– Summer 2019 The Character of Desborough College Summer 2019 Character Virtues in Action DESBOROUGH COLLEGE – Summer 2019 Dear Parents/Carers This is my final contribution to a Desborough College newsletter and I want to use it, amongst other things, to say a huge thank-you to the parents and guardians whose boys (and sixth-form girls) have attended Desborough during the course of my seven-year tenure as headteacher. Overwhelmingly, your children do you great credit because they are pleasant, polite, courteous, funny, respectful and well-behaved. It is no coincidence that the many, many parents that I have met over the last seven years deliberately instil these qualities in their children and, crucially, model them through their own behaviour. Parental support for Desborough has been central to its successes and increasing popularity. From a personal perspective I feel genuinely privileged to have played some “I feel privileged small part in your children’s journey towards adulthood. These young people to have played a have shared and enriched my time at Desborough, their many successes filling me with a sense of pride; they have made me laugh and some have made me small part in your feel humble because of the obstacles that they have had to confront and children’s overcome and have done so cheerfully and without complaint; young people journey.” who will make their own significant marks upon the world, who will become decent, kind, modest, unselfish contributors to our society. I have worked in and visited dozens, literally dozens, of schools over the years and have something to compare Desborough with. Most parents understandably “.” don’t have that experience but you can trust me when I tell you that our school, Desborough, is very special. It has a unique history and counts amongst its alumni peers of the realm, people who have forged national and international reputations in the arts, the sciences, business, finance, law, sport, medicine, politics, industry, the military and education. I am indebted to the school’s Governing Body for trusting me to help ensure that it also has a great future and I am totally confident that this is the case. Headteachers can achieve very little without the support of excellent staff, teaching and non-teaching, and the staff that I will be leaving behind are collectively the most talented, hardest-working and professional that I have ever worked alongside over a career spanning 39 years. I shall miss them all, of course, but I can retire knowing that exciting, successful times lay ahead for pupils attending Desborough College because the school’s future is in safe hands. Finally, could I take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful summer break. Best wishes Paul Frazer – Summer 2019 [Type a quote from the document or the summary of an interesting point. We would like to welcome our new staff and wish them well in their new You can position the text box roles. anywhere in the document. Use the Drawing Tools tab to change the formatting of the pull quote text box.] Seb Alexander, Turnaround Manager from April 2019 Costas Ioakeim, Facilities and Site Manager from June 2019 Teachers from July 2019 Miss Miles – Geography Mr Byrne – Science Miss Lewis – English Mr Summers – History Teachers from September 2019 Mr Angier – Head of Geography Ms Garcia – English Mrs Cook – Geography Mr Eaves – Music Mrs Walker – English Mr Wootton - Technology Mrs Nwana - Economics . – Summer 2019 [Type a quote from the document or It is always sad to say goodbye to members of the Desborough community. the summary of an interesting point. We are enormously grateful to them for the contributions they have made to You can position the text box the school. anywhere in the document. Use the Drawing Tools tab to change the foformattingrmatting of the pull quote text Thomas Myatt, Head of Geography box.] Since Tom joined Desborough his unending enthusiasm for clearing up and organising things and people never ceases to amaze. His unfailing ability to inspire and encourage the boys with his energy and determination to keep up with their slang has made them laugh and groan in equal measure. It has been a pleasure to welcome him into the Humanities fold and we wish him well in his new adventures. Ruari Craig-Wood, Deputy Head of English It is with heavy hearts that the English Department announce the departure of our much loved and hugely talented Second in Department, Ruari Craig-Wood, who is leaving Desborough College at the end of the academic year in order to take on a new challenge in a school, nearer home, in Oxford. Ruari is a great loss and I know that he will be hugely missed among the team and the wider staff, both as a colleague and as a friend. Over the years he has also become a firm favourite among the boys and I know that his students, past and present, will be very sorry to see him go. Ruari, it has been my absolute pleasure to work along-side you over the past five years and we all wish you the very best in your next exciting adventure. Your new colleagues and students are incredibly lucky! – Summer 2019 Mark Bromley – History Teacher Since Mark joined Desborough in 2010 he has filled numerous roles to support both students and staff alike. When he transferred from Drama to teach History the boys were looking forward to the extra dramatisation of inspiring Churchillian speeches. Alas the daily journey from Oxford has got too much for him and his family and he leaves us to take a post at a school 15 minutes from home. His steadying presence in the classroom will be sorely missed by all of us in Brooks and it is safe to say Lunch Club discussions will never be the same. Helen Dabb – Head of Economics and Business Studies Teacher We are sorry to be losing Helen Dabb after just one year as she moves on to new role in Guildford. Helen brought seriously impressive subject knowledge to the role of Head of Economics and leaves solid foundations for her successor to build on for next years' A-levels. We wish her well Matt Mault – Learning Mentor This year Mr Matthew Mault leaves us for the second time. Matt was a student here at the school from 2007-2014. After graduating with a Geography degree, Matt returned as a learning mentor and trainee Geography teacher in 2017. Matt has made a wonderful contribution to life here at the school, both inside and outside the classroom. A trip back to university beckons for Matt and postgraduate qualification in teaching. We look forward to welcoming Matt back each year as an Old Maidonian, and also as an ex-member of staff. We wish Matt every success and are all very appreciative for everything he has given the school as a student and as a member of staff “We wish all our leavers good luck for the future” – Summer 2019 Mr Matt Mault, Learning Mentor & DofE Manager, writes of a wonderful experience for our Year 7 students on the National Enterprise Challenge Day A fun day, packed with mind boggling activities for our students. The day was challenging yet rewarding, taking the students out of their comfort zone, experiencing what it was like to be in a business setting. The students worked in teams to create a mascot to use in a short advert – which they had to perform as well! The event enabled all the boys to flourish in a setting they had never been in before. They had to work against the clock, delegating tasks between the team, “The event enabled all presenting in front of a large audience and designing, All of these tasks the boys to flourish in enabled them to experience different roles within a business environment – a setting they had without them even realising! never been in before.” One of our teams was successful and will now compete against over 230 other schools, from across the country, in the National Finals on Wednesday 10th July 2019 at the iconic Wembley Stadium, London! Something the students will treasure forever. – Summer 2019 Congratulations to Jacob Ioras, Nat and James Harlow who achieved Gold in a recent National Junior Sculling rowing event which is a tremendous achievement. It was a very close race stroked by Jacob and they won by .59 of a second! “It was a close The boys also did well in the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head on the race, they won by 18th March with a great race and took second place out of 70 crews in .59 of a second.” their event. Nat rowed at bow, Jacob was the stroke and James coxed the crew. James also coxed the club’s top J15 girls’ crew who came third out of approximately 70 crews in their event. Nat and James also recently competed at the Junior Sculling Regatta at Dorney Lake. This is a major event of the season and attracts many crews from all over the country. They were placed in second overall out of 22 crews in their morning trial which meant they could take part in the “A” final for the event. The opposition was fierce from their rivals, Windsor Boys School but the boys overtook their opponents in the last 100m of the 2000m course and won, setting a new course record time for their event. Congratulations to these talented boys. – Summer 2019 “It was his first We are proud to share the success of our students regatta and he won J13 Quad race.” Congratulations to Henry Curno in Year 8 who took part in his first regatta on 19 May: Maidenhead Junior Regatta and won J13 Quad race.