School Magazine 2014 - Finchley Catholic High School

Editorial
was deferred until September, an occasion we
have just managed to squeeze into this edition.
The current Year 12 and Year 13 students are
reaping the benefit of many years’ work by a
great many people.
One school year is much like another, or is it?
The calendar shows a number of fixed points:
Masses,
Parent
Evenings,
Presentation
Evening, Autumn Fayre, various school
journeys, concerts, musicals, sports events, the
Garden Fete, the Golf Day, Leaving celebrations
and so on but two events have marked out this
year; the untimely death of Jim Cunningham and
the completion of the Canon Parsons 6th Form
Centre.
As usual, we have endeavoured to provide a
snapshot of the wide range of events and
activities that form the kaleidoscope of year
2013/14. I am very appreciative of the efforts of
my 6th Form Team: Jessica Repetti, Claire
Nugent, Jack Da Silva, Shane Kavanagh,
Ashley Chipatiso, Jack Morrissey, Fintan
Sheridan-Licata and to our computer layout
expert, Luca Reidy.
They have proved
resourceful and stimulating to work with. Many
thanks also to our ever reliable and capable
typist, Ingrid Cronin. We hope you will enjoy the
fruits of our labours.
Peter Keenan
Jim was a much respected and admired
chairman of governors and longtime friend of the
school. Seamus Mckenna pays tribute to him
and we include an appreciation of his life and
service to the school.
The Canon Parsons Centre sits in all its glory on
the site of Bampfield House. The official opening
The production team
1
Headteacher’s Message
A*-C grades and 79% obtaining 5 A*-C including
English and Maths. Fifty students achieved 5 or
more A*/A grades and 20 achieved 10 or more
A*/A grades.
A record number of 6th Form Students won
university places following highly creditable A
Level results. The overall pass rate was 99%
with 74% in the A*-C range.
Two events strike me as I reflect on the past
school year; the death of our former Chair of
Governors, Jim Cunningham and the completion
of the Canon Parsons Sixth Form Centre.
Jim was a true stalwart of FCHS, a former
student and in later years, in his role as Chair of
Governors, a driving force in the improvement of
the buildings and fabric of the school site. His
contribution has been inestimable and his
commitment and integrity will be sorely missed.
A full appreciation appears elsewhere in these
pages.
In July, we took possession of the keys for the
new Canon Parson Sixth Form Centre. Five
years of sacrifice and effort have delivered the
building, ready to receive the first cohort of
students in September, with the official opening
scheduled for early next term. We should be
enormously proud of what has been achieved.
The £3 million needed for completion and
related projects has been funded entirely by the
efforts of our community. I would like to pay
tribute to the Board of Governors who had the
foresight to see the long term need and plan
accordingly and to the astonishing and
sustained efforts of Laura Papallardo and the
PTA who have devoted themselves to the
project and made a substantial financial
contribution.
The public examination results this year gave
cause for celebration, both collectively and
individually. Belying all the press speculation
about the volatility of results this summer, the
GCSE students performed almost identically to
the previous year’s cohort with 86% achieving
The end of the year signals the departure of
several valued colleagues, chief among whom is
Frank Cormack who officially retires after a
remarkable thirty seven years of service to the
school. For much of this time, he was the
Curriculum Leader for geography and in more
recent years a very popular head of 6th Form.
He has also led more ski trips than most of us
care to remember, many of them to the US and
Canada. I am happy to report that he will return
in a part-time capacity next year.
Other
departures are chronicled elsewhere in the
magazine.
We should never take for granted those who
underpin the success of our school. I am full of
admiration, gratitude and pride for the unflagging
commitment and enthusiasm shown by our
governors, PTA, teaching and non-teaching
staff; it is they, along with our students who
impart that special quality that marks us out.
As ever, you will read, in the following pages
about the astonishing range of activity that takes
place beyond the confines of the classroom;
sporting achievement, music and drama, activity
days, literature, art and much more.
The
development of ‘the whole person’ is fully
reflected in our students’ achievements.
Finally, I would like to thank our editor, Peter
Keenan and his editorial team who have spent
many hours compiling the content of this
magazine; the result is an eloquent and vibrant
tribute to their expertise.
Seamus McKenna
2
PEOPLE
Jim Cunningham
Frank Cormack
DEPARTING COLLEAGUES
Lauren Applebee
Emma Attle
Julia Bower
Gemma Clements
Michael Conway
Alfredo Cristiano
Sue Day
Clare Hegarty
Amit Jadeja
Jo Kennedy
Hande Kiamil
Sarah McHugh
Gill Steiner
Jessie White
Maxine Wilkins
3
Jim Cunningham 1934-2014
Jim
attended
Finchley
Grammar
School, as it
then was, under
the headship of
Canon
Parsons. When
he
left,
he
became
a
founding
member of the
Albanian
Association,
playing football
for them between the ages of 35 and 50. On his
own admission, he was not the most talented of
players but his large VW van proved a powerful
selection incentive and he was twice nominated
team footballer of the year and overall clubman
of the year!
In the 1970s he became a member of the first
FCHS PTA and later a foundation governor,
serving on several committees, including
premises, where he made a lasting impact. He
was elected to Chair of Governors, a position he
held for nine years, hugely instrumental in
securing academic achievement and building
development.
In 2008, his efforts were
recognized by a Bene Merenti award.
Jim spent two years on National Service, in the
RAF before starting work in local government;
the sense of serving was very important to him
and he remained in this career until he retired in
his mid 50s. During this time he trained at night
school and secured his first Chief Building
Engineer post before he was 30. His first boss
at Willesden Borough Council was John Ratcliffe
whose daughter, Jean, he married!
Full-time retirement was not for him and he soon
set up his own private practice which proved
very successful; he became involved in several
other aspects of his profession; becoming a
founder member of the Greater London Building
Surveyors, helping to set up the first Building
Control degree in Europe and was president of
the Incorporated Association of Architects in
1988.
With four others, he set up the Association of
Building Engineers and was the first member to
receive the award for Outstanding Contribution.
He was a signatory to the formation of the World
Organisation of Building Officials, an opportunity
for him, with Jean, to indulge his passion for
travel.
One of his most satisfying roles was joining a
newly formed Housing Association on a
voluntary basis where he served for 25 years, 12
as Chairman, seeing it grow to become one of
the biggest in the country with over fifty eight
staff and a budget of £25 million per year.
Providing decent housing for disadvantaged
families was a cause very dear to him.
Alongside all his professional activity he was a
keen runner, a member of Shaftesbury harriers
and Club 9 Mile Champion, becoming a life
member and president in 1988.
An AAA
qualified coach, he gave instruction and training
well into his 70s. In later years, he developed
an interest in skiing and visited several
European resorts.
4
Jim was very much a family man, enjoying 55
years of marriage, bringing up four children and
taking great pride and enjoyment in his
grandchildren. A regular attendance at St Mary
Magdalen, He was a SERRA member and a
Catenian.
A great colleague, a great role model and a
great friend. Fairness, kindness, forgiveness,
courtesy and good humour – qualities he had in
abundance. Truly, a life well led.
the
best
interest of the
future
of
FCHS.
We
both had a
burning
ambition for
the
school.
Over
the
years
he
became
a
true
friend
and
confidante.
Kevin Hoare writes …..
I had the great pleasure of knowing Jim
Cunningham for over forty years. When I
started teaching at Finchley in the late 60s, I
joined the Old Boys’ Association and met Jim
who was a very active member of the
committee. At the time ‘The Old Lady of
Northiam’, as the old wooden clubhouse at the
school playing fields was affectionately know,
was in terminal decline. Jim, along with other
stalwarts on the committee, was a prime mover
in negotiating with the local authority to find a
new site at Glebelands and then the building of
a new clubhouse very worthy of its name. Jim
site-managed that project from groundworks to
internal fit-out during his spare time and on a
voluntary basis. For many years, in his role as a
trustee, he continued to be very actively involved
in the management of the clubhouse,
overseeing many events,.
He particularly
enjoyed a post match pint with his footballing
colleagues on a Saturday afternoon and the
family gatherings on Sunday lunchtimes.
Although the clubhouse today does not enjoy
the same community usage of its heyday, its
physical being stands as great testament to the
vision and commitment of Jim and those around
him at that time.
Jim became a school governor in the 1990s and
shortly after I became Headteacher in 1999 he
was appointed as Chair of Governors, a role he
was to continue in for the remainder of my
tenure and the early years of Seamus
McKenna’s headship. Although Jim and I were
different in many ways and each determined to
argue our own viewpoint, we complemented one
another well and became a very effective team.
As past pupils, we shared a strong overriding
motivation which was to always do what was in
It was in the
area
of
school
buildings that
Jim was able
to make his
greatest contribution. A building surveyor by
profession, he selflessly gave hundreds of hours
to negotiation with contractors as well as
overseeing projects on site and in the process
saved the school tens of thousands of pounds.
His commitment to the plethora of summer
projects, when so much of the building stock
was refurbished and upgraded, was legendary
and if at times I was not available during those
hectic weeks, Jim certainly would be.
In terms of major projects, he was to oversee
the restoration of The Lodge, the building of the
Performing Arts Block, the Business Centre, the
new Science Laboratory, extension to the Dining
Hall, a state of the art school wide IT
infrastructure, the All Weather Pitch, the Sports
Pavilion, the transformation of the Playing
Surface at the school field and, most recently,
with Seamus McKenna, perhaps the greatest of
all ‘The Canon Parsons Sixth Form Centre’.
That today’s students have such an excellent
learning environment in which to grow and
prosper is due in so many ways to the
commitment of a very special friend of the
school. It is sad that Him is no longer with us to
share in the plaudits at the opening of the
school’s newest bui8olding, the name of ‘The
Jim Cunningham Common Room’ is a fitting
testament to a man who made a huge and
unique contribution to his school.
May He Rest in Peace
5
Frank Cormack: Au Revoir
FC stands for both Frank Cormack and Finchley
Catholic which is appropriate given that, at the
time of writing, Frank has spent 43 years man
and boy at the school and just 18 years outside.
For many, he is the resident geographer with a
crooked finger but he is so much more than that.
Frank the Finchley man
Frank joined Finchley Grammar, as it was then,
in 1963, followed by younger brother John a few
years later. Resplendent in his blazer (with
piping) he excelled at sport as seen in his
certificate later in this article. Despite his
teacher’s concerns that he did not work hard he
went to Birmingham University and having
graduated applied for, and got, a job at his alma
mater. In time, he became head of department
and later, was appointed Head of 6th Form, both
positions he occupied for several years. Over
the years at FCH he made lifelong friends. He
was a regular at the Teachers Centre on a
Friday afternoon in the period before the pubs
opened. On other occasions he could be seen
driving around the staff car park with his head
sticking out of the roof playing commandoes!
The youthful Frank
School report
Frank loves FCH; it is rumoured that if you cut
him he bleeds blue and yellow. His wife would
say he puts the school above everything and
tells the story of the birth of their elder daughter,
and second child. Roisin had the misfortune to
be born on the last day of term; this was a
massive inconvenience for Frank when weighed
against the end-of-term festivities. Fortunately
he made the birth and then asked his good
friend and colleague, Peter Keenan, to be a
godfather. Roisin has proved to be a chip off the
old block - she went on to study Geography at
university. FCH and the Cormack family are
closely linked – son Joseph is a past pupil and
two of Frank’s brothers-in-law have been or are
employed by the school; most recently younger
brother John is now a teacher at FCH –
Geography of course.
6
Frank the athlete
At school Frank was a talented athlete,
representing the school in a variety of sports. He
was particularly proud of winning the county
senior 110m hurdles title. Since leaving school
he has continued to participate in sport, learning
a host of new skills. He is a very proficient skier
and has led many school trips pioneering visits
to Canada and USA; he has enjoyed
mountaineering and is adept at kayaking –
travelling to India a few years ago to hone his
kayaking skills.
Sporting prowess
Success!
Frank the Geographer
Frank the Traveller
Frank loves his subject, particularly physical
geography. Anyone fortunate enough to have
been on a trip with him will have learnt about
cloud and/or ice formation as well as contours,
the ice/iron age, rift valley and global warming.
However, his love of geography does not extend
to finding his way around as he is notorious for
getting lost, although he will argue that mapreading is an orienteering skill not a geography
one. Linked to this he also has an appalling
sense of direction as demonstrated on a Welsh
mountainside many years ago. (Former teacher,
Brenda Szczebiot can testify).
Frank enjoys experiencing new places, countries
and cultures. As a teacher he has organised or
participated in so many different types of trips.
The river Thames, Greenwich, Welsh and Lake
District mountains, many of Europe’s ski resorts
plus Canadian and American ones as well as
trips to China and Iceland. In addition he has
navigated around much of Europe by car (not
bad for someone with a poor sense of direction),
been to Norway, America, India and countless
other countries.
7
On the slopes
Frank and culture
As with travel Frank relishes different cultural
experiences. His Irish roots are very important to
him and he will always be interested in Irish
plays and music. Even when travelling he will
look for the local Irish history centre or club – not
hard when he goes to Boston or NY! He also
loves to experience different literary and musical
events and enjoys visits to the opera, to
Shakespeare, to art galleries, the theatre and
Open House events when they occur.
Frank is Finchley through and through and takes
on board his own preaching to students of
‘widen your mind/ try something new’. As a
result he is one of the most interesting people
you could sit next to in the staff room or on a
trip. No matter what your subject or background,
time will fly by in conversation with Francis
Edward Cormack. We are delighted to learn that
we have not entirely lost him as he is returning
in a part-time capacity next year.
Sue Murphy
Wild youth to maturity!
8
DEPARTING COLLEAGUES
Lauren Applebee
Lauren Applebee followed a
stint as a Teaching
Assistant at FCHS by
taking on the role of lay
chaplain as well as some
RE teaching. She loved the
chaplain role, particularly
organizing and attending
boys’ retreats and delivering year group
assemblies and those marking occasions in the
liturgical year. This year, she has switched to
full time RE teaching and has taken on the task
of second pastoral head in Year 7, a position
she has found both challenging and enjoyable.
Now, she is leaving for the International Bilingual
School in Madrid where she will teach English,
and where her knowledge of the ~Spanish
language will come in handy.
She has enjoyed the Finchley experience and
feels that she has learnt a lot. She will miss the
boys and hopes they will continue to prosper.
Emma Attle
Emma Attle or Clee as she
was before her marriage
has been with us for seven
and a half years, some of
which was a PGCE
placement. She adopted a
strict approach which has
served her well “The boys
here may think they’re ‘hard’ but they wouldn’t
last five minutes on the Derby estate where I
grew up!” She has taught English throughout
the range and feels that the arrival of girls in the
6th Form provided some welcome sanity and a
good balancing effect. She was Assistant Head
of Year 7 before taking over from Carol Ransom
at the start of this year; the transition was
virtually seamless; she relished the
responsibility: “The buck stops here” she
remarked.
Surprisingly perhaps, she is leaving to further
her ambitions in the field of drama, an area
where she has considerable experience. She
attended a dancing school when she was
younger and appeared professionally in
Julia Bower
pantomime, aged 18 in Derby Guildhall. She
was in a BBC3 documentary ‘Is Tis the One?’
along with her boyfriend at the time which led
her to realize that he was not the one for her!
Since March, she has been attending an acting
course in London and has presented duologues
with Camden Chose case; she has worked on
voiceovers and American accents and screen
acting with LAMDA and has recently auditioned
for a short film and has made one as well as a
mobile ‘phone advert for Sky TV. Her writing
partner is a cousin of Martin Fahey!
She has no deep regrets about leaving as she
feels she had made the right decision and has a
rich husband to support her ambition! She
remembers being dubbed ‘Cleebags’ by a
cheeky boy and enjoyed her contribution to
Travel and Tourism and the School Council.
She is proud of the part she was able to play in
helping an autistic student to achieve a ‘C’
grade.
So, we wish Emma every success and hope she
remembers us when we queue up at the stage
door!
2014 marks the end of geography legend Julia
Bower after six delightful years. She first joined
as a 21 year old in a training role; however, she
9
spent six years at Enfield Grammar before
returning to FCHS as a full time teacher.
She had very fond words to say about her time
at FCHS; she described it as very positive,
“loving every minute”. She’s very sad about
leaving and may come back in the future saying
“the door is not closed!”
Her best memories were all the trips she was
involved in such as Iceland, Sicily and Euro
Disney; she also thoroughly enjoyed all the field
trips she had through her time here. Another of
her best moments was the Strictly Come
Dancing event where she teamed up with a 21
year old, a past pupil, where they had a great
laugh and made good money for charity.
Throughout her years at FCHS, she has enjoyed
a wedding and the birth of her first child.
However, arguably the sternest challenge during
her career was the fierce relationship she
endured with the history department, on the
receiving end of ‘great banter’, Mrs Brower
dropped a bombshell by declaring that
geography is and always will be the ‘best
department’.
We thank Mrs Bower for all the hard work she’s
put in over the years, holding after school
sessions, being very approachable and helping
people fulfil their potential. We wish her every
success going onto pastures new.
Jack Da Silva, Year 12
Gemma Clements
Gemma Clements is leaving after a three and a
half year stint, including a PGCE placement.
She had previously been placed in an all girls’
school and then a grammar. She started off by
shadowing teachers in the Geography
department but was eventually left ‘to get on
with it’ – an experience she found liberating.
She tries to be fair but firm and to hold no
grudges. She stayed on, covering maternity
leave for Natasha record and then Julia Bower
before teaching for a year in her own right. She
has travelled extensively with the department on
trips including Rome, Berlin and Iceland – her
worst experience was losing her passport on the
morning a trip was due to leave!
She has found the staff very welcoming and the
boys ‘cheeky but good humoured!’ She is
leaving because she wants to expand her
experience and will study for a Masters degree
in Environment and Development at LSE for one
year. After that, who knows…….
We thank Gemma for her enthusiastic,
committed service and wish her well for the next
stage of her career.
Michael Conway
Michael Conway is making
his third exit from FCHS,
one as a student and two as
a teacher. He was, in his
own words, a B/C student
and remembers his first ski
trip to Italy and his pride in
being named Captain of the
1st XI Hockey Team, a role
he filled with distinction.
After FCHS, he studied Sports Science at Leeds
Metropolitan which somehow led to bar
management in Leeds for a year. Escaping
from the smoke and unhealthy lifestyle, he
cycled the Tour de France route for a few
weeks. This was followed by a trip to America
where he became a climbing instructor.
September 2004 saw him in London, penniless
and disillusioned; he had employment spells at
the British Museum and on HMS Belfast when
he had an ‘epiphany’ which guided him via
Richard Cussell back to FCHS where he
10
embarked on a graduate programme which
eventually led to an appointment in the PE
department where he lasted for three years,
setting up the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme and
rising to the dizzy height of Director of Skiing on
a school trip to Italy.
climbing in Europe. Science at East Barnet led
to his return to FCHS in 2012 as Head of
Biology! The purchase of a house in Deptford
has made the journey to Finchley impractical
and so for the moment, he is off to Europe for
more climbing.
By 2008, the rolling stone was restless again
and embarked on an extended tour of
Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Australia where
he took on supply teaching; it was in Australia
that he realized his long held ambition to climb
The Blue Mountains where a chance encounter
led to a Science post in a local school. In
January 2010, when his visa expired, he
returned and combined supply teaching with
He has enjoyed his nomadic existence,
considers our boys the best behaved and
enjoyed the looks of astonishment on his
reappearance!
Alfredo Cristiano
feeling that at FCHS he constantly felt part of a
team.
After joining us in 2007, Alfredo Cristiano sadly
comes to the end of his time at FCHS after
seven successful years as an Art teacher. He
moves onto pastures new by carrying on his Art
career at Fortismere Secondary School in
Muswell Hill.
He had fond words to say about our school,
calling it a real good place, one that is very
welcoming to staff as well as students; he
particularly enjoyed the way the school had
good staff relationships and he relished the
He will definitely return to teaching, so who
knows? We wish Michael every success in the
next roll of the stone………..
His best memory was when Paul Downes came
in one September and gave a speech to all the
staff. As well as being inspirational, he gave
some of the staff, including Mr Cristiano some
advice he’d never forget. He explained to the
staff to always think beyond your favourite
things; this allows you to be open minded and
extend yourself for both yourself and your
students to become the best version of yourself
that you can be.
Jack Da Silva, Year 1
Sue Day
Sue Day has been our School Counsellor for the
last four years, dealing with problems such as
self-esteem and family issues, girls as well as
boys. She has been a parish youth worker and
‘Outreach’ worker, visiting families who need
help.
She is leaving because she is going to expand
her
activities
with
CARITAS,
in
the
London/Hertfordshire
area,
dealing
with
homelessness and social isolation.
Her horizons have reached well beyond UK
shores as with her husband, she established a
children’s home in North Ghana, helped by
various sponsors, including FCHS to start a well
project.
She has enjoyed her time here, both as a parent
and counsellor. She will be sad to leave “I’ve
loved the school”. She was an enthusiastic
member of the staff/6th form book circle but is
looking forward to her next challenge. We thank
Sue for her valuable work at FCHS and wish her
well.
11
Clare Hegarty
Clare Hegarty is
relinquishing her post of
Business Manager, having
served for four and a half
years; she was previously a
member of the governing
body. She transferred from
the Sacred Heart primary
school in Whetstone where
she was much more directly involved with the
pupils – her youngest son was horrified to learn
that she would be joining him at FCHS!
Here, there were many more complex briefs to
be mastered but she was undaunted by the
extra burden of responsibility. Inevitably, the
planning, design and coordination of the building
of the 6th Form building has been at the centre of
her work; so many meetings to be attended, so
much necessary attention to detail….. to say
nothing of the task of raising £3 million, without
any contribution from public bodies, a sum that
has been all but raised. The project has given
her huge satisfaction and she looks forward to
the official opening in the autumn. Other
projects that she is very pleased about are the
renovation of the playing fields at Southover and
the makeover of the canteen – and ‘Question
Time’ was a lot of fun!
She rates the staff very highly, “amazing
teachers” and considers that her boys have
been ‘wonderfully educated’, a measure of the
quality of our students is the question put to her
when showing visitors around, “Is this a private
school?”
Her decision to leave is based on the realization
that her increasing involvement was threatening
to take her over and that she needed a life
beyond school. She will maintain a link through
her ‘Non-Stop Action’ involvement on Saturdays.
She has ‘massively enjoyed’ her time here and
feels that she has learned a lot. We will have
two more years of her youngest and will ‘be
around’.
We thank Clare for her outstanding contribution
to the school and wish her every success in the
next stage of her career.
Amit Jadeja
What year did you join?
What’s next?
2010
Moving abroad to work in Doha, Qatar (Doha
College).
Best memory?
Department karaoke nights.
Most embarrassing moment?
Teacher round of Sixth Form Blind Date and
tripping over a bag left on the touch line in a staff
football match.
How would you sum up Finchley experience
in a few words?
Very grateful for my time at Finchley. I’ve learnt
so much and it’s been a real pleasure to work
with the staff and students here. I’m very proud
to have been part of the Finchley community!
Jack Da Silva, Year 12
Jo Kennedy
12
Jo is taking a year long
sabbatical “to have a break
from the daily grind and
seek rejuvenation”. She is
travelling
to
Brisbane,
Australia in search of sun,
surf and sailing, wanting to
live in the country rather
than travel. She will subsist
on savings but plans to undertake some supply
teaching as well.
The ex St Michael’s student transferred to
Woodhouse for her A levels and thence to
Exeter University following which she ran her
own theatre company, touring the South East
and appearing at the Edinburgh Festival, with
amongst other items, a children’s version of
‘Alice in Wonderland’.
For financial security, she came to FCHS as a
teaching assistant, adamant that the profession
was not for her, but she was converted by her
experience and embarked on a graduate
programme, after which she joined the English
department where she has taught the full age
range, achieving outstanding results with her
GCSE group last November, “lovely boys whom
I have known from Year 7”. She has been
active outside the classroom, setting up the
homework club and overseeing a whole school
literacy policy, as well as participating in junior
ski trips and leading Year 12 students on an
expedition to Ecuador. She has also enjoyed
some ‘life lessons’ with a certain guru who
introduced her to opera!
We wish Joe bon voyage – maybe we will
chronicle her adventure in next year’s magazine!
Hande Kiamil
Hande is leaving after five years at FCHS. An
outstanding teacher, she is moving to Mill Hill
County High School as curriculum leader in
maths.
As well as her work in the classroom, she has
been involved in the Computer Games Club and
helped to build a music machine for the Year 8
Activity week at Gilwell Park. Although excited
by the challenge of her new post, she is highly
appreciative of the ‘kindness, support and
encouragement I have received from so many
people. They will be my friends for life!” We
wish her every success.
Sarah McHugh
Sarah McHugh is leaving us after ten years to
return to her native Coventry, going, not sent!
The prohibitive property prices in London is one
reason for her departure as well as the wish to
be closer to her family.
She took her degree in Coventry and PGCE in
Sheffield and originally wanted to teach in the
primary sector but the FCHS advert and the
presence of a friend in London drew her South
and having impressed in an interview with Kevin
Hoare, Seamus McKenna and Rebecca
O’Donnell, she was appointed to teach Business
Studies and ICT with Brian Haran as her mentor.
She was nervous at first but the ‘never smile
before Christmas’ technique served her well and
she has really enjoyed her classes. Girls work
harder than boys, she maintains, the latter
thinking that they know it all.
Beyond the classroom, she skied in Austria and
Italy before being poached by Frank Cormack
for the American circuit. The ‘Remember’ visit to
Poland impressed her deeply, as did the HCPT
trip to Lourdes. She went on the mission to
Kenya, and closer to home was instrumental in
the horticultural project in Year 9.
She thought she would stay for two years but
regrets nothing and will miss the staff and ‘the
guys”! She goes to Cardinal Newman School as
head of Business Studies and ICT.
Her
commitment and dry sense of humour will be
sorely missed but she goes with our thanks and
best
wishes.
13
Will Spouge
Will has been with us for a year on the
Schools Direct Programme, teaching history
to Years 7, 8, 9 and 13. Of course, he was
nervous at first, with the prospect of facing
classes and weekly observations. There
were peaks and troughs but with
perserverence and departmental support,
he has more than survived and has greatly
enjoyed his experience describing the boys
as ‘a good crowd’. The staff have been
“fantastic” and he will leave with good
thoughts. He is taking up a post at Hendon
School to teach History, RE and Politics.
We wish him well.
Gill Steiner
Gill has been a maths teacher for twenty
years and has spent two years at FCHS as
a Teaching Assistant, covering maths
classes but other subjects as well and has
done “little bits of teaching”. Now, she is
going to St Michaels, as a maths teacher,
on a part time basis, teaching Years 9, 10
and 12.
She has loved her time here and rates her
colleagues as “supportive, kind, cheerful
and good humoured”. She has found it
most illuminating and instructive to watch
teachers at work, picking up ideas to carry
into her own practice.
Gill has many
interests outside teaching and has just
completed a sign, in buttons with reads
“Welcome to East Finchley” – look out for it,
where it hangs in the tube station!
She is also proud of the fact that she
persuaded a class of boys to each some
greens and declare that they liked them!
We wish her well at St Michaels.
Jessica White
Jessie is leaving us
after a two year stay.
She did her PGCE in
Cambridge and having
spotted
an
advertisement in the
TES for an MFL post at
FCHS, thought it would
fulfill her wish to live in
London with her friends in Torrington Park.
She was not fazed by the prospect of an all
boys 7-11 school and has really enjoyed her
teaching as well as being a form tutor in
Year 12.
As well as her classroom teaching, she took
on the Extension Project for A Level
students which involves them undertaking
extensive research on a given topic, a
fruitful experience for them and her. She
has also been much involved with dance
and choreography, working with the PA
department and made a video with a staff
group. She led the trip to Seville for years 8
– 10, a daunting but exciting responsibility.
Now she is heading for South Malaysia, to
Marlborough College which has only been
open for two years, to teach Spanish and
dance. She is by nature restless and
relishes the thought of a hot climate. She
will miss “pretty much all of the students and
the amazingly kind staff”. We will miss her
lively presence but wish her every success.
14
Maxine Wilkins
Max came to FCHS two
years ago following a
first
teaching
appointment at the
Harefield Academy in
Uxbridge. She was not
entirely a stranger as
she had spent a week
here on a placement,
engineered by a former Finchley stalwart,
Emma Ronaghan.
She has taught the full range of classes as
well as being in charge of KS3, a
challenging task with all the curriculum
changes. Beyond the classroom, she has
organised the Junior Book Circle, greatly
assisted by the ‘inspirational’ Pat Gallagher
and has also chaired the School Council,
impressed by how involved and engaged
the students have been.
So, why is she leaving? She feels that at
this early stage in her career, she needs to
gain diverse experience and so is moving to
the London Academy as second in the
English Department. She anticipates a
challenge in a mixed school with ethnically
diverse and streetwise students. It was a
hard decision as she has loved her time
here; the boys (and girls!) are enthusiastic
and biddable, the staff warm, welcoming
and kind. She has enjoyed the social
occasions, the Year 7 Thames trip and
‘Poetry Live’! She is about to move to St
Albans, a comfortable distance from
Edgware!
This highly competent, warm-hearted
colleague will be sorely missed but of
course, we wish her every success in the
next stage of her career.
15
Whatever happened to….
Michael Sheridan
When I left Finchley High in 1976, I did not
know what I wanted to do. I didn’t get great
‘A’ Levels. But I had read a lot of books.
The internet and mobile phones didn’t exist.
We had no money, public transport was dire
and everything was shut on Sunday. So I
read, and read and read.
We had two key English teachers. Dennis
O’Shea was a rough diamond with a ready
fist yet he had a love of Shakespeare that
compelled the dullest boy to appreciate
beautiful language. Peter Keenan was a
cooler operator who read out extracts from
Philip Roth to a dumbfounded Sixth Form.
Both of them actually read our essays,
which made me realize that a writer needs
only one thing: an audience.
So when I found out that in those days you
could have a crack at Oxford or Cambridge
just by sitting a special essay examination, I
had to go have a go. My best friend joined
me. Completely ignorant, we rode up to
Cambridge and wandered round to look at
colleges. To my astonishment I won an
exhibition of minor scholarship, in history to
Jesus College.
My classmate got into
Christs to do Oriental Studies – Arabic,
Hebrew and Aramaic., Today he advises
M16 and the Pentagon, but that’s another
story.
I went up to Cambridge with dreamy notions
of spending life as an academic historian.
Then
I
drifted
into
undergraduate
journalism. I edited Varsity the biggest
student paper. We won prizes. Adventure
called. So I applied as one of 4,000
candidates for twelve trainee posts at
Reuters, the international news agency.
They gave me a job.
My first task was to write routine weather
reports from Brazilian coffee plantations. By
the age of 25 I’d travelled with the Pope,
dodged shells in Lebanon and run our war
reporting from the Reuters bureau in
Baghdad, Damascus and Tehran.
I moved on to television as an ITN reporter.
But I missed the power of words. So I
joined the Independent when it started in
1986. A decade later The Sunday Times
asked me to go to Hong King as their Far
East Correspondent. Journalism has been
16
a great ride. You see life and earth close
up. There is, of course, a price. Wars and
disasters take a toll. Seven of my friends
have been killed. Some people burn out.
Others get disillusioned. The reward is that
you get to write the first draft of history.
Lots of youngsters ask me how they can do
what I did. My answer is that you can’t.
The
media
has
changed
forever.
Newspapers are in crisis, broadcasting is
disintegrating. Nobody knows how social
media and the interest can be made into
profitable news businesses. But I’m sure of
one thing. People will always want to read.
So get technically literate, learn a language
or two and teach yourself economics. The
opportunities will be out there. Oh, and
read, read, read.
(Michael Sheridan was at Finchley High 1969-1976.
He is the Far East Correspondent of The Sunday Times)
Rod Lynch
Rod Lynch left Finchley in the summer of
2013 for a job as Head of House at
Lowestoft College, on the Suffolk Coast.
Unfortunately, due to a knee injury, he had
to travel to and from London regularly for
visits to hospitals and decided to resign.
Rod is now the head of the English
department in a minor public school in
Walberswick. After buying a property there,
he is happy and has taken to rural life very
well. He still, however, travels to London
quite regularly to see friends, family and
simply because he “just misses the culture”.
Despite this, he still maintains that
Southwold has a lively culture.
17
Mark Stefanicki
At the time of writing, he is alive and well…
I retired from teaching English at FCHS in
July 2013, and since then have never been
more occupied than I am now. Those who
know me also know that I have a variety of
interests and they are keeping my days full,
and a smile on my face… well, most of the
time anyway.
I offer support with GCSE English to a
number of young people, and find that most
rewarding especially when I get proud and
thankful text messages and emails on
results day. My music activities are keeping
me busy; apart from three regular fixtures a
month, the band I play in (“Fear of the
Forest”) have recently played three gigs,
two in clubs and one on Resonance FM, an
Internet Radio Station. My voluntary work at
the RAF Museum is still very much a
feature of my life, and I am often there
either cleaning and maintaining the aircraft,
taking round guided tours, or helping to staff
“Open Cockpit” evenings.
My enthusiasm for the 1940s era, and
particularly World War Two, has meant that
every weekend between May and the end of
September has seen me in uniform,
representing a Polish pilot in the RAF. The
events vary tremendously, from the local
“1940s Bash” to National air shows and
official functions such as the RAF’s Battle of
Britain Memorial Service at the BOB
Memorial at Capel Le Ferne, Folkestone.
I occasionally visit my shooting club in East
Barnet, and the flying club at Panshanger
Aerodrome, as well as somehow finding
time to eat, breathe and sleep…
18
Reports
GOVERNORS
PTA
19
Governors’ Report
Twelve months ago we returned refreshed
from the summer break, delighted with
another set of excellent public examination
results, to face the challenges of the new
academic year. We were very quickly in the
midst of and OFSTED inspection, which
was swiftly succeeded by a Section 48
inspection. These are never easy moments
in the lives of staff, head teachers, pupils or
governors. Nevertheless, it was a joy to see
the community pulling together, confident in
the knowledge that FCHS is a very good
school. The inspectors recognized our many
strengths and that all the recommended
improvements are within our grasp. In many
ways it was an uplifting experience.
It has been a year of many changes and
with many more to come. I would like to pay
tribute to my fellow board members who
have dealt with and embraced all the new
legislation
and
demands
made
of
governors. When I became a governor, we
had four committees meeting some ten
times a year; now we have seven standing
committees to deal with the business of
governance. The role has grown. Not a
great deal of the governors’ work is seen or
known about: scrutiny of performance to
endeavour to find ways to improve;
balancing an ever shrinking budget and
ensuring our major projects are adequately
funded and dealing with employment, pay,
safeguarding, HSE, SEND and grievance
legislation to ensure fairness and security
across the whole community. Much was
made of Michael Gove’s comments that
governors are too often enthusiastic
amateurs, but this does not chime with my
experience of our governors who apply their
professional skills with diligence and
intelligence.
Sadly, Jim Cunningham passed away this
year and I urge you to read the tribute to
him in this magazine. Jim became Chair of
Governors just after I joined the board, and
for all those years I admired his skills and
dedication to FCHS; he was a remarkable
man and a true friend of the school.
Two governors resigned from the board this
year. Irene Peel has left after twelve years
of service. She has always been modest
about her contribution and did sterling work
on several committees not least the
Admissions Committee where she was a
staunch supporter of the applicants and
their parents. Mike Dowling has been on the
board for 7 years and brought his invaluable
20
knowledge of education and policies to bear
in many discussions. Mike was always
willing to give his time to additional
activities. We shall miss them both and I
wish them the very best in the future.
Of course, the highlight for all of us has
been seeing the new Canon Parsons 6th
Form Centre rise from the rubble of
Bampfield House. After so many years in
the planning, saving and budgeting, I
believe every board member is proud to
have been part of the project. It was a
courageous decision to go ahead despite
not having secured all the funding, and it is
a credit to the school community that it has
been completed without any funding from
the government, local authority or diocese.
At this point let me praise the parents,
especially the PTA. Over the life of the
project, the PTA has donated £100,000. Led
by Laura Pappalardo, they are a remarkable
team of parents. What most of us see and
enjoy is the fete or an evening’s
entertainment. What we don’t know about
are the days planning, shopping, building,
cooking and organizing. The Canon
Parsons building is a demonstration of what
our community can achieve, although I do
think that requiring a school to self-fund a
much needed expansion to deal with an
increasing number of pupils needing
secondary places is highly unsatisfactory.
Now we are planning for this year. With the
changes to every key stage in the
curriculum and to how our pupils will be
examined, it will be a tough year for the
school. I have always thought that FCHS is
fortunate to have an energetic and
enthusiastic staff. Every year it seems that
their efforts on behalf of the pupils hit
greater heights. The governors enjoy a
close relationship with staff; each of us has
a link to an individual with a whole-school
responsibility and staff members frequently
attend our meetings to apprise us of new
initiatives and to report on progress.
Working hand-in-glove with them is
important, not least to continue the
collegiate approach to running the school
that the head teacher has championed. I
have had the pleasure of working with
Seamus McKenna for many years, and I
can think of no one better to lead FCHS.
I wish everyone success in the coming year.
Jane Inzani
21
Parent Teacher
Association
2013/2014 proved a busy and productive
year. A second cheque for £50,000 was
handed over at the Xmas Fayre, making a
total of £100,000 donated to the 6th Form
Centre project. Race Night, Golf Day and
Quiz Nights attracted large and enthusiastic
attendances.
The November Xmas Fayre was a great
success, despite the poor weather. We had
an inviting array of stalls offering an
attractive selection of Christmas goods as
well as a wide range of food and drink.
Excellent prizes on the bottle stall, tombola
and raffle ensured a brisk trade. We were
delighted with the total of £9,000 raised.
Race Night
The popular Golf Day was, as usual, very
successful and enjoyable. Teams made up
of parents, old boys, staff and others teed
off at South Herts Golf Course in friendly yet
competitive spirit.
The day’s play was
followed by a dinner at the club house which
featured an auction for highly desirable lots,
including a stay at a French Chateau. The
whole venture raised almost £20,000.
in March featured races
from around the world and offered the
chance to name and buy a horse and win
cash prizes. The final race, with eight
horses for sale, caused some lively bidding
with £200 paid for the last one. Raucous
cheering signalled a win for the teachers!
During the evening, Irish Stew was served,
as a nod to St Patrick!
22
The year’s Summer Fete was a
wonderful community event.
Parents,
teachers,
primary
schools,
currently
students, old boys and girls and local
residents all came together and helped us
raise nearly £10,000.
The PTA did
particularly well in organising the glorious
weather which resulted in the Pimms stand
doing a roaring trade. Equally popular was
the International Food Hall which served
food from around the world courtesy of a
huge number of donations.
Good old
fashioned chips seemed most popular with
the boys though!
Mr Janata, with the help from Giuliano
Cinotti and the crew of Sixth Formers did a
fantastic job organising the primary school
football tournament on the Astro Turf which
was won by a team from St Vincents. The
Sixth Formers were also very generous
helpers on various stalls, games and
activities throughout the day and also
fabulous at clearing up afterwards.
Two quiz evenings proved as popular
as ever, one with our chair of governors,
Jane Inzani asking the questions and the
annual music quiz, hosted by former pupil,
Dean Martin from Capital Radio.
We would like to thank all our supports and
the parents and teachers who worked so
hard to ensure the success of all these
events.
Thanks go to our regular DJ, Carlo and to
the young talented performers; THE
PHOENIX, THE SILVER MANATEES AND
360 ARTS, whom we hope to see lots more
of at our future Summer Fetes.
Special mention should be made to the site
staff who were so accommodating in
helping us set up and clear up.
The fete was the most successful in recent
years and followed shortly after the highly
enjoyable Golf Day. All these events raised
funds for the school.
Once again, thank you to all those who
worked so hard in this event and all the
events
throughout
the
year.
Laura Pappalardo
23
Travel
Junior Ski Trip – Claviere
Senior Ski Trip – USA
Seville
24
Junior Ski Trip – Claviere
intermediate and advanced. We were then
split into groups with our instructors. The
first lesson was getting used to our skis and
going up hills sideways and being able to
stoop, doing a snowplough. We had two
hours of skiing in the morning and then two
hours in the afternoon.
We were all very excited to be going skiing
to Claviere because for most of us, this was
our first time. Once we had all waved
goodbye to our parents and were on the
coach, it seemed like in no time at all that
we arrived at Gatwick ready to board our
flight.
The flight to Grenoble was going well until
the captain told us that we were being
diverted to Lyon due to the heavy rain.
Whilst we were there, the captain had to
refuel the plane so that took about an hour
and a half but then once the plane was filled
with fuel, we set off back to Grenoble. After
we had collected our bags, we got on the
coach to head for the hotel in Claviere. We
finally arrived at the Hotel Roma around
11pm – fifty eight tired and hungry students
and a few tired teachers too!
Over the next few days, every group
progressed and became better at skiing.
During the next couple of days most of the
groups went up the mountains using the
chair lifts. There were no problems on
them, except for a few people dropping
gloves, poles and sometimes even
snapping poles! Over the days the beginner
groups began to do turning, using the
snowplough and the parallel ski technique.
The teachers were also coming into the
groups to see how we were doing and we
found out that they are very good at skiing,
but I was very impressed by Mr Hastings –
not only skiing backwards but filming at the
same time!
Every day after a morning of skiing we had
lunch back at the Hotel. This was always
soup to start, followed by pasta, meat or
omelettes. The food was pretty good; I
The next morning we had to do the ski fit
where had our boots and helmets fitted and
were also given our skis and poles. After
that we had breakfast which consisted of
toast, fruit, cereal and fresh juices. Once
everyone had finished their breakfast, we
went down to the slopes and were sorted
into groups, depending on how much we
had skied.
There was beginner,
25
particularly liked the pasta and the burger.
After lunch, we all went back out for two
more hours of skiing. When we returned,
we were allowed to take money out from the
‘bank of Keenan’ and go out into the village
with our friends. When we came back from
the village, dinner had been prepared for us
which was always tasty.
Usually after dinner, the teachers had
sorted out an activity for us to do. There
was the traditional Torch Lit Descent where
the
instructors skied down the mountain holding
torches in their hands – pretty spectacular!
There was also a firework display which
was amazing! We had our very own New
Year’s Eve party in the hotel with lots of
sweets. On the other nights there was ice
skating available or a DVD to watch. On the
last night we had ski
presentation evening where our instructors
presented us with a certificate and a badge.
On our very last day we had to pack our
bags and get ready to head home. I had
mixed feelings; both excitement at seeing
my family again but also sad to say
goodbye to Claviere.
I had a fantastic time on this trip and
definitely think I’ve caught the skiing bug
and cannot wait to go again!
Freddie Reid, 8H
26
Senior Ski Trip – USA
Murphy and Prendergast relaxed mode!
I woke up on Friday as I would any other
day, except today I would leave Europe,
with no family, only friends and teachers, to
experience a week’s skiing in Vermont,
America. I had never been to America
before; in fact I hadn’t been on a long haul
flight, so this experience would be
something completely new to me. We all
arrived at school and got on the coach, and
although we were all tired, we couldn’t rest
as excitement got the better of us. After a
long day’s travelling, we arrived at JFK
airport in New York and after a short delay,
started the next leg of our journey, the five
hour drive from New York to Vermont. We
reached the hotel in the early hours of the
morning, so we quickly went to bed to get all
the rest that we could.
A few hours later, we were cruelly woken up
to get ready for the day ahead. We had to
leave earlier than normal so that we could
collect all our skiing gear. After a few hours
of queuing and waiting patiently, everyone
was equipped for the week ahead. We
were then divided into groups of skiing
ability, introduced to our instructors, and we
then set off for our first runs down the
mountains
at Killington.
We didn’t do anything
particularly difficult, we just got used to
skiing again.
The second day we were greeted by -30%
temperatures and were advised to wear our
warmest clothes. I remember sitting on the
ski lift, freezing, whilst slowly ascending the
mountain I would later ski down. This was
the hardest day of the week, as to prevent
hypothermia, we took regular breaks which
meant some stopping and starting and ski
gear isn’t the easiest stuff to take off!
On the Monday, our instructor took us on a
longer trail, around four kilometres long! It
didn’t take as long as I thought it would; and
out of all the slopes we did that week, this
was one of my favourites.
It wasn’t
challenging, only a green slope, but it
allowed us to have a large amount of time
skiing without having to change slopes or
get into lifts.
27
The next day our instructor made a mistake!
Instead of going on a blue run, we went on
a black diamond, the second hardest slope!
It was covered in moguls, large bumps
which made turning more difficult for skiers
of our skill level. Next to us, the ‘expert’
group from our school was doing the same
run and, if anything, they made it look easy.
I remember seeing one of our teachers take
off her skis and walk down the hill, and she
wasn’t the only one. After several slow
turns, two falls and one crash into a tree, I
made it down the slope, and after another
half an hour, the last members of my group
had done the same. Our instructor was
happy; she didn’t expect us to fare so well
on a slope of this difficulty. This day was
the hardest on our legs as we had to
maintain good balance over every mogul;
there were no breaks.
Wednesday was our final day skiing and our
instructor allowed us to revisit the ski runs
that we had found most enjoyable over the
week. That meant doing the glades again,
which was somewhat off-piste, there were
trees dotted across the trail and you had to
use a sensible speed in order to miss them,
although we still went as fast as we could.
After we had returned our ski gear, packed
our bags, and had a good night’s sleep, we
set off to do some shopping at a retail outlet
near New York. Having spent a substantial
amount of my money already, I knew that I
would really have to think about what I
wanted to spend the rest on. Luckily for me,
all the shops had sales on, meaning I could
buy multiple things that I didn’t expect to. I
couldn’t believe how cheap the clothing
was! Superdry had 50% off everything!
After our shopping spree, we drove into
New York to get to the second Holiday Inn
that we would be staying in. Along the way
we saw the famous ‘New Yorker’ sign and
we stopped to eat in the Hard Rock Cafe,
one of my favourite parts of the holiday. We
later arrived at the hotel, where we quickly
fell asleep after our long drive.
We woke up on our last day in America
ready for our guided tour of Manhattan.
During the tour we were shown the John
Lennon ‘Imagine’ mosaic in Central Park;
we saw the large clocks in Grand Central
Station and tried to see The Statue of
Liberty, although it was too foggy to be able
to make it out. Eventually, the coach
stopped somewhere around Times Square,
and we were let out to explore Manhattan
by ourselves, although we had to be in
groups of at least two. It’s true what they
say about McDonalds in New York, they are
actually everywhere.
Times Square is
covered with advertisements, flashing
brightly day and night. The Toys R Us has
a ferris wheel inside, as if Toys R Us didn’t
attract enough children. For such a small
island, there is everything that you could
possibly need, all kinds of shops,
restaurants and activities to visit and indulge
in.
We arrived at JFK airport once more, but
this time tired and sad, as we knew that we
wouldn’t spend another day in America any
time soon. After what seemed like a long
wait, we boarded the plane and set off back
to gloomy England. We had so much fun
and it was one of the best experiences of
my life. I have to say that 2014 ski trip to
America was one of my favourite holidays to
date.
Louis Masters, 10R
28
Seville Trip
Last February half term, some thirty-forty
Year 10 students, led by Ms White and
accompanied by Mrs Sandu, Mr Welsh and
Mr McAteer set off for a haircut and a shave
(ho ho!) to Seville.
Raphael
Pais
experience...
Rosa
recounts
his
Day three was based in Seville with a tour
of the Royal Palace of Alcazar followed by a
visit to the third largest church in Europe
which contained the remains of Christopher
Columbus. In the afternoon, we went to a
theatre to see some flamenco dancing –
that was really exciting and colourful!
Day four; we travelled to Cordoba where we
toured another palace, again with Muslim
connections. They regarded Spain as a
‘paradise’. We went onto the summer
residence and explored the palace gardens.
That afternoon, we met up with Mrs Roonan
who happened to be staying in her Spanish
residence! We were treated to a flamenco
lesson which turned out to be great fun with
a lot of stamping and clapping! – to guitar
accompaniment.
We flew from Gatwick and after a fairly short
flight and a coach journey, arrived at our
four room Seville Hotel. It had a swimming
pool but for health and safety reasons, we
couldn’t use it! Since I have been learning
Spanish from Year 7, I was able to make
myself
understood;
useful,
as
the
receptionist spoke no English!
That long day was the last. It was time for
the journey home. I really enjoyed the
holiday because it was interesting and
different. It reminded me a bit of Portugal,
my mother’s country.
For our first lunch, we visited a Tapas bar
which I wasn’t too keen on – foreign food!
In the hotel, the meals were not unlike those
we get at school.
Day two saw us on a coach, heading for a
nearby village which boasted the oldest
synagogue in the area; our tour guide
provided an interesting commentary. Then,
after a packed lunch, it was on to a church
which had been destroyed by Muslims and
later, restored by Catholics, retaining the
Muslim foundations. That was a really good
visit. In the evening, we mostly watched
television - Disney channels!
29
Raluca Sandu writes...
the Spanish culture and show off their
moves.
The boys were a credit to
themselves and the school.
The following letter was received from a
British couple who stayed in our hotel at the
same time:
“My wife and I have just returned from a
week’s holiday in SW Spain, including a
two-night stay at the Hoteles Bellavista, S.A.
(Monday 17th – Wednesday 19th February).
The trip to Seville was a truly splendid
learning experience for all of us. The
Alcazar of Seville, one of the most beautiful
palaces in Spain and the oldest palace still
in use in Europe, worked its magic on even
the most reluctant visitor. The boys would
be pleased to know that the fifth season of
‘Game of Thrones’ will be shot in several
locations of Seville, including the Alcazar!
Cordoba, another city the boys visited and
once the largest and the wealthiest city of
Europe, captured their interest with its
melting pot of cultures: Islamic, Jewish and
Western. Cordoba’s Great Mosque, the
most important Islamic monument in the
West, impressed us all with its size, its
forest of columns and beautiful architecture.
The flamenco show and lesson gave the
boys the chance to experience a little bit of
It was with some concern that we found that
our fellow guests included a party of school
children... and British at that!
On checking out, we can confirm however,
that any concerns were ill-founded: our
three points of contact, generally around
reception and the ding room, showed your
students to be well-mannered and
considerate to other guest. We thank you
and your staff, along with the students
themselves, for ensuring our holiday started
off on a good footing.”
30
Events
Presentation Evening
Canon Parsons Centre
Young Inventors
Spiritual Life
Lent Collections
Dan Freedman
31
Presentation Evening
Presentation Evening took place on 21st
November 2013 and the Guest of Honour
was Professor Paddy Regan, Nuclear
Physicist at University of Surrey.
Mr. McKenna opened his speech by
thanking Fr. Liddle for allowing us to use St.
Mary Magdalen’s. He then welcomed the
guests, singling out Soila Mumford, the
widow of former head teacher (1980-83)
John Mumford. She also presented a
special history prize in his memory. He then
went onto thank the Deputy Mayoress,
councillors, fellow heads, former colleagues,
parents
and
the
governing
body,
acknowledging their great contribution to the
school.
Mr. McKenna then welcomed the guest of
honour professor Paddy Regan from the
University of Surrey. He outlined his
illustrious career and wide teaching
experience.
He then offered some reflections on the
current state of education, firstly on how
new policies are seeking the magic bullet to
solve problems. He also addressed
changes in assessment, leading to the
abolition of modules in AS and GCSE and
the abolition of coursework across the
board. He went on to describe the four
major inspections at FCHS this year, the
challenge partners, the diocesan and
Ofsted. The reaction from both pupils and
staff was overwhelming with pupils
“aggressively positive”, a term which Mr.
McKenna was extremely fond of. He then
paid tribute to parents, staff and as the
Ofsted inspectors called them “fabulous”
governors.
Mr. McKenna then paid tribute to the
students and the exam results of 2013. 80%
of students achieved 5 higher grades at
GCSE; the overall pass rate was also at the
fore among Barnet comprehensive schools
at 83%. At A level, 99% of our students
passed with an excellent 54% achieving A*B. At AS our 94% pass rate from A*-B was
our best ever; Mr. McKenna lauded this
outstanding achievement.
He went on to speak of the spiritual life in
the school, expressing gratitude to Lauren
Appleby and to her successor Siobhan
Moggan for their work in “the year of faith”.
The retreat programmes were as full as
ever. £20,000 raised in Lent collections was
raised also for a variety of charities.
Sports achievement was detailed; success
in football tournaments has been strong,
Year 10 reached the county cup final and
won it for a third time, our Year 10 rugby
team also got to the Middlesex cup and had
the privilege of playing at the Allianz
stadium.
Performing Arts had another successful
year; the productions of The Wind and The
Willows and Private Peaceful were
performed exceptionally and received very
well by the audiences. Those doing LAMDA
received an extraordinary set of results
which we were very proud of. Our Rock
Challenge group competed in the South of
England event and retained their elite group
status for another year. Many visits were
conducted to theatres, galleries and
museums. The Duke of Edinburgh scheme
was also full and it was gratifying to see so
32
many students keen to
opportunities open to them.
take
the
Mr. McKenna also updated everyone on site
improvements including the Art rooms and
the new toilet facilities installed. The Sixth
Form centre was a tremendous progression,
approaching completion.
Lastly, the head paid tribute to the PTA; not
only did they raise £100,000 for the Sixth
Form but they also set up and hosted
several social events. Finally, he praised
FCHS teachers; they were thanked for their
dedicated work that makes the school what
it is. Mc. McKenna then congratulated the
prize winners, advising them to use this
success as a motivation for the future. He
rounded off his address by calling all of our
students “the stars of the show”.
Jack Da Silva
Professor Regan responded by praising the
quality of the school and the results that all
the students had achieved. He recalled
how he himself attended prize giving events
at school.
“Hard effort is needed to achieve well at
GCSE; you all should be proud”
His own AS results were not great, but now
he had made it to a Professor because he
was determined to succeed.
People
develop as they go.
He spoke about how the Nobel Prize for
Physics had gone to Peter Higgs for
discovering the Higgs-Boson particle. This
showed how diverse physics is, how it
brings together different nationalities.
“People develop and advance as they
progress”
Regan’s own background is Irish. He traced
his family in the 1911 census and
discovered that the majority of his family
could not read at this point, highlighting the
difference today. Just over 100 years ago,
no one in his family could read but now he
was standing talking as a professor of
physics.
As an outside observer, Professor Regan
stated that the achievements of the students
and the school as a whole were incredible.
He finished by advising all the students to
keep going and apply to university.
“The first step to getting ahead is getting
started, and you’ve already made that step”
There followed brief addresses from the
Head boy and Girl, Jonathan Canizales and
Tania Tirado-Tilaguy.
They expressed
admiration for the career and achievements
of Paddy O’Regan and thanked him for
coming. Jonathan commented on how the
school had moulded him and enabled him to
‘grow into his blazer’. “We grew, we
laughed, we gained key skills in different
subjects – the hard work paid off”. He
concluded by congratulating all his fellow
students on the recognition of their effort
and attainment.
The evening concluded with refreshments,
taken in the Parish Hall.
33
34
35
36
37
38
Canon Parsons Centre
Wednesday 17th September can be
described as nothing other than a proud day
for the community of Finchley Catholic High.
Rich with religious celebration, important
mingling with lots of important people and
masses of free food, this memorable day
was not only enjoyed by members of the
school’s community but also by Bishop John
Sherrington and the Mayor of Barnet- Hugh
Rayner.
The event commenced with a celebratory
Mass followed by a procession to the
spectacular construction. It was a day on
which our community of parents, teachers
(and of course a dashing group of eager- to
-help Sixth Formers) came together to give
thanks through song, prayer and socialising.
It was easy to see that each aspect of this
celebration was enjoyed thoroughly by all.
The Bishop and Mayor both congratulated
the school on our achievement and showed
great recognition of the hard work which
added to its completion.
Other than a few competitions between my
fellow Sixth Formers and I regarding who
could consume the most free food- there
was a general feel of elation and success
throughout the day. The sound of laughter
and tinkling glasses flooded the sunlit
building as the school community engaged
in celebration. The growing sense of
community was heightened even further
39
when Mr McKenna kindly thanked all those
who contributed to the success of the
building. Even more pride was taken as he
symbolically slashed off his yellow
wristband which he had vowed not to
remove until the building had been fully
completed.
That gesture was one which I particularly
enjoyed. It was a statement which
demonstrated what height of success could
be reached with just a little determination
and persistence. The enterprise was
undertaken in hope that the building will
help its students to persist in their own
determination to reach the heights of their
own ambitions. It was a blessing of a
communal mission which has finally been
achieved. But most importantly, it was a
blessing that will epitomise the Finchley
Catholic ethos for many years to come.
Jessica Repetti
40
Young Inventors
The Young Inventors competition is run by the Rotary Club in Golders Green. It is a
North London competition that is held yearly for all schools in Barnet who put forward
students of both GCSE and A-Level to display their coursework. It’s designed to
capture and promote local level British innovation and design talent. It’s looking for
young designers to express themselves by displaying their inventive design ideas
.
A committee is sent to FCHS who then select five prospective students to go through to
the Totteridge Academy to take part in the finals of the competition. Last year whilst
studying for his GCSEs, Mathias D’Souza achieved first prize in Product Design,
winning £100 in cash. His design was a door handle that can be applied to any door
wherever hygiene is an essential priority, such as a hospital. Mathias’ door handle
eliminates the need for antiseptic hand gel after touching the door handle. It was such
an innovative design that he went on to apply for his invention to be patented and it’s
still in the process.
One of our then A2 students, Olivia Cox, achieved the first place in Product Design with
her coursework design of a dog lead that’s capable of attaching all the essential items to
the lead. The lead could carry a poop bag and even treats with them distributed in a
coherent way. The lead was finished off with a trendy logo and leather handle. Like
Mathias, Olivia also received £100 in cash for finishing in first place.
A-Level student, Kieran O’Doherty, also entered the competition with his vehicle clamp
after becoming increasingly frustrated when thieves repeatedly stole trailers from his
father’s farm in Ireland. The product’s main feature is the integrated flap that comes
down and engages the tyre, making the vehicle a lot more secure and hard to steal.
Kieran finished third with all three students representing FCHS receiving great reviews
and making us extremely proud. These were prestigious prizes presented to the
students by the Mayor of Barnet, with them receiving coverage in the local newspapers.
Kim Parker
41
Spiritual Life
Year 7 Retreat
The Year 7 Welcome Mass started our
year’s liturgical activity, with a very good
pupil and parental presence. Mass was
celebrated by Fr Mark Connelly of Mary
Immaculate and St Peter’s parish, New
Barnet. Since then Year 7, with
representatives from each year group
including the VI Form; have celebrated
Founders Day, with a Mass in December
celebrated by Fr Martin Tate from Our Lady
of Lourdes Parish, New Southgate. Years 7
& 8 continue to have weekly form Masses
and we are grateful to the priests of Barnet
Deanery who give up their time so
generously. These include Fr Mark and Fr
Martin from above, as well as Fr Gladstone
Liddle, (St Mary Magdalene, Whetstone) Fr
Kevin O’ Shea (Sacred Heart and Mary
Immaculate, Mill Hill) and Fr Tony Convery
(St Edwards, Golders Green). These priests
continually praise the boys for their
behaviour, participation and attitude during
these Masses.
Members of Year 11 enjoyed a reflective
and enjoyable retreat at SPEC in October.
They were led in retreat focusing on the
theme of ‘being called’. I am currently
looking into several options for alternative
retreats in the future as SPEC will be
closing for the next academic year while it
relocates to Pinner. In February Year 9
were led in a retreat day by the 10/10
theatre group. The theme of the day was
“respecting the dignity of human person”
and
explored
ideas
surrounding
relationships and peer pressure. Year 10
watched and discussed a drama piece
touching on issues such as consequences
and choices. Years 7 and 8 focused on the
dangers of social media and peer pressure.
10/10 dealt expertly with these issues while
keeping the pupils focused and within a
prayerful context. The parent session that
accompanies these days and is led by
10/10 was also well attended and allowed
parents an insight to what their sons were
experiencing. Year 7 and 8 form retreats are
based around the idea of community
(Year7) and choices (Year 8). We are
grateful for the use of the parish hall at Mary
Immaculate and St Peter’s parish. The boys
42
have enjoyed these experiences and the
evaluations that have been completed are
highly appreciative of the day and speak
highly of the “great sense of community”
they now feel.
During November the diocesan Section 48
inspection rated the Catholic life of the
school to be very good, with the experience
of Catholic worship rated as outstanding.
During the inspection period, I was
observed alongside the head of RE in
leading a remembrance liturgy. This liturgy
was experienced by all students in the
school in the run up to Remembrance Day.
Our annual formal remembrance prayer
service was led by Mr Mark Stefanicki. Pupil
representatives from each year group
attended alongside former staff and
governors.
During Advent, there was an option for
pupils to participate in daily adoration
alongside taking part in advent liturgies, the
Christmas carol concert, and supporting
local and national charities. Staffs were also
able to participate in a staff liturgy. Pupils in
Years 8,10,12 and 13 brought in gifts for
Christmas hampers which were donated to
both “Homeless Action Barnet” and the
“Westminster Catholic Children’s Society”.
This donation was made possible by
members of the VI form who gave their time
so willingly to help sort gifts and decorate
boxes. We were able to send over 15 full
hampers to these charities. Year 9 worked
towards raising money for CAFOD’s world
gift scheme. Within 2 weeks they had raised
enough money to buy 27 life changing gifts
for those in the developing world.
In January, CAFOD assisted in leading the
Year 9 activity days. The boys focused on
the issues of climate change and food.
Pupils were also led in a meditation style
prayer based on the parable of the sheep
and the goats. This particular passage
focuses on the need for social justice. The
evaluations from this activity were positive
and members of the RE department were
able to replicate the sessions for use with
other Year 9 boys on the second of the
activity days. This particular activity was
also beneficial as CAFOD make up part of
their RE GCSE syllabus.
The Justice and Peace group has continued
to increase in size with a good number of
new Year 7 recruits joining those in Years 8
and 10. The Justice and Peace group has
worked towards raising money and
awareness of CAFOD, Fairtrade and
Traidcraft. The group managed to raise over
£100 for Traidcraft during the school
Christmas fayre.
With Ash Wednesday marking the
beginning of Lent, all pupils received ashes
during special reflective liturgies. During
Lent, the pupils received the sacrament of
reconciliation, explored the Stations of the
Cross in the oratory, and took part in
lunchtime Lenten reflections. In liaison with
the RE department, pupils were given the
chance for meditative prayer based around
the Easter scriptures within the RE
timetable. Lent also marks a significant time
for the school in terms of fundraising; not
only did the boys raise money for chosen
charities, but as mentioned previously, the
Justice and Peace group continued to
43
promote CAFOD, and members of the
Lower Sixth competed for the opportunity to
give a chosen charity £3000 as part of the
Youth Philanthropy scheme.
In the summer term, our attentions turned to
preparing celebratory Masses for our Year
11 and Year 13s who would be leaving our
school community. Pupils set up their own
committees to gather suggestions for the
content of the Mass. Pupils and parents
came in great numbers to both of these
beautiful services.
Our last school Mass of the year was on St
Albans day, where pupils in Year 9 and 10
who had recently made their confirmation
led the Mass alongside Fr Raff – a visiting
priest who is part of the Spiritian fathers
based in New Barnet. At this Mass our head
boy and head girl – Ben and Megan were
commissioned as extraordinary ministers of
Holy Communion.
Siobhan Moggan
44
Lent Collections 2014
LENT COLLECTIONS 2014
FORM
TUTOR
AMOUNT
7F
7R
7C
7H
7S
7B
YR7 Pat Gray
TOTAL
Ms G Moustaka
£243.83
Ms V Langham
£289.93
Mr R Gibson
£116.30
8F
8R
8C
8H
8S
TOTAL
Ms M Wilkins
£85.61
Ms L Avram
£49.61
9F
9R
9C
9H
9S
9B
TOTAL
Mr L Hourican
£325.25
Ms H Williams
£50.00
Ms M Devlin
£357.66
£25.00
£1,407.97
Ms C McEvoy
£73.41
Mr D Williams
£116.61
Mr M Conway
£340.61
£665.85
Ms D Burrows
£24.85
Ms S Bhagwanani
£37.74
Mr J Cronin
£17.70
Mrs Z Premji
£65.81
Mr R Cussell
£238.89
Ms R Treverton
£36.52
£421.51
10F
10R
Ms M Turner
£503.85
Mr J Noronha
£210.11
10C
Mr K Parker
£692.63
10H
10S
TOTAL
Ms E Ennis
£158.77
Mr J Dikes
£357.58
Gabriel Des Forges- Half Marathon raised
£406.35
£1,922.94
45
11F
11R
11C
11H
11S
TOTAL
12F
12R
12C
12H
12S
12B
Tom Chalk - Leg wax
TOTAL
13F
13R
13C
13H
13S
13B
TOTAL
CAFOD Fast Day
Ms M Lavelle
£388.17
Mr P James
£191.00
Ms S McHugh
£199.55
Mr D Cohen
£265.15
Ms G Clements
£288.15
£1,332.02
Mrs L Santos
£406.25
Mr A Welsh
£352.00
Mr I MacDonald
£398.80
Miss A Clark
£322.30
Mrs C Koutis
£155.00
Mr I Vidovic
£201.00
£197.00
£2,032.35
Mrs J Bower
£116.67
Mr R Grant
£116.67
Miss J White
£116.67
Mr J McAteer
£116.67
Mr F Cormack
£116.66
Miss H Kiamil
£116.66
£700.00
Already paid to
CAFOD
£105.40
Hazel Morton-Pontius
Pilot
£312.37
Used uniform
£16.17
£8,916.58
Sub TOTAL
£8,916.58
-£105.40
GRAND TOTAL
£8,811.18
46
Beneficiaries Lent 2014
Beneficiaries Lent 2013
Disability Action Barnet
AMOUNT
£1,000
£1000
£500
£1,000
£1,000
£800
£1,000
£1,000
£1000
£500
Total
£8,800.00
Kidzone
Noah's Ark Hospice
CAFOD
North London Hospice
Jack's Goal
Barnet Afro Carribean Association
KISS (Kiddies Support Scheme)
Cancer Research
Fumbisi Sunshine Home
47
Dan Freedman Returns
Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and showed
a clip of an interview with Rio Ferdinand.
But of course, the books were what he had
come for; there are eight Jamie Johnson in
the series and he treated us to an extract
from ‘The Kick Off’.
On a hot day, at the end of the Summer
Term, the whole of Year 7 crowded into the
library to welcome back Dan Freedman for
his second visit to FCHS, this time to speak
about his latest novel, ‘Skills From Brazil’.
He was introduced by Mrs Durham who
traced Dan’s rise to fame from a letter to
‘Shoot’ magazine when he was aged
thirteen to his appointment to a post with the
FA and his subsequent travels in the course
of which he met many famous managers,
before embarking on his writing career.
Mr Freedman then recalled his early days:
how he had loved football at school, kicking
a ball around in the playground and being
told as a punishment to go and read a book!
He pointed out that sports writing can be
quite sophisticated, singling out Henry
Winters of the Telegraph as the best; he
especially liked the fact that football
correspondents got free access to the press
box at major tournaments! His ambition
fired, he undertook voluntary work for
various football clubs, including match ball
sponsoring at Arsenal. He graduated to
writing articles for the Daily Mail, and the
Mail on Sunday and became editor for FA
publications, writing World Cup Final
programmes. He has interviewed Ronaldo,
When he invited questions, a forest of
hands shot up: how did he get his ideas for
books?
Why did he only write about
football? (he might move on to schools, as
he has visited over a thousand!), what
inspired ‘Skills From Brazil’? What have
been his most motivating experiences?
Where did he write his books? (he liked the
calming influence of the sea), why aren’t
there any happy endings? Time ran out
with
many
eager
questioners
left
disappointed.
There followed distribution of prizes for the
best reviews of ‘Skills From Brazil’ written
by Year 7 boys earlier.
The visit concluded with book signings, the
queue stretching down the entire length of
the library!
Congratulations and thanks to Mrs
Gallagher for organising such a highly
48
enjoyable and successful event.
FEATURES
The Year of 2013
Silver Manatees
Student Services
Spotlight on Activities
49
The Year of 2013
The Headboy
Jonathan
Canizales
started
his
educational
career at Our
Lady of Muswell
primary school.
He could have
gone
to
Fortismere but
preferred
the
look and sound
of FCHS. Little
did he imagine, seven years ago that he
would be appointed head boy! His path
through the years was smooth and
successful, with excellent GCSEs at the end
of Year 11. He was appointed to the
Executive in Year 12 and by this time, fired
by ambitions for power, put himself forward
for the top post where in the heat of the
interview, he beat off rivals such as Michael
Logue and Ronan Cromwell – there were no
hard feelings afterwards!
Apart from
executive
meetings,
his
principal
contributions have been his speech at
Presentation Evening – he felt a bit nervous,
the Christmas Revue, International Day and
the Leavers ‘do’. This year, he and Ronan
have ambitious plans for a farewell ‘Prom’ in
Mayfair. He thinks he has managed to
balance his duties with study and is
optimistic about his A2 prospects. He is
hoping to go to Leeds University to read for
a degree in Bio Medical Studies.
Niall
Greene
followed
his
brother, Alex to
FCHS from Frith
Manor Primary
School. Being of
a shy disposition
(not now!) and
not
knowing
anyone,
he
found Year 7
quite difficult but
began to enjoy
himself more as
he moved up the school. A memorable
breakthrough for him was his involvement in
‘Remember’, a dramatic representation of
the holocaust in which he played a boy in a
concentration camp, travelling with the
production to present it in Warwick. He
achieved a string of good GCSE grades,
despite finding science hard to cope with
and is quietly confident of A Level success.
What does he think of his years at FCHS?
“I’ve loved it all, I wouldn’t have changed
anything and I’ll be sorry to leave”. He has
fond memories of a huge, interform Tug of
War in Year 11 on the astro-turf, won of
course, by green tie!
The Sixth Form has been an enjoyable
experience and integrating with girls in
classes has posed no problems! He likes
the social side of life, has passed his driving
test and still finds time for his sailing hobby,
at an advanced level.
If he achieves his ABB target, he will go to
Birmingham University to study English. He
remembers with pleasure the school trip to
New York and his involvement with drama.
He has mixed feelings about leaving home
and all his friends at FCHS. ”Glad but Sad!”
he declared.
Three different girls, one thing in common; their love
for Finchley Catholic
50
The Headgirl
Tania
TiradoTilaguy
How has
your time
at Finchley
Catholic
been?
My time at
Finchley
has been a
unique
one.
I’ve
had my ups and downs but overall I’ve had
an amazing time. I’ve made some life-long
friends and had some great and
inspirational teachers.
What’s been the highlight of your time at
FCHS?
I think my highlight definitely has to be
International Day. Just seeing how one
simple idea can turn out to be such a vivid
life success was an amazing feeling. It was
a day of community and celebrating the
different cultures within the school. The
range of food and music made the day a
great success.
Elizabeth Clark-Lim
How has your time at Finchley Catholic
been?
My time at Finchley has been memorable.
I’ve had some great memories; from Blind
date to interform competitions.
What’s been the highlight of your time at
FCHS?
I definitely would say that the friends that
I’ve made have been the highlight of my
If you could do it all again what would you
change?
I honestly can’t think of anything I would
change about my time here.
How was your time as Head Girl?
I loved my time as Head girl. I considered it
a privilege. It was a great experience and I
thoroughly enjoyed representing the school
at various events.
It gave me an
opportunity to give back to this school,
which has done so much for me.
What advice would you give to future girls of
the FCHS Sixth Form?
My advice would be for them to work hard
from the outset. Trust your abilities and be
aware that teachers at the school are here
to support you. Also, to know that time is
precious and to use it wisely, as time flies.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m really excited for the future now that it all
seems to be coming together. I’m hoping to
go to Roehampton University in London to
do Primary School teaching. I can’t wait for
this next step in my life and I thank Finchley
for giving me the platform to pursue the
career I desire.
FCHS experience and I know without a
doubt that we
will remain so.
If you could do it
all again what
would
you
change?
I’d say integrate
with
more
51
people in my year and participate more in
extra curricular activities.
two years of your life, so make sure you’ve
made the right decision.
What advice would you give to future girls of
the FCHS Sixth Form?
What are your plans for the future?
To not be nervous and try to integrate with
the boys in your year. There’s no reason to
be anxious, FCHS boys aren’t that bad! As
well as this I’d say, pick A-Levels based on
what you enjoy because you’re dedicating
I hope to do a Zoology degree and then
maybe travel for a bit. I’d like to find a job in
media to do with the natural world or maybe
even go into modern art.
Tara Zadshir
Was it hard adjusting into a new Sixth Form
seeing as you started in Year 13?
I was a little nervous about starting my 11th
school, but adjusting to Sixth Form was
actually a lot easier than I expected.
What’s been the highlight of your time at
FCHS?
I would have to say the highlight of my year
has been the amazing people I’ve met, who
I definitely plan to keep in touch with
throughout university.
opportunity to specifically thank Miss
Murphy for her help and encouragement,
not only with my university application but
for helping make adjusting to FCHS as easy
as possible.
What would you have changed about your
Year 13 experience?
I don’t think I would change much about my
experience.
There have been a few
stressful occasions such as preparing for
exams.
What are your plans for the future?
Describe your FCHS experience?
My FCHS experience has overall been very
pleasant.
Although my
university
application process was a little different than
most, the staff were very attentive and
supportive.
In fact, I should take this
Next year I will be studying politics at New
York University. Maybe that will lead to a
career in Congress or international law or
maybe it will result in something completely
unrelated. In truth, I have no idea what I’ll
end up doing but I’m excited to find out.
52
Farewell Celebrations
53
The Silver Manatees
acclamation!
Next came an appearance at a branch of
the Royal British Legion, mostly for family
and friends to raise funds for charity with
tickets at £3 per head; “the evening went
very well’ reflected George.
For the last two years, the Silver Manatees
have been enlivening public occasions at
FCHS such as the Garden Fete, concerts
and a staff party while steadily enhancing
their reputation as skilled and entertaining
musicians.
It all began when twin brothers, George and
Harvey Lowe and their friends, Finnley
Norris and James Bowman were in Year 9
and decided to form a band consisting of
three guitars, one drummer plus the singing.
The Lowes are a musical family who offered
enthusiastic support. At first, they had
differing styles but they gradually evolved to
reflect the influence of the Beatles, many of
whose numbers they performed. Their first
public appearance at school came at the
end of Year 9 at a showcase assembly
when they were received with surprise and
So, why the name? The inspiration came
from a Beatles’ song ‘I am a Walrus’ hence
sea cow and manatee, with the addition of
silver. Further bookings came in, mostly by
word of mouth; their uniform is white shirt
and black tie, with winkle picking Cuban
heels. They now have their own card and
feature on several U Tubes and Twitter,
earning
such
soubriquets
as
‘fab
performance’ and ‘they are brilliant! Don’t
miss them!
Since those early days, they have played for
the
British
Heart
Foundation,
the
Samaritans, the North London Hospice, and
big venues such as the Emirates Stadium,
the Grosvenor Hotel, the Finchley Arts
Depot and the Barnet Music Festival,
meeting on the way, luminaries such as Lee
Thompson of ‘Madness’, Stavros Flatley’
and the Cheeky Girls. None of this fame
has gone to their heads. They are very
conscious of the need to maintain a
54
study/play balance and rehearsed originally
in a studio every Saturday, playing and
evolving style, mostly by instinct. They are
very grateful to their parents who support
hem, drive them to gigs and mastermind the
amplification. The whole experience has
worked a powerful bond between them.
What of the future? Are they played out as
‘Beatles’? “We may begin to work on new
material and once we have finished A
Levels, a gap year may be on the cards”.
They have come a long way and may well
go a lot further. Congratulations!
55
Student Services
In September 2013, a number of disparate
elements were drawn together under the
banner of Student Services, located at the
back of the White House. We asked the
‘boss’, Fran Kelly to give us an idea of what
is on offer.
Students can access First Aid, can sign in
and out, claim lost property, acquire
homework diaries, exercise books and
general stationery, ask to ‘phone home etc.
There are upwards of 100 visitors each day,
from 8.15 to 8.30, morning break, lunchtime
and after school.
The number of ‘sick’ visits varies; some are
sports based and a few might require
summoning
an
ambulance
of
hospitalisation.
Fraudsters are quickly
spotted!
At first, Fran was working alone but now she
has the help of three colleagues and some
teachers are qualified First Aiders. Parents
can sometime be tricky to handle when
emergencies occur, becoming hysterical
and, in one instance, fainting in hospital.
Nowadays, more than ever, Health and
Safety considerations are paramount but
nevertheless, she enjoys the variety of
work, operating on a ‘firm but fair’ principle.
The busiest time was between 8.50 and
9.30am.
On our way out, we noticed a box of books,
samples left by travelling salesmen on a
variety of topics at advantageous prices, for
the benefit of staff and there is also a shop,
halfway down the long corridor, selling items
of clothing and stationery – all part of the
FCHS Student Services!
In a cupboard, she showed us eighty
medical boxes relating to individuals,
containing vital medication to be taken daily,
painkillers, inhalers, epi pens etc. Every
medical incident has to be recorded. She
has had a few scary experiences; a fence
spike piercing an arm, with the boy rushed
to hospital and requiring eighty stitches: ‘he
was very brave’ and four years ago, a bad
head wound, following an encounter with a
window with blood pumping alarmingly – it
took forty minutes for the ambulance crew
to control the bleeding. ‘You have to stay
calm’.
56
Work Shadowing
My LBC experience
Throughout my three days at Leading
Britain Conversation I spent two of the days
with presenters Julia Hartley-Brewer and
one with Iain Dale. On day 1 I made my way
down to Leicester square to Global studios,
the largest commercial radio company in the
UK. As well as LBC, Heart, Capital FM,
Classic FM, XFM and Gold are all broadcast
from the Leicester square studios.
When I arrived I met Julia’s very friendly
head producer Rachel Humphries, and was
immediately put in the office editing the
show’s script, working alongside Julia and
her production team. They use on online
programme called Burli to add transport
bulletins, the schedule of guests, strict time
schedules, the show outline and topics of
debate. Primarily on day one I was in
charge of finding out facts and figures about
how the industrial strike action was going to
impact on the major cities and economies
which were used on air. In the lead up to
Julia’s show from 1-4PM I shadowed her,
updating all her social media to let listeners
know what was to be on the show that day.
She was also solidifying the show structure
and time schedules she was to adhere to.
The second day had a similar pattern; I was
put in charge of researching alongside the
producers, the Jo Perkins situation, a
consultant for Salisbury FM who was fired
when bosses discovered a small butterfly
tattoo on her foot despite working for the
company for five months. I had to update
the shows script with details of what
happened and during the debate on air,
Julia was reeling off the information to the
listeners.
Both days at around ten to one the
producers, Julia and I made our way
upstairs to the production room full of
microphones, computers and wires. They
set up and for day one I shadowed their
technical work such as going to travel
updates, playing back snippets of content
such as features like Call Farage as well as
updating Facebook, Twitter and the LBC
website, whilst passing on interesting
emails, texts and tweets to Julia and
operating the switchboard, taking calls and
briefly summing up the callers point of view
before putting through the most interesting
callers to Julia on line 1.
On day two, one of the main topics of
discussion was the consultant being fired
57
and I was put in charge in the production
room under the watchful eye of the assistant
producer of the calls and operating the
social media platforms and taking all kinds
of viewpoints which was enjoyable but also
difficult because the switchboard was
lighting up every second and many texts,
tweets and emails were coming in with the
public all extremely eager to chip in with
their opinions.
predictions with former MPs and people of
political importance. The day layout was
similar to Julia’s but on his show that day
Hamas and reshuffle day dominated the
show.
During my day with Iain Dale I spent the
morning with him at his publishing company
Biteback publishing and then we headed off
to the studios. Because it was reshuffle day
we also spent a brief hour or so at the
Houses of Commons were Iain was
discussing the day’s events and making
Jack Da Silva, 12B
For two weeks at the end of July I did my work shadowing placement at the WaterAid
offices in Vauxhall, London. For those who don’t know, WaterAid is an international
charity that seeks to provide clean water, hygiene products and sanitation to developing
countries; currently they work in twenty six countries worldwide. During my work
shadowing, I worked in the education and media departments. A lot of my work was
focused towards getting younger people, in both primary and secondary school, more
aware of WaterAid’s ethos. I did this by creating publications to be handed out during
presentations, actually helping to give presentations to students in secondary school
and giving feedback on their newly launched campaign ‘To be a girl’. I really enjoyed
my work shadowing as it really gave me an insight into the hard work and dedication
that charities must put in to be successful.
Elisha Isebor
58
Activities Week
Street Fighting Workshop
Debating/Question Time
Classics Trip to the British Museum
Olympic Park
Gilwell Park
59
Stage Fighting Workshop
In the summer term, the drama department
gave us the opportunity to take part in a
professional stage combat workshop. Tony
Middleton, a fight director and stage combat
specialist, provided all of Year 9 with an
inspiring and energetic experience when he
came to visit us at Finchley Catholic High
School with his Stage Fighting Workshop.
When he introduced himself and said he
has a black belt in multiple martial arts, we
knew the workshop would be exceptionally
good. His workshop taught us some stage
fighting techniques and a choreographed
routine, which tested our coordination and
team working skills. We were taught how to
perform both safely and convincingly. Tony
has choreographed many stage fights for
both stage and screen, both armed and
unarmed. On the day of the workshop we
learnt about the technical and physical skills
needed to make punches, slaps and kicks
look realistic and convincing on stage and
screen, and then had the opportunity to try
putting a fight sequence together. We all
enjoyed the workshop very much and were
extremely impressed when the workshop
leaders
showed
us
a
realistic
demonstration. We were able to watch a
fight sequence with swords! We then had
the chance to learn how to safely and
accurately throw a punch, slap and wrestle
an opponent to the ground as well as fall
and react to the punches and slaps we
received, just as actors do in films.
Everyone was amazed at how convincing
the fight scenes were and there was a good
deal of wincing from those who were
watching. Every single one of us was totally
absorbed in learning the clever techniques
and thoroughly enjoyed the entire
experience. This is the second year that
Tony has brought his workshop to Finchley
Catholic High School and, judging by the
60
looks on the faces of the students and
teachers, it will be something future Year 9
groups will have the opportunity of looking
forward to.
Callum Helke
Debating/Question Time
Year 9 Activity
Another group were tasked with producing
their own version of ‘Question Time’. We
asked one student to give his impressions:
What made the Question Time
challenge successful?
Firstly, the students were given a wide
range of topics to debate which gave them a
chance to debate a topic that appealed to
them. This helped focus the groups and
improve pace and attainment.
This
considerably reduced the amount of offtopic chatting; as the situation was much
more in the hands of the students to make,
prepare and engage in a debate. Letting
the students choose the topic was one of
the most successful parts of the challenge.
It made the learning much more studentbased which improved the amount of
information and skills each student took
away from the experience.
Secondly, giving the students time on the
computers was another factor which made
the challenge successful. It gave time for
research to widen their knowledge of their
side of the argument, giving the students a
confidence boost before the actual debate.
It greatly helped those with lower
confidence, as could clearly be seen in their
more composed manner. It gave students a
chance to look up techniques for debating,
which would increase their knowledge and
understanding of the skills to produce a
productive and thought-provoking outcome.
Letting the students choose the role they
wished to play in the debate helped as it
allowed them to pick a part they were
interested in to make them more useful and
gave them more reason to put in as much
effort as possible. They really pushed
themselves to present their side of the
argument and take more than just memories
from the experience. Being forced into a
role can often affect the individual’s attitude
and approach to the task.
Lastly, showing a clip of ‘Question Time’
was successful as it showed the students
the form and order of a successful debate.
It gave an insight into what they should be
aiming to accomplish during the lesson; this
helped the students as it gave a good
foundation to start their work from.
It
extended the learning beyond what could be
accomplished from just a teacher speaking.
It builds interest in the subject and provides
a good break from a normal lesson. The
new learning environment is also very
effective for some young people.
All in all, this debating challenge was very
successful at interesting us, and to a great
extent, increased the work rate and effort of
those involved.
Paul Creagh, Year 9
61
Classics Trip to the British
Museum
In July the Year 12 Classics class took a trip
to the British Museum to visit the exhibition
on Iron Age Britain as part of the Roman
Britain Course. The exhibition was all about
Britain’s society before the Romans, their
social structure, economy and art forms.
The exhibition also explored how Britain
was influenced by Rome after Caesar’s
small scale invasion in 55BC. The Year 12
classicists looked at the evidence on display
to inform their study of the background to
the Roman period. Evidence like the ‘Cart
Burials’, cars dismantled and placed over
the bodies of the wealthier Britons, gave an
insight into social structes, and also links
with Gual (modern day France).
The
‘Battersea Shield’, a bronze shield crafted
for the sole purpose of sacrificing it to the
gods, displayed a bold, yet typically
abstract, Celtic design which was useful for
showing not Briton’s art forms, but also how
they worshipped their gods. It was only a
short trip during the school day, but still
useful for their study of the Iron Age period.
Olympic Park
As part of the Year 7 Activity Day in July, each form took part in a field trip to central
London and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. After arriving at Embankment Station,
we took a short walk along Westminster Pier to board a river boat along the Thames.
While on the boat, we listened to a fascinating commentary about the different cultural
and historical landmarks that we passed such as the infamous Tate Modern and the
heart of the financial district, Canary Wharf.
To get to the Olympic Park, we walked through the Greenwich foot tunnel which is fifty
feet under the River Thames and then experienced the Docklands Light Railway to the
new Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford.
Students spent the afternoon in the Olympic Park trying out for themselves the climbing
wall and play areas as well as investigating the sustainability and legacy of the Olympic
Park. A thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all – spending a sunny day in our capital
city investigating its build and natural attractions.
62
Gilwell Park
This has been a wonderful year for Finchley
Catholic High school, with the opening of
the new Sixth Form centre and receiving
some rave reviews from OFSTED, it’s been
hard to top. We must not forget the lower
school however; the annual Gilwell park trip
took place and the Year 8s were fortunate
enough to attend. Gilwell Park is a camp
site and activity centre for scouting groups,
as well as a training and conference centre
for Scout Leaders. The 44 hectare site is in
Sewardstonebury, Epping Forest, close to
Chingford, London. The main idea of the trip
is to provide the boys with new experiences
and opportunities. The trip took place from
the 14th and 17th July and 150 year 8s were
in attendance; it’s a trip that provides them
with as much social experience as physical.
The boys were given rare outdoor
remember for a very long while and could
encourage them to pursue outside school,
which is an objective of the trip. In addition
to physical activity, they were given core
subject lessons such a ‘science outside’
which, as Mr Prendergast describes,
‘provides them a new insight and light into in
the subject, which could engage them more
and help their studies’. He also went on to
say ‘The Gilwell park experience benefits
the boys socially as well, they are entering
GCSES next year and will be put in new
classes with boys they’ve not met before.
This experience allows them to interact and
enjoy activities with one another.’
opportunities such as Zip wiring and
camping; these are experiences they’ll
Ashley Chipatiso
63
The Arts
Artwork
Photography
Grease
Short Story
Poem
64
Artwork
Lauren Sheehan
65
Camie Kandi
66
Simone Strnad
Catarina Pereira-Vella
67
Photography
Paula Fircowicz
68
Lauren Sheehan
Felipe Dinis
Marco Bondi
Mark Gibbs
69
Roisin Heekin
Catarina Pereira-Vella
70
Behind the Scenes
April 2nd 2014.
Grease opened to a sell-out crowd. The
school’s hall had been transformed to the
point that it looked unrecognisable, and was
packed to bursting point with parents,
teachers and teenagers. As ‘We go
together’ came to a close, the crowd was on
their feet...
Around the Christmas period it was
revealed to a reaction of huge excitement
that Grease would be the next challenge for
the school’s performing arts department.
Previous productions included Lord of the
Flies and Little Shop of Horrors which were
both a great success, but the prospect of
Grease promised something on a much
grander scale. It would require not only
incredible talent, but also nothing short of
extreme dedication from all involved.
Auditions were held after the Christmas
holidays, with students (young and ‘old’)
turning up to give their best in the hope of
receiving a role in the show. I must admit,
and I’m sure I speak on behalf of a number
of boys who auditioned, that having to sing
Danny’s song ‘Sandy’ with its relentless
amount of high notes in front of all the
teachers who work in Performing Arts, was
far from the most enjoyable experience. To
add to that, spending a lunchtime trying to
slide on my knees in suit trousers to ‘you’re
the one that I want’ left my mum far from
happy! As expected, the auditions were
daunting, but actually managed to show that
with work, we students could potentially pull
it out of the bag.
Over the following days, Ms. Turner was
bombarded and hassled by those who
auditioned asking how long it will be until
the cast list was released, and huge credit
most go to her for somehow keeping her
patience. The list was eventually released,
and Dominic Reid (then in Year 11) was
given the coveted role of Danny Zuko, a
part he fitted into comfortably, not just
because of his luscious black hair, but also
due his fantastic vocal range and ability to
pull of Danny’s trendy aura. Tom chalk was
cast as Kenickie, who he portrayed
spectacularly, whilst Jakub Franasowicz,
Santino De Lauri and I made up the other Tbirds. Finchley’s very own Katie Leese won
the role of Sandy, a part her incredible voice
was pretty much made for, and Mary Villar,
Alex Taylor, Keanna Bloomfield and Sophie
Smith (all of St.Michael’s) became the Pink
Ladies. Caitlin Kelly was perfect as the
painfully annoying cheerleader Patty
Simcox, with Kasia Poza and Fatimah Adio
71
playing her fellow cheerleaders. Megan
O’rourke made a hilarious Mrs McGee, little
Milo (who all the girls adored by the end of
the process) was given Eugene, and Harry
Wilkinson was awarded Vince Fontaine.
Sophia Acton, Finchley’s sassy Italian, was
very appropriately given Cha Cha. Much to
everyone’s jealousy, Charlie Futerman was
given Teen Angel, and I lose count of the
number of times the cast joined in when he
was rehearsing Beauty School Dropout.
At the beginning of January, rehearsals
started, but at quite a slow pace, mainly
because the boys and girls didn’t know
eachother. Rehearsals were spent with one
side of the room occupied by the T-birds,
and vice versa. However, that all changed
relatively quickly after Alex was given the
daunting task of attending a rehearsal as
the only girl alongside all of us boys. She’s
told me herself that it was one of the most
nerve-racking experiences of her life (I don’t
blame her), but that rehearsal broke the ice
brilliantly, as it made clear that everyone
was just very shy. It’s worth noting that
Jakub was certainly mesmerised in that
rehearsal. Very soon everyone became
comfortable with one another. We all fell in
love with Mary for providing us with food
every rehearsal, and many minutes were
spent by teachers and cast members alike
teasing Jakub for being that little bit slower
than the rest of us. For the next few months
leading up to April, rehearsals were not only
productive, but great fun shared with really
amazing people.
As April 2nd approached, everything went
into overdrive. Dance rehearsals became
more tiring; Mr. Doyle started to pull out all
the stops with the set; Ms. Partington and
Ms. Burrows were in the process of creating
a marvellous band and making sure we
singers hit every note the way they
envisioned.
The
dreaded
Saturday
rehearsals began, lines were being
frantically learnt, and costumes were being
gathered and designed in time for
Wednesday. Luckily from what I know, no
problems were encountered in the
preparation for the performance, and if there
were, congratulations to Ms. Treverton, Ms.
Turner and Mr. Lia for keeping it very quiet.
The first performance of Grease was now
upon us. Everyone was buzzing and ready
to go, making last minute preparations and
conducting last minute practices. News
reached us that both nights had sold out,
which really didn’t help with the pressure
that we were already feeling. Yet each and
every one of us was dying to get on that
stage and show the audience what we could
do. By now we were not just onstage friends
but offstage ones as well, and we wanted to
give the performance of our lives for
ourselves and each other. After two hours of
singing, acting and dancing our hearts out,
we were greeted with the most rewarding of
standing ovations. The second night was no
different. We gave it everything in those two
performances and came away with no
regrets. Everyone involved went home filled
with pride.
Looking back, it was an absolute pleasure
to work with such brilliant, passionate and
talented friends and teachers for those four
months. Although most of the cast have, or
will soon be going their separate ways, each
of us will hold fond memories of our time
together bringing Grease to life at Finchley
Catholic High School.
Raff Marioni, 13C
72
73
Short Story
The Ever-So-Troubled Mr Gyve
Mr Gyve was the bane of all educated
children. To them, he was the antichrist of
education ministers; the whirlwind of
destruction that wrecked the organisation
and structures of countless schools. Yet
unlike their visualisations, Gyve was
reluctant to get up in the morning in order to
go to Parliament. In essence, he was just
like many of the schoolchildren that he
himself had an impact on – “badly
behaved”, according to the Speaker in
Parliament.
Of course, his sceptics saw this as more
ammunition to use against him to increase
the colossal weight of the political pressure
that they had placed onto him ever since he
gained power. Gyve knew that his
appearance on a prime-time panel show
(the one he feared the most was “Have I
Got News For You”) was becoming
increasingly imminent. The very thought of
him, once a “revered” ruler of education,
being mocked by satirists was a frightening
one. He knew that he had to jump out of his
metaphorical, swiftly-plummeting aircraft as
soon as possible.
His plan to evade such a disaster was to
finally do something worthwhile (or at least
notable) and reform the whole of the
education system – at whatever cost.
Instead of thinking about what dinner he
wanted to have with his wife, he embarked
on a journey which involved documenting
his changes at a speed which was the polar
opposite of the completion of roadworks.
For hours he typed away furiously, not
bothering to contact those working on his
behalf. When he had finished that, the next
day he contacted the media to make a very
important speech in an imminent Tory party
political broadcast.
“It is my goal to make
sure that every child in
this land has the right
to a better education,
an education that will
establish
our
standards
amongst
the
Chinese,
the
Indians, and others
who currently look
down on us from the heights of the world of
learning.” he said, agreeing with himself that
his attempt to placate the smarter children
amongst the rest would be, for once,
successful – even with the onslaught of
budget cuts (thanks to what he dubbed “the
moronic Labour governments and their
wasteful paying of money to insatiable
companies”). “What we need to do is
recognise that our children are given too
much choice; they are like people who must
build houses but have to make their own
bricks. How can they determine the size of
brick to use, or the consistency of the
cement? How can they build such a
structure at all?
“The solution is to simplify education for our
children; this will make everything easier to
follow. To do this, we must scrap the
subjects that are considered the least
important. Unnecessary subjects like art,
creative writing and essays in which
evaluation is required. Once we are done,
the days of education being viewed as a
toxic, cumbersome practice will be no
more.” Of course, no-one was listening due
to the unpopularity of Gyve – that, and the
fact that Guymon Cowell’s new talent show
was also on.
Gyve could finally sleep knowing that he
had done something right. (He was also
pleased that he was in the only place where
he could never be told off by the Speaker.)
He curled up in his bed, beside his wife as
he fell asleep.
74
Gyve awoke to find himself on a fertile
tropical island (specifically in a large gulf
formed by geological forces) by the water’s
edge; half of his surroundings were made of
trees and leaves which housed birds and
others creatures of all kinds, as if it were a
conservationist’s dream. He was sitting in a
wooden chair with a wooden table in front of
him; his hand was holding a makeshift cup
(made out of a coconut) which contained a
cocktail mixed with rum (complete with the
novelty umbrella). The Sun (or some other
star) was low down in the sky, which was a
swirling mixture of shades of purple and
pink. It was this scene, captured from the
images used on cartons of exotic juice that,
to an observer (if any) conveyed Gyve’s
emotions of contentedness.
His eyes kept on jumping from the sky, to
the water and then onto the
trees. They were palm trees;
he could tell that they were
because of the ridges on the
leaves. When calm, his
attention to detail was like
that of a prospecting bird
of prey. The ridges on
the trees were of
particular interest to Gyve. His eyes swiftly
darted from one tree to its neighbour. The
intricate patterns of the trees mesmerised
him, each with its own level of complexity.
He was enjoying his time on the island
when he noticed that the patterns were
thickening and splitting into what looked like
markings. He looked away, gazing at the
leaves of the trees for a split second then
looked back.
These strange markings had grown and
thickened. He looked elsewhere. The water
had turned a strange shade of green, whilst
the sky began to grey. “I don’t see any
clouds…” he wondered to himself using
thought. His eyes met the trees again. The
bark of the trees had turned from yellow
white, bearing the same, growing markings.
Gyve could not recognise them at first, but
he managed to figure it out after some time.
The characters formed loops, curls, dots
above lines – he knew what they were.
They were the illegible letters printed out by
a schoolchild. Desperation got the better of
him as he tried to find an answer to the
meaning of this puzzle. He got up from his
seat and walked into the woods that were
once behind him. The trees were now
fountains of scribbled words, streaming out
of where the leaves were once stationed.
Animals had turned into books that, instead
of peacefully keeping their distance, had
begun snap and growl at him like beasts
from a Hadean world. Gyve heard a loud
splash and was covered in clouded,
darkened water. He turned around to find
that the water had turned into a basaltcoloured liquid with a vile, patched film on
top. That, and a giant paintbrush
conspicuously jutting out into the air. As if
Gyve had felt their presence earlier, eerie
flesh-coloured clouds had descended onto
the area surrounding the now soggy Gyve.
Small lumps of brain tissue fell from the
skies around him. All of this seemed
completely and utterly arbitrary to Gyve,
however akin to a Tim Burton film it was.
Luckily for him, someone who could have
helped Gyve to realise what it all did mean
was fast approaching. The only downside
was that this “someone” had come in the
form of a giant humanoid made from
mangled words, stationery and brain tissue
that dropped paint everywhere. A voice
erupted from the creature’s mouth as it
approached Gyve, who stood speechless.
“Why? Why do you reject me?” it asked him.
“It does not make sense! Why? WHY?!” it
bawled in a low voice, rapidly crying tears of
pen ink. Gyve hurriedly dodged the
tumbling, enlarged droplets (perhaps, given
their girth relative to Gyve, they shouldn’t be
called “droplets”) as they splashed down
near him. “No…” the abominable humanoid
repeatedly yelled, as if in denial. “No, no,
no, NO!” The creature screamed as Gyve
decided to take off, looking over his
shoulder time and time again; every time he
did so, his face contorted into the shape of a
grimace mixed with fear whilst his mind tried
to make sense of the sensory overload that
he was in at that moment. The creature
75
began to summon the ghostly heads of
children which rocketed roughly towards
him and exploded on impact. One after
another, they landed so close to Gyve that
he was being propelled forward by the force
of the blasts occurring just behind him. This
might explain how he managed to scramble
away from the creature, as it (along with its
explosive heads) landed into a puddle of
paint, slipped and got sliced by a giant piece
of lined, 60gsm paper.
Gyve found himself in a dry, desert-like spot
on the now dystopian island. (Of course,
one wouldn’t expect to find a desert on a
small island, but in a dream almost anything
is possible…) The only thing that he could
see – apart from bloodstained sand – was a
dilapidated building that looked unusually
familiar. He walked towards the building
with a slight limp; he was feeling
increasingly tired. The door which once
guarded the entrance to the building had
broken off of its hinges and was lying on the
ground. As Gyve entered, his curiosity
initiated his acute attention to detail – this
was something that rarely happened to him.
He noticed that the walls of the corridor that
he had entered were covered with what
looked like displays. One had lettering on it,
but it had been scribbled on too much for it
to be comprehensible. Another had a
picture of a child on it. Most, if not all,
looked as if they were torn and mostly
destroyed. He found a set of four doors
arranged in pairs; both opposite from each
other in the corridor. Each had a glass
window towards the top, but they didn’t
need to be used – all of these doors had
fallen off their hinges too. He looked through
the openings into each room. The first led
into caretaker’s storage unit. The second
one that he checked led him into a room
that looked like it had been hit by the waves
if an earthquake. The third that he chose
was filled with brain tissue; clearly someone
had broken the ceiling.
Yet, in true literary fashion, it was the fourth
that struck him most of all. Inside were 30
small skeletons, each sitting in a chair with
a table between two. They were arranged in
rows,
all
facing
towards the
front of the
room. Gyve
entered and
walked
amongst the
remnants of
what
appeared to
be children;
each
wore
what seemed
like
a
common, orderly set of clothing – only now,
the clothes were ripped and tattered. The
room appeared to have a red tint due to the
lighting from the sky – it mattered to Gyve,
as anything was enough to make him
nervous at that time. At the front of the
room, an interactive whiteboard displayed
two messages: “Java Update Available”
and, scribbled in red in a paint application:
“TURN BACK.” Gyve knew, at least, what
the second one meant. His own imagination
had turned on his ideologies and was telling
him to “turn back” on his decision to reform
before such a dystopian future occurred. As
he realised what the whole experience was
about, the skeletons, as if somehow
knowing it, turned their heads towards
Gyve. They mobilised and slowly advanced
towards him, gnashing as they went. The
debilitating clattering of their jaws prompted
Gyve to turn and run away from the
massive, skeletal mob, but he found himself
trapped by a second class of undead
schoolchildren. Gyve’s insanity began to
spiral out of control. He looked up, clasped
his hands on the sides of his head and
screamed uncontrollably until his eventual
dismemberment.
Gyve awoke. Dawn had already passed
him, and he was set to be late to his
Parliamentary conferences. Upon opening
the curtains, he noticed that there were
hordes of journalists, news reporters and
cameramen swarming outside his home –
trying to make a quick sum of money for
themselves (as well as Rupert Murdoch).
76
He saw his wife come in to the room holding
a saucer and a cup of tea.
“Wow, Michael,” she said, “You’ve really
upped our publicity by sleeping for a straight
month. I never thought that such a feat
would be possible.” Gyve was startled by
his wife’s words. The damage caused by his
reforms had already been done.
He rushed to Parliament, though it was
hard; the media crowded around him as
they asked questions like: “Why have
standards in schools fallen so sharply?”
“What will you do to stop this from
happening?” “How come you scrapped
creative arts?” The efforts at good
journalism were relentless. But only Gyve
knew what he had to do. He had to halt the
reforms before they went any further.
“I apologise for my mistake. I have been
tinkering with the education system without
thinking. But now it is time to restore it to its
former self.” His second speech on the
issue was viewed a lot more by the angry
parents
of
increasingly
dim-witted
schoolchildren. (Perhaps the only people
who enjoyed this were the satirists, who,
like comic vultures, happily ate the subject
whole – metaphorically.)
But it was the teacher’s unions who decided
to take action. They had been missing their
targets by immeasurably large margins (and
were also angry about the changes made in
general) and had decided to take action –
by way of strikes. Gyve’s popularity was like
the levels of the intelligence of children –
falling rapidly…
Gyve checked his calendar on his new
myPhone 10S. It read: 23RD May 2034. The
whole of the UK had turned into an island of
crime, unintelligence and pure survival. The
older generations had fled in order to
escape from their now relatively mindless
younger peers – all except Lear Grylls, the
popular survivalist and those working in the
Government. This was all because of his
failed reforms and the U-turn that he made
– which in turn, was all because he wanted
to avoid the HIGNFY satirists (even though
it was all in vain – he appeared in forty
episodes since 2017). He was sitting in his
chair, pondering his actions when his
senses were blacked out.
Thomas was a teenager – his 16 years
were filled with ignorance, gangs and crime.
He was, pretty much, representative of most
of his age bracket at the time; he and his
peers were living on the leftovers of the
comparatively successful past of the
country. Every part of his clothing was
ripped. He had 4 stab wounds and bite
marks from another man that could be
found on his right shoulder. He, as well as
most of the other teenagers, was more
sociable, if less intelligent and literate. He
was chatting with his friends, who entitled
themselves “Pakfwolfs”. They were situated
in a disused café.
“Ey, bros,” he said, “got news!” His friends
gathered round the table to listen to what he
had to say. “Went and found meat!”
“Where?” his friends questioned eagerly.
“There, near… …err… …wait…” His friends
looked at one another. “Place is…
…Oovin… …8… Siieet. Yeah, Oovin 8
Siieet.”
“Human?”
“Yeah, man meat!”
“Who’d ya get?”
“Looked on front… …Gyve. Yeah, Gyve”
Shaan Mehmood, Year 9
77
Solar Eclipse 10th May
1724
See how we in dark, forlorn,
the sun no longer throws its shout,
a muffled horn sounds distantly
as if to snuff a fire’s embers.
Shade has overtaken light,
doubt obscures our certainty….
malevolent eyes
are watching me
and bode sadistic ill will
like a blind man
waling a
blind dog
like a shack bent double
with a
broken door
I ride that horse whose
Silver wings glide
Beneath the leer of the moon
On a trip to the funny farm
flying late
into darkest Night
Yet as quickly as it came
This evil pitch glides overcome
to haunt new planets beyond reach
In orbits around which they sing
leaving us to come what may
when light to night returns as day.
Written by former FCHS student
Rabi Mariathasen
78
Sport
Basketball
Cricket
Rugby
Football
Athletics
79
Basketball
2013/14
Year Group
Captains
Year 10
Lewis Pangratiou
Year 9
Papa Owusu
Year 8
Cory Sharifi
Year 7
Rico Cinotti
Year 7
There was a strong start to the season, by
beating East Barnet 36-4 with Rico Cinotti
scoring 18 points. The team looked as if
they would gel and we looked promising. In
the next few games we were unstoppable.
Antonio, our coach, was using effective
training methods to take into matches. On
occasions, we came up against the same
opposition twice when we won comfortably.
Matches against teams like St James, were
considered cup finals and we wanted to
show how good our team was by beating
them.
Our winning streak continued
throughout the season and very few teams
came close to beating us.
We reached the semi- finals of two different
cups; the first was an exciting match vs
East Barnet. This game finished 38-12 and
we were through to our first cup final. In the
other cup, we faced a tough Hendon school
team. Neither team could maintain a lead.
80
As the match developed we were stepping
up the pressure and with just two minutes to
go we scored. Our team and coach were
over the moon – we were in our second
final.
matches we lost to a very well organised
Christ College team. Although, we did lose
in two of the biggest games of our season,
we presented ourselves in a great manner
and I believe we can build on our first
season as a team and look to win our first
trophy next year!
We were very comfortable going into both
the league and cup finals. However in both
Rico Cinotti (Captain)
Year 8
As the League and cup winners from the
previous year, our team started the season
with a lot of confidence. We added a few
players to the roster which created
competition for places in the starting line-up.
As the team chemistry improved, so did the
team spirit during the training sessions once
or twice a week. From the start of the
season, it was obvious other teams wanted
revenge. The first game of the season was
a tough challenge against Friern Barnet. We
lost that game by 2 points due to the team’s
foul trouble. After the wakeup call the team
got on a roll and won 4 consecutive games
including a 80 point demolition of JCos . We
finished the season with a 3 point loss to the
previous year’s runners up, London
Academy and this year’s champions. We
are looking forwards to next year’s
competition as this season has really
inspired us to work harder for next year.
Cory Sharifi (Captain)
81
Year 9
There was a sense of anticipation
surrounding the new season for Year 9
basketball. Following on from a final defeat
in the Barnet League Cup to Mill Hill in the
previous season, the boys were determined
to go one better this time round and bring
home some silverware.
improved in depth and hunger to succeed.
Their desire to learn and train regularly on a
Tuesday morning was commendable and
will stand them in good stead in the future
seasons.
The opening game was against a well
organised Friern Barnet side that ran out
winners. Although a bitter pill to swallow,
the boys bounced back well to win three
games in a row.
The final two games of the season ended in
defeat in both semi finals of the league and
cup to London Academy and Bishop
Douglass. This group of players has a lot of
potential to improve further next season.
Much of this will be down to their
commitment
in
improving
their
cardiovascular fitness, as their skill and
technical ability is good. The boys should be
pleased with their overall success and
performance levels and look forward to a
new season. Well done and lets bring back
a trophy next year!
In each of these victories, Kylan, Deng and
Bryan impressed with their speed, agility
and drive towards the basket. The side was
also led well by Papa.
New additions of Ayston and the rise of
Gentian as a point guard and a regular
participant to training meant that the squad
Papa Owusu (Captain)
82
Year 10
This team are rapidly becoming better and
better, last year we finished the season
unbeaten but we put to the test quite a few
times in the borough especially by our rivals
Bishop Douglass. This year however, they
pretty much swept all before them winning
both finals 78-43 and 56-30 respectively the
latter being played at Woodhouse College
and kindly reffed by Jimmy Campbell who
also allowed us to play there so a big thank
you to Jimmy. But for me the key game was
the cup fixture against Christ College, they
returned to FCHS having been soundly
beaten in the league with revenge on their
minds. The Christ College team dominated
the game for long periods but the U10 team
is now full of winners and showed plenty of
calm resolve. Even though we missed
England star Ryan Murunge, Sean Lismore
and Captain Lewis Pangratiou guided the
team to a one point victory, it was tight and
an ugly win but it showed how far this team
has come in 3 years and is the true mark of
champions to never give up until the final
whistle has gone. Well done to all the squad
members on another fantastic unbeaten
season.
A fourth season for the year 10s saw a
series of strong performances. The season
started with a game against the year 11s of
Friern Barnet. However, the team showed
that age was just a number by putting in an
outstanding opening performances to come
out as 48-6 victors with Sean Lismore
showcasing some spectacular dribbling
moves. A second game of the season saw
the team come up against East Barnet. With
a fully flowing team, the boys put in an
83
overwhelmingly pleasing performance and
scored 71 points in comparison to EBS' 19.
As the season progressed, so did the talent.
Examples of this progression were shown in
the match up against a solid Christ College
team. The boys took the match by storm
and delivered a fantastic spectacle;
eventually winning the game 52-38. After a
few more wins, the boys looked set for
another unbeaten season.
Soon enough, the boys found themselves in
two finals: both against Bishop Douglass.
The first was the Barnet league final which
was played away at BD. The boys put on a
monstrous performance to silence the BD
crowd and to ensure the trophy was
returning to Finchley. Centre Ryan
Murrunge put on a historic display and
became the first Finchley player to record
50 points in a game, seeing a variety of
baskets including two spectacular dunks.
The second final was played at Woodhouse
College on a beautiful court. With BD now
aware of Ryan's ability, the boys had to
approach the game slightly differently. The
encounter required a more defensive
approach which was executed wonderfully
to deliver Finchley another Barnet Cup and
another UNBEATEN season.
P James
Rugby
2013/14
Year Group
Captains
Year 10
Nicky Freeman
Year 9
Eoin Murphy
Year 8
Jake O’ Mahoney
Year 7
Ross Jordan
Year 7
84
This year has been quite eventful with two
great wins against High Barnet and Wren
Academy at the start of the year, which we
are very proud of. We entered a
tournament against other schools from all
over London and, it was just a shame that a
few of the other teams were just one step
ahead of us. We then played Latymer, who
are an incredible side, and just beat us in
the second half. It was a very tight game at
5-5 then in the second half they began to
pull away with two great tries. We grabbed
one back to make it 15-10 but it was too
late. Considering Latymer are a rugby
school we are very proud of all the team.
Over the course of this year we have seen
some great players emerge this season who
have played amazing rugby and others who
needed a bit of work, but have then gone on
to prove themselves.
Ross Jordan (Captain)
Year 8
Following last year’s unbeaten run and
dominance of the borough we knew we
would have to come up with something
spectacular to repeat it. Overall we had a
mixed season moving on to play stronger
and better sides, giving us challenges, that
as a team we had not yet encountered.
Our second game was our toughest
challenge yet. We were playing a renowned
rugby school, and very strong side in
Latymer. With some key players missing
and a few lads playing their first match, but
we didn’t use that as an excuse. We were
pumped up and believed we could do well.
We picked ourselves up during the second
half with two consecutive tries from Paul
85
Bamidele running through their whole team
twice! That lifted our sprits but the game
finished with us being beaten quite
significantly and there was a feeling of
disappointment as we had just lost our first
game.
A month or so later we played Wren
academy. We were shocked at the
surprising pace and strength of the
opposition. We went out in the second half
with the correct mind-set and blew them
away! Our frustration from the first half
powered us on with a good few tries and
happy faces at the end.
The following week we were off to play
Enfield Grammar, one of the top teams in
Middlesex, we had a tough challenge on our
hands. A poorly played match in general
with some ill-discipline from both sides at
times; this match was one to forget, despite
some good performances. This season has
had its ups and downs but we had a very
strong side and played with spirit.
Jake O’Mahoney
Year 9
We had a tough start to the season against
Aylward Academy in the Middlesex cup.
They were a big physical side, but we
matched them with our rugby skills and we
were unlucky to lose by a penalty kick. This
hurt us for the rest of the season as we lost
a few players to injury, including our
captain. As a result, this meant we had to
call up a number of new players, who had
skill and fitted into our team but lacked the
knowledge of the game.
There were a number of players who
consistently performed, including our fast
back Antony who scored at least two tries in
every game. Without our full team for part of
the season some of our more experienced
players had to step up and control the line.
Our attack was never a problem with a fast
back line; it was our defence that lacked
and you could tell when we played better
drilled teams. Overall, we had a good
season with a mixture of wins and losses.
This will be a positive for next year with the
86
new players who came into the team
alongside the experienced players.
Eoin Murphy (Captain)
Year 10
This season has been by far our most
eventful and successful rugby season. I
cannot fault the amount of work, effort and
commitment the players have put into every
game. The season started with a bang and
we won our first 4 games with 45points plus.
We then faced our biggest test yet, Latymer;
a school which FCHS had never won rugby
match against before. It was the most
physical game we as a team had ever
played but the boys stuck together to win
the game and make school history. Not only
had we just beaten Latymer, we were
through to the last 16 of the Middlesex Cup!
The team went straight through to the semifinals as our opposition for the quarter-finals
pulled out in the last minute. The semi-final
was away against a team which had just
come off the back of a 63-0 win in the
quarters. It was going to be a tough game
but we tore them to shreds with our new
boys Jeremie Agholor, Tommy Mc Donagh
and Jake Helcke. The game ended at 56-0.
We had made it to the finals, I could sense
the excitement and the commitment the
boys were putting in at training, and they
were more focused and hungrier to learn. It
was the day of the final and you could feel
the atmosphere of the team as soon as you
walked into the changing room; the boys
were up for it. We kicked off and for the first
20 minutes the game was even. Grey Court
School scored with their winger running
right around our defence. We were then
awarded a penalty in front of the posts just
before halftime and our kicker Lewis
Pangratiou slotted the ball through the posts
beautifully. We went back into the changing
room at half time 5-3 down. The second half
once again started very tight and you could
see the nervousness in both teams. One of
our players was injured on the touchline but
the referee decided that it was not enough
to stop the game. Grey Court spotted the
overlap and ran the ball down into the
corner. It was now 10-3. We had to switch
on with just over 10 minutes of game time
left, and we did; we put tremendous
pressure on them; the time was up but the
ball wasn’t out of play yet and we scored 15
87
metres left of the posts to make it 10-8. This
kick was the most important kick of the
tournament, it would determine whether we
lost the game or if we went on to extra time
with all our momentum. The pressure was
massive on Lewis and he struck the ball
sweetly, directing it slightly more to the right
centre of the posts; however the wind
picked up 5 metres before the ball sailed
over to push it just inches wide of the bar.
We had lost.
Nicholas Freeman (Captain)
Athletics 2013/14
This has been the most successful athletics season for many years,
especially for the year 7 and 8 teams.
Year 7
At the time of writing, the Year 7 team
currently lie in 1st place in the Barnet
League after 2 meets. This team have
performed exceptionally well with a number
of boys competing in events for the first
time. Highlights of the season include:
Morgan Miorandi winning the 100m and
long jump, Ethan Shah performing well in
the 200/100m and demonstrating excellent
technique in the high jump; other excellent
sprinting performances came from Davis
Kato, Mario Lazzazara and Tristan Procida.
The boys who competed at hurdling had
never competed in this event (or even tried
it in some cases) but performed superbly –
congratulations to Alex Rapley, Conan
Quinlivan, Jack Hennesy and Sean Farrell.
The team also has some excellent long
distance runners in Luke Weston, Joseph
Wheeler, Theo Madekurozwa, Luke Weston
and Robbie Melling. They also excelled in
the field with Noah Tinneny and Jospeh
Connolly coming 2nd and 3rd in the Javelin,
respectively. Pierce Fitzgerald was the top
performing shot putter and Theo and Rico
Cinotti both performed well alongside Ethan
in the high jump.
Year 8
The Year 8 team currently lie in 3rd place.
This is an exceptionally talented team who
won the Barnet Champs Team Performance
last year. Outstanding performances from
the team this year include: Nana Owusu
running 26.08 in the 200m, Nathan
Fernandes winning the 800m in 2:27:44 and
the coming second in the 1500m in 5:05
with Cory Sharifi running the same 800m
race in 2:36, Kyle Brown won the 80m
hurdles in 12.28 and the realy team came
1st with a time of 53:00. In the field the team
did equally as well with Leo Grace coming
second in the triple jump (9.56m), Rio
Connell won the high jump (1.4m) and Paul
Bambidele came 2nd in the shot putt
(11.10m). An excellent season so far –well
done.
88
Year 9
The Year 9/10 team’s performance in the
first league meet of the season was
hampered by all but 1 of the team being on
the Geography field trip on the same day
which meant that the teams league standing
(6th) does not truly represent their potential.
Some outstanding performances include:
Jeremie Agholor running 11.58 in the 100m,
Papa Owusu 22.46 in the 200m, Denzil
Fisher running 39.1 in the 300m and the
team recording 49.2 in the 4x100m relay. It
is a real shame that the whole team has
been unable to compete together, but 6th
place with half a team is still an excellent
achievement.
Middlesex Championships
This season we had two athletes selected to
represent Barnet Schools at the Middlesex
Athletics Championships. In the Junior boys
competition: Nathan Fernandes came in
15nd place in the 1500m with a time of
4:55:66, while Kyle Brown recorded a time
of 14:12 in the 80m hurdles. These were
both excellent achievements, especially
considering they were competing against
boys in the year above them. The Middlesex
Championships is an exceptionally tough
and demanding competition and both boys
should be congratulated on being selected
and representing the school to the best of
their ability – well done! They all competed
superbly and the results can be found in the
table below:
Barnet Championships
held on 8th July
The following boys won their events and were crowned Barnet Champions:
Year 7:
Morgan Miorandi
100m Long Jump
Year 8:
Nana Owusu
100m Relay
Rio Connell
High Jump, Relay
Leo Grace
300m, Triple Jump, Relay
Kyle Brown
80m Hurdles, Relay
Chris Connelly
100m Hurdles
Year 10:
89
Sports Day
Sports day this year was held at Southover playing fields and was an all inclusive event with
every pupil in Years 7 and 9 competing in 9 different events throughout the day. The winners in
each event are listed below:
Event
100m
400m
Hurdles
High jump
Year 7 winner
Morgan Miorandi
Mario Lazzazara
Clement Millane
Ethan Shah
Long jump
Triple jump
Javelin
Shot put
Discus
Morgan Miorandi
Micah Forbes
Joseph Connelly
Daniel Payravi
Amari Amusari
Year 9 winner
Tyreese Ramnarine-Rock
Oliver Begeria
Bryan Azanthe
Elliot
Renford,
Ramkhelawan
Elliot Renford
Emmanuel Ajala
Samuel Miorandi
Elliot Renford
Adam Durosiami-Etti
Kylan
Cricket
2013/14
Year Group
Captains
Year 10
Lewis Pangratiou
Year 9
Danny Smith
Year 8
Scott Duke-Giles
Year 7
George Sturley
Year 7
90
This season we played very well in all our
games but unfortunately some of our hard
work did not always pay off in the scores.
The first game we played was against a
very strong East Barnet side which
unfortunately we lost but it was a good first
match experience as some of the players in
our team had never played before. In this
game we had some very good bowling
performances from Owen and a good
batting performance from Caelen. The
second game we won quite convincingly.
We had very good performances from all of
the team in that game but some of the
standout performances came from the
batting with Callum and myself opening and
Robbie coming in and scoring a lot as well. I
think we did exceptionally well for a team
who had never played before at the
beginning of the season also quite a few of
our players had never played proper cricket
before but by the end looked as if they had
been playing for years. I think the coaches
did very well in getting everything organized
and helping us train for our matches.
George Sturley
Year 8
In our first game against Whitefields, we
won comprehensively with good batting and
bowling performances. We kept them to
around 50 runs and knocked them off in a
few overs. Scott, Cory , Anthony and Eoin
batted well while Daniel, Louis B, Freddie R
and Freddy F bowled well. It was a great
start for the team.
players playing. We started slowly, but Will
and Harvey got into their stride and started
to find the boundaries. Will got retired and
Harvey got bowled and new batsmen came
in and got out quickly! Louis F and Scott
batted for about 5 overs and got a lot of
runs but we were not able to reach a very
high score.
The very next day, we played a strong Mill
Hill team who had some very experienced
We lost to Alexandra Park who had one
extremely good batsman and bowler. Scott
91
and Will started off the innings and batted
for most of it, with Scott giving Will the strike
and Will smashing it left, right and centre.
We put up a decent score of around 80, but
they had a top quality batsman who
punished anything wide of the stumps. We
lost with a few overs to spare.
Scott Duke-Giles (Captain)
Year 9
We got off to a great start this season
winning against a strong cricketing school
from Wembley. We batted first and got off to
a “shaky” start but then recovered to
achieve a respectable score. As we went
out to bowl it was apparent that the
opposition were a bowling team as we
picked up a few early wickets, their captain
being one of them. Having won the game,
morale was high going into our next fixture
against Latymer. Unfortunately we failed to
beat them getting bowled out for 62 and
they reached our score in about 10 overs.
One of the highlights of our season was
playing in the six a side tournament hosted
by Christ College. We won our group with
an exciting game against East Barnet (our
main rivals), but unfortunately lost to
Fortismere in the quarter finals.
Overall, it has been a positive season and
we have made many improvements. We are
looking forward to next season and hope to
go undefeated.
Danny Smith
92
Year 10
This season has seen many positive
developments in the performance of the
players in the side. The boys have put
together a string of successful displays and
have shown significant improvement from
last year’s endeavours.
The season started with a difficult match.
The team lost the toss and were put into bat
on what was a tricky wicket and a
reasonably slow outfield. Having lost a
couple of early wickets, 4 successive
boundaries from Lewis Kraushar and an
unexpected late flourish from Luke
Duckworth helped the team reach a low but
defendable total. The side now knew that
they had to bowl well in order to win the
match. The innings started well as the
skipper took an early wicket but the boys
were soon tested as the batsman looked as
if they were going to ease to the total.
However, we showed fantastic spirit and
George Franzini took 4 middle order wickets
to put enormous pressure on the opposition.
It looked like the opposition were just going
to edge it as they needed just over 10 runs
with 3 wickets to spare but we recovered as
the skipper took a hat-trick in his final over
to deliver an opening game victory.
The win helped boost the boys confidence
as a series of wins were to follow including
double successes over Mill hill County
which featured some elegant and
encouraging batting performances.
The boys should be proud of their
performances this season and use them as
a platform to improve their overall play.
Lewis Pangratiou
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Football
2013/14
This has been another successful football season for Finchley Catholic High School. The school
won 4 trophies including:
Year 9: Barnet League Winners
Year 10: Barnet Cup Winners
1st XI: London Catholics Cup Winners
In addition, the 2nd XI topped the Middlesex League prior to losing in the Final 2-3 to Drayton
Manor
We would like to thank the pupils for their efforts in making this another season to remember. In
addition, our thanks to the parents who continue to support their sons and the team throughout
the year. Please find below the final stats for each year group.
Year
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
7
13
9
1
3
8
15
12
0
3
9
10
8
0
2
10
12
2
0
10
11
8
6
0
2
2nd XI
16
7
3
6
1st XI
20
16
0
4
Total
94
60
4
30
We played 94 matches this season and recorded a 63% win ratio.
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Senior Football
Year Group
Captains
1st XI
Michael Logue
2nd XI
Ronan Cromwell
Under 17s
Marcus Paul
Year 11
Jack Cassen
Year 10
Jeremie Agholor
Year 9
Luke Alfano
Year 8
Ruudy Kahungu
Year 7
Reece Morley
1st XI
A new team with many Year 12s, in
comparison to the heavily dominated Year
13 force of last year, we knew we had
potential to succeed as the squad
possessed something lacking in the
previous 1st XI – the ability to focus and be
serious. This is not undermining the team of
last year; but, highlighting a certain
professionalism
that
has
proved
quintessential to our accomplishments this
year. A combination of skill, strength and
experience propelled us through our first
few games, as we cruised past our nearest
competitors with relative ease. Our first
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challenge came in the form of Drayton
Manor, a match in which we lost 3-1. This
showed us we were missing an
indispensable ingredient in our game – one
in which we all have: passion. =
This component drove us to a triumphant
win against St Thomas More, who were by
far the favourites, on the astro (Thank you
Mr Cussell) in a clean 4-1 win. At the time,
we realised that anything is possible and we
were soon in three cup finals. However, to
be in these, we had to defeat East-Barnet in
a ‘triple header’… which we won by the skin
of our teeth in a tense battle to the very end,
demonstrating our ability to win games,
holding on to the dying seconds. The first in
which we lost to a highly organised Ashmole
School 3-2, after going initially one nil up.
The second cup final then felt like a repeat
of the first one, once again taking the lead
however losing by a 3-2 deficit in a hugely
prestigious U18 Middlesex Cup Final.
In our last ever cup final for the school as
Year 13s, we decided to put on the boots
again and make ‘Finchley’s Mourinho’ the
bride instead of the bridesmaid. The
dogged,
determined
and
organised
performance we displayed in the final with a
5-2 win is testament to the Finchley Catholic
spirit, as we combined it with the crucial
elements of finesse and class (Thanks to
the addition of senior member in Year 14 –
Giuliano Cinotti).
Finishing our school
career with a Catholics Cup winners medal,
will without a doubt remain with us for the
rest of our lives!
Captain: Michael Logue
Vice Captain: Matthew Hennigan
2nd XI
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The year got off to a flyer with three
consecutive wins in which many goals were
scored and not a single one conceded. Our
first test against Ashmole was a hard fought
battle and 2 clinical goals from the captain
gave the lads a well earnt start with the first
points on the board. A week later, Ronan
and Richard grabbed 3 goals apiece against
Grieg City
The half term must have had one too many
‘sessions’ for the boys as they suffered an
agonising defeat to Greig City. The same
story was appearing with running teams
ragged but just not finishing their chances
and Mr. James prayed a repeat would not
happen. The games came thick and fast
with the next 6 league games consisting of
4 wins and 2 losses scoring 8 goals and
leaking 4; this maybe the push that put the
team into the playoffs. The team had never
played on a Monday and a Middlesex Cup
Semi final against St. Thomas Moore was
not a good place to start. Defeat signalled a
dip in confidence and the team slumped to a
loss to playoff candidates Drayton Manor,
resulting in a scrappy 3-3 draw. Little did the
players know that the draw was enough to
take them through to the league semi-finals
and create a rematch of their last opponents
Fortismere. A reinvented 2nd XI
blew
Fortismere away with a 3-0 victory with
goals from Jack Cassen, Ricky Cardosi and
Joe Logue.
The final finished full time 1-1 thanks to an
absolute screamer by Dom Goring late on to
take the game into extra time. The team
were always playing the catch up game as
Drayton Manor kept retaking the lead and a
win looked out of sight when the opposition
created a two goal lead. The final score was
a valiant 4-3. Our travelling fans said we
played our best and that’s all we can do.
Ronan Cromwell
Year 7
With a pool of over a hundred students to choose from in the trials, we were confident and
pleasantly surprised to find a number of boys enthusiastic and eager to represent the school.
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The season began with a hard fought
victory 4-3 against Ashmole and the boys
soon realised that one of the main
challenges we face as a school, is that most
schools in the borough look to raise their
game when playing Finchley. I was also
pleased with the team philosophy of all boys
wanting to pass the ball on the floor and
produce a style of football that would be
consistent throughout the season. The
team continued to perform well against
Bishop Douglass and JCoss, with Matt
Tissot, Rico Cinotti, Jack Griffin and Theo
Madekurozwa all producing excellent
performances and contributing to the score
sheet regularly. The league form was
excellent and we then turned our attention
to the cups.
Hasmonean in the Barnet Cup proved a
weak opposition. However, the boys will be
disappointed with their early round exit to
Greenford in the Middlesex Cup. We hope
to improve on our Middlesex Cup run next
year. Back in the league the boys continued
to produce some excellent performances
against East Barnet and Mill Hill in the
Barnet Cup.
In the league cup final against Mill Hill, we
were outplayed in the first half. After beating
them earlier in the season, they took
revenge on us and produced an excellent
display to which we had no answers. A
special mention at this stage must go to
David Bennett, who had an excellent
second half of the season and grew in
stature at the back in place of Ethan Shah
who was injured. I also thought Owen Locke
was exceptional in goal and his
performances
in
both
finals
were
outstanding, pulling off some saved a Year
10 goalkeeper would be produce of, let
alone a Year 7 goalkeeper.
I would also like to thank Jules for all the
time he has spent taking training the team.
Each practice has certainly helped them
develop a passing style which is pleasing on
the eye. There is still more to come from
this team and although we finished empty
handed from the season, the boys should
be proud of their efforts in reaching two
finals and producing some excellent
performances. Well done boys and lets
build on an encouraging season!
C Janata
Year 8
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The 2013/14 season was always going to
be tough for the Year 8 football team
because we had to emulate the success of
Year 7. Things started well with 11 wins in
11 games at the start of the season. The
team were really coming together and we
were playing some excellent football.
Captain Ruudy Kahungu was proving to be
one of the team’s key players, getting man
of the match three times in a row and lifting
the team in tough situations. Towards the
end of the season things didn’t go as we
had planned, losing to St Ignatius in the
semi-final of the Middlesex cup by 5 goals
to 1. That loss was unfortunately quickly
followed by another loss in the Barnet Cup
final against Mill Hill losing 3-2. Finchley lost
twice on the trot! Within a week we were
playing again, this time in the semi final of
the Barnet League against Christ College.
After a goalless first half, we had most of
the possession, which led to a superb long
range goal from Callum Alleyne. Things
were going well for us and we were seconds
away from winning but Christ College had a
last minute corner and scored, we were just
seconds away from winning! Extra time
yielded nothing which took it to penalties.
Christ College were winning and all they
needed was for us to miss. Unfortunately
the pressure got too much for us and we
missed! The Year 8 football team season
was over! Overall, it has left us hungry for
more next season.
Jack Hourican-Harvey
Year 9
The season started a bit shakily as we had
some new additions to the team but after a
few games we started to play very well
together and started to get results. We
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finished second in the league scoring 17
goals and only conceding 6. We also won
the Barnet league cup, beating east Barnet
in the semi final then beating Mill Hill 5-1 in
the final by putting in a very good
performance and keeping our record of
winning a trophy every year. Overall we had
a very good season winning the league cup
and losing only one game in the league. –
Luke Alfano (Captain)
The season stated well with a 5-0 and 3-0
victory over Ashmole and Barnhill
(Middlesex Cup), respectively. Our next
match was against East Barnet in a
Middlesex Cup/Barnet League double
header and hopes were high. Unfortunately
the team did not play as well as previous
games and we lost 2-0, which was a real
shame considering previous performances
and the desire of the team to progress in
this particular competition.
already knocked us out of the Middlesex
Cup. The game was very close and East
Barnet were leading 2-1 with 3 minutes of
injury time to play. The team dug deep and
closed 2-2 with 30seconds of injury time
left. Denzil uses his vision to spot the
keeper 2 foot off his line and deflects the
ball off the defender’s shin and sent it
looping over the stranded keeper – 3-2 and
the final whistle blows. Great character,
great team.
The final game of the season was held at
Southover – the Barnet League final against
Mill Hill, a surprise team to reach the final.
The game did not start well, with Mill Hill
going 1-0 up against the run of play. The
second half was very much a one sided
affair with the team scoring 4 goals and
running out comfortable 5-1 winners. A
fitting end to a very enjoyable season.
The team responded well to this
disappointment and won the next 4 games
resulting in a Barnet Cup final against St
James. But we couldn’t make them count
and were left handing over our trophy to St
James.
I have been privileged enough to watch
some outstanding football this season and
some brilliant individual performances. I am
delighted that this team won a trophy this
season and really it should have been 2 –
that’s the target for next season: Barnet
domination!
Following this defeat we had potentially our
last game of the season, a semi-final
against East Barnet, the team who had
C Prendergast
100
Year 10
The team have made a lot of progress this
year reaching 2 Cup finals. Unfortunately
they only won one but they might possibly
enter the National Cup and Middlesex Cup
as they have conquered Barnet already.
W 1-0 VS Mill Hill Barnet Cup Final
The team had showed more determination
than ever to come from many missed
chances to finally put the game to bed
winning 1-0. It was a superb team move
when Luke Duckworth was clipped in the
Box and secured a penalty. Up stepped
Chris Gosling! He took his time waited for
the whistle to blow and calmly slotted the
ball into the left hand corner. Johnie Scott
also had an excellent game winning lots of
tackles and working really hard.
L 2-2(4-1 On Penalties) VS Mill Hill Barnet
League Final
This Mill Hill side were no pushover; a very
physical team. It was 0-0 until the Mill Hill
winger with some fancy crafty footwork
crossed the ball in and struck Jeremie on
the arm. Referee was in no doubt and gave
the penalty. Javier was very unlucky as the
ball had just crept underneath his feet. With
3 minutes to go the game was all very tense
and then the ball went out for a corner. Nick
Marsafi's out swinger corner and came in
and Jeremie rose above everyone and
headed the ball home while managing to
knock the keeper out as well! Then in the
last few minutes of extra time A ball came in
from a Mill Hill corner and then there was
havoc in the box and the ball fell to the Mill
Hill striker with a Stunning Bicycle Kick into
the top corner.
It comes to the last play of the game; now
this is it For Finchley Catholic. Ball goes out
for a throw in. Mr Hastings asks Jeremie to
come and take the long throw in. The Ball
comes in and rifles into the defender and
comes back to Nick Marsafi waiting at the
101
back post to poke the ball in. Absolutely
sensational scenes!
Penalties it is as the referee blows his
whistle at the end of extra time! Jeremie
scores, Fin Misses, Nick Misses, and then it
is down to Javier to keep us in it.
Disappointment was staring us in the face
and it was a horrible feeling for the team.
But the captain promised that the team will
come back stronger than ever and will be up
for it next season. It was a sad way to end
such a fantastic season reaching both
Barnet Finals but unfortunately, we could
not win the double.
Jeremie Agholor - captain
Year 11
As one of the schools most successful
footballing sides the Year 11s had high
expectations for the season ahead.
Throughout their footballing careers, they
had won every tournament they had entered
at least once, apart from the coveted
National Cup. This was where our
aspirations lay, the trophy that would crown
them as the greatest ever footballing side
produced by Finchley Catholic High School.
The season started well as the team cruised
through the first two rounds of the
Middlesex Cup. They also got their National
Cup crusade conquest off to a good start
after beating Greenwich school comfortably
in the early rounds. The first real challenge
came up against Richmond Academy where
they scraped a 1-0 win. So far so good; the
confidence was high. We comfortably won
our quarter final clash against Highgate
wood 3-0.
102
Next up in the Middlesex Cup came
Cardinal Wiseman who had already seen off
the finalists for the previous 2 years Douay
Martyrs. We knew we were in for a tough
game. It was a cagey encounter and neither
team could get the better of the other.
Cardinal Wiseman finally broke the dead
lock late on in the second half but we
replied in the dying seconds of the match.
Tension built as the game was taken to
penalties. Stephen Garr was sent off and
our job became even more difficult. Cardinal
Wiseman again went in front and everyone
thought it was all over. We had one man
less and were losing with only 5 minutes to
go. However we displayed real Finchley
Catholic courage and kept pushing to find
that equaliser. Finally, Junior Okeke scored
within the last minute as he managed to tap
in an Alex Bell long through ball into the
box. It went to penalties. We were knocked
out 5-4 on penalties. Everyone was
distraught!
We still had the National cup to look forward
to; our opponents in the last 16 were
Hampton School. After giving it their all, we
lost 5-2 to a superior side who fielded many
players from professional clubs. The dream
was over. Although we lost the match the
school will forever remain proud of their
achievements as they won trophies in
abundance and presented themselves as
ambassadors for the school.
Alex Bell – Vice Captain
Outstanding Pupils
Year 7
Football:
Jack Griffin 7R (District)
Matthew Tissot 7C (District & Tottenham Hotspur)
Luca Benvenuto 7B (District)
Tommy Smith 7H (District)
Daniel Aruofor 7C (Arsenal Development Centre)
Reece Morley 7S (Brentford)
Tennis:
Charlie Aird 7R (Brackendale Lawn Tennis Club)
Swimming:
Joshua Ekwuene 7C (Barnet Copthall Swimming Club)
Thomas Warford 7C (Enfield Swimming Squad)
Boxing:
Finn Tarpey 7R (Finchley Boxing Club)
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Karate:
Conan Quinlivan 7S (Barnet Karate Club)
Rugby:
Paul Nevin 7R, Joseph Connolly 7R, Daniel Smith 7C, Jamie Murtagh 7S, Thomas Warford 7C
(Saracens RFC)
Year 8
Football:
Paris Maghoma & Kamal De Bourg (Both 8F) – Tottenham Hotspur
Jack Hourican-Harvey (8C) – MK Dons
Daniel Barden (8H) – Arsenal
Jack Hourican-Harvey (8C), Luke Johnson (8S), Nathan Fernandes (8R), Luca Pagnotta (8R)
Matthew Cook (8F), Jack Cook (8C), Anthony Connolly (8H), Danny O’ Leary (8C) Callum
Alleyne (8H) – District representative
Athletics:
Rio Connell (High Jump – Barnet)
Hurling:
Joseph McCarry 8R (London)
Year 9
Football:
Joe Mangan (9C), James Raptis & Aaron Gaughan (9B), Danny Smith (9H), Matteo Esposito
(9F) & Oliver Begueria (9R) – District representative
Luke Alfano (9C) – Barnet FC
Joe Mangan (9C) – Reading FC
Cricket:
Daniel Smith (9H) – London Schools
Gaelic Football:
Jack Ryan (9F) – London
Patrick Boyle (9S) – London
104
Year 10
Football:
Jake Helcke, Fabio Viel & Ryan Kukoi (10R), Johnie Scott & Javier Guillen-Torres (10H), Chris
Gosling (10F), Jeremie Agholor (10C) - District Representative
Jeremie Agholor – County Representative and Nigeria International (U15)
Rugby:
Nicky Freeman (10S) – County Representative
Gaelic Football:
Matthew Tierney (10R) – London
Year 11
Football:
Christopher Paul (11S) & Christian Maghoma* (11C) – Tottenham Hotspur, England & Northern
Ireland
Jack Cassen (11H), Tony Fera (11F – County) & Junior Okeke (11S) (District & County
Representative), Alex Bell (11C - District)
Rugby:
David McGowan (11S) - County & Wasps
Gaelic Football:
Frazer Lennon (11F) – London
Cricket:
Joseph Smith (10S) – London Schools
Senior
Football:
Stephen Aguiar - County Representative
Tae Kwon Do:
Amin Kalakeche - National champ – England Squad
105
Rally Car Driving:
Niall Moroney
Rugby:
Padriag Lynch - London Skolars & Regional Team U18
Dominic Goring (12) – County Representative
THE PE DEPARTMENT
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