the elizabethan 2014

THE ELIZABETHAN 2014

ISSUE 733

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LEAVERS 2013

Name University Course title Status Abrams, T KCL English with Film OWAdams, J Cambridge Philosophy Ahmed H Cambridge Architecture Aldred, J Oxford French and Russian (4 years) Alexander, L Oxford Chemistry Alster, J Oxford Classics with Oriental Studies Ariss, L LSE Economics Bagger, K Oxford History OWBalfour-Lynn, H UCL History Ballard, R Oxford Music OWBarrie, T Oxford History of Art OWBarton, C Cambridge Computer Science Batra, B St Andrews Economics and Geography Bhanji, Z Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Bird, H Sheffield Bioengineering Biser, L Oxford PPE OWBonser, A York Music Broke, S Manchester Physics with Philosophy Brooker-Thompson, C Queen Mary Medicine Bulchandani, U Cambridge Engineering (4 years) Bustin, G Oxford Classics Butrimas, K Sheffield Japanese Capildeo, O Bristol Law Cavenagh, L UCL Human Sciences OWCerf, A Oxford English Language and Literature Chander, A Cambridge Mathematics Church, J Oxford Classics OWClifford, P Oxford German OWCohen, P Imperial Mathematics OWConstable, M Cambridge Modern & Medieval Languages OWCook, M UCL History Craft Marquez, L Oxford French and Spanish Curran, S Oxford English Language and Literature Dai, J Oxford Computer Science De Lisle, D Oxford History OWDean, C Manchester Politics and Philosophy Dickens, N Sheffield Social Policy with Social and Political Studies Diffey, M Oxford Economics and Management Draper, O Bristol Economics Drey-Brown, D Sheffield History of Art Dubin, P Cambridge Medicine Dutt, J Liverpool Medicine Edelsten. F Oxford Classics I Evans, A Oxford Biochemistry (Molecular and Cellular) Fage, J Oxford Biological Sciences Fahy, A Oxford English Language and Literature Fung, T UCL Economics Gabe-Wilkinson, M Oxford History Greenstreet, F UCL Biomedical Sciences Grylls, G Oxford French and Russian (4 years) Gunn, J Durham English Literature Hage, G Oxford Law OWHall, M Oxford English OWHansjee, S Oxford Medicine Harjanto, A KCL Medicine (5 years) Harper, E Bristol Chemistry He, Y LSE Management Hedegaard, N Royal Veterinary Veterinary Medicine Hilliard, K Imperial Medicine Hingley, V Oxford History Ho, A Oxford Music OWHone, L Cambridge Medicine Honey, B Sheffield English Literature Houlden, R Cambridge Medicine Hunt, M Oxford Theology Jacobs, E Bristol English Jayaswal, V Imperial Biotechnology Jerjian, M Cambridge Engineering (4 years) Jones, A Durham Modern & Medieval Languages OWJones, N Cambridge Modern & Medieval Languages OWJoshi, C Oxford History and Politics Kailayapillai, C Oxford Medicine Kember, K Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Kim, B UCL Engineering with Business Finance Kitchen, P Durham Geography Koduah-Sarpong, N Sheffield Biomedical Science (3 years) Laidler, G Cambridge Engineering (4 years) Lambert, J UCL Engineering with Business Finance Learoyd, N Sheffield Philosophy and Economics Leatt, H Oxford French and Russian (4 years) Lennard, J Oxford Archaeology and Anthropology Leseberg Smith, S KCL History Lewis, N LSE Geography OWLi, Y Cambridge Natural Sciences Lucas, H Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Lyons, S York History OWMacpherson, W Durham History Male, A Warwick English OW

Name University Course title Status Manners, E Cambridge Medicine OWMarolda, L Bristol Sociology OWMashru, V LSE Economic History Meade, C UCL Modern Languages OWMillett, E Oxford Classics OWMinghella, D Sheffield English OWMorse, J Oxford Classics Nayak, A Sheffield Economic History Newell, W Manchester Biology Obiekwe, C LSE Geography with Economics Oldham, R Cambridge English Omar, S KCL English Language and Literature O’Neill, E Oxford English Language and Literature Ouwehand, I St Andrews Medicine Padki, N Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Pangonis, K Oxford English OWParker Brooks, T Rose Bruford European Theatre Arts Parker, C Cambridge Classics: Greek and Latin Peterson, K Cambridge Mathematics Pettinga, A LSE Economic History Phipps, J Oxford English Language and Literature Pikovsky, E Bristol Physics and Philosophy Prabhu-Naik, S Cambridge Natural Sciences Procter, A UCL History of Art Prosser, L Oxford Classics OWPullen, A Cambridge Natural Sciences OWPulsford, A UCL History of Art OWRaine, B Oxford History and Politics Ramchandani, I LSE Law (Bachelor of Laws) Rasooly, I Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Reading, G LSE Social Anthropology Reid, C Durham Anthropology Richmond, J UCL Classics Rogers, J KCL Computer Science with Management OWRussman, K Oxford German OWSabnis, A Imperial Biomedical Science Sando, D Oxford Economics and Management OWScott, N Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Sellers, E Sheffield Economics Sevi, Y Oxford Mathematics and Philosophy (4 years) Shah, R Cambridge Medicine Sinha, A Cambridge Engineering (4 years) Sjoberg, I York Philosophy, Politics and Economics Skinner, A Oxford French and Spanish Smith, M UCL Biological Sciences Sofekun, M KCL English Language and Literature Stevens, N Durham Modern Languages OWSwainston, G Oxford Arabic and Islamic Studies (4 years) Tang, K Cambridge Natural Sciences Tomlinson, F Cambridge Natural Sciences Turner, F Oxford History Venerandi, A Oxford PPE OWVickers, O Oxford Classics I Voros, J Imperial Mathematics Vymeris, J Cambridge History of Art Wang, Yi Qing LSE Economics Warren, G Durham Classics Watts, R UCL German (4 years) Wheatley, F Oxford French Wigoder, C Oxford Experimental Psychology Willis, L Cambridge Human, Social and Political Sciences Winter, T Durham Ancient, Medieval and Modern History Wyatt Corner, I Bristol Politics and International Relations Wyatt Corner, I Sheffield Politics Zargaran, A St George’s Medicine Zhou, Y Durham Natural Sciences

USA Colleges Clark, M Naval College Diwan, Y Georgetown Falkner, M Georgetown Geczy, J Chicago Goodyear, A Yale Lee, A MIT Leet, C Yale Leibowitz, M Columbia McFadden, W Mcgill OWMalin, C NYU OWMills, B Stanford OCampo, D Columbia Pinter, A UCLA OWProctor, B NYU OWSchwartz, N Penn Shashou, T Georgetown Sherwood, J Stanford Stonehill, A Harvard Liu, H Duke Wang, Han-Xi Cornell Mclain, C Duke

Published annually by Westminster School17 Dean’s Yard, WestminsterLondon SW1P 3PB, UKTel: +44 (0)20 7963 1000Fax: +44 (0)20 7963 1006Web: www.westminster.org.ukEmail: [email protected]

For further copies of this magazine contactThe RegistrarWestminster SchoolLittle Dean’s YardLondon SW1P 3PB, UK

THE ELIZABETHAN CONTENTS

SCHOOL 02TRAVEL 33SOCIETIES AND LECTURES 63ARTS 83STATION 101

Editor: Sandy Crole

Designer: Tam Ying Wah

Assistant Editors: Alex Bridge, Lydia Mosse, Sofya Shchukina, Sophie Steyn

Proofreading: John Witney

Photography: Ransford Agyare-Kwabe, Elisa Alaluusua, Thomas Anderson, Alexander Balgarnie, Alex Bishop, Rachel Bransom, Horace Chu, Chris Christodoulou, Bhavna Choraria, Kate Clanchy, Sandy Crole, Simon Crow, Sebastian Darke, Oskar Eyers, Emma-Victoria Farr, Lucy Fleming-Brown, Rory Forsyth, Future Foundations, Tim Garrard, Arav Gupta, Archie Hall, Michael Havey Fitzgerald, Maggie He, Ulf Hennig, Thomas Hildebrand, Richard Hill, James Hooper, Marwin Kalo, Max Kehoe, Cameron Kerr, Chris Kingcombe, Andrew Law, Sarah Leonard, Ethan Loo, Zoe Maclellan, Hein Mante, George Miller, Teehan Page, Richard Parish, Junxi Peng, Ali Porteous, Helen Prentice, Alexandre Rabeau, Katharine Radice, CD Riches, Peter Sharp, Will Stevens, Eduardo Strike,Eish Sumra, Charles Symonds, Oskar UIvestad, Kent Vainio,Robert Wang, Westminster School Archive, Westminster School Development Office, Gavin Williams, Huw Williams, John Woodman, Christina Wrege, Tim Wu, Simon Wurr

THE ELIZABETHAN 2014 3

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My predecessor as Dean, Dr Wesley Carr, was chairing the governing body when Tristram Jones-Parry announced his retirement as Head Master, so in December 2006, when I became Dean, Stephen Spurr was already in his second of nine years at Westminster. I quickly discovered what an excellent appointment Dr Carr and his fellow governors had made.

Stephen brought with him to Westminster his own personal commitment to providing an education of a quality that would challenge and enable young people to achieve at the highest level of which they were capable and also to become in the broadest sense useful citizens. His wide experience, as a classicist teaching at university level in Australia, teach-ing and leading his department at Eton and as Head Master of Clifton, was excellent practical preparation for enabling him to put his com-mitment into effect. He has been outstand-ingly successful.

Various objective criteria could establish the quality of his achievement as Head Master. The first is undoubtedly continuing to offer Westminsters a broad and challenging aca-demic experience coupled with enabling their growing achievement in examination success and in entrance to the best universities. For year after year, Westminster has been listed by the Financial Times as the pre-eminent school in their league tables. This is a remarkable achievement. Not every newspaper’s league table has matched the commitment to West-

minster of the FT, but that is explained by the way in which the FT has taken into account the most significant academic courses and not been troubled as to whether these were lead-ing to GCSEs and A Levels, or IGCSEs and Pre-Us. The successful introduction into the curriculum of these latter more testing exami-nation courses – and not being diverted into backwaters such as the IB – has been part of Stephen’s achievement. This year, the number of offers to Westminster Leavers by Oxford and Cambridge has increased yet again, in addition to offers from the best universities overseas and the Russell Group universi-ties at home. All this success has led, despite the recession, to ever increasing numbers of candidates applying to join Westminster and to ever larger accommodation for those sitting the entrance exams.

The second objective criterion would be Stephen’s achievement in developing his senior staff. After his first year, he was joined as Un-der Master by Dr Gary Savage, formerly Eton’s Master in College. After a very successful few years, with the active encouragement of his Head Master, Dr Savage sought and achieved appointment as Head Master of Alleyn’s in

Dulwich. Stephen appointed Dr Martin Boul-ton, an experienced member of the Common Room, as Under Master. After equally few years, again with the active encouragement of his Head Master, Dr Boulton was appointed High Master of his alma mater Manchester Grammar School. They are not the only recent members of the Westminster Common Room to have become Heads. In 2009, the Master of the Queen’s Scholars, Dr Frances Ramsey, was appointed Principal of Queen’s Col-lege in Harley Street. It is a sign of successful leadership to develop staff and enable them to move on to higher things. The introduction of professional development review has been part of that process. Other members of the Com-mon Room have been brought into leader-ship. Charles Low as Director of Studies was succeeded by Rodney Harris, who has now been joined, such are the important demands of the role as now conceived, by two assistants. More recently Kate Clanchy has replaced Rod Beavon after his very successful final few years as Senior Master after many years as Head of Science. Jeremy Kemball was brought into the senior management committee as Senior Tutor. With the excellent Chris Silcock as Bursar, this senior team has collaboratively and effectively supported Stephen’s leadership.

Jeremy Kemball’s membership of the senior team has related in particular to another marked achievement of Stephen’s headship: the introduction of civic engagement as an experience for every Westminster pupil in their school career. They have responded brilliantly to the opportunity of helping primary school children to read, working with other young

Rod Beavon, Senior Master 2009–2013, writes from the Senior Management Committee’s perspective:

What is the new Head Master like? Last posed in Play 2005, this question can be answered now.

Stephen Spurr has been highly successful at maintaining Westminster’s pre-eminence in a climate of expanding regulatory obligations and compliance. The responsibility for administration and detailed record keeping is ultimately the Head Master’s. He is the one on the bridge if the School hits the rocks. To avoid these he must deal with matters from child protection and health and safety to DfE directives, Social Services, Ofsted, ISI, employment law and much else. Syllabuses are modified; parental expectations alter; the views of Government and of the general public (reasonable or otherwise) change; the media are ever-present. Stephen’s rose to the challenge whilst keeping what many see (though few would agree on) as Westminster’s unusual qualities.

One essential was for him to set up an advisory Senior Management Committee (SMC). It is fair to say that initially not everybody took to this idea easily. No school today would be without one, yet at the time (and sometimes even now) the SMC was seen as the Head Master’s Praetorian Guard. This was and is deeply unfair – schools do need to be managed and the SMC liberates teachers to teach and protects them from much of the non-teaching detail of running a school. Additionally, Stephen’s stamina and willingness to work colossal hours (unabated still), as well as his personal friendliness, mean that he is seen truly as a man with the School’s best interests at heart and a determination to realise them even at personal cost – mainly of sleep. Under Stephen’s stewardship, Westminster has become a gentler school (a process started by his predecessors) without losing its individuality.

Stephen likes forming Committees. And he likes meetings. He chairs them with great courtesy and tolerance (perhaps too much so on occasions with the excessively loqua-cious) but possesses an unsurpassed eye for

detail and a prodigious memory, impor-tant in a complex institution.

Meeting pupils regularly was also very important to him and he saw them individually during their school careers. He likes their company. Even the miscreants would receive friendly words of encouragement after the admonition. Polite he is, but a soft touch he is not, so problems were also addressed when necessary. His interaction with the school body, both informally in Yard or formally in Latin Prayers or assemblies, was always supportive and positive. However busy he was he made time to attend plays, concerts, and matches – all extracurricular activities received his encouragement. Achievements were publicly praised and he particularly enjoyed the various prize-giving events during the school year.

Stephen has been a driving force behind the generation of many links with other institutions, through the Civic Engage-ment programme and exchanges with schools overseas, for example.

New things beckon; Stephen will be able to spend more time in Italy restoring his beloved garden and olive grove, tragically damaged in floods two years ago, and he will have fewer directives and regulations to worry about. He leaves Westminster a strong and vibrant school. As teachers say in reports, ‘he has laid an excellent foundation for next year’ – and for many years to come.

people out of school, supporting the elderly in communal homes and a seemingly infinite number of other activities besides. This has all contributed to a growing sense within West-minster of the value of reaching out to those less advantaged. Great sums of money have been raised to increase bursary support for able pupils to have their education at Westminster subsidised. PHAB has continued to flourish, courses of science lectures have involved pupils from local maintained schools, the Summer School has enabled potential high achievers to reach their goals at university entrance and members of the Common Room have sup-ported curriculum and staff development in a number of less advantaged schools. Stephen has given active and invaluable support to the development of plans to open Harris Westminster Sixth Form, which fits well into this established pattern. All this activity has been undertaken with the full support of the Common Room and evidently without putting at risk the core academic achievement of Westminster’s pupils, indeed much to their advantage. It should be clear that concern for the spiritual and moral development of pupils and of society helps create a context in which learning and achievement will flourish.

The last objective criterion I have space to mention is the development of the School’s premises, in which the Head Master has inevi-tably been heavily involved. The Manoukian Music Centre had been opened in 2005, the culmination of much significant develop-ment in the years before Stephen joined the School. But the acquisition of St Edward’s House in Tufton Street for the School, to house Purcell’s, has been a major development under his headship, and the crowning glory of recent years’ extension of facilities has been the Sports Centre. Stephen has been a determined champion of sport, Station, as a vital part of the broader curriculum.

All this has been achieved with effective consultation, with considerable grace and humour, and most of the time with a gentle touch. But no one has been in doubt that under a very smooth and charming exterior lie real strength and quiet passion.

It seems far too soon for him to be heading off into retirement. But we wish him every joy and peace in his home in Tuscany and feel sure that in various ways Stephen will continue to be a force for good here in support of the high-est standards in education.

“ An unsurpassed eye for detail and a prodigious memory”

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Head Master 2005–2014

DR STEPHEN SPURR

by The Very Reverend John Hall, Dean of Westminster and Chairman of Governors

“ Under a very smooth and charming exterior lie real strength and quiet passion”


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On the occasion of the bicen-tenary, Tom Edlin (OW) records the history of the Boat Club, and reveals the real reason why pink is the School colour.

2013 saw the celebrations of the Boat Club’s bicentenary. Although both sailing and rowing had been popular throughout the eighteenth century, the school’s Water Ledger runs from 1813, and the six named College oars of 200 years ago are our first recorded crew. The first race with Eton took place in 1829, after the Head Master had vetoed earlier attempts. In this race, and again in 1831 and 1836, Eton won – but the 1837 race would be a defining moment. It was the first to use boys as coxswains rather than professional water-men, and Westminster won; a victory – Eton’s first defeat – which has become the focus for not a little myth-making, particularly in the oft-repeated and wholly fictitious claim that the prize on offer was the right to claim pink as the school colour.

The truth is somewhat more accidental; at both schools, (pale) blue was the colour worn by the Scholars, and pink the colour of the rest – the two being, in essence, the washed out and faded versions (given the weaker dyes then available) of the classic ‘red’ and ‘blue’ corners of internal school competition. This of course posed problems for inter-school contests, when colours were likely to clash, and in 1837 a critical decision was taken ‘as our colours and the Etonians’ were nearly the same’ on the

previous occasion. It so happened (unusually) that six of the Westminster eight, as well as the cox, Lord Somerton, were Town Boys that year, and so for the first time Westminster’s

whole-school crew wore a pink trim to their white shirts, rather than blue or (as in 1829) pure white. The boat was also painted pink to emphasise the point. The colour proved lucky on the day and was always retained – a tale less romantic than those sometimes put about. Approximately once a decade there is a letter

in The Times repeating one of the old myths about pink and the Westminster–Eton race; and approximately once a decade one of the Common Room (Peter Holmes in the 1990s, CD Riches more recently) has had to write in to correct the ever-persistent errors.

The other story associated with the 1837 race is equally open to misinterpretation: its royal connection. It is said that William IV’s death was hastened by Westminster’s victory; a firm ‘Etonian’ in sympathy like his father George III, the King had invited the Westminster crew to Windsor Castle the evening before the race, hoping to entertain them so lavishly as to impair their exertions on the morrow. In poor health and ignoring medical advice, he drove out to watch an anticipated Etonian triumph the next morning, but ‘as soon as he saw that the West-minsters were ahead, he pulled down the blinds, and drove back to the Castle’ never to emerge again; he died some six weeks later.

In reality, it is unlikely even a convincing Etonian victory would have revived his already failing health – though the story does neatly illustrate the manner in which the Hanoverian royal family’s old affection for Westminster (under George I and II) had seriously declined.

Westminster’s rowers went on to win in 1842, 1845 and 1846; Eton in 1843 and 1847. In the 1845 race, victory was secured by over a minute. But the glory would soon be threatened, and the bicentenary of Westmin-ster Water has also offered an opportunity to reflect on its rather fortuitous survival. The embanking of the Thames began in 1864, and immediately threatened the school’s access to the river – although the right to land crews at Black Rod’s Steps in the newly rebuilt Palace of Westminster would be preserved as the traditional end to an annual row. More immediately troubling was the closure of the old boat yards: ‘Searles’ Yard is taken from us, and embankments sore provoke us, We’ve no access to the river where we used to ply our oars…’ as the verses went. In 1872 the Boat Club moved to Wandsworth, but travel was time-consuming and the time commitment resented elsewhere, and in 1884 rowing was abolished altogether. The proud history of the sport at Westminster was never forgotten, though, and the strength of feeling brought about a revival under James Gow in 1910–11, with a base at Putney; the boathouse was purchased in 1921, securing Westminster’s res-urrection as a rowing school. Recent triumphs on the Water suggest this glorious aspect of Westminster’s sporting traditions continues to go from strength to strength.

Early boat racing at Westminster took place in six oared cutters and later in fours, tens and eventually eights with fixed benches and thole pins. Regular outings were recorded involving long distance rows that would make a present day Olympian wince. Parliament Stairs to the Star and Garter at Richmond and back, a dis-tance of 28 miles, would be a fine morning’s play for the Westminster fixed-seat six oar.

Competitive racing, of course, drove tech-nical innovation and in 1825 leather seat pads were introduced which together with a good supply of tallow helped to lengthen the stroke.

In 1845, Westminster School had the first successful outrigged eight built by Noulton and Wyld. Most of the London boat-building fraternity thronged the banks at her launch in Lambeth. The Westminster crew won its race with Eton by a record verdict of one minute and five seconds.

Despite the wide spread use of sliding seats in the mid 1870s, such innovations were still not permitted for school crews at Henley Roy-al Regatta in 1881, when Westminster were beaten in the final of the Public School Fours by Bedford School who had improvised sliding seats by having extra-long benches fitted and by making ample use of a supply of mutton fat. The Royal Regatta stewards reacted by hence-

“ The bicentenary of West-minster Water has also offered an opportunity to reflect on its rather fortuitous survival”

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The Boat Club Bicentenary

WATER UNDER THE BRIDGES

“ It is said that William IV’s death was hastened by Westminster’s victory”

>>

Last year, the Westminster School Under 15 eight, the National Schools Champions, marked the Boat Club’s bi-centennial year, by rowing the ‘Cam’ in the Great River Race, London’s annual river marathon. The race included replica Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race boats from 1829. These boats were built to mark the 150th anniversary Boat Race in 2004; the same Cambridge boat, ‘Cam’, was used by the Westminster School crew in the first Eton versus Westminster boat race, which also took place in 1829.

The bi-centennial year has also been marked by a number of other events beginning with a July 2013 edition of the Eton vs Westminster Boat race which resulted in a narrow win for our guests by a few feet but was followed by a steady row to Black Rod’s steps at the Palace of Westminster for a splendid tea with Black Rod and our sponsor, Lord Crickhowell (OW) (see the extract of his speech on page 6 ).

Greasing the Seats: Boat Design over the Centuries

CD Riches, Master in Charge of Water, analyses the history and chang-ing design of boats in the competition and brings Water up to date.

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THE ELIZABETHAN 2014 THE ELIZABETHAN 20146 7

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forth restricting the dimensions of the benches to deter such practices in the future.

The 2013 Westminster Under 15 crew spent their June Expedition rowing 200km down the Thames from Godstow to the Palace of Westminster. Westminster has also recently developed a coastal rowing exchange with Societe Nautique de Monaco based in Monte Carlo. The Monegasque Junior crew joined us to row the 2013 Great River Race in the other 1829 replica boat, ‘Old Balliol’.

Westminster School has continued its traditional boating links in recent years with occasional skiffing, punting and cutter racing.

The year will culminate in the grandest of Henley Royal Regatta row pasts after the re-gatta finals are completed on Sunday 6th July. A Westminster crew of previous Henley Royal Regatta finalists will row the Royal Barge ‘Gloriana’’ down the hallowed Henley course.

It is a particular pleasure to welcome the Provost and the Headmaster of Eton, and the Dean of Westminster, though Lord Walde-grave of North Hill needs no authority from me to be here. I will have something more to say about the Head Master of Westminster later; but first I hope you will forgive me for setting the historic scene a little. A 19th century history of the old Royal Palace of Westminster records that ‘Between the Houses of Lords and Commons and the river were ‘Parliament Stairs’. These stairs were open for the accommodation of the Westminster Scholars for rowing. Such, at all events was the case as lately as 1801.’ I believe that the boys crossed the river from the steps and boated from Robert’s Yard on the opposite bank where St Thomas’s Hospital now stands.

At Eton in 1813 Keate was headmaster. A decade later he was described by Lytton Strachey as ‘an irascible little old man carrying

a bundle of birch twigs’. Strachey refers to the ‘spectacle of disorder and brutality as was af-forded by the Eton of Keate’. Things may not have been very different at Westminster, where fights and rebellions were frequent and life was rough, but many boys seem to have been happy enough. At Eton rowing was certainly a recreation at the end of the 18th century, but it was discouraged by the authorities because of the dangers caused by river traffic and river pollution; and perhaps because races were the cause of unruly conduct. Fouling the other crew was accepted practice in those days. Hav-ing heard an account of this morning’s race, I am not sure that the practice is completely finished with. As late as 1826, Keate, the Headmaster, refused to recognise the existence of the Procession of Boats, and would not accompany William IV to see it in 1831.

There would have been more races if they had not been stopped by the authorities. In 1838 the Eton crew was actually waiting at Westminster Bridge when the Head Master of Westminster prevented the race by locking up one of the crew and threatening expulsion to two others!

Rowing was not formally recognised by the Eton authorities until 1840, and was not actively encouraged until about 1860, although at my old College, Trinity, Cambridge, mem-bers of the College who had been at Eton and Westminster got together to found the Third Trinity Boat Club in 1825.

In 1844 a large part of the old Palace of Westminster was burned down. The construc-tion of the present building and, during the 1860s, the Embankment meant that West-minster boys could no longer row on the river here. Fortunately, later an Old Westminster with influence in this place, feeling that old customs should be remembered, arranged that school crews could continue to land at what are now called Black Rod’s steps, roughly where the Parliament stairs had been. That makes it possible for us to be here today. Sadly in the year in which I was in the eight we did not do it, but in recent years the row has become a regular annual event.

I am delighted to be able to welcome the crews from both Eton and Westminster; and to congratulate Eton on winning the race held this morning at Putney. Stephen Spurr, the Head Master of Westminster, as far as I know, has not stopped any races taking place by locking up a crew member or threatening others with expulsion, and has attended this event in almost every year of his headship. We are delighted to see him here with Mrs Spurr again. Next year is the last in which he will be present as Head Master. The years in which he has been in charge have been years of extraor-dinary academic achievement and an almost equally remarkable enlargement and improve-ment of the school’s buildings and facilities. We will give him a proper send-off; but for now I will simply thank him for everything that he has done for the school.

“ A good sup-ply of tallow helped to lengthen the stroke”

Our first Football Ledger dates from 1854, but the game had long been played on Green and (to the disgust and mortification of the Chapter, and to the cost of the fabric) in the Cloisters. Until the 1850s the game played at Westminster still retained many ‘Rug-beian’ features – running with the ball in hand and fist punching were only stopped in 1851, and even then handling the ball was still allowed to the extent of catching it, running two or three paces, and taking a half-volley kick. As late as 1863 a letter in The Times lamented the fact that matches between Eton and Westminster at Vincent Square involved ‘a kind of compromise’ between the two schools’ sets of rules… [such that] neither side can practise any of their favourite dodges without infringing then rules of the other.’

The growth of the railway helped to make a greater range of inter-school matches feasible, and some greater codification of agreed rules was therefore required; and it was from Westminster and Charterhouse, whose first (regular, and recorded) fixture was played in 1863, that those accepted rules were evolved. The 150th anniversary match played up Fields on September 17th, and the dinner afterwards in College Hall, marked not only a significant moment for the two schools, but also a major anniversary for English sporting (and social) history.

This year we celebrated the 150th anniver-sary of the first match between Westminster and Charterhouse. The first match between the two schools was played in Vincent Square on 2nd December 1863. Tantalizingly, the register records that: ‘it was the first match with Westminster for many years’ but neither school has any record of earlier meetings and the most likely explanation is that the writer was

referring to the cricket matches which had taken place in 1850 and 1851.

The very first time I became aware of the significance of the Westminster v Charter-house match was in the Easter Term (Long Quarter/Lent term)1980 when Malcolm Bai-ley, my influential Master in Charge of football at Charterhouse, where I was Captain, during a regular training session, pointed out that this was a game he was desperate to win. He had been doing his research and mentioned the antiquity of the fixture. I remember marking a forward called Ralph Wood, who was canny and strong and we had a good battle… the score was 1–1 which was an accurate reflection on the balance of power.

After pursuing my football career at University and beyond with club sides I found myself gowned and teaching at my alma mater in 1987. I was playing at weekends but coach-ing the Charterhouse U15’s. The prevailing wisdom at the time was that if you had the worst team in living memory you would always get a win against Westminster (we had a dreadful team and won 7–2) unless of course >>

“ The Head Master of Westminster prevented the race by locking up one of the crew and threatening expulsion to two others!”

Football 150th Anniversary

WRITING THE RULES

This season we celebrated the sesquicen-tenary of the Westminster-Charterhouse football fixture and the defining role played by both schools in the formal codification of the rules of Association Football as we know them today, writes Tom Edlin (OW).

“ Running with the ball in hand and fist punching were only stopped in 1851”

Westminster School row to Black Rod’s steps

An extract of Lord Crickhowell’s speech to the Westminster and Eton crews at the Palace of Westminster on 8th July 2013, reprinted with kind permission.

>>

A view from the centre circle

Jeremy Kemball, Old Carthusian and quondam Master in Charge of Football at Westminster, ponders the anniversary of the game.

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you had the misfortune to travel up to their ‘postage stamp’ pitch somewhere in London, where they were reputed to be more ‘up for it’ and without the luxury of space to destroy Westminster’s moderate players with questionable temperament, visiting teams might suffer the ignominy of a close win, or worst still, a draw!

Roll forward four years and there I was taking my first training session as the new Master in Charge of Westminster School football. The players were warming up and the first thing I noticed were the plethora of pony tails; had I stumbled across some sort of gymkhana? I asked the players to follow me for a warm up lap around Vincent square. After the half-way mark, a quick glance be-hind me indicated that only half the squad had bothered to follow. The next day I was told that my best player – the goalkeeper, was out for the whole season; he had broken his hand punching a wall at a party. It proved to be a tough season and at the end of October, and in desperation, I gathered the team together in

a classroom and read out the eye-wateringly sombre statistics of the season to date. There was silence, which I naively interpreted to mean that the gravity of their situation was upon them. However, after a few more sec-onds, snuffled giggles broke out and evolved rapidly into laughter.

Westminster had a long footballing tradi-tion – recent publications and archive material testify to this but, for the moment, it seemed to be in a bad place. Over the next twenty years, Westminster has developed into a respected school on the ISFA circuit where winning seasons come round far more regu-larly than losing ones and Charterhouse, with Malcolm Bailey’s leadership, ably assisted by Bob Noble, have emerged as the pre-eminent side on the circuit, sweeping all before them in an average season and winning the Boodles ISFA cup a record breaking 3 times. This has filtered up to the OC’s who continue their dominance year on year of the Arthurian League and Arthur Dunn cups.

There was a special moment for me during the 2005/06 when the Old Wets had made it to their first Dunn final in living memory. The team included a vast majority of the players I had coached – I allowed myself an indulgent but brief moment to reflect that I may have had something to do with this triumph. The OC’s, of course, were the opponents, coached, of course, by MJB. The OC’s won the day 2–0 but the wittier and more articulate entries on player profiles in the programmes definitely went to Westminster.

At idle moments I have tried to evoke par-allels with other great footballing rivalries but

they don’t quite match up to the Westminster v Charterhouse fixture; England v Scotland fleetingly perhaps, particularly when I consider the parallels of Westminster and Scottish goal-keepers of the mid 90’s.

In the end, this is a unique and endur-ing fixture between two great schools and although Charterhouse have very much the better of the last 150 years, it has not all been one way and games in recent times, and at moments in the past, have been worthy of the equality of rivalry that exists between the schools. The unifying theme is that the game is deeply embedded in both schools’ history at the present day and it will always be so.

“ ... if you had the worst team in living memory you would always get a win against Westminster”

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Douglas East and Bookbinding

THE HEAD BAND AND THE BAND DRIVER

Bookbinding is a unique part of West-minster life and the binding room has been, for numerous pupils over the years (and for a fair few members of staff as well) something of a haven of peace and quiet creativity, away from the bustle and sheer busy-ness of school life. That is Douglas’s achievement. His good humour, his commitment to the craft, his tact with even the most recalcitrant pupils (of whatever age), his refusal to panic when the paring knife goes straight through the leather or the kettle-stitches have failed – all these make ‘going up binding’ both a relaxing and a civilizing influence. Douglas’s rules remain intact: no ‘slagging off’, no rushing things (‘measure twice, cut once!’) and the binders’ own variant on Chatham House rules… Over the past couple of years our intake of new binders in the LSA has grown dramatically, and the 2013 exhibition included, among nearly 60 new bindings on show, over a dozen single- and multi-sectioned notebooks by the

beginners – a hugely promising sign for the future. And while the LSA thrives, binding remains a WCA too – a whole community activity, for both Abbey and school… Floreat!

The current Head Bookbinder Armand Brochard and his deputy Tom Hanton (both DD) write: Douglas has been mentor-ing us for the past four years; he is consistently patient (especially when dealing with hordes of fifth formers on Friday afternoons), and always finds time for everyone, with an enthusiasm and passion for binding which are contagious – as is his admiration for one who is ‘exception-ally good at everything he does’! Douglas has only ever known one single day of ‘retirement’, instead devoting himself to passing on his rare knowledge and skills – which we all know is rather taxing when you have to deal with Mr Edlin on a daily basis. It is a testament to Douglas that 30 years after he started here, and after 25 exhibitions of work, binding is as popular as ever within the school, whilst still providing that integral service for and link with the Abbey Library, where it all began.

“ Douglas has only ever known one single day of ‘retirement’”

The summer of 2013 included two important anniversaries for Westminster’s bookbinders: the 25th annual exhibition and the 90th birthday of bookbinding tutor Dr Douglas East, who has now become the oldest member of the teaching staff in the school’s history. To mark the occasion, a commemorative ‘team photo’ was taken in June, and a major celebration was held up School on 6th September, at which present and former bind-ers and their parents were present, including all but two of the school’s ‘Head Bookbinding Boys’, along with many of Douglas’s colleagues from the past quarter century and more, and several other friends from the Abbey and beyond. As the anecdotes flowed, it also seemed like a good moment to compile some bookbinding memories, as Tom Edlin (OW) reports.

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Henry Tann (DD, 2006–11) recalls: More than a republic of letters, the binding room is a republic of books, with its own rules and even constitutional fragments pinned to the noticeboard: of equality, fraternity and un-failing politeness. We have our own time-zone set at precisely five minutes ahead of the outside world to make sure that whatever the pressures of finishing a binding you will never run late, and even those high points of the School calen-dar, Exeat weekends and No-School Saturdays, do not disrupt the important work of Fridays as Douglas is “always about in the quad”. We also have our in-references: binders will recognise the ‘Duchess’ who appears in times of catas-trophe, the cycles of ‘Nibelungs’ which arise when paring leather, obscure Christmas carols, “Hark the herald angels sing, Mrs Simpson’s pinched our King...” and the occasional con-troversial outbreak of Irish nationalist singing. My favourite recollection of Douglas’s patience was when he tested my ‘slightly damp’ sponge and released a flood of surprising scale. Happily for the purposes of wordplay the book I was working on was The Canals of Venice and rueful quips were made.

Edward Randall (RR, 1994–9) adds: Bookbinding was a rare pleasure, combining a fine painstaking craft and good conversation (perhaps too much at times!) What stands out most in the memory is Douglas’s patient super-vision, even with the most cack-handed efforts. The more decrepit the book, the greater the gusto for its deconstruction and reconstruc-tion. The smell of the binding room has never changed: glue, treated leather, that mustiness burned by the ferocious heat of the Wren’s cor-ridor boilers, and perhaps a bit of lighter fluid lingering from the cleaning of over-pressed titling in gold. And the things never to be men-tioned in Douglas’s hearing: certain Germans, or Mrs Beeton (her books were banned, as her recipes were all taken from her subscribers!), or admiration for the Tudor dynasty. And beware the sharp intake of breath if you haven’t rounded the spine sufficiently...

Adam Hunt (WW, 1990–5) reflects: Bookbinding at Westminster is peaceful, social and creative and has a positive effect on all who take part; it is a unique environment where pupils and staff work and learn side-by-side in a relaxed atmosphere. Along the way you develop an appreciation for fine craftsmanship: many different skills are required to become an accomplished bookbinder and any slips are plain to see in a finished binding. I was privi-leged to be taught by a Master. Douglas is car-ing, humorous and knowledgeable and guides with a light touch, but there is steel within. He has been a vegetarian non-smoker all his life, and that can’t have been easy as a naval rating on the North Atlantic convoys. Above all he is an advertisement for following a career in a subject you have a passionate interest in, continuing to work, learn and teach with every hour you are given. He is a noble role model.

“ The binding room is a republic of books”

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“ He is a noble role model.”

These are now available in a fully searchable format which can be accessed online anywhere in the world. As you can imagine this has made answering many enquiries about the school’s history a great deal quicker. Not only has this been of great benefit for me as Archivist, but it has meant that pupils can more easily access this resource. Each member of the Fifth Form currently undertakes research into an OWW who lost his life in the First World War as part of their study of history. This important work will support our commemoration of the centenary of the conflict later this year.

The Elizabethan has changed a great deal since those early issues. Although certain perennial preoccupa-tions, such as the state of Green, will be familiar to to-day’s readers – a long diatribe on the necessity ‘to give the elder boys the authority for corporal punishment’ in spite of the view of ‘outsiders’ that it constituted ‘a species of petty tyranny’ appears quite alien. Among regular features in the early, monthly, issues included letters from correspondents in Oxford and Cambridge updating the current pupils as to the activities of Old

Westminsters at the universities. A full issue was dedi-cated to the Latin Play each year, with the prologue, epilogue, reviews and, in later years, a cast photograph. On the whole, images rarely featured until the 1950s, with the exception of the beautiful mast-head. Mi-raculously publication continued through both World Wars, even as the school lived its peripatetic existence, moving from Lancing College to Exeter to then settle in Herefordshire. The 70s and the 80s saw the move to the modern magazine, produced first termly and then annually in glossy colour.

The second project major project this year has been to catalogue the many other publications in our col-lection ranging from House papers (such as The College Street Clarion and The Grantite Review) to academic magazines (Hooke and Camden) to ‘unofficial’ publi-cations. The earliest Westminster School publications fall into the latter category. The Trifler first appeared in 1788 and soon spawned The Flagellant when its editors rejected verse submitted by later Poet Laureate, Robert Southey (OW 1788–1792). This new magazine, which Southey founded with three contemporar-ies, caused considerable controversy

From the Archives

A SCHOOL HISTORY FOR THE FUTURE

‘We feel that some apology will be expected from us for thus pushing forward our literary efforts. But a bad defence would but prejudice our readers against us, and the only good one is to show by the results our attempt that we have tried nothing beyond our powers’ Thus began the first issue of The Elizabethan, published in July 1874. In celebration of this magazine’s 140th an-niversary the archive has completed the project to fully digitise the 755 issues, announces Elizabeth Wells, the Archivist.

Above: Some publications from the 1950s and 60s, including cover art by Ronald Searle (second from left) and Feliks Topolski (third from left).

Right:The first ever issue of The Elizabethan.

“ On the whole, images rarely featured until the 1950s”

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Text Box

Above: The most recent addition to the Archives, Pink.

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As everyone knows, I have a lot of friends. And I make new ones each day, often by standing in Dean’s Yard and addressing members of the general public who are passing through. One such encounter took place towards the end of last term. A man with a broad smile was walking briskly towards me, with a look of recognition on his bronzed face. He was well dressed, so I thought ‘At least I’m not going to have to tell him to smarten up’.

‘Dr Spurr, it’s so good to see you after all these years!’ He was accompanied by a lady who turned out to be his wife, whose first words were ‘You and the Head Master have matching suits!’ ‘At last’, he replied, ‘I’ve got it right!’ ‘But’, she said, ‘your shoe-laces are undone’. I was intrigued as he knelt down, not to do them up, but to tuck them into the side of his shoes. ‘Lazy’, I thought, ‘but not ineffective’. It was at that point that I became aware of a professional photographer clicking away, and the wife said, ‘Take a picture of him kneeling in front of the Head Master’. By this time most of the Fifth Form and the Lower Shell, coming out of lunch in College Hall, had gathered round excitedly.

‘Is that Bear Grylls?’ they were saying. And of course it was. My former pupil (I didn’t know him as Bear in those days) had been reading a lesson at an important service in

The Abbey, and the Dean was kindly showing him around. As we chatted about his recent exploits, he remembered how for many years I have been going climbing in the Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy and told me that he had just taken Stephen Fry on an expedi-tion there. ‘Please watch the programme’, he said, ‘when it comes out later this month, and let me know what you think’.

‘Typical Bear’, I thought, when I saw that the programme was to be broadcast on Christmas Day. That’s making a splash. Next I noticed it was going out on Channel 4 at exactly the same time as Downton Abbey on ITV. ‘Brave’, I thought, ‘but foolish’. Special Christmas episode of Downton Abbey? Or Bear’s Wild Weekend With Stephen Fry? A tough call. I decided in favour of my former pupil – as I always will with all of you. Now, just in case you watched Downton Abbey, you can still see the Wild Weekend on 4 OD and to give you a little taster, Jack and Rory have kindly agreed to help me out with a transcript of one of the conversations between Stephen and Bear. Jack is Bear and Rory is Stephen: the classic man of action on the one hand, and the classic man of contemplation on the other. Or is the distinction quite so clear-cut?

I should warn you that there are one or two slightly excessive scenes, such as when Bear shows us how to eat ants for survival purposes. To cancel the bitter taste of formic acid he first covers his bread roll with chocolate spread. But we are not recreating that scene this morning here in Abbey. The scene we are about to hear occurs as dawn breaks high among the snow-capped mountains.

In that magnificent mountain setting, far-re-moved from any creature comfort, both men speak openly and honestly about religion. In more ways than one, Stephen Fry had found himself making a leap of faith. The Dean spoke last Monday of such a leap, of trust in the parachute. That is what we might call the Bear Grylls’ approach to finding God. As you heard just now, Bear himself uses the analogy of swimming. At another point in the programme, Stephen Fry refers to his experience of being pushed out of his comfort zone and taking a leap of faith as ‘transcendent’.

These are moments of revelation. Or, to use the ancient Greek word, which was the starting point of the Dean’s address last week, they are moments of epiphany.

When Bear’s wife asked me whether he was any good at Greek at school, of course I said yes. I don’t think I was making that up. What I certainly do remember is him always motivated – both to push on up to the next stage of skill and develop-ment and to try something new: a willingness, in other words, to move out of his comfort zone, to deepen and broaden experience.

That same willingness, that same courage was shown also by Stephen Fry in the mountains. It was tough for him at times but it was also a lot of fun; and it led also to memorable and profound self-revelation. Such epiphanies are of course open to us all if we take the right approach to the oppor-tunities offered. ‘Let’s go for it!’, as Bear would say.

– Southey was expelled by Head Master William Vincent for a particularly vicious article condemning corporal punishment which he wrote and published in the fifth issue.

The Trifler was reborn in the 1950s as a serious literary magazine and in addition to featuring content by pupils and staff also managed to attract submissions from the likes of Willy Russell, Yehudi Menuhin and Stephen Spender to say nothing of cover art by Feliks Topolski and Ronald Searle. We strive to keep the collection up-to-date and have just added the Lent 2014 issue of Pink to our collections.

Cataloguing these publications has helped us to identify gaps in our col-lections and we are currently appealing to Old Westminsters to donate relevant issues. These magazines remain one of our most popular collections. In due course we hope to digitize other series of maga-zines and add make them available in the same manner as The Elizabethan.

If you are interested in finding out more about the archive, want to volunteer or have something you would like to add to the collections – contact the Archivist at [email protected]

Above: The most recent addition to the Archives, Pink.

The Head Master gave an Abbey address in January in which he considers a discussion about faith by an ex-pupil.

Abbey Address

A LEAP OF FAITH

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The voice-over reads: ‘Bear and Stephen have conflicting beliefs and the sublime sur-roundings seem a good place to air them’.

DIALOGUE: Jack Brodsky (Bear Grylls) and Rory Forsyth (Stephen Fry)SF: I suppose a man of faith like you, this probably restores your faith in the creation, or a creator.BG: Yeah, I think so. I always find it’s like a “spiritual de-frag”SF: YesBG: You know, and I sometimes lose that in the busyness of everyday life.SF: I mean, I.. I am an atheist.. or I, I call myself a humanist because I do have beliefs, that it is in our own capacity to solve our problems and to find out more about the world and the universe around us. But just because one says, ‘well I don’t believe there’s a single God who made it,’ doesn’t mean one has to offer an explanation as to what did make it. Because if you do believe there’s a single God who made it, you have to offer an explana-tion as to who made that God. And so the argument continues.BG: You know, I went to school and.. you know religion was presented in a way where it was all very cold and impersonal and judgemental..SF: [agreeing while BG is talking]BG: and it’s taken me a long time in mountains like this to realize actually, for me, my Christian faith is much more intimate and stumbling and awkward and personal and I still somehow feel that in this difficult life, we’re loved.SF: Yes..BG: And it’s a bit like swimming, you know… you can feel it all around you and you know that it’s holding you up but… it’s hard to describe it if you’ve never swum. But it’s actually been the greatest strength in my life.SF: I’m all for that. And I get very embarrassed and ashamed of my fellow atheists who are mocking of people who have faith. To be an individually devout, pious person is a very beautiful thing. Coming in to a church, putting in flowers to remember your family and your ancestors.BG: I have a strange belief in Heaven.. just that I think I’d really love to see my Dad again [laughs awkwardly]SF: That’s very.. I can understand that. But to me, ‘cause we have history, you have all your dead ancestors alive in your mind and I have my beloved grandfather alive in my mind and I don’t need to die to be with him. I suppose there’s the danger of getting very pretentious in a vast landscape like this, ‘cause it does make you think. All the imponder-able questions come tumbling in to your mind, don’t they?

“ My former pupil (I didn’t know him as Bear in those days) had been reading a lesson at an important service in The Abbey”

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These activities ranged from Physics to Football to Dance and Greek. Pupils were allocated to run respective groups, while teachers joined in with the planned activities, showing the Biology group how to cut up rats and teaching the Dance group the lyrics to ‘Hairspray’. We were ready.

At around 1:45 pm pupils from many local primary schools arrived. By 2:00 pm the organisa-tional team was content: the groups had been sent in their respective directions and the sun was shin-ing; what could possibly go wrong?

By 2:50 pm all the groups were back from the first session, and were now onto the final one. Yet, upon checking the registers it dawned on us that no one from Fencing had yet returned to Dean’s Yard. After an impatient wait, the fencers finally arrived. All children were put into their new groups. What could go wrong now?

By 3:30 pm, pupils were returning at the end of their final activities. Everyone was consuming cakes and awaiting Mr Crole’s panorama camera. Then the clouds threatened, rumbled and crashed until they could hold the rain no more – downpour. As the children left, we realised just how lucky we’d been and how much everyone had enjoyed it. A particularly amusing anecdote was told about the pupils delight at hearing Mr Garrard’s falsetto.

On Saturday, we arrived at school and listened attentively to a range of talks; including a fascinat-ing Q&A with Ben Linton (OW) about serving in the Metropolitan Police Force. The day was very enjoyable, although sadly the barbecue was pushed inside by traditional, English weather.

As soon as exams were over in June, the Upper Shell piled into the Manoukian. They had volunteered to take the role of ambassadors for the school, playing host to 150 primary chil-dren from local schools, sharing their insights and knowledge through a range of workshops. Ms French briefed the year before everyone was sent off in their different directions, to be instructed by teachers on how to run their activities, reports Ben Brind (LL).

Westminster in the Community: Post GCSE Course

AMBASSADORIAL FUN

“ We realised just how lucky we’d been and how much everyone had enjoyed it”


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Westminster in the Community: Summer School

NEW LIVES AHEAD

For most, the end of the summer term is a long awaited chance to get away from school. For four of us however, it was the beginning of our work on the annual Westminster Summer School that takes place in the first week of the holidays, writes Finlay Stroud (AHH).

Pupils from state schools all over the country, about to enter their first year of sixth form college, arrive at Westminster to get a taste of what to expect at A-level study. Supervised by the highly experienced Future Foundations team, our role as ambassadors to the students involved socializing, attending classes, taking photos and supporting the Westminster staff who kindly offer their services in seminar-style lessons. Five days is not a long period, and thus our work was cut out in trying to make it as enjoyable as possible. Friendships were easily formed –this was rapidly achieved (for the guys at least) through large, unregulated football matches on Green.

The students themselves attended classes on subjects they had chosen to do in their upcoming year, as well as tutorials, more general life classes and physical activities. The chance to sit down and discuss career paths with a veteran Future Foundations Tutor, or practice presenting yourself in public or in mock interview (all of which we took part in alongside the guests) was immensely useful and important. The week had too many highlights to list, but when it came to the final day, everyone involved in any respect with the Summer School received an envelope containing anonymous messages of encouragement, well-wishing and praise. Reading some of the things people had said they’d learnt from me over the five days was incredibly touching. Even more so was the day in the summer holidays when my Facebook lit up with my new friends’ excellent GCSE results, and they looked ahead prepared and excited in equal measure to the new challenges of their sixth form.

The week was kick-started with an evening of activities, all involving the theme of the RainPhorest for which every staff member donned a suitable animal onesie.

Every day throughout the week everyone took part in one of four workshops - art, mu-sic, film, or drama and dance - preparing their segment for the PHAB show at the end of the week and providing an excellent opportunity for everyone to get to know each other better, whilst taking the rainforest theme as the inspi-ration for their creativity.

In the afternoon, there were a range of London trips from which guests could choose, such as going to the London Eye, shopping in Covent Garden or just lazing in the sunshine on a deckchair in St James Park. One after-noon, we all took an afternoon trip to Kew Gardens as part of the Rainforest Experience, giving everyone a chance to enjoy the glorious weather and allowing the most daring to brave the heights of the Tree Top Walk.

The evenings were no less eventful, with every night having its own unique moments: a dance-infused karaoke and disco, a barbeque (complete with in-house band), a West End theatre night with each guest choosing to see

one of a selection of musicals, and a specially constructed outdoor cinema in Yard, showing Madagascar. On the final night, we had the annual PHAB dinner and disco, with everyone partying late into the night. Though we knew the week was drawing to a close, the evening allowed us a final chance to unwind and meant everyone could show off their dance skills, with all the guests putting the hosts to shame with their signature moves.

On the final day, the families and friends of everyone at PHAB came together for the barbeque, and the week was brought to a storming close with the 37th annual PHAB show, where each group showed the prod-ucts of their week’s work. Each performance brought back many memories from through-out the week, and allowed everyone to reflect upon an amazing PHAB. The show was then brought to a climax with a rousing rendition of The Bare Necessities by the musicians, with everyone singing along in full voice, bringing the week to a close.

For the guests, PHAB provides the op-portunity to make new friendships with hosts, as well as renew old ones from previous years. For many it is their main holiday and the high-light of their year. Their passion for the week makes it a truly rewarding experience for all involved. Many thanks to AK, in his first year as Director, as well as to all the other members of staff involved, for all their hard work and energy that made the week possible. Thank you also to the hosts for all their hard work throughout the week, and most importantly thank you to the guests, without whom this glorious week would simply not be possible.

Westminster in the Community: PHAB 2014

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

For this year’s PHAB, school was transformed into a jungle with a menagerie of inflatable creatures filling corridors and hanging from ceilings, writes Patrick McNamara (RR).

“ For the guests, PHAB provides the opportunity to make new friend-ships with hosts, as well as renew old ones from previous years”

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“Every Thursday afternoon, a few volunteers and I go down to St. Thomas’ Hospital across the river and volunteer in the wards. What we do varies from afternoon to afternoon, but the majority of the time, we simply chat to the patients, providing stimulation to alleviate the boredom of long dreary afternoons in the hospital. We primarily visit patients in long term care such as this in the Evan Jones and Lane Fox wards, who have come to St. Thomas’ Hospital for the excellent specialist care they offer, and whose families live too far away to come and visit regularly. It is by far and away one of the most enjoyable afternoons of my week. The patients I get to meet are some of the warmest, kindest, most interesting and understanding people I have the opportunity to meet, considering the hardships and suffering they are being put through. They always have a smile on their face and never let their condition get the better of them, and it’s truly inspiring to see. They really help me put my life and my experiences in perspec-tive and help me appreciate how lucky I have been. I definitely get a lot out of it, and hopefully they do too!” Nishant Lahoti (HH)

“Reading at Millbank Primary School every Thursday has become an intrinsic part of my Westminster weekly life. I walk there every week full of joy at the fabulous opportunity that reading to such a group of unique and wonderful children presents. They range between six and ten and their reading strengths vary accordingly. Some are very, very capable readers, while others still require help to learn the basic syllable sounds and some just prefer to listen and imagine their favourite stories. One thing is for sure; it is an enjoyable and wonderful part of my week.” Ben Brind (LL)

“Tutoring a Year Seven student in maths has been incredibly fulfilling for me, as I have watched my tutee begin to grasp new concepts faster and faster over the course of the two terms I have been working with him. There is nothing more encouraging than noticing my tutee put to practice something I have taught them without any prompting or encouragement on my own part. I now look forward to Monday afternoons as one of the highlights of my week.” Sebastian Burgess (MM)

“Doing one-on-one tuition is hugely rewarding for both student and teacher, and the experience of having to explain concepts helps me understand them more too.” Matthew Budd (DD)

Although 3,500 miles away, Horace Mann has much in common with Westminster; centrally located in the city, with able pupils looking to access the most competitive university courses. At a time when education is taking an increasingly global dimension, this is a timely venture, fostering links for staff in the first instance, and subsequently pupils. In June 2013, three Horace Mann staff spent a week at Westminster, in each of the Art, English and Science departments, observing lessons and engaging in dialogue with staff about pedagogy as well as more general aspects of school life. The return visit in the Play Term Exeat to New York continued an extended these discussions, and most recently Dr Evans spent a week during the Easter holiday researching the impact of practical work in science and the contribution of independent learning at Horace Mann. The first joint venture for pupils saw a Skype link-up of three science research groups from

each school presenting the outcomes of their work and initiating a 90 minute trans-Atlantic discussion. This was a tremendous achievement, underlining the value of pupils pursuing original science, and working col-laboratively, one of the key opportunities made possible by digital technology.

Shaanxi Normal University

NORMAL RELATIONS

Angela (Maths), Jenny (Biology), Ruan Bo (“Rambo”) and Hom (both Physics) were based at Westminster for a month but experienced a broad sweep of our education system, visiting and observing teaching and learning at primary level through to university teacher training. Their intelligence, dedication, friendliness and, above all, humour will long be remembered. We wish them every success as they complete their training in China and look forward to continuing and developing our relationship with SNNU during these most interesting times for global education.

Civic Engagement

A WEEKLY JOY

It is mostly taken up by members of the Up-per School, who work mainly with the young, the elderly, the academically disadvantaged and the housebound. There are also opportunities to help the homeless by working in the charity shop at the Cardinal Hume Centre, and to assist the park rangers on Hampstead Heath. Pupils can take a highly regarded TEFL course and use it to help young children of limited English at local primary schools.

Lower School pupils volunteer mainly at local primary schools: the Lower Shell help at IT classes and similar, as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award, and the Upper Shell form the majority of pupils who volunteer at breakfast and after-school and at St Andrew’s Junior Club. A highlight of the year is the post-GCSE Pri-mary Schools Day, where the Upper Shell runs a series of academic and practical workshops for Year 4 and 5 children from local schools.

We do not enforce volunteering – there is no need - but we strongly encourage it. Pupils work creatively to find time for their volunteer-ing while also being fully committed to Station, drama, music and their academic work.

The programme as a whole has done much to enhance the perception of the School locally: we are recognised for being exceptional in

Volunteering continues to be a highly successful part of Westminster life and is a popular choice for many pupils, writes Gilly French, who masterminds the com-plex logistics of organising a wide range of community activities.

“ Pupils are continually praised for their commit-ment, sensitivity, energy and initiative”

wishing to engage with local organisations in a way that works for them and our pupils are continually praised for their commit-ment, sensitivity, energy and initiative. At the same time, Westminster volunteers gain a great deal from working with and gaining an understanding of people who, in some cases, lead lives very different from their own.

“ This was a tremendous achievement, underlining the value of pupils pursuing original science”

“ One of the most enjoyable afternoons of my week”

“ I walk there every week full of joy”

Horace Mann School in New York

INTERCITY SCHOOL LINKS

Over the last two years, Westminster has been developing links with Horace Mann School in New York, reports Rodney Harris.

Westminster’s link with Shaanxi Normal Universi-ty (SNNU) in Xi’An, China, was formalised earlier this year with the signing of an official Memo-randum of Understanding and in September we welcomed four students (final year trainee schoolteachers) from that university as the first participants following the new agreement, announces Kevin Walsh.

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The Greaze 2014

LIGHTS ON FOR THE TERRITORY

The Greaze is the ultimate test of a Westminster’s mettle: five minutes of gruelling scramble for a piece of a pancake trapped under thirty other sweaty House representatives, declares Alex Bridge (RR), who should know – he’s been there himself.

Having taken part in the Greaze before I’m in a unique position to give you three key tips for success in Westminster’s quirkiest tradition.

First of all the competitors gather in Dun-geons for a stern talk by CD (CD Riches, the school’s Master in Charge of Water), about the ‘rules’ of the game and how you should pretend to not get injured when you get injured. This is barely ever heard over the jostling, shouting and general rowdiness of the group. The trick here, and the second golden rule, is to be one of the loudest and most aggressive to let the other competitors know that you are a force to be reckoned with. This proved a challenge for my delicate Upper Shell self which was dwarfed by the Remove powerhouses, but the principle still stands. What follows is a short jog round and up through the stone stairs leading up School. The vibrancy of the mats and the lights and the noise of the crowd is particularly memorable as competitors walk into the arena. This year all of the Sixth Form and Remove were forced to stand on stages at the back. With the majority of two years squeezed on there and no railings or cordons, a mosh pit of sorts formed as specta-tors jumped on each other to get a better view. It was probably more of a health and safety hazard than the actual event – which brings us on to the third key tip – fight for as much space

“ People are much more averse to sticking their hand down your pants for a shot at glory”

as possible at the beginning. Some choose to try their luck in the middle of the pack, where the pancake is likely to land, some stay towards the front and lean back into the masses, hoping for a dud throw that lands just over the bar, and some stay on the peripheries, giving them room to run and jump for a shot at glory. Whatever tactic a competitor goes with they should stick to their guns and bump into as many people as possible in a bid for territory.

The pancake is then thrown up by the chef in a little frying pan, and only once it has gone over the Greaze Bar can the game begin. He usually misses it once, just on purpose to get the crowd riled, then sends it high over and begins the game. Despite the flurry of action at the beginning the game invariably ends up as a lone scrum on one edge of the map, with no-one knowing who has the pancake and no-one being able to move the established bodies at the bottom of the pile. A few lightweights

skirt the edges and jump on top, but they have no hope. If you did get the pancake, then the fourth tip kicks in – keep it in your pants! Under the shirt is a decent option but too loose – people are much more averse to stick-ing their hand down your pants for a shot at glory. Then just stay still, face down, for the longest few minutes of your life as the com-bined forces of all 11 Houses try to tear pieces off of the pancake and tear you apart with it. This year Edmund Fitzgerald of Busby’s won, which is predictable considering his giant stature, and he ritually handed over the gold coin bestowed to him in exchange for the Dean granting the School a Play, or day off, in a tradition known as ‘Begging a Play’. Then everyone, competitors at least, bitterly limps off to the changing rooms, gets changed and continues with the school day. Perhaps next year will be their year – a past-his-prime veteran like me can only hope.

“ Unanimous favourite was of course ‘Gunge the Teacher’”

This was clearly highlighted in this year’s September Saturday, which not only raised £16,500 for charity but proved great fun for pupils, staff and guests alike.

Straight after lessons on Saturday, West-minster pupils headed up Yard, which had been transformed from its usual empty space to a hubbub of stalls, stages, posters and even a (no age restriction) bouncy castle! This year once again had a spectacular turnout – staff and pupils became completely immersed in managing the stalls and organising the activi-ties, but also got ample opportunity to walk around and try everything for themselves.

This year’s activities ranged from some very creative face-painting to food lotteries and crockery smashing. Vast quantities of vari-

ous foods and drinks, including bubble tea, international finger food, milkshakes and the much-loved Krispy Kreme doughnuts were provided. Books, films, old uniforms, clothes, trendy items, games and vinyl records were all up for sale. Various school bands performed non-stop during the event, which gave the whole fair a party atmosphere. Particularly memorable occasions included the auction, where prices leapt sky-high and some lucky participants managed to win some awesome prizes, but everyone’s unanimous favourite was of course ‘Gunge the Teacher’. This year the unlucky draw fell on Mr. Wurr, who stood in the middle to have a bucket of green slime dumped on his head, a moment promptly captured by all the photographers. Luckily, the day passed without any unfortu-nate mishaps or rain and leaves a tough act to follow for next year!

September Saturday

MAKING A SPECTACLE

The importance of helping those around us and those worse off than us is constantly stressed in today’s society, but who says you can’t have lots of fun along the way? asks Sofya Shchukina (PP).

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RIGAUD’S

J. Paul Getty had a formula for success: “rise early, work hard, strike oil.” To say that biodiesel was harvested in Rigaud’s this year would be an understatement. We won more House trophies (Football, Senior Sixes, Girl’s Football, Tennis and Cricket) and gained more inches of resident tutor (seventy-seven and a half in the form of BDW) than any other House, and even saw the arrival of a new mini-Rigaudite (Rigauditelette?). Rosa Elisabeth Gwen was born to PHW and wife Laura on April 6th, weighing in at 7lb 5oz, to join brother Griff as the RR youngsters. It all takes the author back to the day he was born…

Talking of the Remove, it was a year marked by an unusual willingness to take off various articles of clothing for fun, charity and posterity (in that order). Firstly we had the House Concert in January 2014 – a dramatic event that saw some beautiful individual play-ing/singing from Messrs Stewart, Zackon and Lines along with Mlle Kent, a wonky but good-natured rendition of Ben E. King’s Stand By Me by two ninths of the Remove, and a quite literally tear-jerking interpretation of Debussy’s La fille aux cheveux de lin by Alex Pulsford. The camp plastic cherry on the top of this quadruple-chocolate-Matron’s-cake

of an evening was, however, the Remove song. We had chosen It’s Raining Men by The Weather Girls weeks in advance, printed off enough lyrics to cover the House Poetry Board three times over, and organised enough rehearsals to get bored with the whole damn thing. But it all paid off: it was a complete and utter triumph, full of lusty singing, sexy disco moves, Fred Boyce-Rodgers dressed as Shirley Bassey circa 1979, and perhaps not quite enough underneath the boys’ lab-coat-cum-rain-jackets. The school was treated to a further spot of traditional Rigaudian cross-dressing at the start of the Election Term, when the RR Remove photo was taken for the Yearbook in Yard during lunch break. I pity you if you don’t get the chance to see it but let me assure you of this: Tom Lines looked an absolute treat.

If this humble author were to have any words of exhortation for the time to come, ye future generations of this sublime house, they would be these: remember never to stop mak-ing Stephen Jordan* proud.*Stephen Jordan Rigaud, after whom the House is named, of course..

BUSBY’S

There are Houses that have had ‘encourag-ing’ years, and Houses that have had ‘success-ful’ years, and then there is Busby’s. Since winning House singing (RIP) five years ago we have overcome the trauma of this great gap in school life and continued to throw our heart and soul into every aspect of school life.

Led by our fabulous Housemaster Mr Bot-ton we have claimed the House Shooting cup (our resident Russian spy, Miss Molodtsova, helped with that), the junior House Football trophy, and only a technicality (and Mr Wurr’s questionable score allocation) prevented vic-tory in the senior and junior boys Bringsty race allowing us to seize overall triumph. Despite narrow losses in the senior boys and girl’s House football it is fair to say we remain a dominant force in House sport.

Off the pitch, you will find Busbites excel-ling in everything they put their mind to. Our House concert, led by our music gurus, was critically acclaimed as “the best House concert of the year”. The Arctic Monkeys, Frank Sinatra and Chopin, to name but a few, provided an eclectic mix of classical, comic and popular music which was brought to an end by Ziding Zhang’s emotional farewell to a House that many have called home.

A flourishing circus of intra-House events including the spirited general knowledge, debating, pool and table tennis competitions contributed to an outstanding year that other Houses can only dream about. The charitable efforts led by Eish Sumra, including the leg-endary milkshake stand at September Saturday, have raised over £4,000, showing Busbites’s ongoing dedication to community service.

This House is special for its tight-knit familial atmosphere, as demonstrated by the pizza evening currently going on around me as I write, and I know that during my two years as a Busbite I have been lucky enough to know some of the most amazing, kind and gener-ous individuals I ever will. All of us leaving this year will always have a special place in our hearts for Busby’s and for those who are stay-ing, keep on making Busby’s proud!

LIDDELL’S

‘Looking like a rag-tag bunch out of West Side Story’ is how one wife of a Housemaster dubbed the Liddellites gathered at Battersea Park for this year’s Sports Day. This, I’m sure, was not referring to the number of sleeveless and ripped Liddell’s tops donned by our runners. Rather, I feel the remark encapsulates the spirit of the House, each Liddellites’ unique vivacity and above all our ability to ‘stay cool’. Liddell’s’ year was defined yet again by sporting overachievements, musical mastery and another Head Boy.

Oft-better known for its indoor exploits, the sporting tides are certainly changing for Liddell’s: on the back of last year’s Junior House Football victory we managed to place 3rd overall in this year’s Sports Day. Kept only from 2nd place by a bout of truancy amongst the girls’ team, the Yellow Army managed to come closely behind the sporting-mad Wren’s and Busby’s. This best placing in recent memory included an array of wins in both >>

COLLEGE

College is not usually a House renowned for owning hoards of sport trophies, but this year has proved to be an exception! We have managed to retain the Chess Cup, the largest and of course the most important of all the sports trophies, for the 4th year running. Moreover, we have added the House Netball Cup to our collection, winning every game in the competition thanks to some fantastic leadership from the captain, Elizabeth Dunne, and clinical finishes from our best shooter, Jessie Shea. With many of the younger years also showing great talent and determina-tion, the future for College looks bright on the sporting front. Musical achievements have been phenomenal this year: two of our gifted musicians, Matthew Bannatyne and Yuma Kitahara, fought off some tough competition to reach the WMOTY Finals. Congratulations to Yuma Kitahara, who won second place.

No College year is complete without a Commemoration, Big or Little. It reminds us how fortunate we are to be in such a great academic atmosphere which promotes learning and achievement, and remember those ben-efactors of the school who have made all this possible. Little Commem presented the perfect opportunity to reflect on those thoughts, and in the solemn atmosphere of the candlelit Abbey we sang those prayers, on behalf of the whole school, to express our gratitude for our Foundress and benefactors. Abbey services are

an integral part of every Scholar’s life; we look forward to them because usually there is a treat after every one! The Dean was our guest again this year at the annual pizza night, where we enjoyed some homemade pizzas and threw in a friendly debate or two – just for some intel-lectual value!

However College’s greatest success comes neither from sport nor academia, but from the spirit of the House itself. This year has seen the College community more closely knit than ever before, possibly due to a plethora of new intra-House events organised by creative minds in the House: the ping-pong competition, general knowledge quiz, House Diplomacy and even votes for ‘Which fish in the College fish tank’! These events have added colour to our everyday life in College, which never ceases to amaze us with its vitality.

GRANT’S

Effortless superiority is a hideous myth. Truly superior institutions make a concerted effort to conceal their latent eminence out of sympathy for the non-elect. Keen to maintain this illusion of imperfection, Grant’s declined to win House Football, or the Bringsty Relay, or House Netball, or House Debating. That said, this has been a triumphant year. We performed five short House Plays (four more than any other House, I am told) from the

collection ‘Lovers and Other Strangers’, with Messrs Hanway and Mann dazzling in drag. The House Concert was a roaring success, culminating in a feisty rendition of karaoke classic The Final Countdown. We won (!) House Swimming and House Rock Climbing, reached the semi-finals in Girls Football, ran with valour in the Towpath, and played tiki-taka the 2 Little Dean’s Yard way in reaching the final of Junior House Football. Cam Kerr has also excelled as Head of Water.

This has also been a year of high emotion. In September, the boarders were presented with FIFA 14 Ultimate Edition in a moving ceremony up TV Room. Mr Fair, four-time winner of the ‘World’s Nicest Man’ competi-tion (and runner-up twice), became a father to the amazing James. At the time of going to press, Mrs Shortland and Mr Parker-Wright were both expecting babies. All will be adored by the Grant’s community for years to come. David Hargreaves’s departure casts in sharper relief just how sensationally lucky we’ve been to have him as our Housemaster, leader, sur-rogate parent and friend for the past few years. PDH has anchored the adolescent fluctuations of countless Grantites with an unwavering commitment to their wellbeing. If anyone can match PDH’s dedication and support, it is his successor NAF. Those of us leaving know we’ve been fortunate to grow up here – and that next year’s intake will be saying exactly the same in five years’ time.

“ The Chess Cup, the larg-est and of course the most important of all the sports trophies”COLLEGE

“ A year marked by an unusual willingness to take off various arti-cles of clothing for fun, charity and posterity (in that order)”RIGAUD’S

“ David Hargreaves’s depar-ture casts in sharper relief just how sensationally lucky we’ve been”GRANT’S

“ Only a technicality (and Mr Wurr’s question-able score allocation) prevented victory”BUSBY’S

HOUSE REPORTS

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Most important perhaps has been the number of Drydenites wanting to play for their House and the loyal Drydenite fans that have turned up unfailingly to give support, creating a sea of red on the touchline… as we bring home another silver medal. If a silver was unavailable, rather than settle for a gold or bronze we chose to stay away from the podium.

The Day Room has remained the focal point for group crosswords and Sudoku puz-zles and of late the hub for Irish Republican songs. “I cannot think of anything better than singing Irish songs at 8:30 in the morn-ing” said at least one pupil and a certain old Drydenite tutor. Elsewhere, Drydenites have continued to excel in school competitions with awards won for debating and MUN, Drydenites appearing in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’

and performing in WMOTY. We were even treated to a Drydenite carol in Abbey followed by the School Carol Service procession which was oddly dominated by Drydenites. Our regular dose of House Carol Singing was once

again a successful opportunity to eat mince pies and let the choral talent resound and the booming voices of the Sixth Form boys, well, boom. The House Concert audience were treated to stunning duets, a plethora of genres and instruments and a House choir that provided some farmyard impressions for good measure. With such talent, the job of HoDD has been a great pleasure.

House Scarletts remains the most exclusive tie in the School, Mr Hemsley-Brown’s trophy cabinet has been given a well-deserved year to breathe and it is clear that Dryden’s has continued in its upward trajectory and remains Westminster’s premium corridor property.

HAKLUYT’S

“Liddell’s younger sibling”, “the bag dump”, “ugly” – such spurious labels have dogged Hakluyt’s for many a year since its birth in ’87. Since then, however, ‘Kloots’ has proven its detractors wrong annually, and Westminster’s pretty-much youngest house (because who really counts Milne’s?) has had a characteristically barnstorming year.

Our resident classicist tells me Publilius Syrus once said “If you wish to reach the highest, begin at the lowest”. I asked who on earth he was, but apparently he also said “it is not every question which deserves an answer”. Nevertheless, the maxim rings true in Yard’s blue corner. In a show of endurance unknown

to the Hakluyt’s Remove, the Fifth Form came third in the Junior Towpath race, and the Shells won gold in the Intermediates. In addition to the sterling extra-curricular commitment of our Lower School members, we in fact have a Westminster Musician of the Year (WMOTY) winner in Tommy Leo (Fifth Form), whose piano-playing skills really have made ripples around the school in recent months. Eliza Mil-lett (who was Tommy’s predecessor as WMO-TY), has, in addition to her choral commit-ments, played the Saint-Saëns cello concerto to a full house at St John’s Smith Square.

Sports has found something approaching a home in Hakluyt’s, as evidenced by some remarkable achievements this year. The Sixth Form and Remove girls, who came a historic second in the Girls’ House football competi-tion, put their male counterparts to shame – only debris was salvaged from the group stages, despite some valiant route-one football and a glorious goal from the halfway line by Sam ‘Wilshere’ Winters.

Rowing (sorry – Water) has become something of a Hakluyt’s niche, and we are as strong as ever: Sam Meijer has been selected to represent the junior wing of Team GB (a bit of a running theme – Tom Hartley has also been recently chosen to represent Team GB in the international Informatics Olympiad), having won the School’s Head Championship in a quad with, amongst others, our very own Will Moss. Rufus Dobson has also been an out-standing performer, coming second in his quad at the National Junior Sculling Head – maybe they really did earn those full Pinks...

All our rowers are, at the time of writing, currently preparing for the National Schools Regatta (exams? What exams?) in the half-term – we wish them good luck.

As the Election Term draws to an end, it is with great pride that we can look back on a fantastic year in the House of Hopkins, and, apart from those of us parting ways with the blue and yellow, look forward to yet another. >>

track and field events, most notably with Ed Bentley taking 1st place and a school record in the 400m with an astounding time of 55.0 s. Our sporting year was also sweetened by the extent of our Senior House Football Cup run. Whilst the under-dog victory was indeed too good to be true, we did manage to reach the Semi-Finals and narrowly miss out by a goal on making it to the Final.

This year’s House Concert was another aural extravaganza with impressive perfor-mances throughout, and a particularly innova-tive rendition of the Beatles’ classic Let it Be by Azmain Chowdury’s ‘Faceless Bureaucrats’. Another notable moment of style – showing a House versatility away from the streets of West Side Story – was the Remove’s elegant House picture. For the Leavers’ Yearbook, this transformed into a two-hour photo-shoot orchestrated by Archie Squire-Lindsay and resulted in what I assume will appear as the cover for the next issue of Vanity Fair.

Finally, thanks must be given to those involved in the running of Little Dean’s Yard’s most yellow residency. The House continued this year to be led by the fantastic Housemaster Page supported by the double-team consisting of the Head of House William Stevens and the Head of School Alexander Bishop. The resident tutor Dr Prentice was also integral to this wondrous year for Liddell’s, as was Rose Morgan, our fantastic Matron.

ASHBURNHAM

“At least we’re not Ashburnham.” That’s a chant that might have been heard at inter-House events in previous years. Not anymore. Ashburnham has risen like a comet from the depths of mid-table obscurity, and this year’s results show that it is a sporting force to be reckoned with in the future. 1st in Girls’ Tennis, a close 2nd in both House Climbing and Shooting, 4th in Netball, a 2nd place Towpath finish from Atalanta Arden-Miller

and victory in the 100m front crawl from Jed Thompson represent a remarkable last hurrah from the departing Remove, providing a strong example for the future ‘burnham legends. 6th place in the six-a-side House Football cup demonstrated the indomitable spirit of the Ashburnham old guard, heroically drawing 1–1 with the reigning champions Busby’s.

Yet it is the juniors that have been the leading sporting light of the House, and their sporting triumphs promise an enduring domi-nation of silverware. Victory in Junior Sports Day, where they won every field event, and the Junior Towpath are examples of this.

While these sporting events have brought glory upon Sharon Ragaz’s Blue Army, it is the unity within the House that was most touch-ing. At Pizza Express over a shared portion of garlic bread the peer supporters and I bonded with the Fifth Form, and a House Secret Santa saw festive cheer shared by Lower and Upper School. Whether singing (mostly in tune) Rick Astley’s timeless hit – Never Gonna Give You Up, applying blue Smurf body paint for our House photo, or organising the ever-successful bouncy castle for September Saturday, under Dr Ragaz’s guidance, Ashburnham has indeed shown flashes of the elusive ‘House spirit’.

It seems that the good times are here to stay, and in the future we will have more to brag about than just our 3 syllables.

WREN’S

What a superb year to be a Wrenite! Much like Manchester City, our days of empty trophy cabinets and sporting mediocrity are over. Notwithstanding the analogy, unlike the Sky Blues, Wren’s’ success did not hit its peak on the football field though, to be fair, we did get our hands on the ...er... prestigious Plate. Our performance on the track was, however, unsurprisingly dominant, both at Wimbledon Common and along the Towpath, with our

supremely athletic girls team deservedly taking most of the credit – the records truly tumbled with a new girls’ record for the Bringsty and our September 2012 super-signing, Mary-Alice, setting a new personal record along the Towpath. The sporting and intellectual talent within the House was also displayed in fine style on the prestigious platforms of the Dolphin Square swimming pool and the Maths Department Chess Arena, as well as on the debating front with Eleanor Shearer and Alex Mafi performing superbly. The annual induction to the House, through Christopher Wren’s Birthday Party, was spectacular, with our new Fifth and Sixth Formers showing off their musical and artistic class, instilling great hope for the future of Wrens. For the Fifth Form, exhibiting these talents was not enough and, determined to exhibit their culinary prowess, they took it upon themselves to organise a highly successful bake sale (if the densely crowded corner of Yard was anything to go by). This year’s achievements truly show what a wonderful House we have and very few remain who believe ‘we are just a corridor’ – not only our successes but our spirit have shown we are so much more.

DRYDEN’S

Scarlett and Silver. These are the colours that proud Drydenites wear and this year we have striven to represent our colours in all House competitions. We have done so by running around until we are all red in the face and, at the end of the day, collected the silver medal. This purposeful strategy of coming second over and over has, I can truly say, been a success! We have had success on the football pitch under the careful management of our Head of Sports, as well as in climbing, with a stunning performance from the netballers under the command of our Head of Girls.

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“ If you wish to reach the highest, begin at the lowest”HAKLUYT’S

“ Applying blue Smurf body paint for our House photo”ASHBURNHAM’S

“ Little Dean’s Yard’s most yellow residency” LIDDELL’S

“ We chose to stay away from the podium”DRYDEN’S

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SALVETE

Matthew Bradshaw

Matthew Bradshaw studied Chemistry at York University for four years, culminating in a Masters. He put his studies into practice spending a year undertaking pharmaceutical research at Bristol Myers Squibb. His work focused on developing polymeric systems to enable the slow release of drug compounds in the body. He went on to work for an Indian generics manufacturer where he was responsible for developing analytical methods for testing novel drug formulations. Following this stint in industry, Matthew then embarked on his PGCE at Bristol University. Here he taught at a diverse array of inner-city schools. Before moving to Westminster, Matthew spent his first full year as a teacher in Dagenham. Originally from Bristol, Matthew is enjoying getting to know the capital. Out of school he enjoys cycling and travelling in the U.K and beyond.

Iain Butler

Iain Butler read Mathematics at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, specialising in number

theory and abstract algebra in his final year be-fore turning to education. He joins the Maths department as a new teacher with experience of individual and small-group tutoring, and looks forward to getting involved with all aspects of life at Westminster. Outside the classroom, he enjoys singing in Cantandum and dabbling in jazz trumpet. In the holidays, Iain is a keen cyclist and aviation enthusiast, and was Chairman of Cambridge University Gliding Club in his student days.

Kate Clanchy

Kate Clanchy has joined Westminster as Senior Master and as a member of the Modern Languages Department. She was previously Deputy Head and Director of Studies at St Paul’s Girls’ School. Her teaching career began at Dulwich College and continued at James Allen’s Girls’ School where she was Head of Modern Languages. Her previous career had been in business, in Paris and London, initially in the East European Department of a French management consultancy, and most recently with Vivendi, the French multinational

TOP ROW (l–r): Matthew Bradshaw, Iain Butler, Kate Clanchy, Tom Cousins

MIDDLE ROW (l–r): Rachel-Emily Gibbons-Lejeune, Luke Lorimer, Beverley Pannell, Dr Deneal Smith

BOTTOM ROW (l–r): Luke Tattersall, Dr Rob Wagner, Haitong Wang

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PURCELL’S

Like Captain America on his super-soldier serum, Purcell’s has continued to grow in size this year. For the first time, we were able to send a full squad to numerous House competi-tions. Our juniors netted Purcell’s first House Football win and the Fifth Form crushed the other Houses in the General Knowledge Quiz. Perhaps allowing boys to join Purcell’s wasn’t that bad a decision after all. Things also went swimmingly on the deep end: Ilya Kleyner came second in the underwater dash in House Swimming, and Purcell’s won the Senior Tennis competition last summer. Ace! Purcell’s was also the first House to sell freshly brewed bubble tea at September Saturday, which along with the knock-a-can stand was a smashing success, and yielded a higher margin for charity Per-sell than ever before.

Purcellites have better life skills than deni-zens from all the other (clearly inferior) houses, being the only House in which the girls all do their own laundry. Despite this, it continues to be a rampant breeding ground for feminists, contributing more speakers to Feminist Soci-ety than any other House. But we don’t hate men – the Upper School gave up half of their common room for the Lower Shell boys, and the whole House came together in St Edward’s Refectory for a lively trivia quiz.

At the same time the House retains its unique atmosphere as a girls’ boarding house in the evenings, hosting a number of movie and pizza nights in the Lady Chapel. Purcell’s is also a very musical house: the Purcell’s House Concert was bursting with variety, boasting a score of performances ranging from poetry recitals to DJ-ing, and 2 of the 7 finalists in the Westminster Musician of the Year Final were Purcellites, which is an overrepresentation by 314% (Purcell’s is also the best at maths).

Sadly, all good things must come to an end: our beloved Matron, Georgina White, who has kept everyone alive and sane since 2006 will be leaving us next term. We would

“ Our chimney is taller than Ashburnham’s ”MILNE’S

like to thank her immensely for everything she’s done for us, from making us peppermint tea when we’re ill to baking us unbeatably de-licious cakes and putting up with our messiness every day. We wish her all the best, and hope she has a wonderful time in France. But don’t worry – like Hydra, cut off one head and two more shall take its place. HAIL PURCELL’S!

MILNE’S

Here once again we sit, once again crown’d… To gild refined gold, to paint the lily…is wasteful and ridiculous excess. So it is with Milne’s. We need not embellish our triumphs. Truth is axiomatic. It would be almost truculent to dwell on our manifold achievements in the running arena; one comes to accept the unrelenting string of victories as an inexorable part of Milne’s life. However, victory in the Senior Towpath with the glorious taking of first and second place by Andreas Ioannou and Nicholas Clanchy, who went on to bring home the fastest time in the School at the Bringsty relays, must be stated. We had to settle for second place, an outré feeling, in House chess after conceding defeat against the English national team disguised as College. Despite being led by School’s sharpest shooter, Pip Frizzelle, the netball team were valiantly defeated in the final of the House competition leaving us runners-up for the second year in a row. Mellifluous performances from a third of the House, most notably our resident music scholars Ying Li and William Barrott, along with a rousing performance from Nicholas Kenny on the bagpipes, demonstrated Milne’s does not require the assistance of anoth-er House in order to boost numbers. Yet the aforesaid musings seem unable to capture the elusive essence of this particular House. Perhaps it is the fact that our chimney is taller than Ashburnham’s proving once again we are the greatest house in Dean’s Yard, for as you know, size matters. And though our wall paint and denizens may be protean our coruscating spirit remains endemic. And it is with such assiduous and modest spirit that we follow our glorious Scottish leader William Wallace Dr Hartley assisting our striving towards quintessence. Yes Wren’s, you may take our lives, you may temporarily take our Towpath trophy, but you’ll never take...our freedom! And we had one musical ace up our sleeve, as Carmen Traseira (MM) reveals next.

Lone Hartley’s Band Makes an AlbumIn December, as the school was preparing to break up for the Christmas holidays, a group of string players from the Westminster Symphony Orchestra helped record some of the backing track to ‘Doc Hartley’s’ forthcoming album,

‘Everybody Needs Some’.The entire process of rehearsing and

recording the string ensemble took just two days, with recording taking just an afternoon session. All of the rehearsals outside the studio were conducted by Joshua Ballance, the ex-Milnite Sixth Former, who has previous experience conducting small ensembles. The string arrangement was compiled by acclaimed composer and arranger Nick Ingman, whose musical studies began here at Westminster School in the 1960s. Since then Nick has worked with some of the most prestigious

names in the world of entertainment including Will.i.am, Paul McCartney and David Bowie, and has provided the music to many iconic and high profile records and films. It was a true privilege to work with such a distinguished composer. For the majority of us walking into Angel Studios was the first time we had been in a recording studio and at that moment we realised that recording music is very differ-ent to playing live. In the rehearsals we had already had to adjust our technique since, as a group of players, we were more accustomed to playing classical music; but it was only once we were in the studio and once the recording commenced that the differences between live and pre-recorded performance became clear. Accustomed to months of practising before large concerts, the approach to recording was unfamiliar to us all as it was one of trial and error, never playing the entire piece in one go. Steve Orchard, the sound mixer and engineer producing the album, would need numerous takes of the same section of a piece to ensure perfection, whereas when performing live you have just one chance. Despite the differences, we all enjoyed the challenge and are im-mensely grateful to Doc Hartley for such an incredible opportunity.

“ The only House in which the girls all do their own laundry”PURCELL’S

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David Hargreaves

David Hargreaves (or more affectionately ‘Greavsie’) arrived at Westminster for the start of Election Term 1986. Appointed by John Rae, he has served loyally under three Head Masters. David was – and still is – enormously proud to have been appointed to a Westmin-ster in whose heady atmosphere anything has seemed possible. For David, Westminster has been progressively more enjoyable – the moment of sublime fulfilment being his appointment to Grant’s where he was able finally to pursue the busy and dedicated job required of a boarding housemaster, even after suffering and recovering from a stroke in 2009. It hasn’t always been a smooth ride, but mega plays and an energetic school life allowed for impressive expiation. Amongst the young Turks, David was remarkably astute, articulate and willing to take the road less travelled, even if it risked opposition. His profile was hugely diligent and energetic but has matured into something busy but always affectionate and low-key. He has a word and an enquiry for all and really does love people.

David taught History for three years at Stamford after completing his PGCE at Ox-ford before arriving here. As a history teacher, David has been a modernist moving from political and diplomatic specialisms to a greater emphasis on social and cultural history. He is astonishingly well read and has brilliant recall of what he has found most useful, touching and perspicacious, both from historians and his wider literary reading. He has broadened his teaching through examining, writing text books as well as articles and letters on educa-tional themes for the national press. David’s personal literary enthusiasms have been part of his life both here and beyond. He loves the act of writing, once describing himself on a school expedition to France as a romancier (rather than a professeur) to the hotelier, so caught up was he in the art of fiction writing at that time. As a hugely knowledgeable, remarkably astute and objective teacher of History, David has never neglected the personal, moral and humanitar-ian dimension of the events and lives he covers and allows himself to be moved by them. It is no surprise perhaps that his favourite historian is Winston Churchill – an historian who for David typifies the reasonableness and emotional capacity required in the study of history. He has taught History by laying down clear arguments and delivers intelligible and authoritatively delivered views with conviction,

say, how, and even at which points within the site. The way he plans those trips, and seeks to anticipate all that could possibly arise to compromise the safety and enjoyment of the pupils, is a model of good practice; the success of the trip year on year demonstrates the pow-ers of anticipation he has developed.

His love of his subject has always been most dramatically demonstrated in the class-room, but, for four years as Head of Classics, he also marshalled his more organisationally-challenged colleagues with patience and sensitivity, whilst actively promoting and protecting the academic values he holds dear. Over many years Charles has been the lynchpin of the Election Dinner. Composer of many very witty classical epigrams: rehearser and manager to the performers: fount of knowledge upon the tradition and its modus operandi: we owe him appreciative thanks for regularly despatching us for the summer so richly entertained.

Charles became Housemaster in Busby’s within four years of arriving in the Com-mon Room in 1983, and thereby became the first housemaster to supervise a house where both boys and girls lived as boarders. Such an arrangement was not undertaken without considerable trepidation, and it needed precisely the combination of calm unflappability, strong leadership and good humour which Charles was able to bring to the job to be a success. He was genuinely interested in the individual qualities of the members of his House and energetically fostered their independence; equally, he ruled firmly by that quiet, penetrating, interrogatory style of his. Crises were defused quickly and with the minimum of ill-feeling – the irony in the quizzical look, with its wryly raised eyebrow, ensured full awareness of Charles’ genuine disapproval, but also that he was neither enamoured of power nor wielding it for its own sake! He was much loved as Housemaster, and truly the boys and girls within Busby’s felt a part of his extended family.

His instinctive flair in the classroom and his capacity for hard work are matched by his enduring professionalism. I always felt that there were moments during his years as Direc-tor of Studies where he would rather have been anywhere other than in a Senior Management meeting. However, that this was only ever a feeling, never confirmed by anything he said or did, is ample testament to his professional concern to get the job done well. What he did do in that context, beneficial to us all, was operate first and foremost as an educator with concern for the sensitive purveying of knowl-edge. That is a fine legacy.

His departure will leave an enormous hole in the fabric of the Westminster community, but I know he will have a whale of a time in his retirement: floreat!Andy Mylne

VALETE

Charles Low

When Charles Low leaves Westminster, the School will be losing the last direct personal link with a time long before the arrival of any present member of its community. As a pupil at the School, he witnessed the value of nurturing the individual, however eccentric, and of aspiring to academic excellence in its own right rather than as a means to an exam grade. Those same values he brought to all elements of his later, distinguished, career – teacher of Classics, Housemaster, Head of Department, and Director of Studies. With his departure, not only will the collective memory of the institution shrink by about 50%, but the Common Room will also lose one of its sagest educators and most brilliant teachers.

Charles is a very private person – self-contained and entirely free of pretension (he will hate the whole notion of a piece such as this!). But there is a strong (Westminster-nur-tured?) competitive streak to him, manifest in his pride in the powers of organisation and attention to detail which regularly put him several steps ahead of the rest of us. He himself embodies his firm belief that respect has to be earned by focused and thoughtful endeavour, rather than complacently expected as the entitlement of position or background. In front of a group of young people, his cha-risma, academic rigour and brilliant capacity to captivate his audience appear absolutely natural: and they may well be, but they are also the product of real labour. His unim-peachable knowledge of the classical languages is rooted in the rigour of his own training and in his own superb linguistic abilities; but it is also the result of his own ongoing intellectual engagement with Greek and Latin. His les-sons may be planned a term in advance, but actually he is always refining their content, and revels in the different ways in which a class dynamic develops. This combination of instinct and labour became clear to me over years of accompanying him on trips to his beloved Greece. As each site is approached, Charles falls silent – no reverie, but actually his way of working out precisely what he will

services conglomerate. She worked first as Business Development Manager in the healthcare branch, and ultimately as Head of Marketing in the industrial water sector.

She has an MBA from INSEAD, an MA in Russian from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and is currently completing an MA in Educa-tion. Last year she became involved with the charity IntoUniversity, mentoring primary school children in Brixton. She loves Chek-hov, English church music and learning new languages: she recently took GCSE Japanese.

Tom Cousins

Tom Cousins read Mathematics at Downing College, Cambridge, specialising in dynamical systems and its associated analytic methods. He furthered this interest by conducting a research project at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge, concluding in a publica-tion describing a novel fluid phenomenon. After graduating he joined a Research and Develop-ment group working for the French and UK Ministries of Defence; but don’t ask him about it if you want to be seen again.

During this time he began tutoring at a local school and rediscovered his love of being best in the class. Recognising his affection for the subject and the joy to be found in conveying this to others he decided to move into teaching. Outside the classroom Tom can best be described as a competent footballer whose playbook, as the 15Bs have no doubt discovered, bijects the empty set. He also av-idly enjoys drawing and looks forward to new challenges at Westminster.

Rachel-Emily Gibbons-Lejeune

Rachel-Emily Gibbons-Lejeune, known to colleagues as Red, joins the History of Art Department after two years as a teacher and Director of Studies at Mander Portman Woodward. She read Spanish and Italian at Cambridge, spending her year abroad exploring the secluded pueblos of Andalucía before teaching English in Pavia, Italy. She pursued her interest in the relationship between text and image at the Courtauld Institute, where she researched English fourteenth century Apocalypse manuscripts for her MA dissertation. She is pleased to be delving once more into the world of chivalry, crusades and grotesques through her teaching at Westminster. Red also enjoys sculpting, tailoring and origami.

Luke Lorimer

Luke has joined the Maths department. Originally from Dorset, he has lost his rustic accent since leaving the area. He spent five years at St John’s College, Cambridge, joining the PGCE course after four years of math-ematics. After completion of his teaching

qualification he joined the Mathematics Department at Fortismere School in North London. He is a keen badminton player and a passionate Scrabbler, having an extensive knowledge of words only containing vowels. He is an avid football fan and is apparently looking forward to Shola Ameobi tearing up the defenders of the world next summer.

Beverley Pannell

Beverley Pannell read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford, and has joined the Economics Department. Last year she taught Economics at the London Academy of Excellence in Stratford, where she also organised their external speaker pro-gramme. Before starting teaching, Beverley worked for a consulting firm and spent many weeks implementing finance systems in glamorous locations in the north of England. Through this experience she learnt a variety of things but primarily that she didn’t want to work in the City.

Dr Deneal Smith

Deneal Smith has joined the school as Under Master, and has a timetable teaching Maths. Having started a degree in mathemat-ics at St. John’s Cambridge, Dr Smith switched to astrophysics in his final year. He was able to stay in Cambridge for a further three years to do a PhD on cataclysmic variable stars. From there Winchester beckoned and he started teaching Physics and coaching football, hockey and cricket. He was an assistant housemaster and ran one of the boarding houses for a short time. He moved to Magdalen College School in Oxford in 2005 as Head of Sixth Form, becoming Director of Studies two years later. During this time he built up football from scratch, running the 1st XI, and in his final two years became housemaster of a day house.

Luke Tattersall

Luke Tattersall graduated from the University of Manchester in 1984 with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Physics. He took a PGCE in Physics and Mathematics at Manchester in 1985. Between 1993 and 1996 he did an MA in Education with the Open University. He worked at Gordonstoun School for 25 years as a teacher of Physics, Head of Physics, Study Skills coordinator and Housemaster before

leaving last year to take up his post teaching Physics at Westminster.

In addition to teaching in the classroom, he has been very active in the outdoors. He has a Mountain Leadership certificate and regularly took groups into the Highlands of Scotland for walking and camping expeditions. He has also coached climbing, canoeing, cross-country running and rugby in his time.

Dr Rob Wagner

Rob Wagner read Maths at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and began to specialise in quantum computation during his fourth year there. This led to him undertaking and completing a PhD at Leeds University in continuous variable quantum computation with his supervisor, Viv Kendon. His studies revealed to him a love of teaching Mathematics more than the research of the subject, so after completing a PGCE at Manchester University he arrived at Westminster eager to begin.

Rob’s extra-curricular preferences are of a sedentary nature; he has a very keen interest in card and board games. Bridge occupied a lot of his time in Leeds and he hopes to become involved in Bridge at school. While at Cam-bridge he was enthused enough to found and preside over the Origami Society, which sadly folded after he left.

Haitong Wang

Haitong Wang never planned to be a teacher. After graduating in China as an engineer, she came to the UK and studied Business Studies as many Chinese people do, with a career in banking or business in mind. By chance, 15 years ago, she had a job offer at SOAS as a Chinese teacher. And she loved the job! Since then she pursued a teaching career and gained her MA degree in language studies. She then set up and lectured Business Chinese for MBA students at London Business School and taught Chinese to British Diplomats at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She also worked part-time at the BBC World Service (Chinese Section) as a presenter. Missing her hometown Beijing, she left her jobs in London and worked at the British Embassy in Beijing as a Training Officer and set up in-country training there in 2008. Three years ago, she moved back to London and offered Chinese Business Culture training to international firms and organizations. She has had two textbooks published and her next book will be published in 2015.

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It is this kindness and self-effacing character that I will remember; Brian is always the first person to ask how you are first thing in the morning, regardless of how he might feel, and it is his ability to put others at ease that marks him out as an outstanding tutor and colleague.

Brian is extremely generous with his time, running the whole House during Expeditions, accompanying his tutees to Alston and offering to cover for his absent Housemaster at a mo-ment’s notice. However, it was during our trip to Alston that I saw at first hand the complete and utter respect that his tutees had for him. Most of my colleagues will know how noisy and draining Alston can be and yet I recall one occasion when I returned to the living room to find that Brian had all of his (usually highly energetic) tutees sat round in a circle, in total silence, teaching them the basics of sign lan-guage. This continued for some forty minutes before they then recited French poems to each other. Remarkable!

Perhaps the most heartfelt tribute to Brian’s work as a tutor in Wren’s came from an anony-mous member of his tutor group who, when comparing Houses at the end of their first term at Westminster said, “But why would you want to be any other House when we have the best tutor in the School?”. Brian is a hugely talented individual and I count myself as extremely for-tunate to have worked with, and learned from, such an impressive colleague.

Bijan Omrani

Bijan arrived at Westminster in 2010 and left for Brazil at Christmas 2013; such is his strength of personality and diversity of expertise, it is hard to believe he has not been here longer.

He has been, for those ten terms, at the heart of the Classics Department and its work, committed to his pupils and their wider education, but also, at all times, to his subject: an intensely scholarly man, he has always maintained the highest academic standards and enjoyed being part of Westminster’s proud Classical tradition.

Bijan is resolutely ‘old school’ in many ways: he insists upon the continuing validity of the ideal of the schoolmaster scholar, with a genuine academic hinterland and time to maintain it, and the combination of depth and range in his knowledge and interests is quite remarkable. Colleagues and pupils alike have taken great inspiration from this, and benefited enormously from his expertise – perhaps most notably in his Cultural Perspectives classes on mysticism and Afghanistan (recently described by pupils as ‘the highlight of the week’ and ‘the best thing I’ve done at Westminster’, respectively), or in his stalwart work running debating (and keeping up the school’s proud

record of victories in national competitions), or, perhaps most of all, in his editorship of the revived Camden – a liberal arts magazine allowing pupils (and some of their teachers) to write on a range of topics from across the humanities for a publication of the highest editorial and production standards, which has helped set the bar for what a ‘school magazine’ can be, alongside the already thriving Elizabe-than and the evergreen Hooke. Ever collegiate in his approach and generous with his time, Bijan has developed strong and productive links with colleagues from many other depart-ments which have helped Camden thrive.

Less publicized, perhaps, but just as significant, has been Bijan’s work for the Election Dinner, writing a string of beautifully crafted, sensitively conceived Latin Alcaics for departing colleagues, and making use of his considerable mastery of a range of metrical forms in English as well as Latin in contribut-ing to the full programme of post-prandial entertainments each year. Here, as elsewhere, he has been an integral part of a happy team – constructive, witty, always full of ideas – and he will be hugely missed. We hope, of course, that he will keep in touch (and not just to correct our scansion!), and that he will pay us a visit and continue to broaden our horizons over a Pig Board in The Old Star!Tom Edlin

Fiona Sharp adds:Bijan will be much missed by the Classics

Department, not least for his beautiful poetry. His Alcaics for departing colleagues were the best the genre can offer, audacious in conceit and brilliant in their detail. He was an inspira-tion to our brighter pupils in the classroom, showing how much can be achieved through scholarship, and expecting the same high standards from them. His Saturday lectures to the Sixth Form were every week a tour de force of information and interpretation, and deliv-ered with the same easy charisma in speaking. Often these lessons generated fierce debate, the pupils discussing the issues raised weeks later. The department is grateful to him too for his help with the Latin Play – an unforgettable highlight of his first term here – and for his hard work outside the timetable teaching prose composition to the Remove, and offering extra help to pupils when needed. We wish all the best for his PhD, and hope that he will return to lecture the Classical Society on Euripides and the Pre-Socratics.

Peter Cameron

Peter Cameron has taught the trumpet at Westminster School since September 1985, and was appointed Head of Brass in September 2002. Elsewhere, he has held teaching positions at Westminster Abbey Choir School, Roehampton Institute, University College School and The Latymer School.

Aside from teaching, Pete worked as a professional trumpet player for forty years, playing in the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast upon

Brian has brought boundless energy and enthusiasm to his classes. His scholarship and professionalism have commanded unfailing respect from both colleagues and pupils. It was little surprise that in 2008, following Maurice Lynn’s retirement, Brian was appointed Head of French, a role that he embraced with characteristic sensitivity, charm and aplomb. Never dogmatic in approach, he led the department by example. He listened carefully to concerns and requests from colleagues, of-fering support and advice, sometimes late into the night. Always keen for pupils to experience the ‘real thing’ under his leadership, he estab-lished the annual trip to Paris as part of the Lower School Expeditions programme and his passion for the city – combined with a truly encyclopaedic knowledge – has been infectious ever since: through language, literature and culture, Brian has delighted and inspired scores of pupils who might otherwise have chosen to mope around in a dank activity centre. Out-side the department, he has worked tirelessly on the extra-curricular front too, building up a loyal group of BSL learners, establishing a strong link with the Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children in King’s Cross.

The increased demand for Chinese teach-ing at Westminster recently provided an opening for Brian to take on a new challenge. Not one to sit around in the Common Room finding fault with new policy documents or duty rotas, he immediately took intensive Mandarin Chinese classes to get to grips with the basics, then immersed himself in the lan-guage and culture during a three-month study visit to China last summer. Over the past few years, Brian has played a pivotal role in the development of our exchange programme with Beijing High School Nº 4 too, as well as offering classes for the cultural component of the Pre-U Chinese course. Sadly for us all, Brian has now decided take a break from teaching next year to embark on yet more sinophilic adventures.

Should history repeat itself, we look for-ward to welcoming Brian back to Westmin-ster in about 2021. Until then, we bid our second farewell to a colleague who has been a tremendous source of knowledge and support over the past seven years, both academically and pastorally, whose friendship means a great deal to us all. John Witney

Simon Wurr adds:Brian has been a tutor in Wren’s since he

returned to Westminster in 2006 and has a very natural and even-handed way of dealing with people that brings out the very best in others. He listens intently and always responds with a calm authority; both I and his tutees valued his even-handed and rational advice.

healthy irony towards our world; though he cannot be thought of as ‘part of the fabric’, what on earth will a Greavsie-less Westminster be like? He is taking a brave leap into extensive travel, self-discovery and new educational fields and those who have been stimulated and en-tertained by his long presence here will surely be bewildered by the absence of this particular example of wisdom and humanity, a friend who so often made a point of greeting us and just asking how we were during a busy day. Richard Pyatt

Rory Forsyth, Grant’s Head of House, adds:

PDH is a legendary teacher, a phenomenal Housemaster and an even better man. He is always good company, be it up class, Yard, or the Grant’s TV room. Part of this can be attributed to his abilities as a raconteur, and his capacity to excite mirth in the most saturnine of teenagers with an amusingly framed phrase or vaudevillian facial expression. These quali-ties are unusual, and rightly celebrated – but nowhere near as unusual or celebrated as the unremitting warmth and care he bestows upon all he comes into contact with.

On several occasions, people who are new to the school and not Grantites have asked me who the incredibly friendly bald man with glasses is, and reacted jealously when I told them he was my Housemaster. This jealousy is warranted, as having an omnipres-ent and omnibenevolent Housemaster makes everything easier. From the moment I arrived in 2009 it was obvious that the entire Grant’s community held PDH in great affection. After the past five years, I can see why. Thank you, sir, for everything.

Fiona Sharp

Fiona Sharp is a talented Classicist, a passionate educator and a natural leader.

She was appointed in the days when an interview at Westminster did not necessar-ily include having to stand up and teach a lesson. We were fortunate that Fiona was required to teach, because it became apparent as soon as she started her lesson that here was an exceptional person; after that the actual interview was the merest formality. Since then so many pupils have benefited from her superb teaching. Her easy control, her clarity of explanation, her high standards and absolute professionalism have always been paramount; she has also embraced educational theory, and the buzzwords of the day – assessment for learning, differentiated teaching, formative assessment, IT – have all been straightfor-wardly absorbed into her delivery. Variety of approach characterises her lessons, too, with games and puzzles abounding, and her pupils have always felt secure and well-supported in her classroom.

Literary matters may be her love and her forte, but that has not stopped her learning to write the Latin Alcaic stanzas that have lauded many a departing colleague; she is one

of very few people in the world who have mastered this almost obsolete skill, which combines both the lit-erary and the linguistic in equal measure. Her passion for Classics has also led her into the arena of the Pre-U, where she is a leading figure and examiner. There is no literary

part of the Ancient World which she cannot bring to life – Latin or Greek, epic, history, lyric or philosophy – but I suspect that at heart she is a philhellene, embracing as she does both the ancient and the modern Greek experience. Indeed, she is now all but fluent in Modern Greek, and the rumour of her option on the archaeology of the Greek Bronze Age spread so far that she was asked to give a lecture on the topic to a group of parents.

As Head of Department she was kind, nurturing and thoughtful, and she managed to create a real sense of ‘team.’ Her reign was characterized by the introduction of organisa-tion and structures that then seemed revolu-tionary and now seem absolutely essential. She had endless patience with difficult pupils, and her ‘love-bombing’ would win round the most obstreperous.

Her passions do not end at the classroom door. She has sung for very many years with Cantandum. She is a seamstress, too; many a boy attended her ‘dress-making’ option and made pyjamas under her kindly guidance, and somehow it seemed not odd but rather appro-priate that her classroom should be strewn with sewing-machines. She also loves the adventure of the outdoor world. She and Peter are keen sailors, cyclists and climbers of mountains, and together they have passed their enthusiasms on to many pupils during expeditions.

Fiona has always been committed to devot-ing some of her holidays to the Classical cause. She has led innumerable reading parties to the West and North of the UK, but has also fre-quently explored Greece with groups of pupils in tow. There have been countless expeditions and study trips to the mainland, Rhodes and of course to her beloved Chios. No child ever escapes Fiona’s teaching without being able to place Chios on a map of the Aegean Sea!

Above all, perhaps, wherever she is Fiona exudes an infectious happiness and laughter and joy – she reaches out to people with ease and gives such pleasure by her company that everyone, pupil and colleague alike, will miss her very much. Charles Low

Brian Smith

Following seven years at the United World College of Southern Africa in Swaziland where he coordinated the IB programme, Brian returned to Westminster in 2006, much to the delight of his colleagues.

but this has also combined with a tremendous capacity to pour diplomatic oil on the troubled waters of those tricky issues which arise in all forums of school life.

David was an exemplary tutor up Rigaud’s between his arrival and 2007, taking particular pleasure in working under the housemaster-ship of John Arthur. Long before he took over Grant’s in 2007, David was employed as a peripatetic ‘super’ tutor: his skills and dedication too great to be confined to one house. He possessed the energy and focus to throw himself into a great range of activities and posts. As Common Room Secretary he worked in great amity with the then Registrar and President Tim Francis. He organized numerous stylish functions such as a great Cal-edonian evening. Tim and David also helped to run PHAB which he took over in 1995. He directed legendary plays and musicals such as The Mikado, A Man for All Seasons, Blithe Spirit, Guys and Dolls, Ghetto and An Even-ing with Gary Linacre. Grant’s is still com-mitted to the annual House Play thanks to his community thespian ardour. He ran cycling Expeditions and Options, still teaching the extremely popular psychoanalysis and moral relativism courses until last term. He ran the Sixth Form Entry programme and eventually became Head of Sixth Form steering the John Locke lecture programme brilliantly – Peter Mandelson and Lord Archer in the same term! Perhaps his crowning achievement was to get Tony Benn OW to address his old school. And yes, he has been a fully-fledged Station Master. He started the 3rd XI football team, running cross-country, athletics and marathons with zeal and efficiency. Indeed, he has always been in his working life a marathon man – he’s covered a great deal of ground here on foot and on wheels. He has often plumped for a vintage car rental weekend ‘spin’. In former days he owned a succession of powerful motorbikes and thought nothing of bombing down to Italy atop them – during the holidays that is – GREAVSIE emblazoned across that gift of a leather jacket from his pupils.

A fully empathetic response to the impact of events on personal lives has allowed David not only to teach well, but to counsel intel-ligently and sensitively pupils, parents, col-leagues and friends with remarkable dedication and considerate attention to detail. As a col-league in recent years David has been power-fully and sincerely supportive of younger staff and has always thought carefully about what makes pupils tick. He has a delightful gift for character study – part of his arsenal for pastoral work. Not surprisingly, his store of entertain-ing anecdote is rich and witty. He does have a great belief in himself and has clearly been ambitious, but he is fully aware of folly, hubris and our capacity to self-deceive in the little courts of public school life.

Teachers like David are in danger of mar-rying their school life, but despite living in the heart of Yard, David has cherished a wide circle of friends with affection and charity and been an impressive host, confidante and holiday companion. He has also managed to retain a >>

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TRAVELSinai 34Tokyo: Philip Hendy Travel Award 35Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award 36Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award 37Chile Exchange 38Munich Exchange 39Mountaineering in the Dolomites 40China Exchange 41Lyke Wake Walk 42Alston Cross Country Training Camp 42New York: Art Expedition 43Upper Shell in Russia 44Art History in Venice 44Upper Shell in Almuñécar 45Upper Shell in Cádiz 46Berlin Exchange 47Classics Residential Trip 48Berlin Exchange in London 48Lake District Walking 49USA Universities Expedition 49Jordan: Geography Expedition 50Aachen History Expedition 51Florence Art History 52Finland Ice Marathon 52Climbing in Sicily 53 Munich Exchange in London 53Upper School Russia Expedition 54Paris: Art History 55Paris French Exchange 55Geography on the Gower 56History in Istanbul 56Skiing in Les Menuires 58Fifth Form Greek Expedition 58Beijing Exchange 59India Expedition 60Battle Abbey History Conference 60

of London, Pete dashed through College and into Yard, desperate to locate the missing copy which he was keen not to leave lying around given the title of his piece, emblazoned at the head of the paper, read, ‘Fanfare for an Old Queen!’. Though he could not find the missing music, luckily for him neither did HM, and it was left to Dr Beavon to locate the copy which was eventually given to the Archives.

For almost thirty years, Pete has mentored the School’s brass players, and many fine instrumentalists have passed through his ranks. His pupils have developed not only a love of the trumpet but, more importantly, a love of life. Pete is a great example of the power of one-to-one tuition and the pastoral signifi-cance of the instrumental teacher. Pete now plans to spend much of his time at his house and olive grove with Mrs Cameron in the south of France. It is testament to his consider-able ability, charm and way with people that all of his pupils hold him in such high regard. He will be sorely missed, and never forgotten!Tim Garrard

Kevin Kyle

Another inspirational figure who leaves us this year is our Associate Choral Director and singing teacher, Kevin Kyle, who has been appointed Director of Music Performance at Mill Hill School.

Kevin arrived at Westminster in 2009, and has made a huge impact on the standard of singing here. In a short time he has organised a great number of song evenings, ranging from performances of Lieder cycles, such as Schubert’s Winterreise and Die schöne Müllerin, to Beatles nights, Gilbert and Sullivan evenings and concerts celebrating the music of Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. Kevin directed Purcell’s King Arthur in Westminster Abbey to great acclaim. He has directed the fifty-strong Chancel Choir since its inception and has overseen this choir’s rapid evolution, conduct-ing them in Abbey services, at larger services such as Big Commem and the Carol Service, and for the Choir’s inaugural evensong in the School Chapel.

Kevin is revered by the pupils and has in-spired Westminster’s singers with his positivity and charm. Such a reliable member of staff, he has never let the pupils down and can always be counted on. We will miss him greatly, and wish him and his family all the very best!Tim Garrard

completing his studies at the Royal College of Music. In 1972, he returned to London and worked as a free-lance trumpeter with the Royal Shake-speare Company, playing principal trumpet for their London productions. He then spent eight-een years performing in Les Miserables at the Palace Theatre.

The music facilities at Westminster have not always been as they are now, and Pete spent many years teaching the trumpet in Grant’s basement. Consequently, he has thoroughly enjoyed the Music Department’s relocation to the MMC in Tufton Street.

Throughout Pete’s tenure, he has enter-tained pupils and staff alike with his talent for story-telling and a mischievous sense of humour. For Westminster’s 450th Anniversary celebrations, Peter was tasked with marking HM Queen Elizabeth’s arrival in Yard with a fanfare, which he was to conduct from the roof of College. Pete composed his fanfare and assembled his brass playing pupils on the roof. Minutes before Her Majesty’s arrival, one of the copies of the printed music fell from its music stand and floated down into Yard. Anxious to avoid being banished to the Tower

Sharp

We’re grieved to see you leave our place when still Sharp as a tack; But (fashion) design does yet present a new front for attack!

Spurr

quadrupedes stimulat veloces rector equorumcalcare aerato; dux probus aequa facit,

praeceptor noster – sed Calcarr ipse magister!hortando gratus splendida saecla finit.

Swift horses does the rider goadWith bronze-constructed spur; and likewise doesOur wondrous Head – but is himself the Spurr!Still welcome in his Spurring now, he gives his shining age its bow.

Omrani

nunc abis Omrani; docuisti verba latina.Omranis nomen laudant pueri atque puellae;

facta viri tua nunc magni quoque maxime laudant;doctis ardenter laudant te cantibus omnes.

You now depart, Omrani; the Latin words you’ve taught.Both girls and boys acclaim your name,Men praise the works you’ve wrought;And all do keenly honour you with learned songs– (they ought!)

Low

nondum fecisti; – dimidios versus!

You haven’t finished here just yet; Half the couplet’s all you get!”Nicholas Stone (Upper Shell, BB)

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Sinai:

MAKING PEACE WITH FLIESIn 2013, the Chaplain travelled with Wind, Sand and Stars on their annual ‘Adventure into Silence’. This is his account of the spiritual journey to the Sinai desert.

By the fourth century AD, Egypt was a land of hermits and monks. They went to the desert to live a life turned continually towards God – more or less solitary, they were more or less silent. This is what I hoped to be able to do for a week in October 2013 in the Sinai desert an hour’s drive from St Catherine’s monastery, writes the Reverend Gavin Williams.

The idea was to spend each day alone in silence, albeit with some input after break-fast from the writer Sara Maitland (Author of A Book of Silence, 2008) and a reading at lunchtime which would otherwise be eaten in silence. With temperatures above 30C during the day, we each found ourselves a ‘hermitage’ in a shady nook. I had expected to want to read and took several books with me, includ-ing a collection of the sayings of the Desert Fathers. However, I discovered that to read, apart from the recitation of a few Psalms as an office, was to miss out on what desert solitude and silence has to offer.

But first one has to make peace with flies. Although the Sinai is largely empty of flora and fauna, where there are people there will be flies. They are persistent in seeking the salt and moisture on our bodies and are clearly delighted by our eyes, nose and mouth. They are excellent teachers. One must learn that they are just being flies or one is too distracted to eat, think or pray. The Bedouin head covering, the keffiyeh, is an essential piece of desert kit. It both protects the wearer from the sun and offers some relief from the friendly attention of flies. Other strategies for dealing with flies include the royal wave – one arm is in constant motion – or greeting them as old friends. The latter worked for me!

As the sun set each day, ten of us gathered around a fire to break our silence by reflecting on what had been good about the day. Some of the group said they had slept, one painted, one piled stones on top of each other. Like others more than sixteen centuries before us, we found that the desert was willing to teach us important lessons. In an arid wilderness one is compelled to pay attention to the smallest details if one is to survive. What is true physically is also true spiritually. Because the desert is trackless, each must find his own way to God, being alert to the landmarks. The Fathers say that God does not leave us wandering forever, but calls us back to the path, albeit on his terms, not on ours. And the desert changes those who are willing to learn. The Fathers learned humility, compas-sion, wisdom and joy and one sees this reflected in the character of the Bedouin who were our hosts as well as in the lives of the inheritors of the monastic tradition in the Eastern and West-ern Christian Churches.

After a simple vegetarian meal cooked by our Bedouin hosts, by 8.00pm we were ready to unroll our sleeping bags and lie looking up at the startlingly clear night sky until we fell asleep. Stars and constellations including the Milky Way were visible, with shooting stars an added bonus. By 5.00am it was light and with the light the flies returned, a strong incentive to get up for one’s first cup of Bedouin tea and to find ‘a lonely place’ to pray. There, as shafts of sunlight came into the wadi, it was possible to hold up a hand and to glimpse what Abba Lot meant about becoming all flame.

“ Abba Joseph came to Abba Lot and said to him, ‘Father, according to my strength I keep a moderate rule of prayer and fasting, quiet and meditation, and as far as I can I control my imagination; what more must I do?’ And the old man rose and held his hands towards the sky so that his fingers became like flames of fire and he said: ‘If you will, you shall become all flame.’” Benedicta Ward, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers (1975)

Tokyo: Philip Hendy Travel Award

EAST OF EDO

The wood-blocks, reproductions of which had travelled to Austria in the 19th Century, inspired masterpieces including Klimt’s Fischblut and Schiele’s landscapes, but I wanted to assess the legitimacy of the Secessionists’ romantic, second-hand per-ception of their origins. My induction into Japanese culture through Lost in Transla-tion and Memoirs of a Geisha completed, I embarked on a journey to the East.

Nothing had prepared me for Tokyo, for the singing subway stations, pet salamanders and pervasive preoccupation with beauty; from the temple gardens to the department stores, every detail had been arranged with a guiding artistic eye for presentation. The dazzling sea of neon signs and skyscraping overpasses can only be compared to the neo-noir vision of a futuristic Los Angeles in Blade Runner, and Gotham City in its more bewilderingly beguiling moments. In Tokyo I began my hunt for prints at the Ota Memo-rial Museum, Tokyo National Museum and Fuji Collection, and also visited the Bridgestone Museum which celebrates the

influence of Japonisme upon Western con-temporaries including Matisse, Redon and Manet. I also caught the Floating World exhibition at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, where I saw Hokusai’s famous ‘Thirty-Six Views’ series. These delicately composed prints portraying Japan’s most diverse geographical delights led me to alter my itinerary, in order to trace Hoku-sai’s path in a pilgrimage to the sites which had so inspired him.

In pursuit of Hokusai, I found myself at the former Chrysanthemum Throne beach resort of Kamakura, wandering past the ‘spring of immortality’ at Mount Fuji, and finally following Utagawa Hiroshige’s East Sea Road into Edo, the heart of the floating world’s shogunate court – known commonly as Kyoto. The clandestine tea-houses of the Gion geisha district and the sleeping canals which lined the Philoso-pher’s walk were relics of an era which long preceded the Secessionists; standing in poignant contrast to the reconstructed city raised from the ruins of Tokyo after the Second World War. I had reached Klimt’s Ver Sacrum, and returned with my own vision of Japan enriched through the perceptions of the ukiyo-e masters, the Secessionists, and Oscar Wilde. I would like to thank the History of Art Depart-ment for their support and encouragement for this project, and also the School Society granting me the travel scholarship which enabled my trip.

“ Delicately composed prints portraying Japan’s most diverse geographical delights”

In ‘The Decay of Lying’, Oscar Wilde declared: ‘If you set a picture by Hoku-sai, or Hokkei, or any of the great native painters, beside a real Japanese gentleman or lady, you will see that there is not the slightest resemblance between them. In fact the whole of Japan is a pure invention. There is no such country, there are no such people.’ Keen to contest these provocative notions in order to discover the authenticity of the Vien-nese Secessionist’s Oriental fantasy, I set out to Japan in pursuit of the ukiyo-e prints about which Wilde was so scathing, writes Lucy Fleming-Brown (MM).

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As the Duke of Edinburgh expedition set out to the Lake District, we were excited about what lay ahead after our prac-tice trip to the South Downs, reports a successful Stephen Horvath (BB).

We were led by Mr Hawken, who organ-ised the trip, and our two fabulous Interna-tional Mountain Leaders, Perry Symes and Jacques Moore-Hurley. We were taught many rough country skills by this army-trained and experienced pair. Our base was the Ambleside Youth Hostel, overlooking the largest lake in England, Windermere.

The fifteen of us were divided into three groups, and were set up with all the relevant kit. We covered around twenty kilometres each day, pitching our tents at a new site each night. Even though we had been given a great deal of talks about appropriate food including references to boil-in-a-bag, lots of calories,

and ‘morale boosting’, a variety of ‘interesting’ items emerged from bags at meals including huge quantities of fruit and nut mix, tinned crab, and large, dry-cured sausages.

Our hiking enabled us to see some of the

British Isles’ most beautiful valleys and lakes, talk to local farmers, and stop for a swim in a tarn with some friendly swans. Setting our own courses around only one or two daily check points meant teams had to take responsibility for plotting a safe and efficient route each day, and ensuring they actually walked somewhere near where they were supposed to be!

We arrived back at the hostel after three hard days, exhausted, and thankful that the skies had stayed rosy and our socks dry. We were then finally told by Jacques and Perry that we had all passed! The Duke of Edinburgh expedition gave all of us much more than a shiny badge for the CV: it taught us many new things on a practical level, as well as the important life skills of planning, endurance, and teamwork.

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For a hardy few, however, the plans had to be postponed for a few days as we travelled to the Brecon Beacons National Park for an expedition as part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award. We would have all cherished a rest but we piled into a minibus as soon as term ended and drove off to Wales. After a night in the Talybont Youth Hostel, we were up early to set off. The walking was good and the well-trodden paths of the Beacons came as a welcome change from city pavements. Hav-ing arrived at our first camping spot with time

to spare, we settled down for some relaxation only to be set upon by swarms of hellish crea-tures itching for blood. Midges. The second

day passing without event, we reached our campsite in the early afternoon and lay in the sunshine, closing the day with a fire and think-ing of summer.

By the third day, however, sleeping in a tent and contending with very basic toilet facilities had started to take its toll, and on the morning of the our last day we were up early with the intention of reaching the car park at Talybont in the early afternoon so that we could get back to London at a reasonable time.

Our route took us over Pen y Van, the highest point in the Brecon Beacons; we made good progress and after being debriefed by Mike, our adjudicator, we piled into the mini-van to go home. We had only travelled a short distance when Mr Ullathorne, who was driv-ing, complained of a sticky gear lever and we ground to a halt. After grappling with the gear stick Mr Ullathorne declared that we had lost the clutch and would have to stop. We limped on as far as Crickhowell, suffering only a few hair-raising moments and desperately trying not to change gears, and finally pulled over at 3 o’clock. By 4 o’clock, gathered around a radio, Andy Murray had won Wimbledon. At half past six a pick-up truck arrived to tow the minivan away. With a few people taking the train back, the rest of us squeezed into Dr Prentice’s minivan. We set off again with 16 people in a sardine tin on the hottest day of the year for a 4-hour drive down the M4. We were all very glad to see London.

“ Set upon by swarms of hellish creatures itching for blood”


With the void between the end of AS-level exams and Election Day filled by dreams of sum-mer adventures to come, the end of the Election term could not come soon enough for most of the Sixth Form, alleges Alex Bishop (LL).

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award:

MOUNTAIN RESCUE

Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award:

HAUTE CUISINE

“ A variety of ‘interesting’ items emerged from bags at meals”


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Munich German Exchange

GETTING THE JOKE AT LAST

Sometimes exhausting; often emotional; always exhilarating. Released into the clutches of an unknown family directly after touchdown, we had to survive the first weekend with the reassur-ing presence of ‘Papa’ Hennig, confess Ali Porteous (BB) and Erica Douglas (LL).

In his natural habitat, the German male may be observed sporting a full cycling outfit, a Weißbier in one hand and laughing, loudly. You will not understand the joke, but you laugh along, tucking into your Wurstsalat (‘salad’ being debatable) and asking for the Wi-Fi password. However, first impressions are deceptive, for it takes one weekend to realise the truth: they love their families above all and ensure their guests are never left wanting.

During the day we explored Munich with the fabulous four: Herr ‘Papa’ Hennig, ‘Bruder’ Julian, Frau MacMahon and Frau Griffiths.

Under their guidance we set out on each expe-dition with discerning eyes and debating lips. Debattles included: the magic of Kandinsky vs. the meticulousness of Canaletto; the refresh-ment of a ‘Radler’ vs. the richness of a Weißbier;

and the benefit of endurance hunting vs. the use of tools in dictating man’s evolution.

The trips ranged from a poignant visit to the Dachau concentration camp to the vivid Expressionist exhibitions of the Blue Rider art-ists. The city’s opera house was ostentatiously magnificent, the Allianx Stadium a football fan’s Shangri-La. The Olympic Tower now bears our signatures (and Fernando’s phone number) which will, hopefully, be found by future years of Westminster exchanges. Every piece of art, each cycle ride, sample of history and early morning has helped us to form our own outline of the German mentality.

A month to live in such close proximity has not only immeasurably improved our grasp of the language, even if a Bavarian accent is still baffling, but also provided us with invaluable memories and experiences that we will be hard pressed to forget. A tremendous thank you, not only to the families who adopted us so readily, but also to our teachers – who are the main reason this trip was such a resounding success.


Leaving the surprisingly hot London and the blistering Madrid in the Northern hemisphere, I was greeted in the Southern hemisphere with a freezing reminder of how far I had travelled. The initial meeting with my host family for the first time was a lovely and terrifying experience as my jet-lagged brain was unable to process the rapid Spanish warmly spoken to me by my new Chilean mother. The task set out before us grew in magnitude as our jet-lag set in and the news reached us that school was to begin the fol-lowing day at 8am, an effective 6am start that was not met with happiness, greeted with ‘ey weon’ by everyone. There was a general sense of summer sadness as the lack of winter attire was apparent among the group and be-ing at school in August can never be a joyous occasion. Yet the city offered exciting new challenges, the Spanish was tough and hard to

grasp and commonly resulted in charades to communicate with our hosts and the locals, which got messy, especially at the dinner table. It was a shame that some les-sons were in English and our new friends wanted to test their impeccable English against our lacklustre Spanish, a comical mismatch at times.

The excursions were really enthral-ling: the school was kind enough to let us visit the infamous and horrifying ‘Museo de la Memoria’, providing an insight into the true history of Chile which we were shielded from at Westminster. Most importantly on the Grange’s birthday, the noble English competed in a 5-a-side football tournament, which we won, to the great misery of our Chilean foes.

Having exhausted the numerous muse-ums and attractions, we decided to go skiing and then to the beach. The beach was a particularly fond memory, staying at a host family’s house and witnessing the sunset over the Pacific Ocean is something I will not forget in a hurry, revealing how beautiful this country truly is. We were lucky however, to have avoided any ‘ter-remotos’ (earthquakes). I have made some lifelong friends and a new family that I will cherish and, as assured by the Grange headmaster, it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

16 hours in the air, 4 hours in cars, 35 minutes on foot and 10 minutes on the Heathrow monorail resulted in one of the most interesting experi-ences of my life, claims Max Kehoe (WW), who counted every step of the way to Chile.

Chile Exchange 2013

HEAT EXCHANGER

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“ We decided to go skiing and then to the beach”

“ The Olympic Tower now bears our signatures”

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and it was worth it. The next day consisted of a long hike to the next refuge, which would be our base for the following two nights. We saw the first of many marmots along the way. Shortly before the refuge we came to a lake. Raining though it was, the afternoon storm was passing and we could not resist the clear alpine water. It was freezing.

On the Friday we attempted a second via ferrata and, though easier than the Via Tomeselli,

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Over the course of our trip to the Dolomites last summer we covered several different Alpine techniques, accompa-nied by our tuneful rendition of ‘The Sound of Music’, warble intrepid climbers Katharine Lyness (GG) and Chloe Casey (DD). Alex Bishop (LL) saw something amazing and even got a picture too.

We scaled a via ferrata, map-read our way over peaks and through valleys, and roped our-selves up to cross steep snow slopes. Via ferrata means ‘iron way’ and involves harnessing one-self to wire ropes fixed to the rocks and using them to climb otherwise impassable rock faces. These ropes were initially fixed by First World War soldiers, for whom the Dolomites, on the Austro-Italian border were a key battleground. It certainly put our own heavy bags in perspec-tive to think that soldiers on the mountains would carry 40kg rucksacks of explosives along this route, while under fire from snipers in the opposite mountain. Spotting some edelweiss, a protected species and national symbol, was cer-tainly a highlight, as was sliding down a steep snow slope and ascending a cliff face using metal ladders.

We had been promised that we would be attempting one of the slightly harder vie ferrate, the Via Tomeselli, rated 4+ out of 5. We met our guides for the day, two tanned, lean Italian men in their late twenties called Francesco and Isidoro, and were split into two groups of four. Looking up at the start of the via, I could see

the wartime ladders that had been put in by the Austrians. I was relieved to discover that we would not be using them. Our guide, who was the first to reach the face, clipped into a metal wire that was pinned onto the rock and followed the face round before disappearing out of sight. We began the ascent and what I had imagined would be a protected path with some

scrambling, turned out to be a tough scramble parallel to the old ladders. As we descended the mountain, by a very similar route to the ascent, an afternoon storm rolled in. Our guide assured us that this was characteristic of the Dolomites in the summer and that as long as we were almost off the vie by the time it hit then we would be fine. In the event we were running down a scree slope towards the path home when the lightning flashed over us.

Anne, another guide, had suggested that we get up to see the sunrise over the Dolomites

“ We were running down a scree slope towards the path home when the lightning flashed over us”

Mountaineering in the Dolomites

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN

we were all unprepared for how long the day was; just a few kilometres of walking sounds easy but the terrain that the vie are designed to cover makes it exhausting. The via was more like what I had expected, an extraordinary path cut into the rock up the side of a cliff face winding its way towards the summit of the mountain, crossing otherwise impassable terrain using bridges and planks. We reached the summit and turned for what we thought

“ Silhouetted against the blue sky, was an ibex”

was the return home, but the guides had other plans. Having dipped below the summit, we found ourselves climbing again towards a col that would allow us to scale the neighbouring peak before the day was out. Though it was summer in the Dolomites, snow still lay on the northern facing slopes, some covering the wire that we were clipped into to stop us from los-ing our footing and sliding thousands of feet to the valley floor below. At one such snow slope our guide decided that it would be too danger-ous to cross unaided and so we would need a rope. With a coil of rope over his shoulder he confidently stamped his way across the 10m or so of snow. We were told to clip into the rope and follow him across. Mr Fair and I were the first to make it to solid ground, in time to turn and see James Fage lose his footing and began to slide. He picked up speed at an astonishing rate: without the rope, which jerked him to a halt a few meters below where he had fallen, he could have slid an unimaginable distance to the valley below.

At the lip of the col, I looked up at the face that we would be scaling to reach the summit and there, silhouetted against the blue sky, was an ibex, a lone male steinbock with meter-long curved horns. According to our guides Dolomitic Ibex are becoming an increas-ingly rare sight. We climbed further along an extraordinary series of ladders, sculpted to fit around the living rock, and when we emerged on to the path at the top, there above us was the ibex still standing where it had been. We approached cautiously and Mr Fair even managed to get within a few feet before it scampered off and was gone.

In the evenings, we enjoyed the comfort of the mountain shelters – refugios – whose infinite supplies of delicious pasta and attractive alpine décor, as well as, of course, the scintillating conversation of Mr Fair, Mr Sharp, Mrs Sharp and Dr Boulton, helped us to recover from each day’s exertions.

A visit to Venice on the final day capped what was a truly exceptional trip. We all gained valuable mountain experience and are keen to return. Many thanks to Mr Sharp for his wonderful organisation and leadership.

China Exchange

MASHED POTATOES WITH CUSTARD

Twelve of them. And twelve of us. What would we make of our Chinese exchange partners as we hosted them for a week before the October Exeat? quaked Oliver Tuch (GG) and Rory Meryon (MM).

We soon found out. The Beijing High School Number Four pupils certainly kept us on our toes: be it their insistence on having half a dozen courses at every meal (how are they so slim?), their enjoyment of the combination of mashed potatoes and custard at school lunch (should we say something?) or their prowess in Maths (so there is something going for stereotypes). We found them invariably curious about just about everything and keen to improve their already impressive English.

Mr Edlin gave a superb tour of the Abbey. Unperturbed by the ban on photographs, they managed to take a number of selfies, whilst absorbing the encyclopaedic commen-tary. They enjoyed their trips: Greenwich, where they were amazed that they could walk on the grass; the British Museum for photos of grinning Chinese teens next to mum-mies, and Oxford, where Mr Smith arranged a private tour of Keble College.

We experienced a dose of Chinese protocol when a senior Diplomat and the Head of Beijing Number Four came to a reception in the Camden Room, an endless supply of speeches and presents at the ready.

All in all, the first half of the exchange was fascinating; being part of their adventure in England, as they experienced completely new things, just increased our excitement about our turn to explore China at Easter.

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Art Expedition

HIGH ON NEW YORK

We were in New York less than a week, writes George Kuhn (DD), but in that time we did a huge amount: testament to the enthusiasm for art displayed by the teachers and students.

There were so many highlights that it’s difficult to pick out only a few, especially as we were given the freedom to explore galleries at our own pace. Each person will have their own favourites and pieces which really sang for them. However there was the astonishing variety of art on display at MoMA, the outstanding scale of the Met and the unique view into American art afforded by the Whitney. We also experienced MoMA PS1, a unique exhibition space where you could feel the artists experimenting and pushing out into more unorthodox media, the Frick Collection, and the Guggenheim.

As if that wasn’t enough we were also set free to experience the art of New York itself; the colossal buildings and unique architecture of this crowded city. The High Line was beautiful at night, offering amazing views of the New York skyline. Nearby there was even more art in the form of exciting private galler-ies. All of our experiences were fantastic; from the limo-ride to Brooklyn Bridge to watching a basketball game.

My personal favourite part of the trip had to be the Brooklyn Art Library. This small space featured an amazing collection of sketchbooks created by people from all over the world. We had a lot of fun leafing through as many as we could in the time available and discovering some absolute gems, including a sketchbook put together by Westminster’s own Mr Woodman.

No expedition to America can be complete without experiencing the food. The food on this trip was totally consistent not only in how delicious it was but also in the ludicrous por-tion sizes. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as unable to eat as I did after that trip. Having said that being back in London has made me miss the diner breakfasts and burger joint dinners.

All in all it’s hard to imagine a more enjoy-able or educational school trip. I recommend it 100% it and would jump at the chance to go again.

Darkest October saw the inaugu-ral cross country training camp in Alston, pant athletes Tom Hill (QS) and Hugo Ramambason (QS).

Many miles were run and abs were hard-ened. Our ranks were decimated before we left: both Andreas Ioannou (captain) and Mary-Alice Davison (captain of girls) were injured during the Lyke Wake Walk. Despite this double setback, the trip saw large volumes of persiflage flow. The first day began with a classic train journey, includ-ing an impromptu exploration of Peterborough’s delights courtesy of Rupert Stuart-Smith. An ‘easy’ seven mile run upon arrival saw a further two of our runners, already limping after the infamous LWW, out of action for the next few sessions. A restful hour was spent reading, under the hawk-eyed supervision of Mr Walton, before the first of many core workouts to the pumping beat of David Guetta. Pre-dawn morning runs were followed by full English breakfasts, courtesy of Mr Walton and

Mrs Clanchy. Hill walks, in the pouring rain, were interspersed with more difficult interval sessions. Mr Wurr’s constant encouragement kept us going through the hardship, shouting through the sheets of rain ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going!’, ‘pain is weakness leaving the body’ and ‘Shakira-Shakira!’. Mr Wurr also enjoyed our two pub dinners, on each occasion slating Hugo for his poor pudding selection; the peach pavlova attracting particular scorn.

On the whole, the week was a perfect blend of brutality and board games. We can only thank Mrs Clanchy, Mr Walton and especially Mr Wurr for organising this great trip.

Alston Cross Country Training Camp

RUNNING COMMENTARY

Standing at the Osmotherley village cross at midnight, thirty walkers, with a support team of staff, had set off into the inky blackness and driving rain at the far Western edge of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, start-ing the traditional annual autumn walk. What followed can best be described by the header to Mr Sharp’s route card: ‘miles and miles of featureless bog’. As we walked along the track that led due north out of the village and uphill onto the moors, a fog began to descend and the visibility dropped sharply.

The fall was our team’s lowest mo-ment. After Mary-Alice had been taken off to hospital and we had joined with another team, we carried on, the hours rolled by and the rain never let up. At around 5am, with most people falling asleep as they walked, we reached the point where we were instructed to turn off an easy-to-navigate disused railway into a bog – a bog with breakfast on the other side. Even with the white way-markers sticking up out of the water, marking the path, the incessant rain meant the path was submerged

About an hour in, head torch on full beam, I strode out in front to try and set a pace when I heard a scream from behind me. Mary-Alice had tripped on a crack in the limestone pavement and broken her arm. For her, it was the end of the Lyke Wake Walk, recalls Alex Bishop (LL).

and the going was tough. We emerged, just as dawn was breaking over the moors (though, with heavy cloud cover, the only way of telling was from the faintly gathering light in the east) to find the minibuses, a small group of forlorn looking tents and Mr Davies in a three-piece tweed suit and duffle coat cooking breakfast. Though it was not particularly cold, most people were soaked through and frozen to the core. A breakfast of cold milk and cereal did not help to raise spirits much, but Mr Davies’s fabulous fried egg baps did. For others, this was the low point of the walk. By the time we set off again a total of 11 people had dropped out. That freezing hour was the last time we saw everyone together before the finish. Then we set off for the second

half, 8 hours after we had begun. After what seemed like an age, we reached the radio mast above the coast where Mr Sharp was waiting. Despite every-thing, relentless rain, fog, marshes and the broken arm, we had made it. We were taken from the end, by minibus, to Whitby Youth Hostel, a converted monastery connected to a sort of small stately home that is reputedly the most beautiful YHA in the country, where we ate spag bol and slept for hours.

“ That freezing hour was the last time we saw everyone together”

“ A perfect blend of brutal-ity and board games”

“ An amazing collection of sketchbooks created by people from all over the world”

Lyke Wake Walk

A LONG NIGHT’S JOURNEY INTO DAY

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Art History in Venice

COMPELLING WONDERThe first Remove to study Venice for the Art History Pre-U, we ar-rived in Venice by allegedly the only true way to enter the city, in a James Bond-style water taxi, reminisce Issy Rawlinson (GG) and Seb Darke (DD).

We skimmed past the ordinary vaporetti as the Campanile loomed ever larger over the city, then slowed to a suitably stately pace as we passed along the Grand Canal. The banks of palaces, like two lace collars on the river’s neck, were familiar from the classroom, but in this light, on this scale, felt entirely new.

Venice itself is compact, but what proved even more miraculous were the single spaces crammed full of the most beautiful buildings, richly articulated and bursting with intricate, compelling histories. Piazza San Marco, perhaps the most recognisable area in Venice, felt all the more wonderful now we were able to visit the architecture we had discussed in meticulous detail. That afternoon we visited the magnificent Palazzo Ducale and inimitable Basilica San Marco, a suitably grand introduc-tion to the city. It was wonderful to see the works we had studied at school in real life and in the context of their surroundings. We were also able to enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the entire city from the campanile, like Goethe, Byron and many before us.

The next day we were taken on a whirlwind tour of the city’s scuola and churches, unique and eclectic architectural examples housing some incredible paintings, such as Titian’s

A perennial favourite is the Feel Yourself Russian folk show. As we entered the hall in the ornate Nikolaevsky Palace, the front row lay open with all seats free. Sitting there, we thought we’d lucked out, while both teachers slunk to the back.

With their experience, they’d seen it coming – the audience participation. Slow-ly, different men were plucked reluctantly from their seats, and eventually the gaze fell upon a cowering Westminster. As he was hauled onto the stage, we began to relax, free of future engagement. It was clear from the victim’s unenthusiastic tread that we, a cruel audience, were enjoying his show more than he was. With a parting kiss from his comely partner, he sidled to the back, in the direction of the smirking teachers.

But this was only the first half. After the interval a figure dressed as two Eskimos began writhing about on stage, and it was only natural that the trend should continue: the figure duly fell onto the Westminsters in

the front row, now punished for their black humour, and a startled European or two. Leaving Feel Yourself Russian, most of us had actually been felt by a Russian.

Beyond this stereotypical tourist trap, we saw much more of St Petersburg and Mos-cow. The awesome guide, Lena, who took us round the capital, gave us the phrase ‘Russia, where are you going? No answer.’ Trapped between Europe and Asia, it has been pulled by both continents down different paths. McDonald’s golden arches adorn the streets, yet protesting will get you detained. Floating in limbo, it feels distinct from both Yeltsin’s grave and Lenin’s mausoleum, both in the tour schedule. This is a Russia that is fast de-veloping a complex and modern identity, and the trip is a vehicle to see not just old, historic architecture, but a new establishment.

Russia has a rich culture, and whilst you may not see its full extent in six days, we crammed lots of sights in: the Hermit-age, the Kremlin and the Moscow Metro to name a few. It always felt new and interest-ing, and constantly impressive despite our occasional relapses into Western food and the purchase of Chinese-made souvenirs.

Dipping into either city, you’ll only catch the main sights and it may feel like you’re glancing at a Potemkin village. But I’d thoroughly recommend the trip to any-one who wants to improve their Russian or skim the surface of a great nation’s culture.

Dr. Aplin and Mr. Jones are veterans of the Upper Shell Russian trip, with many years under their belts, divulges Julian Sunley (GG).

Upper Shell in Russia

FEELING RUSSIAN

“ The figure duly fell onto the Westminsters in the front row, now punished for their black humour”

Assumption and Tintoretto’s vast Crucifixion.

We also visited the Palazzo Rez-zonico, a building that embodied the period of Venice’s economic and political decline. While the first floor impressed, with its sprung-floored ballroom, trompe-l’oeil fancies, and wondrous Tiepolo frescoes, the taste of the 18th century Venetians was particularly effectively exemplified by what we unanimously agreed was the worst picture gallery ever, on the top floor of this remarkable palace.

The Peggy Guggenheim Museum offered a refreshingly modern break from the predominantly Renais-sance art we had seen up to this point, exhibiting a thrilling selection

of modern works in a beautiful and peaceful setting.

We sampled some typical Venetian entertainment that evening at an opera concert, which was an experience I’m sure none of us will forget. The sculpted ceilings and velvet walls of the Scuola Grande dei Carmini have been witness to many performers over the centuries, but perhaps none like this.

The Biennale on our final day was definitely a highlight of the trip. The sheer amount of space given over to each country allowed for some incred-ible installations to be exhibited, such as Mexico’s imposing pavilion in which a towering pile of rocks took up an entire room and spilled out of the very doorways.

However, despite the intensity of our learning, the trip also made us realise just how tight our group studying (and teaching) Art History has become, and it is voyages like these that will make us sad to leave such a brilliant department and teachers behind.

In October a group of nine Upper Shells embarked on a long journey to Almuñé-car in the south of Spain, puffs Adam Taranissi (DD).

Upper Shell in Almuñécar

SIESTA – THE SUN ALSO RISES

We finally arrived to be kindly greeted at the bus station by our host families for the week and at this point we sepa-rated from our teachers and the rest of the group.

Lessons started at 10 am every morning. We were split into two classes and we spent the morning until lunch time speaking just in Spanish with each other and our new teachers, Alberto and Miguel. For lunch, we returned to our families where we were served wonderfully cooked traditional Spanish meals. Afterwards we made our way back to the school where we would find prepared activities ranging from playing games on the beach to learning how to dance ‘El Flamenco’.

On the penultimate day of our trip we took a coach journey to the picturesque city of Granada. There we saw the overwhelming Alhambra Palace where we spent the majority of the day. Before we returned to Almuñécar, we spent some time on the main drag for some souvenir shopping and to walk around the beautiful streets of the Albaicín quarter.

To sum up our experience in Almuñécar in one word is impossible. We were all sad when we left – we had had lots of fun and learnt so much. There was always plenty to do, from exploring the twisting backstreets to simply relaxing at the beach. It was a great trip and the teachers who took it made it even better! Many thanks to Miss Leech and Mr Coward for organising and accompanying the trip with such good humour.

“ A towering pile of rocks took up an entire room”

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Terse handshakes and nods, interspersed with the occa-sional ‘wie geht es dir?’, dom-inated the early encounters with our German exchange partners, reveal Kent Vainio (GG) and Matteo Pozzi (AHH).

But after being whisked away from the airport and riding home, while trying to convince ourselves that our German was improving by the minute, we tucked into a classic German supper with our welcoming exchange families. The rest of the evening then passed effortlessly away, with the famous Berlin ‘Festival of Lights’ on the menu.

Sunday was a family day – some went to an ice hockey match, others to a flea market selling competitively priced ‘currywurst’, and some to try their hand, hilariously, at karaoke. We passed the time away chatting amongst ourselves as the ice thawed between the British and German groups.

For the rest of the week breakfast was followed by ‘Beethoven Schule’. Some of us were thrown straight into the fire with a recital of Schiller’s ‘Kabale und Liebe’ in a German literature lesson, whereas others had to sit passively through an English lesson. The af-ternoon was dedicated to sightseeing and over the five days in Berlin we had the opportunity

taking us, who allowed us to experience Cádiz ourselves for hours in the afternoons. Much of this time was spent on the beach playing pro-gressively more heated games of football in the sand, to the distress of any nearby sunbathers, with occasional breaks to get an ice cream or retrieve the ball from the sea or the road.

All-in-all it was a great trip with plenty of time to enjoy the weather on the beach, or watch the sun set across the Atlantic from a favourite beachside bar. I’d like to thank Miss Rutherford and Mr Baldock for a great and remarkably relaxing trip, which was much needed after the stresses of the first half of term.

“ The Brandenburger Tor rendered completely in chocolate”

Upper Shell in Cádiz

OFF THE LEASH

Despite worries about the Gibraltan-Spanish border in October, our small group of Upper Shell Spanish students passed through with ease and set off for Cádiz, where we were to meet our host families for the next week, writes a relieved Eduardo Strike (DD).

Any anxiety as to what our hosts might be like was washed away by the overwhelming sunlight, which, emerging from the rains of autumn was enough to lift everyone’s spirits. Our hosts were very warm and allowed us the freedom to explore the city when we weren’t doing prearranged activities. Despite their lack of English, and our lack of understand-able Spanish, we were able to communicate surprisingly well, and there were very few awkward meal times.

One of the best parts of the trip for me was the freedom to explore Cádiz, which was given both by our host families and by the teachers

to see some remarkable historical monuments. We admired the view from the top of the ‘Panorama Punkt’ tower on Postdamer Platz, and we were treated to an artistic view over the Berlin Wall at the ‘Mauer Panorama’. We also visited Berlin’s most famous confectionery shop and beheld the wonders of the Branden-burger Tor rendered completely in chocolate.

We left our families to return back to London, with the exchange set to continue in November. I speak for all of us when I say the exchange has been a great experience in terms of developing new language skills – and new friendships.

Berlin Exchange

TERSE AND WURST

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USA Universities Expedition

THE ONLY WAY IS IVY!

To anyone querying whether or not to go on Westminster’s US Colleges trip, ponder no further, as your decision should certainly be yes! contends Charles Symonds (AAH).

We spent our first several days in Philadel-phia where we had the opportunity to discover the city, either by wandering its historic and cultural streets, or via a guided bus tour. I found the Philly Murals extraordinary and we had the chance to watch a Capoeira fight, which was fantastic. On top of this, we toured UPenn and Swarthmore, two very different yet prestigious universities. Then we rented two cars and we were off on our East Coast road trip.

On Tuesday we toured Princeton, which as one would expect, was absolutely stunning. The architecture was outstanding and the town beautiful. We had an information session and a tour of the vast campus. We then travelled

Classics Residential Trip

HIDING FROM THE UNSEEN

One would not expect a school expedition to end with one teacher being given a pink onesie, and the other a squeaking toy chicken, claim Stephen Horvath (BB) and Shiv Bhardwaj (HH).

Then again, the Classics residential trip to Cumbria was no ordinary trip: it was a journey worthy of an epic poem itself, tak-ing us to Carlisle’s fast food junctions and Hexham’s masterpiece: the Waitrose.

We were privileged to stay in the Bird-oswald Roman Fort, maintained by the Na-tional Trust. Out of our windows we could see the only basilica erected for the training of Legionaries in the entire Roman Empire. On the Monday, small children under the guidance of Maximus the Roman centurion invaded the centre, wielding plastic swords. Sadly this practice then spread to our group, and many a sword was raised in frustration at a nasty bit of syntax.

The Remove had the immense joy of doing numerous past papers and unseens to prepare for the Oxford aptitude test. Meanwhile the Upper Shell explored some further parts of the Odyssey, enhancing their understanding of their set text. We set off in the afternoons for exciting excursions under

Written by the students as a group.

In November we spent a wonderful week with our host families and our exchange partners in London. After their visit in October we were happy to see them again and looked forward to another great week with them and the chance to improve our language.

It was an exciting experience to get to know their daily life at Westminster School. In our opinion it was very interesting to see the different working standards in London compared to ours at our school in Berlin.

Over the time in London we visited many places, like Westminster Abbey in which we took part in the school assembly on Monday morning. We also took a boat tour on the river Thames and went to the Docklands, Camden Market, Brick Lane, Buckingham Palace, the National Gallery and many other places.

After our daily excursions, in the afternoon our exchange partners showed us ‘their’ London. We also went bowling and to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park with the whole group which was great fun! Spending one week in London was great for every one of us. The families’ hospital-ity and friendliness made it easy for us to be in a foreign country and everybody will remember this exchange for a long time.

We cannot recommend the exchange between Westminster and Berlin highly enough to everyone who wants to improve their language skills, explore another culture and have lots of fun. Thanks to the teachers and families who gave us this wonderful opportunity!

Berlin Exchange in London

TRAVELLERS’ TALES

Mr Ireland’s guidance. The group was able to explore original Roman toilets at a fort: the plumbing still works today, though we were not allowed to test this first-hand. Our walks along Hadrian’s Wall allowed us to see several milecastles and forts, and to discover what was called “dry rain.” While JAI ea-gerly marked translations and prepared our Odyssean hikes, Ms Radice was busy dis-mantling the numerous ‘rave caves’ erected by the Remove in order to hide from the horrors of yet another gruelling unseen.

Undoubtedly the most enjoyable part of the trip was the evening tragedy readings and discussions. The reading was packed with enthusiasm (no names mentioned), and it really did feel as if we were in Thebes. We looked at three plays over the course of the trip: The Medea, The Agamemnon, and The Antigone. Having such a diverse ‘group of all abilities, years and genders’ enabled our discussions to be rich with novel approaches and analysis.

“ The families’ hospitality and friendliness made it easy for us to be in a foreign country”

to New York City, where we met with some OWW and several students on the Art trip, attended a cocktail party with some Westmin-ster Benefactors at the Union Club, and toured NYU and took classes at Columbia.

On Friday we left New York very early, yet with enough time to grab a quick bagel and Peach Ice Tea Diet Snapple, and toured Brown and Yale, unfortunately missing a lecture by satirical political commentator Stephen Colbert by an hour or so. The next day we toured Har-vard and MIT with the rowers and an OW.

Finally on Sunday, we went sightseeing around Boston. We explored the Quincy mar-ket for several hours. Overall it was an amazing

“ We had the chance to watch a Capoeira fight, which was fantastic”

“ My jacket and gloves were considerably less waterproof than advertised”

This, combined with terrifying stories of university interviews from the Remove, kept me frightened enough for the seven hour trip up to the Lake District to pass quickly.

The first day of walking commenced at a slate quarry, with great optimism and en-thusiasm. The light showers we had expected from the weather forecast quickly worsened

however, and visibility decreased until all we could do was trudge along the few metres of track we could see before us. After 10 minutes, I began to find that my jacket and gloves were considerably less waterproof than advertised.

Around the point I was discovering my gear was better at holding water in than keep-ing it out, a small slate cottage jumped out of

the mist. We entered, seeking shelter. With some relief I saw that I wasn’t the only one: everyone else was a walking puddle too.

Once you’re saturated enough, you just stop caring. Not even twenty-metre visibil-ity and a constant drizzle could dampen our spirits, and we soared up and down the hills, returning to the hostel after six hours of walk-ing. Although the ‘drying’ room there was certainly warm, it was definitely not dry. We resigned ourselves to it, knowing that at least warm damp gloves were slightly better than cold damp gloves.

If the first day was rain-filled, the second belonged to the wind. After battling up several kilometres of path and over one small waterfall, we were finally on a mountain with a view, and a very high wind speed. So out came the cameras, and with them, the “mountain-selfies”.

Excellent navigation from Mr Ullathorne and Italian card games with Dr Prentice en-sured this trip was a brilliant success.

It was with a certain amount of trepidation that I realised I was the only walker who wasn’t already a veteran of this trip, admits Matthew Budd (DD).

Lake District Walking

SOME TIME WALKING, NOT UNSEEN

trip that helped all of us form our own opin-ions regarding each university, none of which would have been possible without the massive efforts made by Mr Berg and Dr Buchanan.


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Aachen History Expedition

OPERATION PIP (OR CORE)

Period one on a Monday morning. MR MANN is covering DR BROWN’S Charle-magne set. He sits comfortably on a desk slightly stage left and explains the arrangements for the imminent class trip to Aachen. DR BROWN stealthily enters from upstage left carrying a bag.

MR MANN: One night should more than suffice. There isn’t all that much to see in Aachen. It has a beautiful core, but the rest is an industrial –

DR BROWN: (delightedly aghast) Core? It isn’t a core! A beautiful, magnificent pip maybe, but not a core.

Our expedition to the administrative and religious pip of Charlemagne’s empire suffered an early setback, as we discovered Dr Brown was unable to spearhead the campaign. Un-deterred, however, and with Dr Wang joining Mr Mann at the helm, we assembled at 5 am on Valentine’s Day. Each voyager – equipped with little more than a spare change of under-wear, a notebook and a pen – was ready for the two-day blitz-tour of Aachen – a scholastic smash-and-grab.

Cologne was our first port of call. There we plundered knowledge from her cathedral (in which the bones of the Three Wise Men

are said to lie), pillaged nuggets of history from her famous Romano-Germanic Museum, and drained her supplies of top-fermented Kölscha-Kola.

Soon we were in Aachen, standing in awe beneath the original eighth century bronze doors of the Imperial Cathedral. Mr Mann, our battle-hardened leader, intimately stroked the manes of the lion doorknockers and outlined our plan of attack. The omens were good.

Having set up camp at a respectable three-star hotel and acclimatised ourselves to the west German drizzle, we gathered – like a witan of old – for a hearty hop-full feast at the Goldene Schwann.

Nourished and rested, we were primed for the second day’s action. First we had a tour of the town hall, from which, just like Charlemagne 1,200 years ago, we could gaze across to the magnificent cathedral opposite and down to the courtyard that lay between. Charlemagne had his palace-complex built at Aachen because of the town’s thermal springs; and we honoured the emperor’s pastime delights by taking a brisk dip in the baths. Finally, we breached the cathedral gates, but – for all our warrior spirit – were humbled by the effortless majesty of the church.

Charlemagne would have been proud that over a millennium after its construction his cathedral still carried the same power to over-awe all those who entered – even a sceptical contingent of Westminsters.

Ali Porteous (BB) has a dream of History on a swift European incursion to Charlemagne’s home town.


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“ We honoured the emper-or’s pastime delights by taking a brisk dip in the baths”

Landing in Amman many of us were relieved to have made it over the militarised stretch of Israeli air space but what greeted us was a new airport and some surprisingly friendly security staff, say Harry Spillane (DD) and Ollie Iselin (BB).

We spent the first day looking at the religious sites of Mt Nebo, where Moses is supposedly buried, and St George’s Church, which has a miracle painting of the Virgin Mary with a rather curious blue hand that just appeared there one day!

In the afternoon we visited the Dead Sea in which one floats no matter how hard you try to sink and some of us even ventured a large Jordanian rub revitalising mud into us: an interesting experience. We saw Petra and its splendid carved rock facades, hiking to the top of a hill where a sacrificial altar stands, upon which Clem was brave enough to lie and have a Jordanian lady brandish a knife at him. Everything in Jordan cost two

Geography Expedition

TREADING THE VERGE OF JORDAN

dinar, including rocks, which many locals try to sell despite there being a plentiful supply on the ground. So, having stocked up on 2 dinar snacks we prepared to head off into the Wadi Rum for our hike. The next morning a large group of Westminsters, two tonnes of flat bread and a tonne of hummus ventured into the desert. We hiked through the carved Wadi and over the large flat dunes which, along with a mushroom pedestal, the Remove geogra-phers were overly excited to see after studying their formation at A-Level.

After three days in the desert we had all grown accustomed to the quiet nights under the stars, lack of toilets and were loving the diet and Alghazaleen tea. Miss Leonard took the role of fire warden and in doing so burnt through at least half of the Wadi Rum’s sparse vegetation and we played Ultimate Frisbee which really brought out our competitive side, or at least Mr Wurr’s and Mr Botton’s competitive side! Having said goodbye to our Bedouin guide, Harb, a man who really un-derstood the desert and what it took to survive there, as well as owning some of the best track suits and hats we’ve ever seen, we ventured off to Aqaba where showers awaited us.

The bustling city of Aqaba is full of shops selling cashew nuts, spices, cashew nuts and cashew nuts which most of us bought in bulk to bring home. Special thanks must be paid not only to the school staff but to our Far Frontier guide, Dave, and Jordanian guide, Ibrahim, who showed us the best of Jordan. The trip was a chance to see a different cul-ture, look at some astonishing landforms and historic sites and for some to try a Jordanian McDonalds. It is certainly a trip that all of us will always remember.

“ Everything in Jordan cost two dinar, including rocks, which many locals try to sell”


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We’d like to say that we ar-rived in Florence with Vasari as our only guide. But to do so would be unfair to Mr Walton and Mrs Gibbons-Lejeune; they gave ten Remove art historians a more moving picture of the city’s Renais-sance than a flick through that Tuscan’s book could ever have provided, confirm Lucy Fleming-Brown (MM) and Lucas Wessling (PP).

Some of their methods were similar: we students needed to take information on trust, rather as Vasari expects his readers to do, but the instruction was so erudite – always light-of-touch, always just so – that we left our academic skepticism at the church door. We prepared ourselves to be led, and that by peo-ple who knew what they were talking about.

This was education at its most inspired. The trip was extra-curricular – there were no bullet-points to constrain our thoughts, no exam board to tell us where to look – and we like to think that, as a group, we made the most of that fact. At times, it stood out: Mali Baden-Powell with his sound system leading a group of dancers along the Arno set new against old, but one thinks the ghosts of Florentine history would have approved – we imagined Grand Duke Cosimo in the Uffizi corridor, hunching forward due to the weight of his shoulder mus-cles, as in the Bronzino likeness, and surround-ed by staid examples of his family’s portrait-collection. No doubt he would have smiled had he looked down on to the riverbank.

Mostly, however, it was our eyes that did the dancing, no less joyously. They contem-plated Fra’ Angelico’s frescoes at the Monas-tery of San Marco, rushed through the Uffizi treasures, and stood before Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise. Though for centuries Florentines had banked with ducats we measured wealth by arancini. This meant fingers up to the Medici – we too could be rich and have golden balls! Even more prized were Mrs Gibbons-Lejeune’s binoculars with their lenses pointed upwards, searchingly, looking to see what cannot normally be seen.

Castiglione’s concept of sprezzatura holds that the essence of style is the appearance of effortless beauty. It has little to do with luck and everything to do with practice. When we entered the Pazzi Chapel it was clear that Brunelleschi had it in spades. Thinking about

the trip, however, another moment of sprez-zatura echoes more resoundingly in our minds: a group of us stood in the Church of Santa Croce before the tomb of Leonardo Bruni,

humanist scholar and Chancellor of Florence, puzzling over his epitaph: a Latin quatrain in perfect hexameter. Seconds passed. Com-ing out from the nave, Mr Walton appeared behind us and whispered – ever so quietly – an elegant translation into our ears.

“ It was our eyes that did the dancing”

Every day we had two or three lessons with Westminster teachers. Beforehand we had chosen subjects we really wanted to attend and the teachers included us very nicely in their classes. Between break and lunch we had time to catch up on our homework from Germany. In the afternoons we went on trips in and around London, including the Houses of Parliament and a huge number of museums. We also had time to do three day trips to Green-

wich, Hampton Court and Oxford. Tours of the amazing School archives and Westminster Abbey were highly informative and we re-ally appreciated the teachers taking time out of their busy schedule to accommodate us.

Arriving in the UK excitedly, we were welcomed warmly by our partners from the Sixth Form and their families. The next morning Mr Hennig showed us around the school – Everything was just breath-taking: the size, the location and the history of the school – and for the next four weeks we would be part of that, report Sarah Fritzenschaft, Stefanie Januschko, and Katharina Schulz, exchange students.

We were also offered the op-portunity to take part in extra-curricular activities such as Station and music ensembles and some of us were even able to perform in concerts and play in sports competitions. Going to Abbey, As-semblies, Latin Prayers, John Locke lectures and Higher Education talks made us feel like Westminster students, not tourists. The Greaze was another Westminster highlight for us and we find it amazing that this tradition still exists.

We all had a really fantastic time and enjoyed every minute at Westminster, so we want to express our deep gratitude to everyone who made this great experience pos-sible, most notably our wonderful host families. Thank you so much! We are really looking forward to welcoming our partners in the summer.

“ We find it amazing that this tradition still exists”

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Florence Art History

A TIME TO DANCE

FINLAND ICE MARATHON

Climbing in Sicily

CIAO BELLA

As we stepped off the plane into the sun, we were all glad to have left the grim British winter behind us, reveals Harry Lewis (LL), on his way to climb in the Sicilian hills as the culminating trip of years of school climbing.

Within minutes, shirts were off and ‘psyche was on’. Already we could see mountains towering over the airport. Spirits remained high through our hour-long ‘15-minute drive’ to the hostel, and if there was any doubt as to the morale of the group on arrival it was swiftly swept away by the enormous pizzas that were laid before us.

In the morning, the sweeping views of mountains and ocean could not fail to impress. After a refreshing dip in the sea and getting briefly acquainted with the local feline popu-lation, we headed out to the crag to start climbing. The next few days went quickly, cranking gnarly routes under the watchful eyes of our instructor Andrey, himself an ardent ‘hard-man’, and of course all the while sharing spectacular banter with Dr AK and Mr Tattersall.

Days of hard climbing had left us weary, so we took a rest day and embarked on the long journey to Syracuse, the birthplace of Archimedes. Here we explored the beautiful Old Town and sat down to pizza and chips, proclaimed by Dr AK as the ‘best lunch he had eaten anywhere in the world.’ Having rested our limbs and satisfied our thirst for academia, we headed back out to the crags and recom-menced our climbing, interspersed with games of mafia (tactfully retitled ‘The Westminster game’) and sound-tracked by Archie’s relaxing electro-swing music.

Alas, the week eventually came to an end, but we returned to London’s icy wastelands feeling refreshed, and psyched. The trip made a fitting conclusion to a long series of climbing expeditions that I have been on and enjoyed with the school, and I hope that future generations of climbers can have a similar privilege.

Munich Exchange in London

HAVING A GREAT TIME!

“ We headed out to the crag to start climbing”


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Paris: Art History

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

Arriving in Paris with just enough time to drop our lug-gage at the hotel, we spent the first evening exploring the Louvre. Surrounded by some of the world’s most renowned art works, it seemed that we had barely scratched the surface of what the museum has to offer in just two hours, admits Sophie Steyn (AHH).

The next morning we travelled into the suburbs to the Basilica of St. Denis, an abbey famous as the first example of Medieval Gothic architecture. We had some time to walk around Paris by ourselves, spending the after-noon in the Musee D’Orsay amongst some of the most celebrated Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in the world. In the evening, we visited Notre-Dame Cathedral, and went on to a classical music concert in Ste Chapelle, a 13th century chapel in central Paris. It was a small venue and a unique experience, as the audience sat under light from eight-hundred-year-old stained glass windows.

Sunday began at the Centre Pompidou, the largest modern art museum in Europe and home to names like Picasso, Matisse and Warhol. The building, which was constructed in the 70s, is as innovative as the art within. We had lunch in the area, before travelling to the Rodin Museum. For the next couple of hours, we wandered through originals of Ro-din’s most extraordinary sculpture, and spent some time in the equally beautiful gardens. On Sunday evening, we split up for a few hours and went out for dinner, before meeting in front of Notre-Dame and heading to a jazz club for a night of dancing. With a live band and everyone participating, it was a fantastic evening. Although the teachers couldn’t find it in themselves to join us on the floor, a group effort was enough to charm the locals. Even after two hours, it took a lot for our teachers to drag us from the building.

The last stop of the trip, was the museum Jacquemart-André, an eighteenth century private collection. That afternoon was spent in-dependently, making the most of the little time we had left in Paris, before leaving from the Gare du Nord. It was an amazing weekend, and the Art History students would like to thank Dr. Cockburn, Mrs. Gibbons-Lejeune and Mr. Walton for such a wonderful trip to Paris.

In the Easter Holidays, Sixth Form Russianists flew off to St. Petersburg to spend two weeks developing their knowledge of the language and getting to know the City’s interesting culture, whilst staying with very accommodating Russian fami-lies, confirms Katie Harris (GG).

At the end of a long day, students could come home to practise around the dinner table what they had learned at language school. Amongst the many topics of conversation, which ranged widely from the weather to the current political situation in the Ukraine, students could discuss with their hosts the great sights they had seen and the fascinat-ing museums they had visited. As for dinner itself, guests were treated to national delicacies such as borsht, and kasha (porridge, of which there are many types – one is usually eaten at breakfast – another is made of buckwheat and is eaten at dinner). After feasting on the delicious offerings, we spent several evenings out on various cultural excursions. Trips to concerts of traditional Russian folk music and jazz were thoroughly enjoyed by both pupils and teachers. However, the most entertaining of all was the performance of Donizetti’s comic opera ‘Peter the Great’: this production was sung in both Italian and Russian to ‘help’ communicate the

complex plot, and it also featured numerous dancing chickens, a feature which will stay with the students for a long time to come.

Joking aside, we found the trip to St. Petersburg a really rewarding experience. Per-sonally, I found that my confidence in speaking the language grew massively, which is key to mastering a language that requires pretty much every single word to be conjugated or declined in one way or another. Language school proved to be really rewarding and, surprisingly, rather fun. We learned more about the history of the

City and tried to nail down tricky bits of gram-mar and more advanced vocabulary. We even ventured into the world of political debate and, on occasion, we watched Russian rom-coms…

However, we learned most about the culture and origins of the city from the sight-seeing trips, which were carefully organised by our very learned (and patient) teachers, Dr. Aplin and Mr. Jones. We visited the world-famous Hermitage, situated in Palace Square with the Alexan-der Column, as well as going to the Russian Museum, the Peter and Paul Fortress, Pushkin’s apartment, the Yusopov Palace, Pavlovsk Park, the Kazan Cathedral, and Saint Isaac’s Cathe-dral, to mention but a few. By walking along the scenic banks of the great river Neva and all around the beautiful city, you could admire the remarkable influences of Imperial Rome in St. Petersburg, known as the ‘Fourth Rome’, as well as its many striking monuments. A particular favourite of the group was the ‘Bronze Horseman’, the statue commissioned by Cath-erine II in honour of Peter the Great, taking its name from Pushkin’s epic poem, which we had studied in class prior to going to St. Petersburg.

Overall, the trip was a fantastic and thor-oughly worthwhile experience for everyone who went, and we are very grateful to the teachers for giving us such a great opportunity.

“ It also featured numerous dancing chickens”

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Upper School Russia Expedition

PUSHKIN AND PORRIDGE IN ST. PETERSBURG

Leaving from St Pancras at the end of a long Lent term, many of us had no idea what to expect from the French ex-change and so walked off the Eurostar onto French soil with extreme trepidation, quavers James Geddes (MM).

If I’m honest, the French Exchange was more a holiday than anything else. Despite a frankly nerve-racking start we left after seven days sad to say goodbye, so something must have clicked! Our exchanges and their families were incredibly kind, some even sleeping on the sofa to free up beds for us. The food was amazing, the families hospitable and the activi-ties great fun. The activities, whether arranged by our host families or by the ever-organised Dr Blache, ranged from walking up the Eiffel Tower, to wandering through the fascinat-ingly morbid catacombs and even (for a few of us) going to Disneyland. All in all, we hit all the tourist spots as well as managing to go for crèpe-fuelled walks in the more historic quartiers and we felt immersed in a culture completely different to the one found 300 km back across the Channel. Not to mention finding that our French had improved substantially. But most importantly, these initially daunting French students became good friends, and friends we hope to keep.

And now comes the time to return the fa-vour, to show to our exchanges the incredible hospitality they showed us and to give them a taste of the city we call home. We will have to try our very best to give them an experience anything close to the one we had in Paris.

A big thank you to Dr Blache, and we wish bonne chance to all the Lower Shell students thinking of participating next year!

Paris French Exchange

FOOD HEAVEN

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ate, secular (but spiritual) and open-minded Turkish people.

Though often seen as a Middle Eastern city, the culture of Istanbul is unique and varied. This sense of variety is reflected in its architecture and food, and in the customs, dress and language of its citizens. Our hostel was located just downhill from the Blue Mosque. This beautifully symmetrical example of Ottoman architecture stands only a few hundred metres from the Hagia Sophia, a great monument to Byzantine Christian Orthodox

“ The culture of Istanbul is unique and varied”

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History in Istanbul

WEST MEETS EAST

Sprawled astride the Bosporus, it is well known as a place through which flowed spices, silk, silver, warriors, refugees and ideas. We were greeted at the Ataturk Airport by a sunset that gently illuminated the evening clouds through which we flew; these were, in fact, the only signs of overcast weather we would encounter on the expedition. Every other day was perfectly sunny.

With only three whole days to tour a city so brim-ming with attractions, we were thankful for being accompanied with as interested and interesting a guide as Vedet, who has been unravelling Istanbul’s marvels for visitors for fifty years. As well as having excellent historical knowledge, Vedet was able to give us a per-sonal perspective on the current political situation. He also had an excellent sense of humour, and very much gave us the impression that, despite the instability in the city, there remains a strong backbone of moder-

Istanbul has been one of the world’s greatest cities for over a thousand years, declares Sam Dunning (LL) who visited with a group in the Easter holiday.

wealth, and the site of the old Hippodrome, which harks back to the Roman tradition of the city. In the old town in which we were staying, on almost every street can be seen some old fountain or ruin, and much more lies below the streets and houses waiting to be discovered by archaeologists.

We also visited the city walls, which helped the Byzantines keep the Turks out until 1453, when the Ottomans finally breached them and then spent 400-odd years using them. The wealth that allowed sultan after sultan, emperor after emperor, to build these walls, mosques and churches originated from the trade that

passed through the city. The waters of the Sea of Marmara in the distance are still thick with vessels, from small trawlers to great freighters. When we visited the Grand Bazaar, the histori-cal variety and immensity of the flux of mate-rial goods through the city truly struck home.

Because of all this, the most powerful im-pression the city gives is of vitality. On every street semi-wild but very friendly cats and dogs are to be seen; they are fed and vaccinated by the city authorities. The smells of spices and kofte and shisha float through the bazaars ac-companied by music and, five times a day, the hauntingly beautiful calls to prayer from the city’s many mosques.

When, in the Byzantine days, barbarians such as the English visited the city, they called it ‘Micklegarth’, the Great City. It seems fitting that Istanbul bestowed the same impres-sion upon us as well. Istanbul is simply great. Many thanks to Mr. Mann, Dr. Huscroft and Ms. Page for taking this wonderful trip.

The expedition to the Gower faced obstacles from the beginning. But nothing stands between a Geographer and a case study, proclaims Henry Kitchen (AHH).

Neither rivers nor malfunctioning minibuses could prevent the trip. Overcoming these obstructions, we arrived at Parc-le-Breos, our accommodation for the week, in an almost euphoric temperament after four hours of Miss Leonard’s music collec-tion of 90s hits.

The itinerary for the trip was diverse. It allowed us to ex-plore both the physical aspects of the Gower and also to discover the characteristics of Swansea and its surrounding villages. The group visited Rhossili Beach, voted the number one beach in the UK, a much loved fact from Mr Harris, during our time in the area to study slope controls and how slopes are formed. Moreover, a day was spent charting a river from the source to the mouth, which ended with rock pooling in Three Cliffs Bay.

In order to further our understanding of human geography, the group was each given a town or village to survey and un-derstand its characteristics. Although this task was fraught with difficulties, some groups being abducted by old women and the self-aggrandising ‘Scurlage Sixth Form Kidnapper’ (a local per-son working in the post office), it allowed greater understanding of rural issues many of which one might not have expected. For example street lighting was a very important issue in the area, with many wanting the lights demolished to allow stargazing and for a true rustic feel whilst those who were accustomed to a more urban lifestyle wanted them for safety reasons. Something that many did not expect however, perhaps naively, was the existence of questionable bones on the streets of the Gower. An explanation was never found.

Yet the real high point of the trip to the Gower was the three-hour mock in the evening on the last day. All the Geogra-phers of course took Dr. Spurr’s advice in loving every minute, treating it as a chance to show their learning after a term of schooling. This was followed by a Herculean effort by SEL and RRH to mark the papers to be returned that evening.

Though the trip was only three days, the tight schedule and total commitment to improve resulted in it being very productive and useful preparation for further revision over the Easter Holidays and the exam on the 13th May. Even with these intentions, it still remained a very enjoyable expedition.

Geography on the Gower

NO BONES ABOUT IT

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Our animated tour guide was keen to impress us with the sheer scale of the archaeo-logical find, and we were astonished to find out that there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots and 520 horses on the site, many of which had not been excavated. The sheer scale of the exhibit combined with the differing details on each individual warrior was awe-inspiring. The same could be said for the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, which we explored the second day. The walls were lined with monumental golden Buddhas or elaborately carved, priceless jade murals detailing the life of the Buddha. The highlight of the Xi’an leg of the trip was defi-nitely our visit to a local middle school. Having been introduced by the teachers as their “cute foreign friends”, we were immediately swarmed by a mob of excited children keen to find out more about British culture and show off their English. After a whirlwind tour of the school, with great reluctance we said to goodbye to our new friends Shallot (amusingly named after

‘Sherlock’, which has seemingly accumulated something of a cult following amongst Chinese students), Younger and Candy and set off for the airport to catch a flight to Beijing.

Upon landing in Beijing, we were met enthusiastically by our soon-to-be first port of call, John. John was the head of exchanges at Beijing High School Number 4 and had an infinite wealth of knowledge, eagerly touring us around many of the highlights of our trip such as the Forbidden City, Tian’anmen Square, Summer Palace and the Great Wall. John was incredibly complimentary about our Western ways and seemed to share our excitement about the very essence of the exchange: the sharing of culture. We were then whisked off to spend the weekend alone with our exchanges, possibly the most nerve-wrecking portion of the trip. However, we all emerged in one piece, having been well accommodated by our host families and having had tastes of both Chinese culture and delicacies (most memorably crabs’ ovaries

and digestive tracts). After that it was off to Bei-jing High School Number 4 for a day of lessons in the life of Beijing student. There were many notable differences and similarities between the Chinese schooling system and our own at West-minster. Interestingly and somewhat ironically, the students who were applying to America were studying Orwell’s ‘1984’.

Our trip to China challenged a lot of our preconceptions about Chinese culture and people, and we will definitely carry memories of this eye-opening trip with us for a long time to come.

number ill the next morning. Nevertheless, we proceeded to Bassae to learn about the origins of theatre: praise to the gods. This was later complemented by a wonderfully dramatic singing performance making full use of the excellent acoustics at Epidaurus.

During our stay in Sparta we visited the ruins of the ancient theatre and a game of manhunt ensued. In true Spartan fashion we ended up with a sprained ankle from a rather rough fall; our understanding of their culture couldn’t have been better! It was a shame that neither Holy Luke nor any healing sanctuaries were on site, but everyone rose to the occasion and volunteered to push the wheelchair. That night we had a quiz about the trip so far, with some general knowledge about confectionery and politics thrown in.

At Mycenae and Nemea we headed into lion country, visiting the breathtaking Corinth Canal later that day. The last few days in Athens we visited amazing sites and museums, richer in artefacts than the rest of Greece. The Antikythera Mechanism and the Acropolis especially were admired greatly. It was a superb trip; many thanks to the teachers (Dr. Walsh, Mr. Ireland, Charlotte Alexander, Mr. Milne, Mr. Low and Mrs. Low) who made real the oracle’s prophecy, aiding us greatly in our pursuit of knowledge.

In his bestselling treatise ‘How to Win Friends and Influ-ence People’, self-help guru Dale Carnegie recommends: “Never go on holiday without fluffy pink garment(s) embla-zoned with a Latin motto”, asserts Rory Forsyth (GG).

I might have made that up, but it would have marked a considerable improvement on folksy rubbish like “A barber lathers a man before he shaves him.” Whilst last year’s ski trip was a towering success, it was slightly compromised by having to wait on the tarmac at Gatwick for five hours sweltering away in our pink onesies as our plane queued to be de-iced. No such shenanigans took place this year as we travelled by Eurostar (very relaxing) in not-one-but-twosies (less sweaty but still pink and still classically mottoed).

Once we arrived at the legendary Clubho-tel Skilt in Les Menuires things only got bet-ter. The weather was beautiful all week and the snow was even better, allowing Westminster’s finest to cover miles of mountain. We found time to nip along to Courchevel to not pur-chase €1200 jumpers and mink onesies, carom into the sunset on the notorious Roc ’n’ Bob luge track, and occasionally refresh ourselves in between doing timed past papers and revising. Our karaoke nights explained why Tom Jones is nicknamed ‘the Welsh Teehan Page’, and we even managed to show off our buffed abs and comedy tan-lines at the local Spa, much to the irritation of our jealous Gallic co-jaccuziers. Thanks to all the tourists for contributing to an incredible week, in particular TDP. Never before have the concepts ‘school trip’ and ‘holiday’ intersected so easily.

We received a typically vague answer, surmising that we would go on a journey around Greece in search of knowledge. Commencing this pursuit of knowledge, we visited the Monastery of Holy Luke, a healer, and from there we went on to Kala-vrita. Independence was always very impor-tant to the Greeks: they wanted to be able to fight each other in peace, and it all started in Kalavrita. Thence we toured a variety of castles, generally built by the Franks after the Fourth Crusade, with possession tossed back and forth between the Turks and the Venetians afterwards. Along the way we de-cided to imitate the Greeks: with our own Olympic Games... and Paralympics too!

Afterwards, we stayed in a lovely hotel at Andritsena, and were congratulated on the fact that none of us had been taken ill yet. This very thought promptly made four of our

“ The sheer scale of the exhibit combined with the differing details on each individual warrior was awe-inspiring”

Beijing Exchange

CUTE FRIENDS

We weren’t quite sure what to expect when we landed in Xi’an. We launched straight into the cultural component of the exchange with a short drive out of town of the city to see the Terracotta Army, announce an amazed Arenike Adebajo (BB) and Zoe MacLellan (GG).

“ They wanted to be able to fight each other in peace”

As most Greek heroes do, after landing in Athens and paying our respects to the Goddess Artemis at Brauron, we headed straight for Delphi to learn about our future, reveals Hein Mante (QS).

Skiing in Les Menuires

IN THE LAND OF PINK AND WHITE

Fifth Form Greek Expedition

ORACULAR REALISATION

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More Trips: Part 1

IN PICTURES

Sailing Plas Menai

ExpeditionRome

ExpeditionIndia

We were also lucky to see and experience the culture and, although we did not take pleasure in it, the poverty endured by many. For some of the group the trip provided the first taste of Indian food and we have come back with a love of chai and Alphonso mangoes in particular!

Surprisingly for our teachers, watching the Bollywood film Main Tera Hero was the high-light of the trip for many. Although most of it was in Hindi (which no one spoke a word of) we found that just by listening to the audience you could tell when there was a joke. There is no culture of being quiet in the cinema: indeed it was almost like a pantomime. The

music videos were hilarious and many of us remember the songs even now!

One of the most interesting places we went was Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia, which in the Fifth Form some of us had studied and de-signed a project to improve. Needless to say our expectations were not good. It was reported (although there are some reasons to believe this to be untrue) that there are one million people in the 217 hectares it occupies. Despite what we initially thought, we were interested to see large amounts of industry and organisation; it was hardly a squatters’ settlement. A huge thank you to Miss Choraria and Mr Baldock for arranging such an unusual and exciting trip.

India Expedition

CASTE OF MILLIONS

On the first day of the October exeat, a group of us boarded the train at Charing Cross, and made our way to the A-Level history confer-ence being held at Battle Abbey School, documents Joshua Balance (RR).

After a rather soggy walk from the train station, we quickly progressed into the first lecture: Marc Morris on English Rebellions. Having been informed of the necessity of good questions before the conference by Dr Brown (especially to outdo the Eton delegation), we prepared ourselves through the lecture in order to do him proud. Tea and biscuits quickly segued into the next lecture, on the English Church, and then soon enough it was time for lunch. An excellent three-course meal gave us time to collect ourselves, and prepare for the final presentation of the day on the signifi-cance of 1066. After rather a lot of post-lecture discussion, it was time for the trip around the site itself. Traipsing out into the light drizzle, we walked around the outskirts of the abbey, with a fine view down the hill that constituted the battlefield, and soon enough came across some re-enactment actors. A lively conversa-tion about weapons and armour ensued with the actors. Discussion on the salient features of the battlefield accompanied us as we wandered around, and we progressed up the hill to the supposed site of the death of Harold. The top contained the gift shop, replete with bows & arrows and various types of fudge, many of

Battle Abbey History Conference

SEIZE THE DAY

India was certainly amazing, the monuments that we saw were fantastic and we will relish the experiences we had: the overnight trains, the magnificent monuments and the sighting of tigers in Ranthambore are just a few, insist Reginald Mitchell (HH), George Hockey (WW) and Zachary Stanley (HH).

“ Bollywood film Main Tera Hero was the high-light of the trip for many”

which we sampled before continuing to the final event of the day, the demonstration of troops. The weather had been judged good enough to continue with the presentation, so we were treated to a lively show from both English troops and Normans, including cavalry, with some excellent demonstra-tions of their different ways of fighting, and what happened when they were pitted against each other. A rather sunnier return to the train station heralded the end of our day out – a thoroughly enjoyable way to start the exeat.

“ We progressed up the hill to the supposed site of the death of Harold”

Climbing Sicily

TRAVEL


SOCIETIES AND LECTURES

John Locke Society 64 Inside the John Locke Lunch 65Classics Society 65GCSE Classics Conference 66History of Art Society 66Poet in Residence: Glyn Maxwell 67Gumbleton Prize 68English Society 70Debating Society 71MUN at the LSE 71Political Society 72Feminist Society 72Camden Lecture 73Economics Society 73John Stace Geography Society 74Environment Society 75 Wave Society 75Secular Society 75Imperial College/Westminster Lecture Series 76 Hooke Lecture Series 76Tizard Lecture: Professor Jim Al-Khalili 77 Chemistry Olympiad 77Biology Society 78International Physics Olympiad 78Biology Olympiad 79Trans-Atlantic Science Conference (TASC) 79French Society 79School Chess 80Chinese Celebrations at Westminster 80Prizegiving 2013 81

More Trips: Part 2

IN PICTURES

Alston

St Petersburg

Jordan

Ullapool

Beijing

LECTURES AND SOCIETIES



John Locke Society

ILLUSTRIOUS COMPANY

The year began in style as we were regaled by satirist, play-wright, novelist, translator and all-round man of letters Michael Frayn, records Rory Forsyth (GG).

Toby Young told us how to get sacked with style – apparently the colourless editors at Condé Nast in New York find surprise birth-day strip-o-grams substantially less amusing than we do. Novelist Jeanette Winterson pon-dered the ironic question ‘Why be happy when you could be normal?’ with super-normal eloquence and wit. Paleo-conservative contro-versialist Peter Hitchens made the case against everything from dyslexia to David Cameron. Most felt his arguments were far weaker than his confident delivery suggested, but he was surprisingly good company. Magician and OW Paul Roffman was far less divisive – entertain-ing a massive crowd up School with an interac-tive display of wizardry and wit. Photographer Dennis Morris commanded great respect with his Bob Marley anecdotes and Sid Vicious stories. Journalist Frances Harrison gave an enlightening talk about the oft-ignored atroci-ties of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Sky News supremo Adam Boulton led a wide-ranging

discussion on British and global politics (ap-parently George W. Bush isn’t as stupid as he looks…) Even hardened atheists like myself were stirred by Archbishop Vincent Nichols. Pope Francis was similarly impressed, elevating him to Cardinal status only a few weeks later. CEO of EDF Vincent de Rivaz defended his company’s energy pricing strategy with Gallic gusto. Johnnie Boden gave a lively speech on fashion and entrepreneurship, although he failed to explain why the snood has gone so catastrophically out of fashion.

Sir Max Hastings gave an effortlessly urbane talk on the Great War. This being early January, legions of spurned Removes were even more delighted to discover that Sir Max had dropped out of Oxford. Whilst Matt Frei’s skills as a foreign correspondent are undoubt-edly towering, we can’t help but feel the world of stand-up comedy lost a potential star. His impression of Presidential hopeful Chris Christie’s attempt to balance his colossal frame on his tiny feet in a high wind particularly amused. Legal double act Arvinder Sambei and Martin Polaine delivered a stimulating guide to international crime prosecution. Professor David Nutt’s message was clear – the government and media treat ‘drugs’ too seriously and alcohol too lightly. His evidence was compelling, and he even had time to brief us on his forthcoming cocktails replicating the positive effects of drugs (provisionally titled ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not Crack’ by one Locke committee member). Tory policy guru Oliver Letwin gave a pure Q&A session before scarp-ering off to a Cabinet meeting. Oscar-winning director and Old Hakluytian Tom Hooper found the fascinated audience up School far easier to work with than Russell Crowe as he gave a generous and affable insight to the film industry. BBC Chief Economics Correspond-ent Hugh Pym was just as charming, answer-

ing questions with his organisation’s famous clarity and impartiality. The Upper School proceeded up School to hear the legendary Jon Snow. The Channel 4 man didn’t disappoint, happily answering on everything from Idi Amin to the colour scheme of his studio. He buys most of his ties in obscure street markets, in case you were wondering. Magistrate and novelist Katharine McMahon gave a memora-bly interactive Locke, mooting manslaughter, murder and mugging over a pleasant lunch up Hastings Room. Edward Lucas, Senior Editor at The Economist and avowed foe of Vladimir Putin, concluded the Lent Term programme with a fascinating talk entitled ‘The New Cold War: Putin, Ukraine and the West.’ Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England and erstwhile ‘Most Trusted Man in Canada’ be-gan the Election term with a stylish talk on the state of the world economy. As we go to press, the Lord Chief Justice and Mary Portas await.

It has been another sensational year for Locke, for which many thanks must go to the superb Committee and all who attended throughout the course of the year. The real thanks, however, are to Mr Simpson in his last year as Head of Sixth Form, for convincing yet another bevy of illustrious speakers to enter the bearpit. We have been very fortunate indeed.

With places often selling out faster than Athletics Final tickets for the London Olympics, John Locke lunches have an almost mythic status, observes Ellie Shearer (WW).

Forty minutes in the Hastings Room has a very different, less formal feel than the talk up School, and in the smaller setting if not a grilling then at least some tough questioning is often on the menu. With pupils eager to delve into detail about the broadest range of issues, it’s not uncommon for the speakers to grab only sporadic bites of their food. Such a phenomenon is especially the plight of those with more divisive or controversial opinions such as Peter Hitchens, who sampled rather little of the wonderful cuisine during his visit. Beyond the broad theme of lively and frank discussion, however, no two John Locke lunches are the same. Some are thought-provoking and educational – Mark Carney, for example, calmly explaining the global ramifica-tions of Quantitative Easing over a cup of coffee, or Frances Harrison shedding light on the atroci-ties of the Sri Lankan civil war. Others are filled with incredible anecdotes: Jon Snow had us all transfixed with his tale of the time he almost had the chance to shoot Idi Amin, and Toby Young’s stories of journalism back in the day were as hilarious as they were shocking. Many inspire passionate debate – Archbishop Vincent Nichols was served questions about child abuse and HIV/AIDs in Africa almost before his chicken pie. Most, however, are a fantastic mixture of all these things. I may have gone a little hungry on occasion (Mr Simpson’s motto is to never leave an inch of space in Hastings unfilled, even if it means dividing the food into almost subatomic portions), but I have certainly been nourished enough by the wisdom and company of our Locke speakers at lunches over the year; I know I speak for every attendee, past and future when I say that they are a truly wonderful experience.

Inside the John Locke Lunch

SPILLING THE BEANS

“ He failed to explain why the snood has gone so catastrophically out of fashion”

Classics Society

ANTIQUE TIME

We welcomed Pat Easterling, Emeritus Professor of Greek at Cambridge, whose talk on why some Greek literature survived was an historical overview of the reception to Homer and Greek tragedy. Early scholars such as St. Basil had interesting advice about which texts were not offensive for Christians to study. Prof. Easterling introduced us to an early manuscript of Sophocles Ajax, with a Latin commentary, and chaired an interest-ing discussion.

Dr. Laura Swift (OW) is a lecturer in Greek Literature at the Open University. She challenged assumptions that the role of the Greek chorus is to be the ideal spectator. Choruses, she argued, would have been deep-ly familiar to the Greeks from everyday life. Therefore, the choral odes in tragedy tell us as much about contemporary festivals as they do about the plays themselves. Her discussion on both text and society was fascinating.

Dr. Ingo Gildenhard of King’s College, Cambridge, is one of the most prolific Lati-nists working in Britain. Asking why Virgil assigns such importance to Carthage in the Aeneid, he involved his audience from the outset in a compelling seminar. The background of the Punic Wars loomed large over any discussion of how sympathetic one could be towards Dido, while students were encouraged that their lines of inquiry were as valid as any.

A lecture on Catullus by Dr. Emily Pill-inger, of King’s College London, focused on the associations of the word ‘urbanus’ in his work. She showed how the attentive reader, alive to his wit and irony, will not judge the man by the poet’s presentation of himself. She encouraged a lively discussion of relationships, religion and the tradition of Roman invective.

Rosalind Thomas, Professor of Ancient History at Oxford, argued that the Phoeni-cians do not fit into the traditional polarity between Greeks and Barbarians. Disprov-ing the stereotype that they were ‘greedy traders’, she discussed passages from Homer, Herodotus and the Bible. We learned that they were carriers of literate civilisation, archaic art, fine crafts and textiles. Famously, the Phoenicians invented the alphabet. The Greeks then adapted this, although they had to add vowels.

The inaugural JACT GCSE Greek Conference (see also Elliot Jordan’s account on page 66) was a great success. Prof. Patrick Finglass argued that the speaker of Lysias 1 was guilty of homicide. Lysias’ presen-tation of him as gullible, indulgent and distant from his wife is designed to counter this; how could a man of such stupidity be capable of planning a premeditated murder? The audience were split down the middle, and if not won over to his point of view, all learned a great deal about Greek law and society. Dr. Kathryn Tempest introduced her group to Cicero’s methods of persuasion and gave an excellent account of the theory behind successful rhetoric. She helped the audience understand that content is far less important than we might like to think: delivery (including tone, appearance and dramatic gestures) were – and still are – the most important component.

Prof Richard Seaford held the Lecture Room captive with his lecture on Odyssey 21. Challenging our society of ‘commodi-ties and celebrities’ to consider that gifts embody physically the relationship between giver and receiver, and are even more mean-ingful when one knows personally who made them, he studied the bow as a symbol of hospitality, peaceful competition and as a weapon of violence. Drawing allusions to

the British Museum’s Vikings exhibition, he chaired a wide-ranging discussion on Homeric Society. Prof Peter Kruschwitz opened his students’ eyes to the theatrical-ity of the Regulus set text. He encouraged us to think again about the implications of the word fabula, and he argued that Pliny presents the three stories in the Regulus let-ter as a triology of mini-dramas, resonating with the broader tragedy of a society where behaviour as shameful as legacy-hunting had become a reality.

Mr. Keith McLennan (OW) closed the conference with his talk on anger and rec-onciliation, or rather the lack of it, in Aeneid 12. Bringing to bear relevant passages from Homer and elsewhere in the Aeneid, he explained how the themes of the poem are funnelled sharply into the conclusion. His analysis was in turn sensitive, sympathetic and pragmatically realist, with beautiful readings of the Latin aloud.

“ St. Basil had interesting advice about which texts were not offensive for Christians to study”

The flourishing Classical So-ciety has enjoyed a vintage year, says Joe Ireland, with four separate visiting speak-ers and the inauguration of a GCSE Greek conference too boot.




GCSE Classics Conference

STYLE OVER CONTENT

The first notion an onlooker would have had that something out of the ordinary was going on in March was the line of differently-uniformed pupils walking through Burlington’s Arch, Anyone could have seen that they were classicists, keeping their notebooks close and their dictionar-ies closer, and I found myself eagerly awaiting the talks to come, discloses Elliot E. G. Jordan (HH) in his personal account of the day.

To my surprise, as we were waiting for the day to start, I noticed the Highgate School contingent, all staring open-mouthed at the beauty of School, contained an old friend, who I wasted no time in inviting over. We spent a very pleasant morn-ing enjoying the talks. Firstly, came the introduction, before we all split up for two simultaneous talks. The first was a tutorial in debating, Cicero-style, given by the eloquent Dr. Kathryn Tempest. I speak for the entire audience when I say that we all learnt a significant amount about public speaking which, according to Cicero, seems to have very little to do with what you’re actually saying.

The next two talks were a choice between a thoroughly ab-sorbing lecture on comparisons between Homeric society and modern equivalents, given by the engaging Professor Seaford, which I attended. Meanwhile, Professor Kruchwitz gave a stimulating and original lecture on Pliny’s account of Regulus, Following a refreshing break, we took our seats once more to listen to the final talk, a genuinely brilliant piece on the main figures in the Aeneid, given by OW Keith Maclennan. As a classicist who is currently studying precisely this topic, I found it not merely fascinating, but also useful. I bade farewell to my old acquaintance and we all left knowing far more about Classics than we did when entering. The morning was a jolly insight not merely into the works of literature, but also into the civilisations behind them; I consider myself genuinely privileged to have been able to attend. I would like to thank all members of staff involved for organising it. In short, it was inspiring. Ire licet.

“ Public speaking, according to Cicero, seems to have very little to do with what you’re actually saying”

History of Art Society

NOT JUST A FEAST FOR THE EYE

In the first lecture of the year, not only was it exciting for the art histori-ans to experience first-hand the professor who they have quoted in their many essays, affirms Maddie Forbes (WW), but learning about the acous-tics within Venetian churches from the great authority on that city, Debo-rah Howard, also enthused us for our imminent trip to La Serenissima.

The lectures also exposed us to the decline and melancholic state of Venice – an atmosphere that we all noticed on our visit – through a close examination of Ruskin’s The Stones of Venice and from a talk on the charity, Venice in Peril.

The lecture series culminated with Simon Schama’s lecture on Rem-brandt. Everyone was thrilled by his engaging delivery of his compelling talk. Professor Schama led the audi-ence through Rembrandt’s works, illuminating the historical context, as well as offering insights into his favourite paintings. His lecture acted as a testament to the potential of art history as a subject, how one painting can be interpreted to reveal so much about a society and a period, as well as the creative genius of an artist such as Rembrandt.

The next lecture relocated to the Lady Chapel for a lecture and perfor-mance by the multi-talented Tristan Hambleton. The link between music and art is one that everyone can relate to, so the talk included more audience participation, becoming quite heated towards the end of the lecture. The possible tension was tempered by Tristan Hambleton’s live performance of Madamina, il catalogo é questo.

Although the Art History society would appear to be appreciated more

by Art History students, it was not necessary to have studied the course to enjoy the lectures. The topics of the lectures uncovered information that was new to everyone, generating interest in pupils and parents alike. Without fail, people lingered in the lecture room long after the talks had finished, discussing the ideas raised in the lecture (and drinking wine).

At the inaugural Gastronomic Art Society meeting, Remove Art Historians ate a feast inspired by Caravaggio’s supper at Emmaus and Roman 16th century food, including challah bread and carciofi alla romana – a dish Caravaggio had passionate opinions about. This was clearly a taste of things to come, and was much enjoyed by all.

“ One painting can be interpreted to reveal so much about a society and a period”

Poet in Residence: Glyn Maxwell

WORDSEARCHING

Glyn Maxwell, well-known poet and playwright, was Westmin-ster’s Poet in Residence this year. He has had a vibrant and varied career: he has published several critically acclaimed poetry col-lections and 15 of his plays have been performed professionally. Most recently, his book On Poetry has been at the top of the best-seller lists in Britain and the US, closely following the success of his libretto of The Firemaker’s Daughter at the Royal Opera House, reports Alex Bridge (RR).

Maxwell began his residency by giving a rousing anti-Carpe Diem speech in Abbey, inspired by Philip Larkin’s Days and his own ‘Birthday’ poem. What if the day does not want to be seized? During the week, he judged the Westminster Poetry Competition, for which there was an encouraging number of entries – it seems Westminsters are reluctant to share their poetry without a good excuse for doing so. Maxwell also held a number of poetry workshops for each year group. In these, he encouraged us to reconnect with the real meanings and implications of words, to reconsider how they throw light on human experience and the world around us: especially in poetry, each word counts. In one session, students had to try and figure out words to fill in the blanks of W.H. Auden’s Fall of Rome – not even cerebrotonic Cato would manage to guess that the evening gowns grow fantastic.

To close the residency, we held a ‘Shared Reading’ in the Library. Thirty entrants, prize-winners, teachers and pupils who’d come to share their writing and to listen to each other’s work gathered round on chairs

and cushions. Glyn Maxwell opened with a stirring and lively excerpt from The Best Man, his play developed from the idea of a best man’s speech at a wedding. Poetry read out by those gathered ranged from Naseme Moume-ne’s lyrical evocation of an early morning walk, to Sam Winter’s poem – his Economics prep on the ‘Negative Effects of Tourism on a Developing Economy’ brilliantly argued as neatly-scanned performance poetry, to Charles Wall’s thought-provoking ‘On Looking for Poetry in a School and Not Finding it’, to Sam Dunning’s piece, capturing the dark-ness and intensity of parts of Tennyson’s ‘In Memoriam’. Teachers read their work too: Mr

Omrani, Mr Pyatt, Mr Ireland and Ms Farr. It was a privilege to listen to each other’s work and to realise how many accomplished poets are amongst us. Maxwell helped us realise that by sharing poetry we open up an observa-tion on the world, a path for someone else to travel – without communication, the human experience is lonely and narrow. All in all it was a very enjoyable visit that truly celebrated the joys of poetry.

“ What if the day does not want to be seized?”

On Searching for Poetry in a SchoolAnd Not Finding It

Bells stream across the city and rushChattering, clattering into school, ecstatic –But the bells do not chime together.

Yard heaves, bustling busier at break,Whirlpools of people grow wider, tallerAnd bored. No, there’s no poetry here.

Abbey rests silent like an oceanAt night, though a drowning man clutchesFor words that dissolve into whiteness.

The poet paces out the hours whileI am submerged in sleep. School again,But this time I realise that the bells

Are mute; and the words comeNot of experience, not of knowledge,But of searching for it.

By Charlie Walls

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Gumbleton Prizewinner

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

This year’s creative writing winner is Eleanor Smith-Hahn (WW), offering a chilling slice of dystopian fiction set in the near future; in world with an efficient solution to overpopu-lation, to be different is to be in danger…

My sisters whisper together by the fridge. It’s one of those large silver fridges, which makes a satisfying ‘th’ suction sound when you close the door. The light and darkness wobble against each other on the brushed steel surface as the girls giggle and their curly hair spirals and bobs in the empty space. They’ve always been close, I was never really included; I’ve always at-tributed this to their being female, which means they can bond over hair removal products and their feelings. The older one leans in chattering and the younger leans in too; one squeezes the woollen sleeve of the other and one picks some fluff from the other’s eyelashes. My sisters smile together in their quivering mirth under the harsh stature of the fridge and the lamplight.

I set the table – fork, bowl, spoon, four times, for the girls and for our parents, who are cooking together at the other end of the kitchen. My mother is wearing dark corduroys, which are bunched around her thin waist by my father’s hands. She dips her wooden spoon into a saucepan and brings it out.

‘See if it’s ready,’ she says, feeding him something that’s still red.

‘I’m going,’ I say, ‘I’ll be back later.’My mother turns slightly so I can see her

gulping side profile and the middle-aged wrinkles on her neck twisting away from me, my father’s hands fall from her and her trousers bloat and then sag. The warm sauce remains languid on the spoon still held in her hand. My whispering sisters are quiet as I grab my rucksack and walk out of the front door.

‘Theo,’ my mother calls me back.‘Yes?’ ‘You sure you don’t want any supper?’‘I’m not hungry,’ I say – a lie that languishes

in the space between us as I close the door and walk away.

I walk down a few streets, all with tall red brick houses on either side. Earl’s Court, it’s a nice area, the kind with neatly mown grass verges between the pavement and the road. After about ten minutes I’m walking down the side of the 6-lane superhighway. I’m on the

strip of gravel between the cars and the grey wall with barbed wire all along the top. On the other side of the wall are the marshmallow–pink domes of the Human Factories.

The Human Factories are human farms, where humans are bred and reared and slaughtered for human consumption. It’s all

very quiet and very clean, the humans on the inside don’t know about the humans on the outside. The humans on the outside see it as their natural and moral requirement to eat the humans on the inside. The meat reared in the Human Factories isn’t the only human meat that’s eaten. When a person dies, the chip in their chest (placed there at birth) sends a signal to the emergency services. If they succeed in saving them, they will end up in hospital for a few days and then return home. If they don’t then their body is taken immediately to a Hu-man Factory for sanitisation and preparation for the food chain. Of course, most people die when they’re old, and their meat can’t be rolled with fresh ginger and rice for sushi or served as a rare steak in a Clapham Gastro-Pub. Most of the meat from the naturally dead will go to the cheap fast-food places, like Peckham Rye, where it will be shorn from a rotating kebab and sold in a cheap white bun with fried onions and a limp salad with a squirt of overly red and overly sweet synthetic ketchup.

I stop walking and sit down with my back against the Factory wall. I spend a lot of my time here; I like to be close to them. Whenever we’re eating at home I come here instead.

“ It’s wrong to be a murderer, a thief, a rapist, a paedophile, a vegetarian”

I try to imagine the sanitised mindless humans mooing and staring in their compounds. They had free-range humans for a while but they kept on making fires, so that was stopped for health and safety reasons. I shut my eyes and rub my hands all over my face, and then I feel sort of bored and tired at the same time and I wish I was dead, but not really. I was supposed to move out a year ago and go to university, I got into Manchester to do Politics. I’d gotten all the right grades; I was in the debating team and History Society. I visited old people in this grey council block in Pimlico for two years and we talked about cats, it’s not a stereotype, they really do just talk about cats. I did all the stuff for UCAS, I got all the right references ‘Theo is bright and inquisitive’; ‘Theo is earnest and compassionate’, ‘Theo has a thoroughly shiny future ahead of him’. I toned down my ‘I-eat-supper-not-tea’ accent to avoid being ostracised by my new Northern friends. But I couldn’t go because I didn’t eat meat.

I saw myself among all the romantic images of defiance, Boudicca with her flailing red hair, Jesus nailed to his crucifix, and me nailed to mine. I munched my way through salad bag after fresh salad bag. Juicy cos lettuce and fiery rocket: the light of man’s redemption. I could eat lettuce all day long; I imagined the lettuce growing from the earth under the sun, pushing tiny shoots through red soil drenched with iron and fat wet rain from churning clouds. I peeled open those plastic packets, slipped my damp ad-olescent hands inside and gorged. In my dreams I was a bona fide freedom fighter, saving all the animal and human victims from the savagery of civilisation, consumerism and bloodlust.

In the kitchen the girls scrape the plates into the bin and load the dishwasher.

They sing along to the radio in their match-ing white pyjama shorts.

‘HEY I JUST MET YOU!...DAH DAH DAH... AND THIS IS CRAZY,’

‘SO HERE’S MY NUMBER…’‘SO CALL ME MAYBE!’ In the bedroom the mother and father talk.

‘What do you want me to do? Call the police? Oh hello officer I’d just like to let you know that my only son is a vegetarian,’

‘Shhhhh,’‘Oh yes please do come and get him when-

ever you’d like. Yes, yes this evening would be fine, he’ll be home in ten minutes …’

‘You know I didn’t mean that,’‘… Oh yes what? He’ll be executed? Oh

a public hanging in front of me and my other two children? Oh yes perfect!’

‘Shut up! The girls will hear.’ ‘That sounds absolutely f***ing perfect!’‘You’re overreacting.’‘I don’t think I am.’The mother goes into the kitchen. ‘BE-

FORE YOU CAME INTO MY LIFE I MISSED YOU SO BAD!’ belts the radio by itself.

I’m still at the wall, I’m starting to get rest-less; they must have finished eating by now. I get up and slap the dirt off my arse. When I look up I’m blinded for a few seconds by the light of the headlamps as I start to walk back the way I came. I work a few nights a week in the 24hour Pick ‘n’ Pay by my tube station, I wish I was going there tonight. My parents stopped my allowance when I didn’t leave home when I was supposed to; I guess it was their way of punishing me for being what I am. I buy all my food out of my wages and I save the rest of my money for whenever I’ll need it in the future. I eat quite badly, usually just crisps, cheese and beans on toast, as well as the lettuce, but I figure that if I was the me I should’ve been I would be at university right now living off man pies and sausages, so it’s not any worse.

The father is crying in the bedroom, the mother has gone to take a shower. The father is holding a glass of red wine and he places it on top of the clothes cupboard in front of him. He bends his knees so he is squatting and cries silently with his mouth open. He can’t recon-cile the way he was brought up, the way that he learned right from wrong, with the choices of

his son. It’s wrong to be a murderer, a thief, a rapist, a paedophile, a vegetarian. And not just because it’s criminal, he can’t forget the morals he’s been taught – eating human is being hu-man. He sees the seamless cycle of eating hu-man, being human, dying human, being eaten by humans, as the right way to live. The way it has been and should be. He wishes Theo had just left home. At first they’d wanted him to go anyway, they thought no-one would notice,

but they discussed the risk and had been too afraid he might get caught. He remembered being at college, the meat feasts at the end of every term, the KFC buckets full of hot wings in the dorms, the communality of meat and cannibalism that he had loved so much when he was young, the bloody shots, the brain par-ties, which had made poor Danny McClellan go mad. Not eating meat was something you could just about get away with at school but not after that. He remembers Theo asking when he was four ‘Why do we eat each other?’ ‘Because eating people makes you a person, Theo,’ ‘But why daddy?’ He blames himself in part, and his wife; they should have tried harder, but Theo always got good grades and it’s not like he was bullied or anything. He remembers the whis-pered discussions in the bathroom the shower turned on, to drown out the noise ‘Maybe it’s just a phase?’ It wasn’t fair that it had happened to them! Why couldn’t he have been gay? They could have talked to him if he’d been gay, supported him. But a vegetarian, they couldn’t talk to him about that because it was unspeak-able. They couldn’t face up to it, couldn’t believe it was true because of the horror of it, because believing it would be to accept that it wasn’t going away, that they were somehow implicated, guilty even. The frustration wells up and chokes him.

I’ve taken a short detour on the way home – to go past Pick ‘n’ Pay. There’s this girl in there who works the same hours as me sometimes, her name tag says ‘I’m Harry, Here To Help!’ but I’m not sure if that’s her actual name or not. On Wednesdays we’re the only people on the late shift, I stack the shelves and mop the floor and she works on the till. When she’s working the till she talks to her friend Annie on the phone, she twists the little key which opens the cash tray and the tray pops out with a ping and you can hear the coins all shift for-wards. Her feet sit on the counter one over the other and when the tray comes out, she bumps it back into its slot with her thigh and then twists the key again. She laughs at everything Annie says and she doesn’t really say much

“ He sees a mother tortured by the unconditional love for a son who is no longer human”

herself. ‘Hahahah, Annie stop you’re hurting my stomach.’ She chews bubble gum the whole time, Hubba Bubba juicy watermelon, the bright green ones that come ten pieces per packet for 60p. But she never blows any bub-bles; she just chews and leans back in her chair. They’re the ones that run out of flavour really quickly, so she just keeps on going through packet after packet. When she’s done with a piece she opens her mouth and takes it out of her mouth with her fingers and presses it into its silver paper packet, then she rolls it in a ball and throws it into the waste paper basket next to her on the floor. I look in the window as I pass but I can’t see her, and I feel a tightness in my chest as I turn for home.

‘I’m back.’Theo walks into the front room. The

family are watching television. His mother, father and the older sister sit on the sofa; the younger sits lazily on pillows on the floor in front of them. Their faces are illuminated by the pale blue light of the television screen in an otherwise gloomy room. Theo stands in the doorway with the black kitchen behind him. The red-eyed father and the girls ignore Theo’s arrival, the mother attempts to smile at him. For a moment he sees a mother tortured by the unconditional love for a son who is no longer human.

She looks uncomfortable ‘We’re watching Come Dine With Me.’

‘I’m going to bed.’ ‘Good night, sweetheart.’‘Night.’ As he leaves Theo catches the voice on the

television, ‘I’m gunna give Dave a three, he kept on talking about trains, I mean I know that’s his job, but he could’ve tried harder, I guess, to make it a bit more interesting. I have to say his duck breast was really well-seasoned, really delicious but the rest of the plate was completely burnt, dry, and I got the feeling, at the end, I know it was really delicious, and tender and everything, but from what he was saying, I got the feeling, that he’d had some help with his human heart.’

The younger sister crosses her long legs and on her feet her bunny slippers cuddle in the dark.

Even though it’s the healthiest way to sleep I never can when I’m lying on my back. I lie on my front face down in the pillow with my arms over my head. I think about Harry and then about the Factories.

The Human Factories rear humans but they are no more similar to us than the battery sow is to the wild boar. The wild boar has roamed free in the damp forests, has scratched his back on the thick rutted trees and licked dew from the grass, guzzled the damp truffles in the warm and heady undergrowth, lived out his days in the dappled sun with a fat belly and a rough dark coat, wandered and roamed, grunted and finally laid down in a warm haze of old age and died softly in a piggy reverie. The battery sow in her iron and concrete >>




Debating Society

ALL TALKING STARS

Debating at Westmin-ster continues to go from strength to strength after another successful year, declares Captain of Debat-ing, Ellie Shearer (WW).

Teams have competed at almost all major national competitions this year, including the finals days of the Oxford and Cambridge Schools competitions. Notable successes include the team of Stephen Horvath and Hugo Raine, who made the quarter finals of Durham Schools and were the winners of LSE Schools, the team of Will Kitchen and Stephen Hor-vath who broke to the final at Warwick, as well as both being in the top ten on the Speaker tab (Stephen was top of the tab, Will 7th and Charles Wall 3rd), and the team of Ellie Shearer and Jess Yung, who have been in the finals of Dulwich Schools and the semi finals of Cambridge, as well as the national semi finals of the ESU Schools Mace. Special mention also to Sofya Shchukina, ranked 2nd best novice speaker at Durham Schools, and Archie Hall, who topped the LSE speaker tab. Finally, House Debating is rapidly looking to challenge House Football as most popular and exciting House event of the year - the final will be hotly contested between Liddell’s, Ashburnham, College and Wren’s. After such a successful year we would like to thank our wonderful coach Ben Woolgar for all his guidance and support, both this year and last. A big thanks too to Dr Evans for supervising Debating this year.

MUN at the LSE

SOMEONE LIKE UN

At the end of January the Westminster MUN Delegation trium-phantly represented over ten countries at the inaugural London School of Economics MUN, declares Harry Spillane (DD).

Model United Nations sees students from different schools debating and forming poten-tial resolutions from topics as diverse as nuclear disarmament, environmental sustainability and refugees. Unsurprisingly the issues of Syria and world poverty played a large part in all com-mittee debates at this session.

Preparation for the event began weeks be-fore with discussions as to what the UN’s role in the world is and how the systems, etiquettes and voting process works. Many thanks are owed to Miss Gandon and Mrs Clanchy who ensured our delegation was so very well prepared. After delegates had grasped the very individual style of debate and procedure we began to research our countries. Once a delegate is allocated a country it is their job to best represent the realistic stance that that country would take on a said matter, smug-gling for example. This is easier said than done when you are representing countries like Haiti, North Korea and Pakistan.

None the less, Westminsters led the way in writing, editing and debating resolutions representing countries across a breadth of the political, economic and social spectrum including the USA, Pakistan, North Korea and China. In my committee we focused on the issues of human trafficking and the Syrian civil war, attempting to find potential solutions for the crisis and ways of preventing trafficking. In the final voting the combined effort of the three Westminsters in the SO-

CHUM committee to deal with trafficking was voted through almost unanimously with the exception of Israel. Despite dealing with such serious issues there was plenty of time for light-hearted political folly with the tension between Israel and Palestine mounting to full-scale nuclear war by the end of the conference. We even had a number of musical interludes

culminating in the delegate for Syria singing Adele. I think most would agree a fair repre-sentation of what really goes on at the heart of the UN was displayed over the weekend.

At the end of the conference Westminster won best delegation, scooped two best del-egate awards and a special award for diplomatic skill. All involved were sincerely impressed with the skill and diplomacy exercised by not just Westminsters but all delegates and the way in which we argued realistically on behalf of our countries, even North Korea, which led to some very interesting debates!

“ Musical interludes cul-minating in the delegate for Syria singing Adele”

English Society

PRIDE WITHOUT PREJUDICE

It has been a sterling year for English Society, with pupils giving a range of exceptionally well-researched and incredibly personal talks. The Society is pupil-run – no teachers allowed – and all the speakers are pupils who are keen to talk on whichever subject in the domain of literature excites them most, writes Tom Ashton (QS).

The school has led a number of theatre trips to some excellent productions around London, open to all pupils. The school’s location within walking distance of the Globe was greatly ap-preciated by those who saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream or Macbeth there. The trip to King Lear was especially enjoyed by the Remove students studying the play in class, who were able to ex-perience the drama as it was originally intended. A personal favourite, however, was Ghosts at the Almeida – an intimate theatre perfect for contain-ing the intensity of Ibsen’s still-relevant work about how the past events we refuse to speak of can form the futures we dread. Many thanks to Mrs Murphy for organising and to every one of the adults who accompanied us.

Meanwhile English Society in D20 on Friday lunchtimes has gone from strength to strength, with pupils giving a series of engaging and well-re-searched talks on topics ranging from metaphysics and literature to erotic poetry. Theo Tindall start-ed us off by speaking about Magical Realism with a great deal of insight, passion and knowledge, and we concluded the term with Oliver Ramsay-Gray and Alex Bridge’s thought-provoking presentation on Isolation and the Modernist Poets. In between, there was something to look forward to every week. Modernism was well covered, with Charlie Wall’s perceptive talk about the work of Virginia Woolf and a group reading of James Joyce’s decep-tively simple short story Clay. Alina Young read and presented the provocative Beat Generation poem Howl by Alan Ginsberg, which retains much of its power after almost sixty years. A wonderful tribute to and exploration of the dramatic tradition of Shakespeare was provided by Bebe Lloyd, and offsetting this crucial staple Ben Brind gave a talk on the film American Beauty – not strictly literature but English Society was the most receptive forum for his excellent thoughts on the film. Another highlight was Arenike Adebajo on the birth of the Nigerian novel – focusing on Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, as this was where it all started in 1958. She described the impact of this novel on uprooting the colonial (racist) values that were endorsed by the English novels which were compulsory studying in the contemporary educa-tion system, and how this paved the way for the country’s acceptance of their traditional cultural practices - rather than embarrassment about them. This, as with all our meetings, introduced many people to exceptional writers they otherwise would not have heard of, and also engendered a great deal of faith in the crucial role of literature

as a means of exchanging cultural values. So it is apparent to all who attend that the comprehension of different perspectives can lead not only to pride in one’s own heritage and point of view, but also to humility towards others’, and we all feel a strong sense of gratitude for our freedom to engage in such important (and enjoyable) discussions. Be-sides, we always have cake.

Simon Russell Beale gave arresting answers at his question-and-answer session about playing King Lear in the National Theatre’s production. He tackled head-on and with powerful articulacy the most complex issues in this difficult play, which was widely considered ‘too huge for the stage’ until after the Second World War; not only as a result of its vast scope, but also its unflinching depictions of wanton suffering in a world which seems to have lost its Christian bearings. But he was determined that we still have much to learn from one of Shakepeare’s greatest plays when it comes to dealing with modern conflict. For, as the President of the EU committee said to him after watching his performance, ‘That’s what hap-pens when you give up power!’

“ We all feel a strong sense of gratitude for our freedom to engage in such important (and enjoyable) discussions”

compound, knowing nothing of the roaming boar, lies down on her manufactured slab surrounded by her warm piglets and sleeps happily as they suckle and roll around in the synthesised mud. The sow fattened by the nitrate- and phosphate-cultivated treats cast from a bucket each morning does not begrudge her captors for the limited life she leads. Does she wallow in grief that she and all her fat-bellied neighbours will end their restricted existence with two electrodes to the temple? No. Although worlds apart the pink battery sow and the wild boar delight in their separate fates. Theo sighs, rolls over and sleeps.

It’s a perfect morning. Theo sleeps in late, father is wearing a dark grey woollen sweater; he’s lying in bed reading The Independent. The girls are chatting in the kitchen. Mother makes breakfast. She chops the chives, fries the bacon, scrambles the eggs with butter in the bacon fat, puts the bread on the grill, she pours the orange juice from the fridge into a jug, brews the coffee in the percolator, fries some baby chestnut mushrooms in the pan, takes out the plates, butters the toast, dishes the food and takes off her apron.

‘Breakfast!’Father comes from the bedroom

‘Mmmm! It looks lovely; it smells de-licious, divine.’ They sit down to eat.

Then Theo opens the door dramatically and walks to the table; he grabs a piece of bacon and a slice of toast from his younger sister’s plate. ‘I’m just going to post this,’ he says, waving an A4 manila envelope over his shoulder. He walks out of the front door. The envelope says Manchester University Admissions Office on the front. He turns towards Pick ‘n’ Pay.

His sisters sit with their mouths hanging open, confused and uncer-tain. His parents weep. The steam from their English breakfast rises from their plates, and the rich smell of lib-erty and battery sow bacon fills the air.

>>




Bigger, bolder and brasher than ever before, the Political Society (or 'PolSoc', as it is affectionately known) has had another great year, announces Cam-eron Thompson (HH).

With one eye on the tempestuous events of world politics and the other on the perennial political debates which never fail to split opinion, discussion has ranged from the mini-mum wage to the Syrian civil war, from the age-old debate between au-tocracy and democracy to the present situation in the Ukraine.

One highlight, with a particularly large turnout, was an open debate over the recent legalisation of cannabis in Colorado and Uruguay and the long-standing ‘War on Drugs’. Also gripping were discussions over the rights of politicians to privacy in the light of President Hollande’s infamous affair, and a particularly animated exchange of views over wearing the burqa in the context of a wider debate about religious expression.

Political Society

STIRRING STUFF

Feminist Society

VINDICATING RIGHTS

The Feminist Society was one of many brand new societies set up this year, affirms Sofya Shchukina (PP).

Created by a group of pupils of both genders and from different year groups both to discuss and try to address the issue of sexism within and beyond the walls of the school, the society started off on a brilliant note with a very insightful and encompassing talk from Hely Khullar, who introduced the audience to the nuances of feminism and

the particular problems which women are faced with today. Meetings took place every fortnight, and involved a brief talk by one of the pupils followed by a profound discussion, challenging questions, and plenty of cake. Talks ranged from the classic feminist issue of sexism in the media to more controversial topics such as neo-feminism. Although it attracted some controversial views at the beginning, the enthusiasm of the organisers in encouraging pupils to at-tend really paid off and the attendance was even better than expected. It was truly wonderful to see so many pupils from different year groups come to talk about such important issues and take active interest, and the list of those eager to speak at FemSoc has grown longer every week. We are proud to say that FemSoc’s inaugural year has been a great success, and that the society has established itself as a real alternative to other school societies!

“ The enthusiasm of the organisers in encouraging pupils to attend really paid off ”

Camden Lecture

CONVERSION’S END?

For this year’s Camden Lecture, late Roman imperial specialist Peter Heather addressed us on ‘The Conversion of Con-stantine and the Christianisa-tion of Europe’, writes Ellie Shearer (WW)

As Professor Heather noted, what might seem a niche historical subject has become very topical in modern Britain, with the ongoing debate about whether the UK is or is not a secular country requiring us to reflect on what it means to be Christian. Professor Heather talked us through the puzzle of Constantine’s shifting public expressions of faith which took

him from orthodox paganism, through wor-ship of the sun god, to Christianity. At a time when less than two per cent of the Empire’s population followed this much persecuted reli-gion, Professor Heather argued that Constan-tine had long had at least Christian sympathies, if not Christian faith, but the recent Great Persecution meant that he had to choose the right time to, as Professor Heather put it, “come out of the closet”; each of his changes of stance coincided with moments of victory over rival emperors when he was at his most power-ful. Professor Heather then discussed the rami-fications of Constantine’s conversion for the authority structures of the Christian Church, namely that the emperor and the Roman state took on a role in the hierarchy superseding even that of the Pope. Even in the 11th and 12th Centuries, when the Reform Papacy be-gan to dominate the secular rulers of Europe, it adopted an imperial ideology to do so, a sign of Constantine’s enduring legacy. This reflection on the quasi-authoritarian nature of Christian-ity tied in well to a concluding discussion about the apparent decline of religion today, when the Church no longer has recourse to the kind of coercive powers it has deployed over the last fourteen centuries. Overall, it was a fascinating, very relevant and highly enjoyable talk.

“ Constantine had long had at least Christian sympathies, if not Christian faith”

The society’s format having been shaken up a little, this year was the first in which external speakers were invited to talk to Political Society. We welcomed Mr Piyush Goyal, National Treasurer for India’s principal op-position party (BJP) who gave a talk on Indian politics and public affairs, as well as Dr Madsen Pirie from the Adam Smith Institute think-tank, who discussed libertarianism and its continued relevance in 21st Century political and economic life. Each talk was a great success, and we hope this newly-established custom remains in forthcoming years.

Of the many pupil-led societies at the school, the Political Society can, perhaps more than most, boast of extensive Lower School involve-ment, with the Lower and Upper Shell ‘powerhouse’ proving the most reliable source of stimulating and well-put arguments, as well as ensur-ing our debates were as contentious as the subjects themselves.

Such great participation from a wide range of ages surely bodes well for the future of PolSoc, whose discussions co-chair Gabrielle Hemp-stead and I have found constantly informative and thrilling.

Every Friday lunchtime, you’ll find D06 filled with economics and non-economics students alike, learning about everything from Game Theory, to Ethical Economics, to Economic History, venture Rachel Bransom (AHH) and Tom Anderson (LL).

The speakers, from both Sixth Form and Remove, demonstrate how engaged and invested Westminster pupils truly are in the world economy and the functioning of markets at large. Their enthusiasm as they delve into the potential of India’s cow trade or the economic cause and effect of civil wars keeps the audience coming back week after week (that, and the plentiful supply of cake).

The Economics Society drew in members from all years, political orientations, and economic beliefs. The question and answer sessions have been especially spirited, having the Keynesians and Hayeks battle out disparate economic principles.

As well as having a multitude of captivating, talented student speakers, Economics Society also presented two impressive external speakers, Lord Skidelsky and Ha Joon Chang. Lord Skidelsky, prize-winning biogra-pher of J.M. Keynes, gave a fascinating speech on the fallacies of today’s economy and addressed the question ‘who is winning the war over austerity?’. Professor Chang, a development economist known for his best-seller 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism, gave a preview of his book and began to debunk some of the myths of capitalism.

Topics ranging from inequality, the information economy, and the free labour principle, encouraged members each week to take a new

Economics Society

BATTLE OF THE GIANTS

“ The Keynesians and Hayeks battle out disparate economic principles”

approach to economics and invited discussion and analysis from eve-ryone listening. A massive thank you is due to the voluntary speakers, the loyal members and the Economics Department for making it such a fantastic year.

“ A particularly ani-mated exchange of views over wearing the burqa”




As well as pure geographic fervour, this can also be put down to the calibre of our visit-ing speakers. Mark Lynas was our first speaker, on the topic of ‘Can Planet Earth survive the age of humans?’ He gave a comprehensive ac-count on everything from the myths of green energy to analysing the effects of genetically modifying rice.

Following an exclusive society screening of The Island President, chronicling the low-lying country of Maldives’ president Mohamed Nasheed’s struggle to do battle with the big global polluters at the Copenhagen climate change summit, Mike Mason, a key advisor to the vociferous Nasheed, addressed us. We learnt about the web of corruption holding up plans to become the world’s first carbon neutral country, and what it might take for the UK to do so.

Robert Swannell, CEO of the Marks and Spencer group, came to talk about his plans to expand M&S into a truly international brand. He spoke eloquently on the ‘Plan A’ scheme,

outlining the business ethics that will go on to shape the future of the company.

Next up to address the society was our very own Matthew Holland, tea-taster for Fortnum and Mason, who gave a rip-roaring account of ‘The Geography of Tea: from bush to cup,’ and then ‘How to make the perfect cup of tea.’ By then fully educated, the audience engaged in a group tea-tasting from a selection of Matthew’s huge personal collection.

At a Geo-breakfast, Paul Bayly, self-proclaimed ‘banker, soldier, sailor,’ and author of David Livingstone, Africa’s Greatest Explorer: The Man, the Missionary and the Myth told us about the life and legacy of the Scottish missionary who covered over 29,000 miles discovering what lay beyond rivers and mountain ranges where no other white man had ever been.

The last speaker in the Lent term was engineer Chris Pountney, who discussed the challenges of designing the latest British Antarctic Survey research station. Halley VI is a state-of-the-art research facility on the Brunt Ice shelf, dedicated to the study of Earth’s atmosphere, housing scientists from the British Antarctic Survey.

All the speakers expressed great pleasure over the genuine passion for the subject at Westminster, and were particularly impressed with some of the questions and points for discussion that were raised at the meetings.

It has been a great pleasure running the society under the presidency of Rebecca ‘Geog’ Mason and vice-presidency of Oliver Iselin and Martha Glaser. There are many

Secular Society

PROVING GROUND

This term saw the inception of yet another new society, adding to a diverse and growing roster, write founders Alex Bloom (BB) and Ben Brind (LL).

The Secular Society meets on a fortnightly basis to discuss the secularist movement and how it is relevant (or not) in today’s world. We wanted to provide a regular forum for frank and reasonable discussion on issues of religion and secularism where both people of faith and those without it could exchange views without fear of being ‘shouted down’. Alex Bloom took the inaugural meeting of the society, speaking under the broad heading, ‘What is secu-larism, and why is it necessary?’

The joy of keeping expectations low is that disappointment becomes rare and so we were delighted when 20–25 people (lured no doubt by profuse glazed confectionery) squeezed into Room 82 to listen in. Ben Brind tackled a similarly far-reaching question in his subsequent talk, ‘Does morality stem from religion, or religion from morality?’ in which he examined in particular the ideas of thinkers such as Baruch Spinoza, Sam Harris, and Plato. The response here exceeded even that opening night curiosity, and many were forced to stand with but half a doughnut in their hand as Ben delivered his ethical musings.

Following the Easter Break Rory Forysth spoke excellently on ‘Doubt In Western Politics and Philosophy’ to be ably followed by Mr Woodrooffe’s discussion of, ‘What’s wrong with Secularism?’ We hope to build on these promising initial meetings and that this success con-tinues next academic year.

Wave Society

FUN LOVING CULTURATI

Wave society has gone swim-mingly this term, from Go-Karting in abandoned biscuit factories to being immersed in Viking culture at the British museum. Wave Society seems to be making some headway in sating the desire of Westmin-sters to gain an ever-increas-ing number of experiences, be they cultural or purely for fun, explain Tom Ashton (QS) and Eleanor Blackwood (PP).

The society provides the perfect outlet for the intensity of Westminster life. New Sixth Formers have the perfect opportunity to get to know one another in another setting, render-ing the initial friendship-boundaries of classes or Houses irrelevant. Events vary hugely to suit different interests, ranging from academic pursuits to filmgoing. These are made easier to pursue due to events being arranged through the school, specifically by a small committee of students who ensure the events are always popular choices.

Highlights include the blushing Mr Simpson at the Shunga ‘Sex in Japanese Art’ exhibition, the cacophony of manly grunts

attempting to hide tears at 12 Years a Slave and the impressively varied amount of falls at the Somerset House ice rink.

Wave Society is undoubtedly one of the best aspects of Sixth Form life at Westminster, often helping to relieve the stress of day-to-day work and ticking the proverbial ‘cultural enrichment’ box, but more than anything else it’s a lot of fun. We hope that next year’s Sixth Form will love it just as much as we have!

Encouraging comments from participants:“It was amazing” – SB“Wave was what I looked forward to after a

hard week’s work” – AS “Wave was a really good way of getting to

know the girls”– TL

“ Wave Society is undoubt-edly one of the best as-pects of Sixth Form life”

more events to come, including talks by the Geographers of Westminster School past and present, a sponsored 24 hour cycle ride to raise funds for both earthquake relief in New Zea-land and the foundation of the JSGS library, and of course, more quizzes. Behind the big headline talks, there have also been grass roots Geography gatherings throughout the year, such as the Lower Shell Geo-book club, and Geo-photography competition.

For those who want to be kept updated on the JSGS, we are now on twitter, and can be reached on @westminsterjsgs. Here’s to another Geo-year!

The John Stace Geography Society

GEO FOR IT!

It has been another success-ful year for the John Stace Geography Society. Crammed either into the Sutcliff’s Geo-hub or the Lecture Room, it was consistently the most well-attended student-run society, declares a fervent Leo Lerner (WW).

Environment Society

ONE STEP AT A TIMEThis year, Environmental Society has continued its friendly and open meetings in the Dungeons, where pupils have been able to speak their mind about environmental issues both within and beyond the school, and also to hear occasional talks by pupil, reports Sofya Shchukina (PP).

“ It is really reward-ing to know that we can still make a difference”

The old collective was active in recruiting new members from the Sixth Form, and we continued dis-cussing various environmental issues and thinking about what could be done to make the school more envi-ronmentally friendly – our initiatives have already included getting bicycle racks and improving the recycling system. Grappling with environmental issues can be really quite challenging because of the magnitude of the prob-lems, and although it is sometimes frustrating to realise that we cannot solve everything on our own, it is really rewarding to know that we can still make a difference, no matter how small or local that difference may be. Following an established tradition,

the charity we supported was chosen by an online poll, and this year we chose ACRES (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society), a charity which seeks to improve living conditions for animals in captivity for which we raised money with Shag days and bake sales.




The 2013 series had a par-ticularly biomedical slant to it whilst continuing to demon-strate the multi-disciplinary nature of front-line scientific research, writes Kevin Walsh, Head of Science.

Imperial has an especially strong reputation for this, of course, and the three speakers each highlighted the benefits of broad technologi-cal expertise and awareness and the need to be increasingly prepared to work as part of inter-related teams of scientists whatever the area of research and development happens to be.

Dr Amir Eftekhar is a research fellow in the university’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and he spoke about the new ways of tapping into the human nervous system. Exploring how nervous signals can be used to collect data about physiological processes which then enable feedback loops to regulate these processes, he informed the audi-ence of how electronic engineers are paving the way for sophisticated monitoring and treat-ment of a wide range of conditions including diabetes and Parkinson’s Disease. Few present

will ever forget, I am sure, the astonishing footage of the patient who was able to dramati-cally reduce his profound Parkinson’s tremor with self-administered electromagnetic pulses via a probe inserted into his brain.

The second speaker in the series was a sur-geon, Mr George Geroulakos, who specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions arising from blood circulation problems. The medical imaging provided by teams of physi-cists and computer scientists enables people like Mr Geroulakos to identify life-threatening conditions with great precision and, crucially, at an early stage. Treatments which then follow such diagnoses also benefit from clinical physi-cal science as the amount of invasive surgery can be kept to a minimum with, for example, keyhole access and fibre-optic technologies being exploited.

The final speaker was Professor Maggie Dalman, an immunologist and also Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the universi-ty. There is a growing number of medical con-

ditions that have developed from 21st-century lifestyles. Our health and very survival depend enormously on our ability to generate immune responses to invading pathogens. However, over-active responses can lead to debilitating or life threatening conditions. Professor Dallman highlighted some of these outcomes such as autoimmunity (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis) and allergy, how they are identified and treated and the type of research that is being carried out in this area, again within multi-disciplinary teams. The remarkable images of smoking and constipated zebra fish were as memorable as they were revealing.

The popularity of the talks was very high indeed, drawing in Westminster parents and many teachers and pupils from other schools in gratifying numbers. We are particularly grate-ful to Dr Konstantin Nikolic for his help with securing the speakers and look forward to this fruitful collaborative programme continuing to burgeon.

Hooke Lecture Series

LIGHT AND DARK

Throughout 2014 the scientific community worldwide has been marking the centenary of the development of one of the most important research and analysis tools ever to be discovered: x-ray crystallography, writes Kevin Walsh, Head of Science.

It was very fitting this year, therefore, that the Hooke Series of lectures began with Prof Stephen Curry who spoke about how this technique (and one or two others) is used in the study of viruses, especially in his case, Foot and Mouth disease. Apart from being a clear discourse about the scientific methodology, this talk was a fascinating insight into the realm of molecular modelling, where the most modern and powerful computer programming is being used in a most novel and rewarding fashion.

The second speaker in the series was equal-ly well-timed. Prof Anne Lingford-Hughes is a colleague of David Nutt, who, the week before her talk, had given a John Locke in suitably contentious style. Prof Lingford-Hughes gave a thorough and scientific (i.e. non-politicised) account of how drug addiction develops and how it may be identified and treated in both general and specific terms.

Chris Davie is a research student at Impe-rial College and he gave the third talk in the series. It was on the topic of Nuclear Fusion, which was the subject of a talk given here last year by the CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (Steve Cowley), but this talk had a couple of notable differences. Firstly it concentrated on a different form of plasma

containment: using lasers. For once we had a speaker prepared to suggest that feasibility and operation might be less than the mandatory 40 years away, which was exciting. The other interesting slant on this talk was the history be-hind the developments and it was refreshing to

“ A fascinating insight into the realm of molecular modelling”

learn that the likes of Edward Teller got lots of things wrong before getting many more things right: a good moral for today’s young scientists (though maybe exams are an exception).

The final speaker in the series was our very own Julian Gaberle who, when he isn’t teaching German here, is a researcher at UCL in the ever-enticing field of Dark Matter and a particular expert on neutrinos. Again, it was extremely rewarding to have a young scientist enthusing about what can be an easily over-trendy topic and providing the audience with real and challenging science. Ninety-five per-cent of the universe’s mass-energy might well be missing but it is great fun trying to find it.

Tizard Lecture: Professor Jim Al-Khalili

PARADOXES IN SCIENCE

This year’s Tizard Lecture was held in March. ‘Paradoxes in Sci-ence’ was given by theoretical physicist, broadcaster and a per-sonal hero of mine Professor Jim Al-Khalili, confesses Christos Ioannou (MM).

The entrance to school was completely blocked by a mass of curious bodies, desper-ate to battle their way to those precious front row seats. School had been fully booked out for the lecture and anticipation was high.

The professor started the lecture with a few ‘warm-up’ paradoxes which he assumed not many people knew about and would get the whole lecture room to start thinking. What he didn’t realise, though, was that he was talking to a Westminster audience and that approximately three quarters of the audience had already heard these paradoxes. However, the show went on as planned.

Professor Al-Khalili talked about several different paradoxes, the explanations of which can also be found in his book Paradox: The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Science. The paradoxes he chose to explain to us included Zeno’s Paradox, Olbers’s Paradox, the Grandfather Paradox, Schroedinger’s Cat and Fermi’s Paradox, all of which he holds to be some of the greatest perceived paradoxes to be found in science.

“ Approximately three quarters of the audience had already heard these paradoxes”

It must also be mentioned that the professor answered every question that the audience threw at him without hesitation, even the ones from the very back which eve-ryone else struggled to hear. These questions did not stay in the area of paradoxes, but spread out to other thought-provoking areas of physics such as time travel and space-time. It was clear from his delivery and his answers that he knew everything there was to know about this area of science. I think it is fair to say that no one left the room without some-thing to ponder over on their way home.

Chemistry Olympiad

RECORD HAUL

Westminster chemists were in their element again in the Olympiad this year, picking up a record haul of 18 Gold Certificates, along with 22 Silver and 21 Bronze Certificates, records Richard Kowenicki.

Matthew Shin was ranked in the top 25 students and so was selected to partici-pate in Round 2. As the Elizabethan went to press, we were still waiting to hear if he was going to follow in the footsteps of Ravi Shah (OW), who last year represented the UK in the International Olympiad in Moscow. Ravi was ranked in the top half of 291 competitors from 70 countries, achieving a Bronze Medal.

Elsewhere, three students, Lily Dunn Goekjian, Ashley Ma and Yikai Zhang, were awarded Roentgenium Certificates in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, placing them in the top 1% of over 2300 entrants.

The Imperial College / Westminster Lecture Series

GROUP CURES




Biology Olympiad

BEST SCHOOL AWARD AGAIN

In February, all Remove Biologists entered the British Biology Olympiad where they achieved a terrific haul of 12 gold, 8 silver and 13 bronze medals, a competition record, announces Sam Baldock.

Ten pupils made it through to the second round, with Alex Cranston making it to the national finals where he narrowly missed out on a place in the UK team. Westminster won the 2014 Best School Award and pupils will collect this trophy at a presentation at the Royal Society in June. This is now the fourth time Westminster has won this award, previ-ously taking home the trophy in 1995, 1998 and 2011.

Biology Society

CLIMBING, SWIMMING, CRAWLING

The Biology Society meets fortnightly for a wide range of biological talks from students in the Upper School who are exploring their interest in Biology outside the classroom, writes Carmen Traseira (MM).

Over the past few months talks have ranged from forensic pathology to considering what would happen if a great white shark met a killer whale, Ben Brind’s lively ‘Commotion in the Ocean’ presentation. Another highlights

Trans-Atlantic Science Conference (TASC)

SPACE TIME CONTINUUM

A quick glance at the alumni list of Westminster School and Horace Mann High School in New York will reveal a similarly impressive selection of notable characters in the field of science and technology, from Nobel Prize winners to Vice–Presidents of the Royal Society. With so much enthusiasm for science in both schools, it seemed natural to want to see what extra-curricular science each school was up to; hence the inaugural Horace Mann – Westminster Trans-Atlantic Science Conference (TASC), reports Richard Kowenicki.

Early in the Election Term a group of five Westminsters took the opportunity to bunk off prep to showcase their science projects to their Horace Mann counterparts via Skype and a mostly-functional iPad. On our side of the pond, Alyssa Dayan and Tom Hartley had the teachers questioning their career choices after telling us about the $50,000 turnover of their project AirPi. If you want to know more or happen to be curious about the relative humidity levels in Baton Rouge then do take a look at http://airpi.es/. Armand Brochard then ably dem-onstrated how he successfully built, then broke, then fixed, then broke a bike made entirely out of wood and glue. Finally Meg Tong and Nadya Kelly talked about their multi-billion pound space station project that will roam space to exploit the mineral wealth of asteroids, as well as providing creature comforts such as a gym and a cinema. Not likely to happen anytime soon, but an excellent entry to the UK Space Design Competition.

Over in the Big Apple the students talked about their extra-curricular projects, which are completed on a more formal basis; each project earning credit towards the final grade for the year. We heard some very interesting and impressively technical presentations on the macromo-lecular interactions of DNA, the use of pigments and binders in oil paints and the next genera-tion of superconducting materials. It was all ‘cool stuff’and the whole evening left us all wanting to find out more. Now the link has been established, watch this space for TASC2 next year.

French Society

ALMOST INENARRABLE

Between September and April, the French Society played host to an exciting variety of speakers and topics, records Sebastien Blache.

Dr Blache gave the first talk of the year in French on the excitingly rebellious and liberal period of ‘Mai 68’. A month later, our very own Dr Buchanan expatiated brilliantly on the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre and catered for linguists and historians once again. Maurice Lynn was

back at Westminster after half-term to explore the works of Quebec’s national poetic icon, Emile Nelligan, adding his own musical interpretations of the poems to the mix. A most informative talk in French was given by Pierre Pillet (The Perse, Cambridge), who is an authority on Napoleon III. With the coming of spring, the editor of Alma Books, Alessandro Gallenzi, came to speak about Barbara Wright’s seminal translation of Queneau’s extraordinary collection of 99 retellings of the same story: Exercises in Style (Exercices de style). This gave the audience an op-portunity to read both versions out loud and relish their confrontation. The final speaker was the inenarrable Dr Choffrut, who spoke with his customary passion and verve about ‘regional languages’ in France and its linguistic unity. He manipu-lated etymology, politics, History and translingual puns with great panache. As a ‘soixante-huitard’, he was present at the first talk of the year. It was therefore a fit-ting conclusion to see him close the Cercle du francais for 2013-1014.

International Physics Olympiad 2013

COPENHAGEN, CARDS AND HEAVY WATER

Having survived two rounds of the BPhO papers, the UK team for the International Physics Olympiad was selected at a training Camp at Oxford. This included West-minster’s very own Irene Li (PP 2011–2013). Here is an extract from their experienc-es at the 2013 Olympiad in Copenhagen in July, written by the team themselves:

Ankomst: after a short flight, we were taken to the ‘largest hostel in Europe’, while our leaders were snatched to another location. We chatted to the Belorussian team and discovered that some of them were going to study at Mos-cow University for free because they were on

the IPhO team. We met our guide, Christian Brams, and Daniel introduced our team to ultimate tic-tac-toe, an improved version of noughts and crosses which actually requires thought, and Matei, a quantum version. The Åbningsceremonien (Opening Ceremony) saw us meeting teams from eighty other countries. After the fun of the ceremony, we were given an enormous park to roam in with several ac-tivities in the grounds, including one in which a combined British/Croatian team managed to beat the Chinese.

On Tuesday we had the Teoretisk Eksamen (theoretical exam), held at the University of Copenhagen. The questions were very inter-esting, being about a meteorite, a steam gen-erator and the Greenland ice sheets. However, they were all fairly long, and although we had five hours, many people didn’t have enough time to attempt all of them. In the afternoon we were given a tour of the Niels Bohr insti-tute, preceded by a talk about the physics of the now familiar Greenland ice sheets.

“ It became clear that no one had finished the very long questions”

was the talk on tarantulas by Joel Ritossa, which included a live tarantula feeding-and-holding session. The society has spread further afield than the school precincts with the annual trip to visit the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum. It’s been a good year for creatures with many legs and none.

The five hour Eksperimentel Eksamen con-tributes 40% of the overall IPhO mark. This year it centred on optics, using a laser meter to determine the refractive index of an optical fibre, then of water, followed by measuring the properties of two solar cells. After talking to other teams it became clear that no one had finished the very long questions, which was a relief. At the mid-term party that followed, we discovered our innate lack of talent for table football, so we swiftly gave up and played blind poker with members of the Vietnamese team.

Our energy and excitement pervaded the atmosphere during our visit to the Experi-mentarium. Everybody let off steam whilst we

waited for the results. In the afternoon we attended an official reception in Copenhagen City Hall where Kazakhstan was presented as the host of the IPhO in 2014. Saturday brought forth trips, museums and treasure hunts. In the middle of a card game, Irene

received a message with our results. We had all got medals! The eighteen year olds (Irene, Daniel and Matei) had got silver medals while Madhi and George took bronze.

We all had much fun at this Olympiad, learning lots of physics, and meeting many people from all over the world. From meeting and greeting many other teams, learning about Danish history, to releasing cups of water at the top of a rollercoaster to see them accelerating faster than g, and working with Bohr’s contribution to the atomic model, this IPhO was exciting and very well organised.

“ Daniel introduced our team to ultimate tic-tac-toe”

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Election 2013

PRIZEGIVINGArt Art Remove Martha MurphyArt Remove Ellie WangArt Sixth English Gumbleton Third Atalanta Arden-MillerArt Sixth Theo ShackArt Upper Shell Jack HochschildArt Upper Shell Jake WilliamsArt Lower Shell Alexander Dallman-PorterArt Fifth Jake KuhnArt Fifth James Wilson Religious StudiesBiologyBiology, Remove Chemistry Ravi ShahBiology Sixth Alexander ThomasBiology, Sixth German Francesca HoBiology Upper Shell Siegfried von Thun- HohensteinBiology, Upper Shell History, Maths Daniel KimBiology, Lower Shell Chemistry, Electronics, German, Maths, Physics, French Philip Webb Kent VainioBiology, Lower Shell Kushaal DesaiBiology, Fifth Dipen HansjeeBiology Fifth English 5th Creative First Shaun HouldenBiology Special Prize Chemistry Sixth Yikai ZhangChemistry Chemistry Remove Lachlan AlexanderChemistry Sixth Michael DavinChemistry Upper Shell Jared JeyaretnamChemistry Upper Shell Koshiro KisoChemistry, Upper Shell Maths, Physics Hugo VenthamChemistry, Lower Shell Physics Mark GallChemistry Fifth Bavankanth ChandrasekaranChemistry, Fifth Latin, Maths Liam ZhouComputer Science Computer Science Sixth Form Alyssa DayanComputer Science Sixth Form Tom HartleyComputer Science Upper Shell Michael Havey FitzgeraldComputer Science Upper Shell Noah MurphyComputer Science Lower Shell James ChapmanComputer Science Lower Shell Benjamin Fitkov-NorrisDrama Drama, Remove Peer Supporter Imy Wyatt CornerDrama, Sixth Drama Lushington Prize, English Phillimore Third Daisy HayesDrama Upper Shell Tom CritchleyDrama, Lower Shell Religious Studies, Spanish Eduardo StrikeDrama Oli Bennett Award Freya EastonDrama JECA Performance Award Rupi HendersonEconomics Economics, Remove Peer Supporter Alice BexsonEconomics Sixth Holly Harrison MullaneEconomics Sixth Patrick McNamaraEconomics Sixth Max TanElectronics Electronics Remove Udayan Bannerjee-Bulchandani

Electronics, Sixth Physics Andreas IoannouElectronics Upper Shell Amar GandhiEnglish English Remove James GunnEnglish Remove Louis WillisEnglish, Sixth Geography, History Harry SpillaneEnglish, Sixth History Eleanor ShearerEnglish, Upper Shell Music Joshua BallanceEnglish Upper Shell Alex BloomEnglish Lower Shell Mo Barry-WilsonEnglish Lower Shell Stephen HorvathEnglish Fifth Christos DalyEnglish Fifth Daniel Gonsalez PavesioEnglish 5th creative Second Alexander PopovEnglish 5th creative Second Zachary StanleyEnglish 5th creative Third Freddie HillEnglish 5th creative Third Sam WhiteEnglish Fred D’Arcy Matthew LewinEnglish Fred D’Arcy John PhippsEnglish Fred D’Arcy Julian SunleyEnglish Fred D’Arcy, History Lower Shell Ravi Veriah Jacques English Gumbleton First, Religious Studies Sixth Rory ForsythEnglish Gumbleton Second Miranda RivettEnglish Gumbleton Third Ffion Dash English Phillimore First, History of Art Sixth Lucy Fleming BrownEnglish Phillimore Second, Geography Sixth Martha GlaserEnglish Phillimore Second Gabrielle HempsteadEnglish Phillimore Third Thomas HillFrench French, Remove Russian James AldredFrench Remove Robert OldhamFrench, Sixth Physics Bianca BivonaFrench, Sixth Latin, Russian Walker ThompsonFrench Upper Shell Theo TindallFrench, Upper Shell Latin Arnav KapoorFrench Lower Shell Theo LegerisFrench Lower Shell Luca PatrinicheFrench Fifth Pablo Lopez-WestFrench, Fifth Physics Jordan Aguiar-LucanderFrench Gibb Daniel OcampoFrench Gibb, Spanish Remove Felix WheatleyFrench Philip Webb Jamie BatyFrench Stuart Leaf Forbes AndersonFrench Stuart Leaf Alistair StewartGeography Geography Remove Phoebe KitchenGeography Upper Shell Thomas HoldawayGeography Upper Shell Henry KitchenGeography Lower Shell Arun DolanGeography Lower Shell Thomas LindsayGeography Fifth Form Philip PfefferGeography Fifth Form Hamzah ZaidiGerman German Remove Rishabh Watts

Chinese Celebrations at Westminster

FULL MOON FEVER

As a non-Chinese student studying Mandarin, it has been fascinating to be able to immerse myself in the various aspects of Chinese cul-ture that have been celebrated throughout the course of the academic year, discloses Arenike Adebajo (BB).

For overseas students, it can be quite daunting living far away from home and family, especially during periods of cultural festivities. However in London, especially at a school like Westminster, there is an opportunity to celebrate these events within an amazingly diverse and inclusive community. Participating in the events has given me a more rounded view of Chinese culture and traditions and the way in which they are commemorated.

The festivities kicked off with the celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival in the Election term. The festival is also known as the Moon Festival because of the celebration’s association with moon gazing and a full moon on the night it is celebrated. The festival was marked at school by a small Mid-Autumn party in Purcells for all the Sixth Form and Remove boarders. We had an opportunity to talk to the teachers on exchange from Xi’an and sample some traditional Chinese snacks and moon cakes, which were definitely an acquired taste. After a few hilari-

ous attempts to sing along to some Mando-pop karaoke, the night ended on a more reflective note with a session of moon gazing in Yard.

The Spring Festival, which falls near the start of the Lent term, marks the turn of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The period of fortnight-long celebrations that mark the occasion is also known as Chinese New Year. A boarders’ outing into Chinatown for an authentic Chinese meal was an exciting way to celebrate the occasion. The fantastic food was certainly the highlight of the evening, and both the staff and students who went on the trip thoroughly enjoyed the occasion. The outing was followed by a talk in Abbey about the cultural significance of Chinese New Year, covering everything from the mythology from which it stemmed to the values that lay behind celebrations. The opportunities to come together as a group and participate in important parts of a different culture have been eye-opening, and have been an inclusive and fun way to celebrate the diversity of the school community.

School Chess

NUMBERS GAME

This year saw the inception of a new school chess team, which met with some success, affirms Nick Clanchy (MM).

We began the year by entering the Team Chess Challenge, but having won two of our matches and drawn the other a team of Nick Clanchy, Eugene Daley, Tibo Rushbrooke and James Meredith were knocked out on tie-break in the regional final by Hampton School. However we took this in our stride and fared better in the National Schools Championship, where Clanchy, Rushbrooke, Meredith, Zac Warsop, Ben Merrett and Alex Popper won our local London group with convincing wins over North London Collegiate School, Forrest School, Fortismere and Claremont High School. With Rob Wang bringing further strength to the team we cruised through our first knock-out round against UCS 5-1, before being whitewashed by RGS Guildford, whose phenomenal team have reached national semi-finals in recent years. Our thanks go to Mr Davies for organis-ing the various matches: we hope to do even better next year.

“ We cruised through our first knock- out round”

“ Fantastic food was certainly the high-light of the evening”



ARTS

MUSICThe Year in Music 84Orchestra Tour 86Adrian Boult Concert: Nicola Benedetti 87Orchestral Concert: St John’s Smith Square 88Barbican Concert: Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle 89Chinese Music Master Class 90Contemporary Music Masterclass 90Cantandum 91New Steinway 91

DRAMA Sixth Form Play: A Lie of the Mind 92 GCSE Drama: The Grandfathers 93Play Term Drama: The Crucible 93The School Musical: Fiddler on the Roof 94Visiting Drama: Death and the Maiden 95

VISUAL ARTSArt Department: Remove Final Show and Artistalks 96GCSE Art Show 97Art-Mart 2013 98Tate Britain Visit 98 Photography Competition 99

German Sixth Cameron ThompsonGerman Upper Shell Alistair MilneGerman Upper Shell Jack O’SheaGerman Lower Shell Matteo PozziGerman Hugo Garten Luke BridgesGerman Stuart Leaf George Troop Greek Greek Remove George BustinGreek Remove Flavia EdlestenGreek, Sixth History Neale Prize, Music Percussion Gabriel BarrieGreek Sixth Helena KhullarGreek Upper Shell Max GurassaGreek Upper Shell Rajiv SinhaGreek Lower Shell Henry EveleighGreek Lower Shell Zoraaver NattGreek Fifth Stefan OgnjanovichGreek Fifth Regan RingHistory of Art Hist of Art Remove Josephine GeczyHist of Art Remove Sam SpikeHist of Art Sixth Archie Squire-Lindsay History History Remove James AdamsHistory, Upper Shell Music Nicholas ClanchyHistory Lower Shell Ivo TriceHistory Fifth Adam Dean History Martin-Leake First Prize History, Fifth Dominic BrindHistory Martin-Leake Second Prize Thomas NightingaleHistory Martin-Leake Third Prize Tom King History Mitchell Prize, Peer Supporter Sive CurranHistory Mitchell Prize Victoria HingleyHistory Neale Prize Pip FrizzelleHistory Walker Prize Ali PorteousHistory Walker Prize, Latin Special Prize James AlsterHistory Whitmore Prize Alex CranstonHistory Whitmore Prize Jessica WebsterLatin Latin Remove John MorseLatin, Remove Peer Supporter Olivia VickersLatin Sixth Antony PetrencoLatin Upper Shell Harlan EpsteinLatin Lower Shell William KitchenLatin, Lower Shell Maths James PlautLatin Fifth Tom ListerMathematics Maths, Remove Physics James DaiMaths Sixth Seung Ki LeeMaths Sixth Jessica YungMaths Fifth Tiger JiMaths Senior Cheyne, Physics Remove Yuting LiMaths Junior Cheyne Akash JayasekaraMusic Music Remove Adam BonserMusic Lower Shell Darius Latham-KoenigMusic Fifth Theo GuttenplanMusic Instrumental Brass William BarrieMusic Instrumental Jazz and Popular Music Yoel SeviMusic Instrumental Strings Antonia SkinnerMusic Instrumental Woodwind, Russian Stuart Leaf Sarah ShoneMusic: Adrian Whitelegge Music, Sixth Aryaman NattMusic: Martin Ball Piano Eden FungMusic: Solti Prize Eliza MillettPhysical Education PE Fifth Philip Freeman

PE Fifth Pedro SantosPhysics Physics Upper Shell Sam MeijerPhysics Fifth Yuma KitaharaProduct design Product design, Upper Shell Religious Studies George MillerProduct design Lower Shell Olivier DadicReligious Studies Religious Studies Remove Harry Balfour-LynnReligious Studies Remove Augustine CerfReligious Studies Sixth Sarah Clarence-SmithReligious Studies Upper Shell Patrick FitzgeraldReligious Studies Lower Shell Shiv BhardwajReligious Studies Fifth Hugh SpaughtonRussian Russian Upper Shell Matthew BannatyneRussian Upper Shell Moses KooRussian Lower Shell Lucas JonesRussian Lower Shell Edward RongRussian Stuart Leaf Darius AfkhamiSpanish Spanish Remove Vikram JayaswalSpanish Sixth Lila MethaSpanish Sixth Reuben WilliamsSpanish Upper Shell Bonar McGuireSpanish Upper Shell Rory MeryonSpanish Lower Shell Adam TaranissiSpanish Stuart Leaf Aimée Jacquemot-DerodeSpanish Stuart Leaf Max KehoePeer supporters Peer Supporter Clarice BroughPeer Supporter Maria HuntPeer Supporter Freddie JordanPeer Supporter Cameron JoshiPeer Supporter Isaac KangPeer Supporter Nana Koduah-SarpongPeer Supporter Hugo LeattPeer Supporter Matteo LiebowitzPeer Supporter Chloe MclainPeer Supporter Gabrielle MichottePeer Supporter Isabella RamchandaniPeer Supporter Tatiana ShashouPeer Supporter Joanna VymerisPeer Supporter Ben WalkerPeer Supporter Yi Qing Wang Maundy Maundy Merlin BeytsMaundy Maths, Remove. Music Singing. Aditya ChanderMaundy Natasha DohertyMaundy German Remove Piers DubinMaundy Biology, Remove, Peer Supporter. Riki HouldenMaundy Alex MatthewsMaundy Drama: Special Drama Prize Archie StonehillNon-subject prizes U14 Player of the year Oliver Lloyd-WilliamsU15 Player of the Year Zak Khalique2nd XI Player of the Year Joe Andreyev1st XI Most Improved Player: Angus Mylne1st XI Player of the Year: Leo Nelson-JonesElizabethan Photography 3rd ‘Grand Canal by Night’ Archie HallElizabethan Photography 2nd ‘In the Louvre’ Sebastian DarkeElizabethan Photography 1st ‘Rain Room’ Katie BrokeCC Community Service prize Thomas HantonHarvard Book Prize Rachel BransomHM Prize for Head Boy, Special Drama Prize James SherwoodHM Prize for Head Girl, History, Remove, Russian,Peer Supporter Freya Turner


ARTS

The 27th Sir Adrian Boult Memorial Concert was both a fantastic concert and the opportunity for an exceptional masterclass with Nicola Benedetti (report on page 87).

The second Westminster Musician of the Year (WMOTY) Competition incorporated hundreds of first round auditions, followed by sectional competitions with adjudicators such as Charles Sewart (OW and Head of Strings at the Purcell School of Music), Anthony Williams (Head of Keyboard and Instrumen-tal Music at Radley College), opera singer Andrew Staples, and renowned oboist, John Anderson. The WMOTY Final was adjudi-cated by Howard Shelley OBE and featured six

of the School’s musicians: Matthew Bannatyne (oboe), Yuma Kitahara (clarinet), Henry Kitchen (trombone), Tommy Leo (piano), Jessica Yung (tuned percussion) and Hamzah Zaidi (‘cello). Fifth Former Tommy Leo was a worthy winner with a stunning performance of Ravel and Prokofiev.

At the end of the term, The Choir and Or-chestra of Westminster School and The West-minster Choral Society along with soloists performed Gioachino Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle at the Barbican (report on page 89).

Just before going to press the inaugural Contemporary Music Masterclass took place up Manoukian on the day of the tube strike (report on page 90).

Congratulations to the many pupils who achieved distinctions in their ABRSM music examinations, to all those who were invited to play in orchestras such as the London Schools Symphony Orchestra or the National Children’s Orchestra, and to Joshua Ballance and Yuma Kitahara who were this year selected to join the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

from both Westminster Under School and Great School.

New pupils made their Westminster solo debut at the New Soloists’ Concert at the beginning of October, before Purcell’s, Grant’s and Ashburnham gave House concerts. The Manoukian was the venue for the Popular Music Concert and the Chamber Music Concert, whilst the orchestral highlight of the term at St John’s, Smith Square is reported in detail below.

The term drew to a close with the Ensem-bles Concert up School, and the Carol Service in the Abbey which featured a performance of a new carol by Joshua Ballance.

The Lent Term began with the Concerto Concert, up School, in which Remove pupils Ying Li, Leo Lerner, William Barrott, Franc-esca Ho, Amy Drawbell, Zi Ding Zhang, Thomas Jordan and Forbes Anderson gave ex-tremely impressive performances of concerto movements by Barber, Beethoven, Haydn, Lalo, Mozart, Rachmaninov and Weber.

Wren’s, Dryden’s, Rigaud’s, Milne’s, Hak-luyt’s and Liddell’s all presented well-received House concerts up Manoukian whilst, in the same venue, the popular annual Jazz Evening showcased a highly impressive array of young jazz musicians.

Many of our trios, quartets and quintets performed in the Chamber Music Concert whilst three of our groups again represented the School in the Pro Corda Chamber Music Festival. The string quartet of Ravi Veriah Jacques, Sol Paek, Sam Bates and Joshua Bal-lance progressed to the Final for the second year running which, this year, took place in Birmingham. Meanwhile, our larger ensembles gave excellent performances in the Ensembles Concert to a very large and appre-ciative audience up School.


The Election Term 2013 began with an exciting new venture in which the Chamber Choir gave their own concert in Westmin-ster Abbey. This ‘St George’s Day Concert’ celebrated music from the British Isles and was extremely well received. The programme included works by composers including Byrd, Purcell, Stanford, Wood and Macmillan, as well as Benjamin Britten’s Hymn to St Cecilia to mark the composer’s centenary year. The Choir was accompanied by school organist Simon McGregor and pupils Sidharth Prabhu-Naik and Albert Kang who, incidentally, were awarded organ scholarships at Cambridge colleges Christ’s and Homerton respectively.

Prior to the beginning of the examination season, compositions for orchestra by Joshua Balance, Aditya Chander, and Adam Bonser were premiered at the Contemporary Music Concert up School. A number of new chamber music ensembles made their debut at the term’s Chamber Music Concert before the larger ensembles performed at the Ensembles Con-cert. In the Manoukian Music Centre, House Concerts were given by Busby’s, Purcell’s, Ashburnham and College, whilst our singers performed operatic arias at the Vocal Concert.

A number of pupils were able to record their songs with the help of Head of Jazz and Popular

Music, Mr Swana, and a professional record-ing engineer. Extracts can now be heard on the School’s phone system as the ‘on hold’ music.

The outgoing Remove performed at the Leavers’ Concert, again up MMC, before turning their attention to the Concerto Concert up School. Udayan Bannerjee-Bulchandani, Kwesi Peterson, Shanil Hansjee, Ellie Wang, Emily Harper, Sarah Shone, Adam Evans, Antonia Skinner and Eden Fung per-formed concerti by Schumann, Shostakovich,

Mozart, Hummel, Sibelius, Ibert, Elgar, Bruch and Mendelssohn respectively. The Leavers’ Service in the Abbey was an emotional end to life in the Choir for a number of leavers, before the Orchestra departed on a tour of Plzeñ and Prague (report on page 86).

The Play Term began with our vocal stu-dents receiving a series of masterclasses from world-renowned coach, Richard Stokes, prior to a performance of Schubert’s Winterreise. In September the 2013 WMOTY winners, Eliza Millett and Forbes Anderson gave a lunchtime recital at St. John’s, Smith Square, playing to a large audience of family, friends and students

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The Year in Music

FULL HOUSE

As ever, the musical calendar was packed with a huge range of concerts, masterclasses, competitions and recitals, involving several hundreds of pupils, announces Tim Garrard, Director of Music.

“ Concerti by Schumann, Shostakovich, Mozart, Hummel, Sibelius, Ibert, Elgar, Bruch and Mendelssohn”

“ An exceptional masterclass with Nicola Benedetti”

“ Progressed to the Final for the second year running”

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In February the twenty-seventh Sir Adrian Boult Memorial Con-cert took place, remembering Adrian Boult (OW) who arrived at Westminster in 1901. During a distinguished career, Boult was the principal conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra and collaborated with some of the world’s greatest solo artists. It is fitting, therefore, that past performers at the School’s ‘Boult’ Concert have included Yehudi Menuhin, Roger Norrington (OW), Felicity Lott, Ian Bostridge (OW), and Howard Shelley, records Tim Garrard.

Nicola Benedetti ranks alongside the best of this impressive list, and is one of the hottest properties worldwide in classical music today. One of the most sought-after violinists of her generation, Brit Award Winner in 2012 and 2013, she has inspired audiences across the world with her beautiful interpretation of both solo and chamber music repertoire, working too as a great ambassador for western art music by enabling it to become more accessible to the younger generation.

Nicola’s first task in the afternoon was to give a masterclass to three of our aspiring violinists, Francesca Ho, Ravi Veriah Jacques and James Tett. All three gave impressive performances of repertoire by Khachaturian and Kreisler. Nicola had a lovely manner and way of encouragement, and she offered both concepts to contemplate and tools with which to continue in their learning. Perhaps the most remarkable moment occurred when Nicola offered Ravi her bow on account of the lack of horsehair on his own. Ravi’s expression was like Harry Potter’s being handed Dumble-dore’s wand!

In the evening, Nicola was joined by her ac-companist, Alexei Grynyuk, for a truly memo-rable Adrian Boult concert, with a programme of violin sonatas by Beethoven, Prokofiev and Elgar, in playing of the highest order.

Beethoven’s Sonata No.7 in C minor, Op. 30 was written at a difficult time in the com-poser’s life. The resultant musical language is

dramatic and intense, and the piano portrays the demise of Beethoven’s hearing with its opening, falling arpeggiated whimpers in C minor. This was the first occasion on which anyone had heard the new Steinway concert grand piano in its new home, and one was struck by both the depth of tone quality within the instrument and by Alexei Grynyuk’s bril-liance. Grynyuk does not use a piano stool but prefers, instead, to recline almost in a chair.

Yet his interpretation was magnificent and full of mystery. What was clear from the outset was just how well the duo play together, and this was very much a concert with two superb soloists as opposed to one. Their interpretation allowed Benedetti to take full advantage of the acoustic up School with the humour of the Scherzo and angst of the Finale.

Rather like Beethoven’s work, Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80 begins with a dark and foreboding piano introduc-tion. Like Beethoven, Prokofiev was becoming

To be fair, we only missed four deadlines from the itinerary, and, aided by the ever-re-sourceful Mr Garrard, as well as our wonderful Czech tour manager, Jana Pírková, we were soon back on track.

We were there to give three concerts fea-turing works by Strauss, Mozart, Arnold, Peter Cameron (Head of Brass) and the premiere of Aditya Chander’s work for symphony orches-tra, Introduction and Furiant.

Our first rehearsal was rapidly upon us, and from then on we were in at the deep end, cruising through a mix of rehearsals, sight-seeing, and concerts. Starting at the Church of SS Peter and Paul, in Horsovský Týn on our

second day, before moving on the next day to a concert in the Spa Colonnade, Mariánské Lázne, and culminating in our fully promoted concert at St Saviour’s Church, Prague, two days later, we played a mix of old and new music, with the finale of each concert being Aditya’s piece, based on a Bohemian dance.

Judging by the applause we were certainly well received. And our impromptu choral performances, given from the top of a boat on an evening river cruise, seemed to go down a storm with the other boats – it was certainly amusing, if not always in tune – if not so much with our teachers. We also had time to relax. Whether touring breweries, going as a group in the ‘Crazy River’ at an excellent waterpark, or sampling fine Czech food, there was ample time to relax. All-in-all, it was a superb trip, which I am privileged to have been on. Many thanks to Jana Pírková (who also taught us a number of Czech words), without whom the trip would have been a catastrophe, and of course to Dr Savaskan, Mrs Bamping the great fixer, and Mr Garrard, who kept the musical spirit going throughout the trip.

Orchestra Tour

ADVENTURES IN MUSIC

Things did not start swim-mingly on our July tour to the Czech Republic. Difficulties at the airport, separation, and the necessity of leaving our cells behind made for rather a chaotic start, writes an agonised Christos Daly (WW).

“ It was certainly amusing, if not always in tune”

frail at the time of writing. In contrast to Beethoven, however, the short motivic cells of the piano have been replaced by a long and meandering melody. Benedetti’s technique allowed her to give expression and space to the double-stopping within the first movement, and Prokofiev’s muted scales, designed to sound like ‘wind in a graveyard’, were perfectly balanced with the piano. If her pizzicato didn’t quite carry to the back of the hall, she certainly made up for this with her virtuosic handling of the Allegro brusco. This movement also suited Grynyuk as he opened up the Steinway’s sound. The trance-like Andante was followed by a rousing Allegrissimo before the return of the Andante assai.

Benedetti’s playing was at its very best in Elgar’s Sonata in E minor, Op.82. The ensem-ble of every quaver passage of the exciting opening movement was flawless, both players knowing instinctively what the other wanted. Nicola Benedetti’s interpretation of the slower sections was wonderful, with a warm legato within the melancholic theme dedicated to Elgar’s friend, Marie Joshua.

Throughout this concert, Benedetti’s playing was generous, joyous and extremely communicative. There is clearly evidence of a learned technique and a deeply analytical approach, yet with absolutely no trace of the cold, clinical playing occasionally associated with the modern era.

Rather wonderfully, the Elgar came to a premature end when Benedetti’s bow disap-peared off the end of her strings and became entangled between bridge and fingerboard. As the audience gasped, with a huge smile and a spoken apology she resumed exactly where she had left off in order to complete the Sonata. What could have been a relative disaster instead enabled the audience to feel Bened-etti’s impressive warmth, provoking a standing ovation as the piece drew to a close. As an encore, we were treated to a serenely beautiful arrangement of Marietta’s Lied from Korngold’s opera, Die Totes Stadt. The perfect denouement to a magical evening.

“ Every quaver passage of the exciting opening movement was flawless”

Adrian Boult Concert: Nicola Benedetti

TAKING A BOW


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In March the Choir and Orchestra of Westminster School together with the Westminster Choral Society gave a masterly perfor-mance of Rossini’s charming and surprising late work, under the direction of Di-rector of Music Tim Garrard in the Barbican Concert Hall, writes Guy Hopkins.

This last and grandest of his péchés de viellesse as the composer described them, sees itself as a last testament – a bowing of the head before God over 30 years after he had ended his career in opera. But it is a bow suffused with humour as well as a kindly regard for the world of opera, at least in musical terms. Later on in the score the tempo marking at the start of the Credo is Allegro cristiano; “Just how fast is that?” a few of the community choir members asked themselves in one rehearsal!

The work was first conceived for a private chapel in Paris; the original 12 voices were to be accompanied by a harmonium and two pianos. Realising that the work he had created would quickly become popular, he adapted the work for full choir and orchestra as well as the four soloists. Rossini had retired relatively young, wealthy, extravagant and fêted by Parisian and European society. A mild unease affected him, tempting him occasionally to write music for friends and acquaintances. He undertook late studies of JS Bach’s harmony and counterpoint before starting the mass, combining the appealing melodic and de-

clamatory style of his operas with a neo-ba-roque seriousness. Two long, elaborate fugues close the Gloria and Credo as well as arias and ensembles for the four soloists and chorus which hark back to the days of The Barber of Seville. The success and scope of the work in the orchestral version inspired Verdi when he came to write his own Requiem Mass.

The performers in the Barbican Hall expressed perfectly the range and expressive depth of the work. The choirs sang with an excellent blend and discipline achieving some-thing of the required Italianate tinta or tone quality particularly in the climactic sections of the big fugues. The opening Kyrie was finely judged with conductor Tim Garrard phrasing the music perfectly with the chains of suspen-sions and the Schubertian shifts from major to

Barbican Concert: Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle

A HUMOROUS FAREWELLPeter Cameron has been associated with

the school for nearly thirty years, the last four-teen of these as Head of Brass. His Fanfare and Rondo for Brass, Percussion, Timpani and Harp got the evening off to a rousing, yet lyrical start. Written especially for this evening, it is Peter’s parting gift before retiring. The brass was both commanding and mellifluous whilst the per-cussion sprinkled magic dust over the double and triple meters of the Rondo. The timpani, played by Gabriel Barry in his last orchestral concert, brilliantly punctuated the contrasting sections with commanding security. It was the perfect start to an evening and set us up for the second item.

Saints-Saens’ Cello Concerto No 1 in A Minor, is justifiably one of the great pieces of the rep-ertoire. It is composed in the grand style of the late French romantic and it makes extraordi-nary demands on even the most talented and experienced cellist. So how lucky we are to have in our school Eliza Millett, already a very experienced and successful cellist. She provided us with a wonderful performance of the Saint-Saens. Authoritative from the start she seized our attention before caressing us with a lyrical cantabile, beautifully blending the tenorial and baritonal qualities that the piece demands whilst dispatching the florid passages with ease. She made the difficult sound easy, the mark of really good musician. Her technical excellence and instinctive musicality allowed us to relax and enjoy every note. She was wonderfully well supported by the orchestra, ably led by Michael Chwu and held together by Mr Garrard.

The second half of the concert was Bee-thoven’s Third Symphony, the Eroica. Stand-ing at the crossroads of the Classical and the Romantic, in it we hear for the first time the passion of the Romantic period emerging from the refined elegance of the Classical. The clas-sical period requires precision and grace whilst the Romantic requires emotional maturity and robust confidence. Both can be hard for even the best amateur orchestras. The Eroica is the ideal middle way. This symphony passed all too

quickly and it was a triumph. The string play-ing was secure and vibrant, the horns seeming to prefigure Sibelius. The dynamic contrasts were splendidly handled and tempi well chosen. The woodwind was exceptional and in the second movement the oboe provided the per-fect plangent cries for the great funeral march, often perceived as a farewell to his admiration of Napoleon and to his own sense of hearing as he grew increasingly deaf. The third movement started with a wonderfully controlled crescendo bubbling up to the energised syncopations of the timpani. The strings kept their tone and intonation sweet, the horns produced that unmistakable rustic charm that Beethoven demands and the woodwind again provided the laminating orchestral glue that is the heart of the music. In the last movement the orchestra executed the extended pizzicato section well, held the tempo in the fugue and produced the titanic final sweep, right up to the final, quin-tessentially Beethovian ending, which dare I say makes anyone of a certain age think of Dudley Moore. It was a very good night indeed.

It was a great delight to hear the school at St John’s Smith Square again in November for the this year’s programme, writes an appreciative Teehan Page.

“ A lyrical cantabile, beautifully blending the tenorial and baritonal qualities”

“ This symphony passed all too quickly and it was a triumph”

“ The choirs sang with an excellent blend and discipline”

Orchestral Concert: St John’s Smith Square

CLASSIC, TITANIC, ROMANTIC AND BRASSY

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minor mode and back again. The orchestral brass brought a touch of drama with their accurate a well-controlled fanfares while the woodwind soloists (Jasmine Curtis, flute; Mat-thew Bannatyne, oboe; Thomas Jordan, clari-net and Nicholas Conceicao, bassoon) played with a sustained beauty of line. The orchestral version introduces important accompanying solos for the harp (Katherine Silverleaf) which were played with a refined yet full tone.

The vocal soloists each in their own way brought a tremendous expressive range to their music. Kylie Watt the soprano sang with a sus-tained warmth in a part which lies very much in the middle of the range. Tenor David Butt Philip evoked a certain heroic, even thrill-ing sound in his Domine Deus aria. Victoria Simmonds the alto sang with a beauty of tone and superb control of the lower range while bass Samuel Evans balanced the whole quartet perfectly both in the ensembles and as a soloist of great vocal allure in his aria.

All in all this was a memorable perfor-mance and a fitting farewell Barbican Hall event for Dr Spurr.

“ The orchestral version inspired Verdi when he came to write his own Requiem Mass”

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This year we heard two compositions by Christian Mason (OW) in addition to the programme of music by pupils and 20th Century composers. The performers attended a workshop with three members of the Octandre Ensemble, and in the Masterclass itself the pupil composers had their works critiqued by an expert panel which included clarinettists David Camp-bell and Alan Andrews, Christian Mason himself and Dr Savaskan.

Works by Oliver Black, Josh Balance and Thomas Jordan were premiered. Oliver’s miniature for piano Rhapsodic Variations on B.A.C.H. took as its starting point four notes: B, A, C and B flat, which in German note naming equivalents spell the name of the great composer. This was very much a piece of the 21st century, however, as Protik Moulik at the keyboard took us through a succession of cluster chord harmonies and even a ‘gypsy-style’ section, reflecting the range of influences that came together in this piece. For his piece to the very end Josh took on the chal-lenge of writing for countertenor Amar Gandhi, accompanied by a small ensemble. Taking as his text a passage from Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, Josh used a wide selection of twentieth-century techniques from serial harmony to an aleatoric disintegra-tion to end the piece, in which the players slowed down at their own speed. Last was Thomas’s virtuosic Variations on Webern’s Quartet Op.22, performed expertly by Yuma Kitahara on clarinet and Aryaman Natt accompanying on piano. Borrow-ing from Turkish harmony as well as the 12-note set used by Webern in his original

quartet, Thomas set out to stretch Yuma to his limit with complex rhythms and use of the full range of the clarinet.

The two compositions by Christian Mason demanded even higher levels of skill and dexterity, and so were performed by members of the Octandre Ensemble. His first, Heaven’s Chimes Are Slow, written for flute and piano, took its inspiration from a poem by Christina Rossetti which meditates on time and transience, reflected by the use of different tempi in the two parts; Incandescence, written for solo cello, made use of extraordinary harmonics to give new voice to an old instrument.

Finally, the Masterclass provided an opportunity for pupils to perform their choices from the 20th century, encom-passing Bartok and Berio, Webern and Reich. The whole thing was rounded off with a performance of Stockhausen’s Right Durations for ensemble and tape. With lights turned down and ears turned up, this atmospheric piece was the perfect way to end a wonderful concert. Congratulations to everyone involved!

“ A wide selection of twentieth-century techniques from serial harmony to an aleatoric disintegration ”

Cantandum - the choir for members of the CR and friends – recently celebrated its tenth anniversary with a performance in Ashburnham Garden of Haydn’s superb Theresienmesse (Maria Theresa Mass), complete with orchestra, relates Gilly French, the group’s conductor and founder, who admits she had completely failed to realise date and was both surprised and moved to receive a bouquet at the end of the concert.

The evening had also come to the at-tention of the music critic from that serious bastion of musical criticism, The Church Times, who wrote warmly about ‘setting the standard for continuous excellence’ and an ‘endlessly rewarding evening’.

Other concerts in this past year include a programme on the theme of music, with works by Palestrina, Britten and Parry, and a concert in aid of the St Stephen’s Bell Appeal which included the Victoria Requiem, one of the most moving pieces of music ever written, and some challeng-ing Vaughan Williams by contrast. Works are chosen to fit the time of year, both seasonal and liturgical, the venue, any appropriate celebration and indeed the rehearsal time available, and it was a joy

to be able to sing this lovely music in a beautiful acoustic and to help the church at the same time.

In addition to our recent ‘discovery’ by the press, we had also been invited to take part in an international choir competition (based in London) but in the end decided against entering because of the time com-mitments involved. It is incredibly reward-ing indeed for us that a small unauditioned chamber choir, with its members leading such busy lives, can have such a powerful effect. Music is compelling and absorbing, refreshing and complete, and this is why we do it. People can always sing in life, and there are always opportunities to sing - it’s a gift that never leaves you. Keep it with you as you travel through life...

Cantandum

MUSICAL GIFTS

New Steinway

GRAND CENTRAL INSTRUMENT

At the end of the 1990s, with the help of ac-claimed pianist Howard Shelley, the School selected a fine, reconditioned Steinway Model D which has served for many years. Genera-tions of visiting professionals and pupils were the beneficiaries. As time passed this piano began to lose its brilliance, and so the mo-ment came to find a suitable replacement, recounts Tim Garrard.

Accordingly Mr Law and a number of the School’s professional piano teachers all played numerous instruments to find exactly the right one at London’s Steinway Hall, joined by external experts in-cluding pianist Tom Poster and the Director of Music of Magdalen College, Oxford, Daniel Hyde.

Chinese Music Master Class

IMITATING NATURE

In November, Dr Huehns from the Royal Academy of Music came to give a masterclass with his beloved Chinese instrument, the Erhu, the Chi-nese violin, write participants Arena Yang (BB) and Peter Chua AHH.

Before playing, he gave us an informative and interesting overview of the works, giving us insights into Chinese culture. He played the famous piece, Saima (‘horse racing’), written by Liu Tianhua during the turn of the last century, with themes varying from celebrat-ing harvests of the year to mourning the death from the Great Famine and describing the beauty of nature. A delightful one was Shan Jian Niao Ming, meaning ‘birds singing in the mountains’. It was amazing how the Erhu could imitate birds twittering in such lively and convincing way.

In asking questions, we acquired a deeper understanding of the music that we were listening to. We then played a simple piece and were able to perform it well, learning a lot in a short period of time.

Finally Dr Huehns introduced the Yang-Qin, played with a pair of sticks, followed by a piece called Shan Dan Dan Kai Hua Hong Yan Yan describing how attractive nature is in flower-blooming season, everyone found it more than enjoyable to listen to. It was a fantastic occasion!

This year saw the inaugural Contemporary Music Master-class held up Manoukian, replacing the Contemporary Music Concert in what would have been its 30th year, discloses Nick Clanchy (MM).

Contemporary Music Masterclass

UP TO THE MINUTE

Incredibly we stumbled across an outstanding six year-old in-strument, originally chosen to be part of the select fleet transported to the very best concert halls and recording studios. After a few years these pianos are retired from Steinway’s Concerts and Artists’ fleet, and a rare opportunity arose to snap this one up. We are extremely grateful to the ‘Fund for Westminster’ for enabling us to invest in such a wonderful instrument.

Rather satisfyingly, Howard Shelley was eager to find the identification number of our piano when he came to adjudicate the WMOTY Final in March. The reason Steinway had recently told him that his favoured instrument was not available for his forth-coming Mendelssohn recording was that had been purchased by Westminster School!


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Arthur Milller’s classic play, The Crucible, was adapted by the Westminster Drama depart-ment to the Millicent Fawcett hall with great style and ability, writes Sam Winters (HH).

The play dramatises the events of the Salem witch trials in late 17th century Mas-sachusetts. The trials are used to symbolise the similar ideological persecution of communism at the height of McCarthyism in America in the 1950s

Set on a raked, uncluttered stage the minimalist nature of the staging highlighted

the importance of the verbal and emotional interactions within the play. An imperfect cross made of wooden planks, on the floor of the stage and an identical cross hanging directly above it meant the stage was not left bare. With the crosses suggesting ideas of twisted beliefs, religious importance and potential death (they resembled gallows), the minimalist set was none the less thought-provoking. Lighting changes throughout the piece gently aided the audience’s attention rather than diverting it, leading to smooth scene changes and maintain-ing the importance of audience interpretation, in a play in which the judgement of physical events or lack thereof are questioned.

The actors gripped the uncertainty of the events at hand with ease, maintaining the necessary doubt in the audience’s mind throughout. This translated directly into per-formance with the audience hanging on the constantly-changing events of the play, with no sense of prior knowledge displayed by the actors. The quality of acting throughout was exceptional; however outstanding perfor-mances from Will Stevens (John Proctor) and Ellie Blackwood (Elizabeth Proctor) carried the piece. Both actors judged and applied the fine emotional weighting throughout, perfectly demonstrating the rising tension that occurs over the course of the play. Else-

where, Tom Critchley was impressive as the judge in the courthouse, and Clara Bradley convinced as an innocent girl facing accusa-tions of witchcraft, but the whole cast gave a thoroughly committed set of performances.

With the production conveying the real-ity of the events depicted, the impact of the piece was increased: the audience was thrown into moments in church, at home or in a courthouse in which the play escaped the time period, licensing the audience to relate events beyond the immediate setting. The play challenged and surprised the audience, and it was enjoyable throughout; the staging and stripped-down nature of the produc-tion providing a refreshing interpretation of a modern classic.

Play Term Drama: The Crucible

TOIL AND TROUBLE

Directed by Chris Barton and performed entirely by members of the Sixth Form, the play follows two parallel plots stemming from the same incident of spousal abuse. The depth of both plot and meaning necessitated a high degree of dramatic skill, which the cast was happily able to provide in abundance. At the conclusion of the play’s tragic final scene, the packed audience spilled out onto a warm Mar-sham Street emotionally spent, but full of awe.

I will freely confess to never having heard of Sam Shepard before seeing A Lie of the Mind, and know scarcely more now. However, Shep-ard is clearly not a chap who believes in soft introductions. Despite its fairly long run-ning time (around two and a half hours), the intensity of the opening lines was sustained throughout the performance – a tribute both to the skill of Shepard’s writing and the excellence of the cast. Set in the gritty American West, Lie commences at nighttime in a lay-by some-where between nowhere and anywhere. The anguished and expressive husband Jake (Will Stevens) has brutally beaten his wife Beth (India Opzoomer). With Beth seriously injured to the extent that Jake presumes that she is dead, both retreat to their respective families. For Beth, this means a return to the grim Montana cabin shared by her father Baylor (Max Reynolds), mother Meg (Daisy Hayes) and vengeful brother Mike (Jack Brodsky), whereas Jake is holed up with his unstable mother Lorraine (Leila Tompkins) and neglected siblings Frankie (Finlay Stroud) and Sally (Emilie Finch).

The two concurrent homecomings form the basis for the majority of the play. It soon

becomes clear that the two lead characters are mentally ill: opposing the neurosis of the feral Jake is Beth’s harrowing psychosis. Although both of these roles were expressed magnifi-cently, the real focal point becomes the more subtle insanity within the rest of their families. Whilst the trauma of the situation calls for unity, the members of each family descend into solipsism and delusion – ‘lies of the mind’, so to speak. The matriarchal Lorraine for instance sees Jake’s illness as an opportunity to return to the comfort of the past: treating her violent adult son like an innocent child. The resultant tensions and ironies gave the play a range of dimensions and aspects – producing a fascinating work of drama that I would gladly watch again.

Dealing predominantly with the themes of spousal abuse and mental illness, you could probably be forgiven for presuming that Lie was short on laughs. In fact, even the usually totemic Dr Spurr found himself in spontane-ous laughter at the triangulations of lovable good ol’ boy Baylor. Indeed, one of the production’s strengths was a capacity for lively contrast: switching from genuine comedy to intense tragedy with apparent ease. However, this was no droll stroll. From the pounding opening to the smoky conclusion, the cast succeeded magnificently in engaging the audience with the complexities of Shepard’s masterpiece. The only possible downside was the play’s position late in the academic year – depriving half the school of the chance to see one of the finest Westminster drama produc-tions of recent years.

Sixth Form Play: A Lie of the Mind

POUNDING COMPLEXITY

In June, the Millicent Fawcett Hall saw an engaging produc-tion of Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind, writes Rory Forsyth (GG).

“ The intensity of the opening lines was sustained throughout the performance”

“ The play challenged and surprised the audience”

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GCSE Drama: The Grandfathers

PRESSURE GROUP

The Grandfathers, by Rory Mullarkey, is a forty minute play that explores the transformation of eight young conscripts into efficient unit mem-bers through the forced loss of their individuality, writes participating member, Eduardo Strike (DD). Throughout the play they are trained under the intense but caring scrutiny of their sergeant, Tol. The group performed the play with an emphasis on naturalistic acting in order to develop characters able to powerfully convey the sense of transforma-tion prevalent throughout the piece.


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This is the first time the school has used this larger venue, which can seat 300, and the professional setting provided a fitting backdrop for the excellence of the perfor-mances. The musical itself, based on a book by American playwright Joseph Stein, follows the lives and loves of the people of Anat-evka, a small Russian village that is big on tradition and threatened by the turmoil and pogroms of 1905. The story centres around the humble Tevye, played outstandingly by Max Reynolds, and his family- his loving but tetchy wife Golde (Leila Tompkins) and his five daughters, three of whom in turn fall in love with and want to get married to someone their father doesn’t agree with: Tzeitel (Anna Simmons) with Motel (Alex Bishop), the poor but well-meaning tailor, Hodel (Bebe Lloyd) with the revolutionary Marxist Perchik (Nick Frost) and finally, and most disagreeably, Chava (Emily Finch) wants to marry outside

the faith to the Orthodox Christian Fyedka (Tom Critchley). This results in all manner of mix-ups, and a good amount of catchy songs as well: Matchmaker, Matchmaker, sung endear-ingly by the three sisters, If I were a Rich Man, a strong solo performance from Reynolds, and To Life, a rousing song and dance number that ends in a drunken cacophony, to name just a few. The songs also gave the cast a chance to show off their appropriately traditional Russian dancing, with lots of knee-slapping and Cossack hopping. One memorable number involved four Russians sliding along the floor with bottles on their heads, as the actors attempted to not let them fall, a little on-stage game, and another involved broom twirling and swaying. At one point during the first act Lazar Wolf’s (Harlan Epstein) late wife Fruma-Sarah (Alina Young) turns up as a ghost to warn Golde against letting Tzeitel marry him, in an energetic scene in which the

The School Musical: Fiddler on the Roof

BALANCING ACT

In February the school put on a sold out performance of Fiddler on the Roof, the popular Broadway musical, at the St. James Theatre off Victoria Street, writes Alex Bridge (RR).

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For those who don’t know (i.e. who aren’t Drydenites) The Lighted Fools are a theatre company to which Mr Hemsley-Brown has belonged for several years. Encouraged by the notifications sent over Easter, I decided to go and support my Housemaster in his second performance at the school.

Having never read nor heard of Death and the Maiden, its subject matter caught me unawares. Within twenty minutes Mr Hemsley-Brown, who played Dr Roberto Miranda, a potential serial rapist and torturous sadist, is tied to a chair, stripped and threatened by Paulina Salas, played chillingly by Nancy Lund, the wife of his host, Gerardo Salas. It emerges that Paulina was tortured under a previous dictatorial regime, and that she claims to recognise Miranda’s voice as the doctor who tortured her. She stages a perverted trial, holding both her husband and

Visiting Drama: Death and the Maiden

NO REST FOR THE WICKED

“ No time to recover from the shock of the subject matter”

“ Things start to get darker when the turmoil of the period catches up with them”

On the first day of the Elec-tion Term, The Lighted Fools brought ‘Death and the Maiden’ by Ariel Dorfman to Westminster, following a very successful performance of ‘Art’ two years ago, says Eduardo Strike (DD).

Miranda at gunpoint, to extract a confes-sion from Miranda.

As the conclusion of the play is left ambiguous, the audience is left with a thoroughly uneasy feeling. This was exac-erbated by the lack of an interval, leaving us with no time to recover from the shock of the subject matter, giving the play a distinct power and leaving the audience unable to decide or discuss their opinions until after its conclusion. This uncon-firmed ambiguity of the morally correct choice echoes Gerardo’s dilemma, and so grants a few moments of true empathy with the character, brilliantly played by David Webb, before one’s own thoughts are interrupted by other audience mem-ber’s opinions. All-in-all an intriguing, disturbing and thought-provoking piece that raises questions about the possibility of forgiveness in brutal circumstances, and which successfully shocks the audience into confronting them.

whole cast runs around the stage in fear of the ghost, who is dressed up in long necklaces and phantom rags and daubed in green-grey makeup - testament to the musical’s quirkiness. The stage itself was quite basic, which opened up the space for the performers. There was a broken wheel in one corner, and a simple doorframe to represent a room. These are cues that at once signify the poverty of the people of Anatevka and their humbleness, and the odds and ends lying around allow for dy-namic stage setups, with singers jumping on wagons, boxes and benches. Ultimate-ly, the musical was most enjoyable because of the enthusiasm and effort given by all the performers. They were able both to entertain with a song and a dance and to evoke the more human aspects of the play as things start to get darker when the tur-moil of the period catches up with them towards the end. Putting on a produc-tion of the musical, with its light-hearted romance mixed with serious, historically based drama is a balancing act, then – like trying to play a fiddle on a roof.

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ARTS


Our Remove artists were once again given this opportunity: it is their work which we showcased in the end of year Summer Show. The variety was rich and deep – installations, abstract painting, rambunctious colour and the delicate dancing marks of spirited drawings were are all seen next to films, sculpture and beautiful prints. Bradford Mills won the Olli Bennett Trust prize for his sensational exhibi-tion of tumbling cubes which cascaded across the studios.

The ARTISTALKS series continued with its usual astonishing array of variety and in-formative accounts by practising artists, which this year included Ollie Doe (OW) and Chris Otley, and more recently Jenny Saville and Richard Wilson, both celebrated RAs. It is wonderful to see Westminster Artists so deeply engaged in their work – life class, workshops, independent projects underpinned by superb research material, the studios buzzing with activity day and night and every space used to its maximum in the pursuit of creative ambi-tion. Hurrah!

ARTS

Art Department: Remove Final Show and Artistalks

SIGHTS TO BEHOLD

It’s a chance many artists crave – to exhibit their work to a large and enthusiastic audience, declares Simon Crow, Head of Art.

“ It is wonderful to see West-minster Artists so deeply engaged in their work”

ARTS


The annual GCSE art show took place up Sutcliffe’s, where Upper Shell artwork from last year’s cohort was on display throughout the department for parents and friends alike. There was a variety of work on display, largely focused on oil painting but with notable forays into sculpture and video. Mention should be made of Joshua Balance’s large exhibition of textured objects, complete with soundtrack, Jack Hochschild’s standout oil painting of an old lady with a Tesco bag and Harlan Epstein’s entrancing video project My Funny Valentine.

GCSE Art Show

FEEL THE NOISE

Tate Britain Visit

SANDLE AT TATEElisa Alaluusua took a very special Lower

Shell art lesson at Tate Britain when sculp-tor and Royal Academician Michael Sandle came by to meet them at his sculpture. The boys had an unusual and extended chance to ask questions directly of the artist. Sandle has previously come to the Art Department to give talks and the school is privileged to have established a link with such a notable contem-porary artist.

Art-Mart 2013 was an exhibition displaying work by students, teachers and professional artists, to be sold raffled to raise money for Space. Space is an arts organisation which actively pro-motes art in communities in London, and runs arts programmes in economically disadvantaged schools announce an impassioned Archie Squire Lindsay (LL) and Madeline Forbes (WW).

As students of art, we both feel strongly about the importance of art in education. In response to the proposed changes to the state school curriculum that would devalue art as a subject, we created Art-Mart. Turner Prize winner Chris Ofili’s donated work hang-ing next to a photograph taken by a student in Remove acted as a reminder that without encouraging talent there would be no profes-sional artists.

The cause generated much greater support than we had expected. Several professional artists were enthusiastic about giving work for the event, including Gavin Turk and Conrad Shawcross (OW), and many students submitted incredible artwork. Amongst these pieces,there were photographs, prints, paintings and even a metre long drawing of three cats!

As for the raffle, it was very successful – the 200 tickets were sold out before the doors even opened. We really enjoyed planning and host-ing the exhibition, and hope that it becomes an annual event! Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and helped raise over £6300 and especially to Mr. Walton, without whose help and support the event would not have been possible.

“ Several professional artists were enthusiastic about giving work”

Art-Mart 2013

MARKET FORCES

ARTS

ARTS


STATION

Football: 1st XI 102Football: 2nd XI 104Football: 3rd XI 105Football: U16A 105Football: U16B 106Football: U15A 106Football: U15B 107Football: U14A 107Football: U14B 108Girls’ Football 108Cricket: 1st XI 108Cricket: 2nd XI 109Cricket: 1st XI: Barbados 2014 110Cricket: U15 110Cricket: U14A 111Cricket: U14B 111Water 112Water: Monaco 113Fencing 113Eton Fives 114Cross Country 115Athletics / Sports Day 116Hockey 1st XI 116Hockey: Bath Festival 117Climbing 117Golf 118Sailing and Kayaking 118Martial Arts 118Real Tennis 119Bodystep 119Squash 120Swimming 120

The Elizabethan

2014 PHOTOGRAPHY

LondonLights

Nicola Benedetti Masterclass

Jordan Expedition

Monaco Rowing

Lake District DoE Silver

Scotland Walking

New York Trip


STATION

FOOTBALL 1ST XI: RESULTS

ISFA Cup• Wolverhampton GS (h): Won 2–1 (aet)• Repton (h): Won 2–1 (aet)• Stockport GS (h): Drew 2–2

(aet. Won 5–3 on pens.)• Millfield (a): Lost 1–4

LIS Cup• St Paul’s (h): Won 3–1• Brentwood (a): Won 3–1• Latymer (a): Won 1–0• UCS (Wingate & Finchley FC): Lost 2–3

(aet)

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

• Junior 6-a-sides Busby’s• Senior 6-a-sides Rigaud’s• Senior 11-a-side Rigaud’s


What a season! This 1st XI won more matches in a season than any other 1st XI side in the School’s 150 (or more) year playing history. They were the third Westminster team ever to reach the quarter-finals of the Boodles ISFA U18 Cup and were only prevented from progressing further by an extraordinary Mill-field side that went on to win the trophy. They became the second Westminster team ever to reach the London Independent Schools’ Cup Final and were within seconds of lifting the School’s first Football trophy before ultimately going down to a heart-breaking defeat in extra-time.

Individually, the captain, Oliver Iselin was selected for the ISFA U18 South Representa-tive side and then the full England ISFA U18 team for whom he played numerous matches, and Henry McNeill scored more 1st XI goals in a season than any Westminster player in living memory.

The seeds of success were sown in the African heat of the pre-season tour to Tenerife where the squad enjoyed superb facilities at the T2 Training Centre. Both tour matches were won, but, more importantly, the team hit the ground running back home and were unbeaten throughout the entire first half of the Play Term. This purple patch saw numerous wins but most memorable were those over Charterhouse, in the 150th anniversary match which finished with the same scoreline as the first ever, and a thrilling, momentous ISFA Cup triumph over a highly-rated Repton side. The second half of term saw some tough fixtures and a wobble with some disappointing

performances but some good victories still, such as the demolition of Winchester.

However, normal service was resumed in the Lent Term with the added spice of the LIS Cup run. Outstanding victories over St Paul’s, Brentwood and Latymer took the 1st XI to the Final where they led UCS 1–0 into injury

time before hearts were broken first by a late equaliser and then by a late opposition winner when penalties loomed large. Nevertheless, the Westminster team gave their all in what was an excellent match and a memorable occasion. It was the only match lost all term and made the win over City of London in the final match, only 18 hours later, all the more remarkable and pleasing.

The 1st XI’s success was built around or-ganised, disciplined and committed defending which made them hard to break down, allied to pace and potency in attack and a persistent threat from set-pieces. Suffice to say that they were the best team that I have been privileged to work with in my many years at Westmin-ster, and therefore, all merit mention.

The captain, Iselin, completed a fantastic three years in the XI. Playing at centre-back for the last two seasons, he was the foundation stone of the team’s success and confirmed his reputation as one of the outstanding players on the Independent Schools’ circuit, as well as maturing into an impressive leader. McNeill was a thorn in the side of all opposition de-fenders with his pace, strength and skill caus-ing innumerable problems and always offering an attacking outlet. He was a match-winner who could score goals from anywhere and more often than not did in a prolific season. Ali Porteous was an unsung hero, playing in the ‘Makelele’ midfield role and getting the unglamorous work done to make the team tick. His dramatic improvement at Westmin-ster saw him go from B team player to one of the first names on the 1st XI teamsheet. Heartwarmingly, Ben Leslie, having missed the entire previous season with a knee injury, fought back to form a potent partnership with McNeill. Leslie utilized his pace and sweet

“ A thrilling, momentous ISFA cup triumph over a highly-rated Repton side”

Season 2013–2014

FOOTBALL 1ST XI

P:31 W:19 D:6 L:6 GF:77 GA:36

STATION

“ One of the all-time great Westminster 1st XIs”

left foot to score goals and register numerous assists for his strike partner.

In goal, Kenki Matsumoto was a great shot-stopper whose handling was generally immaculate. Although he displayed a vam-piric aversion to crosses, he was a most reliable custodian. No-one had a better attitude and work ethic than Max Kehoe who gave his all in training and matches. His commitment at right-back made him one you would definitely want in the trenches with you. Similarly, Angus Goalen fought off tough competition to make the centre-back berth his own. Never shy of a tackle, he grew in stature throughout the season to form a formidable partnership with Iselin.

David Vardanyan was a heavyweight addi-tion at left-back, learning the position virtually from scratch and becoming an effective de-fender with a powerful left boot. Thomas Jor-dan made the right-midfield slot his own with excellent crossing and set-piece delivery rather than work-rate, but he did rack up more assists than any other player as well as some crucial goals of his own. This complemented the perpetual motion of Ollie Tuch who worked relentlessly up and down the left flank. All he lacked was a quality final ball but hopefully that will come next season. In the middle of the park, Max Clark was thrown in perhaps a year ahead of schedule but he coped admirably and developed tangibly as the season progressed, promising much for the next two years.

There were others who played an integral part also, such as Ciccio Coppola and Charles Murphy who were unlucky not to feature more but performed with merit whenever called upon. The loss of Bonar McGuire to long-term injury was a blow as he had shown great quality and promise in midfield and we hope to see him fully rehabilitated next season.

James Fairhead spent too long on the bench but did so without complaint and was totally committed whenever called upon to play either out wide or up front. Kazuki Kinukawa, Angelos Anastasakis, Marco Bertone and Sam Bates all made contributions also and promised much for the future.

All were united in a side whose great suc-cess was borne from teamwork, unity, com-mitment, camaraderie, discipline and organisa-tion. In the era of Sports Scholarship imports, this was a home-grown team whose whole was

something far greater than the sum of its parts. The entire squad was an absolute pleasure to work with and their record will stand the test of time to make them one of the all-time great Westminster 1st XIs.

Thanks to all the staff and coaches for their efforts, particularly Paul Barnes for his knowledge, enthusiasm and straight-talking, to the Groundsman, Franklin Barrett, and assistant David Wicks, and to the parents who came to support.James Kershen

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Season 2013–2014

FOOTBALL 2ND XI

P:18 W:8 D:2 L:8 GF:39 GA:34

Bill Shankly once said, “Some people say football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more important than that”, and it was exactly that sort of spirit that infused the 2nd XI throughout the 2013/14 season. The squad may not have consisted of the most talented group of footballers to have played in the 2nds in recent years but I think it may have been one of the hardest-working and most determined ones.

After a reasonable start to the season with four wins and four defeats, we travelled to Bradfield, who we beat last year, to experience our most painful and humbling point of the season: a thumping 9–0 defeat. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to avoid setbacks in schoolboy football and I always feel a team’s reaction to a setback is more important than the setback itself. And, sure enough, a few weeks later at the end of the Play Term we beat a threatening Highgate team 6–3 in one of our most accom-plished performances of the year.

Season 2013–2014

FOOTBALL 3RD XI

P:15 W:7 D:3 L:5 GF:42 GA:25

The Third XI had a terrific season. The players showed great character and worked hard for each other, while enjoying a healthy competition for places.

The boys went in at the deep end facing Charterhouse. In a 6–2 loss, they bonded in adversity and cherished the two goals Marco Bertone scored. The necessary work on their defending had to wait until after Brentwood, where they left on the wrong side of a 5–4 thriller. Sam Winters (twice) was among the scorers for gung-ho Westminster.

The first visitors to Vincent Square, Mar-lborough, were lambs to the slaughter. Hat-tricks for Dan Wallis and Zi Zhang capped a 7–0 win. Wallis threw himself over a pile of bodies to head in the winner at Winchester, in one fell swoop securing another hat-trick and the 4–3 victory.

The unbeaten run continued with a 1–1 draw into the wind at Eton. Jacques Laffy slipped on a sixpence to scramble home the equaliser after a Charlie Strachan free-kick. Mihir Date was excellent in goal, as he would be throughout the season, and the defence of Fergal Hanks, Alex Thomas, Rob Winter and Jamie Draper was very solid.

Aldenham were played off their own park by Westminster’s sleek passing and controlled possession. They missed a penalty in this 4–0 win, but sadly lost Gabriel Gurmail-Kaufmann to a leg injury.

Perhaps the boys’ sweetest moment was their 3–1 win against the Common Room.

“ We were unbeaten in our final four matches of the season”

“ Wallis threw himself over a pile of bodies to head in the winner”

Then it rained. And rained. We didn’t play any football from 11 January until 1 March due to the weather, which had a significant impact on the boys’ morale. However, we were unbeaten in our final four matches of the season, during which the improved skills and perseverance of Removes like Rory Taylor, Eddy Khalil, Will Stevens, Sam Winters, Niko

Siracusa, the team’s top scorer over the season, and Fergal Hanks, who started the season as a 3rd XI player and who finished it looking close to a 1st XI one, became apparent. Marco Bertone in the Sixth Form also progressed markedly during the season and we look for-ward to seeing how he and his peers fare in the 1st XI next year.

Great thanks to our coach Matt McEn-tegart who, once again, set the benchmark for skills, effort and style on and off the pitch. The boys and I have learnt so much about the beautiful game from him. I am also grateful to the mums and dads of the 2nd XI who have supported the team, one way or another, dur-ing the season.Nick Fair

Jacques Laffy anchored the midfield alongside the combination of George Salmon and Sam Winters, reducing the Common Room to Titus Bramble look-alikes. Mr Ullathorne scored his usual tap-in, but with Danny Wallis scoring yet another brace, bragging rights went to the boys.

Westminster were not long in the game at Bradfield, and it was a shame that this fixture did not fall in October or March, when they hit their peak. But recovery from that 4–0 defeat soon came at Alleyn’s. There, debutants Colm Hanway and Jamie Gray threw themselves into a hard-working performance which earned that most elusive of school football scorelines, 0–0. Nick Frost almost nicked the game with a header from an inch-perfect cross by Winters. A comprehensive 3–0 win at Highgate, cour-tesy of a Nico Siracusa hat-trick, earned the boys an extra slice of Christmas turkey.

Westminster made a super start at Harrow and were cruising 2–0 up at half-time, with Mike Ogilvy having volleyed home the pick of the goals. They then seemed to lose their passing game and, as Harrow ratcheted up the pressure, the defence couldn’t prevent a 3–2 turnaround.

After a lengthy rain break, confidence returned in a 6–0 win against St. Columba’s. After a poacher’s brace by Akash Jayasekara, Marwin Kalo smashed a spectacular free-kick in off the crossbar. A 5–0 scoreline didn’t flatter them in another vintage performance at King’s. Frost celebrated his hat-trick with a cartwheel. His pure header from Tom Lev-erick’s cross slew that dragon which had been breathing since Alleyn’s.

On a lovely pitch at Dulwich, Westmin-ster enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but couldn’t break the deadlock and 10-men Dulwich broke away and scored the winner. The season ended with a thrilling, end-to-end draw at home to City. Sam Dunning poached underneath the cross-bar, and Mihir Date made a series of stunning saves. Many thanks to all who played for the 3rd XI and to Dr. Williams, Mr. Hayter and Paul Whittle for their coaching.Joseph Ireland

Season 2013–2014

FOOTBALL U16A

P:12 W:4 D:2 L:6 GF:31 GA:25

In April 2014 controversial Chelsea boss José Mourinho hit the papers with his headline grabbing statement, “The Premier League table is fake!”

Whilst I hate to agree with ‘The Special One’, he does perhaps have a point that statistics should be taken carefully. Certainly looking at the U16A’s match statistics you may

be led to think that they’ve had a rather disap-pointing season. Out of the dozen matches they have played, they won just four, lost six and drew two. But a look behind the statistics shows that actually the season has been one of gutsy performances, fantastic individual effort and many great moments.

Back in September Charterhouse were our first opponents. As the final whistle blew the score was a satisfactory 3–3; however, frustrat-ing losses of 5–4 against Brentwood and 4–0 against Winchester followed. It’s a very long journey to Winchester, but it’s an even longer journey back. Spirits were much higher after a draw against Eton and a storming 7–0 win against Aldenham. The team were starting to come together very well. Keeper Angelos Anastasakis rescued the side on a number of occasions with some fantastic reflex saves. Theo Legeris, Song Kim, Oscar Schwartz and Joe Schwarzmann were working well as a con-

fident defensive team. Clem Farrar, Horatio April, Olivier Dadic and Kazuki Kinakawa were battling hard in midifield. Finally, Barnaby Graff and Zak Khalique were proving to be a tremendously skilled duo up front. Until the dying minutes a rare draw against against Bradfield seemed a likely result until a controversial penalty was awarded against our boys leaving us 2–1 down. However it only seemed to motivate the boys who followed up the loss with a well-deserved 7–1 win against Alleyn’s (the only Westminster team to win against Alleyn’s this year). A few close losses against Dulwich, Bedford and Highgate fol-lowed but these were peppered with great wins against Harrow and Kings Canterbury.

Overall a very promising season and many thanks must go to James Lewis, the U16As coach who has worked very hard throughout the season to bring out the best in the boys. Josh Moore

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Season 2013–2014

FOOTBALL U14A

P:15 W:5 D:4 L:6

The U14As have worked hard through a challenging first season and gelled into a strong side with an excellent team spirit. A tough opening against Charterhouse and Brentwood came upon us too quickly and despite courage, a lack of organisation cost us as we shipped 10 goals, losing both games. However, with train-ing under our belt the next game against Forest saw victory and the following draw against John Lyon showed great character as we twice came back from a two-goal deficit. The rest of the first term saw a string of very close games often decided by the odd goal. Unfortunately, we fell the wrong side of a few of these close games, with an inability to clear costing us decisive goals. Particularly good performances against Eton and Bradfield are of note where it was a mark of the quality of performances that we left the pitch disappointed to lose by a single goal to very strong footballing schools. However, we did also manage draws against both Aldenham and Alleyn’s and recorded conclusive victories against both KES Witley (3–1) and Chigwell (6–0) where our attacking football clicked and our defence showed the progress they had made since the start of the year.

An early match against Harrow found us wanting and a little rusty after Christmas as lost 4–1 to an athletic home side. Following this wakeup call, we had a tough away fixture against Latymer Upper on a wet, blustery afternoon. Despite this the boys rose to the occasion and arguably played some of their best football as they cut through the opposition nealyt and directly, winning 3–1 (a score that flattered Latymer). A return fixture against Highgate also saw a great team performance and we were unlucky to draw 1–1 despite play-ing some great football against a team that had beaten us the previous term. Another great win against King’s Canterbury saw the culmination of a lot of hard training which was particularly pleasing. Unfortunately, we could not quite finish the year in the same vein as a feisty match against Dulwich saw us narrowly lose.

The entire team would like to thank Cecil Nyako for his constant energy and enthusiasm which rubbed off on the boys. Sincere thanks also to the many parents who supported the team throughout the season.Chris Kingcombe

Season 2013–2014

FOOTBALL U16B

P:9 W:3 D:3 L:3 GF:28 GA:28

The team managed a perfectly sym-metric season, with a considerably varied set of results over the nine matches played. The season started well with a 5–2 victory away at Charterhouse, displaying our attacking quali-ties with Ivo Trice and James Chapman among the goals. The goals continued to flow at Brentwood, but unfortunately we went down in a thrilling 4–6 loss against the physically imposing Essex side. Both matches against Winchester and Eton were one-sided; our direct passing play toppled Winchester 6–1, but Eton’s excellent finishing blew us away in windy conditions, going down 2–6.

In the last two games before Christmas, we faced the mighty Bradfield, and London rivals Highgate. In one of our strongest perfor-mances this year we were 2–2 against Bradfield with 5 minutes remaining when a long ball was prodded in by the Bradfield striker. Two more goals in the closing minutes resulted in a scoreline of 2–5 which did not tell the whole story. The match against Highgate was a much cagier affair with few chances at either end. Our usual attacking threat was absent and we had to settle for a 1–1 draw.

The schedule since Christmas was dis-rupted due to adverse weather conditions, with only three games being played. The first away at Harrow was an end-to-end encounter with some excellent finishing from Westminster. As the clock was ticking down and the score at 2–2, James Chapman ran onto a knock-on to finish excellently from the edge of the box and win the game. King’s Canterbury and Dul-wich both ended up square. I wish the boys all the best in the Senior sides. Will Galton

Season 2013–2014

FOOTBALL U15A

P:23 W:6 D:6 L:11 GF:38 GA:57

The season began with a warm up six-a-side tournament in the Barnes sunshine, at which the cobwebs were run off under the watchful gaze of David Beckham (well, he was two pitches away but close enough.) The U15s battled their way out of the group phase but lost in the quarter finals to the eventual win-ners Ardingly. The 11-a-side season started with a narrow loss to Charterhouse, before a comfortable victory in the first round of the cup at Kimbolton, Jack Snell scoring twice. A loss to Brentwood was soon put right with a comeback draw against Forest and a 2–0 victory over John Lyon to start off the season properly. A creditable performance in the

second round of the cup against Whitgift’s academy players unfortunately resulted in a 1–0 loss through a fluke goal, and Eton proved too strong. A blow to the season also occurred in that match when Phil Freeman broke his arm, and was ruled out until Christmas. As the next four matches were lost, it perhaps indi-cated that the team were missing his presence, but after the stepping up of Snell and Advik Bannerjee the team then went four matches unbeaten by drawing the remaining fixtures

“ A ding-dong battle on Battersea astroturf against rivals St Pauls left honours even”

Season 2013–2014

FOOTBALL U15B

P:17 W:7 D:1 L:9 GF:30 GA:34

After a relegation dogfight as the West-minster 14Bs that barely saw them survive in top-flight football, pre-season training for the 2013-14 season was vital. The summer had been dominated by the controversial decision to hire a young, inexperienced manager and a rebranding to the Westminster 15Bs, aimed to target teenage foreign investment, which had caused much outrage among their domestic fan base.

The first match of the season was played in front of a home crowd and saw in the historic clash against Charterhouse. A fiercely contested game, in which the lead resembled a hot potato, eventually brought in the first loss, ending 5-6. Advik Banerjee was playing for fun, scoring a hat-trick. Such an impassioned performance was sure to attract attention and in fact saw him spend the majority of the rest of the season, quite successfully, with the U15As. Positives to be taken from the game were the leadership of new skipper Sam White and the tenacity of summer transfer Alex Popov, both in central midfield.

The following loss to a skilful Brentwood was soon forgotten after the 6-1 win against John Lyon. Ben Andrews scored on his debut, the start of the most successful goals-to-games ratio in the entire club. The defence had now stabilised into the formidable quartet of Rob Collyns, Adam Dean, Rob Lownie and Tom Lister. The two agile fullbacks pushed play on all season whilst the central pair developed their own enviable style of symbiosis. How-ever, an evident void had developed up front in the proceeding losses against Eton and Ibstock Place. Notable, though, were the goal-line gymnastics of Isaac Rodgers, gaining A-team

of the term against Winchester, KES Witley, Chigwell and Highgate. The highlight of November was Isaac Rodgers’ first-class save to rescue a point against Winchester, leaping from nowhere to deny their goal-bound strike.

2014 brought renewed hope, with Freeman back and the midfield starting to function well. Victories against City of London and Highgate meant confidence was high, and the team was starting to build. A depleted side lost to Bedford Modern, before a ding-dong battle on Battersea astroturf against rivals St Pauls left honours even at 1–1. The loss to Latymer was a blip, before the team ended the season in style with convincing 3–1 wins away to both King’s Canterbury and Dulwich, Freeman netting a brace on each occasion.

The individuals in this side made great progress through the year, and are turning into a formidable team. Having mentioned the strikers and keeper already it would be remiss not to acknowledge the remaining players. The full-backs, Ollie Lloyd-Williams and Max Kalia were excellent throughout the season, Welles Iselin led the centre backs admirably alongside Luis Lesmes or Regan Ring. The central midfield combination of Ed Hitchcock holding, captain Hadrien Janbon leading by example and the tricky feet of Jackson Philips was tough to beat. Out wide Will Sergent added pace and skill with one of Eudon Gray-Desai, James Wilson, Francis Morse or Advik Bannerjee combining well.

The player of the season was Welles Iselin, who marshalled the defence brilliantly and was an absolute rock. Special mention must also go to Hadrien Janbon who was a fantastic skipper, and to Jackson Philips who displayed rare skill and ability. Many thanks to Bleu for the time and effort he put into coaching, and hopefully this year group can keep improving as they move into the U16s. Charles Ullathorne

“ An uncountable number of goals were disallowed”

match strength after an early injury. It was not really until the away game at Aldenham that a contender stepped-up: Louis Guerrini. Scoring his first brace of the season, we came back from behind to win 3-2. The winning goal typified Guerrini’s style – a looped shot leaving the keeper flapping.

Never ones to stay winning, a pattern of loses developed against Bradfield, Alleyn’s and Winchester. It was no coincidence that around this time we lost our captain. Luckily the like-for-like player Theo Johnson was spotted on a free transfer – his presence and dogged-ness were exactly what the team needed. Matt Carlton was also vitally secured as the keeper for the rest of the season. The last few games of 2013 were crucial and in typhoon conditions away at Chigwell, Jack Snell, down from the As, scored his first goal for us. We went on to win 2-1, enabled by exquisite performances from Omar Zakaria and James Wilson. The following two games saw narrow losses to Highgate and Harrow.

A well-deserved 2-2 draw home to City of London brought in a change of fortune, proceeding triumphantly to win the last four games of the season. This included a 1-0 win against Latymer, during which an uncount-able number of goals were disallowed, still the subject of a FIFA enquiry. The season ended with a very confident away win against Dulwich College, featuring the return of the much-missed Sam White.

Both individuals and the team collec-tively have progressed enormously and have made my first year of Westminster football very enjoyable. Player of the season goes to Alex Popov, who played every single match with his heart on his sleeve. Other notable performances include Gabriel Morley’s and Will Fryer’s who stepped up during our keeper drought as well as Francis Morse and Eudon Gray-Desai who spent their season bridging the gap between the A and B teams. The mere presence of Niall Kavanagh and Hugo May on the teamsheet was sufficient to cause trepida-tion in the opposition dugout. Many thanks to all the backroom staff, assistant coach Mark Feltham and touchline dads: Messrs Lister, Dean and White.Tom Cousins

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Season 2013

CRICKET 1ST XI

Over the last fifteen or so years, the First XI have enjoyed several memorable and out-standing seasons. 2013 was right up there with the best of them, if not better. Statistically, the side won thirteen of their nineteen matches with three draws and only three defeats, and, went unbeaten for the last fifteen matches of the season spread over two months, includ-ing winning, for the third time, the London Schools’ U19 Dongray Cricketer Cup.

After a freezing pre-season up Fields, the early emphasis was on Twenty20 as the pupils destroyed a strong Common Room side in a warm-up for the HMC competition in which unfortunately, they failed to do themselves jus-tice against Forest and Berkhamsted, although the batting of Milo Johnson and Leo Nelson-Jones was encouraging in the latter.

The match against Charterhouse was keenly contested throughout with Nelson-Jones’s bowling and Johnson’s batting making West-minster favourites at Tea. However, a batting collapse left Kavi Amin and George Grylls fight-ing a stirring rearguard action which took the match to the last over before finally succumbing.

Thereafter, the team did not taste defeat again, with virtually every match bringing individual highlights. Johnson made three half-centuries on the trot in the win against Alleyn’s and Kit Winder began a similar run in the exhilarating draw against the MCC where the School just fell short chasing 250. Another Winder fifty got them past Newham College in the LSCA Cup, and, his third in a row (aided by fifty from Nelson-Jones) was enough to earn a tight victory over a strong Aldenham. Winder picked up wickets also and took a ‘five-for’ in the draw with Merchant Taylor’s which was followed by the rout of Lords & Commons, including the only century of the season from Yash Diwan.

Another Nelson-Jones fifty was enough to reach the Semi-finals of the LSCA Cup by defeating Leyton College before a blistering innings of 90* (off only 51 balls) by James Fair-head set up the victory at Chigwell which was finished off by the bowling of Nelson-Jones and U14 debutant Oliver Lloyd Williams, as well as a stunning catch from Thomas Jordan.

A further whirlwind fifty (in 26 balls) from Oliver Iselin and another from Johnson set up a fifth consecutive victory over the Old West-minsters in the Jim Cogan Cup with Winder applying the coup de grace with the ball. John Lyon were comfortably dispatched following excellent bowling from Eugene Daley, and then Angus Mylne’s half-century helped post a respectable score against the Butterflies before the rain triumphed.

The LSCA Semi-final was a revenge match against the holders, City of London, who had knocked us out of the competition last year. At 15–4, Westminster’s innings was in tatters

before Mylne and George Bustin staged a fantastic recovery to post a respectable total which was made a winning one by tight bowl-ing and fielding. There was revenge for the previous year also in the match against High-gate as they failed to cope with the spin twins Nelson-Jones and Amin in a game which included a stunning boundary catch by Dan Andreyev. Repton, Dubai were beaten thanks to all-round excellence from Amin plus a Daley half-century and destructive Winder bowling, before the season climaxed with the LSCA Cup Final against Alleyn’s at Shenley. This nerve-racking battle saw excellent bowl-ing (from Daley and Amin in particular) and fielding put Westminster in the ascendancy. However, they lost wickets regularly, with just Winder playing a fine lone hand. The game hung in the balance at 96–7 when a crucial dropped boundary catch saw him take full advantage and steer the side to a nail-biting triumph and a fitting end to a superb season.

This was a team built around several expe-rienced cricketers but one in which every squad player ‘stepped up’ at various stages of the sea-son. Individually, the 1st XI Player of the Year was the captain, Nelson-Jones who was the pick of a bevy of talented all-rounders as well as lead-ing the side with increased acumen in his sec-ond season in charge. He was closely followed by Winder who was the leading wicket-taker and third-highest run-scorer whilst the young-sters, Amin and Daley (13 wickets) bowled well and each scored their maiden 1st Team half-centuries. Johnson was the leading run-scorer again thanks to an outstanding start, and, the most improved player was the wicketkeeper Mylne whose glovework developed enormously as well as playing some vital innings.

Finally, I would like to thank all the staff and coaches connected with Cricket Station for their efforts throughout the year, especially Keerthi Ranasinghe who enjoyed an excellent first season as 1st XI coach. In addition, I would like to thank groundsman Franklin Barrett and his assistant, David Wicks, for all their unstint-ing hard work, and Tony Japhet the scorer.James Kershen

P:19 W:13 D:3 L:3

Season 2013–2014

FOOTBALL U14B

P:14 W:4 D:2 L:8 GF:16 GA:37

Season 2013–2014

GIRLS’ FOOTBALL

Now in a second season of playing com-petitive matches, Westminster Girls’ football team has had a busy and tough year. With two, longer, training sessions a week we had time to focus on the tactics of the game, as well as developing our confidence with the ball. The statistics give an unfair representation of the progress made and level of football played as many of our matches were highly competitive encounters. The close fought 0-0 draw against league winners KES Witley was perhaps the best football we played and captain Bel Parker

scoring our first goal of the season away at City was another highlight.

This season also saw the Westminster girls play eleven-a-side football in the ISFA U18 Cup for the first time. We were drawn against a strong Sevenoaks side in the second round and despite starting strongly we lost 3-0. Another first was the OW match played at Vincent Square where it was great to hear of girls continuing to play football at university.

The hugely enjoyable five-a-side House Football competition was won this year by Rigaud’s who beat Hakluyt’s 2–1 in the final.

We would like to thank our coach, Junior, for all his hard work and good-humoured sup-port this season. With some keen and talented Sixth Fsormers ready to take over next year, we hope we will achieve the win that has eluded us this year. Bhavna Choraria

P:10 W:0 D:1 L:9

“ It was great to hear of girls continuing to play football at university”

The statistics perhaps give an unfair impression of the U14B team, who found it difficult to find their away form in the first half of the season, perhaps conceding one or two unnecessary goals. However, convinc-ing victories against Brentwood and Aldenham showed that we could play when we put our minds to it and these were the high points of the Play Term, with James Fenner and Jeremy Leg-mann both earning promotion to the A-team off the back of these results. The second half of the season yielded better results, as the defence began to

take shape, being ably managed by Cameron Goalen, who was literally putting his neck on the line for the team, alongside Davide Bertone, who came down from the A team to shore things up. Players to watch out for in the future include Noah Jackaman in goal (although he remains convinced he’d make an excellent striker too), Cassian Lewis, with his silky skills in midfield and the unflappable man of the season in the holding midfield role, Jimi Oniya.

The whole squad should be pleased with their efforts during the season. The quality of some of the football played was impressive although decision making remains an area of weakness. Most importantly the boys have been a pleasure to work with and many of them are certain to progress to greater things as they make their way up the school. Good luck to all.Richard Kowenicki

“ He remains convinced he’d make an excellent striker too”

“ Unbeaten for the last fifteen matches of the season”

Season 2013

CRICKET 2ND XI

One year we shall win the U19 London Schools’ knock-out competition, trouncing the first XI in the Final. This year we reached the Quarter Finals, narrowly beaten by High-ams Park. Next year, then.

With many talented cricketers, with some notable big hitters, all the games, whether competition ones or friendlies, were exciting to play in or even just to watch as anything could happen until the last ball had been bowled. Catches can often swing a game and

we caught well, including four in one match by Zaeem Bhanji, the Captain. He and Joseph Andreyev as Vice-Captain led the team in great style.

As usual, we tried to give the very large senior cricket squad of 44 as much ‘in the middle’ exposure as possible, competition being the essence of cricket.

This micro-epic account has been brought to The Elizabethan by Simon Hawken, Giles Brown and Mark Feltham.

STATION


STATION

Season 2013

CRICKET U15

P:7 W:4 D:0 L:3

A winning season for the U15 cricketers started in the glorious sunshine at Charter-house with Lawrence Frape and Zak Khalique making an excellent opening stand to set up a first innings total of 169–5 in 30 overs, Khalique making his first of two half centuries in the season. A great team performance in the field ended up with Charterhouse 120 all out, and a 49 run victory to kick off the season.

A slightly depleted team lost by seven runs to the eventual winners, Latymer Upper, in the London Schools’ cup, despite some prom-ising performances from U14s drafted in such as Ollie Lloyd-Williams who made 31 not out.

Not deterred, the team got back to win-ning ways with captain Olivier Dadic leading the way to help the side to a memorable vic-tory by 12 runs over Merchant Taylors’. The thriller of the season was at Vincent Square against Chigwell, where Frape’s first 50 of the season allowed Westminster to post a target of 179 in 30 overs. However Chigwell scraped home by one wicket in the last over to edge a nail-biting match.

The return of the injured Barnaby Graff to the team was greatly welcomed at John Lyon where his 85 allowed the U15s to chase down 134 with only 3 wickets down to com-plete a sound victory. Graff had also showed his mettle with the ball in some tight and restrictive bowling.

Frape’s 68, his second half century of the season, was not enough to secure victory at Highgate, but in the last match of the season some excellent bowling from Graff and an-other 50 from Khalique put Kingston GS away by 39 runs to end the season on a high.

Other individuals who stood out included the sharp wicket-keeping and lower order cam-eos of Sam Magnus, the tearaway fast bowling of Robert Wang, the fielding of Hugo Ross, the all-round talents of Hugo Bailey, the devil-ish display from spin twins Sahil Shah and Ben Edwards, the scampering between the wickets of Theo Legeris, the swing of Shiv Bhardwaj and the indomitability of Aashish Paulraj.

Player of the season was Khalique, but special mention goes to Frape who produced some memorable innings and to the excellent all-round performance from Dadic.

As usual many thanks to Mark Mason and Mr Walton for helping to coach this bunch of promising young cricketers.Charles Ullathorne

The season began on a bumpy Char-terhouse wicket. The home openers had Westminster chasing leather for the first ten overs and captain Ollie Lloyd-Williams was looking to the skies for inspiration. Thankfully Tom Lister’s spell of 5–20 turned the game on its head restricting Charterhouse to 153. Lloyd-Williams then took the aerial route with a quick-fire 56 and found a calm ally in Shaan Amin, 33. Although their partnership was in a losing cause, it proved invaluable experience when chasing a similar target set by Alleyn’s. There, Lloyd-Williams treated his home crowd to a royal exhibition of whacking

the cricket ball. His 86 led Westminster home by 4 wickets.

The trip to St. Paul’s was short and not very sweet. Their rampant seamers sent the batsmen back to the nets to contemplate a total of 25. At Merchant Taylor’s we also stuttered, but after a great fight in the field Westminster almost defended 79 runs. At a crucial moment, a recalculation over the scoring did not favour the boys.

Rain at home to Aldenham couldn’t dampen Westminster’s enthusiasm. James Wilson produced a ‘jaffa’ to dismiss the op-position’s star batter. Chasing 114 to win in 15 overs, Amin played a chanceless knock of 39*. He pushed all the fielders back to the bound-ary, but Westminster couldn’t come to terms with the run-rate required and fell 13 short.

At Chigwell the boys applauded Lloyd-Williams, off to the First XI. Up stepped

Season 2013

CRICKET U14B

P:4 W:1 D:0 L:3

The U14Bs made terrific progress as the season went on. After losing to strong St Paul’s and Merchant Taylors’ sides, they went up to John Lyon on a sunny afternoon in June and put out their best performance of the season, bowling the home team out for 91, with Alastair Atkinson, who gave a lesson in spin bowling, taking 5–10. Harry Rowson and Ben Barbour made useful contributions with the bat and the team quickly knocked off the runs for 5 wickets.

In the final match of the season, the U14Bs played a very handy Highgate side at home, who were constrained by Westminster to 166 for 8 in 20 overs. Max Kalia bowled a disci-plined line in that innings and took 3–10. Af-ter tea, Westminster went out to bat with great intentions but lost a few early wickets before Saif Saifuddin established himself at the crease

and played some very accomplished shots. For a time it looked as if Saif was going to go on and win the match but Highgate eventually got him out for 39 and the whole team fell for 108, 59 runs short of their target.

No one enjoys losing but some of the players in the U14Bs developed their bowling, batting, fielding and appreciation of the game significantly. As the saying goes, “Enough failure to keep you humble, enough success to keep you eager.” Nick Fair

“ Batsmen smile as he glides to the wicket with the steps of a dancer ”

“ Their best performance of the season”

“ The tour saw the squad bond and improve tangibly”

Aidan McConnell, who stroked 33 before having to retire hurt. Another fine Amin innings of 59* took the total to 109–4 in 20 overs. Unfortunately he broke a finger attempting a return catch. Tom Lister took 4–13 and almost earned Westminster a sur-prise win. Batsmen smile as he glides to the wicket with the steps of a dancer but are left groping as his leg-breaks zip off the surface. Lacking catching and ground-fielding to sup-port him here the boys slid to a 4-wicket loss.

John Lyon have a quality opening batsman whose 96 put Westminster on the back foot. When he was bowled from round the wicket by Matt Carlton, a tight spell by Will Fryer gave Westminster hope. 51 from McConnell and 38 from Lloyd-Williams set up a grand-stand finish, but wickets kept falling and the home side fell 9 short of victory.

Westminster outclassed Kingston with an excellent bowling performance. After Wilson had made the inroads with 3–19, Advik Ban-nerjee destroyed the KGS middle-order and recorded the extraordinary figures of 2.5–1–1–4. A hair’s-breadth closer to the outside edge and he would have taken a hat-trick. Chasing 115, Amin passed 200 runs for the season with 67 and the result was never in doubt.

Highgate have some huge hitters in this year group and it was Westminster’s misfor-tune that everything they struck found the middle of their bats. Wilson was the pick of the bowlers with 3–36, but 198 was too high a total. With only pride to play for, the batsmen did their best, especially Daniel du Toit ,25, Wilson, 39, and Adam Dean with 36*. They played proper cricket shots and the score of 158 would have won most games this season. Throughout, the U14s showed terrific com-mitment and enthusiasm for the game.

Thank you to those who supported the team, to Mr. Fair for his support and to our coach, Matt McEntergart, who prepared the boys for an enjoyable season.Joseph Ireland

Season 2013

CRICKET U14A

P:9 W:2 L:7

international Tino Best, thanks to Dan Andreyev’s bowling being exploited by the batting partnership between Graff and captain, Kavi Amin.

The final match against Harrison Col-lege saw Graff hold the innings together brilliantly to register his first ever ton. Disciplined bowling and a brilliant Mihir Date catch meant his effort was not wasted as Thomas Jordan, Amin (K.) and Vinen shared the wickets around with the latter taking three in his first five balls.

A creditable 50–50 record overall then but, more importantly, the tour saw the squad bond and improve tangibly which should serve them well come the start of the English season.

Great thanks go to CJRU and 1st XI coach, Keerthi Ranasinghe for their assis-tance and input throughout. James Kershen

P:4 W:2 L:2

The start of the Easter holidays saw many of the 1st XI Cricket squad travel to Barbados for their pre-season tour. The trip consisted of four matches in addition to training sessions (at Dover CC and the University of WI) and lengthy tactical meet-ings and de-briefs.

The first match was the toughest, against a Combermere School side including eight Barbados youth players. Superior opposition, poor catching and general rustiness meant that we suffered heavy defeat, although there was promise in the bowling of Barnaby Graff and the batting of Shaan Amin.

All looked to have been set right in the second match when excellent bowling, from Oliver Lloyd Williams and U14 spinner Alex Vinen especially, and fielding dismissed Lodge School cheaply. However, from a

seemingly unassailable position, a collapse worthy of the England side saw the 1st XI snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Hard work followed on the training ground allied to straight-talking in the meeting room and, pleasingly, this bore fruit as the last two matches were won comfortably. Firstly, Ellerslie School were overcome, in the presence of West Indies

Barbados Tour 2014

CRICKET 1ST XI


STATION

2013–14

FENCINGThis year has been a resounding suc-

cess for fencing at Westminster. We’ve had more matches than in any previous year – and more wins too. Notably, we managed to achieve victories against all the major schools we usually fence. All this, despite the fact that the number of our coaches has been whittled down to only two – but these two, these ever supportive two, Tomek Walicki and Leo Suarez, worked extremely hard this year, and as a result, our fencers have all made a vast improve-ment. It was very encouraging to see such a large number of Fifth Formers join the

Station, all of whom have worked tremen-dously hard and are now fencing very well. The future of Fencing Station is bright!The main event of the fencing year was,

as always, the Public Schools Fencing Championships at Crystal Palace. Every single fencer performed at the highest level – particular highlights were Harry Bird, who came 3rd out of 129 in the Boys’ Junior Foil and Daniel Kim, who came 9th out of 96 in the Boys’ Senior Foil. Space does not permit mention of every person who entered – but they all deserve huge congratulations for their success, es-pecially those who had only been fencing for a few months.We were also treated to a new master-

in-charge of fencing, in the form of the ever-friendly Mr Law – a former épéeist himself! His boundless enthusiasm never fails to energise our team, and undoubt-edly will continue to spur Westminster on to further success in the future.All-in-all, every Westminster fencer can

be proud of what has been an eventful, memorable, and successful year. Thanks to all the members of staff who have devoted time and effort to the station, to the coaches who have put in so much work, and of course, to our fencers. Well done!Forbes Anderson (GG)


STATION

The Girls have finally done it. For the first time in quite a few years, the female rowing team from Westminster School, consisting of Natalya Wollny, Sarah Riches, Aurelia Van-damme, Allegra Ponti and Valentina Sassow has come back from the Prince Albert II Re-gatta with not one, but two gold medals. This excellent result was accompanied by that of the boys’ rowing team: William Allen, James Funnel, Henry Jones and Pedro Santos, led by their cox Emily Sheng, came home with both Bronze and Gold.

The trip to Monaco seemed to be off to an arduous start when, the week before the race was due, weather forecasters predicted a huge February storm. We were relieved to discover upon landing that there was not a single cloud in the sky. We all agreed that we had never seen such a large number of million-pound yachts in a single marina. Resisting the tempta-tion to hijack one, we made our way to the Monaco Boathouse, where our borrowed boat was awaiting us. It was a brand new state-of the art coastal boat, and we were extremely lucky to be able to row in it (it was even more satisfy-ing that the Lower Shell were green with envy).

With CD’s help we climbed into the boat and confronted the Mediterranean. From afar, the sea had looked reasonably calm, but we soon had to acknowledge the fact that these were no small waves: they were at least two meters high and came crashing down with surprising force. The problem wasn’t riding them straight on – quite the contrary, that part was fun – it was taking them on sideways. We had problems adjusting our oar depth because of the constantly changing position of the boat relative to the wave, and some crew members caught crabs. Despite these difficulties, we had enormous fun overall riding the waves that afternoon, and being able to see Monaco from a distance was definitely a bonus.

The next day both the boys and the girls got ready for the 6k race. Our competition could definitely be classified as international and of high standard: crews came from Russia, France, Portugal, Greece…and Olympic rowers were among them. Our girls’ boat was classed under ‘Junior Women’, and although we were the

Monaco Rowing

OPEN WATER

“ We were in sprinting mode for virtually the whole 10 minutes of the race”

“ We managed to achieve victories against all the major schools”

The 200th anniversary year since the start of Westminster School Boat Club has been a spectacular story of wins at every level. For the first time since the 1990s the Boat Club has recorded more wins than any other school in its class, and this despite our shrinking regatta and head-racing calendar in an attempt to avoid Saturday events. Easter break saw the top squad in the chill of Sarnen for a three ‘R’s camp, rowing, revision and more rowing followed by our traditional visit to Flanders for the Ghent international regatta.

The J14’s opened the winning account with J14 octuples at Hammersmith regatta. All other quads enjoyed early success and confidently moved to Nottingham at the end of May for the National Schools Regatta. The enthusiasm of the talented J14 squad was dashed when wind stopped play and Friday racing was lost but over the next two days

Westminster was to record its best ever Na-tional Schools medal tally with four gold and a silver. The J15 squad’s three gold has certainly never been seen before!

Post NSR Henley preparation for two Fawley quads resulted in both crews meeting in the final at Reading regatta and the first crew winning at Marlow. Other crews had a fabulous day out in Windsor at a unique Coronation regatta.

At Henley Royal regatta the season ended with loss to a young Dutch crew and Sam Mei-jer went on to be selected to race in the Great Britain Quad at the Coupe de Jeunesse. The

summer term finished with the latest edition of the Eton vs Westminster race that that took place shortly before the ceremonial annual row to Black Rod’s steps by both crews [recorded in the first section of The Elizabethan 2014].

The new academic year began with the first of a number of records: Sam Meijer set a new British Under 16 2km ergo mark of 6.11. He followed this with a staggering 5th place overall (and Junior pennant) in The Scullers Head and together with Cam Kerr the junior pennant in the Pairs Head with 4th overall.

The theme continued in the Fours head with an outstanding 3rd place overall (and In-termediate pennant) for a combined Westmin-ster and Imperial College crew.

To put this in context, the two crews in front had all won medals at the Senior World cham-pionships two months earlier and all the Oxford and Cambridge crews were some way behind!

Water would not be the same without a few good trips in October and crews raced in Boston, Mass. at the head of the Charles, and a large group of scullers in Berne in the 9km Armada Cup race.

The New Year saw much Thames flooding with more land training and the revival of the Richmond Park Rowers XC race but the wins continued even here.

The Girls recorded their first win of the year in Monte Carlo by winning Women’s coastal Quads in the Prince Albert II chal-lenge and Sam Meijer finished 2nd in the Great Britain February Junior trial. With the Thames still in flood the Westminster-organ-ised Schools Head of the River was postponed until the last week of term. At the national sculling Head at Dorney both J16 quads and the second J14 quad had a golden moment, but the top quad were held by Sir William Borlase by a few seconds. The term finished as it had started with record success. In the 68th edition of the Schools Head of the River, Westminster won four events with The Championship win-ning J16 eight (16th overall), the J15 eight and

“ The Boat Club has record-ed more wins than any other school in its class”

“ Rowing success has been the result of a huge amount of hard work and training”

only rowers in that category, we still had to beat all the U16 quads to be able to win. The boys were competing in the U16 Men against crews from all around Europe. We all climbed into the boats and made our way out to the sea which, luckily, was calmer than it had been the day before. Despite a couple of false starts and a few broken oars, the race for both boys and girls was an overall success and the crews agreed we had a great time. The girls came first in their category

and 3rd women crew overall, and the Boys came 3rd in their category after a close finish with the Monaco crew, and 7th overall.

That night there was a party for all the crews, and we were in for a treat: everyone from Westminster square danced and we had the chance to witness the head of the Monaco Boathouse trying on a Westminster Pink row-ing outfit, which was very amusing.

The next day we were all up for an early start to make it in time for the 3k race. The girls’ boat had a bit of a switch-around, with Sarah Riches being in stroke and Natalia coxing. Despite it being shorter, the race was actually much tough-er given that we were in sprinting mode for virtually the whole 10 minutes of the race. The girls came first out of the Junior Women once again, and came first out of the women overall, which was very satisfying. The boys came first in their category, which they were very glad about, and ended up 12th overall.

All in all, this short, adrenaline-filled week-end was extremely rewarding. We are proud to be part of the Westminster crew and eager to take on English crews in the upcoming season. Hopefully our results will be as satisfying. Aurelia Vandamme (DD)

J17 Quad together with the First quad who turned tables on SWB and took the pennant and the event record.

A remarkably calm and warm April Sarnen camp for the top Squad and J16’s resulted in huge amounts of revision and a fair amount of rowing topped up with the usual crop of impressive results in Ghent a few days later. The standout wins were the top quad winning open men’s Quads and the J16 eight winning the Belgian Junior Championships.

Rowing success has been the result of a huge amount of hard work and training. In addition to Station three days a week at Putney, we regularly have 50 to 60 boys at land training in the Sports centre on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We expand into all the available space and try to be flexible with timings to al-low boys and girls to fit valuable training around their busy lives and commitments, before school, in the lunch break and after school.

I would like to record my thanks to Bill Mason , Nick Wilde and the coaching team who have yet again exceeded all reasonable expectations. Floreat.CD Riches

Season 2013–2014

WATER

STATION


With most of the squad from the 2012–13 season still available for selection, hopes were high in September. The year got off to a lightning-fast start with an outstanding set of winning times and strength in depth at the Inter-House Long Distance Races. Junior winner Maxim Postolovsky (PP) and Inter victor Will Allen (RR) both recorded the sec-ond fastest times since the mid-1980s, Mary-Alice Davison (WW) broke her own Girls’ record and Andreas Ioannou (MM) finally broke his duck with a fine win in the Seniors competition. Almost unnoticed, Wren’s broke the Milne’s stranglehold with a narrow overall victory.

The school scored a narrow victory at the Towpath Cup with Nick Clanchy the fastest pupil and Mary-Alice Davison setting (yet again) a new Girls’ record. After such a positive start to the season it was slightly disappoint-ing to ‘only’ finish 4th (out of 21 teams) at the King’s Trophy on Wimbledon Common, but incredibly the B (11th) and C teams (14th) both beat a host of A teams, as Westminster packed 18 runners in the first 90 finishers.

The inaugural Alston training camp over the October exeat was an invigorating experi-ence: seven training sessions in very autumnal conditions in the Pennines, Lake District and Durham University woods, provided a brief insight into the sort of commitment and dedi-cation that is required to succeed at the top level. However, with one or two injuries start-ing to bite, the School found the going fairly tough at the RGS Guildford Relays (9th, 12th, 16th and 26th out of 35 teams) before rallying at Harrow (3rd out of 11 schools).

Over the past decade the GRIM has become part of Westminster folklore and is the annual opportunity for senior athletes to test themselves against eight miles of oozing mud, ice-cold water hazards designed for Chal-lenger tanks and dodge obstacles in the sapping ‘Alpine zone’. Nick Clanchy yet again led the way in 7th from David Conceicao in 14th,

whilst Ellie Evans finished an impressive 130th out of 2000 senior runners.

A flurry of sessions during the Christmas break helped stave off some of the effects of the seasonal period, and 8th place in the Knole Run was a sensational performance given ongoing injuries. Nick Clanchy and Will Al-len both made the top 40 and a total of nine Westminsters made the top 100 (including two Lower Shells and a Fifth Former), which marked a new record tally for the school. Sadly the monsoon-like conditions forced the cancellation of the London Schools Cross Country Championships, though seven members of the school did gain selection to compete for London at the English Schools’ Championships – thought to be the greatest number that Westminster has ever provided for this prestigious event.

Busby’s and Wren’s stole the limelight at the Bringsty Relays with the former winning both boys’ races and the latter the girls’ and overall, with Nick Clanchy, Mary-Alice Da-vison and Will Allen/Freddie Hill setting the fastest lap for their respective age groups. After the dreadful weather of the first part of the term the season was brought to a fitting close in the sunshine on Hampstead Heath with a host of team medals at the Highgate inter-schools’ match.

My thanks go to the unseen heroes of the Station; to Mr Walton for his IT-wizardry in organising the LDRs and Bringsty Relays and for invaluable support throughout the season, to Mrs Clanchy for attending the Alston train-ing camp and to Dr Kowenicki for helping run the Friday night LSA. Thank you, one and all!Simon Wurr

STATION

“ Westminster’s profile in Fives seems ever higher”

“ The greatest number that Westminster has ever provided for this prestigious event”

2013–2014

ETON FIVES

2013–2014

CROSS COUNTRY

If at any point anyone had felt that this season would be a shadow of the previous one, they would have been proved very wrong. It was disappointing that several emerging players at U15 chose to take their skills elsewhere, and numbers were always going to be a bit thin in the Remove, but the ability and the enthusiasm with which Fives has been played at Westmin-ster over the season have been undiminished.

At U14, Benson and Koksal emerged as a first pair with commitment, athleticism and talent in abundance; but Christie, Muminoglu, Young & Shine pushed them hard and showed that this is an excellent year group, able to produce quality pairs over the next few years. Victories accumulated as the season progressed and experience and confidence grew, with par-ticularly successful outings against Berkhamst-ed and Emanuel. But the undoubted pinnacle of the season was the fantastic performance of Benson and Koksal, both new to the sport, in progressing to the last 16 of the Nationals in the Open category, competing against players of significantly greater experience.

Whilst the U15 squad had been weakened by defections, Guttenplan and Amin at 1st pair remained reliable and competitive; other players, notably Gallagher, Beanland, and the two Zacharys (Seddon Deane and Stanley) stepped into the breach admirably. Victories may have been hard come by, but perseverance was rewarded by winning performances against Lancing and Charterhouse. This squad will continue to improve with greater practice and a more focused approach to the technicalities of the game: better movement around the court and shot selection and execution are the key.

At U16 the disadvantage of comparative inexperience diminishes noticeably. Shah, Lim, Malik and Black have all dedicated lots of time to improving their technical game, tempering the exuberant physical strength they have at their disposal with greater subtlety.

Consistency has proved a bit elusive, but there is no doubt about the talent, enthusiasm and determination these top two pairs have. They played in various combinations and between them, produced good victories against pairs from Lancing, Emanuel, Charterhouse and Harrow. In this they were regularly and ably supported both by Jones and by Sharpe. With similar improvement over the two years to come, these players will all contribute excit-ingly and the future is bright!

The Senior squad has worked very hard and produced some excellent results over the season. Stewart and Merrett continued to make very encouraging progress at first pair and were rewarded for their efforts by being made 8th seeds in the Schools Nationals. Ismail and Lewin combine aggression and competitiveness with their natural abilities and were a very potent 2nd pair who could well challenge at the highest level in their final season of schoolboy competition next year. Both pairs won some excellent games over the season, and, through their valiant efforts ena-bled Westminster to field two pairs in the last 16 of the Nationals – a notable achievement! Great progress was made too by Critchley and Ratiu – whose season was crowned by victory in the Plate A competition at the Nation-als – and by Sinha and Capstick; all four have developed into fine players through their dedication and hard work. Next year they will form a dynamic core of what may prove to be a squad to match the best from the recent years. Westminster’s profile in Fives seems ever higher and we appear to be punching above our weight, given the number of courts and individuals involved. Many thanks are due to Matt Wiseman for this; his inimitable combination of talent, patience and profession-alism as coach are an invaluable education and inspiration to the players.Andy Mylne

STATION


STATION

2014

BATH HOCKEY FESTIVAL

The KES Bath Hockey Festival was the much-anticipated culmination of this year’s sea-son. In fact, many of us had been preparing for it for years and, for the Remove it represented the last time we would play for the school. We expected levels of emotion and banter to be high. We were not disappointed. The Bath Hockey Festival draws in top schools from all over the country, ready for the gruelling schedule that means four games in three days – Westminster has only sent a team once before.

As expected things got off to a tough start against such strong opposition. We finally met an opposition grittier than ourselves in the form of the Hall Cross Academy (from Doncaster) and despite a strong performance, we succumbed to the Northerners, who took victory. Morale did not fall, however, and that evening we soaked in the culture of Bath – enjoying a match of rugby in the rousing atmosphere of the Bath Stadium. Confident in our ability, we rallied and provided two fantas-tic displays the following day. First we battled to victory against the Northern Irish Bangor Grammar School and, after a short break for lunch, returned to the pitch to play out an ab-sorbing draw against an impressive Sharnbrook

We’ve come to the end of the second year of having our own school climbing wall, and things have settled down nicely. The school wall has opened up a whole range of opportu-nities, and I think it’s safe to say that we’ve had the largest number of climbers since the very beginning of the Station. People who would have never previously made the trek to other walls have been able to experience climbing, not only during Station times, but during LSAs

us as inferior but they were soon shocked by a darting goal by our Bath top scorer, Jack Aitken. They lost their cool, getting two play-ers sin-binned, but despite their intimidating physicality we held on strongly to our lead and led Westminster to an emotional victory which each of us will surely remember. We had made history as the most successful Westminster hockey side ever but more than that; we left Bath with a sense of shared euphoria and spirit. This feeling of togetherness has characterised the team throughout our time at Westminster and so it is fitting that we could leave Bath happy, proud of our teammates and relishing the prospect of returning to play together again in the OW match next year.Tom Hildebrand (BB, Captain) and Alex Cranston (RR, Vice Captain)

Upper School. Safe in the knowledge that we had equalled Westminster’s best record at a national event, we dined in style in the historic centre of Bath (three course meal!) before returning to the hotel for a team meeting organised by Tom Hildebrand and Leo Lerner to celebrate our achievements and reminisce fondly about shared experiences.

The team had not forgotten, however, the mighty challenge that lay ahead. Thanks to a timetabling change, we were pitted against one of the strongest teams in our group. So this was it. Our final game in pink would be a London derby. Westminster School would take on Mill Hill– a school which runs no less than nine boys teams. The rivalry was only made greater by the fact both schools had stayed in the same hotel – mind games starting early on. Initially they seemed to view

2013

ATHLETICSThe season didn’t get off to an auspi-

cious start; late-running repairs to the track in Battersea Park made training at the start of term difficult and forced the Athletic Sports to switch to a Friday night format, with heats trimmed from the programme to shorten the meeting. However, this generated fewer clash-es and the timing was more parent-friendly. It is likely that this format will be replicated in the future.

As ever, the Athletic Sports were fiercely contested but eventually Wren’s emerged victorious, winning the Inter-House cup for the third year in succession, holding off the challenge from Busby’s and Liddell’s, whilst the age group competitions were won by Liddell’s (Juniors), Grant’s (Inters), Busby’s (Seniors) and Wren’s (Girls). As ever, one Best Performance Medal was awarded per age group and these went to Phillip Freeman (LL, Junior) for a very strong 100m and Long Jump double (12.4s, 5.25m), Oliver Ramsay-Gray (GG, Inters) for winning the 400m in 56.1s, Kwesi Peterson (QS, Seniors) for victory in both the 100m and Long Jump, and to Mary-Alice Davison (WW, Girls) who smashed the Girls 800m record by 12 seconds with a new best time of 2:29.5.

Aside from these performances, several other individuals stood out. In the Juniors competition Welles Iselin (BB) ran a strong 800m (2.24.8) whilst Will Allen (RR) made the most of the ‘mass start’ for the 1500m, and was towed round to a time of 5:01.8. Interme-diate Sam Dunning (LL) showed good speed in winning the 100m and Nick Clanchy (MM)

won the Inters 1500m, defeating all the Seniors into the bargain. Joanna Vymeris (WW) strode to victory and retained the Girls 100m (13.8s) whilst Daisy Hayes (CC) pulled off a strik-ing double in winning both the High Jump (1.40m) and Long Jump (4.27m), the latter only 8 cm shy of the School record. College also provided two great sprint finishes in the Senior competition via Will Pannetier (QSS) who timed his run to perfection in the Senior 800m (2.15.9), and Hugo Ramambason (QSS) who won the Senior 1500m (4:38.5).

Later in the season Welles Iselin was selected to race for the borough at the London Schools’ Championships in the Junior Boys’ 800m, and after battling all season to gain the very demanding qualifying time, Mary-Alice Davison achieved the distinction of being

Season 2014

HOCKEY 1ST XI

Following the success of last year’s young 1st XI, much was expected from the 2013–14 season. We certainly didn’t disappoint, break-ing records to become the most successful hockey side in Westminster history. The team’s success was built around a unity and team spirit, which allowed us to compete against far more experienced hockey schools. This is not to say we didn’t match other schools technically, however, as our sturdy defence – led by our heroic central partnership of Gabriel Barrie and Rohan Date – limited the opposition to just 14 goals all season. They will have been delighted to play in front of two terrific ‘keepers in Charlie Wall and An-gus Mylne. After an unfortunate injury to our stalwart left back Theo Shack, Leo (Double-L) Lerner and Jamie Gray had chances to impress – proving our strength in depth during a gritty 1–1 draw against Sharnbrook Upper School. There was no change at right back, as our dependable Vice-Captain Alex Cranston worked solidly in defence (epito-mised by his Man of the Match performance against UCS) and provided Tom Hildebrand with invaluable support in attacks on the right wing. Will Pannetier became every opposition right back’s nightmare on the left wing with his pace and flair while younger talents Alex Lee and Tibo Rushbrooke held their own admirably when called upon. Our midfield was dynamic and versatile, with Max Spicer providing outstanding cover for the defence and supporting David-Elliot Johnson, our newest recruit, who soon became our chief at-tacking outlet in central midfield. The team’s greatest threatener was perhaps Edwin Aud-land. He was a pivot in the centre: defending remarkably and providing a never-ending supply of deadly injections up front – one of which provided the assist for a sublime goal by our top scorer Patrick McNamara in our 2–1 victory over our old foes Eton. Patrick’s healthy competition with Jack Aitken spurred them on, both desperate to outscore the other: Patrick scored 4 in our 9–1 thrashing of St. Dunstan’s, while Jack responded with a hat-trick in a 7–0 dismantling of St. Benedict’s. Between them, our two forwards scored a considerable proportion of our impressive tally of 34 goals this season.

The team is extremely proud of our ac-complishments this year and would like to thank Mr Simpson for his commitment and coaching and Mr Edlin for his morale-boost-ing support. The season culminated in the fantastic Bath Hockey Festival (see separate report), which we will all remember as a high-light of our Westminster careers.Tom Hildebrand (BB)

P:13 W:8 D:3 L:2 GF:34 GA:14

selected to compete in the Senior Girls 3000 metres at the English Schools Championships – the first Westminster girl to achieve this feat.

There were numerous other racing op-portunities on both track and road, with the Rosenheim Track League again proving popular, in addition to the Assembly League and Monday night Battersea Park road races. My thanks yet again go to Mr Botton, Mr Moore and Dr Williams, all of whom played their part in helping to staff these competitions and ensure that pupils of all abilities were given rigorous exercise on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons throughout the Election term.Simon Wurr

“ College also provided two great sprint finishes in the Senior competition”

and during boarders’ evening activities. On top of that, it’s been amazing to see the Under School pupils being given the opportunity to take climbing as an after-school activity.

On the competition front, we managed to secure our trophy at the Independent Schools Climbing Competition for the sixth year run-ning, the team consisting of Jed Thompson, Yumeya Yamamori, Harry Lewis, George Lane, Kent Vainio and William Douglas. As

climbing becomes more of a commonly recog-nised sport at other schools, the competition is intensifying, but looking at our already strong junior team, I’m sure we’ll be serious contend-ers for next year’s title.

This year’s House Climbing was hotly con-tested, with Grants coming out on top, cap-tained by Yumeya Yamamori (who also won Best Male Climber), and Ashburnham trailing by one point. The turnout was huge, and we were lucky to have Jack Beanland (OW) pro-vide an awesome set for the competition.

Finally, during Lent term’s half term break, there was a climbing trip to Sicily. Although I wasn’t able to be a part of this trip, it’s just one example of the many amazing destinations the school has been able to take us to. The Isle of Skye, Cataluña, Morocco, Sicily, the Dolomites and Portugal are just from my five years at this school, and I’m sure the wonderful opportunities will keep on coming.

None of this would be possible without everyone who has helped out at climbing station or during trips, and in particular, Dr. Agyare-Kwabi. I am confident that the Station will continue to grow, allowing more and more people to be exposed to the sport who might never have got the chance previously. I also hope that people are inspired to venture out beyond the school wall, to other climbing centres and eventually onto real rock. Jed Thompson (AHH)

2013–2014

CLIMBING

STATION


STATION

2013–2014

JUDO

This year has been a particu-larly eventful one for Judo. Larry Stevenson’s veritable ninjas honed their theoretical understanding in a seminar with judo legend Neil Adams (the first British man to win and hold a world title, and my second favorite judoka after Larry) and tempered their fighting skills in training sessions with long term rivals Harrow and (new faces) Merchant Taylors’. We moved from triumph here to success at the UK Independent Schools’ Tourna-ment in March. Despite fierce com-petition (Team GB was also present) we took second place overall, with Alex Bridge, our resident star judoka, securing senior Gold (and winning his Pinks as a result) by beating three other contestants seemingly without breaking a sweat. Yuma Kitahara faced heavy competition and man-aged to put up a valiant fight, putting amazing effort into every one of his matches. Hamzah Zaidi unveiled a side of him we had never seen before, remorselessly throwing opponent after opponent, to add a Silver medal to the Westminster hoard. Though winning three matches cleanly, Cameron Durdy battled through five bouts and narrowly missed a medal –surely the best win-to-loss ratio in Judo Tournament history! Ben Godfrey and George Kuhn competed in the same category and while we didn’t fight each other, Ben’s colossal strength secured him a joint fifth place with George. Stay tuned for next year where we’ll be back with more medals (and hopefully trophies) in hand!George Kuhn (DD)

Yet another fantastic year has passed for us with fresh blood from all years of the school. This is especially encouraging for the survival of the sport as the average demo-graphic for players is a spritely 70 years of age.

But what exactly is real tennis? Real tennis was and still is, the world’s first racket sport, originally dubbed the sport of kings, due to the sheer number of famous monarchs who allegedly played it (most notably Henry VIII, who invented the rules). It is a select sport, with twenty-six courts in the United King-dom and only forty-seven in the world. While rules and scoring are similar to the tennis we know today, it is played with consider-ably heavier balls containing cork, and bent wooden rackets reinforced with metal. The court itself is vastly different, with the familiar net and four corners, but equipped with additional netted galleries, sloped roofs, a but-tress, and a bell. Having heard this explanation (none of which I had properly taken in), my initial view was that real tennis would be a combination of tennis and squash, and thus would be relatively easy for tennis players.

Wrong. Apart from the irregular court, extra rules concerning scoring initially made keeping track of the game something only which veteran Nick Ilic, and of course Mr Woodman, could accomplish. Strategies such as volleys and topspin proved ineffective, and it was a steep learning curve for the first few weeks. For instance, almost every shot, I discovered to my horror, had to be played with a chopper grip to allow for the jagged surface of the court. There was also a whole selection of possible serves, with names of varying absurdity, ranging from the ‘bobble’ to the ‘railroad’, and the sheer breadth of the court (being both wider and longer than that of tennis) meant that doubles tactics were altered significantly. However, Mr Woodman’s encouraging advice and regular station banter made these sessions incredibly enjoyable, and before long we were all able to maintain a few, if strained, rallies.

“ A whole selection of pos-sible serves, with names of varying absurdity”

2013–2014

BODYBEATBodybeat is a brilliant way to bop to

some bangin’ chuuunes! Since chang-ing from Bodystep, and allowing boys to join our beloved Station (boys - ew), we have gone from success to success. Levels of enthusiasm have never been higher (epitomised by Mr Baldock’s frequents ‘YEAH!’s) and so far we have been undefeated in the many matches we’ve played.

Bodybeat is a physically and mentally demanding sport that many have tried but few can truly master (al-though most give it a pretty good go). Each week we learn moves to popular songs that are built up into simple routines for all to enjoy. Everyone gets really involved and the inclusive at-mosphere means that nobody feels self-conscious. You leave in a great mood knowing that you’ve done some serious exercise as well. Not only great during the station itself, Bodybeat also prepares one for real life situations: out on the dancefloor. Making eye-contact with another bodybeater from across the room, one can whip out some prepared moves that are sure to amaze.

The boys who’ve taken part, despite being few in numbers, are strong in spirit and are a great addition to the station. We know that unfortunately many boys have prior station com-mitments. That’s why this year we’re continuing the infamous (and new and improved) ‘Bring a Boy to Bodystep (beat)’, taking place later this term. It’s set to be a banger!Amy Karet (BB)

2013–2014

GOLF

Nietzsche famously declared: “In every-thing one thing is impossible: rationality”. The old codger had obviously never tried hitting a one-iron to a raised green out of a gnarly lie into a bitter headwind. I have, and can assure you it’s bloody hard. This is the sort of life experience Golf provides you with.

Station is still based up Central London Golf Centre, which still isn’t based up central London. Numbers are buoyant, and this season has seen Westminsters of all years and genders introduced to the intricacies of the flop shot and the power-fade.

Being a serious Station, we participated in several competitive events. Being an earnest and deeply public-spirited Station, we had the good grace to lose them all. Our season began at West Sussex Golf Club as we launched our annual assault on the National Schools Invitational. The team of Rory Forsyth, Sam

Winters, Francesca Ho and Angus Mylne failed to return home with silverware but fought the tempestuous conditions with humour and irresponsible ambition. Forsyth/Winters’ tragicomic episode up bush on the 18th will live long in the memories of our Wellingtonian playing partners. Once again, the complimentary lunch was very pleasant.

For the first time ever, Westminster reached the second round of the HMC Knockout Competition. I will not boast about the details of our victory in the first round, and this may or may not be because we re-ceived a bye. In the second round, we had the rotten fortune to be drawn against Hampton. We hosted the visitors at Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club and lost all three of our matches. However, none of their players wore Hawaiian shirts, and two of ours did.

Our third and final competitive outing also took place at Royal Mid-Surrey as we were hosted by the Old Westminsters. They were, as always, phenomenal company and very difficult to beat - one pair played fifteen shots below their average handicap. Whilst we lost, we all had a great time and those of us leaving the station this year look forward to many happy years golfing with the OWs. Speaking for the entire contingent, I cannot thank Head of Station Mr Hawken, Station Masters Mr Witney and Dr Brown, Coach Gary Clements and Match Manager Charles Ullathorne enough for the work they have put into mak-ing Golf such a happy and rewarding station. I will remember the last four years very fondly, and a small part of my golfing soul will always reside in Tooting Bec. Rory Forsyth (GG)

We have had a productive season of matches, the highlights being the National Schools Doubles Championships at Queen’s Club in February. Our two pink-clad pairs, consisting of Ben Brind, Thomas Holdaway, Rob Doumar and Koshiro Kiso, performed admirably, winning three matches in total, crushing Seaford’s squad. Rob managed to withstand the gazes of the keen parents who

had sacrificed a Sunday morning to watch their sons play, and pulled through with his consistent drives. On the other court, both Ben and Tom proved steady under similar forces in the form of a particularly enthusi-astic coach’s barely concealed support for the opposition. The other victory was against, funnily enough, ourselves (a playoff following our placement as 3rd in each of our groups). The outcome was sealed from the beginning: naturally for Rob and Koshiro, the ‘first pair’. All-in-all, bearing in mind that other schools have their own courts, we held our ground, and can now proudly claim the prestigious ti-tle of Best School in London (as Ben pointed out, Eton is technically in Berkshire).

We must thank Mr Woodman for his constant encouragement, our inspiring captain Thomas Holdaway and ever vocal vice-captain Ben Brind, and our senior, Rob Doumar, for his constant assured presence in our sessions. Real tennis is a sport that is both fulfilling and exciting, and after two terms’ play we are now markedly stronger as a team. Eton, beware. Koshiro Kiso (WW)

2013–2014

SAILING AND KAYAKING

Whatever the Tuesday weather forecast, a group of Westminsters make their way down to Westminster Boating Base every week for an enjoyable afternoon of water sports - right in the heart of central London. The activities on offer are exciting and varied; powerboating presents the opportunity to explore the farther reaches of the river, from the serenity of Chelsea Creek, down to Tower Bridge. Even after spending the majority of the time in the city, it is definitely novel and eye-opening to experience familiar surroundings from a differ-ent perspective while speeding along the river. Sailing presents different technical challenges, and involves learning to fully exploit wind-power and working as a team to balance and efficiently steer the boat.

During the Play term we went back to basics, and manually battled against the tide in kayaking, with occasional (unplanned) dips in the water. However, there is nothing more relaxing than drifting gently down the river

in a kayak with great company, hot chocolate in hand and the Houses of Parliament in the background. It has been a great privilege to work with the instructors from the Boating Base and a huge thank you to Mr Hooper for a fun and unforgettable year! Alice Cao (HH)

“ It is definitely novel and eye-opening to experi-ence familiar surround-ings from a different perspective ”

2013–2014

REAL TENNIS

STATION


2014

SWIMMING2014 has seen an extraordinary season

for Westminster swimming under the careful guidance of the star-studded coaching team (Pete and Dr Prentice). Swimming no longer languishes in the category of a second choice Station, but instead is not only oversubscribed but also competing in national competitions.

This year the poolside was overflowing with Westminsters trying to write their name in the history books at House Swimming and they did not disappoint. Too many records were broken to detail here but special men-tion goes to Regan Ring (Junior) and Oliver Ramsay Gray (Senior) both for their respec-tive records and helping Grant’s to a storming victory for the second year running.

Westminster fielded teams for two com-petitions this year, with mixed results. The first was the Borough of Westminster Schools’ Swimming Competition. Despite fierce competition, and this being many swimmers’ first experience of competitive swimming, we brought home an impressive sweep of medals using home-grown, Station-only swimmers (1 Gold, 6 Silvers, 6 Bronzes). We WON the most important and final race of the after-noon, the Senior Boys’ Relay.

The second event was the Otter Bath Cup. This is the most important national swim-ming competition for independent schools,

“ The poolside was overflowing with Westminsters trying to write their name in the history books”

This year, Squash has flourished throughout the school. It has truly been a golden year for a Station that previ-ously was a fringe sport. When I joined the sport four years ago, we were playing matches a few times a term and losing every single one. Now, in my final year, I can say with certainty and a sense of achievement, that we have a team and indeed a sport that the school can be proud of. The past year has seen glorious wins over schools such as: Highgate, Lat-ymer Upper School, Merchant Taylors’, Dulwich College, UCS, City of London, KCS, Berkhamsted and Emmanuel. Last December we also saw a strong showing at the Surrey Squash tournament where

we beat St Paul’s in a tense play off. In the Play term a revitalized programme of the Squash LSA for the Fifth Form was set up which saw members of the Station teach and run the LSA, welcoming a new generation of players into the sport. Un-der the watchful and mysterious eyes of Mr Tolley the Station itself has seen huge improvements over the past few years and the recent addition of Harry Alam and Ilya Kleyner, has certainly boosted the standard of a team that is coming into its own. As Mikhail Hameedi and I leave Westminster this summer, I can say with pride that our team is the best it’s ever been and I’m sure this success will carry on next year.Eish Sumra (Captain, BB)

2013–2014

SQUASH

“ That we have a team and indeed a sport that the school can be proud of”

during which some 1000 of the country’s fast-est school swimmers gathered in the Olympic Park for the first competition to be held in the London Aquatics Centre since the 2012 Summer Olympics. Not only was this the first time our school had entered a team since the 1950s, but it was also the first girls’ team ever

to swim for Westminster in the competition. The standard was exceptionally high, and whilst we might not have had the depth in the pool, our team spirit was by far the strongest on the poolside. Every Westminster put in stoic and determined swims and enjoyed the experience.

Whilst the 2014 squad couldn’t follow up its initial success on the bigger stage, it has thrown down the gauntlet to future genera-tions of Westminster swimmers to build on a fantastic foundation and continue to push forward, whilst always remembering to have a good time in doing so! Tom Anderson (LL)

September 2014

COMING SOON

LEAVERS 2013

Name University Course title Status Abrams, T KCL English with Film OWAdams, J Cambridge Philosophy Ahmed H Cambridge Architecture Aldred, J Oxford French and Russian (4 years) Alexander, L Oxford Chemistry Alster, J Oxford Classics with Oriental Studies Ariss, L LSE Economics Bagger, K Oxford History OWBalfour-Lynn, H UCL History Ballard, R Oxford Music OWBarrie, T Oxford History of Art OWBarton, C Cambridge Computer Science Batra, B St Andrews Economics and Geography Bhanji, Z Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Bird, H Sheffield Bioengineering Biser, L Oxford PPE OWBonser, A York Music Broke, S Manchester Physics with Philosophy Brooker-Thompson, C Queen Mary Medicine Bulchandani, U Cambridge Engineering (4 years) Bustin, G Oxford Classics Butrimas, K Sheffield Japanese Capildeo, O Bristol Law Cavenagh, L UCL Human Sciences OWCerf, A Oxford English Language and Literature Chander, A Cambridge Mathematics Church, J Oxford Classics OWClifford, P Oxford German OWCohen, P Imperial Mathematics OWConstable, M Cambridge Modern & Medieval Languages OWCook, M UCL History Craft Marquez, L Oxford French and Spanish Curran, S Oxford English Language and Literature Dai, J Oxford Computer Science De Lisle, D Oxford History OWDean, C Manchester Politics and Philosophy Dickens, N Sheffield Social Policy with Social and Political Studies Diffey, M Oxford Economics and Management Draper, O Bristol Economics Drey-Brown, D Sheffield History of Art Dubin, P Cambridge Medicine Dutt, J Liverpool Medicine Edelsten. F Oxford Classics I Evans, A Oxford Biochemistry (Molecular and Cellular) Fage, J Oxford Biological Sciences Fahy, A Oxford English Language and Literature Fung, T UCL Economics Gabe-Wilkinson, M Oxford History Greenstreet, F UCL Biomedical Sciences Grylls, G Oxford French and Russian (4 years) Gunn, J Durham English Literature Hage, G Oxford Law OWHall, M Oxford English OWHansjee, S Oxford Medicine Harjanto, A KCL Medicine (5 years) Harper, E Bristol Chemistry He, Y LSE Management Hedegaard, N Royal Veterinary Veterinary Medicine Hilliard, K Imperial Medicine Hingley, V Oxford History Ho, A Oxford Music OWHone, L Cambridge Medicine Honey, B Sheffield English Literature Houlden, R Cambridge Medicine Hunt, M Oxford Theology Jacobs, E Bristol English Jayaswal, V Imperial Biotechnology Jerjian, M Cambridge Engineering (4 years) Jones, A Durham Modern & Medieval Languages OWJones, N Cambridge Modern & Medieval Languages OWJoshi, C Oxford History and Politics Kailayapillai, C Oxford Medicine Kember, K Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Kim, B UCL Engineering with Business Finance Kitchen, P Durham Geography Koduah-Sarpong, N Sheffield Biomedical Science (3 years) Laidler, G Cambridge Engineering (4 years) Lambert, J UCL Engineering with Business Finance Learoyd, N Sheffield Philosophy and Economics Leatt, H Oxford French and Russian (4 years) Lennard, J Oxford Archaeology and Anthropology Leseberg Smith, S KCL History Lewis, N LSE Geography OWLi, Y Cambridge Natural Sciences Lucas, H Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Lyons, S York History OWMacpherson, W Durham History Male, A Warwick English OW

Name University Course title Status Manners, E Cambridge Medicine OWMarolda, L Bristol Sociology OWMashru, V LSE Economic History Meade, C UCL Modern Languages OWMillett, E Oxford Classics OWMinghella, D Sheffield English OWMorse, J Oxford Classics Nayak, A Sheffield Economic History Newell, W Manchester Biology Obiekwe, C LSE Geography with Economics Oldham, R Cambridge English Omar, S KCL English Language and Literature O’Neill, E Oxford English Language and Literature Ouwehand, I St Andrews Medicine Padki, N Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Pangonis, K Oxford English OWParker Brooks, T Rose Bruford European Theatre Arts Parker, C Cambridge Classics: Greek and Latin Peterson, K Cambridge Mathematics Pettinga, A LSE Economic History Phipps, J Oxford English Language and Literature Pikovsky, E Bristol Physics and Philosophy Prabhu-Naik, S Cambridge Natural Sciences Procter, A UCL History of Art Prosser, L Oxford Classics OWPullen, A Cambridge Natural Sciences OWPulsford, A UCL History of Art OWRaine, B Oxford History and Politics Ramchandani, I LSE Law (Bachelor of Laws) Rasooly, I Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Reading, G LSE Social Anthropology Reid, C Durham Anthropology Richmond, J UCL Classics Rogers, J KCL Computer Science with Management OWRussman, K Oxford German OWSabnis, A Imperial Biomedical Science Sando, D Oxford Economics and Management OWScott, N Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Sellers, E Sheffield Economics Sevi, Y Oxford Mathematics and Philosophy (4 years) Shah, R Cambridge Medicine Sinha, A Cambridge Engineering (4 years) Sjoberg, I York Philosophy, Politics and Economics Skinner, A Oxford French and Spanish Smith, M UCL Biological Sciences Sofekun, M KCL English Language and Literature Stevens, N Durham Modern Languages OWSwainston, G Oxford Arabic and Islamic Studies (4 years) Tang, K Cambridge Natural Sciences Tomlinson, F Cambridge Natural Sciences Turner, F Oxford History Venerandi, A Oxford PPE OWVickers, O Oxford Classics I Voros, J Imperial Mathematics Vymeris, J Cambridge History of Art Wang, Yi Qing LSE Economics Warren, G Durham Classics Watts, R UCL German (4 years) Wheatley, F Oxford French Wigoder, C Oxford Experimental Psychology Willis, L Cambridge Human, Social and Political Sciences Winter, T Durham Ancient, Medieval and Modern History Wyatt Corner, I Bristol Politics and International Relations Wyatt Corner, I Sheffield Politics Zargaran, A St George’s Medicine Zhou, Y Durham Natural Sciences

USA Colleges Clark, M Naval College Diwan, Y Georgetown Falkner, M Georgetown Geczy, J Chicago Goodyear, A Yale Lee, A MIT Leet, C Yale Leibowitz, M Columbia McFadden, W Mcgill OWMalin, C NYU OWMills, B Stanford OCampo, D Columbia Pinter, A UCLA OWProctor, B NYU OWSchwartz, N Penn Shashou, T Georgetown Sherwood, J Stanford Stonehill, A Harvard Liu, H Duke Wang, Han-Xi Cornell Mclain, C Duke

Published annually by Westminster School17 Dean’s Yard, WestminsterLondon SW1P 3PB, UKTel: +44 (0)20 7963 1000Fax: +44 (0)20 7963 1006Web: www.westminster.org.ukEmail: [email protected]

For further copies of this magazine contactThe RegistrarWestminster SchoolLittle Dean’s YardLondon SW1P 3PB, UK


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