Issue 55 Spring 2016

HigHligHtss t A l B A N s s C H O O l

‘The chance to use a

range of the latest media

and technologies to

drive forward teaching

and learning makes this

a really exciting time.’

New fACilities BOOst teACHiNgTeaching facilities have received a real boost in the 1928 block, the historic classrooms which now house the English Department. In two stages, over half term and Christmas, the classrooms have been transformed, with new acoustic ceilings with low energy LED panels and new flooring throughout.

Pupils notice the difference, with new desks, chairs and lockers, giving them an enhanced space for learning. For the teachers, there has been a huge change, with the installation of bespoke teaching walls. Incorporating storage cupboards and a screen, the entire surface can be used as a whiteboard and new audiovisual equipment can be used to project video, text and computer screens.

‘The new, state-of-the-art facilities in English offer a huge range of opportunities to teachers and students. The chance to use a range of the latest media and technologies to drive forward teaching and learning in the subject makes this a really exciting time,’ commented James Hughes, Head of English. ‘Facilities like this really enhance the really excellent teaching which our pupils receive.’

Not only has the work been completed on a tight timetable, it was internally-managed with the help of some specialist external contractors. This efficient management brought the project in well under the allocated budget.

Boys Bowled OverTim Bowler, author of the Blade series of novels, fascinated Lower School pupils with a talk about his inspirations and a reading from his work. He was an entertaining raconteur with many amusing anecdotes, but he also spoke about the importance of creating characterisation with psychological depth. The boys were fascinated and took to heart his advice and encouragement never to give up and to be undaunted by setbacks.

CCF Cadet In ServiceIn November the School was specially selected to represent all CCF RAF service sections in the UK at the annual Festival of Remembrance held in the Royal Albert Hall and attended by Her Majesty The Queen. RAF CCF cadet Joe Pattison had the enviable post of official escort to the CCF banner, which is paraded at the event by a cadet from each of the service sections. He could be seen performing his duty with expert precision during the BBC coverage of the event.

Maths Medal HaulThe School’s top performing mathematicians Josh Oliver and Tom Hillman qualified for the prestigious and challenging Maths Olympiad, where Tom, a Fourth Former pitted against senior students,confidently secured his place in the second round. They had earlier excelled in the National Senior Mathematical Challenge, in which the School won 15 Bronze, 38 Silver and 11 Gold awards.

The classrooms in the historic 1928 block have been transformed

Twisted TalesWith a complex score, witty libretto and fairy tales with several twists, Into the Woods was an ambitious and thrilling production at the end of the Autumn term. With Cinderella, Jack and his Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and others all mixed together in a dark and fluctuating plot, the actors performed with real zest, supported by an on-stage orchestra which handled the challenging music with assured skill. Eleanor White was a shrill and frightening witch and Sean Bracebridge a lascivious wolf, while Phoebe Wilkinson performed Little Red Riding Hood with a mixture of innocence and teenage rebellion. James Lear and William Rouse were hugely entertaining as the two lads who both fancied themselves as the most charming of princes. The whole plot was held together by Matthew McClafferty and Rosie Hudson, a

Pupils travelled far and wide to extend their learning over the course of the Autumn term. At the beginning of term, Fifth Form RS students journeyed north east, visiting Lindisfarne and Durham to explore the development of early Christianity and the Norman Cathedral. Sixth Form Biologists had a very different experience at Wakehurst in Sussex, where they took part in two laboratory workshops on photosynthesis and classification before visiting the Millennium Seed

Bank, which currently houses in excess of four billion seeds from 10% of the world’s species of plants.

Other students went further afield, in to Europe, with GCSE historians exploring the First World War battlefields of northern France and Flanders. Their understanding of the horrors of the war was developed by visits to several cemeteries, Sanctuary Wood, the site of the Battle of the Somme and the Ypres Museum.

baker and his wife desperate to have a child. They played the roles with real sensitivity. The production was the magnificent result of weeks of

rehearsal, the actors directed by drama teacher Jordan Blaxill while the musicians were under the baton of Director of Music Mick Stout.

Extending Education Far AfieldPupils and staff

gather outside Herculaneum, one of the key sites on

the Classics trip

Nearly 60 students from the Second Form to the Sixth Form travelled to Italy in order to explore the classical sites of Rome, including the Forum, the Colosseum and the ancient port of Ostia. They then travelled to Sorrento, which was the base for visits to the Archaeological Museum in Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum and the imperial villa at Oplontis. The art, architecture and historical information brought all the ideas of the Cambridge Latin Course to life.

Pupils threw themselves energetically Into the Woods

Simon Says…One hundred guests, teachers and students were treated to a fascinating insight into the life of a successful director when Simon Godwin OA returned to the School where he studied Drama to talk about his career in theatre.

Simon Godwin has made a name for himself by directing plays such as The Beaux’ Stratagem at the National Theatre, where he has recently been appointed an Associate Director, and Acid Test at The Royal Court.

Simon captivated the audience in the Hall with his anecdotes, ranging from receiving advice from one of his idols, Peter Brook, to directing Ralph Fiennes in five hours’ worth of theatre in Man and Superman at the National. He stated that his main aim as a director was ‘to keep the audience awake’ and he certainly achieved that, facing questions from Head of Drama Mary Bruton, a student panel and members of the audience.

At the moment Simon is working on modernising and re-locating Shakespeare’s Hamlet to West Africa for the RSC, which will run in Stratford later this year. It was appropriate that he should talk about this play in front of the stage where Simon himself made his mark as Hamlet when he was a student in the Sixth Form.

Arkwright EngineersNo fewer than three Lower Sixth Formers have been awarded Arkwright Scholarships, which means that they will be sponsored for two years by major engineering companies following a two-hour aptitude exam and an interview with a panel of engineers. Lydia Edwards will be sponsored by The Happold Foundation, Veer Shah by Smiths Detection, and Jacob Vialou-Clark by The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board.

The School has a proud history of success with the Arkwright Scholarships and Owen Pearce of the Upper Sixth was nominated by the Arkwright Scholarship Trust for the East of England Engineering Science and Technology Association’s annual award for Excellence and Achievement. He beat off stiff competition to receive his award and certificate of achievement. He gave an excellent acceptance speech to an audience of 250 guests drawn from all branches of engineering, and used the seminar to do some useful networking and share experiences of his first year as a scholar.

Renowned writer Owen Sheers was one of the judges for the School’s Poetry by Heart competition, where he spoke to the audience about Voice

Phoebe’s ‘Spine-tingling’ Performance Wins Poetry By HeartIn the School’s first entry into the Poetry by Heart Competition, Phoebe Wilkinson will represent Hertfordshire at the Regional and National Finals in Cambridge. At the School final, Phoebe impressed the judges, among whom was Owen Sheers, one of the UK’s most prominent contemporary writers. A poet, novelist and dramatist, he spoke about finding one’s voice as a writer and the modulations of meaning through other people’s voices reading that work. He read a number of poems, some still unpublished, and concluded with two extracts from Pink Mist, his verse drama based on interviews with returning soldiers from Afghanistan,

and their families. Six students competed on the night, reciting a wide range of poems, including works by Milton, Swift, Herbert, Hardy, Roethke and Kavanagh. Phoebe was selected as the pupil whose recital created the ‘spine-tingle moments’, as Head of English James Hughes put it. At the County Final she was selected winner from eight competitors and received congratulations from Owen Sheers and poet Daljit Nagra. ‘It can be unnerving reciting to an audience, but I really liked the two poems,’ said Phoebe. ‘It’s also been inspiring to hear and meet contemporary writers. Their insight has been invaluable.’

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Rugby: A highly successful rugby season culminated in the 1st XV’s appearance in the Herts U18 Cup final after beating Bishop’s Stortford High School 16-6 in the quarter final and St Columba’s College 13-3 in the semis, both matches played under floodlights at the OAs’ Woollams ground. The team’s success in the Cup was accompanied by some exciting victories in other fixtures, including a victory over Queen Elizabeth’s Barnet 11-3 and close wins over St George’s and Beaumont Schools. In an enjoyable friendly against St Albans College from Argentina, the 1st XV emerged 21-12 victors. After a difficult start to the season, the U16A team enjoyed a series of excellent victories, going five matches unbeaten. While the 47-0 defeat of Watford Grammar was the highlight, the 30-5 victory over Haberdashers’ and 22-10 over Bedford

Modern were also noteworthy. All of our U14 teams won against Watford Grammar with a combined score of 187-14, while three of the four U15 teams also won. The U15As had a remarkable season, losing only three times but recording 12 victories. They reached the 5th round of the NatWest Cup and returned some impressive scorelines, such as 50-0 against Haileybury, 34-10 over Haberdashers’, 34-7 over Queen Elizabeth’s Barnet and 48-5 over Bedford Modern. That team was surpassed by the U14A XV,

who lost only once in their thirteen fixtures, beating such luminaries as Merchant Taylors’, Haberdashers’, Berkhamsted, Watford Grammar and Aylesbury Grammar with a combined 202-20 score. The U13As also scored a fine victory over Haberdashers’, while the U12A team showed promise for the future with just one loss. Convincing victories over Queen Elizabeth’s Barnet 90-5 and Aylesbury Grammar 55-10 were particularly satisfying.

Cross Country: The season opened with the demanding 7.5km King’s Trophy on Wimbledon Common. The runners started in good positions until the half-way point where the early runners, including Ben Clarke and Alex Cook, were sent the wrong way, leaving the race to be decided by the middle-order. The team was led home by Captain Tom Halling, taking 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 9th, 13th and 33rd places and retaining the Trophy. In the Haskell Cup, Ben Clarke ran the best stage in the relay , finishing 35 seconds ahead, giving Tom Halling a lead to go on to win the race by 22 seconds.

Netball: The girls entered two teams in the District Netball Tournament. The B team played well and the A team enjoyed wins against Sir John Lawes, Loreto and Roundwood Park after only three months of playing together. They ended the season on a high, beating Marlborough 25-6, while in the County League against The Royal Masonic School for Girls they triumphed 29-19.

Lacrosse : Despite it being only their second match as a team, the girls held their own at St Albans High School’s indoor tournament. The final tally was two wins, one draw and three defeats, with Abby MacGregor voted player of the tournament. At Abbot’s Hill’s Invitational tournament, the team beat Princess Helena College 2-1 and drew 1-1 with both North London Collegiate and St James’s to come third in the pool on goal difference.

Skiing : The School sent two teams to the English Schools’ Ski Association National Slalom Finals where the A-team were awarded bronze medals. In the open championship despite a challenging course, our A-team held their nerve and came 9th overall going through to represent the UK Finals in Pontypool.

Swimming: The Intermediate and Junior teams travelled to the Olympic Park for the National Relay Finals against the best swimmers in the country. The Intermediates rose 12 places to finish 18th in the freestyle relay and also swam in the medley race, finishing 28th. Ross Ferreira has been selected to be part of the ATC Cross Channel swim squad following his attendance at the ATC Cross Channel Team Selection Weekend. This means that he will be part of the Cadet Forces Cross Channel Swim Relay Team in the summer.

Squash: Playing Haileybury, the team of Edward Hunt, Ted Cook, Adam Dean, Ben Craig, James Rowbotham and Sam Goymer was seeking to avenge last year’s close defeat and achieved a 4-2 victory. They went one step further in November against the same school, winning 5-2, with many players enjoying straight 3-0 wins.

Badminton: In the Herts Sports Games U14 Regional Badminton Final, we faced a very strong Verulam team, which included a County player, but still went on to win 4-1. We progressed to the County Final in December where after a day of excellent play the team finished fourth.

Golf : The golfers beat Haberdashers’ in the HMC foursomes but were defeated by New Hall School in the ISGA second round. The Thomson Trophy was played at Redbourn, where the Headmaster joined six staff in taking on the pupil team. Mr Daurge won the longest drive, while Mr Burger and Will Maynard finished tied on 87 gross, with the trophy shared.

The U15A Rugby team on the attack

sPORt: RuNNeRs RetAiN kiNg’s tROPHy