Head Master’s Final Assembly

Well done to all boys on a wonderfully full term with palpable energy all over our 50 acres! The below represents some snapshots – and is not by any means a full record of all that has gone on. I hope you enjoy it, nevertheless.

The singing this term has been impressive – well done – and we start today with Oh Come All Ye Faithful.

ACADEMIC

Senior Maths Challenge

The UKMT Senior Maths Challenge ran this term, designed for Sixth Form students, with approximately the top 10% of participants nationally awarded a gold certificate.

• Sixteen boys achieved a gold award: Sam McMurran (Remove Form), Jameson Liang and Jason He (Fifth Form), Scott Gildersleve, Oliver Jones, Thomas Li, Churan (Jack) Liu, Will Reddy, Frederik Simmen, Damon Yu (Lower Sixth), and Charlie Dowrick, Cyrus Goddard, Varun Nathan, Jamie Wallwork, Jifan (Frank) Wang, Yuming (Matthew) Wang (Upper Sixth)
• 33 silver
• 73 bronze

The top three – Oliver Jones, Charlie Dowrick and Jason He, qualified for the next round. Jason He was also the best in the school and qualified again for the British Maths Olympiad.

Pythagoreans Society

The Pythagoreans Society has had a highly successful term, led brilliantly by its Upper Sixth leaders:

• Dylan Morgan-Jones
• Tai Tsang-Goodwin
• Charlie Dowrick
• Jamie Wallwork
• Nat Lord

The events this term:

Lectures: (With around 50 students in total from both Bedford School and Bedford Girls’ School.

• Thomas Pelling (OB) ‘An Introduction to Mathematical Expectation’
• Tai Tsang-Goodwin (U6 Further Maths student and leader) ‘Max Tegmark’s Mathematical Universe’
• Charlie Dowrick (U6 Further Maths student and leader) ‘When Maths Goes Wrong’
• Alishba Khalid (U6 Higher IB Bedford Girls’ School) ‘Electroporation Mathematical Models: Using Partial Differential Equations In Biophysics’
• Mr J Watson ‘Connections’
• Mr Deplancke ‘Grey squirrels are evil: an exploration of Mathematical Modelling of population changes’

Quiz:

The Team Quiz was held in the Great Hall with the questions on Maths problem-solving. Students played in mixed teams (Bedford School, Bedford Girls’ School and Bedford Modern) of up to four.

Debating and Public Speaking

This term’s House Debating Competitions provided many instances of excellent intellectual and rhetorical engagement. Fourth Form boys Seth Baines and Ralph Franklin, representing St Cuthbert’s, just pipped the St Peter’s team of Isaac Adeyemi-Abere and George Gutteridge in the junior final. It was just as competitive in the senior competition, with Johnny Cummins and Tom Howe emerging victorious for Ashburnham despite the best efforts of Charlie Eggleton and Joseph Maravala.

In terms of external competitions, Sam Maling and Johnny Cummins reached – and performed extremely effectively in the semi-final of the Bedfordshire Police Commissioner’s Schools’ Debating Competition. Kevin Xu represented the school superbly in the semi-final of the ESU Eastern Region Sixth Form Public Speaking Competition. Towards the end of term, Henry Gilham (Chair), George Gutteridge (Questioner) and Fraser Morgan (Speaker) qualified for January’s area final of the ESU Churchill Public Speaking Competition.

Law Society

The school’s Law Society, co-led by Lower Sixth boys Shaun Thomas and Joseph Maravala, met twice this term, firstly to launch its 2022/23 meetings with a basic introduction to law, but secondly to host International Arbitration lawyer Stuart Dutson for Teams Talk from the city at a meeting on International Law joint with Bedford Girls’ School.

School Mock Election

In a more closely fought contest than previous elections, turnout overall sat at around 30%. The House with the highest turnout was St Cuthbert’s – a prize will be issued. And then the results under the two systems counted so far by House Constituencies won:

First Past the Post:

• Conservative 5 (Ashburnham, Bromham, Paulo Pontine, St Cuthbert’s, St Peter’s)
• Green 1 (Crescent)
• Labour 1 (Staff)

Supplementary Vote:

• Conservative 4 (Ashburnham, Paulo Pontine, St Cuthbert’s, St Peter’s)
• Green 2 (Bromham, Crescent)
• Labour 1 (Staff)

A particular well done to Tom Cameron-Fraser for single-handedly conducting the First Past the Post count, to the Lower Sixth for running an efficient election, and to the Upper Sixth for putting themselves forward.

HM COMMENDATIONS

Fourth Form

Stirling Smallwood – for sustained excellence across his academic subjects and his involvement in the co-curricular life of the school. 

Oscar Qualtrough – for sustained excellence across his academic subjects and his involvement in the co-curricular life of the school. 

Remove Form

Harry Wood-Rubio – for his gold award (coming in the top 10% nationally) in the Oxford University UK Bebras Challenge on computational thinking. 

Benjamin Roberts – for successfully setting up a new society and analysing a vinyl recording and the messaging within it for his audience to the highest academic level. 

Fraser Morgan – for a thoroughly researched and thoughtful presentation for the Chinese Society on the Jewish population in China. 

Ali Khan – for his gold award (coming in the top 10% nationally) in the Oxford University UK Bebras Challenge on Computational Thinking. 

Harry Jackson – for his gold award (coming in the top 10% nationally) in the Oxford University UK Bebras Challenge on Computational Thinking. 

Felix Beckmann – for his gold award (coming in the top 10% nationally) in the Oxford University UK Bebras Challenge on Computational Thinking. 

Fifth Form

Will Turner – for achieving three academic commendations, including outstanding effort for his sculpture work. 

Eric Breslin – for a consistently outstanding effort shown across all subjects, amassing 45 merits so far this year. 

Lower Sixth Form

Johannes Yi – for independent study during his half term holiday. This included a fantastic history independent study which went beyond the brief in terms of detail, presentation and hours spent and an outstanding written assignment for ESL in which he presented convincing arguments based on discussions in class, and added his own ideas, which showed a high degree of awareness of how bias can be shown by language choice. He was awarded commendations for each of these pieces of work. 

Sam Maling – for his excellent performance in the ESU Public Speaking Competition; chairing the House Debating final; delivering an excellent presentation at the Theology and Philosophy Society and being awarded a commendation for a highly-accomplished English essay on ‘Othello’. 

Charlie Lawrence – for sustained and consistent effort across his A-Level subjects, amassing the highest merit total in the cohort to date, and going above and beyond in many areas e.g. an excellent presentation on Hesiod’s Theogany at a Classical Society meeting. 

Upper Sixth Form

Tai Tsang-Goodwin – for delivering an excellent Pythagoreans Society lecture to a mixed audience of around 60 pupils and teachers (from both Bedford School and Bedford Girls’ School). 

Charlie Dowrick – for delivering an excellent Pythagoreans Society lecture to a mixed audience of around 60 pupils and teachers (from both Bedford School and Bedford Girls’ School). 

Bertie Denton – for sustained academic curiosity in English; his critical reading and contributions to lessons have had a positive impact on the learning of others. 

SPORT

Rugby

The senior teams had a challenging year. Very unusually, we started at four teams and quickly went down to three. The resolve of the players was certainly tested but they never gave up and had a consistently positive approach to every training session and match. There were a number of tight games, which could have gone either way and the 2nd Team had the tale of the season with their last game where, not only did they beat a previously unbeaten Abingdon 2nd Team, but they also won in style. Definitely a victory worth celebrating. Winning more than they lost, and unbeaten before half term, the 1st XV’s season was nevertheless a tale of two halves, as their biggest challenges came in the second half of the term. They narrowly lost to Finborough in the last 16 of the Schools Cup in the last play of the game but they had victories against the likes of Radley, Haileybury, Dulwich and Oundle and pushed impressive Oakham and Warwick teams close. One guarantee was that the XV would provide the spectators with an entertaining game. They looked to play a fast game and attack all areas of their field. Their bold approach would often bear fruit and they will have a brilliant highlights reel from the season. Many games had an exciting conclusion, with five games decided in the last play of the game, two of which were a draw. 

The U16 teams also had a challenging season; rugby seems to be very competitive at this age group country-wide. All matches were fiercely competitive and of a very high standard. If this year is to go by, the future of English rugby is very good! The U16Cs were heading for a season without any victories, but they saved their best performances for the final two games, beating the much-fancied Harrow followed by Abingdon the following week. Again, this demonstrated the unwavering positive outlook and resilient nature of the boys in the team, which is echoed across the entire rugby club. 

As this report is being written, the U15A team are still playing in the final stages of the National Schools Plate competition. They have a chance to go all the way as they are a team with a positive and vibrant culture and play some high quality and fast paced rugby. They have made a huge amount of progress, winning a great deal more games than they did at U14. This is largely down to their positive attitude and close bond. They are an exciting team to watch, who are committed in contact and move the ball well. The U15 teams have had a positive season overall and are an exciting group to watch as they move through the school. 

The U14s have had an exhilarating season of rugby with a number of highly competitive games. The Rugby Club’s two most successful teams came from this year group. The U14 Bs – played 10, won 9 and lost 1, the U14Gs – played 3, won 3! The U14E team finished in fitting style with a close fought win against Abingdon. This is a year group with a big prospect as they always train and play with enthusiasm and full commitment. We look forward to seeing how they progress during a season of sevens. 

Major Sports Colours for Rugby were awarded to: 

Jovan Kooner, Freddie Drake-Lee, Ben Agbenu, Aiden Ainsworth-Cave, Zaid Faleel, Rhys Harries, Tom Kerr, Harry Tongue, Jasper Walter, Jonny Weimann, Edward Briers

Rugby Honours caps were awarded to:

Max Allman Ward, Oscar Bennett, Will Brock, Eldon Craven, Ted Ferris, Tom Godber, Matt Weimann

Rowing

The 26 boys on games rowing have enjoyed excellent water conditions throughout this term, which has given them the opportunity to hone their skills in the small boats. 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 and Bedford, achieving wins at both events, which bodes well for the coming season.

Again, this year the club organised a half term training camp at Pangbourne College, which 44 boys attended, all thoroughly enjoyed the water training, just slightly less than they enjoyed the food.

Rupert Apps and Dylan Mitchell both made it through the first ergo round of GB assessments, along with the other top 148 boys in the country, which then rewarded them with a chance to compete in the sculls over 5km at Boston. Mitchell finished 116th while Apps had a very solid row to finish 32 and has now been invited to a GB potential athlete camp in December.

Hockey

Both the U16 and U18 boys finished off a term full of training and fixtures at the East Indoor Championships. The U16s were denied a place at the national finals by an equaliser after the final whistle for the Perse in their game against Haileybury, narrowly missing out by a point. A fantastic effort from all boys involved and I am sure they will be successful as they move onto the under 18s competitions next year. The under 18s had another successful day but unfortunately missed out on a championship spot after losing a couple of tight games in the final stages against Ipswich and Davenant. Many of the boys attended the Hamburg tour during the October half term, playing against some of the best sides in Europe where they represented the school brilliantly. Congratulations to all boys for their ongoing commitment to the indoor programme, a fantastic term full of development and great performances!

Badminton

The badminton squad have had another very strong term; our first team pairs won all their fixtures and our second team pairs have continued to develop and become more competitive – scoring an impressive victory over Stamford School along the way. The first team has been led very well by Gideon Chan, with support from a very talented group of players in years 10 and 11, who will certainly make the school team very strong over the next couple of years.

Minor sports colours awarded to: 

• Gideon Chan

Fives

Fives fixtures were back to full strength this term, with fixtures against Oundle, Derby Moor, Bedford Modern and Berkhamstead and more to follow. It was a season of close scores at the outset, losing to Derby Moore by just seven points and Bedford Modern by an agonising one point! However, the season picked up against Oundle where, led by Captain Sachin Kambli and Vice-Captain Callum Ward, we won by 88 points (first IV), and 71 points (second IV) and then the return Bedford Modern fixture at home with both first IV and second IV winning by 78 points. The most intriguing fixture of the year, without a doubt, being the away Eton Fives fixture against Berkhamstead (Berkhamstead winning by 33 points); our home fixture will be played to the Rugby Fives rules, but this was a great opportunity to see the other, slightly more idiosyncratic game.

On the domestic scene, regular co-curricular fives now runs on Mondays after school and is regularly attended by a handful of boys; more always welcome. Finn Adams (Fifth Form, Sanderson’s) deserves a special mention for coaching younger years and encouraging the development of fives skills. And senior House Fives was won by Paulo Pontine (Ben Edwards, George Gebhardt, Tom Spice, Louis Day, Ben Mealey)

Minor sports colours awarded to: 

• Karan Srivastava
• Callum Ward

Football

The 1st XI reached the last 32 of the ISFA national shield this term, comfortably beating old rivals Kings Ely in conditions akin to a hurricane before falling to a specialist football school (recent alumni feature a certain Jude Bellingham), almost securing a thrilling comeback but eventually losing 5-3. The U15 footballers also lost out in the last 32 despite playing some scintillating football, narrowly edged out by a very physical St Joseph’s side. Earlier in the term, the school entered the Bedfordshire County U15 Futsal competition for the first time. After being drawn in a tough group and arriving late, requiring our matches to be played back-to-back, the boys navigated the group stages unbeaten before losing by an odd goal in the semi-finals to the eventual winners.

Golf 

The golf team has had an excellent start to the year; we have progressed to the finals of the ISGA by virtue of setting up a Bedford v Bedford regional final, and we await a date to play Oundle in the regional semi-final of the prestigious HMC Foursomes.

Jack Peters and Finlay Rennie have received recognition from England Golf and are training with their respective age group squads over the winter – we hope international caps are on the horizon.

Finlay (Remove Form) shot an impressive -2 at The Berkshire in the HMC Singles back in September, which placed him in a tie for third in a highly competitive U18 field.

As we enter hibernation from external fixtures, the intra-squad Winter League is in full flow; Archie Mathers and Freddie Tucker are setting the pace, both undefeated heading into the Christmas break.

Squash

The squash team have had a successful season, moving from strength to strength through the term. Strong captainship from Louis Day has been a key driver in forming a supportive club full of developing talent. Results have improved through the season with a successful last few matches against Uppingham, Berkhamsted and Rugby. Scott Gildersleve has proved a hard to beat number 1 and it has been great to see such competitive matches played through the seeds, with up-and-coming talent from Wesley Hilton, Danny Chapman and Krish Nair looking promising for the coming season. Vova Sumbaev has represented the 1st team well and made a fantastic 2nd team captain this term. Leading a talented squad to a number of victories in the second half of the term. We were also able to play an U15 match against a newly formed Bedford Modern side, who will hopefully become a regular fixture.

Minor sports colours awarded to: 

• Scott Gildersleve

Swimming and Water Polo

There have been two swimming events this term for the U16 age group: Stowe Relays and Warwick 100s. At Stowe the team managed to make both Finals where they finished 6th in each. At Warwick, without achieving any first places, most boys finished in the top five. The term ends with the first rounds of the ESSA Water Polo competition. This year the Senior team finished 5th with a win and two losses and now progress to the Bowl competition. The U15 team with 3 wins and 1 loss finished 2nd and will enter the Championship next term. This is the first time the school has reached this level of the competition.

Shooting

As is usual, the shooting year starts a little slowly in the autumn term. The only BSSRA competition shot this term was the Team of Eight, by Harry Norris, James Hine, James Barney, James Lumley-Wood, James Sumner, Alex Hayward, Finley Mitchell and Ryan Jordan, and, at the time of writing, we have yet to receive a read-out on the results.

The skill and experience of the school’s shooting squad continues to deepen, and we now contribute no less than three members to the County Team, with Harry Norris and James Lumley-Wood competing as part of the A Team and Alex Hayward in the Junior (U21) Team.

James Hine and James Lumley-Wood continue as members of the Eastern Region Squad and attended a training day in the October half term break.

The competitive pace really picks-up next term. In addition to the now usual BSSRA Leagues, we are looking forward to shoulder-to-shoulder matches with Cambridge University, Uppingham and the Old Boys.

Minor sports colours awarded to: 

• James Barney

• Harry Norris

CCF

This term has been a busy one for the CCF, even if it started on a slightly sour note. Postponement of the CADSAAM shooting competition from its usual place in the first week of term meant we could not attend to defend our title, and we had to return the trophy after three years in our care.

Once term started, the routine of normal training was quickly established. The RAF continued with ground training and the Navy sailed on Priory Lake while the weather and light were with them.

The first weekend in October saw 34 Army cadets and NCOs undertake the Recruits Field Weekend at Chicksands. This was the first opportunity for many of the recruits to experience living, cooking and sleeping in the field and, unlike previous years, they were blessed with mostly dry and gentle weather.

The NCO training Cadre took place in the first week of the half term break and involved preparing 23 junior NCOs to lead the 4th Form Recruits that will join us in January. This was immediately followed by the Combat Skills exercise on Chicksands Training area, where the cadets got to practise the infantry skills and tactics they had leant.

The RAF Royal Air Squadron Trophy Ground Skills Competition took place on 20 November. Fourteen cadets ranging from Remove to Upper Sixth, led by Flt Sgt Kush Katechia, participated in this annual inter-CCF skills competition for the East of England. Although they didn’t place, they acquitted themselves well, particularly in shooting and airfield defence.

The term closed with the usual CCF Social on the last Wednesday, and next term we look forward to the Fourth Form recruits joining us.

HOUSE CUPS FOR AUTUMN TERM 2022

CREATIVE ARTS

Music

There were many instrumental highlights in the St Cecilia’s Concert this week, which saw 12 different ensembles performing (including performances by the Bugsy Malone Band) with around 100 boys involved in the concert as a whole. On a vocal front, the Chapel Choir has been going from strength to strength under the watchful eye of the Head of Choral Music Mr Roberts, with a really diverse selection of repertoire for the weekly chapel services and particularly for the Carol Services last week. 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. One of our goals in the Music Department is to provide excellent performance opportunities in both instrumental and vocal fields, and this has very much been achieved this term. It is a credit to the school that there are so many boys engaged regularly with music, both in and out of school! Within the broader Creative Arts, we were very pleased to support the musical input to the production of Bugsy Malone, under the musical direction of Mr Childs. 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. We have also enjoyed a visit from one of our Visiting Music Fellows, Simon Callaghan, who spent a day working with pianists across the school. Particular thanks must also go to a selection of boys and staff who have all contributed to playing the organ for assemblies and services – we miss the very able James Watson from our midst! There have also been the usual rounds of practical graded music exams this term, and we have been delighted that all boys who took Grade 8 in an instrument passed with a Distinction (Harlan Todd, Caleb Sanders, Ethan Newton-Walters, Alexander Olleson and Isaac Dutson).

Chapel Choir

Choir ties, awarded to boys for, in order of priority, consistent commitment over a long period of time, seniority and contribution can now be worn much like colours.

Tie privileges are awarded to:

• Korede Alagbe, Wilfred Barker, Gideon Chan, Daniel Hutchins, Joseph Mullaney, Caleb Sanders, Murray Silk (Upper Sixth)
• Giles Halsey, Toby L’Estrange, Oliver Yates (Lower Sixth)

Art

In September, we were delighted to welcome Robin Deacon, the British artist, writer, educator and curator, for the first Gilbert Lloyd lecture of the term. Robin has established a reputation for being one of the leading performance artists of his generation having presented his performances, lectures and videos at conferences and festivals in the UK and internationally in Europe, the USA and Asia. He has been curated by venues such as Tate Britain and the Barbican (London, UK), the Whitney Museum (New York, USA) and the Centre for Contemporary Culture (Barcelona, Spain) amongst many others. In his talk, Robin explained his journey from his time at university and the development of his work in an enthralling and compelling lecture with excerpts of films and videos that were both challenging and thought-provoking.

In November, we welcomed Anne Desmet RA for the second Gilbert Lloyd lecture of the term. Anne is a printmaker and in 2011 she was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, only the third wood engraver ever elected to the RA in its entire history. She has work in the British Museum and V&A amongst many other museums and collections, with an exhibition of her work currently on display at Pallant House in Chichester. Anne explained the process of the various techniques she uses and the inspiration and motivation for her work. The diversity and range of her work was breathtaking and proved to be immensely inspiring for the boys and, pleasingly, a number of Desmet inspired works have appeared in the last few weeks since her talk. What better justification for inviting artists!

For the Art Society this term, we were delighted to welcome two outside speakers for our lunchtime meetings. Hannah Martin Merchant talked about Hannah Höch in the context of a lecture titled ‘Order and Disorder under the Weimar Republic’. Hannah Höch was a German Dada artist who created innovative photomontages and collages during the period of the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933. Touching on the social, economical and political situation of Europe between the wars, Höch’s work highlights the chaotic and tumultuous climate of the time which Hannah brilliantly explained.

Ian Rowlands was one of the painters who shared the first exhibition of the term, titled ‘People and Places’, in the Foyer Gallery. A figurative artist who trained at both Norwich School of Art and the Royal Academy schools Ian talked us through his career and why he is so interested in painting the human figure and portraits in particular. He explained the importance of drawing to his whole process, which reminded the boys how drawing underpins the whole creative process regardless of style or idiom.

This term we hosted the ARTiculation competition heats for the Sixth Form and from the whole year group four boys were shortlisted for the final including Merlin Toms, John Ogunyiluka, Tom Howe and Christian Tyrell. Mr Finch, our independent judge, commented that any one of the four finalists could have won in previous years and it was the most competitive final he had ever had to judge. After much deliberation Christian Tyrell was chosen as the winner for his insightful talk on Zdzislaw Beksinki’s painting ‘Untitled’ 1974. Christian will go on to represent the school at the regional heat next term.

For the Architecture Society, we welcomed back OB John Holroyd to talk about his career path to date. Having studied at Nottingham for his degree John explained how he has ended up specialising in building conservation. Crucially, John highlighted those things about architecture which he wished he had known when still at school so I am sure our current aspiring architects would have found this extremely useful and inspiring.

As part of the weekly after-school Art History course, a visit to the Higgins Museum was arranged on the second EXEAT of the term to see their excellent exhibition ‘Changing Times: A Century of Modern British Art’. Despite it being a Saturday morning off from school, several boys joined the adult students for the insightful and enjoyable tour led by Miss Bacon.

Drama

Bedford School’s Academic Drama Society has continued to flourish each week. The term started with a dynamic dance workshop with professional street dancer Sam Golle. Mr Hooley came back to the department to lead a practical workshop entitled ‘Communicating with belief: physical ease and vocal confidence on stage’, which was very well received. Another highlight of the term was a session led by Drama Scholar Josh Cooke on Stanislavski. OB Logan Jones also returned to lead a playwriting workshop. The department are delighted to announce our new Drama president for 2023, Charlie Lawrence, and Vice president, Millan Verwoert. We look forward to working with both students on new projects.

There have been several theatre trips this term, including a Sixth Form trip to see Othello at Leicester’s Curve Theatre. We have also had workshops on Artaud and physical theatre, as well as a scholar workshop with Theatre RE.

Auditions were held this term to join a new theatre company run by Mrs Keylock and Miss Boughey. We have a group of 21 students who have been successful, and we will be working on a new production in the spring term.

Our senior Theatre musical production of Bugsy Malone was a success. We had a full spectrum of age groups participating in this show and it was a delight seeing the Bedford School and Bedford Girls’ School students work collaboratively and creatively with ease. Thank you to the music staff and students in the band, and in particular thanks to Mr Childs for all his musical expertise and enthusiasm during the project; his musical direction was outstanding.

Band members:
Clarinet – Isaac Prince
Alto Saxophone – Hugo Hodgson and Korede Alagbe
Trumpet – Daniel Hutchins
Trombone – Max Leung
Guitar – Gideon Chan
Bass Guitar – Bjorn Bantock
Drums – Josh Jeganathan 
Piano – Hanja Bantock

This production entertained audiences for three performances, including a dress rehearsal performed to Bedford Academy School, Bedford Prep School and some guests. The production was supported by a committed student technical team from both schools. The talented cast included Josh Cooke (Bugsy), Charlie Lawrence (Danny Dan), Toby L’Estrange (Fat Sam), Zachary Wasterfall (Leroy), Murray Silk (Radio announcer and Knuckles) Harry L’Estrange (Razamataz), Giles Halsey (Shake Down Louis / Roxy Robinson), Daniel Hudson (Captain Smolsky / Bronx Charlie), James Pinkney (O’Dreary), Michael Robertson (Seymour Scoop / Barber / Shady / Waiter), Henry Gilham (Babyface / Pickett / Bar Man / Butler) and Angus Timmins (Oscar De Velt and violinist).

The success of the production heavily relied on the outstanding backstage technical team, including Jacob Foster, Charlie Faulkner, Joe Travis, Elio Lepore, David Shirley and Ruirai Cassell. Thank you to Will Hayward for reviewing this production for The Ousel.

Finally, we would like to thank Mr Tearle for all his support and hard work with our technical theatre students over the past four years. Mr Tearle will be leaving Bedford School to take up a position at Stantonbury Theatre. We will miss him.

CHARITIES REPORT AND MOVEMBER

What a month – I cannot believe how much we have managed to cram into the past 30 days! As the campaign has gathered pace, I have been so very impressed how the Bedford School community have worked together to help raise awareness and funds for Movember. Our initial aim was to raise £10,000 and raise awareness of men’s mental and physical health but in fact we have reached out to our competitor schools on the fixture circuit, Harpur Trust partners and local community encouraging men of all ages to check in on each other. The whole Upper Sixth have worked together, with almost every boy being involved some elements of the campaign. This has ranged from teaching on Citizenship morning, to assemblies at the Prep School and Bedford Girls’ School, to hosting a number of events including dodge ball, longest drive, cake sales and open mic night. The month has seen both the boarding community and day houses, as well as staff both academic and support, come together to do their bit to support the campaign.

We have raised an incredible £14,272, came 1st in the UK schools challenge and in the top 20 (15th place) for all fundraising groups (corporate, services, universities, schools) across the UK. 

Special thanks must go to all those staff and students who took part in the cakes sales, raising almost £1000, Pemberley parents and students, who raised £1000 through various events within the boarding house, and St Cuthbert’s and Crescent who held cake sales, a bake-off and breakfasts to support our cause.

I am so incredibly proud of these young men and really feel we have exceeded our own expectations this year! And as our massive mo at the front of school slowly fades away, it will not only leave us with lasting memories of a fantastic campaign, but also an important message regarding men’s physical and mental health.

Final statistics:

• We have raised a total of £14,272
• Come 1st (of 603 teams) within the UK school’s challenge
• Are ranked in the top 20 of all teams (universities, corporate, emergency services, schools, running clubs) across the UK; we were in 15th place ahead of Visa Europe and behind the Aston Martin formula 1 team!
• Our video has been viewed over 2,000 times
• We were given the ‘mo bro of the week’ status by Movember HQ in the third week of November!

HOUSE CUP STANDINGS AT END OF AUTUMN TERM

1. St Peter’s (62)
2. Paulo (61)
3. St Cuthbert’s (57)
4. Ashburnham (53)
5. Crescent (44)
6. Bromham (38)

HEAD MASTER’S SCARVES

There are two.

The first award goes to a classic scarf winner – somebody who embodies the values of the school in quite an understated, but brilliant way.  This boy is a wonderful role model in his tutor group; he organised the boys of Phillpotts excellently during the House singing; he is superb academically, but just as much in effort as in his undoubted talent; he has helped to organise the regular Pythagoreans meetings; he lends his support every Friday lunchtime at Maths Clinic, and he does so with enthusiasm and total dedication to helping others; he has taken it upon himself to contact mathematician and writer for the Guardian, Alex Bellos, to invite him in to school to talk about an area of Maths.

His commitment to music and rowing are also infectious. In music, he is a very promising pianist – he is the perfect example of someone who is determined to achieve an objective and will put himself out significantly in order to achieve that objective. He heard a recording of a particular piece of piano music by Frederik Chopin and then set about learning it, note by note. This takes supreme patience, discipline and determination which this boy has developed – to his credit.

He had never stepped in a boat before he arrived with us in the Sixth Form, but from his first day he has been receptive to coaching and had a positive outlook, which meant he picked the sport up probably faster than any other boy Mr Mulkerrins has known (not bad praise from an Olympian rower!). He has now represented the school in sculling and crew boats and started to attend co-curricular morning and after school sessions in order to improve his physical capacity.

On top of all this activity, which he has undertaken with humility and daily appreciation, he is an all-round lovely human being, who has had support in this award from literally everybody I have consulted.  Very well done to Dylan Morgan-Jones.

The second boy has been nominated by his Housemaster, and seconded by many others, in respect of his values aligning so strongly with those of the school.  So…

Responsibility
As a deputy head of house he leads not by loud words or big deeds but simply by being him. His mentoring work in the Lower Sixth saw him support a Fourth Form boy who found the transition to Bedford School life challenging. The boy is now thriving, and I am sure this boy’s input has had an impact.

Integrity
He is one of the most, if not the most, respectful students I have ever met. He is gracious in all that he does. Whether that be saying thank you for pizza and chicken wings on a Friday night or to receiving an award in front of the whole school – he just gets it right.

Curiosity
This boy, in conjunction with another boy, started the Japanese Society, is a key part of the climate action group and a regular presenter at the Classics Society. This all happens alongside the demands of IB study and a healthy interest in Anime. He is a talented artist and although this is no longer a subject he studies, he still likes to sketch and create.

Endeavour
This boy is an intelligent young man but does not rely on ability. He works diligently and with huge commitment. There are only 5 boys in the Upper Sixth who have more merits than he does. He is also a wizard with a Rubik’s Cube – winning the inaugural Boarders’ competition for the fastest completion. He represents the school in both table tennis and badminton with typical modesty.

Kindness
Rumour has it that the next publication of the Oxford English Dictionary has replaced all text associated with the word kind with a picture of this boy!

Lastly, he made a point of broadening his tutor group’s cultural awareness by organising a trip to a Japanese restaurant and helping everyone choose something both adventurous and delicious. The boys really respect him.  He is a genuinely wonderful young man.  He is Sho Kudo.

Finally, a sincere thank-you to all of our staff, who have been utterly magnificent all year. Dr Barrett leaves today and we wish him well in London. Some of you will have to find a balance in the coming weeks between work and rest; but to all of you, I do hope you manage some time off and a happy and restful Christmas. We end the term, as usual, with Domus Pater.