A Message from the Headmaster

WINNER OF EAST ANGLIA INDEPENDENT SECONDARY SCHOOL OF THE YEAR LeysLife Issue 4 - Summer Term 2021

Sunday Times Parent Power Top Five East Anglian Independent Secondary School of the Decade

A message from the Headmaster Well, so far, so good: the school has navigated its way through the trials and tribulations of the Covid Year of 2020/21 and now we are beginning to look forward to life which will be much closer to “business as usual”. Our pupils have coped remarkably well as we moved in and out of lockdowns. They showed admirable resilience and strength of character. Our staff have “gone the extra mile” to provide a Leysian education, combining academic rigour and encouragement of independent thought, stimulating wider curricular activities, and enrichment, albeit within Government restrictions. The bedrock which supported us through this difficult year has been the great community spirit of the school. Even if our social links had to be maintained by technology for periods of time, they held firm. Many individuals and institutions have found the pandemic year has prompted self-examination. What have we learned from the crisis? How can we do things better? The Leys is no exception. We have always sought to be involved in life beyond the school gates, and we have launched two initiatives which we hope will benefit the wider community: The Community Fund and The Gift of Education. You can read more about them below.

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Remembering Prince Philip As the nation mourns the passing of Prince Philip, Prince Philip’s visit in 1963 - Stan we look back with particular appreciation of his Whitehead is standing by the Prince contribution to the advancement of young people with his back to the camera; below: through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. 40 years later Prince Philip came to The school has been involved with the scheme for more open the Clapham Building. than half a century and played a leading role in launching it in East Anglia. Stan Whitehead, who taught here for 35 years and was Deputy Head for 19 years, welcomed the Prince when he made an official visit on 30 May 1963 when the scheme was in its early days. Stan became involved in promoting the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme through an old Oxford, friend, Peter Carpenter, who had known the Prince since their schooldays at Gordonstoun in the 1930s. “Shortly after that meeting, Peter asked if I would be interested in introducing the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme to The Leys. The scheme had been created by the Duke in 1957 and I was more than delighted to bring the scheme into the programme of the Combined Cadet Force,” Stan recalled. The Duke landed on the School field in a helicopter he piloted himself, then toured the School. He was shown demonstrations of skills from First Aid to baby bathing, the latter explained by the fact that The Leys invited pupils from other Cambridge schools to join them for the special day. The first Leysian to receive his Gold award was Anthony ‘Ben’ Bamford OL (North A, 1962-66) who went to Buckingham Palace to collect his Award from the Duke in 1966 - shortly before the Duke left for the official opening of the World Cup! Since then, hundreds of Leysians have completed the awards at Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, gaining skills, enjoying physical recreation, going on expeditions, and volunteering in the community. Stan Whitehead has been in touch with our Development Office to share his memories: “The Duke gave a definite boost to the interest in the scheme among pupils. Sixty years on, it seems even stronger. It has given me great pleasure to see how many pupils are taking part in the scheme at The Leys today.” The school has had the honour of welcoming Prince Philip on other occasions, including in 1987 when he came to officially open the Rugg Centre and again in 2003 when he opened the Clapham Building. LeysLife

ACADEMIC NEWS

Fresh air and mental exercise Upper Sixth Chemistry pupils took advantage of a spell of good weather to revise Periodicity for assessments on the roof of our Science building.

Novelist’s insights into volcano’s impact Historical novelist Guinevere Glasfurd, whose recent novel A Year Without Summer was one of just 11 long-list contenders for this year’s Walter Scott Historical Fiction Prize, spoke to our A-level English pupils via Google Meets. Guinevere (wife of Damian Glasfurd-Brown, our Director of IT) spoke about her career as a historical novelist. She has written two novels, both critically acclaimed. A Year Without Summer is about the 1815 explosion of Mount Tambora and the effect this had on the environment and society. For more, read

Historian Rosie gets into print An essay by Rosie Knighton (OL) has been published in the latest edition of the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. Rosie, who left The Leys in Summer 2020 and is now studying History at Durham University, was runner-up in a sixth-form essay competition run by the journal in the school year 2019-20. She explored the question, “Was Sir Douglas Haig the most successful British commander in the integration of technology into operational planning 1853-1945?” Her prize was £100, an engraved glass, and the honour of having her essay published. Posting on Twitter, she wrote: “So excited to have received my first official publication from @societyarmy! Many thanks to @LeysCambridge and especially @LeysHistory for helping me get there.” LeysLife

ACADEMIC NEWS

Emily wins Peter Watson Award Young scientists had the opportunity to develop their own research topics and present their findings at the Peter Watson Awards, held on 14 May. Peter Watson (1930-2017) was educated at The Leys on an Exhibition Scholarship. He went on be a distinguished and pioneering ophthalmologist. He endowed annual school prizes “for unusual observations; innovative thinking; constructive development of ideas and problem solving in any of the fields of science.” This year was particularly challenging for pupils to find the time to run their experiments, and many had to postpone their work until next year’s competition. First prize went to Emily H (Year 9) for her report on “Testing the Brain Drain Hypothesis”. Emily conducted an excellent literature review that then informed her own small-scale research conducted at school. She was investigating whether the mere presence of a mobile phone when learning, in this case a new language, would affect the quality and time taken to learn. Her findings were consistent with previous research showing that pupils took longer and achieved lower scores when their phone was in the room. This excellent research was well defended when put under the scrutiny of Jean-Luc Hammersley, Chemistry teacher, and Alexandra Annett, Head of Academic Enrichment and Co-ordinator of STEM. Mrs Annett, pictured with Emily, said: “Emily’s outstanding research was a result of a whole year of hard work. She showed rigor in her scientific method and was able to deliver a nuanced analysis of her data.” LeysLife

WIDER CURRICULUM

The debates go on The Debating Society has succeeded in maintaining Although lockdown restrictions eased in the Lent a meaningful programme while complying with Covid term it proved impractical to hold the House restrictions by operating in Year Group “bubbles”. Debating Competition. However, year group debates were held outside, in Slater Court, when the weather The Sixth Form held four excellent debates in the was suitable. The outside seating area provided an Autumn term with several promising speakers from excellent stage for the speakers and it was pleasing the Lower Sixth making a notable contribution. to see some of the younger debaters making their Although participants could not address a full debuts. Year 7 teams spoke on the difficulties of being auditorium in Great Hall they were well supported royal and the merits or otherwise of Saturday School. by their peer group. The topical “lockdown” motion “This House believes Smaller but equally committed groups from that wealth is essential for health” was addressed in Years 9 to 11 took part in workshops on Thursday the senior debate held at the end of the Lent term. lunchtimes, and pupils who were at home isolating Rob Francis said: “That we were able to achieve could be involved via Google Meets. Activities all this, in the face of restrictions and occasionally included “micro-debates” in which speakers were inclement weather, is a real testament to the required to speak without notes. This approach dedication and enthusiasm of our debaters and augurs has the potential to help younger speakers build up well for the future. We very much hope to return to their skills and confidence in a smaller, supportive whole school debates in September, but we think environment. we have learned some great lessons this year.” Teachers Anna Garrett and Rob Francis chaired a structured discussion on Religion. This involved Tor L, Billy H, Aidan M, Joey C, Matt H and Lottie L and was recorded by Ali Annett for the LIT Radio podcast. Rob Francis said: “This was an impressively mature and well-informed discussion prepared entirely by the Upper Sixth pupils themselves.” LeysLife LeysLife

WIDER CURRICULUM

Leys Lecturer’s insights published Talks from distinguished figures in many fields continue to enrich our pupils, and the experiences of one recent speaker are the subject of a new book. Richard Fenning (OL), who gave insights into risk management in his Leys Lecture in October 2019, has just published a book about the business. Richard, who was a boarder in East House in the 1970s and studied History at university, stepped down after 14 years as Global CEO of Control Risks. He is now a part-time advisor to the company which advises corporations and governments on political, integrity and security risks. His book, What On Earth Can Go Wrong: Tales from the Risk Business (Eye Books, £12.99), reflects on his 30-year career advising multinational companies on volatile geopolitics and severe security crises. Critics have praised it for its insight, humanity and humour. Thriller writer Boris Starling described Richard’s style as having a flavour of Evelyn Waugh, P J O’Rourke and Michael Palin: “Fenning is not just wry, perceptive and informative: he is also laugh-out-loud funny way more often than any CEO has a right to be.” Pictured after the 2019 Leys Lecture in Great Hall are (l-r) the Academic Prefect at the time, Jake O’K, Richard Fenning, Ali Annett, Head of Academic Enrichment and organiser of the Leys Lectures, and Darcy F-S, a recent OL.

SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

County player heading up the rankings Marton H (Year 9) played tennis for Cambridgeshire over the May 1 Bank Holiday weekend, winning all his singles matches and two out of three of his doubles matches. Cambridgeshire beat Norfolk 5-1, Suffolk 5-1, and Bedfordshire 6-0 to win their group but disappointingly the “very strong” county team did not get to play finals because of Covid. Richard Hill, Head of Tennis at The Leys, said: “Marton is currently ranked 2nd in the county and 70th nationally, but these results should propel him up the ranking towards his goal of qualifying for the Nationals this summer.” LeysLife

SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

Competitive sport is back The first full block of school fixtures for over 14 months took place on Saturday 15 May when The Leys took on The Perse. Such was the sense of release, and relief, for all pupils and staff that they were determined to keep the action on despite unfavourable weather. They went on to enjoy 20 satisfying and competitive matches, with The Leys winning 11 and drawing one. On the Tennis courts, the Senior Girls were in scintillating form, comprehensively defeating their opponents with some excellent teamwork and cohesion. There were also some superb victories for the U14A Girls, U14A Boys, 2nd VI Boys, U15A Boys, U15B Boys and U15B Girls. A particular mention must be made of the U15 Boys’ side who battled and battled right down to the last points to secure two 5-4 victories as the gloom of the early evening set in. There were also some thrilling contests out on the Cricket fields. The most exciting was the 1st XI match, where The Perse had the upper hand right up until the last handful of overs. Our bowling saved the day, and we clinched an 8-run victory. The U16 Boys dominated their match, winning by 93 runs. The U14A Girls put on a sublime show, posting 180 off their 20 overs and winning by 45 runs. Individual performances of note were: an unbeaten 108 from Noah T; unbeaten 50s from Nina J and Freya H, Nina J and Freya H and a Man of the Match performance from 1st XI captain Sam T who scored 43 not out with the bat and took 2 for 12 when bowling in the final overs. James Clark, Director of Sport, said: “My thanks to all pupils and staff for their perseverance and understanding over the last year. To finally see fixtures taking place again was really rewarding and exciting. Fingers crossed for improved weather for the rest of this The Leys 1st XI batting against The Perse term and what will prove to be a more ‘normal’ approach to Sport.” LeysLife

SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

Exciting prospects for rising sports stars

Three outstanding young sportspeople to have come Issy R to prominence during their time at The Leys have been selected for development programmes designed to take them on to greater things. Cricketer Issy R (U6) has been selected for the Sunrisers Cricket Performance Programme at Academy Level for the coming season. The London and East Sunrisers is one of eight regional hubs competing in the new Women’s Elite Domestic Structure. Prior to joining the Sunrisers Academy, she was on the Loughborough Lightning Regional Development Centre for two years and transferred to play county age group cricket for Essex from 2016 after starting at Cambridgeshire. Opening batsman Issy was star of the School Sport Magazine National Schools U15 Girls T20 Cricket Cup in 2018, in which The Leys reached the final in their first competitive season. She made history by becoming the first girl to play in The Leys 1st XI team in the annual match against an MCC team last summer. She joined Cambridgeshire girls’ age groups at 12 and by her U13 season she had played for the U15s, U17s and Women’s teams. Hockey players and OLs James Albery and Katie Curtis have been Katie Curtis selected for the GB Elite Development Programme (EDP). The EDP was formed three years ago to nurture the international sporting ambitions of potential Olympic medallists from the Home Nations. Depending on the pandemic situation, it is hoped EDP players will be able to compete internationally, including at the Senior EuroHockey Championships in July and the Junior World Cups for England’s U21s later in the year. England teams will also be sent to the inaugural EuroHockey5s Championships this summer. James, who was Senior Prefect at The Leys, is a previous U21 England Hockey captain. He was the Hockey Writers’ Club Junior Hockey player of the year at just 15. Katie, currently at the University of Nottingham, played in the national U16 Girls squad and captained The Leys U16 Girls’ side that reached the national schools’ hockey finals in two successive years. Issy, James and Katie are previous winners of the Roy Burrell Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year award, for outstanding young players in Cambridgeshire.

James Albery LeysLife

SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

Will Hooley Dylan Powell

changed to one of “looking after your buddy” and preventing New approaches to serious injury, although players accepted that the game concussion in sport carried risks. Some people might think stringent issuing yellow and red cards for infringements spoiled the game, Old Leysians Will Hooley and Dylan Powell gave but the safety of the player mattered most. He spoke about insights into how new technology and cultural shifts his own experience of suffering concussion in his USA are changing how concussion and head injuries are World Cup match against England which meant he missed dealt with in rugby. his team’s next match. While the majority of such injuries occur at professional Dylan said there were interesting developments in level, those with an interest in the sport at school level were concussion care, many of them involving technology such interested to hear about the latest developments from two as saliva testing, eye tracking, force estimation mouth professionals in the game. Will, (Barker House, 2007-12), guards and measuring heart rate variability. They were plays for Saracens and represented the USA in the Rugby “emerging, but promising”, and were likely to be used in World Cup. He was in conversation with Dylan (East combination. There was still no “silver bullet”. House, 2010-12), a physiotherapist working with Rangers and Northumbria University who works as an assistant The talk was then opened for a Q&A session before lecturer while doing postgraduate research into concussion. Simon Thomas gave the vote of thanks. The Zoom talk was introduced and led by Simon Thomas, You can hear the whole talk on this link: Head of Rugby at The Leys. He explained that when pupils played rugby at The Leys every care was taken to avoid injuries and keep players safe: in terms of medical care Will Hooley, who is a freelance writer as well as a rugby there is one trained therapist per pitch, all pupils undergo a pro, has launched a podcast, The Next Game: A Story of SCAT test at the start of the season, the school follows the Transition. RFU’s GRTP protocols (supervised by the therapists), and all coaches are RFU trained and must undertake the Headcase concussion training. In it, he speaks to a series of former and current Dylan began by defining head injury and concussion. He professional players to find out what it takes to make a said playing rugby had driven his interest in researching successful move out of the sport into other walks of life. though he pointed out other common causes of head injury He shares their advice, challenges and experiences and were falls, car crashes and non-contact sports such as also looks back with them on their sporting lives. So far, horse-riding. There was no single test, and no one “silver he has chatted with Brad Barritt, former Saracen, England bullet”, for diagnosis and care of concussion. and British & Irish Lions tourist, and Gareth Steenson and Will said the old macho “get on with it” approach had Matt Jess of the Exeter Chiefs. LeysLife

SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

Cricketing with confidence Damien Rigden has been back coaching sport at Great Abington Primary School. The link between The Leys and Great Abington was formed some years ago but, as with so much of sport, face-to-face contact was stopped by Covid. As restrictions eased, Damien was able to resume it. “It was good to see them all again,” he said. “I have been teaching proprioception (the sense though which we perceive the position and movement of our body) to the pupils from Years 3 and 4, and cricket to Years 5 and 6.” Pupils are shown consolidating their batting skills with help from Damien.

Out and about again Maintaining the Outdoor Education, Duke of Edinburgh and CCF programmes has been a challenge but pupils have kept engaged and a return to “normal service” is gradually being resumed, reports Russ McAlinden, Head of Outdoor Education, DofE Manager & CCF Contingent Commander. “The CCF programme has been developing for our Year 11 and Lower Sixth pupils, who we hope will be sticking with us next year. September will be a chance to relight the CCF flame, post-Covid, and will allow us to formally get back into our training programmes. During the final week of this half term, the Year 10 pupils will step out onto our first DofE expedition since the pandemic started. It is a major step in our post-Covid recovery and will allow the pupils to enjoy some of the key learning opportunities that they have very much been missing. This Bronze and Silver practice and qualifying expedition will be held locally and cover walking, cooking and camp craft. We are very fortunate to have access to a variety of onsite and local facilities for Outdoor Education. We have been able to safely get the pupils involved in archery, indoor climbing, sailing, the low ropes course, problem solving tasks and kayaking on the local River Cam. These experiences have been hugely missed and having them back on the programme is a massive step forward in supporting our pupils.” LeysLife

WELL BEING

may be struggling. We couldn’t continue this training during Reflections on the lockdown, but it gave pupils who undertook it a foundation challenges of the which they will be able to carry through to their next step of life. Covid year This year the 2020-2021 Prefect Team’s theme was Olivia S (U6), who has been “acceptance,” so as Wellbeing Prefect I made that my main Wellbeing Prefect for the focus. A lot of pupils struggle with feeling excluded at times, current academic year, which can have a direct effect on their mental health, so as looks back at her role. a school we’ve been looking at how to be as inclusive as possible. We’ve looked at racial awareness, the LGBTQ+ “From the beginning of the year mental health has been community, and gender equality within the school and in of the utmost concern due to lockdowns, concerns about the outside world. Some of these efforts have been on a exams and generally just being a teenager. broader scale, such as our Stand for Solidarity focus in On a wider scale, throughout this year we have been October, and some have been smaller, working behind the sending out regular surveys to try and gauge how to scenes with the PSHE teams. help pupils in the best we can. This has been particularly Overall, by looking at themes of inclusion we hope that at important, with all the changes that resulting from the least a handful of pupils have felt more included and if so, pandemic. that is a step in the right direction. On a smaller scale, each prefect, Deputy Head of Even though the Covid crisis has been tough, The Leys House and We Are Everyone Committee member (so continues making improvements and working to support all together roughly about half of the year) has had an pupils, now more than ever.” introductory Mental Health Training session with Damien Rigden (Leys Mental Health First Aider) to help them begin to understand how to understand and detect people who LeysLife

WELL BEING

Working out to support World Culture event mental health charity The World Culture Evening, a highlight of the School year, had to be delivered in a different way This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week was because of the pandemic. May 10-16, but work to support wellbeing is a year-round concern at The Leys. International pupils made a short film for other pupils and members of staff to watch in their tutor groups. Normally The Leys works to create a supportive environment in the event would take place in Great Hall and involve live which pupils feel able to discuss wellbeing and mental performance and demonstrations, plus a buffet of food health. It is known that young men can find it hard to “open from around the world. This year, tutor groups were up” because of stereotypes of male behaviour, which is supplied with international snacks to sample. why seven sixth form boys have organised a fundraiser to benefit the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust. Charlie, a The World Culture video featured Chinese music highflyer with apparently everything to live for, took his played on the guzheng by Cindy H (U6), who is pictured life in 1997. The Trust is dedicated to supporting and playing at last year’s event; a demonstration of the educating young people in looking after their mental health. traditional Chinese tea ceremony by Helen L and Cindy H (both U6); calligraphy with Wendy W (L6), and the telling Ned G and six friends - Jack W, Sachin C, Louis H, Alex of the story of how the animals got their places in the H, Harry G and Fraser S - will be embarking on a 24-hour Chinese zodiac by Annika G and Bianca D (both Y9). gym-a-thon tomorrow (Saturday 29 May), aiming to work Many other international pupils were involved behind out continuously whilst also recording short podcast clips the scenes. in which they will discuss mental health related topics. A website was developed for this year only as an If you want to support their fundraising, go to alternative to the usual displays that pupils make for the World Culture Evening. Pupils from several countries, including Russia, Belarus, Switzerland and Nigeria, created webpages about their homelands. “It has been a pleasure to work alongside pupils and to witness the hard work and creativity they have devoted to delivering this alternative way of celebrating the event,” said Sarah Byrne, ESOL teacher. “We hope to return to our usual way of doing things next year.” LeysLife

THE ARTS

“However, in quite a short space of time this term, we have Spotlight on put together a showcase that has drawn on their existing Year 9 talent Speech & Drama (LAMDA) pieces, some dance, and an original piece of theatre created solely for the Year 9 Drama Year 9 pupils put together a Club. All the pupils have been a pleasure to work with in lively and eclectic 45-minute rehearsals and have been open to developing their programme of drama and dance individual pieces into a performance style that befits the pieces which was live-streamed showcase as a whole. We have really enjoyed the process.” for parents last night. The programme featured an original work written by Cory for The recording is still available on Planet eStream for the Year 9 Drama Club: Waking up and getting ready for the parents with log-in details to access via My School Portal school trip/ Memories of the beach/Returning back home. Other pieces, performed in groups or as monologues, included passages from Pride and Prejudice, Pygmalion, The Demon Headmaster, and A Few Good Men.

Welcoming the online audience, Cory Pulman-Jones, Next month’s Year 10 double bill of The Real Inspector Head of Performance Drama, commented: “It was Hound and Harlequinade (23 and 24 June) will be frustrating not to be able to direct a Year 9 play this performed after “Step 4” of the Government’s roadmap year due to the restrictions. This opportunity is always (21 June) but Great Hall will be continuing with social an enriching one, as it is my first chance to work in detail distancing requirements in order to avoid any disruption with this year group and introduce them to a way of caused by potential delays to the Government’s scheme, working that will inform them in performance for the and to ensure the safety of all audience members and the rest of their time at The Leys. school community. For details, LeysLife

THE ARTS

Innovators in Ballet LIT Radio, the podcast radio series devised and run by pupils, focused on the dance world in the final podcast of the current series. Pupils interviewed two of the most esteemed artistic directors in ballet: Kevin O’Hare CBE, Director of the Northern Ballet since 2012, and David Nixon OBE, Artistic Director of the Northern Ballet since 2001. They talked about their lives in ballet, innovating within a highly traditional institution, and the impact of the pandemic on the performance sector. You can hear the podcast on

ApplePodcast:

or on Spotify:

Song of hope The rainbow has been the symbol of the nation’s support for NHS frontline workers throughout the pandemic from which we are now emerging. This gives special significance to our Chamber Choir’s rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The song, written for the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, won an Oscar for composer Harold Arlen and lyricist Yip Harburg. It became the signature song of the film’s star, by Judy Garland, and has been covered by many artists, including Eva Cassidy and Ariana Grande. The Chamber Choir put together this a cappella arrangement by recording their pieces remotely at home. These were then edited by Acting Assistant Director of Music, Scott Morrison. “We hope it reflects some light at the end of the Covid tunnel”, said Max Kenworthy, Director of Music, “and we look forward to singing together more in the coming months.” The rainbow of petals, which was the cover image of the Leys Life magazine Autumn 2020 edition, was made by Isabella K (Year 9) last year as a part of a project done by Moulton House pupils.

Lunchtime Live The Music Department staged three Lunchtime Live recitals. The first featured four of our Music Scholars, the second featured the Flute Choir, Clarinet Group and the Junior Saxophone Quartet, together with some solo performance, and the third featured the Swing Orchestra, Brass Group, two string quartets and the Saxophone Group.

Sounding brass – on the organ Staff have been able to enjoy a brief weekly musical interlude in their busy days thanks to the Wednesdays@1 live organ music recitals in the School Chapel, which began back in November. This half-term, Max Kenworthy, Director of Music, played the challenging L’Ascension, Olivier Messiaen’s symphonic meditation for Ascension Day. Scott Morrison, Acting Assistant Director of Music, performed pieces featuring the trumpet and tuba stops, including works by David Bednall, Jeremiah Clarke and Rosalie Bonington. LeysLife

IN THE COMMUNITY

Celebrating the Gift of Education The Leys has a long tradition of providing bursaries to allow pupils from all backgrounds to study at the School. As we approach the School’s 150th anniversary in 2025, the next step on this important path is the Gift of Education, our ambitious fundraising campaign to support two children in each year group with 110% bursary places. We are working in partnership with Royal SpringBoard, a national charity which works with community organisations and schools to identify young people from underprivileged backgrounds with the potential to thrive at boarding school. The children they match with The Leys are those who will particularly benefit from living at a ‘big, small school’ in our special city location. Currently, two pupils are attending The Leys as part of the Gift of Education programme, and another will start their studies with us in September 2021. You can be part of the Gift of Education by making a one-off or a regular gift. We are particularly grateful to those who make a regular commitment, standing by a pupil throughout their years at The Leys. To find out more, and for news and updates, please visit our campaign website at

Easter eggs for Abbey People Easter eggs rolled in for this year’s Lenten Appeal in aid of Cherry Hinton Food Hub and Abbey People. The school was working with the two community groups to help Cambridge residents in need over the Easter break. The Houses made collections of food and toiletries for Cherry Hinton Hub, while Easter Eggs were collected for Abbey People. In addition, a Community Fund grant enabled Abbey People to supply 45 families who usually receive free school meals with food hampers during the Easter holiday. Cambridge was already the UK’s most unequal city, before the Covid-19 crisis exacerbated existing inequalities. Cherry Hinton Food Hub aims to help those who struggle to meet the costs of food in the Cherry Hinton area. Abbey People is a community group working to enrich the lives of those in Abbey, the city’s most deprived area. You can read more in the Leys Community section of the website

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