Chronicle 2017 2 3

Contents

1 Hellos and goodbyes 05

2 School news 17

3 Performing arts 23

4 Art gallery 31

5 Trips 55

6 Outreach 65

7 Leadership 69

8 CCF 73

9 Words 81

10 Societies 85

11 Houses 97

12 Sport 103 4 Editorial team

1 Hellos and goodbyes Sam Miah and Zain Rishi Performing arts Angus Forshaw Trips Kunal Dalal and Akil Khalid Hellos and Leadership Aloysius Lip goodbyes CCF Gabriel Wong and Ashish Patel Societies Luqman Abu El Foul, Hayaan Choudhury and Aloysius Lip Houses Jared Tang Sport Tushar Roy, Marcus Holding and Altay Gardiner

Staff Editor Matthew Bartlett Art Editor Bradley Spencer Words Editors Gemma Babb and Mercedes Romon-Alonso

Many thanks to David Ash and Chris Boardman for providing many of the photographs used in Chronicle. 6 Hellos Hellos 7

Rosie Morris Swimming and water polo Roxanne Irani Andrew Langlands Life before KES Mark Fenton I’m originally from Moseley, and I studied at King Edward VI Biology Director of Hockey Handsworth School for Girls. I was managing to play water polo Chief Master and history at a rather high level for my age, and when I eventually started Life before KES to get really quite involved with the sport, I ended up moving to Manchester to train full-time with the Great Britain women’s I did my first degree in life sciences at the Life before KES I was born in Scotland and moved to England when I was team. During my eight years in Manchester, I had some time to Life before KES University of Mumbai in India, and after I was born in the East End of London, (so I can in theory call myself cockney, three. I’ve spent most of my life living in Bromsgrove, study at the Open University for a degree in maths and finance that I came to the UK to do my masters in even though nobody has ever heard my voice and thought that was the case!). though for my degree I went to Loughborough University and also worked part-time at Manchester Grammar School in a environmental science at UCL. I then worked Having two parents who were both doctors led me to rather lazily assume that I to study PE and sports science – initially alongside maths. similar teaching role to what I’m now doing here at KES. as a sustainability consultant at KPMG for two too would grow up to be a medic. Fortunately, I had a biology teacher with whom I was fortunate to win some hockey titles during my time at years, but I eventually decided that I wanted I really did not get along, which encouraged me to change my plans. I moved on university, and when I moved on to do premiership hockey to move into teaching, and taught at an IB Why swimming and water polo? to study something that I actually enjoyed: history at Peterhouse College, for Cannock Hockey Club, the team won the premiership school in Mumbai for two years before coming I’ve always loved them. I swam competitively until I was about Cambridge. After I graduated, I went to the UCL Institute of Education to do my three times as well as two European Silver Medals. I then back to England to teach biology here at KES. 15 and have been playing water polo ever since I was very teacher training and spent nine years after that teaching in two schools in began my teaching career at Bromsgrove School, where I young. During my career, I’ve competed at the London Olympic Chelmsford and then as the deputy head of Sir Joseph Williamson’s taught for 13 years before eventually coming to work at KES. Why biology? Games, the Commonwealth Games, where I was fortunate to Mathematical School in Kent. Finally, I was headmaster of Dr Challoner’s win gold, as well as other European Championships and World There’s just so much happening in biology, Grammar School in Amersham for 15 years. Championships. So, they have both been sports that I have and it never ceases to fascinate me that we Why hockey? When I was around seven years old, the head of PE at my always been good at and really enjoyed. As a swimming teacher, keep learning more and more about how school gave me the chance to join in a game of hockey with it’s also incredibly rewarding to be able to train a complete Why history? our bodies and the bodies of animals work, I’ve always enjoyed political history in particular and understanding what some of the older boys. I was quite shy back then, but I non-swimmer to develop their confidence in the water. I find (especially with the recent advances that are motivated people in the past, why people behave in particular ways, how thought I would give it a go, and I ended up getting hooked it quite special when I see the first moment it clicks for them occurring in genetics and health). Oh, and it’s societies work, as well as how the balance of power between the rulers and the after the first session! From then on, I just wanted to get and they manage to swim their first width or begin to cope in the best subject! ruled has changed over time. It’s something that I’ve always found fascinating, better, which involved doing a lot of hard work and practice deeper water. along with the multifaceted nature of the subject itself and how there exists such on my own. I was also asked to coach some regional sides a variety of interesting periods and types of history in which almost everyone can Hobbies in hockey when I was 16, which is something I thoroughly I like to paint in my spare time, usually with Hobbies take an interest. enjoyed. I would say that it was through coaching the I really enjoy being outdoors, so I like to go for walks on watercolours. I’m hoping to do an art course sport that I then became interested in teaching it in a weekends and travel as much as I can. I’m also a big lover of over the summer and get back into painting school environment. food, so I enjoy cooking and going out to eat when I’m free. Hobbies with oils, which is something that I haven’t Music has always been a big interest of mine. I have run a choir called The Having spent so much time with different teams around the actually done since GCSEs. I also love scuba Ramsey Singers for 30 years, ever since I was a student, and twice a year we globe, I’ve been fortunate to develop a strong group of friends in diving, but only ever in warm waters that have Hobbies sing in various cathedrals, go abroad on tour or sometimes even stand in for I like to play golf in my spare time, usually in the summer both the UK and the rest of the world. Currently, my best friends lots of fish, so nowhere here unfortunately! professional choirs when they are on their breaks. We’ve also got some songs holidays, when it’s a bit warmer! I’ve got a wife and two are in Spain, Australia and New Zealand, which leaves me quite a that you can download from iTunes if you’re interested! Cricket is another of my young children, so I also enjoy spending as much time as I few opportunities for travelling and catching up at the same time! favourites. I have been coaching county cricket for Buckinghamshire for the past Favourite... can with them. Food: Anything Italian. 15 years, and that takes up a lot of my time during the summer. Favourite… Book: Growing up, I loved reading The Diary Favourite… Food: I’ve got a real sweet tooth, so it’s unfortunately cakes and Favourite… of Anne Frank. But if I had to name a favourite Food: I always look forward to fish and chips on a chocolate, which is probably not something you want to hear Food: I like a lot of things, but if you pushed me then I would probably go for a now, I would probably say Freakonomics by Friday lunchtime. from a PE teacher! But I reckon that it has actually given me a Steven D Levitt, just because of all of the fairly rare steak with a nice bottle of Merlot. Book: I’m quite into psychology books. So Matthew Syed’s surprisingly good incentive to train harder, as it means that I can interesting connections that he makes about Book: I don’t really think that anybody should be able to answer this question, Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice and afford to have the odd treat. our world today. As a biologist, I also like to as hopefully you’ll have read so many books over your lifetime that you struggle Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow are among my Book: I can’t really find a favourite. However, I loved reading read anything by Richard Dawkins, and to name just one as your favourite. However, I was recently prompted to read favourites. But as a father of two, I don’t currently get a great Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka and also Rose Tremain’s another recent favourite would probably be Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh when I noticed there was a TV adaptation of it deal of time for reading! The Road Home. The Vital Question by Nick Lane. being done by the BBC, and I really enjoyed it. Film: Love Actually. I enjoy the comedy of it and seeing how Film: It’s embarrassing to say, but I’m quite a fan of chick-flicks Film: I don’t have many favourites, but I enjoy Film: Argo. different lives unfold from love. like Dirty Dancing, Notting Hill and Love Actually. superhero films and Star Wars. 8 Hellos Hellos 9

Ron Turford Alexander Webb Economics and Head of Chemistry Andrew Petrie business management Life before KES Rebecca Smedley The innocuous introductory question, which I have always struggled History Life before KES to answer, is ‘where are you from?’ – as I don’t have a one-line Mathematics I was born in West Bromwich, and for much of my life I’ve answer. I spent my earliest years in Hertfordshire before moving to been reasonably local to the area. I studied at Warwick and Switzerland and subsequently the Netherlands, where I completed Life before KES have taught in the East and West Midlands. After I graduated, the IB Diploma at an international school. I returned to the UK to I was brought up in Northamptonshire, in a town called Kettering. I suppose Life before KES I worked for the brewing company Bass for around seven take up a place at Oxford to study chemistry, and after four years I that my interest in history derives from the fantastic history teachers that I used to I’m originally from Aylesbury, although I moved to years. But the only bit I liked about the job was training up the moved to Bristol to complete a PhD in Physical Chemistry. I caught have during my time at school in Wellingborough, which includes the current, Rugby for my A-levels. I did my degree in maths newer members of staff! So after working for Bass, you might the teaching bug whilst instructing on degree programmes and outgoing headmaster Mr Bowe. After studying history at the University of at the University of Birmingham, and stayed say that I ‘sobered up’ and went into teaching. Before coming took up a full-time teaching role at Bristol, teaching degree-level Leicester, I actually went back to Wellingborough to teach for two years and spent there for my teacher training. KES is officially to KES, I taught at a Sixth Form college in Derbyshire; in fact, chemistry before recognising that I wanted to work in schools. a further three years teaching the subject in Abu Dhabi. It was from Abu Dhabi that my second year of teaching, and prior to here I I’ve spent pretty much my whole career in post-16 work. After a teacher training year, I worked for seven years at Portsmouth I came to work at KES. taught at Oldbury Academy for one year. Grammar School and ended up being Second in Chemistry. Why economics and business management? When I wasn’t in a chemistry lab, I spent the rest of my time in Why history? Why maths? I took economics at A-level, despite the fact that I didn’t know tents in the hills preparing pupils for DofE and the Ten Tors In its simplest form, I enjoy being a storyteller! I like to think that students like In Year 9, I was fortunate to have a very anything about it – rather like the boys who opt for it here as Challenge on Dartmoor. coming into each lesson to hear a new tale or story about the world. In terms of enthusiastic maths teacher who always made part of the IB. I liked it a lot and originally applied to study why I think it is so relevant and important, I feel that it is the best subject for the subject very enjoyable for me. Even though it alongside law at university, thinking that I would become Why chemistry? explaining the human journey and how we have formed the society that we my school wasn’t particularly keen on doing a solicitor. However, law turned out to be really hard, so I One of the things that really appeals to me about chemistry is its currently live in today. I always find myself deriving great pleasure from whatever I Maths Challenges, I still always managed to dropped law to focus on economics, which is mercifully far, diversity. It varies from physical chemistry, which is essentially learn about the subject. At university, this was the English Civil War, and after that be top of my year. All of that sparked my initial far easier! At KES I teach both economics and business molecular physics (my specialism), to the other extreme where African-American civil rights. But today, I suppose it would be what I’m currently interest in the subject, and I grew up wanting management. The thing that I really like about both disciplines we get to look at the molecular basis for life. I also like abstract teaching about the making of Modern China. My love for history is therefore, to share that interest with other people and is that they relate to the real world, as economic and business ideas and how chemistry is rooted in quantum mechanics, and I always ever-changing, and it often tends to go with what I teach because of its students through teaching. issues fill news bulletins all the time. The great pleasure in sometimes simply marvel at the sophistication with which we model depth as a subject and how deeply engrossing it can be. teaching business is that it equips boys with the skills they the world at the level of the atom. Hobbies need for whatever career path they ultimately follow. Hobbies Rock climbing has always been a huge hobby of Hobbies Any of the staff will tell you that I’m a huge Leicester Tigers fan. I’ve been mine. I really enjoy the physical challenge of it, Hobbies I have a variety of interests, but my main hobby is travelling in watching them play since 1993, and I’ve had a season ticket for probably around and as a form of exercise I find that it keeps me I’m a father of two teenagers, and I really enjoy spending time mountainous regions. I adore the wild and challenging terrain of 10 or 11 years. Sport in general tends to take my interest, including rugby, tennis, active and helps take my mind off life in general. with them, surprisingly! We like to watch classic films and also upland areas, whether it is strapping on crampons in the Alps, cricket and boxing, though definitely more in the sense of watching rather than I quite like caving, skydiving and mountain biking enjoy visiting art galleries. Both of my kids are also quite into battling horizontal hail in Scotland, or trekking in the mountains of playing! I also really enjoy travelling and have been fortunate to visit Jordan, China as well – but climbing is definitely my favourite! theatre, so every year we take a trip to London to see a West Tajikistan or the Himalayas. and Vietnam. I plan to hopefully get to Cuba in the future. End production. Favourite… Favourite… Favourite… Food: I’m not sure… apple crumble is pretty good! Favourite… Food: This is very difficult, as one of the great things about food Food: I enjoy a good curry. Book: I really enjoyed Things to Make and Do Food: School dinners because they’re done by somebody else. is its variety. I would probably have to go for a French classic and Book: In terms of non-fiction, I would say The Autobiography of Malcolm X and in the Fourth Dimension by Matt Parker. It’s a Book: I like to think that the dictionary is my favourite book plump for confit de canard. Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom. Fiction-wise, I really enjoyed Zafón’s The collection of maths puzzles and also some of the because it’s got all the other books in there, if you can just Book: Too hard to choose. Shadow of the Wind and Harris’s Fatherland. projects that he’s achieved throughout his career; work out the right order. TV programme: I don’t watch a great deal of TV, but at the moment TV programme: To name a few: Peaky Blinders, Narcos, Game of Thrones and 24. one of the chapters is actually a project that I TV programme: Dragons’ Den, though I acknowledge I am I am keen on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which also keeps helped out with quite a bit. Film: In the Name of the Father. But I could reel off an enormous list here! just saying that in order to seem like a business nerd! me somewhat in touch with events in the US. Film: I don’t tend to watch films very much, so I Film: Cling film because it’s useful for keeping your cheese Film: I watch vanishingly few films, so much so that I was coerced don’t really think I can pick a favourite. However, I and pickle sandwiches fresh. into watching a Star Wars film for the first time shortly after I turned do enjoy watching all sorts of films occasionally. 30. So on this question, I shall pass. 10 Goodbyes Goodbyes 11

Charlie Ashley Bursar “The squeals of laughter from Shell Latin lessons on a Whereas God created the universe and everything in it in six days, it took King Edward’s School 459 years to create, or at Thursday afternoon suggested least appoint, Charlie Ashley as its Bursar. It was worth the wait. Charlie – or Charlotte as she was, somewhat strangely, that they were getting more known across the drive at KEHS – did not conform to the stereotype of an independent school bursar. Not only was she than the delights of the female, as I quickly noticed, but also she had no shiny shoes, no blazer or shiny buttons, no military efficiency nor imperfect tense.” meticulous time-keeping. Indeed, her capacity, or incapacity, to arrive on time for regular Friday morning meetings made the rest of us feel, briefly, organised and in control.

However, Charlie had, and has, other more precious qualities. She is clever and quick-witted, funny and quick to laugh, completed in her time, three projects with a total value of David Corns sympathetic and empathetic, imaginative, creative, £20m and three projects which each had their different questioning of the status quo, highly skilled from her challenges. In those times of challenge, Charlie could be jolly Classics accountancy career and ready, at any opportunity, to enjoy stern when required. The second was admissions. I can David Corns joined the Classics Department in September 2009 herself. And, as the mother of two boys, she had in her vitals confess now what many might have suspected: in the time after a period of time teaching at Wolverhampton Grammar an understanding of what matters in a school. And she cared before Charlie (BC), I used a pin and a blindfold to decide School and working on an MPhil at Oxford, where he had earlier deeply and passionately about her job and doing the right how many offers to make to fill the School each year. The gained a first-class degree. When first offered the job at King Outside of the classroom, David accompanied me on several thing. The greatest sign of her greatness was that, when chances of a soft-landing on 125 Shells with such a method Edward’s, he initially turned it down: the double-act of John trips to the Bay of Naples and one to mainland Greece. His things went wrong, as things do, she cried. Everyone, or were, as you might surmise, not high. Charlie created ex Claughton and George Andronov at interview had left him unsure organisation, knowledge of the areas and rapport with the boys perhaps almost everyone, from the lofty governors to the nihilo the Ashley Matrix, which enabled us to plot the what the job would involve and what he was letting himself in for. meant that he was always good value; and, again, it was fitting indefatigable porters, via teachers and groundsmen and probability of each individual candidate accepting a place, Fortunately, we persuaded him to accept. that his very last ‘duty’ to the classics department at KES was kitchen staff and her own bursary staff, found her a treat to and the amount of money we had for Assisted Places so that performed in Italy in July on the most recent of these visits. there was now a method to the process. The fact that, in one work with: not many departing bursars stir tears from the staff David established himself early on as a dedicated and hard- of the early years, we ended up with six forms by mistake nor organise a leaving party that lasts beyond 4am. working teacher. He provided pupils with a systematic and However, David’s contribution to the School and pupils was does not undermine the value of this masterpiece to KES, structured approach to learning Latin and Greek, which not confined to the classics curriculum. His running of Friday So, if that is Charlie the person, the right person at the right and to KEHS who had the sense to borrow it from us. And the included carefully prepared notes and worksheets and a variety afternoon wildlife and photography sessions introduced many time for this school, what did she do as Charlie the bursar? third is the burden of compliance and inspection. The of mnemonics and rhymes for learning vocabulary. All boys pupils to new experiences and skills they might not otherwise Well, some of those things were visible to the wider world and demands on schools in these areas are infinitely greater than taught by David knew that they had to grasp the material: no have discovered. He also accompanied JP and SEL on wildlife some were not. Charlie’s main challenge and greatest even a decade ago and most of us remember that we have, one was allowed to fall by the wayside, even if extra lessons trips in this country and on more exotic ones abroad – to places achievement was to enable King Edward’s to be a free- on occasions, travelled over rocky ground. Charlie faced up had to be given after school or at lunchtime. Consequently, such as Madagascar and the Galapagos Islands. His interest in standing, autonomous organisation, taking full responsibility to these demands and became the only person on the staff the results achieved by his tutees, in both internal and public the natural world was at least as great as his interest in classics: for its own financial destiny whilst at the same time dwelling qualified as an ISI inspector and thereby enabled the School examinations, were second to none. In departmental meetings perhaps he will return in another life as a biology teacher, and be under the aegis of the King Edward’s Foundation. Charlie, to meet, with a calmer visage than in the past, the gaze of the David always challenged us – we discussed the curriculum, what equally successful. somehow and not without pains and frustrations and inspectors. And the fourth is the Miracle of the Dining Hall. It we taught and the way we taught it. Sometimes we would agree disagreements, managed to square that circle. That’s why the was a truth universally acknowledged that we wanted the However, it has not always been plain sailing. Teaching has its to disagree – but the pupils undoubtedly benefitted from this, School now has a finance team, and a facilities team and a boys to eat more healthily and detach themselves from daily own pressures and David’s exacting standards for both pupils striving to improve. maintenance team inside the School that serves the chips and zingerburgers. The end may be obvious but the and himself, at times combined to weigh him down. I would like immediate needs of the School. That’s why we no longer means were not. Somehow, the combined wisdom and However, his lessons were not dull, old-fashioned affairs – far to think that, just as he had served the department and pupils have lots of teachers running their own bank accounts or persistence of Charlie and Peter Webber and his kitchen staff from it. The squeals of laughter from Shell Latin lessons on a so well, that something of our slightly more laid-back approach collecting money for trips in form period. That’s why the brought us to a world where the Dining Hall is densely Thursday afternoon suggested that they were getting more than also rubbed off on him – and that he was able to be more governors now get an account of the School’s finances that populated by boys eating the right stuff. A miracle indeed. the delights of the imperfect tense. Nicknames were generated philosophical about things when they did not go exactly to plan. not only describes the present but also enables them to as a regular part of the diet, as were impressions: these ranged And now she has gone, with Matt, her husband and house DJ As we thank David for his efforts at KES, we wish him all the foresee and plan the future. That’s why the School is making a from Billy Connolly to Donald Trump, and other members of for all leaving events, and with Albert, a much improved Latin best for his new job as Head of Classics at Bromsgrove School, surplus to invest in that future: that was not so a decade ago. the Common Room. Often they were as good as the original: scholar and actor, and George, who was deprived of his where, for sure, he will make a great success of the post. sometimes they were better. When it came to the Shells’ However, a bursar’s lot is not a simple or single one and arrival in the Shells by their departure to Chicago. Many of us, Classical Play Competition his classes were invariably prepared Charlie, when she wasn’t putting chemicals in the swimming very many of us, feel that we have lost a friend, a true and Vale. meticulously, with visual and verbal humour in equal measure. pool, oversaw projects that have made a material and hilarious friend, as well as a colleague. Perhaps she will return The vagaries of the judging did not always throw up the results LWE long-lasting impact on the School and on the boys. Four of one day from Chicago to her kingdom. There would not be one might have expected, but it was fitting that David’s final those projects might stand for many more. The first was many who would not rejoice at her return. effort with Shell B last summer gained for them the first prize. building: the Ruddock Performing Arts Centre, the Andrew Brode Wing, the hockey pitch and the Southall Pavilion were John Claughton 12 Goodbyes Goodbyes 13

“From Shells to Oxbridge, in lessons, after school, in holiday revision sessions, he has guided and inspired boys, and it is for this that they will “I’ve not known any teacher be the most grateful to him.” who cared so incredibly deeply about the learning of each and every one of their pupils” John Fern Deputy Head (Academic)

Mr Fern, Ferno, The Inferno, or, as the Dangerous Presidents is such a great schoolmaster and such a great colleague. I will would have it, Uncle John. In eight, action-packed years, it is fair start with the pinnacle of John’s achievements at KES: he is to say that John has been neither fop nor idler and has indeed the most successful sports coach in the history of the school. become a legendary figure. But where did it all begin? On 12 December 2009 (I looked it up), while I stood beside the Ben Orlin adjoining pitch watching my rugby team succumb to splendid Picture, if you will, a small boy from a mining community in defeat, John masterminded the U16B XV to a shameful 50-0 Mathematics Leicestershire, a scholarship boy, no less, at Loughborough victory, away, against Bromsgrove. Prudently, at this point John Grammar School. Even then, one imagines he would have handed in his resignation to Robbie and has never been near a Advance warning – there’s a maths joke in this. a binding promise that the structure of it will be named after a despaired at the narrowness of a curriculum that only allowed sports team since. different teacher in the department. I personally cannot wait for him to do eight GCSEs and three A-levels. In history and in After three years at KES it is clear that Ben learned much, Chapter 13: Robin Deeley. English John excelled – an English department that included a It is perhaps in music and drama that John has made his not least a thesaurus of British terms of abuse, but in writing young, thrusting Simon Stacey with whom John was to be so greatest contribution to extra-curricular life. It was nice that this this there is just no getting past the gittiness of this man. Ben’s time with us has coincided with a global political storm joyously reunited some 20 years later. John went on to Oxford year’s Syndicate Play featured excerpts from The Real Inspector His professionalism, patience, kindness, versatility, terrifying which has seen both of our respective countries try to out-moron in 1993 to read history and then taught at Oakham, becoming Hound, the Middle School Play that John produced. In music, mathematical intellect, peerless conversational skills, each other. Ben’s time in the UK has allowed him to witness two head of department, before moving to Fettes in Edinburgh as IB John has sung in Choral Society and, perhaps most memorably, unquenchable desire to always keep learning, 4,000 Twitter general elections, the referendum on Scottish independence Coordinator. Here too, John worked alongside two teachers with created the visual Old Edwardian commemoration for L’Homme followers and impervious affability are enough to give any and Brexit, and almost every lunch over his years here has strong KES connections – Andrew Shackleton, whom I replaced Armé last year. But most of all, John has been there, at virtually teacher joining the department an inferiority complex within been spent with colleagues endeavouring to explain to him just here some 30 years ago, and a young, fresh-faced geographer, every event imaginable, not out of any sense of duty but minutes of meeting him. what the hell is going on, with only a brief recess last year as only just in leather elbow-patches; a certain Mr Heathcote. because he wanted to be there and he enjoyed being there. the presidential election reversed the roles. We kind of hoped Ben joined us following a Skype interview with John Claughton that the Rise of Trump (which still sounds like a revolting rhyme) And so after much research and consultation we at KES And of course John has been there on trips too, holding boys’ and Tim Cross, something I continually regret was not recorded may persuade him to stay but, alas, it only led to Ben’s reply decided to go ‘Big Bang’ for IB and the call went out for a rapt attention as he brought to life the battlefields of the First for posterity. As this unassuming, Potter-looking, polymath of “Sorry, my people need me”, and his time is now up. He shining light to guide us through it. As DHR said at the recent World War, driving a van of musical instruments to and from returns to the mothership, he will leave behind many indelible and Taryn have packed their bags, booked their flights and the HODs meeting, we could not have appointed anyone better than Italy or driving a minibus to and from John O’Groats to fetch us memories, not least the unforgettable afternoon when John maths department have ‘sined’ his farewell card. Sined. Actually John to fulfil this role. He joined KES in 2009 and pretty much sweaty cyclists. This is what good schoolmasters do. Fennell tried to explain to him the laws of cricket. KES won’t be I cosined it. Now you groan, but that’s one of Ben’s own jokes! from the foundations built up the great IB edifice. He had the the same without hearing his chirpy catchphrases, with every And by maths department standards, it’s positively hilarious. But most of all, what good schoolmasters do is teach good answers to all the questions any teacher or HOD could have – day starting with a heartfelt “Hey, howyadoin”, the elongated lessons and inspire their pupils. I hope that at Newcastle he will I remember modern languages department meetings at which “Hmmmmmmmmmm” sound which translates as “Neil I do not So, Gentle Ben leaves us with our heavy hearts. His diligence somehow be able to squeeze in the occasional appearance in we grappled with the complexities of the specifications and want to do this” and my favourite: “Oh – interesting!”, meaning and passion shames me: I’ve not known any teacher who cared the classroom because it would be a great loss to history if he assessment criteria only for John to put our minds at rest with “Oh you’re definitely wrong!” so incredibly deeply about the learning of each and every one cannot. From Shells to Oxbridge, in lessons, after school, in the clearest, most patient and reassuring of explanations. There of their pupils, and they in turn have sent in many tributes to holiday revision sessions, he has guided and inspired boys, and were moments of high tension and nervousness – who can Ben’s blog is increasingly famous in mathematical spheres and, what he’s done for them. He is a peerless professional; one it is for this that they will be the most grateful to him. remember the state John Claughton worked himself into as we when we all attended a conference a couple of years ago, it of the finest educators with whom I have had the privilege to awaited those first IB results in 2012? It wasn’t just through great was the big names in maths that we had travelled to see who work, and the fact of the matter is that we are all better teachers And we will miss his company. He has reassured us, guided us, paternal concern for his son’s results. But it was Mr Fern who clocked Ben and came over to introduce themselves, leaving because of his being here. I’ll end on an inevitable line from been so patient with us when we have fretted. He has been a got us through it and it has been Mr Fern who has guided us – me jumping up and down like a toddler and artlessly booming Lokesh Jain, who said: “He is genuinely one of the best teachers friend to the whole KES community and will remain so. We wish not driven or propelled, but guided us – to the superb results “He’s in our department, he’s in our department.” We did have I have ever had. He’s the hero America needs, just not the one him every success in his future career but I am certain that he that have ensued. to explain to a worried Ben that ‘clocked’ means something else it deserves.” We cannot wait to see his books in print, but I only will be a great headmaster and, maybe, in 10 years’ time, he over here. Ben was later invited to join the prestigious Heidelberg ask that he gets himself back in the classroom as soon as he But to say that John is IB is to miss the point of John entirely. might even think of being a great Chief Master. Laureate Forum and spent a week rubbing shoulders with Fields can afterwards. John has been appointed Head of RGS Newcastle because he KDP medallists. He is now off to write a couple of books based on the esteemed musings of his magnificent website. We have secured NAS 14 Goodbyes Goodbyes 15

Bob Turner “From an Outreach point Modern languages of view, Laurence has been Saying goodbye to Bob Turner isn’t easy. He was a boy, and is a man, who few people know much about. There is very little responsible for setting up information available in the public domain and Mr Turner is a very private man. I suppose I could just make stuff up! But Mr Turner and running the biggest and likes things done correctly and so I will behave accordingly.

best maths competition in the Robert Edward Turner was admitted as a student to KES on 15 September 1966, leaving on 17 July 1974. A contemporary of country, involving 205 primary John Claughton, Tom Hosty, Sir Paul Ruddock and Lord David Willetts, he was a Prefect, Head of Gifford, a Regimental Quarter schools, 11,000 pupils and 450 Master Sergeant, President of the Modern Languages Society teachers since its conception.” and winner of the London Old Edwardians’ Prize for Spanish. As one of his peers told me: “Bob came through this place when it had the highest academic standards and the modern languages department was exceptional and old-fashioned. It was run by a great teacher called Vic Biggs, who wanted rigour and accuracy in grammar – and this lives on in Bob.” 2nd XV and managing rugby tours has been an inspiration. Since Laurence Rackham The Governors’ Meeting minutes record that he was appointed taking over as Head of Athletics in 2008, he has kept the sport to teach modern languages at KES from 1 September 2001 and going in this school when it has been withering elsewhere. It’s a Mathematics and Outreach from that point he has endeavoured to remain true to that great great thing that he should see the end of the Eastern Road track tradition. Mr Turner has done things his way – he has not always and its replacement by the best track that any school will have. Laurence came here to do his first teaching job in 2013 after a questions every Friday afternoon, but sadly weren’t there to found it easy to get along with people when they do not measure You only need look at the response from the Old Eds to his call career in the mobile phone industry. He studied maths at Clare witness Laurence’s trousers splitting when he decided to join in up to his standards or see things from his perspective – but he for competitors at this year’s Sports Day (see page 122 for more College, Cambridge followed by lots more maths and even more one week. Thanks to Mrs Phillips for bailing him out and saving loves this school with great ferocity: he is proud of this school, details) to see how many of the boys appreciate and respect the maths at the Royal Holloway – basically he is a very clever, his decency, and thank you to the brilliant chefs in the kitchen for the boys, the history, the standards and that makes it hard for time and effort he put in to them as pupils. self-confessed maths nerd! feeding him so well! him to compromise. Bob took over as Head of Cary Gilson in 2010 and has As he prepared to leave KES, he had a busy time; he married Laurence has been a pleasure to work with and I shall miss his Upon leaving in 1974, he went to obtain his degree in Spanish transformed the House. From perennial underachievers, who Rosie and was the only groom in history to have his tables sharp sense of humour and his completely amazing capabilities and French from Liverpool University, a PGCE from Manchester were frankly pleased if they managed to finish seventh, he has numbered at the wedding in binary form. More recently, he and with anything technical. Chris Boardman reports what a boost and an MPhil at London before spending a year in Spain taken us on an unprecedented winning streak – one which, with Rosie were joined by the next Rackham genius Ollie, a bonny he has been to the School in creating new computer material teaching English. Following a year of teacher training, he taught six consecutive years, has now surpassed the all-time record. little baby not keen on sleeping. Laurence was regularly out and particularly in computer coding. It seems his wealth of French and Spanish at RGS Lancaster from 1979-81, was Head pounding the pavements with Ollie at 4.30am to make him drop knowledge has been appreciated by us all. of French at Durham from 1991-94 and Arnold School from Bob is an old fashioned schoolmaster who has dedicated his off. But he was already used to lots of walking. Once he proudly 1994-2001, before finally returning to KES. In the 2002 Chronicle life to the job. As a joke, he says of his outside interests: “Well, told me, that on one day he walked 12,000 paces round the I will finish by quoting from my reference sent to KES Stratford he cites his reason for coming back: “The atmosphere of the look at me – food!” But in reality much of his time is taken up room during his lessons, which is pretty good going when you when Laurence applied for his new job there as Head of Maths: place… It is very different to elsewhere.” As to why he chose to with preparing lessons, work and examination marking to help see the size of his classroom! “Laurence’s capacity for improving anything that crosses his become a teacher – it was that or the police force – although, our boys. He takes our elite athletes over to the University gym path is phenomenal... He is kind, intelligent and determined and he went on to point out: “There are those who, when they see for extra training. Mr Turner doesn’t find people, or the limelight, From an Outreach point of view, Laurence has been responsible everyone in the KES maths department is slightly in awe of him me teach, see that the two are closely connected.” But, with a easy. For those who have attended Sports Day, just think about for setting up and running the biggest and best maths in one way or another, myself included. I recommend him to you compliment to the staff of the day, who taught him: “I suppose the reluctant and hurried speeches he gives at the end of each competition in the country, involving 205 primary schools, 11,000 without hesitation – but please don’t take him away from us.” to some extent it was the way I was taught when I was here that event – an event that has taken him (and invariably him alone) pupils and 450 teachers since its conception. It has attracted was my inspiration.” days and even weeks to prepare. My abiding image of Bob the most mathematically able children from Birmingham and But they did and it’s our loss. Good luck Dr Rackham! Turner is at the far end of Eastern Road, where he gets little or beyond to inspire access to this wonderful place. My colleagues Mr Turner’s enthusiasm for languages, along with his high no attention, doing his field events, day upon day, week on NAS in the offices below Big School are deafened by the sound of standards, is infectious and this rubs off on the boys, who want week, term on term, year on year. stampeding elephants when the children are doing the relay to achieve for Bob and emulate him. He has always worked hard for his pupils, whether as students, or athletes, or in his form. Mr Turner leaves a big physical and metaphorical hole in He does not do the easy thing, he gets cross about little things this school and finding someone to replace him in all the and things done wrong, but he fights for his boys like a lioness extra-curricular work and activities he has provided will be nigh for her cubs. The range and extent to which he has contributed on impossible. Though seeing eye to eye and getting a word in and enhanced the life of boys passing through this school is with Mr Turner is not always easy, it is hard not to love him and quite exceptional. his passion for what he does for the boys and King Edward’s School. Mr Turner, Bob, thank you for all you have done in and When it comes to sport there have been few members of staff for this school: you will be sorely missed. who have given of their time so selflessly. Mr Turner has been a central figure in our sporting provision. His running of the CAPJ 16 Goodbyes

2 School news

And a huge farewell to the Class of 2017

We wish you every success in the future. 18 School news School news 19 Dr Fenton looks back Biology on his first year Big Quiz At the annual reunion lunch for former staff in June, we were graced with the unusual presence of a former Chief Master. Hugh Wright (1991-98) told me that he had travelled all the For the third year running we are the University of way from Norfolk principally with the aim of meeting his Birmingham Birmingham Biology Big Quiz winners, a brilliant latest successor. Children’s achievement for our Fourth year boys. Simple curiosity aside, he explained that the job of Chief Master It was a closely contested quiz, specifically between the two was such an unusual one that only those who had filled the post KES teams, who came first and second, with the second themselves really understood what it encompassed – therefore Hospital team only two points behind the first. About 20 schools they should stick together! After a year in the job, I can certainly from in and around Birmingham took part in this year’s quiz, see what he meant. In addition to the expectations of governors, King Edward’s School has a tradition of supporting with most entering at least two teams. We soared into the staff, pupils and parents (current and future) with which every Birmingham Children’s Hospital (BCH), with our lead, overtaking schools such as Camp Hill, Edgbaston head has to contend, the Chief Master of King Edward’s has two ‘Cot Fund’ dating back to the late 1800s. Today, this High School and Bromsgrove. An impressive performance additional constituencies. relationship is particularly relevant, when so many of the considering a number of the questions were at an IB standard pupils at KES have had contact with the Hospital in one and on topics such as genetics and dinosaurs, which have The role of Headmaster of the Foundation has always occupied a way or another and some will no doubt go on to become not yet been studied in school. good deal of the Chief Master’s time and this is no less so today in part of its workforce in the future. a time when the Foundation is expanding its ambitions through the The winning team got a medal and state-of-the-art formation of a multi-academy trust. Engaging with the School’s As part of the School’s Community Service Group, a dozen microscope. The boys involved were: Andrew Fung, alumni has always been part of the Chief’s remit, but given the boys in the Upper School regularly visited BCH during Friday Aroun Kalyana, Ghani Madadi, Suchir Salhan, Adam Ahmed, centrality of fundraising for Assisted Places, this has now been Afternoon Activities. We learned about the operations of the Abinav Baskar, Pavan Khatkar and Arnav Kulkarni. elevated to a whole new level of importance. Hospital, undertook a first aid course and interacted with HAF patients in a design workshop. But what was particularly Given the breadth of the role, it is almost inevitable that one of these memorable was the emotional visit to the Pediatric Intensive multiple constituencies will feel that the Chief is neglecting them at Care Unit where we saw a premature baby whose heart any given time. There have certainly been times during the last year was not strong enough to pump blood around her body, so when I have felt as if I had so many balls up in the air at once that it was dependent on a machine to survive. Inspired by our was only a matter of time before one of them bounced out of my experiences and the fact that we could be helping to improve control – and a few of them certainly did! great fun. My diary commitments last year meant that I wasn’t able the lives of some of the children, we were tasked with the Before I became a Headmaster, many years ago, one of my fears to do as much as I would have liked, but I was able to spend a few challenge of creating an innovative idea to raise money for was that the pressures I refer to above might mean losing touch days on the Battlefields Trip in October. Although I have made the the Hospital and spent the remainder of the year working on with the aspects of being a teacher that I have always enjoyed the pilgrimage to Ypres and the Somme with school groups over 25 creating a successful fundraising project. most. I was determined that this should not happen, and I have tried times, the Old Edwardians’ connection – so thoroughly researched This year’s BCH fundraising scheme consisted of a Running to remain true to this intent, even while tackling the steep learning and explained by Mr Barrett – added a fresh dimension. As always, Week, whereby the School collectively ran over 1,000 miles curve of the past year. So, what have been the highlights? getting to know the boys on the trip and seeing how they responded of laps around South Field in a sponsored run; a signed to the various challenges with which they were presented was the Lionel Messi jersey quiz and a ‘Sponge-a-Teacher’ event. Given my well-documented obsession with cricket, my number one most rewarding part of the experience. highlight must of course be coaching the U12A cricket team along With kind donations from pupils and parents, we raised with Mr Browning. Sharing in the boys’ first steps as King Edward’s Headteachers split into two camps on the question of whether they approximately £3,500, which was given to the Family Liaison cricketers and helping channel their enthusiasm has been an should continue to teach. There are sound arguments on both sides, Team who provide clinical and emotional support, education absolute pleasure; all the way from the first tentative indoor nets in but – at least partly for selfish reasons – I have always come down and advice for the patients and their families. The money January right through to our nail-biting County Cup triumph in July, in favour. This is because the time spent teaching is one of the very we raised will keep the Family Liaison Team running for an during which both coaches aged by about five years in the space of few times guaranteed to be free from interruption; time when you additional year and aim to improve the available resources for an hour. Even at times when I have felt a little dented by the can concentrate on just one thing. It’s also great fun, the more so patients’ siblings at the Hospital. For example, renovating the pressures of the day job, the boys’ undimmed enthusiasm was the when you can do it as light relief. Thus my third highlight has been sibling play area will help to make their wait more enjoyable, perfect tonic. teaching four of the Shell forms about the history of the railways as and improving the arts and crafts area will enhance their it intersects with that of the city of Birmingham and King Edward’s experiences of the Hospital while their parents concentrate Over the past 29 years, I have spent over six months on school trips School. I have no idea if the boys enjoyed it, but I certainly did. on taking care of their unwell brother or sister. of various kinds. There is no better way to get to know the boys and your colleagues and although it is rarely relaxing, it is invariably MAF On behalf of the BCH team, I would like to thank Mrs Estevez and Mrs Lockhart-Mann for their support and assistance during the planning of the fundraising scheme.

Arjun Sall 20 School news School news 21 Sleep Out

To raise awareness for the homeless, on Tuesday, 13 June 2017 a handful of Divisions boys slept on the Sacred Sod with nothing but cardboard and a sleeping bag to try and captivate the difficult, challenging life of homeless people who go through this every day.

Homelessness is far more prevalent in the West Midlands than we may initially believe; about two thirds of those homeless in the West Midlands live in Birmingham alone. We felt it was greatly important to address the issue of Robert Winston: homelessness now because in today’s society we can become so tied up in foreign politics and affairs that we easily Why bother with forget the problems we face much closer to home. science? Despite the night being staggeringly cold for all of us, we were lucky since it was one of the warmest nights of the year This year’s Tolkien Lecture, the seventh in the series, saw so far – and it was as dry as we were going to get it, bar an enthused and excited audience of pupils, parents and some dew on the sleeping bags. I think I speak for us all, teachers flood the Ruddock Hall to listen to Professor Lord however, when I say that we found it incredibly hard to sleep! Robert Winston, the distinguished professor, medical Mr Butler kindly read us a ‘bedtime story’ to soothe us to scientist and politician. sleep, but to no avail. The cardboard we slept on did not resemble memory foam, and a comfortable sleeping position Lord Winston has enjoyed an illustrious and prominent career as a was a luxury we all dreamed of. Most of us only managed to gynaecologist, having pioneered new treatments to develop the field bank a few hours of sleep. It’s important to note, however, of IVF and published over 300 scientific publications about human that our conditions were as ideal as they could be – homeless reproduction. He is a chairman of the Genesis Research Trust people must sleep through colder, louder and brighter nights, charity, which has raised over £13m to fund high quality research and it’s difficult to imagine how anyone might sleep through into women’s health and babies. Away from the world of medicine, IB World Student Conference such gruelling, depressing nights year-round. Lord Winston has presented many BBC TV series, including the BAFTA award-winning The Human Body and Child of our Time. He A great big thank you must be given to Mr Butler, also sits on the Labour Party benches in the House of Lords, where Ms Smedley and especially Mrs Higgins, who organised The IB World Student Conference (IBWSC) aims to bring The IBWSC has not only enabled me to gain experience in global he frequently speaks on education, science, medicine and the arts. together IB students from around the world to collaborate health, but has influenced me to be a better member of society. so much of the sleep out and ensured a (relatively) smooth on and create meaningful projects to be shared with other Coming from a background with a lack of international night. Without them, such a memorable experience would A pre-lecture meeting with Lord Winston allowed a few pupils IB schools. experience, this conference made me become a better global never have been possible. to enjoy tea with him, where he revealed some of his exciting citizen, not for my country, or the world, but for humanity. experiences in the field of medicine. He recounted his unwitting Zoraiz Khan I applied for a scholarship provided by the International I believe that through coming together from different countries, encounter with a member of the Qatar royal family, and discussed Baccalaureate to attend the 2017 IBWSC held at King’s College, we can gain an insight into issues that face the world. I was able what it truly means to be a doctor, outlining some of the stark London. The application process consisted of putting together a to see the passionate views of many people about their country. realities of the profession. The prospective medics lucky portfolio to demonstrate our action in relation to the previous This conference has inspired me to view the world differently, enough to attend were sure to have greatly benefited from this year’s Global Action Team plans. My project related to Global and not be a passive bystander to the world around me, but join invaluable experience! Citizenship. My aim was to increase the international the battle in reducing problems around the world. mindedness of students at King Edward’s and also share His thought-provoking talk explored how mankind’s thinking and interesting stories by students and teachers within the school There is definitely a need for the promotion of mindfulness and understanding of science has changed, and the importance of being community. CultureSoc became widely viewed within our school the reducing of stigma, so I hope this plan is implemented within scientifically literate in a rapidly developing world. To demonstrate community with an interview of a young student who had been KES. Furthermore, the IB has a great vision of creating good the latter, Lord Winston engaged the audience by challenging our shot by the Taliban. human beings with the requirement of a CAS project for every own understanding of various scientific publications from the media, student who takes the IB. This means that we can get a team of using some amusingly bizarre examples to do so. His talk cleverly Every year we see a change in theme, this year’s being global students behind this plan and make it a success in our school. encompassed his passion for fine music, illustrating how his love of health. I was very grateful to receive the scholarship and be However, the journey doesn’t end there. This conference has science and art go hand-in-hand, and allowing both the scientists able to attend a plethora of lectures from renowned speakers. taught me what it means to change the world and we are and artists in the audience to truly appreciate the lecture. I worked with other IB students in a Global Action Team, and we fortunate to have the ability to do that. With bright minds, and developed a project that could be implemented into communities resources at our expense, it is our duty as the next generation to There was a clear air of satisfaction and pride following the lecture worldwide. Our project, called ‘Mission Mindful’, aimed to help improve global health. of having heard such a respected figure speak to us in our very own demolish the stigma around mental health and promote halls. The audience was left with an enhanced appreciation of mindfulness, many ideas for which were inspired by lectures Shantanu Kundu science in the modern world and now knew indeed why bother with from the Dean of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and science! A big thank you is owed to Lord Winston, and the Tolkien Neuroscience, and representatives from the UN Refugee Agency. Lectures for bringing us the opportunity to meet speakers of such calibre each year.

Adham Moftah 22 School news

In July 2017, a new international-standard News athletics track opened at KES, with the first athletes to use the track being the Jamaican team prior to the 2017 World in brief Athletics Championship.

Warhammer Society competed in the National School League for the first time and made it through to the national final. King Edward’s School received the highest possible rating of ‘excellent’ in all areas in its inspection from the Independent Schools Inspectorate, which took place in May 2017.

Matt Madden was named as the captain of the Great Britain U19 water 3 polo squad. Performing arts Having won the West Midlands regional final of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Top of the Bench competition in January, the KES team progressed to the national final for the first time.

A cheque for £1,323.50, The School’s raised from catering was Romany Wood, awarded a five-star was presented rating for food to Birmingham hygiene following Children’s a visit from the Hospital. Environmental Health Office (EHO). 24 Performing arts Performing arts 25

a group of committed crew – including some of the most As always the naming of individuals belies the dedication of experienced stage managers of recent years. Special thanks everyone involved. The success of Much Ado – and it was Much Ado About Nothing to Snimr Sandhu and to Angus Bradley – who completed a a huge success – was the result of group dedication and full quota of seven years of KES stage management commitment. After the gloomy endings of Cabaret (2015) and crewing. and Wuthering Heights (2016), it was a total triumph to send our audiences laughing out into the cold January evenings. After the stress and trauma of bringing Wuthering A setting of the 1940s demanded music to match – step Heights to life it was a huge relief to turn to forward Mr Jarvis and members of Senior Swing Band MJB Shakespeare’s classic comedy for the Senior who channelled their inner Glenn Miller to great success. It Production 2017. was excellent to see the musicians taking to the stage and revelling in their on-stage roles as part of the action! The plot revolves around a group of soldiers returning from war, so the decision to set our production in a euphoric post-war 1945 was an easy one. Don Pedro and his troops arrive to stay at Leonato’s country house where officer Claudio promptly falls for daughter-of-the-house Hero. His friend Benedick resumes his old battle of words with her cousin Beatrice much to everyone’s entertainment. Throw Don Pedro’s evil bastard sister Don Joan into the situation and the stage is set for the usual trials and tribulations of the Shakespearean road to a happy wedding day.

I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in a more enjoyable rehearsal process than this one. Everyone in the cast and crew threw themselves into creating the world of the play with enthusiasm and dedication. It helped that we had a confidence and genuine talent. Charlie’s development very experienced group of Sixth Form students from both from hilarious and slightly pompous misogynist to utterly schools at the top end of the cast, but their commitment believable and respectful devotion was extremely touching. was matched by everyone involved. One of the great Laura’s fiercely intelligent but prickly feminist came to things about any production is watching the different year realise how little she knew about herself and the world in a groups working increasingly closely and happily together as way that captured the audience’s hearts. rehearsals progress – this group seemed to be a particularly They were matched by strong support from Chaneil Kular’s close-knit bunch. wilfully naïve Claudio, Felix Kai’s elegant playboy Don Pedro It was lovely to see Charlie Coombes Roberts and Laura and Zain Rishi’s bemused and befuddled Leonato. Special Henderson take control of the stage in their final year. mention must go to Shakespeare’s comic policemen the Both of them had given so much to school drama in their Watch. Responsible for accidentally uncovering Don Joan’s seven years and they stepped into two of Shakespeare’s plot to ruin Claudio and Hero’s wedding, they can very often most glorious creations, Beatrice and Benedick, with style, become purely silly and ridiculous rather than amusing. This was our challenge!

Headed by a controversially female Dogberry (Imogen Brown) and Scottish Rottweiler Verges (Hashim Quraishi) we gave them free reign to plan a troupe of hapless home guard. The result was both clever and hilarious, with some of the most wonderful prop work seen at KES for years. Special mentions to Harry Anfilogoff, Sam Jackson, Hayaan Choudhury and Dan Dixon whose creativity was the driving force behind the Watch – the latter controlling an unforgettably (and entirely unrehearsed) collapsing stool…

Stage Crew once again worked their magic on Miss Proops’s simple and elegant country-house set. Costuming the company for the 1940s gave her the perfect opportunity to indulge her land girls obsession. The result was as slick and stylish as we have become used to in Senior Productions. As always the performers were supported by 26 Performing arts Performing arts 27 Removes Drama Club

Removes (and Lower Fourths) Drama Club this year was a huge success; in fact, it was so popular two groups had to be created! Throughout the year, the two groups worked towards a performance in the summer term. Mrs Higgins’s group did a performance based around the theme of food and Miss Proops’s group performed scenes about school. The show as a whole was called School Dinners – marvellous!

In the ‘School’ half, the cast mocked the idiosyncrasies of school life and portrayed some sobering reminders of the hardships facing some students. Among the scenes was a peek into that forbidden room of mystery: the staffroom. Other scenes included an innovative mask sequence telling the story of one boy’s first day at school; an excerpt from the play Blue Stockings and a monologue by Joyce Grenfell. There were excellent performances all round, especially from Dan Hindle, George Berry – as David Attenborough – and Jacob Hiles, who was acting with his arm in a sling!

Mrs Higgins’s group had the chance to either write their own script or use already existing ones. As a result, there was a huge range of pieces, authors and genres stretching from comedy (Forks and Spoons and Dinner Date) to Dahl (Matilda). Some of the stand out performances included Bush Tucker Trials, Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (even though the Hatter was on crutches) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Thanks to Mrs Higgins and Miss Proops who directed us so magnificently and well done to everyone!

A Christmas Carol Christopher Churcher and Ben Wharton

The 2016 Junior Production marked a new departure for the Of course at the centre of the tale, holding everything together School as the first to be performed in the Ruddock Hall. is Scrooge: probably one of the greatest literary creations ever written. It has attracted some of the greatest actors of the last A massive company of over 100 pupils brought to life Dickens’s 150 years, and King Edward’s had talent to match them. From classic festive ghost story that tells the tale of the miserable beginning to end Pratyush Ghosh barely left the stage and and miserly Scrooge who is brought to realise the errors of never faltered. His transformation from grumpy old idiot to his ways when he is visited by four successive ghosts on warm friend was utterly convincing, extremely funny and Christmas Eve. ultimately very moving.

If there were any fears about whether or not the younger pupils Perhaps equalling Pratyush’s masterful contribution onstage Shells’ Drama Club could perform in such an enormous space, they were very swiftly was Ben Wharton’s magnificent script; the distillation of The Shells’ Drama Club gave their first public performance in the laid to rest. The lower three years carried themselves with style Dickens’s prose into an hour and a half’s entertainment was spring term with their highly comic version of Alan Ayckbourn’s and panache and filled the hall with the size and quality of a really magnificent achievement. Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations. their performances. Miss Proops deserves praise for her wonderfully simple and The cast of 12 performed with great energy and enthusiasm, showing Who will forget the chilling appearance of Yusuf Aggour as atmospheric set, which Pete Wheller’s lights brought brilliantly wonderful comic timing. They had the audience roaring with laughter. It was Jacob Marley – first in spectral projection onto the creepy set to life. But special applause is due to Mrs Higgins, mastermind lovely to see every single boy giving it their all, from Krishan Thakur’s librarian and then invading Scrooge’s fireplace? Or Anish Kalyana as a of a production of such scale and ambition. Congratulations to to Harry Rachman’s mum, Euan Elliott’s Ernie to Soutir Chakraborty’s Barker, rumbumptious and powerful Ghost of Christmas Present? As the all involved! and the matter of fact dad, played by Amit Mevorach with his wonderful mortals, Zachary Lazarus-Hide shone as poor Bob Cratchit and Yorkshire accent. Joe Roberts was a charming Mr Fezziwig. But the whole cast MJB from urchins to noble-folk and through past, present and future What a treat and just a glimpse of the talent that will be making its way up really did an outstanding job. through the School.

PKH 28 Performing arts Performing arts 29 Shakespeare Schools Festival

This year’s Shakespeare Schools Festival Production was Macbeth; it was a welcome challenge to the cast, having to explore the terrifying world of the play.

The cast was a plethora of talented and experienced actors all willing to perform to their highest level, above and beyond the expectations of our parents or the School. We began rehearsing in June and ended in late November, by which time all of us knew every detail of every motive and reaction of every character, thanks to the steely ambition and firm determination of Mrs Gillow, whose strength of character equalled that of Lady Macbeth herself! But it was thanks to her that when we performed we excelled ourselves. The rehearsal process was entertaining and constructive, and was, in many respects, the most enjoyable preparation for a performance I have ever done.

I would encourage all budding actors to partake in a Shakespeare Middle School Festival production, as it was the highlight of my drama at KES. Once again, many thanks to Mrs Gillow for all the time and School Drama effort she put in to make Macbeth possible. Oliver Kletz Evening Choral and In May, the enormous Middle School Drama Club (of both boys and girls) performed three great pieces, each with a thought-provoking message. Rehearsing only on Orchestral Concerts Wednesday lunchtimes and a few Monday afternoons the cast pulled together an amazing evening of theatre to showcase to parents and other pupils. Owing to the unusual absence of the Summer Concerts, the Orchestra, the piece depicts the time it was written in, beginning March Choral and Orchestral Concerts were to be Choral in the dark key of D minor, moving slowly but surely onwards to We thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working together in Society and Symphony Orchestra’s final performance of the a triumphant D major finale. The piece had a strong military feel a group. For many pupils it was their first time in front of an year. However, the two ensembles were not to leave without to it, and amidst the moments of sheer power from the chorus, audience, so it was very beneficial (if not daunting) and we pulling out all the stops. there were musical gems from the five soloists: a guest soprano gained many good skills for the future. Hannah Littleton as well as Rosy Heneghan (soprano), Isla Atay In this concert series, Symphony Orchestra showcased the (alto), Abhinav Jain (tenor) and David Millross (bass), the four Each play held a very strong message. For example, Looking range of tone and colour it could produce, the first of which astounding ‘homegrown’ soloists. The piece constantly weaved for Elijah tackled the problem of bullying and Girls Like That Senior Dramatic Society being the mysterious and moving performance of Mahler’s passages of solo voice with that of the chorus, and it brought out presented the dangers of sexting and the effect that can Blumine (flowers). Although it was dropped from the first the best that the boys and girls at KES and KEHS can do. have on young people’s lives. Thirdly, the play Stolen Secrets Pronoun by Evan Placey, was performed by the Senior symphony, it still has its place in the world of music, showing presented the difficulty of ‘washing yourself clean’ of your Dramatic Society in February. The play’s protagonist, Dean, a contrasting side to the Mahler that is shown in the rest of The Monday concert was the culmination of all the hard work secrets, however great or small they are. is a transgender male: born a girl but identifying as male the symphony. Alex Pett (trumpet) played the lilting song-like KES/KEHS Symphony Orchestra had put in through the year, and in the process of transitioning to become a man. passages, bringing out the affection that the piece portrays. and it was a real achievement – playing Mahler’s 62-minute Even though the plays held serious messages, we and the first symphony is no mean feat. From the mysterious and lyrical rest of the cast had a fun time rehearsing and performing The play really shows theatre’s ability to explore, challenge Bruch’s violin concerto, played by soloist Philip Edwards, again first movement to the tumultuous finale, the orchestra took the them and I’m sure the audience enjoyed watching the and illuminate potentially difficult issues. While ultimately very showed the ensemble’s ability to accompany and support as audience on a trip through Mahler’s world. The rollicking second evening as much as we did performing it. sympathetic to the traumas and difficulties of Dean’s position, well as celebrate the virtuosity and impressive standard of music movement was one to remember and the exotic third movement Placey is also very moving about the impact of his decisions making in the two schools. Philip’s stunning rendition of the including Frère Jacques and the Mahler machine was not to Sam Hall and Khalid El-Lahawi on the friends and family that love him. concerto brought out the complexities of the piece, showing be missed. It was a gloriously fitting end to the season, and a mastery of the technically demanding passages in the first The Sixth Form cast, some of whom had not appeared on memorable end for those performers in the Sixth Forms giving and third movements and then in the second, a real sense of a KES stage before, did a really terrific job of capturing the their last concert. musicianship and sensitivity in handling the dolce passages. The comedy and tears of the story. At the show’s heart was a standing ovation was well deserved, and Philip should be proud A huge congratulations must be given to all the music staff really outstanding performance by Hashim Quraishi as Dean, of the performance he delivered. and performers who endeavoured tirelessly to bring us two but he was very ably supported by Raheem Humphreys, extraordinary concerts. Shantanu Kundu, Toby Jowitt and Sam Miah. Next on the agenda was Choral Society, singing Haydn’s Nelson Mass. Accompanied by a small ensemble from Symphony Gabriel Wong Shantanu Kundu 30 Performing arts

Lunchtime recitals The lunchtime recital is one of the most prestigious platforms the younger years as a challenge to create even more amazing and on which young musicians can perform. With a standard of magical music. Thanks to this year’s performances, this tradition of musicianship that can only be described as bedazzling, pupils, music making of the highest order is guaranteed for years to come. staff, parents and the general public are treated to some of the most accomplished musicians the School has to offer. Arun Ramanathan

The 2016-17 series of 12 recitals was eagerly anticipated and did not fail to impress. The recitals were incredibly varied in both instrument and repertoire. The series was set in motion on a typically clear, crisp autumn afternoon with a heavily romantic Spring Concert concert that included Beethoven’s String Trio No. 1 Op. 1 (the Spring had crept up, meaning the inevitable dreariness of complete work no less) as well as some Smetana and Brahms. exam season was almost upon us. However, the Spring Voice firmly cemented itself at the heart of our musical life with Rosy Concert was still to come: a final idyllic showcase, and Heneghan’s masterful and heart-lifting performance of Novello’s what a show we had lined up. 4 Waltz of My Heart in combination with Haine Hock’s note-perfect The concert opened with another fine performance from performance of Bellini’s Almen se non poss’io. KES Choir, before Training String Orchestra. Then Junior As expected, the strings played yet another massive role with Swing Band played two jazzy numbers that really got the Art gallery Jessica Tedd giving a gorgeous rendition of Beethoven’s crowd going (I mean, who doesn’t like John Legend and Romance No. 2 and Daniel Yue treating the audience to as many Meghan Trainor!). Concert Band finished off the half with awe-inspiring performances as ever. Richard Chapman playing the solo trombone part in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Concerto for Trombone and Military Band, A wealth of young pianists inspired us with their stunning adding his own great artistic flair into the cadenzas. performances. Naomi Bazlov, Lauren Zhang and Bryan Chang are but three of the wonderful pianists who played professionally After the interval, the audience reconvened to hear KEHS in style and skill. And this is not even mentioning the wonderful Chamber Choir, who sang a few pieces, the highlight being accompaniment and performances in recitals for chamber groups the Gershwin for Girls. Wind Band continued the upbeat and solo players alike. Just like singing, the art of playing the piano theme with the popular party song Tequila! and the ball was wonderfully showcased this year. wasn’t dropped by Concert Orchestra who played a brilliant compilation of music from the Pirates of the Caribbean It is perhaps impossible to leave out the performance of Stravinsky’s franchise, a select collection of the great Henry Mancini’s Dumbarton Oaks. I can only find one word to sum it up: glorious. music, and finally The Magnificent Seven theme. Never has such chamber perfection graced the Ruddock Hall and, if ever there was a thing as magic, it lingered in the PAC for the Finally, Senior Swing Band brought the night to a close entirety of the performance. with more pop songs as well as the much-loved theme from Family Guy. And that was it. Another amazing year There is so much I have not mentioned, from the wonderful jazz to of music finished with a brilliant concert; a thoroughly Peter Raven’s euphonium performance. Every recital is a testament enjoyable experience. to the talent at the Schools, leaving a legacy that is picked up by Shivum Gupta

▲ Sebastian Bellavia Painting 32 Art gallery - Shells Art gallery - Shells 33

▲ Left: Dylan Lalli. Right: Ibraheem Abedin Ceramics

▲ Left: Navraj Athwal. Right: Javkhlan Hughes Ceramics

▲ Left: Euan Elliott. Right: Andreas Ktori Ceramics ▲ Left: Harian Khera. Right: Aun Ali Ceramics 34 Art gallery - Shells Art gallery - Shells 35

▲ Left: Sean Russell. Right: Yash Suribhatla Ceramics

▲ Left: Yash Suribhatla. Right: Alex Murdoch Still life painting ▲ From top to bottom: Harshaan Bahia, Javkhlan Hughes, Tarun Patel Lino print 36 Art gallery - Removes Art gallery - Removes 37

▲ From left to right: Sam Howells, Elliot Clarkson, Tom Hewitson Ceramics

▲ Left: Jaccob Hiles. Right: Zakaria Ishaque Ceramics ▲ From top to bottom: Azed Bhatti, Akash Dubb, Abhishikth Lalam Painting project 38 Art gallery - Removes Art gallery - Removes 39

▲ Clockwise from top left: Ben Wharton, Kai Nixon, Samuel Nicholl, Rohan Tandon Painting ▲ Clockwise from top left: Bhavesh Sharma, Kai Nixon, Will Thomas, Pavan Samra Lino print 40 Art gallery - Removes Art gallery - Removes 41

▲ From top to bottom: Hamza Waheed, Solomon Allen, Christopher Churcher Painting and ceramics ▲ Clockwise from top left: Oliver Tinley, Advait Kuravi, Oliver Hunter, William Bedson, Hari Chatha Ceramics 42 Art gallery - Upper Middles Art gallery - Upper Middles 43

▲ Left: Akash Thumbe. Right: Alexander Sokolov Engraving

▲ Left: Akash Thumbe. Right: Arnav Tyagi Painting ▲ Clockwise from top left: Rory Swann, Joe Roberts, Jiaqi Cao Painting 44 Art gallery - Upper Middles Art gallery - Upper Middles 45

▲ Clockwise from top left: Benedict O’Hara, Henry Whitehead, Thanh Nguyen, Nishant Suresh Ceramics

▲ Clockwise from top left: Yusef Mohammed, Milan Dogra, Gurjyot Mann, Omar Hijazi Ceramics ▲ Michael Luo Painting 46 Art gallery - Upper Middles Art gallery - GCSE 47

▲ Clockwise from top left: Yusef Mohammed, Vinesh Patel, James Pentland, Elijah Amiss Printing ▲ Top: Ali Syed. Bottom: Aryan Gangurde Mixed media 48 Art gallery - GCSE Art gallery - GCSE 49

▲ Clockwise from top left: Marcus Howl, Ope Odubiyi, Shihab Rashed Ceramics ▲ Top: Emilio Olson Lino print. Bottom: Eduardo Sanchez Etching 50 Art gallery - GCSE Art gallery - GCSE 51

▲ Matt Price Etching

▲ Eduardo Sanchez Metal engraving ▲ Clockwise from top left: Luka Joannou, Luke Doshi Keeble, Ewan Cullen, Matt Price Metal engraving 52 Art gallery - GCSE Art gallery - GCSE 53

▲ From top to bottom: Shihab Rashed Metal engraving. Brandon Rees Mixed media. Peter Murphy Lino print. ▲ Sebastian Bellavia Painting 54 Art gallery - IB (HL)

5 Trips

▲ Kaler Wong From top to bottom: Chalks, ceramics, acrylic sculptures 56 Trips Trips 57 Arvon

Unique. If I could only use one word to describe Arvon, it would have to be unique. When else and where else will you ever have the opportunity to do something like it again? Before I went, one of my friends, who had previously been on the trip, gave me one bit of advice: don’t waste it. And I’m glad to say we didn’t.

We spent most of Monday driving away from things like Wi-Fi, 4G and phone signal. We arrived at The Hurst in the late afternoon, and the imposing gothic structure did not at all befit the warm welcome we were given. Thankfully, the inside of the building did not match the beautiful but cold exterior: most of the rooms contained books, CERN armchairs and little else! It was on this first night that we were shown our rooms, and met the two authors we would be spending As budding physicists and engineers, being able to visit the explanations provided by all the lecturers. The opportunity to the week with. I think it is fair to say we all got on really well with world-renowned home of particle physics and learn from talk to several of the PhD students about their research also Jamila Gavin and Melvin Burgess, and we loved having them there Ski Trip 2017 some of the leading experts in their fields was something gave us a remarkable insight into life at CERN. We were even with us for the week, not just because of the fantastic advice they we had only dreamed of doing. Finding out that this dream able to experience the work of a CERN physicist first-hand by gave us, but because of how genuinely nice they were. During February half term, the KES Ski Trip visited was soon to be reality brought about a feeling of joy and doing some of our own programming and data analysis. While the excellent resort of Saalbach-Hinterglemm, in the curiosity in us all. touring the Large Hadron Collider, we came to appreciate the The week passed like a blur: writing workshops in the morning, Austrian Alps. large scale of engineering behind it as well as the high level of lunch and then free time all afternoon, with nothing to do but write, The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (or CERN when precision required to track individual subatomic particles. it passed quicker than any of us expected. After this we had dinner We stayed in a wonderful, family-run hotel halfway up the written in French) is home to the world’s largest particle Personally, I most enjoyed putting our creativity to the test by and I think it is fair to say we all found our turn at doing the cooking hill, just outside the village of Hinterglemm. A piste ran accelerator, spanning over 27km, where protons moving at near designing our own particle detectors. We managed to come up very amusing. Whether we were trying to chop onions, marinate straight past the front door, allowing the intermediate and light speeds collide 600 million times per second giving off a with a multitude of underwater and extra-terrestrial detectors chicken or boil potatoes it was great fun and I think we all agreed advanced groups to ski in and out each day. We were blessed shower of particles which are tracked and analysed by four thanks to the ‘unlimited budget’ we were provided with. that the first group’s meal was the best. The fact that I was in that with some tremendous weather and the boys, with their detectors. The data from each of these collisions allows group is purely coincidental… instructors, roamed far and wide, exploring this outstanding physicists to understand the most fundamental of interactions, The fun continued into each evening when we would walk ski area. as well as the origin of the universe itself. As if this marvel of through the picturesque city centre and swim in Lake Geneva. On Thursday we said goodbye to Mrs Babb, who had spent the physics and engineering were not awe inspiring enough, we also We finally realised the true importance of understanding first half of the week with us, and were joined by Mr Davies, who The more accomplished skiers completed sections of the discovered that CERN was the birthplace of the internet. mechanics and projectile motion when Mr Tuohey got a score of immediately saw the opportunity to take us all on a walk. Many of famous ‘ski circus’ – a circular tour of the whole area, visiting over 150 in bowling. Discussing ideas and interesting theories us hadn’t ventured out of the house since we had arrived, but we four different valleys. The beginners also made great progress Led by Mr Tuohey, our group consisted of Kunal Dalal, Vishal with other students whose passion for physics and engineering all tagged along. The weather so far that week had been odd to and, before too long, were heading further up into the Aurora and myself, as well as Melissa Chung and Connie matched our own was a wonderful and unique experience for us say the least – sunshine, fog, snow and wind all contributed to the mountains to experience the mountain air, amazing views and Sheeran from KEHS. We found ourselves in good company from all. Our final night was spent bonding with our friends over a medley – but luckily we had picked the perfect evening. The sun the wonderful hospitality on offer in the many picturesque, the outset, only to be joined by even more at the airport when we traditional Swiss meal and several bottles of iced tea. Though shone, and the majestic scenery on the border with Wales provided mountain-top restaurants. met students from JAGS, Dulwich College, Alleyn’s and several there were many sad goodbyes, we have made friendships that inspiration for much of the writing we created. other London-based schools. On arriving in Geneva, we were will last for many years to come. In the evenings, we swam down in Zell am See, ice skated surprised to find that our luggage had been left in London. Overall, this trip was one of the best experiences of my life, and and, perhaps best of all, completed the exciting toboggan However, with all the fascinating lectures at CERN and the We would like to thank Mr Tuohey and the physics department I loved every minute of it. I made friends with people I’d barely descent down into Saalbach. It was a fabulous week and we countless card games with our new friends, we forgot about our at the University of Liverpool for organising this fantastic spoken to before, I learned how to cook and, more than anything, I are now very much looking forward to the 2018 trip to the lost luggage almost as fast as easyJet did. opportunity and supervising us through both educational and had time to focus on my writing and improve it. I would recommend Italian Dolomites. recreational aspects of the trip. From beginning to end it was this trip to anyone who loves writing: I guarantee you won’t regret it. On our first day, we entered CERN with much excitement and a filled with wonder and enjoyment which will be remembered for IJC slight fear that we were about to be immersed in a world of a lifetime. Joe Roberts knowledge far greater than what we had previously experienced. However, these fears were soon quelled by the clear Shonak Joshi Some of the work the boys wrote while at The Hurst can be found in the Words section of Chronicle. 58 Trips Trips 59 Cuba

The Cuba trip was a week-long adventure that explored del Rosario mountains, we learnt about its coffee plantations as well items on our souvenirs list. Our hotel was situated on a pristine, Speaking Spanish was regularly done throughout the trip. the cultural, historical and geographical aspects of the as La Mariposa, the national flower of Cuba. As we drove through white-sanded beach that we made full use of when we could, with Personally, I found Cuban Spanish easier to understand than the Caribbean’s largest island. the Pinar del Rio province, we saw many patriotic government spectacular views into the famous Bay of Pigs. In the evening, the Spanish spoken in Madrid, although I confess to a few words posters that pledged loyalty to Fidel Castro, all reminders of the sound of Cuban music from speakers on the beach coupled with catching me out (for example, I have learnt footballer to be On our first full day, we took a city tour of Havana, seeing places strong public support he had received. the presence of other tourists from an all-girls French school gave ‘futbolista’ but in Cuba they drop the ‘s’). in Habana Vieja (the old city) like the Revolution Square and the us an opportunity to impress with our newly learnt salsa skills. hotel where writer Ernest Hemingway stayed for several years. On the third day, we visited the Viñales Valley to see some of the Our final day in Cuba was spent in Santa Clara as we visited Visiting the Castillo San Carlos de la Cabana, an 18th century oldest geological formations in Cuba, before taking a boat ride The following day, we went to Caleta Buena, a protected cove, revolutionary monuments like the Tren Blindado (armoured train) fortress situated on the harbour, helped to educate us about through the Cueva del Indio and spotting the various stalactites and where we swam with fish and played volleyball on the beach. as well as Che Guevara’s mausoleum, which unfortunately we Cuba’s colonial past and the tense relationship with Britain. On stalagmites inside. Afterwards, we went horse riding from Aguas We then continued on to the towns of Cienfuegos and Trinidad, could only admire from the outside due to poor weather. the streets, it was awe-inspiring to see horse-drawn carriages Clara (with some horses being more obedient than others), which both renowned for their colonial-era architecture. Whilst visiting that were juxtaposed by relatively new American 1950s cars, enabled us to see the scenery of the surrounding area. marketplaces in Sancti Spíritus, we were given a demonstration into All in all, it was a wonderful experience that was thoroughly a result of the US blockade on the country. In the afternoon, how pottery was made in Cuba and the vibrant colours used in their enjoyable and created lasting memories for everyone involved. we had a salsa lesson, teachers included, with some members Next on the agenda was a visit to the Zapata Peninsula National design. We also got an insight into local life by visiting everyday Special thanks go to our tour guide Mary, our coach driver and of the group dancing like seasoned pros whose hips definitely Park and a crocodile breeding centre to see Crocodylus rhombifer, supply shops, and being told about the education and healthcare finally Mr Witcombe and Mr Ash, whose organisational skills didn’t lie. a species found only in Cuba. Upon seeing them, their remarkable systems by our tour guide, Mary, whenever we passed schools or were instrumental in making the trip a huge success. stillness initially tricked us into thinking they were not real. We also pharmacies respectively. The day after, we visited Las Terrazas, a UNESCO Biosphere visited a tobacco field and saw how the farmers rolled the tobacco Akil Khalid reserve. As well as taking in the spectacular views of the Sierra leaves to create their world-famous cigars that were essential 60 Trips Trips 61 Senior Cycle Tour

Mallorca Exchange

Finding a balance between work and relaxation is a The 2017 Senior KES Cycle Tour saw 20 boys, parents and climb. This turned out to be a prelude for tomorrow, when we challenge faced by everyone. Yet, studying both the Spanish teachers tackle five days and 250 miles of cycling in and tackled the same hill again with panniers. The unrelenting route and the International Baccalaureates, and being surrounded around the Yorkshire Dales, and was filled with many great then led us over two climbs used in the 2014 Tour de France. by some of the most incredible scenery in all of Spain, the times, both on and off the bike. The footage of the pros racing up the Buttertubs and Grinton students of the Son Pacs Institute in Palma de Mallorca Moor seemed distant to the slow crawl of KES cyclists when we arguably find this most difficult of all. Having met on a mid-August morning, we departed with encountered inclines of over 20%. The ranging views at the top, enthusiasm, not fully aware of the challenge we had signed This became clearly apparent to the group of 19 boys who however, did relieve most of the pain in my legs, albeit until we ourselves up for. We soon found out. The first day, described as travelled to Mallorca last Easter for the first part of their Spanish began riding again. ‘not too tough’, included just 700m of climbing in 30 miles, exchange. The initial pain of a shockingly early 8am start to the which started immediately after departing from our start-point in In my opinion, the familiarity of the Tan Hill made the second ride school day was soon surpassed by our appreciation for the Otley. Getting used to riding with the weight of panniers again of it a little easier on our penultimate day. From here, new roads unique history of the island, with visits to the Cartuja de certainly did not make the day any gentler and we were all glad were explored on the descent, where speeds in excess of 50mph Valldemossa, a beautiful mountain monastery, and to the home to arrive at our destination of Malham. were claimed to have been reached by some. At midday we of the poet Robert Graves among other places. This appreciation stopped for lunch in Reeth, a small village where we saw signs quickly turned to fascination and, as the week progressed, we The tour quickly gathered pace on the second day, commencing to Richmond, our destination, only eight miles away. In actual grew to embrace the local culture, whether that be simply with 5km of unrelenting climbing, leaving us with no time to fact, we had 26 miles left; our route took a ‘slight’ detour over strolling through the streets of Palma or learning how to prepare digest breakfast. After reaching the summit of Malham Tarn, a the Stang, an elevation gain of almost 400m at an average the popular Mallorcan snack pa amb oli. I would like to thank both Mr Ash and Madame Estevez for sharp winding descent followed. From here, we progressed, gradient of 7%. After completing this, spirits were high as we taking the time to make such a remarkable trip possible, as well aided by numerous café stops, to Dent, where we mentally In the midst of this relentless exposure to Mallorca and all it had had completed our last major climb of the tour and we as the teachers of the Son Pacs Institute for ensuring we had an prepared for the final climb of the day up to Dent Station, which to offer, we still managed to find plenty of time to spend with our proceeded to Richmond, where we spent our final night. absolutely thrilling week. But, as with all school exchanges, we turned out to be the highest station in Britain! Another terrific exchange partners; afternoons playing football on the beach and are most grateful to our exchange partners and their families for descent ended our first full day of the tour, topped off with an After a tiring four days, it was welcome news to all when the day going trampolining really helped us to come together as a group, accommodating us and doing their best to make us feel excellent dinner. was curtailed by seven miles, and having ridden out over the and the countless conversations truly immersed us in the welcome. I think I speak on behalf of our entire group when edge of the Dales, the last miles were filled with laughs and Spanish language. It was this aspect of the trip, being with our I say we can’t wait to repay the favour. The fact that the third day was a loop, and could be done memories of the week. For me, this tour was the toughest I have partners and their families, that we found most rewarding; tasting without panniers, was little consolation for the 2,200m of participated in but also the most enjoyable. Thanks to Mr Phillips their food, joining in with their conversations and adopting their ¡Hasta luego! climbing packed inside 58 miles. Having gone up to the highest for organizing the great tour and making sure we went over all customs, allowed us to become fully immersed in the lifestyles station in Britain the day before, the route navigated us to the the highest hills in Yorkshire. of Mallorcans. Kunal Dalal highest pub in Britain, the Tan Hill Inn. Here, hot chocolate was ordered by many as a reward for completing the eight-mile Dougie Dolleymore 62 Trips Trips 63 London International Youth Science Forum

During August, Matthew Kalirai and I went to London to attend the 59th London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF) at Imperial College. We were fortunate as we were funded by a school scholarship.

It was an amazing experience; getting to meet young people from over 50 different countries, who were all passionate about science. We stayed at Meininger hotel, which was rather cramped, as there were eight people in a single room, but it allowed us to make new friends.

The theme of LIYSF 2017 was ‘Making Life Better’, and there were many lectures ranging from disease control to the development of Virgin Galactic in making space control more affordable. We also visited many scientific centres such as the Sanger Institute, which pioneered the Human Genome Project, and the Nottingham Carbon Neutral Laboratory. Rugby and Hockey Tour Bryan Chang

On Saturday 8 July the teachers and boys of the KES Rugby atmosphere was great and the rivalry between the teams was and Hockey Tour 2017 to India and Sri Lanka, embarked from consistent with the best traditions of Rugby Union. Birmingham to Mumbai with strong feelings of excitement and anticipation. We visited a vast tea plantation, a herb forest where the crop was mainly used for medicinal purposes, and an elephant Five thousand miles separate the cities, with Mumbai’s sanctuary. Most boys’ highlights were seeing sea turtles on the population almost 20 times greater and a huge gap between beach and helping them into the ocean. A low point of the tour the wealthy and the poor, which we saw on the beach playing was when one of the lads messed up his visa and had to make football with some local children from the slums. Whilst we were an early departure. playing, tens of thousands of others were using the same place to wash and clean, like an improvised bathroom. Subsequently, Then, it was back to India and a visit to the grandeur of the Taj we visited both the slums and the local shopping mall – our Mahal, surrounded by much peace, beauty and two mosques, senses were overwhelmed with the concentration of people, and then to the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib that feeds 10,000 hard work, litter, filth and flies on the one hand and designer people a day. We visited the kitchens and saw cooking cauldrons shops, the like of which you would never see in our Bullring, on bigger and wider than any prop on Tour. the other. We gave out presents to a local school in the slum and were greeted as Bollywood heroes with much celebration, joy On the flight home, many boys reflected on the extremes of and elation. India, the hotels were all luxurious with great buffet-style food and wealth and poverty and the dignity of the human spirit in these nice pools to relax around – it felt at times like paradise! circumstances. This tour was not only unforgettable but also Our first matches were played in hot, humid conditions with a momentous occasion in our lives. In that spirit we all want pitches as dry as a desert, against competitive, friendly Rugby is the second sport in the country and our matches were to give Mr Johnson, Mr Browning, Mr Pavey, Mr Petrie, and opponents who were very able on the ball ‘sevens like’, but played in great stadia but again the pitches were as dry as Death Dr Battaloglu, as well as all of the other hockey teachers, a less secure with forward and set piece play. Both the firsts and Valley, and it was challenging work to tackle. Our opponents massive thanks for everything. seconds won and we departed for a few days to a contrasting were once again fast and skilful but the firsts won both of their Sri Lanka, which immediately felt like the rural island it is. As in matches and the seconds won one and narrowly lost the other. The Caleb Turner 64 Trips Travel Scholarship

When someone wants to go on a cycling holiday at KES, all that we should have trained more, we eventually reached they need to do is email Mr Boardman and get a place on the Basel, having stopped to wonder at the beautiful Rhine Falls junior cycle tour – or Mr Phillips’s senior tours if you want to at Neuhausen. Day four took us through Neuf-Brisach, a move into the premier league of KES cycling. beautifully preserved fortified town, to Strasbourg; however, what was a lovely flat, fast day turned into misery when a Eugene, Arjun and I are seasoned veterans of Mr Boardman’s thunderstorm blew over us with just 10 miles to go. Stopping tours, having started in Shells with the popular Low Countries for lunch at a patisserie halfway through the next day, we Tour and continuing through the years, cycling in Germany, the reached Mannheim and were now firmly in Germany. We Netherlands and Austria. When I proposed the idea of a travel stopped in Bingen, Neuwied and Cologne throughout the next scholarship, following the Rhine was an obvious choice as it few days. In Cologne we visited the iconic cathedral, and also goes through six countries, with varied landscapes and visited the more sombre National Socialism Documentation picturesque scenery. Centre. This museum is based in a former Gestapo prison, and uses the graffiti remaining in its well-preserved cells to tell After a flight to Zurich, we transferred to our hotel in the story of its prisoners. Heading into the Netherlands, our Andermatt, in the Swiss Alps, where we set about piecing final country, we stayed in Arnhem before reaching Rotterdam, together our disassembled bicycles that had been transported the end of our route. in bicycle boxes. The Rhine starts to the east of Andermatt, near a mountain pass handily named ‘Oberalp Pass’. After the After cycling around 700 miles over 10 days, the ferry back obligatory group photo, we descended an incredible stretch of to the UK was a welcome sight. The trip was a wonderful road, with a few dozen chicanes as we went down the side of experience – from the landscape, to the culture and language the mountain. We soon joined the first part of EuroVelo 15, an – it is, without a doubt, one of the best cycling trips we have EU cycle route that our own route was based on. We followed ever been on. Thanks must go to Mr Connor and the Parents’ this cycle path into Chur, before heading north the next day, Association for making this trip possible as well as to leaving Switzerland and passing through Lichtenstein and Mr Boardman for his advice and getting us into cycling Austria, finishing with a 30-mile stretch along Lake Constance, in the first place. into the German city of Konstanz. Jack Thompson The next day was one of the most challenging on the tour for us. With a strong headwind, hilly terrain and the realisation 6 Outreach 66 Outreach Outreach 67 Earth and Bringing Space Science Conference history to life Primary chess Concert extravaganza Almost 100 primary schoolchildren participated in a chess competition, which took place in Big School Party on a Friday afternoon. The entire event took just 90 minutes, which meant lots of fast-paced games of just five minutes each. Concert Party takes seven KES musicians on Friday afternoons to primary and preparatory schools The format of the competition allowed pupils to be matched throughout the city, giving a short concert at each. with opponents of a similar ability, which was made possible by the team of KES boys who quickly grouped together players We talk about our instruments, show the pupils how they with a similar score at the end of each round and pointed them work and what is possible, and then perform, separately and in the direction of their next boards. together. We have performed a movement of a Dvořák string We are very lucky to have links with the Ogden Trust, which quintet, as well as works by Bach, Telemann, Monti, and The event was a great success and medals were given out to promotes the teaching and learning of physics, and on Friday Shostakovich. the best player from each school as well as those who scored 3 March KES hosted 75 primary school teachers attending an the most points overall. The gold medals were given to two Earth and Space Science Conference. The musicians: Enoch Cheung, Jonnie Green, Eben boys, one from Wilkinson Primary School and one from City Gutteridge, David Millross, Arun Ramanathan, Eugene Toso, Road Primary Academy, who won all six of their games. They spent the day rotating around four sessions in the science and Daniel Yue. labs, each giving them interesting ideas to take back to the LAR classroom and share with their pupils. In spite of dreadful weather, MDL the day was hugely successful and at the end of it delegates left armed with a rocket launcher and the knowledge of how to send a mouse into space and magically float things in the air! Question: Where does the water for your home come When Lord Robert Winston spoke in the Tolkien Lecture, he from? A) The sea; B) Taps; C) Jesus. mentioned that the teaching of science should begin in earnest in Debating the early years. This course was definitely inspiring teachers to do All the answers are perfectly correct and fun to work with. I just that. ask the kids an awful lot of questions, mostly because I am interested in their answers. The 4,500 pupils in Birmingham SPD Workshop that I see each year certainly have a lot of answers as well as a lot of questions! I visit around 80 primary schools, from Continuing the legacy of the Debating Workshop, initiated by Sparkhill to Solihull, and Northfield to Nechells. No primary members of the current Sixth Form two years ago as part of the school is too small or too large and they are all full to bursting School’s Outreach programme, I and a group of Fifths have spent point with bright kids. the autumn term travelling to primary schools within inner city Primary school sports coaching Birmingham to introduce the concept of formal debating. I admit my workshops are a cross between a Royal Society Christmas Lecture and stand-up at the Hammersmith Apollo, The Workshop allows us to acquaint children with several skills tending more to the latter than the former. Contrary to popular small-sided games. Many of them also took part in the ‘Sprint Sport Outreach gives local primary schools, which lack their associated with debating such as public speaking, responding to belief, the attention span of young people is phenomenally Challenge’, giving them the bragging rights of ‘fastest team’ to own pitches and facilities, the chance to experience new opposing points (known formally as a rebuttal) and the creating of long, much better than grown-ups. Perhaps it is because they take back to their schools. sports under the expert tutelage of the KES PE assistants. arguments based on apt and cogent reasoning. Of course, from the are waiting and wishing for the inevitable disaster or maybe perspective of the boys running the workshop, it is an engaging and because they find perambulating steam engines, collapsing In the autumn term, three local primary schools sent 150 of their “My dream is to come to King Edward’s School when I’m older!” constructive use of Friday afternoons. However, for many, the temples, Saxon skeletons and water-powered rockets leaping pupils to the Southall Pavilion to receive hockey and rugby Just some of the feedback that a pupil gave following their time programme extends far beyond simply being part of the school skywards, brilliant fun. We might even be learning something coaching (and perhaps use up some of their energy, too!) on the KES Sport Outreach scheme, showing that the small work curriculum, as it allows boys to gain valuable experience in at the same time, you never know. we do is very much appreciated. The pupils developed their basic passing and ball carrying completely novel situations, as well as improving more basic skills JPD skills in rugby, whilst in hockey, they worked towards playing BJW such as patience and communication.

Tushar Roy 68 Outreach

Our Outreach Swimming Gala was a great success for pupils in Year 4 and 5 from prep schools West House, Hallfield, Blue Outreach Coat and Mayfield. Taking place in both the KEHS and KES pools, the girls and boys kicked and splashed their way through several traditional and fun races as they tried to beat the other schools. The standard of Swimming swimming was excellent and for most pupils it was their first taste of this kind of competition, with other schools taking part.

Lots of parents came along to watch the action and we finished Gala the day with tea and cake in the dining hall, followed by Dr Fenton 7 giving out certificates and congratulating the children for swimming (and clapping and cheering) so well!

SPD Leadership Maths competitions Teams of four mathematicians from almost 100 primary schools visited KES to take part in our Year 4 and Year 6 maths competitions. The best teams from 15 heats in total went through to their respective grand final.

The Year 6 competition was won by St Peter’s C of E Primary School, Harborne, with The Shrubbery winning the prep schools event. St Peter’s C of E also won the Year 4 competition and had the additional bonus of receiving their prize from Kjartan Poskitt, author of the ‘Murderous Maths’ series.

Huge thanks must go to Rohan Mehta, Rahil Kumar and a number of other KES boys from the PSG Friday afternoon option who helped to ensure the events ran so smoothly.

LAR 70 Leadership Leadership 71 This year in Fifths Fourths KES Leadership Leadership Leadership

The beginning of the school year saw a fresh group of Fourths escape the tedious rota system and wander into Geog B, wearing our new turquoise-coloured, slightly ‘over-sized’ hoodies.

It all seemed like an ordinary lesson; tables set in neat rows, a ‘teacher’ at the front and a task on the board. “Drug Smuggling”, it read. It catches your attention doesn’t it? Nothing about the Leadership option was ordinary. These ‘teachers’ were in fact boys from the Divisions and this ‘task’ was more of a peek into the adventure we would enjoy over the next hour and 20 minutes.

Every week we would step into that room, not knowing what challenges were in store for us and what hurdles we would overcome. Through delegation, communication and most importantly – as the name would suggest – leadership, every activity allowed us to develop as both individuals Fifteen weeks. Fifteen high-concept, demanding, and and team players. Every Friday offered a unique afternoon, challenging afternoons presented to the Fifths in ranging from an Apprentice-based buying task in Selly Oak, 90-minute sessions every Friday afternoon. There were 25 to creating product advertisements in the University, and the Fifths and every single one of them rose to the challenges new teams every week ensured we could learn to work with we put forward, overcoming assault courses, border different people, adapting to new roles. walls, and even disease epidemics. It is fair to say the highlight of the year came in the summer The autumn term began with a high-stakes leaderboard term, with our visit to Delta Force Paintball Centre, in system, calling on the most driven Fifths to rise to the top and Solihull. As well as it being great fun, here we truly learnt the lead their teams to victory from week to week. A series of importance of the key qualities we had obtained throughout the year, such as teamwork. This year’s programme has been one of our proudest activities that allowed the Fourths and Fifths to progress with early wins by Jaydon Gill placed him as favourite, but he was th achievements. A renaissance of Leadership was required to the important leadership skills: communication, innovation, and ultimately pipped by Ibraheem Malik, up from 18 , who had a All these exciting activities wouldn’t have been possible reinvigorate the truly unique option in the School, to validate problem-solving. In turn, our own organisation and creativity talent for motivating and mobilising his team during every without the help of our staff, Mr Aston, Mrs Charlesworth- the Divisions who’d chosen to stay with the option, and most was galvanized to become efficient teams capable of running challenge, and Opeoluwa Odubiyi, who put in a strong Jones, Dr Fennell, and most importantly, Mr Roll. We look importantly to ensure a worthwhile experience for the 50 the afternoons. performance throughout. The highlight of the term was a forward to many more challenges, including our expedition, Fourths and Fifths who were committed to KES Leadership. re-enactment of the US election, where we voted in Rohit and in the long term, this will hopefully result in us being The UMs’ team achieved success long-time absent from Kale with a passionate Hillary Clinton impression as president able to successfully take over this great option. With only 14 Divisions to plan and run the afternoons across Leadership. After experiencing their activities of ‘Game of against a Trumpian Tom Rose. three year groups, it is no exaggeration to say that we rose to the Thrones’, ‘Drug Smuggling’, and ‘Takeshi’s Castle’, the sign-ups Arnav Kulkarni challenge. We created a series of original, creative activities. to Fourths Leadership were oversubscribed. The second half of the year brought in more of a focus on Gone were the tired, overused ideas of solving riddles or endless personal development as we prepared the Fifths to take over barrel-and-plank challenges. As our year finishes and the option transitions to those we have running the option. The commitment shown by Yusuf Raja as trained, I express my thanks to all the Divisions running the he adopted a leading role in every week’s team was In Fifths Leadership we held a gaming tournament, created an option with me this year, and LMR, BMS, JPS, JMP, KSL, JF, EJA, unrivalled. Naren Tirumularaju grew from relative quietness to art gallery, and hosted a film festival. We re-enacted the Battle of and all the Leadership staff whose guidance was invaluable. an expert negotiator, organising his team at the beginning of Thermopylae and managed the outbreak of a pandemic. In each week’s session with authority and efficiency. Prithvi Fourths Leadership we hunted a fugitive, climbed Mount Everest, Aloysius Lip Singh proved himself to have a knack for problem-solving. and built a city. Hardeep Kalsi showed he could rally just about anybody into a productive, functioning team. From this year’s syllabus of activities, we proved that no idea is too daring or too difficult. As Divisions, we took what inspires us It has been a pleasure to run Fifths Leadership this year and and developed them into experiences to run. We delivered I’m happy to leave the option in the capable hands of these four individuals and the 21 Fifths who have stayed with the option to Divisions. I am sure Leadership will continue to reclaim its place as the best option in the School.

Aloysius Lip 72 Leadership UMs Leadership

8 CCF This year’s UMs embarked upon an exciting year of The ‘Takeshi’s Castle’ theme was a clear favourite, in which the Leadership that promised to both entertain and challenge boys completed a range of activities to escape Count Takeshi’s them, making it the most enjoyable Friday afternoon activity. menacing castle. The aforementioned ‘Drug Run’ mini-game, run by the notorious drug lord Cam Bailey, quickly became the UMs Leadership aims to give a taste of the fundamental skills staple activity of the afternoon as UMs would approach us in that pupils have a chance to build on in the option, while the corridors eager to have a go at this! ‘Dragons’ Den’ was also engaging in fun activities with their friends, including teamwork, received with equal enthusiasm, as the boys were tasked to organisation and communication to name just a few. create innovative products of various categories in an effort to make as much money as they could. However, the harsh The creativity of the UMs teaching team was certainly put to Dragons ensured that this was not an easy task! the test in planning captivating afternoons for groups of enthusiastic and excitable UMs at the end of their busy weeks. Throughout every afternoon, there was a clear aura of (healthy!) Thus the task of convincing as many UMs as possible that competition among the teams, fuelling the boys to try their Leadership is the option for them became a daunting one! hardest. The UMs showcased their impressive potential to Nonetheless, our team more than rose to the challenge, creating become excellent and thoughtful team players as they remained themed activities that the UMs were sure to love. It is safe to say engaged from start to finish, including when reflecting on their that they could never be quite sure what was to come next as performances to end each afternoon, which becomes a central they faced challenges ranging from hiding ‘drugs’ and navigating aspect of Leadership as they progress through the years. They through mazes around a ‘sleeping dragon’, to selling new were clearly ready to take on the following formative years before weapons to the Ministry of Defence. running their own afternoons upon reaching the Divisions.

Adham Moftah 74 CCF CCF 75 Contingent Commander’s overview

Well it’s been a busy year! There has been new stuff – the RAF Section back in action under new management, the growing partnership with Selly Oak Trust School, the new Upper Middles challenge programme. And there has been the old faithful annual routine, from hitting the ground running with autumn expeditions, through to the summer camps and trips, via the Annual Inspection and the visit of Commodore Darren Bone the Upper Middles, for the first time, had taster sessions from each RN all the way from the Falkland Islands, where he served as CCF Section, as part of their new Friday programme of outdoor and Commander British Forces South Atlantic. personal challenge education. This gave them some experience of the armed forces ethos, and helped them to make sensible option Let’s take each in turn – briefly! The first 16 recruits joined the new choices at the end of the year. RAF Section in September under the leadership of Mr James Butler and the inspirational F/Sgt Navjoth Singh: by the end of the year all As well as the RAF expedition to Inskip, the year saw the Army had flown at least once, visited RAF Cosford and the RAF training complete weekend expeditions to Nesscliff for military training in the facility at Inskip, and learned to cope with every challenge thrown at field, and to Capel Curig for a range of adventurous training, while On site, the highlight was undoubtedly the visit of Commodore ‘Admiral’ Bonehill’s swimming pool extravaganzas… Enough! them by the fertile Butler imagination… And three went to Gibraltar the Navy started with afloat training at Plas Menai and then went Bone RN – it is not easy to get high-ranking officers to visit, We welcome Miss Morris, now Sub-Lieutenant Morris, into the too, on a week’s CCF(RAF) camp. down to stay on HMS Bristol in Portsmouth for the naval training but it does help if they are old mates of Mr and Mrs Milton! The RN Section, and Mr Butler is now the very smart Pilot Officer Butler. weekend in March – taking the RAF along for the ride too. And while Commodore was a star – not only did he stand up and take And we look forward to welcoming back Lt Cdr Leaver as Officer Meanwhile Selly Oak naval cadets have been to KES for weapons the Army prepared for summer camp in Scotland, and the scuba the salute, resplendent in gold lace, but he also came in to talk in Charge of the RN, just as we say ‘Thank you and au revoir’ to training and shooting, for kayaking, and visited the War Memorial divers readied themselves for the Gozo expedition, the Navy went to cadets about the challenges of life in the Falklands and the Lt Wareing as she begins a period of maternity leave. Some things exhibition in the Chapel too. And once again, their turn-out and down to Portsmouth again to cope with fire and flood at the Navy’s spectacular rescue of the passengers and crew of the French liner change, but the heart remains the same. My thanks to all the pride at AGI put some of our own to shame. They also recruited Damage Repair Instructional Unit. That was great; we’re going Le Boreal, and to crown it all he made a special visit to Selly Oak officers and adult staff, and to the senior NCOs who stuck with their first girl, who thus became the first female KESCCF cadet in again in January… And there was the climbing wall, and sailing and Trust School to meet our Selly Oak cadets on their own turf. CCF, gave a great deal back, and made it all possible. Good luck 110 years – quite a distinction! There are several more now… And kayaking qualifications on the reservoir, and syllabus training too. to you, wherever you end up. And that is a fair flavour of the year. And then there is Captain Storey’s weekly kayaking, and the staff lifeguard training, and Commander (CCF) Duncan Raynor RNR the scuba diving training in the cold waters of Stoney Cove, and A year in Connolly

We started off the year by being issued with our uniforms shooting at the School’s range. For our second expedition we and learning how to wear it all properly. Three weeks after went to Capel Curig Training Camp in Snowdonia. This time the start of term we went off on our expedition weekend to we stayed indoors and had a full English cooked for us each Swynnerton Training Camp in Staffordshire. It was a busy morning. We took part in a variety of Adventurous Training (AT) weekend, and involved sleeping in bashas (one-sided tents), activities including hill walking, mountain biking and using 24-hour ration packs, night exercises, camouflage and rock climbing. concealment tutorials, and wilderness survival training. Ten months after the start of the year we took part in our first On our first night we were split into teams and had to avoid Annual General Inspection (AGI). We received our berets and lurking Cadre boys who were aiming to take our ‘lives’ (a piece hackles for this occasion. The Army Section also gave a variety of tape on our arms), whilst our second night exercise was an of displays including cooking, navigation and weapons attack. The following morning, we woke up early for a dawn handling, finished off by a section attack on South Field assault, the most exciting part of the weekend, before we had to using blank ammunition. help clean the rifles. This was mundane, and the rain definitely did not help, but the extra rations that were given for breakfast After a year in Connolly it is safe to say I have learnt a lot and I were well received. look forward to joining Vyse when we will continue expanding our knowledge and skills. Throughout the rest of the year, we spent our afternoons doing drill, command tasks, orienteering, military knowledge and George Zhang 76 CCF CCF 77 Army RAF summer Expedition: RNAS Inskip camp Inskip was our first expedition as the newly formed RAF section.

We began with classroom-based Army summer camp this year started with a journey to lessons on RAF knowledge, rank and Barry Buddon Training Area in Scotland. structure as well as on some basic We spent the evening familiarising ourselves with the navigation. The ‘highlight’ of the camp as well as taking a trip to the beach. The first full morning however, was the gruelling day on the camp consisted of weapon’s handling revision, early morning run led by Mr Butler. marksmanship principles and an introduction to Personal Straight after dinner we were ushered Role Radios. into a meeting room, where we were The next day we were off camp doing what the Army calls placed into teams and briefed on a Adventurous Training (AT), which involves activities such as situation. As soon as darkness fell, rock climbing, mountain biking and coasteering. We started we began our game on a golf course the day off mountain biking through the nearby forests and with hillocks dotted around and a took part in coasteering after lunch. Although the water was large pond – the mission was to Cadet very cold and uninviting to begin with, I warmed to the thrills find parts to build a rocket with of coasteering and found it to be very enjoyable. Diving in Gozo GPSs whilst also stealing the other team’s supplies. On the third day on camp, we spent time on the range, which Leadership allowed us to put into practice the marksmanship principles Filled with a great sense of anticipation at the days to come, Rev Raynor led his We started the game off focused we were taught previously. The next day, we rotated through band of merry men across Europe to the blue waters of Malta on the annual scuba on the mission and the other four different sessions: Training in Built-Up Areas (TIBUA), first diving expedition. team, but after five minutes an aid, paintballing, and shooting on the .22 firing range. TIBUA ear-piercing whistle could be heard Course After a refreshing flight we stepped out into the searing heat of Malta. Without our luggage, over the entirety of the golf course taught us some of the ideas and techniques that the army uses when fighting in cities and towns. The first aid session which Ryanair had neglected to load, but who really needs washing stuff and clean clothes? and three senior cadets dressed in Over the Easter holidays, myself and Mustafa Lone travelled included the use of stretchers and tourniquets which aren’t From there it was just a short ferry ride to the small island of Gozo, where we were swiftly DPM (Disruptive Pattern Material/ up north to the Warcop Training Area for a week long Cadet usually covered in cadet first aid courses. introduced to our instructor Duncan ‘Jon Porter’ Johns – the resemblance to our very own camouflage) jumped out from Leadership Course (CLC). JP was striking. After being shown to our rooms, and swiftly discovering that fans and water behind the darkness and grabbed were the only currency that mattered in this alternative economy, we began to raid each Our first day was spent covering basic skills on the training area Our last two days found us once more off camp and on one member from each team and other’s rooms for whatever we could lay our hands on. Once the heat had subsided and in our sections, which centred around the section attack, and the exercise instead. This meant that we were out on the essentially ‘kidnapped’ them. we felt as though we weren’t going to melt, we wandered down into Marsalforn Bay and acronym PREWAR. After extensive briefings that night, we spent training area, camping and cooking our own meals. This This happened regularly during inspected our home for the next week. the following day outdoors conducting Training in Woodlands and simulated the conditions soldiers may have to face when the exercise, meaning we developed fighting for real. We conducted patrols and ambushes with the reaction of running as fast Forests (TIWAF) and Training in Built-Up Areas (TIBUA). The TIBUA Over the next few days we began the Advanced Diver course, diving at several of Gozo’s session included an assault on and into the ‘Skills House’, which blank ammunition and culminated with an attack on the as possible when we heard the second morning. top dive sites – Xwejni Bay, Dahlet Qorrot, Hondoq, and Dwejra (the filming location for the whistle. The exercise was definitely we entered through a basement window and moved our way up the Dothraki wedding scene in season one of Game of Thrones). We got through navigation, floors until the building was clear. the best part of our trip and when Overall, I found the camp to be very enjoyable as we were naturalist, boat diving, and my two favourites, a deep dive and a wreck dive. This left a few we finished, we trudged up to our days still to go, which is when we had the chance to combine all of the skills gained from Our third day was on camp, learning how to prepare and deliver able to put into practice skills related to military tactics, rooms, shattered. the previous days to plan and lead our own dives. And that was it. The best week of my orders to troops, before deploying on exercise for the next three which we are unable to carry out at school. life: done. We’d seen angelfish, cuttlefish, fireworms, jellyfish, moray eels, octopus, sponge, days. While on exercise, we conducted a variety of patrols at The trip turned out to be an Mustafa Lone and countless other species, some found only in these waters. We had all passed the section level, a platoon ambush for which I was the fantastically astounding success that boosted qualifications, and now the only thing left to do was to return to the drear of normality, albeit named ‘Kill-Group Commander’, and culminating with a platoon the confidence of the entire section, 50 shades darker! attack which happened to be on the Skills House we had trained especially in the NCOs and staff. in earlier. Scuba diving is a singular hobby. It can be done in the UK, where visibility is low and body James Howard and Aroun Kalyana parts go numb if not fully covered up, or it can be done in clear lagoons and oceans where With the course completed, a new badge for our uniforms and some the water is filled with fish of colours that seem ludicrously vivid, and where great reefs great new friends made, this was a fantastic experience for us as stretch out for miles on end. The ocean really is a beautiful place: a place to relax and enjoy cadets and will allow us to have a greater amount of knowledge to tranquillity. I truly enjoyed every moment of the expedition – the company, the food, and the share with fellow cadets at school. activity – and I would thoroughly recommend it to everyone. Jack Thompson Shivum Gupta 78 CCF CCF 79 Flying RN March lessons at Expeditions RAF Cosford Weekend

With the rebirth of the RAF section, it was time to bring back one of the defining activities of being a Royal Air For our second Expeditions Weekend of the year we Force cadet: learning to fly aircraft. stayed aboard HMS Bristol in Portsmouth. Having been deployed to the Falklands War, the ship is now primarily Of course there were weeks of learning towards our Part 1 used for training purposes. test before we could even think about stepping foot on a plane. But soon we were brought to RAF Cosford, the nearby This trip gave us an insight into the regime of an actual cadet, airbase known for its annual air show, and given our first having to deal with narrow corridors and low ceilings onboard taster of the flying experience. the ship, whilst marching across the base for our meals. This year, we were accompanied by the recently reformed RAF We were given a mandatory safety brief about the correct Section, led by Plt Off Butler. procedures for our lessons, even instructions on the extremely unlikely situation of a necessary ejection from On Saturday, the Navy Fourths powerboated out of the aircraft. Overalls were provided for us to wear over Portsmouth Harbour and across the Solent to the Isle of Summer our uniforms and we were also given a helmet containing Wight. Here, the cadets were able to consolidate their a microphone, a sick bag for if we got airsick, and aviator knowledge on ropework and navigation skills that they sunglasses (very reminiscent of Top Gun). Finally, we got to had been taught during regular Friday afternoon sessions, board the plane and take to the skies! allowing them to recognise the practicality of what they learn Mountain in the CCF. (A highlight of this trip is always the traditional fish Lessons took roughly half an hour and we were accompanied and chips found in Cowes!) by a professional, well-trained instructor who took care of pre-flight checks, take-off and landing. Control was given Meanwhile the remaining cadets enjoyed a day of airsofting at Parachuting the Combat South Woodland. Around the site were buildings Foundation to us once the instructor showed us how to perform a manoeuvre and told us that “we had control”. and shelters that aimed to replicate combat in civilian On 17 June, several boys from the CCF went static line locations. Sessions included a time trial target practice, During the summer half term, we took part in the Summer It was not that difficult to control the aircraft, given that the skydiving at Langar Airfield in Nottingham. advancing on enemy territory, and the capturing of ‘the Mountain Foundation course, run by the Cadet Centre Grob 115 Tutor that we flew in was chosen specifically to village’. Away from the thrills of airsofting, cadets also had for Adventurous Training (CCAT), at Halton Training Camp train cadets, as the control column that performs most of We had received hours of training the previous day on how to enter a session in survival skills, of which fire building became the in Lancaster. the aircraft’s manoeuvres worked essentially as a joystick. and jump out of the plane safely, but what really caught everyone’s main attraction. Despite this, movements of the control column were very attention was, understandably, the procedures to do if something We were surprised by the relaxed attitude of the staff, despite abrupt; you could feel the plane moving even with the went wrong! On Sunday morning we ended our weekend by visiting the being at an Army Training Camp. Throughout the week we met a slightest touch. After gaining more confidence in how to flagship of the Royal Navy, HMS Victory. We were given a tour lot of cadets and instructors from around the UK and had some We learned several drills to deal with malfunctions and other control the plane, we were given the chance to perform tricks inside Lord Nelson’s ship, famously known for its role in the memorable experiences with them. assorted problems that could have caused us to hit the ground such as aileron rolls or loop-the-loops. Battle of Trafalgar. a little faster than intended. Having completed a practical test, We were focused on the Lake District and visited a different part As of now, opportunities to fly are irregular, due to the RAF involving dangling two feet above the ground in a suspended On behalf of both the Royal Naval and RAF Sections, I would of the beautiful National Park each day; we even took part in an section being so new. However, as time goes on and more harness, as well as a written test, we were qualified. I don’t know like to thank our teachers, Cdr Raynor, Lt Cdr Johnson, Sub overnight expedition in a valley. It was a challenging journey and resources become available, more cadets will be able to have how many people got a good night’s sleep – I certainly didn’t! Lt Morris and Plt Off Butler, as well as current Royal Navy required us to rely on our navigation and collaboration skills. We more practise with this exhilarating sport. Officer and OE Sub Lt Rob Wigley, whose efforts ensured an became confident at leading a group through arduous terrain in Having got in the plane, everything became even more real as entertaining weekend. difficult weather conditions. Sitting in evening lectures also helped Samuel Miah people started to jump. I have to say, fear had gone out of the improve our knowledge of weather systems, conservation of the window at this point, along with us. Having fallen for several Ashish Patel natural environment, and mountain hazards. seconds and been absolutely petrified due to the lack of ground under our feet, everyone was relieved that all our canopies We even had enough time in the evenings to chill with the other opened, and we began the brilliant descent down. After a bit of cadets in the common room (with Wi-Fi and even Netflix!) and play playtime in the air, at 2,500 feet the flight plan was put in place, sports and cards. It was definitely an unforgettable experience for and within roughly 20 minutes everyone was on the ground. As if all involved! one incredible experience wasn’t enough, we have signed up for another, equally brilliant jump! Syed Gillani and Dylan Johal I would like to thank Mr Johnson and Mr Browning for making this amazing trip happen.

Oliver Stevenson 80 CCF RN September Expeditions Weekend

RN damage control and firefighting When the new school year begins, it can only mean one thing for the Navy contingent: the long awaited autumn expedition to the Plas Menai Outdoor Centre in Wales. course

Our first activity was rock climbing and the second orienteering. A group of 10 pupils travelled to Portsmouth to take By the time we started orienteering, the night was well upon us, one of the real Navy training courses. making the hunt for the symbols very interesting and annoyingly difficult. The rest of our free time was spent lounging around the We stayed for one night on HMS Bristol before using the recreation room, racking up the hours playing table tennis, pool training equipment the following day. In the morning, we 9 and giant Jenga! had an interesting talk on basic fire safety before going to see some of the ‘toys’ that are used in real situations. This After a filling breakfast in the morning, we all headed out onto the included everything from the hoses used to extinguish the Menai Strait. Bad weather had called for a change to the original fires to the thermal cameras needed for seeing through Words plans, but nonetheless we equipped ourselves with as many giant smoke. We even got to use fire extinguishers and hoses stand-up paddle boards, canoes and kayaks as we could muster. to extinguish a fire. Heading out like a massive fleet, it became evident that no one was going to let the weather ruin the fun. Capsizes, mutinies and After a quick break, we moved onto damage control. boarding parties were hilarious, common occurrences meaning First, we had a short workshop on different techniques of that after about an hour everyone – including the instructors – were blocking holes in ships, then we were put inside a large completely soaked. One of the highlights was hitching a ride simulator, designed like the inside of a ship, that was then back to the centre by speedboat – not to be missed! filled with water and shaken from side to side. This resulted in huge waves, and a lot of people got soaked as we tried The evening’s antics were organised by the senior cadets – for to block up holes under water on the floor as well as holes the new Fourths, water polo in the pool, and for the Fifths, a variety on the wall that were spurting water at a massive rate. of team building challenges involving ping pong ball trick shots, Once we had finished, the water was drained out and the a maze and ropes. simulator stopped.

The coach journey back, unlike the way there, was unusually quiet Overall it was an enjoyable trip, a great experience, and and uneventful – I guess most of us were just too tired from an a wonderful excuse to miss double French. enjoyable weekend to even think of creating a racket! Michael Heneghan Gabriel Wong 82 Words Words 83

All of the pieces of prose within this year’s Words section were written during the Arvon trip. The following An extract from The Villain provides a small taste of the work that boys produced during their residential week. Untitled Detective Inspector Arnold Priestley was sat at his desk, high up “Ed?” my mother’s gentle voice aroused me from my sleep. on the top floor of Scotland Yard. He was reading through a set of extremely boring notes about unsolved cases. An extract from I sat up, feeling restless. Why? Because today was the day. Today was the big day! Not only was it my 13th birthday, but There was a knock on his door. Untitled it was also the day of my school trip, all the way to Scotland! The adventures of Matsuo “Come in!” DI Priestley called out. It may be important to tell you that it’s not completely their I could already envision some of the ruins of castles. Better Homes were on fire and people were screaming. I cast my torch into fault they’re so protective. They have good reason to be as than spending three days at school. It was hard to motivate A young constable entered, carrying a fat folder. a thatched cottage and then barricaded the door. Through the thin extremely protective as they are. They had a daughter before me out of bed, but a day like this was too important. paper of the shoji door, I could make out the dancing figures inside. me. She was popular: she practically had all the boys at “Ah, Berry, how can I help you? Is that folder for me?” No, not dancing, screaming. This was not what I had expected. I I was having my cereal with my mother when she gave me school in the palm of her hand. My parents were very lenient asked DI Priestley. was looking forward to fight-worthy opponents, trained warriors, one of her lectures about staying safe and always listening with her. Too lenient as it turns out. not having the lowly job of terrorising peasants and burning down to the teacher, blah, blah, blah. Although I had heard this “Yes, it is, Sir. It goes with the other files you’re studying at the It was the night before her 18th birthday and she decided to homes. I saw a desperate mother holding a child in her arms, with over and over again I listened properly, this time. My mom moment. The case of a young businesswoman, Amanda Littlewood, go out to celebrate her final night of childhood and have a her hair ablaze. Why did I run away from home for this? hadn’t been feeling good. She had a mystery disease. In fact, found drowned in her private swimming pool. You might remember good time. But she just wasn’t in the mood to enjoy herself, her mother and her mother’s mother had the same illness. it, Sir. It was only six or seven years ago,” replied Constable Berry. Hiro sat shivering in the moonlight. He was working on a new poem. so allowed herself one shot of ‘the good stuff’: one of her The doctors hadn’t a clue what was happening to them. Apparently, a common symptom within the family was their DI Priestley sat back and nodded. friends was in contact with a dealer. It wasn’t her first time, It has passed midnight, stomach getting progressively worse. The best they could do but this was different: she wasn’t having it just to loosen up. I no longer wait for you, “Interesting…very interesting.” was to operate on her. She wanted it, seriously wanted it. She vowed to have one, Pining for sorrow. just to get herself in the mood but then one turned to two Mark Chappell “… and don’t forget to always keep contact with me. I want and two turned to too many. An hour before adulthood, lying Oh dear, I overslept you to be safe.” dead on the street, pure heroin in her veins. Wanting to see you in the dream. “OK mom, I promise.” I meant to keep this promise. They could justify what they were doing, but not the extremes His son Matsuo, had run away from home, and he was worried for to which they were doing it. him. Hiro always had a strange passion for warfare. He wanted to After breakfast, my mom gave me my first birthday present, Untitled be a Samurai: a warrior, and a trained fighter, and now he had run wrapped in lovely navy blue wrapping paper, decorated with Martin woke with a start, and stared down at the pool Euan Elliott away from home. car logos: Mercedes, BMW, Alfa Romeo and Audi. Carefully of saliva gathering on his desk. “Crap.” He blinked his removing the wrapping paper revealed the most delicately Today was the day. The day I had been waiting for. A few months headache away. designed pen: gold, white and black it was. The lid was black ago I was looking forward to this day, but now... I was trembling with with streaks of gold and gently unscrewing it would unveil an “Here all night again?” Julia, his secretary, came in and left a fear. How could I have run away from home for this? My wakizashi intricately designed silver lid. pile of paperwork on his desk. blade was shaking in my hand. My battalion was doomed. We were Almost: outnumbered a thousand to one. I belonged in my father’s home. Mom then handed me a bigger gift, which felt like a piece He grumbled something unintelligible and straightened his Not on this wretched battlefield. of clothing… and I was right! It was a black hoodie with the tie up. He flipped the first file around, picked up his pen, and The half-quiet fills with the sound of his voice mingling with word ‘Star’ stitched on to the back. began to work. He was a sad man: 30 years old, but he felt Julian Chen the familiar stream of the cars that flow: a sole, grounding 60, and the grey already burned streaks in his hair. He had constant, below him rushing, like blood through highway- “Did you know my parents were born in Scotland?” my mom worked his entire life, and had spent so many nights at the veins, to the city’s pulsing heart. Almost musical, his voice said to me. office recently that he was beginning to feel his back was drifts from where he sits, silhouetted against the amber glow permanently stuck to his office chair. of the city that sprawls out behind, still enough to be a trick “Really?” I thought they were born in Newcastle. But then of the silvery light, among the treetops and the skyline; alone The Transition again I never asked. He needed a boost. Something big. He’d been cooped up but for the ever-watching moon. His words, spoken out into behind his desk for too long, and it was crushing the life out A pitch black room, without a single light, I was impatiently waiting by the door, tapping my foot as if I a dark that stretches on towards infinity, are lost to all but of him. Something would come along: that’s what he’d told I cannot see a thing but for the dark. had had a caffeine overdose. She gave me a kiss goodbye the pinpricks of light scattered across the night-shrouded himself for the past three years. Something would always For months on end it’s always been the night and off I walked to the bus stop. I blew a kiss at her, as I heavens – as if they are not meant for human ears: almost a turn up. And today, something big was waiting for him – For me inside this room, a one-man ark. faded out of her sight. prayer to some forgotten god. something huge. My eyes are closed, but really either way Sahib Hothi As he shifts, fragments of him become revealed in the I’m blind, but hopefully, sometime, I’ll be “I think you need to see this.” Julia peeped her head around moonlight: the glint of silver hair or a face, bleached marble, Enlightened; I shall see the light of day the door and fixed him a stare you didn’t ignore. suddenly illuminated in the shadows. From here, bathed in Removed from darkness – I won’t fail to see. the moon’s glow, he looks like a fallen star, as if even while his But what is this, I’m seeing something new! He left his office door open, and walked into the centre of the mouth moves, his mind wanders still, far beyond the blurred It isn’t dark; it’s light! My eyelids part police department, where the TV was on full volume. horizon – lost in the spaces between the planets. To see a whole new world, a different view. This is the time; it really is the start. Joe Roberts Elijah Amiss Now I can see and hear a rattling toy And someone holding me says, “It’s a boy!”

Nathan Hay 84 Words

The Haunted House on the Hill

Jamie and Vincent are a brother and sister that live nearby ‘The Hurst’ which is a creepy abandoned house in the middle of Shropshire that used to be inhabited by famous playwright John Osborne. Don is a boy that lives in the middle of London who is the wimpy and younger cousin of Jamie and Vincent.

(Enter stage right, Vincent, Jamie and Don)

Don: Isn’t this trespassing? (He wanders around)

Jamie: Naah, it’s been derelict for years.

Vincent: I’ve heard that there are two creepy twins called the Vector Twins that drowned in a pond nearby.

Don: Oh stop it Vincent. (He shouts) You know I hate ghosts!

Vincent: Exactly you wimp!

(Vincent and Jamie run off and leave Don by himself. The Vector Twins appear out of nowhere downstage left.)

The Vector Twins: Do you want to come and play with us?

Don: Uh…Uh…Uh

(Don screams. Then a nearby caretaker runs into the house and asks what is wrong, and the caretaker tells Don more about the Vector Twins.)

Eddie Keane

Driftwood The Machine Gun

A piece of driftwood, The dark, black mouth is spewing up fire. Arrives on a beach Its three legs planted firm and strong. And welcomes itself to the shore. It embraces the sand, People scatter: frightened and screaming, as steel shells choose them one by one. 10 And strives to forget The shooter is hearing dancing drums, laughter, fireworks, crackers and carnival crowds. The past life it had before. The citizens fall, deafened by horror, volcanoes, earthquakes and the breaking of bones. Societies Down in the rock pools, Silence. In all the seaweed Where the fish do not dare to swim, Sun, streaming through dust clouds. Concealed in the sand The dazzling spectacle, kindling with light. Are many small crabs, Majestic barrel, red hot, smoke leaking, feet up, face smiling. Who will not move a limb. Proud massacre, done.

The rear of the beach The gunner, triumphant, expecting to see broken enemies dead in the dirt. Where the cliffs stand tall, Instead, before him, lifeless and stolen With colours as blunt as charcoal – Lie fathers, and mothers, and sisters, and sons. There are canoes stacked up, Like coins in a bank, Turan Gardiner From people who don’t pay their toll.

But now the sea-tide grabs The rotten old plank of wood And engulfs it in the wet Sending it out for good.

Elliot Clarkson 86 Societies Societies 87 Agora

Having been gifted with a solid foundation of regular attendees, this year we aimed to develop a wide range of topics that appealed to all kinds of interests. We were helped along by a hugely passionate set of speakers among the Sixths, under the leadership of Akash Kumar and Usman Raja – something we hope to continue in future years.

Will Handy kicked off the year with a fortnight on feminism, while Will Dolding and Akash saw the autumn term out with talks on Quakers and animal rights. The external speakers Jay Lakhani (Hinduism and Science), Dr Iain Law Bookworms (Normativism and Health) and Andrea Polonioli (Rationality and Mental Health) promoted wide-ranging discussion among This year, the Shells and Rems have had all kinds of all our members on topics no longer confined to mainstream literary adventures. philosophical theory. We began the year with Where Things Come Back by John The spring term began on a sombre note when Usman Corey Whaley. With two storylines running concurrently, proclaimed the need for existential thought in ‘Thoughts on one set in a small town in Arkansas covering the mysterious Death and Life’ and School Captain Lokesh Jain delivered disappearance of a young boy, and another in rural Africa with a a devastating critique on ‘The Problem of Education’. In our Christian missionary, it left us all wondering: how are the stories first crossover with MedSoc, Dr Fiona McRonald informed linked? Are there a lot of coincidences or is there more to it? And us about ‘Genetics and Ethics’, which received a record just what did happen to Gabriel? You’ll have to read it yourself to audience in the history of KES society meetings. After trial find out! exams, we explored agnosticism and artificial intelligence We moved on to Shadow by Michael Morpurgo, a moving, as younger students developed the confidence to speak too. powerful and emotional tale of refugees, the effects of the war in However, Akash and Alex Coldrick delving into the ‘Challenge Afghanistan, and the appearance of hope in the form of a stray of Transgender Identity’ was no doubt the highlight of dog. Can a school boy save his best friend? This book was the Chess the term. most popular one of the Bookworms year! Chess has become a success story. Beginning with the we expected little more. Board 4 Devan Patel had even made It has genuinely been an outstanding year for Agora, one Birmingham and District Junior Chess League U18 Rapidplay a spreadsheet to calculate our percentage chances of winning Another twist in our reading journey took us along with Hazel in which we have been proud to lead. Usman finished his tournament hosted at our school. Our first team in board each match – “0% for most”, he soberly informed us, placing us an emotional tear-jerking love story, as she battled with thyroid tenure with ‘Why Philosophy Matters Today’, handing over order Aloysius Lip (c), Ashwin Kalyana, Alex Jarvis, Devan realistically in 14th position. and lung cancer. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green packed the society to Zain Rishi. The new year has brought talks on, Patel, Rohan Tandon, Chinmay Monga, and Sanam Chawla a powerful punch as we questioned how we might deal with ‘Vegetarianism and Animal Ethics’ (true to the tradition of took the regional trophy once again; a promising start. KES When the games began however, our apprehension was quickly the challenges the characters face. The boys were quite right, Agora), ‘Hobbes’s Social Contract’ and Zain’s inaugural talk teams went on to win Divisions I, II and III of the Birmingham replaced by a hunger to win. Undeterred by a first-round loss however, to note that such a sad story also includes comedy, ‘Is Religion Dangerous?’ We hope to see the same first-class and District Junior Chess League. to Hampton, we won comfortably against Wirral, thanks to our hope and light-heartedness. The boys’ favourite character standard of discussion and have no doubt Agora will go from strength-in-depth, to come up against City of London School across the board was not the two protagonists, Hazel and Gus, strength to strength, aided by the developing intellectual We didn’t, however, have the highest expectations going into in the critical third round, a team far higher-rated than us. “A but Isaac. Read it yourself to find out why. curiosity of our fellow pupils. the National Schools Chess Championships (NSCC). The NSCC 5% chance of victory”, Devan reproachfully reminded us. Quick is the annual tournament we compete in every year against the wins on Boards 5 and 6 and losses on 2 and 3 left us 2-2 with Our last book of the year took us on a steam-punk, science Usman Raja and Akash Kumar toughest teams in the country. Our previous annual endeavours little time remaining. Finally, a victory on Board 1 against a fiction romp across Europe, riding on the moving city of London! had often ended at the regional stage, and this year our team graded-191 (“statistically impossible”, said Devan) and a draw Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve is a multi-award-winning book was even younger and less experienced. It seemed only too on Board 4 clinched us the victory by 3½-2½. It didn’t matter that is being made into a film. If you haven’t chosen your next inevitable therefore, that we were knocked out in the regional that we lost our final-round game to Reading, the results were great read yet, this one will get the imagination running, or rolling final by our ever-present local rival Nottingham High School. already clear. We had won the National Plate and were ranked on large wheels, into the future. sixth in the country. This is the best KES has ever done. Nevertheless, DLT offered us the ‘Last Chance Saloon’ – a As ever, the books were all chosen by the boys, the meetings chance to regain a place at the NSCC finals at the Eton I would like to thank DLT and DCD for supporting us throughout were lively discussions, and the boys were always so thoughtful, Repechage. Leaping at the opportunity, our first team battled every round of the competition. It truly has been a pleasure and insightful and enthusiastic that it makes running the group a its way through rapidplay games, often claiming matches on an honour to captain the team through this achievement, which privilege. We all have thanks to offer to Lee Child for his donation nothing more than an illegal-move default, until we finished has only come about from the dedication and enthusiasm shown to the library, which makes the buying of the books and cakes a satisfying third, guaranteeing us a place at the Uppingham by the whole team. All members of the team will still be present possible. Hopefully being part of our reading group has inspired National Finals. to play next year. Who knows? Maybe we’ll do even better. the Worms to spread their wings (if they had any!) and venture into new styles, new genres and new authors, and given them To reach the country’s last 16 at the National Finals is an Aloysius Lip the realisation that there is nothing better than sharing cake, occasion in itself and, already pleased with our achievement, drinks and books with friends!

KAFB 88 Societies Societies 89

Clef Club Clef Club is great because I love music and I love to Boys come from the Shells to the Sixths, some to do theory, compose, so it’s the perfect club for me. some to compose, but it doesn’t matter how old you are or what you want to do, you can just do it! For example, I have been It has a really good atmosphere and you feel like you can just working on one big piece over the course of a whole year but lose yourself. You’re not told what to write and there’s never a many other people write lots of shorter pieces. I love it! set task to do, the only thing Dr Leigh instructs you on is how it could be written better. Eddie Keane

Culture Society Islamic Society Culture Society was created this year with the aim to improve cultural awareness at KES. Though we are a Islamic Society (Isoc) aims to provide a place in which very culturally diverse institution, more can be done to Junior Debating Society practising Muslims can pray and discuss and learn about promote understanding and appreciation of different the religion that they follow. pupil backgrounds. Debating and public speaking are two essential life skills. Several debating teams from UMs and Fourths took part in the A social aspect is integral to the Society, and meeting and This happens through the sharing of stories from our pupils, They teach us to construct logical arguments and think International Competition for Young Debaters in Cambridge, and making friends with boys in other years with a similar allowing others to hear for the first time what they have critically to communicate our ideas to an audience and our public speaking team of John Kite (Speaker), Rushikesh background and lifestyle is a key element of this. The Society experienced. After the successes of this year, I hope to see the persuade them to accept our viewpoint. It takes hard work Dasoondi (Questioner) and Naren Tirumularaju (Chairman) meets every Friday lunch for congregational Friday prayers, Society become an integrated part of KES life where anyone can and motivation. At KES, we seem to relish the challenge. battled through local and regional rounds to gain a place in the and we entertain guest speakers from any age group of the go to listen. national final at Churchill College, Cambridge. It was a fantastic School to prepare and present a short talk each week about At Junior Debating Society, we encourage Shells, Rems and experience and the support of the English department and some element of Islam. This often stimulates later discussion A notable event was an interview we conducted with Ahmad UMs to come along and learn how to debate through a variety Dr Fenton ensured a memorable occasion. Though we did not where we offer interpretations and engage in lively debate. Nawaz, a boy in the Fifths who was shot by the Taliban in his of games, teaching, and engaging debates. Last year, John Kite win this time, the experience gained will help future teams to hometown of Peshawar, Pakistan. Not only did he receive and Rushikesh Dasoondi ran this Wednesday lunchtime club build on our success. The highlight of each year has to be the Eid party, where we personal injury, but the incident killed many of his friends in front and then passed on the mantle to Ghani Madadi, who organised host a huge football tournament for the whole school, listen of him, as well as his brother, Haris. He now wishes to spread the end of year competition. After an epic and at times Junior Debating Society has a new home with Mrs Gillow in to an inspiring external speaker, and offer free food for the message of equality in education and is a strong voice for passionate debate, Rohan Tandon and Rishit Harsh were Room 149 every Wednesday lunchtime. With so much talent and everyone. This year, Old Edwardian Dr Idnan Yunas spoke on those who remain illiterate. declared the victors but, just as importantly, it was great to dedicated staff, I am sure we can continue to compete at the the trials of the prophet Abraham and the Hajj pilgrimage. see so many boys of different abilities building their confidence highest level. There are many other pupils and teachers with inspirational through their participation. So far, the Sixths leading Isoc have provided a fun, communal stories to share, so I hope more will be able to spread their John Kite environment that is always happy to welcome anyone who message as the year goes by. A huge thank you to NLM, who wants to get to know Islam and Muslim culture a little better. has provided invaluable support to this Society. We invite anyone We hope to continue this tradition and keep discussions from the School to get involved – watch the interviews, ask dynamic and informed. questions to those involved, and if you have a story to tell, let Hayaan Choudhury anyone on our Culture Society team know.

Shantanu Kundu 90 Societies Societies 91 Junior Medical Society

Schools’ Medical Society, more commonly known as MedSoc, nurtures all the King Edward’s prospective medical students and continues to grow from strength to strength, five years on Challenge from its inception. This year was kick-started with Shantanu Kundu who talked about We started our Junior Challenge season in December, mental health and overcoming the stigma surrounding it. To a with practices every Monday lunchtime. After three packed out ABL, he spoke passionately about the underfunding of months of quizzing, Miss Bubb chose two teams to play mental health by the NHS and its misrepresentation by UK tabloids. our first matches on 27 February. A week later, we welcomed Mr Mohammed Belal, an Old Ed and The second team consisted of: William Thomas (c), Amaan consultant urologist, who spoke about the invaluable foundation Munir, Anish Kalyana and Billy Harris/Henry Ward, the first KES provided for his career and encouraged us to make the team being: Joshua Bobin, Rohan Tandon, Nahom Lemma (c) most of the opportunities the School provides. Other speakers and Ben Wharton. have come from a wide range of healthcare backgrounds, among them Dr Hesham Abdalla and Dr Vinay Reddy-Kolanu, paediatric Living History Fortunately, we had the advantage of being on home turf, as consultants, Neil Sharma, an ENT surgeon, and Dr Carl Ward, a the first Regional Round took place here at KES. However, stem cell researcher. the second team narrowly lost their first match, leaving the In late August, 25 members of the Living History Group went first team to defend their title as Regional Champions. After Talks from medical students Lauren Quinn and Emily Russell, from to another re-enactment, this time to Kenilworth Castle for the getting to the Final, a heated match between our first team Birmingham and Oxford respectively, were absolutely invaluable Clash of Knights event. and Camp Hill boys’ first team led to a resounding victory for to our society members. The Q&A sessions at the end allowed an With our camp set up by the keep of the castle, and trebuchets the former, 720 v 390. extensive discussion of university life and the medicine workload. put up outside and within the castle walls, we were ready for the Another home match in late March against King Edward’s Throughout the year, we held several joint meetings with Agora weekend of re-enacting. Our trebuchet Elizabeth repeatedly took Stratford, however, led to an unforeseen defeat. With 10 for speakers that encroached the complex issue of medical ethics. down ‘Spongehenge’ (as did the wind) and our new crossbow, minutes left, we seemed tantalisingly close to victory, yet the Dr Fiona McRonald told us about the NHS’s Genomics Programme Roseanna, put a few fresh holes in it. Our other, smaller trebuchet, speedy answering of the other KES team narrowed the gap and what the future for gene sequencing might hold. Dr Sabena Aimee, was inside the castle, and a little too able to shoot until it was neck and neck. When their lightning-quick buzzing Jameel discussed ‘phronesis’ (practical wisdom), which had us projectiles over its walls. Archery was, as ever, a fun display and a gave them more and more points, we knew we had lost. all re-swearing the Hippocratic Oath by the end. With the area of great deal more impressive than the ‘Master Archer’ onsite, even There just wasn’t enough time to catch up and we lost 570 v medical ethics becoming increasingly prevalent in the everyday though the legs of our shielded archery target, Mr Davies, were left 440. This concluded our Junior Challenge season as Regional decisions of doctors, not to mention our medical school interviews, rather bruised again. Runners-up. I hope the collaboration with Agora will continue. A variety of other displays and talks were run throughout the day, Nahom Lemma and CRB Thanks as always to DMW for his continued support. I look forward with coin-making, arms and armour, games, and surgery all being to what new opportunities await MedSoc next year. shown to the public to their pleasure and occasional horror (not everyone likes the idea of drilling through someone’s skull), with our Akil Khalid band of musicians providing some dulcet tunes. Last, but by no

means least, was the cooking of lovely, authentic pottage during the day, without which we would have surely been somewhat grumpy. The fire was the centre of the evening, made all the more enjoyable by the appearance of another re-enactor’s child bursting into song Geography Society and a little dance. Despite a slow start, Geog Soc has flourished for yet another presidential election about the spatial variations in voting for This event marked the end of Mr Davies’s longstanding leadership year by engaging with all year groups, and appealing to keen the US election. These presentations, which discussed present of the Living History Group, as he takes a well-deserved step back geographers as well as those with other interests throughout matters from a geographical perspective, allowed discussion from running everything, and we thank him for all the weird and the School. to be generated throughout the whole school. Not only has this wonderful times that he has given us. He is replaced, somewhat increased the popularity of Geog Soc throughout the year, but it confusingly, by Mr Davies, who will be leading the group into its Some of the Sixth Form geographers presented thought- has also meant that the Society has achieved its aim by making remarkably peculiar future. provoking talks on current topics. For example, Gus Iliff the subject even more accessible across the School. presented ‘The population bomb: Can we survive?’, and David Callear Nirad Abrol gave a very informative talk in the lead up to the Oliver Morgan 92 Societies Societies 93

Model United Nations Modern Languages Society

Modern Languages Society has yet again been thriving from region to region, identifying the features that might make Model United Nations (MUN) has become a huge part of one ‘Best Delegate’ awards. My thanks and congratulations to this year. Our Tuesday lunchtime, student-run masterclasses a hometown special. King Edward’s life for many boys, building confidence all our delegates for the hard work put in for these successes. have introduced us to all kinds of fascinating tongues and public speaking skills, and raising awareness of We have been lucky enough to invite guest speakers this year, The introduction of mixed delegations has brought a closer and dialects. international affairs. welcoming back Old Edwardians Michael Durante and Peter connection between KES and KEHS and ensured the highest Hayaan Choudhury taught us about the Bengali language and Matthews from Durham, Rob Ralston from Cambridge, and Issues passionately debated in recent conferences include quality of discussion all round. Whether representing the the pinpoint cultural nuances that distinguish Bangladesh and Giles Dickson, CEO of cross-Europe company WindEurope, civilian casualties from drone strikes, the integration of ASEAN USA, Syria, or Italy, our delegations have shown enthusiasm, West Bengal from the rest of the Asian continent. Moreover, who provided valuable advice to our Sixth Formers prospecting with the EU, and the Falklands Crisis of 1982. This year has teamwork, and dedication. I hope this continues for many students from all across the School have started educating us in studying languages at university. brought many boys into the world of MUN with 50 attending our years to come and would like to thank the team who have basic phrases from Greek, Dutch, Arabic, and Portuguese. conference in Withington. helped run MUN this year: Kartik Sareen, who has been vital in The Society has also encouraged the development of languages organising these conferences and training the newer delegates The language assistants have been invaluable for Modern among younger students too. In the face of ignorance of foreign Our efforts have brought huge success. Throughout our last as vice president, and Mr Ollis and Mr Golightly, without whose Languages Society and we are grateful to them for their fantastic languages and ideas owing to the worldwide prevalence of three conferences, we have achieved two ‘Outstanding’ and one expertise these conferences would not have been possible. contributions. We have learned how French differs when in English, creating a biweekly French club has been an effort on ‘Highly Commended’ delegation awards. One of the highlights Their perseverance and diligence is truly admirable. Belgium, Western Africa, or the remote Caribbean Island of our part to nurture a keenness for the wonderful and fascinating of this year was our international conference, which took place Martinique. All our assistants came together to conduct an world of languages and cultures. at the University of Cambridge. We performed remarkably once Shantanu Kundu intriguing masterclass on their hometowns in Belgium, France, again, receiving four ‘Best Speaker’, one ‘Best Negotiator’, and Germany, and Spain. We discussed how cultural norms vary Will Corbett 94 Societies Societies 95 Politics, Business and Spectrum STEM Economics Society Spectrum is a new society “for the discussion of issues of interest, but not exclusive, to the LGBTQ+ community.”

In a community that prides itself on its friendliness and tolerance, the fair and equal treatment of gay, lesbian and Club transgender people is as important as that of women or the The last four years have seen STEM Club ceaselessly feed the disabled. It’s also of interest to all members of the School, scientific curiosity of boys in the lower years, from explaining as well as being the law! It’s a sad truth that teenagers with the inner workings of a hydrogen fuel cell, to how the chassis of questions and issues about sexuality and gender are often a car is constructed. Finding a subject to engage them all has amongst the unhappiest in schools, and King Edward’s is been just as difficult as introducing them to the wonders no different. of IGCSE Physics.

Spectrum exists to discuss issues that are important to Teaching programming has been remarkably successful so far, with everyone – last year, topics ranged widely and included the boys progressing from making a coin toss program to designing attitudes of different religions toward homosexuality and their own games in just four short sessions. The introduction of the position of LGBTQ+ people in the military. We also Arduinos next half term will allow their creativity to be fully explored, discussed developments in the way that PSHE lessons deal with potential projects ranging from temperature sensing circuits with these topics throughout the School, and the huge to powering an LCD display, and we look forward to presenting the variety of fiction now available that touches in humorous world of possibilities that this opens. and entertaining ways on these sorts of topics, and which is written especially for teenagers. Handling an energetic, and somewhat volatile, group of Shells and Removes after school on a Wednesday seems like an ominous task Although largely aimed at the Upper School this year, it’ll for anyone, and so thanks must go to Dr Miles for his calm authority be interesting to see how Spectrum develops – and whether and perseverance in the face of chaos. it might be able to make more of a difference lower down the School. Kunal Dalal

MJB

Throughout the academic year, the Politics, Business and under the questioning of our school’s die-hard liberals. John Economics Society has invited a broad range of guest speakers Hemming, ex-Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley offered to the School from across the political spectrum to debate a his interpretations on the election but struggled to answer why the variety of critical issues and be fiercely cross-interrogated by Liberal Democrats were still relevant. our current affairs enthusiasts. The Open Platform More recent speakers included James Quincey, Old Edwardian Old Edwardian and recently elected West Midlands Mayor Andy and CEO of Coca-Cola, who offered career advice and a discussion Street held an insightful discussion on the benefits of devolution of his path to success in the world of business. Alan Edwards The Open Platform is a public speaking and discussion This year at the Open Platform we confronted freedom of and his journey from KES to running John Lewis to politics. from the Serious Fraud Office gave us insight into the world of society where we debate the big issues facing our society, speech as our major issue, discussing its merits and limitations Andy made bright promises for the future and pledges to financial crime. with the hope of engaging KES boys from all age groups in in depth over the course of a term. A heated debate began rejuvenate Birmingham. current affairs. over the right to offend and the extent to which we might justify Merging the School’s parliamentary and economics societies was curbing it, with guest speaker Rev Raynor channelling Plato MP Gisela Stuart drew wide crowds as she offered her thoughts the best decision we could have made, proving just how interlinked Is freedom of speech worth the costs? Does religion hold as he attempted to kick our ideas into touch. The Rev came on Brexit as a leading member of the Leave campaign. The avid these subject areas are, and attracting crowds from all interests of a place in the modern world? Has feminism changed from worryingly close to persuading us all to give up our civil rights! Remainers of the School were quick to hold her to account. Caroline the School. supporting women to hating men? These are the questions we Squire, the Conservative candidate for Birmingham Edgbaston have entertained at our society meetings this year, opening our My thanks to my excellent co-leaders Finlay Swift and Aloysius and then-favourite, promised strength and stability but staggered Jack Harkcom discussion platform to all opinions no matter how objectionable Lip who have enabled this discussion of new concepts with the or controversial. All KES boys are intelligent, and flourish when bright sparks of KES. their opinions are challenged and developed. We pride ourselves on hearing, changing, and opening ourselves up to new ideas. Raheem Humphreys 96 Societies

Yoga 11 Yoga is an ancient practice which strengthens and restores body and mind. What yoga is not: • religious For the past seven years, our yoga teacher, Mrs Colbridge-Vaze, Houses • only for the flexible (anybody can do it) has taught Lower School groups as part of Friday afternoon • passive activities and a staff session on a Tuesday. Last year we • just for girls/middle-aged women/hippies/vegans... launched an after-school club for boys, which is regularly attended by a core group. The club is open to all and no Above all, yoga is not weird. It is actually pretty cool. previous experience is necessary; it is worth trying it out if you sometimes feel overwhelmed or want to step out of your busy life and have a break for an hour. It is amazing how much clearer Just ask: Robert Downey Jr, Mrs Ostrowicz, Ryan Giggs, Mr your head feels at the end of a session. Golightly, Justin Timberlake, Ms Ferguson, Mr Roll, David Beckham, Mr Porter, Woody Harrelson, Miss Jones, Russell What yoga does: Brand, Mr Butler, Dr Galloway, Adam Levine, Mrs Babb, Dr Fennell, Zachary Quinto, Dr Romon-Alonso, Matthew • makes your whole body stronger McConaughey, Mr Witcombe, LeBron James, Colin Farrell, • improves your concentration Dr Cocksworth, Jon Bon Jovi, Dr Irani, Dr Miles, Bradley Cooper, • improves your sleep the New Zealand All Blacks. • revitalises you • teaches you how to breathe correctly to combat anxiety The only thing you need is an attitude to learn something new. • teaches you breathing exercises to draw on in times of intense stress FCL • helps your posture • relaxes you 98 Houses Houses 99

Cary Gilson Evans Gifford

Position: 1st House points: 538 Position: 7th House points: 439 Position: 8th House points: 395

First the sweet – Cary Gilson are champions for the sixth commitment that we hold so dear. Mr Turner has encouraged an Evans trudged wearily off the blocks in the autumn term Gifford, the home of a heroic and selfless brotherhood successive year. It’s time to update the Wikipedia page for immeasurable number of boys to get involved in competition and and we were soon mentally drained by last position in who strive for the very best: despite the numerous KES Birmingham, because the record set by Heath in 2004 promoted the love of the House that has driven us to success House Challenge and resigning ourselves to seventh place successes this year, we haven’t really reached the has been equalled, by a House that was consistently eighth for the past six years. It is a sad occasion, but one which we in House Chess. Junior Drama followed a similar path dizzying heights of our past brothers with their victorious across the 2000s, whose dramatic turnaround has become regard proudly by the success that has been achieved under his and spirits were marginally raised by Dan Hindle’s solo winning streak. the stuff of legend. guidance, and the prospect of what is to come. performance achieving fourth place in Minor Drama. But we take great encouragement from the New Zealand All No one, from the current Divisions moving into Sixths, to the We welcome our new House Master, Mr Pavey, whose The Seniors kicked in and came third in Squash, Badminton Blacks who also had a bad patch. Their notorious 18 test Shells just entering the House, has ever experienced anything enthusiasm, we are sure, will be devoted to continuing and Table Tennis. As Christmas approached, good news streak ended with a loss to Ireland, the boys in emerald green but a first in the Cock House. We have become accustomed to Cary Gilson’s streak of victories. Cary Gilson’s achieved the came via our new Shells who won House Rugby, led by Aryan causing the upset of the year. But the All Blacks got up and deafening cheering at the end-of-year House meetings, all-round impossible before. We’ll do it time and time again. Sudeshkumar who scored a plethora of tries. We achieved, since then have been relentless in their performances, with celebrations, and drinking champagne from the rim of the Cock on the back of this, a respectable sixth position by Christmas. wins all over the board. And Gifford also reminds me of the House Cup. We don’t intend to let that change any time soon. Aloysius Lip Leicester we saw seasons ago, a team who managed to stay Buoyed on by Christmas spirit and New Year bonhomie, up, just like us, maybe not a pretty season/year but another Six years is no mean feat. We can only attribute it to the hard events started to turn more favourably as the weather year in the top flight with the top dogs, and more experience work and devotion put in by the members of our House across gradually improved. The wizard of befuddling spin, Jerry Ren, under the purple belt. all years, be it in Senior Cross Country or Junior Drama, House led the Removes to victory in Table Tennis, and the Fourths Debating or House Shout. We know that everything counts. were second. The Remove team of Amaan Munir, Vaibhav An interesting set of results were achieved this year, when We know that the House only wins when we put the effort in. Chaganti, Dan Pesian and Kaushik Sankar, won Badminton, one looks at the breakdown of things: a win in House Maths, Regardless if it’s a little effort to move from fifth to fourth, or a as did the UM teams of Michael Fan, Michael Luo, Arush a loss in House Cross Country, a win in Water Polo, a loss monumental achievement in winning House Standards by 100 Bansal and Pranav Gajula, and also the Shell team. in House Shout. Lots of events, lots of results, not the best points, we know that victory is ours when every man tries their results... but this is in the past, and is soon to be forgotten. hardest, with no room for complacency. As the Sixth Formers We did not tackle Rugby well due to injuries, unavailability leave with a string of victories secured and leadership falls onto and generally being rubbish, in spite of Charles Andronov’s Next year now takes the spotlight. Who will be the Vardy, the our year group, it will be our effort to continue to embody these best efforts. Basketball resulted in a pleasantly surprising first Mahrez? When will people understand Gifford are here not principles. No one wants to be the year group that lost out on place for the Minors, with Sam Nicholl particularly impressing. merely to make up the numbers, but to win? We will welcome a Cary Gilson victory. We know that by pulling together and Cross Country went well with particularly fine efforts from the Shells next year into the band of brothers, the alliance, striving to make an effort as a House, we can achieve. Oliver Rudzinski fourth, Oliver Tinley second, James Pentland the team, the club, and above all else, the purple brigade. first, Dylan Poole fourth, and Charlie Iliff third in their Among many things for the current Giffordians, it’s the faith in Now for the bitter – there is one factor that will be different individual year group races. The Fourths were first overall and each other that will drive the House forward and upwards in moving forward. This year, we offer our farewells to Mr Turner, an the Removes second. Ellis Owen, Gus Iliff, Neelesh Prasad, the coming years. unshakeable presence as House Master of Cary Gilson who has Isaac Elliott and Cameron Shaylor spear-headed our Senior embodied the values of the everyman achievement and team Hockey team, but the best position was achieved by Rory Reuben Elphinston Elliott’s Junior team who came third with Tapan Hebballi cancelling his birthday celebrations to bravely play in goal. Gifted pianist Bryan Chang and the House Shout team led by Caleb Turner were both placed fifth in their respective Music competitions. By the time of the Easter holidays, a green army surge had propelled us into fourth position.

The usual damp squib of House Swimming was far more palatable than usual due to the Fourths, led by Alex Hindle, achieving second in both Swimming Sports and Water Polo, and the Minors who, inspired by Aurelio Lencioni, breaking the Shell’s school record in the 50m freestyle, won Swimming Sports. The Seniors, Fourths and UMs all came third in Tennis with the Minors joint second. As a result, our Senior first pair of Aidan Van Den Broeck and Tom Mills, accepted the overall House Tennis trophy. Promise was shown by the Minors who were placed third in Cricket. Athletics was a disappointment, particularly in Standards. The highlights included Oliver Tinley who won the 800m and 1,500m double and Dan Hindle who was placed in the top three for all four of his events. With all of the results compiled, our final position of seventh possibly masks the considerable efforts of many fine young men.

SJT 100 Houses Houses 101

Heath Jeune Levett

Position: 5th House points: 469 Position: 2nd House points: 524 Position: 6th House points: 443.5

The only way is up. After a long hard look in the mirror, other Houses with Bhavan Aulakh, Will Bedson and Harvey The Jeune campaign of 2016-2017 was a successful one, With the dynamic duo of Joe Tedd and Angus Bradley the men of Heath were determined not to compete for the Dhillon leading the way. The Removes would go on to be the a huge improvement on the previous year’s position of steering the House throughout the year, one would have wooden spoon in the 2016-17 Cock House. most successful year group in the House, including Mark lowly sixth. The Red Army seized second place, a place expected a top position finish, possibly matching the Chappell winning Minor Drama, the Water Polo finishing first, that we had not been in for many years. second place of the previous year. However, in the age- There was a big push in terms of boys trying harder and and Will Bedson winning Man of the Year. old tradition of Levett, we started the Cock House table at making small marginal gains in terms of the effort they put The year did not start well – disappointing collapses in Indoor the top, and finished in sixth place. in to House events. This featured around key events such One disappointment was the overall turnout at Athletics competitions and Challenge left us rocking towards the as House Swimming Standards, which saw a massive Standards and, despite some excellent individual bottom of the table. Then up stepped House captain Tarush However, the boys should not be too disheartened as we had improvement in terms of turn out. This desire to attend performances by Will Barron and Daniel Addis, and victories Gupta to conquer Senior Hockey, ably supported by Keshav some fantastic results this past year. Perhaps encouraged Swimming Standards was supported by the race to win in the 4 x 100m relays, the overall effort and application was Singh and Saihej Mangat, the highlight a Samraaj Hullait by Joe’s minutes, that were better than any poem I have Oisin Robinson’s cakes, which was the prize for the year not good enough. This ultimately resulted in the dream top wonder goal in a 4-0 thrashing of Levett in the final. This written, we showed some intellectual prowess (for once) group with the highest representation and was won by the three finish slipping away, which could have been prevented sparked a run of results with a third in Chess, and a first in and won Minor and Junior Maths – well done for that Siraj. mighty Upper Middles, with Omar Hijazi and Aris Thomas by more effort. With the leadership of Kulkarni and McCollum, Junior Drama. Unfortunately, eighth in Minor and Senior Cricket cost us in leading the points tally for their year. The pool would also see and the small bites of success in 2016-17, I am hopeful that the end. From third at the end of the spring term, we fell to more Heath dominance as the boys wrapped up Senior and the gap can be closed in the new era of 2017-18 Yet as we began to show some grit and determination, in the usual resting place of sixth. Minor House Water Polo in impressive style. In Water Polo, it true Jeune fashion we broke down before our old enemy: was the last chance to witness the excellent efforts of both JJF Swimming Standards. Following our trend in recent years, we Some highlights of the year include Kesar Hunjan’s wonderful Herbie Harris and Isaac Allen, both of whom have given so somehow managed to end up last across every single year creation of Standards Karaoke – where some Houses try much to Heath in the swimming events. group, leaving us to wonder what may have been had we detentions, he decided to use embarrassment. Tim Jones fell decided to turn up. We entered the Christmas break in sixth. afoul of this, but redeemed himself with a rendition of Kill ’Em With the success of Swimming Standards, December then with Kindness by Selena Gomez. saw a top four finish for the Hockey team led by Tanay You often hear of the saying ‘a tale of two halves’ – this Kulkarni and a top two finish for Senior Cross Country, with cannot have been more true of Jeune. We roared on in One of the biggest issues of the year was a decision that David Callear running an excellent race. All of these results Badminton, our Fourths claiming second place. Cross rocked Levett to its core. Mr Pavey, long-serving Mr Roll hype put the House into the top two of the table. The musicians Country, so often the dreaded House event on our schedule, man, decided to stab his friend in the back, and take the role then took over and through effort and organisation, as well as turned out to be a shining light. The Seniors ran away with as the Head of Cary Gilson. two great lead vocalists, Miles McCollum and John Kite, they first, with three runners in the top five, while Dolding and Thanks should be given to the staff that put in the time and finished in the top three. Pono took the limelight with respective individual finishes of first and second. This was backed up brilliantly by the Rems, effort to make Tuesday mornings work, and to all the boys In House Rugby the Seniors led by example finishing fourth who grabbed a podium finish. who turn up and do their best in events. and the Removes put on a display that was masterminded Jack Thompson by House tutors Browning and Weaver, as they dominated all The future looks promising in the hands of the upcoming Jeuneians, as Schofield led Jeune to victory on the rugby field. Both the Shells and Rems did Jeune proud with second, the Shells unluckily missing out on the elusive first place on points. Music was yet another strong point with Ramanathan taking third. The biggest scandal of the year took place in House Shout, where the enigmatic trio of Daniel, Tarush and Saroop were robbed of a deserved first place by poor and questionable decisions, leaving us stranded in second. The summer term continued in the same vein with high finishes in Cricket, while there was a small improvement in Athletics Standards, especially in comparison to the diabolical showing in Swimming.

The House was led brilliantly by Tarush Gupta and the rest of the Sixths, despite the pressures of the IB. Tarush, Will, Usman, Motheo, Daniel and Toby all saw their House achievements recognised by receiving the prestigious Jeune Legend tie. Special thanks must go to Mr James, without whom second place would never have been achievable. With the talent and potential shining through in the younger years, Jeune may not have to wait much longer to get their hands on the Cock House. Good luck to our new Head of House Rhys Davies – will this year finally be our year?

Ashwin Kalyana 102 Houses

Prince Lee Vardy

Position: 4th House points: 477 Position: 3rd House points: 486.5

This year, under the leadership of captain Alex Gissen, This year, the boys of Vardy House participated in all the Prince Lee managed to record a top half finish: events with great zeal, and were rewarded with a solid fourth place. third place finish.

We produced some top performances and won competitions Even though Vardy House just missed out overall, the spirit of such as Senior Basketball, UMs’ Cross Country, Rems’ Chess competition was found to be truly alive till the end. Members and Classical Music, won by Daniel Yue. Thanks to motivation of Vardy participated in all the events and took strength from from House Head Mr Porter, Prince Lee made sure we had their feeling of camaraderie. enough boys getting down to Standards and getting some valuable points for the House, which allowed us to achieve a There were a number of moments to remember: second top table finish. Good all-round support and guidance from place finish in Swimming Standards, third place finish in senior boys in the House meant that Juniors were also able to Athletics Standards; third place in Senior and Shell Rugby; excel in a different variety of competitions. second place in UM Cross Country and House Music Recital. However, there were also a number of first place finishes too, Unfortunately, this year we had to say goodbye to including Alex Pett, Gabriel Bruce, Joseph Ward and Ben Dr Rackham, who was extremely helpful in organising the Wharton storming to victory in House Challenge. Also, Chris Chess, and Dr Petherwick who took charge of the Rems. We Churcher and Ben Wharton shared the spoils in Minor Drama also lost two crucial members in the Fifths, Matthew Gissen with their performance as Harry Potter and Dobby. and William Lerouge, who moved on to different schools. Last year was a fun and memorable year marked by stellar Next year we look to make our way onto the podium and fight contributions from all year groups. Our Standards attendance for the Cock House, and we will always standby our motto: in the pool and on Eastern Road was admirable, but we hope “It’s not about showing up; it’s about turning up!” to do even better next year. All year round, Vardy gave a spirited performance, even though it had its share of victories Samay Patel and disappointments.

The House would like to thank Mr Barratt, Mr Petrie, Miss Ferguson, Mr Turford, Mr Wareing and Miss Lee for their efforts and dedication. We would also like to thank and wish good luck to Mr Coverdale and Mr Connor. Govind Khatkar and Edward Holt 12 Sport 104 Sport Sport 105

KES Rugby 1st XV 2016-17 season Awards 2016-17 The 1st XV enjoyed their best season for several years and were beaten only Rugby twice – by Bromsgrove School (5-36) and Loughborough Grammar School – between October half term and the end of the season in late February. 1st XV Player of the Season Will Handy Add a second successive unbeaten tour (following Canada in 2015), and the Senior Points Points Team Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Win Ratio boys rugby looks in fine health with 10 wins and a draw in their last 11 games. With against difference st 1 XV Most Improved Player new fixtures in place this year against Malvern College and Bloxham, among others, 1st XV 16 8 1 7 280 273 7 50.0% Jack Thompson KES rugby is in an excellent position having increased the number of Daily Mail nd 2 XV 13 5 1 7 304 250 54 38.5% Trophy fixtures (traditionally featuring the top 100 or so rugby schools in the country) 2nd XV Player of the Season 3rd XV from five to eight and ensuring the quality of our fixture list remains as strong as ever. 7 2 0 5 84 175 -91 28.6% Matthew Smith Will Handy captained the side ably throughout the year and oversaw big wins against U16A 9 6 0 3 279 163 116 66.7% 2nd XV Most Improved Player Adams’ Grammar School, by 50 points, Old Swinford Hospital, Bablake, KE Five Ways U15A 17 8 1 8 400 294 106 47.1% Miles McCollum and Warwick 2nd XV among others. U15B 8 4 0 4 232 181 51 50.0% rd U15C 1 0 0 1 0 50 -50 0.0% 3 XV Player of the Season The rugby tour to India and Sri Lanka was as unforgettable as any tour could be, Mathew Kalirai providing a balance of excellent fixtures and a cultural experience that will live long U14A 17 6 1 10 337 451 -114 35.3% in the memory of the pupils and staff alike. The Tour 2nd XV played exceptional rugby, U14B 3rd XV Most Improved Player 12 2 0 10 190 399 -209 16.7% balancing a squad of approximately 22, and won two of four games with narrow Siraj Hussain U14C 3 1 0 2 60 100 -40 33.3% losses on the other two occasions. U13A 11 1 0 10 166 421 -255 9.1% Clubman of the Year GPB U13B 9 4 0 5 200 210 -10 44.4% Joseph Tedd U13C 4 2 0 2 75 105 -30 50.0% Players Ties awarded to: 1st XV Tour results U12A 12 2 1 9 175 395 -220 16.7% Joshua Dowdeswell, Will Handy, 21-10 vs Mumbai Magicians (Mumbai Regional XV) U12B 10 2 2 6 142 278 -136 20.0% Patrick Maughan, Hugh Parker, 41-12 vs Trinity College (the third ranked side in Sri Lanka) U12C 11 6 1 4 280 220 60 54.5% Oliver Reeve, Joseph Tedd 52-0 vs Zahira College (a Premier League school side in Sri Lanka) 25-5 vs Delhi Hurricanes (the premier rugby club in the wider Delhi region) U12D 8 3 3 2 227 147 80 37.5% Full Colours awarded to: Totals: 168 62 11 95 3431 4112 -681 36.9% Simran Dhanda, Josh Dowdeswell, Henry Horton, Patrick Maughan, Oliver Reeve

Half Colours awarded to: Mubashir Amin, Aaron Bahia, 2nd XV Individual Richard Chapman, Ash Dasari, Rhys Davies, Alex Gissen, The start of the season presented the As the season progressed, several key honours Alex Jackowski, Hriday Jain, 2nd XV with a series of losses against members of the team began to shine: Umar Khan, Govind Khatkar, strong teams, such as Denstone and Leon Taki-Officer could oftentimes be Nasser Khattak, Khrishan Kumar, Aadil Ali: Worcester Warriors DPP Bloxham. However, the team bounced looked upon to supply the pack with Oliver Pegler, Ed Pracy, Emil Ali: Worcester Warriors DPP back with a huge 61-12 win over local power, while he also came to hone his Matthew Smith, Leon Taki-Officer, Tom Corbett: Worcester Warriors DPP rivals Camp Hill and another against technical skills. The backs knew they could Jack Thompson, Kaler Wong, Joshua Dowdeswell: Midlands U18 Loughborough, one of the strongest always depend on Matthew Smith to break Hanzalah Yaqub teams on the fixture list. Such victories a line when there was a shortage of fresh Junior Colours awarded to: illustrated our strength and potential ideas on the pitch. Albert Ashley, Will Barron, when the team came together. This was Mr Pavey was a valuable member of the Cameron Basrai, Ibrahim Din, followed by a gruelling draw in a battle squad, and his dedication and energy in Abdullah Hussein, Ejaz Khan, against a well-drilled Adams’ Grammar. training and on match days pushed us to Ben Maguire, Louis Man, A valiant performance was equally carried improve our form in the latter stages of the Yusef Mohammed, Thanh Nguyen, forward into the close loss against season. We thank him for his tireless Michael Okonkwo, Jamie Rachman, Bromsgrove, which again proved to be one passion for the side. Alex Sokolov, Junias Wong of the highlight matches of the season. The winter and spring matches brought further Miles McCollum success, such as our tour de force 57-0 victory against King Edward’s Aston. Our final match of the season rewarded us with a win against Five Ways in waterlogged and muddy conditions, truly showing our resolve and determination. 106 Sport Sport 107

U16A XV U15A XV U13A XV U12A XV

This year we have embraced the challenges and progressed After many strong performances and great wins in the The year was very promising at times; our team Our start to the year was a rough one, losing to some more greatly. We developed from being a side that was unable to 2015/2016 season, the U15A team had a lot of repeatedly showed great commitment and played some experienced teams such as Bromsgrove and Magdalen College. perform as a team to a strong side who won six games from expectations to fulfil and live up to. Starting off the great rugby only to lose a game that we deserved to win. nine, with a points difference of +116. season with a run of solid performances and wins was a Our game against Warwick towards the end of the season was the very promising beginning to the year. This can be shown throughout the season but especially best performance, and this led to our victory. This game was made The balance between having a strong attacking mentality and tough against Camp Hill where the score line of 50-15 did not show difficult by the playing conditions as there was a torrential defence helped us to reap the rewards. Strong team performances With dominant performances against Wrekin College, Queen the effort we had put in. There were some great tries in that downpour, which meant that our kicker, Harry Rachman, had a were prevalent throughout the season with narrow losses against Mary’s and King Edward’s Stratford, we gave ourselves a match as well as throughout the season, especially from challenging task. It was a great game with Aun Ali dominating the Bishop Vesey’s Grammar and Denstone. There were numerous man difficult standard to maintain. After beating Hereford and Dante Green. Although we lost 30-15 against a strong King ruck, Jeremy Maclean and Zach King also providing huge tackles, of the match performances from Matthew Gissen, who got a large going into the next round of the plate, we had a big game Edward’s Stratford team, some fantastic work on and off the and Adib Chowdhury and Matt Lo ghosting past defenders and number of assists as well as tries. Additionally, credit must go to against Malvern. Although it was a draw, as a team we ball from Arvind Sangha and Hardev Dhillon made sure that making some great line breaks. Our defence was resilient and as Cormac Neville for his immense tackling, which was consistent displayed a superb performance and it was an extremely our efforts were shown in the score line. a result, we beat Warwick 30-20. Although this was against their throughout the season. close match. This was a big confidence boost for the squad, B team, it still proved we could compete with, and even beat, teams knowing we could put up strong performances against This year has been full of exciting and close games, such as from some of the best rugby schools in the country. This boosted With a positive win/loss ratio, we have grown closer as a team and such teams. when we came back from 50-0 to 50-30 within a few minutes our confidence, and with a few draws after this we were looking in have proved we are a formidable force to be reckoned with. against Loughborough. Special credit goes to Harry Cooke fine form for the upcoming tournaments. After a good run of results, we let it slip slightly towards the for some huge tackles. Despite the odds, we only conceded a Arinze Okemuo end of the season whilst playing the better teams, such as single try against Warwick in the first half, demonstrating the In the Bishop Vesey’s Rugby Sevens tournament, we were in a very Loughborough, Bromsgrove, and Bishop Vesey. But due potential to compete with the top teams. During Sevens, tough group. Despite this, we won two of our three group matches. to the consistent try scoring of players like Tom Corbett, Bhavan Aulakh utilised his pace and played exceedingly well. However, we lost one against Manchester Grammar, so narrowly Theo Mostert and the Ali brothers, we still managed to give missed out on the next stage. We still had many positives to take strong performances. We ended our season nicely, with a The season ended with Mr James presenting a number of away from this tournament, whether it be the huge combined tackle valiant win 50-12 against Warwick despite missing some key awards on the last Wednesday of the spring term. Most from Jeremy and Harry bringing down the largest opposition player players. Overall, we had a great season with every player Improved Player was Hamza Waheed, Dan Hindle was of the tournament, or how we all performed as a team. giving their best efforts to the squad. Clubman of the Year and Hardev Dhillon won Player of the Year. Noah Bassett Jack Noble Hardev Dhillon 108 Sport Sport 109

Hockey 2016-17 season

Points Points Team Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Win Ratio against difference

st 1 XI 20 15 1 4 79 40 39 75.0% nd 2 XI 22 15 3 4 67 42 25 68.2% rd 3 XI 12 10 1 1 54 13 41 83.3% th 4 XI 10 6 1 3 33 21 12 60.0% th 5 XI 4 3 1 0 7 3 4 75.0% th 6 XI 2 1 0 1 1 4 -3 50.0% U16A 11 9 0 2 17 9 8 81.8% U15A 18 11 2 5 43 25 18 61.1% U15B 10 6 2 2 26 7 19 60.0% U14A 19 9 4 6 48 42 6 47.4% U14B 12 4 3 5 17 26 -9 33.3% st st U13A 24 12 7 5 52 30 22 50.0% 1 XI 1 XI results U13B 10 5 1 4 26 8 18 50.0% st U12A 2 0 0 2 0 9 -9 0.0% The 1 XI undoubtedly enjoyed a very successful season, Opponent Result Type of game winning 15 out of 20 matches and going unbeaten in league U12B 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0.0% Sandbach School matches. In total 79 goals were scored in comparison to Lost: 0-2 Pre-season Totals 177 106 26 45 470 282 188 59.9% just 40 conceded. Our hard work throughout the season Old Edwardians Won: 3-1 Pre-season

was rewarded when we retained the Warwickshire School’s Princethorpe College Won: 2-0 Pre-season Hockey League title, with several outstanding results along Warwick School the way. Won: 5-1 Warwickshire League Birmingham University Freshers Lost: 1-5 Friendly Team achievements Individual achievements A good start to the season saw us victorious in games against Solihull School Won: 4-0 Warwickshire League the Old Eds, Princethorpe, and a resounding victory in our first st 1 XI Finlay Geelan: England School Games Squad, Mercia Lynx Futures Cup Squad league match of the season 5-1 against Warwick. There was a Loughborough Endowed Schools Won: 7-0 Warwickshire League Ellis Owen: Mercia Lynx Futures Cup Squad Warwickshire League Champions tough loss playing against the Birmingham University Freshers Repton School Lost: 1-5 Friendly Saihej Mangat: Mercia Lynx Futures Cup Squad before we bounced back with a confident performance in a 4-0 nd Queen Elizabeth Grammar 2 XI win against Solihull. Won: 3-0 Friendly U17 Performance Centre School (QEGS), Wakefield Warwickshire League Champions Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School Vishal Aurora, Tanay Kulkarni, Saihej Mangat, Ellis Owen A friendly against a quality Repton side gave the boys a chance Won: 4-1 Warwickshire League 3rd XI to play one of the best teams in the country. The game was Bablake School U15 Performance Centre Won: 9-1 Warwickshire League hotly contested, although ended in a loss. The team then went Warwickshire League Champions Jake Litchfield Adams’ Grammar School Draw: 3-3 Friendly on a good run of results, beating Queen Elizabeth Grammar, th National Cup – 4 XI Wakefield, Bishop Vesey’s and Bablake, and drawing with Bromsgrove School Won: 8-2 U14 Academy Centre Round 1 Warwickshire League Champions Rohil Aurora, Louis Bowker, Harry Mellor, Benedict O’Hara, Rohan Takhar Adams’ Grammar School, leaving us in a commanding position National Cup – in the league. The end of the season saw the team playing some Adams’ Grammar School Won: 5-2 U16A XI U13 Junior Academy Centre of its best hockey, finishing with four victories in a row. Highlights Round 2 King Henry VIII School, Coventry Warwickshire County Champions Stuart Cave, Akash Dubb, Anish Kalyana, William Thomas included a 6-3 victory over Magdalen College School before Won: 3-2 Warwickshire League Midland Zone Winners the last game of the season against Bishop Vesey’s, when an National Cup – Full Colours awarded to: Oakham School Lost: 3-10 Midland Regional Semi-finalists inspired last performance from the Sixth Form boys led to a Round 3 Angus Bradley (re-awarded), Finlay Geelan (re-awarded), comfortable 4-1 victory. Special mention to Saihej Mangat for Magdalen College School Won: 6-3 Friendly U14A XI Tarush Gupta (re-awarded) his top corner reverse stick screamer, which he maintains was Bloxham School done intentionally. Won: 6-0 Friendly Warwickshire County Semi-finalists Half Colours awarded to: Warwick School Won: 3-2 Friendly Vishal Aurora, Finn Azaz, James Bell, Declan Bradley, Rayan De, Our U18 boys’ cup run also had a very promising start, with U13A XI Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School Won: 4-1 Friendly Isaac Elliott, Reuben Elphinston, Oscar Jobes, Tanay Kulkarni, Saihej Mangat, a comprehensive victory over long-time rivals Bromsgrove being Warwickshire County Runners-up Ellis Owen, Ashish Patel, Anwar Rahman, Josh Ray, Charlie Roberts, a particularly satisfying result for Mr Langlands, as it was his Midland Regional Semi-finalists Thanks must go to captain Fin Geelan, for leading the boys and Tushar Roy, Keshav Singh old team, and featuring an inspired piece of skill from Keshav contributing many vital goals in close matches. Further thanks go Singh. We followed this up with a close fought victory against Half Colours awarded to: to Mr Langlands, who hit the ground running in his first season Adams’ Grammar, with goals from Tarush Gupta and Angus Joshua Adeeko, Yusuf Aggour, Rohil Aurora, Pavan Basi, Louis Bowker, here at King Edward’s, more than capably filling the hole left from Bradley helping us to win the game 5-2. Our good fortune came Oliver Clarke, Rory Elliott, Pranav Gajula, Seth Khag, Hamza Khan, when Mr Johnson left last year. His expertise and experience will to an end in the third round, coming up against an extremely Alexander Lau, Harry Mellor, Saif Mukadam, Benedict O’Hara, Arun Patel, be key in moving King Edward’s hockey even further forward. strong Oakham team who will no doubt go on to reach the Vinesh Patel, Rohan Takhar National Finals. Vishal Aurora 110 Sport Sport 111

U14A XI

We had a very good season this year with nine wins, The whole team gave their all throughout the season and six losses and four draws, and were unlucky not the team improved vastly. Special mentions must go to to qualify for regionals, losing by just one goal in Rohil Aurora, who won Players’ Player of the Year for his the semi-finals. impressive midfield performances, Ben O’Hara, who showed maturity to play in a variety of positions, and Arun Patel We had some large wins, including 7-0 against Adams’ who led the forward line so well all year. Hopefully, we will Grammar and 6-0 against Lawrence Sheriff. We went come back next year even stronger and finally make it through a rough spot near the end losing a couple into regionals. of matches, but came back to beat both Bablake and Loughborough. Rohil Aurora

U16A XI Looking to emulate the success of the previous U16 U12A XI team, who came second in the country, we knew we were in for a tough season. This was an extremely talented group of Shell hockey players, many of whom are playing their first season We first had the County Championships in early January. of hockey. We entered the competitions as favourites, thanks to recent success in this stage, and managed to win our The most impressive part of our season was our group. We then played Rugby knowing a loss would knock development and improvement throughout the year. us out of the competition and end our chance to progress. That we went from losing 5-2 to Solihull at the start We managed to get a late goal thanks to Declan Bradley of the season to narrowly losing out 1-0 in the county and secure a vital win. In the final, we continued to play a competition, highlights the hard work and dedication of fluent style of hockey and won 2-0 against Warwick to win the players. A special mention must go to Matthew Lo, the County Championships. In the Zonal rounds, we won who was top scorer in the Regional U13 Tournament, both our games in a convincing manner, including a 2-0 having been moved up an age group. win over Trent. Ed Fleet We then entered the Regional Final expecting a tough day of hockey, and that is certainly what we got. In our first game we played a strong Oakham side and U13A XI after a dominating performance we won 3-1. Then we encountered Bromsgrove and again put out a strong This year has been a great season for the U13 hockey team performance and won 2-1. as we have improved so much and played so well. We gave our best in the County Championship tournament and came In our final, crucial group game, we played Trent. After a U15A XI second, putting us through to the Regional Championship valiant performance, in the end Trent were too strong and After a developmental season last year, we were looking to in which we also played well but, unfortunately, didn’t get to won the group leaving us second with a semi-final against improve further as a team and build on that start. We played the semi-finals. national champions Repton. Knowing it was going to be a total of 18 games, winning 11 and drawing two. extremely tough playing against one of the top hockey We improved so much compared to the previous season: last schools in the country, we lost 5-1 which left us out of Our biggest win came against Bablake, where we won 7-1. Also, year we lost 9-1 to Bromsgrove, but this year we didn’t give the competition and unfortunately unable to progress. after having been heavily beaten previously by Loughborough, up and drew 2-2, only to lose on penalty flicks. Also, at the Ultimately, as a squad we were disappointed, however we were pleased to beat them 1-0 thanks to a great deflected beginning of the season we lost to Bishop Vesey (1-3) and we managed to beat some of the nation’s top hockey goal by Shyun Patel. We were aiming for a good run in the Warwick (2-5), but we played better later in the season drawing school sides and we definitely improved as a team Independent Schools’ Cup and we had a good start in the first 2-2, then 3-3 against Vesey, and beating Warwick 1-0 in the and individuals. round beating Warwick 1-0 in a tight game. However, we were semi-final of the County Championship. disappointed to be knocked out of the cup on penalty flicks (2-1) Saihej Mangat against Bromsgrove in the second round, despite a good come We had really good performances from all of the players, and back in the second half to level the score to 1-1. some brilliant results, including beating Solihull 1-0 then 2-0, having lost to them massively in U12. In the Regional Finals we Overall, it was a successful season and we are grateful to Mr Fair were joined by Matthew Lo (from U12), who played exceptionally and Mr Langlands who coached us well. well and scored some good goals.

Jake Litchfield Our defence played really well, and our goalkeeper Akash Dubb made many amazing saves. On the whole we have played really well, winning 12 games out of 24 (drawing seven and losing five), and we have been playing much better as a team.

Stuart Cave 112 Sport Sport 113 1st XI season overview Batting

Date First innings Second innings Result Highest Innings Not out Runs Average 2017 season score Cricket 24 April Bromsgrove 194-2 v KES 117-6 Lost JS Ray 14 4 543 122* 54.3 v KES 144-1 26 April Bablake 139-5 Won J Ray 72* A Hussain 16 2 484 74 34.6 Team Played Won Lost Drawn Tied Abandoned Cancelled 29 April KES 89ao v Solihull 90-3 Lost *T Gupta 13 3 396 127 39.6 1st XI 19 10 8 0 0 1 1 KES 141-2 v OSH 130-4 3 May Won TR Kulkarni 13 2 285 74 25.9 2nd XI Hussain 56 Johnstone 3-19 8 5 3 0 0 1 4 SS Mangat 12 2 247 64 24.7 KES 222-8 v WGS 212ao U15A 6 May Won 15 11 4 0 0 0 3 Kulkarni 74 Abbott Black 5-22 BC Andrews 10 0 149 37 14.9 U15B 10 10 0 0 0 0 2 Kings Worcs 220ao v KES 150ao 13 May Lost RS Sandhu 6 1 76 20 15.2 Kulkarni 3-32 Gupta 69 U14A 14 7 7 0 0 0 3 U14B Denstone College 7 2 5 0 0 0 1 20 May 210-9 v KES 144ao Lost Gupta 4-55 U13A 11 9 2 0 0 0 0 Malvern College v KES 125-3 Bowling U13B 9 9 0 0 0 0 1 7 June Won 117-7 Mangat 64 U12A 12 9 3 0 0 0 2 v KES 163ao Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Average 10 June Trent College 216-6 Lost Ray 68 U12B 10 7 3 0 0 0 1 TR Kulkarni 105.2 12 401 19 21.1 KES 164-1 U12C 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 14 June v Repton 168-1 Lost Hussain 64 SC Johnstone 86 6 411 18 22.8 Totals: 118 82 35 0 0 2 18 v Warwick 106ao 17 June KES 181ao Won VA Sriram 91.1 8 402 14 28.7 Kulkarni 4-20 FAR Abbott KES 231-7 v RGS Worcs 139-9 73.2 2 414 14 29.6 21 June Won Black Hussain 74 Harle 4-24 S Harle (Aus) 30 2 136 13 10.5 Team honours Representative honours Old Edwardians CC 22 June v KES 95-4 Won 91-6 RS Sandhu 49.2 1 280 7 40 U15A XI: Warwickshire County Champions U17 Loughborough GS J Taylor 35 1 202 6 33.6 Regional Finalists Adam Hussain: Worcestershire A 24 June 157ao v KES 158-4 Won Harle 5-34 Solihull Six-a-Side Winners Tanay Kulkarni: Worcestershire A MCC 231-5 27 June v KES 179ao Lost U15B XI: Warwickshire Cup Winners U15 Johnstone 3-46 29 June Prince Alfred’s 64-2 v KES Abandoned U13B XI: Warwickshire Cup Finalists Aadil Ali: Warwickshire District (2017), Warwickshire A (2016) Emil Ali: Warwickshire District v KES 144-1 1 July OEA 145-6 Won U12A XI: Warwickshire Cup Winners Oscar Henrick: Warwickshire District Mangat 55* Arnav Kulkarni: Worcestershire A, Worcester Senior Development of Excellence KES 181ao v Magdalen College 4 July Lost Yashas Machani: Warwickshire District (2017), Warwickshire A (2016) Hussain 61 189-4 Suyash Poshakwale: Warwickshire District (2017), Warwickshire B (2016) KES 289-2 Individual honours 5 July v XL Club 226ao Won Rajdaleep Sandhu: Worcestershire A, Senior Development of Excellence Ray 122* Gupta 127 Full Colours awarded to: Varun Sinha: Warwickshire A Tarush Gupta (re-awarded), Adam Hussain, U14 Tanay Kulkarni, Josh Ray (re-awarded), Vignesh Sriram (re-awarded) Milan Dogra: Warwickshire B Pranav Gajula: Warwickshire B Half Colours awarded to: Inaam Ghaffar: Warwickshire District Felix Abbott Black, Ben Andrews, Fadhil Mir: Warwickshire A Samraaj Hullait, Sam Johnstone, Vinesh Patel: Warwickshire District Saihej Mangat, Saroop Nandra, Vishal Sriram U13

Junior Colours awarded to: Dev Gandhewar: Warwickshire District Dawood Abid, Milan Dogra, Pranav Gajula, Aman Hussain: Warwickshire, Development of Excellence Inaam Ghaffar, Abdullah Hussein, Vidhan Iyer: Warwickshire, Development of Excellence Mahathir Ibrahim, Yuvraj Jhanjee, Fadhil Mir, Musa Khan: Warwickshire District Vinesh Patel, George Roberts, Nithi Sendhil, U12 Arnav Tyagi, Ananth Vydianath Ibraheem Abedin: Warwickshire District Aun Ali: Warwickshire District Amaan Khan: Warwickshire A Kartik Rajasekhar: Warwickshire District Yash Suribhatla: Warwickshire A Akshay Vydianath: Warwickshire District 114 Sport Sport 115

2nd XI U15A XI

The 2nd XI had a very successful This particular season was not going to year. We had a particularly strong be the easiest, with a number of players start to the season, winning our making appearances for the 1st XI. There first seven games comfortably, was no place to hide for the rest of the but were eventually defeated by a team and everyone would have to step very strong Malvern side who were up their game to produce the results the able to boast some first-teamers team is often used to getting. in their side. The season started extremely well, beating There were some notable Solihull and Wolverhampton Grammar individual performances School (WGS), with Andrew Fergusson throughout the season. Cameron hitting an exciting century against WGS, off 20 overs, with brilliant bowling from Bailey passed 54 times, one of and Emil Ali ably supporting him while Oscar Henrick picking up key wickets, which was a valiant 72* in a losing making 50. The next match was the first intimidating their batsmen with his pace cause against the very strong round of the national T20 cup against and accuracy. Our hopes were high, but we Malvern and he also scored an Rugby School. After limiting them to 132-6 were in for a great surprise. Their bowling incredible 101* later on in the with tidy bowling from Oscar Henrick, Raj attack put on a great performance, taking season. He was ably supported Sandhu and Fadhil Mir (U14), we began early wickets. Luckily, Suyash Poshakwale st by Dan Dixon who scored two the thrilling run chase. After a poor start, was there to save the day, giving KES back 1 XI 50s himself. With the ball in hand, Emil Ali gave us the momentum to keep on the momentum. We went on to win the the stand-out performance has to going, while being supported by Suyash It is hard to believe that previous junior school rivals valiantly and Vignesh and Sam Johnstone bowled superbly match in the final over of the game. be from Jivan Mann, who took a Poshakwale. After they got out, our heads before they came to KES are now good friends. We truly against a strong batting line up. Vignesh even won the MCC seven-fer, and was named for the were hanging low, until Raj Sandhu and have made some memories for life and I wish my mates Cap for his fearsome, deadly pace bowling. Apart from We then beat Loughborough and Stratford very first time as KES Cricket’s Milan Dogra (U14) built a partnership the best of luck at university and in their future lives, that, there was Brexit, Donald Trump and Josh Ray scoring very comfortably. Finally, we went on Most Valuable Player. A proud and took us home in the last few balls whatever and wherever they may be. lots of runs. The season had one more turn with a fantastic to play in the T20 regional finals day, achievement for him indeed! of the game. finale, where Josh Ray (122 no) and Tarush Gupta (127) put against Oakham School. We won the toss This season was even more up-and-down than last year. In and bowled first. Our opening bowlers on 255 runs together, to break the all-time school record for It was great to see the talent on We then went on to play King’s Worcester. some ways, the team has performed better but been less gave us an economic start but were not the second wicket batting partnership. Doubtless to say the display from the Fifths. Samay We managed to limit them only to 90 with consistent. As with most stories, this has been a tale of able to pick up any wickets. Oakham’s game was won! Patel was a more than able deputy tight bowling from Oscar Henrick and two halves. The first half was largely disappointing. Against strong batting took them above 150. for Cam at the top of the order, Junaid Hussain. Unfortunately, we still Bromsgrove, from the second ball, Vignesh was launched for This season has been interesting, but overall enjoyable. It has Unfortunately, we were not able to chase Neelesh Prasad emerged as a fine lost by five runs. With matches against some big sixes, and against King’s Worcester, Adam Hussain been challenging for me and, from what I can see, probably them, with no batsmen getting going. all-rounder and the opposition Malvern and Bromsgrove both abandoned, and Suyash Poshakwale scored a grand total of 12 in the challenging for Mr Roll and Mr Round. It’s relieving to see Although it was a disheartening end to our batsmen trembled at the sights of we made our way to Staffordshire to play first 10 overs. Despite some bad spells, there were periodic younger players like Raj Sandhu, Emil Ali, Joe Taylor and cup campaign, we had done extremely Joe Taylor and Jake Johnstone at Denstone College. We prevailed with a signs of a response and progression being made. Josh Ray Arnav Kulkarni being given the opportunity to perform on this well to get there, showing a tremendous the top of their marks. strong bowling performance from Junaid and Tanay Kulkarni started scoring 50s. With the ball, Felix level and making a big impact in first team matches. KES amount of character in each and Hussain and Haris Sohail, restricting them got five wickets including a hat-trick to win the game against cricket truly is in good hands; the future looks bright. every match. I, on behalf of the team, would like to 71 in 20 overs, and chasing it down Wolverhampton, and Tanay bowled with excellent control. Our to thank Mr Johnson who has not I would like to thank all the players, past and present for without losing a wicket. Finally, I would like to thank Mr Roll, final game against Denstone probably epitomised the first only taken time out of his Saturday making KES cricket a success and helping me enjoy it. To Mr Round, Mr Bussey and Mr Claughton half of term with bowlers bowling 14 ball overs, and Saroop to umpire our games, but has also During June came the Aussie exchanges come on a Saturday and know that you’re going to be with for coaching and supporting us during Nandra throwing like an impotent cannon, catapulting the ball offered invaluable advice to us on from Scotch College, Melbourne: Jack mates who support you is more than a good motivator on the season. two metres from his own feet. the training ground. Mcnair, Sam Harle, Sam Mclellan and Nic the dark, gloomy away days. On behalf of the team, I’d like Bennet. In good form, we made our way But somehow, the second half of term became a success. to thank Jon the groundsman, our dedicated umpires, and Aadil Ali All in all, a very successful season to the county final of the national T20 cup With fine wins against Malvern College, RGS Worcester, our kitchen staff for providing us with the unforgettable for us, and we hope for more of against Warwick. Bowling first, we didn’t Warwick and Loughborough, we developed into a more KES cricket experience. We feel privileged to have fantastic the same next year. start well, with Warwick off to an extremely confident and consistent team. Against Malvern, Vignesh and facilities available to us and maybe you don’t really quick start. Then Haris Sohail struck Felix reduced them to 18-4 and Saihej Mangat’s 65 helped appreciate all that makes KES cricket until, unfortunately, Dougie Dolleymore two quick wickets removing Warwick’s us win the game comfortably. Against Loughborough, our you have to leave. dangerous batsmen. Good bowling from Aussie wonderkid Sam Harle picked up a five wicket haul; he Haris, Yash, Emil, and Raj restricted subsequently ended with a total of 13 wickets in five games, Finally, as we know, without Mr Roll and Mr Round we would Warwick to 115. Chasing the score to win, which doesn’t sound bad at all. be next-to-useless with anything. Throughout history they have been offering advice, whether that be about cricket, opening batsmen Emil Ali and Varun Sinha Highlights include scoring 235 in 35 overs against RGS fashion, girls or clubbing, and they really are part of the team built a brilliant partnership, leading the way Worcester and scoring 164 in a T20 against Repton College. family. Both Mr Roll and Mr Round work tirelessly to give us for the rest of the batsmen to chip in and Adam Hussain started to score big and launched some huge the best time possible and I hope that we haven’t caused too reach the score with two overs remaining. sixes in both games. We picked up seven wins and four much ageing this season. The following week we were travelling back losses in the second half of term. Fielding was good with to Staffordshire to play Denstone College nearly all catches being taken, and some gun fielding from Tarush Gupta in the T20 regional semi-finals. Bowling Ben Andrews and Saihej Mangat. Against the MCC we fought first, we restricted Denstone to 92-9 116 Sport Sport 117

U15B XI U15 6s U13A XI U13B XI

It was one of the U15B team’s best seasons During the season, KES also played in the U15 Solihull 6s tournament, We started off well with a win over Solihull, with a 91* This season was a very positive one. We managed to go the yet, managing to win the Warwickshire Cup a tournament which we had won last year in the U14 category. This year from Vidhan Iyer and a superb effort from everyone entire season unbeaten under Will Thomas’s captaincy and against the tough opposition of Warwick we had a different team, with only one player who played in last year’s getting us over the line. In our second game we came up had an excellent cup run, sharing the trophy due to lack of School in the final. winning campaign and four Australians. against Wolverhampton Grammar, who we beat with two time to play a final. unbeaten knocks by Musa Khan 45* and Aarye Goyal 44*. In this year’s season we played 10 games, In a group with Tettenhall College, KES Stratford and QMGS, we won Some of the best team performances this year were bowling winning all 10 matches and resulting in an each of our group stages comfortably with strong bowling and batting Then, we beat King’s Worcester with a five wicket haul from Kineton out for just 56, a 42 run win versus Trent College, a unbeaten season. Along with a brilliant team performances, winning each match within four overs. In the semi-finals we Vidhan Iyer to make it three wins in three. In our fourth match, nine wicket win against Solihull, and a successful chase of effort there were some individual successes to met Rugby School who we also never looked like losing to, beating them we came up against Denstone who posted 72, before we Bablake’s 48 in just 2.5 overs from opening pair Will Court notice as well. Three crucial half-centuries from in the first ball of the final over. In the final we met the hosts, Solihull, who chased it down without a loss, with a 36* by Aman Hussain and Varun Gupta. Kamen Sandhu, and one from Burhaan Siddiqi, we restricted to just below 60. We easily won the match in the fourth over, and a 33* by Vidhan Iyer. In the next game, we faced In among all the team efforts, a few people shone, both in along with some disciplined bowling from the winning the tournament. Trent; with a 48 by Aman Hussain we managed to get to a batting and bowling. Jai Johal was an outstanding performer, likes of Burhaan Siddiqi, Junaid Hussain and respectable total. However, Trent managed to chase it with 48 not out against Solihull and a tremendous 50 from 18 Karamveer Handa, helped us on the journey to Memorable performances were from Nic Bennet, launching sixes out of the down with a ball to spare, and we suffered our first defeat balls against Trent. Varun Gupta showed his talent too, with the Cup Final. The season was a great success ground against KES Stratford, Arnav Kulkarni’s tight bowling in the group of the season. an impressive 62 not out against the same opponents, and for the team. stage, Sam Mclellan’s bowling in the semi-finals, Suyash Poshakwale’s consistent scores, Sam Harle’s threatening bowling in the final, taking the Then, we were to face Bishop Vesey’s in a cup game where, Will Thomas scored 43 not out in the cup final to lead the Adhitya Rajasekaran wicket of Mr Roll’s son, and Aadil Ali’s 24*, and tight bowling in the final. with a weakened side, we managed to grab a win thanks team to a resounding six wicket win. Arjun Kumar and Arvind to Dev Gandhewar’s 52 and a five wicket haul by Rohan Sangha were the outstanding bowlers, with Kumar producing Aadil Ali Paw. We went through to play Warwick, who we beat quite 3-16 from four overs in the penultimate game against Finham narrowly. Back to league games, we came up against Park, and Sangha taking wickets left, right and centre in every Loughborough, with a handy four wickets by Aman Hussain game. In the final game of the season, we beat rivals KES and three by Anish Kalyana, we managed to easily Stratford to end the season on a high. defeat them. U14B XI Our year’s B team has great potential and will surely go on to U14A XI In the semi-final of the cup, we were quite badly beaten by progress further in the future. The team would like to thank Mr This year was hard, losing some of our stronger players to the Solihull. However, the next day we were up against Bablake in Barratt, Mr Coverdale and Mr Roll for their support. The 2017 cricket season saw the U14A team have As. We started with a close loss to Repton, which came down a league game, and strolled through, thanks to a 50 by Aarye their most successful season to date. Winning seven to the final over. The next game against Solihull also came Goyal. In our last game of the season we beat KES Stratford Will Thomas out of our 14 games and losing the remaining seven, down to the last over; needing 13 to win and then six off the last with a very convincing performance. which is a big improvement from winning three out of ball, unfortunately we couldn’t quite manage it. seven the previous year. All in all, we had a hugely successful season. A great A couple of big losses to Warwick and Vesey’s, then a bye in the bunch of lads, we really bonded well, as is shown in our U12A XI Although winning 50% of our games may not seem like a cup, brought us to our two finals games: Warwick, again in the performances. Always aided by the coaching of Mr Tuohey, great achievement, some of the results were very close, semi-final of the cup, and King Edward’s Stratford. Warwick had Mr Round and Mr Roll. Over the course of this season, we had lots of success and a few tweaks over the winter should see us winning a few big hitters both hitting half-centuries, but a great catch from and some special moments. the closer games in the future. Umar Ashraf gave us a chance; this significantly slowed down the Aman Hussain run rate and gave us a target of just over 150, which we couldn’t At the start of the season, Yash Suribhatla and Kartik Batting was the strong point this season. Scoring 220 in quite reach. This brought us to our final game of the season. Rajasekhar both scored 50s in our first game against 30 overs against Old Swinford Hospital was the highlight, Without a win on the board we were hoping to finish the season Solihull, and a couple of games later they replicated the with Milan Dogra getting the high score of the season with with a bang. We batted first and Albert Ashley, in his last game for exact same thing. 110 not out and contributions from the rest of the team KES, batted extremely well before falling just short of a half-century: helping that achievement. Another good innings came we finished the season with a win. Later on in the season, we had a five wicket haul from from Pranav Gajula getting a well-deserved 50 against Krishan Thakur against Warwick, which made it easy for Solihull. We unfortunately lost that game due to some This season’s star bowlers included Aabid Ali, Albert Ashley, Rishit our batsmen to chase the runs. As the season went on, we dropped catches, which was the biggest factor in some of Harsh and Nishant Suresh. The star batsmen: Jamie Rachman, were playing games to qualify for the Warwickshire School our close defeats. Albert Ashley and Rohan Patel. Many players improved significantly Cup final. If you win that, you play in the Nationals the most notably Umar Ashraf with some excellent fielding and batting. following year. We beat schools such as Bishop Vesey and To finish, I will mention some of the good bowling Fairfax and, fortunately, qualified for the final. performances. In our first away game of the season to Jamie Rachman King’s Worcester, Vinesh Patel took four wickets to change Yash and Matthew Lo put on a brilliant batting partnership the game for us. Fadhil Mir, the leading wicket taker, also as we lost two early wickets. At the end, Aun Ali contributed getting four wickets later on in the season. with a fine display of ball striking. After a thrilling match, we beat Warwick School to win the Warwickshire School To finish, we would all like to thank Mr Langlands for Cup and qualify for the Nationals in 2018. It was a proud helping us through the season and being a great coach. moment lifting the trophy, as we had worked hard during the winter and everyone was very happy with the result. Milan Dogra Amaan Khan 118 Sport Sport 119 Judo

On 25 February, I represented KES at the HMC Independent Schools Judo Tournament for the sixth and final time in my school career.

This competition has grown in stature and now is a national point- scoring competition, attracting a great standard of Judo players and the interest of the national selectors.

This year, I was fighting in the 73kg senior category and, having made short work of qualification, entered a final pool of 12 fighters. My first fight was a well-controlled effort with a long leg sweep taking my opponent flat on his back for a 10 point win, in 25 seconds.

On to the quarter-final, and I was forward from the off, a big grip and spectacular hip throw resulted in 10 points in 10 seconds. In the semi-final, I smashed the current England U19 player before he could settle: 10 points in seven seconds. Badminton Regional Finals In the final I met Jaime, a student from Trent College, and a fellow Midlands man. We have trained and fought a number of times over The Midlands Regional Finals of the Center Parcs National team were very unlucky to lose 2-3 with all three of the losses the years, so although my three previous fights had lasted only Schools Badminton Championships took place on Tuesday being 10-11 in points. With such a young team this year, we have 42 seconds accumulatively, the final was likely to be a far tighter 21 March at the Nechells Wellbeing Centre. Having won the high expectations for the future. match. The bout started as a cagey affair with each of us probing Birmingham finals in both U14 and U16 age groups, this was and each attack being countered. After three minutes of extreme The U16 team of Sachin Subramonian, Rohan Thawait, Hasan the first time KES had progressed to this stage in two years. intensity, we were both wearying and I lost a point to a counter from Rahman, Yifei Chen and Mingke Peng beat Bridgnorth Endowed Jaime. Although I attacked with increased vigour, my experienced competition, I have always fought out of my skin and beyond The U14 team, comprising Varun Latthe, Luke Hall, Kartik School in their opening pool game before losing 2-3 against opponent just shut up shop, and so I lost to the current GB squad my ranked abilities. In the six times that I have entered (the 2016 Rajasekhar, Dileep Dhanda and Advait Kuravi, won their first two Lawrence Sheriff School and securing the team a third place member by one point, such a defeat is splendid. event I was away on a school DT trip), I have won a medal on each games comfortably before losing out in their final pool game 2-3. finish in the tournament. occasion: one gold, four silvers and one bronze. The third and fourth place play-off was even tighter and the KES So, with a silver I brought to an end my representation of KES CAPJ in this event. Due to my pride in representing my school in this Pat Maughan Indoor Swimming rowing success Alex Hindle won a silver medal in the 1,500m Freestyle at This year, the U16 indoor rowing team made the British Summer Championships in July. an impressive debut at the Birmingham School Games. The competition comprised of two After the disappointment of just missing out on a place in the events: individual and team race. final of the 400m Freestyle, Alex turned his focus to the 1,500m, where he stormed to a second place finish in a The individual race saw three of the four members personal best time of 16 minutes and 38 seconds. of our team qualify for the ‘A’ final where Matt Gissen and Ben Coward secured a KES first RVM and second. Moving on to the team race, KES dominated from the start and ended up winning the race by nearly 100m.

Team: Matt Gissen, Ben Coward, Arinze Okemuo, Shiv Bharakhada.

CAPJ 120 Sport Sport 121 Squash

Once again the U19 team entered the National Schools Competition and were drawn in an exceptionally tough group.

The first fixture saw us host the National Champions, Wycliffe, and whilst we acquitted ourselves manfully, the result was inevitable! Subsequent fixtures had the team travel to Marlborough and Cheltenham to complete the group stage and resulted in us progressing into the second tier of the competition.

The final match and first of the annual home and away games against Bromsgrove School saw us emerge as 5-0 victors. Again, this scoreline was repeated in the rematch and was a one-sided affair.

Many congratulations and thanks must go to both Charlie Roberts and Angus Bradley who have been loyal and dedicated squash players for the School and their award of School Colours is richly deserved. The rest of the team, and the cornerstones for next year and beyond are: Tanay Kulkarni, Tom Corbett, Gursahib Bal and Ben O’Hara.

CAPJ Senior Water polo It has been a great year for the water polo teams, with the Junior U18 and U13 teams both reaching the ESSA National Finals. Led by Matt Madden, the U18s finished fourth overall, narrowly tennis missing out on a place in the gold medal match, after losing tennis In the autumn term, the U15 IV reached the last 32 of the in a penalty shootout in a thrilling semi-final, despite heroic national Aegon Schools competition and were eliminated goalkeeping from youngster Oliver Hudson. The stand-out The U15 team was very successful, and valuable contributions by an extremely strong Repton team 0-6. performance throughout the finals tournament was from George were made by Jamie Draper, Ben Coeulle and Tom Mathers in Davies, scoring and setting up a number of the team’s goals, In the summer term, we were mainly able to field boys from the particular. The team won the Birmingham Area Aegon Schools whilst also covering the team in defence. Divisions for first team matches and obviously this impacted U15 league and will proceed to the regional knockout stage. on results. The highlights were a 6-3 win against Bromsgrove The U15 team had some excellent performances throughout the The U14 team was also very successful and valuable contributions and a 10.5-1.5 win against Stratford. Ying Hou, Rohan year, but despite some strong matches in the early rounds, only were made by Ahmed Sherif, Harry Mellor and Ben O’Hara. Ben Thawait, Michael Ollerenshaw and Oscar Jobes were our made it as far as the national semi-final tournament. Ben Coeulle deserves special praise as he won the U14 Road to Wimbledon strongest players. The enthusiasm and improvement shown by and Krishan Kaushal led the team well throughout the matches, all the squad made the matches particularly enjoyable. with Alex Sokolov and Elijah Amiss providing strong back up. tournament, beating the other three KES players on the way to the A special mention must go to Matt Madden, who after captaining final, which he won 10-1 against the KE Camp Hill finalist. the school team, travelled to Romania this summer as captain of The Simon Booth Cup was won by Rohan Thawait, who won Meanwhile, the U13s, by far the most improved age group the Great Britain U19 squad, as part of the team’s preparation for all three of his sets 6-0 to retain his trophy. Rohan also won of the year, exceeded expectations to progress to the ESSA The U13 team won the Birmingham Area Aegon Schools U13 next year’s European Championships. league and will proceed to the regional knockout stage. They the Magdalen College School U15 Tennis Festival, winning Finals, gaining valuable experience against some tough teams his semi-final 6-2, 6-0 against the Warwick number one, and in the closing stages. In the early rounds, team captain Pratham struggled a bit in their friendly matches but did win impressively Both George Davies and Krishan Kaushal picked up Most defeating last year’s winner from Magdalen College School Kaushal stood out as the team’s most consistent player, but 6-3 against Warwick School. Elliot Clarkson has been the stand Valuable Player Awards for their respective age groups in the 6-1, 6-0 in the final. after breaking his thumb just a few days before the finals, he was out player but he has been ably backed up by Oliver Tinley, Nikash national club competitions, fantastic achievements for both. Chekuri, Toby Hill, Zak Ishaque and Stuart Cave. forced to miss out. Charlie Shay took on the role of centre back, SJT controlling the team’s defence against some much bigger and Meanwhile, former KES water polo star Morgan Hirsch, SJT stronger opposition, with Ollie Hunter providing valuable back represented GBR at this year’s World University Summer Games up. Meanwhile, counter attacks from Bhavan Aulakh, Tom King in Taipei, where the team finished eighth in the world. and Dan Hindle resulted in some great team goals, with the U13s eventually finishing sixth in the country. RVM 122 Sport Sports Day: an Old Ed’s view

So how do you close the Eastern Road track after 53 years? Leave it to Bobby T, pray to the weather forecasters, invite the OEs to participate for the first time, rely on Messrs Johnson and Aston to keep to the timings, and cram 53 events into two hours and 10 minutes.

Me? I’m an OE from 2015; not a school athlete, but a powerlifter who competes for the University of Cambridge. But when the invite to take part in this special Sports Day came, I, along with two dozen other OEs, readily accepted.

Event one, the Javelin – not my speciality but I gave it a go. Chris Duncan (2009) warmed up with a 40m throw, then in round three unleashed a throw of over 47m – and he’s not thrown for eight years! On to the Shot – the battle of the big men, and it certainly was. Three different leaders over six rounds: power, technique, and a tremendous camaraderie. Round three: Henry Glossop launches the shot 12m 36cm to take the lead: two rounds later Alex Gissen pumps the shot out to 12m 37cm, a one centimetre lead. Behind them Josh Gain, with 12m 2cm, is holding off Chris Duncan by a mere two centimetres. Six throwers, all more than 12m – quite a competition.

Elsewhere it’s the Steeplechase that captures the imagination. Wai Ho Chui from the Fifths, representing Evans, disappears under the water in the Steeplechase, but eventually re-emerges and wins. It’s so hot that the other steeplechasers look relieved to be diving in the water.

Shells to Fifths, in events from Hurdles to 1,500m, all the jumps and most of the throws, do their best to win and to set new records, but the star performance is in the Hammer, where Alex Gissen launches three throws, each in excess of 50m to beat the Sports Day and School Records.

And so, to closing the track. With Mr T perched on the wobbly timekeeper’s steps, the three captains – Alex Gissen (2017), Henry Glossop (2013) and Chris Duncan (2009) – unleash the last hammer, the last shot and the very last javelin. Chris Duncan, Mr T’s first Athletics Captain, closes the track, and in reverse order these three will open the new track at Sports Day 2018.

It was a memorable afternoon. Thank you to all the staff who judged the events, and to the boys who represented their Houses.

Farewell Eastern Road, welcome Prior’s Field.

Vikram Thakur (2015) King Edward’s School, Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham B15 2UA Tel: 0121 472 1672 Email: [email protected] @KESBham /KESBham

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