Abingdon School

Newsletter 6/2009-10
March 2010

Dear Parents,

In time-honoured fashion we celebrate the end of this short, frenetic term with a Commemoration Service in St Helen’s, and with a Foundation Dinner for some 170 individuals who have contributed to the life of our busy school over the last year. At the Commemoration Service we give ‘praise for famous men’ (Ecclesiasticus Chapter 44) and remember those founders and benefactors who over the course of the last 750 years have built the School up to the community, social and physical, that it is today. Foremost amongst our list of Benefactors is John Roysse (many local people still refer to Abingdon as Roysse’s). John Roysse died in 1563, and left money and the rents on properties at Birchin Lane, in the heart of the City, to fund a school for 63 scholars. The number 63 has over the years developed an almost magical significance for some Abingdonians. That’s why the School phone number is 01235 521563 and the School bell tolls 63 times to mark particularly auspicious occasions. Superstition apart, it is excellent to be reminded on an annual basis that generations of Abingdonians and donors stretching over 750 years have been so inspired by a belief in the importance of education and opportunity to help build the School in a material way. I remind every generation of boys that they can all play their part. If everyone who attends Abingdon over the years leaves the place a fraction better than he finds it, progress will be maintained.

The modern day Development Office is tasked with raising money to ensure that the School keeps moving forward. Over the last three years some 245 donors have helped raise £956,469.29 from legacies and gifts. We are hoping to reach the £1m mark by the end of the academic year. I am most grateful to Jan Glover and her team for their efforts and inspiration in this important role.

Staff changes

Headmaster of Abingdon Preparatory School: I am sure that you will all (particularly ex-Josca’s boys) wish to join me in sending congratulations to Chris and Jane Davies on their appointment to Edgeborough School, with effect from 1 January 2011.

William Phelps, Housemaster of Phelps’, is also embarking on the Headship trail at the British International School of New York. This appointment will take Kimberley nearer home and represents a wonderful opportunity to build a school in the ‘heart of the action’.

Needless to say the hunt for worthy successors has already started. There will be opportunities a-plenty to say farewells to all staff who are leaving at the end of next term, but for now, to the Phelpses and the Davieses, we say many congratulations indeed.

Academic matters

Revision leave

If a fifth, lower sixth or upper sixth pupil has an afternoon public examination outside the dates for study leave, he may be excused lessons in the morning. Fourth year pupils doing early-take GCSEs may miss the two periods before lunch. Boys who have a morning examination are expected to attend school for the whole of the previous day, for both lessons and other half commitments.

Any boy on the premises during normal teaching times must report to the room(s) designated for revision. For the sixth form this is the upper sixth study hall. Rooms for other year groups will be listed in Lower Corridor. Boys should think carefully about which lessons they would be missing by taking time to revise on the morning of a public examination.

Fifth Year Supported Study. A detailed programme of supported study for the two weeks prior to half term will be published in the first weeks of next term via the fifth year’s school email accounts and in an assembly. Boys will be able to visit subject teachers at set times during the day to resolve final issues and clarify points of revision. When not in one of these ‘clinics’, boys will be expected to be in one of the assigned revision classrooms. It should be emphasised that attendance on any day of this programme is entirely voluntary – boys may choose to spend their entire study leave away from school if they wish. We do ask that, if they choose to come into school, they come in school uniform and are either at a clinic or in a revision room for every normal period of the day that they are on school premises. The programme will also be published on the School’s website under Calendar > Examinations Timetables.

Lower sixth programme after study leave. All lower sixth return on Monday 14 June at 8.30 am, when A2 courses begin. Boys are expected to continue to attend classes in all the subjects in which they have been registered until the end of term. Discussions happen in the final weeks of term to decide on a provisional upper sixth programme for each boy. In some instances this needs to be modified in the light of the examination results received in August. Programmes are finalised at the start of the Michaelmas Term.

Internal examinations

Access arrangements, for those entitled to them, will be in place for all internal examinations (for example by provision of extra time and use of word processors).

Public examination dates and times. A full list of the dates and times of the Summer 2010 public examinations is available on the website.

Lower sixth and university visits in the summer term 2010. The lower sixth return from examination leave on the morning of Monday 14 June. For the following fortnight they will pursue A2 courses with the minimum of disruptions from other activities. University visits, which can often take place in holidays or over the half-term break, should be avoided before the end of term, but may be arranged by agreement with your son’s tutor for dates after Saturday 26 June. Your son will need to complete an official form requesting the absence more than a week in advance of his proposed visit.

Children’s Story Competition. Dariusz Maton has been selected as a runner-up in the 2009 Children’s Story Competition organised by Chapter One Promotions. Dariusz will have his story, together with other children’s stories, made into a book and published.

Schools’ Challenge general knowledge competition. Abingdon's Schools Challenge team (Tom Finch, Alex Davies, Omri Faraggi, Thomas Munro) played King Edward’s School Birmingham in the inter-regional final on 17 March. After trailing until half-time, they gradually narrowed the gap, due to some extremely sharp buzzerwork mainly from Tom Finch and rapid responses from all, and a nail-biting final few minutes saw Abingdon pulling ahead to win 690-560. They now proceed to the national finals at Westminster on the first Sunday of next term.

Oxford Classical Reading Competition. Nineteen boys took part in this competition at Magdalen College, Oxford, on 18 March. Seven won prizes and three won commendations; Richard Slade won first prize, and Ben Nabnian and Thomas Kelly did particularly well to win a second prize against others two years older than themselves.

Bank of England 'Target 2.0' competition. On 11 February Matthew Choi, Eric Gartz, Sam Newman and Jonathan Wong competed in the South East and East of England area final of the Bank of England's 'Target 2.0' area final. The team were required to give a seventeen-minute presentation on the current state of the economy and then field questions from three Bank of England judges (including a member of the Monetary Policy Committee). The team decided to hold interest rates at 0.5%, but raise quantitative easing to £225bn. Over 400 teams entered the competition and the team came third in the South East of England final winning £350.

Visit to the Ashmolean. A Third Year Religious Studies set enjoyed a splendid visit to the recently refurbished Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. With inspiring lectures the boys studied ten works of art that relate to themes of their GCSE RS course, including paintings by Uccello, Michelangelo, Van Dyck and Holman Hunt, whose large painting, A Converted British Family Sheltering a Christian Priest from the Persecution of the Druids, was a particular favourite.

Confirmation. The Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading, confirmed in Chapel nine boys:

Alex Fanshawe
Adam Hargreaves
Hugo Hubbard
Will Hollier
Lachlan McGregor
Harry Stott
Ben Wills
David Wills
and Leo Wood

The Bishop gave a powerful sermon and the Chapel Choir sang parts of Mozart’s Missa Brevis in D and an anthem by Grayston Ives.

Lord Hurd. A packed Amey Theatre was thrilled to hear Lord Hurd, CH, CBE, PC, DL, give a joint Edmund and Roysse Societies lecture on 2 March. Boys, parents and visitors gathered to hear a wonderful talk. For 23 years Douglas Hurd was a Conservative MP for Mid-Oxfordshire, which became the Witney constituency. In the 1980s and 90s he held high office in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary. On retirement in 1997 he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Hurd of Westwell. He spoke about his recently-published book, Choose Your Weapons, an account of eleven former Foreign Secretaries. Lord Hurd's learned lecture and his answers to questions revealed why he is so highly regarded as a wise statesman. He spoke confidently and with great authority on the rights and wrongs of British foreign policy, and included his forthright views on the wrongness of the Iraq war. Lord Hurd may well have inspired some future OA Foreign Secretaries!

Edmund Society. John Lennox is a remarkable polymath whose expertise reaches far beyond Mathematics, of which he was an Oxford Professor. He also engages in public debate with ‘the new atheists’, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. In a passionate lecture here on 9 March he sought to rebuff their challenge to the Christian faith. His inspired talk stimulated some vigorous questions and discussion.

Physics Olympiad. Both David Choy and Geoffrey Penington have been invited to attend the final training and selction camp for the British Physics Olympiad team. The training camp is an intense few days, located at Abingdon School, when the final team of five will be selected for the international competition in Croatia. Over a thousand students entered the competition so to have two competitors in the last 15 is very impressive indeed.

Chess. On 8 March, Abingdon's chess team in the Oxford and District Chess League, City 5, beat St Clare's 4.4-1.5. City 5 has now played 12 matches, won 9 and drawn 3, which gives them an unassailable lead in Division IV, and they are the only team in any division not to have lost a match. Congratulations to all the players on winning the trophy and gaining promotion for next season, but especially to Jeffrey Yu, who has so far won 8 out of 9 games playing on Board 1.

Sixth form cultural trip to Paris. Twenty-two sixth formers spent five days over half term braving the freezing cold whilst exploring the French capital. Visits included the French cinemathèque, the national immigration museum, the science and industry centre, the Musée d'Orsay, Montmartre and of course the Eiffel Tower and a tour on the Seine by night. The visits generally tied in with the topics covered at AS and A2 in French and were enjoyed by all.

Forty-third Bielefeld Exchange. The away (return) leg of this year's exchange proved a huge success. Eleven boys and eleven St Helen’s girls spent eight days hosted by families in Germany, spending some time in the Ratsgymnasium and also visiting Bremen and Münster. It was -5o mostly and lots of snow didn't spoil the fun. This year also celebrated Mr Revill's 25th exchange - which was well documented by the local press. Boys in the current third year interested in taking part next year should speak to the German teacher.

Trip to Egypt. On 12 February, 32 boys and four members of staff left for a trekking Expedition in the Sinai Desert, Egypt. The first challenge of the trip, after visiting the legendary St Catherine’s monastery, was to climb Mt Sinai (2,285m). The team arrived at the summit just in time to see a glorious sunset. For the next five days the boys trekked in a variety of desert conditions alongside the Bedouin people and slept out under the stars. It was a truly amazing experience for everyone and by the end of the expedition the whole group was working in effective teams and everyone rose to the challenge of leading their team for a day. At the end of the trek the boys had some well -earned rest in a hotel on the beach in Dahab and snorkelled among the fishes in the clear waters of the Red Sea.

Drama. The term has been another very busy one in the drama department. The U6 Theatre Studies students performed four strikingly different devised pieces before half term. Subjects ranged from post traumatic stress syndrome to our obsession with the body beautiful. Each play entertained full houses in the studio theatre at St Helen's, and allowed every one of the candidates secured an outstanding performance mark. The week after half term, an excellent Lower School cast presented Robert Bolt's delightful epic, The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew on the Amey Theatre stage, under the direction of Andrew Loughe. Two members of the original cast of 1969 met the cast before the performance. The young performers gave a tremendous account of themselves, suggesting we can look forward to some more fine performances from a new generation of Abingdon actors, some of whom have been taking part in auditions for the next Harry Potter film. At least one of our young hopefuls has got through to the last round, so we wait for news with interest. On 10 March, four GCSE devised plays were presented to the Moderator from the exam board and all pupils achieved marks in Bands 1 or 2. As we go to press, the L6 Theatre Studies students are performing in three plays at Abingdon and St Helen's in the last week of term - Andorra by Max Frisch, Seneca's Oedipus (in Ted Hughes' adaptation) and Illyria by Bryony Lavery. They present their monologues to the examiner early next term. Meanwhile, the Middle School production of Marlowe's Dr Faustus that fell victim to the severe weather at the start of term has been re-scheduled for 29, 30 June and 1 July.

Film Unit. 12 March saw the premiere of the AFU's new documentary film about Moldova called One Foot on the Ground, made by sixth formers Matthew Copson, Tom Bateman and Will McDowell. The event took place in the prestigious surroundings of the BFI's National Film Theatre complex on London's Southbank.

Two screenings were given, and drew large and appreciative audiences that included a number of people from the worlds of diplomacy, government, film and entertainment. These included Lord Dubs, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Moldova; Tony Hawks, writer, broadcaster and comedian, and author of the bestselling book, Playing the Moldovans at Tennis; Keith Shannon, UK's Ambassador to Moldova; Ala Beleavschi, Moldova's Chargé d'Affaires in London; Emma MacLennan, All party Parliamentary Group on Moldova; and John Beyer, the UK's former Ambassador to Moldova, and an OA.

On the day of the screening, all three of the filmmakers appeared on the BBC's Look South television news programme, explaining the origins of the film and introducing several clips from it. In addition, Matthew gave an accomplished live radio interview to BBC Oxford's Malcolm Boyden. In the wake of the screening, Keith Shannon has asked that the film be shown to all members of the British Embassy staff in Chisinau, and the filmmakers have received an invitation to present the film at the first meeting of the new All Party Parliamentary Group on at Westminster that will follow the General Election.

Music

1. National Festival of Chamber Music. Congratulations to the two ensembles who played at the National Finals in Birmingham Conservatoire on Sunday 15 March – the two trios included Anthony Lloyd, Joe Mason, Adrian Lo, Osman Tack, Ben Etherton and David Mears.

2. An Orchestral and Big Band Tour to USA in 2011. I understand that exciting progress is being made in relation to a music tour to USA in April 2011 with an exchange planned with a school in Washington DC.

3. Music Calendar. Full schedule of music events is planed for next term – please refer to the Director of Music’s newsletter and music calendar.

4. Alistair Duff has been offered a place as a percussionist in the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Great Britain. Many congratulations to him on this prestigious achievement.

Sport

Cross-Country. The final fixture of the term – RGS Worcester Spring Relays – took place last week and saw schools from the Midlands and beyond competing for the Lucton Trophy.

The seniors had already won the South East Schools Championships, and if they were to be crowned unbeaten nationally this season they would have to race against the best schools in the North. They were indeed crowned last week, as the best school in the country at both long and short distances.

Hockey. The Hockey Club has had an excellent season and there were some fine results throughout the School in the block fixtures. The fixtures against both Pangbourne and MCS saw the hockey club win or draw every game and there were some notable performances throughout the season from a number of teams.

The 1st XI has had one of their most successful seasons in recent times. They gained fine wins against some very strong hockey schools. Josh Smith has led the 1st XI to wins against Rugby School, Stowe, Radley College, Magdalen College School, Pangbourne College, Cheltenham College and Wellington College, whilst drawing with Eton College and Bradfield College after leading in both. The only losses of the season came against last year’s national champions, Dean Close and St Edward’s. This young team has developed an attacking, fluent style of hockey and with only four of the starting line up in the U6th, there is great potential for another fine season next year.

The results in the block fixtures has been excellent and shown good strength in depth, with the 3rd and 4th XI having only lost one match between them all season. There has been huge commitment shown by this group of boys and Jasper Marlow has led the 3rd XI superbly.

The block fixtures against Rugby School saw the hockey club win 10 of the 12 matches and 8 of the 12 against Cheltenham College, with the U15 A team sealing a 4-3 win. They have been possibly the most improved team since last season and have worked well indoors to improve their individual skills in preparation for this season. They have won 7, drawn 2 and only lost to an unbeaten Radley team and King Edward’s Southampton in the last minute of the game.

The U13 A team are county champions this year and move on to play in the regional rounds next term. They have the potential to develop into a fine team and the future of hockey at Abingdon looks bright in their hands.

Rowing. Despite a very cold and wet start to the term the Boat Club has managed to produce excellent results through the term with the most noticeable success being that of the 1st VIII securing second place in the Schools’ Head of the River.

The crew started in fourth position following their result from last year and closed quickly on St Paul’s who went off in third. Despite some jockeying by the St Paul’s cox the 1st VIII passed St Paul’s between Barnes Bridge and the Chiswick Eyot and went on to draw away through to the finish. The final results saw Eton claiming gold, Abingdon silver and Shrewsbury bronze.

The 2nd VIII showed their strength improving from fourth in 2009 to come third behind Eton and Shrewsbury. Their overall finish position was 17th ahead of many 1st VIIIs including St Edward’s and Bedford School.

With stream conditions keeping junior crews off the water for up to six weeks of the term the J15s and J16s were facing a daunting task racing many crews who had the advantage of training through the Autumn. Both age groups were disappointed with their results but can be encouraged by the fact that there was only a small margin between themselves and winning crews.

The J14s new to the sport have been most affected by the conditions but have still been out racing, and recorded encouraging results against St Edward’s in a private match and at the annual Bedford quads match.

Rugby. Although this is technically not a rugby term, an impressive eight Abingdon boys were in the team for the Oxfordshire U13s County Cup semi-final: Jamie Pearson, James Wooding, Josh Burdass, Jack Walsh, Alex Turner, Ben Sears, Tommy Nicholson and Jamie Blackwell. They won their match, and we wish this Abingdon-based team every success for the final.

Swimming. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to witness first-hand the first ever competitive Abingdon-based swimming gala against other Schools. One of the stars for the future is Michael Esnouf, who swam in the Oxon and north Bucks county championships. He came second in his age group in four events; 50m breaststroke, 50m backstroke, 100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke, and won a medal for three other events as he was in the top eight. He now has times fast enough to enter the south-east regional championships which take place in Crawley at the end of May/beginning of June.

Tennis. Pre-season tennis for all potential tennis team players. This will be running at school on Saturday 17, Sunday 18 and Monday 19 April. The third, fourth and fifth year will be from 10 am to 12.30 pm each day and the sixth form from 12.30 to 3 pm. The sessions will be designed to get the tennis team to get back into form prior to the start of a busy term of tennis, so boys are encouraged to attend as many of these sessions as possible.

Water polo. The Abingdon U16 water polo team were unfortunate not to end their season as national champions in the keenly contested ESSA National Bowl Cup finals, held at the neutral venue of Warwick School. The tournament-style national finals saw the Abingdon team establish themselves as early title hopefuls with a convincing 5 - 1 victory. Goals were scored by captain Sam Hughes (1), Guy Giles (3) and Joe Hogan (1). As the match and tournament progressed, the swimming skills and stamina of Drew Finnigan and Guy Giles emerged as a real asset.

Abingdon's final match of the tournament was a must-win match and was billed by the referee as a Wales versus England final. The match was inevitably feisty and physical, with both teams keen to assert early dominance. It finished 1-1 with Abingdon having to settle for silver medals on goal difference. The boys were congratulated by the Warwick referee for their determination and enthusiasm: all the boys have only played water polo for a year and for many boys it is their second or third choice sport.

ASPA/Paul Tappin Memorial Travel Awards. All sixth form pupils are reminded that this is the time to act if they wish to apply for an ASPA/Paul Tappins Memorial Travel Award. These are monetary awards available to any sixth form pupil who is undertaking some form of travel and activity, either during the summer holiday between his sixth form years or in his gap year. The value can be anything between ₤50 and ₤500 depending on the activity and its benefits. As well as the ASPA Travel Awards, the Paul Tappins Memorial Award is decided at the same time and consists of a further sum of money donated by Tappins Coaches.

There are conditions attached to the Awards. Full details and the application form can be found on the ASPA section of the website. The closing date for applications is Tuesday 20 April.

The programme of holiday trips and activities looks ever longer, more ambitious and diverse than ever before. Almost half the School will be involved one way or another. From Cuba to Salisbury Plain I wish all Abingdonians and their families a restful Easter break and a safe return from far-flung parts.

Yours sincerely