Carretta who have provided superb leadership throughout their tenure as Head and Deputy Head of House. After a break last year due to inclement weather Lyon hosted their 7th Tag Rugby Festival. Once again in fine weather we saw the House pull together to provide many great moments throughout the day. It is a great event and the Lyon House men deliver it with style. Once again the House did well in Inter House events putting out teams and doing well. We did well in rug-by, football, badminton and indoor cricket in the first term. The highlight of the year came in the second term with an event that we are not normally known for doing well in. The House music competition was a triumph for me. Although we did not win the trophy, Fabrice Le Blanc mastermind-ed winning the ensemble section and the House song was a credible effort that many felt should be higher placed. Once again we saw the House spirit shining through. On the academic front the House was challenged to increase their efforts - the reward was the installation of Sky TV in the House. The boys responded well and collectively they did their best to reach over 80% ones and twos for ef-fort; they sustained this through both halves of the first term and therefore came back in January to a skybox attached to the TV. The real proof will come when we see the results in August; I have my fingers crossed.

In the School as a whole the House members as always played key roles in many spheres. Such is the general level of involvement it would be almost impossible even to begin to do justice to individual boys in the House in this article. I shall therefore confine myself to some notable contributions. Philip Claas and Fabrice Le Blanc have played in the Big Band all year. Ben Carretta has represented all three major sports first teams. Will Tuson has led the House with style and sensitivity. As I write this the clouds are darkening and the likelihood of the Inter-House Athletics going on tomorrow dwindles. Our run of winning the Challenge Cup will have to pause for a year. Overall it has been an excellent year which will culminate in the traditional BBQ on the last night of term when we can look back at our achievements this year and look forward to the exciting new year to come.

Fabrice Le Blanc and Josh White lead the way in the In-ter-House cross country

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New Houseby Will Dawe

I t’s Saturday night towards midnight. I’m ensconced in my fox hole with a glass of something peaty and Scottish. Harry Charlier has finished eating pasta and so all is finally quiet in New House. I’ve missed the

deadline for submitting the New House report to Mr Oul-ton, a onetime Fleet Street journalist with a low tolerance of lateness. With a pang of guilt, I take a warming glug and begin to type falteringly…After several drams, 2013-2014 in New House can be distilled into: working hard, playing hard, doing the musical double, two nights at the theatre, charitable works and bidding farewell to an outstanding vintage of Upper Sixth leavers. New House boys worked hard at their studies. Re-sults days are the litmus test but I am hopeful of an impres-sive batch of GCSE and A level results from the boys. The atmosphere in the study room was purposeful all year and the tally of Headmaster’s commendations and distinctions

has never been higher. José García Meca, Arthur Harman, Ignacio Bersoza Portela and Myles Jenkins led the way with over twelve commendations in the Summer term alone. Ig-nacio won a prize for his Third Form Shakespeare project and Myles gave an outstanding talk on his archaeological ac-tivities in Kenya to the Junior Rhino Society. Harry Harman gained a distinction in the Speech and Drama examinations. The boys played hard at School and Inter-House sport. There were plenty of fine individual contributions. Harry Charlier captained the 1st XV from the back row with muscular authority. Rory Cadbury and Joshua Hope-Kibble shone at the Under 16 National Hockey Finals. Angus Fox captained the Senior Tennis Team with style and Dominic Baldwin captained the 1st X1 for a second season with pas-sion and outstanding leadership. In the Inter-House competitions the boys contested with the right blend of competitiveness and humility in de-feat or victory. It was a year of second places in most Senior and Junior Competitions with the occasional victory: Junior Badminton, Senior Basketball, squash and Dodge Ball. It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part in the right spirit that counts. Eight years as a Housemaster have mellowed me. The junior debating team came unstuck in the semi-final but Myl-es Jenkins, Will Hillier, Harry Deakin and Joshua Teuber looked a highly promising team. The senior debating team reached the final against Old House and narrowly lost a hot-ly contested joust on the True Meaning of Christmas. John

Hopkins, Hugh Pomeroy and Josh Hope-Kibble did the New House proud. Tuesday 11th February. The Inter-House Music Festival. Hopes were, as ever, cautiously optimistic with the House song. Hopes had been dashed so many times before. Charlie Berkeley had been plotting for months and had de-vised an excellent Bryan Adams amalgam of ‘Summer of 69’ and ‘Everything I do’. Under the baton of Nico Hayward, the boys went for it with gusto, sensitivity and musicianship. Ben Piggins and Toby Stevenson caught the mood with fine solos and Charlie Berkeley stole the show with a mellifluous guitar number. On the night it was a close run thing because Lyon and Blackford produced outstanding performances too, but finally, after many year of hurt, New House had won the House Song Competition. To cap off a memorable night, the boys also won the overall music competition by one point, thanks to fine solos from Denis Kuzovlev and Charlie Berke-ley, and an excellent ensemble rendition of Dire Straits’ Ro-meo and Juliet featuring Charlie, Toby, Oscar Farrell, Ben Piggins and Arthur Harman. The musical double had been secured. It was that 2005 Champions League Final night all over again. We were singing, dancing and wassailing into the

wee hours that night. On Sunday 2nd March George Collett, Nico Hay-ward, John Beutin, Connor Deacon, Paddy Moore and Ben Piggins, together with Mr Lowry, Mr and Mrs Saunders, Mr Beverly and Mr Jeffrey and myself, formed a team to run the Bath Half Marathon in aid of CHASE, a community action charity in Kenya. The weather was foul but every-one got round and, once again, over five hundred pounds were raised for this worthy cause. The weather was glorious on Sunday 18th May for the eighth New House Cricket 6s. Record numbers of teams entered. The Fox family cooked gourmet burgers all day. Mr Harkness won the biggest hit or ‘Man on the Moon Competition’. Mr Stainton’s music sys-tem played the right tunes. Amanda’s ice cream van enjoyed brisk trade and everyone appeared to have a great day. Mr Cropper’s Army won the main competition and Pitt-Brown’s Clowns carried off the plate competition. Colonel Branna-gan’s raffle contained its usual scandalous array of prizes. Fast Forward to Thursday 6th March and Friday 7th March. New House put on two performances of Agatha Christie’s ‘Towards Zero’. Jake Eggertsen’s ‘And Then there Were None’ had set a high bar in 2011. ‘Towards Zero’ is a really tall order but the multi-talented Mr Beverly has a head for heights and inspired the cast, stage crew and production team into providing a memorable two nights of theatre. Mr Beverly also found time to build a stunning set. The audienc-es were really supportive. Angus’s Fox’s Magic Charity Pants

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Old HouseMalcolm Jeffrey

A s time goes by, there are ebbs and flows of success and achievement, one has to expect good and not so good years in the life of a busy boarding House. I have to say that in my third year in Old House

(my sixth year of Housemastering) that this year has been the most pleasant and one of the most rewarding years of my working life. I have been blessed with boys who are burst-ing with personality and also full of pride for their House and the School. They have competed at every opportunity and have often found themselves succeeding, although there have been a few occasions when they have been on the edge of success and have just missed out. We fought hard to win the music competition but were pitted against Houses that were simply better prepared and better rehearsed, but we had a lot of fun on the night and were able to revisit the House song when we teamed up with Wellesley House for a joint concert. On that night, as well as the massed Old House Choir we got to hear Le Yan’s

beautiful piano playing and the unforgettable combination of Arslan Aliev, Callum Thorner and Charlie Auckland giv-ing their rendition of “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers after only 17 minutes of rehearsal! Our musicians have been working hard this year and I note with some pride that we had quite a few additions to the School choir from Old House. Long may that continue. The academic year started with our debaters working hard to achieve early success, culminating in them winning the Senior Debating trophy with convincing wins throughout. Callum, Charlie and Sam were a powerful force that was challenged, but never defeated. Further success came in Badminton and in the In-ter-House rugby competition where the Juniors showed guts and determination to win against spirited opposition. The Inters were nobly led by Jared Newton and fought hard against teams made up of A team players; but the Seniors were remarkable, many coming out of retirement to compete against a Lyon House team consisting mostly of the School 1st XV players and nearly holding them to a draw. To see Charlie Auckland competing as scrum half against boys twice his size was inspirational, but also Ed Lawson and Ollie Pearce gave their all to end up battered but proud. The boys have kept me entertained constantly with their enthusiastic wit and this year we invited all three of

and Tuck Shop raised plenty of money for the Shining Faces Orphanage and Mr Stainton’s sound production and cho-reography set just the right tone. The cast pulled off a diffi-cult play which had it all: comedy, tragedy, love triangle, fine character acting, pace and a spine chilling finale. As one ap-preciative member of the audience wrote afterwards: ‘It was spellbinding and I felt I was at the Theatre Royal in Bath.’ As important as individual and team successes are to House spirit, the real DNA of a Boarding House is measured by the extent to which the boys look after each other. This year’s Upper Sixth led the way impressively and we say farewell to a bumper crop of young men. Harry Charlier proved an ex-cellent Head of House with a soft touch but a firm hand on the tiller when required. He led by example and the boys followed. Nico Hayward was an able deputy: he set the right tone without ever seeking the plaudits. The rest of the crew will be sorely missed: Toby Stevenson (Head Boy, budding thespian and singer - I won’t forget his Don Giovanni aria at the Summer Concert), Dominic Baldwin (talented rugby player, natural leader on the cricket field, die hard Fulham FC supporter and born salesman), Charlie Berkeley (guitar wizard, violinist, tenor and budding sound engineer), George Collett (artist, gritty rugby player and skilful tennis player), Harry Harman (another really talented thespian and friend to all), John Hopkins (fearless advocate, all-round sportsman and budding lawyer), Alex Hung (badminton king, soccer maestro and fledgling business man) and Carlos Munoz-Ro-jas (art historian, horse rider and international playboy). In addition we say adiós to three more charming Spaniards: José García Meca, Ignacio Bersoza Portela and Juan Mendizábal and we bid aufwiedersehn to Jost Frisch and Luis de Haas, two impressive young men from Germany. We lose the de-lightful Jasper Cable-Alexander and wish him well at Prior Park, and we say goodbye to Charlie Maltby, who has amused us and looked after us all for four years. The New House boys do not flourish without the commitment and care of an outstanding tutor, matron and domestic team: Mr Beverly, Mr Hodder, Mrs Ashworth, Mr Oulton, Mr Lowry, Mr Gorodi, Ruth Brannagan, Sue Pitt, Jacqui, Abbie and Judy. Once again my wife Katie, and daughters Imogen and Chloe, have kept my feet firmly on the ground. To them all, and to all of the boys, go my heart-felt thanks for another memorable year in the fortress. Next year the baton passes on to the safe hands of Connor Deacon (Head of House), John Beutin (Deputy Head of House), An-gus Fox (Deputy Head Boy), Hugh Pomeroy (Head Boy) and Kevin Chan (House Prefect). Back Row (left to right): Max Clark, Paddy Moore, Charlie Maltby, John Beutin, Luke Rowlands, Hugh Pomeroy, Ben Piggins, Kevin Chan, Matthew Pryke, Connor Deacon. Third Row (left to right): Ross Duder, Angus Fox, Eddy Morris-Adams, Benson Hung, Joe Early, Will Hillier, Joe Combs, Jost Frisch, James Whittaker, Jose Meca, Jack Lawrence, Rory Cadbury, Joe Croney, Oscar Farrell, Edward Jiang, Serafim Gunin.Second Row (left to right): George Wroth, Josh Teuber, Denis Leung, Freddie North, Josh Hope-Kibble, Jasper Cable-Alexander, Tom Woods, Harry Hoult, Tom Philp, Tom Westropp, Christo Bradstock, Denis Ku-zovlev, Toby Clothier, Arthur Harman, Harry Deakin, Myles Jenkins, Ignacio Portela, Barney Brown. Front Row (left to right): Alex Hung, Ruth Brannagan, Harry Harman, George Beverly, Carlos Muñoz-Ro-jas, Mr Gorodi, Charles Berkeley, Mrs Angela Ashworth, Tobias Stevenson, Mr William Dawe, Mrs Katie Dawe, Harry Charlier, Mr Rob Lowry, Nico Hayward, Mr Daniel Hodder, Dominic Baldwin, Mr Charles Oulton, John Hopkins, George Collett.

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the girls’ Houses over on separate memorable occasions. The boys were exemplary hosts, looking after the girls and having a great time with our “One Minute Plays” which always end up as rather riotous affairs. I know that all the girls loved coming over and we will hopefully make that a regular occur-rence. Our most notable success this year so far (as I write this we have not yet competed in the Swimming Gala, the Tug of War or the Inter-House Athletics) has been the cross country where the boys won both the Junior and Senior races by a considerable margin. Every member of Old House ran to win and the result was astonishing; led up front by Will Robinson, Charlie Auckland, Chris Pang, Charles Smith, Sam Young and Bertie Hancock, the rest of the House were inspired to compete on one of the most challenging cross country circuits in the South West. It may have been the promise of a “Sun Inn Fest” that helped but I think that House pride was the driving force that led to Old House be-ing victorious, Will and Charlie leading the charge to come in second and third respectively. The boys have worked hard towards their public examinations and I am sure that there will be some notable and deserved success in this area. As competition for uni-versity places becomes harder the bar is raised ever upwards which adds to the pressure and means that there is much to work towards, but much to lose. Our Upper Sixth have led the way but also those boys undertaking their GCSEs have shown spirit and drive. We will await their results in August with much anticipation. As ever we will say goodbye to the Upper Sixth, as well as a few of the other boys who have only been with us for a year. It is always a double edged sword to bid them farewell as they are ready to leave School and enter the wider

world but we will sorely miss their presence in the House. However, the boys that are left are ready to move up and to fill their place as leaders and as role models to the younger years so we wish the leavers lots of luck and

success in all that they hope to do. Will Robinson has been an exemplary Head of House, endlessly supportive of the boys and a fantastic col-league to all of the staff; he is heading off to Australia for a year to teach at Timber Tops School and we wish him well. His example to the rest of the boys has been astonishing and together with Alex Wicking and Charlie Auckland they have steered the House well. We will miss them as well as the other leavers who have brought personality and drive to the House.

The Upper Sixth, as well as Adrian Garcia, Philipp Redfern, Jesko Treiber and Ted Contro have had a huge impact on the House and the School and we wish them well in their future. I know that the boys leave the School at the end of Summer, either to further academic study or to return next year to continue their journey, safe in the knowledge that they belong to a very special and a very supportive group of people who went to King’s School, but also to a very ex-clusive and privileged bunch that can call themselves ‘Old House Boys’. It is an honour for me to be able to call myself their Housemaster and I look forward to continuing with a new set of arrivals next year.

Back Row (left to right): Yan Le, Lucien Carey, Ahmed Abdelwahab, Eben Latham, Christopher Barnett, Philipp Redfern, Angus Owen, Simon Shih, Max Briston. Third Row (left to right): Sam Hung, Marcus Bell, Rafe Fraser, Jared Newton, Henry Smith, Callum Thorner, Bertie Hancock, Sam Young, Alistair Sanford, Ed Andrews, Ben Stevens, Gabriel Airey, William Luck, Felix Hemsley. Second Row (left to right): Nicholas Longpré, Fabian von Bubnoff, Alex Enderby, Adrian Garcia, Theo Barratt, Henry Leung, Timofey Khvan, Connor Theo-Jones, George Cameron, Henry Oliver, George Weymouth, Austin Ransom, Jesko Treiber, Barney Latham, Chris Pang, Peter Knospe, George Pease. Front Row (left to right): Jamie Finlayson, Elliot Rutter, Mr Seamus Harkness (Tutor), Oliver Pearce, Mr Thomas Loveless (Tutor), Charles Smith, Mr Graham Saunders (Resident Tutor), Will Robinson (Head of House), Mr Malcolm Jeffrey (Housemaster), Alex Wicking (Deputy Head of House), Charlie Auckland (Deputy Head of House), Mrs Cecilia Jennings (Matron), Edmund Lawson, Mr Al Moxham (Tutor), Remond Karago, Mr Mark Hambleton (Tutor), Mahad Khawaja, Arslan Aliev.

Leavers: Raymond Karago, Ollie Pearce, Alex Wicking, Will Robin-son, Charles Smith, Elliot Rutter, Ed Lawson, Arslan Aliev, Jamie Finlayson, Mahad Khwaja, Charlie Auckland (lying)

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Priory Houseby Emily Simper

A nother year began with an influx of 12 new girls adding to Priory’s eclectic mix of students; a warm welcome was also extended to our new tu-tors: Mrs Maistrello and Ms Wells. With a very

busy and long year ahead they quickly settled and joined the rest of the House in the continuous activity around School. It has been a very successful year for Priory in terms of aca-demics, sport and Inter-House events. Numerous events have taken place during House nights that involved each year group. We have had a number of House nights with the other girls’ Houses, most notably our make-up nights and self-defence classes. We have also combined House nights with boys Houses on several occasions, acting as both the hosts and being hosted; our Up-per Sixth particularly enjoyed their Mexican night with the Blackford boys. Other memorable nights have included the annual pumpkin carving competition, Priory’s Got Talent and many pancake and pizza nights. Our Christmas party at Mill on the Brue was a great success. Back in September the girls were fantastic when they acted as waitresses at the drinks party to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Priory. Sir Peter Squire was the guest of honour and we were all delighted that so many parents, ex Housemasters, Housemistresses and Matrons joined us for the occasion. It was a memorable night for all. Charity events certainly stood out this year; we sold Candy Canes, raising £125 for the School charity NSPCC just before Christmas and we made Christmas decorations, Christmas biscuits and Christmas cards to sell at the Christ-mas Fayre. This was a great success raising £110 for NSPCC

and provided us with a number of fun House nights, espe-cially when Mrs Ashworth came in to teach us all how to knit. We also raised £95 in a Netball Tournament in the Summer term for NSPCC, and £50 for the Indian Orphan-age. Finally, 17 Priory girls and 3 Tutors ran the Race for Life for Cancer Research in June. Winning the Junior and Senior Cross Country trophies, as well as the Badminton, Golf and Junior Foot-ball competitions were among the Inter-House highlights this year. There is no doubt that our Cross Country run-ning has gone from strength to strength and we were thrilled that Beth Wilson-Brown reached the National competition, as well as winning the Marden Trophy and the Inter-House Competition. Annie Black and Sarah Hechler proved vital players in the Junior Football victory, Andrea Wurtenberger and Eiko Mitsui in our golf victory whilst our Hockey and Netball teams were close seconds in their respective compe-titions. Over the year, we have had girls taking part in many different sports and activities, including sailing, squash, Ten Tors, Duke of Edinburgh and horse riding, in which Megan Nicholls and Charlotte Mansergh have excelled on numer-ous occasions. The performing arts were, as ever, prominent in

Back Row (left to right): Helena Davidson-Houston, Ellie Longman-Rood, Amy Williams, Sophie Williams, Daria Zotina, Amber-Rose Salmon-Brown, Darcy Bounsall, Edith Bruford, Christina Witte, Lucie Moore, Jill London, Yuki Lau, Beth Wilson-Brown, Tatiana HerreinerThird Row (left to right): Alexa Strupinskaya, Emily Down, Rhianna Brunt, Elodie Wallace, Ellena Loughrey, Sarah Hechler, Evie Gravatt, Rebecca Bracey, Sophie Belchambers, Livy Hughes, Georgie MacLeod-Ash, Annie Price, Samantha Locock. Second Row (left to right): Chloë Dawe, Annabel Black, Sophia Duval, Sasha Ogurtsova, Alex Howard-Harwood, Wiebke Kroschel, Sharon (Yue Xu), Enfys Evans, Eiko Mitsui, Bethan Jackman, Har-riet Wakelin, Charlotte Mansergh, Matilda Sweeting, Francesca Redpath. Front Row (left to right): Mrs Andrea Maistrello, Ms Mary Wells, Ms Maggie King, Mrs Sue Pitt, Miss Hannah Williams, Andrea Wurtenberger, Mrs Emily Simper, Kate Pollitt, Mrs Jane Trevaskis, Mrs Emma Thwaites, Mr John Slingo, Mrs Helen Wilmshurst, Mrs Anne Sherrard.

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Priory girls’ schedules; there were concerts, plays and this year, debating featured highly. Our Senior team of Kate Pol-litt, Ellie Longman-Rood, Elodie Wallace and Darcy Boun-sall reached the semi-finals, whilst our Junior team of Sarah Hechler, Olivia Hughes and Mattie Sweeting were crowned the Inter-House Champions, after a very tough final against Blackford. The Inter-House Music Competition was once again a fantastic afternoon, with beautiful solos from Jill London on her saxophone, Sarah Hechler on her clarinet and an Ensemble composed of Bethan Jackman, Enfys Ev-ans, Edie Bruford and Amber-Rose Salmon-Brown. How-ever it is the singing competition that is always the highlight and Priory’s version of ‘Happy’ conducted by Bethan Jack-man and accompanied by Eiko Mitsui on the drums went down very well with the audience but we did unfortunately lose the title to New on this occasion. The girls are already planning their song for next year! Our many successes throughout the year would have not been possible if it weren’t for the constant support from our Tutors: Mr Slingo, Mrs Sherrard, Ms King, Mrs Wilmshurst, Mrs Maistrello and Ms Wells. My thanks extend to our exceptional Matron, Jane, who keeps Priory ticking over during the day and is the best listener ever. Thank you also to Miss Williams for organising all the sport, and good luck to her in her role as Acting Housemistress next term. Thank you also to Andrea Wurtenberger, our Head of House and Kate Pollitt, our Deputy Head of House, for their direc-tion over the past year and to their team of prefects, Bethan Jackman, Wiebke Kroschel, Enfys Evans, Eiko Mitsui and Sharon Xu, who have helped so much throughout the year. The end of term also accompanies farewells. Sarah Hechler, our very talented Fourth Former returns home af-ter an amazing year with many memories, great friendships forged and a greater command of English. Emily Down, Dar-cy Bounsall, Daria Zotina, Alexa Strupinskaya and Sam-E Locock leave us for new destinations and finally the Upper 6th form leave King’s for University and all that it brings. To all that leave us this term, we wish them luck, happiness and success in the future and I’m sure they will look back on their Priory days with happy memories. All who return in Septem-ber are very excited about the new refurbishment which will be carried out over the summer. Although girls and staff may come and go, it is reassuring to know that the atmosphere and Priory purple spirit will remain in the future.

Winning junior debating team: From left: Olivia Hughes, Sarah Heckler, Matilda Sweeting

Wellesley Houseby Juliet Deaney

A nother year has gone by for the girls of Welles-ley House and everyone has achieved personal success in one way or another and I am very proud of each and every one of my girls. This is

the end of my fifth year as Housemistress and the first time I have seen a year group go up through the school and it remains a privilege to be a part of their lives as they grow in confidence, achieve their dreams and blossom into lovely young ladies. As a House, Wellesley has enjoyed a busy year. To-gether with Blackford House, we organised and hosted the Snowball - with pizza, cake pops and a photo booth enjoyed by all and many saying it was ‘the best Snowball ever’! We have many accomplished musicians and along with Old House we gave a joint concert in May. There were superb individual performances from Lauren, Eleanor and Lucy ahead of the Wellesley House Choir closing the concert with their unique rendition of ‘Valerie’. At weekends we have been out on House trips to Bath, Bristol and Basingstoke, to an ice rink, a fire work display and ten pin bowling, along with the end of term meals to the Manor Inn, Tamburinos and Ask and it was so nice to see all the girls enjoying one another’s company. The Christmas term saw much equestrian success as Wellesley are ‘the King’s Equestrian team’ - Ellen, Daisy, Mima, Kitty and Lottie were regulars on the podium as they collected their rosettes for cross-country, dressage and show jumping events. I am sure sport runs through the veins of many of the Wellesley girls with Sophie (Captain), Ellen, Daisy, Mima, Kitty, Lina, Anna and Hannah reaching the National Finals of the U16 Indoor Hockey Finals at Broms-grove in January. Wellesley Junior and/or Senior teams went on to win the Hockey, Squash and Netball competitions with the tennis and athletics still to be decided as I write this, although everyone is hoping that the House will retain the Challenge Cup for the third consecutive year - well done to everyone on some fantastic team performances! Individually some of the girls have achieved person-al success; Lauren achieved grade 8 clarinet and has played beautifully in a number of concerts, Daisy (Captain), Hebe and Freya completed the 35 mile Ten Tors challenge in testing conditions, Mima was selected for West of England JRPC Hockey, Tatyana won the prestigious Painter Stainers award for her life-like painting of ‘Martin’, Elissa’s creative jacket saw her work displayed on the Headmaster’s Easel and at Prize Giving, Kitty, Holly, Lottie, Daisy, Freya, Hebe, Beth, Lucia, Xanthe, Eleanor, Ellen, May, Isabelle, Nicole, Elissa, Ellen-Jane, Tatyana and Beka were all rewarded . New sofas and soft furnishings were great final touches to the refurbished common room and the refitted kitchen in February from House funds has completed the in-ternal refurbishment of the House and the girls are delighted and proud to call it home. I will miss everyone who leaves this year in the Upper Sixth - thank you to Ellen, Head of House, to Beka, School Prefect, Elissa and Becca, House Prefects and not

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forgetting Anna and Tati too. In the younger years - Lina, Anna, Mira, Xanthe, Caitlynne, Sophie R, Hannah, Chloe, Paula, Blanca and Georgia - thank you all for leaving your own special mark on Wellesley and we will miss you all. Finally thank you to my loyal and hardworking team: to my tutors - Kate Flavell, Sadie Osborne, Bridget March, Harriet Swindall, Gail de Mora and Alison Jeffries; to my Matrons - Barbs and Debs, and to my cleaners - Nickie and Annie. I look forward to welcoming most of you back in September - but to all our leavers, good luck for the future, ‘follow your dreams’ and stay in touch!

Back Row (left to right): Beth Pretor-Pinney, Anna Müller-Wagner, Brogan Sellar, Caitlynne West, Eleanor Little, Mira Hoffmann, Tatiana Pachina, Rosie Hunter, Lina Hetzel, Sophie Sage, Tabby Collett, Ellen Barber, Paula Fernandez.Third Row (left to right): Georgia Heath, Kitty Mant, Blanca Salas, Lucy Little, Daisy Mant, Isabelle Longpre, Anna Nesterova, Lauren Glover, Charlotte Gould, Sophie Renhuldt, Lucia Pretor-Pinney, Xanthe Wignall.Second Row (left to right): Ellie Smith, Holly White, Sophie Wichary, Georgia Dimdore-Miles, Alexandra Kostyuk, Eunice Wan, May Bullock, Nicole Wan, Isabel Hunt, Jemima Owen, Freya Thorner, Caitlin Marsh, Hebe Young.Front Row (left to right): Mrs B. Atkins, Dr S. Osborne, Mrs B. March, Miss K. Flavell, Elissa Barber, Ellen-Jane Robinson, Mrs Juliet Deaney- Housemistress, Rebeka Finch, Becca Ffooks, Miss H. Swindall, Mrs G. de Mora, Dr A. Jeffries.

Left to right: Georgia Dimdore-Miles, Hannah Sternemann, Paula Fernandez Munoz, Beth Pretor-Pinney, Luca Compes

Lucia (right) and Beth Pretor-Pinney

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BAFTA Smallest PitchWells Cathedral away saw the first victory of the term. Wells certainly deserve the BAFTA award for the smallest 1st XV pitch that was encountered during the term. The pitch was nearly 15m narrower than our own pitch and it nullified our attacking potential as inevitably the boys kept cutting back into the defensive cover. However, fifth former Matthew Trickey scored an outstanding try on his 1st XV debut and the side were chuffed to record their first victory of the term.

BAFTA Best OpponentThis award was easy, Dean Close. Without a doubt they were the outstanding opponents of the term and fully deserved their 81-5 victory. They were to inflict similar scores on Prior Park 83-0, and big wins against Kingswood, Colstons.......... The preparation for this game did not help with a magical mystery tour journey to Cheltenham that took 3 hours and involved driving to Bridgwater to get onto the motorway! Then meeting an opponent who had been warming up for an hour and had just come off the back of their best presea-son ever. However, our side attacked throughout and scored a great try through Sam Adenuga.

BAFTA Most Frustrating PerformanceThe final game v Wycliffe College is the obvious choice for this BAFTA award. Leading 12-3 and dominating in the for-wards, the game was there to be finished off with some more forward dominated drives - but the team took their foot off the pedal, missed some tackles, conceded a try and conver-sion on the stroke of half time and then proceeded to give away kickable penalties to a kicker who was having the match we all dream about in the second half. This result was hard to take as the boys know they could play so much better and wanted to finish the term with a win.

BAFTA Highest ScoreThis was achieved in the local derby match v Sexey’s. Play-ing on the new rugby pitches, King’s were determined not to underestimate their opponents and put in a performance that was clinical and determined. Sexey’s played their part and were very committed and determined and King’s had to work hard for their victory which was not as easy as the scoreline would suggest.

Ist XV

The 1st XV take to the red carpet as their coach, Craig Barrow, hands out gongs after a season of sparkling rugby and memorable matches

BAFTA Best Performance

This was a close call between the game v West Buckland and the game v Christ College Brecon. Against Buckland, the side excelled on a fantastic firm pitch with the sun out and scored the try of the season from Phil Claas when he started his run with the ball in his own 22 and finished it under the Buckland posts. They dominated the game and could have scored more tries but the attacking play was a pleasure to see. Christ College Brecon was a different type of game. It was close and edgy, and both sides played a tough and competi-tive schoolboy match in great spirit and with great skill and endeavour. Trailing 13-10 with just minutes to go, Bruton threw everything into winning the game but could not breach the Brecon line and then conceded a late try to lose the game 18-10. However, it was probably the best performance of the term against really tough opponents.

Captain Harry Charlier lays down the law

Phil Claas goes on the outside

SPORT

RUGBY

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BAFTA Closest MatchA 7-6 victory over close rivals Downside was the closest score-line of the term. It was a difficult match that started with the visitors requesting uncontested scrums two minutes before kick off, then leading try scorer Phil Claas suffering a hip in-jury which resulted in the match moving pitches and finally the side huffing and puffing their way to victory with a Dan Crockatt try late in the game. An unsatisfactory match but a pleasing result.

BAFTA No PointsIn only one game did King’s fail to reg-ister any points or score a try and that was in the 15-0 loss away at Monkton Combe. The game was a good contest and King’s had their opportunities to cross the Monkton line but a combi-nation of dogged defence and poor decision making resulted in the only game of the season when zero was written in the record books for points scored.

BAFTA Most exciting finish to a gameThis award has to go the game away at Sherborne 2nd XV. The side started like an express train, scoring two early tries and catching their opponents unaware. However, the bigger and more physical Sherborne side began to make holes in the King’s defence and took the lead early in the second half. A sparkling try by Matthew Trickey reduced the Sher-borne lead to 17-24 with five minutes remaining and King’s remained true to their pre-season ambitions of attacking at all opportunities and ran the ball from all areas of the pitch. They were denied by a strong Sherborne defence who then pounced on a loose pass to score the winning try and the game ended 31-17.

BAFTA Poorest Match ConditionsThis award was presented after the home 50-0 win v Clayes-more. The rain never stopped for the whole match but de-spite the poor conditions, King’s still played some sparkling rugby and the highlight was a Will McArthur hat-trick and the infamous ‘Sam Adenuga’ attack of leg cramp that pre-vented him scoring a certain try.

BAFTA – Forgetting their LinesThis has to be the KES Bath game when the side were warned in training that KES Bath love the catch and drive line-out option but they chose to ignore the advice and concede three tries through this form of attack. Poor play at the base of the scrum contributed to the worst performance of the term.

BAFTA – Most appreciative audienceGames away at Milton Abbey are always memorable and this year was no exception. The Milton Abbey home support pa-trolled the touchline with a mobile stereo system that played “Jerusalem” whenever the ball went out of play on their touch!! It certainly livened up a forgettable game in which King’s exerted control but could not make their superiority count in scoring more tries.

BAFTA Best Overseas PerformersTwo boys share this award, Max Clark and Will McArthur. The two boys joined us from Ontario, Canada for the term to further their rugby education but also to live and learn in an English Boarding School. As rugby players they were fantastic and skilful and quickly gelled with the other boys

to contribute to the efforts of the 1st XV. Their development from boys into mature young men, however, will be the memory that stays with me - their emotional speech in final assembly confirmed why King’s is such a special place and why exchanges are so life changing.

BAFTA Tackling went AWOLThe match v Queen’s College Taunton was a game that King’s could have won, not should have, as their oppo-nents were very strong in the forwards and particularly the scrum but King’s

probably had more pace and guile in the backs and scored a wonderful try. However, it was a match when the tackling ability of the side went AWOL and they let Queen’s fly-half ghost through non-existent tackles to score two tries which ultimately turned a very close encounter.

BAFTA – Long Service (Mr Barrow – 13 years as 1st XV coach)

Played 13, Won 6, Lost 7, Points For 27, Points Against 254, Tries Scored 38

Dean Close away lost 5-81

Wells Cathedral away won 15-0

Queen’s Taunton home lost 10-28

Clayesmore home won 50-0

Milton Abbey away won 15-3

West Buckland home won 35-10

KES Bath home lost 12-41

Sexey’s away won 75-0

Downside home won 7-6

Monkton Combe away lost 0-15

Sherborne 2nd XV away lost 17-31

Christ College

Brecon home lost 10-18

Wycliffe College away lost19-21

No way past Max Clark

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Max Clark kicks for touch ......so does Sam Adenuga

Now Max goes for the posts

Standing (L to R): Philip Claas, Dan Crockatt, Dominic Baldwin, Jamie Vita, Dane Yeandel, Toby Stevenson, Jack Corbett, Bartie Pitt-Brown, Charles Allen, Owen Mansfield. Seated (L to R): Nick Poll, Max Clark, Ben Carretta, Harry Charlier (C), Cameron Main, Adam Attewell, Will McArthur.

Sam still going strong

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2nd XVDan Cupit reviews a challenging season of dedication and commitment

A very young and determined 2nd XV took to the field in what was going to be a challenging season of rugby. Led by Will Tuson, the 2nd XV squad would

play some familiar schools but there were also some new unknown and untested schools on the fixture list. The first game of the season saw the 2nd XV head up to Dean Close to play an incredibly strong fixture. Despite a heavy loss, the team remained very optimistic. A good week of training saw them pick up their first win of the season against Warmin-ster’s 1st XV (22-19). Warminster had a strong and deter-mined pack and it took a very gritty performance for the 2nd XV to hold onto this impressive victory. This was followed up with back to back victories against Queen’s Taunton (17-0) and Milton Abbey (35-17). As the season started to take its toll, a number of players stepped up to play for the 1st XV or were unfortunately stuck on the side-line with injuries. In hor-rendous conditions, the next game of the season saw the 2nd XV lose to a strong KES Bath side. However, as the team began to regroup after several changes, they recorded very impres-sive results against local rivals Sexey’s (63-0) and Downside (33-0). The best game of the season wasn’t ac-tually a victory, but a very narrow loss to Monkton Combe. Monkton, traditionally a very strong rugby school, fielded a tough team against the 2nd XV in wet and blus-tery conditions. However, despite not having the strength to match them up front, or in the backs, King’s played as a team and with 10 minutes remaining, the scores were level. Hav-ing unfortunately lost a couple of players, King’s eventually conceded in the final few minutes of the game. However, this game had demonstrated everything that had been fantastic about this group of players. Immense dedication, commit-ment and a willingness to play for each other have been char-acteristics that have been shown all season. Will Tuson led the team superbly; he was well sup-ported by Cameron Main, Eban Latham, Nico Hayward and Marcus Bell. Unfortunately, we lost George Collett early on in the season and this was a huge loss as he had demonstrat-ed what an asset he would have been. All 31 players that have represented the 2nd XV should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved and how they have performed.

Standing (L to R): Marcus Bell, Callum Thorner, Angus Owen, Paddy Moore, Nico Hayward, Eben Latham, Sam Hughes, Rafe Fraser, Connor Deacon. Seated (L to R): Edwin Leung, Connor Theo-Jones, Bastian Maiworm, James Laver, Will Tuson, Carlos Munoz-Rojas, Sam Adenuga, George Collett, John Hopkins.

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3rd XV

Nigel Wilson-Brown reviews a season of commitment during which his team continually tried to improve their skill and strategy

R ugby, at 3rd XV level, has the potential to be either deeply rewarding or deeply frustrating as the squad either pits itself to personal development or sells itself

to ‘sport because we have to’. There is no doubt that 2013 brought huge helpings of the former. In the face of a mini-mal fixture list I was thrilled by the constant application of the squad to bettering their rugby in both skill and strategy. The term began with a long-distance away defeat against a stronger Dean Close – a chance to learn vital les-sons and calibrate personal skill and fitness against a stan-dard that could produce better results in future. Two subse-quent fixtures spring to mind for special mention. The first was at home against Sherborne – their 5ths from a school of 600 boys against our 3rds. It always sounded a tough challenge, and so it proved to be. Stats and scores are of little interest compared with the pleasure of ref-ereeing a team giving their utmost, for some in their first ever full game of rugby. King’s opened the scoring with a fantastic opportunistic try from Artem Voronov, but we couldn’t keep the pressure on consistently. A stoic effort ended with con-tentment in a well-fought defeat. The other was our annual bruiser against Monkton Combe. The match had a feel of potential success to it, but the opposition’s warm-up was a window on a team with no shortage of talent or physicality. Again we began well with an excellent try down the wing only seconds after kick-off. The rash hope of easy success that followed was quickly dashed as Monkton applied relentless pressure and ran their backs far more dangerously than our own. A crunching tackle of intense bravery left Corey Tam wondering who he was in the back of an ambulance and soon afterwards the match ended comfortably in Monkton’s favour. So, a season of real commitment in training and development which, without the excellent attitude shown, could so easily have been unfulfilling. As it was, our squad of 25 left their Slopey home far better rugby players than when they walked out in September, ready to give even more, may-be even with a step up, when next season begins.

Under 16 A

Gareth Evans reveals the secret of his best Colts side for 14 years

T he year 2013 was good to me, in Rugby terms: Pon-typridd won the Welsh Premiership; Wales, after a desperately sticky start, won the Six Nations Champi-

onship; the British Lions roared again, this time Down Un-der; and I was asked to help with the Under 16 Rugby squad at King’s School Bruton. Despite all the associated glory through attachment to Pontypridd, Wales and the British Lions, there is some-thing far more elemental in my appreciation of Rugby in terms of coaching, playing or spectating at lower levels and so it proved to be in 2013. The Under 16 squad came to us with high credentials (read Mr Seamus Harkness’s report in the 2013 Dolphin, if you are in any doubt) but the movement from Under 15 to “Colts” is often a big step which some boys find difficult to handle. This was not to be with this set of young men. I suppose most tales start at the beginning and so I’ll start there, with Dean Close. Dean Close is a relatively new fixture and none of my Colts teams had beaten them in that time. We were away at Dean Close. Some of the B XV did not want to travel as replacements to Dean Close. We were one or two players short. The boys absolutely walloped Dean Close. Mr Malcolm Jeffrey and I found it difficult to comprehend what was happening before us. Clearly James Plummer at scrum half made a significant impact but so also did the two new boys (Harry McHugh and Matthew Trickey). The team played the patterns we had asked of them, with pa-nache and determination and Dean Close simply could not live with it. I slowly turned Seamus Harkness’s words over in my bald head. The remainder of the season continued in pretty much the same vein; of course we did not thrash every team we encountered and we lost one (more of that later) but a pattern was established. The pattern went something like this: Tuesdays were a session led by Mr Stuart Hamilton, in which the boys were encouraged to play “heads-up Rugby” (reminiscent of the philosophy of my coach at school, John Edmunds); Thursdays were about more heads-up rugby, with additional unit drills thrown in; and on Saturdays the boys played heads-up Rugby. It was quite simple really but it re-quired effort, esprit de corps and an effective pair of half-backs, Messrs Plummer and Rory Cadbury. A season has staging posts along the way and one of these was the away fixture at Clayesmore. The team had lost there narrowly the year before in a match where they felt they had not received the “rub of the green”; they were deter-mined not to be beaten this year. The match turned out to be desperately close with Clayesmore appearing to have it won with little time left on the clock but a final surge won it for King’s. This was the first time I had seen this team under real pressure but they responded in the way you would expect of a team of senior men. Harry Corbett (captain and No 8) was magnificent in refocussing his players and the winning try

3rd XV: Standing (L to R): Nigel Wilson-Brown, Max Montgom-ery, Jamie Ronda, Artem Voronov, Nikolaus Raskin, John Beutin, David van Wickeren, Luke Rowlins, Oliver Pearce, Kevin Chan, Seraphim Gunin, George Beverly.

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came about after an elusive run by Matthew Trickey. What struck me about this victory was the way in which the players galvanised themselves to win the match just at the time when it appeared lost. I had not seen this in a King’s Colts team, since Sam Todd’s 1999 side. Another key staging post turned out to be the match away at Downside, in the second half of term. This was important because Downside defended like demons and we sustained some injuries which disrupted our momentum, both in the match and for several games afterwards. Harry Corbett was forced to leave the pitch with a nasty cut, Jack Hudson damaged his shoulder and Mark Catley-Day was concussed. Our pack was weakened but the boys hung on for a strong victory. We had to play the rest of the season without Hudson, with Catley-Day only returning for the fi-nal match. The fact that the team continued to play so well was a testament to their collective resolve. So what about that defeat? Well, we lost at home to a good KES Bath outfit in a match which was closely fought with a small margin of victory for our opponents. I could not be disappointed that we lost, KES were a good team but I also felt that the KES coaches could not have been disap-pointed had the result been reversed. I suppose that it was the manner of the defeat which hurt, with the decisive score for KES Bath coming from a poor kick leading to a fortuitous bounce and a try under the posts. The boys were extremely disappointed but it will only serve to whet their appetite for their Sixth Form encounters with KES. In reviewing what I have written, I have to ask my-self whether I have done justice to what was my best team since Sam Todd’s team and the answer has to be “No”. These boys played with a style and a commitment to each other somehow managing to engender a great team ethic in the squad as a whole, both A and B XVs. I haven’t tried to men-tion all the players, their skills and individual contributions, it would simply take too many words and the Editor of The Dolphin, would not thank me for that. Suffice to say, I would have loved to have played in this team. As ever, Rugby is not just about those on the pad-dock, it is about all of those who make our Rugby possible: the referees, Messrs Wilmshurst and Jeffrey; the coaches, Messrs Hamilton, Jeffrey and Spilsbury; the organiser of it all, Mr Barrow; the groundsmen, Mr Davis and his team; the caterers, Mr Keenan and his team; and last but not least, the laundry ladies, for cleaning our kit. Thank you.

Under 16 B

Wayne Spilsbury applauds his players who all played their part in a positive season

T he U16B XV did not have many fixtures and spent the season chasing an elusive win. As usual, team se-lection was based on whoever was left over from the

As and the team that trained on a Thursday never played on the Saturday. Nevertheless the boys were tremendously positive and acquitted themselves well throughout the sea-son. George Weymouth and Gabriel Airey were strong leaders, working hard to keep up morale. Hugh Donnelly was a tireless worker behind the scrum and was often the player with the highest tackle rate. In the front row Petr Nefedov and Yusei Fukazawa were strong running props with Max Cohen a dependable hooker. Jack Lawrence played in various positions in the pack. In the backs William Hu gained confidence on the wing and Josh Hope-Kibble and Mat Tomes- Smith were reliable team mates. I could easily go on to name everybody who played for the Bs at some stage as they all played their part.

Under 16 B: Standing (L to R): Tom Colebatch, Jack Law-rence, Philipp Redfern, Max Briston, Gabriel Airey. Seated (L to R): Hamish Donnelly, Max Cohen, Joshua Hope-Kibble, Henry Smith, Austin Ransom, George Weymouth.

Under 16 A: Standing (L to R): Sam Young, Rory Cadbury, Mat-thew Tomes-Smith, Benson Hung, Matthew Trickey, Mark Catley-Day, Nathaniel Mainoo, Jarod Tasdelen Seated (L to R): Mike Stride, Joseph Croney. Yusei Fukazawa, Rory Crockatt, Harry McHugh, Jack Hudson, Harry Corbett, James Plummer, Jared Newton, Eddy Morris-Adams, Archie Cobb.

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Under 15 A Graham Saunders sees his band of brothers achieve one target and narrowly miss a second

A t the start of the season the goal was clear: improve on last year with at least four wins. The team was brilliantly led by Jordan Adams and Bertie Hancock.

Boys from last season were bolstered by a new influx of play-ers, some of who had never played before but became essen-tial parts of the team. The first half of the season went better than expect-ed with King’s racking up their targeted four wins in sev-en games. The highlight was a fantastic game against Wells Cathedral School in which the boys could not put a foot wrong, scoring almost at will. This first half was particularly commendable considering the injuries we had. After half term, with the pre-season objective met, the aim was changed: we were now intent on a winning sea-son. However this was also to be a half season of near misses in which we lost very narrowly on several occasions. Matches against Downside, Sherborne and KES Bath could have gone either way, with the team starting slowly, fighting hard to

get close to victory but being defeated by the clock. The sea-son ended with two fantastic games against Christ College, Brecon and Wycliffe. Against Christ College the boys domi-nated the game from start to finish, playing some wonderful rugby. The final game against Wycliffe was a nail-biter with a loss coming with the last play of the game. They may have lost the game but they had found an immense amount of self-belief and team spirit; with this change in their psychol-ogy, they now believed they could take on all before them - they had become a band of brothers. Although the winning season was not achieved, there are a lot of positives to be taken away and built on for next year, particularly the heart the players showed on the pitch. Other highlights were: some fantastic displays of tackling from James Ask, Santiago Munoz, Sam Hung and Adrian Garcia; powerful forward play from Jordan Adams, Bertie Hancock, Ryan Longman and Yan Li; strong running and dynamic play from Harry Hunter, Jack Potter, Oscar Far-rell and Harry McHugh and a fantastic work ethic shown by Peter Knospe, Freddie North, Toby Kingsberry and Alen Safaryan. I would like to thank Mr. Harkness for being the driving force behind the team. We both wish the players the best of luck in their development. and success next year.

Under 14 A Stefan Davies reflects on a season of hard work during which his team identified their strengths and took advan-tage of them.

T he bottom line of seven wins and six losses at the end of an exciting term’s rugby was a fair reflection on a team bursting with potential.

The first week’s visit to Dean Close exposed a po-tential weakness in the centres, but as the season progressed this was a gap that was solidly filled by the powerful running of Henry Oliver and the much improved big hitting of wing-er Oliver White. The pack was a formidable weapon from the start and such battering rams as Rory McAfee, Toby Clothier, Arthur Harman, and William Luck were too much for the defences of Wells Cathedral, Sexey’s and Queen’s Taunton. We were introduced to the hand-off of Tom Williams, who also has an uncanny ability to wriggle through to the try-line. The middle of the season brought with it some tough fixtures, and whilst many lessons were learnt by our de-fence, with marked improvement in tackling from players like Theo Barratt, we suffered some heavy defeats against strong sides at West Buckland, Clayesmore, Monkton Combe and Sherborne. Full-back is perhaps the most disheartening posi-tion on these occasions, but Tom Woods is to be commend-ed for some excellent last-ditch tackles. Matches like this can also bring heroes to the fore, and Rory McAfee’s tackling performance against West Buckland is one such occurrence

which sticks in the memory. However in both matches and training the boys were starting to come together, to learn where their strengths were, and how to make full advantage of them. Fly-half Hen-ry McCosker started to really run the show, utilising the team’s strong runners to probe opposition defences. The hard work of players such as Archie Warsap, Dan Wylie and Myles Jenkins in the ruck got the ball into the hands of scrum half Barney Latham ever quicker, whilst the versatile Alex Enderby proved his ability to pinch the opposition’s ball at the slightest opportunity. The match against Downside was a real highlight, with the team showing what they were capable of, and the boys were left hungry for another opportunity to get their teeth into a close contest – their confidence bolstered by the return from injury of valuable players such as Tom Westropp. The final matches of the season did not disappoint

Under 14 A: team names on facing page

Under 15 A: team names on facing page

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with an extremely exciting trip across the border to Christ College Brecon where Stuart Hamilton and I were left rubbing our eyes as we watched Henry McCosker slot three drop-kicks, and put George Wroth into the corner with a cross-field kick. Not that Mr Wroth normally needs that much help to find the try-line!Mr Hamilton and I would like to thank the boys for their hard work throughout the season, and we look forward to seeing how they progress through the School. We are also extremely grateful to Archie Potter who made an impact in a

Under 14 BAl Moxham and Rob Lowry forecast better seasons ahead for their inexperienced team

T he legendary American football coach Vince Lombar-di once said, “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” Throughout a tricky sea-

son, the 14Bs had plenty of opportunity to test this maxim! A lively bunch, they had a mixture of rugby experience in-cluding a fair proportion completely new to the game. This lack of know-how was exposed in the first fixture, against a motivated Warminster ‘A’ team rather than the expected ‘B’ clash: an unpleasant surprise, and not a particularly positive introduction to competitive rugby.

Nevertheless, the team picked themselves up and played with determination and some flair against Queen’s Taunton the following week, including a stand-out try follow-ing driving runs and interplay between a number of forwards and backs. Although the final scoreboard showed a loss by a single point, Queen’s had borrowed three of our players throughout so it was something of a moral victory! Unfortunately the team struggled to build on this and it was followed by some heavy losses against bigger teams. Ineffective tackling started to become something of a running theme as the season progressed; the lack of rugby experience in the team, together with this tackling ‘Achil-les’ heel’, became especially apparent when under pressure. That said, in amongst the mix of difficult afternoons, they had a good, competitive match against KES Bath with Denis Kuzovlev scoring an impressive six tries. So how best to sum up a challenging season? With-

out doubt, the team will have much better seasons as they ma-ture but a number of talented players stood out, including: Finlay Rose who never gave up and tackled hard throughout; Archie Potter, who brought real dynamism to the back row when he stepped down from the 14As; Joe Carretta, for his driving runs and captaincy; Myles Yeandel for his efforts in a number of lost causes; and Guillermo Garcia, a talented all-round footballer. The moment of the season was Olly Cross-field’s sublime try-creating run into the backline against KES Bath. Despite the disappointments, the team will look for-ward to next year and the chance to develop those talents further.

Archie Potter makes a break for it

Under 15 A: Standing (L to R): Harry Hunter, Oscar Farrell, Jack Potter, Bertie Hancock (Pk Leader), Alex Artemenko, Jost Frisch, Yan Li, Santi Fernandez, Edward Jiang, Sam Hung, George Cameron. Seated (L to R): Peter Knospe, Adrian Gar-cia Rueda, Tom Alderton, Tom Sellar, Jordan Adams, Ryan Longman, Alex Safaryan, Toby Kingsberry, James Ask.

Under 14 A: Standing (L to R): Toby Clothier, Myles Jenkins, Henry Oliver, Ollie White, Tom Westropp, Archie Warsap, Will Luck, Dan Wylie, Rory McAfee, Arthur Har-man. Seated (L to R): George Wroth, Barnaby Latham, Tom Woods, Henry McCosker, Alex Enderby, Archie Potter, Theo Barratt.

Felix Hemsley

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GIRLS’ HOCKEY

1st X1

Henry Eriksson watches his talented team go right through the season before finally losing in the last match of the season

T he girls 1st XI Hockey team had what can only be described as an outstanding season. After an excel-lent pre-season, which included some very produc-

tive training sessions and a comfortable win against Bruton Hockey Club, the girls were ready to embark on the season ahead. In their first weekend fixture, the girls travelled down to Blundell’s to play against their Devon counterparts. Although playing against Blundell’s 2nd XI, the King’s girls displayed a real desire to win and Blundell’s simply could not match King’s intensity. As a result, the end score line was an impressive 8-0 victory with goals coming from Wiebke Kroschel, Rebecca Ffooks and Ellen Barber, who each scored a brace and from German debutants Lina Hetzel and Anna Mueller-Wagner. This excellent start to the season was followed up by two further away wins, 3-1 versus Clayesmore and 3-0 versus St Mary’s, Shaftesbury where Megan Nicholls scored her first goal of the season. With confidence high, the King’s 1st XI girls continued to impress with a 5-0 home victory against Bruton School for Girls. In their following home fixture, King’s welcomed a very strong and talented Wells Cathedral team and the girls produced their best performance of the season to date in a very entertaining 3-3 draw. Ellen Barber was quite simply outstanding in this match as she terrorised the Wells defence with her pace and direct style of play. With one match remaining before half term, Rosie Hunter inspired the victory as King’s swept aside Downside with a 5-0 win. Unbeaten at half term, the girls were determined to keep it this way for the remainder of the season. This looked very possible as King’s produced some exhilarating hockey to despatch KES, Bath 5-2, goals coming from Barber, Het-zel and Mueller-Wagner. However, a special mention must go to goalkeeper Rebeka Finch, who produced a player-of -the-match performance through making a number of superb saves to keep KES Bath at bay. With only two matches of the season to play, King’s found themselves travelling to Monk-ton Combe to play against a strong and physical side. Fortu-nately for the King’s girls, Monkton simply couldn’t live with the pace of their free flowing hockey and as a result a 3-1 win was achieved. The King’s back four of Octavia Cobb, Sophie Sage, Emily Clothier and Elodie Wallace were in fine form, scuppering Monkton Combe attacks time and time again. This meant that one match stood between the

King’s 1st XI girls and their unbeaten season, one away trip to Wycliffe College, one last effort. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be as King’s found themselves on the wrong side of the 3-2 final score line. A disappointing end to the season but this didn’t take anything away from the exceptional sea-son the King’s girls had. The stats don’t lie; P 9, W 7, D 1, L 1, GF 37, GA 10. In my first season of coaching hockey at King’s Bruton, I couldn’t have been more fortunate with regards to inheriting a group of players with such a motivation to work hard, learn and succeed. Each and every player in the squad throughout the season was a player to coach. Wiebke Kroschel who was voted Players’ Player of the Season was an inspiration as captain and she certainly led by example. Equally, Ellen Barber demonstrated her development as an exciting and talented hockey player by being awarded the 1st XI Player of the Season award with some outstanding perfor-mances on the right wing. I wish leavers Rebeka Finch and Wiebke Kroschel good luck in their future hockey pursuits and thank them for all their help with hockey during their time at King’s. Finally, a huge thank you must go to Mrs A-K, who is probably the best motivator I have ever had the pleasure of meeting!

Elodie Wallace goes low for a change

Ellen Barber cuts in

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1st XI Standing (L to R):: Daisy Mant, Anna Mueller-Wagner, Rosie Hunter, Ellen Barber, Lina Hetzel, Sophie Sage, Rebecca Ffooks, Jemima Owen. Seated (L to R): Elodie Wallace, Megan Nicholls, Octavia Cobb, Wiebke Kroschel, Emily Clothier, Lucia Pretor-Pinney, Caitlin Marsh.

Time for training session to end

One of many victory photographs

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2nd X1Nick Bunday sings the praises of the best girls’ 2nd X1 he has coached in his five years at King’s

I n a season where King’s Ladies’ Hockey has been so strong, this 2nd XI more than held their own. They did more than this however, as they were very, very good from

defence, through the middle and in attack. The fact that they only conceded one goal in nine fixtures is astounding – it was also very sad that the only goal scored against us came in a match in which we failed to score and which meant that we lost our unbeaten record. As their coach, the game with which I was most pleased was against King Edward’s School (Bath) where at half time, away from home, the game was poised on a knife edge at 0 – 0. In the second half the girls came out and scored two well worked goals showing their desire to win – and win in style. This tenacity was also tested against the Warmin-ster 1st XI and although we drew 0 – 0, there was no doubt that we had the better chances. The destruction of Wycliffe during the inau-gural fixture on the new astro turf pitch was also very satisfying. As far as low points go, there was just one - against Wells Ca-thedral School. Their one attack of any real sub-stance resulted in a short corner and although the initial two shots were saved, in the ensuing melee, they managed to fire one through a crowd of players past the excellent Emma Houldsworth. We had so much possession but disappointingly failed to score from our fourteen (yes, fourteen) short corners. The team on the face of it had no real stand out players and that proved to be their strength as they played together and, more often than not, fought hard for one an-other. Their never-say-die attitude was great and they won a number of matches against far more skilful teams who per-haps should have beaten them. Saying the team lacked a stand out player does Cara Valentine a disservice as she became the rock upon which the team was anchored. Her strength and vision in the mid-dle of the pitch, not to mention some well taken short cor-ners, was fundamental to the girls’ success. Hers is not a flamboyant style of play, rather a steady, no nonsense desire to win every tackle. Her selection as the Players’ Player of the

Season was well deserved and, just for the record, had it been left to the coach, he would have made the same decision! Beth Wilson Brown was voted the Most Improved Player of the Season. Her constant running and improving awareness meant that she was a worthy recipient. Mention must also be made of the Skipper Bethan Jackman who in her final year led from the front. On the couple of occa-sions that she was injured, Edith Bruford (the Vice Captain) proved herself to be a very good stand in. It seems invidious to pick out just a few players from this team of team players, so for completeness sake, this excel-lent squad comprised: Emma Houldsworth, Brogan Sellar, Jill London, Beth Wilson Brown, Cara Valentine, Bethan Jackman, Tabby Collett, Rebecca Ffooks, Darcy Bounsall, Edith Bruford, Olivia Harrison, Georgia MacLeod- Ash, Su-zie MacDonald and Sofia Smith. It has been a real privilege to coach this very good 2nd XI. As their results suggest, they played some superb hock-ey against some good opposition. However, they were also great fun to coach – delightful young ladies who looked out for each other and with humour never far from the surface. These ladies were also very fortunate to have received huge amounts of support from family and friends; indeed there was not a single match, home or away, where the King’s sup-

porters were out-num-bered by those of the opposition. I there-fore not only thank the girls for such a wonderful season but also their ‘barmy army’ of supporters. Whisper it quietly, but I sus-pect they are the best Ladies 2nd XI I have coached in my five years at King’s.

Standing (L to R): Georgina MacLeod-Ash, Sofia Smith, Tabby Collett, Darcy Bounsall, Cara Valentine, Beth Wilson-Brown, Brogan Sellar, Emma Houldsworth. Seated (L to R): Jill London, Edith Bruford (Vice Captain), Bethan Jackman (Captain), Olivia Harrison, Susie MacDonald.

Becca Ffooks and Darcy Bounsall

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Under 15 AFollowing the trend of the two senior teams, Dan Hod-der’s young side lose only one match all season

A n outstanding year for a very good Under 15 side which saw us go unbeaten for 12 of our 13 games over the course of the term. Working from the back

we have to thank our defence for the strong run of results we enjoyed. Millie Regan in goal remained a vital part of our team. Her commanding presence at the back allowed our en-tire side to play with confidence. Amber, Ellie, Georgia Philly and Olivia provided an additional line of defence. For Am-ber and Ellie who started the term with only a limited expe-rience of the game it was thrilling to see how they developed and improved as the term progressed. Georgia, Ol-ivia and Philly r e m a i n e d strong over the course of the entire season with Georgia act-ing as a great d e f e n s i v e leader always running back hard to put in that last ditch tackle. In midfield the team enjoyed a wealth of talent. Daisy, Mima, Annie and Hannah all excelled in their vari-ous roles across the pitch. Mima finished the season as our leading scorer, and was ably assisted by our midfield trio. It is worth pointing out that on many occasions these ladies played 30 or 40 minutes of 1st XI hockey before starting and playing a full hour for the U15s - a remarkable achievement week in week out! In attack, the combination of Freya, Hebe and Beth caused many defences a great deal of problems. Both Freya and Hebe showed huge improvements over the course of the season with consistently hard work in our practices followed up by a mixture of technical skill and hard work to win and keep the ball. Beth showed why the 1st X1 were so interested in her with a number of fine goals and skilful individual play. The U15s this season played a mature, technically impressive brand of hockey with short passing and interplay the cornerstones of their performances. I look forward to fol-lowing these young ladies in the coming years as they mature and are really able to put the key ideas we worked on this year into practice.

Jemima Owen and Annie Price

Hannah Snow

Freya Thorner

Under 15 A: Standing (L to R): Dai-sy Mant, Philly Deacon, Livy Hughes, Amber-Rose Salmon-Brown, Beth Pretor-Pinney, Georgia Dimdore-Miles, Hannah Snow. Seated (L to R): Freya Thorner, Hebe Young, Tilley Houldsworth, Jemima Owen, Millie Regan, Annie Price, Ellena Loughrey.

Caitlin Marsh

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Under 14 A Further underlining the strength of girls’ hockey at King’s, mud loving Tim Fletcher sees his side mirror the success of the sides above them with, again, only one loss all season

T his was, by any stretch of the imagination, a highly successful season. Nine wins out of ten were comple-mented by finishing top of their group in the County

Cup before losing in the semi final to Taunton. And this is where, despite everything, there is a little sense of regret about what might have been, as, for pretty much the only time in the season we gifted the opposition two really soft goals. Those two goals were thoroughly out of character, for this was a team built on a miserly defence – conceding only eight goals all season. At the heart of the defence were Lottie Gould and Harriet Wakelin who made countless tack-les and who got better and better at distributing the ball to those further forward, and who both read the game well. Be-hind them was Kitty Mant in goal. Goal keepers tend to be remembered for their mistakes, and it to Kitty’s huge credit that I can only remember one, and that was in a match we won 8 -1. Not a bad time to forget to put one’s foot down at the right moment. (Her other highlight was playing in goal against Wells without all her kit as some of it had disap-peared from a huge hole in her bag – fortunately she didn’t touch the ball that day). Our half backs were a little less consistent in terms of personnel, but Megan Ward, Holly White, Megan Jones and Sophie Wichary all did a good job there, and Megan (W) and Holly scored some important goals at times too when playing further up the pitch. Holly also set a new record for the number of times she fell over, both in matches and prac-tice, and she seemed to spend almost as much time playing the ball whilst lying down as standing up. In the process she saved one goal, with a remarkable (but horizontal) save on the line against Warminster. Emily Wastell was influential at centre half, and we suffered a little when she was injured in the second half of term. Her return against Wycliffe for the last half of the term helped swing that game in our direction. Georgia Heath had an excellent season in the midfield, scoring frequently, and Katie Hawkins also found her best position at inside right having started at left wing. They provided the attacking threat and worked hard in defence too, particularly in the second half of the season when the going got a little tougher against KES Bath (perhaps they were distracted by their coach’s mud bath that day) and Monkton Combe as the goals dried up a little. Up front Charlotte Mansergh scored a flurry of goals in the first few games and then found the opposition defences somewhat stronger, but was back on form in the last match with a couple of outstanding strikes. Scoring 21 goals in a season was a remarkable effort. Abs Hyde ably supported her from right wing and her pace proved a real threat to most teams. Only Taunton really dealt with her effectively. For the first few games we were lucky enough to have the services of Izzy Hunt and she undoubtedly helped get our season off

to the excellent starts against Blundell’s and in particular St Mary’s. We missed her when she left and took a little time to find our rhythm again – as injury took its toll too. Blanca Salas Colas and Amy Williams worked hard as part of the squad too and it was fantastic that the final touch of the season was a goal for Blanca. Above all these girls deserve huge credit for the way they played this season having not played 11-a-side hockey be-fore. Their energy and determination were superb through-out, and they were always enthusiastic in training. On the pitch they played some superb hockey at times, especially against Bromsgrove, St Mary’s and Wycliffe, and they were very unlucky to lose the former by three goals. Their chal-lenge must be to set their sights on the Under 16 tournament over the next two years. Somehow I suspect this team will go a long way. Finally, a huge thank you to Jack Cropper for his coaching expertise which benefitted all the girls enormously. Team of the season indeed.

Played 10 Won 9 Lost 1

Junior BsAnton Kok and Harriet Swindall review a fantastic sea-son from their hard working and high-spirited girls

T he Junior Bs had a fantastic season of hockey. The girls, comprising of 3rd and 4th Formers, worked hard throughout their training. Some girls arrived as be-

ginners in the sport at the start of the term. It took only a few training sessions before the girls took to the skills quickly and started playing in matches. 3rd Former Blanca Salas, who had never played hockey before, scored her first ever goal against St Mary’s Shaftsbury to finish the opponents off in our 2-1 win. Training sessions were tough and the girls worked and practised hard in all weather conditions. This paid off well in the penultimate match of the season against King Edward’s Bath. The passes were well-communicated and ac-curate. This allowed our girls to dominate much in the op-position’s half for the duration of the match. Our forwards played round the opposition players, making several waves of attacks which were followed up by our midfielders who made the subsequent waves of attacks. Three goals against the opposition is an excellent result to reward the team for their hard work on the pitch. The final match of the season was a match to re-member: it took our girls seven penalty corners to manage a 1-0 win against a strong Monkton Combe team. The girls also faced losses during the season but their spirits were al-ways high, knowing they would return the following week more determined to win the match. The defence comprising of Skye Neal, Chloe Dawe and Chloe Slingo played a major role in keeping the attacks away from our experienced resi-dent goalkeeper Tilly Houldsworth. No team can succeed without the able leadership of two captains - Sophie Wil-liams, representing the 3rd Form girls, and Jo Adams for the 4th Form girls. Each of them had different responsibilities and they fulfilled them well.

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Under 14 A: Standing (L to R): Holly White, Amy Williams, Georgia Heath, Megan Ward, Megan Jones, Katie Haw-kins, Charlotte Mansergh. Seated (L to R): Emily Wastell, Sophie Wichary, Kitty Mant, Lottie Gould, Millie Regan, Harriet Wakelin, Abs Hyde

Junior Bs: Standing (L to R): Blanca Salas, Skye Neal, Paula Fernandez, Alex Howard-Harwood, Francesca Redpath. Seated (L to R): Chloe Dawe, Chloe Slingo, Sophie Williams, Matilda Sweeting, Sophia Duval.

Under 14s in action

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BOYS’ HOCKEY1st X1Henry Eriksson reviews his young team’s season of skill, industry and dedication

T he boys’ 1st XI had a very successful season whereby their playing record reads played nine, won five, drew two and lost two. This year’s squad was a very young

one with half of the 1st XI being in the 5th Form. However, throughout the course of the season, the team grew in stat-ure and by the end were playing some fantastic, free flowing and exciting hockey. Although the start of the season was disrupted with the Under 16 boys being away at the National Indoor Finals, in the first block fixture versus West Buckland, the deplet-ed 1st XI came away with a 1-1 draw, dominating the match and having a number of opportunities to win the game. A solitary Josh Meates goal in his first match for King’s since coming over from New Zealand was enough to secure the draw. Warminster were the next opponents to line up against a King’s side who welcomed the Under 16s back into the squad following their National Indoor Finals experience. In what turned out to be a very scrappy and uninspiring game of hockey with Chris White losing part of his front tooth, King’s ran out 2-0 winners. With goals coming from Lennart Fieber and Hamish Donnelly, the King’s side with-stood Warminster’s physical style of play and although they will be the first to admit that they were far from their best, the boys fought well to grind out their first away win of the season. H a v i n g played their first two matches away from home, King’s welcomed Clayes-more for their first home match of the season. This was a much improved perfor-mance and was the first sign that this group of play-ers was beginning to gel as a team against a reason-able Clayesmore XI. With the boys beginning to establish some effective out-let-ting options and

attacking patterns, Clayesmore were left frustrated by King’s ability to keep possession of the ball and as a result they struggled to create many meaningful opportunities. King’s superior pressure told as Mike Stride scored both goals from well taken penalty corners to secure a 2-1 win. In their next home match, King’s ended up losing against a strong Monkton Combe side by 3-2 having been 2-0 up at half time. Monkton’s superior size and strength made the difference as they snatched a late victory. This loss prompted King’s to start an unbeaten spell which saw them produce a very impressive perfor-mance against a strong Queen’s Taunton side culminating in a 3-0 victory, with goals coming from Mike Stride with two and Chris White. This was followed by another good performance against Sherborne and although playing a team down, King’s were the much more dominant force, eventu-ally running out 3-1 winners. However this winning margin should have been greater. What this performance did do was emphasise the fact that to make the fixture more com-petitive, it should be played like for like. Unfortunately this winning spell came to an end when the boys travelled down to face an Exeter side who have reached the National Under 18 Cup Semi finals. In their ranks, Exeter could boast four current England Under 18 Internationals, however, King’s more than matched their Devon counterparts in what was a superb game of hockey much beyond what is the norm at school level. In their final block fixture of the season, the boys’ 1st XI welcomed Wells Cathedral School and although the boys will be the first to admit that they weren’t at their best, there were moments when they reproduced the form from the week before, but they do have captain Jack Corbett to thank who played magnificently in the King’s goal. This was a match which could have gone either way, but it ended 0-0. A big thank you must go to all the boys who have made this season so enjoyable and successful. They have been a wonderful group to work with and their hard work and dedication to the 1st XI this season has been very im-pressive and I look forward to next year already. A special thanks must also go to those boys who are leaving us. We say

Standing (L to R): Ben Carretta, Josh Meates, Chris White, Harry Charlier, Josh White, Eben Latham, Angus Owen, Rory Cadbury, Archie Cobb, James Plummer. Sitting (L to R): Hamish Donnelly, Lennart Fieber, Jack Corbett (Capt), Mike Stride, Connor Deacon.

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goodbye to Jack Corbett, who has been an excellent captain, often leading by example, as well as Ben Carretta and Harry Charlier from the Upper Sixth. Equally, we lose Lennart Fie-ber who returns to Germany after two terms here, and Josh Meates who goes home to New Zealand. Thank you boys for everything you have done. You will be missed.

2nd XI Nick Bunday looks back over a memorable season of sometimes irresistible hockey

T he statistics will show that this was a great season, with the 2nd XI losing only one fixture for the second year in succession. However this year they won four

and drew three, losing only once to Exeter with a weakened team and by only the narrowest of margins. Statistics do not tell the whole the story: not only was this team successful, but at times they played irresistible hockey. They were also a delightful bunch of young men who trained hard and played even harder, retaining throughout a sense of perspective and a great sense of humour. Mr Harkness and I consider our-selves very lucky to have had the privilege of coaching them. As far as the fixtures themselves go, each was mem-orable for different reasons. West Buckland could not match the style of hockey that the boys played, despite being a big-ger and fitter team (score 3 – 1). Against Clayesmore the team showed great strength of character after having gone behind against the run of play, for Josh Hope-Kibble to get on the end of a great move to slot the ball away at the far post (score 1 – 1). If this was a relief, the draw the next week against Monkton Combe (score 2 – 2) was frustrating for

another reason; having been ahead twice we allowed them back into the game when we should have finished them off. Queen’s Taunton and Downside were put to the sword in a very pleasing, clinical manner (scores 5 – 1 and 8 – 0 respec-tively). Sherborne away was another winning draw (score 1 – 1) when once again we were ahead and wasted too many chances to finish the game. The loss against Exeter (score 1 – 2) was bitterly disappointing as missing four players meant that we were not as structured as we would have liked – still the boys pushed them very hard but sadly came up just short. The finest performance of the season was against Wells Ca-thedral (score 6 – 0) which being the final fixture was a won-derful way to end. The strength of this team was very much the team ethos but certain individuals deserve a special mention. Chris Pang was our top scorer, with John Hopkins and Eban Latham just behind him. The most improved players of the season were Mark Catley–Day and Harry Corbett whilst the players’ player of the season was the skipper Will Tuson, who

Rory Cadbury

James Plummer

Lennie Fieber

Charles Allen

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led the team phenomenally well. The coaches decided that their player of the season, for his wonderful commitment, was Cameron Main. But in all honesty they were all great and improved immeasurably during the season. We wish the Upper 6th boys, who have now played their last game of hockey for King’s, the very best of luck for the future and hope that they will continue playing hockey at university and beyond. They are Will Tuson, Charlie Auck-land, John Hopkins, Dan Crockatt, George Collett, Charles Allen and Bartie Pitt–Brown – many of whom had the mis-fortune to be coached for four years by NPB!! Thank you gentlemen for your commitment and company. The entire squad deserve huge amounts of credit for the manner in which they have played their hockey – well done and thank you all!

The 2nd XI Squad comprised: Will Tuson (Captain), Char-lie Auckland, John Hopkins, Dan Crockatt, George Collett, Charles Allen, Bartie Pitt-Brown, Cameron Main, Chris Pang, James Evans, Eban Latham, Lucian Carey, Nathaniel Mainoo, Harry Corbett, Gabriel Airey, Mark Catley – Day, Josh Hope-Kibble, Jasper Cable-Alexander.

Season Statistics: Played 8, won 4, drew 3, lost 1. Goals for 27, goals against 8.

Standing (L to R): Chris Pang, John Hopkins, Cameron Main, Dan Crockatt, Harry Corbett, Bartie Pitt-Brown, Mark Catley-Day, Gabriel Airey, James Evans. Sitting (L to R): Nathaniel Mainoo, George Collett, Will Tuson (Capt), Charlie Auckland, Josh Hope-Kibble.

Eben Latham

3rd XIAn attack-minded 3rd X1 strike fear into the opposition as they rally to the new Lowry-Barrow coaching partner-ship, writes one of the aforementioned, Craig Barrow

A new pitch – astro turf for the 3rd XI – unheard of! How would the boys brought up on shale cope with playing on the best surface hockey can offer? Would

they miss the old shale? How would the squad cope with the new coaching team that would rival Clough & Taylor (Notts Forest), Morecambe & Wise, Ant & Dec? Could the 3rd XI cope with such a large playing squad? Would we be challenging for ‘Team of the Term’? What would our playing formation be? Christmas Tree, Diamond, Attack & Defence and no Midfield? Who would be our goalkeeper? The 3rd XI squad answered all of these questions with style, finesse, enthusiasm and great comradeship. Firstly the surface. The old shale had gone. A few tears were shed but personally I would not miss being pep-pered with tiny stones when a stick missed the ball and hit the ground, nor the pudding-like surface that would mate-rialise after a hard frost, nor the pain felt when hitting the ground after a 3rd XI hockey tackle that resembled a 1st XV rugby tackle!! The 3rd XI were now at a new home, the Hip-pisley Astro and they loved it. Boys were actually turning up to practices early so they could hone their skills on a surface designed for fast skilful hockey which the 3rd XI would aspire to. The benefits of a second astro will be seen in years to come as all boys have the opportunity to play on an excellent surface and to develop their hockey skills. Secondly, the coaching team. Lowry & Barrow or Barrow & Lowry or Lowry when Mr Barrow was not involved in coaching Sth West Schools U16 Rugby!! The partnership gelled from the onset with Mr Barrow leaning heavily on Mr Lowry’s superior hockey knowledge and adding his own mo-tivational speeches and comparing all hockey formations and moves to the latest action from the Premier League. Lucas Gorodi was Lucas Podolski, Dominic Baldwin was Wayne Rooney, Charles Allen was Vincent Kompany and so on. Mr Lowry thrived in the competitive environment of boys honed on success from the rugby term and who were determined to improve in every training session and match. They tested his patience on many occasions with their reluctance to play the ball wide and not try and trundle through the middle, but Mr Lowry got his message over in a way that the boys under-stood – shout at them, lots of times! Thirdly, the large playing squad. We had on most occasions 18 or 19 players and we were determined that all boys should play so squad rotation was the key to harmony and the team’s success. Boys were given clear instructions to run themselves into the ground for fifteen minutes and then be replaced by fresh legs. Our opponents were amazed at the size of our playing squad but also how many boys were keen to play hockey – they were green with envy. The squad was fluid - we lost Dan Crockatt and George Collett to the 2nd X1 (they played too well when the Hockey Professionals were watching). Charles Allen and Sam Adenuga also made their 2nd XI debuts towards the end of the term. It was important that all boys had the opportunity to play and to be part of the

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squad and to their credit they got on well together and learnt to cope with the changes in positions and formations as the term progressed. The 3rd XI were very close to the ‘Team of the Term’ and would have gone the season unbeaten if they had not run into the Sherborne U16A side who had qualified for the Regional Finals and were a decent outfit. All ‘true’ 3rd XI sides were well met and the 3rd XI generated a tsunami style enthusiasm as each game passed. Unfortunately after half term, the tsunami hit land and ground to a halt through no fault of the 3rd XI. The opposition simply heard of our prowess and felt unable to raise a 3rd XI. The second half of term felt like a firework that starts and looks exciting but then fizzles out. As opponents dropped like flies the drive from the team was sapped somewhat and training became harder as there was not the carrot of a game at the end of the week to get the body and mind ready for. The team’s playing formation and style evolved as the term progressed and players settled on their roles and positions. The aim was always to move the ball quickly and to use the full pitch and to attack down the wings in small triangular groups. Then get the ball into the opposition’s D and get plenty of shots on target. The 3rd XI were more of an attacking side than defence minded which made for exciting games and overworked defenders who searched valiantly for the midfield who would meander back hopeful for an inter-cept so that they could counter attack again. Thanks to Jack Hudson in goal, who we ‘borrowed from the U16s, our own Franz Beckenbauer, in the form of John Beutin, and our rock and captain, Charles Allen, the defence was fairly impregnable and enabled our attack mind-ed players to flood forward with gusto. A most enjoyable term from a great bunch of boys who enjoyed their hockey. Many highlights including a Dominic Baldwin wonder goal and five minute hat-trick v Queen’s, a hail storm that covered the astro in seconds, Foxy and his aerials!!,the infamous paper bag incident at Warm-inster, numerous attempts to injure Mr Barrow in training, Marcus Bell in goal v West Buckland...... Roll on 2015.

3rd X1: Standing (L to R): Jamie Laver, Ross Valentine, Jake Lane, Lucien Carey, Dom Baldwin, Harry Ewins, Tevin Ayebare, Angus Fox, Rafe Fraser, Connor Theo-Jones. Sitting (L to R): Simon Chu, Lucas Gorodi, Samuel Adenuga, Charles Allen (Capt), Eddie Morris-Adams, John Beutin, Nick Poll.

4th X1Dan Cupit sees his team produce strong performances throughout a rain affected season

T he 4th XI hockey team made an impressive start to the season with a very strong performance against Taunton school which resulted in a win. With boys

from the 5th, L6th and U6th coming together to form a for-midable team, the 4th XI showed plenty of promise for the season. Fixtures against Monkton, Clayesmore and Wycliffe were all heavily affected by the awful weather we experienced over the term. Despite a cancellation against Monkton the 4th XI hockey players stuck at their task and put in strong performances in their other fixtures. Throughout the season Corey Tam established himself as a goal keeper of some note and Benson Hung showed plenty of promise both in defence and attack. The last fixture of the season against a rejuvenated Sherborne team saw King’s narrowly miss out despite a very strong performance and some great hockey. The focus next season will be on continuing to develop shape to the 4th XI team, looking to capitalise on the chances that come their way.

4th X1: Standing (L to R): Simon Chu, Max Montgomery, Rory Crockatt, Tom Colebatch, David van Wickeren, Charlie Maltby, Hugh Pomeroy, Ben Stevens, Max Cohen, Adedapo Adejonwo, Nick Poll. Sit-ting (L to R): Kevin Chan, Matthew Pryke, Corey Tam, Hugo Cockram, Austin Ransom.

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Under 15 AThe sky is the limit for the Under 15As, says Dan Hodder

D evelopment and progress are the words that come to mind when thinking back over the U15A season of 2013/14. With Mr Fletcher and I having taken this

group of young men for two years the level of progress we have witnessed has been very noticeable. From the fixtures played last year this side has managed to convert every loss last year into at least a draw with a number of noticeable wins. The highlight amongst these was an outstanding dis-play against Sherborne U15A where the team went behind to an early goal and clawed their way back into the game playing attractive, intelligent hockey. For the second year the team has been led by Harry Hunter who played in the successful U16 side while also running the U15s with a strong level of leadership. Around him Max Behm, Ryan Longman, James Ask, Jordan Adams and Nick Longpre provided a core from back to front. Harry McHugh should be applauded for stepping into the role of goalkeeper without any previous experience and developing hugely over the course of the term. Elsewhere Jack Potter returned after a long period off in the U14 season to play an important role in the forwards alongside Oscar Farrell. Tom Alderton and Toby Kingsbury worked tirelessly throughout the season fitting into the new positions and always demon-strating a keenness to improve and develop their hockey. Pe-ter Knospe joined the team in the later stages of the term and did a great job as a replacement for Nick Longpre in the final game of the season. The U15 team now needs to look to grow their hockey. Possibly never in the history of the School has hockey had such support and popularity. The combination of coach-ing time, coaching expertise and facilities has the potential to produce a “golden generation” of hockey players between the successful U16 side and those currently in the U15s. I would like to challenge all of those mentioned above to get along to as much hockey as possible over the summer term and into the next academic year. As for all of the boys who represented the U15A this season the sky really is the limit!

Under 14 AWill Stainton and Stuart Hamilton watch Under 14As become one of top eight teams in West of England

T he Under 14As had a very successful season which culminated in being placed as one of the top eight teams in the west of England. It has seen new players

come through the ranks and shine, such as the fearless captain and goalkeeper, William “Sir Will” Luck whose first season behind the “grill” has been extremely promising for the future, Barney Latham who played centre half, Oliver White who was fearless in defence of short corners and Tom Williams who continues to poach on the opposing goal line and score goals. The team started the season with three losses and a draw in their first four games, which is quite understand-able for such a young side. However, this seemed to change

when the challenge of the County Schools’ Hockey Cham-pionship loomed on Thursday 6th February at Taunton. Two very good wins against Downside and Queen’s College, Taunton meant that the U14As progressed to the semi-finals regardless of the outcome of the final group match against Millfield (0-4). Their semi-final came down to a nail biting 1-1 draw with a late goal from Enderby, which resulted in penalty strokes. With the acrobatic saves of Luck and narrow misses of both Wroth and Williams, the potential victory was laid in the hands of the young Guillermo Garcia Valdecasas, who stepped up and scored the deciding penalty, ultimately securing King’s qualification for the West Regional Final. The following weekend saw the U14s travel to Queen’s College, Taunton who they beat in their first win of the block fixtures, confirming the constant improvement of the team. The first half saw the boys playing against 11 men, a driving wind and unrelenting hail, all resulting in a half time score of 1-1. King’s produced a superior second half which saw goals from Enderby and Williams, and with no reply from Queen’s the match ended 3-1. A valiant and superb win. After qualification to the West Regional Finals, King’s were placed in a preliminary tournament against Can-ford School and Liskeard Community School. A very tough

Standing (L to R): Jack Potter, Jordan Adams, Max Behm, Oscar Farrell, Josh Teuber. Sitting (L to R): Nick Longpré, Toby Kingsberry, Tom Alderton, Harry Hunter (Capt), Ryan Longman, Peter Knospe, James Ask.

Myles Jenkins

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game against Canford, 0-2, meant that the U14As had to beat Liskeard to progress to the next round. The boys lined up on the pitch determined and focused, which left their opponents defending short corner after short corner. The pressure from King’s was admirable and the drive to win was clear from the push back to the final whistle. The U14As played extremely well and won the game comfortably 2-0 which meant they had progressed to the last eight, and the West Regional Finals. The last five block fixtures of the season saw King’s produce three wins and two losses, including a well-earned home victory, 2-1, against a strong Sherborne side. The U14As also played host to an extremely strong Exeter School, producing some excellent hockey but unfortunately losing the match 0-1. The last two weeks of the season included the West Regional Finals which were also played down at Taunton. Although the day ended with three losses against Sherborne, the experience will be one which King’s can take into next season knowing what they can achieve. A big thank you must go to all the boys who have made this season so successful. A great deal of hard work has been put in by you all and I hope to see this continue in seasons to come.

Under 14 B

Jamie Barron delves into his military almanac for an appraisal of his side’s fighting performances

T his season has borne witness to a host of splendid performances from all of the U14B chaps, who have plumbed the depths of hockey-playing endeavour and

come up trumps. This happy breed of men have been cap-tained with aplomb by Westropp and Carretta variously. The chaps have battled on valiantly against every meteorological phenomenon the Lent Term has been able to throw at them – everything from beaming sunshine to the beastliest hail-stones ever to have pelted astro. An early triumph was against Warminster, where the chaps played terrifically well as a team and won very comfortably 3-0 up, Crossfield scoring a nim-ble goal and Yeandel two thumpers. The calm before the storm came in the form of matches against Clayesmore, Monkton and Queen’s Taunton, where there was nevertheless a lot of sterling play, particularly from Mr Rose. This allowed them to conserve their energy to really pull it out of the bag against Down-side, which was a match of such stuff as dreams are made on – consistent effort and tremendous, anticipatory team-work were the watchwords as the troops racked up a truly impressive 5-0 score, with Crossfield, Westropp and Harman all scoring beautifully and a poetic double-whammy from Ye-andel. Carretta held things together as the blast of war blew in the team’s ears with some intelligent and well-controlled passing. The boys steadied the buffs against Sherborne and staved things off at 0-0 as far as half-time, though the second

half was somewhat overwhelming. It was once more into the breach when facing Exeter, undaunted by their fearsome reputation. Excellent teamwork and focus led to a mighty conquest as Crossfield biffed two goals in and Shuck and the defence closed ranks effectively. It was a belter of a match to end on, demonstrat-ing how vastly the team improved over the season. Everyone who took part in training and matches – on Gondor, Mor-dor and farther afield – should be pleased with and proud of their achievements; and the wonderful energy and enthusi-asm from the team, particularly in the latter half of the term, have been really exceptional. Mr Davies and I have tremen-dously enjoyed coaching and supporting the chaps, and end the season with a terrific sense of pride and a resounding peal of applause.

George Pease and Archie Warsap to the rescue

Albert Shuck dictates play

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NETBALL

1st V11

Hannah Williams congratulates her team on an im-pressive season

T he 1st VII had an impressive season, scoring 227 goals in total and only conceding 200. The girls won four games and lost five, two of which were only lost by

one goal. This season saw us playing some more challenging netball to try and help develop the standard of play, and the girls certainly rose to the challenge and did not disappoint. We had a mixture of emotions throughout the season, some highs, some lows, but each member of the 1st VII gave 100% in every game and proved their position in the King’s 1st VII squad. I was optimistic for the season, however after losing five out of my seven starting play-ers from the 2012-2013 season, I knew there was lots of work to do with the girls and the season was going to be more of a transitional phase. After our first game of the season against Blundell’s I was reassured that the girls I had selected were aspiring for great things with their netball. A nar-row defeat of 20-21 showed ev-eryone what King’s netball could really do, I think they even sur-prised themselves! Outstanding debuts from Sophie Finch in de-fence and Octavia Cobb in the shooting circle found them being awarded Players of the Match. Coming off the back of a near win at Blundell’s the girls were keen to try and get a win in the bag against Clayesmore. Our talented captain Me-gan Nicholls played one of her strongest games of the season and fed some unstoppable balls into Octavia Cobb and Cara Valentine. We proved too skilful for Clayesmore and won convincingly 26-16. Positivity was now rippling throughout the squad and we were ready to take on Queen’s Taunton away. This was a game which was going to be tough - precision and

patience saw the girls build a good score line and a nail biting finish saw us just miss out on the win, losing 26-27. Lucia Pretor-Pinney played fantastically in the Centre, acting as the barometer for the squad and successfully controlling the pace of the game. Wells Cathe-

dral was one of our lows of the season, and I think I can speak on behalf of the girls when I say, it’s best we just for-get this one! For the record, it was a 39-25 defeat! L o s i n g matches can prove difficult to come back from, how-ever the 1st VII re-grouped and reassessed their play. After some adjustments to our style of play we came back with conviction against Warminster School; we fought hard from the first whistle allowing us to gain valuable morale and points winning 43-9! We were back on track, and feeling good! Ellen-Jane Robin-son stole the show making some exceptional interceptions at WD. After winning by so many against Warminster, I was keen that the girls did not get complacent, our next match was against Downside who had had mixed results up to this point, so we did not know what to expect! Downside put

up a good fight which encouraged us to raise our game. After a competitive first half, King’s excelled during the second half, coming away with a 30-11 victory and Megan Nicholls was awarded Player of the Match. On the 8th of March we travelled away to Monkton Combe for what we knew was going to be a tough fixture. As we arrived we could see that they were just as motivated for the match as we were. A strong Bath school with a good reputation did not overawe King’s 1st VII. They played their best

game of the season, trailing by 5 at quarter time the girls managed to bring it back to a draw at half time. An injury to Ellen-Jane Robinson had us wor-ried, but youngster Darcy Bounsall rose to the challenge and helped turn the game around. We excelled in the last quarter coming away with a well-deserved win of 19-11. Taunton was next, and for the first time in King’s history we played their senior teams like for like. We knew that it was going to be tough, but I wanted the girls to expe-rience playing at this level to see what they could do whilst under pressure. I was not disappointed! The game proved a useful training exercise and allowed me to see which areas still needed attention. A final loss of 19-36 did not reflect the nature of the game. An unfortunate 3rd quarter saw us lose the points, but without this quarter it could have been a very different story! Cara Valentine played beyond her years playing some exceptional netball; her shooting was accurate and her presence was vital, showing Taunton that we were not to be taken lightly! The final game of the season was against St Mary’s Shaftesbury. The two term netball school proved too tough for the tired legs of the 1st VII. It was not the finish I would have hoped for, but nevertheless each player gave 100% on the court. Despite the creditable efforts from sisters Sophie

Rosie Hunter

Lucy Tyack

Cara Valentine and Sophie Finch

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and Rebeka Finch in defence, the lack of errors from our opponents saw us lose the match 30-19. Overall I am delighted with the work rate, attitude and progress of the 1st VII this term. We had six out of the main squad making their debuts to the 1st VII this season. Club captain Rebeka Finch has been a great support to the club and has shown real progress in her play throughout her time here at King’s. She will be missed next year hav-ing finished her Upper Sixth year here at King’s. Ellen-Jane Robinson will also be leaving us after her first and extremely successful season in the 1st VII. As we lose two players this year, we keep six. The first year of our ‘transitional phase’ has been a real success, I am excited to see how we will improve and develop with the integration of some of our talented youngsters coming through the ranks. Bring on next season! We are ready

Megan Nicholls

2nd V11

Pip Atkinson-Kennedy praises her team for their skill, commitment, and tenacity.

T he 2nd team had a great season of netball, but their results as a whole did not reflect their superb skill lev-el, wonderful commitment, great determination and

courageous tenacity they showed in every match they played. They were always a pleasure to coach and a real credit to the School. In every match, whatever pressure they were under, they gave 100 % in all four quarters and due to the amazing squad spirit it was always incredibly difficult deciding on one or two players to be awarded Player of the Match, as really all the squad should have been awarded it every week! Their season started with an away fixture at Blun-dell’s. This was the first time King’s had played Tiverton School at Netball so it was unknown territory. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go with the team as I was with the under 16 girl’s indoor hockey team at the Nationals. Rosie was nom-inated as captain and I knew the team was in safe hands as she would encourage, inspire and motivate all her players to give of their best. Unfortunately the opposition was stronger throughout the court, but it gave our team a chance to play a variety of positions and work out the best combinations in both attack and defence. Jill London played a great game at WD and was awarded Player of the Match. Our next match was at home against Clayesmore. It was a physical game closely fought from the starting whistle. Lucy Tyack was now appreciating the big step up to senior level game and played with amazing athleticism and deter-mination in the centre court. Her opposition centre soon realized that you don’t mess with the Tie rack! Lucy’s out-standing performance promoted her to the first team squad for the following week away against Queen’s, but thankfully Lucy’s fitness enabled her to also play for the 2nds in proba-bly the best game of the season. Playing indoor they’d obviously been inspired by a super league match on Sky Sports as that’s what they played like - sheer professionals! Okay we came out second best but wow what a game! Susie was unstoppable in the centre court, receiving and distributing the ball with great precision. Oliv-ia Harrison wasn’t the tallest player on the court but defend-ed like a demon and consequently was voted POM. The Wells game was another brilliant performance indoors which frustratingly finished with us just missing out by two goals. A mid-week match against Warminster was a good way to finish the first half of the Easter Term. Everything the team had worked on and all the hard knocks they had suf-fered in the previous tough matches came to fruition. Due to Edie being unavailable to play, Sofia made her debut at GS. Rosie was a great support for her, helping her understand the team tactics, except she forgot to tell her about the zone defence! This proved interesting and although all the other six players were on their toes looking like trees Sofia some-how zoomed across the court and made a truly breathtaking interception. Rosie was on fire shooting with consistency ev-erywhere in the circle and consequently we got our first win

1st V11: Standing (L to R): Cara Valentine, Sophie Finch, Darcy Bounsall, Lucia Pretor-Pinney. Sitting (L to R): Octavia Cobb, Rebeka Finch, Megan Nicholls, Ellen Jane Robinson

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of the season.

First week back after half term we played Bruton School for Girls 1st team. Edie had an interesting game, meeting her match with the BFG. This match really did show the squad’s amazing determination and positivity. They were down by 9 goals in the first quarter but after a few tactical changes with Sophie Sage and Daria controlling the defen-sive circle, we started clawing our way back into the game. Daria made some crucial interceptions and we were able to build some effective counter attacks, bringing the game back to a nail biting 23-23 draw. Within 10 minutes of the final whistle the girls were outside playing against Downside. Edie and Rosie again dominated the attacking circle and scored some truly awesome goals. For the match against Monkton Combe on a beautifully sunny spring afternoon, we found ourselves inside again! Monkton were obviously worried as we were playing some great Netball and were ahead at half time. They resorted to bringing in a secret weapon, a Thai international basketball player and although Sophie and Sofia defended brilliantly they just could not stop her scoring and Monkton taking the lead. The last two games of the season were defeats against tough opposition, Taunton and St Mary’s. The squad never gave up and learnt a great deal from both experiences, especially Sophie Sage at GD, who used all her coaching ad-vice to full effect against some exceptional shooters. It wasn’t how we wanted to finish the season but the players appreciated how much they had developed their own individual skills as well as how much their team had improved throughout the season.

Freya Thorner goes for it

2nd V11: Standing (L to R): Olivia Fantoni, Edith Bruford, Paria Zotina, Lucy Tyack, Sophie Sage. Sitting (L to R): Susie Macdonald, Olivia Harrison, Rosie Hunter, Jill London, Sofia Smith.

3rd V11Kate Flavell watches her girls go from strength to strength, proving their worth against bigger schools

T he team spirit of the 3rd VII Netball squad shone brightly from the start to the finish of the season and they were an absolute pleasure to coach.

We had a difficult start to the season with our first match against Blundell’s, however the girls played to the best of their ability and managed to level with their opposition until the second half when they advanced the lead to win 20-11. This match provided the girls with lots of confidence and they soon realised that with hard work and focus they were likely to have an encouraging season. The team was captained excellently throughout the term by May Bullock, who led the squad by example with plenty of motivation and enthusiasm. This prospect of an encouraging season proved to be a reality in the next match against Clayesmore which the girls won 10-6; the team started to work together well with Rhianna Brunt playing fantastically as Centre – she managed to control the game well and keep King’s in possession. Our next game was against Queen’s, Taunton, where we unfortu-nately were defeated in poor weather conditions. After this disappointing loss, the girls worked harder and their standard of play went from strength to strength, soon securing five wins against Wells, Warminster, Bruton School for Girls, Monkton Combe and St Mary’s. During these games, the skills of the girls really started to blossom with some fantastic shooting from Yuki Lau and May Bullock. Emily Down and Sofia Smith were equally brilliant in the centre court with their tenacious spirit and drive. Evie Gra-vatt proved to be our key team motivator and along with Becca Ffooks they formed a formidable partnership in de-

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fence. Brogan Sellar came to us late in the term but her pres-ence around the centre court soon became invaluable. Tabby North and Xanthe Wignall both had an exceptional season in defence and they helped secure many close games.

4th V11

Angela Ashworth praises her ‘mighty 4ths’ on one of their first competitive seasons, distinguished by nail-bit-ing games and plenty of jelly babies

T his has been a very enjoyable season and I have to re-port that I was very pleased with the standard of play that the 4th Squad demonstrated in training sessions

and in the greater number of fixtures we faced compared to previous seasons. In our first game against Blundells, the team were determined right from the outset with some fantastic play from all players. Brogan and Izzy were swift on their feet, de-fending extremely well and together with Kate they helped to set up a huge number of shots. The excellent teamwork and clear communication between Enfys and Elissa quickly put us into the lead, with shots rarely being missed. Our second game was a tough fixture against Clayesmore. It was clear that the opposition were well drilled and quick on their feet. Whilst our girls played very well indeed, scoring in each quarter, Clayesmore had the edge for most of the match, despite the best efforts of Izzy, Ellie and Sam-E in defence. Going into the last quarter, we were 3 goals down. With a final push from all the play-ers and some excellent shooting from Enfys and Elissa, we managed to secure 8 more goals whilst Clayesmore only managed 3 - this meant that we won by 2! The opposition coach remarked that it was evident that our girls had the edge when it came to maintaining their stamina into the final minutes of the match…I put it down to the jelly babies! Right from the first whistle for match three against Wells Cathedral School, it was clear that this was going to be another close match! The first quarter went very well with

our girls holding their own and pushing the opposition to make a number of mistakes. Nevertheless, things started to go awry in the second quarter – not helped by the torrential rain, which was so bad that I actually had to take my glasses off to be able to see anything at all – no matter how out of focus! Despite a valiant attempt to improve the score, we never quite recovered. Unfortunately, the final 2 matches of the season proved equally difficult, though it is to our credit that the mighty 4ths never gave up and always kept up the pressure no matter what the score was.

3rd VII: Standing (L to R): Brogan Sellar, Becca Ffooks, Tabby North, Yuki Lau. Sitting (L to R): Emily Down, Xanthe Wignall, May Bull-ock, Evie Gravatt, Rhianna Brunt.

4th VII: Standing (L to R): Ellie Longman-Rood, Tabby Collett, Tatya-na Pachina, Izzy Longpré, Samantha Locock. Sitting (L to R): Emma Houldsworth, Enfys Evans, Kate Pollitt, Elissa Barber, Caitlyn Marsh.

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Under 15 A Beth Griffiths applauds her players for becoming the first King’s team to make the final of the Netball County Cup

T he Under 15 girls have been a pleasure to work with this term. The team consisted of eight athletic, com-petitive and energetic young ladies who were all keen

to learn and succeed, and that’s what they did, making King’s history in the process! Under the captaincy of Daisy, the team of Sam, Amber, Mima, Georgia, Beth, Hannah and Annie all played some top level netball throughout the term, and we finished the term with an impressive set of results, winning six and losing only three games the whole season and two of these were by two goals. We began the term with a splendid 31–4 goals win against Clayesmore, then a much closer win against Queen’s College 19-18. For both of these matches the defence have to be commended; Amber and Sam both proved their places in the team with their never ending arms that manage to get in-terceptions and tips that others wouldn’t be able to get close to. In addition, Mima may be the shortest GD around but she makes up for it in particular with her eye for the game off the ball, once again making outstanding interceptions. Then unfortunately with a few players down, due to illness and County Cross-Country, we had a respectable loss to Wells Cathedral School by 17-7. We followed on though with two considerable wins, the first against Warminster School by 27 goals to 8 and then against Monkton Combe by 26 goals to 12. With score lines like these it was obvious the attack needed to be commended, with Hannah feeding the circle with accuracy and precision and Daisy and Annie both on fine shooting form, not only scoring from all over the circle but chasing down the re-bounds to secure these excellent wins. We then had a nail biting loss against Downside with a score of 15-17. The match could have gone either way but unfortunately it didn’t go our way! Our WD Georgia fought until the end though and made the Downside attack fight for their win, and as a result was awarded the Player of the Match. We quickly bounced back though with a gigantic 20-9 win against Bruton School for Girls, which was hugely down to Beth controlling the centre court and showing how athletic and energetic she is! I have however two highlights for the term: the first making King’s history as the first ever netball team to make it to the final of the County Cup (where we then lost to Mill-field) and then on the following Thursday playing Taunton School in our penultimate match of the term, knowing that they were out for revenge as we beat them in the rounds of the County Cup the previous Wednesday. The girls played like they had never played before and looked more like a 1st VII than Under 15s, and won by 20 goals to 18, with Daisy being awarded Player of the Match in her new position of WA. Towards the end of the season we tried some new combinations on court with Sam moving to the other end of the court to join Annie in the shooting circle and Daisy taking a step outside of the circle to become an unstoppable

WA, who was able to feed the circle players with consistently accurate balls. Unfortunately we ended the season with another closely fought loss, 18-20 against St Mary’s Shaftesbury, with Beth being awarded the final player of the season. Usual-ly I select a player of the term from the weekly votes but I couldn’t do it this year. Each girl gave 100% throughout the season and each girl deserves to win. Well done girlies – it was a splendid, enjoyable season.

Under 15 BSophie Liddell-Grainger reports on a fantastic season for the under 15Bs

T hroughout the season the U15Bs have pulled togeth-er, often playing beyond their potential and enjoying it at the same time. This team work paid off giving us

comfortable wins over both Queen’s Taunton and Clayes-more at the beginning of the season. The match against Wells Cathedral challenged the team. The girls played well despite bad weather conditions and kept fighting till the end. Unfortunately we lost 15-10 with Philly Deacon be-ing awarded Player of the Match. Philly has been a solid centre throughout the season playing beyond expectation on many occasions. Hebe Young, Ellie Smith and Imogen Moore have been our other central players working hard to control the ball when in possession and sending strong passes into the circle. After some good wins at the beginning of term, the U15Bs continued to be victorious against Bruton School for Girls and Monkton Combe. The match against Monkton was some of the best Netball I have ever seen the girls play. They put into practice all the skills which we had learnt during training, and they made the game look easy! In the end we won 27-12 with Ellena Loughrey being awarded the player of the match. Her defensive play in this game was second to none, fighting hard to keep the ball out of the defensive circle. Ellena could not have done this without Lucie Moore supporting the defence in the opposi-tion’s circle, ensuring victory.

U15A: Standing (L to R): Beth Pretor-Pinney, Sam Walker, Am-ber-Rose Salmon-Brown. Sitting (L to R): Mima Owen, Annie Price, Daisy Mant (Capt), Hannah Snow, Georgia Dimdore-Miles.

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U15B VII - March 2014Standing (L to R): Freya Thorner, Olivia Hughes, Lucie Moore. Sitting (L to R): Ellie Smith, Imogen Moore, Philly Deacon, Ellena Loughrey, Hebe Young.

Our last two matches were tough, coming up against Taunton School and St Mary’s Shaftesbury. The team did extremely well and played their best match of the season against Taunton School. The result was 19-19 with our shooters Olivia Hughes and Freya Thorner playing fan-tastically well to earn the score and working effectively as an attacking unit to keep us in the game. All in all it has been a very good term with more victories than defeats. The team should be so pleased with the way this season has progressed with impressive improvement for both individuals and the team as a whole.

Under 14 AXxxx watches her players develop their skills and tacti-cal awareness at the end of a season of fantastic results

T he new season started with a strong group of Third Form girls who all had a great attitude, fantastic po-

tential and a lot of competition for team places. The first goal was to finish in the top two teams in the Somerset County tournament. With many new combinations and possible players to represent the School the girls had to work hard to earn their place. On the day, they per-formed very well throughout the tournament, only losing to the eventual winners, Millfield, and finishing as runners up, therefore earning a place at the regional tournament. This fantastic result meant that King’s Bruton had their first ever netball team through to the regional netball tourna-ment. With many girls still fighting for only 10 squad places the training stepped up a gear, with skill levels and tactical awareness improving all the time. In January the girls had two games before the re-

gional tournament, both of the opponents were also region-al qualifiers. The first opponents were Blundells and with various different combinations being tried the girls played very well, resulting in a 18-9 win, with Emily Wastell playing exceptionally well on her return after injury. The next game was against Clayesmore, who had a very strong team, partic-ularly in defence. This was a difficult challenge but necessary the week before the regional competition, and they all learnt a lot from this defeat. The following week we travelled to Bournemouth, with several new members in the squad. The tournament was much bigger than the girls had seen before, with 14 teams in three age groups (Under 14, Under 16 and Under 19). With the first game being against Blundells who we had previously beaten we started with confidence and won by three goals. Then we played three much tougher opponents and with all credit to the girls they worked very hard and learnt a lot about the game of netball at this much higher level. Against Clayesmore the girls performed well and although they were still a little intimidated by their very tal-ented defence they played well and only lost by five goals. The last game was very pleasing and demonstrated how much they had learnt during the day, with a win over St Edmund’s. Overall the whole team performed very well, es-pecially considering their relative inexperience, enjoyed the day and hopefully learnt much more about netball and their own performances. Megan Ward, who only just made the squad for the county round, was outstanding throughout the day and thoroughly deserved the Player of the Day award. Watching the Under 19 finals, with several England players on court, inspired all of them to aspire to more! The next challenge was to take on Wells Cathedral’s Under 15/14 team. The girls played very well, showing their strength in passing and moving the ball up the court effectively, with some impressive feeds into the shooters. The final result was an impressive win 15-5. Due to the floods the Canford fixture was can-celled which left one game against Warminster before half term. This was a great opportunity for the girls to play a

range of positions and challenge themselves to practise their skills out of their comfort zone. A very one-sided game, which was a little scrappy at times, resulting in a pleasing win for the team. We returned from half term to a triangular fixture against Bruton School for Girls and Downside. Again, the strength of this Under 14 team was too much for the op-position, however this gave us the chance to practise new tactics and positional combinations. Every-one played well and accepted any position or challenge they were set.

After being inspired by watching Team Bath play a fantastic game against Celtic Dragons the next fixture was at Monkton Combe and the girls were keen to shine. They performed very well throughout the game, however the outstanding performance has to go to Georgia Heath who barely let a ball get into the defensive third. Cred-

Harriet Wakelin with Abs Hyde looking for the ball

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Under 14 BHarriet Swindall reflects on an excellent season with many improved performances

T he Under 14 B team had a tough season against some very strong netball schools. Despite the challenges, all players have improved and the girls’

teamwork, determination and drive were fantastic and led to some excellent performances. The girls’ best matches included wins against Queen’s Taunton (8-5), Monkton Combe (18-17) and Downside (24-5). Our first match of the season was against Blun-dell’s which we narrowly lost with the final score being 13-16. Blanca Salas Colas played fantastically as centre in her first netball match and all girls improved their footwork and spacing on court. The match against Clayesmore (lost 13-8) was played in driving rain. The inclement weather did not hold the girls back and in the final quarter they fought back fantastically, scoring three goals to Clayesmore’s two. Against Queen’s Taunton, shooting was extremely difficult with the wind often throwing the ball off course. This game saw the girls improve dramatically in their passing and timing on court. Unfortunately against Wells Cathedral School we played their A team. This left the final score at a loss of 15-3 and the girls felt rather demoralised as a result. Against Downside, however, the tables turned and due to a complete domination on court, the girls were able to try out positions and moves that were new to them. Against Bruton School for Girls we narrowly lost 13-12 and the girls showed accurate passing and excellent teamwork throughout. The final two games of the season unfortunately saw two losses for King’s with scores of 4-24 against Taunton School and 10-19 against St Mary’s. All players should be congratulated on an excellent term of netball, but in particular Blanca Salas Colas and So-phie Williams for improving the most and Charlotte Manser-gh for being a fantastic captain.

U14A: Standing (L to R): Millie Regan, Georgia Heath, Megan Jones, Megan Ward. Sitting (L to R): Emily Wastell. Kitty Mant, Charlotte Gould, Abs Hyde, Harriet Wakelin.

U14B: Standing (L to R): Chloe Slingo, Amy Williams, Sophie Williams, Skye Neal. Sitting (L to R): Mattie Sweeting, Holly White, Charlotte Mansergh, Sophie Wichary, Bianca Salas Colas.

it must also go to Lotte Gould who stepped up to play for the Under 15 team who were short of a player. The end result was another convincing win and a great team performance. The girls were unsettled at the start of the game against a strong Taunton School. With new team combina-tions on court the girls were a little tense and made a number of unforced errors throughout the game. This put the pres-sure on and exposed a weakness in this team. Although they did work hard throughout, particularly Lotte Gould who came on court with a positive and determined attitude, they couldn’t afford the mistakes they made and Taunton scored some key goals from our errors to win the game. To end the season on a positive note the last game against St Mary’s needed a strong team performance. Al-though a little untidy in places, all played very well to finish with another win, resulting in a fantastic season’s results, winning seven of their nine games. Megan Jones, Emily Wastell and Millie Regan were also selected for the Somerset Satalite Academy. I have been delighted with the skills and tactics that the girls have developed this season, their positive attitudes and determination to succeed, and I look forward to coach-ing and watching these players in the future.

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Junior Cs (combined Under 14s and Under 15s)Junior Cs fill their afternoons with laughter and no little skill as George Beverly breaks through the glass ceiling for male netball coaches

Veni, vidi, vici: As King’s Junior Cs look back on a triumphant season they can proudly declare that they came, they saw, they conquered. In ice-cold January

all they could hear from the outsiders was doom and gloom: “it can’t be done, don’t kid yourselves”. The odds were stacked against them: a male coach who was new to the game and many of the girls had never played netball. But boy did the Junior Cs show that the underdog can still bite, and what a bite they gave in the first game against Blundells where they secured a 42-6 victory – I’m told a King’s record! This was followed by a resounding 17-9 victory against Clayesmore where Becky Bracey and Harriet Wakelin showed everyone what it means to play GA and GS. As term progressed we felt much like the Oakland Athletics in the baseball film Moneyball – a team being gutted - organ donors for the rich, as our best players were syphoned off into the U14s and U15s. Against this the girls secured another win against Queen’s Taunton in what can only be described as conditions similar to those Scott faced in the Antarctic. Chloe Dawe and Jo Adams showed determination on the wing and in defence helped the girls achieve a 16-4 victory. Sadly, in the matches against St Mary’s and Wells Cathedral the girls lacked pace and therefore they were not so successful. Nevertheless, the next match against the local competition, Bruton School for Girls, saw the Junior Cs back on form winning 20-2. Lucy Little deserves mention for her tight marking and aggression at WD. Having now an insatiable appetite for victory the Junior Cs took on Taunton School in their most challenging game of the season. The girls worked their socks off to produce a 12-9 victory; this made them the only King’s team to beat Taunton! The victory ice-creams never tasted so good. Coaching the Junior Cs has been a huge privilege.

It has had its challenges: being the only male coach I wondered whether the girls would listen to me? Would I be able to bring anything to their game? Hopefully the ‘glass ceiling’ that lies above aspiring male netball coaches has been broken. Monday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons have been full of laughter, happy memories and fun; I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Well done the mighty Junior Cs!

Megan Ward: now you see me...

...now you don’t

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FOOTBALL CROSS COUNTRY1st XI

John ‘The Special One’ Slingo reviews the season en-joyed by what he describes as probably the most success-ful King’s sports team ever!

W hat a tremendous season! Our first match was against Millfield away and won 2-4 with goals from Vita (2) Baldwin and Owen. This victory

was even more remarkable as many of the team had a rugby training session just beforehand and we had had only one training session before this match! Another outstanding performance by the 1st X1 soccer team saw us beat Wells away 1-9. Goals from Connor Deacon 4, Dominic Baldwin 3 and Angus Owen 2 capped an altogether remarkable away win. The 1st X1 carried on with their 100% record with a hard fought match away against the Downside 1st X1 to win 2-1. An outrageous volley from Jamie Vita and a beautifully cushioned header from James Laver sealed the victory. This is the first time in 12 years that the manager has had success at Downside and even more remarkable is that the players had had yet another rugby training session just prior to the match! We were unstoppable at this point and beat Millfield 1-6 away on a Tuesday night. Goals from Jamie Vita (3) Adam Attewell, Connor Deacon and Angus Owen sealed a magnificent victory. This completed a 100% success record for this team which was even more remarkable since every game was played away from home. Another magnificent 1-4 away win at Sexey’s school on a superb night rounded off with a hat-trick by Dominic Baldwinio our Brazilian striker. After a very tight first half, our superior technique and style won the day and the team were led to victory by their inspirational captain Adam Attewell. Dominic was presented with the match ball by the Headmaster in assembly and modestly accepted the applause. Another victory in the locker for the immensely successful 1st X1 Football team, this time with an away victory against Sexeys 0-1. It wasn’t pretty and not our usual Barcelonaesque style of play and could be described as a ‘gritty’ performance. The major highlight was a wonder goal from Jack Corbett from just inside the half way line. He scored a goal which will live long in the memory as it arched above the goalkeeper’s head from a great altitude and hit the back of the net.In our last match of the season we defeated a resilient Wells team 1-4. Goals from Bartie Pitt-Brown, Jamie Vita and two from Nat Mainoo sealed an emphatic victory. This was the last King’s football match for our captain Adam Attewell, Dominic Baldwin, Jack Corbett, Alex Hung and Bartie Pitt- Brown and the team will be a lesser force without them.

Graham Saunders looks back at an Easter Term of inclement weather, grit and determination

D espite the first training run beginning in early Jan-uary, the weather had a spring feel. This only lasted a week before the heavens opened and so began the

wettest winter in many years. However, the constant deluge and thickening mud did not dampen the runners’ spirits, and the students enjoyed the training leading up to their first event. The first meeting was held at Downside. Both the Girls’ and Boys’ Teams showed determination in difficult conditions, finishing strongly. The Boys’ Team finished in fourth place overall, and the Senior Girls’ team picked up third place. All the athletes took positives from the first race and set goals for future races. The next race was a large event at Bryanston with over a thousand entrants. King’s students ran hard on a demanding course. Both the Boys’ and Girls’ Teams scored third place finishes. The last event before half term was a punishing Kingswood course. The event was made up of two laps, each lap finishing with a gruelling hill covered in thick mud. Many athletes lost their shoes on this climb, choosing to leave them in the mud rather than go back and get them. While county trialists were being rested, other athletes used the event to demonstrate their creden-tials for future events. After half term the weather eased for a short time, leading some to believe that the worst had passed. Howev-er, several training sessions later, students confronted bitter wind, hail and torrential rain. The athletes kept training hard, despite their moaning before the run. All athletes re-turned soaked, covered from head to toe but with smiles on their faces from surviving the ordeal. King’s went in force to the Sherborne event taking over thirty runners. Everyone ran well on a beautiful course. The Boys’ Team came fourth and the Girls’ Team came third, which was a fantastic result considering the level of competition. Students now faced a new challenge: team relays. King’s athletes struggled over the shorter distances at Bryanston. The pace of the event took them by surprise and the teams failed to finish well apart from a strong showing from the Inter-Girls’ Team who fin-ished third. With some relay practice, students were ready for the Clayesmore relays. All teams battled a course which included horse jumps and a water crossing. Our teams fin-ished strongly, Inter-Boys finishing third, Senior Boys finish-ing fourth and Inter-Girls finishing third. King’s closed the cross-country calendar, hosting the Marden Trophy. All athletes were keen to show how far they had come over the year and finish on a high. Despite the morning being bathed in beautiful sunshine, as the start time drew ever nearer, the clouds rolled in. As the Girls’ Race was started the hail began. King’s athletes did not let this distract them, the Senior Boys and Inter-Boys finishing third and the Inter-Girls winning their event.

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King’s boasted some very positive team performances and some very notable individual performances. William Robinson was an outstanding captain, leading by example, he motivated and supported all the other athletes. He achieved strong finishes in all of his races, running against national and county standard runners. Beth Wilson-Brown had a very impressive season going from strength to strength, and qualifying for the county team in ninth place, coming seventh in Somerset in the South-West Championships and eighth in the National Championships. Other performances of note came from Bastian Maiworm, Hugh Edgar, Fabrice Le Blanc, Georgina MacLeod-Ash, Sarah Hechler and Ellen Barber. There were also some athletes who improved a lot throughout the year. Jamie Finlayson, once given his chance, showed he is a tough competitor, enthusiastic for the sport and willing to learn. Emily Clothier improved steadily through her first year of cross-country, picking up techniques and improving on every training run. The athletes’ dedication to improvement made my first year in charge of cross-country both memorable and enjoyable. The support I received from Mrs Simper, Mr Jeffrey and Mrs Bowes-Lyon was second to none. I look forward to the next cross-country season and the hopefully improved weather.

Cross-Country squad: Standing (L to R): Jamie Finlayson, Samuel Young, Helena Davidson-Houston, Jake Lane, Bertie Hancock, Bastian Maiworm, Luke Rowlands, Niklaus Reskin, Samuel Chan, Artem Vornov, Fabrice le Blanc, Joe Croney, Georgina McLeod-Ash, Ross Duder, Annabel Black. Seated Middle (L to R): Edwin Leung, Ellen Barber, Hugh Edgar, Andrea Wurtenberber (Capt), Will Robinson (Capt), Beth Wilson-Brown, Alex Wicking, Daisy Mant, Sarah Hechler. Sitting front (L to R): Lina Hetzel, Ed Andrews, Emily Clothier,

Loneliness of long distance runner: Will Robinson

Beth Wilson-Brown (above and below) again leads the pack

They will not pass: Bertie Hancock

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CRICKET1st X1Stuart Hamilton rues bad weather, insufficient runs and some crucial dropped catches - but consoles himself by reflecting on some excellent bowling

F or many reason this crick-et season has been rather frustrating. Way back in

April the weather was quite good to us and training got un-derway without a hitch. Well a hitch was to come in the form of inclement weather on a Sat-urday. This was so often the theme of the weekend and we lost two matches to weather and this was compounded by the fact that half term took two

Saturdays away from the term. The real momentum you get by playing was never achieved week to week and getting any consistency in our match play was difficult. The season will be remembered because of the lack of runs we scored as a team. It was a common theme that we could not score the runs that would put us in a position to win matches. There were some notable knocks along the way from Josh White, Eben Latham, Chris White and Ross Valentine, but what we lacked were partnerships and a col-lective batting performance. On the other side of the coin, we looked like world beaters with the ball and we produced some great moments in the field. Our bowlers were led by Dominic Baldwin and Bartie Pitt-Brown. We always seemed to make inroads into a batting line up, but we could never quite get the main batter out, which, on more occasions than one, was the difference between the teams. Although we took some excellent catches we also dropped some key ones; this too made the difference between winning and losing. Although the playing record looks pretty bleak there were some notable performances especially in the final weekend of the term when we scored more than300 runs in a fifty over match. With a number of pupils coming back next season I hope that their experiences during this tough season will stand them in good stead next year.

Standing (L to R): C. Main, R. Cadbury, M. Tomes-Smith, J. White, E. Latham, J. Hudson, C. White. Sitting (L to R): B. Pitt-Brown, J. Corbett, D. Baldwin (C), B. Carretta, R. Valentine.

Matt Tomes-Smith hits his stride

Take that: Dominic Baldwin

Josh White plays himself in ...

and then Josh starts to motor

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2nd XI Tim Fletcher writes his cricket report (some mistake? - Ed) before heading for the latest instalment of Oulton vs Fletcher in the High Court. Read the following closely and you may just find a few words about the 2nd X1 season. The rest is fiction and totally absurd.

F ather Time sat on his weather vane and wept. Far below, and a little to the right he could spy the esteemed editor of TheDolphin, a renowned MCC member with all the correct apparel (ru-mour had it he even slept in MCC pyjamas), slumped in his seat in the Warner Stand, head

on his chest, fast asleep. He’d been like that since just after lunch, and now, ten minutes from the close, nothing would wake him. It was all such a waste. The editor had specifically asked for all the reports to be in The Dolphin before the start of the season so he could spend his summer holidays actively watching the cricket and not spending every day of it cooped up in a small wooden studio (which he had once tried to burn down) correcting punctuation. And now, here he was, at the home of cricket, completely unconscious. Father Time sighed as the batsman jogged another single and the torpor grew. No one would ever get to know the runs that were scored, the wickets that were taken or indeed the results of another 2nd XI season down in Somerset because of that ridiculous deadline. He supposed someone had scored some runs and taken the odd wicket, but suspected that rain had played a part too and that John Hopkins had been undone by “more best balls ever bowled”. But he’d never know for certain because, down below, the editor slept, making a mockery of his April deadline. Nothing stirred the occupant of seat M1. Not even dreams of famous run-outs, of heroic last stands, incompetently dropped catches – all the ingredients of a typical 2nd XI summer. Not even the thought of a Donnelly (or was it Tuson – Father Time wished he knew) six could wake him. But wait, something was happening down there in the Warner Stand. Father Time looked more closely. The editor was still alive after all – at least there was movement. And then he saw why. A quick lurch in the direction of his coolbox, a glass of Chablis and then back to sleep, to dream once more of Hyde on a balmy summer’s evening. Note: For the record they only played three (it did rain a lot). They won two and lost one. John Hopkins averaged 155 (surely a record) and was only out to “one of the worst lbw decisions ever”. Hamish Don-nelly did hit a six and Will Tuson didn’t, and Mark-Catley Day failed to score a run. Finally, and most importantly, Mike Stride discovered that he loved cricket more than hockey and had to go to Lanzarote to recover.

Standing (L to R): M. Stride, M. Catley-Day, H. Corbett, W. Tuson, A. Cobb. Sitting (L to R): T. Colebatch, G. Collett, J. Hopkins, J. Hope-Kibble, H. Donnelly.

Mike Stride and Mark Catley-Day

Balmy Fletcher, I mean Hyde

Oulton, wide awake, with Fletcher’s Father Time above the clock, top left of picture

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two big hitting batsmen rode their luck and got them home with their master suggesting that we needed only one more wicket to have got into their tail; it had been that close. The final game of the domestic season was against a strong Exeter side. Batting first, our team did well to re-strict them to 246 for 8. King’s reply was slow but sure and the match finished in a draw with King’s on 109 for 5, and Bertie Hancock finally scoring a big total (60) which he had been threatening to do all season. Mr Bunday and Mr Hodder have enjoyed coaching the team this year and can reflect upon a season that includ-ed two fine wins and a battling draw. The team have come on in leaps and bounds but should have an eye to the future when they will need to ensure that they make maximum use of every training opportunity. Winter nets for all!

Junior B Dan Cupit reviews the weather, but also some fantastic cricket, notably a 10 wicket victory against Downside

T he story of this summer term hasn’t so much been about the cricket, but more about the weather. For six days of the week we have seen glorious sunshine

only for it to disappear into gigantic grey storm breakers on a Saturday morning. Nine weeks ago, back in early April, the junior B cricket team took to the field for the first time. Excited about the new combination of players and the new structure of the game, the team was full of optimism. The first game of the season was against Downside on Slopey on a warm April af-ternoon. Never has a season started so well for a King’s team with Downside being reduced to 1-3 off the first over of the game. The demolition continued over the next few overs as Holly White, George Wroth, Hamish Ryall and Myles Jen-kins reduced Downside to 23 all out. Tom Alderton and Wil-liam Luck ensured that the requisite runs were knocked off quickly to bring home the 10 wicket victory. Subsequent games were postponed due to bad weather until we came up against Taunton School on Ab-bey. Having hit 240 against us last season we were pleased to keep them to around 180. While the game appeared to be heading for a draw, Taunton finally unleashed their county bowler. In one of the most mesmerising displays of bowling ever witnessed on Abbey, the Taunton bowler took 6 wickets in 2 overs to hand the game to Taunton. A short season, but full of brilliant performances and some fantastic cricket.

Junior A Nick Bunday reports on a successful change in the organisation of junior cricket

T his year the brave decision was taken to move to a Junior Grade system as opposed to playing the traditional U14 and U15 formats. The aim of this

was to raise the overall quality of the team and ensure that they were better prepared for the end of term festival. The majority of the Junior Grade A team came from the U14 age group, which means that they will be even better placed for next year so this year became something of a trial year for all sorts of reasons. The season will also be remembered for a depressingly wet start. The first match of the season was against Downside where we managed to bowl the visitors out for 66. This was a great achievement so early in the season: the ground field-ing was sound, the catches stuck and there were even two run outs. The bowling was also very good, spearheaded by skipper Freddie Nickerson who took 3 wickets for 14 runs in 5 overs. He was well supported by brothers Jack and Archie Potter who took a wicket apiece as did Alex Enderby, Arthur Harman and Bertie Hancock. In response, the openers Bar-ney Latham and Arthur Harman batted very sensibly putting 59 on for the first wicket, a position from which it would have been difficult to lose. We duly won by 8 wickets, and whilst it is always good to win, it was the manner of the vic-tory that was so pleasing. This early season confidence was then taken into the second game against Monkon Combe, which was once again played at home on a showery day with the covers com-ing on and off throughout the game. In anticipation a T20 format was chosen. Monkton Combe batted first and scored 117 for 6 in their allotted overs with the pick of the bowlers being Jack Potter. Their total was overhauled with two overs to spare and 5 wickets down, the star performer being Barney Latham with an excellent 63. With their tails up the boys then went to Bath Cricket Club to face KES Bath, whose teams incuded many Bath Club players, in a midweek T20 match. It was clear that this was going to be a test of a greater magnitude than that which had come before. The boys did well to restrict KES to 129 for 3 wickets, with Barney Latham taking all three wickets. The King’s reply, despite much bravery, fell short at 90 for 9 wickets with Barney Latham again top scoring, but a valuable innings from wicket keeper Toby Clothier did much to have the opposition worried at one stage. The match against Taunton was always going to be an extremely tough fixture, but sadly it turned out to be a complete humbling. Their county level bowler took five of the first six wickets to fall which resulted in King’s being bowled out for a disappointing 40. They knocked it off with in six overs. The frailties with the bat continued in our next fixture against Clayesmore, where following the very worst start possible, losing Arthur Harman to the very first ball of the match, we struggled to 56 all out, with Tom Woods top scoring. After tea, the team did come out fighting and soon had Clayesmore 19 for 3 wickets as they found the speed and agrression of Freddie Nickerson in particular hard to deal with. The opposition managed to stabilise the situation as

Standing (L to R): A. Enderby, A. Potter, M. Jenkins, T. Clothier, A. Harman, T. Williams. Sitting (L to R): H. Hunter, B. Hancock, F. Nickerson, J. Potter, B. Latham.

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Junior CWill Stainton rewrites a cricket chapter of ‘England, their England’ as he reflects on a promising season

T his cricket season has seen the introduction of the grading system which has allowed each team to play cricket against a side with a similar standard and

experience to themselves. This has proved valuable for each team but particularly the Junior C team as they have been able to learn valuable lessons but also compete in each match played. Unfortunately this season has been marred by the ever unpredictable English weather which has only allowed three matches to be played. Nonetheless, the team turned out for all three, ready to enjoy an afternoon in the English countryside and play cricket.

The first match of the season was on Saturday 10th May against Monkton Combe School on the infamous Slopey pitch at King’s. The previous evening and the morning of the 10th had been affected by rain and luckily, with the

guidance of Adie Davis and the sun, we were able to play. The captain, Jack Lawrence, won the toss and decided to bat first. This proved unlucky for Ryan Longman who was clean bowled, the first ball of the game, and recorded the honour-able prize of the Diamond Duck. Unfortunately, this was the story of the day and King’s Bruton were bowled out for a very low total of 38. The defence of this total was led by opening bowlers Myles Yeandel and Theo Barratt, who bowled very well and took two wickets and a single wicket respectively. The highlight of this match was a brave moment of fielding by Max Behm, who was stood at square leg. This was Behm’s first cricket match and he stood there awaiting his chance in the field. This chance came very quickly, as did the ball, and he opted to use his hip bone instead of his hands to save the runs and earned himself a fantastic trophy and bruise. The second match was on the following Saturday, away at Taunton School. In contrast to the week before it was brilliant, burning sunshine all day which lifted the spirits and attitudes of the Junior Cs. Unfortunately, Lawrence lost the toss and the opposition elected to field first so King’s Bruton were made to bat and provide a target for Taunton. With similarities to the week before, although showing a slight im-provement, King’s were all out for 56. However, there were two performances during this innings that are worth men-tioning. Despite not scoring any runs at all, Lawrence man-aged to bat for 10 overs which showed great management of his crease and was a great testament to his forward defence. Behm also had a good spell with the bat and managed a to-tal of 17 which included two very well placed fours. Despite losing this match, there were significant improvements both with the bat and in the field. The Junior Cs then waited a few weeks until the final match of the season which was away at Clayesmore School. On Saturday 14th June, the team travelled to the Iw-erne Minster village cricket ground that is so kindly offered to Clayesmore School, on another beautiful day of sunshine. Due to the unavailability of players throughout the teams,

several players were moved up to the Junior B side including the fearless captain, Lawrence. However, Joe Carretta and Dan Wylie stepped up to the Junior Cs and both played very well with the bat and in the field. Despite a loss, there were some shining performances with both the bat and the ball. Santiago Fernandez, in his final game at King’s, batted very well, exploiting the opposition’s fielding position by scoring three fours. The man of the match and the best performance of the season, however, goes to Theo Barratt who took three wickets, the first of which was the first ball of their innings and all three were clean bowled. This was a fantastic perfor-mance by the young man from Old House. Overall a promising season for the future of cricket at King’s Bruton. I would like to thank each player for the commitment to their training sessions and the matches we played.

Junior DEvil overlord Jamie Barron casts his eye over some shad-owy figures on Slopey

M asters of disguise… net-session impresarios… a law unto themselves… They have swooshed the willow and hurled the shiny red leather under two

known aliases (U14B and Junior D for those uninitiated into their rites) and have pitched battles against such sworn enemies as the U15Bs and the Junior Cs on pitches all the way from Slopey to… well, Slopey. Their ring-leader is believed to be an enigmatic fig-ure going under the name of “Sledgehammer” Carretta, a chap who dominates the organisation of recalcitrant field-ers and leads the enemy-cheering-disarming-technique with legendary gusto. Shadowy figures have flitted about between the Doughty Ds and the Colossal Cs – “Basher” Barratt, “Biffer” Hudson and “Bruiser” Yeandel have all made guest appearances in games and training, keeping the rest of us on our toes regarding their antics. The only full-on confronta-tion in which this valiant team have been coaxed into partic-ipating at time of writing has been against Taunton School, with whom they clashed swords on a sunny afternoon on… Slopey. Many and pleading have been the requests flooding in from all corners of the globe to pit their wits against these brave men, but they have modestly refused all exhortations. The match against Taunton will go down in The Chronicles of Cricket for many years to come. Our opening bowling had many strengths, but was met with forceful op-position from Taunton. Although our batting in the second innings had a lot of good focus, we lost some solid batsmen early on, and did not quite manage to recover our equilibri-um sufficiently to do other than graciously allow them to win by a mere ninety-one runs. Captain Carretta put in a stur-dy batting stint, and all other players really put some effort into the game. “Destroyer” Wylie has improved both bowling and concentration massively over the weeks of training; and notably slick and sturdy performances have been put in by “Torpedo” Warsap, “Slayer” Crossfield, “Firebrand” Rose, “Wrecker” Dietz, “Pulveriser” Philp and “Stormer” Sellar. As their evil overlord, I can say that it has always been a plea-sure, a privilege and an endless source of fascination to coach these chaps, and that we’ve all had a jolly good time.

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BOYS’ TENNISIst and 2nd V1Henry Eriksson and Al Mox-ham review a difficult season but see signs for optimism next year

T he boys’ 1st and 2nd tennis teams have endured a difficult season with a number of matches being decided by the final set.

This was no more typified than by the 1st VI who found themselves narrowly on the losing side in a number of matches. Finding it difficult to establish a regular third pairing in the 1sts proved costly as they lost out by the smallest of margins to Queen’s Taunton by five sets to four, Wells Cathedral by the same score and Prior Park who won 6-3, a score line which was closer than the score suggests. However, the 1st VI did secure a couple of convincing victories, comfortably beating Warminster 6-0 and in the final game of the season they produced their best display of consistent tennis as they beat Downside 7-2 which was an excellent end to the season and which bodes well for next season with the whole squad still being around. Although a number of players represented the 1st VI throughout the course of the season, a special mention must go to captain Angus Fox, Chris Pang, Jamie Laver, James Evans, Angus Owen and Jamie Vita who produced some fantastic performances. The 2nd VI, bolstered by players from the third and fourth form, enjoyed an excellent season. Although they found themselves on the losing side to the renowned and established tennis schools Taunton, Prior Park and Dauntsey’s, they recorded impressive victories against Warminster, Queen’s Taunton, Wells Cathedral and Downside School. Juan Mendizabal and Lucien Carey played some good tennis throughout the season and when available, Henry McCosker and Barney Latham made considerable contributions. Thanks must also go to Guillermo Garcia-Valdecasas, Milo McCloud and Carlos Munoz-Rojas who also represented the 2nd VI.

Standing (L to R): C. Pang, C. Maltby, C. Munoz-Rojas, M. McCloud, H. Pomeroy. Sitting (L to R): L. Carey, A. Owen, A. Fox (C), J. Laver (VC), J. Evans. Under 15 Boys: Sitting (L to R): H. McCosker, D. Kuzovlev, J. Mendiz-

abal, G. Garcia-Valdecasas.

Under 15Henry Eriksson congratulates his team on a fantastic season

T he boys’ Under 15 tennis team had a fantastic season, playing in the Aegon Schools Team compe-tition for the first time. The team began the season

particularly brightly, recording an impressive 12-0 win versus Queen’s Taunton. This was followed up by another excellent victory, this time away versus King’s Taunton where the final score was 10-2. Having begun the season well, King’s faced the challenge of welcoming Millfield to the Hippisley courts and although confidence was high, a very strong Millfield side came away with a comprehensive win. With a 12-0 walkover victory against Wellington, the team finished a very respectable second place in the Som-erset division and with the team being made up entirely of Under 14 players Denis Kuzovlev, Henry McCosker, Juan Mendizabal, Barney Latham, Guillermo Garcia-Valdecasas and Rory Mcafee, this bodes well for next year. Well done boys for an outstanding season.

Angus Fox, captain

Chris Pang

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GIRLS’ TENNISSenior GirlsSophie Liddell-Grainger and Kate Flavell duck the showers to watch some amazing tennis from their girls

T he Senior Girls team had a frustrating season with lots of their matches having been cancelled due to the weather. When we did get sun the girls stepped

up and had some great games of tennis against some strong opposition. Having only had two practice sessions the team played their first match against a tough Wells Cathedral School. Unfortunately we did not win but the girls played some good first games and worked well in their pairs. Lucia and Beth Pretor- Pinney made up the first pair and had some excellent rallies but narrowly missed out on winning their games. The team came back to training and worked hard to improve their game ready for their next match, which unfortunately did not happen due to the weather. This gave the team a two week period to train in. This gave us time to work on pairing and the girls time to bond in their pairs ready to play Downside the following week. This was a very successful afternoon where the 1st VI won 5-4. Lucia Pretor- Pinney and Cara Valentine had an amazing last match against their pair winning 6-2. The 2nd VI had a very successful afternoon as well wining 5-1. Tabby Collett and Emily Clothier did extremely well, winning all three of their matches. After this result, the team carried on training hard and making the most of the sun when it came out. After this we had another match sadly cancelled. Then came KES Bath, one of our harder competitors. We were greeted by glorious sunshine on arriving at KES Bath and the girls were playing some incredible tennis. However, within two minutes of the matches starting, the heavens opened! What ensued was a flurry of activity as the girls sprinted for cover! Unfortunately the adverse weather con-ditions meant the matches could not continue. After all the disappointment and having only played three matches the team came up against Clayesmore in glorious sunshine. The 1st VI faced strong opposition but their standard of play was great throughout. Cara Valentine and Lucia Pretor-Pinney played a nail-biting match against Clayesmore’s 1st pair just losing 6-5. The 2nd VI had more luck, with some lovely sets played by all. Special mention must go to May Bullock and Sophie Sage for winning two of their sets in their debut match of the season. Overall the seconds won 9-2, with Tabby Collett and Emily Clothier winning all of their matches. The 3rd VI played their first match of the season and did incredibly well winning 6-3. The whole team played some great tennis but Xanthe Wig-nall and Yuki Lau did extremely well winning all three of their matches. After this we came up against Prior Park. The weather stayed dry for the matches and the girls played bril-

liantly against some tough opposition. Unfortunately the 1sts lost 2-7, with Beka Finch and Elodie Wallace winning a closely fought set against their 2nd pair. The 2nds had a hard fixture having not played in their pairs for a while but the girls did their best to pick up where they left off after their previous match. Yuki Lau and Xanthe Wignall have to be commended on playing in the Seconds for the first time and for having some awesome games and rallies against the 1st pair. Even though the teams did not win the girls should be pleased with the tennis they all played. After this hard season and not being able to get all their matches played, the team have had a good season. All the girls have played some outstanding tennis. We look forward to coaching them next year. Well done to all!!

Standing (L to R): E. Clothier, E. Longman-Rood, Y. Lau, E. Bruford, S. Sage, O. Fantoni, H. Davidson-Houston, L. Pretor-Pinney, E. Wallace, M. Bullock. Sitting (L to R): G. Macleod-Ash, A. Ogurtsova, C. Valen-tine, R. Finch, S. Finch, X. Wignall, A. Strupinskaya.

Edie Bruford May Bullock

Girl time: (from left) Georgie Macleod-Ash, May Bullock, Elodie Wallace, Edie Bruford

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Under 15 A and BAngela Ashworth bites her nails as her girls go up to the wire

N ow that the final matches have been played, I have looked back upon this

season and am excessively proud of all that the Junior Girls’ tennis squad have achieved. All players approached training sessions with positivity and the girls benefited

greatly from the expert coaching offered by our resident coach, Phil. A special mention must go to Georgia Dim-dore-Miles and Jemima Owen who were the 1st pair for the U15As and who only lost one set out of a total of 22 played in matches. Our first match of the season was against Wells Cathedral School. Both squads faced very tough com-petition in rather windy conditions (especially for the Bs who were playing up on the Hippisley courts) but we were lucky to escape the rain. All players demonstrated good sportsmanship and played well, with final scores often not reflecting the success of our girls during several long rallies and close points within games. Ultimately, the Junior As lost 3 - 6 whilst the Junior Bs lost 0 - 9. These somewhat dodgy weather conditions continued the following week, which found a Junior VIII managing to win 6 sets against 10 won by a strong Downside. Success started to come our way in our third fixture, against KES Bath. The U15As won 8 sets to 1 in some of the worst weather conditions I have experienced in my nine years of tennis. The wind up on the Hippisley courts was incredibly strong, and this made shots very chal-lenging. It was so strong that the crash mats left out from the high-jump near the adjacent astro actually took off and came crashing towards the fencing for the tennis courts! Teamed with torrential sharp showers things could have gone very badly, but the 15As kept cheerful and pushed KES hard right to the end. The U15Bs unfortunately lost all of their sets in this match but played with cheerful deter-mination and demonstrated improved game play. A weekday fixture against Warminster followed hot on the heels of this match and the girls did very well and played some really good tennis. The weather was good but the girls had quite a lot of wind to go up against. The U15As played very well to secure a 7 – 2 victory and the U15Bs rose to the challenge and won 5 – 4. The final fix-ture for the first half of term saw the U15As having another great match, playing in glorious sunshine against a strong Clayesmore team to win 6 - 3. The U15Bs unfortunately had another very tough match against very strong opposi-tion, losing 1 set to 8 despite some very good game play by our team. Thankfully, the weather improved greatly after the half term and the squad faced their matches with renewed vigour. The match against Prior Park saw the U15As secure yet another victory with an excellent score of 8 – 1. The U15Bs played some lovely tennis, but were outclassed, losing 0 – 9. The next Saturday saw both Junior tennis

squads face incredibly tough opposition from the girls at St Mary’s Shaftesbury in very hot conditions, though everyone thoroughly enjoyed the chance to play in glorious sunshine. The U15As lost 3 – 6, but this score really does not reflect the standard of play demonstrated by our girls. Many games were close and held the spectators on the edge of their seats. Unfortunately, the U15Bs lost all of their sets despite valiant efforts to keep their opponents on their toes. Both squads approached their last match of the season against Bruton School for Girls with grit and deter-mination, and I must say all pairs played some of their best tennis to date in blistering sunshine. The U15As comfort-ably won 8 – 1 and it is a real shame that the U15Bs lost 4 - 5 in an extremely close match which could so easily have gone our way with some superb play, lots of stamina and a refusal to give up. Indeed, the final set in this fixture had everyone nervously biting their nails in anticipation in one of the closest matches I have seen in a long time. It has been a pleasure to work alongside such a dedicated squad and I look forward to watching some more fabulous tennis next season!

Standing (L to R): Matilda Sweeting, Blanca Salas Colas, Imogen Moore, Daisy Mant, Paula Fernandez Munoz, Beth Pretor-Pinney, Hannah Snow, Rebecca Bracey, Frankie Redpath, Chloe Dawe Sitting (L to R): Lottie Gould, Georgia Dimdore-Miles, Jemima Owen, Kitty Mant, Harriet Wakelin.

Lottie Gould receives at Sunny Hill

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ATHLETICS

Pip Atkinson-Kennedy shares with us the many highs of an outstanding athletics season

Saturday 27th April Somerset Combined Events ChampionshipsMillfield School

On the first weekend of term our home athletics meet was unfortunately cancelled due to the track being waterlogged but we still had 10 King’s athletes competing in a variety of multi events. They were competing against athletes from Gloucestershire, Avon, Wiltshire and Dorset. Matt Trickey competed in the octathlon, Ellen Barber did a hepthalon and eight 3rd Former athletes did a pentathlon.After competing over the two days Matt and Ellen did brilliantly - Matt won overall and Ellen was 2nd. The junior boys competed on Saturday; unfortunately Hen-ry Oliver sustained a nasty fall in the hurdles and had to withdraw but the other three King’s boys carried on com-peting in the 5 events and the overall final results were as follows:- Ben Best 27th

Tom Westropp 9th

Ollie White 2nd Oliver’s silver medal position gained him selection into the Somerset Combined Events team and qualified him to com-pete along with Matt and Ellen in the South West Combined Events Championships held on Speech day.Emily Wastell, Megan Ward, Abigail Hyde and Georgia Heath competed in the pentathlon on Sunday and out of a field of 70 athletes the girls did extremely well. Abi-gail came 36th, Emily 30th, Georgia 23rd and Megan 21st

Saturday 3rd MayInter School MeetMillfield School

King’s took 3 athletics teams to Millfield to compete against Millfield, Kingswood, Blundell’s, Clifton, Sherborne, Wells Cathedral School and Wellington. The junior girls team was made up of 3rd and 4th Formers - the senior girls was made up of 4th 5th and 6th Formers and the inter boys team has

3rd 4th and 5th Formers. We had a number of athletes who were competing in their first ever athletics competition and achieved some great performances.

Highlights of the day came from: Matt Trickey -1st inter boys javelin: 1st inter boys hurdles and 1st inter boys discus. Ellen Barber- 1st inter girls 200m & HJ; 2nd 80M hurdles. Ben Best and Ollie White ran PBs in their 800m with 2:24 and 2:25. Jordan Adams put 10cm on his HJ PB with his first competition this year and an impressive 1:73 m. Brogan Sellar and Caitlin Marsh were 1st and 2nd in the senior girls shot, Nikolaus Raskin ran an impressive first ever 400m and was narrowly pipped into 2nd place on the line. Megan Jones threw PBs in the discus and javelin and Millie Regan threw a seasons best of 25:30 to gain 2nd in junior girls javelin.

Saturday 10th May- Millfield Super 8sMillfield School

King’s entered two teams. The junior team was made up of 8 boys and 8 girls from the 3rd and 4th Forms. The senior team was again composed of 8 boys and 8 girls but from the 5th and 6th Forms, the athletes all had to compete at one field event, one track event and a relay. All the performances scored points so all the girls’ scores were added to the boys’ scores to give an overall team score for the 16 athletes. The best individual performances were:-

Harry McHugh 1st JB 100m 2nd JB shot

Jordan Adams - 2nd JB high jump

Ollie White 3rd JB hurdles

Ellen Barber 1st SG hurdles and high jump

Beth Wilson-Brown 3rd SG 1500m

Brogan Sellar and Caitlin Marsh 1st and 2nd SG javelin

Matt Trickey 1st SB javelin and 2nd SB hurdles

Sam Adenuga 2nd SB 100m and high jump

Matt Trickey

Nikolaus Raskin

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Phil Claas 1st SB hurdles and 2nd SB long jump

James Plummer and Harry Charlier 2nd and 3rd in SB 1500m

The highlights of the afternoon were the final two events, the medley relays which involved 2 girls and boys running 100m and 2 boys and 2 girls running 200m. The junior race was nip and tuck all the way and the final change over from Em-ily Wastell to Ollie White enabled the King’s team to claw back a well-deserved 3rd. The final event was a real battle between Portsmouth Grammar School, Millfield and King’s, but again it was down to the final changeover between El-len and Matt. We saw Matt kick around the bend and come down the final straight to achieve a memorable win over Mill-field!

Wednesday 14th MayESSA Cup Round 1Millfield School

We entered twoteams this year in to the ESSA track and field cup competition again held at Millfield. This competition requires each athlete to compete in two events, a track and field or a relay. Only 12 3rd and 4th Form girls made up the inter girls’ teams and 14 3rd and 4th Form boys in the inter boys’. It is a great opportunity for some of the cricketers to

show their athletic potential as being held mid-week they are able to compete. We held our own against some tough competition from teams across the county and the inter girls finished a commendable 2nd behind Millfield and the boys achieved a well-deserved 3rd place. Unfortunately our overall scores were not high enough to qualify us for the next round- maybe next year!

Saturday 17th May11 Schools MeetMillfield School

What a difference a week makes- last week gale force winds and rain, this week wonderful sunshine and instead of the tent to keep us dry, the athletes needed the shade to stop overheating and sunstroke.This meet we competed against 10 schools from South Wales, Southend, Dorset, Devon and Somerset.King’s had 6 teams competing: U15 boys, U16 girls, U16 boys, U 17 boys, Open Girls and Open boys.We started the day with probably the toughest race in the heat of the day with Will Robinson and Ed Andrews run-ning in the 3000m. The King’s vests were very evident and looking out over the Millfield track you could spot us every-where! It wasn’t long before we were showing our talents on the track and the commentator was mentioning the King’s Bruton name in the top 3 results of each of the events.

Back Row L to R: Kitty Mant, Tom Westropp, Georgia Heath, Megan Ward, Daria Zotina, Harry McHugh, Yan Le, Jake Lane, Allen Safaryan, Oliver White, Adrian Garcia, Sarah Hechler. Middle Row L to R: Eddie Morris-Adams, Yusei Fukazawa, James Plummer, Jin Jin Bai, Caitlin Marsh, Ellen Barber, Brogan Sellar, Olivia Harrison, Ben Best, Freya Thorner, Ellie Smith, Ellena Loughrey, Sohpie Wichary, Peter Knospe. Sitting L to R: Benson Hung, Alex Hung, Emily Wastell, Katie Hawkins, Megan Jones, Darcy Bounsall, Matt Trickey, Nat Mainoo, Beth Wilson-Brown, Millie Regan, Abs Hyde, Charlotte Mansergh, Simon Shih. Front Row L to R: Bastian Maiworm, Alex Wicking, Adam Attewell, Jordan Adams, Sam Adenuga, Octavia Cobb, Phil Claas, Edwin Leung, Will Robinson, Charlie Auckland, Harry Charlier, Nikolaus Raskin.

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Top performances of the day:

Matt Trickey: 1st U17 boys shot, new PB and national entry standard – 13.97- 23 cm off the national standard.Ellen Barber: 1st open girls hurdles 2nd in high jump and ran a PB in 200m 27:03Harry Mchugh: 1st U16 boys 100m and 2nd 200mOliver White: 1st U15 boys long jump with a new PB 5:19m and 2nd in 200mSam Young: 1st U17 triple jumpNathaniel Mainoo: won U17 boys 100m and 2nd in 200mA fantastic win by the U16 boys 4x 100m relay made up of Adrian Garcia, Benson Hung, Oliver White and Harry Charlier.Charlie Auckland ran an incredible 400m in his last meet competing for King’s, winning the senior boys 400m with an impressive time of 54.3.It was Phil Claas’s last school meet as well and he achieved an impressive 2nd in the senior boys 110m hurdles, 3rd in long jump and 3rd in 200mOther 2nd places were :-Ahmad Abdelwahab: U17 boys 800mSam Adenuga: under 20s 100mJordan Adams: U16 boys high jump and joint 2nd with Adri-an Garcia in the 400mCaitlin Marsh: senior girls shotEdwin Leung: senior boys triple jump and 400m3rd places went to:Tom Westropp with a new PB of 1m 50 in the junior boys high jumpJinjin Bai in his first long jump competition in the U16 age

group Bastian Maiworm, senior boys javelinBrogan Sellar, senior girls shot

Out of 11 schools competingJunior girls- 5thU16 boys- 4thU17 boys- 3rdSenior boys- 3rd

Senior girls -1st Wednesday 23rd MayYeovil Area championshipsYeovil Arena

We had more than 50 athletes competing in the Area Cham-pionships which is the qualifier for the Somerset Schools Championships. With some truly outstanding performances both on the track and in the field events, 43 of the King’s athletes were selected for the Yeovil team.

Saturday 14th JuneSomerset Schools ChampionshipsYeovil Arena

The day started at 11am with Ed Leung competing in one of the toughest track events, the 400m hurdles. He ran the first 300m strongly but got pipped on the finish line. Also Yan Le and Phil Claas were opening the field events with the hammer and long jump.Warm, still conditions helped the field event competitors and sprinters but the conditions were pretty tough for the

Higher and higher: Jordan Adams

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distance athletes, particularly for James Plummer, Will Rob-inson, Sarah Hechler and Beth Wilson-Brown, all running in the 3000m in the hottest part of the day.Our podium places started slowly but by the afternoon the King’s athletes were streaming back with certificates, badges and letters about the South West and English Schools teams. After a slightly disappointing high jump, Ellen Bar-ber unleashed her frustration in the 200m, achieving a PB and a well-deserved 2nd place in the final. Jordan followed suit and although very frustrated and annoyed with his high jump, ran an incredible 200m final battling all the way to the line. On a photo finish, with his crucial dip gaining him a 3rd place, finally we saw a smiling Jordan! We had three gold medal places, two of which went to Matt Trickey, who ducked and dived from discus to shot as they were on at the same time. This didn’t stop him achiev-ing a National Standard throw in the shot with 14.49m and a National Entry Standard throw in the discus of 43.67m. Our other gold medalist was Beth Wilson-Brown who ran a courageous 3km race in the blistering heat! One of the other highlights of the afternoon was the senior boys 400m in which Charlie Auckland ran a bril-liant tactical 300m leaving him enough in the tank to pull back the lead runners and just miss out on first by a whisker but achieving a fantastic 2nd and a PB of 52.12.

Podium places went to:-

Matt Trickey- 1st inter boys shot and discusBeth Wilson-Brown- 1st inter girls 3000mEllen Barber -2nd inter girls high jump and 200mPhil Claas- 2nd senior boys 110 m hurdles and 3rd long jumpEd Leung - 2nd senior boys 400m hurdles and 3rd triple jumpCharlie Auckland - 2nd senior boys 400mWill Robinson- 2nd senior boys 3000mSarah Hechler - 2nd inter girls 3000m

3rd places went to:-

Millie Regan - junior girls javelinJake Lane- senior boys 800mSam Adenuga- senior boys 100mJordan Adams- inter boys 200mOctavia Cobb- senior girls 200mOllie White- junior boys long jumpEllie Loughrey- inter girls 100m

Saturday 21st JuneSouth West Schools Cham-pionshipsYeovil Arena

Matt Trickey, Ellen Barber and Beth Wilson-Brown were all selected to compete

for Somerset at the South West Schools Champioships. Matt was second behind a Cornish athlete but due to his National Standard throw of 14.49 in the shot he qualified for the English Schools competitions on July 12th in Birming-ham.

Saturday 28th & Sun 29th JuneSouth West Combined Events ChamponshipsYeovil Arena

Matt Trickey competed over the two days in an octathlon, El-len Barber did a heptathlon and Ollie White competed just on the Saturday in a pentathlon. All three were competing for Somerset, attempting to qualify for the Nationals.

Gold medalist Elliot Rutter: fastest 400 metre runner for his age in Europe

Oliver White in full flow

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Equestrian teams go from strength to strength, says Pip Atkinson-Kennedy

O n the second weekend of the winter term six riders from King's competed at the Cattistock Hunt One Day Event held at Aldon. Lottie Gould, Kitty

Mant, Issy Hunt and Mima Owen started the morning in the dry with their Class 1 dressage tests. They then moved on to the show jumping arena which again was dry and firm before moving to the cross country course. With all their scores added together and all four girls getting double clear rounds they won the overall team event with Kitty achieving a second and Mima achieving a third individual placing. However Daisy Mant and Ellen Barber weren't so lucky with the weather and after a dry dressage test had to endure torrential horizontal rain in both the show jumping and cross country. Both riding new horses, they did very well in the bigger class. Four King's riders competed in the highly presti-gious Stonar independent schools one day event on Sun-day 20th September. This competition is the equivalent of the national schools in eventing, with schools from all over the UK competing during the weekend. Rebecca Ffooks was competing as an individual but unfortunately Celtic Storm found the early start a bit too much. However, Kitty Mant, Daisy Mant and Isabel Hunt all started strongly, making up the team for the 90cm class. An early start and arriving at Stonar before daybreak made even harder for Daisy as it was her birthday. The girls started well with some great scores in the dressage (Daisy 22, Kitty 28 and Issy 32). It all looked good for the show jumping and cross country. Daisy and Kitty both had dou-ble clears but Issy, quite sensibly after a good showjumping round, retired on the cross country as she did not want to scare and overwhelm her young horse. We were therefore out of the team competition but the Mant girls flew the King's flag with an impressive 2nd individual place for Kit-ty in her section and a superb 3rd for Daisy in her section. Daisy also competed on Sunday afternoon on her new horse Josh in the 100m course, scoring another amaz-ing 22 and achieved an impressive 2nd overall.

On Sunday 12th October, King's Bruton held their first ever Inter Schools Show Jumping Event at the King Sedgemoor Equestrian Centre. With more than 200 com-petitors competing, the King's teams did amazingly well, in car-parking, stewarding, marshalling, course building and of course actually show jumping! Our riders that day were Jemi-ma Owen riding Tiggy 2, Ellen Barber on Biggins, Rebecca Ffooks on Ginge, and Daisy Mant on Josh. They all rode brilliantly in the pouring rain and against extremely tough competition from all over the West Country achieved a very respectable 4th in the team event. Daisy Mant was 6th in the individual placings in the final class of the day. On the Thursday of the February Half Term two teams from King's competed in the Polden Hills Pony Club Arena cross country challenge. In rather wet, blustery con-ditions our riders did extremely well. The first team in the 90cm class was Charlotte Mansergh on Bobby, Kitty Mant on Fred, Jemima Owen on Tiggy and Ellen Barber on Larry. Kitty and Jemima jumped superb clear rounds and Charlotte and Ellen were unlucky on a fence each, finishing with 2 x 4 fault scores. Many other riders from other teams were struggling with the complex course of 8 show jumps followed by 10 cross country jumps. Out of the 12 teams competing from schools around the South West, the King's team were a commendable 3rd. In the bigger 1metre class Kitty and Ellen were joined by Daisy Mant riding Josh. Kitty and Daisy went clear and Ellen had 2 poles down finishing on a score of 8. We then watched mayhem and carnage as riders were being eliminated on a regular basis with many of the horses struggling with the con-ditions and large fences. To our surprise we came second behind Blundells in the team event and Kitty was 3rd as an individual. Charlotte Mansergh and Lottie Gould also compet-ed in the Leweston and Taunton School show jumping com-petitions and Charlotte, who was representing Hazlegrove, also competed in the NSEA National finals held at Addling-ton. Lottie and Kitty competed in the Mini Stonar ODE for junior riders and Kitty came second overall. With more riders joining King's next September the equestrian teams will hopefully go from strength to strength. The future looks very exciting with teams from King's hope-fully soon competitng at the prestigious Hicktead and Royal Windsor schools show jumping events.

EQUESTRIAN

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PRIZEGIVING

End of Year report

by Ian Wilmshurst

Headmaster

Senior Warden, Governors, Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to this year’s Prizegiving and in particular a very warm welcome to our Guest of Honour, Susannah Simons. Susannah, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today, and for agreeing to present the prizes. This is an interesting time for me as Headmaster as I reflect on the last five years and realise that the current Upper 6th joined with me at King’s in September 2009. When I look at the leavers now and see how they have grown and matured, I will say good-bye with more sadness than usual. We have travelled the last five years together and this has been one of the most enjoyable years for me as Headmaster; one of the reasons has been the great company of the current Upper 6th. I see often see education at King’s as a triangle. It is important that there is a triangle between parents, pupils and the School, and that there is constant, ongoing communication between all three. But I also see it as a triangle reflecting our size, the quality of our education and culminating at the top of the triangle with the success of the School. As I have said before at Prize-giving, we should be very confident and proud of our size. The School is full at 340 pupils and although our girl numbers have obviously increased, there are no plans to become a larger School. The size of the School is an advantage as long as we can match it with quality across the board. This quality will bring undoubted success and the School has been very successful this year. There are very few HMC schools as small as King’s Bruton. I wanted to show this to the School by including the 1880 whole-School photograph on the front of the programme this afternoon. The Headmaster here is the first David Norton who was succeeded by his son, also called David Norton, and this is every boy in the School at that time. Indeed nearly 70 years previously, in 1812, there was only one boy in the School, William Chubb, and if he had left, none of us would be here now.

The move to co-education has arguably been the most significant development at King’s in the last 100 years

Clearly we have grown since 1880 and the move to co-education has arguably been the most significant development at King’s in the last 100 years. King’s will be full for girls for the first time in our history in September. Obviously we don’t know yet how successful our 5th and 6th Form will have been in their external exams, but I wish them all luck; I am proud that the last four years have been the best four years of A Level results at King’s. I am also delighted that the introduction of BTECs this year has been so successful and I am grateful to Craig Barrow, Rose Vigers-Belgeonne and Nanette Archer for all their hard work and expertise, matched by the leadership shown by Anton Kok, to ensure that BTEC has become an important and integral part of our 6th Form education. This time last year, I discussed Music at King’s with David Gorodi and Ashley Marshfield and we were concerned that so many strong musicians were leaving from last year’s Upper 6th. We had no need to be worried. This has been an impressive year for King’s music. Swing Into Spring continues to be an outstanding musical and social success, the Military Band performed on Remembrance Sunday and in many of our numerous concerts, while our Soloists, Ensembles, Orchestra and Choirs continue to excel. I am grateful to David and Ashley for masterminding such a key part of King’s education; I was very proud to be at St George’s Chapel, Windsor to hear the Chapel Choir sing Evensong. Next year the Chapel Choir will be singing evensong at Wells Cathedral and Tewkesbury Abbey. Much of the success of our music is down to the current Upper 6th who have risen to the challenge left by their predeces-sors and I would now like to invite the Leavers’ Choir to come forward for their second and final public performance. [After singing] I have asked Toby to remain behind because today is an important day for the Stevenson family. Toby is the last of five Stevenson children who have been educated continuously at King’s. Today is also Toby’s father’s birthday as well as his last day in the Army. I think it is appropriate that we celebrate all of this and I have asked Toby to give his Mum and Dad presents from the School. Andrew and Julie please come forward… This has also been a year of outstanding achievement in sport. We have looked to define our Sport, again, on a pyramid structure: the base of the pyramid is participation and we look to ensure that all our pupils participate in sport and healthy exercise throughout their School career. The next layer of the pyramid is performance, and we develop fixtures which ensure that the vast majority of pupils are involved in competitive sports teams against opposing schools. While at the top of the pyramid we have our

Ellen-Jane Robinson, Head of Wellesley House, with new House Cup

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elite performers who are given the support they need to be the best they can be in their individual sports. One of the highlights of the year has been the success of our Hockey and I am indebted to Henry Eriksson and Jack Cropper for the way that they have coached and organised all the Hockey teams this season. We are lucky now to have two As-troTurf pitches and it was one of the highlights of this year to have three Hockey teams reaching National Finals: The U16 girls and U16 boys at the Indoor National Finals and then the U16 boys matched their Indoor success by winning the West outdoor Championships and then coming 4th in the National Finals. I am very grateful to all the parents who continue to support their sons and daughters in all aspects of School life, and I know that Henry and the boys valued the parental support at the National Hockey Finals.The National Hockey Finals were played at Cannock in the Midlands and the final match for the boys was at midday. This gave an opportunity for the parents to have a morning of relaxation, and two mothers, who shall remain nameless, decided that they would take this opportunity to book a well-deserved reflexology and massage session at a local spa. So they went to the Reception-ist at the hotel and asked if there was a spa nearby. The Receptionist replied, yes indeed there was a spar nearby, just around the corner. She continued by saying that if they couldn’t find what they were looking for at the Spar there was a Co-op next door. So I don’t know which spar they managed to get to, but I am very grateful for their ongoing support. U14 girls made history in being the first King’s Netball team to qualify for the South West Regional Netball finals

It wasn’t just in Hockey that the School has been successful. The U14 girls made history in being the first King’s Netball team to qualify for the South West Regional Netball finals and I would like to thank Hannah Williams for her leadership and enthusiasm in developing all our Netball teams. Hannah is now running Priory in Emily Simper’s maternity absence, and she also organised a very successful Priory charity Netball Tournament. Hannah did organise the teams and, needless to say, her team won. She en-sured she had George Beverly at 7 feet tall as shooter and that her boyfriend, Jason, who is a Welsh professional Rugby 7s player in her team. Normally Hannah, at these kind of things, you let the children win, maybe next year… The U15s enjoyed their Cricket Festival at Nottingham High School while the 1st XI have scored over 500 runs in two innings over a weekend against Clayesmore and the Old Brutonians. They are now looking forward to their Festival to finish the season off early next week. The first XI Football team had a successful season and we were unbeaten against schools as were the 1st Boys Squash team. We continue to excel in Badminton whilst there has been some exciting play by our Rugby XVs, particularly the 1sts, 2nds, U16s and U14s, while the 7s had an excellent tournament at Rosslyn Park. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching our athletes perform for the School and it is a shame that the Interhouse Athletics was cancelled yesterday. Three of our athletes have represented their county: Beth Wilson-Brown, Ellen Barber and Matthew Trickey, while Matthew has also been selected for England Schools. And leading the way for our athletes is Elliot Rutter who has recently qualified for the U20 World Championships at 400m. Elliot is now the fastest U20 400m runner in Europe with a personal best of 46.39. I have included on the back of the programme a photograph of the 1909 Cricket XI (see page 6). This is for two reasons. Firstly because this was one of the most successful sports years in the history of the School. There were only 55 boys in the senior part of King’s with 13 boys in the Junior School in 1909, and the Captain, seated in the centre of the photograph, is Harold Hippisley. Harold captained all three teams - then it was Football, Hockey and Cricket – for three years and in his last year the Football and Hockey teams were unbeaten while the 1st XI, only lost two of their eight matches. Hippisley scored more than 600 runs that season including two centuries, at an average of 62.9. He also played cricket for Somerset in his final year at School and then went on to trial in hockey for England. The new astroturf, which is providing such an excellent facility for our hockey players, is named Hippisley in his honour, as Harold was the first Old Brutonian killed in the Great War in October 1914. Six of the King’s cricketers in this photo were killed in the war. And as the Senior Warden mentioned, this is a poignant day today as it marks the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Arch-Duke Ferdinand, so the naming of the new astroturf is a fitting memorial to all Old Brutonians who died in the Great

War. A new initiative this year has been the intro-duction of cycling expeditions as part of the Duke of Edinburgh scheme and I am grateful to all the staff led by Tom Loveless who have supported our 18 cy-clists who managed to cycle from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in East Yorkshire, fully laden with kit, and camping on the way. This adds to our extra-curricular programme with a thriving CCF led by Al Moxham and another King’s team competing successfully in Ten Tors, this time a 4th Form 35 mile

School Prefects: Back Row (left to right): Rebeka Finch, William Tuson, Carlos Munoz-Rojas, William Robinson, Harry Charlier, Charles Smith, Ellen-Jane RobinsonFront Row (left to right): Daniel Crockatt, Wiebke Kro-schel, Tobias Stevenson, Mr Ian Wilmshurst, Enfys Evans, Charles Auckland, Benjamin Carretta

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team. It is always an honour for me to welcome our Ten Tors teams as they arrive smiling but incredibly tired at the finish at Okehampton Camp. The penultimate week of term is now our much anticipated Arts Week and Seamus Harkness has again masterminded a wonder-ful variety of events with the highlight being his invitation to the King Chamberlain’s Men, including an Old Brutonian, who performed Ro-meo and Juliet outdoors on Paddock lawn in glorious sunshine. Wayne Spilsbury continues to lead a vibrant and exciting Art department with a wonderful end of year Exhibition and I know that Wayne has already been in close contact with Hauser and Wirth to look at ways to develop strong links for our artists with this exciting, multi-million pound arts development on our doorstep. It was another enjoyable and varied year in the Theatre. Will Stainton, who joined us in September as Theatre manager, belied the myth that male Theatre Managers cannot smile; Will has worked so well with Maggie King our Head of Drama as together they have produced an outstanding whole school musical, Anything Goes, impressive exam-ination pieces, two brilliant House plays by New and Arion as well as last week’s funny but thought-provoking junior play. I would next like to thank the Friends’ Committee for continu-ing to support the School with a series of enjoyable events. The Fete Champetre was excellent this year and we were blessed, finally, with some good weather. I know a lot of work goes into organising these events and my thanks go to Emma Cobb, Rose Vigers-Belgeonne and the Committee. However I was slightly disappointed to be the winner of a Hen House in the Fete Champetre Silent Auction. It is now in our garden and the only problem is that we don’t have any hens – although before the Auction, Natalie, my youngest daughter, as you have probably heard before, came up to me and said: “Daddy, I’ve chosen the names for all our hens”. I said, “Natalie, we don’t have any hens”. She replied, “Daddy, will you ever learn?” It is the time of year for me to say thank you and good-bye to 3 members of staff: Alison Jeffries moves on to Sidcot School after providing an outstanding level of care for our pupils in Learning Support as well as teaching Economics, supporting pupils in UCAS preparation and being a much valued Tutor. Jo Taylor moves onto a full-time post as Head of EAL at Leweston School and we are grateful for all that Jo has done and for her help in supporting Andrea Maistrello provide excellent care for our overseas pupils with English as an Additional Language. And finally Jack Cropper who has been here for a year as Hockey coach. As I have said before, he has been instrumental in working with Henry Eriksson during what has been an outstanding Hockey season for all our teams. Jack has done well to deservedly secure the Head of Hockey post at Stamford Endowed School. I am sure he will keep in touch and I think there are plans for King’s to play Stamford and Bromsgrove, Ben Dudley’s school, at pre-season Hockey next year So, Alison, Jo and Jack, thank you very much for all you have done at King’s and we wish you well. We share lots of laughs up in the Bursary, even when we are discussing topics that are not particularly amusing.

We don’t say good-bye quite yet to our Bursar, Harriet Feilding, as she will be retiring from King’s at the end of next term, but this is her final Prizegiving. I think it is appropriate that we thank Harriet for all she has done for the School now, even though we will thank her more formally in December. I work very closely with Harriet and she is always supportive, incisive, perceptive and great company. We share lots of laughs up in the Bursary, even when we are discussing topics that are not particularly amusing. Harriet deserves our thanks for ensuring that King’s is in a very strong financial position. So Harriet, we have a very small token of our thanks now, although you can’t get too demob happy because you still have another term of work to do with us, but I would like Charlotte to give Harriet some flowers. I would also like to thank the Support Managers who work with Harriet. Without the cleaners, grounds staff, kitchen staff, and nurses in the Medical Centre, the School would not be able to run effectively at all. I know, and Harriet knows, how much all the support Managers put into their work and how passionate they are about the School, and I think it is only right that I take this opportunity to publicly thank the Support Staff and Support Managers. In no particular order is, firstly, Pat Cloney, the Estates Manager. Our thanks for all he does to make sure the School doesn’t fall down. Pat and his team have got to deal with an estate with buildings which range in age from 1519 right through to more modern buildings and also some flat-roofed buildings built in the 1960s that really take more time than they should to maintain. Pat has also ensured that the Boarding House refurbishment has continued apace and I am delighted that we will be finishing the main refurbishment in Priory this summer. Andrew Keenan is our Catering Manager who took over at a difficult time with staff changes and with our catering at a relatively low ebb. Andrew has worked with imagination, tact and flair to improve the level of the catering and he is always con-scious of the needs and desires of the pupils. Jo Burgess is in charge of our Medical Centre. Jo and her team expertly deal with all health matters from the mundane to the very serious. Sarah Blundy works very closely with Harriet as Finance Bursar and her understanding and meticulous eye for detail ensures that all our accounts are accurate and up to date; we are lucky to have her with us.

“Daddy, will you ever learn?” Natalie Wilmshurst

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Carol Mills is our Domestic Manager and Carol and her team work long hours and are often in very early in the morning to ensure that everything is in the right place at the right time, as well as ensuring that everything is clean and laundered. And last, but by no means least, Aidie Davis our exceptional Head Groundsman. You just need to walk up on Hyde to see the level of his skill and I have very rarely seen a school have such outstanding Cricket outfields when in the Christmas Term the outfield is used for rugby matches. I often meet Aidie early in the morning as I walk my dogs and I enjoy chat-ting about the grounds, his continual requests for new equipment, and the weather: it is always either too dry or too wet for Aidie. So please could I ask Pat, Sarah, Andrew, Carol, Jo and Aidie to come forward to receive the thanks of the School. We also say good-bye to two long-serving Gov-

ernors. Wayne Thomas has been a Governor for many years and has also been Senior Warden. Wayne is one of the kindest men you will meet and he has continually offered support to the School and indeed to me personally. I say that Wayne is one of the kindest men you will meet, but I had my doubts when he invited me to watch the last Wales v Scotland rugby match at the Mil-lennium Stadium. I trust that Wayne did not know that this was going to be a record defeat for Scotland and I must admit that although I did enjoy the Stadium and the atmosphere, I didn’t enjoy the Rugby. So next time Wayne, I’d love you to invite me again, but please not to watch Scotland. Tony was a distinguished Headmaster of King’s and he has been an outstanding Governor

Finally we say good-bye to Tony Beadles. Tony was a distinguished Headmaster of King’s and he has been an outstanding Governor, again offering his guidance and words of wisdom as Chairman of the Education Committee, and also again to me personally. It is a testament to Tony that I have never felt that an ex-Headmaster of King’s was looking over my shoulder and his support has been much appreciated and continually positive and constructive. I would like Wayne and Tony to receive tokens of the School’s appreciation from Myles and Lottie. My thanks to all the staff at King’s, including to my long-suffering Senior Management Team, Gareth, Alison, Anton and Dan, for their professionalism and continuous hard work that ensures that we provide such a high quality education in a relatively small school. Our King’s staff ensure that we are as successful as we are and I thank each and every one of them for all that they have done for the pupils this year. Finally my thanks to Sharon, my PA, for her ongoing support and to Helen, my wife. Helen, I look forward to the arrival of the poultry which I am sure will all be female. Helen works incredibly hard for the School and today is one of her longest days, as she is the organiser of the Leavers’ Ball. So Helen, thank you very much for all you do for me, for Anna and Natalie and for King’s. I look back on the last five years with pride and very fond memories of times shared with our Upper 6th, but as I look forward to the next five years, as Headmaster, and from September as a King’s parent, I have absolutely no doubt that this small, wonderful, historic School has a very exciting future ahead. Thank you for listening and it is now my pleasure to invite Susannah to present the prizes.

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2014 PRIZESTHIRD FORMAchievement Prizes forAcademic excellence Sophia DuvalBarnaby LathamKitty MantMillie ReganEmily WastellHolly White

Commendation Prizes forSustained hard work Charlotte GouldMyles JenkinsCharlotte ManserghSkye NealMegan WardHarriet Wakelin

FOURTH FORMAchievement Prizes James AskSarah HechlerDaisy MantJoshua TeuberFreya ThornerHebe Young

Commendation PrizesEllena LoughreyBeth Pretor-PinneyRhianne PriceAlistair SanfordHannah SnowSamantha Walker

FIFTH FORMAchievement PrizesGabriel AireyLucia Pretor-PinneyHenry SmithCara ValentineXanthe WignallSamuel Young

Commendation PrizesCharlotte AskRory CadburyHarry CorbettEleanor LittleJames PlummerBeth Wilson-Brown

LOWER SIXTHSubject PrizesBiology: May BullockChemistry: Samuel ChanBusiness Studies: Angus Fox

Design & Technology: Hugh EdgarPhysical Education: Edwin LeungEconomics: David van WickerenFurther Maths: Samuel ChanPhysics: Callum ThornerEnglish: May BullockFrench: Hugh PomeroyGerman: Matthew PrykeSpanish: Georgina MacLeod-AshGeography: Edward AndrewsHistory: William KingsberryTheatre Studies: Lucien CareyHome Economics: Isabelle LongpreMathematics: Eben LathamPhilosophy and Ethics: Hugh PomeroyPsychology: Ellie Longman-RoodBTEC Sport: Ellen-Jane RobinsonBTEC Health & Social Care: Ellen-Jane RobinsonBTEC Hospitality: Nicole WanGCSE Italian: Edith Bruford

UPPER SIXTHSubject PrizesBiology: Tabatha NorthPsychology: Tabatha NorthBusiness Studies: Wiebke KroschelChemistry: Charles SmithMathematics: Charles AucklandPhysics: Artem VoronovDesign & Technology: Charles AllenEconomics: John HopkinsEnglish: Kate PollittFrench: Bethan JackmanFurther Mathematics: Artem VoronovHistory: John HopkinsHome Economics: William RobinsonPhilosophy and Ethics: William TusonPhysical Education: Harry CharlierTheatre Studies: Kate Pollitt

MUSIC PRIZESHeadmaster’sPrize for Music:Tobias StevensonCharles Berkeley

Slogrove Trophy:Charles Berkeley

Bill Gordon Jazz cup: Fabrice Le Blanc

Band Shield: Philip Claas

ART PRIZESSenior Award:Elissa BarberJunior Award:Yuki LauHistory of Art:Helena Davidson-Houston

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The Worshipful CompanyOf Painter-StainersSchool Prize in Art:Tatyana Pachina

NAMED PRIZES

3RD FORM READING PRIZE: outstanding performance in the Accelerated Reading Scheme:

Holly White

DAVEY PRIZE: creative writing:

Alexandra Strupinskaya

STRAYT PRIZE: Biology (Junior)

Samuel Young

O.B.A. PRIZE: excellence in GCSE

Callum Thorner

VINEY PRIZE: achievement in GCSE beyond expectation withcontinued progress in L6

Helena Davidson-Houston

HENRY DEANSLEY PRIZE: Chemistry (Sixth form)

Mohammed Khawaja

HOBHOUSE COMPUTING PRIZE: outstandingcomputer work

Rafe Fraser

O.B.A. PROGRESS PRIZES: progress not exclusively academic

Kate PollittHarry HarmanWilliam Robinson

HUGH SEXEY’S MEMORIAL PRIZES: contribution to School life outside the classroom

Evie GravattAndrea WurtenbergerJamie FinlaysonTabatha North

ALEX EDWARDS CUP: loyalty and service to the School community

Charles Berkeley

SIR DAVID ALLEN PRIZE: public speaking

Hugh Pomeroy

SLOMAN CUP: contribution to the dramatic arts

Bethan Jackman

GIBBS CUP: Drama

Tobias Stevenson

GALBRAITH CUP: contribution to girl’s sportingachievement both in School andat representative level

Ellen Barber

CONEY CUP: contribution to girl’s Sport on and off the field

Rebeka Finch

PINEO BOWL: contribution to boy’s sporting achievement both in School and at representative level

Elliot Rutter

RIDLEY CUP: contribution to boy’s Sport on and off the field

Harry Charlier

HEADMASTER’S PRIZES

Outstanding Academic Achievement

William Tuson

Deputy Head Girl:

Wiebke Kroschel

Deputy Head Boy:

Charles Auckland

Head Girl:

Enfys Evans

Head Boy:

Tobias Stevenson

GEORGE BAILEY BEAK TROPHY: the top performing House in academic effort and House competitions

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WORLD WAR ONE CENTENARY

WHAT KING’S LOOKED LIKE IN 1914During the early years of the 20th century there were many new developments at King’s School, reports Andrew Leach. In 1914, a modest booklet of photographs, illustrating some of these, was published. Here are a few of these photographs.

Swimming bath

Plox House, leased and then acquired by the School for a junior school

Front of Old House, showing new classrooms built alongside (now called the Wyndham Building)

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The Headmaster’s House (now New House), showing the major extension built in 1913

The new dining hall in the Headmaster’s House

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A dormitory in the Headmaster’s House

The School’s first purpose-built chemical laboratory