14 S The Dunelmian M C A H H O R O U L D 14 The Dunelmian The Magazine of Durham School 2016-17 Edition Floreat Dunelmia The Magazine of Durham School, 2016-17 Edition The Magazine INDEX Speech6 Day 2017 A celebration of Durham School’s achievements in the 2016/17 Academic Year. Pastoral13 Creative29 If a child lives with Durham School is a hub of encouragement, he or creativity, both in terms of she learns to be performing arts, literature, art, confident. design and technology. Academic39 Durham School offers a wide academic range of subjects taught inside and outside the classroom. Sport51 Co-Curricular75 Our School has a well Our co-curricular activities deserved reputation for sports, complement our curriculum to participation, individual help give pupils confidence competition and teamwork. for life. Old87 Dunelmians “And so shall we, whate’er we be, whether lawyer lacking fee, or priest, or scribe, or bold hussar, sing Floreat Dunelmia!” 2015-2016 3 AUDI0239 Durham School Magazine Advert 297 x 210.indd 1 07/02/2018 09:44 Durham School Advert_265 19/07/2017 07:42 Page 1 WELCOME Durham's only silver awarded AA rated and 4 star hotel. Set in a unique location, surrounded by 350 acres of private grounds with two 18 hole Championship golf courses, a purpose built luxury on site spa complex, four bars and award winning restaurants. Welcome This stunning combination of superb facilities make Ramside Hall the number one choice for Editor: Andrew Beales Welcome from Headmaster Kieran McLaughlin a business event or relaxing overnight stay. Produced by: Remember Media Photography: Various sources As we reflect on another year of Durham School life what becomes clear is that lessons of including KG Photography, the past must inform the future. It may be true that there is not a brick or a book that was Mark Wilkinson Photography present when we were re-founded in 1414. We are not even in the same location. But what and Gillman and Soame has persisted through the years, encapsulated in the bodies and souls of those Dunelmians who have gone before us, is our set of values. The Dunelmian Magazine Quarryheads Lane, We have spent some time recently reflecting on those values and how we can instil and Durham City, continually reinforce them in all the members of our community. We have settled on the DH1 4SZ acronym MARK. Moral Integrity, Ambition, Responsibility and Kindness. 0191 386 4783 Reg Charity Number 1023407 We want all of us to make the right choices; to stand up for what we believe in and what we think is right. We want Dunelmians to be properly ambitious, to better themselves by working hard to build on their strengths and tackle their weaknesses. We want Dunelmians to be responsible members of the community; to look after themselves and others; to take pride in what they do and not settle for “second best “ or “just OK.” We want Dunelmians to be kind; we want them to be tolerant of others, respectful of their differences and to help each other when times are hard. We want to see that in classrooms, on the games field but particularly in the houses; they are the heartbeat of the school, and positive relationships are crucial here. Such values nurture friendships that last a lifetime. This edition of the Dunelmian is a celebration of those values, friendships and achievements, academic or otherwise. www.ramsidehallhotel.co.uk | 0191 386 5282 Ramside Hall Hotel Golf & Spa | Carrville | Durham | DH1 1TD 4 2016-2017 SPEECH DAY SPEECH DAY Headmaster Kieran Headmaster Kieran McLaughlin, Chairman McLaughlin of Governors Alasdair MacConachie, Guest Speaker Joe Stelling each gaining 9 A*s. It is a fantastic achievement by Professor Jerry Murphy MSc the year group, and one which reflects tremendous hard work (Med Ed) MB BS DM FRCP and dedication from the pupils, parents and of course staff. Our (Ed + Lond) staff are hugely committed to the success of our pupils; they are incredibly generous with their time and the pupils sat here now know that whenever they need extra help, their teachers will be there to give it to them. WWI REMEMBERED Elsewhere the cultural life of the school was rich, with speakers on topics from the Peruvian rainforest to French poetry. A particular highlight was the premiere of The Wear at War, a film focussing on local Durham soldiers –including OD Noel Hodgson – and their stories. It was filmed partly at school and Mrs Vanessa Turnbull leaves us at the end of this year and we featured some of our pupils reading Hodgson’s works. In the thank her for her contribution to the department and school over same vein, our annual remembrance service took on an added the past two years. Mark Gardner joined us as an IT technician resonance this year in what was also the 90th anniversary of the back in 2004, drafted in to develop our burgeoning school consecration of the Chapel. network and improve the infrastructure of computers across the school. As time went on Mark pursued his interest in teaching IT It is hard to imagine Durham School without a chapel, but back as well as administering it, and gradually increased his teaching in the early part of the 20th century most religious services were load with us. either held in Big School during the week, or every Sunday Speech Day morning in the Cathedral itself. It was Canon Richard Budworth Eventually he moved on from his network responsibilities, who first decided that the School should have a chapel to becoming Head of ICT in 2009. Mark is a great teacher, commemorate those pupils, and indeed staff who died in the hugely popular with the pupils and respected by the staff. He Extracts from Speech Day Address 2017 by Headmaster Mr Kieran McLaughlin Great War. is incredibly giving of his time, devoting hours at lunchtime, afterschool and even during the holidays to helping pupils There’s no doubt that World War 1 had a profound effect on grappling with the tortures of ICT coursework. Mark has been Budworth. It’s important to remember that the school then barely a stalwart of Poole House, and he will be sorely missed by The future of education is the subject of much speculation Review of the Year 2016-17 numbered 200. the boys and the House staff. Mark leaves us to pursue other nowadays. According to the Bank of England, as many as opportunities and devote himself to the admirable task of foster fifteen million jobs may simply disappear over the next twenty RECORD BREAKING A LEVELS parenting, and we wish him well. years because of the twin forces of artificial intelligence The year for us began in August and what a way to begin the Guest Speaker, Prof. Murphy and automation – a scary thought - and scarier still for year, with another record-breaking set of results at the School. addresses guests Jonathan Webb joined us as Academic Deputy head in 2012 teachers to work out how to prepare youngsters for this Our A level percentage at A*-B – the grades which allow access after an illustrious career at some of the lesser northern schools, brave new world. to the Russell Group universities – was for the third year running most recently Pocklington where he was Head of History and well into the 60s, with 62% securing one or other of those Director of Teaching and Learning. Jonathan arrived at Durham And what about teachers themselves? Will they be one of those grades. Almost a third of the grades awarded were at A or A* and immediately set about making a difference: he changed the who find their jobs redundant? If you Google “classroom of the level which are needed for the very best institutions. Of course, structure of the school day and the nature of the timetable; he future” you will find plenty of people who will describe it to you: these statistics mask the stories of the 79 individuals who took revamped appraisal and teaching standards; he increased the rows and rows of children in virtual reality headsets, working those exams, and achieved the grades they needed to take them use of data and the monitoring of pupils. All of these measures, at their own pace with access to a library the size of a small into the next stage of their educational career. Two – Ben O’Neill and more, had a significant impact on the school’s academic city, steering their own path through a world of wonder and and Stephanie Peng - went to Cambridge, one – Kirstie Kirkley life, not to mention results, and the healthy picture I mentioned knowledge, to find true wisdom. – to study medicine, Beth Snegir to a prestigious drama school, to you at the beginning of my speech is due in no small measure four others off to read law and so on. to Jonathan’s work over the past five years. Jonathan is a proper It sounds hard to believe and I, for one, do not believe it. The scholar, an academic who wears his intellect lightly, a colleague school of the future will look, I would argue, remarkably like the However, and I make no apologies for repeating myself on whose wisdom, wit and charm have been huge assets to me school of the past. Education is not just about the accumulation this, what is equally gratifying to see is those pupils whose At the time around 536 ODs were serving in the forces and the and the School; of course, he is also a great teacher, and of facts.