Head Master’s Final Assembly

CUPS FOR AUTUMN TERM 2021

Sports Day

Athletics

The Caxton Spencer Trophy is awarded to Caleb Sanders (Lower Sixth)

The Rudolph Adams Challenge cup is awarded to Rhys Harries (Fifth Form)

for outstanding athletic performances

Rugby

The Heald Cup for Best Player in the 5th XV is awarded to James Wootton Evans

The John Carter Place Kicking Cup is awarded to James Neal

Squash

Debating

Overall House Cup (truncated this year)

The final points are: 

HM COMMENDATIONS (FOR OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL PIECES OF WORK)

Eric Breslin (Remove) for his excellent learning in biology, including his timeline of research into the human circulatory system and animation on motor neurones.

Jason He (Remove) for his top score in the UKMT Senior Mathematical Challenge, and for completing a number of extension projects on gravity, vortex cannons and how cameras operate.

Ed Wade (Remove) for an excellent talk for the Classical Society on the subject of Roman Army Training.

Aiden Ainsworth-Cave (Fifth Form) for delivering, entirely in Spanish, an outstanding presentation and interactive lesson on Bedford School culture.

Jacob Foster (Fifth Form) for his excellent video documenting the recent fieldtrip to Hunstanton.

Shiryu Oshiro (Fifth Form) for his outstanding extension work on deforestation, and for achieving a distinction in the annual Bebras national computer science competition.

Wilfred Barker (Lower Sixth) for using a computer program to look at the superposition of waves, allowing him to investigate some of the different effects we observe in real-world phenomena.

Sami Hundal (Lower Sixth) for his season of lectures to the Film Studies Society, French Society, and curation of resources for Black History Month.

Reuben Glenville (Upper Sixth) for exceptional ambition across his subjects, and for gaining a Gold medal in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge.

Ola Apesin and Ciaran Kilbane (both Upper Sixth) for their programme of termly events for the Medicine Society, including training sessions on aptitude tests and organising a surgical dissection event with Bedford Girls’ School.

Thomas Herbert (Upper Sixth) for his excellent skill development in geography, including his Geography Society presentation on the climate emergency.

Ethan Whitlock (Upper Sixth) for his leadership of the English Society, including the Movember poetry campaign.

Feyi Okusanya (Upper Sixth) for outstanding musicianship and his devotion to the Tours Team.

CREATIVE ARTS

Music

It has been so good to be able to return to ‘normal’ ensemble music-making this term after a long period of ‘bubbled’ ensembles due to COVID restrictions. There were many instrumental highlights in the St Cecilia’s Concert this week, which saw twelve different ensembles performing (including first performances for the Funk Band and Rock Band – reflecting our increasing offer within contemporary music) with around 100 boys involved in the concert as a whole. It has been wonderful to see and hear the Chapel Choir returning to sing in the weekly chapel services as well as providing excellent performances in the recent carol services, ably led by our new Head of Choral Music, Mr Roberts. The House Singing Competition provided another vocal highlight of the term; there were hotly contested and deeply felt performances from both unison and part songs – this was particularly remarkable as the preparation time was limited by COVID restrictions. Within the broader Creative Arts, Feyi Okusanya (Upper Sixth) excelled in composing, recording and producing the music for the theatre production of Animal Farm. In addition to the main musical events this term, there have also been the weekly lunchtime concerts taking place with large numbers of boys performing and developing their skills as musicians. Particular thanks must also go to James Watson (Upper Sixth) who has been constantly available to play the organ in services and assemblies. Very well done to Daniel Hutchins (Lower Sixth) who has been selected to join both the National Youth Concert Band and the National Youth Brass Band! It is a credit to the school that there are so many boys engaged regularly with music, both in and out of school!

Art

The two Gilbert Lloyd lectures this term have both been Zoom events, but they have been very well-attended remotely. In October, the writer and art historian Michael Peppiatt talked on ‘Giacometti’s studio’ and provided a fascinating insight into this extraordinary artist’s working process. In November, Andrea Rose talked about the British artist Leon Kossoff and provided a compelling argument as to why he is one of the most significant artists of the 20th century.

Exhibitions returned in September with the first a show of work by Rob Campbell, former Director of Art, followed by the annual and ever popular Staff and Friends Exhibition.

The internal heats of the ARTiculation competition have taken place this term with 20 presentations from the Upper Sixth art boys whittled down to four finalists. Harry Taylor, Alex Edun, Samson Lok and Tyler Choga all gave assured, confident and articulate presentations, but Tyler Choga was selected by external adjudicator Mr Finch for his perceptive and heartfelt analysis of Elizabeth Catlett’s print ‘Sharecropper’. Tyler goes on to represent the school at the regional heat of this national competition in February.

Many of this term’s Art Society talks have been held remotely, which has allowed us to have some exciting and varied presentations. OBs Sami Shameem and Freddie Peacock talked about the Art Foundation courses they are attending at Leeds University of the Arts and Central St Martins in London, OB Peter Webb talked enthusiastically about the exhibition ‘Durer’s Journeys’ at the National Gallery and OB David Chan talked about Balenciaga’s Summer Fashion show in 2020. Of the ‘live’ presentations John Ogunyiluka (Lower Sixth) gave a powerful talk about ‘Black History Through Art’ as part of Black History month when he included some of his favourite works by artists Yinka Shonibare, Chris Ofili, Basquiat, Kehinde Wiley and the Benin court artists. Professional designer Roger Dickson kindly came to talk about his job in User Experience Design and his career path from doing a one-year Art Foundation course and then a degree in Graphic Information Design. Alex Edun and Henry Cudjoe (Upper Sixth) gave an update on how their business, ‘twocustomisers’, is progressing and the eventful summer they had with publicity generated by a pair of their customised shoes being worn by Dan Bibby in the summer Olympics.

Architecture Society meetings have primarily focused this term on weekly drawing tasks, but Upper Sixth architecture degree applicants Henry Flatt and Samson Lok talked about their summer work experience and architecture courses and how invaluable that has been with their application process.

Drama

Our Academic Drama Society has continued to flourish each week, with Max Pearson as our President and Will Roberts as Vice (both Lower Sixth). The Society started with a fascinating workshop on verbatim theatre by OB Ethan Chappell Mason. In addition, playwright Tatty Hennessy spoke to the students about playwrighting and how to get into this challenging career. Student lectures have been given on a variety of topics, including sound design (presented by Remove Former Charlie Eggleton) and costume design (presented by Fifth Former Louis Cooke). A particular highlight was a practical workshop led by Will Roberts on how music can enhance a piece of theatre. In addition, we have started a new Drama Club run by both Max and Will and we are looking for new members in the new year.

Our theatre production of Animal Farm was a huge success. Ian Wooldridge’s adaptation of the novel retains many of the nuances and subtleties of character found in the original text, along with some great stagecraft elements. We had a full spectrum of age groups participating in this show and it was a delight seeing the boys throw themselves into the animal physicality of their roles at each rehearsal. Director Mrs Keylock was immensely proud of what they have all achieved.

Animal Farm was a very exciting collaboration with the music department. This creative and poignant production delighted audiences for three performances. The theatre was visually transformed into a farmyard and audience members commented on the immersive experience. After 18 months, this production was very well received by the local community. The production was supported by a student technical team and it was great to see so many boys want to take part. The wonderful and talented ensemble cast included Dylan Swain (Old Major), Will Hayward (Donkey), Josh Cooke (Raven), Tanay Rai (Pigeon), Sami Hundal (Napoleon), Millan Verwoert (Squealer), Will Roberts (Snowball), Thomas Taylor, Arthur Polhill and Michael Robertson (chickens), Louis Cooke (Clover), Luca Moretto (Boxer), Giles Halsey (Mollie), Toby L’Estrange (Minimus), Sam Maling (Mr Jones), Max Pearson (Mr Pilkington). In addition, the very creative and strong ensemble: Henry Gillham, Stanley Breed, Elio Lepore, Gabriel Sankersingh, Tawanda Munatsi.

Special mentions should go to Millan Verwoert (Remove) who only had two weeks to prepare for the role. The success of the production also relied on the outstanding backstage technical team, including Charlie Lawrence, Deimis Sukys, Ben Smith, Charlie Faulkner, Jacob Foster. In addition, special thanks must go to Feyisayo Okusanya (Upper Sixth) who took the mantle of musical orchestration and composer. His musical underscore was both haunting and poignant. Congratulations to all involved.

You can follow the link to read the Bedford Independent review of Animal Farm.

The Senior School Technical club have worked on different shows and continue to support the department and we wish to thank all these students for their hard work and commitment. Anybody interested in joining Tech Club can apply to join in January.

Sport

Rugby

The buoyant atmosphere around the school that is created by a full set of rugby fixtures was back with a vengeance. Only having it back made one realise how much it was missed. Cheers, groans and sounds of exertion could, once again, be heard sweeping across the grounds on a Saturday afternoon. It is a truly wonderful atmosphere, which certainly was not being taken for granted. There were wins and losses but, whatever the result, every match was a drama unfolding and each one a realisation of why rugby is such an important tool for personal development. It was a fantastic season which will live long in the memories of all involved.

The senior teams played in some epic battles with an overall 50:50 win to loss ratio. The big traditional blocks seemed to mean so much more, and the Dulwich College away fixture was one to relish. With the Upper Sixth Form cramming two seasons worth of rugby into one, they started with a real purpose. The Lower Sixth should be commended for the part they played, knowing that they had to give their all for their teammates in their final year. The 1st XV certainly turned some heads this season and scored some breath-taking team and individual tries. A lack of consistency left them scratching their heads a few times but, at the time of writing this, performed well in the cup and are readying themselves for Kirkham Grammar School in the quarter final of the U18 Schools Cup.

The U16 teams never gave up and, although results were largely in the favour of the opposition, they were tenacious and dogged. The U16 As honoured a desire to move the ball, which was very fruitful at times, particularly against Rugby School, and on the most part, did not look as though they had had a year away from competitive rugby. The U16 B team’s “never say die” attitude was rewarded by an incredibly hard-fought win against Oakham.

There was some high-quality rugby being played at the U15 level. All schools had certainly benefited from a year of developing skill and game play with touch games. Most teams were confident at zipping the ball around leading to high action, fast-paced matches. The fixture against Dulwich College was an epic and hugely competitive encounter. Neither school were willing to give an inch, but it was largely the quality of the Bedford School play with ball in hand that led to victories.

There were only two teams that finished the season with a 100%-win ratio, and they were both in the U14s – the U14 Bs (played 9, won 9) and U14 H (played 1, won 1). The teams made so much progress throughout the year with an excellent attitude and great coaching with possibly the best performances against Eton and Dulwich. Even though the rain was pouring at Eton, the teams stuck to their desire to move the ball into spaces and launch attacks from everywhere on the pitch.

I must take this opportunity to thank the staff, boys and parents for their commitment and support for the rugby club, particularly during challenging times – it has been a season to remember for all the right reasons!

Major Sports Colours for Rugby were awarded to:

• Max Allman-Ward
• James Bennett
• Oscar Bennett
• Oliver Blakemore
• William Brock
• Nicholas Challacombe
• Eldon Craven
• Henry Cudjoe
• Alexander Edun
• Tomas Else
• Edward Ferris
• Kieran Gilmour
• Thomas Godber
• Gabriel Mann
• James Neal
• Jake Pattison
• Callum Smyth
• Laurie Stredwick
• Edward Walker
• Matthew Weimann

Rugby Honours Caps were awarded to:

• James Bennett
• Oliver Blakemore
• Kieran Gilmour
• Gabriel Mann
• James Neal
• Callum Smyth
• Laurie Stredwick

Rowing

The 17 boys on Games rowing this term have been joined by many boys who have managed their rowing commitments, alongside their rugby, for extracurricular sessions. This has led to significant improvements in both their fitness and boat skills over the course of the term. The Boat Club have raced at Star, Wallingford and Hampton Heads to date, achieving wins at Star and middle of the pack results at the other two, which bodes well for the coming season. A particular mention must go to the two boys who stepped in a boat for the first time in their lives this term, Oliver Pritchett (Fifth Form) and Dylan Morgan-Jones (Lower Sixth), who are now able to race in the single. Indeed, Oliver competed at Hampton, finishing 20th from 27 in a good field, a true testament to what can be achieved by the committed.

Hockey

Both the U16 and U18 boys finished off a term full of training and fixtures with the first East Indoor Championships in two years. The U16s finished 3rd this year as a team made up of mainly Remove Form boys. The boys improved as the day went on and they were excellent in applying the principles learnt over the year in what was most of the boys’ first experiences of an indoor tournament. The future looks bright for this group, finishing with a strong performance and victory over Bishops Stortford.

The U18s played 6 games, winning 5 and losing 1. They matched eventual winners Ipswich on points but lost out on a national finals place on goal difference. During the day they beat Stamford, Davenant, The Perse, Bishops Stortford and Norwich. Previously this result would have qualified them for the next stage but, unfortunately, a restructuring by England Hockey meant that only one team progressed. Notable performances came from Fifth Former Joshua Addo in goal, making vital saves at key moments, Archie Houghton (Upper Sixth) leading the team as Captain for the first time this year and a day full of goals for Lower Sixth Former Joshua Stewart. Well done to all boys involved in the indoor hockey programme this term!

Badminton

The badminton squad have performed well this term. Our first team pairs won five out of their six fixtures in the autumn term and. whilst our second team pairs have not won any fixtures, they have certainly developed and become much more competitive and have learned a lot about match play. The team has been led strongly by Andy Wang and Gideon Chan (both Upper Sixth) with support from a number of Sixth Form players as well as some very promising talent in the Remove Form (Alex Lamb and Timothy Wai).

Basketball

The Under 14s and 16s both really enjoyed their extra-curricular basketball this term and the attendance for the lunchtime club was always brilliant. The Under 14s played 4 and won 3 games with Ben Bruce-White and Sean Winward (both Fourth Form) leading the team exceptionally well. The Under 14s’ wins came against Mark Rutherford, St Thomas More and Biddenham.

The Under 16s played 5 and won 2. Large squads were picked for games to give maximum numbers of boys exposure to the sport, which they all really enjoyed. The Under 16s’ two victories were against Castle Newnham and Daubeney Academy. Many thanks to Sixth Former Aidan Leung for refereeing the majority of the home fixtures and doing a superb job.

Golf

The golf team remain undefeated through the autumn term. Both the A and B teams have progressed to the regional final of the ISGA, where they are now due to play off against each other for the right to represent the school at the national finals held at Formby Golf Club in the summer term. In the more prestigious HMC Foursomes, we have defeated Oundle and New Hall to progress to the regional final, where we await the winner of Culford and Oakham.

Shooting

This term has seen the slow recovery of competition after the disruption of COVID, with the school competing in the postal BSSRA Team of Eight and staff matches in the first half of term. Whilst the results for the Team of Eight have not been released, the school won the staff match, with Mr Lumley-Wood achieving first place and Mr McCleery third.

Eastern Region Squad training occurred over the half term break, attended by James Hine and James Lumley-Wood (both Lower Sixth Form), and then the second half of term saw the return, after a year’s hiatus, of the OB Match.

Eleven boys and 13 OBs competed over a course of fire of a group, a rapid and a snap target, and saw the school secure a convincing win. The boys had trained hard in the run-up to this competition, particularly on the rapid, and showed real strength-in-depth, taking the first six places in the overall rankings over the OBs. The Top Shot awards were kept in the family, with James Lumley-Wood scoring a ‘possible’ to win the boys trophy, and Dan Lumley-Wood taking the OB trophy.

Once again, thanks must go to Mr McCleery and Mrs Lumley-Wood, whose dedication and hard work, particularly in the face of COVID disruption, always ensure shooting runs smoothly.

Squash

The squash club has seen a big increase in junior players this year, with many learning the sport for the first time. Everyone’s squash has developed well through the term, particularly those representing the school in the squash teams with improving score lines and close matches. There have been some strong individual performances with Scott Gildersleve (Fifth Form), Dilan Sheemar (Upper Sixth) and Louis Day (Lower Sixth) all winning tough matches in the top seeds of the 1st V team. Competition for the middle seeds was strong, with successes for Krish Nair (Upper Sixth), Wesley Hilton (Remove) and Alex Carlton-Smith (Fourth Form) across their matches in the 2nd V. A strengthening team bodes well for success next term.

Minor Sports Colours for squash are awarded to:

• Dilan Sheemar

Swimming and Water Polo

This term sees the first round of the ESSA championships take place. Usually this is difficult at U15 because all boys are playing rugby. However, this year we had a good cohort of boys who had played many games in the Prep School. Consequently, we won our first games in the opening round, finishing a creditable 3rd to move into the Plate Competition next term. Four of the team joined the older boys in the U18 competition and repeated the success of the junior team, finishing third and moving onto the U18 Plate. Sam Barnes (Fourth Form) has been nominated to trial for the National Academy for U14 boys, which is a first for the school.

Tennis

The boys taking part in tennis have improved considerably. They have enjoyed weekly training sessions and both the A and B teams played well against MCS Oxford in the league stages of the LTA Year 11-13 team tennis competition. This term also saw the start of training sessions after school for the tennis performance squad. We look forward to seeing them develop throughout the year.

Fives

Fives continued this term with a new year group leader board installed outside the fives courts and continued improvements in facilities including new lighting. First-IV fixtures against the University of Cambridge (lost) and First- and Second-IV against Derby Moor (won) went well, with the junior Fives fixture away against Bedford Modern being postponed due to bad weather. Next term will see the return of House Fives.

Minor Sports Colours are awarded to:

• Rob Menhart (Upper Sixth)

CCF

The easing of COVID restrictions allowed the CCF to return to something close to normal operation this term so, once the schools and year groups could again train together, the Corps worked hard to catch up with the training that was inevitably missed last year.

Activities beyond the usual Wednesday afternoon training started with the Girls Field Weekend on the Chicksands Training Area. The NCO training Cadre was run at school during the half term break, followed immediately by a refresher ‘Battle Camp’, once again at Chicksands, in the latter half of the week. This gave the cadets the opportunity to practise skills such as ambushes, contact drills and section attacks, and it was wonderful to see how well the two schools worked together after such a long period of forced segregation.

The second half of term also saw the gradual return of cadet competition, and the first of these was the RAF Regional Air Squadron Trophy competition at Shuttleworth. The team of 12 boys and two girls led by Oscar Terry (Upper Sixth) performed well, achieving 8th place out of the 38 schools who make up the region and from whom competition selection is drawn. The team also achieved their set goal of placing above Bedford Modern (who placed joint 10th). Of particular note, the team placed 2nd in the target shooting event despite being unfamiliar with the class of rifle, and Oscar Terry was the joint best individual shot in the competition.

Thanks must go to both the Officers and Cadets who have coped admirably with the uncertain and ever-changing environment. It is due to their resilience and initiative that the CCF has been able to meet these challenges with such success.

ACADEMIC

Ready2Lead? Conference and the Ivy House Award

This term has seen our Lower Sixth students engage with two fantastic self-leadership development opportunities. The third Ready2Lead? Conference, held over three sessions between October and December, brought together over 70 delegates from across nine Sixth Form providers in the Borough. Founded on the belief that each of us has a uniquely valuable contribution to make to the world around us, the Ready2Lead? Conference provided the chance to hear inspiring speakers, to reflect on our personal values, to discuss learning with other delegates from across the town, and to work in project teams to generate an idea to tackle one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. A mix of live and virtual events, the conference ended on 1 December with an in-person networking and celebration event, enabling delegates to pitch themselves and their ideas to one another and to leaders and experts from a variety of fields.

The second opportunity is The Ivy House Award. Also in its third year at Bedford School, this has seen an initial group of 25 Lower Sixth boys access some outstanding self-leadership training as they have completed the first couple of months of this 20-week programme. The Award seeks to develop three principles: self-knowledge, self-empowerment and self-leadership. Each week, the participants have watched videos, completed quizzes and then come together to discuss what they have learned. So far the award has helped us think about our dreams, values and strengths, as well as to consider the way our thinking affects our feelings and behaviours.  As we near the end of the first half of the course, we are looking forward to a second cohort starting in January.

Computer Science

Just a short report this term, with some details about the Bebras programming challenges, which we entered earlier on in the term. We entered more students than ever before – including boys from the Prep school – and this year was our best year ever in terms of results:

• 314 pupils entered
• 74 got distinctions
• 88 got merits

16-18 group: Best in School (joint): Alex Hayward and Daniel Hutchins (both Lower Sixth) plus 8 distinctions and 10 merits

12-16 group: Best in School: Ethan Summers (Remove Form) plus 23 distinctions and 22 merits

Debating and Public Speaking

The term has seen a good number of meetings held by the Debating and Public Speaking societies. Highlights included a debate about race, a collaborative venture with the Eckersley Society and a terrific discussion centred on the pros and cons of capital punishment. It has been particularly heartening to have so many Fourth Form and Remove boys joining more senior pupils. The House Debating Cup was awarded to Bromham, who won the junior final and finished runners-up in the senior competition; the latter saw Ashburnham emerge victorious. School teams progressed to Round 2 of the ESU Mace and the area final of the ESU Churchill Public Speaking Competition, both of which are scheduled for January.

Fourth and Remove Forms Holiday Competition

Boys are invited to take part in a year group competition over the Christmas holidays; their academic curiosity and creativity will be at the forefront of their entry, and we cannot wait to see what is produced!

The New Year is a time to reflect but also look forward. With that as our context, the challenge is to produce a piece of work with regard to any of the following statements:

• In 5/10/20/50 years’ time, the most important teachings of (pick any of your subjects!) will be _________ because __________.
• In 5/10/20/50 years’ time, the school day will look like __________ because _________ .
• In 5/10/20/50 years’ time, the physical school environment will look like ____________ because __________ .

You can complete this any way you like, for example an essay, blog, presentation, poster, artwork, video etc. Boys should please share their completed work with Mr Prior via email; competition winners will be announced when we return in the new year!

HM scarves

The first recipient of a scarf was nominated by several people and accepted by me on sheer character credentials. He has been variously described as a young man with good grace, humility, modesty, understatement, quiet efficiency and care in his role as house Sports Captain/House Option.

He is always determined to give of his best and help others. His work for Movember in teaching the younger boys during Citizenship was very impressive. He is intelligent, a conscientious student, a good sportsman and demonstrates great integrity and kindness to others. Put simply, a good man. Very well done to Tom Herbert.

The second recipient is one of our many outstanding Heads of House, a role model for all boys from the way he conducts himself – and critically not just when he is being watched, but also by all the unseen and unheard things he does; from running House meetings to simply tidying up around the house; from leading the mentoring programme to quietly checking in with boys to see how they are doing. His genuine and sincere kindness was exemplified in the speech he gave at our Christmas dinner where he championed boys from all year groups, showing how much time he has taken to listen and to know all members of the house. He epitomises the values of his House and of the school. He has thrown himself into sport and the extracurricular side of the school. He does not yearn for recognition – he does the ‘little things’ without any ceremony because he knows it helps others and is the right thing to do – but in this case he will get it anyway from simply living by the genuine, caring and thoughtful approach that he has always had. Above all he is an incredible friend; and he receives from others the friendship and respect that he deserves. He is incredibly proud to be a Bedford and Redburn man and his name is Jonty Dawes.

It seems that almost every time I meet with a prospective parent, they tell me what a wonderful boy has just shown them around the school; and they are right – you are all wonderful boys, you are definitely proud of your school and you do a mean tour! My thanks to you all. But this boy’s name just keeps coming up. He seems to have done so many tours this term and he never fails to elicit great comments. He also, in his spare time, worked tirelessly on the Movember music piece; composed, recorded and produced all of the music for the theatrical production Animal Farm last week; and, this week, led the Symphony Orchestra in the St Cecilia’s Day concert. Furthermore, he is someone who is liked almost universally and demonstrates real kindness every time you come across him. He is Feyi Okusanya.

The last scarf goes to a young man for his selfless service and quiet kindness towards others, for his highly competitive yet sporting nature, for his determination to take a full part in school life and to get others involved, for his academic diligence and unfailing politeness. From an excellent senior house team in day house, his character has really stood out this term. As one of his teachers writes: “he is the very embodiment of endeavour. He has worked harder than other Sixth Former I teach – always first to class and keen to give his very best. He is also an outstanding goalkeeper (albeit a Spurs supporter) and very modest about his talents, which is how he sometimes goes a bit under the radar. Quietly determined and utterly reliable, he knows where he is going and, for me, is one to watch”. Then, amazingly, immediately after I received this lovely eulogy, a merit was recorded online by another teacher for him, which seems to sum him up; it was simply “for helping our shorthanded lab technician by leaving the lab spotlessly tidy after a practical”. He is Freddie Sellers.

Well done to all!

Finally to the staff….

What an amazing staff we have. I am sorry that we cannot all say thank you to them in the Great Hall together today, because this has been a particularly challenging term for them and I am sure we all wish to say those thank yous – please do feel free to applaud your Tutor on behalf of everybody! 

Today, we also say goodbye to Mr Fisher. Mr Fisher joined the school in 2011, his third career after serving the army and working in the city for a firm of management consultants. Since then, he has taught history, run UCAS, coached sports, run a Day House, and now run Phillpotts for the last six years. He is a fine teacher, a professional through and through, and we wish him well as he takes up the reins as Senior Deputy Head at King’s Ely.

So it simply remains to say: well done to you all on a great term; and all best wishes for an equally good holiday!  Happy Christmas.