The Abingdonian 2019

96 The Abingdonian The new academic year started with a very exciting development for the boys of Lower School in the shape of a brand new Houseroom space in the former Lower Library. After several years of planning (and a not inconsiderable amount of last minute painting and furniture installation), the new space was opened on the First Year Induction Day and it was clear from day one that the new “zoning” arrangement which laid out dedicated areas for playing games, quiet reading, general chatting, and cards and chess was going to work very well. The boys were quick to make good use of the new facility and older boys jealously stared in at the amazing new Games Room as they lined up for lunch, while there were times in the first few weeks when it was difficult for the boys to get on the new air hockey table due to members of the school’s Senior Leadership Team constantly wanting a game. The Lower School Housemaster meanwhile was now installed in a bigger office that gave him a much better view of what was going on in the Houseroom and allowed him to display a much bigger selection of Star Wars memorabilia! As ever Lower School boys have been very busy this year and have thrown themselves fully in to all aspects of school life with energy and enthusiasm. It is difficult to pick out only a few highlights but it is always good to see the boys working well as a team and so moments like their performance of Hall of Fame at the House Singing Competition, the U13A rugby team’s plucky draw against Guildford, or their support for each other to overcome fears and obstacles on the two adventure trips do stand out. Many of the boys also had considerable individual success and, although space precludes mentioning all of these, particular praise goes to Arthur Robertson for his conducting debut leading Second Orchestra in their performance of Beethoven’s Hymn to Joy at the Summer Concert, Harry Winsey for winning a silver medal at the British Tumbling Team Finals, Daniel Chamberlin for being a leading light on the Environment Committee, Frederick Beneat on being selected for the English U16 bridge squad, Zander Wallwork on being declared the Lower School chess champion, and Alexander Darbishire for representing Oxfordshire at the National Schools Cross Country Championships in Leeds. Special mention should also go to those who were awarded scholarships at the end of the Lent Term on the basis of their performance in the various assessments: Thomas Chorley (art), Jack Higgs (design technology), Philip Kimber (academic), Toby Lee (design technology), Toby Pinnington (academic) and Can Tugcetin (music). The boys have certainly shown their competitive spirit this year and have enjoyed taking each other on in various inter-tutor group competitions, some physical, some more cerebral, over the three terms. The last few weeks of the academic year saw them battling it out on the athletics track, tennis court, swimming pool and cricket pitch, as well as testing out their maths and vocabulary in a new Countdown Challenge. 2H had been in imperious form for much of the year so it was not a surprise when they topped the table this year, but the first year competition was incredibly close and on the penultimate day of competition it was still possible for all of the three groups to win. 1P, either inspired or terrified by the sight of Mr Price screaming them on in the final day’s tug of war, just pipped 1G and 1M – Mr Moore and Mrs McRae are already plotting revenge and it looks likely that things will be very close again next year. The boys were fortunate to hear from several visiting speakers over the course of the year including Caspar Craven, who told the inspiring story of how he sailed all the way round the world with his young family in 2016, and Al Sylvester, who spoke about the challenges he faced when leading the RAF’s first unsupported attempt on the Lower School