Summer Review 2014 - St George`s Weybridge

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www.stgeorgesweybridge.com
Summer 2014
News for current
and future parents
Welcome to the Summer
2014 edition of the Review
Magazine, the magazine
which aims to give all of its
readers an insight into the life
of St George’s College and
St George’s Junior School.
In this issue you can find some
of latest news on pages 2-5,
an update on the Junior School
new build on page 6, and
check out our new look sports
review on pages 8-9.
We also have a special feature
on life for the Georgian Family
during the First World War on
pages 10-11.
We hope that you enjoy the
magazine; if you have any
ideas for the next issue please
get in touch. We would be
delighted to hear from you.
Sam Yarnold and
Richard Morris
St George’s Weybridge
St George’s Weybridge
Sam Yarnold
Marketing Assistant
[email protected]
Richard Morris
Head of Marketing and Admissions
[email protected]
From cover image is of Dom Arthur’s
A Level Art coursework
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Emma Fisher, Lizzie Brecknell, and Harley Watt
Success in Physics, Biology
and Maths Olympiads
Some outstanding performances were
achieved by students from St George’s
College in the extremely demanding
Physics, Biology, and Maths Olympiads held
towards the end of the Christmas Term. This
year, four students took part in the Physics
Olympiad, three students took part in the
Maths Olympiad and 14 took part in the
Biology Olympiad.
Daniel Lauber and Jorgen Tveit both did
particularly well in the Physics Olympiad
gaining a Silver Medal, putting them in the
top 200 students in the country. Winter Yang
excelled in both Maths and Physics Olympiads
achieving a Distinction in the Maths Olympiad
and a Gold Medal in the Physics Olympiad
putting him in the top 100 students in Physics.
In the Biology Olympiad twelve students
Jack Smith, Daniel Lauber, Winter Yang, and Jorgen Tveit
received awards of commended and above.
Emily Jardine achieved the College’s first
Gold award in the competition. Harley Watt
managed to secure a Silver award whilst Lizzie
Brecknell and Emma Fisher achieved Bronze.
Year 6 pupil wins Catenian
Public Speaking Competition
In March, two year 6 pupils at the
Junior School, Joel Crewe and
Robbie Adam, competed in the
annual Catenian Public Speaking
Competition at St Dunstan’s Church
in Woking for pupils in Years 6 to 9
from local Catholic schools. Both
boys delivered confident and highly
entertaining speeches which
captivated the large audience
present on the evening. Joel’s
talk was entitled: ‘Will I live to
be 100?’ and Robbie asked:
‘Should boys go to school
at all?’ Robbie won the
competition with his amusing
speech outlining how boys
can gain their education in
an ‘alternative classroom’–
the home.
Summer 2014
History Club learns about the Vikings
Pupils in History Club at the Junior School
took part in an exciting ‘Viking Workshop’ in
February. They dressed up in Viking dress and
learnt about their way of life, their beliefs and
gods. The pupils also had the opportunity
to examine replicas of Viking pottery and a
mask of Thor. Finally, they studied maps and
found Viking settlements in Britain. Later in
the term pupils also had the opportunity of
handling an exact replica of the Viking sword
kept in Chertsey Museum. The 10th century
Viking sword, which was found during gravel
extracting in the 1980s near Thorpe Park,
takes pride of place in the gallery. The pupils
then were able to design and make their
own Viking swords.
Year 3 perfectly performs
‘The Puzzled Penguin’
In March this year, Year 3 at the Junior
School performed performed ‘The Puzzled
Penguin’ by Brendon Renwick and Anne
Gibson. This delightful show links in with
Year 3’s curriculum topic for this term, ‘life
in a freezer.’ Everyone has had a lot of fun
exploring the story of Penny the Penguin
who is puzzled about what her wings are
for, and sets off to ask her fellow creatures
for some help in finding the answers.
Aside from the curriculum links, the story
also teaches the importance of who we all
are as individuals and our potential to do
good in the world around us. The unlikely
hero of a small penguin truly captured the
hearts and imaginations of a talented Year
3 cast. The pupils worked extremely hard to
develop their acting, singing and dancing
skills during rehearsals and all contributed
enthusiastically to the production.
Religious Education in primary schools
At the end of March, St George’s College
hosted a mass which was attended by
four local primary schools. The Mass was
the finale to a project which has seen Sixth
Form students go out into the community to
work in primary schools and teach Religious
Education to the pupils. For more than 30
years Sixth Form students have taken part
in the programme in partnership with four
local primary schools. The schools involved
are St George’s Junior School (Weybridge),
St Charles Borromeo (Weybridge), St Anne’s
(Chertsey), and Holy Family (Addlestone).
Summer 2014
The
art of
making
sausages
Pupils in Reception Year at the Junior
School learnt all about sausages in the
Easter Term and even designed their
own flavours. The pupils first took part in
a workshop called the ‘art of making
sausages’ where they were introduced
to the various ingredients used to make
sausages and the process of making
them before trying different varieties and
singing sausage songs. The pupils were
then asked to design their own flavour
combinations, with one being selected
as the winner and being made during
a visit to local butchers, James of
Shepperton. The winning recipe was sage,
pork, breadcrumbs and tomato ketchup.
Future careers focus
During the Easter Term, the Careers
and Development Departments at the
College welcomed current parents
and Old Georgians to two careers
evenings to speak to Fifth Year and
Sixth Form students. The first evening,
in February, focussed on careers in the
liberal arts and welcomed ten guests
to speak to the students from a variety
of backgrounds including PR, writing,
marketing and television production.
The next evening was titled the “High
Flyers’ Careers Evening”. The guests, who
all represented international and blue
chip companies, spoke to students about
their careers, giving them an insight into
what it is like to work in companies such
as Goldman Sachs, BDO, British Airways
and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
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Four generations
of Biology
BBC Radio 4 Sunday Worship
for Mothering Sunday
Sunday 30 March saw BBC Radio 4 visiting St George’s College
Chapel for the second year in a row to produce a live on air
Sunday Worship. The service was led by Sarah Beresford, with
the choir being directed by Tansy Castledine. Rousing hymns
including Tell Out My Soul, Love is His Word and Praise My Soul
the King of Heaven were sung spiritedly by the congregation, led
confidently at the front by the Junior Singers. Our College Choir gave a beautiful and moving
performance of Rutter’s For the Beauty of the Earth accompanied on the piano by Andrew
Barton, as well as a sterling account of Wood’s Magnificat in D with Daniel Phillips on the
organ. In the spirit of Mothering Sunday, parents in the congregation were given flowers on
departure from the Chapel, and the whole community joined together in the Orchard Hall for
breakfast after the success of this year’s recording. Positive feedback was received from as
far as Edinburgh and York, congratulating everyone involved.
World Book Day
On World Book Day, 6 March, the children
and teachers in Year 2 at the Junior School
came to school dressed up as a character
from a Katie Morag story book. The day
started off with an enjoyable visit to the
Library to listen to Mrs Disher’s favourite
story, Katie Morag and the Tiresome Ted.
The children then made shortbread biscuits,
eating them at milk and biscuit time later
in the day. The day wasn’t all based inside
though; the children had the opportunity
to learn more about playing the bagpipes
when they met Angus the bagpipe player.
Some children even had the chance
to play them! The day was rounded off
by some Highland Games. The pupils
participated in a ‘Tug of War’, ‘Tossing the
Caber’ and ‘Welly Wanging’, all of which
was greatly enjoyed.
Ethical Masterchef
proves popular
The Ethical Masterchef is a very popular
extension programme offered by the
Food and Geography departments at the
College for Second Year students. The aim
is for students to plan, cook and present a
dish of their choice which demonstrates the
consideration of food miles or the use of
FairTrade products.
St George’s College is currently in the
rare position of having four Heads of
Biology present at the School. Fr Andrew,
who now resides in the Josephite
Community at the College, served as
Head of Biology from 1952-1989. Martin
Parnham, who is currently the Head of
Technology at the College, served as
Head of Biology from 1989-2000. Kathy
York is the current Head of Biology and
will be leaving the College at the end
of the academic year. The new Head
of Biology from September 2014 will be
Michael Stather, Old Georgian 93, who
was taught by both Fr Andrew and
Martin Parnham for 13 years.
Bring a tin
– over 3,600
items donated
Over the Easter
Term, students and
staff at the College
brought in food
donations to school
once a week for the Salvation Army.
The scheme was launched at the start of
January by Major Loxley when he visited
the School to thank students for their
Christmas donations. Major Loxley said
at the time that: “the need for support in
Addlestone and the surrounding area is
greater now than in recent years as we
are continuing to receive more referrals.”
Over the 10 weeks of the scheme,
students and staff were seen bringing in
cans of soup, tinned vegetables, pasta,
cereals, sauces and crisps, amongst
other things, to be given to people in
need in the local area. The scheme was
envisaged by Fourth Year students during
their retreats and the Georgian Family
managed to donate over 3,600 items.
After learning about ethical food, the
students spent time researching their chosen
topic and deciding what dish they wanted
to make. They each prepared a display to
demonstrate the ethical credentials of their
ingredients and resources to accompany
their dishes. The competition was won by
Roisin McEvoy for her FairTrade Chocolate
Fondants. Other ethical dishes on display
included bruschetta, Jamaican jerk
chicken, and pasta.
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Summer 2014
Pangbourne
Piano Festival
Pupils were been very busy making music at the Junior School
during March. Six pupils from Years 5 and 6 visited Pangbourne
College to take part in the annual Pangbourne Piano Festival.
The pupils were grouped according to age and ability and their
performances were adjudicated by leading piano professors and
examiners from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
The judges gave advice on practising tricky bits and interpreting
the mood of music. All of the pupils performed brilliantly but
congratulations in particular to Richard Trumper-Kent as he
won his group.
‘The Ash Girl’
performed magnificently
The end of the Easter Term saw the College Lower School
production of ‘The Ash Girl’ by Timberlake Wertenbaker
take place, receiving great acclaim. The play is a modern
version of Cinderella and saw a young woman try to seek
happiness but she was thwarted by her step mother, sisters
and the seven deadly sins of the forest. Izzy Smart played
the title role with delicacy that transformed her persona
from a waif like outsider to a beautiful and graceful dancer.
Ellie Gamble along with Libby McDonagh and Meg Kelly
played the step-mother and sisters whose greed and silliness
was their downfall. The seven deadly sins were a physical
yet ‘invisible’ group who attempted to corrupt the humans
with their sins. The representation of ‘Gluttontoad’ by Eleanor
Graves was particularly memorable as she moved about the
stage with a humorous gait.
Venetian masks
First Year students at the College who studied Shakespeare’s
‘The Merchant of Venice’ throughout the Easter Term demonstrated
their understanding of characters by creating a Venetian mask
to reflect what they had learnt about one of the protagonists of
the play. Every aspect of their mask, including the colours, designs
and items attached to them, had to convey a different fact or
personality trait of their chosen character.
Scholars do lunch
In February, St George’s College welcomed Year 6 Pupils from
St George’s Junior School who have been awarded scholarships
to attend the Scholars’ Lunch. The Scholars’ Lunch offers the pupils
the chance to meet some of the current scholars and staff at the
College. The lunch also provides the participants an opportunity to
find out what it means to be a scholar at St George’s College.
Captains of School
for 2014-2015
announced
Nicholas Christie, Charlotte Johnson, Thomas Kelly, and Josephine Farmer
Summer 2014
We are delighted to announce the
appointment of the new Captains of
School for 2014 - 2015. Nicholas Christie
and Josephine Farmer will lead the team.
Thomas Kelly and Charlotte Johnson will
act as deputies. We wish them a very
successful year ahead as they fulfil the
duties of their very demanding roles.
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JUNIOR SCHOOL
NEW BUILD UNDERWAY
Artist’s impression of the new
build at the Junior School
• Phased demolition and enabling started Easter 2014 school holidays
• Building construction starts in July 2014
• Junior School new building opens in September 2015
Visible outdoor preparation and demolition work began during the Easter 2014
school holidays to prepare for the construction of a new, state of the art building
at St George’s Junior School in Weybridge.
This first phase of demolition took place over the Easter school holidays and
will recommence in July. Works also continued during the Easter holidays to
the second floor of the School’s original building, much of it currently clad in
scaffolding. The aim is for it to be fitted out in time for its temporary use
by the Music Department from September 2014 – December 2015.
Building work to construct the new Junior School building is then due to start
in July 2014 and is likely to last 12 months until September 2015. Also as part of
the work, the existing Nursery building will also be completely refurbished and
modernised to the most up to date standards with a target completion date of
January 2016.
What’s more, also from January 2016, the Junior School’s front car park facing
onto Thames Street will include a new coach pick up and drop off zone, which is
being put in place to help ease the flow of local road traffic.
Intended specifically for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils, once completed,
the new Junior School building will offer new, modern classrooms and resource
areas, a dedicated IT suite, a new assembly room, new outdoor learning areas
along with other features.
The new facility has been designed to be very environmentally friendly with
energy efficiency and sustainability in mind and will include low energy lighting,
extra insulation and materials sourced from sustainable forests. Two of the roofs
will have a ‘living’ sedum cover to ensure that they blend into their natural
surroundings.
All of the new facilities will provide for existing pupil numbers at the Junior School
rather than any expansion, whilst the move is being seen within the School
community as a proactive, firm and confident investment in the future of Catholic
Christian independent education in the local area.
For further information, visit us at www.stgeorgesweybridge.com, like us on
St George’s Weybridge Facebook or email [email protected].
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Summer 2014
A musical celebration of our
wider Josephite Community
Back in March, a selection of Junior School and College
pupils went on a music tour to Belgium after a celebration
of St Joseph’s Day at Mass. The Josephite music workshops
happen biennially and are a musical celebration of our wider
Josephite community, with ourselves and our sister schools from
Geraardsbergen, Melle, Louvrain and Houtaing all taking part.
Here’s what Avril Walters, Year 6, thought of the experience:
“On Wednesday 19 March, the Junior School Chamber Choir
arrived at school at 8am as usual for their early morning
practice before mass. After mass we travelled up to the College
to join in with the Junior Singers and do our final rehearsals for
the trip ahead. We helped the College celebrate mass in the
Chapel and then we quickly packed the coach and were off!
Six hours later there we were at De Fiertel, our hostel for the
next 2 nights.
On the first evening we went on to the concert. We were
nervous beforehand but after the final brief rehearsals we
were all up for it and ready to go. We started the performance
off with Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel. I was really surprised
at how amazing it sounded with the senior singers making
such a difference. The night went on song after song and the
audience clapped after each song and seemed to love it.
It was very exciting that it was not just singing but a range of
instruments were played from bassoons to cellos. It was a great
night and we were all very happy about our performance and
buzzing when it finished but also very tired.
The next morning was a big rush to finish breakfast and we headed
off by coach to St Josefinstitut from where we walked to the music
academy to begin the day of workshops. We learnt how to listen
to music deeply and describe the music by making the letters of
our names dance. Lunch again but this time we met lots of other
students. Although it was hard to communicate eventually we got
through and we made lots of new friends. Mr Mann also threw in a
brilliant Samba workshop where we played lots of instruments like
the Agogo bell and the drums. It was great fun and we learnt a lot
of new things. To finish the day at the Academy, we had our last
workshop – folk dancing! Even if this sounds old fashioned it was
possibly one of the best workshops of the day. We danced many
different routines and made fun of ourselves and laughed.”
The bonds that our pupils made with their continental counterparts
through music were wonderful to see, and it is clear that
everybody enjoyed themselves. The concert given by our pupils,
including both instrumental music from the College pupils and
choral music from both schools, was enjoyed so much by the
audience that an encore was demanded.
TASTING TIME FOR PARENTS
St George’s catering department would very much like to invite parents to
come and visit us at lunchtime.
ST GEORGE’S
Catering Department needs
We think we do a pretty good job catering for your children but there is
always room for improvement and we would really value your input. Would
you be free to come and sample lunch? Would you like to meet the catering
manager and some of the catering team so we can find out what you would
like us to improve on and anything you would like us to do doing that we are
not? Are you a parent of a child who only eats pasta and cheese because
we are not offering other foods they like? Or are your children perfectly happy
and you would just like to come and see how it all happens at school over
lunchtime? We would be delighted to welcome you to experience lunch with us.
We have two dates available to visit: Wednesday 11 June at the Junior School
and Wednesday 4 June at the College. If you would like to take part in either
visit or if you are unable to make these dates but still wish to visit or want
to give feedback on catering then please contact Claire Lynch, catering
manager, by email at [email protected].
Summer 2014
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7
Superb sporting
successes celebrated
The sports teams and athletes at St George’s Weybridge are always achieving
fantastic results, here are some of the achievements of our pupils and students
over the Easter Term. Well done everyone!
St George’s
Junior School
Gymnast wins National Championship
Sophie Reynolds, Year 6, competed in the British Championships
in March and her trio won gold in the 11 to 16 years women’s trio
category. During the competition her trio managed to beat older
and more experience girls but put in some excellent displays to
take the gold. The victory in the British Championships also means
that Sophie’s trio qualified for the world trials at Lilleshall, which
could allow her to qualify for the world finals in Paris.
Success for St George’s in Surrey Fencing Championships
Leo Kamstra, Year 5, defended his U10 Boys’ Foil title in the Surrey
Fencing Championships held at the start of the Easter Term. Harry
Day, Year 5, who came second last year in the U10 Foil, came third
in this year’s championship, having lost to Leo in the semi-finals.
The Junior School also saw success in the Epee competitions with
Jamie Crockett, Year 5, coming second in the U10 Boys’ Epee.
Hockey success at the Junior School
The hockey teams at the Junior School saw great success
throughout the Easter Term. At the start of term the U11 A and B
squads claimed victories in the St Andrew’s Tournament with
both teams dominating in all of the matches they played. The
U11 C Squad were also successful in a home tournament featuring
St Andrew’s Woking and Parkside, winning both their games to be
confirmed as the clear winners.
The U11A team also saw success at the IAPS Regionals at Haileybury
School as they breezed through the tournament and claimed
victory in the final against The Beacon. They were unfortunate to
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not replicate their form at the National Finals and were knocked
out in the Quarter Finals losing narrowly on Penalty shuttles. The U11
Boys’ and the U11 Girls’ also both qualified for the South Finals. The
boys qualified by finishing 3rd in the Surrey Tournament whereas
the girls qualified as Surrey Champions. The boys won their group in
convincing style and then won a very closely fought quarter final.
They defeated Hoebridge in the semi-final who they had lost to in
the Surrey event and then beat Whitgift 2-0 in the final, and were
crowned the South of England Champions for 2014.
The girls who are the reigning National IAPS Champions after
their fantastic success back in November 2013, won their group
at the South Finals in a convincing fashion but were beaten on
penalty strokes in the semi-final. They finished third by defeating St.
Andrew`s 2-0 in the 3rd/4th playoff. In Year 5, both the boys and girls were crowned Surrey Champions
and the Year 4 Boys` Hockey Squad played some superb hockey at
the Parkside Tournament beating Lambrook Haileybury in the Final
to be crowned worthy champions.
This has proved to be a very successful hockey season for all the
pupils at the Junior School. They have been guided by a hugely
committed and knowledgeable team of coaching staff and have
thoroughly deserved their achievements.
Girls: U11 Clifton Shield Winners 2013, U11 Regional IAPS Winners
2013, U11 National IAPS Winners 2013, U11 Surrey Champions 2104,
U11 South Finalists 2014 (finished 3rd), U10 Surrey Champions 2014.
Boys: U9 Parkside Tournament Winners 2014, U10 Surrey Champions
2014, U11 A and B St Andrew’s Tournament Winners 2014, U11 B
Surrey Plate Winners 2014, U11 C Triangular Tournament Winners
2014, U11 Regional IAPS Winners 2014, U11 National IAPS Quarter
Finalists 2014, U11 South Champions 2014.
Summer 2014
European Josephite Ironman Competition Champions
Four Third Year boys competed in swimming, cycling and running in
a triathlon competition with the other 5 Josephite Schools in Europe.
The competition was hosted at Melle College, Belgium. In the
competition Andrei Belonogoff competed very strongly throughout
to become the Josephite Ironman Champion. The rest of the team
also performed strongly and the team managed to claim the team
trophy. This is now the third successive years that St George’s have
won the Team Trophy.
U16 UK Number One for tennis
Piers Foley, Fifth Year, is the UK Number One at U16 level for Tennis.
Thanks to his performances over the winter he qualified as the number
2 seed for the Grade 1 National Masters under 16s tournament. The
tournament was played recently at National Tennis Centre and Piers
managed three wins over some of the top players in the country
and got through to the final. Despite coming a close second, Piers
had accumulated enough ranking points to become the UK No 1.
St George's
College
Student makes England netball debut
U14 National Girls’
Hockey Champions
Boys’ Hockey successes
The U14 girls won the National Finals which were held
at Cannock Hockey Club at the end of February.
They qualified for the National Finals after winning the
Surrey Cup and beating Clifton College in a playoff
at the end of January having come runners up in
the Regional Finals. The National Finals were held at
Cannock Hockey Club at the end of February. There
we’re eight teams in two pools. St George’s were
drawn into a pool with Queenswood School, Rugby
School, and Queen Elizabeth School. The team
played fantastic hockey throughout the pool
stage and finished with 7 points which qualified
them for the final.
The team took on Millfield School, West Champions,
in the final. The team worked tirelessly, putting
pressure on the defence, and winning the ball back.
They were rewarded a goal after eight minutes from
Masie Minors. The team held on for the rest of the
match which finished 1-0 and were claimed the
National Championship. This is our first girls’ hockey
national title since winning back to back in 2004/5
and 2005/6, despite coming close numerous times.
Summer 2014
Rhea Dixon, Fifth Year, made her debut for the England U17 Netball
Team recently in the European Netball Championships at the start
of March. The tournament was held at Worcester University with
her team winning the competition convincingly, winning all of their
games and netting 250 goals and only conceding 64.
The hockey teams at the College saw lots of success this year.
The U12 boys’ won the Surrey Cup for the third consecutive year
under Fr Martin’s guidance. The team won 14 of the 16 matches they
played this year and were unlucky to not defend their regional title.
The U13s also won the Surrey Cup and reached the latter stages of
the South Finals. It was a superb season for these hockey teams with
over 70% of games won by the College.
Student selected for U15 England Fencing Team
Murray Begley-Jones, Third Year student at the College was
selected to represent England in the U15 Fencing Team. Murray
competed with the England U15 Fencing Team in the 37th
International Children’s Fencing Tournament Challenge in Wroclaw,
Poland, in March. U15s reach semi-final of NatWest Vase
Last term, the U15 side managed to reach the Semi Final of the
Natwest Vase. The boys played some impressive rugby and beat
some good sides on their journey through the competition with
wins over John Fisher School, Hurstpierpoint College and Reading
School. Highlights of the tournament include being selected for
a match to filmed and streamed live on the RFU website after a
tremendous voting effort from the Georgian Family. Unfortunately
the team were beaten by Graveney School in the semi-final which
was held at the Allianz Park Stadium.
Sixth Form student victorious in national basketball cup final
Ben Seipt, Upper Sixth Form, was part of the Reading Rockets team
that won the National Cup Final at the University of Worcester Arena,
beating London team NASSA by 93-72. Ben was also selected to
represent the England U18s earlier in the year, having previously
played in the U17s.
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9
LEST WE FORGET
Excerpts from ‘The Georgian’ 1912-1918
Sam Yarnold
Before the declaration of war, little more was said of the diplomatic
developments in Europe. The first issue of The Georgian written after
the war was declared, January 1915, made very clear the attitude
the School held towards the war as the editor stated: “although the
War will pervade our own pages, and some of the articles written by
our friends will treat about the War, we have no intention of editing
a War number: we have little time to waste upon the Kaiser, and our
main object, as in the past, is to set faithfully before our readers the
story of our little school world.”
Every year at St George’s Weybridge, the pupils and
students of the Junior School and College gather to
honour and remember lives lost in military service,
especially focussing on the Old Georgians who gave
their lives during the two World Wars.
With a hundred years passing since the declaration of
the First World War in July we have investigated what
life was like at the time for Old Georgians fighting in the
trenches and for students at the School through their
own words in the archived editions of ‘The Georgian’ –
the School’s official publication.
By 1912 the threat of a war involving Britain in Europe and the
changing face of international relations was readily apparent to
students at the College. The subject was explored in detail by John
Thompson, under the pseudonym Bellicosus, in the January 1912
edition of The Georgian, in his essay ‘Modern Warfare’. Through
his essay Thompson asserted that one of the key reasons for there
already not being a major European war was that: “Modern
warfare is so terrible that its very terror prevents great nations from
going to war”. Unfortunately this proved not to be case and the
great European powers were not “restrained by the knowledge
of the terrible consequences of such a conflict” as Thompson
eloquently contested.
This edition was also the first to report on the Old Georgians at
war, including those who were wounded and killed. The first
Old Georgian to give his life was Paul Frachen (OG 1912) on
4 September 1914. As the War progressed The Georgian continued
in this duty of documenting the involvement of Old Georgians in
the war. Each issue provided a list of who was in active service, who
was in military training, who was wounded, and an honours list for
those who had given their lives in service.
Aside from the record keeping, the ongoing contact between
the College and Old Georgians in the trenches resulted in various
accounts of life at war being published in The Georgian. These
accounts helped provide an insight into life at the front for the rest of
the Georgian Family. One such account entitled ‘Trench life’ gave a
detailed account of hearing an impending attack from the Germans:
“Imagine yourself, one of a couple of hundred on the canal
bank, and shells are heard coming. No one knows where;
all know somewhere nearby. Everybody dives for his
dugout like a rabbit burrowing for his hole.”
Another account from C. Mullin entitled ‘My Story as a Soldier’
begins with a tribute to The Georgian:
“My last parcel contained the May number of The
Georgian, and I was highly pleased to receive it. Sitting
in my dug out in the trenches I read it from cover to cover
and then turned back and read it all over again, so you
can guess I thoroughly appreciated it.”
Another feature of the editorial of The Georgian during the War
was the provision of updates on the larger European Josephite
community. The importance of the ongoing health of the Belgian
Josephites was of great concern to all of the Georgian Family at the
time, as the editor recorded in 1915: “Our first duty is to thank our
readers for their many inquiries about our Continental brethren”.
This concern for the health of the Josephite community in Europe
is testament to the strength of the Georgian Spirit, which teaches
students that they are part of one family which encompasses the
wider world, in the toughest of times.
10
www.stgeorgesweybridge.com
Summer 2014
J. Harold-Barry
C. Bates
H.B. Husband
Despite the initial claims that the War would not take over The
Georgian, by the end of 1915 the life of both the College and society
at large had sufficiently become dominated by the War that The
Georgian had to follow suit. One of the most notable changes in
College life reflected through The Georgian was the founding of the
Cadet Corps. The founding of a Cadet Corps was not an entirely
new concept for the College to discuss as: “there had been question
of it for some time past, but even the outbreak of the Great War
did not bring it spontaneously into being”. Despite the hesitation and
debate around the forming of the Corps, by March 1915 agreements
had been reached with the Surrey Territorial Association and by mid
April the first parade had taken place and official recognition from
the War Office was received.
The foundation of the Cadet Corps was announced in the September
1915 edition of The Georgian. The Cadet Corps was promoted to
students in The Georgian by telling them that the training would: “bring
out the qualities of manliness, perfect the faculties of endurance and
instil a spirit of duty, order and discipline.” Every issue from September
1915 featured extensive accounts of the performance of the cadets
including details of rifle competitions, promotions, drills, parades,
in addition to photos from various activities the cadets took part in.
World War I memorial outside the
Chapel at St George’s College, listing
the 57 that gave their lives during
the fighting.
J.E. Peet
E.J. Cormac-Walshe
P Frachon
As the War progressed, The Georgian continued in its duty of
documenting life of the students at School and the Old Georgians in
the trenches.
By the end of the war 367 Old Georgians saw service, with 57 making
the supreme sacrifice for their country.
The first issue of The Georgian published after the end of the War
came in January 1919, the College announced its elation at the end
of the war as:
“Thank God, the end has come, and victory the most complete
is in our hands. We approach our readers this evening – the
first of many Christmases free from the horrors of world
slaughter, with an intense feeling of gratitude and relief.
Thank God, the war is won, and our present pupils, even
those in their last year of school life will be free to carve out
their careers in the honourable paths of peace.”
Whilst this article cannot be an exhaustive documentary of the lives of
all of the Georgian Family during the times of the War it does provide
intriguing insights. We can see through The Georgian that
the Georgian Family Spirit kept the Georgian Family closely
linked with each other. The concern for the wellbeing of
all connected to the School was central to how the War
was experienced by all at
St George’s and is witness
to the strength of the
Georgian Family Spirit and
the Josephite ethos.
Rememb
rance 20
13
Summer 2014
www.stgeorgesweybridge.com
11
One of the favourite subjects for pupils at the Junior
School is Art. Through the curriculum, pupils are able
to develop their own ways of expressing ideas and
representing visually what they observe, experience
and imagine and then learn how to record these
observations from life and develop ideas.
Through their time at the School, pupils learn a range
of skills including drawing, painting, printing, design, and
textiles and apply them to the numerous styles that they
learn about through the curriculum.
The Art department aims to create an exciting
and visually stimulating environment, in which the
pupils use a variety of media to develop their artistic
skills in a supportive setting. Through their lessons,
pupils discover their confidence in creativity and
learn how to be experimental with different forms
media and to express their ideas visually.
12
www.stgeorgesweybridge.com
Summer 2014
Art Scholar
Success
The Art Department at St George’s College is very
proud of the Head Girl, Kate Hughes, and the
Deputy Head Girl, Jessica Davie who are going on
to Art School, and of Art scholar David Coe who will
be going to Oxford. They have been outstanding
candidates in every way, contributing to the Art
Department with their ambitious and experimental
work and they have both been exemplary Art
scholars throughout their time in the Sixth Form.
Kate Hughes
Kate plans to study on the Art Foundation course at
Loughborough University. Her portfolio of Art work showcased
a wide range of skills from portrait painting in fine detail
to producing photographs of liquid light projections and
sculptures representing sea creatures made from plastic
bottles. She explored different methods and worked through
technical issues when building her recycled sculptures and
developed some sensitive and detailed effects to portray the
delicate, floating transparent creatures.
David Coe
Jessie Davie
David Coe is also an Art scholar in Upper Sixth who has been
offered a place to study Chemistry at Oxford. His confident
application of brush marks and bold use of colour is effective
and his ambitious final piece is a striking painting of his
grandmother.
Jessie has been offered a place at Central Saint Martin’s
to study on the Art Foundation course. Her work has been
sculptural throughout the A Level course; she is interested in
exploring instillation and sculpture to draw attention to the
physical presence of the figure.
We wish these students al the best for their future and they have been an absolute pleasure
to have in the Art Department for the last seven years of their time at St George’s.
Summer 2014
www.stgeorgesweybridge.com
13
School Term dates 2014
USEFUL
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A
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O
F
IN
Summer Term
Term began
Wed 23 April
Half Term
Mon 26 – Fri 30 May
End of Term
Fri 4 July
Christmas Term
Term begins
Thurs 4 September
Half Term
Mon 27 – Fri 31 October
End of Term
Tues 16 December
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VISIT US ONLINE:
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Summer 2014
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15
St George’s Weybridge Parents’ Association
The beginning of the Summer Term means the
St George’s Weybridge Parents’ Association is
kicking into full swing organising various concession
stands for the numerous sports days and events
happening at both the College and Junior School.
The committee is also busy with two of our feature
events of the year – a Victorian Summer Fete and
the Summer Ball. This year the Summer Fete will
be held on Saturday 7th June 2014. We will be
transforming the field into an old fashioned Victorian
Fete with over 40 stalls including face painting,
tin can alley, shooting gallery, BBQ and lots of
entertainment and fun and games. The planning for the 2014 Summer Ball on Saturday
28th June 2014 is also underway. The evening will
begin with a Champagne and canapé reception
followed by a wonderful three course dinner with
all guests under one big marquee. After dinner
there will be a live auction featuring fabulous
prizes, dancing to a live band, and a casino.
A professional photographer will be taking posed
and candid photos throughout the evening
and you can even try out the new ‘Foto Booth’
for some crazy party pics. Tables are selling out
quickly, so please send in your booking form to
reserve your space. Information can be found
on the website. If you would like to get involved in either event,
please contact me. Without your support, neither of
these events, and the many others that we organise
throughout the year are possible. Thank you!
Kelly Walsh
Chair, Parents’ Association
[email protected]
Summer
Ball 2014
St George’s Parents’ Association
Saturday 28th June
7.30pm - 1.30am
St George’s College, Weybridge
SUMMER
FÊTE
― Victorian ―
7th June 2014
Black Tie
Champagne Reception
Three Course Dinner
Band and Disco
Face painting
Late night Beef Bar
Fun & games
Tickets £75
Raffle
Entertainment
For more information email: [email protected]
Champagne Reception sponsored by
ALL DONATIONS WELCOME
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Publication date May 2014.