Students are nominated to receive a Head’s Praise for exceptional achievements and contribution to school life.

Headmaster’s Praise – 27 November 2020

27 November 2020

Today 12 boys received Headmaster’s praise:

  • Durotimi Adebutu for sharing an amazing and beautiful track, “Stranger”, that he has composed and produced in his Music Tech lessons with Alex Hehir.
  • John Bonchristiano for writing Python code to extract air quality data from the Luftdaten sensor network for the SCAMPA schools project sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
  • Michael Cha for an outstanding performance of a movement from Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnol at the Levon Chilingirian Strings Masterclass last week.
  • Vincent Chen for outstanding effort in bringing together the latest edition of Griffenomics. Great leadership skills in holding together a team and getting them to meet deadlines.
  • Dashiell Hathaway for an outstanding performance of Bach’s A minor violin concerto at the Levon Chilingirian Strings Masterclass last week.
  • Ben Kiraikou for outstanding effort in bringing together the latest edition of Griffenomics. Great leadership skills in holding together a team and getting them to meet deadlines.
  • Andreas Lo for an outstanding performance of the last movement from Mendelssohn’s D minor violin concerto at the Levon Chilingirian Strings Masterclass last week.
  • Nicholas Raptakis for an outstanding performance of the Canzonetta from Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto at the Levon Chilingirian Strings Masterclass last week.
  • Ashwin Tennant for an outstanding performance of a Prokofiev violin sonata at the Levon Chilingirian Strings Masterclass last week.
  • Boco To for an outstanding performance of Veracini’s E minor violin sonata at the Levon Chilingirian Strings Masterclass last week.
  • Jake Wallis for programming Raspberry Pi air quality sensors for six primary schools in his own time at home for the SCAMPA schools project sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Harry Watkins for outstanding initiative in setting up his own company to write firmware for 3D printers.

Headmaster’s Praise – 20 November 2020

20 November 2020

Today 16 boys received Headmaster’s praise:

  • Bentley Cook for gaining a distinction (136/150) in his recent grade 8 piano examination, an excellent achievement.
  • Aryann Gupta for an excellent presentation as part of the L6th STEP and U6th summer research project afternoon in the Amey Theatre.
  • James Healey for an excellent presentation as part of the L6th STEP and U6th summer research project afternoon in the Amey Theatre.
  • Tom Hyder-Smith for assisting in a medical emergency, showing unbelievable maturity. He then continued to show support for his friend. He can be very proud of himself.
  • Mike MacLennan for an excellent presentation as part of the L6th STEP and U6th summer research project afternoon in the Amey Theatre.
  • Freddie Merrett for an excellent presentation as part of the L6th STEP and U6th summer research project afternoon in the Amey Theatre.
  • Johan Nerlov for an excellent presentation as part of the L6th STEP and U6th summer research project afternoon in the Amey Theatre.
  • William Nutbrown for following the house theme for this term (curiosity), Will has recorded a House Assembly on how a simple question at the start of lockdown led him to completing a Mooc and then finding a new interest in stocks and shares.
  • Alexandre Peuch for writing an extremely professional letter to a proposed speaker and securing her agreement to deliver a remote lecture from Chile. Dr Feming commented ‘That is a lovely letter. Tell them that I would be pleased to present on Monday 7th December.’ Alexandre also gave an excellent presentation as part of the L6th STEP and U6th summer research project afternoon in the Amey Theatre.
  • Samuel Price for outstanding contributions to homework, competitions and Other Half activities.
  • Nick Raptakis for recording the Schumann piano Concerto with First Orchestra for the Christmas Concert stream. He played superbly and we recorded in a single take. A fantastic achievement!
  • Karum Sangha for putting together a fantastic video for House Assembly on International Men’s Day.
  • Edward Saunders for an excellent presentation as part of the L6th STEP and U6th summer research project afternoon in the Amey Theatre.
  • Ross Tselos for an excellent presentation as part of the L6th STEP and U6th summer research project afternoon in the Amey Theatre.
  • Max Williams for achieving a perfect score of 125/125 in the Senior Maths Challenge. He has qualified for the first round of the British Mathematical Olympiad.
  • Johnnie Willis-Bund for completing a unique and original film, “The Bookshop at the End of the World”, despite the challenges of lockdown, which deprived him of access to his original footage and AFU equipment. The bulk of the finished film was shot and edited on his mobile phone.

Headmaster’s Praise – 13 November 2020

13 November 2020

Today 10 boys received Headmaster’s praise:

  • Charlie Collins for an outstanding completed sketchbook, created over half-term completely independently and on his own initiative.
  • Yubo Gao for an outstanding cello performance of Fauré in the Senior Solo Competition.
  • Oliver Glover for winning 2nd prize and an outstanding oboe performance of Martinu in the Senior Solo Competition.
  • Oliver Harvey for his outstanding work in English this term: his notes and written work on Jekyll and Hyde are above and beyond my expectations.
  • Will Haynes for his piece on Global Deforestation featured in the FT Student Digest this week.
  • Josef O’Connor for an outstanding soprano sax performance of Bach in the Senior Solo Competition.
  • Oliver Simpson for winning 1st Prize and an outstanding cello performance of Chopin in the Senior Solo Competition.
  • Boco To for an outstanding performance of Brahms in the Senior Solo Competition.
  • Scott Yap for an outstanding piano performance of Liszt in the Senior Solo Competition.
  • Daniel Zhang for winning 3rd Prize and an outstanding performance on the piano in the Senior Solo Competition.

Headmaster’s Praise – 6 November 2020

6 November 2020

Today 17 boys received Headmaster’s praise:

  • Ibrahim Atitebi for  a fantastic explanation of a complex maths puzzle about opening and closing doors.
  • Hamish Bloom for representing his house in the public speaking competition.
  • Freddy Chelsom for representing his house in the public speaking competition.
  • Robin Collins for representing his house in the public speaking competition.
  • Lucas Earnshaw for producing an independently researched presentation on the First World War.
  • Sam Hayes-Newington for showing exceptional maturity and strong leadership in discussion about opportunities for rowing squad training at school with Senior management and for instituting positive change.
  • Philip Kimber for his extraordinary essay written, entirely voluntarily and independently, on the role of the Octobrist party in the Dumas in early 20th century Russia. Entirely beyond the confines of the course, research and writing both of an extremely high standard.
  • Sam King for representing his house in the public speaking competition.
  • Freddie Knott for filming a house assembly for the entire house on his ecosphere project. Very impressive and well produced.
  • Shi Hong Kuang for representing his house in the public speaking competition.
  • Toby Lee for an outstanding circuit made over half term as part of a little project. Very impressive considering how early on in the GCSE Electronics course we are.
  • Harold Lethaby for representing his house in the public speaking competition (and won) with the moon shot speech by JFK.
  • Harry Litchfield for representing his house in the public speaking competition.
  • Dan McNamara for representing his house in the public speaking competition.
  • Ted Smethurst for representing his house in the public speaking competition.
  • Boco To for writing a fantastic 8-page article on Chinese history over the half-term break and it will be published in this term’s magazine. He has also produced an outstanding short video about the doppleganger that lives in his room. This was part of a boarder’s half term challenge – he really stepped up.
  • Tommy Winter for representing his house in the public speaking competition.

Headmaster’s Praise – 16 October 2020

16 October 2020

Today two boys received Headmaster’s praise:

  • Jai Biswas Gladwin for leading the Primary Science Club L6th Bubble Team throughout this half term.
  • Aidan Chan for writing an impressive letter in Spanish to Señor Windsor making a great suggestion for school meals.

Headmaster’s Praise – 9 October 2020

9 October 2020

Today 19 boys received Headmaster’s praise:

  • Morgan Atkins for producing an excellent video on the role of Peer Support Leads in his spare time over the weekend.
  • Oliver Clark for completing an excellent first film – Troubled Waters – as a member of the Abingdon Film Unit.
  • Oliver Glover for stepping up superbly to direct 1st Orchestra woodwind when a sore throat prevented him from playing.
  • Alexander Heffernan for completing an excellent first film – Upriver – as a member of the Abingdon Film Unit.
  • Jakob Hobbs for being runner up in the Gladstone Memorial Prize for his essay on the purpose of the gods in epic poetry. This is the second year in a row that an Abingdon Classicist has gained second prize. Jakob also composed verse in ancient Greek.
  • Matthew Hoult for playing principal clarinet in 1st Orchestra – he is playing the opening solo in Marquez’ Danzon No 2 with real artistry, and so inspirational for the other woodwind players.
  • Oscar I’Anson for helping the Abingdon C Rifle Club Team to win their division in the Spring 2020 British Schools’ Smallbore Rifle Association League.
  • Alexander Lees for completing an excellent first film – Love Letter to the Watermill – as a member of the Abingdon Film Unit.
  • Harold Lethaby for taking part in the video made for online Open Morning.
  • Harry Litchfield for completing an excellent first film – Mama Uganda – as a member of the Abingdon Film Unit.
  • Andreas Lo for taking part in the video made for online Open Morning.
  • Ben MacLennan for helping the Abingdon B Rifle Club Team to win their division in the Spring 2020 British Schools’ Smallbore Rifle Association League.
  • Freddie Merrett for taking part in the video made for online Open Morning.
  • Oliver Millbourn for completing an excellent first film – Numpie – as a member of the Abingdon Film Unit
  • Freddie Nicholson for programming a system to assist a teacher with distributing certificates electronically. He also produced a 20 minute video guide using Loom.
  • Josh Sharff for taking part in the video made for online Open Morning.
  • Seb Watkins for composing verse in ancient Greek.
  • Marius Williamson for helping the Abingdon B Rifle Club Team to win their division in the Spring 2020 British Schools’ Smallbore Rifle Association League.
  • Jayden Zamler for taking part in the video made for online Open Morning.

Headmaster’s Praise – 2 October 2020

2 October 2020

Today 10 boys received Headmaster’s praise:

  • Oscar Bennett for helping the Abingdon B Rifle Club Team win their division in the Spring 2020 British Schools’ Smallbore Rifle Association League.
  • Ianto Brewer for taking part in the video made for online Open Morning.
  • Josh Broadbent for his Sixth Form Art Scholarship.
  • Ethan Chen for his Sixth Form Art Scholarship.
  • Andrey Gerasimov for taking part in the video made for online Open Morning.
  • Will Haynes for producing an interactive map of schools in the ASP SCAMPA project.
  • Cameron Khoo for taking part in the video made for online Open Morning.
  • Charles Maddison for helping the Abingdon C Rifle Club Team win their division in the Spring 2020 British Schools’ Smallbore Rifle Association League.
  • Caleb Maijeh for working over the weekend to produce a chemistry briefing sheet on air pollutants for schools taking part in the ASP SCAMPA project.
  • Noah Macer for producing an interactive map of schools in the ASP SCAMPA project.

Headmaster’s Praise – 25 September 2020

25 September 2020

Today two boys received Headmaster’s praise:

  • Samuel Price for producing an amazing mosaic for his summer project; the best I have ever seen.
  • Fred Mellor for designing an excellent piece of art based on the Abingdon griffen.

Headmaster’s Praise – 18 September 2020

18 September 2020

Today 11 boys received Headmaster’s praise:

  • Toby Baker for helping the Abingdon C Rifle Club Team to win their division in the Spring 2020 British Schools’ Smallbore Rifle Association League.
  • Ben Broadbent for creating the JBS Coach Departures app.
  • Mike MacLennan for writing an excellent essay entry for the Sheffield History prize and he received a letter from the History Department highly commending his essay, one of only two to achieve this accolade. Mike can be immensely proud of his achievement.
  • Kipp Mainstone for the hockey first XI final game of the winter season, in which they won the league with a goal scored by Kipp.
  • Archie Malcolm for writing a very impressive essay entry for the Sheffield History prize and he was given a special mention for an essay ‘of extremely high quality’. Very well done.
  • Alfie Marshall for producing an outstanding life size tonal drawing of his dad over the summer holidays.
  • Freddy Martin for helping the Abingdon C Rifle Club Team to win their division in the Spring 2020 British Schools’ Smallbore Rifle Association League.
  • Johan Nerlov for winning the Cambridge Vellacott History Essay Prize. This is one of the most competitive pre-graduate essay competitions in the country and I have never had a pupil achieve better than second place in 13 years of teaching, so this is extremely impressive!
  • Freddie Nicholson for creating the JBS Coach Departures app and for assisting with running of an ASP workshop for Autism Family Support Oxfordshire during the summer holiday and subsequently spearheading a new, international initiative to update CERN’s ATLAScraft software and to assemble a team of students and researchers to film a virtual tour with a famous YouTube star.
  • Will Shorrocks for helping the Abingdon B Rifle Club Team to win their division in the Spring 2020 British Schools’ Smallbore Rifle Association League.
  • Jake Wallis for setting up and evaluating Raspberry Pi air quality sensors for ASP’s SCAMPA project funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Jake did this work voluntarily during the summer holiday and collaborated with local and international scientists to provide feedback on the sensor data collected.

Headmaster’s Praise – 26 June 2020

26 June 2020

Today 32 boys received Headmaster’s praise:

  • Billy Backhouse for being an excellent joint editor in chief and leading The Polyglot through many sessions during lockdown.
  • Harry Batchelor for a fantastic video and worksheet for Primary Science Club remote activities.
  • John Cairns for taking up the slack on the 2M “Back to School” Challenge and travelling above and beyond the expected average distance, fostering excellent team spirit to achieve the goal and to get the job done!
  • Rory Cameron-Martin for excellent performance and participation in Economics lessons throughout this academic year.
  • Ethan Chen for making an outstanding start to his Pre A-level course.
  • Freddie Clark for taking up the slack on the 2M “Back to School” Challenge and travelling above and beyond the expected average distance, fostering excellent team spirit to achieve the goal and to get the job done!
  • Benjamin Crofts for excellent performance and participation in Economics lessons throughout this academic year.
  • Harrison Cruikshank for doing lots of extra drawing in a variety of styles and to a great standard.
  • Ben Cuthbert for taking up the slack on the 2M “Back to School” Challenge and travelling above and beyond the expected average distance, fostering excellent team spirit to achieve the goal and to get the job done!
  • Oliver Glover for being consistently excellent all year and setting a good example for all in his set for Biology.
  • Thomas Harding for narrating an excellent video tour of a nuclear power station for his 4th Year Physics homework.
  • Jakob Hobbs for being an excellent joint editor in chief and leading The Polyglot through many sessions during lockdown and for contributing and helping plan Timeline magazine.
  • Lachlan Keene for taking up the slack on the 2M “Back to School” Challenge and travelling above and beyond the expected average distance, fostering excellent team spirit to achieve the goal and to get the job done! Lachlan’s parents also matched his distance of 133.5 miles each over the two day challenge.
  • James Kilroy for recording himself as a clarinettist laying both the solo and accompaniment to a video of Wiegenlied. Outstanding!
  • Philip Kimber for being consistently excellent throughout the year. His report is packed with praise ‘the most able linguist I have ever taught’, ‘one of the brightest I have ever taught’, ‘top mark in the year’. Philip is never boastful, he is quietly amazing.
  • Venya Kiraikou for writing and helping plan Timeline.
  • Nicholas Ko for achieving a gold award in the Intermediate Biology Olympiad.
  • Gavin Lam for taking on leadership of the Abingdon Investment and Trading Club and doing a great job of keeping it going in lockdown.
  • Mike MacLennan for excellent performance and participation in Economics lessons throughout this academic year.
  • Freddie Merrett for excellent performance and participation in Economics lessons throughout this academic year.
  • Rory Mitchell for excellent performance and participation in Economics lessons throughout this academic year.
  • Johan Nerlov for editing and writing articles for Timeline.
  • Samuel Price for achieving a remarkable 100% in the Latin exam, after a brilliant year’s effort.
  • Jack Rickman for achieving a remarkable 100% in the French exam, after a brilliant year’s effort.
  • Frank She for starting the Abingdon and Linux Association and leading their Wednesday sessions each week.
  • Ollie Sherratt for taking up the slack on the 2M “Back to School” Challenge and travelling above and beyond the expected average distance, fostering excellent team spirit to achieve the goal and to get the job done!
  • Thomas Sherwood for being short listed (1 of 3) for a national writing competition run by Young Enterprise. Result to be announced.
  • Mark Taylor for incredibly in-depth research on the Mayan civilisations for an Archaeology Club Project – Mark has produced a very detailed and comprehensive family tree, a booklet and a timeline of events. Really impressive research.
  • Boco To for submitting a lovely recording of Tchaikovsky’s Canzonetta from the Violin Concerto, playing to a backing track provided by his teacher, Mrs Pringle.
  • Harry Vinall for taking up the slack on the 2M “Back to School” Challenge and travelling above and beyond the expected average distance, fostering excellent team spirit to achieve the goal and to get the job done!
  • Sam Wormald for his great effort on a research project about the Roman fortress of Vindolanda, for Archaeology Club. Sam has made an excellent presentation of his findings.
  • Jeroan Yip for achieving a Gold award in the Intermediate Biology Olympiad.