the peterite - St Peter`s School

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THE PETERITE 2013-2014
St Peter’s School • York • YO30 6AB
Tel: 01904 527300 • Fax: 01904 527302
Email: [email protected]
www.stpetersyork.org.uk
THE PETERITE
2013-2014
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The Peterite 2013-2014
217
Contents
The Peterite
2013-2014
Issue No. 431
Contents
Commemoration
3
Salvete
11
Valete
14
House Reports
18
Visits & Exchanges
48
News, Events & Activities
62
Creative & Cultural
114
Postcard Portraits
146
Sport
148
Leavers’ Destinations
217
The Peterite Team
Sara Pycock, Alex Plane, Lucy Schofield, Bethan Bradley and Peter Gray
Heads of School
Toby Simpson and Katharine Phillips
1
Editorial
From the Head Master
The academic year of 2013-2014 ended with a flurry of twowheeled excitement as we saw the riders and entourage of
the 101st edition of the Tour de France sweep past our historic
frontage and out towards the open roads of the Dales. A blaze of
vibrant Lycra-clad energy left the city of York abuzz for days.
The Grand Départ was a joyous celebration of what can be
achieved when planning, preparation, effort, ambition, community
spirit and sheer enjoyment combine to make special things
happen. Unique as the Grand Départ was, we can nonetheless
find abundant evidence within these pages of a comparable
wholehearted participation and remarkable achievement. St
Peter’s is alive with energy, talent, commitment and a genuine
sense of the joy of learning – and simply being together. I hope
you too are uplifted by what follows.
My warm thanks and congratulations go to the team of pupils
who helped compile this magazine and to Mr Keith Wright for his
diligent and skilful editing of this, his first edition of The Peterite.
Our flagship publication is in good hands.
Do enjoy the read!
Mr Leo Winkley
Head Master
Editorial
For the last ten editions, The Peterite has been edited by Mr John
Darmody, growing from a 78-page magazine duplicated in-house
to a 220-page glossy magazine reflecting the highest production
values. The years of John’s editorship have seen a steady growth
in the range of activities which take place outside the school’s
classrooms, alongside a magazine which has expanded in order
to report on these activities. Now the editorship has been passed
on to me, and – being aware that just as the captain of a large
vessel can find it surprisingly difficult to change course in a hurry,
but alarmingly easy to run aground – I have endeavoured to keep
the magazine running on a steady course. The features in the
magazine remain the same but, in the year that the Tour de France
passed right by the front door of the school, it is appropriate that
cycling is mentioned in these pages more than it has been in the
past, and takes pride of place on the cover. What is new this year
is that the magazine, for the first time, is being made available
online simultaneously with the release of the paper publication.
Just as back issues of the magazine, from the first issue in 1878,
are now accessible via the school’s website, so this 2013-14
edition can be read in easy-to-use form on computers, tablets and
phones, extending its reach across the globe.
I am enormously grateful to all who have contributed to the
production of the magazine, principally John Darmody, who has
guided me gently through the first year with words of advice,
support and warning, and who has helped to select from David
Morris’s comprehensive and imaginative photographs. Hutton
Peach Design Solutions have once again produced a layout for the
magazine which presents the images in an engaging counterpoint
with the text, and Linden Richardson has dealt with the final
printing stages with patience and efficiency. Our own editorial
team (Sara Pycock, Alex Plane, Lucy Schofield, Bethan Bradley and
Peter Gray) have worked hard to gather material for the magazine,
and a small army of colleagues has undertaken the proof-reading
tasks. Many others – too many to mention individually by name
– have pointed me in the right direction when I seemed lost, or
helped with essential pieces of advice or information.
Most of all, though, I must thank the contributors who have
captured this priceless snapshot of a year’s activities, and the
scores of pupils and members of staff who have taken part in
such a wide range of activities, whether they be sporting, artistic,
academic, exploratory, creative, challenging, charitable, or just fun!
Mr Keith Wright
Editor, The Peterite
2
Commemoration 2014
Commemoration
Head Master’s Commemoration
Address, 4 July 2014
On Sunday morning, the extraordinary caravan
that is the 101st édition of the Tour de France
will sweep past the Minster’s mighty walls
and make its looping 123-mile progress from
York to Sheffield via the Pennine hills of West
and South Yorkshire. The route for the Tour is
different every year, becoming more and more
elaborate over the past 111 years. Studying
this year’s route, it looks like the work of a
malfunctioning satnav with a wicked sense of
humour. Rather than going direct from A to
B, the route deviates wildly, wilfully seeking
out cruel detours, harsh gradients and sharp
descents. Amongst the contenders for the
Yellow Jersey will be GB riders Mark Cavendish
and Chris Froome. A year ago Froome won
the 100th édition of the Tour, completing the
2,128-mile course at an average speed of 25
miles an hour. That’s including the mountains.
One hundred years ago today, the 12th édition
of the Tour de France was already well under
way. Back then, the average speed of the 54
riders was a more modest 16 miles an hour
and the 1914 course was wonderfully simple.
It was a 3,359-mile grand tour of the outline
of France; Le Tour autour, as it were. Starting
in Paris, they headed up to Le Havre and
proceeded anticlockwise around France’s noble
exterior, all the way back to Dunkirk.
Well before the inception of professional sport, the 1914 Tour was
characterized by a unique blend of sporting spirit and moments
of glorious amateurism. On the third stage, the riders reached the
first checkpoint one hour late, after they had taken the wrong
route and ridden more than 20 miles in the opposite direction. The
wives and mothers in this congregation will know all too well how
unlikely it is that 54 grown men would admit that they’re lost, let
alone stop and ask directions. In fairness though, anyone who has
driven across France might sympathize that the road signage is
often enigmatic or even self-contradictory.
By the sixth stage, the Pyrenees Mountains appeared. The weather
was getting increasingly hot and, by the eighth stage, the cyclists
did not want to race. Perhaps because this was France, the spirit of
unionism and direct action was in the air: the entire field agreed
to cycle at low speed. The Tour management got the message,
stopped the race and held a sprint tournament instead. On the
ninth stage, scandal broke as former Tour winner François Faber
was given a 90-minute time penalty for being pushed and for
taking drink from a motor-cyclist. History does not record what
was in the drink. It is tempting to imagine that it was a half-bottle
of Chablis.
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Commemoration
After the thirteenth stage, Belgian rider Philippe Thys was ahead
of his nearest rival by 31 minutes and 50 seconds: surely, an
unassailable lead. But, during the penultimate stage, Thys’ bicycle
wheel broke. The Tour rules were clear. It was expressly forbidden
for a competitor to receive any help with repairs. However, Thys
decided to take the risk of a time penalty and seek breakdown
support. Those of us who have broken down in France will fear for
him, especially as this was during a lunch break. But Thys was in
luck, and he bought a new wheel at a shop. Although this cost him
30 minutes on the clock, he retained his slender advantage and
rode triumphant up the Champs Elysées.
Why all this cycling history? Well, firstly, this service is an act
of commemoration and what history tells us is that it is very
important that we remember. The day of the 1914 Grand Départ,
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo,
lighting the touch-paper for the outbreak of the First World War.
One week after the 1914 Tour had been completed, Germany
invaded the race-winner’s native Belgium and declared war on
France. Suddenly, festivals of human endeavour such as the Tour
de France became as meaningless as they were impractical. Le
Grand Départ would not occur again until June of 1919. By that
time, three former Tour de France champions had lost their lives.
The 1914 winner survived the war and went on to secure a third
and final Tour victory in 1920.
This gathering today must surely consider the 100th anniversary of
the Great War. In 1914, there were 102 boys at St Peter’s School.
Some 540 Old Peterites served with the Armed Forces in the
First World War. Of those 540 young men, 75 were killed. What
is perhaps most significant is that 361 of them joined up before
conscription was introduced in January 1916. What does it tell us
of the spirit of Peterites 100 years ago that, of those young men
4
who fought in the Great War, more than three quarters of them
joined up voluntarily? Amongst other things, I think it tells us of
their deeply-held value of service.
Mere numbers cannot tell the full story. Reading reports and
articles on the young men in question, we get a fuller picture.
With typical Peterite honesty, the 1914 edition of the school
magazine describes the merits and characters of some of the First
XV players, the following of whom volunteered:
These short descriptions of the merits of schoolboy rugby players
are poignant. It is not hard to imagine how their skills and abilities
were applied in the theatre of war: the courage, the commitment,
the sense of loyalty and service. Nor is it hard to feel the tragedy
of the loss of youth, the desperate waste of potential. The fates
of five members of the First XV, including the three we just heard
described, were dictated by forces beyond their control. None of
them returned from the war.
When it finally came, the end of the Great War was marked by
a Chapel service in November 1918. Sam Toyne, the then Head
Master, concluded his address saying: ‘let us discipline ourselves
to God’s ways […] let us, as Peterites, never betray the trust of
Commemoration
Day, with over 70 MENCAP members and their carers spending
the day with our pupils and staff, enjoying tennis, wheelchair
basketball, football, cycling, drama and drumming. Meanwhile,
up the road at the Glen Respite Care Home, 25 Fifth Formers
were working on the next phase of a garden makeover and the
installation of a two-level sandpit to allow access for children in
wheelchairs. On the same day, a trio of Lower-Sixth pupils were
invited to the Mansion House. They were three of only nine young
people in York to receive the Lord Mayor of York’s Special Award
for Volunteering. This culture of service is at the heart of what our
school stands for.
those beloved and honoured sons of the school who have laid
down their lives in this mighty conflict.’ The names of those
who had died were also read out at the Commemoration service
of July 1919. Our act of Commemoration today affords us an
opportunity to pay tribute together to all those connected with
our school whose journeys through life were cut short by war,
illness and other kinds of misfortune. We will remember them in a
Chapel service on OP Day, 30th August.
Not withstanding this sombre anniversary, Commemoration is
an occasion for celebration of all the things that make St Peter’s
the School it is. It is, above all, a celebration of what our young
people can achieve, individually and together. This school year has
been a year of celebratory anniversaries. We have marked the 60th
anniversary of Queen’s House. 2014 sees the 100th anniversary of
Grove House and the 50th anniversary of Dronfield House, named
of course after the longest-serving Head Master of the School.
2014 is also the 10th anniversary of the school’s Community
Action programme. Community Action encourages pupils to serve
others through volunteering. Throughout the year pupils have
volunteered their time to help with cookery and craft, swimming
and music for children with special needs, as well as hosting tea
parties and computer classes for local senior citizens, all on-site
and sharing the school’s facilities. Many others have volunteered
off-site in the local community, assisting with numerous projects,
working in charity shops and helping
with children’s clubs. Last week
we hosted our third MENCAP
There are many other ways to serve our community. In its
broadest sense, the positive contribution every individual makes
is a service to the community. Whether it is in academic study
and intellectual enquiry, drama (and we have been treated to
some stellar productions this year), spirited debating, heartilycontested sport, all the beautiful music-making (not least in the
moving concert in March and the exuberance of the Cabaret
Concerts), the CCF (who achieved an excellent biennial inspection
report), Young Enterprise, art and design – and what stunning
exhibitions we have enjoyed – or the myriad other activities,
trips and tours. Pupils serve the school every time they compete,
every time they represent their house, every time
they represent the school, every time they leave
our site wearing the uniform and colours of
the school. There have been many victories
in tournaments and friendly fixtures – it’s
been a terrific year for girls’ sport this
year in particular, with unbeaten seasons
in hockey, netball and tennis, at various
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Commemoration
levels. All our sportsmen and women serve the school, at whatever
level, by showing good sportsmanship, by extending the hand of
friendship to visitors and by showing commitment to the end and
dignity in defeat.
The Archbishop of York, who is Visitor to our school, chairs the
Living Wage Commission. St Peter’s is embracing those principles
wholeheartedly. We have such a committed support staff, and
I am delighted that, from September, every single support staff
colleague will be paid the living wage or above. I am very grateful
for the service given by our hard-working colleagues in the
bursary, estates, domestic, catering, facilities assistants, matrons
and nurses, grounds and maintenance staff and technicians. Last
year saw the introduction of long-service awards: we gave out
over 30. There are almost 40 colleagues across the three schools
who have worked at the school for a quarter of a century or more.
This tells the story of what service means at St Peter’s School. A
further eight members of teaching staff received their 25-year
long-service awards at the Whole Staff Party a fortnight ago. One
such long-serving colleague is Mr Bob Shread who retires from
teaching Chemistry today after 29 years at St Peter’s. Bob is wellknown for his excellent teaching, passionate leadership of school
tennis and trademark wink. Also retiring are Mrs Lesley Birch, who
has taught English at the school for seven years and Mrs Maggie
Smales. Miss Katherine Barker moves on after four remarkable
years to take up the promoted post of Head of Classics at
Hurst School, in Sussex. Dr Matthew Thomson leaves us for the
excitement of global travel with his wife. Johannes Hofmann and
Tereza Hercigová leave us after successful one-year placements.
Our pupils benefit from a dedicated
and inspiring teaching staff. Thankfully,
this is not just my view but also
that of our parents, 61% of whom
kindly took the time to complete
the school improvement surveys we
conducted earlier this academic year.
The findings were that ‘parents believe
pupils are academically challenged
while experiencing a range of other
activities […] in impressive facilities.
[…] particularly noteworthy is the high
endorsement of exam success and
other measures of academic provision,
the care and communication shown by
boarding staff and the opportunities
provided in sports and music. Looking
at “the School’s results in public exams”
6
and “the way pupils are stretched and challenged academically”,
the school is rated significantly higher than the benchmarks from
30 other boarding schools across the country. […]’. A summary of
the findings was sent to parents earlier this week and will guide
our improvement planning. I thank all parents for your terrific
support of the school.
The quality of the pupil experience at our school remains our
number-one priority. Parental feedback has usefully flagged some
important areas for us to improve. Careers and higher education
advice and support remains, rightly, an area of high expectation
as we continue to diversify and develop our programme and seek
to offer the individual support pupils need and parents require.
We want to improve on communication with parents; we want
to be more proactive and more detailed. We must continue to
provide inspirational teaching in inspiring learning spaces. With
this in mind, as the Chairman mentioned, we begin a three-year
programme to improve our classrooms. We have appointed a
Head of Digital Strategy to deliver our IT plan. Curriculum design
and innovation in learning remain key priorities. This year we
introduced the Extended Project Qualification in the Sixth-Form
curriculum, and we have more innovations planned as the national
exam reforms come on-line.
Recent physical improvements have gone down well. The newlyrefurbished Memorial Hall has already served the school and wider
community wonderfully well and the new Gym is very popular
with the pupils. We’ve had unprecedented demand for places at all
levels of the school. We have ambitious plans for the future and
we are in a good position to deliver them. In this shared pursuit
of excellence, I would like to express my ongoing gratitude to the
Board of Governors for their support and expertise in guiding the
school forward. I’m delighted that Mr Bill Woolley has taken up
the Chairmanship of the Board and I very much look forward to
Commemoration
leading the school forward together. I also warmly thank the St
Peter’s and Whole School leadership team for their outstanding
work this year. I thank my wife, Jules, for her unerring support, and
for her interior design of the Memorial Hall, alongside a number
of demanding day-jobs. Most importantly, I thank each and every
pupil: your efforts and achievements, so many and various, are a
genuine pleasure to see. And always the highlight of our jobs as
teachers.
So, in just under two days’ time, the peloton will speed past
this beautiful, ancient building. As a leadership team we were so
privileged last week to have a tour of the East Window and see
up-close the beautiful seated figure of St Peter that was blessed
last Sunday on St Peter’s day. This is a building that has, over the
centuries, seen all manner of processions of human transport go
by: horses, donkeys and carts; walkers, wanderers and pilgrims;
pedlars [sic] of a very different kind. It has seen carriages and
sedans; bicycles and motor cars, and the lives of the transported countless human lives lived in the glorious and benign shadow of
the Cathedral Church of St Peter.
A few years ago, I bought a T-shirt in a French market which had
on it a quotation from Albert Einstein, translated into French: La
vie c’est comme une bicyclette. Il faut avancer pour ne pas tomber.
‘Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep
moving.’ With this in mind, let us turn our thoughts to our UpperSixth leavers. This great occasion signals your own personal Grands
Départs. It is the wonderful privilege of
teaching to watch children grow into
confident young adults. Many of our
leavers today have been in the school
from St Olave’s and plenty, including
our Head Girl, have travelled all the
way from the Nursery at Clifton School.
Our Heads of School, Katharine and
Toby, along with their deputies and an
excellent team of Monitors, have served
and led the school with dedication. Whether they joined the
School in Nursery or the Lower Sixth or somewhere in between,
the Upper Sixth of 2014 have shown themselves to be as diverse
and characterful a year group as you could hope for. I hope all of
you feel that your time at the school has served you well and that
you are well-prepared for the next stage.
To our leavers today, I say: enjoy the road ahead. Be prepared for
deviations. Look for new roads, moments of surprise and beauty.
Take time to admire the countryside. Enjoy the company of your
co-travellers and those new friends you make along the way.
Don’t be afraid to break away from the peloton. And if you get
lost, for heaven’s sake, don’t be afraid to ask for directions. I hope
you find the endurance to handle the punctures and crashes that
will inevitably occur along the way. Keep your heads down when
the wind, and the weather, are in your face. Keep moving forward
as you travel over the ancient ways. And remember this simple
but remarkable truth: that with a bicycle, its passenger is also its
engine. And so it is with life. Mr Leo Winkley
Head Master
7
Friends of St Peter’s
Facts about the Friends of St Peter’s
• The Friends of St Peter’s is a volunteer committee of sashwearing parents who help at a variety of school events and raise
funds for projects around school.
• The committee was formed 25 years ago by Wendy Shepherd,
a former Head of Girls’ Games, to welcome new parents to life
at St Peter’s and to support the staff during the school year
at music concerts, drama productions, school lectures and the
Leavers’ Ball.
• Our fundraising is mainly through raffle ticket sales and
profits from refreshments, which is then donated to different
departments within the school based on a bidding system.
• In 2013-2014, FOSP accepted bids of £1,600 for projects such
as the school magazine and radio, money towards a new First
XV scoreboard, kickboards for the pool, items for the Chapel
Choir and the girls’ Barbieshop group, and Community Action
projects.
• FOSP also likes to support the school in raising funds for major
overseas trips at events such as the annual Music School
Christmas and Cabaret Concerts.
• Under the guidance of Mr Morris, FOSP is now involved with
the annual Stargazing evening in January and also helps
throughout the year at the public lectures.
• FOSP is always grateful for any offers of help, event sponsorship
and raffle prizes. Please contact our school representative, Mrs
Justine Williams, or the school office.
On a personal note, our fundraising is going from strength
to strength as the school continues to improve the facilities,
particularly the fantastic new Memorial Hall and foyer. We all
really enjoy taking a more active role at school and although
we work hard, we have fun, too. Thank you so much to such a
wonderful, enthusiastic team and thank you to all the parents for
their support. Why not come and join us?
Mrs Kate Fordy
8
Commemoration
Obituary Christopher Blood
Chris was a passionate man and also a private man.
His passion for the trumpet was incredible to see – his trumpet
was so much part of him. Chris had passion in such great measure
that it made him one of the very best teachers that I have ever
known. He was a man who did not like fuss; in his last few years,
he did not like openly discussing the details of his illness and
certainly did not want any special treatment.
Of course there was his other passion: aeroplanes (and, by
extension, the RAF). He married Della in the School Chapel,
dressed in his RAF uniform from his work with the school RAF
section of the Combined Cadet Force. His best man was his dear
friend, Matthew Grant, who ran that section. He had pictures of
planes and insignia in his room at school together with a variety
of trumpets from all periods and a vast array of mouthpieces.
He could hear a Spitfire flying miles away and be able to tell
which mark of Spitfire it was, even before it came into view!
When Chris went to RAF camps he was always excited: almost
like a schoolboy, he loved the formality of it, the clean shoes, the
uniform and the strong structure.
Chris was born in 1953 in Clifton Village, a small, picturesque
village situated by the river Trent, just four miles outside
Nottingham. It is full of beautiful old houses, and Chris was
particularly proud to have been born in a thatched cottage that
several generations of his family, as tenant farmers, had lived in.
When Chris was about eleven years old, he pestered his Mum and
Dad for a trumpet after hearing his Dad, Oliver, accompanying his
trumpet-playing friend, Alan Wright, on the organ in the Methodist
Chapel. ‘You can have a trumpet as long as you practise!’ was the
deal, and Chris certainly maintained his side of this bargain for the
rest of his life!
Alan became his first teacher, and his regular visits to give Chris
lessons became Red Letter Days in the Blood household. After
helping his Dad in the school holidays in his blacksmith’s shop and
doing a spot of farmyard tractor-driving to earn some extra pocket
money, Chris left Nottingham to study the trumpet at the Royal
College of Music in London.
During his time at the RCM, he won the prestigious Manns
Brass Prize for solo trumpet playing. Whilst Principal Trumpet
of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company he enjoyed so much the
unique experience of performing The Pirates of Penzance with the
company in a private performance in Windsor Castle, where the
select audience consisted of the Queen, Prince Philip and other
members of the Royal Family.
Chris played in many different orchestras and for West End shows
before moving into teaching as Head of Brass at Bedford Modern
School and also at the Junior Guildhall School of Music. Chris
moved to York with Tina and their two daughters, Anna and Jenny,
of whom he was so proud, in January 1992 as Head of Wind
Studies at St Peter’s. Chris’s room was opposite mine and when I
arrived each morning he would always be practising: long notes,
scales, and arpeggios. A routine, yes, but a careful and thorough
one from which many could learn: a professional routine that
ensured that he was always in good shape to play. It distressed
him so much latterly when he could not play at all.
Chris insisted on high standards in rehearsal and that everyone
was part of a unit, all contributing to the whole. Teamwork in
the bands and groups that he ran was an absolutely essential
requirement. Above all, in everything that he did he was a
professional. He provided excellent brass groups for our Minster
services each year and he was so proud when one year he had
a brass group that included a complement of five tuba and
euphonium players.
The school’s first USA Music Tour was in the July of 1993. To
see him lick the Wind Band into shape during that year was so
amazing, and choosing music that was difficult enough but still
possible was an art he had clearly mastered. In that year he also
established the Swing Band which is now such an important
feature of musical life at St Peter’s. The idea of touring with 80
pupils for over two weeks was quite new to him, and he was not a
little apprehensive about the whole thing.
Over the years Chris’s work with the Wind Band was so wonderful.
His choice of repertoire was always impressive and imaginative.
One of the pieces he loved was Holst’s Suite in E flat – especially
the Chaconne from this, which he conducted many times so
effectively and memorably. Tim Dunn, one of his early band
leaders, affectionately called him ‘Cap’n Blood’; Captain Blood is a
film starring Errol Flyn with music by Erich Korngold – a composer
much admired by Chris. One review of Chris’s work in The Peterite
says ‘also thanks go to Cap’n Blood for his great patience, when
most of us, at some time or other, have deserved to walk the
plank.’
9
Commemoration
Chris’s work in St Olave’s in getting new brass and wind
instrumentalists started was also notable, and his organizing of
classes where every pupil had an instrument to play got so many
involved in music.
Chris did some notable orchestral conducting – in my time I
remember a performance of Elgar’s Overture Cockaigne at the
Jack Lyons Concert Hall at the University – an extremely difficult
piece played with real flair and precision. Then, more recently, a
performance of Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ Symphony in the Minster
– so polished and beautifully shaped. In his last major conducting
role, in March 2013, he directed Arthur Bliss’s Kenilworth Suite in
the school concert in Leeds Town Hall arranged for Wind Band by
Chris himself. It was a wonderful testament to his work with that
group.
He was a Tutor in Temple House and inspired much affection in
his pupils in his down-to-earth, no-nonsense dealings with them.
Chris loved bands and would regularly arrange for Army or RAF
bands to visit both St Peter’s and St Olave’s, and for our pupils to
play with them. This was also another way to encourage others to
take up wind or brass instruments.
The Remembrance Service in the Chapel each year is a very
special occasion, not least because so many former pupils died in
the two World Wars. Chris meticulously prepared the trumpeter
for this service each year and also sent out many other trumpeters
to similar services around York, all thoroughly rehearsed.
I have seldom seen someone so attached to his particular
instrument. In fact he had 16 trumpets altogether! His promise
to Alan Wright to practise was always kept, but, far more than
that, he placed something of that same enthusiasm in so many
youngsters’ heads and hearts. It is such a sad loss that so many
in the future will never experience that special enthusiasm,
encouragement and professionalism. Chris’s life touched those
of so many others, all of whom will remember him with deep
affection.
Mr Andrew Wright
(Director of Music, 1986-2010)
10
Salvete
Salvete
Miss Sara Burns
Mrs Dorothy Gillies
Mrs Gillies joined
St Peter’s Modern
Languages Department
last September, and
has since become a
valued member of the
teaching community
at the School.
Miss Burns joined us in September 2013
as the Drama Technician and the school is
very lucky to have somebody with as much
experience as her! Miss Burns grew up in
Yorkshire but has worked all over the world.
After school she went straight into working
as lighting designer for York Theatre Royal and
then became Chief Electrician for the RSC,
going on to become a professional member
of the Association of Lighting Designers, a
terrific achievement. Since then Miss Burns
has worked with people such as Lee Evans
and Michael McIntyre.
Miss Burns has a daughter, Mia, who often
appears as another friendly face in the drama
studio. You can often tell when Miss Burns is
working in the studio, as you can hear her and
Mia merrily singing along to the soundtrack
to Disney’s Frozen.
So far Miss Burns has been very involved
with the school productions. In the first term
she came with the Fourth and Fifth Form
to the Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds to do
the lighting and sound for the production
of As You Like It as part of the Shakespeare
Schools Festival. It was obvious that she
felt at home in a professional theatre! Then,
closer to home, Miss Burns did a fantastic
job in leading the technical side of this year’s
whole-school production, Alice. This was the
first St Peter’s School production to feature a
roaming spotlight, a spinning poker table and
hand-sewn oyster puppets. The show was a
tremendous success thanks to Mrs Burns!
Peter Gray (V)
Having grown up in
Glasgow where she
went to school and
university, Mrs Gillies
gained an Arts degree,
also spending time
studying in Germany
and France. This
allowed her to study History and Italian alongside German and
French, which she describes as a ‘brilliant’ and ‘varied’ opportunity.
During university Mrs Gillies worked as a tour guide, a job which
took her all over Europe and which she ‘thoroughly enjoyed’. Ever
since then she has taught languages at nursery, primary and senior
school levels. She was also Housemistress at Bradfield College, an
experience ‘quite different’ to working at the Rise, being a boys’
school.
Outside teaching, Mrs Gillies enjoys singing and is a member of
the St Peter’s Choral Society. She also loves skiing, swimming and
walking. One of her favourite pastimes is cinema, and she names
her favourite film as Chariots of Fire.
Mrs Gillies was attracted to St Peter’s after moving to York with
her husband, (Classics teacher Mr Gillies), and daughter. So far, her
impression of St Peter’s is of an ‘absolutely wonderful school’ with
friendly staff and pupils. We wish Mrs Gillies a warm welcome to
St Peter’s.
Lucy Schofield (UVI)
Mrs Sharon Hogg
Mrs Hogg is the latest
addition to the Careers
Department and is no
stranger to different
careers herself. She
started out as a
secretary, training at
The Yorkshire Ladies’
Secretarial College,
and after working
successfully for a
number of years
in this field she
moved to Archbishop
11
Salvete
Holgate’s School, where she learned that she wanted to work with
teenagers. She was raised in the Middle East, and has a strong
penchant for travel. Indeed, she has travelled everywhere from
Wales to South Africa and beyond, and along the way has picked
up interesting phrases such as, ‘go donkey go!’.
Mrs Hogg has two children; George (aged fourteen and keen to
swim in the Olympics) and Libby (aged eleven, who also has a
passion for the pool). Not only does this mean she has subjects for
her academic experiments, but it also ensures she is always on the
go helping her children’s dreams come to fruition. It would seem
that her dedication to the poolside has paid off, as she met pupils
and parents from St Peter’s there. From these friends, she gained
a taste of the friendly atmosphere at the school, which helped her
decide to apply for the job. When she does have time to herself
she loves to garden, and to read her favourite book, Little Women.
It is clear that Mrs Hogg has already become entwined into the
fabric of the school, and I know that she is eager to help anyone,
from any year. On behalf of all the pupils, I wish her every success.
Bethan Bradley (V)
Mrs Hopgood
Mrs Hopgood is the
latest addition to
the St Peter’s Design
and Technology
Department. Along
with her Interior
Design degree and her
list of life experiences
she is the perfect
candidate for the job. A
self-proclaimed creator
with a passion for lots
of making, sewing,
knitting and cooking,
Mrs Hopgood’s
credentials even
extend to restoring her previous Victorian home.
With a father in the Royal Air Force, Mrs Hopgood is certainly
no stranger to change, as she has frequently moved around
before settling in York. Born in Cambridgeshire, she lived on the
Isle of Man until the age of three; subsequently, she lived in
Northumberland for six months, then in Bexhill-on-Sea in East
Sussex. After her stint in East Sussex, Mrs Hopgood moved to
Belfast for five years, then Sunderland for eight years before
finally staying put in York. Once settled in York, Mrs Hopgood
attended our very own St Olave’s, which was then Queen Anne’s
Sixth Form. After studying a foundation course at York College,
she was then drawn to the bright lights of London, and gained an
impressive Interior Design degree from Kingston University.
The life experiences didn’t stop after university, either. With a
career in interior design not feeling overwhelmingly creative
12
enough for Mrs Hopgood, she then pursued an unpaid internship
at the National Film and Television School in Buckinghamshire
for 18 months. Following her creative dreams, Mrs Hopgood then
worked in children’s television set design for ten years. However,
as Mrs Hopgood cites both the Design and Art departments here
at St Peter’s as ‘very strong’ and with a ‘strong identity’, it is
no wonder she chose to work here. A fan of the way the school
teaches and the ethos of both the people who work here and
the pupils, it is not surprising that Mrs Hopgood has found her
experience here to be ‘very positive’. Her positivity with regard to
the school as a whole remains clear throughout my interview with
her: ‘everybody is lovely’, the ‘students are polite and hardworking’
with a ‘good work ethic’.
I am certain that Mrs Hopgood will be a valuable addition to the
St Peter’s community, and we all wish her the very best.
Sara Pycock (UVI)
Miss Alice Lambert
Miss Lambert, a new member of the French department this year,
was born in Hampshire but grew up in various different places
including Gibraltar and Naples, later attending the Royal Hospital
School in Ipswich. She
went on to gain a BA
in English and French
at the University of
Southampton, followed
by a PGCE, also at
Southampton.
St Peter’s marks Miss
Lambert’s first job
since finishing her
PGCE, although she
previously worked
at two schools
in Southampton
whilst completing
her training. Having
been a boarder herself at school, she was drawn to St Peter’s by
the familiar nature of the school and its ‘happy and welcoming
atmosphere’.
In her spare time, Miss Lambert enjoys singing and reading, as well
as various sports such as swimming and running – although she
says team sports aren’t for her. She has also been a cadet in the
past and has become involved in the CCF at St Peter’s.
After a year at the school Miss Lambert retains her impression of
an ‘open environment’, and we hope she continues to enjoy her
time at St Peter’s.
Salvete
Mr David Robinson
Mr Robinson grew up
all over the country
including Yorkshire,
Ashby-de-la-Zouch
and Canterbury. He
then went to Durham
University to study
English Literature,
specializing in poetry
and American fiction
with his favourite book
being The Last of the
Mohicans. Following
in the footsteps of his
father, Mr Robinson
was first a supply
teacher before coming
to St Peter’s, although at some point he also wanted to be a
policeman. He fancies having 15 children in order to form a rugby
squad out of them all but he’s not too sure about the practicalities
of this plan. York being similar to Canterbury, Mr Robinson likes
this city but not as much as he likes forests and the outdoors,
declaring that he is a big fan of trees. Before he arrived, he
thought that St Peter’s had a good reputation, and now that he’s
here he absolutely loves it, especially how everyone is so involved
with school life and how one can go from the rugby pitch straight
to picking up a saxophone. His hobbies include rugby, skiing and
he was even in the under-16 Great Britain karate squad (choosing
not to comment about any injuries caused). Other than that, Mr
Robinson claims to be a regular ten-fingered, ten-toed guy and we
are very pleased to welcome him to the teaching staff and wish
him all the best for his time here.
Peter Gray (V)
Dr Jemma Senczyszyn
Dr Senczyszyn is the new recruit to the Chemistry Department,
and has come to the school with a wealth of knowledge she
acquired from studying
at no less than three
universities! Her
unusual surname
originates from her
grandfather, who is
Ukrainian, however
Dr Senczyszyn herself
grew up in Ilkley, and
acquired her doctorate
at Manchester
University, before
moving on to do her
teacher training at
Nottingham University.
Although busy gaining a degree and a doctorate, she still found
time to work in Switzerland at Hoffman La Roche, where she
helped to develop drugs to combat schizophrenia.
Dr Senczyszyn plays for a water polo team in Nottingham, and
is clearly a talented swimmer: she was even able to swim home
from work in Switzerland down a river! Her other hobbies include
music (she plays the guitar), walking and cycling. She was first
drawn to St Peter’s by the friendly and tightly-knit environment,
and has already become an invaluable part of that, tutoring the
Fourth Form in Temple.
Greatly dedicated to her pupils and buzzing with enthusiasm
for her subject, Dr Senczyszyn has already proved herself an
invaluable asset to the Chemistry Department, Temple, and indeed
the school. I wish her the warmest of welcomes, and a long and
fulfilling career at St Peter’s.
Bethan Bradley (V)
Mr Harry Vann
Mr Vann joined St
Peter’s in the Classics
Department in
2013, and since then
has been a valued
member of the school
environment, both
academically and in
co-curricular pursuits.
Despite his short time
here, he has made
a lasting impression
on every Peterite,
regardless of who
they are. He grew up
in Harrow on the Hill
in London, and graduated from Clare College, Cambridge, with a
degree in Classics. He worked as a barrister for ten years before
deciding to become a teacher. Mr Vann was attracted to St Peter’s
by its emphasis on life outside lessons, in particular the rugby,
cricket and thriving Drama Department. In the time he has spent
here, he has engaged with the pupils and what he considers the St
Peter’s spirit of throwing oneself wholeheartedly into any activity.
In his own time, he enjoys visiting the opera, and is a particular
fan of Mozart. Ever modest, he undertook the huge adventure of
crossing the Atlantic in a feat he described as ‘run-of-the-mill.’
Known about the school as the man with the huge voice and
personality to match, he has already become part of the fabric
of the school. We give him our sincere gratitude for his continual
support and hope he will remain an integral member of the school
for many years to come.
Bethan Bradley (V)
13
Valete
Miss Tereza Hercigová
Tereza joined
us at the
start of this
academic year
as part of the
HMC teacher
exchange from
the Czech
Republic. She
threw herself
into the life
of the school
from the
beginning:
her main
responsibilities
were teaching ICT as part of the RLR programme but her
mathematical skills were soon recognised and she was
happy to teach lessons in the Maths Department here and
also help out in St Olave’s. Her enthusiasm for the subject
shines through in her lessons and she loves the challenge
of explaining unfamiliar topics to children of all ages.
Around school she has been a constant presence in the
co-curricular programme: as a keen runner she has helped
with the cross-country options all year and ran her first
half-marathon in March. She has been a regular at staff
swimming sessions in the early mornings, put orienteering
back on the map in St Peter’s(!) and has accompanied
DofE Bronze and Gold expeditions. I believe she will even
take the experience of sleeping in an old shower-block on
Strensall Common back to the Czech Republic with her.
Keen to experience as much of the country as possible
during her time here Tereza and her fiancé Tomas have
travelled widely during the school holidays to Ireland
and Scotland. She probably needed to get as far away
from school as possible to try and get over the shock of
appearing in the staff contribution to the House Sing!
Although Tereza does not have fixed plans when she gets
back home she does of course have one very important
event to plan: her wedding in October. I think I speak
for all of us when I say that we have all enjoyed working
with Tereza as she has cheerfully fitted in with all the
eccentricities of both St Peter’s and Yorkshire and we wish
her well for the future.
Mrs Jane Dawson
Mr Johannes Hoffman
Johannes Hoffman grew up in the south of Germany, in
Bavaria, where he went to school and was first introduced
to English. He gained degrees in English Literature,
Philosophy, German, and German as a Foreign Language,
which led him to teach German to students in South
14
Africa before moving
to England, and to St
Peter’s, where for the
past year he has been
helping our pupils to
learn the language
from a native speaker.
Johannes is passionate
about sport, enjoying a
variety from skydiving
to tennis, paragliding
and football. He is
well-travelled, and has
had many adventures
– even getting his only
pair of shoes stolen in Spain, and having to make his way home to
Germany barefoot!
There are many pupils that have benefitted from Johannes’
knowledge and skill with languages, and I am sure there will
continue to be more in years to come.
Bethan Bradley (V)
Mrs Maggie Smales
The Drama
Department was
thrilled to welcome
Mrs Smales to the
teaching team this
year. Having been
born in South Africa
and then moving
to England, where
she attended eight
different schools all
over the country, she
completed her degree
in Drama at Bretton
Hall College, the
same College as Miss
Lindley, the current Head of the Drama Department. Since then
Mrs Smales has been teaching for most of her career as well as
becoming a wife and mother in her family life.
During this academic year, Mrs Smales has contributed to the
school productions as a co-director for As You Like It, The Wardrobe
and London Below, as well as designing and then creating many
fantastic costumes from scratch. Sewing is one of Mrs Smales’
skills and hobbies: she even made it to the interview stages for the
BBC2 show The Great British Sewing Bee. The department is very
grateful for the talent and all the hard work she put into making
these costumes, some of which are on display in the Drama
studio.
Valete
Singing is another hobby for Mrs Smales and she sings in two
choirs. She also took the opportunity to direct Githa Sowerby’s
play The Stepmother in March at the York Theatre Royal and she
said it was a joy to work on.
Mrs Smales’ experience shows in the classroom as she is a very
patient teacher and always endeavours to make her pupils laugh.
Punctuality and enthusiasm are some of the qualities appreciated
by the other members of the department.
Smales by name. Smiles by nature!
Peter Gray (V)
Maggie’s 39-year teaching career included spells at Joseph
Rowntree and Huntington schools, and we were delighted that
she chose to spend her final year before retirement at St Peter’s.
Maggie has not just been the best colleague we could have asked
for, but a wonderful, delightfully funny, supportive, warm and
creative close friend. We’re going to miss our friend, so it with
real sadness that we say ‘goodbye’ to Maggie, but that is us being
selfish because we want to keep her, and now she can spend
more time with her family and being a Grandma and relaxing and
enjoying not having a September-to-July diary (and not having to
get through the York traffic in a morning!). The last line of Alice
was ‘I’m not ready to grow up just yet’, and I think this might be
fitting to say as Maggie starts her retirement.
Miss Helen Lindley
Mr Oliver Couttie
Ollie arrived at school
five years ago as
an external hockey
coach. It soon became
apparent what a talent
he had in this area
and after finishing his
degree was employed
as our full-time
graduate hockey coach.
Ollie is an outstanding
coach both technically
and tactically: he is
rarely flustered and
has a keen eye for the
game and an excellent
rapport with the players. Ollie has the balance just right between
hard work and enjoyment in his sessions; he also has a good sense
of humour, but a rather unconventional laugh.
Ollie understood the ethos of the school, playing for enjoyment
with character and commitment, and passed this on to the
players. He coached both boys’ and girls’ hockey to success. It is
because of his hard work that hockey has developed to a level
where we have county champions, northern champions and
national finalists.
Ollie recognised that he was enjoying the teaching environment
and that he would like it to become his career, so whilst at school
he took his GTP and qualified as a teacher.
Ollie will be sadly missed by St Peter’s hockey: Cundall Manor’s
gain is definitely our loss.
Mr Mike Johnston
Miss Kat Barker
If you walk past Miss
Barker’s classroom,
and the door is
open, you quickly
get a sense that
there is something
special happening.
Attention is firmly
focused on the front
of the classroom, and
there is a real desire
to learn from this
inspirational teacher.
As well as our own
pupils, Miss Barker
has taught young people from schools across York, as part of the
ISSP programme. For the last three years she has enabled them
to achieve outstanding results at GCSE, and more importantly to
develop a love of Latin and Classics. Her commitment to the ISSP
is just one of her many achievements during her time in York.
Miss Barker was the founder and driving force of the York Classics
Association, organising lectures and cavalry charges (not at the
same time). She was instrumental in the department’s trip to
Pompeii in 2013, a bass trombone player in the Swing Band, and a
part of so many musical events during her four years.
She’s been a dedicated rowing coach to the Third and Fourth
Form, and an invaluable support on Duke of Edinburgh Gold
expeditions.
In her role as Head of Academic Extension at St Peter’s she has
introduced some great new initiatives, including the incredibly
successful St Peter’s Challenge and St Peter’s Junior Challenge.
After four busy and hugely successful years at St Peter’s, Miss
Barker heads off to Hurst in Sussex as Head of Department. Hurst
simply knew a good thing when she walked through their door,
and they will be all the richer for her joining their staff, as we have
been at St Peter’s.
We thank her for brightening this place up with her smile, her
generosity and incredible energy. We wish Miss Barker every
happiness on her journey south.
Mr Jon Whitehouse
15
Valete
Mrs Lesley Birch
able to spend more time creating and not being pinned down to
endless 40-minute periods.
Lesley has been with
us since 2007 and,
although employed
to teach English on a
part-time basis, this
particular branding
is very far from the
mark in terms of
what she offers a
school like St Peter’s.
She is a musician,
an artist, a thinker
and philosopher, an
honorary and muchloved member of our
own Art Department,
a wicked mimic, a reader and writer and the owner of the best
dressing-up box this side of Vaudeville. The dressing-up box has
reached iconic status with pupils in Lesley’s classes; recently,
two members of the Third Form – one dressed as a sheikh and
one in a diaphanous golden garment – provoked bitter jealousy
and resentment from classes along the corridor on a Saturday
morning. The dressing-up box has been a teaching-aid for the
poems of Thomas Hardy and has presumably been used in
conjunction with explorations of duality in Jekyll and Hyde, where
the lycra vest, circa 1980, would perhaps create the desired effect.
You leave, Lesley, with our love and best wishes.
Alongside projects such as Sonnet Face – shared with us and
pinched gleefully by us at a departmental meeting, Lesley is
constantly re-inventing ways of teaching; Sonnet Face starts,
of course, with something visual but turns into a sophisticated
analysis of sonnet form and Shakespeare’s anti-beauty poem. We
know, within the department, that during the last inspection of
2010, it was Lesley’s teaching which was singled out and praised
for its variety, creativity and substance.
Lesley’s successes are really very evident amongst us: her beautiful
homage to Coleridge’s Frost at Midnight hangs in pride of place in
Queen’s, having adorned the school Christmas card. Many of you
will know that one of Lesley’s paintings was selected for the Royal
Academy summer exhibition last year. Simon Mortimer, in his own
inimitable way and from a tent somewhere in Teesdale sums it up:
‘She knows more about art than us – the kids always went to her
for info or advice on the Edinburgh trip and of course, her getting
into the RA and not us. Cow!’
John Darmody, in a sage reflection of Lesley’s contribution to the
Art Department comments: ‘She’s the only one who can keep up
with Simon Mortimer drink for drink…’
We have been very lucky to have had such talent amongst us,
but it is for the things closer to home that I thank Lesley for now:
her championing of the naughty boys and her patience with their
various peccadillos; her raucous laughter and sense of fun; her
constantly fizzing idea. We’re delighted that you’re going to be
16
Mrs Jo Lawrence
Mr Bob Shread
Bob was appointed
in 1985 to teach
Chemistry; for the
next 29 years that is
exactly what he did.
Bob has taught with
enthusiasm, quiet
authority and a very
clear knowledge of his
subject and its wider
implications in society.
All this came as a
result of his MSc from
York University and
his work in industry.
Let us just consider
the fact that over the
past 29 years every
medical student, vet
and dentist to have
come from St Peter’s
must have studied
Chemistry successfully
at A-level. He enjoyed
the question-andanswer nature of his
subject, ‘interceptions
and all’, and also
the practical nature
of it. As Barry Gill
commented: ‘the
last of the “bucket
chemists” has now
left, explosions good
enough to bring down ceiling tiles are over and fume-cupboard
fires are now a thing of the past!’. Barry should know, as he
has been part of a Chemistry Department that included Peter
Northfield, Ian Lancaster and Lindsey Stark, who collectively gave
over 130 years of service to the school. Barry is now the last
man standing, which is good for Bob as he will continue to coach
tennis next year and he needs his unpaid Tennis Secretary to keep
up the good work.
Bob has run the tennis since his first year at St Peter’s, and in
those 29 years he has taken a half-colours, peripheral summer
activity and entrenched it as a major full-colours sport, played
throughout the year and across all age-groups. The huge success
of senior tennis is now mirrored by that of the juniors. During the
Valete
final week of this summer term the first pair in the U15s reached
the Plate final of the national knockout finals at Eton. This remains
the best performance in the history of tennis at the school.
Although hugely competitive both on the tennis court, where
Bob was a long-time member of the York first team, to rugby –
where he coached all sides from the U14s to the Third XV (‘Bob’s
Barmy Army’) – he was always a great sportsman and as the
famous Notre Dame University football coach, Knute Rockne once
observed: ‘one man practising sportsmanship is far better than 50
preaching about it.’
Bob cut his teeth on the pastoral side as Assistant Housemaster
to both John Owen-Barnett and Peter Taylor in School House and
then Dronfield, where he remained until 2008. Given his mentors,
it is no surprise that Bob has over the years been regarded as a
wonderfully calm and utterly reliable pastoral colleague, so much
so that he was asked to help set up the new day-house, Hope, in
2008.
Throughout all these years Bob has always been a family man:
he married Trudi in August 1989, and they celebrated their 25th
wedding anniversary this summer. Bob is immensely proud of
Dom and Olivia and all they have achieved, and I know he, like us,
is hugely grateful for the wonderful support that Trudi has given,
enabling him to commit so much time and effort into supporting
the pupils at St Peter’s. It is Bob’s desire to properly look after
his 93-year-old mother that has led him to retire from teaching,
rather than a real desire to hang up his lab coat.
All his colleagues recognise his kindness and his warmth of
personality, his cheerful and relaxed attitude and his no-nonsense
Yorkshire approach. He has been a most loyal colleague right from
his early days in No 7A St Peter’s Grove. We should remember Bob
as one of the really top schoolmasters, not just a teacher of his
subject, but a real educator in its broadest sense. He is part of that
breed of colleagues who never clock-watched, that gave of their
time in all areas of school life willingly; from extra chemistry to
tennis, from OP fixtures to science conferences, from staff tennis
to the good old days of staff sevens fixtures.
Perhaps the following quote from Muhammad Ali can in some
way sum Bob up and allow us to say a fond farewell to a family
man, an outstanding schoolmaster and a loyal friend:
Friendship … is not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t
learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned
anything.
Mr Paddy Stephen
Dr Matthew Thomson
certainly taken off
in a huge way with
Matt’s inspirational
PowerPoints (blisters:
to pop or not to pop
– that is the question)
and the introduction
of a creative writing
module on expedition;
last year, we were
treated to a DofE remake of The Blair Witch
Project – which looked
uncannily like the
original. The marriage
of a creative brain with
a body that wants to climb mountains has made him an enviable
role-model amongst rather more portly or even just sedentary
staff.
Doc T, as he’s become known, started with a baptism of fire in the
department by being extravagantly vomited on by Henry Roach at
an RSC performance of Romeo and Juliet in his first few weeks. We
hastened to assure him that this sort of excessive behaviour was
not the norm.
Matt’s compassion and loyalty are evident in many ways; he
has been, despite his rather serious exterior, a kind and gentle
presence with troubled children. His daily commute to and from
Sheffield was devised in order to cope with the start of married
life, with the burden of working in two different places resting
squarely on his shoulders. Bowling over from breakfast in a jacket
that’s actually a converted sleeping bag, he could be found staring
at the photocopier, coffee in hand, printing out endless, enviable
resources that were detailed to a terrifying degree, often in grid
form (more DofE crossover) and by their very presence, silently
rebuking anything produced in comic sans with frivolous pictures
and Word Art.
Matt has a formidable intellect, is passionate about his teaching
and has been an absolute rock in his time with the English
Department. His ideas and initiatives have helped shape the last
few years and he has generously shared everything regularly with
us – we have all benefitted from his presence. Indeed, in his own
words: ‘If you’d told me you were retarded when I first arrived, I
could have helped more’.
He is, of course, an iron man – in his steadfastness and dedication
there was never a truer epithet applied. Thank you, Matt – with
love from us all – as you embark upon something a little more
exciting than the East Coast Main Line.
Mrs Jo Lawrence
Matt has been with us since 2010 but has actually managed to
pack so much into his four years that he is now heading off for
a well-earned retirement. I know I’m not going to do justice to
his many and varied contributions to boarding, DofE, rugby and
hockey – to name but a few. Many of you will thank Matt in
your own ways, and well-deserved those thanks will be. DofE has
17
House Reports
CLIFTON
Before embarking upon this year’s report, special mention
must go to Mr Grant who has made such a sustained and
tangible contribution to the life of Clifton House and the
students within it over the last six years. The successes
enjoyed this year are as a direct result of the hard work that
Mr Grant has put in and the belief that he has shown in the
students that make up the house.
It is a difficult task keeping track of all of the events that
have taken place and so I give only a wide-angled snapshot
of performances both individual and collective. Clifton
House has had an exciting year, seeing many successes and
performances of note both as a house and by individuals
within it. We have had several senior individual honours:
Deputy Head Girl (Emily Gray), and Captains of girls’ hockey
(Josie Proctor), swimming (Alice Rhodes) and boats (Emily
Gray) as well as Captain (Charlie Elliot) and Vice-Captain
(Felix Adams) of cricket, President of debating (Ben Turvill)
and Head of Band (Georgie Harrison). These individuals have
made a sustained contribution to the school and the house
and my thanks go out to them all.
The year began at breakneck speed as usual, with students
across the year-groups needing quickly to find their
collective feet academically and on the co-curricular
front. Indeed, one of the first formal occasions required
that one of the new Third Form had the daunting task of
reading in Chapel. I was delighted that Jack Amsden not
only volunteered, but also managed to read with such
clarity and confidence in what must have been a wholly
18
new environment. Later in September, Clifton’s House Chapel
discussed the themes of writer’s block and perseverance, and was
both entertaining and thought-provoking.
The highly-anticipated inter-house cross-country was run with
determination and commitment (in almost all cases!) and there
was both a collection of superb individual runs and also very
pleasing overall results, with the junior girls becoming overall
winners of their category. The junior and senior boys both finished
a highly-respectable second, with the senior girls putting in a
gutsy performance to ultimately finish seventh. Special mention
should go to Emilia Proctor, Eva Carlyle, Becky Green, Maddie
Hunter, Olivia Anderson, Matthew Jones, Ed Contreras and Freddie
Heijbroek for finishing in the top tens of their events.
House Reports
November saw both the start of the new St Peter’s Challenge
competition and the return of the established Great Egg Race.
The Egg Race team of Charlie Elliot, Henry Eyre, Sandy Eyre, Joe
Copley, Patrick Hayes and Henry Barker put bags of effort and
ingenuity into their contraption, only for a lack of fine-tuning
through testing to mean that what had been a very promising
concept did not quite perform under pressure. Lessons will
be learned. The St Peter’s Challenge team proved to be very
successful. Charlie and Sam Elliot, Ben Turvill, Toby Latham, Joe
Copley, Charlie Rae and Jess Webster contributed to navigate
all the way to the grand final, where we eventually came a very
creditable second. Next year
will be a fascinating battle.
The end of 2013 saw the
girls’ inter-house hockey
tournament, which was a
superb spectacle in freezing
conditions. Clifton drew a
tricky group with The Rise,
Queen’s and Temple, but
managed to win all three
close games. A tense 1-0
victory in the semi-final
against Hope then saw them
meet School in the final.
With the scores level at full
time and after extra time,
the game went to flicks
and sudden-death flicks.
With Emma Walker giving
an inspired performance in goal as well as some admirable nerve
being shown by those taking the flicks, Clifton emerged, exhausted
both mentally and physically, as victors. Throughout, the teamspirit shown was a joy to behold and I look forward to watching a
more experienced side try to defend their crown next year.
2014 saw many more outstanding efforts and achievements. The
boys’ hotly-anticipated rugby sevens competition saw the seniors,
following an outstanding group-phase try-fest, eliminated in the
semis. Exhausted and disappointed, they had nevertheless put in
some outstanding displays of attacking rugby, with several longrange individual scores from both Will Pepper and Charlie Elliot.
The juniors had a new potent attacking weapon in Charlie Rae and
he was backed up with feverish work and excellent passing and
tackling from the entire squad. A solid group-phase and impressive
semi meant a final against The Grove that was hard-fought and
close. The Grove eventually avenged a group-phase defeat to be
crowned champions, meaning Clifton were a creditable second.
Wrecking Ball was a somewhat apt choice of song for our attempt
at the House Singing crown. Rehearsals were enjoyable if not
always tuneful affairs; my thanks to Mr Spencer for his patience
and musicality: a light in the darkness. March saw the netball
competition reach an exciting climax, with the girls managing
to progress to the final following some excellent all-court play
and an excellent game against Queen’s in the semi-final. We
eventually finished runners-up; the girls performed strongly and
should be rightfully proud, again, of the spirit and commitment on
display.
Despite having half of the current First XI in Clifton, winning the
inter-house cricket has always been a challenge. This year, we
were given the toughest first-round draw, but managed to restrict
Temple to an achievable total. Solid batting from the openers
19
House Reports
be crowned champions. This proved to be a most satisfying and
fitting end to the year as the girls demonstrated outstanding
team-spirit and determination to work for each other.
As a new Housemaster, it has been a thoroughly enjoyable and
eye-opening first year, one that I will remember for the rest of my
career. My thanks go to the students and parents of the current
Cliftonite crop for helping me to settle into what is a challenging
but immensely rewarding position; to the Clifton tutors Mr
Spencer (Upper Sixth), Mr Fuller (Lower Sixth), Mr Wallace (Fourth
Form), and Mrs Chapman (Third Form), who have supported the
students so admirably; and finally to my invaluable Assistant, Mrs
Brough (Fifth Form), who (unfortunately for us) will be moving to
Dronfield at the end of the year. I hope that we are able to build
both on the spirit and the successes that we have enjoyed this
year. Yellow and proud.
Mr Rob Snelling
meant the target was reached comfortably and a second-round tie
against Queen’s beckoned. Clifton again played excellent cricket
and managed to make the final against Grove. Another excellent
game saw Clifton finish runners-up. Special mention must go to
the skipper, Sam Elliot, who batted superbly throughout as well as
producing a stunning pick-up and throw to run out a surprised and
unlucky batsman.
Some would say that the finale of the ‘whole house’ events is
Sports Day, and Cliftonites were keen to show their collective
talents in what certainly is a showpiece event. Without picking
out individual performances (there were too many to do so here),
Clifton showed a broad and deep pool of athletic talent resulting
in an overall victory for the house. This was an outstanding
achievement and the future promises a great deal with many wins
coming from lower down as well as some superb senior victories.
The final event of the term was the junior rounders, into which we
had to enter a weakened team because of injuries. The depleted
squad managed to win their group games, progressing to a tense
and close semi-final against School, from which Clifton narrowly
emerged victorious. The final was against our close rivals, The
Grove, whom we had met in the group-stages. Clifton, through
a combination of tight fielding, excellent backing-up, spirited
batting and determined running, managed to emerge on top to
20
House Reports
DRONFIELD
Dronfield welcomed Miss Wilson, Miss Lambert and Miss
Hercigová, and 14 new girls, to the house at the start of the year.
Our new Third Form – Annabel, Katy, Alana, Sophie and Grace –
all settled in very quickly, and got involved in house and school
activities. Sophie was nominated for York County netball trials
and broke a record in the inter-house swimming, while Katy and
Annabel took part in the middle-school play, London Below. Grace
joined the School Choir, and took part in the Cabaret Concerts.
Abi, Liv and Emma all spent their Easter in Morocco on the Fourth
Form trek, while Edith was involved in the dramatic productions of
London Below and The Wardrobe. Nicole broke the county record
for the triple jump and ran some great 800m races for North
Yorkshire Schools’ athletics. Nicole was the best junior girl athlete
at the school Sports Day, and was also the first-placed under-18
girl at the Beverley 10k in May. Our junior girls came third in
inter-house rounders. The juniors also came second in inter-house
debating and third in the swimming, with school records from
Nicole, Sophie and Liv. Our Fifth Form of Pippa, Issy, Min and
Dasha have had successes this Speech Day as Pippa achieved an
21
House Reports
academic prize, Issy the Latin prize, an essay prize, a science prize
and an art prize. Min won a maths prize and a drawing prize. Dasha
finished her GCSE exams before half term, so enjoyed four weeks’
recovery followed by two weeks of community work at the end of
the year. Holly and Georgia saw their year group nearly quadruple
in size, making their year nine in total. They have involved
themselves in various aspects of
St Peter’s life, with Georgia, Carol
and Holly in the Young Enterprise
team, and Jemima and Carol in the
Barbieshop group, performing in the
Cabaret and Christmas Concerts.
Lily, Holly and Jemima all went to
the Ghent International Regatta and
Holly and Lily rowed in the Women’s
Henley Regatta alongside Min and
Pippa.
The Upper Sixth were the largest
year-group in Dronfield and the
largest tutor-group in the school.
Maria sadly did not return to St
Peter’s after Christmas, but we
were all delighted to see her briefly
to say our goodbyes later in the
year. Yaz, Angie, Alex, Alexandra and
22
House Reports
Hannah all played badminton for the school, and led Dronfield
to victory in the house competition this year; Siân achieved her
half-colours in netball, music and hockey, and Tansy and India
received full colours and half-colours respectively for netball.
This year at Commemoration Jenny received a volunteering
award, Siân was rewarded for her services to the Chapel, and
Jess received the Senior Music Festival prize. Georgie went to
Eton to play tennis this summer while Hannah took part in the
Great North Swim. Siân, Hannah, Jenny and Bussy all completed
their Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award. Each and every one of the
18 Upper-Sixth girls in Dronfield has brought their own unique
characteristics and abilities to the house. They are a great bunch
of individuals, and a great team. Qualities such as generosity and
consideration towards others, the desire to give of one’s best for
individual success and for that of the house is very much the way
the Upper Sixth of 2013-14 will be remembered. We hope all the
girls who move on from Dronfield this year will find their way in
life, and be happy and successful. We wish them all the very best
of everything, and thank them for their contribution to the house,
and in particular Bussy as Head of House. Particular thanks also go
to Mrs Bollands for guiding the 18 through their final year.
The Lister Trophy was kindly presented to Dronfield by Chloe Lister
(Dronfield 2008-2013) and her family, to be awarded to a girl in
the house each year who has contributed towards house sports.
The first recipient of the Lister Trophy is Georgie Cornock, who has
been involved across the full range of sports competitions. Her
contribution to tennis in particular has been exceptional.
It’s been a good year in Dronfield in so many ways, and this has
been very much down to the enthusiasm, unity and compassion of
the girls in the house. We thank our Houseparents and tutors, and
Magda and our domestic staff.
We offer congratulations to Holly and Jemima on their
appointment as joint Heads of House for next year, and to Georgia
in her role as a school monitor.
We say farewell to Miss Barker, who takes up a new post as Head
of Classics at Hurst in Sussex. We wish her every success with her
promotion. Miss Wilson takes up a new pastoral post in the Rise
next year, and Miss Hercigová returns to the Czech Republic at the
end of her one-year appointment at St Peter’s. Dronfield welcomes
Mrs Chapman and Mr Miller as house tutors, and Mrs Brough as
our Resident Assistant.
Bussy Wells (UVI) & Mr Jon Whitehouse
23
House Reports
HOPE
The summer exam results drew to a close an all-round successful
year for Hope (2012-13) and so we started a new year with
sights set high and an expectation that we would build on the
achievements of the previous twelve months to prove to the
world that Hope – and Hopefuls – do regularly excel in all areas of
school life: we know we can, and do, but we have our doubters on
the outside …
The inclement weather over the summer put paid to a number
of Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, and so Emily, Tim, Coidy and
Johnny set off at the start of the year to complete their Gold
Award trek, the start of a number of individual and small-team
successes for the term. With House Singing postponed to February,
there was only the inter-house cross-country to look forward
to in the first half of term. Although we didn’t shine as a house,
several pupils did particularly well: Phil, Ed, Rosalind, Livi and
Katherine were all placed in the top 15, but Katarina ran superbly
to finish second in the junior girls’ competition. That is not to say
that the first half term was in any way dull: Max Auty had the
unenviable task of opening the Music Award-Holders’ Concert
with a fine cello performance, and Jack, Eve and Will showcased
their considerable talents, contributing to an excellent evening of
musical entertainment. Entertainment was also the order of the
evening for the cast of As You Like It: Christian (Duke Frederick),
Rosalind (Celia), and Alex (Charles) were both persuasive and
amusing in their respective roles, whilst Livi was a reliable part of
the creative team.
It was not only creativity, but also a good deal of imagination,
ingenuity and luck(!) that was needed for this year’s Great Egg
24
Race in November. Emily, Rachel, Lewis, James Lilley and George
managed to construct a magnificent roller-coaster worthy of
any marble and, had the process of moving it to the test-bed
not caused a small misconfiguration in one of the tubes, I am
sure that their time would have seriously challenged that of the
winning design. Further opportunities for challenge were found in
the school’s version of University Challenge. Once the competition
got going, there was no stopping Marco and Johnny! Edmund and
George put some senior members of the house to shame with the
breadth of their general knowledge as the junior members of the
team, so much so that Edmund was asked to join the school team
in the external competition. Edmund, George, Felicity, Jack, Kate,
Annie and Ollie all contributed to the junior team in the varying
rounds, finally securing third place, having beaten Queen’s in the
third- and fourth-place play-off by 200 points to 90. Hope also
secured third place in the girls’ inter-house hockey, after a tightly
fought play-off: we were on a roll!
With the end of term nigh, the weeks of rehearsals for the school
production of Alice came to a close and we were treated to a
magnificent show. Will ably and animatedly narrated parts of the
story in his role as Charles Dodgson; Beth, as the sous-chef for
the Queen of Hearts, produced some lovely-looking tarts which
our own light-fingered Knave of Hearts, Phil, stole away. Jess was
House Reports
a particularly green and rather hippy Caterpillar in Wonderland,
whilst Rowan played the Walrus in The Tale of the Walrus and the
Carpenter. One of my favourite scenes from the book has always
been the Mad Hatter’s Tea-Party, and Rosalind was a terrific March
Hare as she helped to bring the scene to life.
The Easter Term saw an equally good mix of sport, music and
drama (both in the house and on the stage). Emily, Shahad,
Katharine and Jess did battle in the badminton tournament, and
our netballers and squash players were also in action this term,
but it was the swimming where we really stood out: of the 21
races, Hope girls won eleven of them, were placed in 19, and
broke several records to boot. We finished in first place, 59 points
ahead of the other houses, an absolutely awesome performance
by you all! Hope boys’ sport has a little way to go (although
individually there are many gifted sportsmen in the house), but
James and Euan led a strong team in the inaugural water polo
competition. In more academic pursuits, Marco and Johnny were
in competitive mood again for the Science Society Quiz Evening.
With the help of Edmund and Phoebe, the Quizee Rascals were
placed equal second, missing first place by a single point. Others
tried their hands at debating for the first time this term: Rachel,
Coidy and Tom represented the house in the senior competition,
deciding that it was harder than it looks(!), whilst Ollie, George
and Isaac faced a formidable Dronfield team in the junior
competition to oppose the motion that the voting age should be
lowered to 16. The middle-school play, The Wardrobe, provided
some light entertainment, with Rowan and Beth playing the roles
of Cecily and Matilda respectively, as the play told the story of
the wardrobe from its place in high society to its final resting
place in a museum. Not to be outdone by her sister, Rosalind
gave a beautiful rendition of I Don’t Know How To Love Him in
the Senior Music Festival, to win the singing class, and Will also
gave a characterful performance. However, it was as part of the
Community Action chapel service on Valentine’s Day where he was
able to really show off his talents, alongside the Barbershop group,
serenading selected members of the congregation with wonderful
poise and good humour.
The House Singing competition – always a highlight (?) – was
also held on Valentine’s Day. Katharine and Shahad worked hard
to prepare the house during the short rehearsal time. George
volunteered to play the guitar, and Isaac did an excellent job
of keeping everyone in time, with his clear and rhythmical
drumming. Not that Marco needed a lot of help as the conductor,
with his red rose in hand, to mark the special day.
And so to the Summer Term: the Junior Music Festival took place
in June and Hopefuls excelled once more: Max, Jack and Katherine
performed a mix of light-hearted but tricky pieces, but Felicity
stole the show, deservedly winning both the string and piano
classes, as well as the overall competition. A term dominated
by sport, particularly tennis, saw our girls’ team (Rachel, Emily,
Katharine, Phoebe, Izzy and Hannah) march to victory in their
competition, while Johnny and Jack, having tried (in vain) to
hone their ball-skills in the common room (aided and abetted
by Scholey, James and Euan) – I think I have at least a dozen
confiscated tennis balls in the office! – played very well in an
exceptionally close, tightly-fought boys’ competition, finishing
second.
Hopefuls volunteered readily for most events for Sports Day, and
characteristically gave their all on the day: Scholey won the senior
javelin, Crofty the intermediate discus, Phoebe the junior long
jump, and Katarina the junior 1500m. Those who weren’t involved
came out to support, getting behind the relay teams, running
alongside the 3,000m runners and generally cheering at the tops
of their voices.
25
House Reports
As ever, beyond the house, the school teams have regularly
benefitted from Hopefuls this year. Scholey and Ted have not
only represented the school, but went on to play rugby and
cricket for Yorkshire this year Ilana and Phoebe have taken part
at the National Schools’, hockey teams, Phoebe has also played
at the National Schools’ netball tournament with Katarina, and
the tennis finals alongside Rosalind. Katarina and Livi were both
involved in the school’s cross-country, Ted and Joe have been
involved in York and District hockey and cricket, and Jack has been
to Teeside for rowing trails and training. I could go on … and on!
We have celebrated many academic successes too this year and,
once again, Hope has been vying
for the top spot in the Merit Cup.
Phoebe Hall and Jack Hargrave have
contributed hugely to our total, and
must be applauded for their consistent
levels of effort and endeavour.
Congratulations must also be
extended to our prize-winners: Eleanor,
Laura, Jack, Livi, Jack Robins, Johnny,
Rachel, Emily, and Katharine. We must
also congratulate Izzy, who has been
appointed as Deputy Head Girl next
year, Marianne who has been chosen
to be Head of House and a monitor,
and James who will also be a monitor.
We wish them well in their new roles,
confident that they will all do terrific
jobs.
I must extend heartfelt thanks to
all the tutors who are extremely
willing and supportive, and who give
so generously of their time: to Mr Wright who, once again, has
guided the Third Form, and helped them adjust to senior-school
life, to Mrs Kinread who, latterly joined by Mrs Heaton, has
endeavoured to keep the Fourth Form on the straight and narrow,
despite tendencies to show off their sporting and artistic prowess,
to Mr Noy Scott who has coaxed the Fifth Form into working
towards their exams, and who guided them through the year with
patience and perseverance, and to Mr Edwards who, in his role as
Lower Sixth tutor, has ably assisted his tutees move seamlessly
into the sixth form. I must also extend my particular thanks and
gratitude to Mr Edwards who, as Assistant Housemaster, continues
26
to be a source of great wisdom and support, and to whom I am
enormously grateful for covering the house in my absence at the
end of the summer. Finally, my sincere thanks to Rachel who has
been a super Head of House. Hers has not been an easy job, but
she has truly led by example, with great loyalty and integrity.
She has taken an active role in almost all house events, and has
dedicated much time and effort to the house whilst never losing
her terrific sense of humour.
As well as bidding farewell to the Upper Sixth, we also say
goodbye to Mr Shread. He has dedicated a great deal of time and
expertise to his role as a Sixth Form tutor in Hope. His patient,
gentle manner and sound guidance
of those in his care have earned him
huge respect within the house, and
he will be sorely missed. The fondness
which his tutees have towards him was
ably captured by Rachel and Emily on
prank day: a huge sheet painted with
tennis balls and the message ‘Bye-bye
Bob’, flying outside the common-room
window, the hall and walls in Hope
plastered with photos of him and his
many tennis teams over the last 30
years and a copy of his Salvete, which
they attached to the common room
door. Thank you for all that you have
done to help and support me and the
house; we sincerely wish you every
happiness in your retirement.
As I once again reflect on the year
and our own unique community, I
continue to marvel at the breadth and
depth of talent that exists within the house. Every single Hopeful
has something to offer both the house and the wider school
community and, whether you demonstrate that outwardly, or
quietly, out of the spotlight, each of you has had something to
celebrate this year. My warmest congratulations to you all, and
apologies to those of you I have not mentioned by name. We
have, for the most part, gone from strength to strength this year.
I hope that we will continue to do so, but, can we perhaps have a
little less drama next year? We live in Hope!
Miss Elizabeth Ullstein
House Reports
LINTON
It is that time of year again when there is no particular routine in
the house, and when I look forward, albeit briefly(!), to September
starting when the house can be full again and the usual busy and,
at times, manic routines can submerge us all! The examination
period, for all year groups, has finished and, apart from the
occasional football chanting, the house has become rather quiet
and subdued. There are numerous trips occurring, lots of boys
setting off on Bronze, Silver and Gold DofE expeditions and a
number of Lower Sixth Formers attending university open days –
all resulting in a very sparse house. I will attempt to summarise
the main achievements and offer an insight into the annual
‘goings-on’ of the house.
At the start of the year we welcomed seven new boys into
the house. Spencer Ingall, Zac Faithfull, James Black and Rory
Winterburn joined the Third Form, Archie Stephenson the Fourth
Form, and the following entered the Lower Sixth: Andrey Fokin,
Nicolae Bolocan and Bill Mo. All the boys settled into the routines
very quickly and, as is customary, were guided by the Upper Sixth
as they showed them the ropes.
Back in August the Fifth and Sixth Formers received their GCSE
and A-level results. The GCSE results for the current Lower Sixth
were excellent and between just seven students a staggering 54
of the GCSEs they gained were at grade A* or A. Those who were
leaving the school gained places at university or embarked on gap
years. It is heartening to note that the boys in Linton continue
to take their academic studies seriously; they are determined to
study hard and there is a real desire to achieve the best results
possible for themselves. In the run-up to the summer exams both
the Third and Fourth Form boys revised thoroughly: there was a
real sense of purpose too.
The first house event of the term was the cross-country – in my
opinion the way in which an individual, and a house, presents itself
in this competition says a lot about their character and shows
their ability and desire to ‘dig deep’ when the competition gets
tough! Every boy in the house put in a huge amount of effort in
a bid to secure a team win, working closely together to achieve
a common goal. As well as outstanding personal performances
from James Black (ninth junior), William Newitt (twelfth junior),
Jake Stephenson (fourth senior), Nicolae Bolocan (fifth senior) and
George Pindar (seventh senior) both the junior and senior teams
came first. In fact Mr Winkley thought that we had imposed a
compulsory training schedule, straight after prep, for all the boys!
Luckily both the junior and senior rugby sevens competitions took
place this year and were not disrupted by the weather. The senior
squad had a real mix of players from the very experienced to a
complete novice (Nicolae)! The senior boys put in an inspiring
performance, using their size and power to compensate for their
lack of pace! Their proudest achievement was actually beating
27
House Reports
School House who made it through to the final. The juniors played
well and came third in their group. In the Easter term we entered
the inter-house football competition – again there was evidence
of group commitment and playing for house honour – the senior
team progressed through to the semi-finals but lost narrowly,
however securing a win in the third- and fourth-place playoffs was
another great performance.
This year saw the introduction of an inter-house water polo
competition. Having two experienced players – Will Fox and Sam
Raper – we felt confident that we would progress within the
competition! As predicted we won the first round and met Hope
in the semi-final stage winning 4-2 – In Mr Sunderland’s words,
the final versus The Grove was ‘legendary!’ At the end of the full
game the score was 3-3, so extra time of two minutes each way
was played – score 4-4, and after another two minutes the score
was 5-5 (after Linton scored in the last five seconds). The final two
minutes of extra time saw The Grove creep ahead to win in the
very last second of play. Well done to the following boys who were
in the team: William Fox, Sam Raper, Harry Richardson, William
Emery, Jack Guffogg, Jake Stephenson and Toby Simpson.
the following boys who, in their last year of school, captained a
sports team: Toby Simpson (First XV rugby), Daniel James (Captain
of boats), and Gabriel Chan (Captain of squash).
Along with the numerous inter-house sports events the other
usual house competitions were fiercely contested by the boys in
Linton. The Great Egg Race took place in the newly-refurbished
Memorial Hall and the team, made up of Daniel James, Gabriel
Chan, William Fox, Jonathan Jaworski and Spencer Ingall built
an impressive structure that had to ensure a marble travelled
extremely slowly down it. Also before Christmas we entered the
annual Literary Quiz: my thanks go to Dan Stone who organised
the team and the boys, Patrick Litten, William Emery, Zac Faithfull
and Andrey Fokin, who must be congratulated on finishing in a
creditable fourth place.
Patrick Litten expertly took charge of the House Debating team
and along with Matthew Tse and Andrey Fokin they managed to
successfully debate the motion that the needs of cyclists should
be put before the needs of other road users in the UK. New this
year was the Junior and Senior St Peter’s Challenge competition –
the format was very similar to University Challenge and a number
of boys were called in to represent the house team. Christian
Special mention must also go to William Emery who won the
inaugural Linton house darts tournament. In his bid to remain
unbeaten he knocked out Mr Smith in the semi-finals and Gabriel
Chan in the final - fantastic!
Many of the boys, as well as representing the house, have also
played in a host of school sports teams. In rugby, Jake Taylor has
represented Yorkshire and Harry Richardson has represented
Yorkshire and the North of England, whilst Toby Simpson played
for the English Lambs and had the honour of touring Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Archie Stephenson won the North of England
under-15 tennis championships. Special mention must also go to
28
Bower was one of the regular competitors and his ability to recall
facts was remarkable!
A number of boys continued their success in both Drama and
Music this year. Archie Stephenson must be congratulated on
reaching the final of the Junior Music Festival performing Riptide
by Joy in the guitar and vocals section. Josh Ramalingam won
the guitar section of the Senior Music Festival finals and George
House Reports
Pindar reached the final of the boys’ singing. William Emery
has been a committed member of the Barbershop and, along
with George Pindar and Tom Collinson, the Chamber Choir. The
main school play of the year, Alice, was a remarkable production
and Andrey Fokin must be congratulated on his staggering
performance as Cookie. Dan Stone’s band performed at both Alice
and for the boarders’ dinner – it was fantastic. Following on in the
drama world, Spencer Ingall took a lead role in the middle-school
play and we sincerely hope he continues to perform in the school
productions. Toby Johnston has also been busy performing in his
GCSE piece The Wardrobe which was entered for the National
Connections Competition in Scarborough. Congratulations must
also go to the following boys who achieved some excellent results
in their recent music examinations: Josh Ramalingam (Grade 7
guitar), Sam Raper (Grade 4 drum kit) and George Pindar (Grade 7
singing – with distinction).
With a number of extremely talented musicians in the house I
felt that we may, for once, be able to win the singing competition.
However this was not the case – the boys chose Girls Just Want
To Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper, and as well as its being one of the
worst songs ever produced, the boys were unable to sing it!
Luckily house Chapel was a greater success – the message,
expertly delivered by the boys, talked about how to be successful
in everyday life, pointing out that the most important thing in
life is to embrace all the opportunities that come your way and
to have a confident and positive attitude at all times. Reading the
end-of-year reports and spending time reflecting on the year it is
obvious that Lintonites do just that. The boys fit in a huge amount
of things in one week – from academic studies, to music, sport,
gym, drama, volunteering and socialising. I hope the boys who are
leaving – Ed Bower, Gabriel Chan, Harry Ha, Daniel James, Kirill
Kulik, Toby Simpson, Daniel Stone and Jake Taylor – continue to
embrace, wholeheartedly, every opportunity that comes their way.
As the last two days of the academic year approaches it is
pleasing to note that Patrick Litten has been appointed a school
monitor, Harry Ha, Toby Simpson and Rory Winterburn have
all received prizes at the Commemoration service and Harry
Richardson, Abdul Yahaya and Josh Ramalingam’s fantastic art
work has been on display at the Whitestone Gallery.
I wish all the leavers our best wishes and thank Jake Taylor for his
outstanding service as Head of House: he, along with all the Upper
Sixth, will be missed. I wish Sam Blott well as he takes over from
Jake. Dr Thomson is also leaving after three years in the house and
we wish him well as he sets off on his mammoth cycle-ride along
the east coast of North and South America!
Finally I would like to thank all the staff who work tirelessly in
Linton and who care for all the boys: matrons: Tracey, Dawn, Lisa
and Maria – their help is invaluable and greatly appreciated –
thank you! We have a great team of tutors – Paddy and Mr Smith,
and we welcome Mrs Tooby-Smith and Mr Patterson (Lee) into
the house next academic year.
Mrs Justine Williams
29
House Reports
QUEEN’S
As another year passes we wave goodbye to our Sixth Form and
welcome in our new Third-and Lower-Sixth Form members to the
house. This year the house was ably led by Cormac Hopkinson and
Katherine Raines, who helped to organise house teams and events
and enthused the Queen’s pupil body.
The Christmas and Easter terms were notable for their unusual
mildness. Whilst this kept the rowers off the water for the better
part of two months, unlike previous years many school and
inter-house fixtures were completed. On the sports pitch the girls
gave a good showing in inter-house hockey, and the boys got a
chance to prove themselves on the rugby pitch, winning the senior
sevens competition led by their captain, Cormac Hopkinson. The
junior hockey team, led by Tom Pycock, put up a spirited effort
in the inter-house competition, but were unable to advance
against strong opposition. Once again Queen’s were successful
30
in the Languages Quiz, with a knowledgeable team lead by Harry
Nozedar. October also saw the house deliver a rousing house
Chapel, based on the Apollo 7 mission, and involving pupils from
all years across the house.
House Reports
In the Easter term came the House Singing competition,
postponed from October because of restoration work on the
Memorial Hall. The musical know-how of Tom McCullagh, with
support from Archie Hinde, saw Queen’s deliver an original
arrangement of three popular songs with great enthusiasm. In
debating, a strong team centred around Luis Fox got through to
the semi-finals before being edged out by Clifton in a passionate
debate about the necessity for nuclear weapons. In the new
competition, St Peter’s Challenge, a strong team led by Helen
Megone was placed third overall.
The Summer term is always difficult with exams starting quickly,
and then large portions of the house being emptied by study
leave. Before this, though, there was time to squeeze in Sports
Day, which was unusually marked by beautiful weather and an
excellent spirit of competition. It was particularly pleasing to see
a strong showing from the junior boys in the house, with Kevin
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House Reports
Williams winning the junior 100m, Ed Johnson winning the junior
1500m, and the team of Kevin, Ed, Adam Brown and Marcus
Brown winning the junior relay. This bodes well for future years! In
the boys’ competition further wins by Ben Williams in the senior
100m and 400m, Cormac Hopkinson in the senior 800m, and
Max McLeish in the intermediate javelin saw Queen’s take second
place. In the girls’ competition there was a win by Katherine
Raines in the senior 400m but tight competition saw Queen’s
draw with The Rise for sixth place. After a strong year in interhouse racquet sports, the Queen’s tennis team, led by Sara Pycock,
came second in the inter-house tennis. House Dinner was as
always an excellent opportunity to celebrate the house and enjoy
a good meal with great company, although the earlier start of
language oral exams and the GCSE Art exam made its positioning
rather delicate. The evening was notable for flowing conversation
and good humour, as well as being a chance to say ‘thank you’ to
the tutor team for their hard work over the year.
2013-2014 marked the 60th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s
coronation, and therefore the foundation of Queen’s House. It was
wonderful to welcome back so many former pupils in September
to celebrate the past and current strengths of the house. Much
enjoyment was had at the archive film-footage and photographs
on display.
Mrs Cath Hempsall
32
House Reports
SCHOOL
The annual house report can only provide a snippet of the year’s
achievements, but led and inspired by the Upper Sixth, 2013-14
will go down as a hugely successful year for School house where
the pupils have once again thrown themselves into house fixtures
and activities with enthusiasm and aplomb.
Christmas Term
Heads of House, Will and Minna, were instrumental in forging a
great team spirit within and between common rooms. Instantly,
School house pupils new and old settled into their surroundings;
the Sixth Formers making use of the new ‘quiet room’, yet the
excitement towards that was overshadowed by the arrival of the
new toaster/kettle combo and regular bread and milk from the
kitchens. The oft-worn School house hoodies were also a welcome
addition to many a wardrobe: it’s the simple things!
defied gravity (almost) to delay the descent of a ball-bearing
down a well-crafted marble-run, comfortably seeing off the other
houses and lifting the trophy.
In inter-house hockey, with the team captained by Minna
and inspired by fellow midfielders Hannah and Alice, great
performances saw us keep clean sheets throughout the entire
tournament, reaching the final where a 0-0 draw with Clifton saw
us lose on penalty flicks; nevertheless, the girls involved can hold
their heads high on some fantastic performances and tremendous
team spirit throughout. On the same afternoon the inter-house
rugby competition was played out in excellent spirit. The juniors,
captained by Charlie, qualified from their group-stages with
excellent performances which saw us reach the semi-final. The
seniors went one better as the team, captained by Ollie, upset the
odds and put in a great performance against Clifton in the semifinals, but they found the pace and power of Queen’s too much,
going down in the final 19-5 against a very good side.
Easter Term
Success in inter-house competitions came quickly, from the
Languages Quiz teams to all involved in the inaugural St Peter’s
Challenge. Hannah, Lipfon, Rose and Minna finished third in the
Christmas Literary Quiz and highlights were aplenty in other
competitions such as cross-country with Lucy Lawrence (junior
girls – third), Sam Hudson (senior boys – third) and Alice Greswold
(senior girls – first) outstanding in their respective age groups. Just
a few days after we had delivered a terrific house Chapel based
on the events surrounding Guy Fawkes, even more success arrived
as the Great Egg Race team of Will, Alex, Charlie, Alice and Hugo
By January, we had reached the knockout stages of the St Peter’s
Challenge competition where we ran out winners against The
Grove in the quarter-finals and Queen’s in the semi-finals. Maya,
George, Jonny and Alex took on Clifton in the final and, with
superb answering from all of our team members, School emerged
victorious and team captain Alex deservedly took the trophy
on behalf of all of the pupils who had been involved. As one
competition ended, another began and we went straight into the
senior debating competition. We eased through the group stages
and contested the final against Clifton. Proposing the motion
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House Reports
‘This house believes that austerity does more harm than good‘,
Will, Alistair and Jonny put forward a tremendous proposal; it was
a classic debate, much enjoyed by all and the result had to be
delayed as the judging panel wrestled back and forth with their
decision. Unfortunately the final judgment announced Clifton to
be the 2014 champions but the margin of victory was extremely
small indeed – debating was indeed the winner!
The junior competition began immediately afterwards and we
enjoyed yet more success as Fourth-Formers, George, Alice and
Rose battled their way through to the final. Successfully opposing
the motion meant we became junior house debating champions
for 2014. Debating in a foreign language is an even scarier
prospect, and huge congratulations go to Minna and Lipfon who
joined forces to become the inaugural French debating champions.
Up next was House Singing, and our choice this year was
Does Your Mother Know? by Abba. Once the initial nervousness
had worn off it was great to hear the dulcet (!) tones of
impromptu rehearsals floating past my office. Supremely wellorganised by Minna, with Will conducting, real progress was made
and in the event itself we gave our finest performance of all.
Unfortunately the judges didn’t place us in the top three (we must
have been fourth) but it was a great way to end the half-term.
In house badminton, Keira, Gemma, Hannah and Alice did superbly
to reach the final and finish in second place behind a strong
Dronfield team. Despite some awful blizzard-like conditions,
Minna, Keira, Pippa, Tara, Hannah, Alice, Maddy and Sophie then
did brilliantly to finish fourth in house netball. With the girls’
house competitions coming thick and fast it was the squash team
up next and Hannah, Gemma, Alice and Izzy swept all before them
before triumphing 12-4 over The Rise in the final and bringing the
trophy back to School.
The boys were not to be outdone on the sporting front and
an inaugural inter-house water polo competition was fiercely
contested with the ‘School House Seahorses’ spending weeks
working on formations and tactics. Unfortunately our lack of
actual water polo players proved crucial, but once again great fun
was had by all. In the final week of term, the senior footballers
took to the stage and qualified from their group stage unbeaten,
before goals from Patrick Copley helped us to win the final 2-1
and become 2014 champions.
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House Reports
Summer Term
We began the term with the
House Dinner, this year held at
Pizza Express, and we all looked
sparkling in our black ties, dinner
jackets and dresses! A lovely meal
was interspersed with success
stories of the year, limericks and
poems about our respective heads
of house and of course a toast
to the best house of all! The very
next day, Sports Day focused the
minds of the house’s athletes and
tales of ‘back-garden’ practice
of jumping, broom-throwing (the obvious substitute for the
javelin) and training runs demonstrated we were clearly taking
the event seriously! The weather held for the day itself and I must
congratulate everyone who took part; we finished third in both
the boys’ and the girls’ competition, and particular congratulations
must go to the event winners Minna Gabbertas (100m), Alice
Greswold (1500m), Sam Hudson (shot put) and David Bird
(200m). Maddy, Alice, Pippa, Keira, Anabel and Minna then put
final where we were defeated by a very strong team from The
Grove.
In our final house meeting of term I paid tribute to our wonderful
team of staff in the house, from the cleaners who look after
us all so well to our excellent tutor team who guide the pupils
throughout the year. I also paid special tribute to Will and Minna
who have been outstanding heads of house this year, and I
publicly thank them again for all their hard work. After a tough
selection process I was delighted to announce that Alistair Duffey
and Keira Barnard will be the heads of School house for 2014-15.
This has been a vintage year for the house and we say goodbye
to a very strong Upper Sixth, but such is the strength and depth
of the house as evidenced by all our success this year that we can
look forward to more of the same next year. Roll on September!
Mr Ben White
up a terrific fight in the house tennis tournament whilst most
of the Third and Fourth Form girls took part in the annual house
rounders competition, where we finished in fourth place, and the
boys reached the semi-finals of the junior inter-house cricket
competition.
As holders of the overall St Peter’s Challenge trophy, we went
into the junior competition full of hope. Once again, we rotated
the team between those who volunteered to take part and it was
great to see Third Formers Matt, James, Nathan and Lucy being
strongly supported by Fourth Form stalwarts George, Maya and
Rose. Again we impressed in the opening rounds and made the
35
House Reports
TEMPLE
When thinking how to start the house report this year I was
looking for a theme to leap out at me. Looking over the events
of the year I was suddenly reminded of the fact that Temple had
won both senior relays on Sports Day, the girls winning theirs in
a new school-record time. As well as the obvious speed, relays
involve skill to achieve those smooth baton-changes and of course
co-operation and teamwork with each member running their very
hardest to achieve success for the team. It therefore occurred to
me that it is very easy to see comparisons between the running of
a relay and life in Temple house. Each year the baton is passed on
to the year below, with the Lower Sixth taking over the reins from
the outgoing Upper Sixth and the incoming Third Form stepping
into the role of ‘newbies’. There may be some fumbles and
mistakes along the way but all pupils get to where they want to
be in the end. However, the key to a successful house is teamwork,
with each individual feeling that they have a part to play, and
playing that part to the very best of their ability. As team coach I
feel that, unlike Roy Hodgson, I have had another excellent team
this year, ably assisted by my backroom staff, Mr Parr,
Mr Matkin, Mr Johnston, Mrs Dawson and Dr Senczyszyn, who
made her debut this year (you can see that as the end of term
draws nigh I have succumbed to World Cup fever). My pupil team
has been captained this year by Alex Reeds and Sarah Carlton who
have been excellent heads of house. I have thoroughly enjoyed
working with them and, as they hand over to Charlie Widdicombe
36
and Chloe Burdass, I thank them for their work and wish them all
the best for the future.
As I have started on a sports theme, I will begin the review of
the year with house sporting achievements. The first house
competition of the year was the cross-country where Robbie
Brown won the junior boys’ event in a time of 20 mins 14 secs
and Concetta Scrimshaw finished third
in the senior girls’ event. We had to
wait until the Easter Term for our next
major success, when the junior boys
won the inter-house hockey and then
at the start of the Summer Term there
were lots of impressive individual
performances on Sports Day, in
addition to the aforementioned relay
teams. Frankie Anderson won the
senior girls’ long jump with a new
school record distance of 4.81 metres,
as well as the 200m for which she
was awarded the Campbell Cup. Oskar
Fraser-Krauss won the intermediate
boys’ 800m and 400m and Robbie
Brown won the intermediate boys’ 1500m. We will certainly
miss Oskar’s prowess on the track as he leaves us this year with
our best wishes to start his Sixth Form studies at Bootham. Will
Fordy won the intermediate boys’ long jump and Ben Parkes was
victorious in the junior boys’ javelin competition. The seniors
were also masters of the shot put with Charlie Smith winning the
House Reports
boys’ and Ellie Martin the girls’ event. Although all of the above
are impressive, what struck me this year, alongside the customary
good humour in which these competitions are played, was the
willingness with which members of the house took part with
very little arm-twisting needed. This is much appreciated and is a
good illustration of the teamwork I talked about earlier. Outside
school, it is also worth mentioning that Will Fordy was selected
to play rugby for North Yorkshire, Alex Martin has been selected
for hockey training with Yorkshire and the North of England and
Robbie Brown is currently ranked fourth in the UK in his age group
for the 3,000m.
main performance of the year, the concert in the Minster at
the end of the Easter Term. Individual highlights at the Senior
Music Festival were Jack McCartney’s win in the senior boys’
singing section where he delivered a convincing performance
of Embraceable You and Charlie Widdicombe’s win with a very
intricate trumpet piece in the brass section. Libby Brown, who
was entered on both the saxophone and clarinet, was highly
commended for her clarinet piece in the woodwind section.
Finally, at the Junior Music Festival in June, Fleur Booth was highly
commended in the singing section for her performance of Poor
Wand’rin’ One, a piece which required some real vocal gymnastics.
If medals were being handed out, Temple would have won a
number of silvers this year with second place being a recurring
theme in areas away from the sports field. In September we
finished second in The Great Egg Race and later in the year Mrs
Dawson’s Angels, our house Science Quiz team, took the runnerup spot, missing out on top spot by one point. As we know from
competitions like The X Factor, finishing second is no bad thing,
and therefore there may still be a recording contract out there
for Temple house as we finished second in the House Singing
competition with our rendition of Heartbeat by Scouting for
Girls, an inspired choice by Seb Dobson, expertly organised and
conducted by Ellie Martin and Sarah Carlton and accompanied by
Alex Martin on the drums, Alex Reeds on the guitar and Charlie
Widdicombe on the piano.
House Singing very easily leads me on to music, where Temple
continues to be well- represented in all the school choirs and
bands with a large number of pupils taking part in the school’s
Another area where Temple continues to be heavily involved
is drama. The school play this year was Alice, with impressive
performances from Bethan Bradley as the Cheshire Cat, Duncan
Smith as the White Rabbit (although I am sure he would agree
that the obsession with being on time is a little out of character)
and Elliot Elstob, who has contributed so much to the school’s
Drama department during his time here, as Humpty Dumpty.
We had an influx of theatrical Third Formers in September and
therefore we were well-represented by Temple Third and Fourth
Formers in both The Wardrobe and the middle-school play, London
Below.
Debating also requires the courage to stand up and perform in
front of others, and this is an area where Temple has traditionally
been strong. This year was no exception with the senior house
debating team of Elliot Elstob, Tim Goodwin and Helen Taylor
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House Reports
free time in the lunch break. The aim for next year is to get some
girl-power on board.
reaching the semi-finals where they lost out to School, proposing
the motion ‘this house believes that nuclear weapons make the
world a safer place’. Debating in English is challenging enough
as it is but doing it in a foreign language is even more daunting
and therefore it was great to hear that Frankie Anderson and
her sister Olivia (Clifton) were runners-up in a national French
debating competition which took place at Cheadle Hulme school
in Manchester in November. This was the first time St Peter’s had
entered this event and was thus a very impressive achievement.
Another new initiative this year was St Peter’s Challenge, an interhouse quiz based on the University Challenge format. It proved to
be a great success with a real buzz around the house and school
on the days on which the rounds took place. Our team captain
Guy Hall showed fantastic general knowledge, ably assisted by Ed
Coates, Luke Dunsmore, Will Andrews and Robbie Brown, and the
team made it into the semi-finals, finishing fourth overall after
being defeated by Queen’s in a third- and fourth-place play-off.
The junior team in the Summer Term did not make it past the
group stages (sounds familiar) despite some resounding victories
but it proved to be a very effective and enjoyable way of spending
38
That completes my summary of the year and as ever I apologise
to anyone I have missed out. I would like to say a heartfelt
goodbye and good luck to the Temple Upper Sixth, including
Emma Stephenson who is leaving us almost as soon as she joined
us. They have been a very close-knit group, both inside and outside
school and I do hope that they treasure the friendships they have
made, and continue to nurture them from afar in the future. I
will continue to follow their progress with interest and affection,
although they will be relieved to hear that I don’t know how to
use Facebook. It just remains for me to say a big ‘thank you’ to
everyone involved in daily life in Temple. It is a real pleasure (most
of the time!) to lead the team and I look forward to a different
team taking up the baton in September, once they have had a
good long summer break to recover from the many challenges
which each leg of the school year brings.
Mrs Jenny Houghton
House Reports
The Grove
THE GROVE
On a cold January morning 100 years ago, The Grove came in
to being with a formal opening ceremony and a Chapel service
to mark the occasion. In his history of the school, Angelo Raine
writes: ‘The governors issued an appeal for funds to Old Peterites
and friends of the School, and the property was purchased, the
total cost after all alterations had been made being about £6,000.
Considerable changes were necessary in Grove House itself in
order to equip it for its new purpose… and a great deal of levelling
was needed to make the field below the house into a football
ground. On January 27 1914, the Archbishop of York performed
the opening ceremony.’
2014 has been an important year for anniversaries and, among
the more mournful remembrances of the Great War, it was fun
on a cold February morning to see Grovites leading the Chapel
service with their reflections on our birthday and echoing the
Archbishop who, on the day of our opening, had preached about
the value of tradition and the importance of the pupils in its
maintenance. House Chapels, whilst ranging from the inspirational
to the toe-curling, allow individual talents to be showcased but
depend on a wider group for success; they reflect what is true,
therefore, of house life. By way of an informal celebration of
our becoming centenarians, our House Dinner this year saw us
conjuring a front room in the new Memorial Hall with sofas kindly
It is easy in a report such as this to trumpet the achievements of
a few (the victories won, the trophies lifted) and I dare say I shall
not resist, but conveying the collaboration and collegiality of The
Grove to give a better flavour of the spirit of the place is much
more difficult. Events such as House Singing, cross-country and
Sports Day are particularly precious for they encourage the whole
group to strive together and to enjoy what we achieve as a whole.
Along the way though, a number of other events have drawn us
together and offer vignettes that embody our school and house
values.
The house has an excellent sporting year and Grove teams seem
to have figured in the final stages of many events. The juniors
in particular have excelled and began the year with a thrilling,
if unexpected win in the junior rugby event. With only two ‘A’
team players in the side, the narrow comeback win over Clifton
in the final was a triumph for team-play over individual talent
laid on by the Metcalfes, a trashy movie and pizzas courtesy of
Domino’s. The evening produced a great sense of togetherness and
was a triumph for the pupil voice; it was exactly the evening they
designed and made happen.
39
House Reports
and gave a taste of the many victories to follow. In the Easter
Term, the girls came to the fore and demonstrated that there was
only one house in the school for netball. First the seniors won
their event with a win over Hope and, a couple of weeks later,
the juniors followed suit with a dominant series of performances
ending with a comprehensive win over Clifton in the final. The
term ended with the inaugural boys’ inter-house water polo event
for which our Grove Goldfish team lined up against the Linton
Lobsters for what proved to be a classic. After a gruelling game
which needed three periods of extra time and with negotiations
about sharing the trophy beginning, the Goldfish prevailed with
a goal with just seconds remaining. The Summer Term brought
an equal dose of success with wins for the girls’ and intermediate
boys’ teams on Sports Day which saw of series of outstanding
individual performances, particularly from the girls with Annabelle
Blackburn winning the junior 200m and Jenny Elliott and Millie
Grant winning the junior and senior javelin events. The interhouse cricket saw a strong competition and a win over the noisy
neighbours (again) with Will Huffer’s serene batting and Matt
40
Roberts’ extravagant shot-making seeing us over the line in an
exciting finish. The senior boys’ tennis generated even more
tension but Sam Metcalfe and James Greenall held their nerve
to retain the cup by the narrowest margin possible. Grove tennis
looks to be in safe hands with Robbie Greenall sparkling all season
and just being pipped after 100 minutes of gripping play in the
final of the Alcuin Cup.
The cultural heart of The Grove continues to beat and we had
many occasions to celebrate the performance of those in our
number. The Senior Music Festival saw Josh Stanford (percussion
and woodwind) and Elle Illingworth (girls’ singing) performing
stylishly in their classes and in the junior event Sam Stanford
(woodwind), Tom Dowdy (boys’ singing) and Sam Lightwing
(woodwind and boys’ singing) did likewise, with Sam’s amusing
rendition of Nice Work If You Can Get It earning him the boys’
singing award. Grovites have also excelled on the stage and,
House Reports
despite there being too many contributions to list, it would be
remiss not to mention the contribution made by Elle Illingworth
over the years which culminated with her memorable Queen of
Hearts in Alice. The junior production of London Below featured a
good number of Grovites and we look forward to watching their
performances in years to come.
work that has gone into academic pursuits is impossible to reflect
in a report such as this and I congratulate all our pupils for the
time, effort and emotion they have invested. For those awaiting
exam results, I trust appropriate reward is inbound.
The end of a school year is a time not only to reflect on what has
been achieved but also to bid farewell to our leavers and wish
them health, happiness and fulfilment in the world beyond our
school. While I am sure they are all keen to cut ties and revel in
new starts and fresh challenges, I know the bonds of friendship
they have built will keep them in touch. I hope that their
connection with The Grove will remain strong too and that they
will choose to drop in from time to time; they will always be most
welcome.
Mr Martin Lawrence
Near to the heart of any school is the learning and intellectual
progress made and, by any measure, we have achieved a great
deal here. The Third Form were particularly meritorious in this
regard and, between them, they scooped an amazing 214 merits
with Maddy Bletcher and Jack Lawrence bagging a total of 52. Our
teams figured well in all the various quiz events and registered
wins in the Literary Quiz, the Science Pub Quiz and the junior St
Peter’s Challenge, where a remarkable performance from Matt
Roberts saw us home with a convincing win in the final. The hard
41
House Reports
THE MANOR
By the time this report is read The Manor will have been
transformed. The long-awaited, and much-needed, redevelopment
of the ground floor is taking place and I hope it will provide a
sense of space and function that can be enjoyed for many years to
come. I would like publicly to thank all those involved in helping
to bring this about. Over the last four years the house has been
physically developed throughout, from the roof downwards. But
buildings are one thing: it is the people in the buildings that
ultimately matter and in this respect The Manor is even more
fortunate. The boys and the staff here are an absolute delight to
work with.
Along with our impressive ‘Sims’ from Selborne in South Africa,
here on exchange for six weeks, the year started well.
Christmas Term
The extra-curricular life of the school is well-supported in house.
Many boys are involved in CCF, the DofE Awards, school choirs
and orchestras as well as in team sports, plays and a whole host of
other organised and more informal activities. The boys get a great
deal out of this, reflecting the considerable effort put in.
Five Third Formers (Ben, Theo, Peter, Michael and Oscar), one
Fourth Former (Dan) and four in the Lower Sixth (ID, Maciej,
Simon and Andrei) joined us in September and became a part of
the house more quickly and smoothly than I could have hoped.
42
House cross-country was the year’s first house event. In the senior
section Sam Dickinson won superbly and in the junior section
Rory Combe featured strongly. The team competition depends as
much on the seventh-placed person as the first, so as a house we
finished a bit lower down. Sam’s performance in triathlon was a
notable sporting feature of the year and he along with quite a few
others availed themselves of the swimming pool during the week
to train.
House Reports
On the final Wednesday of the
term came the house rugby. Both
juniors and seniors put in strong
performances, though ultimately we
lost out. It was the perfect backdrop
however to the House dinner. The
excellent relationship between the
boys, as well as between staff and
students, always shines through
in this event. It was a delightful
evening and reflected really well on
the sense of spirit and community
amongst all.
Easter Term
Hockey dominated boys’ sport this
term and huge numbers of boys
represented various school teams.
The house hockey competition
was enjoyed by all, though we
came closer to victory in the house
football. Our strong but numerically
limited team was excellent in the early rounds and lost only by
running out of steam in the final.
This term was strong musically too. Andrei Zevakin has been
a revelation on the piano and in the opinion of many (though
not the judge) his performance at the Senior Music Festival was
outstanding. Ivan Cheng has been with us for the last five years,
and the 20-minute piece he played in the Minster will remain
one of my career memories. Having heard him practise and seen
the hours he puts in, he deserved the long standing ovation he
received.
43
House Reports
Year-group takeaways in our office were a popular new event
this year, something I am sure will continue into the next year.
The Sixth Form dinner was another success and it was great to
see the spirit amongst all the boarders, not least in the good luck
called for in the next day’s House Singing competition. This was
perhaps our house highlight of the year. On stage last, and with a
combined McGill/Cheng composition for Valentine’s Day, our boys
sang wonderfully well and silenced the hall. Rightly, we won.
Summer Term
The Summer Term prior to exams was short. Indeed exams have
come to dominate this term ever more. House events still take
place though, most notably in the junior cricket (where a team
was hastily put together) and Sports Day. Sam Dickinson just
missed out on the school’s 3,000m record that day, and won the
1500m too. Rory Combe won the intermediate 3,000m, Matthew
Dickson the intermediate high jump and Theo Hedley the junior
200m. But virtually all took part and gave it their best. Many had a
go at the Beverley 10k too, making the Housemaster feel obliged
to have a go as well.
The boys worked hard in preparation for the exams and the
atmosphere of relaxed purpose was a delight to see. It has been
focused yet calm and I hope all are well rewarded for their efforts.
Post-exams there was a really enjoyable wind-down to the end
of term and excitement as building plans for the year ahead were
revealed in detail, and as work started on the extension.
44
The People
Though small numerically, this year’s Upper Sixth have been
outstanding house leaders. Three monitors (Tom D, Tom C and
Ivan) served the school very well with James, Michael and Luka all
contributing in a number of valued ways. Luka has been an HMC
East European Scholar and it is a huge testament to him, as well
as the support he has had around the school, that he was offered
a fully-funded scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge. Tom
Dickinson has been an excellent head of house and I am extremely
grateful to him for the many positive developments that have
occurred this year.
The house staff deserve their thanks too. Dave Ray and Christien
Bembridge assist well with duties as well as providing other
support (such as opening up the house early in the morning), so
often unseen. Colette and the cleaning team continue to provide
excellent support and their work is greatly appreciated. The tutors
all help too, and I thank them for their contributions.
The Manor is a family house, as evidenced increasingly by the
presence of our children in the TV and games rooms. It is only
with the support of them, as well as my wife Dori, that the house
runs as it does.
It has been an excellent year.
Mr Steve Gwilliam
House Reports
THE RISE
It hardly seems as if a year has passed since I arrived as a new
member of staff at St Peter’s School and took over the reins at
The Rise. What struck me was how welcoming and friendly the
girls were and, very quickly, I felt like ‘part of the furniture’.
Christmas Term
We welcomed our new Third Formers, Emily McDonald, Kitty
Clapham, Charlotte Hollinrake and Jodi Smith, who got to grips
with their new routines with great enthusiasm and cheerfulness.
The efficiency with which they went about their morning duties
was staggering and they had often left the house long before I
appeared in the office.
We also welcomed the new Lower Sixth students: Lucy Bower,
Annabel Blott, Anna Thrussell, Heather Lam, Christa Liu and Rachel
Simpson, who threw themselves into life here, admirably helped
along by Alicia Cranston, Emily Williams and Anna Fairbank. Within
a week, you would have thought that they had been here from the
third form.
Brogan Grant and Zoe Pindar, the heads of house, kept me on a
steady course as I found my feet and gently reminded me about
anything I had not done.
The first challenge of this term was the Great Egg Race. Our
team – Charlotte Hollinrake, Millie Clapham, Eve Bracken, Anna
Thrussell and Ellie Fletcher – made a valiant attempt to make
their ball-bearing descend the slope in the longest time. Although
a prize eluded them, they certainly gained top marks for the most
attractively decorated run!
Remembering the house motto: ‘it’s not the winning but the
taking part’, the girls braced themselves for the formidable
challenge of the cross-country. Their guts and determination
admirably paid off and the senior girls took second place, whilst
the juniors finished a respectable sixth.
House Chapel was next on the agenda. Under the highly-organised
and motivating leadership of Brogan Grant, the girls explored the
very important theme of ‘self-respect’ with notable performances
given by Brogan and Anna Thrussell. Jodi Smith’s solo violin piece
The Ashokan Farewell was particularly memorable.
The school production of Alice was without doubt one of the
highlights of the Christmas Term. Brogan Grant was outstanding
as Alice, as was Anna Thrussell as the Duchess, and Tilly Antrum
was the most charming of flowers. Jodi Smith and Grace Moody’s
brilliance backstage must also be mentioned.
Another wonderful occasion was the Autumn Concert where we
were treated to a wealth of musical talent. The Rise was admirably
represented by Jodi Smith, Cassie Bythell, Eve Bracken, Emily
McDonald, Anna Fairbank and Alicia Cranston in the Wind Band,
Clarinet Choir and Chapel Choir.
We rounded off a very busy but fun term with our sumptuous
House dinner. The girls and their guests enjoyed a delicious dinner
followed by speeches, an amusing video made by the Upper Sixth
entitled What Really Goes On in The Rise… and an impromptu party
back at the house. All the girls must be complimented on their
45
House Reports
The Wardrobe was an exceptional and unusual play about the
fortunes of a wardrobe through the ages beginning in the late
middle ages and ending around 1914. Eve Bracken and Charlotte
Hollinrake brought the characters to life superbly whilst Jodi Smith
and Grace Moody made the wardrobe manoeuvres look effortless
and problem-free. Eternal Light in the Minster at the very end of
term saw many of the girls singing in the school choir and playing
in the Wind Band and Orchestra.
elegance, their amusing anecdotes and their ability to walk in their
spectacularly high shoes.
Easter Term
The typical cold, dank beginning to this new term could not
dampen the spirits of the Rise girls and they quickly set about
settling themselves back into their routines and preparing
themselves for the new challenges ahead.
This term also saw the controversy that was house debating for
both seniors and juniors. I was truly impressed by the eloquence
with which the girls spoke and their thorough preparation.
Although they did not make the final rounds they must certainly
be congratulated on a wonderful team effort. Well done to Alicia
Cranston, Anna Thrussell, Rachel Simpson, Emily McDonald, Cassie
Bythell, Anna van Harwegen and Charlotte Hollinrake.
Sadly, due to family circumstances, we said goodbye to our muchloved Mrs Cherry Fricker. Cherry was someone the girls and I just
loved having around. Her gentle manner, wonderful advice and
sense of fun will be much missed by us all. We wish you well for
the future!
The girls showed great team effort, determination and willingness
to participate in the inter-house netball, swimming and squash.
Very well done to Grace Moody, Cassie Bythell, Annabel Blott and
Anna Fairbank, who swam valiantly on behalf of The Rise. Annabel
even swam twice in the relay! Zoe Pindar and Stephanie Tong
are to be congratulated on a superb house squash tournament
which saw them narrowly pipped at the post by School to achieve
second place.
Our rowers, Harriet Falshaw, Sabrina Leung, Lucy Bower and Jodi
Smith, continued their excellent team efforts in the York Regatta,
the Schools’ Head of the River race in London, the Triangular
Head competition at Yarm, and on a trip to Ghent. Later on, in the
summer term, the girls were to participate in the York Spring and
Summer Regattas as well as the National Schools’ Regatta.
The House Singing competition proved to be a particularly
memorable and joyous occasion. Under Brogan Grant’s leadership,
the girls committed themselves to countless practices of Wannabe
by the Spice Girls. Accompanied by Tom on electric guitar, the
musicality and unity of their performance was outstanding and
‘our’ Spice Girls walked away as runners-up.
46
Summer Term
Exams loomed as we returned from the Easter break and it was
not long before the house became eerily quiet as many of the
girls went home or shut themselves in their rooms, away from
distractions. Nevertheless many girls turned up to support Eve
House Reports
talent, from First XI hockey, lead roles in the school production,
dawn training for rowing, and squash captaining, to maths team
challenges. It has been a real pleasure getting to know you all and
helping you to plan your next step. Mr Gillies and I wish you well
for the future.
Special thanks go to my two brilliant heads of house, Brogan
Grant and Zoe Pindar. Their help, advice and good humour were
invaluable to me throughout the year as was their support to new
girls coming into the house.
Bracken, Emily McDonald, Charlotte Hollinrake and Kitty Clapham
in the middle-school play London Below, the imaginative and
gripping tale of those who live underground. Emily’s singing
and guitar-playing as the busker was memorable, as was Eve’s
portrayal of Door. It was a most enjoyable night for all.
The sun shone brightly on Sports Day, and we saw some amazing
performances from Cassie Bythell in the 100m, Grace Moody in
the 200m, Kitty Clapham in the 400m and Tilly Antrum in the
800m. Special thanks go to Zoe Pindar who gritted her teeth and
ran the 1500m brilliantly.
As the term rushed on, it would soon be time to say goodbye to
my first Upper Sixth girls as they began the next exciting chapter
in their lives: Brogan Grant, Zoe Pindar, Ellie Fletcher, Harriet
Falshaw, Valeriya Morshchagina and Stephanie Tong. As a new
Housemistress I was struck not only by their academic ability,
positivity, conscientiousness and friendliness but also by their
Sadly again, due to increased work commitments, we said
goodbye also to Magda Zasada. Her visits to The Rise were
greatly enjoyed by the girls, as was her fun chat, Polish treats and
adorable rabbit, Poppy. We wish you well, Magda and thank you
for all of your help!
I would like to take this opportunity to say a big ‘thank you’ to
the other key members of the house, without whose help The Rise
simply could not run and whose work we appreciate enormously.
Thank you very much indeed therefore to our house tutors Mrs
Barnard, Mrs Robinson and Miss Lindley.
We are also indebted to Lesley, Jenny and Laura who keep The Rise
shining and immaculate. Special thanks go to our Matron, Jane,
who truly is the lynchpin of the establishment and who does so
much for us all. Her efficiency, organisational skills, friendliness,
sense of fun and sewing skills are so appreciated by us all!
And so the year drew to a close with the house barbecue and
a trip to Flamingo Land. I have the impression that next year is
going to pass even more quickly! Time does pass quickly when
you’re having fun after all!!!
Mrs Dorothy Gillies
47
Visits and Exchanges
Lower-Sixth Geography Field Trip
to the Isle of Arran
When we arrived in Arran, contrary to the kit-list and a shock to
everyone, it was actually sunny. This was probably the biggest
surprise of the trip. We’d expected freezing weather and rain, as Mr
Allan had said that every year previously it had rained. The sevenhour journey was helped by films and unlimited Mars Bars. Upon
arrival on the island, we took an hour-long journey with a bus full
of primary school children on their own excursion to Lochranza.
After settling into our ‘accommodation’, we were shown around
and introduced to the legend that is John (or Johnny to some!). He
was given the task of educating us through our week there and, of
course, enforcing road safety.
Over the next few days we developed our geographical skills on
the salt marsh in the bay of Lochranza and on the nearby hills,
where we went on ‘short’ walks. We studied the halosere by
looking at plant-height and species, as well as soil pH and texture.
Using the different techniques to measure these was a new and
48
interesting experience, giving us a deeper knowledge by getting
our hands dirty.
only human geographer. Who knew that people-watching could be
educational?
Our PGL guides were fantastic. We’ve never met someone as
enthusiastic about geology as Becky. Remember: geology rocks!
In King’s Cave and the other rock formations we saw this interest
emerge, as she told us enthusiastically about how they were
formed along with the dykes and sills, and there was input from
John and Beth on the history of the cave, ancient art and all. Mrs
Hall was very disappointed to miss our soil-sampling. We used a
soil auger; however the pronunciation by some was a little dodgy.
After England lost their game, morale was significantly reduced
and so the only happy person on the trip was Abdul (he changed
his allegiance, now apparently a dedicated Uruguay fan!). However
the prospect of a whole two units of alcohol sent tingles down
the spines of many people, and everyone was looking forward to
a meal at the nearest pub – which, by the way, was a 40-minute
walk away.
Thanks to our teachers for a fun and interesting trip!
Laura Carrigan and Joe Copley (LVI)
Towards the end of the trip, the midges really started biting,
leading everybody to slather themselves with repellent. The prize
for the most bites certainly went to Nat Green. On the final
day we travelled to four different sites over the island, including
Brodick, which actually had shops. It was the first civilization we’d
seen all week! When we got there we assessed their sustainability
and rurality, which Beth was very excited about as she was the
49
Economics and Business Studies Trips
Pupils studying Economics or Business Studies have been out and
about experiencing these subjects in the ‘real world’. Business
Studies pupils travelled into York to visit Crumbs Cupcakery to
see the challenges faced in setting up your own business, and
discussed key start-up problems facing all entrepreneurs including
issues of finance, location and legal challenges, staffing costs,
profit margins and production methods.
A2 Economists headed to the University of Huddersfield for
their annual Transport Economics conference to discuss some
of the key issues and problems facing the UK economy in the
field of transport. HS2: is it a £50bn vital piece of infrastructure
investment or could the money be used elsewhere? Heathrow is
at 99%+ capacity – what should be done for the UK’s growing
airport capacity problems? How should we solve the permanent
gridlock and congestion issues on UK motorways and main roads?
After the AS exams, Economists turned their attention to several
essay competitions and both Business and Economics pupils
began the production of Peternomics 2014 (copies of which are
now available in the Library). At the end of term, a group of Lower
Sixth Economists and pupils with aspirations of careers in the
Meanwhile, Sixth Form economists made the trip to Sheffield
University to listen to Tim Harford at the Royal Economic
Society’s annual lecture. Tim is the author of several books that
budding economists should recognise, such as The Undercover
Economist, The Logic of Life and Adapt. His lecture How to run – or
ruin – the economy relived the life of Bill Phillips, culminating in
failing his economics modules at LSE and building the hydraulic
MONIAC model which
simulated the workings
of an economy. Tim’s
talk stretched from
the ‘real Indiana Jones
of economics’ to
Singapore’s World War
II campaign, to the
A-Team, to removing
the fourth down in
American Football, and
then on to whether
randomised trials can
help us avoid future
recessions.
50
Financial District took in the sights of the Square Mile in the City
of London. Pupils explored the Bank of England Museum, covering
such aspects as the role of the Monetary Policy Committee and
the Bank’s commitment to providing financial and monetary
stability to the UK economy. Pupils then received a lecture on the
purpose and history of the bank, the stories behind the value of
the gold bars hidden away deep underground in the Bank’s vaults
(and the one occasion where the vaults have been breached by an
outsider!) and the printing and security processes behind modernday banknotes. A tour through the financial district, taking in the
awe-inspiring building, such as the Gherkin, the Walkie-talkie,
Lloyds’ Tower and The Shard, led us through to lunch in Leadenhall
Market then onto the London Metal Exchange. Here we managed
to see live floor-trading of a host of key commodities.
Mr Ben White
Bletchley Park visit
On Friday 13 June, accompanied by Mr Trevett and Mr Spencer,
a group of students studying history and mathematics visited
Bletchley Park, a former military facility, the site of the cracking
of the Enigma and Lorentz codes used by the Germans in
World War II. Given a tour by a subject-field expert, we learned
about the brilliant mathematicians and scientists who together,
living at the park, managed to unravel various German plots
and military plans thanks to their ability to crack those codes.
As well as this, we were given a demonstration of a working
Enigma machine, gaining more insight into how it operated.
Thanks to Mr Trevett and Mr Spencer, we all had a really
interesting day, even for those with a less-than-special interest
in maths!
Maciej Psiuch and Jemima Jordan (LVI)
Model United Nations 2013
Sixth-Form pupils in international debate at
Model United Nations.
Model United Nations involves debating international issues and
building alliances in the role of different UN countries. It has a
small but enthusiastic following at St Peter’s and is a significant
part of the extra-curricular programme at many other leading
schools whom we meet and debate against at conferences, such
as MUN Cheadle Hulme (or MUNCH), which we attended in
October.
Olivia Anderson takes up the story:
A group of students travelled to Cheshire to represent Spain, in
what was for many of us our first ever MUN conference. We were
excited but apprehensive and
the painfully early start (5.00
am) meant that it was a pretty
quiet drive to Manchester.
When we arrived we found
Cheadle Hulme bedecked
with the flags of the countries
and buzzing with expectant
delegates.
encouraged everyone to speak, which was great in getting rid of
the initial nerves. I thoroughly enjoyed lobbying for my resolution
and making alliances with other delegates, a process during which
the persuasive powers of Haribo featured heavily.
Needless to say, by the end of the weekend we were all debating
with a great deal more confidence than at the beginning of
Saturday. Some of us even found courage to speak in the large
Joint Committee, a highly nerve-wracking but very worthwhile
experience. Considering that it was our first experience of MUN,
we were all very proud of our achievements.
We are looking forward to further conferences in the Upper Sixth.
Olivia Anderson (LVI) & Mr Ben Fuller
Everything was new and fairly
overwhelming but when
we split into our respective
committees we all felt slightly
more at ease. I was on the
Human Rights Committee
which discussed the issues of
the Right to Religious Freedom,
Post-Arab Spring Human Rights
and the Right to Self Defence.
The chairs of the committees
were very friendly and
51
Morocco 2014
As we made our final approach into Menara Airport on the
outskirts of Marrakech just after sunset, we could see the lights
from the gas lanterns filling the Djemaa El-Fna square, and the
plumes of cooking smoke spiralling up into the night.
The minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech’s most famous
symbol, topped with four copper globes, could also be seen
dominating the skyline. The mosque, built of the same local
sandstone that makes Marrakech the famous pink city, glowed red
with the sunset.
Walking out from the airport and driving to our hotel we got
a sense of the chaos and the buzz for which Morocco is worldfamous. It was quite exhilarating, arriving at night with the city
still in full swing.
We woke the next day, and piled into our minibuses for our
journey to the mountains. As we got nearer to the start of our
trek in the High Atlas we were reminded that this part of Morocco
has only recently had access roads, enabling cars to get to the
remote villages. So many places still have very poor roads and
can be cut off during the winter months. We visited several small
rural communities during our trek: Agouti, Ait Imi and Arous. After
52
three days of trekking we arrived in the village of Imelghas, with
the gites providing the luxury of a lukewarm shower and a simple
mattress on the floor.
Our day working with the villagers was an experience to be
remembered. Some had the privilege to paint the inside of the
craft centre that the women of the village were soon to occupy.
Part-funded by St Peter’s over the last three years, it was great
to see the building finally near to completion. Others took to
the fields with scythes, to gather grass for the cattle, or they
landscaped back yards with picks and shovels.
As has been the tradition on previous trips, the boys from St
Peter’s took on the local villagers at a game of football. They
were not quite prepared for the physical determination shown
by the young Berber men, and were involved in a hard-fought
contest. With the game being evenly matched for 90 minutes, it
came down to a penalty shoot-out. A win for the St Peter’s team
redressed the balance after defeat in 2013.
53
The remote Ait Bougmez valley is stunningly beautiful in April –
with the hint of snow-topped peaks surrounding it against a deep
blue sky; villages and a carefully tended patchwork of green fields
line the wide, flat base of the valley; yellow and red rock rises on
either side, and flowering almond trees line the river. We had spent
five days in the mountains and trekked for three days, following
our trusty guides Jamal and Housain. We were as remote as we
could be, and somewhere that would be hard to find on even the
best maps.
As we left the mountains it was time to head for the coast
and the famous port of Essaouira. This charming citadel enjoys
a prestigious past dating back to prehistoric times, and was
renowned for its Tyrian factory which supplied Rome with the
legendary purple dye. Essaouira is also well known for its thriving
fishing port and market. We surfed, shopped in the medina and
rode our own St Peter’s camel-train along the wide expanse of
beach, with incredible views across the bay.
If we hadn’t quite had our fix of shopping in Essaouira, we had
time to explore and hunt for bargains in the souks of Marrakech
on the final day. We had a tour around the honeycomb of
alleyways hiding souks offering everything from exotic spices to
rugs and jewellery. We also had time to soak up the atmosphere
in the Djemaa El-Fna square, where the snake-charmers and
musicians were entertaining the crowds.
Away from the noise of the square we visited the stunning
Majorelle Gardens, a tranquil haven designed by expatriate French
artist Jacques Majorelle and previously owned by Yves SaintLaurent.
Forty eight students and five staff from St
Peter’s enjoyed a quite magical ten days in
Morocco. To those thinking of a trek with
the school in the future, it will definitely not
disappoint.
Mr Jon Whitehouse
54
55
Fifth- and Sixth-Form Music
students’ visit to Edinburgh
Reid Collection of musical instruments: flutes, including one disguised as a walking-stick!
56
In February, the Fifth- and Sixth-Form Music students visited two
museums of musical instruments in Edinburgh. Setting off early by
train, we saw a collection of early keyboard instruments at one of
the museums, and all sorts of other instruments at the other. We
even found time to wander around Edinburgh’s beautiful Old Town
and fit in a delicious lunch at Pizza Express.
Our afternoon visit was to the collection of early keyboard
instruments at St Cecilia’s Hall. It includes 50 of the world’s
best-preserved instruments and those of us who didn’t know our
clavichords from our fortepianos certainly learned a thing or two.
Many of the instruments are in working order and the pianoplayers amongst us had great fun trying them out.
Our first venue was the Reid Concert Hall Museum of Instruments.
This museum displays nearly 1,000 stringed, woodwind, brass and
percussion instruments from all across Europe and elsewhere,
some dating back 400 years. The range of instruments was
impressive, and gave us a chance to see how the instrument that
each of us plays today has evolved from its mediaeval origins.
We even discovered that some early woodwind instruments were
designed to double up as walking-sticks!
We had a fantastic tour guide showing us around the museums.
She and Mr Wright — who could easily have passed for a tour
guide himself — told us more about these wonderful, old
instruments than we ever thought there was to know. Thanks to
both of them, and to Dr Harrison and Mrs Lawrence, for a great
day out.
Libby Brown (LVI)
St Peter’s Politicians in Westminster
The Politics department’s
summer day in London is
eagerly awaited and enjoyed
– so much so that several
students take part in both
Lower and Upper Sixth.
Travelling down at a civilized
hour on a Friday morning
we were able to pop into
the relatively new Supreme
Court in Parliament Square
to see where our final court
of appeal meets, before
heading to Parliament itself.
Perhaps aware that Guy
Fawkes was a Peterite the security checks were more thorough
than before – once in the Palace we had a full, ‘access all areas’
tour of the House of Commons. Students walked through the
voting lobbies and stood
at the Despatch Box
before we headed to the
Grand Committee Room
off Westminster Hall to
take part in a debate
on the effectiveness of
Select Committees with
Marlborough School, St
Albans.
We then headed to
Downing Street and, once
through the high-security
gates, installed in 1989 as
a protection against IRA threats, enjoyed a peaceful stroll up the
street on a sunny afternoon and the chance to take photos.
Staff and students then enjoyed relaxing and shopping in Covent
Garden before supper there and a late train home.
Mr Ben Fuller
57
Third- and Fourth-Form Scholars’ visit
to the British Museum, Tuesday 6 May
The precedent was set last year to give the academic scholars and
other able and interested students in the Third and Fourth Form
a Grand Day Out. The purpose of the day was to just go and see
something, and to enjoy learning for its own sake as opposed to
exploring any specific links to the curriculum. This year, Mr Trevett
and I had the pleasure of taking this year’s Third- and Fourth-Form
scholars to London for a day in the British Museum. The main
focus of the trip was to visit the Vikings exhibition. This was the
first major exhibition on the Vikings at the British Museum for
over 30 years. It featured many new archaeological discoveries and
objects which have never been seen before in the UK, alongside
important Viking Age artefacts discovered in Britain and Ireland.
For pupils living and going to school in Viking Jorvik we felt this
exhibition was an important and different way of understanding
the cultural heritage of their city and its environs.
That isn’t all we saw. Here are some additional comments from
Rose Gabbertas and Jess Webster:
In May, 20 scholars from the Third and Fourth Forms took a trip
to the British Museum in London with Miss Barker and Mr Trevett.
Having caught the train from York we walked to the museum
from King’s Cross, pausing at a few historical landmarks on the
way such as the British Library and St Pancras Parish Church,
with its Greek-style architecture, where the teachers shared their
knowledge of History and Classics. At the museum, we were given
free rein to visit exhibitions of our choice including the Ancient
Greeks, Egyptians and other fascinating displays including the
history of clocks. At three o’clock we walked back to King’s Cross,
our brains somewhat saturated, but still searching for a ‘Cronut’
shop all the way home.
Miss Kat Barker
58
Pompeii 2013
Last October, members of the Fourth, Fifth and Lower-Sixth
Form left school to embark on the best trip of the year. There
were two groups departing from school at different times: I was
in the first group and left at midnight. The coach was bubbling
with excitement and anticipation as we drove to Heathrow and,
although it was very late by the time we got to the airport, no one
was sleeping! After studying Pompeii all year, we couldn’t wait to
finally experience it for ourselves.
We arrived at Naples at midday and the second we got our bags
we were whisked away to a coach that drove us to Herculaneum.
We caught our first glimpses of Vesuvius on the drive, looming
over the bay of Naples even though it is half the size it was before
its eruption in 79AD. After refreshing ourselves at a small kiosk
outside the historic town, we explored Herculaneum for hours,
learning more and more about the lifestyles of the Romans who
lived there. When it was time to go, we boarded the coach and
drove back to the airport to meet up with the second group. Their
flight was delayed by a few hours, but when they finally arrived we
went to our hotel in Sorrento to have dinner and get some muchneeded sleep. My friends and I in group one were exhausted after
a whole 48 hours awake! We went to bed that night wondering
what mysteries Pompeii would have in store for us.
The next morning, 40 half-asleep teenagers slumped down the
hotel stairs for breakfast at 7.30 am. We got on the coach after
collecting a pack-up lunch and most of us slept all the way to
Vesuvius. The few hours’ drive was not wasted, however, as Mrs
Newport attempted to teach us Italian. We learned some useful
phrases for the rest of the week even though our brains weren’t
really working properly yet. When we got off the coach at the foot
of Vesuvius, we were more awake than ever and couldn’t wait to
start the climb. The slope was steeper than we anticipated, but
the heavy breathing and red faces were all worth it as we looked
out over the breathtaking view of the Bay of Naples. We also got
to look into the mouth of Vesuvius and despite Mr Noy Scott’s
teasing, it thankfully didn’t erupt and we made our way back to
the coach safely. We drove to Pompeii and ate lunch on the lawns
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outside the entrance. Our food attracted a stray dog who quickly
became our friend and followed us around all day when we fed it a
slice of bread! We walked around the city in a group to begin with,
Miss Barker giving us a small tour, until we were allowed to go and
explore on our own. It was so amazing to actually be in the city
we had been studying but also very spooky to be walking in the
footsteps of ancient Romans, especially in the amphitheatre where
hundreds of gladiators had been brutally killed. After an hour or
two we reluctantly left Pompeii, wishing we could stay all day, and
returned to the hotel. Before dinner, we were allowed to explore
the small town of Sorrento. Naturally, we went to the supermarket
to stock up on chocolate, but also came across many products
and brands that weren’t available in the UK. The pasta was
multicoloured and shaped in as many ways as you can imagine
and there were whole aisles dedicated to Nutella. However we
soon had to return to the hotel for a delicious meal, then bed.
The next day we went on a coach trip to Paestrum and the
Museum of Naples. Paestrum was a major Greek city and has
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many temples well preserved today. We walked around the city,
the huge temples towering over us leaving us speechless. We
then re-grouped and had lunch outside the city and bought
some souvenirs in the small shops before driving to the Museum
of Naples. We were let loose in the museum and learned even
more about the towns we had been visiting all week. There were
amazing paintings, sculptures and famous mosaics some of us
recognised from the Cambridge Latin books. For example, we got
to see the Alexander the Great mosaic, the mosaic showing the
riot in Pompeii and many more. That night we explored Sorrento
again before dinner and some of us managed to find a café with
free wi-fi! We returned there whenever we had the chance and
the waiter always reserved chocolate tarts for us. After we had
browsed to our hearts’ content, we walked back to the hotel and
went to bed after another amazing meal.
On the last day, we got a hydrofoil to the island of Capri. We
walked all the way up to the Roman emperor Tiberius’s palace
and yet again we were left speechless. The view from the palace
was amazing and looked over the endless sea with mist hovering
on the water. After walking around the palace, we returned to the
pretty bay to do some shopping. There were countless nooks and
crannies to be explored and many ice-cream shops with every
flavour in the world. When we had got everything we wanted to
buy for our families we got back on the hydrofoil and returned
to Sorrento. For the last time, we were let out to do whatever we
wanted until dinner. That night, after dinner we had a quiz on Italy
then went to bed reluctantly, not looking forward to going home.
I had so much fun on this trip and I know everyone else feels the
same way. Thank you to Miss Barker, Mrs Newport, Mr Gillies and
Mr Snelling who put up with us for a whole five days and to Mr
Noy Scott who organised the trip but unfortunately couldn’t come
(he was too scared that Vesuvius would erupt). I hope this trip runs
again in the future and definitely recommend it to anyone even if
you don’t do Latin or Classics. I know I would go again! It was an
unforgettable experience and we are all truly grateful for all the
effort the teachers put in to make it fun for everyone. Thank you!
Emily Kelly (IV)
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News, Events and Activities
The School Archives
A variety of researchers have made use of the archives over
the year pursuing interests such as: an Oxford University
student conducting research into the relationship between
changing international athletic records of schoolboys and
the physical health of the British population over a 100year period; a BBC researcher preparing for a programme
on the Great War; and an independent TV producer looking
for new angles on the Gunpowder Plot.
The school website contains the beginnings of our Great
War Commemoration. David Mackie has been gradually
creating a structured area for the addition of further
information. The advantage of using the website is that
people from beyond these shores are finding our resources
and offering to send images and details to enhance what
is already there. One such Belgian visitor to the site has been
extremely helpful in providing images of the memorials.
All the volumes of The Peterite magazine are now available in
digital form and on the website. Some of the older whole-school
photographs have been digitised, along with images of a number
of the honours boards, and all now appear on the website.
Thanks are owed to the following people for donating items to the
archives:
Andrew Bryce for a copy of J Scott Cooper’s book
E A K Denison for documents and photographs
Mike Johnston for sports clothing
David Harding for sports ties, blazer for Rifle Shooting, and
programmes, copies of Petrana and old OP listings
Jill Murray for photographs and postcards from Hugh Murray
C John Helmsley for newspaper cuttings, 1951 Prospectus, revised
fees for 1961 and photo album
Please consider donating items to the archives if you are looking
to downsize or are planning to make space at home. There are
always gaps to fill!
Angela Sanderson has again kindly helped with archives during the
year. Work on the Great War project has greatly benefited from
the interest that Angela has shown.
Mrs Pat Chandler
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News, Events
and Activities
The Alcuin Library
As technology moves on so does the Library. Nowadays the offer
is a mixture of book stock, journals, audio-visual items and digital
resources so that aspects of the Library are available 24 hours a
day, wherever you are. Over the year an eBook-lending platform
(vleBooks) has been set up to take advantage of the fact that
a growing percentage of our pupils and members of staff like
to access books on their portable devices or laptops. It will be
interesting to monitor these developments.
National Poetry Day
Miles Salter, a local poet, kicked off our literary activities this year
with a visit on National Poetry Day. Sixth-Form students worked
with Miles to try out techniques for stimulating ideas for poetry.
were super-prepared, and owing to the unprecedented numbers
of students volunteering to present the books, Mrs Lawrence had
to tweak the formula. Mrs Lawrence called upon pairs of English
A-Level students to share the responsibility and superbly steered
us through to awarding our imaginary prize to The Testament of
Mary. This had nothing to do with the length of the novel(la) and
everything to do with Ben Turvill and Nina Duncan’s insistence
that this really was the best.
Man Booker Shadowing: October 2013
This year proved particularly exciting as the Reading Agency
chose the school as one of its shadowing teams. As a result we
were given additional copies of the shortlisted books, access
to its blog and invited to a pre-award shadowing event at the
stunning new Library of Birmingham. To have Jim Crace, Ruth
Ozeki and Eleanor Catton (the eventual winner) on the same
platform was marvellous and we gained quite an appreciation
of what went into the writing of those novels. On our return we
Twelve Words of Winter competition
The challenge was to
create a winter-themed
story in 12 words and it
was quite a tough one.
Olivia Watts penned the
winner with runners-up
Eleanor Graham, Alex
Plane and Chloe Wong all
submitting suitably crisp
entries.
Christmas Lit Quiz
Back by popular demand
the festive quiz took
place in the last week of
term. Leaving aside the
anagrams it was a closelyfought contest with The
Grove taking the trophy. With wonderful support from the Library
Committee – in particular, quizmaster extraordinaire Will Fynn and
top-class adjudicators Sally and Libby – it was all good fun.
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World Book Day, March 2014
Paul Dowswell
Paul joined us to talk to Third-Form pupils, J5 from St Olave’s
and pupils from other local schools about the way he undertakes
research for writing historical novels. With the spotlight on the
Great War Centenary, Paul’s latest novel, Eleven Eleven, seemed
very relevant. In the afternoon Paul led an inspiring creative
writing workshop with Third- and Fourth-Form pupils and later
took questions from the Literary Society.
Further to Paul’s visit we shared books (Bookcrossing) and held
a ‘shelfie’ competition, so it was a pretty busy week! We were
very strict on the judging of the shelfies as it appeared that some
people had exceptionally long arms … Winners of the competition
were Izzy Hall and Jack Amsden.
Sir Andrew Motion
One of the highlights of the year was to welcome Sir Andrew
Motion to the Library. In addition to delivering a reading of his
poetry as part of the York Literature Festival and Public Lecture
Series, he led a fascinating creative writing workshop with Thirdand Fourth-Form pupils prior to enjoying a literary tea with Lit
Soc.
Library Committee 2013-14
No year would be complete without a mention of our Library
Committee members for their support, creativity and promotion
of the library over the past year(s): Alicia Cranston, Angus
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Freeman, Alistair Duffey, Bea Rhodes-Blangsted, Ellie Caley, Libby
Brown, Jemima Jordan, Luka Pajovic, Phil Hodgson, Sally Hicks, Will
Fynn, Will Emery and Mrs Jo Lawrence. Thanks to you all.
Duke of Edinburgh Award
Congratulations to the 12 pupils have completed the Bronze
Award, two who have completed the Silver, and three pupils who
have worked towards Gold over the year, undertaking a range of
library skills.
Donations
Book donations have been gratefully received from the following
leavers and their parents, grandparents or guardians at the time of
writing:
2013 leavers: Oliver Headlam-Morley, Laura Field, Bill Goss, Zara
and Lewis Gower, Nicholas McLeish and Isabel Green.
2014 leavers: Josie Proctor, Joe Brennan, Lucy Schofield, Jonathan
Fry, Jenny Frazer, James Bell, Henry Eyre, Charles Scholey, Sophie
France, Daniel Stone and Elliot Elstob.
Thank you all for your kind donations.
Mrs Pat Chandler
News, Events
and Activities
Le Tour - July 2014
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News, Events
and Activities
Beverley 10k and 2k, 2014
House, stood firm on the starting line with rain driving into
their faces. With their spirits un-dampened, the race started.
The course was slippery and muddy in places and one of the
organisers later commented to me that he thought that some of
the pupils were ‘a champion mud-wrestling team’ on part of the
course. Despite the difficult conditions, all managed to get around
the 2k, some with much dirtier clothes than others. Ed Johnson
was the top finisher from St Peter’s, coming fourth in a terrific
time of 8:29.
The St Peter’s runners arrived to a rather wet, but otherwise
cheerful, Beverley on Sunday 11 May. This year, a record number
of 1,299 runners completed the 10k race. The St Peter’s team
comprised 49 runners for the 10k and 30 for the 2k. This is the
16th time that the school has entered the event, which is now in
its 21st year.
The 2k runners were treated to proper East Riding weather for
their race: there was a strong, cold wind which lashed the course
with rain. The runners, many of whom were
from Wentworth
For the 10k runners, more
heavy rain fell just before the
race, but fortunately it held
off for the start. Although
the faster runners managed
to complete the course
before the rain returned,
many participants had
to contend with more
downpours during the
second half of their race,
making completing
the event even more
challenging. Despite
the weather, the
centre of Beverley
was packed as
hundreds lined the finishing
straight and beyond.
For the second consecutive year,
Sam Dickinson was the first St
Peter’s runner home in the 10k,
finishing fourth overall and
winning the under-18 boys’
prize in a time of 34:44. This is
a new school record, breaking
one previously held by
Joseph Smith. Other quick
boys included Rory Combe
in a great time of 40:11
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then Gabriel Chan (44:10), Adam
Freshwater (44:36) and Dan James
(44:54).
In her debut competitive 10k,
Nicole Moir showed that she has a
great talent for endurance running.
She finished the race in 44:18 the
fastest of the St Peter’s girls and
winning the under-18
category. Sarah Carlton
(52:20) and Siân Bigger
(1:02:56) both pushed
themselves through the
less favourable conditions
at the end of the race and
finished well.
We were unable to convince
Simon Mortimer to wear
fancy dress this year and
consequently he ran faster
than all the other staff in a
time of 37:27.
The support that all of the
runners from St Peter’s showed
for each other at the end of the
race, which in my experience of
Beverley they always give each
other, says much for the spirit
of the school: pupils, staff and
friends of the school encouraging
everyone along the finishing
straight and enjoying not only
their own achievements, but
those of all around them – a real
embodiment of Peterite spirit!
The morning’s exertions were
rewarded with the traditional hog
roast and ice-cream back at school. The
runners concluded the day with both the
pleasure of taking part and the resulting
physical pain.
This year we were raising money for
York Against Cancer and at the time
of writing, just over £1,200 has been
donated from sponsors. Well done
to everybody who got involved
with Beverley this year. A special
thanks goes to Paddy for helping to
organise the event and Mr Morris for
managing to get some great photos
despite the weather.
Mr Andy Parr
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St Peter’s Half-Marathon
The St Peter’s Half-Marathon took place on Sunday 2 March, the
first Sunday following the half-term break, allowing participants
not only to collect sponsors but to get in some extra mileage.
The ‘race’ was on immediately the starter’s whistle was blown,
when a pack of four runners including the Dickinson brothers
Tom and Sam, along with Mr Mortimer and guest runner Emma
Yates, sprinted away to form a distinctive lead group. By mile four,
however, (at the much appreciated ‘Dawson Drink Station’), the
real race was clearly just between Sam, Tom and Mr Mortimer.
At the halfway point, each runner dutifully went
around Mark Robinson’s flag and headed for
home, with the courteous nod or slight hand
raise as they passed fellow runners coming
in the opposite direction. Despite the leading
runners continuously jostling and vying for that
gold medal throughout the race, Sam Dickinson
was a clear winner in a new course record of
1hr 18mins, followed by Tom Dickinson in 1hr
19mins 55s. Mr Mortimer came in third in 1hr
21mins 11s and the first guest finisher was
Emma Yates in a creditable fourth position
with a time of 1hr 24mins 13s. The first female
pupil home was Libby Brown in 1hr 45mins 43s,
running a shrewd race to shake off her rivals,
Annabel Blott and Anna Fairbank, who – like
many other St Peter’s pupils – completed the
distance in amazing times on the minimum
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amount of training. It goes to show what advantage youth has, as
Paddy Stephen will agree, bringing up the rear of the race with Mr
Vann (who, like the pupils, would have benefited from a few more
miles covered in training!). Congratulations go to all 41 runners
who took part making this year’s event the biggest and fastest
so far and raising close to £700 for the chapel charities in the
process.
Mrs Angela Tooby-Smith
News, Events
and Activities
Cycling matters
A Hill Too Far
I laughed when I heard Yorkshire was bidding for the 2014 Tour
de France Grand Départ and was astonished when it was awarded.
After following the Tour for years, the 2014 Tour began in Leeds,
where I grew up, and ended in Harrogate where I worked in my
teens. The second day started in York, went past the School and,
en route to Sheffield, went through Ripponden where I lived for
ten years before coming to St Peter’s. I wanted to be as involved
as possible and so decided I would follow it back to France and
take part in ‘the people’s stage’.
The Etape du Tour is an annual event which follows one particular
stage of the year’s Tour de France route. The stage chosen is
normally in the Pyrenees or the Alps to include one or more of the
iconic climbs.
This year’s Etape was to follow the route of stage 18 From Pau,
over the dreaded Tourmalet, finishing at the top of Hautacam –
148 kms. Nothing to the professionals, but …
France was to be our family holiday destination for the summer
and so it seemed like a good idea at the time to take on this
challenge in the middle weekend of two weeks in south-west
France.
The main problem I had was time to train. I train for short 10-and
25-mile weekend Warrior time-trial events and hadn’t ridden
more than around 50 miles in one go over the past four years (and
no hills). With two months before the event this posed a problem
and nothing supplies the motivation better than going public
and raising money for charity. Generous colleagues and friends
helped me raise over £700 for Get Kids Going, which promotes
opportunities for disabled children and young adults to take part
in sport and is one which we have supported as a school in the
past.
Provided now with motivation to train I entered an event with
around 1,000 others which followed the exact route of the first
stage of this year’s Tour (through the Harewood estate). The sight
of the garishly-coloured peloton of ‘mamils’ (an ever growing
club) snaking past fly-fisherman in tweed with the Dales scenery
as a backdrop was so dramatic I realised that TDF Yorkshire was
going to be a massive success. I survived the day – which was the
aim – but the next few days’ hobbling highlighted quite what I
was taking on, given that Buttertubs, as challenging as it is, is no
Tourmalet.
The first week in Pau was amazing with temperatures of 35
degrees. Unfortunately, all week the forecast showed a dark spot
over Sunday 20 July – wind, rain, lightning and a significant drop in
temperature. Difficult to believe, but on the morning of the event
the sun came out and 10,000 cyclists smiled. We set off in groups
of 1,000 and there was a fantastic multi-cultural atmosphere,
mostly good-humoured although applying the brakes in the
world’s biggest Sunday ride was met with protest in a number of
languages.
The weather held until the foot of the Tourmalet and then
everything changed. We literally (one of the few times this term
can be used accurately) cycled up into a cloud and it simply
poured down with no respite whatsoever. There is an odd feeling
of comradeship as so many people make the silent pilgrimage
in the rain together up a mountain. It took me 1 hour and 35
minutes to get to the top and I was amazed to find that it wasn’t
that difficult. A steady 7% suits my slow-twitch muscles and
when I saw the 5km-to-go marker I knew it was going to be fine.
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Soaking wet, the descent on the other side was probably my least
enjoyable time on a bike. A number of people were taken away
in ambulances as a result of falls and hypothermia. It was minus
two degrees with wind-chill and many riders had been fooled by
the early sunshine and left their coats at the start. Martin Corry
(England Rugby) was an exception, leading the way in a shortsleeved shirt with no outward sign of discomfort.
The bottom of the Tourmalet leads relatively quickly to the foot
of Hautacam. I hadn’t really given this mountain much thought as
it was just the little brother of the Tourmalet and, having got over
the big one, I had set my sights on scaling it as fast as possible
and heading home very pleased with my athletic prowess. It
was a rather different story, though. For one thing, the gradient
is roughly the same but it veers from sections of 2% to 14%.
I had also underestimated what getting to that point had cost
me – ironically, getting down the Tourmalet had been quite a
struggle. Within 3k of the climb I was receiving ominous signals
that my body had decided that enough was enough (still 10k to
go!). Rather than keeping a steady rhythm, the steep sections
sapped my strength completely and my speedometer kept
beeping because it shuts down at speeds of less than 3mph. On
the Tourmalet seeing the 5k marker was welcome relief that the
summit was within reach, on the Hautacam I saw it as a sign that
I was destined to fall at the last hurdle. It wasn’t that any part of
me actually hurt – I just had nothing left. I’ve never quite felt like
that before and, with endurance firmly in mind (and hope), I look
back with a real sense of achievement that I made myself pedal
on to the finish, although I felt a strange sense of anti-climax at
the line 6 hours and 45 minutes after starting.
My family deserves a great deal of thanks for putting up with
the project. The timing chip is also a tracker and my family and
friends were able to follow my progress, but the technology failed
over the top of the Tourmalet, and this apparently caused a bit of
consternation because I seemed to have disappeared.
Having ridden and watched in Yorkshire, it is strange how subdued
the spectators were in Pau for stage 18 proper. Not just the
absence of yellow bikes but also the sense of anticipation and
fun was missing. On Buttertubs, whilst waiting for the pros, we
cheered ramblers as they made their way up the hill to the extent
that they started running and then sprinting as the crowd roared
them on. It was very British silliness. My favourite day of the Tour
was when we all waited for them to come past St Peter’s. There
was anticipation and patience in equal measure and after they
passed, instead of anti-climax, Clifton was traffic-free, people
were chatting in the middle of the road and cyclists rolled by. As
the Head Master said at the time, it turned the city into a village
for the day and everyone loved it.
Mr Michael Schofield (Bursar)
The Bog Run Challenge
No-one believed that Mrs Dawson was capable of cycling her bike
over the 26-mile marathon distance to school from her home
and back; the best she had done so far was driving with the bike
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attached to Rawcliffe Park and Ride, and arriving at school looking
like the yellow-jersey rider of Le Tour. Mrs Tooby-Smith, on the
other hand, didn’t believe that following major surgery just a
year previous, that she was still capable of running 13 miles, the
half-marathon distance. And so the ‘Bog Run Challenge’ was born:
very early one morning in June (too early for spectators to line the
route!) Mrs Dawson and Mrs Tooby-Smith achieved these feats
of endurance and raised £500 in the process. The proceeds of this
charity event went towards buying a set of desperately-needed
toilets for a Kenyan school.
Mrs Jane Dawson & Mrs Angela Tooby-Smith
The Big Pedal
In 2014 St Peter’s took part in the Big Pedal, a Sustrans initiative
to encourage more school pupils and staff to cycle to work.
Nationally only 2% of school pupils regularly cycle to school,
and this was reflected in the journeys logged at St Peter’s during
the Big Pedal. The largest group cycling to school were support
staff, followed by teaching staff, then pupils. Let’s hope that 2015
sees greater participation in environmentally-friendly transport
options.
Mrs Cath Hempsall
News, Events
and Activities
MFL
Salsa dancing with
Almodóvar
On a cold night in November the Upper
Sixth Spanish group set out in search
of a little Spanish sol (sun, not beer!)
sangria (Coca-Cola) salsa and estudios.
The evening started at York St John
University where we were treated to a
lecture in Spanish on the making of a
film. Part of the A-level course involves
studying the Spanish film director Pedro
Almodóvar, so the technical background
was very interesting. The lecture was
given by the Spanish film producer Ma
Jesús Martín who took us behind the
scenes to explore the importance of setting in an audio-visual
production. After the lecture we were joined by the Lower Sixth
at La Tasca for a bespoke salsa lesson with Julio. 45 minutes later
and Strictly Come Dancing eat your heart out! – the St Peter’s
Sixth Form Salsa Gods and Goddesses emerged! A few tapas –
albóndigas, patatas bravas, tortilla española, pescado blanco frito
– rounded off the night. Estudiamos, bailamos y cenamos. Hasta el
año próximo.
Mrs Anna Robinson
Nouvelle Vague Study Day at
the British Film Institute,
South Bank, London: 10 January 2014
the London underground, the students gradually became alert
enough to understand the French that was used by the presenter
throughout the day. Students were encouraged to participate
and ask questions in the language and ours got bolder as the day
went on. It was great being able to watch and analyse a wide
variety of film clips shown on the big screen just as their directors
intended. In the afternoon we all watched the full version of
Truffaut’s partly-autobiographical film Les 400 Coups, and this
experience has clearly stayed with the students. They have often
quoted examples and scene references from this film in their
analytical essays and it has contributed to the richness of their
understanding of the themes and techniques of this groundbreaking movement.
Mrs Alex Newport
French Debating Competitions
The process of debate offers profound and lasting benefits for
individuals, for societies and for the global community as a whole.
With its emphasis on critical thinking, effective communication,
independent research and teamwork, debate teaches skills that
serve individuals well in school, in the workplace, in life and
in fulfilling their responsibilities within democratic societies.
Once students have learned how to debate, they are better able
critically to examine arguments and to make informed judgments
about crucial issues.
As part of their A-level cultural studies, the Upper-Sixth French
students have been studying the work of the influential French
film director François Truffaut. When the opportunity arose to
attend a study day learning more about the different directors
and their work within this cinematographic movement, we as a
class jumped at the chance. After an early start and negotiating
This year we decided to make a couple of forays into the
academically-demanding world of French debating. We
participated in the regional competition of the Joutes Oratoires
when we visited Cheadle Hulme School with 15 other schools on
14 November. Frankie and Olivia Anderson represented the school
and participated in many fierce debates in order to reach the final
against Altrincham Grammar, but unfortunately were beaten by
the narrowest of margins to finish runners-up. We are now looking
into the possibility of hosting the North-Eastern heats of the
Joutes Oratoires in 2015.
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The first St Peter’s French Debating Competition took place over
three weeks in May and provided some fiery, animated debates.
We were all struck by the quality of the debating teams and their
use of fluent and idiomatic French. The teams had a week to
prepare each of these three ambitious motions:
• This house believes that the sale and consumption of fast food
should be banned.
• Reading is a waste of time: we learn nothing from literature; it is
much better to watch television.
• Immigrants should conform to the rules, learn the language and
accept the traditions and culture of the host country.
These debates were tightly contested, showing honed debating
skills and supported by in-depth research into the topic. It was an
excellent opportunity for students to practise their skills in a real
context and greatly aided the skills needed for oral exams. The
judging was based on content, skill of delivery and teamwork, and
we congratulate all those who took part.
The teams were:
Emily Mahon & Alex Reeds
Minna Gabbertas & Lipfon Tang
Frankie Anderson & Lily Howells
European Day of Languages
The European Day of Languages on 26 September was proclaimed
by the Council of Europe on 6 December 2001, at the end of
the European Year of Languages (2001), in order to encourage
language learning across Europe.
Helen Megone & Helen Taylor
The general objectives of the European Day of Languages are to:
Georgia Calvert & Jemima Jordan
• alert the public to the importance of language learning and to
diversify the range of languages learned in order to increase
language learning and intercultural understanding;
Alex Eyre & Alex Plane
• promote the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe;
• encourage lifelong language learning in and out of school.
In keeping with these objectives, people, young and old, are
encouraged to take up a language, or to take special pride in their
existing language skills. Also, those responsible for providing access
to language learning are encouraged to make it easier for people
to learn a range of languages, and to support policy initiatives to
promote languages. There is also emphasis on learning a language
other than English.
The eventual winners were Minna and Lipfon who won by one
point in the final debate against Frankie and Lily. All teams were
extremely strong and the level of French was stunning. We look
forward to next year with great anticipation.
Mr Mike Duffy
In order to celebrate EDL in school we hold a few special events,
as we like to celebrate the many nationalities of pupils who come
to our school. We organise an EDL chapel with a hymn in English,
French and German. Pupils in the lower school vote for the nonlanguage teacher who speaks most of a foreign language in their
classes: this year we had Maths classes taught in French and RS
in Italian. There was also an international menu in the Dining Hall
and a House Quiz in the evening with rounds ranging from pop
group names to celebrated Disney songs in foreign languages.
This year the quiz was won by Queen’s house by the narrowest of
margins.
Mr Mike Duffy
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and Activities
Debating Society Report 2013-14
Debating Highlights
If any part of the life of St Peter’s School can be testament to
our attempt to appreciate the scale and importance of the world
around us then it is the Debating Society. One of our first debates
of the year grappled with internationally-pressing issues as we
emulated the lawmakers of the Commons with a debate on Syrian
intervention.
Later on, 5 November saw a debate of great historical scale, as
we opened up the Debating Society to a Probus audience to
contest ‘This house believes Guy Fawkes was a freedom fighter.’
Unfortunately they were swayed by the adept opposition of Toby
Latham, Patrick Litten and Luis Fox who soiled the memory of our
most famous alumnus and took the victory, tarnishing Fawkes
as little more than an early-day terrorist despite the best efforts
of the proposition – Helen Taylor, Ben Turvill and Andrey Fokin.
The motion was carried in the former’s favour by only six votes, a
small margin. Guy Fawkes’ status is an issue that still rages: hero
or villain?
Debates later on in the Christmas Term analysed the sanctity of
the nation’s institutions, with ‘This house believes hereditary peers
should be restored to the House of Lords’ and ‘This house believes
religion should be kept in the private domain’ proving the most
rousing. In both cases the proposition took victory, which shows
the power of the spoken word in producing two rather dissimilar
results.
But it was ‘This house believes feminism has won its battle’ that
proved the highlight of the Christmas Term, certainly in terms
of spectacle. It proved the power of debating as a medium for
discussion and freedom of expression and particularly the potency
of that spirit at St Peter’s. An atmosphere of tension was tangible
in the Lecture Theatre as supporters from both sides flocked to
hear a debate that was to split the Sixth Form down the middle.
Alex Eyre, Jonny Fry and India Brattan pitched themselves against
Ben Turvill, Ellie Martin and Bussy Wells. The flame of this debate
was kept alive over many days!
On a lighter note, Christmas was accommodated in the debate
‘This house believes Father Christmas should be prosecuted’.
The winning team, the proposition, succeeded in condemning
Father Christmas for various (imagined?) crimes. The proposition’s
speeches were marvels of political eloquence reminiscent of the
soap-box debates of Speakers’ Corner. Will Fynn and Jonny Fry
whet their teeth for senior inter-house debating. Lily Howells
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received her baptism
of fire with characteristic
spirit in her promising fight for the
opposition.
The second season of debating in the Easter Term was dominated
by the inter-house competitions. Clifton and School fought
their way through stiff opposition to the grand finals where
the motion ‘This house believes austerity is doing the UK more
harm than good’ was contested in gladiatorial style with School
proposing and Clifton opposing. School fielded an experienced
and intelligent side of Will Fynn, Jonny Fry and Alistair Duffey,
Moir for Dronfield. They debated the motion ‘This House believes
that nuclear power is essential to a green future’ on Thursday
1 May. Never have I seen a junior final so closely matched and
of so high a standard and, although School were crowned the
ultimate victors of the junior competition, Dronfield composed
themselves marvellously and presented arguments of great scope
and integrity.
Certainly in terms of passion and dedication to the art of debating
I do not think this academic year has ever been surpassed at St
Peter’s. I would particularly like to thank my Vice-President, Jonny
Fry, an adept speaker and authoritative judge whose debating skills
will no doubt help him to great things as he goes on to read Law. I
would like to thank anyone who took part in debates as audience,
competitor or judge whether as part of the Debating Society’s
weekly cycle or in the inter-house competition. It is down to you
that the society can remain relevant and important to Peterites as
we endeavour to question the world around us.
Thank you.
Benedict Turvill (LVI)
who were evenly matched by their opposites from Clifton: Toby
Latham, Ben Turvill and Alice Rhodes. The audience excelled in
their participation in this debate and house loyalty was visible
in the passion and incisiveness behind the questions from the
floor. The tension of the debating chamber did not die at the
debate’s end and was only resolved when the result was revealed
to the two sides after lengthy deliberation from the judges. At
four o’clock on Thursday 6 May, three hours after the first speech,
Clifton was awarded victory.
But debating prowess is not solely the preserve of the Sixth Form
at St Peter’s. The final debates of the year in the Summer Term
saw School versus Dronfield in the concluding debate of what
had been a gruelling and hard-fought junior inter-house debating
competition with many good teams falling at the wayside
before these juggernauts: George O’Neill, Alice Jackson and Rose
Gabbertas for School; Olivia Calvert, Pippa Simpson and Nicole
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President of the Debating Society, 2013-14
Debating colours this year were awarded to Benedict Turvill
(Clifton) and Jonny Fry (School)
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and Activities
A day in Parliament for International
Women’s Day
During October last year, I carried out work-experience for
a week at Julian Sturdy’s office in York. Following this, in
March, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity of
shadowing Julian Sturdy in Parliament for the day in honour
of International Women’s Day, which this year had the theme
of ‘Inspiring Change’. The idea of having Sixth-Form girls from
different constituencies as interns for the day was to give us the
opportunity to experience first-hand what MPs do on a daily
basis and hopefully to encourage women to be more involved in
politics.
I felt so lucky to have the chance to visit such an incredible place,
especially as during my AS-levels I have taken such an interest in
politics and the people involved in it.
home, I was taken to see the House of Lords and was able to
watch some of a debate.
Overall, I had the best day I could imagine. It was so interesting
and I cannot believe how much I learned in one day! I felt like
seeing everything really helped me to understand how everything
works and to ‘get my head around it’. Everyone I came across
during the day, from MPs to doormen to security to civil service
and the people working with Julian were exceptionally helpful and
spoke to me as if on their level. I really enjoyed myself and I am
very grateful for being given the opportunity.
Bea Rhodes-Blangsted (LVI)
My day began with a quick tour of
Westminster and Portcullis House.
Portcullis House is where some of the
MPs’ offices are contained and also
Select Committee rooms for debate.
After that I was given a tour inside
Number 10 Downing Street with girls
of my age from other constituencies. I
understand that it is very difficult to get
into Number 10, so we were very lucky
– it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It was also good to meet other girls who
shared an interest in politics.
When the tour had finished I went back
to Westminster Hall where we had
lunch on Parliament Terrace, which has
the most amazing view over the River
Thames; it made it better that it was a
really sunny day as well. During lunch,
I was able to talk to Julian on my own;
he was really lovely, easy to talk to and
open to answering any questions.
After that I went to the House of
Commons’ chamber for an hour and a
half to watch debates, including one on
women in Afghanistan, which was really
interesting!
At four o’clock I had afternoon tea in
the Speaker’s apartments. We were
treated to cakes, sandwiches and a
wide selection of drinks. The House of
Commons Speaker John Bercow gave
a speech along with a selection of
inspirational women. Before returning
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Exploration Week 2014
Following their return after the AS examination period, the Lower
Sixth returned to ‘Exploration Week 2014’, a week of different
learning experiences incorporating some university-style lectures
and practical activities, some careers guidance opportunities and
teambuilding and debating experiences.
We began the week with a special one-day conference looking
at media and identity in the 21st Century. Entitled Published and
be Damned, guest speakers Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Katherine
Downes, William Bartlett and Gareth Barlow took us through their
careers and insights into the media industry.
The week also included a number of staff-led seminars and
practical sessions that took pupils away from the A-Level syllabus,
including Courtroom Drama, Completing Cryptic Crosswords,
Beginners’ Italian, Code-breaking and Behavioural Economics.
Staff expertise also saw pupils drawn into lectures on Stargazing,
Philosophy, Advertising and Restorative Justice and many more,
whilst external speakers added variety to the week with
lectures and sessions on such diverse topics as Forensic Science,
Flower-arranging, Pathways to Success and Business Risk.
There was a day of public speaking and debating workshops led by
the English Speaking Union, and a UCAS preparation day, focusing
on the application system, tips on personal statements and other
insights into the process. Following this we also put on sessions
of a more practical nature, such as a cookery masterclass, chess
games and bicycle maintenance.
All-in-all the six-day programme provided some really interesting
opportunities for something a bit different and the Lower Sixth
should be commended for their whole-hearted approach to their
engagement in this week of exploration.
Mr Ben White
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City of York Independent/State School
Partnership at St Peter’s, 2013-2014
As the York Independent/State School Partnership (ISSP) entered
its eighth year this year, students and staff from St Peter’s took
part in several of the exciting events which are offered annually by
the partnership.
In November ten pupils aged from Fourth to Upper-Sixth Form
visited The University of York’s Centre for Applied Human Rights
for an evening entitled ‘Opinionated!’ The evening began with
introductory speeches from experts on human rights. These
included Andres Jaroslavsky, an Argentinian national who is Project
and Outreach Coordinator for ‘York Human Rights City Project’
as well as being Country Co-ordinator for Amnesty International
(Venezuela and Paraguay); and Abdiaziz Ibrahim, a Somalian
freelance journalist who was arrested and imprisoned in 2013 for
reporting crimes perpetrated by Somalian forces in an internallydisplaced peoples’ camp in Mogadishu. It was an excellent
opportunity for pupils to debate questions on the legal and
political aspects of human rights, as well as to discuss these issues
in small groups before a plenary question-and-answer session
with the experts.
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March brought the annual ISSP Masterclass series, with classes
ranging from using physics to create computer games to the
philosophy of memory; from Gothic literature at York Minster
to discussions about the causes of conflict in troubled parts
of the world. The aims of these annual classes are to offer
something that pupils will rarely encounter in the course of their
normal school curriculum and to involve as many students and
teachers from the 11 schools of the partnership as possible. Two
masterclasses were hosted by St Peter’s in collaboration with
other schools.
The Art Department worked with the Joseph Rowntree School
and combined the ancient and modern to produce very different
images of one natural object . The 25 year 9-11 pupils from
local schools worked from observation and the illustrations
of Ernst Haeckel to make images that combined traditional
etching techniques using zinc plate and nitric acid with digital
photography. There were some very exciting outcomes from
students, many of whom were unfamiliar with both processes.
Meanwhile the Physics Department worked with Bootham School
to host a Masterclass on Stargazing. 24 pupils from Years 7 and 8
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it was interesting to hear what people the same age as you who
are not at your school are up to.
‘I’m really glad I was able to go to the event. For me, the best part
was coming away with my own blog and meeting people from
other schools in York.’
Meanwhile, the ISSP has continued to run regular term-time
classes amongst which features the GCSE Latin class. 24 year 9
pupils from eight schools arrived at St Peter’s in September for
their first two-hour class of the year, and their first taste of Latin.
After ten months they have learned as much Latin as many pupils
do in three years, and have visited the British Museum to examine
objects from the Roman world to bring the language to life. With
my departure, the Latin class has moved to The Mount for the
second year of their course, where they should continue to thrive.
spent their time at St Peter’s exploring what they might be doing
in the future if they were to become professional astronomers,
giving the department a chance to use the cloud chamber and to
play with dry ice.
In July, the Writing a World conference was held at Huntington
School for students from year 11 and above. Workshops were run
by professional writers: Mike Kenny, an internationally successful
playwright whose adaptations have included the York Mystery
Plays and Blood + Chocolate, spoke about how to turn ideas
into scripts; Tom Harper taught pupils how to add tension and
suspense to their writing; and Carole Bromley, a published poet
and Creative Writing tutor for the University of York, showed
pupils how to write poetry that brings ideas to vivid and thoughtprovoking life. Other workshops focused on writing news and
feature articles to a professional standard and how to create a
successful and enticing blog. This workshop was chosen by Katie
Harrison, who had this to say:
‘The two teachers who ran the session are both successful
bloggers who have written books stemming from their blogs
which made it more interesting as we could learn how they
became so successful and they were able to give us useful tips on
what they’d learned in the process. I came away from the morning
with my own blog and lots of ideas to help me make it successful,
such as using social media. They set us the deadline of a few days
after the course and by that time we had to email our first blog
post. It was a really good idea as it meant we actually had to learn
and listen, otherwise we’d never have got it done.
The ISSP is a truly remarkable organisation which showcases the
vibrancy and variety of learning opportunities for pupils in York.
It has been a great to see pupils from every year group and staff
from three departments involved in ISSP events this year, and
there are more in the planning stages. The role of St Peter’s in the
partnership is set to continue to thrive into next year and beyond.
Miss Kat Barker
‘For the second part of the day I learned about fictional characters
and how to create them, and then did some creative writing. It
involved a different group from in the morning so I got to meet
lots of people from other schools, and this was another positive as
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United Kingdom Mathematics Trust
Challenges 2013-2014
Senior Team Challenge
James Greenall, Maria Mikhaylenko, Bill Mo and Simon
Tang competed in the regional final of the United Kingdom
Mathematics Trust Senior Team Challenge, at Fulford School in
November. The competition tests mathematical, communication
and teamwork skills, and students compete against teams from
other schools and colleges from their region. 18 schools from the
county were represented and the St Peter’s team were placed
sixth.
Senior Mathematics Challenge
This challenge encourages mathematical reasoning, precision
of thought, and fluency in using mathematical techniques. In
November 33 St Peter’s Sixth-Form students took part. Seven
received bronze awards, and 11 gained silver and gold. Certificates
were awarded to James Greenall, Maria Mikhaylenko, Ivan Cheng,
Bill Mo, Simon Tang, George Gao, Luis Fox and Georgia Calvert.
Senior UKMT Mathematical Kangaroo
Owing to their high marks in the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge,
James Greenall, Bill Mo, Simon Tang, George Gao and Luis Fox
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were invited to take part in the Senior Kangaroo round of the
competition in December. The questions for this round are set
for the best school-aged mathematicians from across Europe and
beyond. They all performed well, with James receiving a Certificate
of Merit.
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and Activities
Year 10 Team Mathematics Competition
Four Fourth-Form students made the short journey to Bootham
School in March to compete in the regional round of the Further
Maths Support Programme Team Challenge. The competition
comprised several rounds, all requiring teamwork and a range of
mathematical skills, including flexible approaches to problemsolving and a pre-studied round on base-six arithmetic. The St
Peter’s team of Luke Dunsmore, Robbie Brown, Katherine Spencer
and Daniel Kondratiev worked well together throughout a
thoroughly enjoyable afternoon to finish in fourth place out of the
17 teams competing.
Junior Team Challenge
In April, Zaki Ward and Jack Hargrave, together with Fergus
Waterhouse and Jamie Dunsmore from St Olave’s, competed
in the regional final of the UKMT Team Challenge at the Mount
School. 25 teams competed. There was a group competition, a
crossnumber, a head-to-head and a relay race. They worked very
hard during the day on these activities and finished third overall.
Intermediate British Mathematical Olympiad
and Kangaroo
Jack Robins was invited to sit the United Kingdom Mathematics
Trust Intermediate Maths Olympiad following his outstanding
performance on the Intermediate Maths Challenge in February.
This is a national competition and only the best mathematicians
are able to cope with the very challenging questions. Around
1,600 students participated. Jack performed very well indeed and
was awarded a merit.
Following their excellent performance in the Maths Challenge,
Jack Hargrave, Zaki Ward, Rory Winterburn, Oskar FraserKrauss, Christian Brennan, Luke Dunsmore, Will Quinn, Wendy
Wan, Sandy Eyre, Katherine Spencer and Min Lee were invited
to sit the European Kangaroo paper. The questions involved
thought-provoking situations requiring the use of logic as well as
mathematical understanding, and pupils from over 40 countries
in Europe and beyond took part. Jack and Oskar were awarded a
Certificate of Merit for their excellent performances.
Mr David Spencer
Intermediate Mathematics Challenge
This challenge is targeted at the top third of pupils in English
schools. The question papers are designed to make students
think by using mathematical techniques to solve non-standard
problems. In February, 67 St Peter’s middle-school students took
part, with 16 pupils achieving a gold certificate, 26 a silver and 14
a bronze.
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Maths Inspiration lectures,
West Yorkshire Playhouse
Maths Inspiration is one of the largest maths enrichment
programmes for teenagers in the UK. It is a chance for pupils to
experience the UK’s most inspiring maths speakers live, in big
venues, presenting mathematics in the context of exciting, realworld situations. In March a group of Lower-Sixth Further Maths
students attended the Maths Inspiration lectures at the West
Yorkshire Playhouse. There were three talks:
Ria Symonds: The Friendship Paradox of
Facebook
Ever wondered why your friends appear to have more friends
than you? Or why when you go to the gym everyone appears
fitter than you? That’s because it is mathematically true! With the
help of Kevin Bacon and social networking sites like Facebook, Ria
talked through a mathematically engaging journey of friendships,
networks and the world-wide web.
Hugh Hunt: Maths in a Spin
Spinning things are strange. A spinning ball bounces in curious
ways. Why does a spinning top stand up? Why doesn’t a rolling
wheel fall over? In this lively talk, Hugh Hunt demonstrated the
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mechanics of lots of spinning things, including gyroscopes and
bouncing bombs. He even threw a few boomerangs.
Professor of Risk, David Spiegelhalter:
The Subtle Science of Uncertainty
Do you know what you will be doing tomorrow? What about
in ten years’ time? Living with uncertainty can be unsettling,
whether it concerns future exam grades, passing the driving test,
or your football team’s battle with relegation. David Spiegelhalter
tried some probability tricks and gave examples of risky behaviour
to help understand, and even enjoy, your own uncertainty.
Mr David Spencer
News, Events
and Activities
Community Action
This year has seen a very busy and varied Community Action
programme, from hosting and assisting with events and
fundraising projects in school to volunteering with many local
charities off-site.
Proceedings opened, as usual, with the Macmillan Cancer Support
Coffee Morning in September: cakes and drinks were sold to as
many people as possible during break and lunchtime, raising funds
for an excellent cause. Saturdays and Sundays have been busy
throughout the year, when we have welcomed a lot of visitors
from different organisations into school. Emma Walker organised
a series of popular Sunday afternoon tea parties for guests from
Contact the Elderly, and our Silver Surfers have come into school
on Saturdays to learn more about computers, guided by Sixth
Formers.
We have enjoyed many visits from the children at The Island, a
charity which provides mentoring for young people. Sixth Formers
have run regular cookery classes and craft sessions, and these have
been very much in demand, with waiting lists both for the guests
and for our volunteers keen to help out. Some of our pupils have
been fortunate enough to have had the experience of working
alongside members of Lollipop in drumming and martial arts
workshops tailored to the needs of hearing-impaired children, and
Alice Rhodes volunteered her services as a lifeguard at the Lollipop
swimming sessions in the Autumn Term.
Perhaps not surprisingly, St Peter’s has something of a reputation
for its Christmas parties and this year has been no exception. In
December, in a packed Queen Anne Dining Room, pupils ran a
rousing pirates- and princesses-themed party for the children from
The Island: a very lively event, with everyone joining in the games,
a quiz, and a highly competitive team challenge to make the best
human Christmas decoration. On the same day in the Memorial
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Trust for visually-impaired adults has continued to flourish, and a
good number of Sixth Formers enjoy visiting Wilberforce tenants.
Three Sixth Formers have also been involved in writing articles for
Insight, the magazine produced by Wilberforce for their tenants,
staff and supporters.
Hall we hosted the Lollipop Christmas party, when St Peter’s Sixth
Formers helped with crafts, games and … sumo wrestling. The
following day saw the Memorial Hall in party mood again, this
time to welcome over 60 guests to the annual Community Action
Christmas party. Pupils and staff joined in with the festivities, led
as ever by the inimitable team of Mr David Spencer on piano and
Mr Christopher Hall, Bridlington’s finest bingo caller.
It has been encouraging to see so many pupils taking the
opportunity to gain experience by helping out in St Olave’s and
Clifton Prep during lessons, lunchtimes and after school. Off-site,
Sixth Formers have worked in several charity shops in the city
and have also spent Saturday afternoons helping at SNAPPY
(Special Needs Activities and Play Provision for York), supporting
children with special needs. Our friendship with the Wilberforce
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At the end of the summer term there was a lot to celebrate.
We were invited to go back to The Glen for Volunteering Week,
and some 30 Fifth Formers tackled the challenge with great
enthusiasm. Mr Noy Scott recruited a lively team, and with
the theme of Le Grand Départ of the Tour de France in mind,
the garden was smartened up and refurbished with new plants,
murals and a splendid two-tier sandpit, accessible to the children
who use wheelchairs. The pupils also decorated three bedrooms,
creating canvasses for each room under the watchful eye of
Mr Hall, and the children and staff at The Glen were delighted
with the result. All the pupils involved set themselves very high
standards, learning new skills along the way. In the same week,
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the Fifth Form volunteers were joined by the whole Third Form
as we hosted MENCAP Day. Over 70 service-users from MENCAP
came with their carers to spend the day trying out different
sports and workshops. There was tennis, football, cycling and
basketball for wheelchair users, as well as boccia and kurling. The
drama workshops went down really well with everyone, as did the
hugely-popular and inspiring drumming sessions. It was a privilege
commitment and enthusiasm to volunteering, giving many
hours of their time. When interviewed by the Lord Mayor they all
stressed how much they had learned from their experiences.
I have really enjoyed coming back to oversee the CA programme,
and it has been a pleasure to see so many pupils wishing to be
involved. I would like to thank Mrs Chapman, Mrs Dawson, Mrs
Robinson, Miss Ullstein and Miss Waddington for their unfailing
support over the last two years and I am delighted that Mrs
Chapman will be taking on the role of running Community Action
next term. I wish her and the team every success: I know that
Community Action will go from strength to strength.
Mrs Julie Bainbridge
to hold this event at St Peter’s, and we are delighted that Alison
Pike (OP) from MENCAP was so keen to help us to offer this
fantastic experience. She and her team were an example to us all.
The celebrations continued when we were invited to the Mansion
House to see Emma Walker, Kerra Williams and Henry Wong
receive Special Awards for their volunteering from the Lord
Mayor of York. All three pupils have been outstanding in their
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Inspirations 2014
Harley Shaw, Hannah Whitehouse and Jess House attended
Inspirations, at Elvington Air Museum in June 2014. Inspirations is
an annual event which showcases the skill and creativity of young
people across York and North Yorkshire, particularly in the areas of
science, technology, engineering and maths.
Competing alongside 150 students from across the region,
Harley, Hannah and Jess presented themselves and their Design
Technology projects to a selection of judges from engineering and
business. Judges were particularly interested in the commercial
potential of Harley’s garden-tool trolley, and the quality of Jess’s
Garden Cloche.
Hannah’s consideration of bringing quality to self-assembly
furniture won her the Key Stage 5 Innovation Award, presented by
RBS, who were one of the main sponsors of the event. She also
received the Key Stage 5 Resistant Materials award.
Mr Jon Whitehouse
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The Young Enterprise Company
Programme
To mark the 50th Anniversary of Young Enterprise, Kingston
University Business School were asked to study the impact of the
Young Enterprise scheme on the UK economy.
The study showed Young Enterprise alumni are twice as likely to
end up running their own firms as their peers. Their businesses
have a larger turnover; they are more likely to employ people;
they are more innovative, and their owners are more resilient in
surviving the recession.
Students at St Peter’s School have been actively involved in the
Young Enterprise Company Programme for the last six years. Our
Young Enterprise team for 2013-14, known as Adapt, came up
with the idea for a range of stickers to personalise iPad and iPhone
chargers. The team designed and manufactured a range of stickers,
and took their product to a number of events throughout the
year.
In March the team attended Venturefest at York Racecourse, an
event which showcases revolutionary ideas, the people
who create them and the people
who want to invest in them.
Young Enterprise teams from
across North Yorkshire had the
opportunity to exhibit alongside
professional businesses, and
as part of a competition were
interviewed by representatives
from York Small Businesses. Adapt
were judged to be the best Young
Enterprise company at the event
this year.
Two days later four of the team
travelled to the Young Enterprise National Trade Fair at Stratfordupon-Avon, and after five hours of trading and interviews Adapt
were placed second out of 46 teams attending the event.
At the Young Enterprise York Area Finals, Adapt gave a four-minute
presentation to a panel of judges from York businesses, and
were put through their paces with five consecutive interviews,
examining various aspects of their business. Competing against
seven other teams including Ampleforth and Queen Ethelburga’s,
Adapt won three of the six awards:
Best Innovation and Entrepreneurship
supported by The Merchant Adventurers, York
Best Marketing, Sales and Customer Focus
supported by Novotel York
Best Company Presentation supported by Elite Event Solutions
Adapt were also named Best Company in the York region, taking
them to the next round of the competition in May at the
Merchant Adventurers’ Hall.
The team came up against tough opposition from other YE teams
at the North Yorkshire County Finals. Adapt were runners-up to
Skipton Girls’ High School, who had taken the Yorkshire Rose and
re-designed it into a modern and dynamic image.
Georgia Calvert, Carol Chen, James Field, Holly Harrison, Marianne
Spencer, Matthew Tse and Hannah Whitehouse each represented
Adapt at the key events, and it is their drive and enthusiasm that
enabled the team to be a success this year. Ably supported by
Andrey Fokin, Gemma Willink, Patrick Knutson, Matthew Jones and
Henry Wong, the team are congratulated on their achievements.
Mr Jon Whitehouse
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York Roman History Day,
Saturday 14 June
Roman history was brought vividly back to life in the summer
term with York Roman History Day taking place at St Olave’s
and St Peter’s one Saturday morning. The day was
organised by the York Classical Association to
commemorate 2,000 years since the death
of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome,
which is being celebrated on 19th
August 2014.
Over 50 pupils aged 12-16 from
12 schools in York took part in the
extravaganza, with representatives
from Joseph Rowntree,
Huntington, Archbishop Holgate’s,
Manor, St Olave’s, York College,
All Saints’, Bootham, Easingwold,
Millthorpe, York High and St Peter’s
Schools. The focal point of the
day’s programme was a Roman
cavalry demonstration given by
re-enactment society ‘Comitatus’,
who used horses Apollo and
Albus to display how
Roman cavalry
and infantry
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operated in three different eras of the Roman Empire. The cavalry
was a prestigious unit within the Roman army, being both betterequipped and better-paid than infantrymen.
The pupils heard from James Harrison, Head of Classics at
Bootham School, who started the day with a beginners’ guide
to Roman history. York archaeologist Patrick Ottaway then gave
a talk about Roman York and brought artefacts ranging from
shards of pottery to dice and a comb made of bone and a piece
of carved Whitby jet for pupils to examine (courtesy of the York
Archaeological Trust). The day ended with a talk by Dr Penny
Goodman from Leeds University, who outlined how Augustus, as
first Emperor of Rome, has been remembered through history.
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It is testament to the interest and excitement surrounding Classics
and Latin in York that pupils from such a wide range of schools
were motivated to spend a Saturday learning more about the
Romans. It was tremendous fun to see horses cantering around
the riverside cricket pitch, and really brought the Romans to life.
Miss Kat Barker
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Lectures and lunches inspire
students and the public
A wide range of visitors to the school again inspired audiences
with their experiences and ideas. Our evening Public Lecture
programme continues to be very popular and is well supported by
both our own community and that of the city and beyond. Our
daytime Sixth-Form lectures complement the Global Perspectives
programme, whilst our occasional invitation lunches allow smaller
groups of students to engage more closely with a guest speaker.
The highlight of the year was
our partnership with the York
Literature Festival, with four
events at the end of March –
two organised by us and two
hosted here for the festival.
Alan Johnson MP, former Home
Secretary, was interviewed on
stage by Elly Fiorentini of BBC
Radio York about the struggles
of his childhood recounted
in his memoir This Boy. We
enjoyed the company of Sir
Andrew Motion, the former
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Poet Laureate, for a day. He worked with a group of middle-school
English pupils in the Library, spoke at a Literary Tea for LitSoc and
then read from his new book The Customs House as part of his
Public Lecture in the evening. The next weekend the Memorial
Hall hosted the BBC’s John Humphrys who was in conversation
with Festival Director, Miles Salter – though at times Miles
found himself being interviewed by John Humphrys! Professor
Robert Winston closed the Festival by being interviewed by Paul
Silverwood, Headmaster of Queen Margaret’s School.
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The Summer Term saw Andy McNab visit us to talk about
his transformation, via the Army and the SAS, from being a
lost teenager drifting into crime to an internationally bestselling author. We enjoyed another partnership in June with
the University’s York Festival of Ideas and hosted three events,
including a debate on the relationship between religion, science
and medicine chaired by Ruth Gledhill of The Times with a
glittering array of academics from across the world.
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There were two highlights to the Sixth-Form Lecture programme.
Firstly, we welcomed hypnotist, magician and showman Martin
Taylor to the school for the first time and enjoyed an uncanny
show during which he mesmerised and entertained the Sixth
Form, with a large proportion of them keen to take part. Martin
Taylor’s technique is based upon hypnotism without the use of
hypnosis, using instead powers of suggestion to yield remarkable
results from his subjects – with lessons to be learnt about how we
think and behave in response to others and in groups.
Secondly, to mark Holocaust Memorial Day we were honoured
to welcome Holocaust survivor Iby Knill to talk to the Sixth Form
about her memories, as told in her book, The Woman Without a
Number. Mrs Knill’s account was frank and powerful without being
sentimental. The Sixth-Formers were spellbound – I have never
heard a hall with 250 pupils in it as silent as it was during her talk.
Other talks included one on safer driving, by Richard Auton and
a lecture entitled ‘Seven Billion People Want Everything You’ve
Got’ by Anthony Day, which challenged us to think about issues of
sustainability with a growing population and a worldwide increase
in prosperity and demand for consumption.
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Our lunch guests this year covered the political spectrum. Hugh
Bayley MP spoke about his work both as York Central’s MP and
as President of NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly. Long-standing
councillor Carol Runciman talked about her experience in local
and national work for the Liberal Democrats, particularly in
education in York having been cabinet member for Education,
Children and Young People. In the summer we were visited by York
Outer’s MP, Julian Sturdy, newly elected in 2010, who spoke of
his work so far and the prospects for the city and country in the
future – not least with the General Election looming. More of that,
no doubt, in next year’s Peterite.
Mr Ben Fuller
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Publish and be damned –
media and identity in the 21st century
A one-day event for
the Lower Sixth
Our one-day conference
marked the return of the Lower
Sixth to school after AS exams
and gave an opportunity to
think broadly about some of
the issues facing media and
society today.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy of
Channel Four News was
our keynote speaker and
opened the day. He posed the question ‘What is
Journalism for?’ In answering this question he said the media
must be trusted by viewers and readers and that the media should
hold the powerful to account. He explained some of the risks
journalists faced, having been in Iraq and Afghanistan last year
with security-guard protection, but that journalists must remain
independent especially in a conflict zone. ‘When journalists start
carrying guns we’re finished’, he said.
Krishnan addressed the question of
change in the media and explained the
importance of Twitter and other social
media, most notably in the coverage
of the Arab Spring, and its value to
journalists in their work.
He was followed by Katherine
Downes, OP, from BBC Sport.
Katherine emphasised the need
to be multi-skilled, having started
her career at a small commercial
radio station before moving on
to BBC Brighton. Katherine inspired the Lower
Sixth with the opportunities available in the media; they were
impressed by how much she’s achieved in the ten years since
graduating. Summer 2014 is going to be busy for Katherine. Oli
Leedham (Clifton House) commented afterwards: ‘It sounds like
a great summer – reporting on Wimbledon, the Open and the
Commonwealth Games!’
After lunch we were joined
by William Bartlett, whose
company, Framestore,
recently won an Oscar
for the work done on
the film Gravity. He
not only showed us
how identity and
imagery could
be manipulated
through the
work Framestore does in
movies and advertising but spoke about
the importance of the industry. It provides great career
opportunities and is worth £3bn GDP to the UK.
William’s presentation was amazing – peeling back layers of work
and revealing some of the clever tricks which went into making
Gravity and the opening of Skyfall.
To close the day we were delighted to welcome
Gareth Barlow back to St Peter’s, to talk about
his life as a start-up farmer and his work on the
BBC’s Countryfile. Gareth is a great example to our
students to show how intelligent use of social media
and marketing – as well as a lot of hard work– can
build a business and a brand.
All-in-all, a varied day with lots to consider about
the changing role of the media in the world and the
opportunities it offers as a career and to support
success in business.
Mr Ben Fuller
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Science Department Trips and
Outreach 2014
Ogden Trust York Schools Science Partnership
This was the second year of the Ogden Trust Schools Science
(Physics) Partnership in York, with St Peter’s being the hub
school. We were delighted to welcome Canon Lee School into
the group to join Fulford School, Archbishop Holgate’s School,
The Joseph Rowntree School, Selby High School and the Manor
CE Academy. The schools work alongside the University of York
Physics Department’s Outreach Officer/Ogden Officer, Katherine
Leech. The aim of the partnership is to enhance the delivery and
uptake of Physics by promoting the subject within the partnership
schools, encouraging collaboration between them and giving their
teachers access to the best support and professional development
available. They aim to inspire young people to take Physics further.
This is an exciting initiative and we look forward to continuing to
strengthen relationships over the coming years.
Teacher trip to Boulby Underground
Science Facility
At the beginning of October the science being carried out in one
of the deepest mines in Europe, and its use in educating young
York scientists, was the focus for a group of teachers from St
Peter’s and other York schools. The teachers ventured 1,100 metres
below the surface of the earth to visit the Boulby Underground
Science Facility, based at the Boulby potash mine. The mine
is situated on the North Yorkshire coast near Loftus in East
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Cleveland, and is owned and operated by Cleveland Potash Ltd.
The Boulby Underground Science Facility is the only underground
laboratory in the UK, and one of only a few deep underground
science sites in the world. The facility (operated by the UK’s
Science and Technology Facilities Council – STFC) hosts the UK’s
Dark Matter Search Project. This project is looking for the missing
mass in the universe, alongside other projects such as studies of
geology, climate, the environment, life on Earth and beyond. Mark
Robinson, Andrew Rogerson (IOP Teacher Network Coordinator for
York) and I were joined by teachers from Yarm School, Ampleforth
College, Pocklington School, Selby High School, Queen Margaret’s
School and The Mount School. Following intensive safety briefings
we were kitted out in bright orange overalls, and proceeded to
the mine shaft. We passed through two airlocks to allow our ears
to become accustomed to the much greater air pressure at the
bottom. We then entered the industrial lift. The journey down
took six minutes (in a fast lift) and was extremely noisy due to
the large fans blowing down to ventilate the mine, and obviously
extremely dark when all torches were turned off. Underground
there were tunnels with cars and lorries and it was a ten-minute
walk to the research laboratory. It really was an experience of a
lifetime, both to see a working mine in full operation and also
to witness the extraordinary science that is taking place so deep
under Yorkshire, where cosmic radiation levels are reduced by a
factor of a million. Thank you to Dr Sean Paling, the manager of
the facility, for setting the visit up for us.
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Nuffield Placement Students’ Awards Ceremony
Later that same evening we were back in York to attend the
Nuffield/STEMNET awards ceremony in the Yorkshire Museum.
The ceremony was held for the Sixth Formers from local schools
who had taken part in research placements in various institutions
dealing with Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. An
exhibition of posters describing their experiences over the year
Our middle school was joined by J5 from St Olave’s, as well as
visiting pupils from Queen Margaret’s, Bootham School, Selby
High School and the Manor CE Academy. Starting with an
overview of the history of space flight, the lecture involved
videos and hands-on activities to help understand the
challenge that gravity poses and the importance of getting
into the right orbit. The lecture ended with a look to the
future, understanding recent steps towards commercial
space flight and the latest advances in the exploration of
our solar system, before the pupils headed back to Earth.
Laura said: ‘Space and astronomy is such an interesting topic, but
many don’t realise how they themselves can work in the field.
There are so many jobs in the UK in the space industry and it is
growing year on year. We need a greater number of students to
choose to train and work in the sector.’
Particle Physics:
Answer and Questions
occupied the Museum’s atrium and the winners were presented
with their well-earned Gold Crest Award certificates by Professor
Jim Matthew, President of the York Philosophical Society and
Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of York. Jenny
Frazer and Sam Philpott were the representatives from St Peter’s.
IOP Schools and Colleges Lecture
We were delighted
once again to host the
excellent Institute of
Physics (IoP) Schools
and Colleges Lecture,
which took place in midOctober. Laura Thomas,
one-time astrophysicist
from the University of
Edinburgh, and now
Space Ambassador
for European Space
Education Research
Office (ESERO),
demonstrated the physics
behind cosmic travel.
In the same month I attended the
Because Science is for Everyone
public lecture on Particle Physics:
Answers and Questions, by
Professor Brian Cox at Manchester
University. I was fortunate to
meet Brian at the event and
took the opportunity to ask him to sign a
photograph for Alice Rhodes. Alice had baked a space-rocket cake
with Brian pictured looking out of a window on the rocket. We
hope to be able to persuade Brian to come to St Peter’s to give a
lecture at some stage.
Guy Fawkes Public Lecture
The school held the fourth Guy Fawkes Public Lecture on Monday
18 November. The lecture was entitled The Large Hadron
Collider and the Higgs Boson: News from the Energy Frontier
by Professor Jon
Butterworth, Head
of the Department
of Physics and
Astronomy at
University College,
London. On 4
July 2012, the
ATLAS and CMS
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experiments at CERN announced the discovery of a new particle.
This particle, the Higgs Boson, is intimately involved with the
unification of two fundamental forces and the origin of mass and,
as such, in 1993 it was nicknamed ‘The God Particle’. Professor
Butterworth, who was one of several thousand scientists working
in the search at CERN, discussed the experiments, the discovery,
and what might come next now we have a deeper understanding
of the physics of the universe.
The Particle at the End of the Universe
On the following Saturday a group of students went to The
University of York Physics Department to listen to Professor Sean
Carroll on the subject of The Particle at the End of the Universe:
The Hunt for the Higgs and the Discovery
of a New World.
It was an absolute
pleasure to meet
Caltech physicist
and acclaimed writer
Sean Carroll, who
was in England to
receive the Winton
Prize for Science Books
at the Royal Society.
Institution of Engineering and Technology’s
First Lego League regional tournament
In December 2013, seven students – Rachael Simpson, Jack
Guffog, Lewis Hernaman, James Field, George Gao, Matthew
Tse and Tim Goodwin – demonstrated their science and
technology prowess, coming runners-up in the robotic challenge
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in the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) First Lego
League (FLL) regional tournament in Sheffield. Schools competed
against each other at Sheffield Hallam University. Each team,
made up of 9-16 year-olds, designed and programmed a robot
and then used it to solve problems and perform tasks. Teams were
judged on their ability to build and programme the robot, their
presentation and research skills and how well they cooperated
with each other and their competitors. Each school had ten weeks
to prepare for the event, with 24 regional tournaments taking
place across the country. The IET works to encourage young
people to consider technology- and engineering-related careers.
Stargazing Live 2014
In January the BBC once again
aired its series of Stargazing
Live programmes with Brian
Cox and Dara Ó Briain;
the themes of the three
programmes being Space
Weather, Space Exploration,
and the Milky Way and
Other Galaxies. St Peter’s
joined them, with the intention of inspiring thousands
of people to study and photograph the night sky and raise the
profile of British Astronomy, by holding its own Stargazing Live
evening. The event was run in conjunction with The University of
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IET Faraday Challenge Day - February
In February a team of six J5 pupils represented St Olave’s in
the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Faraday
Challenge Day at Fulford School. Teams had to use their STEM
skills together with their problem-solving, team-working and
communication skills in a hands-on-style approach as they
researched, designed and made prototype solutions to the
York Physics Department
and York Astronomical
Society who once
again turned out in
force with an amazing
array of telescopes.
Unfortunately we
were not blessed with
clear skies, but everyone
still enjoyed looking at the telescopes and we
were very grateful to the Friends of St Peter’s who again ran a
raffle and manned a food tent. Alongside the Astronomy/Physics
exhibition – including mobile planetarium, cloud chamber,
exhibitors, telescope retailers and hands-on things to do-we
broadened out to include some of the other sciences this year.
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust were present, and staff from CIRCLE,
the award-winning University of York research collaboration with
Flamingo Land, brought snakes, lizards and giant snails for guests
to see close-up. A huge sun hung above the stalls – as did a large
remote-control inflatable shark, which did lazy laps through the
air above the exhibition hall. The lecture by Mark Thompson, ‘The
People’s Astronomer’, was the centrepiece of the evening. Titled
A Voyage of Discovery, it was about the wonders of the universe
and how much we are learning about its secrets. After the lecture,
Mark signed copies of his book A Down to Earth Guide to the
Cosmos. Around 500 York residents including the Lord Mayor
attended the free lecture, with extra tickets allocated for the
stargazing and exhibition only. Demand for the event was huge,
with all tickets going. It was great to welcome people of all ages
from across York and the region to share in the wonder of science.
The enthusiasm it generated was infectious and we are already
looking forward to next year’s event.
genuinely tough, real-life engineering problem that they were
tasked with. The challenge was to construct a rocket, launch it
and design and build a transport system to carry the rocket three
metres from the storage facility to the launch site. Most teams
built small cars with motors and wheels; ours was an elaborate
pulley system like a cable-car. The eventual winners were the
Joseph Rowntree School, but the organiser from IET commented
that she has been judging these competitions for 17 years and
had never seen such a unique and imaginative design as the one
from our pupils.
Inaugural York
Schools Science Quiz
On Thursday 13 March we
held the inaugural York
Schools Science Quiz in the
Memorial Hall. Each school
represented was able
to enter two teams of four
pupils, with each team consisting of two year-12
and two year-11 pupils where possible and, for schools without
a Sixth Form, the teams would consist of four year-11 pupils.
Snack-type food was provided for everyone and, as well as prizes
for the winning teams, each pupil was provided with an 8 GB
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memory-stick thanks
to sponsorship
from the Ogden
Trust, and a water
bottle thanks to
sponsorship from
the Rotary Club
of York Vikings.
The students
all received
information and
freebies from the Society
of Biology, The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of
Physics. Altogether there were 21 pupil teams alongside three
teacher teams. Huntington School won after a tie-break, with
Archbishop Holgate’s second and Bootham School third. Selby
High School won the category of highest-scoring school without a
Sixth Form. The winning team received four £20 Amazon vouchers
with the winning team without a sixth form getting four £10
Amazon vouchers courtesy of the Ogden Trust. The event followed
exactly the same format as the St Peter’s School Science Quiz
that has been running for many years, and a huge ‘thank-you’
to Sarah McKie for putting together the quizzes and being the
Quizmaster at both events. The event, open to all the York schools,
should both strengthen the York Independent/State School
Partnership and the York Ogden Trust Schools Science Partnership,
and help to further develop links between our schools.
Intent on reversing the slump in our water-speed fortunes,
dozens of British engineering companies have rallied behind the
Quicksilver quest, and this collaboration is enabling considerable
progress to be made with the design and construction of the
350 mph, turbojet-powered superboat upon which British hopes
rest. The challenge of travelling on water at such speed places
an exceptional weight of demands upon the Quicksilver team.
Indeed, with an approximate fatality rate of 85% since 1940, the
record is one of the sporting world’s most hazardous competitions.
Nigel, founder and leader of the team, delivered a dynamic multimedia presentation to explain all about the project. There was
dramatic footage of previous water-speed attempts, illustrating
the high points and low points of 100 years of history. As part of
his presentation at St Peter’s, Nigel also explained how to join
the Quicksilver team’s Official Supporters’ Club, and had copies
of his latest book, Inspirations, on hand for those who wished to
purchase a copy.
National Science and Engineering Week
Public Lecture
As part of National Science and Engineering Week, on Thursday
20 March we hosted the next in our series of Public Lectures. We
were delighted to welcome Nigel Macknight, the leader of the
‘Quicksilver’ project,
Britain’s determined
bid to regain the
World Water Speed
Record, currently held
by the Australian Ken
Warby. It is 47 years
since Britain last
held this prestigious
international prize,
won for the nation
by Donald Campbell.
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Independent State School Partnership
Masterclass
At the end of March 2014, twenty-four year-7 and year-8 pupils
from local schools joined us at St Peter’s for an ISSP Masterclass
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on Stargazing. Following on from two excellent weeks at Bootham
School, where the pupils learned how to be successful amateur
astronomers, we had a look at what they might be doing in the
future if they turned professional. The pupils saw antimatter being
created by cosmic rays in front of their eyes in our huge cloudchamber. This also gave us an excuse to play with some dry ice!
We were then able to study the sun, live, using our solar telescope
and to investigate how astronomers work out the structure of the
sun by observing how it pulsates. A discussion about black holes
was a firm favourite as was a demonstration of a homemade radio
telescope made by Mr Parr. The pupils were able to carry on with
their exploration of space using the spectroscopes they had made
out of blank DVDs.
Eggs, they then had to try and build the longest, slowest marble
run they could manage, all against the clock and with a fixed
amount of equipment. The day involved lots of learning, not just
about science but also about teamwork, leadership and timemanagement. Everyone had a fun time and left with a memento.
May Public Lecture
We welcomed Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Visiting
Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, on
Wednesday 14 May to deliver a public lecture entitled Black Holes,
White Holes and Worm Holes. Professor Bell Burnell was educated
at The Mount School in York and it was a pleasure to invite her
back to the city. The legendary astronomer, who discovered pulsars
over 40 years ago, gave a fascinating introduction to black holes
and why we believe that they exist. She told us about white holes
and discussed whether travel through a worm hole to another
universe was possible. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society and
former President of the Institute of Physics and this year was
also made President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh – the first
woman to hold this post.
Clifton Science Week
Also in March, St Peter’s Physics Department was able to
contribute to Science Week at Clifton. Mr Bateman spent some
time with every age group from Reception to year 3 talking
about energy, where it comes from, where it goes to, and how it
is changed from one form to another. He showed them a steam
turbine and used the exercise bikes and water wheel made by Mr
Deri Clarke (the father of one of the CPS pupils) to demonstrate
the principles. He also supervised the children in their lunchtimes
when they got the chance to look through a solar telescope, use
prisms to make rainbows and burn holes in things with sunlight
and magnifying glasses. This was followed by a lecture for the
whole of Reception in the Lecture Theatre with some fun science
demonstrations, and finally on 26 March we had the whole of
year 2 over to take part in physics challenges in the Newton and
Thomson Laboratories. Working in teams the children had to
build the tallest Lego tower that could support a box of Creme
Fifth NE/NW SCS Technicians’ Conference
In May, for the fifth year running, St Peter’s hosted the NorthEast North-West Standing Committee for Science Technicians’
conference. This was attended by over 80 technicians largely from
the leading independent schools across the north of England, and
it continues to grow and provide a focal point for the technician
community. Thanks to the St Peter’s technicians, especially Mark
Robinson, who led one of the workshops, for helping to make the
day such a big success.
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and 3D printers, as well as designing electronic components.
The whole exercise gave the students insight into the roles and
responsibilities of an engineering team as they not only attempted
to create their prototypes but then had to justify their ideas, costs
and implementation plans to the judges. The winning team on the
day were The Manor CE Academy.
IOP Workshop
The Institute of Physics held a day of workshops at Pocklington
School in June to help non-specialist Physics teachers and Mark
Edwards was asked to deliver a series of workshops on ‘Miscellany’.
This meant that he had to be prepared for questions about
anything! The topics ranged from practicals about waves that
inspired pupils to ironing out some misconceptions about energy,
electricity and transformers. He was also asked what would
happen if you were in space without a space suit. The feedback
was excellent and Mark has been invited to give a lecture in
Northallerton next year by one of the inspired delegates.
IET Faraday Challenge Day
In 2014 the Tour de France had three of its early stages in the UK,
with a good number of schools lying close to the route. The IET
Education programme ran an IET Faraday Challenge Day miniseason in the Yorkshire region, inspired by the Tour de France’s
Grand Départ. St Peter’s hosted the event on Thursday 5 June. The
students were modelling and printing using 3D design software
York Festival of Ideas 2013
In June St Peter’s hosted three lectures as part of this year’s York
Festival of Ideas, which was founded in 2011 by the University
of York. York is a city of culture, a city of learning and a city of
science; above all, it is a city of ideas. The York Festival of Ideas
aims to celebrate the success of the City of York as a home to an
exciting and vibrant, intellectually-curious community and we
look forward to continuing to support this venture in the future.
For the first lecture we welcomed ‘the voice of Le Tour’, Ned
Boulting. Ned has spent over a decade following the Tour de
France for ITV, and his talk offered a glimpse behind the scenes
of this unique TV production. From this extraordinarily privileged
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perspective, Ned has developed an enduring passion for the
greatest race on earth, in all its chaotic splendour, from the villains
to the heroes, with all shades of comedy (and tragedy) in between.
The lecture was hugely entertaining and Ned’s appearance
created a real buzz in the audience. Ned also chatted with pupils,
staff and guests after the talk, and signed copies of his book. The
theme of the Festival was Chaos and Order, and these were two
ideas that Professor Monica
Grady examined in depth,
with particular reference to
the solar system. In her talk,
Professor Grady explored
how the solar system was
formed, and how we can
learn about this from the
meteorites that rain onto
the Earth. Along the way,
she considered just why the
dinosaurs became extinct,
and the importance of
keeping penguin feathers
out of Antarctic ice. Monica
Grady is Professor of
Planetary and Space Sciences
at the Open University (OU)
in Milton Keynes and in 2003
gave the Royal Institution
Christmas lectures on the theme Voyage in Space and Time. Our
contribution to the festival finished with us hosting a debate
and discussion about Religion, Science and Medicine. Chaired by
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Ruth Gledhill from The Times newspaper, the debate also featured
Professor Peter Harrison (University of Queensland), Professor
Ron Numbers (University of Madison-Wisconsin), Professor Janet
Golden (Rutgers University), Dr Tara Alberts (University of York),
Professor Erez Manela (Harvard University) and Canon Chris
Collingwood (York Minster). The evening was structured around
the three history professors speaking about a series of questions.
Their talks were then discussed and debated by the rest of the
panel. The debate was far-reaching and interesting and provided a
lot of talking-points for our guests.
Ogden Schools Physicist of the Year Awards
On 23 June, The University of York hosted the inaugural Ogden
Schools Physicist of the Year Awards for this region. Schools and
sixth-form colleges across the region were asked to nominate
their most promising AS-level or year-11 students for the award,
which recognises ability as well as hard work, effort and dedication
to the study of Physics. The 28 students each received a certificate
of achievement, a £25 Book Token and a suggested list of science
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books to stimulate their curiosity even further. The Trust’s awardwinners are also eligible to apply for an Ogden Undergraduate
Science Scholarship if they go on to study Physics at university.
The awards were presented at a special ceremony at the
University’s Exhibition Centre by Professor Sarah Thompson, Head
of the University of York’s Department of Physics. Congratulations
to Alistair Duffey and Georgia Calvert who were the two recipients
from St Peter’s.
Mr David Morris
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Liverpool University Physics Olympics
This year the St Peter’s Physics Olympics team, comprising
Cormac Hopkinson, Maria Mikhaylenko, Tim Chiu and me,
accompanied by Mr Morris, headed to Liverpool University for a
day of unusual and difficult Physics challenges. The train journey
there gave us plenty of time to speculate about the challenges we
may be met with. We looked at past Fermi Quizzes as a mental
warm up, although this did little to calm our nerves. A Fermi
Quiz requires teams to make sensible estimates to the nearest
power of ten in answer to questions that you wouldn’t find on
your Physics exam paper, such as: ‘If all the Earth’s water were to
cover the surface of the Moon, how deep would the lunar ocean
be?’. We were competing against 36 other teams and, after an
introduction from the organisers, we were handed our Fermi Quiz
and got stuck into the first challenge. There were five challenges
and the Fermi Quiz, which was to be completed throughout the
day. The five challenges included taking measurements of gammaray absorption by aluminium, making a trebuchet by weighting
one end and choosing the right place to pivot it in order to fire
a ball at a target to score points, creating little boats with paper,
tape and straws to support as much weight as possible, and
calculating the speed of a toy dragon by using its Doppler-shifted
dragon noise. We completed these challenges well, placing in good
positions in all of them apart from the dragon task, which we
found quite stretching. But by far our most successful task was
the bridge challenge, where wooden blocks all of the same size
had to be used to build a bridge across two tables of the widest
span possible. We came first and for this gained a prized Physics
Olympics t-shirt. Overall we came fourth, just one point behind
the team in third place. We all had a really enjoyable day and had
our t-shirts to show for our efforts!
Alice Rhodes (UVI)
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St Peter’s Physics Olympics
Competition 2014
This was the eighth year of the competition and we again reached
our capacity with an entry of 35 schools and indeed had several
more on the reserve list. We were pleased to welcome a good
number of new local schools alongside our regular participants
from across the north of England. Each team consisted of four
year-8 pupils, and the teachers also competed alongside the
pupils.
The day consisted of six individual, mini egg-race-type events
in which the pupils combine their physics and mathematical
knowledge with teamwork and communication skills to work
together to complete a task against the clock.
The day is designed to be fun, but also challenging and
stimulating, and in the Olympic spirit it is a competition with
winners of the six individual events as well as Gold, Silver and
Bronze medallists. The pupils should come away having both
enjoyed their experience and, importantly, also having learned
some new physics.
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Once again we received generous backing from the Institute of
Physics, the Rotary Club of York Vikings, the Ogden Trust, Taylors
of Harrogate and Nestlé. Sponsorship money has paid for the
T-shirts, medals, trophy, water bottles, 8GB memory sticks and
Uncle Albert Physics books that the pupils take away at the end of
the day in their goody-bags.
Events this year involved constructing a boat that was propelled
using a supercapacitor that had been charged using a photocell,
constructing a lighthouse out of twelve sheets of A4 paper that
could support a Creme Egg; calculating the mass of a pink fluffy
animal and the lift force of a helium balloon; constructing a bridge
out of Jenga bricks and constructing a marble-run. In the Fermi
Quiz, quantities have to be estimated to the nearest power of
ten. One question in this year’s quiz was: ‘Imagine if the entire
population of the world was to bathe in the earth’s oceans at the
same time. What number of earth populations would be needed
to make the sea level rise by the length of your head? (Answer:
100,000).
News, Events
and Activities
Winners:
A Bridge Too Far: Team Schrödinger, Joseph Rowntree School, York
High Light: Team Newton, St Olave’s School, York
Turbocharged: Team Planck, King’s School Chester
Animal Crackers: Team Pauli, Bootham School, York
Sooner or Later: Team Archimedes, Nottingham High School
Fermi Quiz: Team Dirac, Denstone College
Bronze Medallists: Team Planck, King’s School Chester
Silver Medallists: Team Newton, St Olave’s School, York
Gold Medallists: Team Chadwick, The Holy Family Catholic High
School, Goole
I would like to thank all my colleagues, the support staff and the
dedicated Sixth-Formers who helped assisted on the day to make
this year’s event the biggest and best so far. In particular, Mark
Robinson showed his willingness and expertise in the designing
and making of much of the equipment for the games and Mark
Edwards once more displayed his wizardry on the computer in
collating and presenting all of the
competition data. Clearly
the event could not
happen without any of
them.
Mr David Morris
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News, Events
and Activities
Nuffield Research Placements 2014
Nuffield Research Placements provide over 1,000 students from
across the country each year with the opportunity to work
alongside professional scientists, technologists, engineers and
mathematicians. This year Alistair Duffey and Jessica Scott carried
out Nuffield projects at The University of York Physics Department
and Laura Carrigan also undertook a research project at the
University Astrocampus. Stuart Tolley completed a summer workexperience placement at CIRCLE (Collaboration for Integrated
Research, Conservation and Learning), a University of York facility
based at Flamingo Land. These placements give experience to
the students that is not usually possible until beyond the second
year of an undergraduate degree and we are very grateful to the
university for providing the opportunities to our sixth-formers as
they move from the Lower Sixth into their final year of study at
school.
Mr David Morris
Over the summer I spent four weeks working on a research
placement. This was sponsored by the Nuffield Foundation and
held at the University of York under the supervision of Dr Charles
Barton. During this time I was working with another student on
a radio telescope and a dipole antenna to observe low-frequency
radiation from the Sun, Jupiter and methanol MASERs. A dipole
antenna is effectively a long wire suspended in the air in which
passing electromagnetic radiation causes a current to flow.
We wrote up a report and created a poster showing details of
several of the
techniques we
used and some
examples of
our results,
and this poster
was presented
at an event
run by the York
Philosophical
Society in September. The project was really useful for me: I learnt
loads of new physics, especially in the field of astronomy, and
also significantly increased my understanding of electronics by
trying to fix one of the antennas, which we struggled with for a
long time. The university technicians did manage to get it working
at the very end of our placement, after ordering new parts. I also
gained valuable experience of the reality of carrying out work in
a university environment. I’d like to thank Charles for supervising
me and Mr Morris for giving me the opportunity to take part and
setting the whole thing up.
Alistair Duffey (LVI)
Over the Summer of 2014 I spent four weeks doing research in
the Physics Department at The University of York. My project
involved looking at the properties of magnetic nanoparticles,
which heat up under certain conditions and have the potential
to be used as a hyperthermia-based cancer treatment. I was
investigating the conditions which caused these nanoparticles to
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dissipate the most heat, whilst still being within the limits of what
the human body can withstand. As I was working with a group
of theoretical physicists, my work was entirely computational
research. I used codes and computer programs to simulate the
results of each experiment I carried out as they would occur in
real time. The aim of my project was to understand the theory
behind what was happening to these particles and to try to find
the conditions that caused the most heat to be released. There
is still a lot of further work that can be done in the area I was
working, and although
slightly daunting to
begin with I feel that
this project has been a
valuable experience in
seeing how scientific
research is conducted
and in being able to do
your own research. I
would recommend to
anyone thinking of a career in science to look into the Nuffield
Research Placement scheme as it gives you a great opportunity to
explore this area of science. I would like to thank Sergiu Ruta and
Professor Roy Chantrell, who worked with me at the university,
and Mr Morris and Dr David Ward who helped me to organise my
placement.
Jess Scott (LVI)
News, Events
and Activities
Over the course of the summer I spent four weeks doing a
research placement at The University of York. I was put on the
Astrocampus, a new area built specifically for the astronomy
department. My project was done using a Skywatcher telescope
and the LHIRES III spectroheliograph in order to observe the sun
in many different wavelengths. Our main objective was to get
a detailed scan of the Sun in a single wavelength: this gives an
overall image by taking frames of the Sun moving across the lens
of the telescope. We chose to do this at specific wavelengths that
had strong absorption lines on them, for example the distinctive
sodium double lines at
approximately 589nm
and hydrogen alpha
at 656nm. Not only
did we manage to
complete that, but we
also conducted a side
experiment. We kept
the lens on the Sun and
changed the wavelength
of the image we were
taking. This in the end
gave us a full panoramic
image of all the spectral lines in the Sun. We were able to identify
most of these with a solar atlas and therefore match points on
the picture to actual wavelengths of light. Using coding software
we could even work out the relative strength of each of these
lines. Overall I had a fantastic time over the four weeks working
with research Professor Emily Brunsden, my partner and a team
of PhD students. I learned a lot not only about the topic we were
researching but in general how equipment and software usually
used for astrophysics works. It’s really piqued my interest in this
particular field of study.
they had taken in having read
the signs. Later that day I took
part in a meerkat encounter,
having worms thrown onto my
lap and meerkats fighting over
each other to get to them. An
interesting experience! Other
interns were involved in looking
into Flamingo Land’s natural
woodlands on site and I helped
by matting trees in order to keep
weeds and other plants from
out-competing the trees for
sunlight. Some afternoons I spent
time in the lemur enclosure. This included standing in the lemur
walkways waiting for the lemurs to come out to be fed. During
these feeding sessions the lemurs would jump from person to
person and get worryingly close to members of the public. Whilst
we were in the enclosure it became apparent that one of the
lemurs had had twins and this attracted large crowds despite the
gloomy weather. Sadly these babies were killed by the dominant
female: natural selection at its most raw. I was also involved in the
education programme, holding a bearded dragon and showing it
to the members of the public. On another occasion I spent time
working at the tiger enclosure, this granted me a great position to
see the three new Sumatran tiger cubs of which Flamingo Land is
very proud. This work experience has convinced me that working
with animals and zoology is what I want to do in the future and I
am grateful to Mr Morris (who provided the contact) and CIRCLE
for making this happen.
Stuart Tolley (LVI)
Laura Carrigan (LVI)
During the summer holidays I spent four weeks working part
time for CIRCLE (the Collaboration for Integrated Research,
Conservation and Learning) at Flamingo Land resort. Having
arranged an orientation day with the leader of CIRCLE I began
working with the members of the team in their individual
research projects. The first of these was an investigation into
how effectively signs portrayed information and the willingness
of the members of the public to read them. I spent many hours
completing surveys with the public, questioning them on what
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News, Events
and Activities
Cambridge Senior Physics Challenge
In July I spent a week at the Senior Physics Challenge in
Cambridge. This was a week of lectures and experiments hosted by
the Physics Department at the university. The lectures were split
between mechanics and quantum mechanics, with both involving
time to work on problems. The standard was tough, especially
some of the mathematics, but the content was interesting, with
the course showing mathematically how some of the weirder
quantum concepts develop. The lectures and practicals all took
place in the Cavendish Laboratory just outside Cambridge. Evening
entertainment included a ‘fermi’ style physics pub quiz and more
laid-back lectures, such as one on juggling and relativity. We also
ventured out of the lab to go punting one afternoon. I was staying
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in St John’s College which is absolutely lovely, with big rooms and
fantastic breakfasts (if you’re thinking of applying to Cambridge
this is the place to go). My standard of physics problem-solving
and understanding as well as my maths were all improved by
some great teaching. The course was also really useful in that it
was a taste of student life studying Physics, confirming for me
that this really is what I want to do. Finally it was great meeting
loads of nice people from all over the country. The week was a lot
of fun and I’m really grateful to Cambridge for putting it on and
inviting me, especially since it was all completely free.
Alistair Duffey (LVI)
News, Events
and Activities
British Physics Olympiad Competition
AS National Physics Competition
and National Physics Challenge for
GCSE Students
In the British Physics Olympiad for year 13
students Harry Ha received a Gold (top 50) award
in the Round 1 paper and a Commendation in
Round 2. Sam Philpott and Maria Mikhaylenko
received Bronze II awards with Tim Chiu
receiving a Commendation.
In the AS National Physics Competition
Alistair Duffey received a Gold award. Georgia
Calvert and Tom Kelly received Silver awards.
George Gao, Katie Hinton, Bill Mo, and
Maciej Psiuch received Bronze I awards, with
James Sowerby, Simon Tang and Joe Taylor
receiving Bronze II awards.
In the National Physics Challenge for
GCSE students Christian Brennan,
Robert Croft, Harry Dixon, Eleanor
Dobson, George Doyle, Will Quinn, Josh
Ramalingam and Jack Robins received
Silver awards with an additional 15
students collecting Bronze awards.
Mr David Morris
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News, Events
and Activities
Science Christmas Lecture 2013
This year’s
Christmas Lecture,
given by the Science
Department, was
titled The Ultimate
Sensory Animal.
However, as is
always the case,
the subject matter
was a fairly tenuous
link which joined
many disparate
demonstrations,
activities and
explosions together.
We saw the Head
Master and Charles
Barry (aka ‘the
Stig’) parking a car without using their hands; we saw Mr Stephen
getting electrocuted (again) and we heard Mr Edwards and Mr
Smith having a conversation whilst full of helium. We even saw
what the Science Department got up to when they visited the
BBC studios and took over from the celebrities. Paddy strung the
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lecture together
by talking about
some amazing
adaptations of
animals and he was
ably accompanied
by his science
colleagues and
other students
performing feats
with stacking cups,
Rijke tubes, infrared
flowers, electric
guitars, harps
and theremins.
A hovering shark
also joined in, and
chocolate came
into it somewhere. Huge thanks should go to Barry, Mark and
Trevor, the lab technicians, as they do most of the work and are
the real heroes.
Mr Mark Edwards
News, Events
and Activities
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News, Events
and Activities
University of Oxford
Physics Summer School
During the summer, I attended a two-week course at the
University of Oxford to study Physics. As well as all the benefits
of learning more about my chosen subject, there were numerous
other aspects of the course which were unforgettable.
Firstly, I met people from all around the world: I was quite literally
the only Brit there – something I’m not used to. The variety of
people I met was incredible, yet they were all at Oxford for the
same reason as me. It certainly enhanced my understanding of
other cultures.
Secondly, the activities I took part in gave me the chance to see
Oxford and experience what it’s like being a student there. These
activities included punting, bowling, recreational sport and an
array of others – my personal favourite being Quidditch.
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However, the most important part of the course, the teaching,
was yet another eye-opener. I was never in a group of more
than two people, being educated in a mixture of seminars and
tutorials. The pace was fast – we had covered everything I knew
about Quantum Physics in the first hour and the rest was all new
material.
Finally, I would definitely recommend the course to anyone who
has a passion for their subject and wants to meet like-minded
people, whether you are considering applying to Oxford or not.
Georgia Calvert (LVI)
News, Events
and Activities
St Peter’s Challenge
In November 2013 the house general knowledge competition, St
Peter’s Challenge, began in school. Each week, two pairs of houses
competed against each other, answering questions on anything
from geography to herbology, fiction to football, music to current
affairs. The group stages ended at Christmas, and saw The Rise
and Dronfield unfortunately eliminated. In January The Manor,
Linton, Grove and Hope fell at the quarter- or semi-final stages.
In the battle for third and fourth places, Queen’s beat Temple
520 points to 440, with fine performances from captains Helen
Megone (Queen’s) and Guy Hall (Temple). The final was held in
the Memorial Hall in front of an audience of about 120 pupils and
staff. School took an early lead thanks to contributions from all
the members of the team (Jonny Fry, Alex Eyre, Maya Wordsworth
and George O’Neill). Although the Clifton team (Charlie Rae, Sam
Elliot, Charlie Elliot and Ben Turvill) fought to narrow the gap,
School won with a score of 600 points to 370. Thanks to all who
competed over the ten weeks of the Challenge, and to the staff
who filled the Jeremy Paxman role each week.
Miss Kat Barker
St Peter’s Junior Challenge
A general knowledge competition took place in school for
Third and Fourth Form pupils in school after the summer
half-term. After four weeks of competition in the group
stages and a hotly-contested semi-final, the match to
decide 3rd and 4th place saw Hope take on and defeat
Queen’s. In the much-anticipated final the Grove team of
Zaki Ward, Seth Williams, Matthew Roberts and Polly Moss
took on the School house team of Rose Gabbertas, George
O’Neill, James Mahon and Matt Ubhi. After 20 minutes of
rapid-fire questioning from Mr Smith, The Grove emerged
victorious with 540 points to 240 from School.
Congratulations and well done to all who took part this
year.
Miss Kat Barker
Junior Challenge winners (l to r): Zaki Ward, Seth Williams,
Matthew Roberts (Captain) & Polly Moss
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Creative & Cultural
Drama
This year has been full of activity and fourteen different plays
in the Drama department. We have transported the audience
to Wonderland in the Memorial Hall and a tube station in
London Below in the Drama Studio. Pupils have performed in
two professional theatres: the Carriageworks in Leeds and the
Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. Pupils responded to the
national ‘pop-up’ theatre movement of immersive and sitespecific performances with the A-level production Dust Off The
Archives taking the audience around the school and A Doll’s House
reimagined in the Recital Room (converted for the evening into
the flat of Nora and Torvald). The world of the play is extremely
important and having Sara Burns as our lighting and set designer
has been an incredible opportunity, it has also meant that pupils
in production teams have thrived – particularly George Snell, Lizzy
Whiter and Jodi Smith.
Aiming to ensure that we define ourselves as a generation of
‘theatre-makers’ as well as being able to love and understand the
classics is very important. St Peter’s took part in the National
Connections Festival performing the premiere of Sam Holcroft’s
The Wardrobe and we saw Ben Turvill’s challenging debut play
Woolwich 2013 as part of his Trinity College Gold Arts Award. I
have no doubt that he will be part of the generation of theatremakers that I talk of.
We have loved live music on stage: the Wonderband in Alice, Max
and James as the foresters with their ukuleles in As You Like It,
Emily McDonald as a busker in London Below, and a range of cast
members demonstrating their musical talent in The Wardrobe.
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Creative & Cultural
We have taken a trip to
London to experience
Punchdrunk Theatre
company lead audience
members around a fivestorey warehouse in an
adaptation of Woyzeck
called The Drowned Man.
We have also been led
around York city centre
getting our hands on 50
tickets for the criticallyacclaimed sell-out
promenade performance
of Blood and Chocolate,
as well as Blood
Brothers, A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, and a Frantic Assembly workshop in preparation for
physical theatre work.
We have welcomed two new fabulous staff in the
Department – Sara Burns and Maggie Smales – and
one new baby (Sophia Heaton: congratulations
Helen and Rob!). Thank you also this year to Mike
Redley for set, sound and technical expertise, Tom
Figgins for musical assistance, Dave Morris for
photos, and Mike Duffy for stage fights, in addition
to the Catering and Facilities staff – and, very
importantly, our extremely supportive audiences.
Congratulations to Ben Turvill for securing a place
in the National Youth Theatre and Rosalind Tait in
being successful for the second time in working
with the National Youth Music Theatre this
summer.
‘On Pilot Theatre Company’s website they refer to
Blood and Chocolate as “an event and a journey”. I
agree with this as the fact that it was promenade
theatre meant that the audience went on the ‘journey’ with
the 200 actors. It took the knowing audience of 2014 from York
in 1914, to war, and returned us home again to the chocolate
factories on which York thrived during the war. The ‘event’ took
over the entire city for three weeks.’
Phil Hodgson (LVI)
‘As one walks along in the footsteps – literally – of the people
in the play, all the events are emphasised, especially with the
presence of the community cast: some may be relatives of the
people commemorated so a community movement such as in
Blood and Chocolate can be a great show of fidelity: a physical
“we will remember them”given familiarity and a greater feeling by
the intimacy of a community of actors and
audience.’
Ben Turvill (LVI)
Alice
For one week only the Memorial Hall was
transformed into Wonderland, complete
with secret doors, rabbit hole, fake grass
down the traverse with a more intimate
audience on two sides of the performance
space.
A cast of thirty-six, a Wonderband of five
and a crew of eleven worked incredibly
hard to make this production the magical
spectacle it was.
People know the stories of Alice in Wonderland and Through the
Looking Glass and the wonderful, often abstruse, characters Alice
meets there, from reading Carroll’s books (I hope you have!),
or from watching the Walt Disney classic film or Tim Burton’s
adaptation. The challenge for a production is to find a way in
which the episodic fragments of Alice’s journey can become
one production rather than a series of scenes. There is a very
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Creative & Cultural
interesting history concerning the original manuscript which I felt
could allow an older cast and audience to engage in the plot. This
adaptation meant that we would need to present Alice at three
different ages. We were delighted to welcome Dee Alton, a parent
of a former pupil, and Tess Gilbertson and Nell Maughan from
Clifton School to the cast. It was also interesting in the research
process to find out that Dame Judi Dench had played the role of
Alice when she herself was at Clifton School.
wondered how the Queen and King of Hearts (Elle Illingworth
and Peter Gray) could ever have a peaceful day of matrimony. The
Wonderband were fantastic, entertaining the audience alongside
the action and I don’t think any of the cast or crew will listen to
Bastille’s Pompeii or Kodaline’s High Hopes without reminiscing
about their adventures down the rabbit hole.
Our Alice told the real story of an adult Alice Hargreaves selling
the manuscript Dodgson gave her when she was little, using that
as a catalyst to remember the summer’s day when it had been
written, and to take one last trip into the eccentric world down
the rabbit hole.
Brogan Grant deserves a round of applause for her mature,
defiant and playful interpretation of the iconic role even when
dizzy after her spin on a ‘lazy Susan’. I cannot think about Emily
Brown and Lily Spencer’s ‘fight until six’ as Dum and Dee without
smiling a lot. The crazy tea-party scene with the wild Mad
Hatter (Ben Turvill) wired March Hare (Rosalind Tait) and rather
grumpy awoken Dormouse (Charles Barry) had an abundance
of energy and humour I will never forget (nor I doubt will the
poor production team due to the amount of props broken in the
process). I would like to congratulate every talented performer
in the production for the way they generously presented the
audience with their larger-than-life interpretations of these
two-dimensional characters. I felt sorry for the terrified rabbit
(Duncan Smith) fearful of Cookie’s temper (Andrii Fokin) and
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‘Curiouser and curiouser.’ Alice
‘begin at the beginning … and go on till you come to the end: then
stop.’ The King of Hearts
‘sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before
breakfast.’ Duchess
‘There will be nonsense in it, not more than once a minute.’
Wonderlander
‘In such an hour, beneath such dreamy weather, we dare you to
half-believe it’s true.’ Wonderlander
Creative & Cultural
The Wardrobe
It’s the safest place they know – but is it safe enough.
This is the first year that the school has taken
part in National Connections. Connections runs
nationwide and gives students the experience of
engaging with brand-new writing and working
in a professional theatre. The Wardrobe by
Sam Holcroft spans five centuries of British
history as small groups of children seek
sanctuary in the same solid, old wardrobe.
The first scene takes place in 1485 with
Elizabeth of York (Amelia Bell) discussing her
forthcoming marriage to Henry VII with her
sister Cecily (Rowan Tait), and the last scene
shows two teenagers (Esme Wright and Eve
Bracken) exploring a museum housing the wardrobe,
completing a worksheet about it using Google on
smartphones. We were excited to see that the new
blockbuster film Belle
is inspired by Dido from
1780 (played by Edith
Norvor) The performance
involved all Fourth-Form
GCSE pupils who are
studying the text as part
of their course, and they
were joined by a few
Third-Formers to make
up a cast and crew of 24
altogether. The Wardrobe
was first performed in
school in February in the
STP Studio Theatre to
full audiences, including
a director from the National Theatre. The second night was
fantastic, but on the first our huge wardrobe got a little stage
fright and caused a few problems. We had a wonderful trip to
Scarborough to perform the play at the Stephen Joseph Theatre,
watch three other brand new Connections plays, eat ice-cream
and fish and chips, and sing open-mike in the theatre. The whole
cast gave assured, emotive and vibrant performances bringing
these young people from history to life as the wardrobe doors
opened in their time.
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Creative & Cultural
Shakespeare Schools Festival:
As You Like It
Shakespeare Schools Festival is an annual event in which schools
perform an edited version of a Shakespearean play of their choice
at a local professional theatre. Last year we performed the tragedy
of Macbeth, so we were probably in need of the romantic comedy
As You Like It. The play follows four couples as they fall in love ‘at
first sight’ in the freedom of the forest of Arden after leaving the
constrictive court. We took our thirty-minute version, with Beth
Bradley as Assistant Director,
to the Leeds Carriageworks
Theatre in October – where
George Snell operated the
show alone – as well as
premiering it in the STP Studio
Theatre. The Lovespotters took
us on a playful, energetic, and
humorous journey through
the play’s four swoons, using
binoculars to monitor the
‘heartbeats’ of the lovers.
Live music was performed by
Max McLeish and Jack McCartney, with some popular love songs
added to highlight the swoons, and the full ensemble sang Cheryl
Cole’s Fight For This Love to the lovelorn shepherd Silvius, played
with real character by Toby Johnson.
Louise Gould played the spirited Rosalind, delivering the epilogue
with vigour even though ‘it is not the fashion to see the lady the
epilogue’ after falling in love with Orlando (Archie Stephenson),
much to the disdain of her cousin Celia (Rosalind Tait) until she
too suffers a similar fate.
‘Whoever loved that loved not at first sight.’ Phoebe
‘I like this place and willingly could waste my time it.’ Celia
‘Do you not know I am a woman? When I think, I must speak.’
Rosalind
‘All the world’s a stage.’ Jaques
‘We that are true lovers run into strange capers.’ Touchstone
‘Love is merely a madness.’ Rosalind
‘I pray you, do not fall in love with me, for I am falser than vows
made in wine.’ Rosalind
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Creative & Cultural
Middle School Play:
London Below
London Below is an adaptation of Neverwhere, originally an
urban fantasy television series in the 1990s co-written by Neil
Gaiman and Lenny Henry and later adapted into novel form
by Gaiman with a comic-book series to follow. The reason
this idea was chosen was because of the large number of
pupils interested in being involved in the Middle School Play
and therefore the number of strong characters and design
opportunities it offered. Gaiman is also a great writer! The
cast and crew of 46 performed the show for three consecutive
nights in the STP Studio Theatre – transformed into a tube
station in the magical world of London Below by Miss Burns,
Jodi Smith and the team.
LONDONERS
HOUSE HUNTER
LONDONER
WAITRESS
FORTUNE TELLER
ESTATE AGENT
BOSS
CURATOR
VILLAGER
TRAIN GUARD
JESSICA
ESTATE
BUSKER
JESSICA
GARY
SYLVIA
RICHARD
DOOR
CROUP & VANDEMAR
MARQUIS
MARQUIS
ANGEL
HUNTER
RICHARD MAYHEW
LADY OF
EARL’S
COURT
ANAESTHE-
STAGE MANAGERS
LADY EARL
SFX
BLACKFRIAR
HALVARD
LONDON
BLACKFRIAR
BELOW
OLD BAILEY
MRS PORTICO
DOOR
NARRATORS
RAT SPEAKER
RAT
ILLIASTER
ANAESTHESIA
WARDROBE & MAKE UP
LAMIA
Young businessman Richard Mayhew (Jack Hargrave) moves from
Yorkshire to London, his act of kindness in helping a young homeless
girl, Door (Eve Bracken), catapulting him into the world of London
Below. The Marquis de Carrabas (Gaby Richardson) and Hunter
(Louise Gould) assist them on their journey, trying to protect them
from villains Croup and Vandemar (Marcus Thomson and Ethan
Thubron) but the Angel of Islington (Charles Barry) is not as angelic
as he first appears to be. Richard spends the whole time trying to
find a way home, but when he eventually gets there he realises he
misses the London beneath the cracks.
SERPENTINE
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Creative & Cultural
GCSE
As part of their final GCSE grade each Fifth-Form pupil has been
involved in two public performance evenings this year as well as
their final written examination.
Misrepresented by Shakespeare was a clever, energetic and funny
piece of Theatre in Education – written by the group themselves
– following the stories of four well-known Shakespearean
antagonists. It invited the audience to reassess their opinions of
the characters: Caliban, Shylock and the Macbeths. The group also
performed it in front of their target audience at St Olave’s.
Pool (no water)
was a dynamic,
atmospheric and
incredibly wellperformed piece of
ensemble physical
theatre written by
British playwright
Mark Ravenhill in
collaboration with
Frantic Assembly.
The group
participated in a
workshop with
Frantic Assembly
at Actacademy
in Harrogate in
October to help
them develop their
work. This play explored artistic jealousy, the fragility of friendship
and resentment inspired by success. A famous artist invites her old
friends to her luxurious new home. For one night only, the group
is back together. But celebrations come to an abrupt end when
the host suffers an horrific accident. George Snell was the lighting
designer for this production and his work was chosen as exemplar
material for the board by the AQA examiner.
For the GCSE group’s final performance of the year, pupils had to
devise brand-new work, creating the ideas, characters and text
themselves – and what a stunning job they did. This impressive
quartet of new plays was performed in March and really displayed
the talents and creativity of the group. Die Devils Hände was a
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contemporary remake of the fairy-tale The Girl With No Hands
and Olivia Shread’s screams as her father (Henry Graham) cut
her hands off on stage were truly haunting. The Price Of Life was
written by Alex Gould and explored the concept that money can’t
buy you happiness, and a healthy life can’t buy you longevity.
Fallen Footsteps was a mature piece which showed brother
(George Snell) and sister (Bethan Bradley) surviving alone in
a grim world where stories temporarily transported them to
other places. The Final Waltz was the result of incredibly hard
work and credit must go to Peter Gray and Rosalind Tait for their
mesmerizing and emotional performances in this well-structured
piece.
Creative & Cultural
A-LEVEL
Dust Off The Archives
A2 Drama students are challenged with creating ‘a unique piece of
theatre’ as part of the course. The group researched the concept
of memory and looking for stimulus as a starting-point for
devising took a trip to the Banana Warehouse in York Town Centre,
where they found some old copies of The Peterite and The Olavite
and concluded they needed to look no further than the school’s
rich history itself for inspiration.
‘We decided that we wanted to produce a promenade
performance due to the fact that we had viewed Slunglow’s
Blood and Chocolate and Punchdrunk’s The Drowned Man. The
vast sets and locations of both pieces inspired us to use the
school’s historic grounds to allow
the memories embedded
in the walls to be retold.’
The audience saw three
characters: Betty Toyne, John R Hollington and Lucy Gilbert. Betty
Toyne was the daughter of previous Head Master, Sam Toyne
(1913-1936), and a French teacher at Olave’s; she was married
in the school chapel in 1934 to a former St Peter’s pupil. John
R Hollington was in the school’s rugby team and was granted
colours for his performance on the pitch. He was very sadly shot
down over Germany in 1939, shortly after he left the school. It
was poignant to see his name in the Book of Remembrance in
the antechapel. Lucy Gilbert won the school’s Barry Daniel Award
and used the scholarship fund to support herself trekking for two
months in Spitsbergen after her tragic experience in Norway in
1986. We decided to take the audience to the places significant to
these Old Peterites: Betty’s wedding was performed in the chapel
to the backdrop of the whole-school recording of I vow to thee, my
country, her reception was held in the Library with a champagne
toast; Lucy’s letter home in a tent pitched outside the Geography
classrooms with hot chocolate, and John R Hollington’s metaphor
of the rugby-game-turned-war on the rugby pitch.
Elle Illingworth (UVI)
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‘Since a large portion of our audience would either be current
pupils, staff or people with a connection to the school we sought
to imbue within these people a deep sense of connection with the
school and its history, thus granting them the impression of being
part of a bigger picture.
Elliot Elstob (UVI)
It was unfortunate that we had to cancel the second night’s
performance due to extreme weather conditions. Although we
had back-up plans for locations, it was deemed unsafe in the Met
Office’s red warning even to walk around the school. When we
found out that the indoor Liverpool Empire Theatre cancelled its
performance of Ghost because of weather on the same night it
didn’t seem so bad.
AS: On Love
AS: A Doll’s House
The play On Love by Mick Gordon examines the multi-faceted
nature of human relationships. The material of the play is collated
from verbatim text collected by the writer using a Dictaphone. The
cast multi-role-played to create humour such as the argument
scene turned into a passionate tango, and some very touching
moments – for example where a young woman tried in vain
to resuscitate her boyfriend. This is a difficult play, particularly
because the cast has a responsibility to tell people’s real stories,
but they tackled it with the balance and tenderness required in a
thoughtful, visually engaging way.
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen caused quite a stir in its original
performances and it remains challenging and provocative: what
would make a mother leave her children? Our updated production
of this play adapted by Simon Stephens aimed to immerse the
audience in Nora’s situation by inviting them into the Helmers’
home. The audience were the proverbial ‘flies on the wall’,
witnessing the marriage of Torvald Helmer (Ben Turvill) reaching
the point of its destruction through the influences of Krogstad’s
(Phil Hodgson) blackmailing and the intrusion of a supposed old
friend, Kristine (Emma Walker). We felt slightly uncomfortable
initially, almost voyeuristic, as we witnessed intimate scenes but
soon became gripped by Nora’s (Anna Thrussell) predicament and
though we were sympathetic to her, we were also at one with
Torvald’s devastation as she left.
Miss Helen Lindley
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Gold Arts Award 2013-14
Woolwich 2013
This year was the second year that we have run Arts Award as a
co-curricular activity. The award is endorsed by Trinity College,
London and gets young people to explore and develop their own
creativity through arts challenges that they set themselves.
Woolwich 2013 is an insightful and brave text which is entirely
open to interpretation, made even more brilliant by the fact
that it is written by our very own Shakespeare: Benedict Turvill.
I was given the mammoth task of taking this breathtaking new
piece of theatre from ‘page to stage’. I decided to produce a fully
student-run play from the lighting to marketing, all in aid of Help
for Heroes. Although Woolwich 2013 is a small ensemble play,
the characters within the story are unique and powerful in their
creation. The context of the play itself was challenging, especially
finding the right balance between ‘artistic’ and ‘appropriate’. In
the play there are no specific links between the characters, as they
seem to all be part of the muse’s imagination. This is represented
by the clean, white space you are presented with, and when the
actors enter the space they are in role; out of it they are neutral.
The audience was thrown into the revelry of the party but, lurking
beneath the surface, lay a much more sinister message. Perhaps
the greatest obstacle to overcome was that this was an entirely
fresh script, so we were not able to hide behind the work of
previous performances – it is wholly our play. This has also come
with its advantages as I feel that I was able to put my own spin on
what is a wisely written piece of theatre; and Ben Turvill deserves
all the credit for a mesmeric piece of work. I was inspired by
Punchdrunk Theatre Company and Slung Low, whose individual
style I tried to weave into the performance. The feedback exceeded
our expectations and all we were all very proud of what we had
achieved, and as the director I was so pleased that all the months
of hard work had paid off! The production was an absolute delight
to work on, and the cast were amazing to work with.
The award is split into two units. The first unit is then divided into
four sub-units:
Arts practice
Young people gain experience of a new area of the arts
and produce new art work by working with more advanced
practitioners.
The wider arts sector
Young people get involved in the arts world through placements,
volunteering, training and research.
Research and review
Young people attend and review high-quality arts events, reflect
on how they influence their work, and also find out about the
artists and their career-paths.
Forming a view
Young people make the case for an arts issue that they care about,
investigate the arguments around it and present their view and
findings to others.
The second unit asks the young person to plan, organise and host
an event that involves their leadership skills, such as organizing a
charity concert, an art exhibition or a workshop, or putting on a
play.
The possibilities are endless, and with 35 UCAS points at the end
of the award it is certainly worthwhile. The course is undertaken
by those students who wish to challenge and extend themselves,
as the award requires around 150 hours of work in total!
This year the scheme was take up by Benedict Turvill (Lower Sixth)
and Elle Illingworth (Upper Sixth) who joined forces to create a
leadership project focusing on a play which Ben had written based
on the murder of Lee Rigby in 2013. Both Ben and Elle directed
the play, recruited cast members, sourced props and costumes,
and budgeted and organised the final event which was the
performances of Woolwich 2013.
Thanks must also go to the wonderful Sara Burns, Helen Lindley,
Maggie Smales and Helen Heaton for all their support. Woolwich
2013 truly was the perfect way to end my time here at St Peter’s
and I am grateful to everyone who came to support us, or who
even just bought a cake at our fundraisers, which helped us raise
over £350.
Elle Illingworth (UVI), Director
The play was a success, managing to sell out both performances
and gaining incredible feedback from everyone that came to see it.
Ben and Elle had to compile a portfolio of evidence that was
then submitted to an external moderator. The feedback gained
was extremely positive, and the moderator noted that both the
portfolios were extremely clear and easy to read, and contained
many forms of evidence of the activities undertaken.
It is also worth saying that the uptake of Arts Award for 2014-15
is looking extremely healthy and with the ideas that are already
being created it should be an exciting year for Arts Award yet
again!
Mrs Helen Heaton
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Design & Technology Awards 2014
Design Innovation Award: Alexandra Budarina
Alexandra’s passion for painting gave her the idea to create an
art case for carrying wet paintings from locations back to her
studio. The complex design for the shell of the case was realised
by laying-up carbon fibre onto a mould. This was a difficult and
experimental process, but one which showed the innovative
approach that Alexandra has towards product design.
(formed around a foam mould) to give a traditional Moses basket
a more modern stylish look.
Design
Commendation:
Harley Shaw
Minster Engineering Award for Quality of
Design and Manufacture: Hannah Whitehouse
Hannah’s design,
made from cherry
wood, focuses
on the use of
simple lines and
shapes. The top
surface has a
structure and
pattern to add
interest, without
detracting from
the beautiful
simplicity of
the design. The
table can be
disassembled
easily by
adjusting four
knock-down
fittings, with the design packing flat into three pieces.
Design Commendation & the Dawson Award
for Outstanding Achievement in Design &
Technology: Brogan Grant
Brogan sat down with a group of young mothers, to find out what
needs they and their babies had, and they discussed the idea of
more contemporary designs being available for products. Brogan
used a blend of coloured acrylic sheet and veneered plywood
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Harley identified a
problem gardeners have in
transporting their garden
tools from the shed or
garage to the garden.
Where a number of tools is
required, it is often difficult
to carry them safely, and
more than a few at a time.
Harley created a trolley
which holds a variety of
tools, both large and small.
It is easy to manoeuvre,
and very stable.
Sixth form Design & Technology Prize for
2014: Emma Stephenson
Emma chose a project
working closely with
Clifton School, designing
and making a teacher’s
storytime chair and
pupils’ bench for use
outdoors. Emma produced
a prototype made from
treated spruce and
assembled with knockdown fittings. Working
with a client gave the
project more focus and
made it more real.
Mr Jon Whitehouse
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Music
Autumn Concert
The Brass Ensemble gave us a rousing start to the first major
concert of the year with a Prelude by Charpentier. The Chamber
and Chapel Choirs were in fine form, singing both secular and
sacred pieces, including the Victorian part-song He that hath a
pleasant face by John Hatton and the Magnificat in D by Charles
Wood.
There were two lovely solos from mezzo-sopranos Elle Illingworth
and Sarah Carlton, and high-quality chamber playing from the
Senior String Quartet, Clarinet Choir and Guitar Group with
highlights including The Entertainer arranged for three guitars and
a Church Sonata for Bombardes played on five Bass Clarinets!
The concert finished with two famous film scores arranged for
Wind Band, played with great verve by the 45 players involved.
Mr Paul Miles-Kingston
Visit of the National Youth
Jazz Orchestra,
Thursday 14 November
We were delighted to welcome the National Youth Jazz Orchestra
from London for a workshop and concert day in November. Our
Swing Band greatly enjoyed working with director Mark Armstrong
for an hour, and they then had the opportunity to get in amongst
the NYJO players for a full-tilt rendition of Love for Sale, which
provided a memorable ending to the session for the pupils.
The orchestra then entertained a packed Memorial Hall later in
the evening with two polished sets of big-band playing including
great standards such as Caravan and That Old Black Magic, as well
as a fantastic jazz arrangement by legendary trombonist Mark
Nightingale of The Flight of the Bumble Bee with a solo trombone
feature that will live long in the memory.
It was a fantastic day and a fitting opening for the newlyrefurbished Memorial Hall as it becomes established as a major
musical venue in the city.
Evensong in York Minster,
Monday 18 November
The Chapel Choir sang an Evensong service in the Quire of York
Minster in November. Starting with Humphrey Clucas’ fanfaric
set of Responses, the choir maintained a high level of energy and
commitment throughout with encouraging singing in Wood’s
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D. The highlight of the service,
though, was the large-scale anthem Blessed be the God and Father
by Samuel Sebastian Wesley. This famous piece has echoes of
Mendelssohn and Haydn with a substantial solo Soprano section
in the middle, beautifully performed by Sally Hicks.
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The Brass Ensemble played a rousing fanfare by Walton at the
entry of the Civic Party. Isabella Crook (Third Form) then provided
a lovely start to the service with the traditional solo verse of Once
in Royal David’s City leading into the opening procession. The
Christmas Concerts
The Christmas Concerts were great fun this year, with the
evenings being warmly enjoyed by an audience of around 500
over the two nights. There was a very varied programme, ranging
from both Junior and Senior String Quartet, String Orchestra,
Wind Band, Chamber Choir and School Choir to Swing Band, Little
Big Band, Percussion Group and both Girls’ and Boys’ Barbershop
groups. The festive theme was present throughout with classical
items intermingling with jazz and even a Ska item from the
Percussion Group to complement their rendition of Ding, Dong
Merrily on High arranged in 7 beats in a bar!
Carol Service
We were once again fortunate to be back in the beautiful
surroundings of York Minster for our annual Festival of Nine
Lessons and Carols.
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choirs and Brass Ensemble supported some strong singing from
the congregation throughout the service, and highlights from the
individual choir items were the Chamber Choir’s performance of
Creative & Cultural
Here is the Little Door by Herbert Howells, the Chapel Choir’s
I Saw Three Ships arranged by Richard Lloyd and the School
Choir’s Sussex Carol arranged by David Willcocks.
The lessons and prayers were read by pupils, members of the
academic and support staff, the Headmaster and a Governor, and
the service was led by Canon Christopher Collingwood and our
Chaplain, The Reverend Daniel Jones.
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Creative & Cultural
Senior Music Festival
This was a highly enjoyable evening of music-making with strong
solo performances in all categories. The adjudicator this year
was Anthony Kraus, Assistant Director of Music at Opera North,
who provided knowledgeable and constructive feedback on each
performance. The winners of the categories were as follows:
Guitar and Vocals: Emily McDonald
Woodwind: Jack Hargrave (Clarinet)
Piano: Felicity Edwards
Boys’ Singing: Sam Lightwing
Percussion: Alistair Duffey (Xylophone)
The overall winner was Felicity Edwards (pictured, below left) for a
beautifully poised performance on the piano of Danza de la Moza
Donosa by Ginastera.
Woodwind: Samuel Philpott (Bass Clarinet)
Girls’ Singing: Rosalind Tait
Brass: Charlie Widdicombe (Trumpet)
Guitar: Joshua Ramalingham
Strings: Max McLeish (Cello)
Boys’ Singing: Jack McCartney
Piano: Jessica Szeto
Jessica Szeto was selected as the winner of this year’s Senior
Music Festival prize for the best performance of the evening.
Junior Music Festival
We heard over 100 performances in the week before half-term
this year and selected 25 of those to go forward to the final,
which was ably adjudicated by Anthony Kraus, Assistant Head of
Music at Opera North.
Evensong in Beverley Minster,
Monday 3 March
The Chapel Choir travelled to the beautiful Gothic Minster in
Beverley to sing evensong early in March. Singing in a small
choir area with a fairly unforgiving acoustic, the choir produced
some lovely sounds, accompanied on the organ in colourful and
dramatic style by the Minster’s Director of Music, Robert Poyser.
The canticles by Stanford and anthems by Wood provided a good
opportunity for some full and warm singing and this was much
appreciated by the congregation. My thanks go to all the pupils
and staff involved, especially to Mr Wright for his expert direction
of the service.
All the pupils in the final played with fluency, and there was a
real sense of enjoyment and camaraderie amongst them, which
created a lovely atmosphere for the event.
The winners of the individual categories were as follows:
Strings: Felicity Edwards (Harp), with Helen Ford (Viola) highly
commended
Girls’ Singing: Gaby Richardson, with Fleur Booth and Isabella
Crook highly commended
Brass: Jack Hargrave (Trombone)
Choral and Orchestral
Concert, York Minster,
Thursday 27 March
Our Wind Band, String Orchestra and School Choir had the great
privilege of giving our main orchestral and choral concert of the
academic year in the majestic surroundings of York Minster.
The Wind Band began with three movements from Elgar’s
Wand of Youth Orchestral Suite No 1, with the brass producing
some polished, full sounds for the declamatory sections which
contrasted well with some expressive softer, phrased lines in the
woodwind in the lyrical passages.
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Creative & Cultural
The String Orchestra then supported a truly outstanding solo
performance from violinist Ivan Cheng in Bruch’s Violin Concerto
No 1 directed by Keith Wright. Performing from memory, Ivan
reached a professional level with some exquisite playing and was
rewarded by four ovations, the last one quite rightly a standing
ovation.
To complete the evening a choir of over 200 singers, formed from
the School Choirs of both St Peter’s and St Olave’s and our Choral
Society of parents, staff, governors and friends, joined together
to perform Howard Goodall’s Eternal Light, a new setting of the
Latin Requiem text juxtaposed with selected poems in English.
The flowing melodic lines were projected well by both the choir
and soloists Wendy Goodson (Soprano), Paul Gameson (Tenor)
and Matt Dowdy (Baritone) in a performance that was warmly
received by the audience of around 500 present for the concert.
It was a memorable and very enjoyable evening and my thanks to
all who participated.
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Creative & Cultural
Cabaret Concerts
It was a fun show this year
with a fantastic atmosphere
in the Memorial Hall, which
was packed for both nights.
The Barbieshop were on very
fine form, with a mashup from
Pitch Perfect being a highlight.
The ensemble playing was
both varied and enjoyable
with the Clarinet Choir playing
a pair of tangos, the Little
Big Band playing funk, the
Percussion Group a song by
Madness and the Senior String
Quartet an arrangement by
Ivan Cheng (The Manor, UVI)
of Pirates of the Caribbean!
The Chamber Choir and School Choir both performed with energy
and style. The Barbershop made a particularly strong impact this
year, singing a set of three pieces arranged by the boys. This closed
with an arrangement by Charlie Widdicombe of What Makes You
Beautiful by One Direction that required a lot of hair gel!
The soloists from the Upper Sixth all excelled themselves with
instrumental solos ranging from Sam Philpott playing Body and
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Soul on the Bass Clarinet, to James Contreras and Alex Shaw
engaging in a improvisatory duel with the classic bebop tune
Tenor Madness by Sonny Rollins, and Josh Stanford playing Henry
Mancini’s The Pink Panther. We also had seven vocal numbers
starting with a beautifully atmospheric performance of Elton
John’s Your Song by Laura Nichols, accompanied by Ivan Cheng
on the piano. We were then treated to Abba from Josie Proctor
and Georgie Harrison and some smooth swing with Sarah Carlton
singing At Last and Georgie Ward Georgia on my mind. There was
a significant change of pace in the middle of the show with Siân
Bigger singing Fever with great character, and Ellie Martin really
getting the audience going with Somebody to love by Freddie
Mercury in an arrangement originally created for The X Factor’s Big
Band Night. Closing the evening was a sparkling performance by
Creative & Cultural
Elle Illingworth, who sang the Toy Story favourite You Got a Friend
in Me.
My thanks go to all involved, and especially to the Swing Band
who provided the foundation for both evenings. They played with
great skill and precision throughout, both in accompanying the
soloists and in their own numbers.
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Creative & Cultural
External Music Examinations
Commemoration
The pupils have again enjoyed considerable success in their
instrumental and singing examinations this academic year. We
congratulate the following pupils on their achievements in passing
the highest grade (Grade 8) offered by the Associated Board of the
Royal Schools of Music and Trinity College.
We were once again privileged to be back in the Minster for
our annual Commemoration Service on the last Friday of the
summer term. The Brass Ensemble played a rousing fanfare by
Elgar Howarth at the arrival of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress
of York, and the Sheriff and Sheriff’s Lady. The Chamber Choir’s
Introit, Locus Iste by Anton Bruckner, provided a lovely still
atmosphere before the first hymn. The School Choir sang warmly
throughout in their Jubilate in C by Stanford and in supporting the
congregation in the hymns. The Chapel Choir’s anthem, O Thou
the Central Orb, by Charles Wood, was also a highlight, with wellcontrasted dynamic range and an exciting finish.
Henry Wong
Piano
Sebastian Dobson
Clarinet (Merit)
Luke Dunsmore
Piano (Merit)
Edmund Meredith Clark
Cello (Merit)
Laura Nichols Singing (Merit)
Emma Richardson Clarinet (Merit)
Joss Town
Recorder (Merit)
Georgina Ward
Singing (Merit)
Charlie Widdicombe
Libby Brown
Clarinet (Distinction)
Robbie Brown Piano (Distinction)
Sarah Carlton
Singing (Distinction)
Ivan Cheng
Piano (Distinction)
Ivan Cheng
Alistair Duffey
Sally Hicks
Percussion (Distinction)
Elle Illingworth
Sam Lightwing
Max McLeish
Josh Stanford
Saxophone (Distinction)
Piano (Distinction)
Charlie Widdicombe
Saxophone (Distinction)
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Singing (Merit)
Trumpet (Distinction)
Creative & Cultural
At the heart of the service was a powerful and thought-provoking
address from Dr Sam Wells, vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields in
London. This was based around the story of The Boy in the Striped
Pyjamas by John Boyne, which Dr Wells used to illustrate the
importance of friendship and future relationships for the students
who were leaving the school. There were also readings from a
number of students, and prayers read by leaving staff.
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Creative & Cultural
Creative Writing: snapshots
The year begins with a glut of wonderful writing. Rested and with
active minds, we’re not trammelled by exams yet. We kick off
with National Poetry Day at the beginning of October and the
theme is ‘Water, Water, Everywhere’ – a nod to Coleridge’s The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner. We embrace this wholeheartedly
and using Gustav Dore’s woodcut illustrations, the Third Form
write their own poetry, based on one of the most dramatic parts
of the poem.
Water, Water Everywhere…
The barren ship,
wandered the abandoned ocean.
Lifeless bodies
sprawled over the scorched ship.
My shrivelled brain rattled
in my nutshell of a brain.
The malodorous baked albatross weighted me to the floor
as if it was bolted down.
Water, water everywhere,
but not a drop to spare.
The emerald water luring me in,
the poison everywhere.
Emily McDonald
Water, Water Everywhere
The beastly ship roared
through the hellish sea,
with a struggle.
The Mariner’s eyes
shimmered off the
glittering sea; killing
the albatross felt
like a mistake!
He felt like tyranny
was setting in, and a
blast of bad luck
blew his way.
He could see death
in his boat
floating
past.
Charlie Smith
Water, Water Everywhere
Death stormed through the ocean
Split the withering heat
For eyes of woe did close.
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The water pawed at the boat
and I was left alone
in the sea of death.
I shot the albatross
brought plague
of cursed water, glimmering,
Fire sky and copper sun.
Martha Horner
The Mariner
The sun’s rim dipped,
over the painted ocean
while the star dogged moon
shining white, surfaced.
The glittering eye shone
like an emerald, while
his soul rotted
as the men on the ship.
As the ship sunk
into the hellish ocean,
Water, water everywhere.
Angus Wilson
From Third Form poetry we move to the Sixth Form’s study of
narrative. Working on the basis that stories are to be found in
everything, the Lower Sixth worked on creating narrative strands
from art and photography. They were encouraged to explore light
and shade, perspective, focus and the symbolism of colour. The
responses were all unique – and in some cases, quite unexpected.
The Woman in White
The curtains drew, the beaming light drowned the stage and
the woman in white froze. Her dead eyes drifted beyond the
stage light, as if she saw nothing but darkness. Her frail body
crept further and further into itself, leaving nothing but an
empty shell. She stood paralysed with pain. The beautiful shell
inhaled slowly, her lungs fixed by the white silk corset that lay
so structured against her frail bones. Thin pieces of string pulled
so tight against her back that she slowly and tenderly began to
bleed. All colours had been sucked from her gentle lips; her face
fell emotionless, drowned with emptiness. The weight of the
magnificent white-netted headpiece led every inch of muscle to
ache through her neck towards her bony spine. The empty shell
looked towards the audience; hundreds of faces looked back in
amazement at the sight of the beauty in white that stood before
them, Yet she felt nothing but an ache from within. To her it was
the same audience that had been stood before her all along, the
audience that constantly scrutinised and watched her every move.
In her eyes the dance had become worthless. Every inch of joy
and celebration that the dance represented had been twisted
Creative & Cultural
into a life of pain. Her feet throbbed from the agonising pain,
her stomach numb from the intense hunger. She looked at the
audience one last time before she knew she had to continue. As
the woman in white knew, there was no escape from the dance.
Lucy Wooton
She pushed the thought away; she was losing her concentration.
She couldn’t do that. She’d made it this far. Noting the name of
the artist, she stepped away from the painting and looked once
around the room. Only one man caught her attention. He stood in
the corner, wearing a long black coat like the ones in the detective
films she used to watch with her father.
It had been a while since she’d thought about her father. She
wondered what he would think if he were still here. Would he be
disappointed? Angry? Would he even care?
Once again she reminded herself to stop daydreaming. She wasn’t
allowed any mistakes. The man glanced at her every so often, just
out of the corner of his eye, but obvious enough for her to notice.
Testing him, she took a few steps towards to door and stopped at
another painting. As if to mirror her actions he did the same, never
once taking his eyes off her. In her mind she thought of how many
ways she could escape. Of course, she could just walk out the door
with all the other visitors but he was big and could probably catch
her up before that. She couldn’t run because that would cause
a scene and she would definitely be caught. It wasn’t an option.
From where she was standing she could see a small door to the
side of the staircase through which a cleaner came carrying a
black bag. She waited until the man glanced at the painting for a
second, distracted by its colour, and slipped out.
The Wave
She stared, straining to look further into the distance, imagining
what lay beyond. Its power excited her. The constant push and
pull as the water stretched closer in, only to be dragged back,
folding in on itself. She imagined the white horses, the phrase so
commonly used though she never particularly liked it. It seemed
too graceful for the sea and lessened its danger, the danger she
liked. She thought of the depths of the ocean, calm in comparison
to the tempestuous exterior. She was like the wave, in a way.
Inside she was serene and composed, or that was how she wished
she could be. It was her outside, her actions, her anger that caused
problems, this problem. She was more powerful than she realised
and in the past that may have frightened her. Many things did. A
memory stirred. The pull of the tide, her own cry, the taste of the
salt water in her mouth before strong arms lifted her clear out of
the water and she was safe.
Jess Hart
The Thames below Westminster
He rose like a mountain through the mist. A towering colossus
that parted the clouds, He cut a figure of inconceivable magnitude
as the dawn sun strained to break through the haze which was
drawn to Him as a moth to a flame. Yet despite the early morning
mist which attempted to obscure His view, He observed all that
transpired beneath Him, watching over every lost spirit, every
inhabitant, that wandered the cobbled streets of His sprawling
city.
He was their God; an omnipotent and inexorable being that
inspired awe and demanded respect from all. Men, women and
children, with jaws agape, craned their necks in vain as they tried
to catch a glimpse of His many faces which extended to each
of the four corners of the globe. At His bidding, the stillness of
every morning was broken by a cacophony of sound as the great
steel hives, like fishermen indulging themselves on the banks of
England’s plentiful rivers, relentlessly reeled their workers in and
slowly stole the life from each poor, unfortunate soul trapped
between their high walls and hellish infernos.
135
Creative & Cultural
However, it was mornings such as these when He felt most
content. The veil that was draped across His city during the night
was beginning to fade away, caressing the chimneys and spires
which punctuated the city’s skyline as it lifted; a parting kiss until
they met again. The droplets which permeated the breathless
air transferred to Him with ease the unremitting sound of water
striking stone, nature striking man, as the Thames maintained
its habitual beat. The riverboats, just beginning their voyage
to the coast to collect their precious cargo, created an image
of unadulterated beauty; their motion downstream produced
ripples which reverberated out across the wide expanse of water
in the manner of a stone which has been dropped into a pond
and in so doing removed the water’s mask of tranquillity. And
a man, standing amongst his colleagues on a jetty just off the
Embankment, looked up to Him with a pained expression on his
face, begging Him to do his job quicker so that he might return
to the hovel that he called “home”. And so, it was, while looking
out across the landscape which He both presided over and which,
at this time, brought Him such great joy, that He made history
and defied the words of St Marher when He stopped for one, brief
second.
Toby Latham
The Woman in the Red Dress
To simply acknowledge the tilt of his head and his furrowed brow
was not enough. You had to search his entire face for clues: the
way the tip of his tongue poked out of the corner of his frowning
mouth; the way his nostrils flared that little bit more when he
breathed; the way he thoughtlessly swept wisps of hair out of his
eyes; and the brightness which shone from his eyes, despite their
black colouring.
I watched him from my corner - his right hand moving over his
selection of paintbrushes, choosing each one with precision, his
left hand resting on his hip. With each brushstroke he made, his
creation gained more and more life. Every so often, he would stop
and perch his brush precariously behind his ear, allowing him to
stand back to admire his masterpiece. Even from behind, I could
sense the electricity during those moments. His work was nearing
completion and both he and she knew what would follow.
‘Please Madam, straighten your back and lift your head up high.
Yes, perfect.’
His clear, resounding voice broke through the silence, causing my
attention to be diverted to the woman. I’d stared at her many
times before – she had been sat in the same position, in the same
room, with the same expression for five months, but each day
she looked a little different. It wasn’t her fixed pout or her still
arms that changed; it was her eyes. Each day her eyes seemed
to open up a bit more to the world, sparkling with her increasing
knowledge. Knowledge only he could give her.
It had been going on for months and no one but myself suspected.
The day she first walked into the room she had held her head
up high and left her husband to do the talking, sitting silently,
radiating self-importance. I think the attraction came from her
original indifference. His charming and charismatic nature drew
136
women to him, but he used them as a distraction, fascinating
and tempting them. Yet his mannerisms were wasted on her; she
answered him bluntly only when necessary and avoided making
contact with his roaming eyes.
But on the third week, she entered his studio with her hair draped
across the left side of her face and settled herself into position. He
initially tried to demand that she tucked the offending hair behind
her ear, as she had in previous weeks.
‘I’m sorry Madam, but I must insist that you maintain the original
hairstyle.’
‘I’ve changed my mind. I would like it like this now, please.’
‘Madam, I cannot change the painting. If you refuse to change
your hair, I will have to tell your husband the painting cannot be
completed.’
The look of mortification ad horror in her eyes is one I will never
forget.
‘No, don’t do that. I will change it, if I must.’
I remember the painstakingly slow movement of her hand pushing
the hair behind her ear to reveal the left hand side of her face.
Spread across her eye and cheek was a large mark, in grotesque
shades of blue and purple. Her cheeks blushed in embarrassment
as I gasped, but he just nodded.
‘You may let your hair down again.’
‘But…the painting?’
‘It doesn’t matter. Leave it to me.’
Creative & Cultural
From that day on she began to accept his behaviour more and
more. I don’t know exactly when it began, but signs soon became
clear that only I could recognise.
Her wonderful laugh resonates through the halls of his house,
their conversation is seemingly endless, their lingering goodbyes
fill his hall. He experiences a side to her that her husband never
will.
her forearm and shoulder. The poignant bone digs into the already
hollow temple. She makes a mental note: bring pillow next time.
Alicia Cranston
Izzy Hall
The Creative Writing Competition, run in the summer term, this
year featured an array of writing which was diverse in style and
form, was self-generated, composed and edited and ultimately
saw Concetta Scrimshaw and Ben Turvill as winners, both choosing
to experiment with poetic forms. Below are their entries.
The Girl
Love Song
The girl is here again.
Her face framed by an
arched brow, quizzical
in its composition.
The intensity of her
rigid neck, strained
and fragile under
the burden of her
head struggles
with the unfeasible
angle. A feeble
front incongruous
to a hunched back,
everything seems ill
fitting. Her pale skin,
taut on the bone
magnifies her dainty, yet queer, disposition. The hasty snap of
the head to accompany her eyes on their mission for knowledge,
once again, left her ungainly in her confusion. The only light,
sourced from a small window, left her in the company of the
darkness. She heard it first – tired eyes don’t see all too well. A
once-unencumbered youth now engulfed in enigma – where is the
noise? Drained, she turns away. As she relaxes, her clothes return
to hanging loosely off her skeleton; a lingering amalgam of sweat
and tears lubricate the once silken fabric. The smell is redundant;
only the noise exists. She reflects on the consistency of the noise:
always in the top left of her peripheral vision. She appreciates this
one grace afforded to her – her first and seemingly last clue. Her
slightly rouged cheeks emphasise the sickly pallor of her being,
grey and blue skin, cathartically cold against her raging mind.
Ironically, her red hair – the only thing dead on her – appears
the most alive. These wisps of escaped hair tickle the crook of
her neck, an effeminate annoyance. The noise tests her will and
concentration once more. The delicate slant of her indelicate lips
encompasses both hope and belittling exasperation; they act as
her only emotional outlet. Her emotions are reduced to that of
confusion and unrest. The noise becomes the subject of her days
and her isolation now becomes her resolution. Evidence of her
addiction resides within; she is made ill by this noise. The window
to the soul glazes over, seeing life through a greyed filter. Despite
being a woman of greater stature than some, she still is no closer
to reaching the noise. The sullen walls encroaching on her give
nothing away. Their centimetre thick, uniformed 4 by 4 structure
marks only her own enslavement but nothing or no one else’s.
Fatigued, she settles once more, satisfied it will rest with her. She
lies facing the top left of the room, balancing her head between
It’s deathly quiet in here
save for the sharp crack of my footsteps.
You’re in the middle of the room, glorious in
mahogany, you’re that warm feeling I get when
everything is just divine.
Your lid is down.
Not to worry, I’ll lift it up. It’s rather slow
Better not make a sound anyway
Eighty-five perfect keys, black on white. Gleaming.
(But you were always into aesthetics. Always wanted to
look your very best).
Your strings glint in the sun flooding through
a single slat of the blinds and
dust particles glitter in the light, a ray of them, drifting.
They’re beautiful.
Just like you
Oh, the rapture that fills the room like
Elysium. Each spotless note, cascading on top of one another
and spiralling on that sublime wave that flows faultlessly
from bottom to top. The bass,
a deep swell, rolling and crashing, sweeping
away the delicate melody in a sparkling undulation.
The world around myself has disappeared. It’s just
you and me
A looping surge that collapses into a shimmering ripple,
a heaving crest that splinters into a thunderous
arch of harmony;
sorrow, as both perish into ebbing
consonance. The room vibrates with
the last few echoes of your enchanting
sonority. And now you’re silent. Oh, how I
long for you to sing again
But all good things must come to an
end. I step away from you, the
sound of my footstep fracturing the tenuous
lull. The silence is harsh, coarse and
bitter. I take one last look at you, pure, perfect,
and whole, the secrets within you
fading in the air,
transient and ephemeral.
Concetta Scrimshaw
137
Creative & Cultural
The Cry of the Anglo-Irish
The Log Pile
after W B Yeats
So shall we stack the log pile now,
oh brother, you and I?
See we have rolled back the rock that guards
the opening: we have opened and unleashed
whatever may be found there.
The sun burns against the lavender ends
but winter’s chill is in the clouds
and spiders scramble in the dark.
So on you go to where I -
I am a culmination:
two parts united to the whole.
I am the image and its opposite.
I see myself in a mirror of glass,
a mirror cast of broken sands,
a mirror then of divided lands,
divided by a raging heart
and here the conception of an art:
a division of a raging sea.
There is a bird that will fly a divide,
fly above a charred earth.
And if it flies above the earth,
it will fly that rabid sea
and be a bridge that nature gives
to bind us, though we destroy.
O guards who piqued that nation’s shore,
do not destroy the birds that fly.
Do not with crude, cold hand pluck beauty from the sky.
It lands in an ancestral house,
an ancestral house in civil war
and that bird meets with another
bird and birds will carry the message on.
We hide not amidst the dawn.
We shall not be blasphemy’s pawn.
We fear not, there is no shroud
between us
but bed sheets and I am born.
I shall make a boat of trees
I fell with scratching nib,
and land through my same scratched-out dreams.
I shall find courage in a fabled man
like me, who gives me fire
to warm and light the way, to cook the fish
the birds will drop for me.
And I shall find my ancestral house,
a house that is a tower,
a tower, set as equals with those streets
free from a blood
that runs deep in me.
Ben Turvill
138
Then see you suddenly
diving, scuttling down amidst the dark, amidst the dank
and up to light proud and
slinging now the
log
down with a hellish stampede of clank
for transportation
to our door
and there unload, let rip, let fall the piling cascade
and here the clang, clunk, drop the ever fall.
I pick up the pieces still.
And so I stack the logs against
the porch’s side and mesh the cuts to one great
wall of logs - a second curtain wall
against the siege of winter.
But I know another barrier that will
forever withstand any rage of nature, emotion; cold or pain
and here I prove it: now and now and now
and then - as I walked back to you.
For then we heaved the warped door to, oh brother,
and rolled the rock to block that tomb again.
Ben Turvill
Creative & Cultural
Abdul Yahaya
Hannah Whitehouse
Hannah Whitehouse
Harry Richardson
Alice Appleby
LVI Form
Fine Art
Emily Brown
Emily Brown
Vivian Ko
139
Creative & Cultural
Katie Harrison
Anna Fairbank
Katie Harrison
Lower Sixth-Form Fine Art
Joe copley
Alice Appleby
140
Chloe Burdass
Marianne Spencer
Creative & Cultural
Giles Jagger
Isabel Hall
Sophie Reed
Isabel Hall
Vivian Ko
Sophie Reed
Lauren Caley
Marianne Spencer
141
Creative & Cultural
Bea Rhodes
Bea Rhodes
AS-Level Photography: Beatrice Rhodes-Blangsted, Charlotte Rose, Emma Walker
Charlotte Rose
Charlotte Rose
Charlotte Rose
Emma Walker
142
Emma Walker
Creative & Cultural
Sabrina Leung
Luka Pajovic
Upper Sixth-Form Fine Art
Luka Pajovic
Sabrina Leung
Sabrina Leung
143
Creative & Cultural
Imogen Jefferies
Sabrina Leung
Sasha Hinde
Imogen Jefferies
Alexandra Budarina
Bussy Wells
Sasha Hinde
Yasmine Kumordzi
Bussy Wells
144
Creative & Cultural
Michael Chan
Holly Drinkwater
Michael Chan
Holly Drinkwater
Holly Drinkwater
Hanna Ramalingham
Sophie France
Sophie France
Hannah Ramalingam
Yasmine Kumordzi
Yasmine Kumordzi
Yasmine Kumordzi
Sasha Hinde
145
Postcard Portraits
Mrs Dawson
Which three people (dead or alive) would you invite to a
dinner party and why?
Well, to be boring, I’ll have to pick
my favourite mathematician, Galois
(which had to be spelled out for
us several times), because he led
a short but productive life, and
ended up dying in a pistol duel!
The lovely Brian Cox, just to
upset my daughter, and Michael
Palin because of his great
influence as a comedian and to get
some tips on travelling.
the hour and a half that they spend on the pitch playing, they get
paid far too much and I think people pay far too much attention
to them (this question was asked on the first day of the Football
World Cup!).
What is it about teaching that made you want to do the job.
Well I didn’t originally. Then I discovered that the only way I could
carry on doing maths all the time rather than applying it was to
pass it on in the classroom. I suppose I ought to say that I wanted
to help children, but …
What did you want to do originally?
Well I took my O-level subjects intending to study medicine but
then I sort of discovered maths, learning there was much more to
it and much more to enjoy.
Is there anything you really don’t like
about teaching
What, other than the Third Form? No.
What would the starter be?
Hand-picked and hand-dived Scottish scallops.
What three school-related things would you put
in room 101?
The entire Third Form, 8.40 Saturday morning lessons and
uniform boo-boos such as boys wearing their trousers low
like hipsters, and the three-quarter length trousers on girls.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievements?
Producing two children. You can’t get much better than that!
Do you have unfulfilled ambitions?
I wanted to become a pilot, go into space and watch a huge
volcanic explosion. From a safe distance of course, but near
enough to see it properly. I keep checking when Vesuvius is
next going to erupt!
Which three items would you take with you to a
desert island and why?
Well (assuming there would be free wi-fi there) I would take
my iPad, full of books to read. Also, a keyboard because I’d
like to be able to improve my piano-playing since I’d have
not much else to do. I’d take Mr Dawson with me: you’d want
him on a desert island because he’s practical. He can make
huts and things like that.
Which celebrities or public figures do you dislike most?
I dislike footballers, I know they put a lot of work in but for
146
What are your best and worst
fashion moments?
Bearing in mind that I was a teenager in
the 70s, I think we are definitely going
with flared trousers for worst moments,
aren’t we? And permed hair! It
used to be called a Kevin Keegan.
I did have a very nice dress on my
wedding day. What’s wrong with
today, I ask you?
If you weren’t yourself, who
would you most like to be?
I would want to be Mrs Dawson, I’m very happy being me. I
suppose if I could be anything I’d be a cat because it seems like
they have an easy life and they also have a streak of meanness.
How do you imagine
heaven and hell to be?
In heaven I imagine there’d
be an endless supply of
time and non-fattening
chocolate. My hell would be
if I were locked in a room
with reality television.
Lastly, what advice would you give the people at the school?
When you don’t succeed: keep going, try again,
and if all else fails, eat chocolate.
Peter Gray and Bethan Bradley (V)
Postcard Portraits
Mr John Darmody
Which three people, dead or
alive, would you invite to a
dinner party, and why?
The comedian, Jack Dee, singersongwriter, Leonard Cohen
(because they’re miserable old
gits like me) and Jo Brand, to lighten the mood.
Which three things relating to St Peter’s would you put into
room 101, and why?
It would be Saturday morning lessons, single periods for the
creative subjects, and lunchtime roll-calls.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement to
date?
Lasting as long as I have and managing to keep smiling at all
times. Seriously, probably that I’ve done things other than
teaching, like not making it in football and almost making it in
music. That’s me: ‘Mr Almost’!
art and being able to introduce young people to it. Apart from the
increasing amount of bureaucracy and change for its own sake I
dislike the excessive use of technology: emails have replaced faceto-face contact and the internet is a poor substitute for reading.
What are your best and worst fashion moments?
Some of my best fashion moments some people say were actually
my worst! In my late teens and early twenties I thought my pastshoulder-length hair and yellow Chelsea boots were the business. I
always thought that when I became older I would never dress the
same way as my dad. That didn’t work.
If you weren’t yourself who would you
most like to be?
I think I would probably have to be Bruce
Springsteen, simply because my wife
seems to love him more than me.
How do you imagine Heaven and Hell to be?
Heaven would be sitting in a the directors’ section at the Stadium
of Light with a pie in one hand and a pint in the other watching
Sunderland beating Newcastle United by several goals to
nil. Brought up and educated under
strict Catholic principles, even now
I can’t imagine Hell being anything
other than a Hieronymus Bosch
panorama.
Which three items would you take with you to a
desert island, and why?
A photograph of my family, and my drum-kit, so that I could play
as loudly as I like. I might have to take a huge block of marble
as an art supply, because that would take me years to carve and
shape – plus a hammer and chisel, of course. Oops, that’s five
objects.
Which celebrities or public figures do you detest most,
and why?
How long have you got? In politics, Margaret Thatcher, because
of the damage her policies did to communities in my part of the
world [the north-east]; in the art world I dislike the self-indulgent
work of Tracy Emin, now Professor of Drawing at the Royal
Academy – that’s a laugh! And in the media, probably Lee Mack –
a Smart-Alec, not-funny comedian and show-off.
Who is your favourite artist?
Which aspects of teaching do you like and dislike the most?
I admire and envy the talents of a great many artists. My
favourites change on an almost daily basis. In terms of the alltime greats I don’t think you can go past Titian for sheer vivacity
and skill. One of my favourite contemporary artists is Maggie
Hambling. I think both artists are just simply great painters who
know their trade and have brilliant technique.
Very easy: I like the holidays! Seriously, just being involved with
147
Sport
RUGBY
First XV
Following the excellent tour to South Africa the
team was ready to face the retiring Captain’s XV,
this was always going to be a tough battle against
last season’s unbeaten XV. The school fought hard
and pushed them close, but eventually went down
30-19.
The second game of the season was at home to
Leeds: this was a strong Leeds side who had come
to play. As the game wore on our scrummage
began to dominate and the front row of Will Shaw,
Will Scholey and Jake Taylor enabled the school to
dominate possession. Despite this we were 18-13
down with one minute to play. A sustained period
of pressure saw Harry Stothard score and then
convert to win the game 20-18.
The game against Woodhouse Grove exposed some defensive
frailties within the team and saw the school go down 36-18.
Unfortunately we were to lose Dylan George and James
Bottomley to injuries which did weaken the squad.
Away at Hymers there was a reversal in fortunes: an excellent
attacking display saw the school score five tries in the first
half. Backs and forwards linked well and Cormack Hopkinson
scored three tries on the left wing. The score finished 39-7.
Local rivals Ampleforth followed, and a stirring performance
from the forwards enabled the school to dominate
possession, Toby Simpson, the captain, led by example and
his second-row partner Rob Hulmes worked hard in the
engine room of the second row. The score finished 36-19.
148
The game against Pocklington was again a one-sided affair: good
performances from Charlie Elliot and James Bellingall saw us
overpower them 50-12.
This was one of the biggest and most powerful packs of forwards
St Peter’s have produced for many years and a number of teams
were simply not able to cope with the physicality we produced.
The back row of Dominic Marsh, Oliver Smith and Archie Hinde
also played with authority.
Our next match was a major test away at Barnard Castle, and
losing Jake Taylor at tighthead prop was going to make things
more difficult. Unfortunately, missed chances cost us and we
went down 11-0. A mention at this point for Will Pepper, who had
an outstanding season: he was always an attacking threat and
defensively superb. His efforts were rewarded with selection for
the national independent schools’ team.
The next game was against RGS Newcastle. The half-backs of
Harry Richardson and Ben Williams were now showing more
control in games and were able to dictate tactics more effectively.
Early tries and sustained pressure enabled us to win 20-15.
Our foray into the NatWest Schools Cup was to end in
disappointment. An easy win against Ripon Grammar put us into
the next round against Bradford. On a day when the opposition
Sport
simply wanted the win more than us, we went down 23-17. This
result was to be avenged in the last game of the season with the
school winning 31-7.
The Upper Sixth always define the First XV and this year was no
exception. Mention has to made of Toby Simpson, who was an
outstanding captain and player.
Dylan George came back into the team following his injury and
was back to his combative best.
PLAYED 12 WON 8 LOST 4
An excellent record and one to be proud of.
The match against a very strong Durham side saw the defence
suffer and early tries conceded, but with changes in position at the
break, the second half was won. This proved to be ‘too little, too
late’ and we lost 31-17.
Squad: Will Shaw*, Will Scholey**, Jake Taylor**, Toby Simpson**
(Captain), Rob Hulmes*, Archie Hinde*, Oliver Smith*, Dominic
Marsh*, Felix Adams*, Harry Richardson*, Dylan George*, Ben
Williams*, Charlie Elliot*, James Bellingall*, Harry Stothard*,
Cormac Hopkinson*, Will Pepper**, Finlay Craig, James Bottomley
* Full Colours ** Caps
Honours
Harry Richardson: Yorkshire U18, North of England U18
Jake Taylor: Yorkshire U18, Newcastle Falcons Academy
Will Scholey: Yorkshire U18, Leeds Carnegie Academy
Toby Simpson, Will Pepper: independent schools’ national team
149
Sport
Second and Third XV
You can visit any club, team, business or school for that matter, and
know within a short time whether you’ve walked into a winning or
losing situation…The most important things in any organisation
are relationships, communication, honesty, trust, motivation,
confidence and teamwork – people working together for the
common cause…You can tell if you are in a winning or losing
situation by observing the way people treat each other. – Phil Gould
(Australian RFL coach and commentator)
division. The excellence of Sam Blott’s throwing-in , Ali Duffey’s
tackling, Toby McGill’s work in both the loose and tight, and
Patrick Knutson’s scrum-work certainly bodes well for next season.
Toby Latham and Eddy Stephen struck up a fine partnership at
numbers nine and ten, with excellent support from Ed Cotter, Seb
Dobson and Toby Courtis in the centres. Phil Hodgson, Nick Fullick,
Alex Reeds and Matt Jones provided pace and great finishing out
wide. Sadly we lost Zac Ransome, Jake Wilson, James Bell and Phil
Hodgson to injury during the season. All coped remarkably well
with the disappointment and I thank them all for their support of
the team. Towards the back end of the season our newcomers to
the game, Kirill Kullick and Dan Stone played full games for the
side against Read’s First XV. In this fixture Tim Chiu, Ed Bower, Sam
Colthup and Henry Eyre all added to their reputation on the field.
Sadly the match was lost in the dying seconds but it was a great
advert for the game in terrible weather conditions .
For the lads who played in the Seconds and Thirds this has to be
true: squad rotation and the need to give all the players quality
game-time is an essential part of organising and coaching these
sides. However, it requires enormous maturity and team spirit
for it to work properly. Seb Dobson’s outstanding captaincy of
the Third XV exemplified this so well; his selfless willingness to
lead this team gave the younger lads in the backs a real feeling
of security, especially when they played the First Teams of Read
School and Scarborough College, and the very physical ‘third’ team
from WHG. Success in these fixtures reminded these players that
they were playing their rugby at a very good level, and for the
Lower Sixth it showed them that first- and second-team rugby
should be their aim next season. It was tremendous to see Alex
Harrison, Jack Graham, Harry Snell, Euan Taylor, James Bell, James
Contreras, Will Waterhouse and Will ‘comedy gold’ Coidan playing
so well and providing such good ball for the less-experienced back
150
Victory isn’t defined by wins or losses. It is defined by effort. If you
can truthfully say, “I did the best I could, I gave everything I had,”
then you’re a winner. – Wolfgang Schadler
As with the Thirds, the Second XV were blessed with young men
of great character. Will Fynn and Guy Hall captained the side
with tremendous enthusiasm and set the tone for what would
be required on game days. Up front we had an excellent front
Sport
row with Marco Gaias, Josh Stanford, Will Fynn and Ben Gibson
all doing the hard yards and showing fine technique in the tight.
The athleticism of Will Catchpole and Charlie Smith, and the
physicality of Jack Graham in ‘the row’ was a mainstay of our
pressure defence and attacking options off phase ball. They were
complemented by a hugely mobile and talented back row chosen
from Alex Payne, Stuart Tolley, Joe Taylor, Dan Clough and Tristan
Prince.
Scrum and lineout dominance in most matches gave our
experienced and talented backs the chance to shine. In the really
tough games against Barnard Castle, QEGS, Durham and WHG
these forwards all fronted up and showed what it means to play
for St Peter’s. Harry Snell, Tom McCullagh, Seb Dobson, Sam Blott,
Toby McGill and Patrick Knutson all had cameo performances in
one or more of these matches and were not found wanting. We
were very lucky to have excellent half-backs with Tom Dickinson
running the show at number ten all season (except for one game
when Eddy Stephen stepped up to the mark against Hymers),
and Toby Latham, James Field and briefly, on return from injury,
Dylan George at number nine; sadly we lost Alex Eyre during the
WHG fixture with a dislocated shoulder, sustained whilst making
a try-saving tackle. Our centres, Ed Coates, Tom Calvert and Hugo
Adams, provided us with a strong defensive unit and co-ordinated
attacking options. In the back three we had pace and power with
Guy Hall leading the way from No 15 and George Gao, Nick
Ubhi and Patrick Brown offering real finishing options out wide.
The latter also distinguished himself with a wonderful defensive
performance at Barnard Castle that helped to see us home to a
very fine victory. We were also lucky to have Oli Leedham on the
occasions he was not with the First XV. He stands a very good
chance of playing a major role next year.
As Colin Clark reflected after the match at Barnard Castle: ‘rugby
doesn’t build character, it reveals character.’
I would like to take the opportunity of thanking these Upper-Sixth
lads for all that they have given to rugby at St Peter’s. I have had
the pleasure of coaching them since the U16s, and hope they
have enjoyed the experience as much as I have. I must also thank
Colin Clark for his outstanding coaching and help this season and
also Lee Paterson for the superb work on defence with all the lads.
Once again none of this would have been possible without the
help given by both Matthew Grant and Ben White.
How we win the game shows something about our character; how
we lose it shows all of it.
Mr Paddy Stephen
151
Sport
U16A
The squad: David Bird, Alex Gould, Charlie Bellingall, Will
Quinn, Tom Robinson, Andrew Hulmes, Douglas Whiter, Freddie
Greswold, Luke Mander, Sam Lodge, George Metcalfe, Alex Taylor,
Jakob Esler, Max McLeish, Will Kimpson, Josh Ramlingam. Ed
Contreras, Scott Buskin, Daniel Jones, Oliver Newman
PLAYED 10 WON 6 LOST 4
The first game of the season, against GSAL, was a difficult start.
We were heavily depleted due to circumstances beyond our
control; Leeds were a big side and dominated the tight play.
The game was not without its highlights, James Bird scoring a
magnificent try from a first-phase setpiece move in the backs, but
we lost 41-25. Against Giggleswick we proved too strong, winning
comfortably 39-20. Hymers also played a direct game. It took us
time to realise that we could outmanoeuvre them but once we
moved the ball it was a comfortable win, 41-11. The composure of
the side away at Ampleforth was commendable: we got to know
their numbers nine and seven very well, especially at set-plays,
but we lost 17-5. The match against QEGS was excellent. They are
a very strong side but we matched them in desire and courage
152
for the majority of the game. Our back row and midfield were
outstanding. We lost, whilst playing the best we had all season,
15-3. Tom Robinson had a field day against Pocklington and we
posted an easy victory, 35-0. Barnard Castle proved a sterner test:
we had the backs, and they the front five. We managed to win the
game with little possession, 18-15. A belter of a match against
RGS Newcastle, everyone making their tackles and attacking the
breakdown, resulted in a 15-7 win. Durham School were a very
strong pack and we struggled to get any ball, losing 10-3. The last
game of the season saw the backs and forwards combine well and
beat Bradford GS 36-0.
Sport
their game. In the second row Jake Esler improved considerably. He
has the size and technique to be successful at the position. Alex
Taylor played well, often helping the team by playing in positions
that were not his first choice; sadly, he was too often injured. Sam
Lodge at hooker always gave his all. He is a good games player
and his throwing-in became consistently good. He has the ability
to link up in open play. Luke Mander understands the game and
is especially effective in the loose. Some of the front five needed
to improve their core stability and their stamina: all too often
they were a spent force before the end of the first half. Skill and
ability are hard to acquire but fitness is easy - merely a desire and
determination to improve.
The side has been a pleasure to coach. I wish the players well in
their senior rugby.
Mr Mike Johnston
Overall this side has potential. At full-back Will Quinn excels. He
comes into the line well, and has pace and a strong defence. On
the wings David Bird is quick and elusive, and Andy Hulmes is a
nimble player. Both need to bulk up their defence if they wish to
make First XV. The midfield of Tom Robinson and Charlie Bellingall
have the ability to beat a man and the pace to exploit it. Their
defence is first-class and little if anything gets through. At fly-half
Douglas Whiter challenges the gain line thus helping his centres.
He makes good breaks but must learn to link up with his support
more readily if he is to reach his potential. Freddie Greswold is
a nuggety scrum-half: he has good vision and service, and uses
his box-kick well. He cleaned up the ball well at the set where
we struggled to give him a good platform. The back row of Will
Kimpson, Max McLeish, and Josh Ramlingam are outstanding
athletes. They were always in support and often were the first
three from either side there. Again a little more bulk would benefit
U15B
P
10
W
10
L
0
F
396
A
49
Even by St Peter’s standards, the enthusiasm shown by the
U15B XV this year (although primarily for fried chicken) was
second to none from the very start of the season. This squad of
players bristling with precocious talent demonstrated admirable
camaraderie and teamwork throughout. To this spirit they added
a growing awareness of the game and a determination to play
fifteen-man rugby which the opposition struggled to contain.
Their stand-out achievement was their development over the
season as a team unit: their performance to defeat Bradford
Grammar School 62-0 in their final game was not only their
most convincing victory, but their most polished, against an
opposition who refused to throw in the towel notwithstanding the
153
Sport
scoreline. Very few of the points in that game were the work of
an individual, but rather the culmination of the team constructing
and converting structured opportunities.
Thubron; Alex Martin; Ian Ho; James Taylor; Ravin Dhesi; Ollie
Williams; Sam Stanford; Paddy Hayes; Joe Bates; Jake Stanyon-
Particular highlights for me must include the opening win of the
season against a tough GSAL team who pushed us closer than
anyone else – an easy hurdle at which to fall, the win away against
QEGS, in which every member of the team truly gave their all
to get over the finishing line and, most of all, the delight on the
team’s faces after the Bradford game at a job well done and, so
I’m told, the promise of a team outing yet to come.
Mr Harry Vann
Huge thanks go to Mr Ed Noy Scott for his role as senior coach of
the team and resilient referee for all our home games.
I started writing a paragraph about those who had put in
outstanding performances for the U15B XV, but realised I was
essentially just writing out the squad list. The following played
in this impressive and hugely entertaining side and can all be
proud of their contribution to an excellent season, which could
not have been more enjoyable as my first at St Peter’s: Matthew
Roberts (Captain); Will Andrews; Will Fryer; Will Huffer; Sam Elliot;
Tom Hawksworth; Jonathan Jaworski; George O’Neill; Archie
Stephenson; George Ingall; Rory Combe; Sam Lightwing; Ethan
154
Carr; Stephen Jones; David Adelugba.
U14A
The U14s arrived at St Peter’s fresh from the summer holidays,
full of eagerness to impress in their new surroundings. It was
certainly clear from the outset that their prep schools had done
a great job in preparing them all for senior-school rugby. Each
of the boys did their utmost in the week leading up to the first
game, which saw a comprehensive win over the Grammar School
at Leeds: impressive considering that some of the boys had never
played with each other before in a match. Over the initial few
weeks of term the squad operated as a unit, gelling together as
a new group of players working at the core skills in attack and
defence, hitting good lines, working on slick handling, making
good pass or kick selections, running good moves and organising
themselves in the defensive line. Wins over Woodhouse Grove,
Ampleforth, Pocklinton and Hymers saw them only concede 29
points in the first four games. The grudge match of the season was
Sport
against Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield, an extremely
valiantly-fought game in which the defence withstood wave
after wave of attack and showed a real display of determination
and creativity going forward, and in which a number of players
stood up and made themselves count! The only thing that let
them down all day was a lack of self-belief that they could win –
without doubt, this will not happen again in the future.
The return after half-term saw a few indifferent results – defeats
against Bradford and Durham, a nail-biting draw against Royal
Grammar School, Newcastle, and only one win, which could be
put down to some complacency creeping in among a few of the
players – perhaps thinking that the games were too easy – and
a lack of resolve to keep improving and to work harder at some
of the more complex skills and tactical variations. It is true that
they were met by some much larger and stronger opposition in
the second half of term, and chinks in the defence opened up too
easily allowing opposition runners in without difficulty.
In all, the boys had a very enjoyable and fruitful season: they
certainly developed their skills all round the pitch and secured a
firm grasp of the more intricate game strategies. They will have
taken away many lessons from various matters over the winter
into their rugby over the next few years. I have enjoyed coaching
them and I have enjoyed their company. I wish them all well next
season in the NatWest Cup campaign. My thanks to Mr Smith for
his valuable input and knowledge during the term.
Mr Gareth Sharp
U14B
Under-14 rugby is and always will be some of the most exciting
we get to see at St Peter’s. Fresh faces arrive – some having
already accrued a wealth of rugby-playing experience – and some
who have more to learn. Irrespective of what camp you fall into,
it’s all to play for. This season, an impressive 29 young talents
represented the U14Bs, each one working hard for the team as a
whole and embodying the passion and spirit that this wonderful
sport is all about.
This season started off with a bang. A 71-0 drubbing of GSAL had
our boys on cloud nine, and the following weekend an equally
impressive display of skill saw another clinical performance from
the team, dispatching Giggleswick an equally impressive 77-0.
A string of excellent performances followed: strong forwardplay and clinical finishing by the backs left us with a tally of five
consecutive wins. It was the dream start, but could this continue?
In short, the answer was no. A spirited Pocklington team pipped
a slightly unprepared B/C team amalgamation 19 points to 10,
but in many ways this was seen as a tremendous positive for the
group. For the first time all season we had some young men on
the losing side of a rugby game, and it was a real test of their
mettle to see if they could bounce back in the following games,
and this they did in exemplary fashion.
The rest of the season seemed to go completely as the first half
had. We had the usual scything runs from the centre partnership
of Ed Thompson and Theo Hedley, more often than not with
surging support from Peter Konstantynov. The tireless Charlie
Tannahill continued to be a thorn in the opposition’s side, and the
raw power of players such as Feifei Rawnsley and Rory Winterburn
meant that the side was constantly gaining momentum and were
rarely on the back foot. That is of course until the final game of
the season and an away game down in cold, wet Bradford.
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Sport
The scene was set for an epic. Two sides who had appeared to
be almost peerless the entire season would wrestle it out in the
drizzle and wind of an exposed Bradford Grammar School pitch.
The match that followed was truly a game worthy of the hype.
Excellent play from Bradford’s powerful pack and an exquisite
display of game control from their fly-half saw Bradford take
the lead early on, and following a successful penalty, our young
champions were 10-0 down in the first 20 minutes. This was
a situation we had never been in before. Might we be on the
receiving end of a loss that we were by now so used to handing
out?
The second half answered this question and spoke volumes for
the courage and character of the young men playing with the
crossed keys of St Peter emblazoned over their hearts. Fly-half Ben
Wilkinson stepped up to the plate and ran the game with aplomb,
distributing the ball with ease and releasing his potent runners. A
combined forward effort saw the scrum stabilised, the line-outs
dominated and quick, clean ball presented to the razor-sharp
Ben Raubitschek. The final result: a hard-earned and thoroughlydeserved 17-19 victory. This was without doubt the perfect way
to end a tremendous season. True grit and determination was
demonstrated by all.
The team was selected from: Max Auty; Henry Barker; Marcus
Brown; Marcus Dobson; Harry Exley-Moore; Zac Faithfull; William
Farr; Nathan Goyea; Oscar Hales; Theo Hedley; Tom House;
Oliver Hughes; Spencer Ingall; Ed Johnson; Peter Konstantynov;
Alex Leahy; Chris Nelson; Ben Parkes; Ben Raubitschek; Feifei
Rawnsley; Charles Smith; Charlie Tannahill; Ed Thompson; Marcus
Thomson; Ed Turvill; Matt Ubhi; Zaki Ward; Ben Wilkinson; Rory
Winterburn.
GSAL
Giggleswick
Hymers
Ampleforth
QEGS
Pocklington
Barnard Castle
RGS Newcastle
Durham
Away
Away
Away
Away
Away
Home
Away
Away
Home
Won Won Won Won Won Lost Won Won Won 71- 0
77- 0
63- 0
72- 0
67- 0
19-10
78- 0
49- 7
54-12
Bradford GS
Away
Won 19-17
Mr David Robinson
156
Sevens
The U16 and First Sevens teams travelled down to Rosslyn Park for
the largest schools rugby tournament in the world, which attracts
the best rugby-playing schools in the UK.
The U16 Competition had 160 schools entered. We managed to
win our group well with a play-off game at the end of the day
against Dartford Grammar. A good win there put us into the last
16.
Playing a very strong Welsh team we were 12-0 down at halftime, but magnificent determination saw us score two tries in the
second half to win 14-12. The quarter-finals put us against one of
the favourite teams Sedbergh. Again trailing with one minute to
go we scored a length-of-the-pitch try to win the game by two
points. The semi-final against Wellington was to be our last game
unfortunately, but to finish in the top four teams in the country
was a special achievement and the furthest an U16 St Peter’s
team has gone in this tournament. Well done to the U16 Sevens
team.
The First VII won the group well with a great win over Bromsgrove
School, but a loss in the play-off game put us into the Plate
competition the following day. The quarter-finals saw us in a pool
with Hymers and St Joseph Williamson School. After two wins
we were through to the semi-finals with Clifton College and RGS
Newcastle. Playing our best rugby we beat Clifton College 26-5
and then drew with RGS Newcastle 12-12. This put us into the
final against Marlborough College, but unfortunately we lost this
match against a strong side 33-5.
With 172 teams entering, to reach the final of the Plate is a
magnificent achievement: well done to First VII.
First VII squad: Dylan George, Dominic Marsh, Will Pepper, Harry
Stothard, Harry Richardson, Ben Williams, Cormac Hopkinson,
Charlie Elliot, T.Dickinson, Oli Leedham, Oliver Smith
Sport
U16 Sevens
A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever. – Mary Lou Retton
Under-16 Sevens is undertaken by a group of very committed
young men who do this activity alongside their other formal
options and academic work. This group achieved so much because
they worked as a squad and supported each other at all times.
Often during the term the weather was awful; at other times we
were unable to enter tournaments despite the lads’ desire to do
so. Consequently, vital match experience was lost. Despite this, the
lads worked extremely hard and gained a great deal of confidence
from good performances at both Durham and QEGS. It is often
in defeat that you learn the most, and this was certainly the case
with these lads. They listened to and acted on the advice they
were given; adapted well to different styles of opposition and
performed their skills under pressure with increasing confidence.
All this came together in the last game at QEGS where we beat
a very good Ampleforth side by 30 points to finish third on the
day. The kick-off strategy worked on by Charlie Simpson-Daniel
and the defensive press coached into them by Lee Patterson were
superb and gave us a huge boost before setting off to Rosslyn Park.
Sadly Andy Hulmes and Alex Taylor were unable to go to London;
however this allowed our two U15s, Charlie Rae and Will Fordy,
who had impressed so much at QEGS, to travel with us. Rosslyn
Park proved a tremendous end to a most enjoyable season. All
the lads did their bit on the two days we competed, and showed
themselves to be very competitive, physical in defence and calm
in attack.
The kick-offs proved a real weapon with Freddie Greswold, Dougie
Whiter or Will Quinn choosing the option and kicking, and Will
Kimpson, Sam Hudson and Tom Robinson chasing them down
like ‘dogs of war’. They became very good at the transition from
defence into attack and David Bird’s pace and fearless defending
led to a number of turnover tries.
It was very useful on the first day to be able to bring on the
substitutes and know that they were just as focused as the players
being replaced. Charlie Bellingall, Will Fordy, Charlie Rae and Rohan
Choudhury all came on and added fresh legs and enthusiasm with
Rohan’s first-touch try in the opening game a message to all. We
were not expected to get out of the group, so the parents of some
of our competing schools were overheard to say!! Well, four wins
out of four – including a fine win over a very confident Warwick
side – saw us into the knockout round. In a very physical match
with Dartford we were not found wanting when a ‘bit of dog’ was
required, thanks Tom, Sam and Freddie! This win took the team
through to the second day. Our first match was against Strade
from Wales (the Ospreys academy side!); in a pulsating game we
went behind only for
our collective belief to rise again to produce a wonderful win. All
ten lads played their part with Rohan sadly sidelined by illness. By
this stage we were tired and any notion of a best side and subs
was long forgotten. All the lads knew that Sedbergh were up next
and we would need them all to perform to win that game. It was
an outstanding fourteen minutes of sevens; great kick-off, pressure
applied, turn over conceded and eventually the first score. We then
defended superbly under huge pressure and only conceded with
a minute to go. They kicked deep, we kept cool under pressure,
and Charlie Rae saw the gap and went 70 yards to score the
winning try. It sounds so simple but it was not: the lads really put
their bodies on the line and played with a passion and sense of
collective belief that they overcame a very good side to reach the
semi-finals. Wellington simply proved that little bit too good for us
at that stage; despite scoring the final points in the dying seconds
of the match we lost a hard-fought game.
The only trophy we won this day, was the blood and sweat we left
on the pitch.... and it was enough.
That being said, I am not sure that is how the lads really felt
having lost a game they so desperately wanted to win. I would
leave it with the following quote from Vince Lombardi. The last ‘–‘
in the quote is important: we did not win the trophy, but in my
opinion the boys were victorious on those two days.
I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfilment
of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his
heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle victorious.
Squad; Sam Hudson* (Captain), Tom Robinson*, Will Kimpson*,
Freddie Greswold*, Douglas Whiter*, Will Quinn*, David Bird*,
Charlie Bellingall*, Rohan Choudhury*, Will Fordy*, Charlie Rae*,
Alex Taylor, Andrew Hulmes (*Rosslyn Park)
Mr Paddy Stephen
157
Sport
NETBALL
First, Second, Third and Fourth VIIs
The introduction of strength and conditioning into the netball
programme this year has added focus and edge to a talented
squad of players. An intense and short season, crammed full of
fixtures and training, saw significant strides made in our tactical
and technical play. Over 100 matches have been played across the
age-groups in the season with the loss of only ten.
The First VII opened their season with a triangular match against
Giggleswick and Ampleforth, convincingly winning both matches.
The shooting combination of Keira Barnard and Scarlett Shaw
offered confidence under the post, enabling inroads to be made
in the shooting circle and key turnovers mid-court kept the
opposition in check.
In the same match the Second VII kept a tight defence with Olivia
and Francesca Anderson key in keeping the ball predominately in
the attacking third, and accurate shooting from Emma Stephenson
and Emma Rawson guaranteed a 16-2 win over Ampleforth and a
16-6 victory against Giggleswick. The pattern was repeated in the
Third VII triangular, and the fourth team also proved too strong.
All teams had signalled their intent for the season and the process
of tailoring training and shaping teams was in full swing. The
following week the seniors took to the courts again in a block
fixture against Worksop. For the First VII this contest proved a
greater challenge, but an early test of resolve enabled the team to
cling to a one-shot lead and produce a crucial turnover to win the
match 25-23. The second team again proved too strong, winning
30-7, and such is the strength and depth of the girls that the third
and fourth teams also won.
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Playing against
GSAL (the national
schools’ runners-up)
mid-week is always
a learning-curve and
a good opportunity
to experience the
next level. The
Firsts took a hit
and learned a lot
about discipline and
error-rate, playing
an experienced side
where winning had
become a habit. The
Seconds held their
nerve and edged a
17-13 win in a test
of nerves under pressure.
The following week the Seconds and Thirds were successful
against Hymers College mid-week, with all the teams playing a
block fixture against RGS Newcastle on the Saturday. The First VII
defended with ferocity in the opposition ‘D’ to create successful
turnovers and pressurise the shooters well. This enabled the
team to create a comfortable lead which they retained over
four quarters to win the match 29-20. The Second VII played
their match of the season with a 45-3 victory, characterised by
considerate team work and exceptional movement in the circle.
The Thirds outplayed their equivalent team 34-3, and the Fourths
were disappointed by a no-show, but played a reduced game to
beat the Thirds 11-1.
The season highlight came in the final fixture of February when
St Peter’s girls competed against Sedbergh to achieve a cleansweep in every age-group. Three senior teams took to the courts
and again strength in depth was a critical factor as all the teams
played with commitment and discipline to achieve a fabulous
set of results. The first team began a little frantically, but by the
third quarter they had established a comfortable lead and were
playing with increased confidence to make impressive steals in the
defensive third. Shooting under pressure became a key feature in
the final quarter, leading to a 28-25 victory.
Sport
Ten teams took to
the courts against
Ashville in all agegroups with three
out of the four
seniors winning. The
season-end against
Queen Margaret’s
was disrupted by
the weather, but the
Firsts proved their
worth with a 4319 win whilst the
Seconds won 33-24.
A tremendous
season.
The following
represented the
First VII: Olivia
Anderson, Frankie
Anderson, Tansy
Tomlinson, Harriet
Andrews (Captain), Sasha Hinde, Scarlett Shaw, Pippa Martin,
Keira Barnard.
The following represented the Second VII: Josie Proctor, Georgia
Calvert, Siân Bigger, Emma Stephenson (Captain), Sarah Willis,
Emma Rawson, Elle Illingworth, Millie Grant, Katharine Phillips.
The following represented the Third and Fourth VIIs: Katherine
Raines, Marianne Spencer, India Bratton, Rosalind Tait, Xanthe
Cooke, Izzy Hall (Captain), Eve Adcock, Georgie Ward, Maddie
Palmer, Issy Hedley, Lucy Galloway, Cera Ledden, Ellie Dobson,
Olivia Collins, Lucy Garnett.
Closer to home, the Inter-House netball results were as follows:
Juniors
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Grove
Clifton
Queen’s
Hope
Mrs Helen Barnard
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Seniors
Grove
Hope
Dronfield
School
Results
FirstVII
8/1/14
11/1/14
18/1/14
22/1/14
1/2/14
5/2/14
8/2/14
1/3/14
5/3/14
8/3/14
12/3/14
Hull Collegiate
Ampleforth
Giggleswick
Worksop
GSAL
RGS Newcastle
Barnard Castle
Ashville
Sedbergh
Silcoates
Pocklington
Yarm
Second,Third&FourthVIIs
8/1/14
2nd VII
Hull Collegiate
11/1/14
2nd VII
Ampleforth
Giggleswick
3rd VII
Ampleforth
3rd VII
Giggleswick
4th VII
Ampleforth
4th VII
Giggleswick
18/1/14
2nd VII
Worksop
3rd VII
Worksop
U16
Worksop
22/1/14
2nd VII
GSAL
29/1/14
U16A
Hymers
U16B
Hymers
1/2/14
2nd VII
RGS Newcastle
3rd VII
4th VII
5/2/14
2nd VII
Barnard Castle
8/2/14
2nd VII
Ashville
3rd VII
Ashville
4th VII
Ashville
1/3/14
2nd VII
Sedbergh
3rd VII
Sedbergh
5/3/14
2nd VII
Bootham
3rd VII
Bootham
4th VII
The Mount 1st VII
8/3/14
2nd VII
Pocklington
3rd VII
Pocklington
12/3/14
2nd VII
Yarm
3rd VII
Yarm
4th VII
Yarm
D
W
W
W
L
W
D
L
W
W
W
W
10-10
21-16
18-11
25-23
17-58
29-20
24-24
24-27
28-25
27-15
23-9
22-14
L
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
L
W
W
L
W
W
5-7
16-2
16-6
27-1
25-1
17-1
21-2
3-17
33-14
22-6
17-13
28-12
33-10
45-2
34-3
19-8
24-2
19-9
18-13
35-6
25-17
31-21
23-22
23-9
10-21
22-18
26-15
21-30
28-16
22-15
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Sport
U15
The U15 A and B girls’ netball teams made pleasing progress
during the season. There was a large number of girls involved, and
they showed a huge amount of commitment both in training and
in matches. This was reflected in the improvements they made
both individually and as a team throughout the season.
In two very close matches at the start of the season the A team
beat Harrogate Ladies’ College 18-16, and drew with Worksop
College 20-20, whilst the B team lost to a strong Barnard Castle
team and then beat Worksop College convincingly 35-14.
Against Woodhouse Grove, they responded quickly to the
increased tempo of the game, and put in a strong performance.
Despite this they struggled to convert goal-scoring opportunities,
and as a result were beaten in both games.
Both teams continued to work hard in practice and made
particularly pleasing improvements in their movement of the
ball down the court when under pressure. The girls’ fitness levels
improved throughout the season, and in some of the tougher
games, this was particularly evident and important in the closing
minutes!
The A team played two extremely competitive matches in the
same week, against Woodhouse Grove and Ashville College.
160
Both A and B teams competed in the York and District
tournament, and were eventual winners of their respective
competitions. Despite some terrible weather conditions, the teams
worked well to maintain possession of the ball, and to score some
impressive goals. The B team in particular persevered in some very
close matches.
Over the course of the season we were also able to field a number
of C-team matches. It was particularly good to see the strength
of those players involved in these matches, and great to see such
numbers available for these games.
This was an excellent season for all those involved, showing depth
Sport
throughout the squads, and some exciting potential for the future.
I wish all of those involved the very best as they move up into the
senior age-groups.
The following girls represented the U15 netball squads this year:
Tilly James, Jenny Elliott, Amelia Bell, Jess Webster, Beth Hartley,
Phoebe Phillips, Olivia Calvert, Annabelle Blackburn, Eleanor
Brierley, Emma Nelson, Catherine Hughes, Ellie Caley, Rowan Tait,
Helen Ford, Gaby Richardson, Ellie Richardson, Alice Gilman, Lucy
Leedham, Emily Kelly, Mia Morris, Sophie Gill, Nicole Moir, Edith
Norvor, Iva Sharp, Eve Bracken.
Results
U15A
Harrogate Worksop College
The Mount
RGS Newcastle Woodhouse Grove
Ashville College
Sedbergh
Pocklington
W
D
W
W
L
L
W
W
18 -16
20 -20
16 -11
16 - 4
16 -25
14 -18
22 -10
32 - 9
U14
All three of the U14 teams had a very good season with the U14A
team losing out on qualifying for the national finals by just one
point. All the players must be congratulated for their commitment
and enthusiasm as they represented the school with both humility
and pride. The B and C teams improved greatly and had to up their
game on a number of occasions as they played against opposing
teams’ A squads.
The A team statistics probably sums up their season: in the school
fixtures they remained unbeaten, scoring an impressive 255 goals
and conceding just 56 in 11 matches! The shooters, attack and
defence were all equally impressive. As well as being a very skilful
team the girls showed a high level of physicality, often winning
the 50:50 ball in their favour and turning over the opposition’s
centre pass on many occasions before converting it into a goal. In
U15B
Barnard Castle Worksop
Woodhouse Grove
Ashville College
Sedbergh
The Mount
Pocklington
L
W
W
W
W
W
W
12 -21
35 -14
17 - 9
20 - 7
33 -11
27 -14
28 -12
Mrs Emma Brough
161
Sport
The following girls represented the C team:
Grace Zhang, Emily McDonald, Annabel Ellis, Holly Drake, Lucy
Palmer, Phoebe Hall, and Alana Greenhalgh
Team
U14A
U14B
18 Jan
U14A
U14B
22 Jan U14 A
U14 C
1 Feb
U14A
U14B
8 Feb
U14A
9 Feb
U14B
U14C
1 March U14A
U14B
8 March U14A
U14B
12 March U14A
U14B
22 March U14A
11 Jan
a number of games the players changed positions and, at times,
it was difficult to find anyone that could not shoot! Importantly,
though, the girls always played within the spirit of the game,
displaying high levels of sportsmanship. The B team were equally
impressive. In order to give them hard games we often had to play
opposing A teams, such was their strength and ability. They too
were unbeaten and racked up lots of goals!
I wish the girls well as they progress through to U15 netball. It has
also been pleasing to note that a number of the girls decided to
trial for the North Yorkshire satellite netball academy.
The following girls represented the A team:
Emily Booth, Izzy Viera, Katarina Bonner, Anabel Chan, Felicity
Edwards, Katherine Robinson, Rebecca Green, Maddie Bletcher
(Captain) and Alex Craig.
The following girls represented the B team:
Lucy Lawrence, Lucy Lovisetto, Anabel Chan, Sophie Green,
Emelia Proctor, Maddie Hunter, Lucy Dabbs, Lucy Moss (Captain),
Eva Carlyle
162
Opposition
Harrogate Ladies’ College
Barnard Castle A
Worksop
Worksop
The Mount
The Mount B
RGS Newcastle
RGS Newcastle
Ashville
Ashville
Ashville
Sedbergh
Sedbergh
Pocklington
Pocklington
Yarm
Yarm
Queen Margaret’s
Result
W
23
W
24
W
37
W
39
W
21
L
25
W
16
W
11
W
50
W
27
L
11
W
31
W
30
W
32
W
29
D
17
W
27
W
18
- 10
- 20
- 0
- 8
- 6
- 14
- 6
- 5
- 0
- 4
- 15
- 11
- 9
- 23
- 9
- 17
- 16
- 6
Sport
163
Sport
GIRLS’ HOCKEY
First XI
Following a fantastic tour of South Africa, and a packed preseason programme, the girls made a very positive start to the
2014 season. In their first match, against Ashville College, despite
having numerous chances early on in the game, it was 15 minutes
before St Peter’s were able to convert a well-worked goal. Ashville
then scored a breakaway goal, leaving the score 1-1 at half-time.
Despite some excellent saves by Ashville’s goalkeeper, they were
unable to maintain the pace and let in a further two goals in the
second half. The final score was 3-1 to St Peter’s.
After the strong start against Ashville College, the girls began
slowly against a tough Barnard Castle side in their second game
of the season. Despite a number of good chances for St Peter’s,
the score remained 0-0 at half-time. However the St Peter’s
girls came out fighting in the second half and scored their first
goal very quickly. This seemed to calm the team down and they
began to play some excellent hockey, creating fantastic chances. A
second goal quickly followed and the game ended at 2-0. This was
an excellent performance by all involved and gave an insight into
what the team would be capable of as the season progressed.
The girls’ season continued to gather momentum as they also
dominated their matches against Ripon Grammar, Giggleswick,
Hull Collegiate and Hymers College.
As is often the case, there were few ‘bumps in the road’ as the
season progressed; the first of which was a disappointing result
against Ampleforth. A determined Ampleforth team put pressure
on St Peter’s from the outset, scoring in the first five minutes of
the game. Ampleforth were clearly keen to beat St Peter’s after
they had lost to them on the previous Wednesday in the final of
the U18 National Schools’ county round. St Peter’s started slowly,
and failed to respond to the Ampleforth pressure, dropping deeper
and deeper, and subsequently letting in three goals before halftime. After the break they were more competitive, and following
some much more positive runs of play they managed to pull
a goal back. Unfortunately they had left it far too late on this
occasion, and the game ended in a 3-1 defeat.
As previously mentioned, the U18 team were victorious and
unbeaten in the county round of National Schools’ Hockey
Competition, and having progressed to the North-East Finals
were extremely unlucky to lose out to Greenhead College 2-1 in
the semi-finals. This put them out of the competition. This was
particularly galling as Yarm progressed through from the other
semi-final match with a team that St Peter’s beat 8-0 in a midweek match the following week.
One of the most pleasing games of the season in terms of
emphasising the depth of the squads at St Peter’s was against
Worksop. With a number of players unavailable for this fixture
because of a national netball competition, this was a great
opportunity for some of those who had been playing in
the second team to show their potential. The team started
164
Sport
confidently, setting a high press, and winning lots of ball inside
their attacking 23m line. However, it wasn’t until 20 minutes into
the game that they were able to score their first goal, following
some well-worked play out of defence and into attack. St Peter’s
then dominated the rest of the game, with a number of chances
on goal (converting two of them), and Worksop’s only goal came
from one of our own players, following some confusion over
the ‘own goal’ rule. This was an extremely positive performance
by those involved, and was
a testament to the quality
of players that we have had
throughout the squads this
year.
The penultimate game of the
season, against Sedbergh, was
by far the most exciting and
impressive. The first team were
unfortunate to lose in a game
where they were leading until
four minutes before full-time.
In the first half St Peter’s
absorbed a lot of pressure in
defence, but failed to produce many effective outlets within their
own half. The score remained 0-0 going into half-time, and with
a few changes to their formation, St Peter’s came out positively
in the second half. With their play looking much better, they
were able to produce some mature runs into the 23m area, and
converted their first short corner very efficiently to lead the game
1-0 with 15 minutes left to play! Sedbergh continued to force the
mistakes inside St Peter’s ‘D’, resulting in them scoring two goals
within the final four minutes of the game. Despite the eventual
outcome, the girls showed real grit and determination against
extremely strong opposition who had qualified for the National
Finals. This really showed the potential within the squad and how
far they had developed as a team and as individual players over
the season.
The season concluded with a match at Pocklington, where St
Peter’s were eventual 3-1 winners. This was an extremely positive
game which highlighted the improvements made in moving the
ball around effectively when under increasing pressure. The girls
created a number of chances, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed
the game.
The season was pleasing both in terms of results and team
development. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the
girls who were part of the squads this year for their continually
high levels of effort and motivation. It has been a pleasure!
Mrs Emma Brough
The following girls represented the first team this year:
Harriet Andrews, Ilana Bartlett, Eleanor Fletcher, Minna
Gabbertas, Millie Grant, Alice Greswold, Sally Hicks, Sasha Hinde,
Elle Illingworth, Hannah Lawrence, Ellie Martin, Zoe Pindar, Josie
Proctor (Captain), Scarlett Shaw, Emma Stephenson, Helen
Taylor.
165
Sport
First XI results:
Queen Margaret’s
Ashville College GSAL
Barnard Castle
Giggleswick
Ampleforth
Worksop College
Hymers College
Yarm
Sedbergh
WGHS
Pocklington
D
W
W
W
W
L
W
W
W
L
L
W
1
3
3
2
5
3
3
4
8
2
2
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
The following girls represented the second team this season:
Sarah Carlton, Ilana Bartlett, Chloe Burdass, Rachel Hall, Siân
Bigger, Helen Megone, Emily Carman, Annabel Blott, Sasha Hinde,
Anna Fairbank, Jess House, Alicia Cranston, Georgia Calvert,
Helen Taylor.
Second XI results:
Queen Margaret’s
Barnard Castle
Ripon Grammar
Giggleswick
Ampleforth
Bootham
Worksop
Hymers College
Yarm
GSAL
Sedbergh
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
D
W
2
2
4
4
6
5
1
1
1
3
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
Third and Fourth XI
Second XI
The second team had a fantastic season in which they were
unbeaten. The girls showed increasing confidence and patience as
the season progressed, and produced some excellent and exciting
performances as a result. The commitment and effort of all of the
girls involved was second to none, and they should be extremely
proud of all that they achieved this season. The performances
against Ampleforth and Worksop College were particularly
pleasing, showing real tactical understanding and effective teamwork, and producing some fantastic goal-scoring opportunities
too! An extremely pleasing season all round: very well done, girls!
Mr Ramli
166
The standard of play in the third and fourth teams this season
once again demonstrated the huge pool of talent within the girls’
hockey programme.
The third team had an exceptional (unbeaten) season, winning all
eight of their fixtures including those against Sedbergh, Ashville,
Worksop, Hymers and Ampleforth. Playing with fluency and
shape under the guidance of their team coaches, Mr Phil Hardy
and Mrs Helen Barnard, the improvement over the season was
immeasurable. Fitness levels, discipline and subsequent work-rate
proved crucial in creating breaks and scoring opportunities, in a
season characterised by team-work and camaraderie. The fourth
team played with equal commitment and enjoyment, bringing
great spirit and determination to the pitch.
Mr Phil Hardy and Mrs Helen Barnard
Sport
The following girls represented the third and fourth teams this
season: Emily Williams, Rachel Simpson, Lauren Caley, Keira
Barnard, Pippa Martin, Katie Harrison (Captain), Sarah Willis,
Izzy Hall, Hannah Whitehouse, Millie Clapham, Ellie Dobson,
Imogen Jefferies, Pippa Simpson, Farrell Voase, Georgie Ward,
Tilly Antrum, Jess Scott, Lizzie Whiter, Katherine Raines, Maddie
Palmer, Olivia Shread, Lucy Hunter.
Third XI results:
Ampleforth
Queen Mary’s Ashville
Barnard Castle
Ripon Grammar
Giggleswick
Yarm
Worksop College
Sedbergh
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
D
6
1
1
3
2
8
4
3
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
Fourth XI results:
Ripon Grammar
Hymers College
Pocklington 3rd XI Sedbergh 3rd XI
L
W
L
L
0
3
0
0
-
-
-
-
6
1
5
1
U16 National Schools’
Hockey Competition
The U16 girls progressed to the North-East of England qualifiers
in the national schools’ competition where the top eight schools
in the region fought it out for the two places in the North finals.
The first match was against Red House School, whom the girls had
not played before. The St Peter’s forward line put on some great
pressure from the outset, which led to a goal midway through the
first half. The game remained close but the girls held their nerve
to win the game 1-0. The second was against Pocklington, and
the girls displayed a fantastic work-ethic and determination to
prevent the opposition from creating any clear chances at goal.
Shortly into the second half a flowing attacking move from Peter’s
led to a goal and the game ended with another 1-0 win. The
confidence was high going into the semi-final and undoubtedly
the most difficult game against Barnard Castle. The girls gave a
great account of themselves but the score remained 0-0 after full
time and the team subsequently lost on penalty flicks.
The following girls represented U16 team this season:
Annabelle Blackburn, Olivia Calvert, Alice Connelly-Bosson, Julia
Crowther, Eleanor Dobson (Captain), Jenny Elliott, Helen Ford,
Jess House, Emma Nelson, Phoebe Phillips, Olivia Shread, Pippa
Simpson, Jess Webster, Ellie Caley, Amelia Bell.
U15A
The school fixtures presented some mixed results for the U15A
girls this season. To merely measure the season by the outcomes
of the games would be unfair given the positive progress made
as a team. The opening game against Queen Margaret’s was an
eye-opening experience for the girls as the opposition worked
tirelessly with and without the ball to deservedly take a 4-1 win.
The result helped to kick-start the season and the girls went on to
win their next two matches, against Ashville and Barnard Castle.
With the term in full swing and commitments to other academic
areas meaning the U15As had to call on promising players from
U15Bs, the girls played a tough fixture against Bradford Grammar
School. Despite narrowly losing the game, the performance was
very pleasing. The next fixture in the calendar was against local
rivals, Ampleforth. St Peter’s dominated in possession from start
to finish but were unable to capitalise and the opposition broke
away in the second half to snatch the game away. Despite this
disappointing result, spirit and confidence remained high towards
the end of the season, and it all came together with the girls
winning the four remaining games, against Worksop, Hymers,
Sedbergh and Pocklington.
I have no doubt that this strong squad of girls will positively
contribute to the senior teams next year. Finally my thanks to all
members of the squad who represented the school in such a good
spirit and gave maximum effort throughout the season.
Mr Oliver Couttie
The following girls represented U15A team this season:
Phoebe Phillips (Captain), Jess Webster, Annabelle Blackburn,
Jenny Elliott, Amelia Bell, Helen Ford, Isabella Cotter, Emma
Nelson, Julia Crowther, Ellie Caley, Alice Connelly-Bosson, Olivia
Calvert, Gaby Richardson, Catherine Hughes, Lucy Leedham, Mia
Morris, Tilly-Mae James.
U15B
The U15B girls’ hockey team made pleasing progress during
the season. Having worked hard in training, and shown great
enthusiasm, they played some highly competitive matches,
winning against Ampleforth, Worksop and Pocklington to name
but a few. Overall this was an enjoyable season of hockey, with
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Sport
signs of some much improved and very strong attacking play
towards the end of the term. I wish all the girls well as they enter
the senior hockey teams.
Miss Wilson
The following girls represented the U15B team this season:
Alice Connelly-Bosson, Tilly-Mae James, Esme Wright, Lucy
Leedham, Ellie Richardson, Emily Kelly, Catherine Hughes, Alice
Gilman, Mia Morris, Nicole Moir, Rose Gabbertas, Cassie Bythell,
Sophie Gill, Alice Jackson, Gaby Richardson.
U15A Results
Queen Margaret’s
Ashville College
Barnard Castle
Bradford Grammar
Ampleforth
Worksop College
Hymers College
Sedbergh
Pocklington
L
W
W
L
L
W
W
W
W
1
6
3
1
1
1
1
5
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
U15B Results
Ampleforth
Queen Mary’s
Giggleswick
Hill House
Ampleforth
Worksop College
Hymers College
W
L
L
W
W
W
L
2
0
1
2
3
1
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
1
5
0
0
0
0
hard to believe that the previous season they had only played
seven-a-side matches. As the season progressed both teams went
from strength to strength. As the girls’ fitness improved, and their
understanding of the 11-a-side-game increased, they became a
formidable force.
The U14s enter the national schools’ competition and this season
they had a fantastic run in the competition, reaching the final
of the North of England. They lost narrowly in the semi-finals
meaning they were placed third, missing out on a finals position
by just the one game.
I’d like to take this opportunity to say what a pleasure it has been
to teach the U14 girls who chose to play hockey this year. Their
good humour, commitment and reliability is to name just a few of
their strengths: they are clearly going to be a formidable force as
they progress through the school!
The following girls represented the U14A team:
Lucy Butters, Lucy Lovisetto, Katherine Robinson, Rebecca Green,
Lucy Lawrence, Charlotte Hollinrake, Izzy Viera, Alex Craig,
Madeleine Hunter (Captain), Emilia Proctor, Lucy Dabbs, Sophie
Green, Katarina Bonner and Anabel Chan.
The following girls represented the U14B team:
Emily McDonald, Eva Carlyle, Imogen Matthews, Phoebe Hall,
Annabel Fox, Lucy Moss, Annabel Ellis, Holly Drake, Kitty
Clapham, Madeleine Bletcher, Emily Booth, Lydia Palmer
(Captain).
U14A and U14B
It was a fantastic first season for both the A and B hockey squads.
The talented players who came through from St Olave’s were
joined by a number of very strong players who came to St Peter’s.
As the results table indicates, the majority of games resulted in
victories for both the A and B teams, in fact in order to make the
games more competitive for our B team, they played (whenever
possible) A teams.
It was clear from the first training session that we were going to
have two equally strong teams and that the contest for places
was going to be very competitive. The first fixtures of the season,
against Scarborough College for the A team and Ampleforth for
the B team, gave the players the opportunity to start working as a
team and to actually play an 11-a-side game. Luckily all the girls
stepped up to the mark and played well-structured games. It was
168
U14A Results
Scarborough College
Queen Margaret’s
AshvilleCollege
Barnard Castle
Bradford Grammar
Giggleswick
Ampleforth
Worksop College
Hymers College Pocklington
W
W
W
W
W
W
D
W
W
W
U14B Results
Ampleforth
Queen Margaret’s
Queen Mary’s
Ripon Grammar
Barnard Castle
Tadcaster
Hymers College
Sedbergh
Pocklington
W
W
W
L
W
D
L
W
W
2 -0
2 - 0
11 - 0
4 - 0
12 - 1
4 - 1
1 - 1
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
2
3
2
0
6
2
1
3
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
0
1
0
2
2
0
0
Inter-house hockey results:
1st Clifton
2nd School
3rd Hope
4th Queen’s
Sport
BOYS’ HOCKEY
This has been the most successful season of hockey at St Peter’s
School:
• County Champions at U14 U15 and U16 age-groups.
• North-East Champions at U14 U15 and U16 age-groups.
• North of England champions at U16, and qualified for the national finals.
Credit must go to all the players and coaches who have worked so
hard for many seasons to make this achievement possible.
Mr Mike Johnston
First XI
The season has been one of transition for the first-team boys’
hockey at St Peter’s. The team was a combination of senior
campaigners such as Tom Dickinson (Captain), Will Scholey and
James Greenall, with the young talents of Freddie Heijbroek,
Oliver Fryer and Alex Martin.
The beginning of senior fixtures saw the First XI testing their wits
against Worksop College, Egglescliffe School and Trent College,
who are well-regarded and successful sides in the school hockey
circuit.
The first match on the calendar saw a 5-1 defeat against Worksop.
Worksop always offer a tough test and it was no different this
year. The boys came under early pressure and Worksop did
eventually open the scoring ten minutes before half-time, and
scored again shortly after the break. St Peter’s responded with a
good steal from Ben Williams as he calmly placed the ball past the
goalie. The game remained competitive until the final ten minutes,
when weary legs could not keep out a flourish of goals from
Worksop to end the game.
St Peter’s came across a very strong Egglescliffe side in their first
round of the national cup. Egglescliffe, who had recently been
playing the national finals of the indoor, started the game in
explosive fashion. St Peter’s were overwhelmed with the intensity
and skills of Egglescliffe in the first half and went into half-time
four goals down. The second half was more evenly matched, with
the boys showing a lot more composure on the ball. The game
ended 6-1 and a fair reflection of the quality of the opposition.
Although the boys suffered two defeats, their confidence
remained high going into the Giggleswick game, knowing that
their efforts were unquestionable but better decisions in the final
third needed to made. The game was closely contested with St
Peter’s moving the ball well and playing at a high intensity. The
possession and movement took its toll on Giggleswick midway
through the first half and a great passing move was finished
with a goal. St Peter’s continued to pass the ball around with
confidence and purpose in the second half, which resulted in
another goal to win the game 2-0.
St Peter’s played extremely well
against a very strong Trent College
side, who boasted a number of
scholarship and overseas players.
The team in spells matched Trent
in the way they moved the ball
around the pitch, but just lacked
composure in front of goal, losing
4-0.
The game against the invitational
Styx’s team allowed the First XI a
chance to test their skills against
two current junior internationals,
two ex-internationals and a
number of ex-county players. The
boys started slowly and conceded
169
Sport
scored a fortuitous goal and managed to deny QEGS a goal before
half-time. The second half saw a more evenly-contested match,
with both sides showing high levels of skill and effort. With ten
minutes left QEGS did manage to break the deadlock, as a hit
into the defensive circle was deflected in by member of the St
Peter’s team, and the game finished a goal apiece. The remaining
two fixtures of term saw St Peter’s win comfortably 3-0 against a
determined Yarm School and lose again against Ampleforth, 4-2, in
a game which followed a similar pattern to the first match.
I would personally like to thank all the squad for showing great
commitment and excellent effort during this challenging term of
hockey. I wish you all the best for future.
The following represented the First XI (*denotes cap): Tom
Dickinson*, Toby Latham, Sam Dickinson, Will Scholey*, Finlay
Criag, Oliver Leedham, Charlie Elliot, Ben Williams, Oliver Fryer,
Freddie Hiejbroek, Alex Martin, James Greenall*, Jack Crowther,
Tom Calvert, Alexander Eyre, Sam Blott, Oliver Smith, Nick
Fullick, Will Kimpson.
Mr Oliver Couttie
two early goals through lapses of concentration in defence. As
the half progressed St Peter’s imposed themselves on the game
and duly deserved their goal before half-time. The second half
continued in the same fashion and St Peter’s scored consecutively
to draw level with ten minutes remaining. Whilst pressing for the
winning goal, the Styx counter-attacked and through good fortune
the ball found its way to an attacker who finished well, meaning
that we lost 4-3.
The fixtures came thick and fast in this very busy and short term
for the pupils. Ampleforth proved to be an evenly-contested
match but the teams
were separated by
the opposition’s
ability to finish their
chances. St Peter’s
moved the ball
around the pitch
well but missed a
number of attacking
opportunities. The
game was played
with good spirit and
lots of effort, with
the final result a 3-0
defeat. Scarborough
College was
indisputably the best
performance of season for the boys, as they won the game 3-2.
The young guns led the way in this match, showing great skills,
lots of endeavour and maturity beyond their years to control the
game.
QEGS usually offer a stern test for the boys but both teams had a
number a key players missing which made it an even contest. After
a resilient effort in defence for the first ten minutes, St Peter’s
170
Second XI
RESULTS
11 Jan 18 Jan
25 Jan 29 Jan 1 Feb 8 Feb 1 March 8 March
19 March 22 March
H
H
A
A
A
H
A
H
A
H
Worksop College
Giggleswick School
Trent College Ashville College
Ampleforth College
Pocklington School Scarborough College
Ashville College
Pocklington School Ampleforth College L
W
L
L
D
L
W
D
L
W
0 - 6
4 - 1
0 - 8
1 - 2
3 - 3
1 - 5
4 - 0
1 - 1
2 - 8
3 - 2
SUMMARY: PLAYED 10, WON 3, DREW 2, LOST 5; GOALS FOR 19, GOALS AGAINST 36
The following boys represented the team:
Hugo Adams, Alexander Eyre, Sam Blott, Tom Calvert, Dan
Clough, Toby Courtis, Finlay Craig, Jack Crowther, Sam Dickinson,
Seb Dobson, Alistair Duffey, Charlie Elliott, Will Emery, Henry
Eyre, Nick Fullick, Toby Latham, Oliver Leedham, Sam Lodge,
Sam Metcalfe, Tom McCullagh, Ollie Proctor, Zac Ransom, Eddy
Stephen.
The first match was at home to Worksop College, played at York
St John University pitch, with the side captained by Seb Dobson.
Worksop scored a very early goal, after only two minutes, but
the game then settled down to be quite even, Sam Metcalfe and
Alistair Duffey going close with two good chances. Worskop added
a second just before half-time from a well-worked penalty corner.
Charlie Elliott made a great goal-line save to keep the score at 2-0
at half time. Straight after half-time Worksop scored a third goal
and followed this with three more very quickly, the score finishing
6-0 to Worksop College. The following Saturday the team played
Sport
Giggleswick School on the Hubbard. Alistair Duffey opened the
scoring after nine minutes, this remaining the only score up to
half-time in a closely-contested match. Once again a lapse in
concentration allowed Giggleswick to equalise at the start of the
second half. This was followed by a hat-trick from Nick Fullick to
make the score 4-1 at full-time. A journey to Trent College was the
next Saturday game, in which the team lost 8-0. Dan Clough was
ill so Tom McCullagh took over in goal but he could not prevent
the flow of goals. It was 5-0 at half-time, and the side then rallied
to create a couple of chances, only conceding further goals late
on, before the heavens opened with a thunderstorm.
Next was a Wednesday game away at Ashville College. We were
a given a first-half lead by Sam Metcalfe, but in the second half
Ashville came back and scored twice. A journey to Ampleforth
College saw the team once again concede early before the
game settled down. Both sides were moving the ball well and
it was Ampleforth who extended their lead after 14 minutes
to give a half time score of 2-0. St Peter’s came storming back
with hat-trick from Nick Fullick only for Ampleforth to snatch
a late equaliser to leave the score 3-3. The team then lost 5-1
to Pocklington School’s First XI, Eddy Stephen scoring the single
goal. A trip to Scarborough College was the first match back after
half-term and team played some of their best hockey to win 4-0.
Alistair Duffey opened the scoring after 20 minutes to give St
Peter’s a half-time lead of 1-0. He added a second straight after
the break, and Eddy Stephen and Oliver Leedham then completed
the scoring. Next was a return home match against Ashville
College’s First XI, on the Hubbard. Nick Fullick gave the team a
great start with a goal after three minutes from a ball down the
left crossed in by captain Seb Dobson. It was 1-0 at half-time
and Ashville then equalised from a short corner. Both sides had
chances but Dan Clough was outstanding in goal and 1-1 was
the final score. A Wednesday away match against Pocklington’s
First XI was next, but they were too strong, especially their
star German pupil, who scored six goals in an 8-2 win. After six
minutes Pocklington scored with a drag flick from a short corner.
Three minutes later Sam Dickinson did the same for St Peter’s,
making it 1-1; however, Pocklington scored again quickly twice
from short corners, and an individual goal made it 4-1 at halftime. Pocklingon added three more before Seb Dobson replied
with a well-taken goal. A final Pocklington goal made the score
8-2, but the team had played well, failing only to deal with the
quality of the German player. The final match was the return
fixture against Ampleforth College on the Hubbard. This was a very
evenly contested game. Captain Seb Dobson opened the scoring
after eight minutes, and sustained pressure by St Peter’s was then
resisted by Ampleforth College. In the 18th minute, Nick Fullick
collected a long through-ball from Sam Metcalfe and went on to
score a well-taken goal to give a 2-0 half-time score. Five minutes
into the second half Nick Fullick made it 3-0. Ampleforth College
pressed forward and look certain to score only for Henry Eyre to
make a great goal-line save. Ollie Proctor played well in defence
but had to leave early which made for a frantic last 10 minutes
when Ampleforth College scored two goals. Dan Clough in goal
made some superb saves from a short corner in the last minute to
earn a well-deserved team victory.
This rounded off a season in which the Seconds played well, only
struggling against a handful of particularly strong hockey schools.
Mr Maltby
U16
This was a transitional season for the U16s moving from junior to
more senior hockey. Owing to our relative strength in the area the
team often played other schools’ First XIs and at the outset the
players found this a challenge. The first game of the season, after
only one hour’s training, was against Worksop College and was a
convincing 2-0 victory. Tom Robertson, midfield, scored a great
goal and Sam Hudson relished being back playing with his mates.
Pocklington’s First XI proved a sterner test. We lost 4-1 with their
greater experience telling in front of goal. Sam Lodge had an
excellent game and the defence, though tested, never capitulated
and showed promising signs of comfort on the ball.
In a see-saw game where we dominated possession and territory
we lost 3-4 to Barnard Castle’s First XI. Will Kimpson threatened
with the ball at all times and James Bird was tireless in leading
the line. Again, trying to play the correct patterns cost us at
times with technical errors turning over the ball. Tom Spearman’s
conversion to a defender was a revelation.
Trent College were a very strong outfit. They play on the Midlands
circuit and offer scholarships. We matched them in play between
the quarter-lines but in front of goal their greater experience
showed as they took every chance they had. Sam Lodge in goal
was outstanding and Andy Hulmes in defence showed great
courage and potential, but we lost 2-5.
Playing First XIs and quality opposition showed its benefits in the
next match. We played Ampleforth and won comfortably, 8-0.
The team moved the ball well and kept their shape. Will Quinn
and Will Kimpson dominated in midfield with Charlie Bellingall
showing great touches. The final game of the inter school season
was a 1-1 draw against Yarm.
The team then combined with the U15s and sixteen players
from the First XI and the year below to enter the National
Championships.
Mr Mike Johnston
171
Sport
The Nationals
On Tuesday 4 February, a bus of mixed Fourth- and Fifth-Formers
left the school to go to Weetwood (Leeds) to play in the county
rounds of the U16 national hockey competition. In our first
match we played QEGS. This QEGS team that we faced were
very strong but a good solo goal by Freddie Heijbroek gave us a
1-0 win. In the game as a whole we created some great goalscoring opportunities, but we failed to capitalise on these chances.
Nevertheless, we came away with the win and this gave us a great
opportunity to progress in the tournament.
goal by Will Quinn, and another great midfield performance, gave
us the 3-1 win. Tom Robinson, Will Kimpson and Sam Hudson
never stopped running, and this definitely gave us the edge in this
game.
These four victories meant that we went through to the semifinals, where we faced Ilkley Grammar school. We had to win to
go through. The defence of Tom Spearman, Alex Martin, Matty
Roberts, Will Huffer and Andy Hulmes all stood firm, but a
penalty flick gave Ilkley a goal. This goal though didn’t matter as
a breakaway one-on-one goal by Ollie Fryer and a miss-hit flick
gave us a 2-1 lead going into the last five minutes. We settled the
game when a decisive pass by Will Kimpson gave the opportunity
for Ted Patmore to come on and score: 3-1. County Champions!
In the north-east round we comfortably beat Egglescliffe School,
making us north-east champions.
In the second game we played Thirsk School. We came into the
game with high morale after the close QEGS match and we won
6-0, with some great goals by our forwards including a great hit
by Sam Hudson which nestled into the bottom left-hand corner
of the goal.
In our third match we played Pocklington, who had a couple of
very good players in their team, and our aim was to mark these
men closely which we did successfully on our way to an 8-1 win.
In our final match of the group stages we played a Giggleswick
School team which we did not know much about. We started off
at a fast, passing tempo which suited our style of play. A great
172
The northern finals were played at Timperley Hockey Club. Our
first match was against Ampleforth and although they worked
hard to nullify our strengths we won comfortably, 4-1. Freddie
Heijbroek was outstanding in midfield, and Sam Hudson held his
position at central defensive midfield and allowed nothing past.
Sedbergh put eleven players behind the ball and made it difficult
for us to break them down, but we eventually won 2-1.
The King’s School, Chester were north-west champions and had
won their previous matches. We started at a fast tempo and they
couldn’t cope. We scored two quick goals and then added a third
before King’s got a consolation goal in the final minutes, making
us North of England champions.
Ollie Fryer (V)
Sport
It was then with some disbelief
that we found out the dates of
the national finals, which had
been arranged during the GCSE
examinations. With much regret
we withdrew the team from the
competition, in the best interests of
the players. England Hockey had little
concern for the predicament they
had created.
This is an outstanding group of
players; they have been a credit to
the school, and a pleasure to accompany, at all times.
Mr Mike Johnston
Waterhouse have both worked well in partnership with Tom, both
chipping in with goals in various matches.
An extremely competitive game at Pocklington finished 1-2 to
them and the week after a very good Trent team won 3-0. The
team really gelled against Ashville and finished 4-0 winners. The
return match against Pocklington ended 2-1 to them again. Finally
two good wins against Ampleforth capped a fantastic end to the
season.
It has been a very enjoyable hockey season and the boys have
proved very competitive, often against Sixth-Form teams that
have that extra edge from one or two more years of playing. I very
much hope that the boys will continue to play hockey in the Sixth
Form.
Mr Pete Woolley
U15A
The U15 hockey side had an unbeaten season, playing six Saturday
fixtures and winning all of them, whilst scoring 27 goals and only
conceding the one. The team won the county tournament as well,
conceding no goals and scoring 31.
U16B
It has been an absolute pleasure to coach the U16Bs this season,
with strong characters to the fore; determination, team spirit, fun
and – perhaps most importantly – excellent sportsmanship.
Matt Coe has had some wonderful moments in goal, not least
making a super save against Ashville and then losing the ball! Ed
Contreras and Sandy Eyre have both learnt to adapt their play
to wing-back roles, often working in tandem to great effect. Dan
Jones has been a rock in defence and has blocked shots as if his
life depended on it! He has had a number of partners including
Henry Tannahill who has worked doggedly and Dan HopwoodRobinson who has combined a really good eye for the ball with
great timing.
Goalkeeper Adam Freshwater was not troubled much because
of the strong defence consisting of Will Andrews, Matty Roberts,
Will Fordy and Ed Bottomley, who was always on hand to fill
the vacant centre-back spot which was left by Alex Martin when
he went to play for the First XI. It was in the midfield where we
created the chances: at the bottom of the diamond was Will
Huffer, the key distributer for the interchangeable wide men of Ted
Patmore, Cam Burdass and Will Fryer, all of whom offed pace and
skill. The goal-scorers were Sam Elliot and Tom Hawksworth whose
chemistry made a strong partnership up front. James Taylor was
another key striker with the knack of scoring the important tapins. A special thanks to Fred Heijbroek who was always available
when he was not required for the First XI. We would also like to
thank Mr Lancaster and Mr Johnston for helping us have such a
successful season. We are hoping to have an equally successful
season next year with our aim being to reach the nationals.
Adam Freshwater (IV) & Will Andrews (IV)
Oli Newman has been given a free role to work in front of the
defence and has proved very effective in turning defence into
attack quickly. The midfield has worked hard with a number of
interchangeable players. Matt Dickson works well on the right: his
strong forward runs have often led to goal-scoring opportunities.
Harry Dickson has a neat touch and good vision. Oskar FraserKrauss can be outstanding and earned himself man-of-the-match
in the final game against Ampleforth.
Up front, Tom Gill uses his pace to outstrip defences, and
has captained the team by example. James Bennadi and Joe
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Sport
team is very well balanced: some outstanding, thoughtful games
players, with a wealth of skill, combined with pace and vast
engines, all of whom developed their capacity and maturity to
take on board anything technical and tactical. Their attitude to
training got better and as a product of making the time to work
on their basic skills, and they saw the rewards in the results: a
comprehensive win against a strong Worksop College side, and
a well-manufactured win at home to Ampleforth were pleasing,
but a rude awakening early in the season against Giggleswick
highlighted my point that complacency had got the better of
some of them in the rugby term and it came at a welcome point.
U15B
This year saw the U15B squad go from strength to strength.
The season brought us a new coach, Mr Hardy, who coached us
through the toughest games. The first match against Worksop
College proved to be the perfect challenge for our new midfield to
start playing together – a 2-0 win.
Our next game was the first of a series of three against
Pocklington School’s U15A team. We won all three games: 4-2,
3-2 and 3-0. They had a couple of very skilled players but they
were denied chances at goal by the strong defensive work of
George Davis and Ed Bottomley who always put the ball back
onto our sticks. The attack took full advantage at all times of the
excellent midfield play.
After a defined and specific week of training, working harder
on tactics, positional awareness and developing better ballspeed with the passes, we went into the next fixture with more
confidence and belief in our abilities. A few honesty calls and the
team began to gel as a unit; as the season moved on, they began
playing for each other more and seeing the team-effort as the
main focus rather than individuals performing for themselves. The
result of this led to an excellent run in the County Cup: winning
in the county final against QEGS in a very tense sudden-death
penalty-flick round saw us move into the North of England
finals day. A third-place finish here was what we deserved; there
were some exceptional talents on display and it allowed the
boys a chance to compete at this level at an early stage of their
11-a-side hockey development and to see the standards they
must challenge themselves to reach if they wish to gain success
and accolades at this level.
Thirsk U15A team was next and they were one of the toughest
games of the season; it was the midfield players who worked
tirelessly to gain the victory: 3-2 to us. James Hanley, James
Guyer, Thomas Dowdy and Archie Stephenson provided brilliant
balls through to the forward players who went on to score our
three goals. Goalkeeeper Joe Simpson made some fantastic saves.
Our biggest victories of the year were both against Ampleforth
College U15A: 6-1 and 8-1. These games saw the forwards have a
ball. George O’Neill led the attack in their pursuit of goals. Credit
must go to Felix Van der Borgh and Charlie Rae as they both
picked up a hockey-stick for the first time this year. Felix scored
goals in all games and Charlie got a hat-trick against Ampleforth.
Towards the end of the season we lost a few of our best players as
they were required in the U15A squad but the U15Bs continued
to triumph and ended the season having played ten games, eight
of which were won and only two lost. In all the team scored 35
goals, conceding 12. Another great year for St Peter’s U15B squad.
Tom Dowdy (IV)
U14A
Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection, we can
catch excellence. – Vince Lombardi
The U14s had very prolific hockey season, moving their hockey
forward in every aspect of their development both in their skills
on the ball and in the understanding of the 11-a-side game. The
174
I thank the boys for their efforts and I wish them well as they
move through the school. They add even more strength to the
fast-evolving St Peter’s hockey.
My huge thanks, as always, go to Roz Ramli, who is exceptionally
good with the boys and his professional input and guidance is so
valuable.
Mr Gareth Sharp
Sport
U14B
This has been an excellent season for the U14B team, which has
won all bar one game, and scored 28 goals whilst conceding only
three. The one defeat of the season came against Scarborough
College’s A team.
Feifei Rawnsley, in goal, mostly had little to do as the side
dominated most games. When called upon he made some fine
saves. In defence Peter Konstantynov, Oli Hughes, James Black,
Rory Winterburn and Ed Turvill were always solid – Peter using his
expert football knowledge to ensure that all was good positionally.
The first game against Pocklington (which was won, 3-0) was a
mixed affair as the team had not played 11-a-side hockey before.
Ampleforth was the next challenge (won 6-0) with the midfield of
Ben Wilkinson, Jack Amsden, Ben Raubitschek, Ralph Sinclair and
Charlie Smith dominating possession.
We have all enjoyed the season and would like to thank Mr Sharpe
and Mr Ramli for all their help with coaching. We hope to play
some different sides next season.
Ralph Sinclair (III)
We travelled all the way to Trent only for the game to be cancelled
because of a massive hailstorm. It was difficult to get other
schools to play B-team hockey and so we repeated some fixtures.
This time against Pocklington we clicked, especially the forwards
Spencer Ingall, Alex Leahy, Ben Chamberlin, Theo Hedley and
Marcus Dobson, a winning score of 8-2 showing our improvement.
Awards
Scarborough College’s A team proved a sterner test. We lost 1-2
but thoroughly enjoyed a harder challenge. The last two games of
the season against Pocklington A team and Ampleforth were won
3-0 and 6-0 respectively.
The Pandas Cup for middle-school player of the season:
Freddie Hiejbroek.
The Stick awarded for outstanding service to hockey: James Greenall.
The Mark Burn Trophy for the most improved player: Tom Calvert.
The Hubbard Cup for junior inter-house hockey: Temple
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Sport
GIRLS’ TENNIS
The tennis term for the seniors is a particularly hectic one! With
the unusually very short term, we had to manage study-leave,
external exams, open-day visits, ‘rained off Saturdays’, and at
times blustery, cold winds – not to mention fitting in three days at
Eton, The Shepherd Cup and inter-house tennis!
We managed it all, enjoyed it immensely and the standard of play
and depth was at an all-time high across the senior teams. The
first team got off to a smashing start on the first Saturday of term,
winning the three-pair Bradford Grammar School tournament. It
was unfortunate that our match against our strongest opposition,
The University of York, at the start of the season was rained off.
The weeks rolled by and throughout the term we were unbeaten
and won the Under-18 York Tennis League outright - a fine
achievement, given the strength of local teams from Pocklington
and Queen Margaret’s at this age-group. Our mixed matches
against Hymers and Ampleforth are always a post-exams highlight
of our season and thoroughly enjoyable!
The inter-house tennis final between Hope and Queen’s was
very closely contested and featured the Phillips sisters on the
opposite side of the net to the Caley sisters! Hope came out on
top, winning by a margin of 25 to 18 games. The Shepherd Cup –
now in its second year – saw Helen Taylor (Lower Sixth) beating
Ellie Caley (Fourth Form) 6-3 in the final played in the last week
of term.
The coaching team was strengthened this season with the addition
of Mark Hamilton and Catherine Baker, along with Marius Barnard
and Mrs Helen Barnard! I would like to thank them all for their
positive and wonderful input and knowledge of the game.
Tennis is a game of technical ability, tactics, a tough mental
approach, playing under pressure and of court-positioning! This
was always in evidence whenever St Peter’s stepped onto the
courts. Finally, a thank you to our retiring captain and Head Girl,
Katharine Phillips. She has been a charismatic leader on and off
the court, and we will miss her. An outstanding season: well done
to all who trained hard, practised well and represented the teams.
We are proud of all of you.
176
The following girls have represented the four senior tennis
teams: Katharine Phillips, Georgie Cornock, Sally Hicks,
Keira Barnard, Helen Taylor, Lauren Caley, Emily Carman,
Georgie Ward, Olivia Shread, Isabel Hall, Sophie Reed,
Emily Williams, Millie Grant, Alice Greswold, Georgia Calvert,
Sara Pycock, Hannah Whitehouse.
Results:
26/04/2014 Bradford GS Tournament Outright Winners
3/05/2014 Senior VIII v RGS
W 13 sets to 3
Second VI v Woodhouse Grove L
4-5
7/05/2014 Pocklington League
W
6-0
Senior IV v Pocklington
W
4-0
Senior Second VI v BGS
W
9-0
The Mount League
W
5-1
17/05/2014 Second VI
v Queen Margaret’s
W
5-4
Queen Margaret’s League
D
3-3
11/06/2014 L6th VI Mixed v Ampleforth
W 6-3 7-2
14/06/2014 Seniors v Ampleforth
W
6-1
18/06/2014 Senior Mixed v Hymers
W 12 sets to 1
W 7 sets to 2
21/06/2014 Senior VI v Queen Margaret’s W
8-1
Senior IV v Queen Margaret’s W 2.5 to1.5
Eton
Eton is the highlight of the tennis season. Eight girls travelled to
the leafy suburbs of the distinguished old town to take part in
the championships of the Independent Schools Tennis Association
(ISTA), a tennis extravaganza which takes place each year at Eton
College. The immediate impression is the high quality of tennis
that is being played, strewn across court after court and then the
sheer number of entries into the event.
What was especially nice this year was that the U15s played in
a box-league format, enabling our two pairs to play many more
matches against different and new opposition. Both of our pairs
having lost in the initial stages then played in the Asbury-Bailey
Plate where we started to win matches. Phoebe Phillips and Ellie
Caley went on to qualify for the quarter-finals, eventually going
out to Benenden 2-8.
Sport
At U19 level, both pairs again lost to extremely strong opposition
in the first round, and then had tough matches in the Plate
Competition. Lauren Caley and Helen Taylor played their best
tennis of the season going down to Culford 2 in two very close
sets. Katharine Phillips and Georgie Cornock went one round
further (to the quarter-final) before going out to Kingston
Grammar School in straight sets.
Our girls did us proud both on and off the court and we were
impressed by their efforts. Some will have opportunities to
represent the school again at this prestigious tournament,
something all of our tennis players should aspire to, and work hard
for. A lovely few days.
Results
U19:LovebandTrophy2013
1stround
Helen Taylor & Lauren Caley
Katharine Phillips & Georgie Cornock
L
L
St Swithun’s 1
Sir William Perkins
2-6, 6-2, 7-10 (tie break)
6-7, 5-7
1stround
Helen Taylor & Lauren Caley
L
W
Culford 2
New Hall
6-7, 4-6
6-2, 7-5
2nd round (quarter-final)
L
Kingston GS
2-6, 4-6
Rowan Tait & Helen Ford
L
L
L
Culford 1
Sir William Perkins 2
New Hall
1-6
0-6
5-6
Phoebe Phillips & Ellie Caley
L
L
L
St Edward’s 1
Kingswood
Cranleigh 2
1-6
3-6
0-6
W
L
L
W
Colston 2
Eastbourne
Rugby
Haberdashers’
6-3
3-6
1-6
6-2
W
L
W
Queenswood
Sevenoaks
St Edward’s
6-4
4-6
6-4
L
Benenden
2-8
LovebandPlate
U15:Asbury-BaileyCup
1ststagebox:
Asbury-BaileyPlate
1ststagebox:
Rowan Tait & Helen Ford
Quarter-final
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Sport
feature highly in the senior teams over the next three years. A good
solid season, and thanks to all for their effort and enthusiasm for
the game.
The following girls represented the U15s this year:
Phoebe Phillips, Ellie Caley, Rowan Tait, Helen Ford,
Julia Crowther, Olivia Calvert, Olivia Whitehouse,
Annabelle Blackburn, Beth Hartley, Jess Webster,
Gaby Richardson, Lucy Leedham, Amelia Bell.
Results:
U15
It was a busy, but very enjoyable season with lots of training
sessions and matches for the whole of the squad. The U15 age
group played in the Aegon National Competition, and this year
we were beaten 1-5 by a strong Queen Margaret’s team in the
deciding match for the outcome of the league; we had beaten all
other schools.
It is not helpful when our lovely tennis players are also
outstanding athletes! So to lose some of them on match days to
compete elsewhere undoubtedly helps the athletics teams but
understandably impacts on the tennis results!!
As well as the league matches, we gave as many girls as possible
the opportunity to play matches and rotated girls in and out. They
are a lively squad and benefitted hugely from the input of tennis
coaches, Mrs Baker and Mrs Hamilton, at the sessions. We enjoyed
playing in the tournament and the nine girls who played in the
Ampleforth mixed matches really enjoyed partnering the boys!
The girls in the first team, some of whom are extremely strong
players, have good technique. They will develop well, and should
178
07/05/2014
Bradford GS
W
5-4
14/05/2014
Fulford School (Aegon)
W
5-1
17/05/2014
Queen Margaret’s (Aegon)
L
1-5
17/05/2014
U15B v Queen Margaret’s B
L
1-5
21/05/2014
2nd VI v Worksop
W
5-4
21/05/2014
Ampleforth College (Aegon)
W
4-2
11/06/2014
Bradford GS Tournament
14/06/2014
Hymers
L
3-6
21/06/2014
Mixed v Ampleforth L
3-6
(3 teams)
1-8
2-7
25/06/2014
Pocklington (Aegon)
W
6-0
28/06/2014
Newcastle Central High
W
8-1
Sport
U14
The squad was strengthened with number-one player Maddie
Bletcher who was new into St Peter’s. The U14s got off to a
flying start in the short summer term when Maddie and partner
Anabel Chan won the Hepworth Cup. This is a tournament held at
Queen Mary’s School, and what a fantastic win over some strong
opposition, with our second pair being beaten semi-finalists. In the
U14 York Junior Team Tennis League, we ended up coming joint
winners with Pocklington School, both having drawn two matches
over the season, and winning the remainder. Rebecca Green and
Alex Craig were strong numbers three and four respectively,
playing in the League matches which is both a singles and a
doubles format.
As well as the league matches, we played in the Bradford
Grammar School tournament where we narrowly missed out
on game-difference. We were runners-up to Pocklington in
the Hymers mixed tournament, and we had lots of three-pair
friendly matches and B-team league matches, giving more girls
an opportunity to play. Overall the squad shows potential, and
they are an enthusiastic bunch to work with. Within the first year
of play at St Peter’s, we are keen for the girls to develop their allround game and gain as much playing experience as they can, as
they develop throughout the school. Well done.
The following girls represented the U14 teams: Maddie Bletcher,
Anabel Chan, Rebecca Green, Alex Craig, Lucy Dabbs,
Phoebe Hall, Annabel Ellis, Ellie McDonald, Kitty Clapham.
Results
3/05/2014
Hepworth Cup 7/05/2014
Bradford GS
Outright winners
W
8-1
D
3-3
17/05/2014 U14B v Queen Margaret’s B W
5-1
17/05/2014 Queen Margaret’s A
21/05/2014 Worksop
W
11/06/2014 Bradford Tournament
L
(game 8-1
difference)
14/06/2014 Hymers
L
3-6
21/06/2014 Queen Margaret’s B
W
5-1
21/06/2014 U14B Queen Margaret’s A
L
0-6
23/06/2014 U14A v U14B
W
5-1
25/06/2014 Pocklington School
D
3-3
28/06/2014 Newcastle Central High
W
2/07/2014
Hymers Mixed Tournament
6-3
Runners-up
Mrs J M Whitehead
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Sport
BOYS’ TENNIS
The U15 IV of Robbie Greenall, Stephen Jones, Freddie Heijbroek
and Archie Stephenson produced one of the performances of the
season winning the North of England Independent Schools’ Tennis
Championships at Bradford Grammar School. Both pairs enjoyed
a 100% record against Yarm, Hymers College, RGS Newcastle and
Ampleforth College in the group stages before defeating the hosts
in the final.
At the National Independent Schools’ Tennis Championships,
the U15 pair of Robbie Greenall and Steven Jones achieved
the greatest ever performance in the history of boys’ tennis at
St Peter’s School. In the Phillips Cup they defeated Colston’s
8-6, Eastbourne 8-6, Repton 7–6 (8-6 in the tie-break) and
Haberdashers’ 8-6. In the semi-finals we defeated Ampleforth
College eight games to nil. The final of the Phillips Cup was against
Tonbridge: Robbie and Steven won the first set by six games to
two, but lost the second set narrowly, 6-4. This meant that there
would be a Championship tie-break to ten points to settle the
match. Unfortunately they went down 10-3.
The Alcuin Cup attracted an entry of 34 boys. This year’s final
was between the youngest ever competitors: Robbie Greenall and
Steven Jones. The match was of a very high standard, with many
rallies of over a dozen shots! With the match balanced perfectly at
one set all (6-3 and 3-6), we went into a deciding set; Robbie was
ahead 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4 before Steven finally took the deciding set
by seven games to five after two hours of scintillating tennis.
Colours: these were re-awarded to the captain of tennis, James
Greenall, and to Sam Metcalfe, and awarded for the first time
to Jack Crowther, Johnny Walmsley, Robbie Greenall and Steven
Jones.
The captain of tennis for 2015 will be Edward Cotter.
Mr Bob Shread
First VI
There was a slow start to proceedings for the First VI this season
with only two matches being played in the first half of term;
however the team posted impressive results, beating Ashville and
Worksop 8-1 and 7-2 respectively. The team itself was relatively
inexperienced with only James Greenall and Sam Metcalfe
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Sport
remaining from the previous year’s side,
and good understanding of the game
and occasional flashes of brilliance
saw them start the season at first pair
but soon after talent prevailed and
the younger pairing of Steven Jones
and Robert Greenall claimed the top
spot. The team was completed by the
dynamic duo of Jack Crowther and
Johnny Walmsley, both agile on court
and providing entertaining high-speed
tennis. The team travelled to Eton at the
end of the season to compete in the
National Championships, the two senior
pairs played in the U19 competition
with strong backup from Nick Fullick,
reaching the plate semi-finals. The
internal competitions saw Grove
successfully defend the inter-house title
after a tense final round against Hope
who took second place by the narrowest of margins. The future
looks bright for tennis in the coming years with a large group of
Lower-Sixth players coming through and a talented first pair who
will be in residence for some time to come.
Thank you to Mr Shread, Mr Allan and all the external coaches for
guiding us through the season.
James Greenall (UVI)
Second VI
Due to poor weather conditions at the start of term and then
early examination leave, we had a short season this year. Just one
match was played, against Worksop College, and that we won 9-0.
During the weeks there were some hard-fought ladder matches to
select the teams for the then-cancelled school matches, but these
contests showed that this team has strength in depth and many
of the players will be looking at the First VI next year. After studyleave the Lower Sixth clearly progressed in their game as they
enjoyed the grass courts in the sunshine. I’ve also enjoyed joining
in, in a high standard of tennis, when there has been an odd
number of players! May next year provide a few more matches for
the team to show their true quality!
Mr Will Allan
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U15
The U15 boys’ tennis was held back by the wet weather at the
beginning of this term and it was only late on in the season when
the season managed to gain some momentum. When we did get
under way we had good wins against Pocklington and Barnard
Castle, but our biggest triumph was our defence of the North of
England Championships at Bradford.
Impressive progress was made by some of the players in the rest
of the squad: Luke Dunsmore, already a decent player, improved
as the season progressed, Thomas Tam showed that he has real
potential both technically and tactically and Tom Hawksworth and
Tom Pycock made a strong team at third pair.
This has always been a difficult day, with a lot of tennis played,
but our players coped very well. In the first round the A-team of
Steven Jones and Robbie Greenall won all of their matches and,
not to be outdone, the B-team of Freddie Heijbroek and Archie
Stephenson followed suit to make it through to the final. In the
afternoon the combined conditions of sun and gusting winds
made life difficult for all the players but both St Peter’s teams
showed great control and deft touch to win their matches against
Bradford in a convincing manner. Therefore both teams went
through the entire day without losing a set. This is the second
time that St Peter’s has won this event and we hope that there
will be many more to come in future years.
Perhaps our most enjoyable match came in the mixed pairings
against Ampleforth when the presence of some excellent girls
seemed to act as a catalyst for the improvement in attitude and
performance of the boys. We played very well against their first,
second and third team which made a pleasant end to a disrupted
season.
The U15 squad: George Avery, Robbie Brown, George Davis, Luke
Dunsmore, Robbie Greenall, James Guyer, Tom Hawksworth,
Freddie Heijbroek, Ian Ho, George Ingall, Steven Jones, Tom Pycock,
Archie Stephenson, Thomas Tam.
I have enjoyed working with these players and seeing the
improvements in their game over the course of the summer term.
I would like to thank Catherine Baker for her invaluable input in
the coaching of these players and I wish them all success in the
future as they move through the upper ranks of tennis in the
school.
Mr Mike Duffy
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U14
The fickleness of
the British weather
caused significant
frustration amongst
the tennis elite of the
U14 year-group with
four early fixtures
of the season’s nine
cancelled. By the
time the weather
was sufficiently
kind to allow us the
luxury of a match
(against Poppleton
LTC) the boys were
as match-unready
as the Poppleton
team was match-fit.
The pairings of Seth
Williams and Jack
Lawrence, Marcus
Brown and James
Mahon, Marcus
Dobson and Oscar
Hales found it difficult to match the sharpness demonstrated
by boys who already had several matches under their collective
belts. It was nevertheless an opportunity for them to settle more
comfortably into their pairings and begin to understand each
other’s game more. That run of bad fortune sadly spilled into the
A and B team fixture against Bradford Grammar School for which
James Guyer and George Ingall made a guest appearance in the A
team and the B team was made up of Marcus Dobson and Oscar
Hales, Nathan Goyea and Spencer Ingall, Chris Nelson and Isaac
Philips. Again the boys were faced with opponents who had clearly
got their eye in. Good things come, so they say, to those who wait,
and the final A-team match of the season against Pocklington
School resulted in an emphatic and deserved 7- 2 win. Within
this group of boys exist a positive mind-set and skill-set which,
although still in their infancy, should ensure that their tennis
goes on to flourish. When the chips are down there is resolve to
overcome adversity and camaraderie to boost one’s partner. At
their best they serve well, the volley game at the net is decisive,
they cover the area of the court well and they play a graceful
game from the base-line. There is much that can be improved,
but the foundations are firmly in place. In the final Wednesday of
term Seth, Jack and James paired up with Maddie Bletcher, Anabel
Chan and Rebecca Green for the U14 Mixed Tennis Tournament
at Hymers College. A good afternoon’s play saw the pairings beat
the hosts and Wolfreton. Defeat at the hands of Pocklington
meant that our team were runners-up on the day. In spite of
the obstruction to play at the hands of the weather, the season
concluded well and gives hope to these boys.
Mr Matthew Grant
Mixed Tennis Tour to Portugal,
Easter 2014
Thirty boys and girls travelled to Portugal for their first-ever tennis
tour in Europe. With every level of tennis ability catered for, the
coaching was great fun but very hard work each day.
Over the three daily hours of tennis, it was very high-intensity,
expertly-delivered coaching by experienced county and former
nationally-ranked coaches. There was a variety of nice warm-ups,
technical teaching and match play.
With very early starts (we were on court at 8.15) the thought of
swimming pools and sun beds in between the sun and showers
was a welcome relief and down time!
The highlight of each day was who was chosen to wear THE
YELLOW JERSEY, awarded by the coaching team after each
session, for a pupil who had tried the hardest - a difficult task!
Robbie Greenall and Olivia Shread represented the school in the
exhibition matches with the coaches: a nice evening followed by
a barbeque. On the final Friday, all thirty pupils played in timed
matches against Stowe School, battling for medal positions within
their own standards.
Everyone involved had a great time, improved their tennis and
returned with the confidence that we will do even better this
coming season.
Mrs Helen Barnard
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184
C Widdicombe (T)
R Brown (T)
First Round
6
3
3
6
6
0
0
6
7
5
0
6
6
1
6
0
6
3
0
6
N Fullick (S)
R Greenall (G)
D George (G)
W Andrews (T)
J Crowther (H)
O Kennedy (H)
M Roberts (G)
F Adams (C)
J Field (G)
M Jones (C)
S Dobson (T)
A Stephenson (L)
A Shum (M)
C Burdass (T)
M Garbutt (G)
F Craig (Q)
J Greenall (G)
0
A Payne (S)
H Stothard (Q)
6
E Cotter (C)
0
7
A Eyre (C)
J Eleanor (G)
6
T Hawksworth (T)
6
1
L Dunsmore (T)
J Walmsley (H)
6
S Metcalfe (G)
6
6
O Leedham (C)
M Nozedar (G)
1
G O’Neil (S)
0
0
W Huffer (G)
C Widdicombe (T)
6
S Jones (C)
Second Round
J Greenall (G)
C Burdass (T)
A Stephenson (L)
M Jones (C)
J Field (G)
O Kennedy (H)
J Crowther (H)
R Greenall (G)
N Fullick (S)
J Walmsley (H)
M Nozedar (G)
E Cotter (C)
A Eyre (C)
S Metcalfe (G)
O Leedham (C)
S Jones (C)
Third Round
11
9
7
10
11
9
2
10
11
9
5
10
10
0
1
10
J Greenall (G)
M Jones (C)
J Field (G)
R Greenall (G)
N Fullick (S)
E Cotter (C)
A Eyre (C)
S Jones (C)
Quarter-Finals
11
9
0
10
8
10
0
10
6
J Greenall (G) 2 2
R Greenall (G) 6
E Cotter (C) 4 6 0
S Jones (C) 6 3 6
Semi-Finals
R Greenall (G)
S Jones (C)
Final
3
6
6
3
5
7
S Jones (C)
Winner
Sport
Alcuin Cup 2014. The Boys (Open) Singles Tennis Championship of St Peter’s School
Sport
CRICKET
Averages 2014
(not including T20 fixtures)
* Indicates not out
Batting
Innings Runs Not-outs Best Average
The following boys have represented the First XI this season:
+* Charlie Elliot (Captain) +* Felix Adams, +*Will Scholey,
*Harry Stothard, *Hugo Adams, *Jonnie Eleanor, *Ben Williams,
*Oliver Leedham, * Toby Latham, * Tom Spearman, *Will Huffer,
Ted Patmore, Tom Gill, Joseph Waterhouse, Will Waterhouse, Sam
Lodge.
Felix Adams
16
501
5
79
45.5
Charlie Elliot
17
574
1
138*
35.8
Will Huffer
14
340
1
66
26.1
Results for 2014 (including all T20 fixtures)
Toby Latham
11
229
2
51
25.4
Jonnie Eleanor
11
171
4
31
24.4
Hugo Adams
15
234
1
66
16.7
Harry Stothard
14
184
2
59
15.3
Ted Patmore
3
15
2
12*
15
Will Scholey
12
161
1
71*
14.6
Oliver Leedham
11
59
3
27
7.3
Ben Williams
6
27
2
10
6.7
Tom Spearman
5
13
3
12*
6.5
Sam Lodge
2
3
0
3
1.5
+ = Capped player *= Colours
PLAYED:18 WON:8 DRAWN:3
LOST:7
CANCELLED:3
If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you must
develop the habit in the little matters. Excellence is not an
exception, it is a prevailing attitude. – Colin Powell
Also batted: Tom Gill 4, Joseph Waterhouse 5, Will Waterhouse 5*
Bowling
Overs
Runs
Ted Patmore
81
267
19
4-5
14.0
Ben Williams
71
246
19
5-27
15.3
Charlie Elliot
Wickets Best Average
75
203
12
2-12
16.9
Oliver Leedham
125.5
463
25
3-21
18.5
Felix Adams
20.2
101
5
1-11
20.2
Tom Spearman
93
350
16
6-29
21.8
Harry Stothard
20
94
4
2-13
23.5
Will Huffer
26
96
4
1-20
24
82
303
12
3-20
25.2
95.3
360
14
3-41
25.7
Will Scholey
Jonnie Eleanor
Also bowled: Will Waterhouse 8-2-1-19 and
Hugo Adams 7-1-0-42
The 2014 campaign got off to a bright and sunny start under
clear skies at St Peter’s against the Retiring Captain’s XI. The game
followed two played against Cheltenham College, which saw
possibly the highest-scoring and most closely-fought pre-season
fixture I have ever witnessed, with over 550 runs being scored
in one day in early April, and the XI, needing two to win off the
last ball of the game, just coming up short. The boys enjoyed the
chance to get away and gel as a squad whilst earning some very
valuable match-practice at a high-class venue. Our return saw a
comprehensive win over the Yorkshire Gents, followed by the first
schoolboy fixture of the term against the Grammar School at
Leeds. On what looked like a pitch more suited to the Caribbean
the school elected to bat first and soon realised that they had
possibly made the wrong decision. Some late rearguard action
from Felix Adams and Ollie Leedham saw us post what was in
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hindsight a fighting total.
For the second time in a week we found ourselves in another lastover thriller, with GSAL scraping home by two wickets, with two
balls to spare.
A week later St Peter’s hosted the first round of the HMC T20
competition, which we were all excited about, looking to build on
last year’s success in the tournament. The early rout of Ashville
was a great start and meant that QEGS then had to take the
challenge of chasing our total of 147 in the second game of the
day. It has to be said that it has been a season of letting some
promising situations slip from our grasp (comparable with the
Indian test side this year) resulting in a number of losses that
should have been avoided. We lost the game in the final over,
with QEGS having needed 20 to win from the last 11 balls.
The boys will testify my frequent references to the 1%ers making
the all difference the higher up in sport you go: those ten easy
singles that were turned down; the seven twos that should have
been turned into threes; that bad ball and a half in the over
that ends up going for eight or nine instead of two or three;
the dropped catches that all-too-regularly let teams off the
hook at 150 for 6, allowing them to reach 230 or 240; setting
the right field and having the right fielder in the right place to
take the game-winning catch. All part of the learning-curve and
development into adult cricket.
The great English summer weather and the ever-increasing
examination pressures added more frustration to the narrow
defeats (including two more games that went to the final over)
where small margins were the difference, against Durham,
Woodhouse Grove and York CC.
Another rained-affected practice session gave a chance for
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reflection and allowed some of the players to make honesty calls
about approaches to training and their roles in the team. What
followed was a real turning-point in the season and something
that allowed us to end the season on a real high. Two Saturday
wins, over Hymers and Pocklington, an earnest victory over an
Australian touring side (never to be sniffed at) set the confidence
levels high and showed just what the extra attention to quality
practice can do: we played some excellent cricket and showed
perfect examples of what we had been searching for all summer.
The King’s Bruton Festival saw us come away winners for the
fourth year in a row, and the two-day game against the OPs also
went to the final over of the game to determine its result.
The 2014 side had a plethora of ability; a mixture of maturity
and experience, combined with youthful zest and skills to match.
A balance of touch players and aggressive hitters, spinners that
could turn the balls in and away from the bat, and seamers who
bowled at a lively pace and hit the seam. This season we lose
three players but those who return next summer will bring an
abundance of skills and experience from this summer and an
appetite for success and high levels of achievement.
Will Huffer. Only a Fourth-Former in his debut season. Showed
a maturity beyond his years with bat, with focus and mental
stamina. Bowled lively seam-up when required, hitting the pitch
hard; an excellent close-to-the-wicket fielder, never short of a
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word or two for struggling batsmen.
Hugo Adams. Struggled initially at the top of the order but his
talent found its place lower the down the order, really looking
the part in the latter stages of the season; a big year for him next
season. Good in the field and always a voice of positive support.
Charlie Elliot. First XI captain and the man for all scenarios. Stood
up well under the pressure of captaincy to lead a young and
inexperienced side through some rough times. Real ability with
bat and ball and a good cricket brain that many of the young
players have learned from.
Toby Latham. New to the side, having only just joined us, but
fitted into the side well with the bat, adding much-needed
stability to the middle order on a number of occasions.
An outstanding wicketkeeper, who kept the team going with his
energy and zeal.
Will Scholey. Great lad, great arm! An outstanding out-fielder with
very good hands. Bowled a heavy ball and had the knack of getting
good players out. With the bat, a strong and hard-hitting lefthander, really worked on his technique to earn the number seven
spot. His humour and friendly smile will be missed next summer.
Oliver Leedham. Left-arm over opening bowler who refined his
technique over the winter to reap the rewards in the summer with
some excellent and reliable spells with the new ball. A developing
lower-order batsman who will push his way up the order next
summer. An outstanding fielder, quick with a superb arm and a
brilliant pair of hands.
Jonnie Eleanor. Worked his way up the order through hard work
and some determined innings to secure the opening spot for
himself. He worked hard on his ground-fielding and always took
wickets with his distinctive leg-spin.
Ben Williams. Worked hard on his action and technique through
the winter and in the early part of the season to earn the new
ball and combine to make a serious pairing with Oliver Leedham.
Excellent in the field
and a more-than-useful
lower-order batsman.
Felix Adams. If he were more laid-back, he would be horizontal.
Reliable with the bat, producing some stoical game-saving innings;
developed his all-round game well and always good value on long
coach journey. He will be missed next season.
Harry Stothard. A genuine hard-hitting all-rounder. Aggressive with
the bat, always looking to attack and score, a developing slow
left-arm spinner and always outstanding in the field: quick, agile
and with a great pair of hands. Harry will lead the XI forward next
summer with quiet dynamism.
Tom Spearman. An
auspicious first season
in the team with his
energetic leg-spin. Was
unlucky not have taken
more wickets (as he
kept reminding us).
Another outstanding
fielder with excellent
hands and a real desire
to be the best he can
be.
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the three boys leaving this summer – Charlie, Felix and Will – for
their combined services to St Peter’s cricket.
Mr Gareth Sharp
Second XI
Unfortunately the Second XI cricket season was badly affected by
the weather. In total only five matches were played. The first game
was against GSAL: bowling first we managed to dismiss them for a
low score of 57. A comfortable run-chase resulted in an eightwicket win. Next came Durham and another straightforward win.
Some of the Fifth Form were performing to a high standard: Tom
Gill was taking wickets and scoring runs, Sam Hudson was opening
the bowling effectively and Joe Waterhouse was contributing with
both bat and ball.
Woodhouse Grove were next, and batting first we scored 121-7
off 30 overs with James Contreras getting his half-century. In
reply Woodhouse were 105 all out with Zac Ransome achieving
excellent figures of 6-28 off six overs. Hymers was again a onesided affair: in 30 overs we were 192-2 with Joe Waterhouse on 80
and James Contreras on 60. Hymers finished on 58-9 in 30 overs
with Sam Hudson taking five wickets for only eight runs. The final
game against Pocklington showed again that we were too strong
for the opposition: we scored 164-2 in 25 overs, and Pocklington
were never able to compete, finishing 60 all out.
An excellent season from all involved.
Ted Patmore. Made a late but very welcome entry into the side
with his mature off-spin that left its mark wherever he went. A
fantastic and brave fielder, he will go from strength to strength.
Some ‘thank you’s: to Pete and Stefan, the Groundsmen, for their
outstanding work all summer producing pitches of the highest
standard, week-in, week-out; to Steve Williams and Paddy for their
work with the junior and development sides, and to Dan Woods
for all the time and effort he gives to school cricket and the First
XI in particular – he has been a great influence on all the boys and
will be missed next summer, but we wish him all well in his new
job at Cundall Manor.
Our loss is certainly their
gain! Thanks also to our
umpire, Ken Featherstone,
for his good humour and
fist-rate umpiring all
season.
Finally, my many thanks
to all the boys for their
continued commitment
and effort throughout the
season and for making
my job enjoyable and
rewarding. A special
thanks and ‘good luck’ to
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Second XI Squad
Eddy Stephen (WK), Zac Ransome, James Contreras, Will Quinn,
Stuart Tolley, Sam Hudson, Tom Gill, Tom Robinson, David Bird,
Joe Waterhouse, Joe Taylor, Oliver Fryer, Will Fox.
Mr Steve Williams
Sport
Third XI
The necessarily short season for the Third XI was unfortunately
cut even shorter by inclement weather, meaning that inspirational
captain Clem Elliott was able to maintain a spectacular 100% win
record (one from one). An away fixture against Bootham School’s
First XI in nervy conditions enabled St Peter’s to put Bootham into
bat and, through consistently tidy bowling and fielding, restrict
them to 97 for eight off 25 overs. Will Fox bowled with Scroogelike frugality and Toby Magill took a preposterously casual catch
as if either asleep or possessed. Wickets fell regularly and a slow
run-rate thanks to laser-like line and nagging length bowling took
its toll on the batsmen, who came in under mounting pressure.
St Peter’s then managed to knock off the runs with comparative
ease thanks to an excellent opening stand between Henry Eyre
and Alex Taylor that combined patience with style and power,
including a six from Henry that has left a lasting impression on
the Bootham pavilion’s roof! A very pleasant afternoon’s cricket
was rounded off with an excellent tea and short walk back to
school for an earlier-than-expected finish.
Mr Rob Snelling
U15
I think we judge talent wrong. What do we see as talent? I think I
have made the same mistake myself. We judge talent by people’s
ability to strike a cricket ball. The sweetness, the timing. That’s the
only thing we see as talent. Things like determination, courage,
discipline, temperament, these are also talent. – Rahul Dravid
I hope very much that the lads who have worked so hard this
season realise that they have all improved as players, and have
gained a real understanding of playing within a team. Cricket
matches are so much more than just 20-, 30- or 40-over fixtures.
They are all about games within games, individual battles,
captaincy decisions and moments of individual responsibility. For
the B-team it has been so frustrating to have games cancelled
at the last moment through the weather or opposition cry-offs.
That they have worked so hard all term for so little reward says
much about their character. It would have been good to have seen
more of Rohan Jain’s left-arm spin, Ethan’s batting and bowling,
and David Adelugba on the front foot. Will Newitt, James Taylor
and latterly Adam Freshwater showed real promise with the ball.
Ben Maher and Titan Li also showed that with practice they can
both bat and bowl well. Ashraf Harun alongside Sam Lightwing
and Sam Stanford bowl many good balls, but need to keep at the
basics so they bowl fewer long-hops! It is also important to note
that 18 players have represented the A-team this year, showing
the strength in depth of the squad. As we finish the final game of
the season in rather damp conditions we can reflect on a year in
which the A-team were beaten only once, in the Yorkshire Final of
the national T20 competition, by two runs; the most significant
feature of all these games being the catching and excellent
ground-fielding. Charlie Rae led this, alongside Joe Simpson and
Will Fordy, who made fantastic stops and took excellent catches.
Cameron Burdass, Ted Patmore and Sam Elliot regularly hit the
stumps, accounting for some memorable run-outs. Ed Bottomley
and Will Fryer’s catching in the deep was faultless all season. We
were also lucky to have two wicket-keepers, Matt Roberts and Will
Andrews, who never let us down. Batting failed us just once, in the
Yorkshire Final of the T20 against Birkdale: despite Will Huffer’s
excellent 55 we ended this game agonisingly two runs short. We
did not get the rub of the green on the day, but must remember
that if we had controlled what we could do, and not worried about
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what we couldn’t control, we might still have won. It was also
noticeable that the only time Will was dismissed for us all season,
it was to an outstanding catch that ultimately won Birkdale the
game. We were blessed with a fine bowling attack spearheaded
by Felix Van der Borgh, who worked very hard to shorten his run
up, tighten his line and develop his pace. He did all three and
became a real handful, even taking three wickets for York CC in a
match against our own First XI. Ever-reliable medium-pace from
Cameron Burdass, Sam Elliott, Will Fryer, Joe Simpson and James
Hanley served us well all season; with all taking vital wickets
at important times. Ted Patmore was outstanding in the spin
department and thoroughly deserved his call-up to the First XI at
the end of the season. Alex Martin and George O`Neill also took
wickets at the start of the season but a lack of real cricket in the
middle of the term deprived both of any rhythm to their bowling.
This will come next season when I hope Will Fordy’s developing
off-spin will also be a factor. Our batting was good all year with
several players coming to the party in all but one game. Highlights
were Will Huffer’s innings in the T20 matches, Ted’s superb knock
against Leeds, Alex Martin’s 75 versus WHG , Sam Elliot’s regular
30s and Cam Burdass’ and Matt Roberts’ 50s in the final match
of the season. Cam,
Sam, Ted and Will
all captained with
maturity and good
game-management.
Finally I would add
that the lads were a
real pleasure to coach
all season. They ended
up North Yorkshire
champions but they
also know they could
have gone further.
I am sure they will
have learned much
from this year and
will do very well as
they move into senior
cricket next season.
My huge thanks go
to Andy Parr and
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Steve Williams without whom the lads would not have made the
progress they did.
To me, it doesn’t matter how good you are. Sport is all about playing
and competing. Whatever you do in cricket and in sport, enjoy it, be
positive and try to win. – Ian Botham
U15A squad: Will Huffer, Alex Martin, Ted Patmore , Sam Elliot,
Cameron Burdass, Matt Roberts, Charles Rae, Will Fordy, Joe
Simpson, Will Fryer, Felix Van De Borgh, George O’Neill, James
Hanly, Will Andrews, Ed Bottomley, Will Newitt, Ethan Thubron,
James Taylor (Harry Contreras, Alex Liley and Jack Williams were
U14s who also played in the T20 Competition).
Mr Paddy Stephen
U14A
We put GSAL in to bat, and bowled well, limiting them to 103-9
off 30 overs, with Ralph Sinclair’s figures 6-0-13-2 and Charlie
Hudson’s 3-0-20-3. The fielding was surprisingly good considering
that this was the first game, and the atmosphere on the field was
excellent with all players encouraging each other. Harry Contreras
opened the batting and scored a match-winning 47 not out,
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accurate and this was reflected in seven of the wickets being clean
bowled. Woodhouse were quickly all out for 56.
Finally the captain lost the toss and Hymers asked us to bat. On
a difficult wicket Jack Williams and Harry Contreras made 20 each
and Kevin Williams 30. The innings of real impetus belonged to
Luke Huuffer who hit 41, 36 of which were scored in boundaries.
The innings finished on 153 -6, and Hymers were never in the
chase, losing five wickets in the first six overs. Harry Contreras’s
figures were 5-2-9-4, James Black’s 3-0-13-2 and Jack Amsden’s
4-1-13-2. Jack Amsden and Luke Huffer both took excellent
catches on the way to an easy win with Hymers 95 all out.
The last game of the season against Pocklington was a one-sided
affair. Pocklington won the toss and batted. All the bowlers were
accurate with Harry Contreras (5-3-3-3) and Ralph Sinclair (4-111-3) doing the most damage, as Pocklington made 70 all out.
We batted poorly with the exception of Harry Contreras (27 not
out(, but St Peter’s won by 5 wickets.
Overall it was a pleasing season. The players obviously enjoy their
cricket and work hard at training. Special mention should be made
of Harry Contreras, whose batting average of 75 is impressive.
There are a number of potential First XI cricketers in the squad; I
hope that they all continue to play and enjoy the game.
Mr Mike Johnston
supported by Ralph Sinclair (21) and Ben Wilkinson (22). This was
Ben Wilkinson’s last game, we wish him well in his cricket .
Against Durham, Harry Contreras again won the toss and asked
them to bat. All the bowlers bowled tightly with Luke Huffer
bowling off-spin for the first time. Ralph Sinclair (5-1-6-2) and
Charlie Hudson (3-1-10-3) took the most wickets. James Black
looked threatening at all times with his left-arm swing, and
Durham were bowled out in 33 overs for 100. Harry Contreras (38
not out) anchored the innings superbly on a difficult track, Alex
Liley hit the ball hard for a good 16, and Will Thompson added a
valuable 18 runs, reading the situation well. A seven-wicket win
was pleasing not only for the result but also for the manner in
which the sides played the game.
Harry Contreras continued his run of winning the toss and decided
to bat first against Woodhouse Grove. An opening stand of 56
set good foundations for the innings. Oli Hughes hit an excellent
57, playing well, especially when pulling the short ball. Alex Liley
batted with controlled aggression and scored all round the wicket
in making 65 not out. Jack Williams helped finish the innings with
a good 27 not out. His reading of the position of the game and
running between the wickets was first-class. The innings finished
on 181-2. In reply Woodhouse struggled from the start, with only
one of their batsmen making double figures. We used nine bowlers
in total and the wickets were shared around. The bowling was
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B O AT C L U B
This has been another successful year for the Boat Club with a
lot of hard work followed by a crescendo of great results in big
events as the summer term drew to a finish. The Easter term saw
the River Ouse and many other rivers round the country flooded
for prolonged periods: in the first half of term only four of our 24
rowing sessions were on the river. However, we used the time to
get fit and improve our ergometer and running skills.
Highlights of the year were:
• St Peter’s rowers raced the Boston Marathon and raised over
£4,000 for the NSPCC.
• The Third-Form boys’ squad won gold at the Peterborough
Junior Championships in a Quad Scull.
• St Olave’s competed for the first time in the Peterborough
Junior Championships, recording an excellent second place.
• St Peter’s had two crews racing at Henley Women’s Regatta, for
the first time since 2007.
• We had our first St Peter’s finalist at the National Schools’
Regatta for three years.
• Two OPs were selected to represent Great Britain in the World
Rowing Championships.
Boston Marathon Sunday 15 September:
£4,124 raised for the NSPCC
On a very windy and wet day four intrepid St Peter’s crews set out
to race the 51km Boston Rowing Marathon. Over 180 crews took
part with crews starting every minute for over three hours. The
course, on the River Witham from Lincoln to Boston, is narrow to
start with, then turns into a wider canalised river. The head wind
conditions made times slow and the rowing hard but the crews
were determined to race and raise as much money as they could
for the NSPCC.
After rowing for over five hours, all the crews came back safely
saying what an amazing experience it had been. There were two
very special results: the Senior Girls’ Quad Scull (Alice Appleby,
Katie Hinton, Fenella Hayes, Hannah Burke) won their event, and
the Junior 16 Boys (Tom Collinson, Robert Croft, George Doyle,
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Henry Graham, Sami Hirzel, Oliver Millman, Jack Robins, Stan
Schofield, George Snell, Alex Woodruff, Peter Gray) set a new
course record, both excellent achievements. The last time we
raced here we were delighted to raise £1,800 for Martin House
Children’s Hospice. This time we more than doubled that by
raising £4,124 for the NSPCC’s Childline, a fantastic effort of
rowing and fund-raising. Other crews taking part were: J18 Quad
Sculls: (1) Dan James, Chris Andrews, Joe Copley and Sam Philpott,
and (2) Harry Nozedar, Patrick Litten, Ben Turvill and Patrick
Copley.
Chester Long-Distance Sculls,
Sunday 29 September
On a beautiful sunny Sunday, seven St Peter’s crews crossed
the Pennines to race in the Chester Long-Distance Sculls, a 5km
time-trial raced in two divisions on the River Dee. The standard
of competition was very high with 300 entries including schools,
universities and clubs from all over the north-west of England.
In the First Division the Girls’ Quad Scull raced well in only their
third outing together, coming second in the J18 event, overtaking
several crews during the race and beating some senior women’s
crews. Our two Senior Boy scullers, Dan James and Sam Philpott,
were in a very big field and both sculled well, coming eighth and
13th respectively. The Second Division saw the boys taking to their
Quad Sculls, and two very pleasing results ensued. The J17 Boys’
Quad came second, battling all the way down the course, and the
Senior Boys’ Quad won the Men’s Novice division, with a winning
margin of one minute.
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Later in that division our two Girl Single Scullers raced, tired
having rowed 20km over the day. Both maintained good
technique in spite of fatigue, overtook several scullers and claimed
pleasing second places.
2nd places:
WJ18 Single Scull: Katie Hinton.
J18 Quad Scull: Ben Turvill, Patrick Litten, Patrick Copley, Alex
Woodruff.
W Novice Single Scull: Harriet Falshaw.
WJ18 Quad Scull: Alice Appleby, Harriet Falshaw, Hannah Burke,
Katie Hinton.
Winners:
Novice Quad Scull: Sam Philpott, Chris Andrews, Dan James,
Joe Copley.
Winners:
J18 Quad Scull: Sam Philpot, Jonny Fry, Chris Andrews, Dan James
18 Boys’ Double Scull: Jonny Fry, Sam Philpot
Women’s Double Scull: Harriet Falshaw, Hannah Burke
Women’s IM3 Single Scull: Katie Hinton.
Tees Heads, Saturday 2 November
On a very blustery day in difficult conditions, nine St Peter’s crews
raced in the Tees Heads, a 5km time trial at Stockton-on-Tees.
There were some excellent results against more than 250 crews
from northern schools, universities and clubs. The J16 Boys’ Quad
Scull (Rob Croft, George Snell, Stan Schofield and George Doyle)
gained a third and a second place in their two races, steering really
well on the winding, windy course.
York Small Boats Head,
Sunday 17 November
The normal fog, rain and sleet failed to materialise for this event,
run on a lovely autumn day. 36 St Peter’s crews raced against
430 university, club and school crews. There were creditable
performances all round, and some excellent results.
Fourth places went to the Junior 17 Girls’ Quad Scull (Alice
Appleby, Anna-Liese Calder, Sabrina Leung, Holly Harrison) and the
Fifth-Form Boys’ Four (Jack Robins, George Doyle, Rob Croft, Ollie
Millman, Peter Gray) who had an excellent race and were beaten
only by university students, finishing a mere 12 seconds from first
place in the Men’s Novice Fours event.
Also third was the Double Scull of Chris Andrews and Dan James in
the hotly-contested J18 event.
2nd places:
Novice Single Scull: Harry Nozedar.
Women’s Single Scull: Katie Hinton.
Third place was gained by the Junior 16 Quad Scull (Louis Taylor,
Alex Woodruff, Stan Schofield, Sami Hirzel) where great credit
must go to Sami Hirzel who did an amazing job steering a slalom
course through a whole group of crews who had bunched up and
could not move out of the way to let him overtake.
2nd places:
Louis Taylor, who had a great race in the J16 Single Sculls
Harriet Falshaw in the Women’s Novice Sculls and Jonny Fry and
Chris Andrews in the Open Men’s Double Scull.
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Great Britain Trials, Boston,
Saturday 23 November
Katie Hinton passed the ergometer test to go to the GB sculling
trials in Boston. Here she fared well against the top 84 U18 girls
in the country. On the water she was 36th in the 2km race and
second in the 250m race, and on land came second, fifth and 37th,
a good start to the season.
Winners:
Senior Boys’ Novice Quad Scull: Jonny Fry, Chris Andrews, Sam
Philpott and Dan James had a tremendous race to come ninth
overall, and won their event by 25 seconds.
Women’s Intermediate 3 Single Scull was won by Katie Hinton,
who was the second-fastest Single Scull of the day.
Women’s Open IM3 Double Scull: Harriet Falshaw and Katie
Hinton had a very good race and not only won their event but
were the fastest women’s Double in any category by 30 seconds.
Special mention should go to the Girls’ Novice Quad Scull of
Lucy Bower, Natasha Page, Lily Howells and Anna Stephens,
coxed by Emily Gray. Most of them had only started rowing two
months previously and they rowed with great determination
and togetherness, managing to beat four crews in their event
and coming home ahead of 90 other crews in the race, a great
performance.
Rutherford Head, Newcastle upon Tyne,
Saturday 30 November
The Boat Club had a successful day on the Tyne in Newcastle.
In very wintry conditions our crews raced twice in a field of 230
University, club and school Fours and Eights over the 5km course.
Top results were achieved by the following:
Seventh out of 12 were the Fifth-Form boys’ Four in the open
Novice Men’s event, beaten only by university crews. Fourth: J18
boys’ Eight. Third places went to the girls’ Eight in its first race, and
the Fifth-Form boys’ Quad Scull. Second places were achieved by
both the senior girls’ Junior 18 and novice Quad Sculls. This is a
very pleasing result for the latter crew who only stared rowing this
term and had worked very hard.
Winners, and the fastest Junior 18 Quad, was our senior boys’
Quad of Dan James, Chris Andrews, Jonny Fry and Sam Philpott.
They beat their nearest school rivals by 40 seconds, came 14th
overall and were beaten only by the top crews of Edinburgh,
Durham and Newcastle Universities. A great performance.
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J16 Coxed Four: Jack Robins, George Doyle, Rob Croft, Ollie
Millman, Peter Gray.
Winning Crews
The Fifth-Form boys’ Four won the Freshers’ Fours division. Jack
Robins, George Doyle, Oli Millman, Rob Croft and Peter Gray.
Senior boys’ Quad: Sam Philpott, Chris Andrews, Joe Copley and
Jonny Fry.
White Rose Head, York, 7 December
This was an inaugural an all-University event run by York
University for over 100 northern University crews. In pleasant
conditions for December over 100 crews from most Northern
Universities and colleges raced 3km twice from Fulford to the
middle of York. We were fortunate to be asked to enter 11 crews,
from Third to Sixth Form.
There were two particularly creditworthy performances. The
Third-Form boys’ Quad Scull (Charles Barry, Max Hateley, Jack
Hargrave, Tom Lister, Jodi Smith) put in a great race, sculling really
well together and beating 14 crews, all of the other rowers being
aged 19 years and older. The other great performance that came
from relative beginners in the girls’ Quad Scull (Lucy Bower, Anna
Stephens, Fenella Hayes, Holly Harrison, Emily Gray) who beat 18
crews including seven Eights.
Girls’ Coxed Four: Emily Gray, Harriet Falshaw, Katie Hinton,
Hannah Burke and Alice Appleby.
New Year 2014
The New Year started with rain which continued for over six
weeks. Out of a possible 24 river outings in that first half-term
period we only managed four because the river was at dangerous
levels. Land training became routine with extreme pressure on
indoor facilities. Many of our normal events were cancelled.
The Fourth-Form boys’ Coxed Quad sculled really well together
and with determination to take 29 significant University scalps.
(George Avery, Ed Coidan, Sam Appleby, Toby Johnston, Jack
Coulthard).
The boys’ senior Eight came seventh in the open men’s event and
the Fifth-Form boys’ Eight beat all the freshers’ Eights.
4th places
J16 Quad scull: Louis Taylor, George Snell, Alex Woodruff, Stan
Schofield.
The girls’ Eight was placed 4th, beating 21 University Eights.
Hannah Burke, Katie Hinton, Harriet Falshaw, Fenella Hayes, Anna
Stephens, Sabrina Leung, Lily Howells, Holly Harrison.
3rd places
J18 Quad Scull: Dan James, Ben Turvill, Patrick Litten Patrick
Copley,
Triangular Head, Yarm, 18 Jan
Now a regular feature this triangular head has become ‘square’
with the welcome addition of George Watson’s College from
Edinburgh. Our under-rehearsed crews performed well and we had
a welcome break from our land-training routine. Everyone mixed
into Eights, Fours and Single Sculls to get the maximum racing
experience.
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learned. The whole evening, with delicious food and wine and
great company, was very well organised as usual by the Boat Club
Supporters’ Association. The captains once again entertained us
with their speeches. Funds to support the senior and junior rowing
camps were raised by various means including auctioning a boat
name.
Tyne Head, 23 February
A small number of intrepid crews raced on the Tyne in this
tough tidal water 5km head race. On a typical February day 170
northern university and club crews raced.
Third place
Boys’ J18 Eight: Patrick Copley, Harry Nozedar, Joe Copley, Daniel
James, Christopher Andrews, Robert Hulmes, Jonathan Fry, Samuel
Philpott, Emily Gray.
Annual Boat Club Dinner Dance,
25 January
Tina Stiller, St Peter’s very own Olympian and international sculler,
did us the huge honour of speaking at the Annual Dinner Dance.
She had just raced up from Henley where that morning she had
performed a very taxing 5km ergometer selection test for the
GB senior national squad. Back in the Merchant Adventurers’
Hall, because of large numbers wishing to attend, Tina talked of
the downs and ups of an international rower and what she had
Second places
J16 Coxed Four: Robert Croft, George Doyle, Alexander Woodruff,
Stanley Schofield, Peter Gray.
Men’s IM3 Quad Scull: Patrick Copley, Harry Nozedar, Joe Copley,
Daniel James.
Men’s IM3 Coxed Four: Christopher Andrews, Robert Hulmes,
Jonathan Fry, Samuel Philpott, Emily Gray. Second by six seconds
over a 20-minute race.
Trent Head, Nottingham, Sat 2 March
With so few events running this year because of flooding across
the country there was huge pressure on the few events that ran.
11 St Peter’s crews competed in the 5km head race. This was our
first race for over two months and the event was packed with top
crews from clubs, Universities and schools from as far afield as
London to Edinburgh. Having hardly been on the river this term all
the St Peter’s crews acquitted themselves very well.
Fourth places went to the senior boys’ Eight and the Fifth-Form
boys’ Eight, both racing in very strong fields.
Second places were achieved by the Fifth-Form boys’ Four, the
senior boys’ Quad Scull and the senior girls’ Eight, racing in a field
of 15 university crews.
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Winners of the novice Fours’ event by a margin of ten seconds
were the senior boys’ Four of Emily Gray, Sam Philpott, Jonny Fry,
Rob Hulmes and Chris Andrews.
The Third- and Fourth-Form girls’ and boys’ crews, at their first
event of the year, are to be congratulated on their mature and
sporting behaviour on and off the water. They were extremely
helpful with the whole St Peter’s squad, rowed very well together
and raced hard. This was for some of them the first time they had
rowed together this year for which they deserve special praise.
Schools’ Head of the River Race, 26 March
Even the mighty tidal Thames, The Tideway, was affected by the
huge amount of rain we had had over several months. The race
was postponed for the first time ever because of this. Having had
very few outings on the river before half-term because of constant
flooding we were able to get a little practice in before going to
London for the biggest time-trial of the year: 350 school crews
racing over the Boat Race course.
Yorkshire Head, 15 March
Sadly an exeat weekend intervened in one of our biggest local
events. However some hardy volunteers raced as Guy Fawkes BC
and had a successful day racing over 200 crews.
The girls’ Pair of Harriet Falshaw and Katie Hinton had no
competition but still beat 55 crews. All the crews won their events:
Women’s Novice Eight: Lucy Bower, Anna Stephens, Holly
Harrison, Lily, Fenella Hayes, Sabrina Leung, Katie Hinton, Harriet
Falshaw, Emily Gray.
J18 Double Scull: Sam Philpott, Jonny Fry.
Novice Double Scull: Patrick Copley, Joe Copley.
Novice Quad Scull: Patrick Copley, Joe Copley, Jonny Fry,
Sam Philpott.
Women’s Novice Four: Lucy Bower, Sabrina Leung, Lily Howells,
Anna Stephens, Emily Gray.
Although relatively unprepared compared with other years
everyone tried their hardest with results to correspond. Both boys’
Eights rowed in relatively pleasant conditions but by the time
the girls’ Eight and J16 boys’ Four had started, a strong wind had
got up and the skies had darkened. Round the big Hammersmith
bend there were huge waves and white horses and then the rain,
hail and eventually snow started. It was almost impossible to see
them at the finish. Although they were damp and cold, it did not
dampen their spirits.
Girls’ J18 Eight: came a very creditable 16th. Min Lee, coxing
here for the first time, steered a superb course down the very
difficult river, overtaking several crews on the way. Her constant
encouragement meant that the girls put in their very best effort
all the way. (Holly Harrison, Pippa Simpson, Sabrina Leung, Fenella
Hayes, Hannah Burke, Katie Hinton, Harriet Falshaw, Alice Appleby,
Min Lee).
Junior 16 boys’ Eight: a new experience against a lot of top-quality
Eights, this crew pushed well all the way to finish 11th in their
category. (Ollie Millman, Tom Collinson, Jack Coulthard, Sami
Hirzel, Sam Appleby, Max McLeish, Stan Schofield, George Doyle,
Henry Graham).
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Junior 16 boys’ Four: again a new experience for this crew, they
pushed all the way with a lot of tough competition surrounding
them, ending in seventh place. (George Snell, Alex Woodruff, Rob
Croft, Jack Robins, Peter Gray).
Boys’ J18 Eight came 12th in their category and again rowed well
and attacked the race from start to finish with Emily Gray coxing
here for the sixth and last time for St Peter’s. (Patrick Copley, Dan
James, Harry Nozedar, Joe Copley, Chris Andrews, Ron Hulmes,
Jonny Fry, Sam Philpott, Emily Gray).
Ghent Senior Rowing Camp and
International Regatta, 9-15 April
26 St Peter’s rowers, our largest group ever, went on the annual
senior rowing camp to Ghent, Belgium. Two days of intense
training were followed by the International Regatta which
combines with the Belgian National Championships. With seven
countries represented the standard was, as usual, very high. Over
the two days of the regatta our crews raced 2,000 metres, the full
international distance, between five and seven times. Last year we
won a silver medal in the Women’s Eight; this year we had again
had relatively little water-time because of flooding and once again
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the German teams were there in force in their usual immaculate
form. There were huge numbers of entries and a lot of GB trialists
using the regatta to get top-quality competition.
On the first regatta day fog on the course delayed the start by
two and a half hours. When it finally cleared our best results were:
Fifth: girls’ Double Scull, boys’ Double Scull.
Third: Junior 16 boys’ Eight, boys’ Coxed Four and girls’
Coxless Four.
Other crews produced very good performances, particularly as
several rowers had only started rowing in the autumn term and
this was their first-ever regatta. To put the results in context, some
events had over 30 crews racing.
Results Saturday
Girls J18 Single; 20th
Boys’ J18 Double Sculls: 18th and 19th
Boys’ J18 Coxless Pair: 10th
Boys’ J16 Coxless Fours: 7th and 8th
Boys’ J18 Eight: 7th
Boys’ J18 Quad Scull: 7th
Women’s senior Eight: 6th
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Gold: J16 boys’ Four: Alex Woodruff, Stanley Schofield,
Ollie Millman, Jack Robins, Emily Gray.
All the rowers are to be congratulated on their behaviour and
discipline on and off the water and their sportsmanship and
helpfulness to make this such a successful camp.
Huge ‘thank-you’s go to Iain Robertson for organising the whole
trip: again, a very large amount of work and planning, we hope
not for the last time. It all ran superbly. Very many thanks also
to fellow-coaches Alec Gilchrist, Chris Wright, Rory MacLeod and
Laura Mulligan for their coaching, rowing and good company
and lastly, and very importantly, to the Boat Club Supporters’
Association who, as always, helped hugely in funding the trip.
Girls’ J18 Double Scull: 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th.
Boys’ J16 Four: 4th and 5th.
Boys’ J18 Four: 3rd.
Girls’ J18 Coxless Fours: 3rd and 6th.
Boys’ J16 Eight: 3rd.
On the second day, although tired from the first regatta day, there
was a big improvement in most performances. The Eights’ and
Fours’ performances leapt forward between 20 and 30 seconds
relative to the crews they were racing on day one.
Results Sunday
Boys’ J18 Double Scull: 11th and 14th.
Senior Women’s Single Scull: 12th.
Boys’ J18 Quad Scull: 8th.
Boys’ J16 Coxless Four: 6th and 7th.
Girls’ J18 Coxless Four: 6th and 7th.
Boys’ J18 Eight: 5th.
Women’s Senior Eight: 5th.
Men’s U-23 Coxless Four: 3rd.
Girls’ J18 Coxless Pair: bronze medal.
J16 boys’ Eight: 2nd.
Boys’ J16 Coxed Four: 1st and 4th.
Medallists
Bronze: Junior Women’s Coxless Pair:
Katie Hinton & Harriet Falshaw.
Silver: J18 boys’ Eight: Stan Schofield, Maciej Psuich, Rob Doyle,
Jack Robins, Ollie Millman, Alex Woodruff, Tom Collinson,
Josh Ramalingham, Peter Gray.
York Spring Regatta, 3 May
Over 70 rowers raced in the York Spring Regatta. There were good
performances, often against much older crews, right through the
club but especially from the Third- and Fourth-Form boys and girls.
St Peter’s had 12l finalists and were winners in:
Junior 18 Mixed Quad sculls: Harriet Falshaw, Fenella Hayes,
Rob Hulmes, Sam Philpott.
Junior 18 Mixed Eight: Patrick Copley, Maciej Psuich, Alice Appleby,
Harriet Falshaw, Holly Harrison, Stanley Schofield, George Snell,
Alex Woodruff, Emily Gray.
Junior 14 Double Sculls: Jack Hargraves, Ed Johnson.
Junior 13 Double Sculls: Pierre Herrenschmidt, Elliott Millman.
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Durham Regatta, 10 May
Only one crew raced here, the girls’ Double Scull of Harriet
Falshaw and Katie Hinton. In the Women’s IM3 event they hoped
to get some side-by-side racing before the National Schools’
Regatta and Henley. The event was a straight knock-out with
eight entries. They won the first two rounds very comfortably
then had a very hard race in their semi-final against Queen
Elizabeth’s High School, Hexham. They had a small lead from
halfway which they extended to one length at the finish. In their
final they raced a Double Scull from Tyne Rowing Club whom,
after a close first half, they beat by three lengths.
The Third-Form boys also raced well, coming third in their Quad
Scull and third and fourth in their Double Sculls, again with close
margins.
The Fourth-Form girls were placed second in the Quad Scull and
the Fourth-Form boys’ Four came a very creditable fourth in the
open men’s event. Ed Coidan did very well in both the Junior 15
and 16 Single Scull events, coming second in both. The senior
boys’ Quad Scull won the J18 event by some three lengths.
National Schools’ Regatta,
Friday 24 - Sunday 26 May
3,500 rowers aged 14 to 18 from across Great Britain competed
in this event with about 10,000 spectators over the three days.
This year we had eight crews competing at this, the biggest junior
regatta in the calendar. As usual the competition was the best in
the country and against this background St Peter’s did well. All
events had big entries and often very harsh criteria for making the
semi-finals and finals.
Sat 24 May
Tees Regatta, 17 May
Several St Peter’s crews raced at Tees Regatta in lovely conditions.
The Third-Form girls raced in Quad, Double and Single sculls,
making the final with two boats in close, well-fought races.
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Boys’ J18 Coxed Fours were first off. The first time-trial race
reduced the entry down to 12 and St Peter’s Four (Alex Payne,
Jonny Fry, Rob Hulmes, Sam Philpott and Emily Gray) raced well to
end in the middle of that group. The semi-finals were tough with
only three crews from each semi making the final. St Peter’s raced
hard, a close fourth all the way then in the dying stages were just
overtaken by Durham School to end in fifth place.
Girls’ Championship Double Sculls
With an entry of 33 to get down to a six- boat final this was
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a very tough event. A good time trial saw the Double of Katie
Hinton and Harriet Falshaw into the top 18 to race in the semifinals. With only two out of six crews to go through it was always
going to be tough. After a fast start St Peter’s held their position
until just after halfway. They then were slowly overtaken and in
spite of all their best efforts and ended in fifth position.
Girls’ Championship Eight
With a crew, the majority of whom had rowed for less than a year,
this was an experience. With 15 Eights entered we had a solid
time-trial against a very strong wind. This put us into a semi-final
where we came fifth, beating the time of Cheltenham, a pleasing
result for an inexperienced but enthusiastic crew with a lot of
promise for next year.
Boys’ J16 Eight
Although reduced in number of entries compared with some
years, the quality of this event at the top had not gone down. In
difficult conditions we race a good time-trial and just missed the
semi-finals by one place and a few seconds. Again, a good and
promising group of young men.
Championship Boys’ Double Sculls
Again a huge entry of 38 crews this was always going to be a
big challenge. Going off at a high rate the St Peter’s Double of
Patrick Copley and Harry Nozedar did all they could. The eventual
verdict was that they did not make the semi-finals but acquitted
themselves very well.
Sunday 25 May
Championship Coxless Pairs
Chris Andrews and Dan James took on this event again with
another large entry. They raced well in their time-trial missing the
semi-final cut by about 12 seconds. A good effort by these UpperSixth boys.
Boys’ J16 Coxed Four
The crew of Peter Gray, Alex Woodruff, George Doyle, Jack Robins
and Josh Ramalingham moved straight into the semi-finals. A
strong crosswind made the conditions rather unfair. However,
these boys raced a great race and were in final qualifying position
(third) until the last 250m of the race when Doncaster just slipped
past them. This was a great race and the crew will have gained
great experience from it.
Girls’ Championship Coxless Pairs
Harriet Falshaw and Katie Hinton switched from sculling to sweep
oar on day two of the regatta. They had a storming time-trial
which put them third out of 19 crews. They moved straight to the
semi-final where a very mature race put them in second place.
The final was, as always, very tough with the best six Pairs in the
country lined up. They raced hard but could not quite hold their
early pace and ended in fifth position. This was our best result of
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the regatta and the first finals St Peter’s girls have contested since
2005.
As usual we are deeply grateful to the Supporters’ Association who
manned the marquee and provided fantastic backup for our crews
with food, drink and moral support. The marquee was invaluable
for keeping rowers shaded, dry, warmish, fed and watered until
they had to race.
Six of the seven girls who raced here are in the Fifth or LowerSixth Form, so will be eligible to race again next year. It was a
great experience for them all and teamwork and squad support
were really good.
York Summer Regatta, 22 June
A beautiful day saw 35 different St Peter’s crews competing.
Durham Regatta, 8 June
This year only two crews competed here because of exam and
other pressures.
The J14 boys’ Coxed Quad (Zaki Ward, Max Hateley, Ed Johnson,
Harry Exely-Moore, Angus Wilson) were first on the start. They
raced a crew from King’s School, Chester. The St Peter’s boys
fought hard, improved on their last race and eventually came
second. However, it was another promising race and another stepup for these lads, all relatively new to the sport.
Sam Philpott raced in the Novice Single Sculls. The competition
was hot and in the first round after a very taxing race, he came a
very close second to a Leeds sculler.
Henley Women’s Regatta, 21-22 June
St Peter’s School last had two crews racing here in 2007. It is the
country’s most prestigious women’s regatta. The beautiful setting
in Henley belies the toughness of the competition with the best
from Great Britain and many other nations competing.
The senior boys’ Quad Scull (Dan James, Patrick Copley, Rob
Hulmes, Sam Philpott) were runners-up in a very close final to
York City in the Men’s IM3 event.
Senior Boys IM3 Eight (Patrick Copley, Harry Nozedar, Dan James,
Chris Andrews, Alex Payne, Rob Hulmes, Jonny Fry, Sam Philpott
and Emily Gray) won two great and close races against university
opposition.
J15 boys
J15 Double Scull: Oli Williams and Sam Appleby raced through to
the J15 semi-final after beating Durham School. They then lost
narrowly in the semi to another Durham School crew.
J15 Single Scull: Ed Coidan and Jack Coulthard raced in this event
with Jack winning the event after beating scullers from Oundle
and Durham School, a very pleasing result and good progress for
him.
J15 Coxed Four: Dan Kondratiev, Jack Coulthard, Patrick Hayes, Ed
Coidan, Emily Gray raced several races in this new event against
much older opposition doing credit to themselves.
J14s
Katie Hinton and Harriet Falshaw raced in the Junior 18 Double
Sculls against 16 crews. After two days of training in beautiful
weather, race day dawned sunny and warm, so different from last
year’s squalling rain. Their first race was straight into the knockout stages against King’s School, Worcester. St Peter’s got off to a
great start and had about one length on their competition after
a couple of minutes. They were unable to stretch this lead and
then gradually King’s, Worcester started to
edge back. St Peter’s tried again and again to
push their opposition back but could not. In
the end they lost by about two lengths in the
fastest time of the day by a long way.
Much later the girls’ Coxed Four raced against
St Paul’s Girls’ School, London, who had come
fourth at the National Schools’ Regatta.
The Four of Alice Appleby, Holly Harrison,
Lily Howells, Pippa Simpson and Min Lee
had got together after half-term and made
good progress. They raced hard off the start
and were gradually overhauled by St Paul’s.
However, this relatively inexperienced crew
pushed hard all the way with a final result of
five lengths, a great achievement against such
opposition.
202
J14 Coxed Quad: Ed Johnson, Jack Hargrave, Zaki Ward, Harry
Exley-Moore and Charles Barry raced strongly and in the final
narrowly lost to York City but showed great improvement since
the two crews last met a few weeks ago at York Spring Regatta:
this showed great promise for later this year and next.
J14 Double Sculls: Charles Barry & Jack Hargrave, Harry Exley-
Sport
Moore & Zaki Ward, and Angus Wilson & Max Hateley all raced
well, but came up short against stronger, more experienced
opposition. The smaller boats highlighted several coaching points
to be worked on. maturity. All the crews worked very hard and showed a lot of
improvement since their last races which promises very well for
their future.
J14 Single Scull: Ed Johnson decided it was all a bit too hot in the
final sprint to stay upright, and so went for a quick swim in the
same place he capsized last year. Despite this, the first 600m of
the race were very positive.
Henley Royal Regatta Qualifying Races,
28 June
J14 Mixed Octuple Sculls: this proved to be a very close match
between the two St Peter’s crews in a straight final, The eventual
winners by a small margin were: Sophie Haslam, Chloe Wong,
Martha Horner, Katarina Bonner, Jack Hargrave, Zaki Ward, Harry
Exley-Moore, Max Hateley. Both crews performed at their highest
levels and this event really strengthened the already good team
spirit among the J14s.
J14 Girls
Single Sculls: Martha Horner had her first race in a Single Scull and
raced with great spirit and determination. She was only narrowly
beaten by a girl from York City which sets a very good standard for
comparison.
Quad Sculls: both the crews did really well and had stepped up
their game from the regatta 2 months ago coming in much closer
to their opponents and both beating their previous times from
York Spring Regatta. Crews: Sophie-Rose Haslam, Katarina Bonner,
Amber Rose, Martha Horner, Ellie Gath. Chloe Wong, Lucy Batters,
Clare Hornby, Jodi Smith.
Double Sculls: Lucy Butters and Sophie Haslam raced for the first
time together in a Double and performed really well. Jodi Smith
and Katarina Bonner got to the final of the WJ14 Double category,
losing the final by a couple of lengths but showing great racing
The senior boys’ Eight was not strong enough to race so a Quad
Scull was formed after seat racing in Double Sculls late in the
term. After practice, interspersed with exams, they were required
to qualify for the Fawley Cup which is always oversubscribed. 65
crews were fighting for 24 places and by the time the Henley
Stewards had made some pre-selections it was a time trial of
55 crews with only 14 to go through to the main regatta, a very
tough ask.
On a blustery Friday evening the crew raced extremely well on
the historic course. They eventually missed qualifying over a race
of well over seven minutes. They had the best row they could
have done in the circumstances but were clearly disappointed to
miss qualifying for the main regatta. The crew: Dan James, Patrick
Copley, Rob Hulmes, Sam Philpott.
Peterborough Junior Championships,
28 June
Because of the quality and progress of both the Third-Form girls’
and boys’ squads and, for the first time, a J5 boys’ Quad Scull
from St Olave’s, we took five Quad Sculls to the Peterborough
Championships, our first venture here for five years.
The first thing to say is that the behaviour, sportsmanship and
helpfulness of the group was well beyond their years. The racing is
203
Sport
always very tough here as it attracts a lot of top crews, many of
whom have already sculled for two to three years. Both girls’ and
boys’ squads produced top-quality rowing, the best of their year.
Unfortunately tonsillitis intervened and although they came third
in their heat illness prevented them racing further, a real shame
for a promising duo.
The girls produced the fastest times of any crew in heats and
semi-finals. They made the final and ended fourth, not quite able
to sustain their early showing after a very tiring day’s racing. A
tremendous marker for their future if they wish to aim high.
Summer Sculling Course
The boys’ Quads again produced good results in the heats and
qualified for the final. In the final, their third race of the day, they
set off at a blistering pace and eventually pulled right ahead of the
other crews, winning by a huge eight seconds. Harry Exley-Moore,
Ed Johnson, Jack Hargrave, Zaki Ward and Charles Barry secured St
Peter’s first victory here for six years, a great achievement.
Both the boys and girls of these Third-Form squads are to be
congratulated on their perseverance and commitment throughout
the year. They have been attentive, they have worked hard, and
have already achieved excellent results which they richly deserve.
Girls’ squad: Katarina Bonner, Jodi Smith, Lucy Butters, SophieRose Haslam, Clare Hornby, Martha Horner, Chloe Wong. Amber
Rose, Ellie Gath, Emily Gray.
Boys’ squad: Harry Exley-Moore, Ed Johnson, Jack Hargrave, Zaki
Ward, Charles Barry, Tom Clarke, Zac Faithfull, Jack Hargrave, Max
Hateley, Angus Wilson.
St Olave’s Quad: Elliot Millman, Pierre Herrenschmidt, Tom Raper,
Joe Raper, Joshua Harrison.
The ninth summer sculling course once again proved very popular,
attracting record numbers of girls and boys. They learnt a lot
about safety, technique on the rowing ergometer, practical lessons
in safe boat-lifting, and, of course, sculling and coxing. They had
a very useful session in the pool learning capsize technique and
swimming in kit. By the end of the four days all were competent
at sculling in Octuple and Quad Sculls and some even ventured
out in Coxless Quad Sculls with a coach sitting in the crew. In
addition we watched rowing and entertaining DVDs to let lunch
settle and enjoyed a great barbeque. All performed well and
showed great sportsmanship. My congratulations to all the scullers
who tried so hard.
Many thanks to the coaches, OPs and present rowers, who helped
coach, inspire and enthuse these young rowers. The Coaches: Alec
Gilchrist, Chris Wright, Ellie MacLeod, Joe Copley, Katie Hinton,
Alice Appleby, Alex Woodruff, George Doyle, Jack Robins, Lucy
Bower, Oliver Millman, Patrick Litten, Pippa Simpson.
Thanks
As always the coaches have been terrific this year: they are a
great, experienced and hard-working team, delighted to work in
weathers fair or foul and the performance of our rowers owes a lot
to them.
Mr Chris Hall made his contribution throughout the year. A very
experienced coach, we used his talents with a variety of squads
during the year, taking over the mantle of the J15 boys in the
summer term with great success.
Mrs Cath Hempsall coached in the Christmas Term. She brought
the J15 boys on from virtual beginners and their year ended with
many good performances. She taught them both discipline and
technique each of which made their rowing faster.
Miss Katherine Barker coached in the Summer Term. She did
a great job with J15 girls who performed increasingly well each
week ending their season with great racing at York Summer
Regatta. They have good promise for next year.
Mr Harry Vann coached in the very trying Easter Term where
more time was spent on land that water. He continued Mrs
Hempsall’s good work with the Fourth-Form boys, melding them
into a more cohesive unit.
Great Britain National Rowing
Championships
Harriet Falshaw and Katie Hinton, having come fifth in the
National Schools’ Regatta in a Pair, continued to train after
term had finished and raced at the National Championships.
204
Miss Alice Lambert started the year with the Third-Form ‘Round
Robin’ then took over the Fourth-Form girls. Her calm and
encouraging approach fitted this squad very well and they made
sound progress under her guidance.
Mr Alec Gilchrist coached the senior boys from September and
Sport
taught then a lot about crew and single sculling. Alec remains
very patient, instils discipline and team-working and gets great
satisfaction from seeing the youngsters develop at whatever level.
Mr Chris Wright took on the Fifth-Form boys coaching and
helped them make substantial progress. He is always very flexible,
and his patient, no-nonsense style works well. In addition he
coached the Third Form on their Tuesday and Thursday sessions.
Joe Foss again provided Wednesday coaching to St Peter’s and St
Olave’s. Always very calm, he brought on series of crews.
Annabel Robertson coached in the Christmas and Summer
Terms, doing great work with the Third-Form girls who came on
rapidly throughout the year with a great finale at the Third-Form
Championships in Peterborough.
Charlotte Jukes coached with us whilst studying for a sports
degree at York St John University and then became indispensible,
coaching more in the Summer Term as well. Her experience of
both rowing and coaching was invaluable.
Paddy Reilly O’Donnell coached with us for the second year
and made a huge contribution to the Third-Form boys’ squad,
bringing them to great success at the Third-Form Championships
at the end of the season. We are fortunate to have him with us for
another season.
Dom Marshall joined us this year whilst in his last year at
University. A great asset, he has really taken to the challenge of
coaching younger rowers, and with Paddy produced great success
with the Third-Form boys.
Freddie Jagger returned from coaching in Melbourne and worked
hard and competently with a variety of squads who all enjoyed his
coaching.
Anne Homa helped with the ‘Round Robins’ for Third-Form girls
and also took on other rowers during the year, for which we are
very grateful.
Anna-Liese Calder, our fourth New Zealand gap-student, had a
great year coaching with us, leading the Third-Form girls to several
great performances. We were really sorry to see her go home in
December and wish her all the best in her university and rowing
career. She is always welcome back at St Peter’s.
Laura Mulligan took over from Anna-Liese in January. She arrived
from Hamilton, New Zealand to a very wet, cold UK. Already a
junior national champion in New Zealand, she rapidly picked up
how we do things here and did great work with the girls’ squads
and beginners and even took part in racing at Ghent. A perceptive
and very reliable coach, she stays with us until Christmas 2014.
The Captains, Emily Gray and Dan James, deserve praise for
leading from the front, performing their duties well and showing
the younger ones what the Boat Club is all about. In addition, their
own dedication ensured their squads’ and their own excellent
rowing performances.
Association, who have done a huge amount to support the
rowers, the Club and me. I am tremendously grateful for what
they do, whether providing hot tea on freezing days at York events,
organising the Quiz Night and the Annual Dinner or putting up the
marquee and feeding the rowers at the National Schools’ Regatta.
It would be impossible without them.
Phil Blakeborough, who drives all our boats so expertly to
regattas, helps supervise, rig and load. A constant source of
cheerful chat, always helpful with a spanner in his hand, he keeps
a very mature eye on our activities, on and off the water.
And finally the Boat Club could not stay afloat without the huge
time and effort put in by Jon Whitmore (OP) who works tirelessly
repairing and renovating our fleet. He has ensured that boats are
returned to use as soon as possible and even comes down on
regatta days to make sure we are all riverworthy. We all appreciate
his work tremendously and could not survive without him.
Old Peterite News
Two Old Peterites, Tina Stiller and Jess Elkington, were selected to
row for the senior and Under-23 Great Britain teams in the World
Rowing Championships this summer.
Jess Elkington (2010) has rowed at Exeter University for the last
three years and was this summer selected for the GB Women’s
Under-23 lightweight Quadruple Scull. The World Rowing
under-23 Championships were held at the end of July in Varese,
Italy. Jess’s crew made good progress in the heat securing a place
in the semi-finals. Their semi-final was, as always, very tough, but
they prospered and went directly to the final. On a blisteringly hot
day they came fourth in the final, a tantalising 2.5 seconds off a
bronze medal. This was a great result for Jess, the first time she has
represented Great Britain, and perhaps a sign of things to come.
Tina Stiller (2005) is already a World under-18 bronze and World
under-23 silver medallist. Tina has now stepped up into the Great
Britain senior women’s team and is selected for the Quadruple
Scull which will race in the World Rowing Championships in
Amsterdam from 24-31 August. Over 50 nations will compete on
the world famous 1932 Olympic rowing course, the Bosbaan. We
wish her our very best.
This is a tremendous achievement for St Peter’s. We have never
had two Old Peterites in the World Rowing Championships before. Rowing Awards and Colours
Half Colours: Sabrina Leung.
Full Colours: Emily Gray, Alice Appleby, Holly Harrison, Fenella
Hayes, Chris Andrews, Daniel James, Sam Philpott, Jonny Fry,
Patrick Copley, Rob Hulmes, Harry Nozedar.
St Peter’s Caps: Harriet Falshaw, Katie Hinton.
Dr Jamie MacLeod
A huge ‘thank-you’ also to the Boat Club Supporters’
205
Sport
FOOTBALL
First XI Football
The beginning of January saw even more new faces than in
previous years, showing the great progress that football is making
at St Peter’s. The first week of training gave everyone a chance
to impress the coaches, and it was clear that there was a great
deal of talent within the squad, especially with the deadline-day
transfers from the Hockey teams.
This promising start was followed by the visit of a very strong
Woodhouse Grove side, and despite a resilient performance and
a good finish from Abdul Yahaya, we went down 4-1 against a
good footballing team. We were back to winning ways with a
5-1 win against Silcoates, with Alex Reeds proving a real threat
The eagerly-awaited first competitive fixture of the season saw
local rivals Bootham travel to ‘The Colts’. In a fierce and highlycompetitive match, goals from Phil Hodgson and Harry Stothard
gave St Peter’s a 2-0 lead, with Cormac Hopkinson adding a third
to ensure a 3-1 victory. A special mention must be given to the
Man of the Match, keeper James Bellingall, who produced one
of the greatest performances of the season to deny Bootham
numerous times with many fantastic saves to earn the win. St
Peter’s Second XI were also in action against Bootham; Alex Payne
leading the side to a comfortable 6-2 victory, showing the squad’s
strength in depth, and many players consequently forcing their
way into the First XI.
206
down the left-hand side, and creating a number of goals, and
Cormac Hopkinson scoring twice in the win. This was followed
by a comprehensive victory over Read School, where the good
passing play from St Peter’s proved too much for the opposition.
The following week saw a strong Yarm team travel to St Peter’s,
and take a 2-1 lead, (including a superb own goal from Nik Ubhi),
but the team showed great resilience and motivation to fight back
and win the game 3-2, with Dom Marsh scoring the winning goal.
Sport
The team continued their excellent start to the season with a 3-1
win over Barnard Castle in extremely tough conditions. There
were goals this time from Will Catchpole and James Bottomley,
who was starting to show himself as a prolific scorer. A 3-0 win
over Silcoates followed this, with Nicolae Bolocan showing his
great football ability along with his immense strength down the
right-hand side.
Then came the highly-anticipated first game against Ampleforth,
and after a motivational team talk St Peter’s were 3-0 up by halftime with two goals from James Bottomley and a Nik Ubhi header.
However, good goals early in the second half saw Ampleforth pull
the game back to 3-2. A strong defensive display late on, with
Man of the Match Will Catchpole proving his worth, saw St Peter’s
hold out to take the victory. The Second XI were again in action,
in the first match of a triple-header against Ampleforth. St Peter’s
showed their class by winning all of the fixtures, with Abdul Yahaya
managing to score a hat-trick of hat-tricks during these games.
The First XI continued to make ‘The Colts’ a fortress, and thanks
to a fine performance from Ed Cotter, managed to beat Barnard
Castle in a close 2-1 victory. This was followed by the return
fixture against Ampleforth, in which St Peter’s ran out 5-2 winners,
continuing their impressive winning streak, with Andrei Zevakin
standing out in particular.
The away trip to Bootham followed, where a highly-motivated
Bootham team ran out eventual winners 3-2, despite late goals
from Harry Stothard. St Peter’s then made the long trip to play
Ackworth in the final game of the season. With many players
being away, this gave the chance to others to impress, and there
were solid performances from Toby Mcgill and Andrey Fokin at the
back, and Jonnie Eleanor in midfield providing great hope for next
year.
Throughout the season the squad trained hard on the 3G pitches
at Roko Gym, which certainly aided us in playing good passing
football. The end of the season saw the return of inter-house
football where the School house team of Nik Ubhi, Patrick Copley,
Chris Williams, Alex Payne and Will Fynn ran out winners, beating
The Manor 2-1 in the final. End of the season awards were given
to Phil Hodgson for Top Goalscorer, Cormac Hopkinson for Players’
Player of the Season and Goal of the Season, Nicolae Bolocan for
Most Improved Player and Nik Ubhi earning a Manager’s Award.
This concluded the impressive season that the St Peter’s football
teams had and I, on behalf of all of the players, would like in
particular to thank Mr Lawrence and Mr White for the organisation
of the games, their coaching and management and also all the
other members of staff who gave their time during the season.
Nik Ubhi (UVI)
First XI Captain
207
Sport
GIRLS’ BADMINTON
We have, throughout our numerous fixtures, proven ourselves
to be a force to be reckoned with, only losing two matches after
playing Queen Margaret’s twice, Harrogate Ladies’ College twice,
Bootham School twice and The Mount once. Our loss in our first
match of the season was against a strong Queen Margaret’s team,
which only spurred us on to win our next game, and indeed the
next, and the game after that! We struggled against an intense
Harrogate Ladies’ College team, who had notably changed their
line-up to include players of a seriously high calibre after our
triumph in our first match against them. As the first St Peter’s
badminton team season it was a real achievement. Our passion as
a team for badminton was mirrored through our desire for success
and through our emotion and competitiveness on court, all of
which were more important than our overall score.
Sara Pycock (UVI)
ROUNDERS
Senior rounders
First and foremost, I sincerely hope that all the senior girls who
opted for rounders had the opportunity to enjoy themselves and
were able to use the sessions as a way to escape the stresses and
strains of the examination season. The rounders term, because of
study-leave and, this year in particular, bad weather, can often
be rather short for the seniors. It does, though, give them the
opportunity to play at least some competitive matches.
At the start of the summer term we were able to field two
teams, as the exam season was not completely under way. The
two matches against Ashville College saw the girls return to their
original form – expert and skilful fielding coupled with some huge
hitting!
I would like to thank Tansy for organising the team during studyleave. The Upper Sixth will most certainly be missed.
The following girls played in the rounders team during the term:
Scarlett Shaw, Gemma Willink, Anna Fairbank, Georgia Calvert,
Amy Dodds, Georgie Harrison, Farrell Voase, Annabel Blott, Anna
Thrussell, Sarah Willis, Alicia Cranston, Harriet Andrews, Tansy
Tomlinson (Captain), Laura Nichols, Eleanor Fletcher,
Katherine Raines, Emily Easterby, Sasha Hinde, Josie Proctor
Results
Harrogate Ladies’ College
Queen Mary’s B
Ashville College A
Ashville College B
Queen Margaret’s
Bootham
Ampleforth
Giggleswick
lost
cancelled
won
won
cancelled
won
cancelled
lost
7-9.5
28-2
30-7
28-25
14-18
U15
The U15s had a tough calendar of fixtures this year, and despite
making pleasing progress during the season, lack of consistency in
the teams meant that they struggled against stronger opposition.
The A team suffered two strong defeats in their first two matches,
208
Sport
against Harrogate Ladies’ College and Ashville College, whilst
the B team drew 26.5-26.5 in a very closely-fought match
against Ashville. Following a spate of bad weather, and numerous
cancelled matches, both teams were successful in beating
Bootham convincingly. Despite further inclement weather, the
girls showed real focus and determination in the final few matches
and produced a pleasing win against Queen Mary’s. Well done to
all the girls involved this season!
U15 results
Harrogate Ladies College A
Ashville College A
Ashville College B
Queen Margaret’s A
Bootham A
Giggleswick
Queen Mary’s
Pocklington A
Pocklington B
Barnard Castle
L
L
D
L
W
L
L
L
L
L
in rounders and the girls were motivated and determined to play
to the best of their ability. Highlights included both the As and Bs
overcoming Ashville College, the A team winning by eight rounders
in their match and a victory against Harrogate Ladies’ College
where we scored a huge 26 rounders, and they only managed 6.5.
The girls were fantastic to work with, they played intelligently and
cohesively and I wish them all the best for their summer holiday
and beyond! Thanks must be given to the captains for their
excellent leadership and maturity throughout the season.
7.5-19.5
7.5-22
26.5-26.5
14.5-32.5
25-9
6.5-10.5
11-19
6-17.5
5.5-13
8-16
U14 results
Harrogate ladies College A
Ashville College A
Ashville College B
Queen Margaret’s A
Bootham A
Bootham B
Giggleswick Queen Mary’s
Pocklington A
Pocklington B
Barnard Castle A
U14
Despite several rounders
matches being cancelled
this season because of the
wet weather, the U14s had
a very successful term. Both
A and B teams had fantastic
seasons with outstanding
victories against
Pocklington, Queen Mary’s
and Queen Margaret’s to
name a few. Competition
for places is always hard
W
W
W
W
W
W
L
L
W
L
W
26-6.5
11-3
9-6.5
34-20
26-6
29.5-11.5
5.5-6
14-19.5
13.5-7
14-16.5
28-9
Junior inter-house rounders
A pleasing number of girls took part in the junior inter-house
rounders competition this year. Following some extremely exciting
and closely-fought matches the final placings were:
4th 3rd 2nd 1st School
Dronfield
Grove
Clifton
Mrs Emma Brough
209
Sport
SQUASH
Boys’ Squash
Girls’ squash
It has been a very busy and a very successful year for St Peter’s
Boys’ Squash Club. This year has seen the introduction of termly
pupil-v-staff squash matches, even more regular fixtures, the
popular Coach Cup, and also an England Squash Court Challenge.
Squash has had up to 70 girls playing every week, with some girls
training towards team squash and others enjoying recreational
squash.
The pupil-v-staff matches have been a great addition to the
calendar with three matches being played this academic year, all
ending in draws. The boys look forward to these matches greatly,
and see it as an opportunity for a bit of payback. Also, from a
coach’s point of view, some good-quality squash is also played.
We have had very good first and second team wins against
Ampleforth, Stillington and Worksop. With Gabriel Chan, James
Downie, Elliot Elstob, Angus Freeman, Callum Hatzel, Scott Buskin,
Alex Greenwood, Steven Jones, Nathan Chapman, Oliver Harvey,
George Thompson, Jack McCartney and Jonnie Eleanor making up
the main first and second team squad.
The Coach Cup is a straight knockout tournament, played within
coaching sessions. Gabriel, Jack and James were three of the
six winners of the inaugural Coach Cups. A very competitive
tournament – especially when we had a Third-Former playing and
winning against an Upper Sixth player, with all the Third-Form
pupils being very vocal in their support.
With the support of England Squash we organised our first
England Squash Court Challenge event. All boys who had received
coaching were invited to attend. The tournament was a U19 event
and all who attended received a free England Squash t-shirt. The
overall winner was Gabriel Chan, who beat Callum Hatzel 3-1 in a
close final.
I am excited about the coming season: we will have some
potentially good squash players in all years, and with hard work
from these players we should have another successful season.
Mr Matt Bridson
Our first squash team has been very dedicated, and the following
girls have played in some or all of the above first-team matches:
Hannah Lawrence, Zoe Pindar, Lauren Caley, Gemma Willink,
Georgie Ward, Izzy Cotter, Emily Brown, Steph Tong.
During the first half of the season we lost all but one of our
matches. It is a difficult term as many of our squash players are
also hockey players and we are only able to train together once a
week.
During the spring term the girls train three times a week and
this was reflected in the results where they finished the season
unbeaten in division four, placing them second.
YorkandDistrictLadies’SquashLeague,Division4
Results
24 Sep 2013
Queen Margaret’s (A)
Lost 7 - 14
13 Oct 2013
University Students 1 (A)
Lost 1 - 20
12 Nov 2013
York 2 (H)
Won 17 - 6
26 Nov 2013
York Railway Institute 3 (H)
Lost 8 - 14
11 Dec 2013
David Lloyd 3 (A)
Lost 10 - 18
21 Jan 2014
Queen Margaret’s (H)
04 Feb 2014
University Students 1 (H)
Won 14 - 8
02 Mar 2014
York Railway Institute 3 (A)
Won 20 - 1
12 Mar 2014
York 2 (A)
Won 20 - 2
25 Mar 2014
David Lloyd 3 (H)
Won 18 - 5
Finaltable
Team
P
W L D
1 University Students 1
10
8
A
Pts
0 109 52
F
149
2 St Peter’s Girls
10
6
4
0 105 68
135
3 David Lloyd 3
10
6
4
0
82
128
98
4 York Railway Institute 3
10
6
4
0
79
87
109
5 Queen Margaret’s
10
3
7
0
62
98
77
6 York 2
10
1
9
0
53 119
58
Mrs Louise Cotter
210
2
Sport
SWIMMING
This year has been a fantastic year for girls’ swimming and
our most successful since I started coaching the girls in 2008.
The team, consisting of the three age-groups, U14s, U15s and
Seniors, only lost one match and that was against our toughest
competitors, Harrogate Ladies’ College. St Peter’s were on the
wrong end of several harsh decisions and ended up losing by
only five points, which showed how tight some of the finishes
were. Although I say it nearly every year, many of the girls have
to fit their training in between their main team sport, CCF, D of
E, drama or musical commitments but despite this they always
continue to give their utmost and the results below show how the
rewards were certainly reaped this year.
24/09/13
Queen Margaret’s
(A)
Won
159-113
14/10/13
The Mount
(H)
Won
187-136
12/11/13
Bootham
(A)
Won
117- 98
20/11/13
Pocklington
(A)
Won
358-314
28/01/14
HLC
(A)
Lost
96-101
4/02/14
Bootham
(H)
Won
136-107
10/02/14
Queen Margaret’s
(H)
Won
199-170
12/02/14
The Mount
(A)
Won
128- 99
25/02/14
GSAL
(H)
Won
227-168
1/03/14
Ampleforth
(A)
Won
63- 47
The following girls have represented the school:
U14s: Maddy Bletcher, Katarina Bonner, Alex Craig, Holly Drake,
Sophie Green, Imogen Matthews, Emily McDonald, Katherine
Robinson.
U15s: Amelia Bell, Liv Calvert, Jenny Elliott, Abi Harrison,
Nicole Moir, Katherine Spencer.
Seniors: Tilly Antrum, Sophie Blackburn*, Chloe Burdass*,
Emily Carman, Harriet Fordy, Lucy Garnett*, Rachel Hall, Helen
Megone, Hannah Ramalingam +, Alice Rhodes**, Teresa Stefanini,
Tracy Yip*.
+ Half colours *Full colours **Full colours re-awarded
Olympic Park. This is an invitational national relay championship
involving the country’s top 70 independent schools. Unfortunately
Alice could not compete because of a clash with her Physics
A-level but the remaining four girls – Sophie, Chloe, Lucy and
Tracy – swam brilliantly despite their nerves and the daunting
prospect of swimming in the same lane that Michael Phelps had
swum in at the London 2012 Olympics. The girls rose to the
occasion and although they just missed out on the Freestyle final
for smaller schools they set a new best time in the Medley Relay,
gaining ninth place in the Dunelm Cup final. The boys’ team of
Max Nozedar, Harry Nozedar, Joe Brennan and Sam Dickinson,
narrowly missed out on the Medley Relay but came seventh in
the Freestyle Relay of the Aldenham Cup final which, given the
outstanding competition, was an excellent result. All the squad
certainly deserved the great sense of achievement they all felt.
Inter-house swimming
Once again the finals of the inter-house swimming proved very
exciting but this year the runaway winners were Hope, gaining
a total of 143 points, this being by far the highest score ever
recorded in the event. A combination of both strong junior and
senior swimmers meant Hope were placed first, second or third
in 19 of the 20 events, winning 11 of them. A remarkable ten
new records were set during the competition, by Sophie Green,
Katarina Bonner, Liv Calvert, Nicole Moir, Lucy Garnett, Chloe
Burdass and Katharine Phillips. It is worth noting that for the
past five years the retiring captain Alice Rhodes has won all the
individual inter-house races in which she has competed, which is a
great achievement, and she currently holds four individual school
records. The results were:
TheFowlerCupwaspresentedtoAliceRhodes.
The John Parry Relays were hosted by St Peter’s this year, this
being an annual competition for the top northern swimming
schools. The girls had their best results for seven years in timings
and placings, gaining third place in all four events; U18 and U15
Freestyle Relay and U18 and U15 Medley Relay.
It was the first time in many years that St Peter’s took a Senior
boys’ and girls’ squad to compete in The Bath and Otter Cup,
a prestigious event held at the London Aquatics centre in the
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Hope
Clifton
Dronfield
Temple
143pts
84pts
69pts
57pts
Great North Swim: For the third successive year St Peter’s took a
coach-full of swimmers, a combination of 34 parents, pupils and
teachers to experience the delights of a one-mile open-water
swim on Lake Windermere. Despite a somewhat hurried arrival
after being stuck on the M6 (no, we weren’t sure why the coach
211
Sport
driver took us that way, either!), leaving literally only minutes
before our ‘wave’ was due to start, everyone still managed to
swim well, finish and enjoy it all at the same time. The water was
almost warm at 17 degrees, and with little wind the lake was fairly
flat, meaning that swimming conditions were good. Everyone
completed the course in quick times, with Sam Dickinson coming
second in our wave in a fabulous time of 21 mins 30 secs, and
finishing 11th out of over 4,000 swimmers.
Finally, it would be remiss of me not to give a special mention
to this year’s girls’ swimming captain, Alice Rhodes. Alice has
been the most dedicated competitor on all levels. She has been a
key member of the swimming team throughout her time in the
school, always showing utmost determination in the pool. I have
already mentioned her success in the inter-house swimming but
on a higher level Alice has competed in 37 matches and swum in
78 individual races, winning 72 of them and coming second in the
remaining six, alongside contributing to all our successes in the
relays. This is a remarkable achievement and I am grateful for the
dedication she has shown to school swimming throughout her
time here.
I would also like to say a big ‘thank-you’ to the Upper Sixth who
are leaving, specifically Emily Carman, Rachel Hall and Hannah
Ramalingham along with Siân Bigger and Ellie Fletcher: I wish you
all the best, in and out of the pool.
Mrs Karen Burdass
WAT E R P O L O
This year St Peter’s has produced an excellent squad of water
polo players. The commitment to the sport and the excellent
team spirit resulted in a very high standard of water polo being
played in all our matches. Opposition is difficult to find but our
results for the year were:
Bradford Grammar 8 – 4 St Peter’s
Goals: James Contreras 3, Patrick Foster 1
This was a very close game with St Peter’s creating many scoring
chances. Bradford were a lot more clinical in front of goal and
their experience proved vital in the last quarter of the match.
St Peter’s 4 – 2 Ampleforth
Goals: Max Nozedar 3, Owen Herman 1
Ampleforth started strongly but St Peter’s defended well. A good
solid performance in defence and attack.
St Peter’s 2 – 4 Bradford Grammar
Goals: Max Nozedar 1, Owen Herman 1
St Peter’s lost the first half 3-0 but recovered well to win the
second half 2-1.
Our visit to Ampleforth also included a swimming match where
our water polo team doubled as our swimming team. Excellent
performances saw St Peter’s dominate both the ‘A’ and ‘B’
fixtures, with the following results:
St Peter’s
Ampleforth
Bradford Grammar
Mr Alan Sunderland
212
A
40
27
24
B
21
9
8
Overall
61
36
32
Inter-house water polo
Inter-house Water Polo was greeted with much enthusiasm this
year and the resulting competition could not have been more
exciting. The group stages produced some excellent games which
resulted in semi-finals of Hope v Linton and Grove v Queen’s. In
closely-fought games Linton beat Hope 4-2 and Grove defeated
Queen’s 3-0. The resulting final was something to be recorded in
the history books. The game was physically and evenly contested
with creative play from both sides. At full-time the score was level
at 3 goals each. Four minutes of extra time were then played (two
minutes in each direction). Both teams attacked the opposition
and the score moved on to 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, and then after eight
periods of extra time Grove finally became 2014 inter-house
champions by 7 goals to 6.
The goal-scorers were: Grove – Jack Graham 4, Max Nozedar 2,
James Field 1, and for Linton – Sam Raper 5, Will Fox 1. Everyone
who had played was exhausted, as were the spectators who
supported enthusiastically throughout. Well done to all who took
part.
Mr Alan Sunderland
Sport
CROSS COUNTRY
213
Sport
S P O R T S D AY
Girls’ Results
Event
Senior 1500m
Junior 1500m
Senior 800m
Junior 800m
Senior 400m
Junior 300m
Senior 200m
Junior 200m
Senior 100m
Junior 100m
Senior Relay
Junior Relay
Senior Discus
Junior Discus
Senior Javelin
Junior Javelin
Senior Shot Put
Junior Shot Put
Senior High Jump
Junior High Jump
Senior Long Jump
Junior Long Jump
Houseresults
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
214
Winner
Alice Greswold
Katarina Bonner
Olivia Anderson
Nicole Moir
Katherine Raines
Nicole Moir
Frankie Anderson
Annabelle Blackburn
Minna Gabbertas
Amelia Bell
Anna Thrussell
Olivia Calvert
Millie Grant
Jennifer Elliott
Ellie Martin
Edith Norvor
Olivia Anderson
Rebecca Green
Frankie Anderson
Phoebe Phillips
The Grove
Clifton
School
Temple
Dronfield
The Rise
Queen’s
Hope
House
S
H
C
D
Q
D
T
G
S
C
T
G
R
D
G
G
T
D
C
C
T
H
127
110
106
101
97
93
93
87
Sport
Boys’ Results
Event
Senior 3,000m
Intermediate 3,000m
Senior 1500m
Intermediate 1500m
Junior 1500m
Senior 800m
Intermediate 800m
Junior 800m
Senior 400m
Intermediate 400m
Junior 400m
Senior 200m
Intermediate 200m
Junior 200m
Senior 100m
Intermediate 100m
Junior 100m
Senior Relay
Intermediate Relay
Junior Relay
Senior Discus
Intermediate Discus
Junior Discus
Senior Javelin
Intermediate Javelin
Junior Javelin
Senior Shot Put
Intermediate Shot Put
Junior Shot Put
Senior High Jump
Intermediate High Jump
Junior High Jump
Senior Long Jump
Intermediate Long Jump
Junior Long Jump
Winner
Sam Dickinson
Rory Combe
Sam Dickinson
Robbie Brown
Ed Johnson
Cormac Hopkinson
Oskar Fraser-Krauss
Robbie Brown
Ben Williams
Oskar Fraser-Krauss
Rory Winterburn
Clement Elliott
David Bird
Theo Hedley
Ben Williams
Charles Rae
Kevin Williams
Toby Simpson
Robert Croft
Rory Winterburn
Will Scholey
Max Mcleish
Ben Parkes
Charles Smith
Sam Hudson
Rory Winterburn
Will Catchpole
Matthew Dickson
Ben Chamberlain
Will Pepper
Will Fordy
Harry Contreras
House
M
M
M
T
Q
Q
T
T
Q
T
L
C
S
M
Q
C
Q
T
C
Q
L
H
L
H
Q
T
T
S
L
C
M
C
C
T
C
Houseresults
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
Clifton
Queen’s
School
Temple
Linton
The Grove
Hope
The Manor
200
197
168
155.5
153.5
139
131
125
This was an excellent afternoon of athletics. In total three
records were broken: the senior girls’ long jump was beaten by
Frankie Anderson with a jump of 4.81m; a new junior girls’ 300m
record was set by Nicole Moir in a time of 46.8 seconds, and the
senior girls’ 4x100m relay record was beaten by Temple (Frankie
Anderson, Ellie Martin, Helen Taylor and Sarah Carlton) in a in a
time of 56.65 seconds. The inter-house girls’ trophy was won by
Grove and the inter-house boys’ trophy was won by Clifton.
Well done to all who competed and a special ‘thank-you’ to all the
staff who helped out on the day.
215
Sport
Athletics shields and cups
The Clive Lewis Trophy for 100m & 200m combined:
Charlie Elliot.
The Lowther Sprint Cup (Girls’ 100m):
Minna Gabbertas.
The Chris Hurst Trophy for 3,000m:
Sam Dickinson.
The Junior Sprint Cup (Girls):
Amelia Bell.
Cambell Cup (Senior Girls’ 200m):
Frankie Anderson.
The Proudly Trophy for 400m:
Ben Williams.
Mr Steve Williams
The Friends of St Peter’s Middle-Distance Cup:
Alice Greswold.
The Junior Girls’ Middle-Distance Cup:
Nicole Moir.
The Victrix Ludorum Cup (Best Girl Athlete):
Nicole Moir.
The Robinson Walker Trophy for 800m:
Cormac Hopkinson.
The Elmsley Trophy for 1500m:
Sam Dickinson.
B OYS ’ AT H L E T I C S
There are some talented athletes in school at present. At the
senior end of school Sam Dickinson is an excellent 3,000m runner,
as he demonstrated when he broke a 25-year-old North Yorkshire
record at the county championships in June. It was great to see
him awarded his colours. Will Fordy (intermediate discus), Oskar
Fraser-Krauss (intermediate 800m) and Charlie Rae (intermediate
100m) all won their events too. Robbie Brown came second
behind a very quick intermediate 3,000m runner and is well
placed to continue as a strong athlete as he moves up through
the school.
At the York and District Schools’ Athletics there were a number of
competitors in addition to those above. The main team event of
the year was the English Schools’ Cup, although sadly this year
we were unable to progress from the first round. There are some
promising athletes in the Third Form who will still be able to take
part in this event next year, so there is hope that we might do
better in the future.
My thanks go to all those who took part this year as well as those
who coached.
Mr Steve Gwilliam
216
Gap Year
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Gap Year
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Animal Science
English and Film
Physics
Engineering (with a foundation year)
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Law
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Neuroscience with Industrial/Professional Experience (4 years)
Foundation in Art and Design
Biological Sciences with Professional Placement (4 years)
Classical Civilisation
Medicine
Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics
Architecture
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Leavers’ Destinations 2014
Felix Adams
Christopher Andrews
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James Bell
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India Charlotte Brattan
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William Waterhouse
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Chemical Engineering with Biotechnology
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Mechanical Engineering with a foundation year
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217
THE PETERITE 2013-2014
St Peter’s School • York • YO30 6AB
Tel: 01904 527300 • Fax: 01904 527302
Email: [email protected]
www.stpetersyork.org.uk
THE PETERITE
2013-2014

the peterite - St Peter`s School

Transcription

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