head, heart and soul · a school is a community of which alumni are an essential part. ... michael...

Finance, Film and FictionOP writers tackle Delhi,Hollywood and Skye

School NewsMinor Counties centuryfor sixth former

Bridging the YearsExperts respond to pupils’ research

Into the LimelightDirector in Residencetakes centre stage

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A school is a community of which alumni are an essential part. Current Perse pupils benefit enormously from the support and advice of Old Perseans. In this edition you will find OP leaders in their respective fields advising current students on their GCSE research. The ‘42’ programme of visiting speakers regularly features OPs, including this year talks by Dr Topun Austin (1989) on neonatal brain injuries, Dr Alex Lyon (1992) on pioneering stem cell treatments for heart disease, Michael Johnson (1956) on international trade policy, Professor Jim Salzman (1981) on the history and future of drinking water and Professor Philip Graham (1949) on the right to die. At the Annual Careers Convention, OPs advise current pupils on subject, career and life choices. Their advice is all the more credible because they too were once Perse pupils. OPs support the School with gifts of books they have written which form an important record of Perse scholarship and a research resource for current pupils. We are also grateful for OP gifts to the archives which strengthen our collection of significant historical artefacts. OPs play an important role in the leadership and management of the School. Three governors are OPs, whilst alumni continue to shape our thinking through discussions at alumni events. And of course OPs make a huge difference to the School and its pupils through their financial support for means-tested bursaries, outreach programmes (we are now working with 14 local primary schools on projects to raise educational standards) and much-needed new facilities. The Perse is a community that you will always belong to. We are stronger for your interest, involvement and support.

Ed ElliotHeadmaster

08

16

20

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In ResponsePupils’ research work reviewed by OPs

Head, Heart & SoulCatalysts for a career in medicine

Matthew HawksworthIntroducing our Director in Residence

Spot the DifferenceCelebrating the lives of Old Perseans

08

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16

Old Perseans / Winter 2014

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2022

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03

For the fifth year in succession, more than three quarters of Perse A level

entries were graded at either A* or A. The School is also celebrating its best

year ever for AS and GCSE results. As the larger year groups reach the

culmination of their time at the School, the calibre of their results only improves.

157 students secured a total of 519 A level or Pre-U exam results:

• 77% of the entries were graded at A* or A (or the Pre-U equivalent); 38%

were graded A* (last year’s national A* average was 7.6%).

• More than 60% (96 students) achieved three or more A* / A grades

(or equivalent).

• In Latin and Art all entries were graded at A* or A, followed by History

(91%) and Further Maths (86%).

One Year 11 student — only 16 years old — took A level Maths two years

early and achieved a perfect 600 out of 600 — full marks in all six modules.

One 18-year-old student left The Perse with five A*s at A level in Chemistry,

Maths, Further Maths, Japanese and Design and Technology, and the top D1 mark

in Physics Pre-U. Another student of the same age secured five A*s at A level in

Economics, Russian, Physics, Maths and Further Maths and an A in German.

At GCSE and IGCSE level this year’s Perse pupils have surpassed the

results of last year’s record-breakers.

Thirty-three students achieved A* grades in all of their I/GCSEs, and 92%

of entries were graded A* or A (up from 90% last year). More than half the

year group achieved eight or more A*s.

All 72 students in Year 10 who took IGCSE Maths a year early secured an A*.

100% of pupils obtained five A* – C grades including English and Maths.

Overall 70% of Perse I/GCSEs were graded A* compared with 7% nationally.

THE LITTLE WHITE

MIRACLE PILL

Multi-award-winning writer for

children and young adults Joss

Stirling visited The Perse and told

her Year 8 audience that writing

and sharing that creative process

was a privilege. The former British

diplomat encouraged our budding

writers to brainstorm a topic they

knew about and then get thinking

about their cast of characters.

Atticus Thomson (U6) has

already had a byline in The

Spectator magazine, which

published his article on low dose

aspirin — The little white miracle pill.

WOMEN IN SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM

Four Upper Sixth biologists

attended the Women in Science

Symposium at Murray Edwards

College, Cambridge. They discussed

the experiences of women in science

with current undergraduates,

lecturers and leading professionals.

Keynote speakers included

Professor Dame Athene Donald

(Professor of Experimental Physics,

University of Cambridge), Professor

Dame Julia King (Vice-Chancellor,

Aston University) and Dr Angela

Stymington (Production Chemist,

BP). Perse delegates described the

day as inspirational.

School News / Academic & Sport

Top Marks

MUSICAL SHOWCASE

The first large-scale concert of the

academic year, a showcase of Year 7

– 10 ensembles, involved 160 young

musicians. After just four weeks’

preparation, it was a very polished

performance from Wind Band 2,

smaller chamber groups, jazz bands

and guitar ensembles. The Perse

Voices chorus made its debut.

HANDS-ON PHYSIOLOGY

Cambridge University Physiology

Department invited a number of

Year 10 students to take part in an

afternoon of hands-on activities

showcasing current research

and past achievements. Pupils

had the opportunity to question

undergraduates and PhD students

about their work and were given

detailed practical instruction in

experimental techniques.

Dr Wright’s juggling skills

A group of sixth formers attended a

lecture at the Cavendish Laboratory

given by Dr Colin Wright on

the physics of juggling. Whilst

being thoroughly entertained by

Dr Wright’s juggling skills and

charismatic presentation style,

the students learnt about the

key mathematical and physical

properties of juggling and how

patterns in numbers can be used

to predict new tricks.

04

SUPER WEDNESDAY

Perse sport enjoyed a Super

Wednesday when the U16 and U18

boys’ indoor hockey teams and the

girls’ 1st VII netball team all won

their County championships and

earned the honour of representing

Cambridgeshire at Regional level.

The girls triumphed in all their

matches, scoring a total of 100 goals

and conceding just seven.

Last Hockey season 23 students

(10 girls and 13 boys) were selected

to play for the Junior Hockey

Regional Performance Centre. Tess

Howard (Y11) was called up for the

England U15 Training Squad.

In boys’ hockey, U15A had a

perfect season — played 10 won 10.

The U13A team were Cambridgeshire

Champions for the first time in seven

years. They lost out in the semi-final

of the East Rounds — just one win

away from the National Finals.

TALENTED TRIPLE THIS SUMMERThree Perse sportsmen proved themselves talents to

watch this summer. In cricket, Chris Pepper (U6) made

the U17 England Development Program training squad

and both he and his younger brother Michael (L6) played

for the Cambridgeshire Minor Counties men’s side.

At the ages of 17 and 16 this was a remarkable shared

accomplishment. Chris also went on to score his first

Minor Counties century versus Staffordshire.

Ben Clark (U6) (not pictured) has had a highly

competitive summer of tennis, reaching the last 16 of a

National Tournament (Grade 1) and the UK No.3 ranked

player along the way!

Ben has accepted a sports and academic scholarship

to Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa.

STRENGTH ACROSS

THE BOARD

— a flavour of Perse pupils’ achievements:

• Plum Thatcher (Y11) won the

Cambridgeshire Intermediate

Girls cross country competition.

• Rowers Edward Gardiner (L6)

and Christian Martin-Redman

(L6) represented the Eastern

Region in the Junior Inter

Regional Regatta.

• Both A and B teams reached

the Independent Schools Golf

Association Matchplay

semi-finals.

• In the first full season of girls’

cricket the U15s were the first

‘hard ball’ team to represent the

School and remained unbeaten

in the newly formed league.

• Shimmy Osindero (Y10) won

the Cambridgeshire U17 Long

Jump Competition with a leap

of 5.62 meters.

RUGBY WINNERS

In rugby, the 1st XV made the last 16

of the Natwest Cup defeating past

winners Oakham and Northampton

Boys’ (last season’s finalists) in the

run. The U15As enjoyed an unbeaten

regular season and reached the last

32 of the Natwest Cup.

Seven pupils were selected for

Northampton Saints EPDG (Elite

Player Development Group); Jasper

Dix (Y11) and Tom Whitehead (Y11)

were selected for the London

and South-East Divisional U15

Training Camp; Hugo Chambré

(U6) represented Eastern Counties

U17’s and James Knoop (2014)

represented the England

Touch team.


05

School News / Extra Curricular

More than 50 Perse sixth formers and staff travelled to Morocco for PES

Summit 12’s biggest expedition to date. Participants spent half their three

weeks trekking in the High Atlas Mountains and half building a village nursery.

Everyone reached the summit of Jebel Toubkal (4163m), the highest

mountain in North Africa and all demonstrated perseverance and good

humour during their stint on the building project.

PES had raised nearly £13,000 for the nursery from an auction of

promises, fireworks display, disco and non-uniform day. Although the

foundations of the nursery had already been begun, a huge task awaited

the youngsters, including pick-axing rock from the side of the cliff face into

which the nursery was being built and moving materials from a drop-off

point to the building site.

The latter turned out to be extremely time consuming. Hundreds of

bricks and multiple bags of sand had to be carried through the village and

along an 850m path in challenging heat and humidity.

PES SUMMIT 12 EXPEDITION

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Fifty pupils from Year 11 and the

Lower Sixth headed to the Peak

District to complete the practice

expedition of their Silver Duke of

Edinburgh’s Award.

All involved passed the hill-

walking and navigation tasks. They

are now ready to complete their

Qualifying Expedition in March.

The Peak District was also the

destination for a weekend away

for members of the Perse Climbing

Club. Sam Clarke (L6) said, ‘We tried

bouldering, abseiling down through

a small hole into a cave, climbing a

narrow chimney up a chest-width

crack and the usual top roping.

The trip was a brilliant opportunity

to try outdoor climbing and was

thoroughly enjoyed by all.’

SMALL SHIPS RACE 2014

Both seasoned sailors and novices

were among the Perse pupils who

travelled to Gosport to take part

in the Small Ships Race 2014. After

only a few hours of practice, the

four Perse boats set out in gusty

wind and driving rain. The crews did

incredibly well, with all four crossing

the finish line to finish in the top five

— a fantastic achievement.

£4,500 FOR CANCER

RESEARCH UK

Cancer Research UK benefited to

the tune of £4,500 when 64 Year

11 pupils ran, walked, crawled and

rolled for 24 hours as part of the

Relay for Life event. It was the

culmination of weeks of fundraising

which altogether amassed

over £10,000.

Saving children’s hearing Sophisticated equipment funded by

the Prep has begun helping young

cancer patients at Addenbrooke’s

Hospital. Pupils, parents and staff

raised £10,000 for the otoacoustic

emissions unit after learning how it

could save the hearing of children

undergoing chemotherapy.

The Perse has extended its

outreach activity by creating a new

mentoring programme with Colville

and King’s Hedges primary schools.

This initiative pairs Perse pupils

(as mentors) with Year 5 or Year

6 primary school Pupil Premium

children with the aim of sparking

the curiosity, aspirations and core

skills of the younger pupils as well

as increasing their confidence.

The programme uses Art and

Art History to encourage and

improve pupils’ creative and critical

thinking, personal expression and

writing skills. The Pupil Premium

is allocated to children who are

looked after by the local authority,

those who have been eligible for

free school meals at any point in

the past six years and for children

whose parents are currently serving

in the armed forces.

IMPROVING

PUPILS’ CREATIVE

AND CRITICAL THINKING

06


anniversary celebrations update

Our plans are taking shape as we count down to the launch on 30th September 2015. We will be providing an update in each edition of OP News and in e-newsletters. LECTURE SERIES

What better way to celebrate our timeless values of intellectual curiosity and scholarship, endeavour, breadth and balance, and valuing one another than by listening to fascinating speakers discuss issues of modern life? We are delighted to announce that speakers confirmed to date include Rabbi Baroness Julia Neuberger DBE, Professor Chris Rapley CBE, Professor Sir Richard Evans Kt, Professor Christopher Bishop, Mr Liam Halligan and Dr Rowan Williams. The series will cover a range of topics: climate change, modern morals, European history, computer science, challenges facing the British economy and the role of religion in society. Lectures will start at 7.30 pm. All members of the Perse community are welcome and the series will also be open to members of the public. A full programme will follow.

THE TESSARA — PLAY YOUR PART

We hope you enjoyed reading our postcard publication earlier this year — do let us know if you did not receive it. It featured ‘The Tessara’, our 400th anniversary marque — composed of objects, and designed to change throughout the year to highlight the breadth of a Perse education. We are looking for suggestions of objects that capture an aspect of The Perse or have an educational theme, and whose shapes can stand in for the ‘four’ and the ‘zero’ in the Tessara. Suggestions so far include a compass, a shell, a rugby ball, a planet, a light-bulb and a pyramid. Please email your ideas to [email protected]. You may get to see your object in print or on our website! THE NAME OF THE ROSE

The Perse Rose has been bred for us by Peter Beales Roses at their renowned nursery in Attleborough, Norfolk to mark our anniversary. It will be launched at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May 2015. Our gardener Chris Wilson recently planted the first bare rooted roses at the Upper in a specially prepared bed close to the drive. We are looking forward to seeing them come into bloom next year. The Perse Rose produces large fully double, multi headed, deep pink blooms, with a delicate fragrance, while the foliage is mid green and glossy. The roses can be pre-ordered from May 2015 and will be available from November 2015. Further details on how to place an order will be included in a later bulletin, along with information about all the other memorabilia on offer.

Look out for our next update in the spring. In the meantime we would be delighted to hear from you with any ideas or questions: [email protected]

07

FeatureFeature

Cracking the Playfair

The 1:1iPad debate

In Response

PRATAP SINGHYEAR 11

STEPHANIE BUDENBERGYEAR 11

08

Old Perseans / Winter 2014Old Perseans / Winter 2014

Pratap Singh (Y11) writes:

Organised by the mathematics department of the University

of Southampton, it consists of eight challenges released every

week or every other week; each challenge consists of two

pieces of text encrypted in an unknown cipher. Competitors

prepare programs or other strategies in anticipation and

when the challenge is released, try to decrypt the ciphertext

as fast and as accurately as possible. The early ciphers are

usually quite straightforward to identify and break, but they

get harder as the competition goes on. The hardest challenge

is the very last, challenge 8B, which is often a variant on a

complex classical cipher. Past ciphers used for challenge 8B

have included the ADFGVX and the Trifid. In 2013 it was a

variant of the Playfair cipher.

Devised in 1854 by Charles Wheatstone, the Playfair

cipher puts the alphabet into a 5x5 grid, with ‘I’ and ‘J’ usually

occupying the same square. The precise arrangement of

letters in the grid is the secret key of the cipher. An example

key is shown at the bottom of this page.

Encryption is done by first splitting the text into pairs

of consecutive letters, then forming a rectangle in the key grid

with the two letters of each pair as the corners. Each letter

is then replaced by the letter in the horizontally adjacent

corner in this rectangle. If the two letters are in the same row

or column, each letter is replaced by the letter to its right or

below it, respectively, wrapping around if this goes over the

edge of the key. If the two letters are the same, the second is

replaced by X and then encrypted as above.

For example, the example key would encrypt ‘QU IF AC

IT PE RA LI UM FA CI TP ER SE’ as ‘UM KG BD FE RP HD FK

MN GS BK HR PT BT’.

This cipher was in common use as recently as WWII.

Famously, when future US President John F. Kennedy was

stranded in the Solomon Islands after his patrol boat was hit

by a Japanese destroyer, he radioed a message encrypted

with the Playfair cipher. The fact that he was rescued and not

captured is in part due to the strength of the Playfair.

The 2013 National Cipher Challenge also had a WWII

theme. Over the course of the first seven challenges a lot of

the story and context of the encrypted communications had

been revealed. This meant that I could use an attack based on

cribs — small pieces of text such as names or salutations that I

knew were likely to appear at certain locations in the text.

A crib-based method is a very successful and established

way of attacking a cipher. It was an important part of the

British attack on the German Enigma cipher during WWII.

Interestingly, one of their most common cribs was ‘Keine

besonderen Ereignisse’, meaning ‘nothing to report’.

— One of the competitions that many Perse students look forward to during the Michaelmas term everyyear is the National Cipher Challenge.

09

Feature

I wrote a program in Java to try to cryptanalyse

the Playfair cipher. The main observation I used

was that any mapping of a pair of ciphertext

characters to a pair of characters in the crib

would restrict the number of possible relative

arrangements of these four letters from over

12,000 to just 20; and if one of the letters was

common between the crib and the ciphertext

pair there would be only two arrangements.

My strategy was to combine the

information from the mappings of crib pair to

ciphertext pair to try to recover parts of the

original key grid. I designed a data structure

called a mapping, which was initialised to store

all possible partial key grids that would come

from a single mapping of crib pair to ciphertext

pair. The algorithm would then iteratively try

to merge together two mappings which had a

letter in common: it would rotate every partial

key grid in both mappings to have the common

letter in the top-left corner; it would then

effectively try to place every partial key grid

from the first mapping on top of every partial

key grid from the second mapping. If there was

a contradiction, i.e. the same letter appears

in two different places or two different letters

occupy the same place, that key grid would be

discarded; otherwise it would be included in a

new mapping. At the end of this step, the two

original mappings would be deleted.

There were two possible stopping

conditions for this algorithm. The failure

stopping condition took place when at any

stage a mapping contained no partial key

grids. This meant that one mapping entirely

contradicted another, implying that original

cribs were incorrect. The successful stopping

condition occurred when all possible merges of

mappings were completed.

The algorithm would have found one or

several partial key grids that correctly

encrypted all of the crib pairs to ciphertext

pairs; it would then use each partial key

grid to decrypt as much of the ciphertext as

possible, for examination by hand.

The algorithm ran quickly enough on

my computer that I was able to try several

different cribs. If a crib was successful, I would

look at the partial decrypts and try to find

word fragments which I would complete and

add to the cribs. In this way I was able to

reconstruct the original key.

Although the actual challenge 8B was

encrypted with a slight variant on the standard

Playfair, I was able to use this algorithm to

crack the cipher and recover the plaintext. I

was fortunate that my time was fast enough

that my entry was jointly awarded the 2013

Trinity College Prize, for being the joint runner-

up in the individual competition.

For a detailed description

of the algorithm please visit:

http://goo.gl/BWGsgD

Now read the response to this

article by Prof John Cremona (1974)

University of Warwick

Continued

This article is continued

from the previous page.

I would look at the partial decrypts and try to find word fragments which I would complete and add to the cribs. In this way I was able to reconstruct the original key.

10


Pratap reports on his success

in the 2013 National Cipher

Challenge competition, and

specifically how he tackled

the last and hardest of the

challenges presented to

contestants by the University

of Southampton. The task

was to decrypt a given

message, not even knowing

what system had been used

for its encryption! The only

clue was that it was likely

to be a variant of one of the

classical schemes. Moreover,

even after guessing that the

Playfair cipher might have

been the one which had

been used, Pratap’s task

had barely started, since

— obviously! — the secret

key was secret, making the

ciphertext appear to be a

stream of gibberish. Despite

this daunting prospect, Pratap

succeeded in deciphering the

message. In fact he did vastly

more than that: he developed

an algorithm, or systematic

method, which could, with a

certain amount of intelligent

human input as well, work to

decipher any other message

using the same system,

whatever the secret key. It

was his implementation of

this algorithm as a computer

program which impressed

me most about Pratap’s

achievement, and not just

the fact that he successfully

deciphered this specific

message.

In his report, Pratap gives

a clear description of the

Playfair cipher, illustrated

by a small example to show

the reader very clearly how

it works. He then goes on

to describe his method of

attack, using the system of

‘cribs’ which is just the sort

of trick used by his famous

predecessors, Alan Turing and

his colleagues at Bletchley

Park during the Second World

War. The point about a crib

is that if you can guess a

small part of the message,

which is often possible for

the opening greeting for

example, this gives you a

small set of possibilities to try,

and each one can be used to

partially decipher the whole

text. Then you begin to see

parts of words, which gives

you some ideas for more

components of the key, which

you can systematically try

out, until the job is done. Of

course, all this is a lot harder

to carry out in practice, and

effectively impossible without

some assistance — such as a

computer program!

Pratap’s report contains a

quite detailed description

also of his program: which

data structures he decided

to use, which methods had

to be implemented on these,

and then the strategy for

the algorithm itself. This

description is again illustrated

by working through a

genuinely difficult example.

There are many things which

impressed me about Pratap’s

report. It is very well written

as a piece of exposition:

clearly he has had some

excellent role models amongst

his teachers! He shows how

well he understands the

cipher system itself, and what

is needed to crack it. This

is an excellent skill to have,

one which is currently much

in demand. And in addition,

though without making a

big fuss about it, he shows

that he has the expertise to

follow through the idea with

a working computer program.

Not only can he ’decode’

very well, he can also ‘code’

brilliantly!

Prof John Cremona (1974)

University of Warwick

In ResponseTO PRATAP SINGH

11

Feature

What are the advantages and disadvantages of investing in a 1:1 iPad programme in Secondary Schools?

Stephanie Budenberg (Y11) writes:

My HPQ project this year was on iPads in

schools, and whether they are a beneficial

investment in a learning environment. The

education industry has always been extremely

interested in finding ways to improve teacher

pedagogy and the students’ ability to learn.

Recently, with the release of the new Apple

iPad a number of schools have taken to

introducing them in a bid to use the new

technology to their gain. My project explored

the different advantages and disadvantages

of this investment, to see whether they were a

positive influence or not.

Advantages

I found that there were a number of advantages

with a 1:1 iPad system, such as portability, ease

of access and an increase in collaborative group

work; these factors seemed to increase student

enthusiasm to engage. Other advantages

of the iPad for students are that it has the

potential to help students become more

competent and more responsible with using

technology, consequently allowing them to

prepare for a future using and being surrounded

by technology. As Tricia Kelleher said when I

interviewed her, the main reason for introducing

iPads into the Stephen Perse Foundation

was that ‘we’re living in a digital world, we

have to be a digital school.’ Perhaps the most

obvious advantage of the iPad is its potential

to unlock individualised learning and allow for

the possibility of a curriculum tailored to the

individual’s needs and capabilities. Software

such as Knewton and Khan Academy have

revolutionised online learning and awakened

creativity and interest in learning.

At the Longfield Academy in Kent, it was found

that over 75% of their students agreed or

strongly agreed with the statement that ‘working

with apps has improved my learning.’

Disadvantages

There are significant disadvantages that were

found with the iPad in relation to its use in an

educational setting. One of these is the fact that

they were not originally intended for educational

application. Therefore, the iPad is not designed

to last for years, merely to continue working until

the release of the next generation or newest

software. This means that in order to obtain

the highest level of functionality from the iPads,

the institution needs to replace them every three

to four years just to provide a working device.

Furthermore the iPad also has the capability to

break easily — especially around children.

The iPad also offers the possibility of distraction

in schools, a major issue as it can be very difficult

to tackle. The iPad, as well as offering a wide

range of educational apps, also offers a wide

range of apps such as games, which are aimed

at distracting the mind. Since these are personal

iPads the games and social media apps are

inevitably going to be on the iPads. Overuse of

these apps was reported in some instances to

lead to health issues among the students, such

as stomach cramps, insomnia and developing

a narcissistic personality. Furthermore, this

constant ability to access the online world can

lead to an increase in cyber bullying.

Conclusion

To conclude, although investing in a 1:1 iPad

programme offers a large number of both

advantages and disadvantages it seems

to me that the advantages outweigh the

disadvantages. However, in order to integrate

them into schools in the most beneficial way, one

has to make changes to accommodate the iPads,

and also ensure that everyone, students and

teachers alike, is competent in their use. If the

students and teachers are not competent in their

use then iPads become a tool for distraction, not

a tool for education.

Now read the response to this

article by Matt Goodridge (1997)

Product Manager, Google

12


Stephanie has brought

together an insightful and

extremely topical debate

about the use of technology

in the classroom. It is part of

a bigger trend relating to the

digitisation and mobilisation

of everything. Users,

whether they are students,

teachers, business people or

consumers, want complete

flexibility to do anything,

at any time and anywhere

they choose. The technology

industry is challenged daily

to figure out the apparently

insatiable desire for flexibility

and everything on demand.

Stephanie correctly identifies

that the education use case

is quite different: ensuring

that tablet devices are used

in educational institutions

for their intended purposes

and making learning more

engaging, fun and creative

whilst avoiding distracting

students — is key.

iPads were originally

sold as a consumer device,

although they were applied

to business before education

due to a number of factors:

1) businesses typically have

larger budgets; 2) businesses

are more self-sufficient when

it comes to app creations,

often having in-house

developers or the ability to

outsource. The Education

sector, for the most part, had

to wait for an ecosystem of

iPad developers to become

established before it was able

to adopt this technology,

since schools and education

authorities do not have

resources to commission

bespoke apps. Stephanie

highlights portability,

connectivity and use as a

learning aid as advantages,

with which I completely

agree. Key to being a learning

aid is the interactivity that

a touch device provides,

making exploration more

natural. The iPad can bring

subjects to life more and

help students with different

learning needs. Animating a

biological process, being able

to manipulate a molecule in

3D or watching videos and

reconstructions of historical

events are all more engaging

than reading words from a

static text book.

However, to this day,

the iPad and other tablet

devices remain largely

content consumption

devices. Stephanie correctly

highlights apps like

Garageband, Popplet and

Pages as creative apps,

but they are few and far

between. I was excited to

read, just yesterday, about

Pocket Code, a new app that

enables the user to write

new software apps from the

tablet itself. There have been

a number of impressive apps

for artists also, but it is still a

minority of artists that warm

to technology, rather than

traditional materials, to help

them express themselves.

Even typing continues to

be difficult using a tablet.

Creation is and will continue

to be a core part of education

and until there is a broad

range of creation apps on

tablets that are more usable

than traditional materials,

there is still a lot more work

to do.

Matt Goodridge (1997),

Product Manager, Google

In ResponseTO STEPHANIE

BUDENBERG

13

OP News

OP News

“The most unexpected and original

Indian writer of his generation”

Salman Rushdie

Fourteen years after arriving in Delhi with a single suitcase and no plans for a lengthy stay, writer Rana Dasgupta (1990) is still there. His latest book is a portrait of his new home as it embraces the future. Historian William Dalrymple described Capital: A Portrait of Twenty-First Century Delhi as ‘An astonishing tour de force by a major writer at the peak of his powers’. The book looks at the effect of money on Delhi and how it has altered the values of her people. Rana argues Delhi is energetic and looking to the future. The 20th century was not good to the city and Partition is an ever-present trauma, so where Europe and America are concerned with holding on to the past and even returning to it, Delhi is looking ahead.

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Actors who have won or been nominated for Academy Awards read aloud excerpts from an award-winning screenplay by Sam Baron (2006) at a ceremony in Beverley Hills. Sam was one of the three individual writers selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a 2014 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. After studying Psychology at University College London, including a Masters in Security and Crime Science, Sam became a runner on films and television shows, including The Hour and Mr Selfridge. He then worked as a script reader for the BBC. ‘Alongside this, I continued making short films and began writing a feature-length screenplay called The Science of Love and Laughter. Earlier this year I was signed by an agent at Curtis Brown in London,’ said Sam.


Antonia Goddard (2012) has published her first novel, Over the Sea to Skye, and returned to the School to share the secrets of her success with current students. A History student at Durham, Antonia began writing her novel two years ago, working up her short story about Bonny Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald. A writer of poetry and plays as well as historical fiction, Antonia is an active member of Durham’s drama community and is currently working on a new play — The Night Watch — which she is hoping will make it into this year’s Durham Drama Festival. She advised her young audience at The Perse to replace ‘write what you know’ with ‘write what you love’ and to have fun with writing. Chris Green, Director of English and Drama, said the visit was inspiring. ‘It was wonderful to welcome back Antonia to address a large audience at a Literary Society meeting. At the age of 20, she has already published a novel and had one of her plays produced.’

15

HeadHeart &

Soul

Feature

16

Dr Topun Austin (1989)

Consultant Neonatologist

Cambridge University Hospitals

Shedding Light onthe Newborn Brain

Back in the 1980s — like now — The Perse excelled academically. Unfortunately I did not. I was not particularly bad — I just was not particularly good either. Average.

I scraped into medical school with two Bs and a C in Physics (mediocre even back then). I was not quite sure why I ended up applying for medicine, however I never really had time to regret it as I was swept away by university life. In my third year I opted out to study for an intercalated degree in Physiology. It was while studying for one of the modules on foetal and neonatal physiology that I saw my first patients in the hospital: and these were like nothing I had ever seen before. Tiny little lives (some babies weigh little more than 500g) being kept alive by what seemed like space-age machinery and applied physiology. Neonatal intensive care is one of the great success stories of twentieth century medicine — ever smaller and sicker babies being kept alive through technological advances. However the challenge was — and still is — to allow the brain to develop

outside the protective environment of the womb and minimise any further damage. Despite improvements in neonatal medicine a significant number of children go on to develop life-long neurodisability. One of the technologies used to study the newborn brain uses near-infrared light to measure oxygen in the brain. It fascinated me that by using just laser light you could see inside the living brain. Working with a team of physicists and engineers at University College London, I completed a PhD on the development of a unique 3D optical imaging system, the second generation of which has just been brought up to the Evelyn Perinatal Imaging Centre, a newborn functional brain imaging unit I run at the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge.

Medicine opened my eyes to the world around me and I have met many truly inspiring patients, parents, doctors and scientists throughout my career.

I have also been extremely fortunate to be living through a golden age for neuroscience where by applying physics we have gained unprecedented access into the brain — even very tiny ones.

Continued This feature continues on the following pages.


17

Feature

Dr Alexander Lyon (1992)

BHF Senior Lecturer and Honorary

Consultant Cardiologist, Royal

Brompton Hospital

Harnessing the therapeutic power of DNA to repair damaged hearts

Growing up in Cambridge, few Perseans can have escaped the fact that Cambridge was the location of the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA — famously termed the ‘molecule of life’ — by Watson and Crick in 1953. During my biology lessons at The Perse I remember being introduced to the complexity of DNA, and its fundamental properties as the molecular ‘instruction manual’ for every cell, the building blocks of the tissues and organs of our bodies.

Building on the foundation laid in my Biology and Organic Chemistry A level classes, I continued to be fascinated by DNA and its potential to revolutionise medical practice whilst at medical school in Oxford. Whilst the majority of clinical DNA research in the last few decades has been focused on the diagnostic potential to understand the genetic component to all diseases affecting human health, known as ‘genomics’, I became interested in the less prominent field of gene therapy, where we aim to harness the therapeutic power of DNA for medical benefit. After Oxford I moved to London and started my training in cardiology, a specialty fuelled by mechanical technology advances in the last 30 years, with coronary stents, complex pacemakers and defibrillators, electrical ablation technology and modern

imaging dominating the training curriculum. However, I held onto a vision that biological repair would be the future. The medical condition we are aiming to treat is known as ‘heart failure’. Heart failure can have many different causes where the common feature is a significant degree of damage or dysfunction of the heart muscle, the myocardium, which causes weakening of the muscle used to pump blood around the body. With increasing survival rates following heart attacks, cancer treatments using cardiotoxic chemotherapy, the epidemic of obesity and diabetes, and the ageing population, all factors which can cause damage and weakening of heart function, heart failure is becoming a major health problem in modern society.

We aim to harness the therapeutic power of DNA for medical benefit.

In 2013, 60 years after the initial description of the genetic code by Watson and Crick, we delivered the first dose of gene therapy to a heart failure patient in the UK at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London where I work as a senior lecturer and honorary consultant cardiologist. It is still early days in the development of this novel gene therapy treatment, but I believe we are now embarking on a new era for the biological repair of the damaged heart in the clinic. It has been an exciting time and a privilege for those of us involved on this journey, and from a personal perspective, the seeds for my involvement were sown during my Biology and Chemistry classes at The Perse.

More online

To read the full article visit

www.perse.co.uk/oldperseans

18


Prof Philip Graham (1949)

Emeritus Professor of Child Psychiatry

Institute of Child Health, London

Soul and a careerin medicine

The nurture of my soul began at The Perse. In April 1943 I went as a boarder to Hillel House, a Jewish house for about 30 boys who attended school Mondays to Fridays but did not go to school on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath. Hillel House closed in the summer of 1948 and I went into digs in Cambridge for the last year of my schooling, leaving in December 1949.

My religion did not provide and indeed has never provided me with any spiritual uplift. Instead I was inspired by the literature, especially the poetry and drama, to which I was exposed at The Perse. I still remember much of the poetry I learned at school. In the school production of Hamlet directed by John Tanfield, a History teacher with a great love of the theatre, I played Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. Hamlet was played by Peter Hall, later to become Britain’s leading theatre director. It was a memorable experience. On the basis of my Higher School Certificate results in arts subjects I was awarded a place to read Law at Caius College, Cambridge, but it was felt I was too young to go. So I went for two terms to the Sorbonne in Paris for a soul-enhancing course run for foreigners in French civilisation. While there I became fascinated by philosophical and psychological problems of the interaction between mind and body. I decided to abandon the idea of a career in law and study to become a doctor so that I could be a psychiatrist.

Problem! I had been hopeless at science at The Perse. In order to pursue medical studies I had to pass examinations in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. I went to Luton Technical College for a year and just managed to do well enough to persuade Caius to agree to take me for medicine provided I did my National Service first. So, after two years in the Royal Air Force I entered Caius to study for a Natural Sciences degree — Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry. While The Perse had nurtured my soul, studying science at Cambridge was a soul-destroying experience. I had no aptitude for the subject. Having to learn stuff I found profoundly boring was depressing beyond description. Luckily, in my last year I was able to act in some undergraduate productions.

I became fascinated by philosophical and psychological problems of the interaction between mind and body.

After three years at medical school in London and two years in hospital medicine I was at last able to train to be a psychiatrist and then a child and adolescent psychiatrist. It has been a wonderful career and twenty years after retirement I continue to write in my field. It was possible to combine research and teaching with clinical work with disturbed children and their families. The problems of mind-body interaction or, as our forefathers would have put it, the location of the soul, that fascinated me when I was seventeen years old, has turned out to provide the most important challenges for both philosophers and psychologists. I was lucky — so was my soul!

19

Matthew Hawksworth

Theatre Director in Residence

Under the guidance of Chris

Green, Director of English and

Drama, I hope to help expand

and develop the provision of

drama and dance at the School

in the build up to the arrival of

the proposed performing arts

centre. The School already has a

strong drama tradition and with

the expertise and support of my

colleagues in the department,

this feels like the right time to

add to this and take creativity

and performance to the

next level.

In my first six weeks at

the School I have enjoyed

collaborating with other

departments at the Upper and

also at the Prep, developing

links and ties so that drama

productions are created by

the pupils, staff and industry

professionals working together.

We are offering drama

workshops supporting current

curricular schemes of work and

I have been helping teachers

plan for the forthcoming Year

7 Arts Festival in the second

half of term. I provided artistic

support to the Upper Sixth for

their very successful production

of Peter Shaffer’s one act farce,

Black Comedy — they must,

however, take all of the credit

for delivering very bold and

convincing performances. It

was an excellent opportunity

for the students to expand

their skills and learn about the

casting process, scheduling,

producing, marketing and

running a rehearsal room. My

next major project is the Year

11 play. Forgotten Voices, based

on Max Arthur’s collection of

oral testimonies of First World

War veterans, is going to prove

an immersive, vivid and moving

production in our new multi-

purpose Loft space in the

South Building.

I studied German and

Italian at University College

London before moving on

to a postgraduate degree at

Mountview Academy of Theatre

Arts, where I was fortunate to

be awarded the Sir John Mills

Scholarship. Since graduation,

I have worked for 10 years

as a professional actor and

movement practitioner, teaching

in schools, universities and drama

schools across the UK. In 2008

I was appointed an Associate

Movement Director for the

National Youth Music Theatre.

I choreographed Howard

Goodall’s Hired Man for the

company in the recently

renovated Hull Truck Theatre and

this summer staged The Ragged

Child for the International Youth

Arts Festival at the Rose

Theatre, Kingston, followed by a

performance for the Cambridge

Arts Festival. My professional

acting work has led me through

all forms of the industry,

including theatre, commercials,

— I am extremely excited to have joined the English and Drama department in this new role at the Perse School.

Feature

20

opera, musical and physical

theatre. I have been fortunate

to perform at Birmingham Rep,

Riverside Studios, Kilworth House

Theatre, Glyndebourne Festival

Opera, Sadler’s Wells and Opera

Lille, France.

A highlight has most certainly

been working on the Industrial

Revolution section of the

London 2012 Olympic Opening

Ceremony. Standing underneath

those lit Olympic rings at the end

of the sequence on that magical

night in July was something

truly special.

I am very much looking

forward to what the future holds

and developing links with drama

across Pelican, Prep and Upper.

I am especially looking forward

to the production of Guys and

Dolls at the Prep and next

spring’s Perse Players production.

Having appointed architects

Haworth Tompkins to design

the proposed performing arts

centre, the School was delighted

when the firm was awarded the

RIBA Stirling Prize 2014 for the

Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Haworth Tompkins’ work

was chosen ahead of bookies’

favourite the LSE’s student

centre, the Shard, and the

Olympic aquatics centre.

The firm’s past projects have

included the Young Vic, Royal

Court, Aldeburgh Music Campus

and the North Wall Arts Centre

at St Edward’s School, Oxford.

It is currently working on an

extension to the National

Theatre on the South Bank.

If there are any Old Perseans

who would like to hear more

about our plans for drama

and dance at The Perse or

would like to offer support or

expertise in the arts, I would

be delighted to hear from you

[email protected]


21

A corner in time

Perse Archive

The house in the photograph is

Lyndewode House, which stands

on the corner of Lyndewode

Road and Mawson Road,

Cambridge. Charles Amyes, a

Perse master from 1911 to 1930,

ran it as a boarding house until

the early death of his wife.

It is not clear who lodged in the

house. John Mitchell, in his 1976

history Perse, implies that it was

a boarding house for pupils –

there were several such small

establishments at the time, as

well as the purpose-built School

House and Hillel House (both

opened in 1910). He adds that

Henry Caldwell Cook (initiator

of the Play Way) and Reginald

Appleton (exponent of Direct

Method Latin) visited frequently,

being great friends of Amyes.

However, the obituary of Amyes

in the Old Persean Chronicle

(1945) calls it a masters’ house,

in which Cook and Appleton

lodged. Both were newly-arrived

young bachelors at the time.

The photograph shows all three

men. Caldwell Cook is on the

right, standing on the wall.

Amyes is the smallest man on

the wall, in the centre, wearing

glasses. The identification of

Appleton is less certain: in the

identified photos that we have

he appears much older than

he does here. But he would

seem to be the tall figure in

the dark waistcoat – on the

pavement beside the women

in the photograph. Mrs Louise

Amyes is standing on the

right in the dark skirt. The

unidentified woman next to her

is possibly one of the teachers at

Chesterton Preparatory School

(established by Dr Rouse) where

Mrs Amyes taught.

It is a hundred years since this

photograph was taken but

the location is immediately

identifiable. Only the Virginia

creeper and the railings on the

wall have gone.

Cook later lodged with Appleton

and his wife at 187 Hills Road.

The two friends died within

a year of each other and are

buried almost side by side in the

City Cemetery on Newmarket

Road (plots 2346 and 2344).

The graves are unmarked.

From the Perse Archive

Caldwell Cook, Amyes and

Appleton at Lyndewode

House, 1914. We are grateful

to Mr Simon Amyes for

donating the photographs

to the School in 2006.

22

Over 250 alumni, friends and colleagues gathered in the School Hall to celebrate the life of Richard Crabtree, Perse teacher, Scout master, expedition leader and so much more, who died at the age of 62. Long-serving colleague Adrian Roberts said: ‘For all of us, Richard’s death was a heavy blow and his passing, coupled with that of Hugh Vodden only last year, has left a huge gap in the ranks of Perse staff. ‘His pupils and his colleagues respected his learning and his belief in traditional academic virtues of careful research and coherent writing,’ he said. ‘As a colleague, there was so much to like and admire about Richard: his overwhelming energy and drive, his gift for repartee and his happiness when he saw other colleagues fulfilled and successful. When he walked into the Common Room you looked forward to his one-liners and throw away comments.’ Richard’s friend since boyhood, Neil Davey QC, said, ‘When in 1971 he went up to St John’s College, Cambridge he went already equipped with many of the characteristics that we came to recognise so well and to admire — immense organisational ability underpinned by relentless hard work; the time-management skills with which to multi-task effectively; enjoying the company of others; enjoying the process of discussion and persuasion; self-confidence in taking the lead role; and a positive pleasure in doing things differently.’ Richard led generations of young Perseans from camps in the UK to expeditions in Africa, Iceland and the Alps, carrying out charitable projects as they went. The Perse was delighted to be inundated with heartfelt tributes from OPs who felt their lives had truly been changed for the better through Richard’s teaching and particularly his work with Scouts.

Here is a just a flavour of them: Oliver Metherell (1993)The effect of having Richard Crabtree bounce into our lives was a bit like turning on the fun tap. Andrew McLeod (1978)He was dedicated, principled and enthusiastic, but only in hindsight do I realise just how much of his free time he must have put into all those evenings and camps. Steve Charles (1977)I have been greatly saddened by the loss of Richard, who has been a major influence on the developing lives of many young people, and extended their horizons, either in mountaineering, or foreign travel, or as a teacher. For my own part I will be eternally grateful to him. Rob Dersley (1998)My words about Richard are very simple: he was the first person in my life who truly understood me. He cared deeply about each of us. Yes, he was my teacher and my Venture Scout leader — but most of all, he was my dear and trusted friend. Duncan Parish (1998)An inspirational teacher and a born leader with a passion for the outdoors and above all a good friend. You’ll be sorely missed Richard. Enjoy your final expedition, you deserve it. Rob Minto (1993)His legacy is one of many childhoods immeasurably enhanced.

He died on 6th July 2014.

RICHARD CRABTREE 1952 – 2014

“As a colleague, there was so much to like and admire about Richard”


23

More online

This list was up-to-date when we

went to print. Obituaries may be

read in full on the website

www.perse.co.uk/oldperseans

Asquith, Bernard ‘Gerard’ (1945), died 21st October 2012, aged 87 years

Goudy, Alexander Porter (1944), died 26th May 2014, aged 88 years

Kidman OBE, Colin Frederick (1938), died 26th April 2014, aged 92 years

Milligan, Dr John Lowther (1944), died 24th September 2014, aged 87 years

Nutt, Christopher Young (1965), died 27th April 2014, aged 67 years

Pinfold, Geoffrey (1957), died 20th September 2014, aged 74 years

Vellacott, Richard Walter Northcott (1933), born 22nd May 1916, his death was notified to us this summer.

DONALD MACPHERSON 1977

Remembered by Ranjit Bolt (1977): Donald Macpherson was the best, the staunchest friend I ever had. He was also one of the most exuberant and positive people I have known. For these reasons, it was not merely his passing, so prematurely, but also the manner of it, that so deeply saddened me. For weeks after I heard the awful news of Mac’s death, he would be the first thought that came into my mind when I woke up. We were close friends throughout our time at The Perse. Without Mac (and I dare say the same was true in the other way round) my life at the school would have been very different, and much harder. Apart from the traits I have already alluded to, he was also blessed with a great sense of humour. I can still hear, for instance, in my mind’s ear, some of the hilarious impressions he used to do, not least of the Headmaster.

“One of the most exuberant and positive people I have known.”

After leaving The Perse, and then Oxford, we of course stayed in touch. When I was going through a very difficult time financially, he twice helped me out, once with a sizeable loan, once with a gift. Despite the fact that we weren’t seeing nearly so much of each other as in the old days (he moved up to Scotland on leaving Oxford, to take up a job with British Rail) he remembered and valued our friendship, and stayed loyal to it. That was typical of the man — as I say — staunch, true, generous — a person of immense integrity. One of the last conversations I had with Mac was in the spring of this year. He had called me from the hills around Perth, where he was on one of his regular long walks... He sounded so full of life. I miss him hugely, and I know that he will remain in my thoughts for the rest of my days. Mac died on 26th May 2014.

Obituaries

24

‘SANDY’ GREEN 1942

Sandy Green’s favourite subject at school was chemistry but by the time he arrived at the University of St Andrews at just 16 years of age he had decided that mathematics was his true vocation. After two years as an undergraduate he put his university career on hold when he went to Bletchley Park to undertake war work.

“Our main task was to operate these

‘Colossus’ computers”

He later wrote ‘... I arrived in August 1944, and the war in Europe was in its final phase. By that time M H A Newman’s plan to use specially designed electronic computers to assist in the decipherment of the ‘Fish’ series of coded messages was well advanced. I was one of a number of new recruits to Newman’s section (which was called the Newmanry), and our main task was to operate these “colossus” computers, using well-established routines.’ It was at Bletchley Park that Green met his future wife Margaret, a Wren. In 1946 he returned to St Andrews to complete his first degree. He was awarded a PhD from Cambridge in 1951. In 1965 was appointed as a Professor at the newly formed Mathematics Institute at Warwick University, where he led the algebra group. He worked as a visiting academic at Princeton and in France, Germany and Portugal. After retiring from Warwick he became a member of the faculty and Professor Emeritus at the Mathematics Institute of the University of Oxford. Green found all the characters of general linear groups over finite fields and invented the Green correspondence in modular representation theory. ‘Green functions’ in the representation theory of groups of Lie type and ‘Green’s relations’ in the area of semigroups are named after him. Sandy died on 7th April 2014.

HARRY C. DAVIS 1944

Dr Katerina Krikos-Davis writes:Harry Clayton Davis left the Upper School in 1944, entering Trinity College, Cambridge to read English in January 1945. A year later, he was called up for National Service in the Royal Navy and was only able to return to University in 1948, graduating in 1951. After a short period of schoolteaching, Harry travelled to Italy intending to spend three months in Rome, but, falling under her spell, he stayed for 14 years! He turned his hand to many things: broadcaster of news in English for Italian Radio and TV, professional translator, head of English Language courses at the Italian Middle and Far East Institute and teacher of English at Rome University; he also took a second degree in Italian Language and Literature, as an external student at London University.

“On news of his death messages poured in from past students.”

In 1966 he was appointed to a lectureship in the Italian Department at Birmingham University, heading the department from 1989 until his retirement in 1994. Harry co-edited Essays in Honour of John Humphreys Whitfield (London 1975) and published some good scholarly articles. Teaching, however, was his true vocation and he excelled at it. On the news of his death messages poured in from past students, including graduates of forty-odd years, some even travelling to Birmingham for his funeral. A man of letters, a true liberal and deeply cultured, Harry was also unfailingly courteous, considerate and loyal. With a zest for life, an irresistible sense of humour and the ability to reach out to people of all ages and from all walks of life, he was a much loved figure. He died on 11th March 2014.


25

Obituaries

RICHARD CHARLES 1972

Steve Charles (1977) writes: Rick Charles was one of the most high-ranking members of the RAF that The Perse has produced. He joined the RAF Legal Branch as a Flight Lieutenant after taking a Law degree at Nottingham University. After tours in Germany, Hong Kong and the First Gulf War he rose to the rank of Air Vice-Marshal and Head of the Legal Branch. He was honoured by the Queen as a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 2005. He was always fascinated by aircraft and aviation history and had been a keen member of the RAF section in the CCF at School. He obtained his private pilot’s licence while at University. More recently he flew in the skies around his home outside Cheltenham. Boyhood dreams were realised when he flew in the gun turret of a Lancaster bomber, and subsequently flew a Spitfire in the summer of 2012.

“He flew a Spitfire in the summer

of 2012.”

At School he had been a member of the 1st XV and 1st XI in hockey. He had a life-long passion for rugby and became a season ticket holder of Gloucester, contributing to the game as a Discipline Officer of the RFU, working on disciplinary panels for Rugby Premiership matches and the Churchill Cup. He had many other interests: long distance walks (he was a long-serving Cotswold Way Volunteer), bird watching, beekeeping, Trustee of the RAF Charitable Trust and The Royal International Air Tattoo. He was happily married to Anne from 1979 and they had two sons, Philip and Thomas. Rick retired from the RAF in 2009 and was hugely enjoying his wide portfolio of interests. He derived particular joy from flying and walking the countryside. Unfortunately over Christmas 2012 he was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive brain tumour. Rick died on 21st July 2013.

COLIN STUART 1947

Mrs Vanessa Stuart writes: Colin joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery and served in Malaya and Singapore. He learned Mandarin Chinese with the Army and moved to the Foreign Office where he had postings in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Music was always a very important part of his life and he continued to be involved in one way or another through all overseas postings, indeed all his life. He was a talented and versatile musician, from Musical Director for countless amateur dramatic productions, to playing in philharmonic orchestras, to his greatest passion — jazz.

“Music was always a very important part of his life.”

He played with Harry Gold and his Pieces of Eight and was a guest soloist with the BBC Big Band. He played in Don Rendell’s Goldsmiths Big Band in the ‘70s where he met Len Phillips. Len formed his own band in 1985 and Colin was the band’s last remaining founder member. Once retired, he was able to enter a third career as a professional musician. His first full-time gig was lead trumpet on the QE2 world cruise and he became a well-known face on the London jazz circuit. He continued to play in the Len Phillips Big Band when it was taken over by Joe Pettitt about four years ago.

26


A legion of Old Persean rugby players returned to

the School eager to prove that time away from the

hallowed 1st XV turf had not diminished their playing

abilities. The ‘boys’ were cheered on by an impressive

gathering of Purple Army parental supporters on

the touchline.

The game took the format of three 20 minute

periods, with the players representing the Evens or

Odds depending on which year they left the School.

It ebbed and flowed, with the intensity of play being

real top drawer quality, with many of the players still

strutting their stuff on the top tier of university rugby.

The game finished 22 – 7 to the Evens, with

skipper Ed Rawe (2010) showing great delight in

receiving the Hugh Vodden Rugby Cup from Director

of Sport Simon Ball. The trophy was donated in

Hugh’s memory by members of the former OP Rugby

Union Football Club. As tales of the game were being

recounted, excitement was already building ahead of

the rematch, pencilled for early September 2015 (and

much training promised in the intervening months!).

Glasgow’s Corinthian Club proved a stylish venue

for the second Perse in Scotland lunch. It was a great

occasion and thanks go to Bruce Jamieson (1988) for

tipping us off about the club. We are always pleased

to receive venue suggestions.

LUNCH FORBENEFACTORS

A lunch for Benefactors was held at the School in

September and the Head was delighted to have the

opportunity to thank donors personally for their

generous support. Prefects gave guests guided tours

of the site, with many guests surprised to see just how

much the School buildings have changed in recent

years. Afternoon tea was served in the extended

pavilion, from which guests had an excellent view

of the afternoon’s sports matches.

WELLPLAYED

Well played The Perse in the annual OP cricket

match! Chasing the School’s 167 runs, the OPs

started steadily but the introduction of Dilip Goyal

(L6) into the attack changed the game. With wickets

taken in his 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th overs, he

ended with bowling figures of 5.1 overs, 0 maidens,

6 wickets for 17 runs. Final score: Perse 1st XI 167 for

8 off 40 overs; Old Perseans 109 all out off 31.1 overs.

They might have been outclassed, but there were

compensations for the visitors. The game was played

in brilliant sunshine and the spectators took full

advantage of the stylish viewing balcony on the roof

of the extension to the Margaret Stubbs Pavilion.

PastEvents

It ebbed and flowed, with the intensity of play being

real top drawer quality

SCOTLANDLUNCH

OP RUGBYRETURN

27

the Perse school

@OldPerseans

Old Perseans

OP Reunion Dinners2015/16 1964 — 19682015/16 1984 — 19882016/17 1969 — 19732016/17 1989 — 19932017/18 1949 — 19532017/18 1994 — 19982018/19 1999 — 2003

5th Cambridge Scouts Reunion DinnerSaturday 31st January 20156.45pm for 7.30pm The Perse. Open to all former 5th Cambridge Scouts, Venture Scouts, PES members and friends.

Year Group Representatives MeetingSaturday 7th February 2015The Perse. Further details to follow.

OP Reunion Dinner Saturday 7th March 20156.45pm for 7pm (School tours from 6pm) The Perse. Open to all OPs from Classes of 1959 – 63.

OP Hockey, Netball & Basketball matchesSaturday 28th March 2015The Perse.

Dr Perse Society LunchWednesday 22nd April 201512.00 for 12.30pmThe Perse.

OP Reunion DinnerSaturday 9th May 20156.45pm for 7pm (School tours from 6pm)The Perse. Open to all OPs from Classes of 1979 – 83.

1977 ReunionSaturday 16th May 2015A special day of events organised by Tim Dingle (1977), The Perse. Please contact Alumni & Development Office for further details.

Benefactors’ LunchSaturday 6th June 201512.30pm, The Perse.

OP Cricket MatchFriday 19th June 2015Play begins at 12.30pm, The Perse. Open to all.

For more informationplease visit perse.co.uk/oldperseans/events or contact theAlumni & Development Office by telephone on01223 403808 or [email protected]

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head, heart and soul · a school is a community of which alumni are an essential part. ... michael...

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