Abingdon School

Newsletter 1/2009-10
September 2009

Dear Parents,

I am delighted to pen this, my first missive of the new academic year, with the sun streaming in, the School full to bursting with our largest roll in history, and the 1st XV having just recorded their first victory of the season with a gutsy and well disciplined performance against Clifton.

Over the holidays we were delighted to record excellent exam results. In terms of hard statistics we note that at both A Level and GCSE they were our second best years ever, with plenty of outstanding individual successes. At AS Level a talented cohort are still on course for a vintage year next summer, as long as they avoid the complacency trap and remain as focused as they have been hitherto.

Website. I am told that my newsletters are becoming increasingly redundant as more and more information is passed electronically and is available on our new website . Nevertheless, out of force of habit as much as anything else, I intend to continue in time-honoured fashion for the remainder of this academic year and will leave future decisions on the best way to communicate to my successor.

However, without wishing to further undermine this newsletter, I would like to encourage you to visit our new website on a regular basis to find out the latest news from the School. With almost 1,500 hits per day on occasions it is highly probable that many of you are already doing just that.

Hair. So far this term the only negative agenda item has come about due to the number of boys who returned with bleached or dyed hair in direct contravention of the very specific guidelines laid down under ‘dress regulations’ in the Lists Book. I have informed the boys that those with unacceptably blatant dye or bleach can expect to be sent home until the problem has been satisfactorily corrected.

Swine flu. Abingdon School recently attended a schools’ influenza briefing by Anna Hinton (Principal in Health Protection, Oxford) and Dr Noel McCarthy (Thames Valley Health Protection Agency). As a result of the meeting Abingdon has updated the School's swine flu guidelines for parents:

• It is likely that Abingdon, like all schools, will have an outbreak, which will be followed by repeated outbreaks. It is unlikely that the HPA will advise Schools to close.
• Feeling unwell comes rapidly. An infected person is able to infect others up to 12 hours before feeling unwell, and up to 2 days after symptoms cease.
• It is very important that boys are isolated at the first signs of feeling unwell and are kept isolated for 48 hours after symptoms cease.

Following identification, day boys must stay at home and local boarders will be sent home.

Emphasis should be on reducing the spread of infection by:

• Adopting the Catch it, Bin it, Kill it hygiene approach
• Early identification of infection.
• Inform the School of a pupil's absence. Telephone: 01235 849031 (weekdays) 01235 849032 (Saturdays).

For academic work, if absence is prolonged, contact the pupil's tutor and use the School's study site.

Safety Announcements. With two local children cycling to and from the School killed on the roads within the last year, this must be an area of real concern. Boys who cycle must ensure they have helmets and roadworthy bikes with lights as appropriate. In addition we recommend high visibility clothing.

Our risk assessments also identify embarkation and disembarkation from buses as ‘high risk’ times. Bus stops on busy roads in the dark are an area where vigilance and alertness from boys is essential.

New staff. We are pleased to be able to welcome our contingent of new staff to reinforce Common Room. There have been some changes to existing responsibilities, too, as Robin Southwell-Sander takes over as housemaster of what used to be Older’s House. We also welcome:

In addition, we have a new music assistant, James Gough, two French assistants, Claire Martin and Marina Blégean, a German assistant, Anne-Kathrin Hippold, and a Chinese assistant who will join us next month, Xiao Huan Peng.

Congratulations are due to several teachers on the arrival of a new member of their family over the summer: Mike Litchfield (Dylan), Sophie Payne (Theo), Chris Burnand (Charlie) and Athol Hundermark (Hayden).

Confirmation. Next term a bishop of the Church of England, which is part of the world-wide Anglican Communion of churches, will come to confirm boys in our Chapel. Confirmation is open to boys, of all years, who seek the adult life of full membership of the Church, including receiving Holy Communion. Those who have not been baptised (or christened) will be baptised in the Confirmation service. Weekly classes of preparation begin in Chapel at 12.40 pm on Tuesday 22 September. Boys interested, even if unsure, should come then or see the Chaplain beforehand.

Examination results are now available on the website. Suffice it to say we were delighted with results at all levels that enabled the vast majority of Abingdon’s A Level candidates to take up their places at their first choice universities.

GCSE. Of the subjects taken at GCSE by the fifth form:

• 40.6 % A* (43.7 % 2008)
• 77.6 % A* and A (79.1 % 2008)

Twelve boys were awarded 10 A*, and three boys achieved 11 A*s.

A Level. Of the subjects taken at A Level by the Upper Sixth,

• 66% were awarded A grade (64% in 2008)
• 90% were awarded A or B grade (87% in 2008)

From a year group of 133, 59 boys (44%) gained three or more A grades, 25 (19%) gained four or more A grades and 11 (8%) five A grades.

Academic Matters

Scholars’ Induction took place on Saturday 12 September through a simple ceremony aimed at welcoming the new scholars to the School and awarding them their scholars’ ties. Dr Burnand, Master of the Scholars, talked of the importance of ‘living scholarship’ encouraging boys to use their gifts and talents in a practical as well as a theoretical way.

The only set of exams for any year group this term is the lower sixth tests which will take place during lessons in the week beginning 16 November. We are not keen on suspending the teaching timetable to pursue endless mock examining so you will find that this is the only semi-formal set of exams the lower sixth will have before they sit the real exams in the summer. As such, we take the boys' performance in the tests seriously (as we hope they do!) and reserve the right to recall any boys who we feel have underperformed for resit exams on the day before the Lent Term begins. By the time of the tests the boys will be more than a third of the way through their AS courses and the results they achieve in November are useful early indicators of their likely grades in the summer.

January resits. Our current policy regarding resitting of AS exams in the January of a boy's upper sixth year is unchanged: upper sixth boys may sit up to a total of four units in the January session. All administration for this will be handled by the Exams Officer (Mrs Rebecca Cottam) and she will be issuing general guidance and instructions to the upper sixth before the end of September. Boys need to remember to balance their commitment to their A2 work with the work necessary to make January resits a successful venture; advice should be sought from tutors and heads of department before making entries. There is no limit on the number of units that upper sixth boys may enter in the summer. We do not allow any other year group to enter for examinations in the January session.

University Admissions talk. On Wednesday 16 September, Mr Mike Nicholson, who is in charge of Undergraduate Admissions at Oxford, and Ms Martha Hebblethwaite, Senior Recruitment Manager at St George’s Hospital, University of London, will be talking at 7.00 pm in the Amey Theatre. Boys in the upper and lower sixth years and their parents who might be interested in these higher education outlets or subjects are invited. It will be an opportunity to learn something of how the selection processes work in high-demand subjects at top-ranking institutions.

John Blashford-Snell. On 17 October at 7.30 pm John Blashford-Snell is coming to give an illustrated talk at the Amey Theatre, entitled ‘A Life of Adventure’, to raise money for the Army Benevolent Fund. He has become one of the world’s most renowned and highly respected explorers, and his innovative method of negotiating white water in inflatable boats has been adopted as a world-wide sport. Following many requests to use his wealth of experience to provide similar opportunities for mature people, he set up Discovery Expeditions with his son-in-law Julian Matthews. He also broadcasts and appears on a variety of wildlife and entertainment programmes, and he has written thirteen books.

Arkwright Scholarship. Alexander Iley (lower sixth year) has been awarded an Arkwright Scholarship. The award was given following a demanding exam and interview process and is designed to support aspiring designers and engineers. As well as receiving support throughout his design technology coursework he also receives £500 with which he can purchase materials or equipment to enhance his design work.

Abingdon students’ success in the Institute of Economic Affairs’ national essay competition. Three Abingdon economics students have won prizes in the Institute of Economics Affairs’ national essay competition. The students were required to write a 1,500-word essay on whether increased government spending was the best strategy for getting the economy out of recession. The competition attracted 400 entries from schools across the UK and the entries were judged by the Director of the IEA, an IEA Research Fellow, Dr Steven Davies of the University of Manchester and Dr Mark Pennington of the University of London. Eric Gartz won the second prize of £500, and Jonathan Wong and Mark Power Smith were runners-up, winning £100 each. Awarding of the first prize was particularly difficult - it required two rounds of judging because the panel were torn between Eric’s essay and the winning entry from Westminster School. Both Eric and Jonathan should also be congratulated on having achieved 200/200 in their AS Economics exams.

Drama and Film Unit news. The summer holiday saw activity on both fronts. Members of the Film Unit travelled to Moldova for ten days in July with the main Abingdon party to commence work on their next major film project. Matthew Copson, Tom Bateman and William McDowell researched their subject with the help of Abingdon's Moldovan scholar, Mihai Clapaniuc, and chose to focus on the story of a Moldovan family struggling to stick together in the face of the country's weak economy. They return to complete the filming in October, and are aiming to complete the film in time for a prestigious premiere at the National Film Theatre in London on Friday 12 March.

In August, Abingdon was represented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the fourth year in a row as five members of the sixth form teamed up with two of their St Helen's counterparts to present an original comedy sketch show under the title, Sketch, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll. The septet worked incredibly hard to attract audiences, and achieved much success throughout their sixteen show run, for which they averaged around 80% houses overall, with several sell-out shows and a standing ovation at their penultimate performance. Congratulations to Stephen Hodgetts, Mark Heffernan, Jack Trotman, Andrew Partridge and Matthew Copson.

The new year brings a fresh programme of drama productions. There will be at least five major extracurricular productions in 2009/10, offering opportunities to pupils at all levels of the School, as well as countless other public performances as part of curriculum drama. Parents and friends are warmly invited to sample what is on offer.

This term, Abingdon stages West Side Story, Bernstein's famous story of tensions in New York's immigrant community. This classic of the music theatre canon affords senior pupils in fifth and sixth years a chance to take part in a large scale drama in the Amey Theatre, which over the summer, under the guidance of new theatre manager, Rory Fraser-Mackenzie, has undergone a major technical re-fit. A new and unusual use of the auditorium is being explored at the moment, so we hope the shows on the evenings of 2, 3 and 4 December will draw large and inquisitive audiences.

On offer at St Helen's are two more exciting productions for Abingdon's senior pupils: Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Country's Good is a funny, dark but ultimately uplifting modern play based on the true story of the first fleet's arrival in Australia in 1788, and exploring the power of theatre to change lives. It will be performed by a cast of around 20 in the St Helen's studio on 9, 10 and 11 December.

Finally, Edward Albee's Zoo Story is an intimate one-act play written in 1959 in which a chance meeting between two characters builds towards a shocking climax. This will be staged in the St Helen's Sports Hall at the end of November. Further details will follow in the next Drama newsletter.

Music

Music Examination Success. Congratulations to the seventeen boys who gained distinctions in their music examinations last term. This brings the total last year to 39 out of a total of 204 passes over the year, including 26 at grade 8 level.

Joe Mason (French Horn) is to be congratulated upon gaining his ATCL (Associate of Trinity College, London) professional performance diploma with 87% - a remarkable achievement.

Oxbridge Organ Scholarships and Choral Awards. This term sees our two distinguished organists, Joe Mason and Caspian Mitchard on organ trials at both Oxford and Cambridge. Adrian Lo is applying for a choral award at Oxford. We wish them well.

First Orchestra Tour to Germany. Parents of members of First Orchestra will shortly receive a letter from the Director of Music with further details about the orchestra tour to Germany in July 2010, with a request for a deposit payment to indicate your intention for your son’s participation.

Joint Schools Choral Society. An invitation is extended to all parents, especially new ones, to join our thriving Choral Society with St.Helen’s School. This term we are preparing for a performance of Fanshawe’s African Sanctus on Saturday 28 November; there is a mixture of rehearsals with the pupils on Tuesdays and with adults alone on Monday evenings. No auditions are required – the first rehearsal for adult members is Monday next, 21 September at 7.30pm in the Music School.

Boat Club. A number of senior members of the club gained National honours over the holidays. Please see the rowing pages for details.

Rugby. The Rugby Club made a very solid start to the season with a block fixture against Clifton of 14 games played and 11 wins. Again, full details are on the website.

Term dates for 2010-11 will be attached to a weekly mailing shortly.

School Trips. As usual the summer holiday saw 8 school trips, involving many pupils and staff. Details and photographs can be seen on the website.

ASPA Third Year Parents’ Social Evening, Friday 13 November. If you have a son in the third year you are cordially invited to a social evening in the Sports Centre’s Entertainment Suite at 7.30 pm on Friday 13 November. The evening is organised by ASPA, the School’s parent body, and we hope as many third year parents as possible will be able to come. Do put the date in your diary and look out for more information in the weekly mailing nearer the time.

Open Day, Saturday 3 October. We would ask once again for your support in passing on information about this year’s Open Day on Saturday 3 October. As you may be aware, we rely for our advertising on ‘word of mouth’, which research tells us is the most effective way of raising the profile of the School. If you know of prospective families who may be considering Abingdon and who would appreciate a formal invitation, do please let the Registrar know on 01235 849041, or admissions@abingdon.org.uk.

Yours sincerely