Old Whitgiftian makes Whitgift sporting history, unforgettable Whitgift’s Last Night at the Proms, Whitgift Grounds national award, trips galore, Journey’s End talent showcase, choral debut at The Ritz, and much more…

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Prom NightWords

November saw Whitgift’s Last Night of

The Proms performed at Fairfield Halls,

bedecked in patriotic colours, on what

was quite an exceptional occasion, even

by Whitgift’s illustrious standards. The

varied and ambitious programme began

with Ms Lorraine Temple’s powerful

Whitgift Brass Ensemble, performing a

suitably-stirring Triumphal March from

Verdi’s Aida, and Mancini’s impressive

theme from Peter Gunn. Whitgift Strings,

led by Mr Philip Winter, followed with a

scintillating performance of Piazzolla’s

Libertango. The audience was enthralled

with the Whitgift Percussion Ensemble’s

cracking renditions of Zimmer’s You’re so

cool! and Barroso’s Aquarela do Brasil.

The first half concluded with Mr James

Griffith leading the massed forces of

the Whitgift Soul Choir, First Form Choir,

Elmhurst School Choir and Whitgift Big

Band, raising the roof with Feeling Good.

The second half opened with Mr Winter

and the Whitgift Symphony Orchestra,

taking on John Adams’ fiendishly-difficult

Short Ride in a Fast Machine; it was a

huge credit to them that they gave such

a compelling account of this modern

masterpiece. Equally impressive was

Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, under the

direction of Mrs Rosanna Whitfield. Ion

Mosneaga’s masterful violin playing,

supported by the highly-skilled Whitgift

Symphony Orchestra, was triumphantly

successful and received a standing

ovation. After the audience joined the

Orchestra and singers in a rendition of

La Marseillaise, to respectively mark

the recent tragedy in Paris, the concert

concluded with various ‘lollipops’

associated with the Last Night of the

Proms, conducted by Mr William Church,

Mrs Whitfield and Mr Winter. The audience

waved Union Jacks and joined in with a

number of classic favourites, including

Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem.

Mr William Searle, one of Whitgift’s resident

Choral Scholars, dispatched the extrovert

roulades of Rule, Britannia with brilliant

assurance.

A member of the audience summed

up the night, later tweeting, “Wonderful

Whitgift School concert last night.

Favourite performance? All of it!”

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Academic Enrichment Lecture SeriesWith the launch of the Academic

Enrichment Lecture Series in the

Michaelmas Term, Whitgift welcomed

some highly-regarded visitors to the

School. The programme got off to a

fantastic start when Lord Professor

Robert Winston, Professor of Science

and Society, and Emeritus Professor

of Fertility Studies at Imperial College

London (pictured, top centre), met with

a select group of Sixth Formers for a

Q&A session, and then presented his

fascinating lecture, covering the potential

use and abuse of genetics. Professor

Francis Nolan (pictured, right) spoke

about Parseltongue, the magical language

of snakes he designed for the Harry

Potter movies, and Professor Tony Allen

(pictured, left) enlightened his audience

about Hydropolitics in the Middle East. Dr

Brendan Owens delighted our science

enthusiasts with his talk on Exoplanets,

and writer and broadcaster, Alex Bellos,

brought the weird and wonderful world of

mathematical phenomena to the School.

An Officer and a WhitgiftianUpper Sixth Former, George Angus

(pictured with Colonel Peacock MBE,

Army Officer Careers Adviser), has been

awarded an Army Officer Scholarship;

this is a significant achievement, as

approximately 800 applicants get whittled

down to 50 via a stringent interview

process conducted at Horse Guard

Parade, followed by more interviews

and fitness tests at an Army Base.

George plans to complete a university

degree before taking up his place at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He

commented, “I have always wanted to

join the Army, and I’ve had some fantastic

advice from Mr Smith along the way. It

was hard work, but now I can work on my

A Levels knowing that I’ve got the Army

to come.”

Whitgift Cross Country’s popularity

with junior runners, of all abilities, has

paid off, with the U13 team becoming

ESAA national champions. They have

dominated the local league and Inter-

School Competitions. Standout individual

performances have come from Thomas

Blake, Calum Mackinnon Smith, Eugene

Bevilacqua, Lorenzo Mihranian and

Arun Stanley. In the Croydon Schools’

Championships, Whitgift won the U12 and

U14 team events. Top 3 individual finishes

were achieved by Thomas Blake (U12),

Rowan Fuss and Harley Norman (U14),

and Scott Jones (U16).

The U13 team of Harley Norman, Rowan

Fuss, Seth Mack (pictured, main),

Tom Rees, Matt Grove and Calum

Mackinnon Smith also gave an incredible

performance at the ESAA Cross Country

Cup, in December. They competed

against 23 of the best athletics schools in

the country, to win the national title. This

is only the second time ever that Whitgift

has qualified for this level of competition.

The top four – Harley, Rowan, Seth and

Tom – finished in the top 20, out of 142

runners. Their combined score of 37

secured team gold, a dramatic difference

to last year’s winning score of 68. Harley

was Whitgift’s highest finisher, with

individual silver.

National stars keep on running

24 boys from the Fifth and Sixth Forms

travelled to Morocco, during October Half

Term, as part of a combined Outdoor

Education and Gold Duke of Edinburgh

Award expedition. A familiarisation

day in Marrakech was followed by an

acclimatisation day in the Atlas Mountains.

The group then split into two. 10 boys

departed on a four-day expedition,

with the aim of being self-sufficient with

navigation, accommodation and food.

They trekked through villages, down

valleys and over high mountain passes in

rain, wind and sweltering heat, loaded with

their supplies. They finished the expedition

at an altitude of 3200m at the Toubkal

Mountain Refuge (the starting point for

summit attempts to the highest mountain

in the Atlas Mountains).

The remaining boys trekked for a shorter

period of time to get to Toubkal. Both

groups had their summit bids scuppered

by significant unseasonal snow and ice,

which would have required use of ice-

axes and crampons. The boys set their

sights on an alternative peak, and, with

a gruelling trek, reached the snowline.

The combined ascent and descent was

the equivalent of climbing Ben Nevis and

returning to the bottom again before

lunch, but the intrepid Whitgiftians were

rewarded with spectacular views. The trip

culminated in two days of mountain biking

in arduous terrain, after which both parties

re-grouped for three days of surfing some

of the best waves in the world.

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They trekked through villages, down valleys and over high mountain passes in rain, wind and sweltering heat …

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U11 RugbyTournamentWhitgift hosted its second annual U11

Rugby Tournament, in November.

Five teams competed for the trophy:

Cumnor House, Bickley Park, Elmhurst,

St. Christopher’s and The Croydon

Barbarians, the latter being a team

made up of players from local primary

schools. Organiser and Whitgift’s Rugby

Development Officer, Mr Tom Stradwick,

commented, “There was some excellent

rugby being played throughout the day,

and Cumnor House (pictured, below)

emerged as winners after a close final

against Bickley Park. A big thank you to

all the players, coaches, medical staff

and caterers who helped to make the

day an enjoyable one.”

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Diving BronzeUpper Fifth Former, Piers Brown, was

awarded bronze in the 10-metre event

at the 4th Open International Croatian

Summer Cadet and Junior Championship,

in July. This was quite an achievement,

as he was competing against some of

Europe’s top national youth divers.

Piers, who represents the Crystal Palace

Diving Club, also took part in three key

diving competitions in October and

November: the Southampton Invitational

(narrowly missing out on gold, on

platform); the Swedish 33rd Diving Lund

competition (4th place with a 321.35

point personal best, on platform); and the

British School Championship qualifiers.

Piers, and partner Louise Bradley, finished

in 2nd place in the platform mixed-

gender synchronised event, securing a

spot to represent London in the British

Schools Championships, in December.

Triathlon SuccessOld Whitgiftian, David Pearson, competed

at the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand

Final, in Chicago, in September. Having

only taken part in triathlons for two

years, he achieved the impressive result

of finishing in 10th place, with a time of

01.02.13, in the 16-19 age category. It

was only recently, in March 2015, that

the then Upper Sixth Former competed

in the National Duathlon championships,

to gauge his progress after a year of

having switched from modern pentathlon

to concentrate on triathlons. He came

2nd, beating seasoned international

triathletes, and qualified for the European

Championships.

The 18-year-old commented after his

Chicago performance, “I must thank

everyone in the Whitgift Outdoor

Education and Sports Departments for

supporting me these past two years.”

One to watchWhitgift U13 footballer and member of

Chelsea FC Academy, Jamal Musiala,

represented his club at the U14 Boys

Madrid Football Cup 2015, in September.

The Lower Third Form pupil finished

as top scorer, with 13 goals in seven

matches, against opponents such as

Juventus FC, Paris Saint-Germain FC,

Real Madrid CF, SV Werder Bremen

and Sporting Lisbon. The 12-year-old,

who was also instrumental in Whitgift’s

Investec ISFA U13 Cup victory in March,

received a trophy in recognition of his

achievement.

The U11s also excelled in September,

winning the ISFA Surrey & Hampshire U11

Seven-a-Side Championship, therefore

qualifying for the ISFA’s national finals, to

be held at England’s FA National Football

Centre, St George’s Park, in Burton, in

May. Whitgift football coach, Mr Andrew

Martin, commented, “The U11s’ statistics

were pretty impressive – the boys played

eight matches, winning all of them,

scoring 47 goals and conceding none.

Harry McKnight scored an outstanding

19 goals during the tournament.”

Hockey fivewin forGreat BritainOld Whitgiftians Rhys Smith (Durham

University), Jack Waller (Durham

University), Luke Taylor (Loughborough

Students HC), Jonty Griffiths

(Loughborough Students HC) and Rob

Farrington (Cannock HC) represented

the GB U21 hockey team in the

prestigious Sultan of Johor Cup, hosted

in Malaysia, in October. They emerged

victorious against India in the final.

The match ended 2-2, bringing it to a

nail-biting sudden-death shootout, with

Great Britain ensuring India didn’t claim

the title for a third consecutive year.

Team captain, Luke Taylor, contributed

his 10th goal of the competition, making

him the tournament’s top scorer.

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With the approach of Whitgift’s

Remembering 1916: Life on the Western

Front exhibition, it was an apt choice

for the Upper School to take on R.C.

Sherriff’s iconic Journey’s End, under

the expert guidance of Director, Mr Paul

Wilson, and Assistant Director, Yvan

Bollet-Quivogne, who was only just

treading the boards last year as a Whitgift

Sixth Former himself.

Set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin,

Aisne, towards the end of the First World

War, the play offers insight into the

experiences of the officers of a British

Army infantry company during the run-

up to the real-life events of Operation

Michael. The entire story is set in the

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Journey’s End

officers’ dugout, and, through day-to-day

conversations and routine, the characters

give the audience a glimpse into what it

was like to endure the War, individuals’

coping mechanisms, friendships and

faults. The clever use of sights, sounds

and smells further enhanced the

audience immersion into the story.

Credit must go to an outstanding cast

who conveyed the dialogue’s sensitivity,

humour and angst with maturity beyond

their years. The audience was captivated

from beginning to end.

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ChinaIn July, a group of 23 Lower Sixth

Form economists and linguists had

the opportunity to experience China’s

beauty first-hand. Speaking of the trip

to Shanghai, Yangshuo and Hong Kong,

Pavan Rao commented, “I can safely say

it was the trip of a lifetime. During those

10 days, we were treated to an education

in culture, customs and the ways of the

Far East, and could experience various

aspects of the nation which have made it

one of the largest economies in the world.

The entrepreneurial spirit seemed to be

brimming in every corner of the country.”

BarcelonaIn August, 28 U15 Whitgift rugby players

embarked on a five-day training camp to a

sports and activity camp near Barcelona.

Aside from some strenuous training under

the hot Spanish sun, the boys enjoyed

mini-golf tournaments, basketball, a tour

around Camp Nou, and surfing (of which

the steep hill to access the beach was

training in itself).

CornwallAt the beginning of September, a group

of 21 Outdoor Education boys set off to

Cornwall’s north coast. Fantastic instruction

from Ticket to Ride surf school’s ex-

national champion, Sam Lamiroy, resulted

in rapid progress amongst the group,

and, although conditions were difficult, the

boys rode some great waves and had a

fantastic time.

Lake GardaThe new Lower First Formers enjoyed

another action-packed week of fun

in the sun in Garda, in order to get to

know one another and their Tutors.

They experienced the cultural delights

of Verona, sailing on the lake itself, a

climb to the top of La Rocha to admire

the view, and a superb guided tour of

Venice, taking in St Mark’s Square, with

its Doge’s Palace, the Campanile and the

astrological clock, as well as experiencing

a ride on a vaporetto. The latter part of the

week involved much pizza and ice-cream

consumption in the beautiful lakeside town

of Malcesine, as well as a cable-car ride to

the top of Monte Baldo.

BerlinDuring October Half Term, a group of 30

Upper Fifth Form historians set off to Berlin

to gain a better insight into the GCSE

topics of Nazi Germany and the Cold

War that they had been studying. Two of

the most memorable sites visited were

the Stasi Museum and the Stasi Prison,

both of which the boys found engaging

and eye-opening. After a packed four-

day schedule, the group arrived back at

Whitgift with an increased knowledge of a

fascinating and historical city.

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Rugby Highlights

Following a tour to Australia and

New Zealand, the 1st XV rugby team

performed outstandingly to win the Esher

Presidents Cup, in August, defeating

John Fisher School, Trinity School and

Hampton School, amongst others.

Whitgift previously won the competition,

billed as ‘often containing the future

rugby stars of tomorrow’, in 2010 and

2011. The 1st XV have also overcome

John Fisher, Dulwich College, RGS High

Wycombe and Warwick School, winning

17, and drawing one, out of 21 fixtures

to date this school year. The U13s, U15s

and 1st XV are performing well and are

still in the running in the national cup

competitions.

Old Whitgiftian, Richard Thorpe, played

for Canada in the 2015 Rugby World

Cup, and Stanley South was named in

England’s U20 Elite Player Squad for

2016, which will see the squad defend

their Six Nations title and compete in a

home World Rugby U20 Championship.

Nev Edwards was delighted when his

perseverance in pursuing his dream of

a professional rugby career paid off; the

27-year-old signed a one-year deal with

Sale Sharks, after he impressed during a

pre-season trial.

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Success in any language 2015 saw record-breaking exam results

for Whitgift. An unsurpassed 87% of GCSE

grades were A*-A, and it was another year

of superb Upper Sixth Form results with

92.6% A*-B for A Level and IB combined.

In the Languages Faculty, 89% of GCSE

grades were awarded at A*-A. Special

mention should go to the nine linguists who

sat three or four Language GCSE subjects

and achieved A* in all of them; a fantastic

accomplishment. Well done to (from left to

right) Will Sealy (German, Italian, Spanish),

Denzell Owusu (German, Italian, Spanish),

Joshua Anderson (Italian, Japanese,

Spanish), Joshua Francis-Cross (Spanish,

Latin, Classical Greek), Nils Kerneis

(French, German, Spanish), Michael

Dohnji (Mandarin Chinese, Italian, French,

Spanish), Jed Kelly (French, Latin, Classical

Greek), Mark Lord (French, Latin, Classical

Greek)(pictured left, inset) and Harvey

Kelly (Italian, Latin, Spanish)(pictured right,

inset).

OléAt the beginning of October, a group of

Upper Sixth Form Spanish students took

part in the annual Hispanic Theatre Festival,

held at North London Collegiate School.

The standard was extremely high, with

a large number of schools participating,

including Eton College, Harrow School,

Dulwich College and St Paul’s Girls’ School.

Following on from Whitgift’s success

at last year’s festival, in which the team

won the prize of ‘Best Group – Spoken

Spanish’, this year’s group impressed with

a play they had written themselves, the

only school group to have done so, and

bagged the top prize for ‘Best Play’. Head

of Spanish, Mr Sam Thater, commented,

“Many congratulations must go to Segun

Oyebanjo, Jerry Amokwandoh, Matt

Cannon, Charlie Worsley, Jamie Bobowicz,

Dilip Viswanatha, Tom McDonald, Oscar

Melbourne and Luke Heywood-Jones, for

firmly cementing Whitgift on the map in

terms of the quality of Spanish.”

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Congratulations also goes to Sam Hall,

Jamie Smith (Upper Fifth Form), Rafeh

Jafri, Tyler Meyer, James Culff (Lower

Sixth Form) and Ryan Patel (Upper Sixth

Form) on their selection by Surrey CCC

into their 2016 Elite Player Group. The

programme complements and builds

on Surrey CCC’s County Age Group

Programme, which develops home-

grown talent, and allows the Club to

spend more time with emerging talent.

Mr Neil Kendrick, Whitgift’s Head of

Cricket Performance, commented, “It is a

fantastic achievement to have six Whitgift

players out of the 16 selected.”

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Jason Roy made

Whitgift sporting history

by becoming the first Old

Whitgiftian to score an ODI

century, in a series-deciding

match. The Surrey cricketer

scored 102 from 113 balls for

England, to follow up his 52

earlier in the week against

Pakistan, in the England ODI

Series in Dubai.

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DRAMA

Junior Literary FestivalThe English Department presented the

second Whitgift Junior Literary Festival,

in November. The festival, exclusively

for First Formers, had a host of well-

known children’s authors from a variety

of genres: acclaimed poet and hip hop

artist, Karl Nova; CBBC scriptwriter and

novelist, Ciaran Murtagh; adventure-

writer, Julia Suzuki; columnist and CBBC

actor, Andrew Clover; and Stephen

Davies, novelist of children’s and teen

fiction, whose writing is inspired by his

time in Africa. Through presentations and

workshops, each had unique advice and

anecdotes to help inspire the boys’ love

of all things literary.

The student-led Lower Sixth Form play

has a reputation for thought-provoking

subject matter, coupled with a delivery to

an extremely high standard. This year’s

production did not disappoint. It was no

mean feat for the group of six full-time

students to direct and perform Nobel

Prize winner, Dario Fo’s, political farce,

Accidental Death of an Anarchist.

The play is based on the true story of

Giuseppe Pinelli, an Italian anarchist, who

fell – or was thrown – to his death from

the fourth-floor window of a Milan police

station, in 1969.

Jed Kelly played the quick-witted and

chameleon-like Maniac, who, with a

penchant for impersonation, metaphorically

runs circles around the bumbling and

corrupt police officers, played by Adam

Haddour, Aubrey Chatriot, James

Andrews and a delightfully-animated

Jack Hill. The deception starts to unravel

with much mayhem, and is witnessed by

a newspaper journalist, played by Finn

Whittaker. The audience is offered two

alternative endings to the story, begging

the question: Which will prevail, truth or

corruption?

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NEWS

Fall GuyHakathon Prize WinnersIn September, four pupils from the Upper

Fifth and Lower Sixth Forms – Freddie

Rawlins, Jack Barber, Kelvin Zhang and

Aleksandr Vorontsov – attended a 36-

hour hackathon, an event in which people

meet to engage in collaborative computer

programming, in central London. After

an opening ceremony, which outlined

the prizes and the sponsors, the

attendees formed teams and began the

brainstorming.

After some deliberation, the Whitgift team

united to build a web application; a search

engine for 3D models based on Freddie’s

idea. Kelvin took on the back-end

development and adapted Freddie’s code

in PHP/Laravel, while the rest worked on

the HTML front end.

They were delighted to win the Autodesk-

sponsored prize (£800 Amazon voucher),

and even more surprised to be named

3rd place prize-winners (Makey Makey kit

and Estimote beacons as prizes). Head of

Computing, Mr Robert Flook, commented,

“Apart from being good fun, it was a great

achievement, not least because the boys

were up against pupils older than them.”

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After a successful concert tour to

Germany in the summer, the Whitgift

Chamber Choir embarked upon another

busy schedule in the Michaelmas Term.

First stop was Chichester Cathedral,

where the Choir sang Evensong in

what is generally considered ‘the most

typical of English Cathedrals’. An all-

Bach concert at Croydon Minster

followed, with the Minster Choirs and

orchestral accompaniment from the

Whitgift Chamber Orchestra, featuring

Bach’s notoriously-difficult motets and

his cantata Lobe den Herren BWV

137. Mr Ronny Krippner, Whitgift’s

Organist & Director of Choral Music,

commented, “The Choir mastered the

intricate polyphonic writing of Bach’s

music superbly, and it was particularly

impressive to see our new Choral

Scholars mastering the infamous solo

arias with such great aplomb!”

The Choristers made their debut visit

to the famous Ritz Hotel to sing carols

for Christmas Tea. Needless to say, this

proved a very popular occasion and was

sold out in no time. Less than a week later,

the Chamber Choir returned to Mayfair

to sing at Whitgift’s annual Christmas

Concert at St George’s Hanover Square,

featuring George Frideric Handel’s Organ

Concerto in F Major op. 4/4, played by

the Whitgift Chamber Orchestra and Mr

Krippner on the organ. The Whitgift Carol

Service at Croydon Minster, sung by the

boys and men of the Chamber Choir,

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DRAMA

A talented cast of First Formers, some

of whom were treading the boards for

the first time, threw themselves whole-

heartedly into the wonderfully-quirky tales

for the annual First Form play production,

in November. The audience was treated

to four bite-size portions of drama in the

form of Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations,

James and the Giant Peach, Emil and the

Detectives and The King’s New Clothes.

Worthy of mention is the fantastic job

that the Sixth Form fledgling directors

did; challenging and rewarding, it gave

their Whitgift drama experience an added

dimension. Producer, Miss Rosanna

Seal, commented, “All the boys and

staff involved have done a sterling job,

successfully pulling together four short

productions in a few weeks. Seeing the

partnership between the First and Sixth

Forms has been inspiring.”

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Grounds for celebrationAfter finishing as runners-up at last year’s

Institute of Groundsmanship Industry

Awards, congratulations are due to the

Whitgift Grounds team who won this

year’s IOG Souters ‘Sports Independent

Schools/University/Sports Grounds

Team of the Year’. They fought off tough

competition with fellow finalists, the

University of Leeds and St Peter’s School

in York.

The IOG industry-wide annual awards

recognise the ‘important contribution

made by groundscare staff in raising

standards and encouraging greater

professionalism within the industry’.

Whitgift groundsman, Anthony Facey,

was also in the running for the IOG ‘Young

Groundsman of the Year’, but, although

he made it through to the final selection,

he narrowly missed out to a groundsman

from Everton FC.

Whitgift’s Head Groundsman, Mr Daniel

Ratling, commented, “It is testament to

the hard work and dedication of my team

that we have been nominated again, and

to win this year has been extra special.”

Skiing MedalsPiers (pictured, below) and Kit Bellman

(pictured, right) did Whitgift proud

when they competed in the British

Independent Schools Ski Racing, held at

The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead in

September, and achieved podium finishes.

Piers won silver in the Senior category,

narrowly missing out on gold by 0.04s,

whilst his brother achieved bronze in the

Juniors category. The boys were also an

integral part of the Independent Schools

Ski and Snowboard Championships, held

in Les Deux Alpes, in December.

Making a pointFifth Former, Connor Head, has been

flying the flag for Whitgift fencing.

Following an outstanding performance in

a British ranking competition in August,

he jumped from 9th to 2nd place in the

national ranking. He now represents

Great Britain in two weapons, épée and

foil, an impressive feat which has not

been achieved in Britain for years. Connor

has competed in the U17 category in a

number of international competitions over

the Michaelmas Term, and, after strong

performances, is in the top 50 in Europe,

and his international ranking is currently

at No. 36. Fellow Whitgifitians, Tarriq

Roach and Luka Peacefield, have also

represented their country this year.

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Table TennisCongratulations to James Smith, who

has been promoted from development

to performance level, in Table Tennis

England’s 2015-16 England Youth Squad.

James has had a busy few months,

competing recently at tournaments in

Portugal and Hungary. The Lower Fifth

Former, along with Reiss Vydelingum,

Jason Kwok and Isaac Fung, also won

the London Schools’ South Table Tennis

Association U16 Finals, for Whitgift,

in November. They have qualified for

the England Schools’ Table Tennis

Association Jack Petchey Zone Finals, to

be held in January.

Modern PentathlonMedalsWhitgift took a clean sweep of

individual titles at the British Tetrathlon

Championships, thanks to U13s Rudi

Bruijn-Yard, Rowan Fuss and Harley

Norman. They stepped onto the podium

again for their British team title. A dominant

team of 44 Whitgiftians took part in the

Regional biathlon competition, with an

impressive haul of 19 medals, including

four team and three individual golds for

various age groups. As a result of their

ranking from Pentathlon GB, 18 boys

qualified to compete in the British Biathlon

Championships. There were strong team

performances, with U12 bronze, U13 silver

and U14 bronze. Top 10 individual finishes

came from U11 Martin Van Domselaar

(9th), U13 Harley Norman (6th) and U17

Charlie Goriup (3rd). On the International

circuit, Jai Patel was selected for Great

Britain U17s and competed in the Olympic

Hopes, in Prague, finishing with a team

bronze from the British Team. Sixth Former,

Charlie Goriup, was also selected to

represent Great Britain in the Biathle World

Championships, Georgia, but unfortunately

missed qualification for the final.

2016 sees the launch of the South Tri

Series (swim/run/shoot) with the inaugural

event hosted by Whitgift, in January.

Staff NewsHead of Modern Pentathlon, Miss Laura

Gomersall, has recently graduated from

the first-ever Pentathlon GB Coach

Apprentice Programme. She was

awarded her certificate, in November, by

Pentathlon GB Performance Director, Jan

Bartu, and UK Sport Head of Elite Sport,

Graham Taylor. The initiative was a two-

year coaching course with a strong link to

the elite performance team. Laura will now

have responsibility within Pentathlon GB

for the U18/U16 youth teams.

NEWS

Whitgift opens the doors to its exciting

First World War Centenary exhibition,

Remembering 1916 – Life on the Western

Front, in March 2016. The Exhibition

Project Team has been working hard to

catalogue and research more than 500

objects, which are mostly on loan from

private collectors. Many of the objects

that will be on display are extremely rare,

and have not been previously exhibited.

Key items for visitors to look out for,

in addition to an exceptional range of

military equipment, include the original

sign from Verdun train station, the town

being the site of the bloodiest battle of

1916; various artefacts associated with

the ‘Red Baron’, Manfred von Richthofen,

including fabric from his famous red

triplane; the first RAF and Women’s RAF

uniforms; and the first issue of the British

trench newspaper, The Wipers Times.

Artwork includes: an impressive selection

of iconic recruitment posters; a stunning

set of detailed pastel portraits of

allied soldiers by Swiss artist, Eugene

Burnand; a series of hard-hitting graphic

political cartoons by Dutch artist, Louis

Raemaekers; and examples of work by

the ‘soldiers’ cartoonist’, Bruce

Bairnsfather.

These outstanding artefacts

and artwork will be used to

illustrate aspects of 1916 in

the war on land, in the air,

and at sea, as well as the

British, French and German

home fronts. Importantly, the

Exhibition will also draw on the

voices, recollections, writings and

opinions of British, French and

German soldiers and their families.

Countdown to Remembering 1916 – Life on the Western Front

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The Exhibition will be open to the public

daily, 10am – 5pm, from 12 March to 31

August 2016, and a series of special

events will accompany it.

For more information, please visit

www.remembering1916.co.uk

All aboardDue to the School’s affiliation to the Royal

Navy’s Flagship, HMS Ocean, the Whitgift

CCF, together with partner schools

Thomas More Catholic and St. Andrew’s

CE High, were invited to travel on the HMS

Ocean from Gibraltar to her home port of

Devonport, Plymouth. They sailed via the

Mediterranean, Straits of Gibraltar, Atlantic

and the infamous Bay of Biscay. The boys

experienced many activities on board,

including shooting at sea, firefighting and

inspecting the helicopters. Four boys were

lucky enough to be allowed to drive HMS

Ocean. A group pitted their sporting skills

against the Royal Marines in an energetic

PE session, received training from the

Commandos on their landing craft, and

visited the medical hospital, complete with

operating theatre.

Mr Keith Smith, Whitgift CCF Contingent

Commander, commented, “It was a

tremendous experience to celebrate an

early Christmas, complete with carols and

a meal, as we steamed back to Plymouth.

We arrived into Devonport having been

given a wonderful insight into life in the

Royal Navy. This was a unique experience

and it was a real honour to be invited.”

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

EVENSONG AT ST PAUL’S CATHEDRALMonday 22 February5pm, St Paul’s CathedralFREE admission

SWEENEY TODDWednesday 2 – Saturday 5 March7.30pm, Big SchoolTickets: £10, Concessions* £5

’CELLO RECITAL BY TIM POSNER Sunday 13 March4pm, Concert HallFREE admission (by ticket only)

STRICTLY COME BRASSINGFriday 18 March 7pm, Concert HallFREE admission (by ticket only)

MOZART AT THE MINSTERSaturday 19 March7pm, Croydon MinsterTickets: £10, Concessions* £5

BOOKING INFORMATIONPlease visit www.whitgift.co.uk/events for information on how to book.

*Concessions:Children 16 and under, Over 60s, Students (17–25 in full-time education)

CHARITY COMEDY NIGHT Friday 11 March 20167pm, Concert Hall

To bolster the £1,200 that the First Form have already raised this year, the Sixth Form Charity Committee present a night of entertainment; award-winning comedian, Dominic Holland, hosts along with Mike Gunn and Aaron Bennett. Proceeds go to Whitgift’s two international charities chosen for this school year:

S.K.Y. (Soweto Kliptown Youth) – an orphanage/after-school activities centre in Kliptown, Johannesburg, South Africa.http://sowetokliptownyouth.webs.com/

‘Help the Cambodian Children’ – funds The Goodwill Center in Cambodia, providing education, healthcare and basic sanitation to children and their families living in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.http://helpthecambodianchildren.org/

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DIARY

Front Cover image: Jason Roy made Whitgift sporting history by becoming the first Old Whitgiftian to score a ODI century for England, in a series-deciding match against Pakistan.

Photo: Getty Images

WHITGIFT

Haling Park

South Croydon

CR2 6YT

United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0)20 8688 9222

email: office@whitgift.co.uk

www.whitgift.co.uk

Find us on

Twitter: @WhitgiftSchool1

Facebook: Whitgift School,

South Croydon

YouTube: Whitgift School

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Volunteers.We need you.

Whitgift’s First World War Centenary Exhibition is coming to the Performing Arts Centre from 12 March – 31 August 2016.

To become a valuable member of the Exhibition team, please register your interest on the website:

www.remembering1916.co.uk/volunteer