The Canfordian 2018/19 by Canford School

Canfordian The

2018/19

the

canfordian Contents SPEECH DAY 2019

SALVETE AND VALETE

ACADEMIC 14 PASTORAL 31 CHAPLAINCY 54 ENRICHMENT 55 THE ARTS

ACTIVITIES AND SOCIETIES

THE BOURNE ACADEMY

COMMUNITY AND PARTNERSHIPS

OUTDOOR ENTERPRISES

THE CANFORD COMMUNITY

SUPPORT MATTERS

SPORT 96 THE SUMMER BALL

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The Headmaster speaks This is an abridged version of the speech delivered by the Headmaster on Speech Day in June 2019. The sections omitted dealt largely with matters and events that are reported elsewhere in this issue of The Canfordian. ‘IT was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.’ This extract from Charles Dickens’s epic A Tale of Two Cities is applicable to our own age, perhaps. As I watched the class of 2019 graduate and thought about all that has been achieved by them and their fellow-Canfordians this year, all the positive aspects came to the fore – wisdom, belief, light and hope were all present in abundance. However, the world into which these young people are stepping seems far more in tune with the downsides which Dickens outlines – foolishness, incredulity, darkness and despair. I have confidence that all our leavers will seek to use their educational experience to make a positive impact on their own lives and on the lives of others. In another Dickens novel, Hard Times, he outlines how tough life was for so many in the 19th century. Of course, life is better for many now than in Dickens’s age but we do see and hear ever more extreme words and actions on the need for hardness – intransigence even. Leaders talk of taking a hard line, making hard choices, pursuing a hard Brexit and establishing hard borders. In this atmosphere of ‘hardness’, independent education is perhaps an easy target and politicians and press all line up to have a go at the independent education sector daily. This is a sector which makes a real and genuine difference to many lives in so many positive ways. In Hard Times, School Superintendent Mr Gradgrind opens the novel at his school in Coketown stating, ‘Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.’ This is not my educational ethos, nor Canford’s, but I do want to share some facts and statistics with you which support this more balanced and positive view of independent schools. Independent schools are committed to working with the state sector. There are more than 25,000 state

schools and just over1000 independent schools in the UK. Most independent schools are involved in crosssector collaborations. Some 11,500 such partnerships were recorded in the 2019 Independent Schools Council (ISC) Census, up from the 10,500 recorded last year. To get a flavour of some of these partnership projects, I would strongly recommend you visit the Schools Together website. Canford is at the forefront of such collaborations with over 60 community partnership projects. Last year over 9000 pupil hours and 1100 staff hours were devoted to our community partnership programmes, alongside considerable commitment of other resources and facilities. It was a privilege to be one of six schools chosen recently to present to a cross-party group of MPs keen to discuss state/ independent school partnership. Independent schools take civic duty seriously and our pupils are socially responsible citizens. Partnership working takes many forms and these collaborations are just that – mutually beneficial programmes. They can involve academy sponsorship such as Canford’s sponsorship of the Bourne Academy in West Howe, Bournemouth, where pupils and staff share joint teaching and learning initiatives and work together on careers and higher education preparation. Such work clearly demonstrates an active will to be relevant and engaged across the educational sector and society as a whole. The UK independent education sector is world class, and global recognition for this is obvious. The international demand for the rigour, innovation and creativity offered is evidenced by the growing demand for UK independent schools overseas, alongside the ongoing demand for study in the UK. Overall there are just over 55,000 international students studying at independent schools in the UK. These pupils make a positive contribution educationally and culturally. Their economic contribution is estimated at being worth £1.8 billion annually to the UK’s GDP. I would like to dispel the myth that international pupils are flooding UK independent schools. The reality is that the proportion of international pupils in independent schools has remained constant since 1974. At Canford around 7% of our pupil body are non-UK passport holders from almost 20 countries. They enrich our school community

“I have confidence that all our leavers will seek to use their educational experience to make a positive impact on their own lives and on the lives of others.”

ACADEMIC

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ACADEMIC speech day and help to share wider insights and experiences with our UK pupils. I welcome and embrace the presence and contributions of our international Canfordians and the contribution they make to giving a better global understanding to Canford and its community. Independent school academic results are excellent and exceed national averages by some distance. Canford’s results are very much at the top end of that scale. Objective research studies which take account of contextual socio-economic factors show that attendance at independent school adds the equivalent of two additional years of progress by 16 and three times the added value between GCSE and A Level. The fact that significant numbers of independent school pupils attend and graduate successfully from top higher education institutions – and the class of 2019 is no exception to this – is a testament above all to the work ethic and educational culture instilled in the pupils, and the innovative academic and wider teaching and learning in independent schools. Witness the programmes experienced by Canfordians in the last week of the Summer Term, focusing on ‘A Cultural Cornucopia’ for the Fifth Form and ‘The Spirit of Space’ for the rest of the “All Canfordians school. Independent schools save the taxpayer £3.5 billion per explore their annum by educating over half a million pupils at no extra own personal cost to the state. They pay over £4 billion in taxes each and collective year. Independent schools add £9.5 billion annually to the development and UK’s GDP – that is bigger than the city of Liverpool and learn to express the BBC. They support over 300,000 jobs, that is one themselves in every 100 nationally. Canford supports directly and indirectly over 600 jobs locally. The school contributes intellectually, creatively, physically, £17m to the local economy and £30m to the national economy per annum. The ISC has written recently to emotionally, MPs and councillors of all parties where closure of morally.” independent schools in their constituencies will place particularly significant burdens on local budgets and local economies. Nationally, independent schools commit £700m to bursaries which support 41,000 children, 10% of whom pay no fees and 40% pay less than half fees. Some will argue that this is tokenism but as Mother Teresa said, ‘I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples’. Each bursary pupil’s life is changed through accessing the opportunities offered at an independent school – something I have witnessed many times here in my career at Canford and other schools I have worked in. Those pupils create ripples which impact positively on many others beyond their own experience, which is why we are putting considerable effort and resources into opening up a Canford education

to more young people who could not otherwise afford to attend, alongside engaging with community partnership programmes to make as much of a difference to as many as we can. Independent schools generate significant value culturally and economically. They punch above their weight across the world and offer specialisms and capacity which is hard to find elsewhere in educational sector. They help to drive innovation and energy for the future of our country. Independent schools make a real and genuine difference in so many ways and to those taking easy option of giving the sector such a hard time, I would suggest they reflect on the value the sector brings to our communities, our economy and our country. The reality is that independent schools should be viewed as a national resource to support, nurture and grow through increased accessibility to all, and a national asset which, in partnership with the state sector where realistic opportunities exist, helps set standards to work towards – not as something to destroy! Canford is a top-quality example of all that is best in independent education. As a school community we make a real and significant difference. The Davos World Economic Forum in 2016 set out the Top 10 skills which would be required for success in the decades after 2020. These are: • Complex Problem Solving • Critical Thinking • Creativity • People Management • Co-ordinating with Others • Emotional Intelligence • Judgement and Decision Making • Service Orientation • Negotiation • Cognitive Flexibility These are all skills which have been promoted and developed daily over the past year as part of Canford’s extensive educational programmes. Promoted and developed through the 67,000 high-quality academic lessons; through extensive academic enrichment sessions; through excellent public exam results; through 700 sports fixtures played by over 100 teams across 22 sports; through11000 music lessons, hundreds of ARSM grade and diploma music exams and over 70 concerts; through hundreds of hours spent putting together many plays and performances in theatre; through those 9000 pupil hours and 1100 staff hours devoted to supporting community projects; and through numerous trips and expeditions in the UK and around the world which take the pupils out of their comfort zone and raise awareness of global issues and perspectives. All Canfordians explore their own personal and collective development and learn to express themselves intellectually, creatively, physically, emotionally, morally. In this way they learn to excel, each in their own way, and those ways are different for all. We seek ‘To inspire young people to embrace learning in all its forms and to use their educational experience to make a real and positive difference to their own lives, and to the lives of others’ and the outcomes for individual Canfordians, for our school community and for society as a whole are substantial and significant. We will continue to strain every sinew through our ongoing commitment to high-quality provision of education, underpinned by dynamic and relevant strategic planning, to ensure that this remains the case in the years to come.

Upper Sixth Acting Business Studies Chemistry Classical Civilisation Clive Mayer Memorial Trophy Drama Economics Eddy Prize for Music Edna Adams Trophy for Debating English Environment Fine Art French Friends of Canford School Prize for Design Technology Friends of Canford School Prize for Journalism Further Maths Geography German Halahan Prize for Natural History Hankinson Prize for Biology Hardie Prizes for Academic Performance Hardie Prize for Business and Maths Hardie Prize for Economics and Maths Hardie Prize for History and Philosophy Hardie Prizes for Humanities Hardie Prize for Languages Hardie Prize for Natural Sciences Hardie Prize for Philosophy and Languages History John Gilhooly Quaich for Computing Jones Prize for Politics Latin Mathematics Michael James Prize for Singing Painting Peter Dugdale Cup for Service to the Local Community Peter Dugdale Cup for Community Partnership Overseas Philosophy and Theology Physics Russian Sam Wolstenhulme Travel Prize School Prize for Music Spanish Sports Awards Sports Science Technical Theatre The CCF Benner Award Tom Nash Memorial (Gap Year) Tom Webster Art Prize Holford Prizes Sophie Johnson Prizes Heads of School

Matilda Hubble Edward Higham Helena Jackson Felix Spowers Hannah Cox Freddie Hamilton Michael Galley Zarah Warr Ellen Harvey-Hills and Scott Montague Loveday Pride Henry Hughes Loveday Pride Helena Jackson Luke Reid Freddie Johnson and Freddie James Matt Wilkinson Lucy Stalker and Matthew Daubeney Grace Hewett George Robson Aimee Hairon Olivia Imms and Fruin MacKillop-Hall Melody Dean Max Beaney Jessica Allen Deya Shergill and Freddie Johnson Imogen Nichols Lucy Hobden Matilda Hubble Felix Spowers Tom Alner Jessica Allen and Michael Bryan Wilf Raby Luke Reid Ellen Harvey-Hills Barnaby Peddie Izzy Pryce Will Hannah Matthew Daubeney Luke Reid Beatriz Mowat Michael Bryan Ben Evans Max Glowacki George Baugniet and Lucy Stalker Zac Organ Robert Way Patrick Perry Michael Bryan Nick Leavesley Jorge de la Cruz, Cameron Feist, Charlie Ford, James Fountain, Lachlan Fulton, John Ireland, Harry Pickard, Om Ramchandani, Fergus Taylor and Ben Thomson Kitty Arnold, Martha Baldwin, Fizzie Boyle, Mia Brash, Millie Dickins, Lydia Harvey, Tallulah Judd, Cecily Rogers and Lucy Prest Matilda Hubble and Scott Montague

Lower Sixth Louis Ross Prize Baynham Essay Prize CP Snow

Emily Witter and Finn Baker Finn Baker Jessye Phillips

Fifth Form Creative Writing Design History Coursework

Emily Walster Milenka Soskin and Imo Fairweather Eve Hewett

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Prizewinners 2019

Fourth Form Charles Allen, Emily De Veulle, Jessica Fry, Emma Jeffries, Annabel Kersey, Milind Khashu, Rupert Peach, Mary Sorokina, Jamie Tian, Harry Young Shells Mia Ashby Rudd, Jemima Carrell, Isabelle Dickinson, Oscar Feingold, Rupert Hutton, Nat Merrell, Imy Woodcock

Salvete & Valete Members of the academic staff who joined the Common Room in 2018/19

Left to right: Lenka Collison Helen Craig Jessica Craig Iria Ramirez Fernandez Emma Moxey Esther Saurel

Lenka Collison, BSc

After graduating with a first class honours degree in Politics with Economics as well as a PGCE in History, both from the University of Bath, Lenka began her career teaching History in 2004 at Prior Park College, where she was Head of Department from 2007 to 2016. Lenka moved to Canford in 2016 when her husband, Matt, was appointed Director of Hockey and she is currently a tutor in Franklin.

Helen Craig, BA

Helen returned to Canford after a year of teaching Drama at Portsmouth GS. Having graduated from Exeter, she originally joined Canford in 2015 as a Graduate Assistant where she made quite an impact; getting involved in a number of different areas of school life including drama, sport, CCF and boarding.

Jessica Craig, BSc

Jessica, who has a degree in Natural Sciences from Bath, worked in Washington DC, promoting STEM education and collaboration between schools, universities and corporations. Originally from Gibraltar, she is a keen sailor and dancer and has represented the country nationally.

Iria Ramirez Fernandez, MA

Iria finished her MA at the University of Valencia two years ago and since then has been teaching English as an Additional Language to Spanish speakers in Spain.

After completing a course to teach Spanish as a Foreign Language, she moved to England to start teaching her mother tongue as an additional language. Iria says: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Teaching a second language has always been my passion and I find it personally rewarding when I see the progress non-native speakers make.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Emma Moxey, MA

Emma brings to the Art Department a depth of experience and knowledge developed over 21 years as a practising artist and 17 years as an art teacher. She has exhibited nationally and internationally at several notable galleries including the Victoria Art Gallery Bath, the Royal West of England Academy Bristol, Heals Tottenham Court Road, Kunstverein Coburg and the Brussels Art Fair, and is held in private and public collections including the Rabley Centre for Contemporary Drawing.

Esther Saurel, MA

After completing her studies in her native France, Esther moved to the UK, where she worked for the French Embassy before discovering her passion for teaching. She taught at schools in Manchester and Leeds and was most recently Head of French at Tonbridge, before taking up the same role at Canford. Her academic interests lie in 18thand 19th-century French literature and modern linguistics. Esther moved to Canford in January 2019, and is a tutor in Marriotts.

CAROLINE BARRETT

EMILY DOHERTY

Caroline has been an evangelical member of the literati since 2001, when John James thought it prescient to add this wild Bryanstonian to our number. Her colleagues at Canford know Caroline as champion of our merry band, and recognise her for her passion for English literature and the English language, for her erudite assemblies and eloquent speeches, for her boundless energy and enthusiasm, for her faithful friend and constant companion, Archie, as well as for her love of running and cycling and all things intellectual and cultural. Not only has she taught Shakespeare’s work with burning passion and infectious enthusiasm, she has ensured that his work has been experienced as it should be: her fabled directorial work has all been of Shakespeare plays. She is one of the hardest workers we have ever met, and she who loves labours will not be lost; she knows there is no clock in the forest of Wessex, as she has shown in her dedication to missing deadlines, which is as she likes it; she is a visionary who realises that it is an all year round endeavour and not merely a midsummer night’s dream. Weak puns aside, she has been a wonderful director and these productions have been extraordinary. Her A Midsummer Night’s Dream, half in the theatre, half in the wood, was mysterious, sensual and funny. Now there’s a self-portrait. The thinking beyond the syllabus matters as much, if not more, to her, and she is a passionate advocate of creative ways of engaging with thoughts, works and ideas: pastoral evenings, lecture series, debates, games, poets in residence, coaching a new generation of Heretics, who will go on to challenge and stir received wisdoms. Anyone who has been taught by Caroline knows they’ve been touched by a muse – and that also applies to her many tutees, whether sixth-formers or the ones she nurtured in Marriotts in her many years as a tutor there. She has led the pupils westwards to Tintagel and Lyonesse; into deepest, darkest Dorset in search of Tess; to the sea for creative inspiration; to the battlefields to show the humanity in humanity lost; to the realms of inspiration; to herself. She has envisaged and she has shared: that is why she is such an outstanding teacher and colleague. The passion she engenders in her pupils is remarkable and the inspiration she has provided us, her minions, is beyond compare. Sarah Holland

Fastidious in her role as Head of Girls’ Rowing, Emily has helped not just the girls but the boys, too, in making rowing and sculling an enjoyable lifestyle. Her passion for life and for the sport of rowing means so much to her. It was wonderful to see her efforts bear such ripe fruit as the girls’ coxed four reached the quarter-finals at Women’s Henley last summer. Amongst many personal qualities, Emily has brought passion, humility and focus to the girls’ programme, passing on these attributes to our young Canfordians. She is as strongly pastoral as she is professional. We wish this truly special person well as she moves on to promote rowing in Wales for GB Rowing. Ian Dryden

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Members of Common Room who left in 2018/2019

STEVE EXCELL

Inspector Clouseau is not normally my main source of inspiration but being part of ‘life’s rich tapestry’ seemed appropriate when I was asked to write about Steve Excell. He arrived from Exeter University for interview with a ponytail and (as Keith Hay jaw-droppingly discovered when changing for rugby) nipple rings. Steve started at Canford in 2004 shorn and ringless. He still had an unnecessarily high-powered motorbike and is the only person I know to have snapped two wheels off his car at a roundabout, but the rough edges were starting to disappear. Steve made Physics interesting, exciting and a bit quirky. Judo rolls and martial arts were used to illustrate physical principles and real rocket cars could be raced down a wire track. His enthusiasm for stimulating activities was second to none. The Stargate, outreach rocket days, Thorpe Park trips, Formula 24, Pascal’s triangle stripe decorations in the goldfish bowl (don’t tell me you never noticed!) and the world’s biggest Newton’s Cradle would never have appeared if it had not been for his innovation, involvement or encouragement. He would be proud to say he was a bit of a ‘nerdy’ physicist. This provided an outlet for those pupils with a similar outlook and his lessons were never dull and boring; they were full of interesting side-tracks which showed his wealth of knowledge of the application of physical principles. He is a very practical man. He has nearly finished renovating his house – driving mini-diggers, rewiring and putting a roof on his garage – and these skills were crucial when he went on the partnership trips to Argentina, making a real difference to the lives of the children in the home. Steve found their stories highly moving, which showed the softer side of his personality. He was a great colleague, supportive and trustworthy, who cares deeply about the pupils and is passionate about Physics. Chris Fenwick

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GEOFF HORTON Logical and incisive: these are traits of Dr Geoff Horton which could be a bit unnerving for those unsure of their facts and reasoning. Geoff is an Oxbridge engineer who had a successful career with Rolls Royce before re-training as a Physics teacher. He has a passion for very fast motorbikes, football, sailing and high-quality music. He joined the department in 2009 and retired at Easter having spent the ‘longest time in the same job’ he ever had. It would be safe to say that he did it his way by following trusted educational research and had the commitment to do it; don’t just write out a textbook – notes are not the most important part of Physics teaching. One of his favourite phrases was ‘I prefer to feed the pig, not weigh it.’ Sticking to his guns meant he produced excellent results for his pupils. His teaching methods may have been uncomfortable for some, but his enthusiasm for the application of Physics was inspiring for the pupils. The water-flow tank and the wind tunnel he built in his lab were used for many EPQ and other projects. He is also an expert on the stars. He revamped the school’s telescope and whenever anything interesting appeared in the sky, he would email anyone who might be interested and be out in the grounds, encouraging everyone to have a look. The A Level Astrophysics group visited the local observatory at Swanage and were taken to lectures organised by the local astronomy society. The Engineering Society was one of his many innovations and it was popular amongst the pupils, the highlights being tours of the RNLI at Poole and trips to Southampton University. His keen, enquiring mind meant that he regularly brought in items of engineering interest, to fix or just show to the department; he isa very practical man. Geoff was a quiet, modest and thoughtful colleague who would willingly give his time and support to both pupils and staff. We wish him all the best as he sails off into the sunset to enjoy retirement. Chris Fenwick

JOHN JAMES This is the ballad of Canford revisited, a Lazarene ode about Mr John James – as he is always known – returning from the wilderness, from the Harrowing years, to spread the gospel of culture in the desert lands of Canford. As our resident yoghurtmaker, he ferments and creates the probiotic bacteria required for a healthy inner life. Like John, the product is long-lasting and doesn’t go off. Some say it even improves with age. This particular verselet is loosely based on the most John Jamesean of texts, which he will recognise, and although the metre is common, he is anything but.

Year of the London Olympics And the Titan turns home To Promethean reputation Hoping fires will have grown He is an ancient mariner Though he lives by the tree By thy one-time beard and glittering eye What birds did thou there see? He holds them with this glitt’ring eye: Pupil and staff stand still To listen like a 3 year’s child John James he hath his will. John’s doors are always opened wide - Though he may not be in. The pupils run rumbling riot Rev’lling in merry din. He stops them with his great right hand ‘There was a book’ quoth he, With gleaming eyes and feasting minds They joined him out to sea. John, the birdman of albatross He heeds the call of wild Owls, oriols or fisher kings Draws this Nature’s child MacFarlane, Ed Thomas and Hughes: Bird unknown, crow, wing’d wren Set in flight his great soaring mind Flying free to ferny glen Into the wild he walks, wond’ring Whether he’s right thinking Beauty is truth and truth beauty Or if we’re just sinking. Wild man and wilder swimmer still He would plunge anywhere Clothed, unclothed – who cares - he would delve Into the Valency bare The ice was here, the ice was there, But John he brought us spring. Icebreaker of a man, his horn Notes of Yellow Hour did ring Hours, weeks, years he built For our cultural enrichment. Connecting but never closing Circles of bewitchment. Loving both dark earth and light sky, He’s dancing at Lughnasa, And feeling they are all his sons, These Shakespeares of his casa. Is there a gospel of our John? What will his testament be? Maybe that soul feeds mind feeds all Is what we’re left to see. O Dionysus of all arts You feast-maker of hearts, Intoxicating with ideas: We’ll ache when you us part. It is close but still no Sagar For the hope of an end Remember that the man himself Trifling time would stretch, bend. The road leads east – to Kent, Oh and India too we hear. A child’s heart in the Orient, You’ll have a wondrous year. What’s left when you are gone, my friend? Is silence all the rest? No, voices will ring, so your spring: You really are the best.

Sindre Vandvik and Sarah Holland

MARK RATHBONE

Will Moreland arrived at Canford in the autumn of 2014 straight from Durham University, where he had somehow acquired a first-class degree in between training sessions on the river. He came as a graduate assistant, but straightaway began to teach Mathematics under the guidance of his friend and mentor, Henry Bishop. He soon began to work even more closely with Henry when in his third year he moved into Franklin House as resident tutor, becoming rapidly as popular with the boys as he is with his classes. One of Will’s striking qualities is the extent to which he commits himself to everything he does. He is an absolute mine of information on everything from medieval Chester to successful amphibian invasions across the ages. He commits himself physically, too, considering a near-dislocated shoulder after a night of American football to be all part of the fun of the sport. Everything he does, however, he approaches in good humour and with an eye to a future anecdote in relaxed company. Will is a man of many parts, someone who tempers his rampant physicality with thoughtful care and concern for others, a constant companion and a true and reliable friend. We therefore wish him a regretful farewell as he departs Canford to join the Mathematics Department at Epsom College. John Dant

The name of Rathbone is etched into the fabric of Canford. Thanks to Mark and his father, Michael, 59 of Canford’s 96 years have seen a Rathbone in post. Of those Mark has contributed 31, including 18 years as Head of History, 25 years as House Tutor in Salisbury, 23 years as Chairman of the John O’ Gaunt Society, 30 years of coaching swimming, five years as Head of Academic Administration and a three-year stint as President of the Common Room. My goodness, Mark, no wonder you looked tired at the end of term! 31 years is not the track record of someone who has run a marathon: it is of someone who has completed an Ironman, several times over. As a teacher, scholarship and a clear empathy for and understanding of young people have been Mark’s hallmarks. He has published books about Canford and workbooks for A Level Politics. He is a prolific contributor to learned History and Politics periodicals and journals. But high-minded purpose has been combined with good humour, patience, thoughtfulness, empathy and that most undervalued but most important of virtues when dealing with certain pupils: sufferance. When I asked a colleague for a few pithy words to describe Mark’s role as Head of Academic Administration, they instantly came back with ‘a man with a highly organised and tidy brain with a place to put everything and the ability to retrieve it instantly’. As Head of History he has taken the strain out of our working load, calmly and accurately. He has anticipated problems, encouraged open debate and discussion, and taken decisions with the calm self-assurance of a long-standing skipper of an ocean liner who knows the seas, both calm and rough. Mark accomplished all this with good grace, courtesy, imperturbability and aplomb. I’ve spent 26 years wondering how he does it. And 26 years wondering why I can’t be more like him. Yet this mild-mannered man has a very competitive edge when it comes to cars. He takes great pride in exhibiting at MG rallies and picking up prizes, spending all his hard-earned commissions from lots of freelance writing buying used or grubby parts (and annoying Elizabeth by leaving them about the house), to keep his zippy vintage jalopies on the road. May he have more time to spend with them in the long, happy, healthy and productive retirement that he deserves. Andrew Fearnley

RUTH PARTINGTON Ruth has been, simply put, the most extraordinary member of the Music Department. Our pupils show commitment, enthusiasm and passion – but they have seen it exemplified in the very best possible way by Ruth. Her commitment to Canford has seen her producing detailed schemes of work and revision plans for exam year groups, spending hours choosing appropriate repertoire for the Orchestra, and even more hours giving individual help to pupils as they labour at composing for GCSE and A Level. Ruth’s passion has seen her throwing herself wholeheartedly into anything we do. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and she certainly never does things by halves. Indeed, I knew that if I asked her for ten minutes of music from the Orchestra for a concert, I could be sure there would be twenty minutes of enthusiastic music-making when we got to the concert – and every minute would have been prepared and rehearsed with Ruth’s characteristic attention to detail. Ruth truly is an excellent teacher, and those musicians who have had Ruth as a teacher, conductor, tutor, lacrosse coach and – for those of us on the staff, friend and colleague – have been fortunate indeed. We will miss her very much. Christopher Sparkhall

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WILL MORELAND

LUCY READ Lucy arrived at Canford as a netball graduate having just qualified from Cardiff Metropolitan University, where she studied Sports Coaching. Her enthusiastic, bubbly character soon won the hearts of not only the staff but, more importantly, the pupils. After her first year, the role of Director of

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Netball and live-in tutor at Marriotts became available and Lucy was the ideal person to step into these posts as a full-time member of staff. Two years on, the numbers of pupils participating in netball has risen, teams are reaching not only regional but national level, netball now has a ‘show court’ inside for the important netball cup matches and as she leaves, the outside courts are being re-surfaced and will be fondly known as ‘Reado’s Courts’. Her positive nature has led her to being an active member of the Ghana Partnership and this thirst for exploring has led her to Cranleigh Abu Dubai, where she will extend her cv by completing a PGCE in PE. Lucy will leave a big hole in the Sports Department and will be sorely missed by all. Natasha Wilson

PATRICK ROSSITER 1926 saw the first Rossiters march through the doors of Canford School and in the intervening 93 years a further four have graced the school. 2019 and Patrick’s retirement from teaching mark the end of an era (perhaps the grandchildren may carry the flag in future years?), although the hockey pitches will still see him so he might yet make it to the school’s centenary. Patrick’s contribution to life at Canford could be summed up in a list of the key posts he has held here and that would certainly be impressive. Six years as Head of Geography followed by an illustrious eight years as the housemaster of School House, while all the time teaching and coaching hockey. However, this would simply fail to capture the enormous impact that he has had on the lives of countless young men and women over his 32 years here.This is perhaps best summed up by Open Days – as OC parents head up the stairs obediently following their offspring, the whispers of ‘When did this become Geography?’ are very quickly followed up with a louder ‘I don’t suppose Rossi is around is he?’ When he is, then the horror of being old enough to have taught these parents is soon forgotten as anecdotes and thank yous are shared. When he isn’t about, then I am regaled with stories of field trips that would make modern-day health and safety officers weep, hilarious lessons and genuine gratitude to an amazing schoolmaster. If Geography is Patrick’s love, then hockey is his passion and the impact he has had will be felt long after he has left. Patrick has coached across all age groups and levels, in both the boys’ and the girls’ programmes, but he has been the U14A guru since before records began! Overseeing more than 25 tours, mainly to Holland but also to Germany, and having a richly positive influence on all those who have been lucky enough to experience his coaching, Patrick has established links and friendships with the Dutch especially. Our host club, Roomburg, based in Leiden, recently made him an honorary member of their board in recognition of his efforts. It is with great sadness that we see Patrick leaving, but we have of course made it clear that retirement from teaching does not equal retirement from writing his infamous Christmas Quiz, and we look forward to the 2019 instalment! Alex Boulton

RACHAEL SMITH Rachael joined us as Head of Mathematics two years ago, citing the poor weather and lifestyle in Bermuda as her reasons for returning to England. She brought with her a sunny disposition and a very real love for Mathematics, and she has successfully driven the department through a challenging period of change. Described by pupils and staff alike as ‘passionate’, ‘driven’ and even ‘fierce’, she has worked tirelessly to raise standards both in the pupils whom she has taught and in the colleagues with whom she has worked. However, to say that these character traits describe Rachael in full would be doing her a great disservice: beneath the surface lies a teacher who deeply cares about her pupils’ progress, a tutor who has been hugely valued in de Lacy, a rowing coach, and a colleague who has always put the needs of those in her department before her own. Rachael will leave a very noticeable gap at Canford, as well as the teaching profession as a whole, but we wish her all the very best as she begins a new adventure as an actuary with LV. Stuart Gordon

OTHER STAFF LEAVERS Helen Barr came into the school as a sports graduate and has been the unseen driving force for girls getting involved in the gym. The whole school will miss her passion and unflappable personality. OC and former 1st XV captain Mike Haines returned to Canford as a grad assistant specialising in rugby and basketball. His time here was punctuated by a nasty knee injury. Appropriately, he leaves us to pursue a career in physiotherapy. Valentina Levy (affectionately known as Valu) has involved herself in all aspects of Canford life. Coaching hockey teams across all levels and age groups, she has acted as a fantastic role model for every pupil she has worked with. Emily Locke graduated from Hartpury University. Her knowledge and passion have been greatly appreciated by all. She has a bubbly personality which is contagious, but she has also shown herself to be reliable and determined. Iona Rigby has served in the last year as the ‘gaplain’, quietly going about her business in supporting Rev. Jack. She has also helped in Wimborne House as a Shell tutor, and been involved with SHINE and Monday Enterprises. Tyler Sandlant has been a great asset, engaging in all the activities, especially hockey and rowing. With his sense of humour, personality and humility, he has been a model to those he has coached.

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Pupils who joined Canford during 2018-19 Name Previous school Scholarship(s) At 16+ Sophie Bearblock Torquay Girls Grammar Sidney Beckles The Bourne Academy Academic Stewart Boyd Tanglin Trust School Callum Bruce Bournemouth School for Boys Ellen Campbell King Edward VI School Emma Dalton Walthamstow Hall Senior Jerry Hu Canadian International School, Singapore Lauren Hua St Swithun’s School Olly Hutton Downside School Ollie Leat Poole Grammar Valentín Lužák Gymnasium Postova 9, Košice Lexie MacDuff Milton Abbey Amelia Merrick The Bourne Academy Charlie Peplow Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School Stefan Perry Thomas Hardye Academic, Assyrian Abbie Rowsell Bournemouth School for Girls Sammy Smith Highcliffe School Music, Assyrian Lottie Thomas Kings School, Macclesfield Amy van Wingerden Bournemouth School for Girls Academic Beatrice Webb South Wilts Grammar Music Charlotte Wittram Talbot Heath Academic Yueting Yang Shanghai High School International At 14+ Henry Bailey Berkhamsted School Elena Bantock Bryanston Emma Bearblock Torquay Girls Grammar Alfonso Benavides Fortuny Viaró School, Barcelona Lauren Boyd Tanglin Trust School Aidan Dure-Smith Sherborne School Edwin He Yew Chung International School Forest Li Hangzhou Bay Bilingual School Tom Peacock Poole Grammar Izzy Thurston Parkstone Grammar Bennet von Tschischwitz Helene Lange Gymnasium Tenzing Whitley Sherborne School Harry Zheng Wrekin College At 13+ Louisa A’Barrow Bryanston Art Nina Allan The Banda, Nairobi Academic, Art Ruby Anand Dumpton Mia Ashby-Rudd Highfield Academic Daisy Askew Highfield Elliott Askew Sunninghill James Balasubramaniam Durlston Court Katie Battisby Castle Court Academic Lucas Benamor Walhampton Oscar Berridge Dumpton Academic, Sport Ethan Bikhazi-Green Chafyn Grove Academic Nuala Binnion French International School Benjy Bishop Allenbourn Hugh Blake Windlesham Design Phoebe Boardman Westbourne House George Bolland King’s Hall School Georgie Boon Forres Sandle Manor Sport Douglas Bowering Sunninghill Freya Brash Forres Sandle Manor Angus Brown Tanglin Trust School Daisy Brown Dumpton Esther Browning Dumpton Drama Leo Burnet Dumpton Jemima Carrell Walhampton Academic Ruby Chan Shanghai No.3 Girls Middle School Conor Cherrington St Neot’s Academic, Sport Jocelin Child Hazlegrove Academic Tom Clark Rokeby School Music Alex Cochrane Twyford Merlin Cork Ringwood School Lauren Corn Millfield School Sport Freya Coughlan Tanglin Trust School Eliana Covell Yarrells Music Finlay Craigen West Hill Park Ed Crutchley Perrott Hill Honoré Cutler Forres Sandle Manor Sport Varya Darling Westbourne House Daniel Deng Walhampton Isabelle Dickinson Talbot Heath Eleanor Edwards Castle Court

Salvete & Valete

Name Previous school Scholarship(s) Nia Edwards Talbot Heath Jamie Elviss Dumpton Elliot Eyre Chafyn Grove Oscar Feingold Poole Grammar Edward Fillingham Edgeborough Lucy Fitzgerald Castle Court Ben Fowle Durlston Court Oli Fox-Pitt Clayesmore Prep Lucas Francis Highfield Tristan Fulton Twyford Alex Geng Hangzhou International School Ollie Glen Castle Court Drama Charlie Hall Castle Court Charlie Hallam Castle Court Design James Harvey Dumpton Finn Hatcher Durlston Court Izzy Heffner Daneshill Robbie Hemmings Dumpton Academic, Sport Millie Heyman Twyford Elliot Hilton Dumpton Academic Topsy Holder International School, Geneva Freddie Homer Dumpton Monty Hooker Dumpton Charlie Howell Westbourne House Alex Hu Aldro Rupert Hutton Downside School Academic, Music Jack Janaway St Neot’s Imogen Joll Port Regis Amelie Kearns South Hampstead High Hayden Kennett Windlesham Tiva Kent Westbourne House Tara King Thomas’s, Clapham Sport Alex Klosterfelde Cheam Mark Kosgei Farleigh Tyndale Kwan Castle Court Alex Landale Eton College Celia Leavesley Walhampton Yutong Li Port Regis Tom Ling Walhampton Chris Litchfield Sherborne Prep Max Lockyer Castle Court Music Thomas Luo Harrow International School, Beijing Henry Martin Castle Court Jack Martin Amesbury Nat Merrell Castle Court Academic Freddie Miller Cheam Hanna Neill Castle Court Jack Niu King Edward’s School, Witley Thomas Norman Dumpton Sarah Norris Walhampton Natasha Pettifer Dumpton Elliot Phillips Dumpton Erin Phillips Sunninghill William Pickard Dumpton Sport Hugo Pollard Dumpton Louis Potts Cheam Oscar Rees Amesbury Jack Robinson Twyford Sophia Russell Cheam Academic, Drama Rohan Samra Castle Court Academic Annabel Seabrook Port Regis George Serjeant Durlston Court Alex Smith Dumpton Charlie Smith Highfield Academic Joe South Castle Court Mimi Stanley Parkstone Grammar Sam Stirling Dulwich Prep Oliver Stuart Castle Court Felix Synnott Twyford Millie Todd Queenwood School Lara Ela Ülkeroglu Hisar School, Istanbul Emily Vance Walhampton Jessica West Parkstone Grammar Art Mia White Twyford Sport Charlie Whitmore Stroud Lara Wilkinson Dulwich College, Singapore Tom Williams Castle Court Academic, Design Thomas Windsor Perrott Hill Henry Wittram Castle Court Academic Imy Woodcock St Andrew’s, Pangbourne Academic Marco Wyatt Castle Court Evelyn Young Durlston Court Jason Zhang Wycombe Abbey International School

(This is the best information available at the time of going to press.) Bath Birmingham Bournemouth Bristol Cambridge Cardiff City University, London Durham East Anglia Edinburgh Essex Exeter Glasgow Imperial Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College, London Leeds Liverpool London School of Economics Loughborough Manchester Manchester Metropolitan Newcastle Nottingham Nottingham Trent Oxford Oxford Brookes Plymouth Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s University, Belfast Reading Royal Holloway, London Sheffield Sheffield Hallam School of Oriental and African Studies Southampton St Andrews Sussex Swansea University College, London University of West of England Warwick Winchester York Overseas UCLA Foundation Diploma in Art & Design Arts University Bournemouth Kingston

Max Beaney, Noah Jonas, Harry Pickard, Lucy Prest, Zarah Warr Isobel Pryce, Toby Skinner Samuel Ryan Isabelle Gamble, Isabella Green, Holly Hewitt, Sebastian Jones, Jordan Le Boutillier, Imogen Nichols, Lara Pilkington, Deya Shergill, Alexander Shutt, Lucy Stalker, Alby Stevens, Matthew Wilkinson Max Glowacki, Helena Jackson, Wilfred Raby Nick Broad, Angus Colquhoun, Eleanor Coulson, Catherine Elliott, William Hannah, Lydia Harvey, Grace Hewett, James Norris, Barnaby Peddie Anthony Graham George Baugniet, Sophie Boyle, Ellen Harvey-Hills, Matilda Hubble, James Priaulx Alexandra Daplyn Benjamin Evans, Elena Howd, Tallulah Judd Filipp Kapinos Jessica Allen, Kitty Arnold, James Chapman, Alice Davies, William Galbraith, Michael Galley, Rowan Greenwood, Frederick Hamilton, Edward Higham, Augustus Jarrold, Alice Kalmanson, Max Kibble, Larissa Kosinski, Nicholas Newton, Charlotte Sullivan, Georgina Tovey, George Vaughan Ruth Colvile Thomas Alner, Connor Elliot-Murray, Luke Reid, Giovanno Yan Louisa Gamett-Griggs Leo Bishop, Thomas Conibear, Harry Ellis, Zachary Organ Aimee Hairon, Liam Saw Michael Bryan Melody Dean, James Martch, Morgan Taylor Matthew Ambrose-Hunt, Frederick Johnson, Ned Mitchell Emily Cooper, Grace Leggett Anastasie Milne, Ben Thomson, Nathaniel Todd Emily Garton, Olivia Imms Guy Cowan, Hannah Cox, Joshua Effick George Robson, Anna Van Wingerden Archie Bateman, John Ireland, Edward Johnson-Minihane, Alexander Robertson Simon Jowett, Finnegan Manley Cameron Feist Fraser Craigen, Millie Dickins, Maxwell Liddle Barnaby Scudds Robert Way Martha Baldwin Beatriz Mowat Madison Gates, Henry Hughes, Iqra Iftikhar Oriane Castera, Lucas Gater Alun Sullivan Thomas Suddards Jasmine Benamor, Harry Dodd Edward Hancock, Benjamin Large, Alexander Mitchell Madeleine Kearns, Scott Montague, Maximilian Taylor Sebastian Von Schirnding James Lees, Benjamin Orme-Smith Jorge De La Cruz Isabel Southgate Loveday Pride

Higher Apprenticeship Richie Steavenson (Audit Apprentice, BDO Southampton) Applying or re-applying next year Emma Ashurst, Mia Brash, Matthew Daubeney, Charlie Ford, James Fountain, Lachlan Fulton, Amelia Godel, Lucy Hobden, Frederick James, Luke Johnson, Fruin Makillop-Hall, Sophie Patrick, Patrick Perry, Jack Phillips, Tom Ralls, Om Ramchandani, Cecily Rogers, Luca Schiessl, Felix Spowers, Ella Sutton, Fergus Taylor, Daisy Turner Other/Working Jack Sherborne, Nick Leavesley, Charlie Bartlett

Salvete & Valete

Destinations of 2019 leavers

ACADEMIC

“Shell Scholars received more than fifteen separate lunchtime talks from members of staff on topics as varied as big game hunting, Fermi problems and climate change.”

AS we reflect upon another busy and fulfilling academic year at Canford, and even though I am writing this article in the midst of the examination results coming out, it is important to ensure that we don’t lose sight of the real value and purpose of education. We are so lucky to work in an environment where we can provide our pupils with a broad and interesting array of opportunities so they can learn and grow. Education doesn’t just happen in the classroom and inspiring our young people to find their passions is our main job (and joy). That said, examination results do matter and are seen (perhaps incorrectly) by many to be the acid test of the academic strength of a school. Consequently, I am pleased to be able to report that both at A Level/Pre-U and at GCSE our results are, yet again, impressive. At A Level/Pre-U, set against the bigger picture, our results stand out. Nationally, for the first time in a decade, there was a fall in the proportion of pupils achieving the highest grades at A Level: 7.8% of all grades were A* and 25.5% of all grades were A*/A, whereas Canford’s A* percentage is 17.1 and A*/A percentage is 47.6. There were particular successes both at a department level and at an individual level. For example: in English 21.7% of all grades were A*; 26.5% of all Geography grades were A*; 66.7% of all grades in Latin were A*/A; 64% of all Chemistry grades were A*/A; in Economics and Computing 75% of all grades were A/A*; in French 66.7% of all grades were D1/D2 (A*). The Pre-U results were very good, especially at the highest level (D1 and D2), and particularly in Spanish and French. Obtaining a D1 (A**) in a modern foreign language, when not a native speaker, is extremely difficult, but two of our pupils did so – including our head girl, Matilda Hubble, who gained a D1 in Spanish and in French! 72% of all our pupils have been placed in Russell Group or Top 12 universities and 77% of the cohort were successful in gaining a place at their first-choice university. There was pleasing news for all of those with Oxbridge offers: heading for Cambridge are Max Glowacki (St Catherine’s), Helena Jackson (St John’s) and Wilf Raby (Homerton), while George Robson (St Peter’s) and Anna Van Wingerden (St Edmund Hall) go up to Oxford. Twenty-one pupils passed the EPQ (Extended Qualification Project) – 29% at A* and 67% at A*/A. However, we are equally proud that many of our pupils who found academic studies more difficult have managed to fight hard (supported hugely by their dedicated teachers) to gain C and B grades when they might have otherwise easily have got lower grades. Examination success at GCSE was even more pronounced. 20% of all grades were at Grade 9 (above the old A* grade), which towers over the national average of 4.4%. The 9/8 results (for ease of comparison with previous years understood to be A*) were extremely pleasing, 46% of all grades being award the highest two grades. Similarly, performance in the 9-7 band (A*/A) continues to be robust: 70% of all of our grades were 9-7, compared to a national average of 20.8%. There were also some excellent outcomes in raw results from many departments, including but not limited

to: 42.9% of all grades in Philosophy and Theology (RS) were level 9; 52.6% of all Biology grades at 9/8; 58.0% of Chemistry grades at 9/8; 58.5% of Geography grades at 9/8; and 81.8% of all Music grades at 9/8. Within the 9-7 (A*/A) categories we saw: 81.6% of all Physics grades, 75% of History grades, 76.4% of Maths grades, 73.3% of all Biology and 84% of all DT grades. Of course, the real joy when analysing these impressive results comes in reflecting upon the individual successes and personal stories. So many of our young people have listened and acted upon the academic guidance offered. They have heeded the advice and focussed on controlling their own skills and behaviours – and worked hard to support each other. Consequently, the majority of them have exceeded their targets and many have really excelled, with 50 pupils gaining at least nine 9/7 (A*/A) grades. Away from examination results, which are but one measurement of the academic success of our school, we have honed and improved the overall educational enrichment opportunities in many areas. Over twenty members of the Lower Sixth delivered academic lectures to the Fourth Form scholars. Shell Scholars received more than fifteen separate lunchtime talks from members of staff on topics as varied as big game hunting, Fermi problems and climate change. More than twenty Lower Sixth have entered external essay competitions over the course of the year, run by a range of top universities. In the Sixth Form, now all subjects have finally moved to linear examinations and we have seen the full impact of the reformed A-level specifications (much more content/ information heavy) – it is clear that those pupils who can develop and build up a long-term foundation of deep understanding (from the Lower Sixth all the way through to the end of the Upper Sixth) will be far better placed to succeed at the end of the course of studies because they will have developed a mastery of knowledge. The GCSE curriculum is also more demanding than previously – but we can be reassured that our pupils are more than up for the challenge and, along with all the other areas of activities and interest that they throw themselves into, that they can perform academically at the highest level. Ieuan Weir, Deputy Head – Academic

I AM a very lucky teacher: in Biology we have a fantastic department with great staff who are always enthusiastic and happy to pitch in and pupils who are a genuine pleasure to teach. Once again the Biology exam results were excellent, in particular at GCSE where we celebrated a 31% grade 9 success rate (this is a standard above the old A*) and 73% of our students gaining a 7, 8 or 9 (the old A-A*). It is very pleasing also to see a large number of pupils going on to study Biology or a related subject at university and we have been delighted with the numbers and quality of current pupils opting for Biology both at GCSE and in the Sixth Form. We are a practical subject and it is fantastic to have such great opportunities for experiments available to us. This year (thanks to a kind donation by a parent) we were able to run gel electrophoresis labs for our sixth-formers as well as getting them to do some genetic engineering of bacteria. The school site remains a fantastic resource, with the arboretum being a unique feature of which we are taking more and more advantage. It is also amazing to sample the biodiversity of the river and other parts of the grounds, and pupils enjoyed watching great tits hatching using our nest camera. As we changed ‘spirit of place’ to ‘spirit of space’ this year, we struggled initially to come up with a related activity that would tie in with the theme of the Apollo moon landings. Once inspiration struck, there was no stopping us and the pupils were soon designing and building jam jar ecosystems, aiming to make a biosphere capable of sustaining our snail ‘aquanauts’ indefinitely without any external inputs. Over the summer, Rob Hooker took Fifth Form and Lower Sixth biologists on a diving expedition to the Red Sea. There they spent a week on a ‘live aboard’, diving multiple times a day, exploring wrecks and marvelling at the fantastic marine life including dolphins, turtles and more than 100 identified species of fish. Closer to home, we supplemented this with our usual visits to a local farm and to Badbury Rings. We have continued to enhance our preparation for prospective vets, medics and dentists. In November, for the first time, we laid on a mock MMI (multiple mini-interview) session, where OC and parent doctors grilled our candidates in eight different stations of five minutes each. This was tough but very useful and we

ACADEMIC

Biology

hope to invite other schools to the event in 2019/20. Another exciting event this year was a joint project with the Sagar School in Rajasthan. Fourth-formers worked collaboratively with their counterparts in India to investigate a number of topics surrounding human impact on the environment. By using a variety of computer programmes, the pupils were able to gain a great deal from the perspectives of another country: we look forward to running this again next year. The videos produced were excellent, and we particularly enjoyed Jude Organ’s impressive impression of David Attenborough. We are very excited to be welcoming several new arrivals: we have revamped the Biology fish tanks with a new Malawi cichlid display, highlighting the impressive evolutionary diversity of these species, and the mudskippers and archer fish are back. Among the human denizens of the department, Laura and Will LinleyAdams are expecting their first child this October, Gabby Ramsden (our technician) is due in March, as is Becky, my wife! We might have to install a crèche…. Ed Johnson, Head of Biology

“The pupils’ eyes were opened to how much plastic there is in the seas, even around us, and that this is only the visible macro plastic waste.”

ACADEMIC

Chemistry

“Like the veg box, the results are what we expected, which is great – yet, being slightly greedy, I hope for a little bit more.”

EVERY Tuesday morning, I receive a veg box at my front door. The majority of the time it is exactly what has been promised in an email sent on the Sunday before. But every so often there has been a last-minute change; sometimes for the better (replaced celery) and sometimes for the worse (an added melon). This is my metaphor for the department’s exam results. By and large we know what each pupil is going to get. They have been taught well and then tested on each topic, been subjected to countless exam papers and two or more mocks and been helped to overcome any problems. We are then able to predict confidently what each pupil is likely to achieve. So every year, on the two Thursdays in August when the results come out, my initial reaction is to be thankful that the results are as expected, and thus have been fairly marked, followed immediately by a slight disappointment that they are just as anticipated. Like the veg box, the results are what we expected, which is great – yet, being slightly greedy, I hope for a little bit more. However, when you then analyse the results by pupil, you can see how well each individual has done to achieve their grade through their dedication, intellectual curiosity and often just sheer determination and stubbornness. To extend the metaphor, every individual result is like each apple, runner bean, courgette which has done the best it can and, in total, they make a very pleasing box of veg. This year’s A Level results were, once again, very impressive, with two-thirds of the 32 pupils achieving either an A* or an A. More pleasing was the fact that no pupil got lower than a C grade. There were some exceptional individual performances both from those eight pupils (over 22%) who got an A* to those who achieved a B or C. Although I don’t like naming individuals, Lucy Hobden deserves a particular mention for getting the third highest score in the cohort through dogged determination and the willingness to question and ask for help. The IGCSE results were also impressive, especially as staff had to contend with teaching a new syllabus and the exam’s grading structure changing from letters to 9 to 1.

The pupils achieved 32 grade 9s and 33 grade 8s which, when compared to A*s of previous years, would be our second-best set of results ever. Again, there were a huge number of exceptional performances and too many to single anyone out. As ever, a few Sixth Form pupils entered national competitions: the Chemistry Olympiad and the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge. J C Zhang was awarded a gold and Nathan Bulstrode, Sean Herrington, Archie Hunter, Charlotte Wittram and Alex Young silvers in the latter. The department helped prepare a few pupils for Oxbridge but without success this year. We continued our link with Southampton University when twenty Lower Sixth pupils spent an afternoon extracting a chemical from nutmeg and using many modern techniques to assist their practical skills. At a Tuesday morning assembly I spoke about the obvious benefits and qualities of using plastics but how these qualities are also the reason why they are so damaging to the environment. I am glad that the school is actively now trying to minimise the amount of singleuse plastic. I was also surprised, but certainly encouraged, by the large number of pupils who engaged with me over the subsequent days to discuss their feelings and thoughts about our use of plastic. Chemistry plays such a fundamental role in society, which must be a contributory factor to the pupils’ enjoyment and obvious success in the subject. Gary Shaw, Head of Chemistry

ONCE again, we have had a vigorous and exciting year in the Classics Department. Things got off to a swift start as almost immediately we took the Upper Sixth to hear Dr Llewelyn Morgan of Brasenose College, Oxford, lecture on the ‘second half ’ of Virgil’s Aeneid. This was a great opportunity to get pupils studying Latin and Classical Civilisation together to gain some insights on a text that both groups have in common. We had a further lecture trip in the Easter Term, to hear Prof. Denis Feeney of Princeton University lecture at King Edward’s School, Bath. Prof Feeney is one of the greatest living classicists, so to hear him in person was a real treat. It also gave us the opportunity to take pupils round the Roman Baths and to see how some of the Roman material was subsequently incorporated into the medieval city. There are two interesting inscriptions that I always like to show pupils. The first, carved in Georgian times into the outer wall of the Roman baths, is a quotation from the Greek lyric poet, Pindar: ἄριστον μὲν ὕδωρ. Its translation is not far away, by the abbey, on a fountain put up in the Victorian period by the local Temperance Society: ‘Water is best’. During this term we had a first for Canford in recent years: we entered a Greek reading competition, organised by the Salisbury Classical Association and held at Godolphin School. The passage chosen was taken from Herodotus’s story of the rich but foolish king, Croesus. Our two fourth-formers who recited put in an excellent showing, walking away with joint second place. The Classics Dinner, now in its second year, proved an enjoyable occasion once again. The theme of myths and monsters provoked some ambitious and excellent costumes – though not always at the same time! I took the opportunity – pace Pindar – to introduce the sixth-formers in attendance to some wines with sound classical pedigree: a white from Ionia (now Turkey, but in ancient times inhabited by Greeks), and a red from the slopes of Mount Etna. Further evidence, if any were needed, of the continuity of classical culture from ancient times until the present.

Mount Etna loomed large not merely spiritually but in reality during the Easter holidays, as we took a field trip to Sicily, which, like our trip to Rome last year, had been organised jointly with the Philosophy and Theology department. This is the most wonderful place for a classicist, a philosopher or an historian, as it was inhabited first by Greeks, then Romans, then Moors and Normans and Venetians, all of whom left marks on the island that are not merely visible but imposing today. As ever, our pupils excelled themselves with their interest and good behaviour, and were a credit to the school. During the Summer Term, alas, the main thing looming large was exams. We had a very pleasing set of results in Classical Civilisation, including one A* and three As; this was balanced nicely by the two A*s and two As that we were awarded in Latin. Well done to all the pupils who worked so hard to achieve these results, which brought the busy year to a most gratifying close. Finally, may we record our thanks to Katie Salmon, Kathryn Watts and Nick Baugniet, who shared one of our Shell classes this year. And may we record our especial thanks to Colin Wilson, who after being dragged by us out of retirement two years ago, has now been able, most deservedly, to return. John Dant, Head of Classical Languages Anna Berry, Head of Classical Civilisation

ACADEMIC

Classical Languages and Civilisation

“This is the most wonderful place for a classicist, a philosopher or an historian.”

ACADEMIC

Design Technology

“Of the seven pupils taking A Level Design, six have gone on to study a directly related course.”

THE best idea in the world is worth nothing without the ability to communicate it to others. This was the challenge set to our Upper Sixth pupils during the Design dinner early in the Christmas Term. Given five minutes Dragons’ Den-style, they had to convey the essence of the problem they had chosen to solve and their initial concepts, along with answering questions from their peers and staff, justifying their decisions. Their peers were relentless at times, asking searching questions and putting the pressure on, especially after they had given their own talks! We are looking to expand this event in future years and if you work in the design industry and would like to participate, then please drop me a line ‘Good design is intelligence made visible.’ These words of Le Corbusier are never more relevant than when pupils undertake their major projects: investigating, generating, developing and then manufacturing a prototype to test. The new A Level syllabus allows for a greater diversity of projects to be undertaken. Hannah Cox (who is going on to read Product Design at Nottingham Trent) chose a technical engineering project focused on adding suspension to existing wheelchairs to enable them to be used on rougher ground, reducing the sort of damage that can be caused by the gravel paths around the school. Luke Reid (Engineering at Imperial College), having visited India on one of the school’s Lower Sixth partnership trips, came back enthused by the idea of finding a way to help a rural community who struggle to get clean water from the valley up to their village. Having talked to the elders and farmers in the area, he found rainfall was not an issue but storage was something they had not considered. His project developed into a rainwater harvesting structure that would also double as a community meeting point. Morgan Taylor (Aeronautical Engineering at Loughborough) chose a related project based on purifying water collected from distant sources in Africa. Patrick Perry (Architecture, applying 2020) chose to look at the provision of sport facilities throughout the school, developing and producing drawings and an architectural model for a new pavilion overlooking Mountjoy. Of the

seven pupils taking A Level Design, six have gone on to study a directly related course. There was an equally diverse range of problems investigated at GCSE with some outstanding folios and final products proving their concepts. There was a continual buzz in the workshops throughout the Easter Term as these prototypes took shape. They ranged from a high-end portable artist’s easel, through hockey training aids and relaxing garden seating, to smaller, well thought-through projects, including a desk-tidy based on a modular magnetic hex system. They were rewarded with a great set of results, 28% getting the highest award of a 9 and a very pleasing 84% achieving 7-9 (old A-A*). We again entered the Land Rover 4x4 in Schools competition with two competing Lower Sixth teams whose rivalry spurred each to outdo the other, as well as a junior team who worked outside lessons to prepare their vehicles, promotional material and presentation. The junior team came third at regionals and, having seeing the competition, are fired up and ready to challenge the Sixth Form at the professional level in 2020 (and they have a very good chance of doing so). Both our professional class teams won through the regional heats and, after two days of intense competition and grilling by the engineers at Jaguar Land Rover, achieved sixth and eighth place in the national competition, our best result to date. If you are interested in sponsoring a team, please get in touch. Jonathan Martin, Head of Design Technology

ACADEMIC

Economics and Business LET us return to the wisdom of John Maynard Keynes (clearly one of my heroes!): ‘The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.’ Last year, this report referred (in a tongue-incheek manner) to the Groundhog Day that was being experienced by the UK in terms of the Brexit shenanigans; plus the increasing frequency and fractiousness of the US-China trade skirmishes that threatened to burst into all-out war. Well, the ‘joke’ has now worn very thin indeed. We are now on our third Prime Minister since the original Brexit referendum; all are Oxford-educated, two are from Eton and – if truth be told – none has seemed to be in the least bit competent. And in spite of everyone professing that a ‘no-deal’ Brexit will be disastrous for the economy (apart from a few die-hard backbench ERG members and a certain top-hat wearing, front-bench lounging Minister; another Old Etonian and Oxford man – surprise!), at the time of writing 31 October is still legally pencilled in as D-Day (but is that Departure or Disaster) as we crash out into the chill wind of a WTO relationship with our (up to now) largest trading partners. Meanwhile, Presidents Trump and Ji continue to escalate matters; the US has (again, at the time of writing) put 25% punitive tariffs on over $500 billion worth of imports from China. China has responded in kind, while the rest of the world watches and suffers. The good news is that this is all grist to the mill of a Sixth Form Canfordian economist, who can explain in detail why the German manufacturing sector has recently dipped into recession as their exports to both the US and China have ground to a halt, as these major markets themselves slow down significantly. So the realm of UK education is bolstered while real damage is done to a world economy that has still not fully recovered from the vicissitudes of the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The similarities with the tit-for-tat protectionism of that period are too close for comfort – and Keynes would have recognised exactly why. A new initiative this year has been in response to the changing assessment formats of the new, linear A Levels. Business Paper 3 requires the student to become familiar with a particular business sector. This year, the exam board stipulated the holiday industry, focussing particularly on activity holidays, staycations

and city breaks. So local contacts were tapped into and the finance director of Merlin Entertainments, Neil Hannaford, and the owner-operators of a Wareham caravan park, Mr and Mrs Birch with their OC daughter, Chrissy, were persuaded to come in to lead an evening seminar with the Upper Sixth and to talk about their own business experiences. It was informative, challenging and – if the results are anything to go by – ultimately educationally very fruitful. Perhaps the aforementioned high-profile, headlinemaking events explain why Business and Economics have never been so healthy at Canford. Numbers applying for these subjects in the Sixth Form are increasing significantly. In fact, they are so buoyant that even though last year we had five full-time members of staff, we have now felt the need to employ a new colleague – welcome Mr Jack Marston. So young is he that even Mr Ladd Gibbon is looking a little grey at the temples, and the head of department can be seen wandering down the corridor looking as if he has lost his walking stick. However, maturity has its benefits and these are reflected in the deeply satisfying results that the department’s youth members achieved in the summer exams just passed. In Business, Ed Higham topped the pile with his well-deserved A* grade, closely followed by Max Beaney, Mia Brash, Louisa Gamett Griggs, Anthony Graham, Will Hannah, Harry Mitchell and Richie Steavenson; they all scored commendable A grades. Add in the B grades, and 65% of the candidates are accounted for. Meanwhile, at GCSE, nine pupils received the very top grade 9 with fifteen more scoring at grade 8. So for Grades 9-7 (A* and A in the old money) we had (again) a 65% return. 92% if you put the Grade 6s in as well. For A Level Economics, the grades were equally pleasing. With six A*s (Max Beaney, Leo Bishop, Matt Daubeney, Michael Galley, Anthony Graham and James Martch), plus another 13 A grades, 79% of candidates achieved at A* and A (96%, if we pop in the B grades). So in terms of outcomes, the department is matching, even surpassing, its best recent performances. This all augurs well for the future. Numbers up, a second tranche of new blood injected into the teaching team, and results that continue to allow our students to step out confidently into the world of further education and beyond. What could possible improve on this? Oh, there’s just that little matter of the imminent collapse of the world economic order. Ho hum! Jo Toy, Head of Economics and Business

“The similarities with the tit-for-tat protectionism of that period are too close for comfort – and Keynes would have recognised exactly why.”

ACADEMIC “The Shells threw themselves with gusto into the workshops on stage fighting and how to speak the iambic pentameter line.”

English IN a spirit of appropriately Romantic innovation, a group of Upper Sixth pupils headed off in mid-September on the first Canford English trip to Exmoor and the Quantocks, there to experience the wonders of Coleridge’s poetry under the inspirational leadership of John James. Despite wild winds and rain, the pupils found both imaginative stimulation (very Romantic) and useful contextual knowledge (very educational) through their recitation of Coleridge’s poetry in the landscape that inspired it, and their visit to the house where he penned many of his greatest early works. The Easter Term is definitely the moment when life for the Upper Sixth and Fifth Form becomes distinctly nose-to-the-grindstoney. However, for the junior year groups, the fun continues. The format of the Shell Poetry and Music evening never fails: each Shell pupil learns a poem by heart over the Christmas holidays, and recites it to their teacher. From each class, a finalist is chosen to perform on the Poetry and Music Evening; also from each class, a student is chosen to read one of the Parents’ Choice poems. Perhaps most important, as far as the English Department is concerned, is the creative writing element of the evening. All Shell classes are given the opportunity to write their own poems and the results are often impressively imaginative and original. The Fourth Form also had their chance to perform, in the now traditional Pitch Perfect event in February.

Each class had read a different non-fiction book, and Pitch Perfect takes the form of an inter-class challenge to persuade the judges (many thanks to Mark Rathbone and Mike Doherty for giving, once again, their time and expertise) that their book is the best, using skilled rhetoric, together with advanced IT and artistic skills in the form of audio-visual presentations. To see a whole year-group spending an evening talking about good books and – perhaps – being persuaded to read one or two of them remains a heart-warming sight. The year came to a sunny end with glorious days for the visit by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men to perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream to the Shells and Fourth Form. The junior year groups responded well to the witty, energetic and occasionally bawdy production of Shakespeare’s magical comedy and the Shells threw themselves with gusto into the workshops on stage fighting and how to speak the iambic pentameter line which followed the performance. It was a lively and imaginative group of Shells and fourth-formers who signed up for the Creative Writing trip, also in the penultimate week of term, which this year visited Brownsea Island (where a red squirrel was spotted, temporarily bringing creative writing to a halt), and the wonderful Etches Fossil Collection at Kimmeridge. Sitting at the tip of Brownsea Island, watching eighteen pupils absorbed in each creating their own mythical hero, setting sail across the sea to unknown lands, remains one of my favourite memories of the year, as does the reading by the pupils of some of their writing in the Library on Speech Day – just one of the many occasions when the librarians helped the English Department to celebrate the joys of reading and writing. As well as the academic year coming to an end in June, so did the full-time teaching careers of John James and myself. It is no exaggeration to say that John created the Canford English Department in the form I first experienced when I arrived eighteen years ago. I immediately fell in love with its energy, its passionate enthusiasm for literature and its absolute commitment to passing on that enthusiasm to its pupils – an ethos created by John, and one which the department has worked hard to maintain over the years. Caroline Barrett, Head of English

SOMEHOW this year has felt a little calmer – perhaps because with new exams and field trips last year was so busy! As a department we have focused on consolidation after a period of change and looked to reflect more on the day-to-day things that improve pupil experience, whether that be introducing the use of some VR headsets to help pupils visualise coral reefs or changing the way pupils are able to assess their own progress. It is key within a subject that changes as much as Geography does that we continue to evolve our curriculum and our teaching. We also launched a Sixth Form magazine featuring articles on a wide range of subjects, our A Level pupils demonstrating yet again their ability to research and reflect so effectively. Our now annual October trip to the Bay of Naples was a great success for the Shells and certainly gave them a glimpse of some spectacular geography. This year we also introduced a visit to a local organic farm to enrich their topic on food production – breadmaking and a tractor ride were real highlights. Day trips to Swanage, Studland and Southampton all supported the GCSE curriculum. Poole and the Piddle finished off the day trips, with A Level pupils looking at case study and data collection concepts at these local destinations. In addition to our day trips, we also jump in the minibus for local destinations we can get to in a lesson – seeing and doing are so vital in our subject. We were also very fortunate to secure Matt Hosey, the council engineer in charge of Poole Bay, to speak to the Upper Sixth – access to first-hand information is invaluable and we are always keen to hear from OCs who may be able to talk to our pupils. The local Geographical Association provided a range of excellent experiences for both our GCSE and our A Level pupils. Particularly interesting was a lecture by Dr Danny Dorling from Oxford University about Brexit which was certainly thought-provoking and greatly enjoyed by those that attended. Coupled with a range of other lectures, our annual Junior School Quiz, ISEB conferences and hosting a day for local prep school Geography teachers, we have indeed been busy.

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Geography

August brought with it sunshine, storms, more Brexit shenanigans, Greta Thunberg’s arrival in New York to speak to the UN on climate change and other major world events. However, for those of us in Dorset, thoughts were focused around results days, always the source of sleepless nights for the department! We needn’t have lost sleep, as the pupils once again put in strong performances at GCSE and at A Level. Headline statistics have 56% of A Level results at A*/A grade and 100% achieving a C grade or above. GCSE grades remained strong with 83% obtaining grades 9-7 and 100% achieving 9-6. We are very proud of our pupils, who put in many hours of hard work to achieve these results, but these hours are matched by the staff in the department who provide endless support and motivation – I am very lucky to lead such a dedicated group of teachers. This year marks the end of an era with the retirement of Patrick Rossiter this summer. To say things won’t be the same without him is an understatement, thanks to his love of the subject, huge experience and real empathy with the pupils. We will all be the poorer for his departure but we wish him a very happy and much deserved retirement from the classroom. Alex Boulton, Head of Geography

“It is key within a subject that changes as much as Geography does that we continue to evolve our curriculum and our teaching.”

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History

“The dinner in the Old Library provided a wonderful venue for a fine meal and good conversation, but also a celebration of all things historical.”

20th century. Katy Jack was judged the winner, with her spirited advocacy of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The dinner in the Old Library provided a wonderful venue for a fine WITH 81 fifth-formers taking IGCSE this year, 75 meal and good conversation, but also a celebration of taking the subject in the Fourth Form, 31 in the Upper all things historical, in the form of quizzes devised by the Sixth sitting A Level and 49 having started the A Level organising committee. course in the Lower Sixth, the History Department has The Summer Term saw two further events: a talk never been fuller. The increased numbers choosing to by broadcaster and author Guy Walters on the 1936 study History called for reinforcements to the teaching Berlin Olympics, kindly arranged by Richard Wilson and staff and at the start of the year we welcomed Lenka the German Department; and a lecture on the East Collison, formerly Head of History at Prior Park, to teach India Company by Dr John McAleer from Southampton History and Politics. University at the Historical Association’s Bournemouth Thanks to generous funding by the Friends of Canford, branch. Though voluntary, both were very well-attended we commemorated the centenary of the end of World and we were rewarded by two scholarly but highly War 1 by inviting Dr Spencer Jones to spend three days accessible presentations. in the school as Historian-in-Residence in October 2018. The year ended with a Fourth Form excursion to He delivered a wonderfully lucid and compelling lecture the Chalke Valley History Festival, a hugely enjoyable on the last hundred days of the war, attended by our experience in a stunningly beautiful site south of Fifth Form historians as well as being open to the public, Salisbury. We heard talks on a variety of IGCSE History and a very personal talk on ‘What is a military historian?’ topics by nationally known historians, including Max for our A Level historians. He also took part in fourteen Hastings on the Vietnam War and Professor David lessons, talking about topics from the 17th century to the Reynolds on Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. The D-Day Cold War. Trench Experience brought History to life in a way that Forty-seven Fifth Form pupils and five staff also visited is not possible in the classroom. Belgium and France in October. As well as the major Talking of classrooms, after an appeal by Head of memorials of the Ypres Salient and the Somme, we School Matilda Hubble to name more classrooms after explored some less well-known sites, including a position women, we decided to rename two of our rooms Parks near Pozières where JRR Tolkien served, an experience (after Rosa Parks) and Roosevelt (after Franklin and which inspired The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Several Eleanor Roosevelt). Added to our existing classrooms, pupils, including Ned Potts, Miles Quick and Flora Peddie, Pankhurst and Fawcett, this will mean that we have an were able to find the graves of relatives who were killed equal number of rooms named after men and women. in the conflict. This was the final battlefields trip before With possibly as many as ten pupils applying to Oxford retirement both for me and for Caroline Barrett, whose or Cambridge to read History in 2020 and a new Head choice of war poetry and other readings has added so of Department, Rachel Lines, from September 2019, I am much to these trips over many years. confident that I leave the History Department in good 2018-19 has been an active year for the Layard Society, hands. our Sixth Form History society. Apart from Dr Jones’s Mark Rathbone, Head of History visit, the programme featured two film evenings: the Spielberg film about the Pentagon Papers, The Post; and Peter Jackson’s powerful World War 1 documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old. Thanks to Tom Marriott’s academic enrichment programme, we presented a debate about the Munich Agreement on its eightieth anniversary. The authors of two books on Munich, Andrew Reekes and David Faber, put the cases for and against Neville Chamberlain’s strategy to an attentive audience of Canfordians. The annual Keith Hay Dinner in March was attended by all our A Level historians. The evening began with the Great Historical Debate, in which three pupils debated who was the most influential leader of the

Mathematics IN September we welcomed Jess Craig to the Maths Department as well as Dimity Macho as a sports/ maths graduate assistant. The rest of the twelve-strong department remained the same with the eclectic mix of youthful energy with age (experience!) and wisdom. The results from the summer were, yet again, very pleasing indeed. Following a recent ‘refresh’ of the IGCSE syllabus and grading system, the papers that the pupils now sit are certainly more challenging than in years gone by. It was therefore even more impressive that 78% of the year group secured a level 7, 8 or 9 (equivalent to A*-A) and that 89% secured a level 6-9 (equivalent to A*-B). For the sixth year in a row, all pupils achieved the equivalent of a C or above; for a subject that is compulsory for all pupils, we are rightfully proud of this achievement. Maths continues to be the most popular subject (in terms of the numbers of pupils studying it) at A Level, despite the reforms to make the subject ‘linear’ in its style again. Faced with some of the hardest A Level papers that have been set for quite some time,

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our Upper Sixth took on the challenge of the summer exam series with real gusto; in a year which saw a national decline in the number of higher grades being awarded, we were still pleased to have 18% of pupils achieving an A*, 42% A*-A and 65% A*-B. The Further Mathematicians continued their impressive record, despite the new style of exams; at AS Level, all five pupils achieved the top grade and of the six full A Level pupils, four achieved an A grade, and two a B grade. The outgoing Lower Sixth have enjoyed an excellent year and they are in a very strong position from which to begin their assault on their final year of A Level study. With several of these pupils applying for Maths (and closely related) degrees, there is a definite excitement building towards the summer exams. As ever, we have continued to enjoy success in the various UKMT Maths Challenge competitions that are held throughout the year. In the senior challenge, Tom Alner, Callum Bruce, Sean Herrington and Mike Sorokin achieved a gold certificate and qualification for a followon round, where they were all awarded a certificate of merit. Rather impressively, 22 other pupils from the Lower and Upper Sixth were awarded a silver or bronze certificate. In the Intermediate challenge (aimed at our Shells, Fourth and Fifth Form top sets), as well as another 22 silver and bronze awards, six pupils achieved gold and went on to further rounds of the competition. Milind Khashu, Peter Croxford and Max Paget were awarded a certificate of merit and Nat Davey and Emma Jeffries a certificate of qualification. The real highlight, however, was to have two qualifiers for the British Maths Olympiad, which was certainly no mean feat. Both entrants, Tommy Qian and Jamie Tian, achieved a Distinction in this competition, with Tommy being awarded a medal for placing in the top 100 of entrants nationally. A superb achievement indeed. The ‘Magical Maths’ workshops were once again enjoyed by prep school pupils in years 5 and 6 involving fun Maths learning through card tricks, while Canford pupils and those from the Sagar School in Rajasthan exchanged methods of solving Maths problems as part of our global partnerships programme. At the end of the year, we said farewell to Rachael Smith. As well as welcoming newcomer Jack Wilson to the team, we were also very pleased to have convinced Dimity Macho to continue her stay with us as a full-time Maths teacher. Stuart Gordon, Head of Mathematics

“The real highlight, however, was to have two qualifiers for the British Maths Olympiad, which was certainly no mean feat.”

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Modern Languages – French “The year finished with Mr Wilson sharing his passion for Tintin with some Fourth Form and Lower Sixth linguists.”

2018/19 was another exciting and rich year for French at Canford, with a multitude of cultural activities, accomplishments and academic successes. Our enthusiastic linguists not only embraced the curriculum but threw themselves into an extensive array of extra activities and competitions. In November, Emilia Milner and Sean Herrington represented the French Department when they took part in Juvenes Translatores, a competition for the best young translators in the European Union, which saw them put their French to the test against pupils from 751 schools. In January, ten pupils from the Lower Sixth visited Southampton University for a conference about the importance of learning languages and the exciting opportunities that speaking another language can present after finishing formal education. Some former students, who had gone on to use their languages as part of their job, delivered an inspiring series of talks. Canford pupils also heard a thought-provoking lecture on how little the situation in the ‘banlieues’ has changed since the film La Haine highlighted the plight of French suburbs in the 1990s. This made for rich discussion back in the classroom. January also saw the creation of the French Film Society. Once every half term, the sixth-formers gather to watch a French film, chosen by them, on a Thursday night. This has proved to be a relaxing and social way of introducing more French culture into our lives at Canford. In May, Lizzy Balls and Lottie Thomas took part in the French Flash Fiction Competition organised by Oxford University. The competition challenged students to write their own story in less than 100 words. Lizzy produced an amazing lipogram, inspired by her reading of Raymond Queneau’s Exercises in Style, where she used only words that didn’t contain the letter ‘e’. Quite a feat! Lottie wrote a beautifully vivid story made up of only French idiomatic expressions relating to colours. Throughout the year, every Monday afternoon, a group of Sixth Form pupils ran an after-school French club in two local primary schools: Colehill First and St John’s First. Pupils prepared lessons under Mme Harrison’s guidance, including games, songs and activity sheets that they created and adapted. The year finished with Mr Wilson sharing his passion

for Tintin with some Fourth Form and Lower Sixth linguists in our space-themed Spirit of Place activity. The group read the classic volumes by Hergé, Objectif Lune (Destination Moon) and On a Marché sur la Lune (Explorers on the Moon), in French and English. These were written fifteen years before the actual moon landings, following Hergé’s extensive research into the possibility of human space travel with the aim of making the illustrative detail and story as realistic as possible. After reading the books and discussing various questions, the group watched the same two episodes from the animated TV series. To date, the 24 Tintin ‘albums’ have been translated from French into 70 languages and over 200 million copies have been sold worldwide. In August we saw exam results published from the first year with the new grading system. We achieved another increase in our percentage of A*/ A at GCSE, and 100% of Distinctions and Merits at pre-U, 78% of which were Distinctions. Matilda Hubble achieved the very top grade of a D1: an outstanding achievement. We were also very proud of Helena Jackson, Imogen Nichols, Tasie Milne and Ruth Colvile, who all achieved a D2, and Emilia Milner, who not only achieved a D2 but did so a year early. In the year ahead, we look forward to many exciting things including a French trip to Provence, where pupils will enjoy the linguistic and cultural benefits of immersing themselves in French life. Esther Saurel, Head of French

PUPILS’ topics for the Pre-U oral examination this year moved away from current political and social issues and instead examined renewable energy in Germany and the Berlin blockade in 1948 (thanks go to Mr Fearnley for providing the initial inspiration and guidance from his talk in Assembly to mark the 70-year anniversary). This was also the final year of studying Dürrenmatt’s Die Physiker and our two ‘sport-themed’ films, Berlin 36 and Nordwand. Related to this, we were fortunate in the Summer Term to have Canford parent, historian, writer and broadcaster Guy Walters come to talk to us about propaganda and nationalism in the Berlin Olympics of 1936. It was a fascinating and highly illuminating presentation, attended by Sixth Form German, History and Politics pupils. Sophie Alcock, Millie Edwards and Lottie Thomas teamed up with other Sixth Form French, Spanish and Latin pupils to take part in the Linguistics Olympiad under Mr Dant’s guidance and acquitted themselves extremely well. Flinn Tiefenthal was also the school’s German representative in what may have been the last EU ‘Juvenes Translatores’ competition and also performed very well. IGCSE results were strong once again, with Bennet von Tschischwitz, Alex Klosterfelde, Lisa Price and Eve Hewett all achieving scores above 90%. Our yearly cultural events, ie. Munich’s annual Oktoberfest, German Unity Day and St Nicholas’s Day, were again popular with all pupils. During the summer holidays, current Upper Sixth pupils Martin Bull, Sophie Alcock and Lottie Thomas spent time in Germany. Martin enjoyed two weeks in a language school near the stunning Lake Constance, while Lottie and Sophie were the first pupils to attend our new partnership school in Berlin (GLS, Berlin), doing an intensive language course there. They provide this joint account of their experience: ‘We went to the GLS language school in Berlin for a two-week course over the summer and found it thoroughly enjoyable to develop our language in such an incredible city. We stayed on-site in the college and had lessons every afternoon, with excursions to see different parts of Berlin every morning. The lessons were conducted entirely in German to a class of students from all over the world. We had engaging teachers and the activities really boosted our confidence and fluency when it came to speaking the language and expressing ourselves. ‘Berlin itself is a fascinating city, and it was wonderful to discover its art and history on the various trips. We experienced the haunting Stasi prison on a tour led by an old inmate, visited the Berlin Wall, discovered international contemporary art in the Hamburger Bahnhof (an old railway station!), saw the Brandenburg Gate (see photo) and were taught about local street art. It was also fascinating to meet so many new people and learn about their own lives and language-learning experiences in countries ranging from Serbia to the Dominican Republic. ‘We would thoroughly recommend a language course like this to all linguists wanting to boost their communication skills and acquire language in a natural way, particularly because exploring a city alongside the language you study is so exciting.’

Finally, I was delighted to hear from Thomas Gant (Monteacute, 2014). He was the first pupil at Canford to get a D2 grade in Pre-U German and has now gone on to achieve of a 1st class honours degree in German and Arabic from Durham University. As is clear from his account, the last four years have been a memorable and culturally enriching experience for him: ‘Learning German seems to have given me a hankering for mind-bending grammar, fascinating literature and cultures with what one might call “a complicated history”, so during my degree, I also learned Arabic ab initio and relished the challenge of a new language with a different script. I loved so many aspects of my degree. In my first year, I enjoyed studying the cinema of the Weimar Republic, such as Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari and Metropolis. In my second year, I found Heine’s Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen and Goethe’s Faust particularly interesting. ‘During my year abroad I went to Austria, where I worked in a castle in the mountains and this was when my German language rose to a whole new level, all the while surrounded by a beautiful landscape. I also spent time in Munich working for a church, and loved the city. For the Arabic side of the course, I spent time in the Middle East studying in a language school in Jordan and doing volunteer work teaching English to Iraqi refugees. ‘In my final year, my choice of dissertation became a 28-word sentence: “A New Bible? Reading Goethe’s Faust (Part One 1808, Part Two 1832) as a Monument of Literary Secularisation and Comparing it with Schleiermacher and Romantic and Enlightenment Thought”. Quite apt, given the fascination I’d had for long German words and sentences back at Canford!’ Richard Wilson, Head of German and Other Languages

“Our yearly cultural events, ie. Munich’s annual Oktoberfest, German Unity Day and St Nicholas’s Day were again popular with all pupils.”

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Modern Languages – German

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Modern Languages – Spanish

“Pupils had the chance to share Professor Hart’s experiences travelling around Colombia quite a few years ago, when he met and interviewed ‘Gabo’ in person.”

THE Spanish Department had the privilege of sharing teaching and learning with a truly inspirational cohort of Hispanists across year groups. From the curious Shells to the proficient Upper Sixth, all sets involved themselves in large array of cultural and linguistic experiences, the like of which we have not witnessed before at Canford. The Christmas Term brought our Fourth Form to the Las Iguanas restaurant in Bournemouth to enjoy a selection of Spanish and Latin American dishes, ranging from quesadillas to chocolate con churros, in a festive atmosphere where the Canfordians had the chance to put their Spanish to good use with the Spanish-speaking staff. In November, Catherine Elliott and Bea Mowat represented the Spanish Department in the Juvenes Translatores contest, where they had to face a challenging text on the celebration of the European cultural heritage. Both candidates completed their translations to a high standard as they tackled the syntactical intricacies of the Spanish text with ease. The Pi sessions saw a record attendance this year as the Lower Sixth fully immersed themselves in the magical world of the Latin American short-story writers. Not surprisingly, it was the genius Julio Cortázar who would provide us with the most memorable lesson with his Continuidad de los parques. Max Glowacki’s successful Cambridge application

left behind a substantial number of literary essays of excellent quality, but we were particularly proud to see his analysis of Isabel Allende’s Eva Luna published in the Christmas issue of The Bulletin of Advanced Spanish. As the festive navidades drew closer, our Shells had the opportunity to enjoy the seasonal chocolate con churros in the Great Hall, serenaded with some lively villancicos and enthusiastic singing by a good number of talented voices. With the arrival of the new year, the Fifth Form had their tapas y salsa outing to Las Iguanas for a delightful evening that combined Latin American gastronomy with a salsa dancing experience with our Cuban friend, Enrique from Salsaexplosion. The pupils found the Latin American rhythms contagious as they all joined in with their un, dos, tres, cinco, seis, siete in what would become an unforgettable evening. The end of the Easter Term brought Professor Stephen Hart from UCL back to Canford for a lecture on García Márquez’s Of Love and Other Demons. He was as magisterial as ever, to our Upper Sixth’s delight, as he unravelled Márquez’s intricate prose to expose an innovative interpretation of the novel. In the absence of a good ceviche, more appropriate for the occasion, we shared an authentic paella to conclude the event where pupils had the chance to share Professor Hart’s experiences travelling around Colombia quite a few years ago, when he met and interviewed ‘Gabo’ in person. As the Upper Sixth occupied themselves in exam revision that would bear excellent results in the summer, with both Max Glowacki and Matilda Hubble achieving D1 grades, the dynamic Lower Sixth started to plan their summer ventures with trips to Costa Rica, Argentina and different locations in Spain. Their travel experiences will be shared in the first issue of Hispanista, the newly created magazine to be published in the Christmas Term 2019 on viajes inolvidables, or unforgettable trips. We look forward to reading it. Fran Compan, Head of Spanish

Other Modern Foreign Languages Last year saw 27 pupils learning and/or taking exams in Chinese, Russian and Japanese. As in previous years, our pupils consisted of a mixture of non-native learners, bilinguals and native speakers.There were some excellent performances in GCSE and A-level examinations. Of particular note was Beatriz Mowat obtaining a high grade A in A Level Russian.This was a superb achievement and one usually seen only from native speakers.This result (combined with her D3 in Pre-U Spanish) has enabled her to study Japanese at SOAS University of London, a course for which she had already won a prestigious scholarship a few months earlier. In getting grades 8 and 9 in their IGCSE French and German/Spanish exams, Lisa and Maria Price secured no fewer than four GCSE languages at grades 8/9 (they had previously obtained high A grades in Dutch in the Shells and 100%/99% in Russian in the Fourth Form).Their

linguistic achievements in the last three years are rare and exceptional. In A Level Chinese, David Strutt,Tia Yang and Jonathan Fung all obtained A and B grades and, in the new IGCSE Chinese examinations, all six pupils received a grade 5 or better. Other pupils worked towards their Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi qualifications. In GCSE Russian,Varya Darling scored a brilliant 97% and obtained a grade 9. Finally, Japanese continued to be a language of interest this year, with seven pupils learning it.This included, for the first time, a class of five Fourth Form pupils, who worked towards taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in the near future. My sincere thanks and gratitude go once again to our specialist language teachers for their support, guidance and expertise. Richard Wilson, Head of German and Other Languages

IT has been a busy yet successful year for the Philosophy and Theology department. The department continues to grow in popularity amongst Canfordians: in 2018 at one stage, 108 pupils were studying either GCSE or A Level courses offered at Canford. The unexamined life, perhaps, is less desirable for our youth today? This year, the Shell year group embarked on a 1000word essay competition titled: ‘“Voluntary euthanasia should be legalised.” How far do you agree?’ The Philosophy and Theology staff were impressed with the effort and commitment of the whole year group and awarded first place to Celia Leavesley, second place to Lara Ela Ulkeroglu and third to Ethan Bikhazi-Green. Fifth Form Philosophy and Theology pupils went to London on a GCSE experience in November. The trip focused on beliefs, teachings and practices of Christianity, including beliefs about God, creation, the afterlife, Jesus Christ and Salvation, and the way Christians live out their faith, including worship and the role of the church in the local community. St Paul’s Cathedral was our first stop. Some pupils even climbed up to the Stone Gallery, which towers 53 metres above the cathedral floor, a total of 376 steps. The Stone Gallery offers a breathtaking view of central London from the viewing gallery, too. Our next visit was to the London Central Mosque, Regent’s Park, where pupils were given an insight into Islam in Britain and a tour of the mosque followed by a Q&A session in the prayer room. In December, A Level pupils attended a conference at the Mathematical Institute, Oxford University. The conference consisted of relevant lectures, seminars and debates applicable to the A Level syllabus. Topics included Science and Religion, Gender Theology, Animal Ethics and Conscience.

Rev. Chris Jervis, Canford’s Chaplain from 1987 to 2013, was invited to speak at our annual Philosophy and Theology Sixth Form Supper. During his time at Canford, Chris worked tirelessly to promote our subject. His talk, ‘Sense, common-sense, nonsense and making sense’, was challenging yet accessible for our pupils and proved to be an enjoyable evening. The Philosophy and Theology and Classics Departments went on a joint trip to visit Sicily in the first week of the Easter holidays. Those studying Philosophy and Theology were able to see how religious worship has developed and evolved over the past 3000 years. Led by Mr Dant, the tour consisted of visiting the Greek temples at Agrigento, a theatre carved into the hillside at Syracuse, a gigantic Roman villa containing room after room of vivid mosaics, and the austere grandeur of Catania, Sicily’s ‘lava city’ that lies in the shadow of Europe’s most active volcano, Mount Etna. In May, Dr William Lane Craig delivered a lecture in the Layard Theatre called ‘Three reasons God exists and why it matters’, attended by Canfordians and local school pupils. It was a huge honour to host Dr Craig and the Reasonable Faith team on their British Schools 2019 tour. Dr Craig is internationally recognised in his field and has debated with public figures such as Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and Lawrence Krauss, as well as publishing well over 30 books and articles. He said of his visit: ‘Canford was really special – the lovely breakfast, the beautiful grounds, the great students we talked with, all contributed to such a memorable experience!’ OCs going up to university in 2019 will be studying our subject(s) at Exeter, Edinburgh and Cardiff. Do follow the Philosophy and Theology department on social media if you are interested in seeing what we have done and what we get up to. Twitter: @Canfordptdept. Instagram: Canfordptdept. Sam Leiper, Head of Philosophy and Theology

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Philosophy and Theology

“His talk, ‘Sense, common-sense, nonsense and making sense’, was challenging yet accessible for our pupils.”

ACADEMIC “The girls were excellent at promoting their ideas and made it through to the finals with a presentation at Bournemouth University.”

Physics THE Physics Department has gone through a traumatic and eventful year. After ten years of stability, two teachers left the department; we welcomed a new technician; a Shell girls team reached the final of a STEM competition; and Helen Sharman came to celebrate the first moon landing. After fifteen years as a teacher of Physics, Steven Excell left Canford halfway through the Christmas Term, followed closely at Easter by Dr Geoff Horton who had served ten years in the department.This was a shock for the rest of us – and difficult, because we had planned an extensive celebration of the first moon landing at the end of the Summer Term.This was not such an easy task when two highly innovative and enthusiastic teachers left in the middle of the year with only a short time to replace them. Our first thought, obviously, was to secure the teaching for the exam classes.There was little disruption, as Emma Thornburrow and Dan Culley took on extra work, David Neill came into the fold to teach a Shell class and we were very fortunate to appoint Desmond Mohammed, a highly qualified and experienced teacher, to cover for the Summer Term. Our new technician, Ian Newbury, who was just settling in, must have found the musical chairs interesting. As well as supporting the changes, he was kept busy by the Shell girls’

STEM team. Mrs Thornburrow put the group together, but the girls decided on a project to aid the collection of water in third world countries.They designed a kit that could drive oil drums with an electric motor, using a battery charged by the sun.Their aim was for it to be used by younger children who normally have to carry water large distances and for it to allow them to collect a greater volume of water in one trip, giving them more time for education and study. Mr Newbury produced several fantastic prototypes and a working scale model.The girls were excellent at promoting their ideas and made it through to the finals with a presentation at Bournemouth University. And so to the last week of term. While enjoying last summer, I was contemplating what inspired my interest in physics and one of the major factors was the Apollo moon landings, so what better way to finish this academic year than to celebrate with an event called Spirit of Space? I had already booked the UK Space Agency to bring a spacesuit and the moonrock samples that were given to the UK by President Nixon (yes, he did do something worthwhile). I then wondered if I could get an astronaut to come and speak at Canford. Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut, has a thousand enquiries for speaking events every year and accepts ten. I was therefore very pleased that she agreed to come and celebrate with us as she was in even greater demand than usual. Her talks were inspiring. In fact she applied for the job after an advertisement she heard on the radio – astronaut wanted, no experience necessary! The photos show her with members of the department and with some of the pupils – physicists past and present in fact! There was a variety of activities offered by different departments throughout the school: from exploding rocket fuel in Chemistry, through translating Tintin Goes to the Moon in French and biospheres in Biology, to talks by science fiction writers organised by the chief Librarian – something for everyone. What a few days! We are looking forward to welcoming two new and experienced teachers to the department at the start of the 2019/20 academic year: David Hivey from Merchant Taylors’ School (a GB-level sailor) and Richard Carpenter from Nottingham High School, where he is Head of Physics. Chris Fenwick, Head of Physics

HARDLY a day goes by without some significant change in the political landscape, or without some other crisis or uncertainty being exposed. A joyful and interesting feature of teaching Government and Politics today is the challenge and stimulation that comes from not knowing how the political day will unfold. Invariably pupils will present a topical development which I have missed. The fun then stems from getting a class to establish how the events of today might be a useful example of a broader principle which may be of use in a topical exam-type answer; examiners love topical examples. The less exciting aspect of teaching Government and Politics today is the knowledge that the textbook has to change each year, and when it does appear in September, it is out of date by the time it is distributed to pupils and well superseded by events at the end of the academic year. Keeping abreast of any given text, annotating thoroughly and then deciding which textbook to assign in the coming year is not easy. Neither is the process of updating worksheets, work schemes and other bureaucratic ephemera. Happily, there is a silver lining to this: often what is studied in Politics today quickly becomes the content of the History textbooks of tomorrow. I have been teaching both long enough to see this. In keeping with keeping up to date, in March 2019 the Upper Sixth attended a stimulating lecture and seminar session hosted by Wellington College, entitled ‘Congress to Campus’. University lecturers spoke about a range of topics close to their interests, which included analyses of the view that the US Constitution might not be fit for 21st-century purposes, of whether Congress was ‘the broken branch of US government’, of the Trump Presidency thus far (interesting to hear about this from an academic standpoint rather than re-hashing the usual one-sided invective), of the current state of the two main parties today and of the US Supreme Court’s most recent rulings on constitutional matters. After each presentation, two former members of the House of Representatives offered their insights: Donna Edwards (Democrat for Maryland) and Charles Boustany

ACADEMIC

Politics

(Republican from Louisiana). What was particularly striking was how much the two representatives agreed on most controversies, and their lamenting the inability of Congress to ‘reach across the aisle’ to find agreement today. It all made fror an excellent and stimulating day out with little else to do except indulge a full immersion into American government and politics. After 26 years of working closely with my colleague and friend, Mark Rathbone, I was sad to see him depart for the lush green pastures of retirement. When I tried to calculate how many Politics lessons he had taught during his 30 years at Canford, not to mention the number of essays set and marked, I quickly realised it was going to be a formidable number and promptly stopped calculating. In his place, we welcome to the department Mrs Lenka Collison, who has inherited Mark’s position. As for the immediate future, with the clock counting down to a possible ‘no deal Brexit’, a hastily contrived Brexit deal or another extension to the UK leaving the EU, we anticipate a General Election at some point after half-term. Of course Canford will host a mock election, and we look forward to hosting a hustings very similar to the one held in the Layard Theatre in 2017. Whatever happens on Hallowe’en (unknown at the time of writing), I anticipate a particularly adversarial and nasty election campaign: perhaps the hustings will be equally charged. While anticipating a collective response echoing Brenda of Bristol in 2017 when asked how she would vote in the upcoming election (‘What? Another one?’) I like to think that the people of this constituency will take a deep interest, regardless of their exasperation with the Brexit process thus far. Andrew Fearnley, Head of Politics

“A joyful and interesting feature of teaching Government and Politics today is the challenge and stimulation that comes from not knowing how the political day will unfold.”

ACADEMIC

Physical Education WE were able to divide our Upper Sixth group into two sets this year. This enabled us to give individual attention to pupils and encouraged some of the quieter ones to come to the fore. Both sets were cohesive and there was a productive work ethic, which meant that coursework deadlines were met more frequently than last year, and that individuals prepared better for tests and reacted positively to results. The best sports performers were able to boost their marks by scoring well on the practical component, but the highest-scoring candidates also did well on the written coursework. The results were pleasing, with two of the ten candidates achieving an A*, one an A and three more a B. During the year, I attended two courses which helped with the delivery of written coursework and the exam board has now produced high-scoring exemplars, which have also helped. Natasha Wilson and I also attended two written exam courses which were helpful, particularly with the longer-style answers. It has been interesting to teach some sixth-formers who have done GCSE PE with us and some who have not. There is a definite disadvantage not to have done the GCSE in relation to foundation theories, familiarisation with language, understanding the importance of coursework and question-answering technique. However,

with hard work, those who have missed out on that opportunity have managed to catch up. At GCSE level, we allowed slightly longer for the written coursework. This put less pressure on us for the marking and allowed more annotation for the examiner to show where we had awarded marks. The overall results were pleasing: seven at grade 9, five each at grades 8, 7 and 6, and two at grade 5. We noticed an interestingly close link between biology grades and the grades achieved in paper 1, our scientific paper. Nick Baugniet, Head of Academic Physical Education

Computer Science â&#x20AC;&#x153;2019 has seen another fantastic selection of computercontrolled machines, all designed, built and coded by the pupils to deliver payloads on a Martian surface.â&#x20AC;?

THIS year the Computer Science department has continued to grow. We are now three teachers strong and are teaching two classes in the Fourth and Fifth Forms, as well as all Shell pupils and A Level classes to the Lower and Upper Sixth. Our exam results have been very strong at A Level this year with 2 A*s and 75% A*/A yet again. This includes Tom Alner, who achieved a total A Level mark that was in the top 50 in the UK. The projects, including the one of Tomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s illustrated here, were of especially high quality and drew some excellent comments from the examiners. We continue to yield positive value added for the students of at least a grade on average. Destinations for our computer scientists include Imperial, Edinburgh, PWC degree apprenticeship (Leeds), all for Computer Science, and others for numerate degrees, especially in Engineering. Our programming language has moved to Python

across the school, which has already yielded dividends for our pupils with its brevity and ease of access whilst maintaining a great deal of power. Try some yourself with Snakify.org! In the BEBRAS Computational Thinking test, we have once again had a pupil invited to the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford as a finalist. Mike Sorokin represented the school at the Elite level, even though he was a year younger than some of his competitors. For the younger years, 2019 has seen another fantastic selection of computer-controlled machines, all designed, built and coded by the pupils to deliver payloads on a Martian surface. The combination of Computer Science and Design Technology helps students gain a great insight into the world of Engineering: producing a real product with a team against a deadline. Simon Rood, Head of Computer Science

Pastoral

2018/19 saw the first tranche of pupil leaders, led by the Heads of School, Matilda Hubble and Scott Montague, taking the helm and helping to shape a variety of aspects of house and school life. Over the course of the year, there have been a number of pupil leader initiatives and events involving not only pupils but the wider Canford Community. Here is a flavour of the broad range of activities and events that have taken place: Creative Arts - Organising events such as Inktober and Crafternoon. Wellbeing - Organising Mental Health Awareness Day and Hello Yellow. PR/Marketing - Running #TakeoverTuesday on the Canford Instagram account, devising and organising ‘This Canford Life’ podcast. Academic - Organising scholar sessions, developing an Enrichment Instagram account, contributing to staff development TED-Ed talks, assisting in A Level choices evening, giving talks to pupils. Selection - Leading a pupil panel helping to interview candidates for teaching posts. Environment - Organising new eco schemes around the school, reducing single-use plastics. Global/International - Running events such as Global Forum and Chinese New Year. Charity - Organising the charity Colour Run, fundraising for the Martin Marriott Foundation and Cancer Research UK. Visiting speakers continue to supplement our pastoral education programme and this year we welcomed Karl Hopwood, an experienced independent e-safety expert, to give talks to pupils (as part of their PSME programme) and parents. He works closely in schools across Europe with children, young people, parents and teachers to develop safer online behaviours and the promotion of digital literacy. New to Canford this year was Liz Edge of WIRED, an aspiring Dorset-based social enterprise supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people through education, training and intervention. Liz facilitated an engaging and practical workshop for parents seeking to gain a greater understanding of young people’s mental health, allowing plenty of discussion and time for questions. Seeking to further our pastoral and wellbeing education provision, Richard Jones, housemaster

of School House, conducted a Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey. The most popular request from the pupil body (over 73% of all pupils responded) was for nutrition/lifestyle clinics. As a result, a series of Wellbeing workshops took place through the Easter and Summer Terms as a trial with a small group of pupils. The focus was on four key areas: nutrition, sleep, technology, and exercise and relaxation. Feedback was very positive and we will be looking to further provision in this area in the coming year. Pupil-led social events are always eagerly anticipated and this year’s ‘Lip Sync for Louis’ version IV event did not disappoint. With a spellbinding display of confidence, talent, fun and friendship the Sixth Form boys and girls competed in an impressive battle of miming and dancing in front of a packed Layard Theatre audience. This year the event raised £1,230, which was proudly donated to the Louis Ross Foundation to help their excellent work in supporting young people facing difficulties in the local area. Some of the causes that have benefited recently from the Foundation include Bournemouth’s Sleepsafe charity for homeless people, Poole Young Carers Charity and Beaucroft Foundation School in Wimborne. Pupils continue to enjoy a wide range of weekend activities. A new feature of the programme this year was a table-top Escape Game for the Shells. Shackled by the wrist, house teams worked together to solve a series of puzzles and clues. In this particular game the pupils took on the roles of professional bank thieves working together to complete a number of challenges in order to gain the security codes for the safe and reach the gold! Nick Hunter, Deputy Head - Pastoral

“Liz facilitated an engaging and practical workshop for parents seeking to gain a greater understanding of young people’s mental health.”

Overleaf: This double-page spread appeared in the Spring 2019 edition of Independent School Parent and is reproduced here by kind permission.

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SENIOR

Pupils make use of the onsite nine-hole golf course

BEHIND THE SCENES

A HOME FROM HOME

NICOLA HUNTER, Deputy Head of Pastoral at Canford School, Dorset – our Boarding School of the Year – talks about its weekend programme and student support

anford is run as a full-boarding school. There’s no weekly boarding and local day pupils can take advantage of all the activities on offer during the evenings and at weekends. Mindful that families will want some flexibility, the school offers boarders the chance to go home for a number of Saturday nights each year if they wish. However, with a full and varied programme organised by dedicated staff, all of whom live onsite, it’s perhaps not a surprise that at least 70 per cent of boarders stay in school on any given Sunday!

Beach excursions

Some of the activities offered are open to pupils across all year groups which helps promote a great sense of community within and across the 10 houses. These might be a Sunday afternoon trip to the stunning beaches at Studland and Poole just five miles away, bowling at Tower Park leisure complex, dry slope skiing in Ringwood, or a trip to a water park. The school’s own facilities are also put to good use at weekends, with the swimming pool and

independentschoolparent.com | SPRING 2019

gym, the nine-hole golf course, squash and Real Tennis courts and fishing on the Stour all free to use. A pizza chef is a popular regular visitor, and there are bake offs, art workshops and escape games on offer run by Canford staff. Staff are well aware that different activities suit different ages, and some of what’s on offer is tailored with this in mind. Shells might have a games night, their own dinner and disco or make use of the Nineveh café, which offers snacks and drinks – recently it was loaded nachos while playing board games! Fourths and Fifths might enjoy laser quest or cinema screening in the Layard Theatre, and Sixth Formers a separate dinner dance. On most Saturdays, Sixth Formers enjoy a dinner in the Sixth Form centre.

Keeping busy is key

The Shell weekend programme ensures that those joining the school in their first year are kept busy every weekend

Canford staff even run climbing sessions

On the weekends, students often visit a local water park

There are regular pizza-making workshops

to help avoid any feelings of homesickness. As pupils move into the senior years, some prefer to choose how they spend their free time, perhaps catching up on revision on a Sunday as external exams loom, or going to the gym or for a run in the grounds. A sign-up system operates for the older years to choose which activities they’re interested in to allow them to be more flexible with their free time.

In summer, Canford makes full use of the gardens

SCHOOL STATS NAME

Canford School LOCATION

Wimborne, Dorset AGE RANGE

Co-ed, 13-18 NO. OF PUPILS

655

Competitions and quizzes

Weekends are also a time for houses to come together as their own communities. The pizza and film evenings are popular, and on Sundays, the house leaders run competitions and quizzes, including house table tennis and pool leagues as well as five-a-side football. In the summer, boarders make great use of house gardens for barbecues.

HEADMASTER

Ben Vessey MOTTO

Nisi Dominus Frustra

A supportive community

Canford prides itself upon its warm, supportive boarding community, large enough to offer a wealth of

opportunity, but small enough for everyone to be known and valued. Each house team is led by the housemaster or housemistress and includes tutors, matrons and domestic staff. Formal and informal support is readily available when a child needs it, seven days a week. We like to think that it’d be hard for a pupil not to have someone he or she finds it easy to talk to.

Feeling at home

The school’s pastoral communications triangle of parent, Canford, child, is at the heart of our approach to boarding, encouraging everyone to work together to provide the best possible boarding school experience. Families are encouraged to get involved as much as they wish, and many come to support their child in events each week such as sports matches, music concerts and drama productions. Houses also hold individual At Homes, where parents can socialise with other families. If the weather’s kind, houses make use of the gardens and grounds for barbecues and picnics, helping to ensure that, as one boarder put it, “I love boarding – it’s like one big family.” SPRING 2019 | independentschoolparent.com

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BEAUFORT THIS year seemed to pass at the speed of light, and along the way the girls managed to pack in a whole host of different activities. Around the daily structure of lessons, co-curricular activities, dining and prep, they managed to squeeze in activities such as Christmas craft making, gingerbread baking, impromptu five-a-side football, table tennis and badminton competitions, all of which helped new girls and old hands alike settle into life in the house. The bigger social events like the House at Home, the Sixth Form wine and cheese evening and junior evenings (such as Fourth Form karaoke) also contributed to the warm and inviting feel of the place. House members threw themselves into an array of house competitions, starting with House Music. The house settled into rehearsing a lovely programme, aided by the fantastic organisation of the Upper Sixth. We might not have won any categories but the girls were rightly proud of their performances. Likewise, our joint Beaufort-Franklin production of An Inspector Calls … at Canford was lively and witty. We had a great year in house sport, winning a number of different events including senior House Hockey, Shell indoor rowing, and the overall House Cross-country cup – which was a result both of exceptional individual performances (Inès Mitchell, 1st senior; Serena Blake, 2nd senior; Honoré Cutler, 2nd junior) and of a sterling group performance with practically the whole house taking part. We also won junior House Badminton, Fourth Form tennis and Shell and senior athletics as well as both individual (Inès Mitchell again) and team gallop on the final day of term. However busy they are, the girls are always keen to represent their house and they display a combination of competitiveness mixed with courtesy which they should be proud of. Thanks goes to Bea Mowat, Kitty Arnold and the whole Upper Sixth team who led with kindness and respect. Their example helped the house to balance hard work with moments of fun and relaxation. However busy term got, the community feel of the house was never lost and it was wonderful to witness the support girls gave each other throughout. We wish the Upper Sixth well as they leave for the next adventure and we look forward to another great year to come. Clare Ives

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COURT A YEAR in Court House feels like a joyous lifetime lived in the blink of an eye: our Courtiers have packed in more fun and frolics than this written snapshot can possibly capture. We’ll try, though. Events, as Sinatra almost put it, we’ve had a few: cinema and theatre outings, the sophistication of the Upper Sixth Court House Dining Society, Hallowe’en and Chinese New Year parties, countless waffle nights, Court triathlons (pool, table tennis and darts: exhausting stuff…), barbecues, mammoth garden volleyball sessions, spike balling, and so much more. The much more often takes place in the foyer: the heart of the house. Though there are times when one worries that the house suffers from ventricular fibrillation, it still remains in rude health and allows our boys to interact – across the year groups. We do more and more in mixed and vertical groups, such as the Court House competitions (pool, table tennis, Fifa, chess etc) but our vertically grouped Court House omniball tournament was perhaps the greatest arena for shared endeavour and purpose. This communal cause is one of the key reasons Court House remains the pre-eminent sports house. Consequently, it was not particularly surprising that we took home the inaugural BurleyBall trophy. This competition, which levels the playing field by having houses compete in relatively unpractised sports, is of cracking test of raw sporting ability and team spirit – so we knew it had our name on it. We do have our name – literally – on a lot of trophies, and this year we won everything in tennis (senior; the U14 and U15 categories; junior), and we secured the badminton trophy, as well as House Squash and Real tennis. Moreover, the junior House Rugby trophy returned home. In House Cross-country, we again had the fastest runner in school (a fifth-former!) and won both the junior and intermediate categories. Our cultural credibility remains impeccable, with our spectacular production of The Comedy about a Bank Robbery. What a collective effort that was, and I still find it hard to fathom how the chaps managed to make their play such a rip-roaring marvel considering the time constraints they were working under. We also soared in house debating. Court is a family, a collective, a unit: we relish all we do, and we do it together. Sindre Vandvik

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DE LACY IN September the de Lacy girls welcomed Sascha Deblander and her family back into the house after maternity leave. Little Aidan took advantage of the company of lots of big sisters and lapped up the attention from tutors, matrons and girls alike. The Christmas Term is always packed with a huge variety of activities from sporting events to House Music and the school musical. Our girls are talented in all these areas and have made a significant contribution to the wider life of the school. Not surprisingly, several main parts in the epic Les MisĂŠrables were given to de Lacy girls. The Easter Term saw the House Art and Drama competitions. For the Drama, the girls put together a Canfordised performance of Snow White. They showed great initiative in the way they adapted the story and not only won best producer, but were also nominated for best ensemble. There has been a range of sports competitions that the majority have taken part in directly and others have supported enthusiastically. De Lacy won the senior and U14s House Tennis, the junior IVs rowing and came second in House Athletics. These events are always full of energy and the face paint was out in force. Less competitive have been our house families evenings. The girls enjoyed trying out new activities in their cross-year group families, with pizza toppings and nail paint colours becoming more adventurous. At Easter my family and I moved into de Lacy to cover for Saschaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maternity leave. The end of April saw the arrival of Amelie, which was greeted by much excitement from the girls. We have been warmly welcomed into de Lacy and have been lucky enough to watch the achievements of so many girls this summer. Fun was had during the Colour Run, but also afterwards trying to remove paint from clothes and hair. The Ten Tors Challenge saw two of our fourthformers successfully complete the gruelling weekend, and the junior music festival and junior play involved a great many de Lacy girls. The final social event this term was the outdoor cinema party, when tutors and matrons joined the girls for games in the garden and Shrek 2. There was a lovely atmosphere amongst the girls and they were so helpful and appreciative that I felt incredibly proud of them all. Katie Salmon

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FRANKLIN COMMUNITY living in a boarding house is both a privilege and a responsibility and Franklin exemplifies this. As a welcoming home from home, we all know it is our privilege to enjoy the atmosphere and community spirit passed down to us; it is then our responsibility to nurture and further that spirit. This year we introduced Franklin families, led by the Upper Sixth with two pupils from each year group in each family. These allowed us to discuss issues across year groups and strengthen those vertical friendships that are so rewarding. Our other innovation was Franklin breakfasts. By booking the ‘Old Drawing Room’ for breakfast, we could start the day together – meals are such important times for friendship. Of course, we kept up our regular house dinners as well. Lastly, we introduced our own debates within house in practice for house debating. The Franklin ‘At Home’ saw rain for the first time in ten years, but we decamped to the Old Library and had a wonderfully jolly lunch. It was so lovely to see all ages from grandparents to younger siblings. As usual, the boys threw themselves into every school and house opportunity, led by a marvellous Upper Sixth. We are sad to see them go and wish them every success. They are off to change the world as everything from medics to engineers to artists. The house entered every sporting event and although we won fewer trophies than we hoped, some did find their way back to us. As well as inter-house sports, chess has become a very popular pastime in Franklin with our Friday night chess club, and every night after prep there are at least ten boys on the astro, playing football, hockey or touch rugby. We said hello to a lively and friendly bunch of new Shells – it always amazes me how quickly they go from rather nervous new boys on day one to happy members of the community. Much of the credit goes to them and also to the older pupils who mentor them. We also welcomed Mrs Collison to our tutor team. On a sadder note, we said farewell to Mr Moreland, who as live-in tutor has worn Franklin on his heart and sleeve. Mr Dant also left us but remains at Canford and a welcome guest at any Franklin event. Henry Bishop

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LANCASTER THE enthusiastic approach from the house leaders this year nurtured the friendly atmosphere of the place so very well. Luke Reid and Lydia Harvey were instrumental in pulling the strings from their positions as heads of house. Full credit to Helena Jackson, James Norris and Zarah Warr for their leadership skills within their respective year-groups and these three were assisted very well by all the rest of the Upper Sixth. At House Music, winning the best day house song was apt considering how ‘Crazy’ the audience went at the end of our performance. Real talent was then given a platform to perform and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ has never sounded better. More class was to come, though, as Zarah and Helena were joined by our talented Shell, Eliana Covell, for an amazing classical piece that brought another trophy back to our cabinet. Continuing the music theme, our charity concert in November raised over £1,300 for the Louis Ross Foundation and the year-group songs formed one of our best ‘X-Factor’ contests ever. It was great to see the new Shells’ ‘Happier’, and the Lower Sixth’s take on ‘Dancing Queen’ will long be remembered! In the theatre, many senior parts fell into the hands of Lancastrians. Sammy Smith and Adam Phillips were the lead roles in Les Mis and both were outstanding, as was Max Lockyer in the leading ‘junior role’. The Incredibles, our House Drama offering, was a fun venture in which two or three talented impersonations came across. Probably the biggest sporting triumph was holding on to the senior boys’ hockey trophy; the nail-biting semi-final penalties will not be forgotten, where Luke Reid proved to be ‘The Wall’ in goal. Eliana Covell and Isabelle Dickinson were the first ever ‘all Lancaster’ rowing final in the Shells sculling and Archie Gardiner stormed to victory in the junior boys’ event. Such achievements are great, but it is the participation that really ticks our box and so for me, one of our finest moments was entering our very own ‘Lancaster Lacrosse’ team. Though all of the team can be pleased with their input and the spirit that we are forging, the winners of the three ‘G’ trophies this year were Zarah Warr, Mihhail Sorokin and Lucy Hancock. Thanks again to the prefects, and we wish Sam Downey and Charlotte Butt all the best as they take up the reins. Owen Parkin

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MARRIOTTS MARRIOTTS remains a close-knit community and it always impresses me how well the girls support each other. Under the watchful eye of the Upper Sixth – led superbly well by Alice Davies and Grace Leggett – our September newcomers were soon made to feel at home. In the breathtaking school musical, Les Misérables, Marriotts was well represented. Yvonne Chadwick’s mature and confident performance as Fantine was highly praised by the audience; her voice is beautiful. In House Music, the judge agreed with their housemistress that we were indeed the best and Marriotts were overall winners for the second year running. Add senior and junior hockey, House Debating, senior House Swimming and House Cross-country and it all made for a busy term. The choice of Riot Club for House Drama in the Easter Term was thought-provoking and brave, and the performance created a powerful impact. We won best overall performance but as importantly, house events like this, in which different ages work collaboratively, build very special bonds between year groups. In House Art, the brief was to design and build a papier mâché bust based on their housemistress and then to use the bust to create an artistic take on the portrait that they were given. Drama unfolded when a report came back to the house that the Byng bust had bust! However, we won the cup for house participation for the second year running. In sport, we won the senior badminton and lacrosse cups. We may need to buy a second trophy cabinet …. Exams dominate the Summer Term. The Fifth Form in particular should be commended; GCSEs really do have a drawn-out timetable, but the girls remained extremely calm and focused. In the House Regatta we took first in senior single sculls, junior double sculls and senior/junior coxed fours. This put us equal first with Salisbury, but as they had more second places, it was deemed that they had won the day. I was sad to say goodbye to my Upper Sixth. Large in number, huge in personality, the girls made a big impact on Marriotts from start to finish. They battled more than just the examiner, learned to recognise their own strengths (and at times tackle their weaknesses, too!) and, very importantly, learned a lot about what it means to work collectively. Cathy Byng

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MONTEACUTE THIS year has been memorable for lots of reasons. It is the first year I have had in house where all twelve of the Upper Sixth have been together since the Shell year. What a great bunch of boys they have been, and we wish them the best as they head off into the world. Our House Music and House Drama entries were exceptional this year. The play was written by members of the Upper Sixth, a murder mystery with a very familiar cast of Canford characters. The House Music went down a storm and won us two prizes: house contemporary and boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; house song. The planning for an assault on the top prize has already begun. The cultural side of house life was also completed with victory in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House Debating competition. We continue to have a tradition of participation and support in the house. There is always a large contingent of boys in gold t-shirts at every house event, and it is a strength of Monteacute. The house was led this year by Max Glowacki, who has been one of my very best heads of house. Like his peer group, he has been dedicated to maintaining the friendly and supportive feel between year groups and our success in school events this year has been down to the Upper Sixth setting the right example, with Max steering the ship in the right direction. I am grateful to all the boys. For the first time this year, a group of Shell boys set up a photography club in house and they have spent lots of early mornings photographing in the Park and have been active at house events. We are looking forward to having their resulting work around the house in September. Our junior boys have had a really successful sporting year, winning the hockey and football trophies. They enjoy the active side of life, from Pringle Trophy training to a wide range of sports. It is always great to see them outside in their free time when the weather is good. My thanks go to our fantastic team of staff. Great tutors and really dedicated matrons and domestic staff help to keep the place functioning smoothly and ensure that the boys are well looked after and are challenged by house and school life. Dylan Lloyd

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SALISBURY SALISBURY has had another successful and positive year. The red and black team has been led superbly by enthusiastic and energetic house leaders, Martha Baldwin and George Robson. We have enjoyed a variety of whole house events including the house picnic, the Christmas party, the inaugural Salisbury House charity concert and our summer party. The house concert was a huge success and every pupil across all year groups was involved. We raised over £1,000, which was split evenly between our house charities this year: the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation (supporting local young people, providing them with scholarships and bursaries to support their personal development and the pursuit of their ambitions); and Project Pearls (helping the poorest of poor children in the Philippines have a better life through education, empowerment, nutrition and healthcare services). We have also started some intra-house competitions between our four house teams (Salamanders, Squid, Scorpions and Snakes), where members of different year groups have enjoyed working together to compete in a variety of competitions, from tower building to photography to house bake-off! We have continued to perform well across the board including in house competitions while maintaining excellent academic standards. Our House Drama was run by Imogen Gallego, Francesca Hibbit and Rachel Ko and was a brilliant rendition of The Jungle Book. We won the House Regatta, the House Swimming and House Chess competitions and came second in junior House Football, Hockey and the boys’ team Canford Gallop. We were highly commended in House Art and also made it to the semi-finals in the junior girls’ netball and the senior girls’ hockey, finishing as the top day house in the hockey competition. During the Summer Term, the Lower Sixth started to take on more leadership roles and Martha and George have handed over to our new house leaders, Nathan Bulstrode and Francesca Hibbit. They will be supported by Joe Nalbantoglu, who is also head of school, and deputies Tom Dodd and Lexie Macduff. They have already been proactive in looking at how we can reduce plastic waste entering the environment and the whole house have been contributing to an Ecobrick. They are also looking to include some extra intra-house sporting competitions next year while maintaining the excellent initiatives of this year’s Upper Sixth. We have another exciting year to look forward to! Laura Linley-Adams

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SCHOOL HOUSE AS always, the main house came alive with the arrival of 63 teenage boys at the start of September. After the introductions and catch-ups, the focus soon turned to the House Music competition. Under the excellent leadership of the Upper Sixth, we were sure that this would finally be our year. Despite the angelic performances of two of our new Shells, Tom Clark and Ethan Bikhazi-Green, in the contemporary, and some truly striking and memorable dance moves in the unison, we once again came away empty-handed. However, a brilliant showing in the pool saw us crowned the senior swimming champions once again. Following our recent successes in this competition, the calls are growing for a rooftop pool to be built on top of the main house. Senior House Rugby was up next, and as defending champions, confidence was high. Whilst we may not have performed to our potential, School House retained the trophy. The House Cross-country competition gave the boys the opportunity to run in their fancy dress outfits, which they had worn at the house Christmas Dinner the night before. Whilst it made for a great spectacle, Jack Sherborne and Fergus Taylor were always likely to struggle, dressed as bananas. The Easter Term saw the boys battling in a whole range of competitions including debating, chess, badminton, drama, art, hockey and football. Despite some impressive performances, the boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; focus was understandably on their academics and thus the trophy cabinet remained as it was at the start of the term. The start of the Summer Term brought early success in junior House Squash and the House Regatta. A second place in House Athletics was also an excellent outcome. Throughout the year, the boys have been constantly reminded that they are never too big to do the little things, whether that be helping matron with jobs around house or cleaning up after themselves. We are big believers in School House that character is formed over time, by doing a lot of the little things well, again and again. Looking at the departing Upper Sixth, I think they fully bought into this, which is why they are departing us as men of character, having arrived as boys with promise. It has been another exceptional year, and we look forward to going again in 2019/20. Richard Jones

PASToRaL

WIMBORNE IT’S been another busy but enjoyable year in Wimborne. Firstly, we have achieved great success on the sporting front. For example, winning junior netball, junior girls’ hockey, senior football and numerous other sporting events, including the annual inter-house crosscountry. Although it isn’t all about winning – Wimborne has also participated in many other sporting activities throughout the year and Wimborne pupils, in and out of school, have had huge sporting success. It has been very exciting being part of such an active and energetic house this year. But it has not just been on the sports fields that we have got involved. In House Drama we achieved four Oscar nominations and one winner. Pupils across the house have been involved in both the senior musical and junior play, both on and off set, getting rave reviews along the way. Similarly, our talented house musicians have shone in concerts both in school and out, including at the charity house concert. And the dashing likeness of Mr Pearce, in the housemaster/ housemistress bust modelling competition, created by our house artists, gained Wimborne first place in the House Art competition. On top of all the various achievements in academic, sport and the arts, we have also been very busy as a house doing other co-curricular actives. For example, we participated in House Chess. Sadly, we didn’t win but we made some great moves – apparently! We have also helped out with a number of charity events, including working with the City Reach project and hosting our annual charity house concert, which showcases a broad range of talent with everything from dancing and singing to Monty Python and politics. We have taken part in numerous inter-house competitions, doing really well overall. We have also got involved with our own in-house competitions, including house photography and poetry. Most recently, in the Summer Term we launched the Wimborne ‘House Families’, helping us to get to know one another better. All in all, it has been a busy but successful year for Wimborne. Celia Leavesley (Shells)

PASToRaL

Chaplaincy

“Chapel is about more than the speakers and the message they bring; it is also about the community coming together to sing and to pray.”

‘REMEMBER who you are!’ So said Mufasa to an adolescent Simba in Disney’s The Lion King, encouraging him to live out his identity as the son of a king. On the eve of this year’s confirmation service, I shared the same words with the Sixth Form Bible Study in Merryvale, and then, coincidentally, the Bishop of Salisbury, Rt Rev. Nicholas Holtam, shared them in his address the next day. The idea is that in an age where there is much confusion about personal identity, Christians can remember that their identity as children of The King is something worth living out. In our Chapel services this year, the importance of this identity and the joy of living it out has featured heavily, as we have considered the Fruit of the Holy Spirit from Galatians 5, the content of the Lord’s Prayer, how to cope with exams, the story of Daniel in exile and Jesus’s last words in the Upper Room Discourse (amongst other topics). The variety of speakers that we have welcomed to chapel, Ichthyans and our Lent Addresses also bears testimony to the way that a Christian’s identity can be wonderfully diverse whilst sharing a common foundation. Guests have included former terrorist David Hamilton, world champion rower Debbie Flood, Aboriginal rock star Scott Darlow, city banker Clayton Gillespie, apologist Gareth Black and army officers Capt. Will Wells and Lt Col Charles Kirk (for our Remembrance Sunday services). However, perhaps the greatest expression of this common identity with diverse expression was when pupils volunteered to speak in

Chapel, with sixth-formers Matt Wilkinson, Kitty Arnold, Fruin Mackillop-Hall, Jordan Le Boutillier, Tessa Marley and Emily Witter all stepping up to the plate with great effect, bringing powerful messages in unique ways to their peers. However, Chapel is about more than the speakers and the message they bring; it is also about the community coming together to sing and to pray, and whilst many of the occasions are an ordinary part of the weekly diet of school life, there are special occasions that always stand out. Marking the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 100 years after the Armistice to end World War 1, was one such occasion. The Remembrance Sunday service times were altered this year so that the entire school community could be gathered around the Sunken Lawn to share in that powerful moment. As ever, services in Wimborne Minster will live long in the memory, with the carol service bearing testimony to the ongoing excellence of the choirs led by Mr Sparkhall, Mr Aiken and Mrs Salmon, and the leavers’ service providing a joyful celebration for this year’s leavers. I will particularly miss those who were regular attenders of the Sixth Form Bible Study group that somehow crammed themselves into our living room every Friday evening, so thank you to Aimee Hairon, Amelia Godel, Daisy Turner, George Vaughan, Grace Hewett, Harry Pickard, Bella Green, Jordan Le Boutillier, Kitty Arnold, Lucy Hobden, Tilda Hubble, Matt Wilkinson, Matt Ambrose-Hunt, Patrick Perry, Fizzie Boyle, Tallulah Judd and Wilf Raby for all that you have brought to each meeting, in terms of energy, enthusiasm and excellent questions as we have looked at the Bible each week. As already mentioned, the confirmation service was another highlight of the chaplaincy year, with the following pupils completing the classes in the Easter Term and then being confirmed on Saturday 4 May: Ed Loveridge, Freddie Porter, Freddie Pryce, Freya Coughlan, George Bolland, Izzy Pryce, Lizzy Balls, Luke ZamoyskiFreitag, Matt Ambrose-Hunt, Matt Wilkinson, Sam Ford and Tom Clark. It was a joyful occasion as these pupils celebrated together. Finally, my thanks go to Miss Rigby, who faithfully served as this year’s ‘gaplain’. She has been a brilliant help to me, quietly going about her business in supporting the chaplaincy work in many ways, and I wish her all the best as she moves back to Scotland for her PGCE. Rev. Philip Jack

Enrichment Academic Enrichment IT has been a busy and productive year on the enrichment front. The underlying purpose of academic enrichment at Canford is to stimulate, challenge and engage pupils beyond the classroom in a way that will help to develop a real love of learning that will stay with them for life. This begins in the classroom as soon as the pupils arrive in the Shells. The Shell Cross-Curricular Projects, now in their third year, have been designed to provide a bridge in learning between prep schools and life at Canford. Constructed around a series of key skills that we believe will be essential to success at Canford, the projects take a variety of forms and see departments collaborate to highlight and explore the links between their respective areas. Over the course of the year, the Shells participated in four distinct projects that ranged from exploring the art in The Odyssey, to building a robot for extreme environments, to designing a propaganda campaign, to evaluating what it means to be happy. Following the success of this first phase of projects, we look forward to introducing some new ideas and combinations in 2019-20. Over the course of last year, the Fourth Form Connections programme continued to deliver a wide range of thought-provoking lessons in the Friday afternoon slot. The Fifth Form embarked upon a new series of enrichment lessons, in which they were allowed to select six subject areas they wanted to explore in greater depth. They then participated in a series of two-weekly cycles over the course of the first two terms. These mini-extension courses permitted the exploration of ideas beyond the GCSE syllabus

and gave pupils a sense of what further study in that subject area might be like. In the Lower Sixth, the ‘Pi’ programme in the Easter Term provided a similar insight into what it might be like to study a particular subject at university level. The Sixth Form Connections programme once again saw a wide range of speakers on a variety of challenging themes. Among the highlights was a return of OC photographer Giles Duley, who gave an additional talk this year to our A Level artists, including a fascinating insight into original venues and concepts for viewing his work. Abi Austen talked about her most recent work with the UN in Afghanistan as a deputy ambassador, focusing on transgender issues and diversity in closed societies. Patrick Foster gave a hugely moving and hard-hitting talk about his experiences with gambling and the horrific impact of this on his own mental state and his relationships with others. It was excellent to see the return of OC Jeff Wilson to talk about his latest work making films for Netflix and David Attenborough, and also to introduce us to World Earth Day. Over the course of the year there is a wide range of opportunities for Canfordians of all ages to stretch their intellectual legs. More departments than ever are running internal competitions, including the Biology photography prize and the Philosophy and Theology Shell essay competition, won by Celia Leavesley, with Lara Ela Ulkeroglu second and Ethan Bikhazi-Green third. All members of the Lower Sixth research and submit an entry into the internal Baynham/CP Snow essay prize competition. The competition provides the Lower Sixth with an opportunity to explore an area of their choosing. This year Finn Baker won the Baynham prize (humanities) for his essay evaluating the shifting role of the British Prime Minister and Jessye Phillips won the C P Snow prize (sciences) for her essay examining the potential and desirability of humans living forever. Aside from the two winners, there were a number of thoughtful and exceptional essays and Martha Taylor, Emily Witter, Valentin Luzak, Emma Large, Olly Hutton, Poppy Keeping, Giacomo Perin, Jack Salmon and Tom Edsall were all singled out for high commendation amongst the 140 entries. These internal essay competitions serve as something of a dress rehearsal for the range of prestigious external essay competitions Canfordians choose to enter each year. This year was no exception and we saw a record number of Canfordians submit entries to external essay competitions run by a range of universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. All of this hard work paid dividends as three members of the Lower Sixth were highly commended in national and sometimes international essay competitions. Isabella Woodward was awarded third place in the Newnham College, Cambridge, Biology competition for her passionate argument that Professor Magdalena

“Over the course of the year there is a wide range of opportunities for Canfordians of all ages to stretch their intellectual legs.”

enrichment “Once again the energy and enthusiasm of all pupils involved ensured the event was an enlightening and inspiring experience.”

Zernicka-Goetz deserved a Nobel Prize for her seminal work on embryonic stem cells. Olly Hutton was highly commended for his entry into the Peter Cane Prize for Legal Reasoning run by Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Finally, Sophie Bearblock was also highly commended for her entry to the Financial Times World Today competition in which she had to outline what she would do if she were UN Secretary General for a day. The Extended Project Qualification or EPQ is a nationally recognised qualification that is worth half an A Level and is highly valued by universities because it helps pupils foster and develop skills essential to university study. The EPQ requires creativity, long-term planning and independent research. This year 29% of the EPQs completed by Canfordians were graded at A* and 67% were graded at either A* or A. These entries included a fascinating artefact project by Tom Alner in which he researched, designed and wrote a form of adaptive AI to successfully model differing strategies in a game of battleships. Lucy Prest, who is going on to study psychology at university, received an A* for her dissertation researching the validity of the Milgrim experiment as an explanation for the actions of ordinary citizens during the Holocaust. Finally, Luke Reid, who will study Engineering at university, also received an A* for his project which saw him successfully design and construct a working water tunnel to test the forces at work on different boat hull designs. We were lucky once again to have a range of exciting and engaging academic activities and clubs running throughout the course of the year. Between Heretics, Debating, Model United Nations, Global Forum, SMAC club, Biology, History and Physics book

clubs, language film nights, Maths, Biology and linguistics Olympiads, as well as History, Philosophy, Classics, and Design departmental dinners, pupils were spoilt for choice when it came to extending their learning beyond the classroom. Finally, this year two new initiatives were introduced for the academic scholars. The Tower Society for Shell academic scholars was moved to a lunchtime slot and the scholars were treated to a series of lectures on a wide variety of topics delivered by Canford staff. Topics included conspiracy theories, wildlife conservation, feminism, game theory, Fermi problems, amongst many others. The Sixth Form took the lead with the Fourth Form academic scholars, delivering a series of TED Talkstyle lectures and discussions on topics ranging from time travel, through the feasibility of lab-grown meat, to celebrating the role of female rulers in history. Next year we will be introducing new programmes for the Fifth Form and Lower Sixth that will build on our links with local areas of interest and partner state schools. As the Summer Term drew to a close, we welcomed a number of schools to our second annual Enrichment Partnership Conference. Pupils from three state schools (the Bourne Academy, Purbeck School, and the Ark Globe Academy in London), together with two private schools (Canford and Queen Anne’s, Caversham), came together to learn about the science of learning and the future of the workplace. Once again the energy and enthusiasm of all pupils involved ensured the event was an enlightening and inspiring experience. It has been a fun-filled and action-packed year of academic enrichment and we look forward to more of the same in the next twelve months. Tom Marriott, Head of Academic Enrichment

SEVEN years ago, John Lever invited me back from my job as Head of English at Harrow School to teach in Canford’s outstanding and uniquely friendly English Department and to do all I could to inspire pupils and staff to engage with culture. I interpreted that word in as broad a way as I could and have tried to do as much as I can in and beyond the classroom to encourage Canfordians to consider the ways in which they are inevitably connected through many cultures, partly inherited, partly chosen, often dormant. Everything I have tried to achieve as a teacher has behind it three remarkable people, one a close friend and mentor, the other two great English poets. Jonathan Smith, author of one of the best books about teaching, The Learning Game, and for many years Head of English at Tonbridge School, made me realise how the English Department can be the beating heart of the school, inspiring pupils to read, write, laugh, imagine, connect and create, making the classroom a place that is both a haven and a thoroughfare leading into a bigger, wider world. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the great Devonian poet and critic, was in a sense the father of our subject, the creator and champion of the idea of the Imagination as a principal human faculty, who believed profoundly in the interconnectedness of all things. Coleridge’s famous albatross, wantonly destroyed by his ancient mariner, our flawed representative, and now one of a species threatened by our mindless exploitation of the natural world, has come to be a guiding spirit for me, as it wanders the world’s oceans, a spirit of beauty and otherness, a symbol of instinctive aspiration. (It also featured in my disguise as the ancient mariner for a recent World Book Day.) The poet, Edward Thomas, was in some ways the opposite of Coleridge, but a poet who could

ENRICHMENT

Cultural Enrichment

use language in a quiet, human, conversational tone, acknowledging the slipperiness of words, the dangers behind grand gong-banging concepts and slogans. He is the great poet of doubt and uncertainty, but like Coleridge a celebrator of friendship, our connection to each other and to the natural world. This last year has been one of my happiest in teaching. I know from experience that the connection of the teacher with the class which allows learning to thrive is sometimes fiendishly difficult to create and sustain. We can all make mistakes; we can’t expect all pupils to buy into our subjects and some will resist. But there comes that extraordinary moment in teaching when the boat catches the wind and the whole class is on a voyage of discovery, just like this moment in ‘The Ancient Mariner’: ‘The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free, We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea.’ This year I have felt at ease with my classes, voyaging through some minor storms but often breaking into the open seas of calm learning. I love the element of uncertainty and discovery that is at the heart of teaching and now all that is left behind for a new adventure, as my wife and I set off for a term in the Sagar School, Rajasthan. This last year has also brought some memorable times in the events that have to come to form the core of the ‘cultural enrichment’ programme: the Festival of Ideas, the Fifth Form Post-GCSE Cultural Cornucopia, the Yellow Hour, Junior and Senior Heretics, the latter always so skilfully directed by Caroline Barrett. The Festival of Ideas is now in its seventh year and I have tried each October to find a theme that picks up on something that seems to be in the air. This time the title was ‘What is Work?’ Until quite recently, the future for pupils at a school like Canford was in most cases quite clearly delineated: you might head into professions like the law, banking, medicine, the civil service, accountancy, teaching or the church. There were mavericks – think of three notable Old

“There comes that extraordinary moment in teaching when the boat catches the wind and the whole class is on a voyage of discovery.”

enrichment “Things are now changing rapidly and no one seems quite certain what the world of work holds in store.”

Canfordians, Derek Jarman, Alan Hollinghurst and Giles Duley – but most people knew more or less where they were going. Things are now changing rapidly and no one seems quite certain what the world of work holds in store. How many jobs will be destroyed by Artificial Intelligence? Will most of us do multiple jobs in our lifetime? Will the concept of a comfortable retirement with a generous pension cease to be viable? Will the need to tackle climate change radically alter the way we work? The speakers at the festival tackled all those questions in a mind-boggling variety of ways. The most remarkable of all the guests for me was Jamie Bartlett in ‘The People v Tech’. Quick-thinking, slightly impish, cool and casually dressed, this man reached out to the whole audience, rewarding the best questioners with copies of his books, The People v Tech and Radicals. He echoed the message, so strongly stated by the likes of Peter Thomson (OC) and Sir Anthony Seldon, that we have to adapt radically to the challenges of the technical world, but he added an optimistic sense of the importance of imaginative and philosophical thinking: machines can only be moral beings insofar as we oversee their decision-making. The message of personal autonomy and independent thinking was powerfully reinforced by Ed Smith, England cricket’s lead selector, with a Cambridge double first in History, and Canford parent Peter Taylor, who spoke lucidly and in highly practical terms about the forces that motivate us to work: ambition, family, fun, friendship. The festival was concluded with a remarkable representative of an older world whose philanthropic values still drive this explorer’s life and work: the founder of Operation Raleigh, John Blashford-Snell. The year ended with the post-GCSE Fifth Form Cultural Cornucopia. The students were divided into eight groups, each with a different theme, who explored

exhibitions and sites in London and around Canford. They were challenged to make presentations which captured the essence of what they had learnt and experienced. Amongst the highlights were the manga exhibition at the British Museum, ‘Sorolla, Master of Light’ at the National Gallery, Van Gogh at Tate Britain, a tour of the Houses of Parliament, the Get Up and Stand Up exhibition at Somerset House, the Steve Etches Fossil Collection at Kimmeridge, a workshop at the Hauser and Worth Gallery at Bruton, the Stanley Kubrick exhibition at the Design Museum and much more. In my last week at Canford I found myself leading one of these groups to the small and delightful Gilbert White Museum at Selborne, where we were shown the collection of living moths that a local naturalist, inheritor of the wonderful tradition established by the founding father, Gilbert White, had gathered the previous humid night; he had identified more than seventy species. This is also Edward Thomas country. The poet’s memorial stone is set three-quarters of the way up Shoulder of Mutton Hill above Steep and Bedales School. We parked the minibus at the end of a nondescript lane and walked south over the flat, wooded plateau. The pupils and Caroline Barrett were beginning to question the accuracy of my map-reading until suddenly we came to the end of the wood and seemed to stand on the edge of the world, where the scarp slope slipped away vertiginously, and a mindarresting sweep of the South Downs opened up in front of us like a miracle. John James, Head of Cultural Enrichment

the arts - ART

ON reflection, the past academic year seems like an ethereal figure in the distance, familiar but hazy, menacing perhaps, but waning. In hindsight I tend toward warm reflection, having forgotten the moments of anxiety, panic, frustration and exasperation that I know existed. In no par ticular order there were times this year when I felt intense pride and satisfaction, and others when I wished I was at home in a dark room. The task of summarising the events, memorable moments and experiences that transpired is a struggle, given the summer months that have happened in between. I will adopt the attitude of Ger trude Stein who said, ‘I write for myself and strangers. The strangers, dear readers, are an after thought.’ The Ar t School is a positive environment for creative work and we are proud of that. There is space to be experimental, to make mistakes, to share, to be suppor tive and to excel. The Gallery is central to the Ar t School not only in location but also as a vehicle for sharing ideas. It is a time-consuming process to curate a show. Behind each event is a lot of discussion and hard work, considering how the work will be ‘read’ and experienced. To begin at the end, our Pre-U exhibition was a culmination of all of those successes and failures with materials and ideas that preceded a professional final collection of work that was visually interesting and represented the individual voices. A range of disciplines was represented, including fashion, fine ar t, painting, film and textiles. The variety of responses to the initial theme of ‘Track’ reflected the character and interests of each ar tist. Loveday

Pride gained a D1 grade, which is the highest possible award and reflected a sophisticated and mature body of work. It is indicative of a thorough investigation, high-quality making and a high level of creative intelligence. Sound worked alongside photography and paper sculpture to challenge and engage the viewer, presenting the idea of ‘Trophies’ in ar t and their place in contemporary society. This concept formed her presentation at this year’s ARTiculation competition, reaching the semi-final at Roche Cour t. It was an intimidating platform to present a personal idea, and was built around analysis of the Arnolfini por trait by Jan Van Eyck and discussion of ar tworks that use the concept to make comment about contemporary trends and attitudes. Within the cohor t there were a number of pupils who have chosen to continue their studies at degree

“There is space to be experimental, to make mistakes, to share, to be supportive and to excel.”

the arts - ART “It was, frankly, nerve-wracking waiting for submissions and not knowing whether there would be enough for a whole show.”

level and on foundation Ar t and Design courses including Loveday, Barnaby Peddie, Isabel Southgate, Fizzie Boyle, Amelia Godel and Tallulah Judd, all of whom excelled in the production of beautiful work. Isabel integrated her skills gained from A Level Design Technology and generated a collection of fast food inspired jewellery, while Barnaby produced strong painting and print in response to the coastal areas of Cornwall and Sussex, places that he loves. Amelia challenged the viewer with photography inspired by religion: re-presented to reflect contemporary attitudes and make us ask questions about what we accept as right and wrong. I believe this individuality is par t of the appeal of Pre-U and if you were lucky enough to see the show this year, I know you will agree. It is a turning point for a lot of pupils and a pleasure to be par t of that journey. The Open Exhibition was a chance for those pupils and staff who produce creative work to share it with the whole community. It was, frankly, nerve-wracking waiting for submissions and not knowing whether there would be enough for a whole show but, in true Canford style, the walls were covered with paintings, photography, craft, textiles, fashion and film. Accomplished ar twork from every area of the school arrived from the teachers, suppor t staff and pupils. Who knew there was such talent? Making work is obviously impor tant but equally, sharing those ideas beyond the school setting is vital, whether that be attending a workshop, seminar or lecture, or inviting others to view the work we have made. In collaboration with Wimborne Minster, a selection of work from GCSE and Pre-U was installed in the Minster to coincide with the Armistice Day centenary commemorations in November. Large-scale textile paintings and mixed media accompanied a selection of evocative personal objects belonging to a relative of George Hosking.

The central element of the collection was a hanging sculpture situated in the crypt, made from 150 waxed envelopes which symbolised the telegrams sent to relatives during the First World War. The fragile and insubstantial nature of the folded paper belied the impact and devastation caused by the news contained within the innocuous telegram. In the crypt the light danced around the ‘floating’ flock of telegrams as they hung in the air. Visitors were able to connect the objects with the stories of those who were left behind and appreciate the value of ‘Peace’. To showcase the depth of idea development and planning that suppor ts all of our Ar t and Design courses, we also exhibited a vast collection of sketchbook work from all year groups. In an attempt to share the work that goes into the production of our ar twork, the walls of the gallery were literally covered in ideas, plans, experiments, sketches and photographs, all harvested from the pupil sketchbooks. It displayed the level of working out and investigation involved: a visual feast! House Ar t this year benefited from strong teamwork, creative problem-solving and skills with 3D model making. We challenged the pupils to create a papier-mâché life-size bust of their housemaster or housemistress, reflecting their characteristics and personality. Each house were given an image of a famous por trait and asked to produce a photograph or collage in that style, using the papier-mâché model. Our judges, Mr John James and Ms Caroline Barrett, spent considerable time deliberating. They felt special mention should go to Salisbury for a very clever use of the points of interest displayed in the painting, ‘American Gothic’ by Grant Wood. Elements of costume, and composition using the background

the arts - ART “The walls of the gallery were literally covered in ideas, plans, experiments, sketches and photographs, all harvested from the pupil sketchbooks.” buildings, echoed the painting with a subtle sophistication. Monteacute produced a brilliant model of Mr Lloyd with a beard and hummingbird made from small twigs. The 3D surround was manipulated to reflect the light and colour of the painting’s background, and the outcome showed real thought. However, the overall winners were Wimborne. The papier-mâché Mr Pearce was beautifully crafted, and the Henri Rousseau painting clearly influenced the image, including many aspects of Mr Pearce’s life and interests. It was a piece of work that reflects an understanding of the person as well as practical ability.

Marriotts won the cup for house par ticipation for the second year in a row. The par ticipation from the house integrated many skills and effor t from different year groups. Papier-mâché Mrs Byng was a truly arresting sculpture and the accompanying image showed real attention to detail and understanding of visual language. As a subject, Ar t and Design changes constantly and it is so impor tant for pupils to have an awareness of the work of others: the concepts, themes, trends and wider connections to the things that matter to communities. At school it can sometimes be difficult to maintain a currency and connection with the

the arts - ART “Our visiting artists are integral to enhancing this aspect of our work and, alongside educational visits, bring a richness and variety to the ideas we cultivate.”

world outside. Our visiting ar tists are integral to enhancing this aspect of our work and, alongside educational visits, bring a richness and variety to the ideas we cultivate. We have been able to visit the V&A Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum in London, the Russell 0Cotes Museum in Bournemouth, and to attend the Dorset Ar ts Society annual lecture at the Ar ts University Bournemouth. Life-drawing sessions were, once again, taught by ar tist Tim Holleyman. We had the pleasure of hosting a talk by Nick Rawling from Paper Cinema, also working with illustrator Hrefna Bragadottir and photographer Michael Alberry, who ran weekend workshops in character design and por trait photography. International photographer Giles Duley joined the Upper Sixth in the studio for an honest talk about his work and motivations. It was one of the most amazing oppor tunities and, once we had got over being star-struck, arguably one of the most interesting discussions. As a team we have tried hard to present

oppor tunities for all of the pupils who use the Ar t School to learn new things, be inspired and build confidence. We are keen to make strong connections with areas outside Ar t and Design and to encourage pupils to produce work that makes people think and gets people talking. We are proud of the high levels of achievement, with regard both to exam results and to those personal realisations that happen along the way. One of my Shell groups worked together to make a textile banner featuring the words of Henri Matisse, ‘Creativity Takes Courage’. We are providing an environment where pupils are challenged and encouraged to take risks and make connections, to understand that, even in small ways, curiosity and creativity can change the world. At the star t of a new year I sit in the cour tyard on a weathered old chair, basking in the last moments of summer sun, and admire the physical changes that have happened over the summer. I wonder where this year will take us? Nicola Will, Head of Art

the arts - DRAMA

2019 marked twenty years since the opening of the Layard Theatre and provided an opportunity to reflect upon and celebrate the work that this fabulous resource enables and inspires. One rainy May afternoon it was a privilege to welcome back many who have influenced and informed this building, and by extension the Drama Department at Canford – most notably Robin Whicker and Stephen Hattersley, who worked so tirelessly first to have the theatre built and then to fill it with life. Standing amongst the collected photographs, props, costumes, films, posters, designs and assorted paraphernalia that only a theatre props cupboard can bring together (from intricate replicas of the statue of Eros, to gigantic boxes of Harriman’s Herbal Tea, to a limp chicken with its head severed), I was aware of the recurrent, at times relentless, cycle of events that unfolds here term after term. Two decades have seen a huge variety of performances, styles and approaches take to the stage, but the anecdotes shared about the rehearsals, moments and lasting memories were similarly fond, funny and formative. Each show follows a similar journey: from the excitement of the audition process and its inevitable disappointments, to those first tentative attempts at blocking, through to the stand-out, breakthrough ‘We’ve got it!’ moments and the contrasting, frustrating exhaustion of repetition. Putting on a show involves a significant, and at times consuming, investment. After a term of grit and application, new reserves are found during the week of the show, when the energy to persevere and to overcome flows with renewed vigour. The cast have become a collective, familial in their bond as they work together, aiming for that elusive ‘perfect’ show as the first night draws nearer. During show week it is to be expected that the theatre will be full to the brim with drama, but that drama is rarely just confined to the stage. Each show week comes with its own set of challenges and

surprises along the way. During those final moments on stage, the shared goal creates an intimacy that I know from personal experience leads to lifelong friendships. It is a testament to the resolve of our generous students that dramas that happen offstage remain there, and that the audience are rarely aware of the near-misses, self-doubts and many, many other commitments! As for this nervous, informed and over-familiar director, sitting in the audience and letting it all just happen is the most excruciating part of the process. I might actually be getting worse at it rather than better, as experience leads me to anticipate each sticky moment or clanger that might present while I squirm restlessly in my seat. That said, by the time that final bow has been taken, my admiration for my cast, crew and colleagues is consistently appreciative as they inspire true pride and I look forward to starting things all over again, the memory of those challenges already dimming and distant. This repetition has been happening in the theatre since long before I was swept along in its tides, and I hope will continue well beyond my capacity to keep up. As we enter our 21st year, I hope to continue to be witness to moments that are beautiful, powerful, provocative, innovative and perceptive, like those that the retrospective display clearly showed have been unfolding here since the theatre’s conception. Laura Blake, Head of Drama

“During those final moments on stage, the shared goal creates an intimacy that I know from personal experience leads to lifelong friendships.”

the arts - drama

Les Misérables

“If there were any dry eyes in the house at the end of her ‘On my own’, they weren’t in our row.”

LES MISÉRABLES is the Marmite of modern musicals. Some of us love the powerfully emotional music, while others run a mile from the almost unrelieved doom and gloom that makes the title so appropriate. Happily, I like the show as much as I like the well-known yeast extract, and it was a privilege to watch this superb production of it. The version used was the school edition, but it is really not very different from the full version, so, for the first time in the Layard Theatre’s twenty-year history, I’d guess, the ensemble roles listed in the programme included ‘prostitutes, pimps, drinkers’. The ensemble is a good place to start. They were clearly immersed in the story and in their contribution to it. The boys got the lion’s share of the ensemble exposure – manning barricades in 1830 was man’s work – and made a very good job of it, but the girls were brought on whenever possible and had a lot to do with the success of the production. The set on which they had to work was a Kevin Wilkins/Colin Hoare/Jonathon Ledger special – in other words, magnificent. There were chunky changes of level on each side of the stage, leading down from a bridge or balcony. It was very flexible, allowing the action to take place on one of the levels, on the top part of the set, immediately below it or at the front of the stage. In act 2, the whole thing revolved for the barricade scene. Kevin, with Oliver Baldwin, was also credited with the lighting design, which was crucial to create the atmosphere of this show. The story centres on ex-convict Jean Valjean, and Sammy Smith gave an outstanding interpretation of the role. Bringing out both the strength and the pathos of the character, he showed himself an extremely talented actor, with the precious gift of listening intelligently to other

actors’ lines. He also has a fine high tenor voice, never better shown than in ‘Bring him home’. As his sworn enemy, Javert, Adam Phillips commanded the stage with great authority both of physique and of voice. There are some meaty roles for women in Les Misérables, none more so than Fantine. Yasmin Chadwick acted it beautifully, with a voice to match, heard at its best in ‘I dreamed a dream’. Her death-bed scene can be mawkish, but Yasmin had this audience in the palm of her hand, silent in rapt attention. Eponine is by far the nicest character in the whole show, and it was impossible not to warm to Matilda Hubble in the role. She has a wonderfully pure voice, and if there were any dry eyes in the house at the end of her ‘On my own’, they weren’t in our row. Cosette always seems to me slightly drippy, but Amanda Cross Court made the most of the role with a combination of elegance and passion. Imy Woodcock was a very sweet young Cosette and sang ‘Castle on a cloud’ delightfully. Callum Bruce achieved the clever trick of making Thenardier, the rascally innkeeper, both thoroughly dislikeable and very funny – he has real comic talent. As Mme Thenardier, Imogen Gallego showed that invaluable but indefinable quality known as stage presence: in any

Cast

Jean Valjean Javert, a policeman The Bishop of Digne Fantine The Foreman Bamatabois Little Cosette, Fantine’s daughter Thenardier, an innkeeper Mme Thenardier, the innkeeper’s wife Young Eponine, the Thenardiers’ daughter Gavroche, an urchin Eponine, grown up Cosette, grown up Enjolras, student Marius, student

Sammy Smith Adam Phillips Courland Pepin Yasmin Chadwick Freddie Hamilton Toby Skinner Imy Woodcock Callum Bruce Imogen Gallego Millie Heyman Max Lockyer Matilda Hubble Amanda Cross Court Josh Fulford Charlie Anstee

The Chain Gang, Wardens, Constables, the Poor, Factory Workers, Sailors, Prostitutes, Pimps, Drinkers, Thenardier’s Gang, Students and Wedding Guests: Zac Arnold, Emma Ashurst, Esther Browning, Leo Burnet, Ethan Bikhazi-Green, Ellen Campbell, Serena Chamberlain, Charlie Cooke-Priest, Emily Cooper, Eliana Covell, Emma Dalton, Alice Davis, Nuala Dyball, George Farthing, Amelia Godel, Aimee Hairon, Amber Herrington, Sophie Hussey, Emma Jeffries, Tallulah Judd, Georgina Kearns, Emma Large, Lucie Marns, Ellie Martin, Piers Middleton, Alice Milton, Flora Peddie, Elliot Phillips, Anna Preston, Loveday Pride, Tiancheng Qian, Milly Reese, Sophia Russell, Joanna Salmon, Felix Spencer, Amy Van Wingerden, Joanna Way, Izzy Woodward, Grace Woolaway

Musicians

Violin: Rachel Ko, Tessa Marley, Matthew Butterfield, William Timberlake, Rupert Hutton, Amelie Kearns Viola: Katy Jack, Fiona McKinley Cello: Benjamin Evans

the arts - drama

scene in which she appeared, it was hard to take one’s eyes off her. Max Lockyer was suitably urchin-like as Gavroche, whose song, ‘Little people’ is the jolliest in the show – so no prizes for guessing what happens to him. There was a notable cameo early in the piece by Courland Pepin as a genial bishop, while in act 2, Josh Fulford conveyed well the burning commitment of student leader Enjolras. It is also in act 2 that Marius, who falls in love with Cosette, comes into his own. Charlie Anstee played the part with great charm, slightly tentative at first, but having to grow up fast when he found himself the only survivor of his group of friends: his ‘Empty chairs at empty tables’ was another vocal highlight. I seem to have written a lot about the singing, and with good reason; each of the principals had at least one big solo, and there was not a weak link among them. More than that, some of the recitative is quite difficult in pitch and timing, but I was not aware of one foot put wrong. Much of the credit for this must go to musical director Ruth Partington, who also conducted the very accomplished orchestra. The positioning of that orchestra, unbaffled, between the audience and the stage meant that occasionally, some of the words got lost. However, that is a very minor beef about a production which reflects enormous credit on all concerned, not least director Claire Camble-Hutchins. It is clear that no detail was too small to escape her attention, that her cast worked willingly for her and, most importantly, that she showed them what fun and satisfaction can be got from appearing in a production as good as this one. John Newth

Double bass: Sam Hopkins (OC) Flute: Zarah Warr Oboe: Madeleine Lyles Clarinet: Louisa Matthews Trumpet: Neil Doherty Horn: James Aiken Trombone: Finlay Boardman Percussion: Om Ramchandani, Patrick Perry Keyboards: Christopher Sparkhall, Katie Salmon

Crew

Stage Manager Deputy Stage Manager Assistant Stage Managers Sound Operator Assistant Sound Operator Lighting Operator Follow Spot 1 Follow Spot 2 Painting team

Production team

Director Musical Director Construction Design & Realisation Costumes Choreographer Lighting Design Scenic Design

Robert Way Felix Spowers Tia Yang, Nat Merrell, Celia Leavesley, Ollie Glen Noah Jonas George Peacock Oliver Baldwin Archie Gardiner Jackson Kennett Mia Ashby-Rudd, Leo Burnet, Millie Heyman, Elliott Phillips, Robert Way, Imy Woodcock, Tia Yang

Claire Camble-Hutchins Ruth Partington Kevin Wilkins, Colin Hoare and Jonathon Ledger Claire Camble-Hutchins Claire Camble-Hutchins Kevin Wilkins and Oliver Baldwin Kevin Wilkins

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Ear thquakes in London

“The production was an excellent example of both strong ensemble work and subtle individual character development.”

IN the light of the demonstrations from environmental activists going on in the capital at the time, the choice of Earthquakes in London as the senior production this year proved particularly apt, if a brave and provocative choice. Jointly directed by Laura Blake and John James and written nearly a decade ago, the play seeks to draw the audience’s attention to the realities of climate change and the potential catastrophe associated with it in the face of complacency, apathy and ignorance. It is a play about loss and pain and the longevity of the human race, unsettling you with its uncomfortable truths expressed through naturalistic dialogue and, in parts, a crude vernacular. Director Laura Blake describes the play in her director’s notes as a ‘snapshot of the complexities of living’. The word ‘complexity’ not only applies to the content of the play but also to the staging, which proved a challenge from the start. The stage was divided into different compartments and multi-levels to accommodate a series of fast-paced duologues between different sets of characters in varying locations and time periods. A key feature of the set was the moving billboard across the back of the stage which showcased amongst other things posters, geological vocabulary associated with earthquakes, a mosaic mind map and TV clips, providing a moving accompaniment to the action and subject of conversations on stage. The play ranges backwards and forwards in time as well as homing in on societal issues in 2010 – the present-day context of production. Music was powerfully paired with the backdrop to convey the various time settings: 1969, 1973 (a nostalgic trip down

memory lane for some in the audience!), 1991– using clips from old TV programmes – and the future 2525 with scenes of apocalypse and disaster and the Rick Evans classic ‘In the Year 2525’. You might feel that this could result in a crowded and confusing experience for an audience, but the cast handled it well, timing the entrances and exits of individuals alongside the set scenes involving multiple participants, under the expert eye of choreographer Claire Camble-Hutchins. Particularly memorable was the

the arts - drama scene with the bathing mothers of Hampstead Heath, who made an entrance clad in lycra from head to foot, sporting bathing caps and nose pincers, with their graceful re-creation of recognisable swimming actions while weaving in and out of each other. Another such was the depiction of the circus, which appeared swiftly out of nowhere with its trapeze artists and jugglers before disappearing as quickly, lifting the mood after a particularly intense exchange between a character agitating for direct action and a group who claimed to be too busy to get engaged with the issue of the future of the planet. The production was an excellent example of both strong ensemble work and subtle individual character development. Notable alongside many in the cast was Charles Cooke-Priest as both an awkward wooer and fatalistic scientist. Two mother figures in the play were also significant: the first associated with dread played with maturity by Grace Woolaway and the second a more central role of the suicidal figure of Freya, played with assurance and skill by Emma Large. Some of the most humorous scenes were between Toby Skinner as an apathetic youth and his would-be girlfriend, Jasmine, a rebellious teen: a completely convincing performance executed with confidence by Serena Chamberlain. Imogen Gallego as brusque and dismissive bureaucrat Sarah was an interesting counterpoint, together with Freddie Hamilton’s character, Steve, depicting a more optimistic attitude. He delivered a moving performance, sustaining his mature persona effectively throughout and conveying a range of emotional responses. The choice of title for the play was gradually made clear as the piece progressed, both in ecological and personal terms. ‘We are simply earthquakes ourselves – wonderful irregularities’. Bartlett’s line here resonates both with the audience and each of the characters and where they end up by the end of the play. The audience are left feeling the repercussive tremors of what is a thought-provoking drama: ‘The world as it is is a disgrace. The world as it will be is unbearable.’ Sarah Holland

Cast Robert Grace Sarah Freya Jasmine Colin Steve Tom Peter Emily Carter Simon Mrs Andrews Dr Tim Businessman Casey Liberty

Charles Cooke-Priest Grace Woolaway Imogen Gallego Emma Large Serena Chamberlain Toby Skinner Frederick Hamilton Thomas Ralls George Farthing Jessye Phillips Nuala Dyball Michael Bryan Emma Dalton Samuel Downey Felix Spencer Yasmin Chadwick Sidney Beckles

Production team Directors Laura Blake and John James Choreography Claire Camble-Hutchins Scenic Design Concepts Upper Sixth A level Drama Scenic Realisation Kevin Wilkins Construction Design and Realisation Kevin Wilkins, Colin Hoare, Jonathon Ledger AV Design and Realisation Kevin Wilkins Acknowledgements Chris Blake, Rev. Phil Jack, Jonathan Martin, Pamela Perry, Wendy Tobin

Crew Stage Manager Tia Yang Assistant Stage Manager and Follow Spot Matthew Shuttleworth Assistant Stage Manager Elliot Phillips Lighting Design and Operator Callum Bruce Sound Operator Jake Jeffries

the arts - drama

Love and Information “This was a production that understood well how a true coup de théâtre is achieved through contrast and reversal, and rendered the moment with pitch-perfect intensity.”

AS I entered the Layard and stepped round Becky Morris who, like the rest of the cast, was staring intently at the screen of her phone in the semi-gloom of the auditorium, I had a feeling that this term’s junior production of Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information was going to be an unsettling and alienating experience. And so it was: while the figures on stage in front of us stood in their bubbles of isolation, their attention focused on a virtual world that we in the audience could only guess about, behind them a media wall, built of television screens, showed the individual faces to highlight their obsession with their online image. Behind this, the rest of the company sat facing the audience, their eerie presence building an on-stage world where everything is visible and everyone is subject to scrutiny. Churchill’s play depicts a world where our everincreasing reliance on technology is threatening the integrity of our emotions and eroding the power of our senses, and the fragmented structure, formed of short

vignettes and snippets of conversation, was enhanced by Helen Craig’s pacy and imaginative direction, which at one particularly memorable point had those on stage swiping in unison a series of emojis which appeared – and disappeared – on the screens behind them. Kevin Wilkins’s haunting design flair again did what the Layard does so well: integrating the discipline and expressiveness of Canford’s young actors with a powerfully emotive design concept to create a uniquely intense theatrical experience. Ironically, given the loneliness which the play is exploring, what helped to make sense of this bombardment of images and potentially puzzling array of stilted conversations was the ensemble work. Although there were many memorable individual performances – Oscar Rees as the savant, for example, and Millie Todd as one of the Google search fact-finders – it was the moments of subtle connection that stood out and offered a degree of hope. Emma Jeffries, in a sensitive and convincing portrayal of a patient in the early stages of dementia, eschewed the scientific approach to retrieving memory through a series of learned patterns and logical steps in favour of re-connecting with her past and present relationships through feelings – in this case those visceral responses reawakened by music. The scene at the piano with Lucy Hancock and India Herrington was poignant and touching. Likewise, the conversation between the inquiring and incredulous Orlagh O’Donnell and Esther Browning, who played a character who couldn’t feel pain, was subtly wrought: a sobering reminder of Keats’s notion (and that of many before him) that it is a necessary part of the human condition to experience the depths of pain if we are also to understand fully the exhilaration of joy. But despite, or perhaps because of, the bleakness evoked by the succession of scenes that dealt with alienation, a weakening grasp of reality and the misinterpretation of truth, the final scene in which Josh

the arts - drama

Fulford and Lucie Marns so brilliantly played students intent on revision – admittedly the memorising of bald facts, but taken from a book and with no phone in sight – was very moving. This was a production that understood well how a true coup de théâtre is achieved through contrast and reversal, and rendered the moment with pitch-perfect intensity. The dry facts of the science text were beautifully juxtaposed with moments of emotional poignancy, as the characters revealed, alongside a detailed knowledge of the sea anemone, their love for one another. It was a scene which lent a welcome note of hope and order to a play coloured by a sense of disconnection and brought the whole production into a wonderful and satisfying focus. Like the best art, this play was a thrilling emotional and intellectual journey – a magnificent achievement in the space of a mere hour. Kathryn Watts

Cast Buzz Borneman Louisa Borneman Esther Browning Leo Burnett Eliana Covell Amanda CrossCourt Josh Fulford Seb Gallego Beau Gater Ollie Glen Lucy Hancock Alice Hazell

Alice Herbert Amber Herrington India Herrington Tommy Jack Emma Jeffries Hattie Kent Tiva Kent Alex Landale Max Lockyer Lucie Marns Becky Morris Hanna Neill Orlagh O’Donnell

William Oliver Elliot Phillips Sky Pilkington Oscar Rees Sophia Russell Hamish Ryan Joanna Salmon Joe South Millie Todd Joanna Way Lara Wilkinson Imy Woodcock Freddie Young

Production Team

Director Helen Craig Assistant Director Grace Woolaway Set and Projection Design Kevin Wilkins Set Construction and Design Colin Hoare, Jonathon Ledger and Kevin Wilkins Lighting Design Callum Bruce Lighting Operators Callum Bruce and Ollie Baldwin Sound Operator and Stage Manager Celia Leavesley Follow Spot Operators Matthew Shuttleworth, Thomas Norman Additional Support Laura Blake, Claire Camble-Hutchins With special thanks to Charlie Cooke-Priest and the Layard Theatre staff

the arts - MUSIC

“It is pleasing to report that, whilst Canford is not immune to some of the pressures on music education, the academic subject here continues to flourish.”

THERE is much being written in the national press about the demise of music education in the UK. Falling numbers taking GCSE and A Level are causing a subject that was always rather specialist almost to need a David Attenborough documentary, so endangered is it becoming. However, it is pleasing to report that, whilst Canford is not immune to some of the pressures on music education, the academic subject here continues to flourish. Numbers taking A Level Music at Canford run at about double the national average per school, and that we are able regularly to send a good proportion of those on to further musical study is reassuring. Ellen Harvey-Hills, Grace Hewett and Barnaby Peddie will all go on to read Music at university this year. In a subject where just 400 pupils in the country achieved an A or A* grade in Edexcel A Level Music, it is great that three of our five candidates this year achieved that level. In a system that in effect rations grades, and in competition with musicians at specialist music or highly selective academic schools, Canford pupils are holding their own. At GCSE, despite the inevitable competition for pupils with a myriad of other optional subjects, numbers also remain healthy and, despite a 20% national decline in recent years, our uptake has remained steady. The proportion of Canfordians gaining a level 8 or 9 in Music this year was 81%, which is a tribute to the pupils’ work and to the strength of the department. Much the bigger part of the department’s work, though, is in the co-curricular music-making. The last academic year has been as busy as ever. The Chapel Choir has performed at numerous chapel services during the year, as well as at the carol service in Wimborne Minster. In the words of one colleague, who has heard at least twenty Canford carol services, the choir was on particularly excellent form. The Chamber Choir’s ‘O Magnum Mysterium’ (Laurisden) was much

admired as an evocative opening to the service. The major choral performance of the year was in the St John’s Smith Square concert, where Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’ was performed with real vitality and solos entirely taken by pupils. In the context of choir, special mention must be made of the departing Upper Sixth, all of whom have developed exceptional voices, and most of whom had not done any significant serious choral singing before Canford. The Orchestra, under the demandingly charismatic leadership of Ruth Partington (more of whom elsewhere), tackled numerous challenges through the year. Beethoven 5 (1st and 4th movements); Bernstein’s ‘Candide’ Overture; the Saint-Saens ’cello concerto, with some stunning playing from Ben Evans; these are pieces

the arts - MUSIC

that the pupils can feel proud to have been able to perform, and to do significant justice to. Wind Orchestra, directed by James Aiken – whose wonderful puns and jokes enliven both concerts and rehearsals – have been similarly ambitious, as well as eclectic. From the more serious ‘Rites of Tamburo’ to ‘Disney at the Movies’, they have proven themselves equal to the many challenges they have been set. ‘Villages’ at St John’s Smith Square saw them combine forces with the Concert Band into multiple orchestras with two conductors! Patrick Perry’s contribution to the percussion section of this, and to the Orchestra (with an occasional foray into the brass) has been stalwart and it is with much sadness we note the end of the Perry ‘dynasty’ of percussionists at Canford. The Jazz Band continued to impress, and the annual jazz concert was much enjoyed. Helena Jackson has been a sterling first trumpet for this ensemble (not to mention also in the Orchestra and Wind Orchestra), while Ben Evans has led the group from the lead alto desk with aplomb, always the one who is absolutely in, if not always on, time! Om Ramchandani will be much missed as a drummer who is not only comfortable and accomplished in a myriad of styles, but who can also read music (junior drummers, take note…!) The string players began the year in ensemble before breaking into smaller chamber groups in preparation for some performances later in the year, notably with the Britten Sinfonia musicians. The annual residence of that ensemble saw a chamber concert featuring Canford instrumentalists with professional pianist Libby Burgess. Ben Evans and Matthew Butterfield excelled in some tricky Brahms, while Amelia Godel and Ellen HarveyHills delighted the audience with their accomplished performance of ‘Shepherd on the Rock’. Grace Hewett sang beautifully in a rather tricky piece for voice and saxophone, ably played by Charlie Anstee, while Zarah Warr and Maddie Lyles showed a delightful sense of musical shape in a piece by Madeleine Dring. Rachel Ko and Bea Webb also impressed with their command of a very difficult piece of impressionist music by a littleknown composer, Koechlin. Perhaps the highlight of the Britten residence, though, was their performing of various A Level and GCSE compositions. Our Upper Sixth, in particular, produced some work which impressed even the most demanding

of the Britten musicians, and the range of compositional styles, from Romantic miniature to Bartokian writing and minimalism, was a tribute to the interests of the pupils and their ability to learn this most demanding of musical skills. A notable moment in the year was the return of the Steinway grand piano from a major rebuild. Almost every part of the piano was replaced or refurbished and the instrument is now not only sounding superb, but is also sublime to play. It will see another 30 years of Canfordians through their concerts, and we are extremely grateful to Charles Rawlinson (OC) for his generous support of this project, as well as his continued support of the department, this year in the form of a masterclass from brilliant singer, Julia Doyle. Smaller-scale concerts form a large and vital, but sadly less noticed, part of our work. The regular informal ‘Sounds of Canford’ series sees almost all those who learn an instrument have the chance to perform in public at least once a year. This opportunity to gain the confidence to perform in public is crucial for musical skills, as well as transferable ones. Next year will see this series enhanced with the addition of more formal opportunities for senior or more accomplished musicians and with a greater sense of the value of the informal occasions. Although her valete appears elsewhere, a review of the musical year cannot be complete without mention of Ruth Partington. Over her two stints at Canford, Ruth has enriched, enlivened and enhanced the department. She has a formidable talent, and we will miss her very much – and not only because she provides delicious cakes on a regular basis. Returning to where I started, music education is in a difficult place in the UK now. There is a very real risk that it will become the preserve only of the independent sector and even there, it is under some pressure. However, at the moment, were David Attenborough to bring his film crew to Canford, he would find a beacon of hope. The endangered ‘species’ of music-making in schools is nurtured and valued, and the young musicians thrive. Some ‘plastic pollution’ does wash against our shores, and we fight battles against some big predators from time to time, but the quantity and quality of our music-making shows just what can be done in music education. It is no coincidence that very many of our departing Upper Sixth musicians are high-achievers academically and, often, in sport as well. Parents whose children might consider ‘quitting’ music (and what an ugly word that is, with all its connotations of addiction) could look first to the example of those who have not. Indeed, perhaps the education minister could spend a few days in a school with a vibrant music department, and then the future of music education, beyond Canford and schools of its ilk, might not look quite so bleak. Christopher Sparkhall, Director of Music

“Smaller-scale concerts form a large and vital, but sadly less noticed, part of our work.”

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Members of musical ensembles, 2018-19 Orchestra 1st Violins: Matthew Butterfield (Leader) Ellen HarveyHills (Co-Leader), Georgina Jack, Rupert Hutton, Amelie Kearns, Eve Hewett, Madeleine Harvey, Louisa Borneman, Honor Williams 2nd Violins: Rachel Ko, Tessa Marley, William Timberlake, Rupert Peach, Benjamin Shaw, Honoré Cutler, Emily Vance, Fiona McKinley Violas: Katherine Jack, Amanda Cross Court Violoncellos: Benjamin Evans, Samuel Downey, Grace Hewett, Emily de Veulle, Eliana Covell, Topsy Holder, Annabel Seabrook, Samuel Stirling Double Bass: Clare Ives, Samuel Hopkins Harp: Elena Bantok Flutes: Zarah Warr, Barnaby Peddie, Beatrice Webb Oboes: Madeleine Lyles, Max Lockyer Clarinets: Louisa Matthews, Stella Jarvis Bassoons: Richard Hare, Alice Herbert, Hamish Ryan French Horns: James Aiken, Kathryn Watts Trumpets: Helena Jackson, Jack Salmon, Annabel Kersey Trombones: Finlay Boardman, Timothy Downing Timpani: Patrick Perry Percussion: Felix Spencer, Tatiana Reed, Oliver Banyard

Stromenti Strings Violins: Louisa Borneman, Honor Williams, Louis McHamish, Honoré Cutler, Isabelle Dickinson, Ben Shaw, Emily Vance Viola: Amanda Cross Court Violoncellos: Emily De Veulle, Topsy Holder, Annabel Seabrook, Sam Stirling

Symphonic Wind Orchestra and Concert Band Flutes: Zarah Warr, Charlotte Speers, Barnaby Peddie, Thomas Norman, Ella Sutton, Emma Jeffries, Beatrice Webb, Rosie Ireland, Georgina Kearns, Erin Phillips, Matilda Child, Amelia Keen, Emily Sewell, Isobel Place, Lucy Hancock, Charlotte Howell, Faith White, Gemma Kendall Oboe: Madeleine Lyles Clarinets: Amelia Godel, Harriet Kent, Stella Jarvis, Jack Niu, Jerry Hu, Joshua Fulford, Yutong Li, Louisa Matthews Bassoons: Hamish Ryan, Alice Herbert, Richard Hare Alto Saxophones: Benjamin Evans, Tom Clark, Robbie Hemmings, Oliver Banyard, Max Richards, Poppy Keeping, Flora Peddie, Edward Bloxam Tenor Saxophone: James Lees Baritone Saxophone: Charles Anstee Horns: Jemima Carrell, Elliot Phillips Trumpets: Helena Jackson, Sebastian Gallego, Samuel Downey, Henry Hughes, Annabel Kersey, Isabella Borneman, Benedict Ashton, Oliver Fox-Pitt, Alex Cochrane, Elena Bantock, James Balasubramaniam Trombones: Finlay Boardman, Adam Phillips, Timothy Downing, Benjy Bishop Euphoniums: JC Zhang, Hayden Kennet

Bass Guitar: Sasha Witter Percussion: Patrick Perry, Felix Spencer, Tatiana Reed, William Timberlake, Joseph Bland, David Offer, Ethan Bikhazi-Green

Chamber Choir Sopranos: Aimee Hairon, Ellen Harvey-Hills, Grace Hewett, Elizabeth Balls, Tessa Marley, Madeleine Lyles, Amanda Cross Court Altos: Alice Davies, Amelia Godel, Matilda Hubble, Zarah Warr Tenors: Benjamin Evans, Daniel Offer, Charles Anstee Basses: Barnaby Peddie, Finlay Boardman, Adam Phillips, Matthew Butterfield

Chapel Choir Charles Anstee, Zachary Arnold, Elizabeth Balls, Jasmine Benamor, Ethan Bikhazi-Green, Serena Blake, Finlay Boardman, Louisa Borneman, Isabella Borneman, Callum Bruce, Zachary Buller, Matthew Butterfield, Yasmin Chadwick, Tom Clark, Ruth Colvile, Eliana Covell, Amanda Cross-Court, Honoré Cutler, Emma Dalton, Alice Davies, Millie Dickins, Aidan Dure-Smith, Nuala Dyball, Benjamin Evans, Sam Ford, Joshua Fulford, Sebastian Gallego, Amelia Godel, Amelia Green, Aimee Hairon, Alice Hairon, Lucy Hancock, Ellen Harvey-Hills, India Herrington, Grace Hewett, Matilda Hubble, Rupert Hutton, Rosie Ireland, Emma Jeffries, Alice Kalmanson, Jackson Kennett, Annabel Kersey, Rachel Ko, Celia Leavesley, Nadia Lees, Max Lockyer, Madeleine Lyles, Tessa Marley, Lucie Marns, Finch Massam, Louisa Matthews, Henry Moore, Sasha Mowat, Orlagh O’Donnell, Daniel Offer, Finn Pearson, Barnaby Peddie, Flora Peddie, Adam Phillips, Elliot Phillips, Tommy Qian, Oscar Rees, Hamish Ryan, Jack Salmon, Sammy Smith, Samuel Smith, Samuel Stirling, Eleanor Stocker, Charlotte Thomas, Amy Van Wingerden, Eleanor Warner, Zarah Warr, Beatrice Webb, Imogen Woodcock, Grace Woolaway

Jazz Band Alto Saxophones: Benjamin Evans, Rachel Ko Tenor Saxophones: Charles Anstee, Toby Bishop, Max Richards Baritone Saxophone: Tom Clark Trumpets: Helena Jackson, Jack Salmon, Sebastian Gallego Trombones: Finlay Boardman, Timothy Downing Guitar: Barnaby Peddie Bass Guitars: Sasha Witter, Max Lockyer Piano: James Aiken Drum Kit: Om Ramchandani

the arts - MUSIC

Jazz Concer t SO who’s the star in a musical performance? Nowadays, of course, it all about the individual at the microphone: Rihanna, Bieber, Madonna, Sting, all the way back to Streisand and Williams. Even Florence and the Machine, Cockney Rebel or Simply Red are just singers with an anonymous backing band. But go back over a hundred years or so, and then we are into the era when the composer was the star; the magic was in the melodies and harmonies. Yet somewhere in between, there was an era when the brilliance of any individual was superseded by the magnificence of the team. From the ’30s to the ’50s, jazz orchestras and big bands ruled the airwaves and the dance floors on both sides of the Atlantic. Although known by the name of a notional leader – for example, the Duke Ellington Jazz Orchestra, Glenn Miller’s Big Band – it was the sound of the ensemble that set the pulse racing. The beauty of the sound produced is all about the balance, the blending and the mix – like a great cocktail. Which brings me to the Jazz Concert. Why is it, with all the excellence of musical performance on the Canford schedule, that I am always drawn back to the annual cornucopia of cacophony that represents the efforts of Messrs Sparkhall and Aiken to corral the focused (wind) power of so many gifted musicians? Simple. It is the sheer joy, the exuberance and ‘oomph’ of having one’s ears caressed, regaled and sometimes even blasted with such melodious manna that brings me back, year after year. And 2019 was no different. The performances came in three discrete portions, each with its own distinct style and benefits. The Reduced Jazz Band was tight, sharp and focused. The Jazz Band was slick and smooth. And the massed ranks of the Wind Orchestra never fail to bring a massive smile to my face. It is invidious to select standout moments, but I have never been held back on the grounds of propriety, so let me mention just two. The Reduced Jazz Band took us back to the late ’70s to take on the Weather Report

classic that is ‘Birdland’. It sounds simple and rolls along at a healthy lick, but just look at the score: the rhythms, the interplay between the various instruments, the accentuations. This is jazz fusion (whatever that might be) at its very best. Om Ramchandani’s drumming was disciplined and insistent, Sasha Witter’s bass solo was sparse and elegant, and the whole brass section took us up and down like a roller-coaster lubricated with finest double cream. It was sumptuous. The Wind Orchestra built to their own climax with a real Jeeves and Wooster moment entitled ‘Jitterbug’. With Felix Spencer laying down the jungle rhythms, the massed ensemble soon caught the virus and we were transported back to a downstairs dive in 1920s New York. The atmosphere was enhanced by a melancholic trumpet solo from Helena Jackson that developed into a four-way conversation with various sub-divisions of the woodwind and brass sections. But the beats could not be held back. The momentum built and by the end, the massed band was swinging like Johnny Weissmuller sashaying though his domain. A special mention for Tati Reed who, although dwarfed by her timpani, was not afraid to give them a resounding thump – in tempo, of course. So another year, another resounding success. Every year, it makes the (receding) hairs on my neck stand on end. So pick up that baton, Maestro, and strike up the band one more time. T P Mann

“It is the sheer joy, the exuberance and ‘oomph’ of having one’s ears caressed, regaled and sometimes even blasted with such melodious manna that brings me back, year after year.”

the arts - MUSIC

Concert at St John’s, Smith Square

“Parents, friends, relatives, governors and staff were treated to a feast of the very best music that any school could offer.”

CANFORD School’s musicians performed for the second time in the renowned concert hall that is St John’s, Smith Square in London. Moving the three coachloads of musicians to London in addition to all of their instruments was a big undertaking in itself, but on the day the sun beamed through the stunning stained glass windows, lighting up the performers and the audience; parents, friends, relatives, governors and staff were treated to a feast of the very best music that any school could offer. The afternoon began with the Choir taking on Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’, offering us a dramatic and lively opening movement that contrasted effectively with the reflective, almost plaintive mood of the second. Special mention must go to the five soloists: Millie Dickins, Amelia Godel, Ellen Harvey-Hills, Grace Hewett and Matilda Hubble, each performing flawlessly. This was followed by a hugely challenging programme and not one that many school orchestras could tackle: Leonard Bernstein’s ‘Candide’ Overture was followed by Khachaturian’s ‘Masquerade Suite’ before closing with Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5 in C minor. The large number of musicians filled the hall with real strength, and special mention must be made of Matthew Butterfield and Ben Evans for their leadership of the strings. Conductor Ruth Partington remarked, ‘Quite simply we could not access this sort of repertoire without them.’ In addition, the varied programme included many wonderful solos from the woodwind and brass sections, offering a wide range of enthralling music. The interval enabled a stunned audience to draw breath before the Concert Band and Wind Orchestra brought even more musicians onto the stage together

with not one but two conductors working hard not only to keep the five ensembles perfectly synchronised but to keep themselves in time together. The effect was immediate and what fun they and the musicians seemed to be having as Michael Sweeney’s ‘Villages’ accelerated the afternoon towards its finale. To bring the house down, the Symphonic Wind Orchestra finished the afternoon with two numbers: Eric Whitacre’s ‘Lux Aurumque’ and then Robert Buckley’s ‘Jitterbug’. The variety and breadth was only too evident and Helena Jackson’s excellent trumpet solo in ‘Jitterbug’ typified the quality on show throughout the afternoon right from the senior soloists down to all the junior members involved in ‘Villages’. What a spectacular afternoon and our thanks must go to all those involved, from Jonathon Ledger in his supporting logistical role to the guest appearances, including Sam Hopkins OC, through to the staff, the leaders and the soloists, together with all the other members of the groups who gave us a tremendous treat. Dan Culley

THE Summer Concert provides a wonderful tailpiece to Canford’s musical year. It is a chance to celebrate all the hard work that has gone on in the Music School since the previous September, and to say ‘goodbye and thank you’ to the musicians who are leaving. The summer evening sun shines (usually) and outside, the preparations for Speech Day and the Summer Ball on the morrow add an air of excitement. This year’s concert was no exception, either to the special atmosphere of the occasion, or to the high musical standards that we have come to expect over the years. The Chapel Choir led off with Stanford’s ‘For Lo, I Raise Up’, creating a splendidly balanced sound both in the vigorous rhythms of the first part and in the more lyrical closing passages. The smaller Chamber Choir followed with ‘Lo, The Full Final Sacrifice’ by Finzi, coping admirably with some difficult harmonies and discords before the piece resolved into a lovely finish. I have never been much of an admirer of Finzi’s work, but this performance almost won me round. The orchestra then filled the stage and introduced the theme of the rest of the concert: the moon. Music from Apollo 13 gave the brass section plenty to do, including an immaculately accurate and characterful trumpet solo from Helena Jackson. The orchestra provided a sensitive accompaniment to Benjamin Evans in the first section of Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto. He tackled the tricky opening passage with aplomb and captured the slightly ethereal character of the piece. Finally, the orchestra played the gentle berceuse from Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird’ before the excited buzzing of the strings led into the suite’s majestic finale.

The orchestra was conducted by Ruth Partington, sadly for the last time before she left. Director of Music Christopher Sparkhall paid her fulsome and welldeserved tribute before presenting her with her very own cowbell! After a break for the audience to take a glass of wine in the warm evening air, the Chamber Choir returned to show its versatility with ‘Old Devil Moon’ and clearly enjoyed its syncopated rhythms. Next it was the turn of the Jazz Band, with the Glenn Miller classic, ‘Moonlight Serenade’. When they moved on to ‘Round Midnight’, who should pop up to play the solo but Benjamin Evans again, who proved himself at least as adept on the saxophone as on the cello. ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ was the only number to feature a vocalist and Ellen HarveyHills gave a most assured performance of it. One of the challenges for a singer of jazz is to have the confidence to give a song her unique interpretation through phrasing and tempo, while respecting the original composition and not allowing the whole thing to become just an exercise in self-indulgence. Ellen achieved this balance perfectly. The Jazz Band finished with the Hart and Rogers standard, ‘Blue Moon’, in which a wonderfully mellow tone from the saxophones was the outstanding feature. A rambunctious finale is a traditional feature of the summer concert and this year it was provided by the Symphonic Wind Orchestra. Their first piece, ‘One Small Step’ by Michael Oare, was actually rather charming as well as dramatic, and then it was time for the hair to be let down in the exuberant rhythms of ‘Latin Celebration’, which also gave Ruth Partington a chance to try out her new cowbell! John Newth

“This year’s concert was no exception, either to the special atmosphere of the occasion, or to the high musical standards that we have come to expect over the years.”

the arts - MUSIC

Summer Concer t

Activities and Societies For the Shells and Fourth Form, Wednesday afternoons are devoted to a co-curricular activity other than sport, community service or the CCF. During 2018-19, these activities have included: • 4x4 Design and Build Challenge • Archery • Boxing • Card Games • Ceramics • Chess • Chinese • Climbing • Computer Programming • Croquet • Drone Photography • Film Classics • Film-making • Goatherding (Creative Writing)

• Greek for beginners • Greek for intermediates • Handball • Joy of Decks (Learn to be a DJ) • Juggling • Kayaking • Reading Group • Roman Mosaics • Shooting • Table Tennis • The Bigger Issue (formerly This Week) • Touch Rugby and Football for Girls • Volleyball • Zumba

On a Tuesday afternoon, Shells have taken part in the Shell Carousel, which gives them the opportunity to try out the wide range of sports and other activities that Canford can offer, and to learn new skills along the way. On a Monday afternoon, the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Forms have been involved in community service, the CCF, D of E Award or a skill-based activity such as first aid or powerboating. In addition, there are a variety of clubs, societies and groups – some whole school, some which have met mainly in the evening, and some attended exclusively by sixth-formers. They have included: • Astronomy • Beekeeping • Engineering • Global Forum

• Heretics • John O’Gaunt (Debating) • Junior Heretics • Philosophy Film Club

There are also a number of societies devoted to academic subjects. Mention of these will be found in the relevant departmental reports (pages 15-30).

ACTIVITIES AND SOCIETIES

Spotlight on… THE BIGGER ISSUE Ar thur Miller said that a good newspaper is ‘a nation talking to itself ’. That, on a smaller scale, is the ultimate objective of the writers and editors of The Bigger Issue (formerly This Week): to star t conversation in the Canford community; to engender some healthy introspection. Why do we do things the way we do here? What is happening in our world? What is – and what isn’t – cool right now? For a publication with the motto ‘for the pupils, by the pupils’, the spectre of censorship is both agonising and a vindication. Any outside interference – from Messrs Marriott and Vandvik as ‘overseers’, or from senior management – is simultaneously seen as evidence of repressive nannyism, and as proof that ‘we’re onto something.’ The unprinted – or heavily edited – ar ticles often lead to as much pupil discussion as the printed ones. Of course, the excellent writers of this publication are well aware of the fact that some of our ‘issues’

– the perceived preferential treatment of one spor t over another ; the relative access to healthy food options in the Grubber ; our Oxbridge successes – are quintessentially first-world issues. Hence the renaming of the publication to The Bigger Issue, an ironic nod to the publication sold by the homeless. Our comfor tably homed writers know that they cannot compete with The Guardian or The Times on the national or international news, but they also know that nobody has the insight and access to the Canford community that they do. So, for a couple of hours every Monday afternoon, they meet in the editorial hub that is Turing, they discuss the hot issues of the week and decide on a hit list of topics. They consider the balance of weighty and light, of humorous and serious, of enter tainment and thought-provocation. Then they write … and wait for the response. Sindre Vandvik

The Bourne Academy

IS it more important that pupils finish school as decent people or with good academic results? All schools, including Canford, wrestle with this question; but financial restraints and government pressure at the Academy make difficult questions even harder to answer. Ideally a school would want both, but it would be foolish to deny that there is a price to pay, whichever route is chosen. A number of schools have cut down the number of lessons in subjects such as Music so that they can teach more Maths and English, because those subjects matter more in the government’s league tables.

“A new system at the Academy now recognises and rewards achievements outside the classroom and the outdoor curriculum remains strong.”

In other schools, outdoor pursuits, school trips, visiting speakers and areas that are not in the core curriculum are disappearing, to be replaced by a focus on what can be measured by Ofsted. In several places it is clear that school life is becoming narrower. But not necessarily everywhere. The Academy believes very strongly that there is more to education than the academic curriculum, important as that is. A new system at the Academy now recognises and rewards achievements outside the classroom and the outdoor curriculum remains strong: a dozen pupils, for instance, are on course to complete the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award and sixty the Silver, and a new Police Cadet unit has been started – the first in Dorset. It is so popular locally that two units had to be created. Two contrasting trips to France (the World War 1 battlefields and Disneyland) sit alongside those closer to home. These include several to universities (Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, Southampton and Cambridge), which have already made their mark as the Academy’s first Oxbridge candidate will be interviewed this term. Some Bourne pupils joined Canfordians on a yacht sailing along the south coast under the auspices of the Rona Trust Scott Award in the summer holidays, one of several joint ventures that included a geography quiz and a Halloween Book Club. Canford may be wishing that it had never begun another collaboration, building an F24 race car, as the Academy is now proving to be a power in the land: they were the best presented team at Goodwood, but are also impressive on the track and have qualified for the international finals at Silverstone as they lie well within the top forty schools. Their success represents an excellent reflection of having Engineering & Design as one of the Academy’s specialisms.

bourne academy

Music and Drama remain very strong, with regular performances throughout the year (both at the Academy and outside), and there are several sporting achievements published in the twice-yearly 32-page Newsletter, such as the two pupils who qualified for the English Schools National Athletics Championships. This varied programme all takes time and money, but there can be no doubt that it has an impact on the pupils and is certainly worth whatever small effect it has on academic results. And it is a small effect, as the main focus remains academic and the results continue to be good. Sadly, after four years, our 100% record at A Level has not survived – perhaps inevitably with an increasingly large Sixth Form – but we have had our first A* to compensate and the number of pupils going to university increases each year; there were over twenty this time. GCSE results were also good: at the top end, one pupil achieved 8s or 9s in every subject and overall, there is better than average progress across the board. We could be even better if we dropped a few subjects or forced the students to study certain subjects, but we believe that they should be allowed to choose those that suit them, rather than have subject choices dictated to them to help the league table position. The Academy continues to wrestle with several big questions. What does it mean to have Engineering as a specialism? Is the house system, so common in independent schools like Canford, transferable to the Academy? Can we afford to teach single sciences at A Level, where the classes are inevitably small? Should we give in to government pressure to become a multi-academy trust, which would involve spreading our resources a little wider (although there would be gains)? However, the biggest problem remains money as the new funding system, together with the merging of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch councils, has (again) cut our income and made life harder than normal. Representatives from the government’s funding agency visited and made some suggestions that implied they either didn’t understand or didn’t care about the particular circumstances in East Howe, although there is a glimmer of hope that the latest pronouncements from the chancellor will help a little, even if it only brings us back to the funding levels we had two or three years ago. The big news of this year is that Carol Harrison has retired. I met her in 2008 when I first visited King’s High (the Academy’s predecessor school) and she, as Deputy Head, was one of those involved in the early discussions as to whether we would sponsor an academy. Against strong competition from outside applicants, she became the first Vice-Principal of the Academy when it opened in 2010. She has always been passionate about the pupils, especially those who face additional problems, and there is no doubt that she has played a major role in the Academy’s success. If everyone was as positive about the potential of those under their care, the world would be a much better place. Of course the Academy will continue to thrive but I (and everyone else) will miss her enormously and we wish her well as she tours the world in her luxury motorhome. The idea that she might rub in her new freedom by sending postcards from exotic corners of the world is unthinkable.

It would be marvellous to think that, when I next write, I can announce that the Academy will be constructing a new Sixth Form building. I have said before that the government required us to have a Sixth Form of 150, acknowledges that this figure is not only well below the number they say is a minimum for sustainability (200) and also too small for the 180 pupils coming through from GCSEs each year; but, for reasons that seem barely justified, is unable to offer any money for the new building. We are not yet without hope that we will find funding from elsewhere, but meanwhile the utterly committed staff at the Bourne Academy will continue to do what they have been doing for ten years – giving the children of Kinson the wherewithal to succeed in life, both academically and pastorally. Richard Knott

“Representatives from the government’s funding agency visited and made some suggestions that implied they either didn’t understand or didn’t care about the particular circumstances in East Howe.”

Community & Partnerships

Community Action “A highlight of the year was being shortlisted for the Times Education Supplement Independent School Awards for Community Action.”

THE academic year 2018/19 has yet again proved to be successful for community action at Canford. A highlight of the year was being shortlisted for the Times Education Supplement Independent School Awards for Community Action. The community service programme has reached a point where I do not seem to need to actively search for community service placements for our pupils, as external organisations come to us, seeking a partnership. The year started well. It was good to welcome back Sascha Deblander, who eagerly took on a new project with Wimborne Minster. This involved taking some pupils to help out with some gardening work there and, once

the clocks changed, helping inside the Minster carrying out a variety of different tasks. Richard Wilson also took on a new activity, taking a group of pupils to St John’s First School, where they help deliver after-school French lessons. Both new activities proved to be very successful indeed. We also started sending a couple of pupils to help out with the Wimborne Model Town winter workshop, where they were involved in renovating and painting the models for next season. These activities were put on in addition to our regular programme of offsite activities that includes sending pupils to St Catherine’s, Hayeswood, Colehill, St John’s, Hampreston, Pamphill, Bearwood, Kingsleigh, St Mary’s, Christ the King, Heathlands, Allenbourne, Merley and Hillbourne schools, Victoria, Beaucroft and Montacute specialist schools, the Aldbury, Fernhill, the Links, Magna Care Home and Poole Day Centre, all specialist dementia homes, Julia’s House charity shops, Lynwood and Aniwell veterinary clinics, Colehill Community Library and Castle Court School, where they assist with sports lessons. In September, we also took eight pupils to the PGL centre on the Isle of Wight to work with our friends at City Reach for an adventure weekend. The weather was awful and I was really proud of the resilience both the Canfordians and the City Reach children showed. It was good to see that activities such as Jacob’s Ladder and the Giant Swing worked well whatever the weather.

We also visited City Reach for a couple of evenings in the Christmas Term, where our pupils joined in with some activities at what is called ‘The Underground’. Seb Fecher, Harry Moores and George Farthing have been my go-to people for this project and I have been impressed by the amount of dedication they have put into it. No job has been too big or too small for them and we would not have been able to do the things we have this year with City Reach if it was not for their dedication and help. As the Christmas Term drew to a close, we also welcomed City Reach for a Christmas meal. This funfilled afternoon included a Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, sports in the sports hall, a pool party and then party games and more party food in John o’Gaunts. It was always going to be hard to beat last year’s record number of Canford helpers … but we came close! Thirty-six Canford helpers was a very respectable number and it almost matched the number of people City Reach brought over. It was a great afternoon and a joy to see everyone having a good time together. The Christmas Term is a big term for SHINE and this

year we had a smashing group of pupils visit. There were a few new staff members teaching this year and there were some fantastic lessons by all. The SHINE pupils and staff enjoyed every minute of the time they were here and so did our staff – one teacher who remains anonymous commented, ‘That has been the best lesson and best group of pupils I have taught all year (!)’. The spring community service programme also ran very well. We added Portfield School to our list of new partners. Portfield School is a non-maintained special school based close to Hurn Airport and is primarily for children with autism. It is managed by Autism Wessex and the school supports children and young people aged three to nineteen with autism and associated difficulties. Needless to say, it is a challenging environment to work in. Alex Graham ran this activity and we sent along two pupils who had a demanding time there, but it was great to hear that the staff felt our pupils did make a difference, even if this was not always obvious. Spring also saw a group of around 20 sixth-formers walk from Boscombe Pier to Canford for the annual sponsored walk. The weather was challenging, to say the

community & partnerships

“It was great to hear that the staff felt our pupils did make a difference, even if this was not always obvious.”

community & partnerships “‘It has been the best lesson they have had all year,’ I was told by one of the enthusiastic visiting teachers.”

least. The pupils battled with the end of Storm Freya and experienced extremely high winds when walking along the sea front. This did not dampen their enthusiasm, though, and they managed to raise nearly £800, money that City Reach have been able to use to purchase new soft seating and to get their pool table re-felted. Our focus with SHINE in the Easter Term is the graduation event, which took place at the end of the term. Helen Craig and I worked with the three partner schools, putting together an assembly for their friends and families both in their schools and in the Long Gallery. The children put together a great play that was filmed by Helen and converted into a black and white silent movie for all to see and enjoy. The Summer Term is filled with getting things ready for next term as well as a few big events with SHINE and City Reach. Due to our growing numbers of Sixth Form pupils, we have had to expand the community service programme. Logistically, this has had its challenges. We have managed to accommodate thirteen extra pupils without having to put on an additional bus. We have also lost three drivers due to the retirement of Caroline Barrett, John James and Mark Rathbone and it has proved challenging to replace these, but at the time of writing, I think we have done it. Next term we will visit the Bourne Valley Care home (a new residential and nursing home that has opened in Poole), Ad Astra, the Elm and Wimborne First Schools in addition to our ‘normal’ Monday afternoon programme of activities. Wimborne First School will also come to some art classes run by Jay Jones. Nicky Will, Head of Art, is looking to strengthen our links with Portfield School by also running an art-based activity at the school. We had three SHINE events planned for the Summer Term, but unfortunately, due to the great British summer, we were only able to run two. We put on the launch

activity for next year’s programme, needed to cancel the morning of sport, but also added a new Design Technology morning that was put on by Ben Coward and Jon Martin. This involved designing a robot to collect some plastic balls from a pit. It was much harder than it sounds and it involved collaboration, design, review, reflection and re-design from the SHINE pupils. ‘It has been the best lesson they have had all year,’ I was told by one of the enthusiastic visiting teachers. I am very grateful to Jon and Ben for putting on this activity and hope to include it as a regular item in the calendar for the next academic year. City Reach visited for their annual camp in the last but one week of term again. It looked like the weather would beat us but miraculously, every time we needed to go outdoors, the weather dried up. We had a very enjoyable weekend with plenty of swimming, outdoor games, good food and a trip to Sandbanks. Canford numbers were slightly down on previous years but this was caused by a clash with the DoE Gold expedition. I am very grateful to all of the pupils for giving up their time to allow this activity to run and it was also good to see that this year we had representatives from every year group from Shells to Upper Sixth getting involved. As ever, I am indebted to many others for making the programme the success it is. Notably I would like to express my gratitude to Clive Jeffery for his hard work behind the scenes, efficiently ensuring that pupils, staff and organisations know who to expect, when to expect them and how they will get there. My thanks also go to David Neill, who has supported me through the difficult days when it looked as if we would not be able to staff bus routes, Iona Rigby and Roger Centron Gomez for all of their help with SHINE, and finally to Sam Crouch for her company on the Isle of Wight trip with City Reach. Dave Allen, Director of Community Action

EVERY July, Canfordians cross the Atlantic to stay at El Hogar El Alba. The home welcomes youth from underprivileged backgrounds and whose parents have been in trouble with justice. We reached Longchamp, a southern suburb of Buenos Aires, by minibus and settled down in our accommodation. Our luxury for the next two weeks was an open fire; winter temperatures reached -6°C at night. Devising our work there was our first task. All became clear as soon as we met our hosts, Karina and Sacqui Fabulas. We would be sanding (by hand) and painting the outside and inside walls of three boarding houses, and we would play with the children on their daily return from school: from football matches to arts and crafts. Basic tools and supplies made our work strenuous and meant that we had to remain positive, support one another and keep up with the pace to finish the project. Playing with the children marked a welcome end to our workday. A two-day break in Buenos Aires reunited Canfordian with wifi and the level of luxury they were accustomed to. It made our pupils realise that there was a marked divide between communities. A 55% inflation rate, the impact of economics on population, barrios, shanty towns noticed along the motorway approach: all began to make pupils realise, wonder…. Argentina is far from being underdeveloped and is one of the richest countries in South America, but it was revealing itself to our Canfordians. Minds boggled and questions emerged on our return. Every two evenings, reflection time took place with special guests. Two or three siblings from the home cast some light on the harsh realities of living in misery in a capital city ridden with escalating prices, corruption and crime. It was an unforgettably humbling, thoughtprovoking experience. Milly Rees: ‘I was really looking forward to the trip before I went, but my expectations were surpassed when we got there. The happiness and contentment of the children at the home were something I did not expect as I couldn’t believe that after having gone through such tragic events, they were still able to smile like they did. It was evident that we made a difference to the children there.’ Charlotte Butt: ‘It made me realise how lucky we all are here at Canford and that we cannot ever take

community & partnerships

Argentina

that for granted. I was quite surprised at how brave the children were with telling us their stories as they were very personal and must have been very hard for them to describe. At first I thought that the language barrier would make it super-difficult to interact with the kids but quickly I realised it was not an issue and loved how we could almost have a conversation despite the fact I spoke no Spanish and they no English.’ Finch Massam: ‘I was amazed at the positive attitude the children had despite experiencing such trauma and at how the place was always filled with smiles and laughter.’ Ollie Leat: ‘I absolutely loved the trip because it was an opportunity to experience a new culture, to meet new people and to make new friends. It was an eye-opening trip due to the amount of poverty on display and the harsh realities which the children had come from and in which some not in the home still live.’ Helping organise and fund the ‘Megafestival’ brought a smile to many young faces. Before heading back to the UK, we agreed to leave a long-lasting memento, so we restored the outer wall of the sport hall and left a fresco. We saw big! Marianne Marns

“It made me realise how lucky we all are here at Canford and that we cannot ever take that for granted.”

community & partnerships

Ghana

“Spending time with the students allowed us to ask questions and vice versa, as they were just as interested in our culture.”

THE Ghana Partnership was an extremely rewarding experience which humbled all of us and which we will never forget. The Ghanaians we worked with at Awutu Winton High School are selected on two bases, intelligence and financial insecurity, so the school provides an opportunity for students to get a higher education who would not have had one otherwise. The school has students from 13 up to the age of 22, but the sense of community and family is still strong. The group of pupils from Canford became really close over the two weeks, especially on our weekends spent at hotels outside the school: our trip was organised so that during the week we stayed at the school and slept in their assembly hall, then on the weekends we went to hotels and got to see more of the culture. The application process for the partnership was extensive and competitive, so the few that were chosen appreciated how the group was selected, encouraging anticipation and excitement. After the selection, all members of the partnership were asked to raise at least £500 for the charity we were going to work with, which was an opportunity for us to show our commitment and organisation.

We experienced much of the culture of Ghana during the trip, which was unexpected to all of us as we thought we would rarely leave the school. The students at Awutu Winton were taking their end of year exams while we were there, so when we weren’t spending time with them, we travelled outside the school, some of our highlights being the local and industrial pineapple farms and the comparison between the two, the Elimna slave trade castle, the overcrowded and overwhelming local health centre and visiting some of the local primary schools, where we got to spend time with younger Ghanaians. At the school we were taught how to cook traditional Ghanaian cuisine in a Home Economics class, which was definitely different, but we were all keen to try everything and get fully immersed in the cooking techniques. We also learnt how to play traditional Ghanaian instruments: African dance as well as popular modern music. Spending time with the students allowed us to ask questions and vice versa, as they were just as interested in our culture; one of the days at the school we were asked to give an assembly about life at Canford, which they massively enjoyed. Each of us on the partnership had a pen pal with whom we had been in contact before the trip, so we all had a friend we knew of before we got there and all of us are still in touch with our pen pals, as well as other great friends we made when we were there. We learnt that games are an important part of their routine and we played them in a range of sports, including volleyball, where the Canford boys performed strongly, a fiery water polo match, football and swimming. Their competitiveness created an intense and exciting atmosphere, especially as the whole school was watching. Another interesting day spent with the students was when we took part in a health walk from the school to the beach, which was roughly ten miles. The day was long and hot but was great fun and we got to know the students we walked with so much better. For some of the students at the school it was their first time going to the beach, and seeing the pure happiness on their faces as they watched the waves crashing was so powerful. Ella Doubleday and Archie van der Flier

AFTER so many years of travelling to the Goodwill Orphanage in India, you would have thought it had become routine, but as with all things wonderfully Indian, that is never the case. Despite the fact that this was my thirteenth trip to Goodwill, I found myself as excited as the group of twelve fortunate Lower Sixth pupils who were heading there for the first time. The immigration questioning at Trivandrum airport was a challenge for some before facing a ten-hour minibus journey through the green hills of Kerala, then the stark contrast of the dry, hot plains of Tamil Nadu, and finally the relative cool of the Palini Hills and Goodwill. But 36 hours of travelling was quickly brushed aside as the warmest of welcomes awaited us upon our arrival at the orphanage. For all members of the party, this was to be the beginning of two weeks of wonderful hard work, where the pupils would be asked to step up and get involved in the teaching of primary school orphans and also to step out of their comfort zones. This included the new-found skills of washing with half a bucket of water and a jug, of eating three meals a day with no cutlery and only being able to use their right hands, and of learning how to teach a variety of primary year groups who mainly spoke Tamil and English to varying degrees while we only spoke English. The pupils very quickly learnt how to set themselves attainable teaching targets that could be adapted if necessary to suit the needs of those they taught. The break in teaching in the first week came in the form of a visit back onto the plains to visit the senior girls homed in Pattiveeranpatti. The old expression, ‘We share more in common than our differences’, was an important theme not only of that day but of the entire visit. This was to be followed at the end of the week’s teaching by a further trip down onto the plains to visit the senior boys’ home at Sarnipatti, and then back up the other side of the hill to visit the Tribal Outreach Programme offices. Here the Canford pupils saw the

“The pupils would be asked to step up and get involved in the teaching of primary school orphans and also to step out of their comfort zones.”

work that Goodwill does in the hill tribes to help provide basic education for those who are housed not just in the orphanage but also in the local, sometimes isolated villages of the hill community. As well as visiting the local tribes, the Canford pupils helped in a large ‘educational celebration’, where a number of the local schools that Goodwill supports came together with a wonderful sense of community. This more outward-looking part of the trip was highlighted by our annual trip to the local health centre. The attending doctors, Dr Raj Kumar and Dr Mary, are an inspiration and willingly talked to the pupils about their roles as doctors in the ongoing wellbeing of those in the local hill community. As those who have ventured to Goodwill on trips in the past will tell you, and those who get the opportunity in the future will find out, it quite simply exceeds most people’s expectations, and this year proved to be no exception. My thanks go to the group – Connie Doxat, Holly Hazzard, Emma Large, Billy Pocock, Ellie Whitworth, Emma Dalton, Sophie Saunders, Alex Young, Doug Rowland, Finn Baker, Jack Salmon and Nuala Dyball – along with the staff, Bryony Snooks and James LaddGibbon, for making this once again such a memorable experience for all. Phil Effick

community & partnerships

India

Outdoor enterprises

Combined Cadet Force “The weekly fare of Monday parades started this year, like any other, with large numbers of small cadets in oversize baggy uniforms marching chaotically about.”

THE Biennial Inspection at Canford this year saw Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Cox, Commanding Officer of the Training Delivery Division of the Joint Intelligence Training Group based in Chicksands, reporting, ‘On talking to the cadets, the enthusiasm for the CCF is palpable and it is clear that each student gains a deeply personal experience as part of the Contingent. Whilst the themes of leadership and teamwork were reflected, individual cadets would consistently mention challenge, self-discipline and fellowship when asked to reflect on the CCF experience. When engaging with parents, they would almost always mention that the CCF has given their child an increase in confidence. Consequently, the Canford School CCF represents the organisation’s core values and is held in extremely high regard by all concerned.’ Certainly, the CCF at Canford has continued to cover enormous ground and the well-worn paths in Lulworth,

on Dartmoor, Snowdonia, the plateaux of Norway, at Lympstone, in HMS Bristol and on the sands of Braunton Burrows on the North Devon coast continue to challenge and inspire the cadets. With numbers remaining healthy at 241 cadets and 17 officers, it certainly keeps the staff busy and Canford remains one of the most active contingents in the South West. The weekly fare of Monday parades started this year, like any other, with large numbers of small cadets in oversize baggy uniforms marching chaotically about.They still seem to march rather disjointedly at the end of their time, too – drill is not something Canford specialises in – but in other respects the cadets quickly picked up the range of disciplines on offer, enjoying their nights in a basha (a poncho in the woods), conducting section attacks or sailing across Poole Harbour. It is remarkable, in fact, what the cadets do achieve in their first year, in which they spend no more than 50 hours plus two 24-hour exercises ‘doing CCF’: shooting, patrolling, camouflage and concealment, sailing and navigation, leadership and teamwork on the assault course, battle lanes in the woods, orienteering on the heath, lessons in first aid, military knowledge and so much more. And that is before the trips start. The Pringle Trophy team travelled to Lympstone in October once again to test themselves against twenty other top RM Sections from CCF contingents around the UK. With an inexperienced team a top five result was always going to stretch us, but in the end we managed ninth overall: a disappointing outcome but one which serves, given that the character of the cadets will fire them up even more for next year. Norway was another triumph, albeit with a slightly different venue in Bykle, close to the Hardangervidda plateau. Canford teamed up with Bradfield College once again to take 42 cadets into the wild beauty of the Norwegian wilderness.This year was rather warmer than most, but the expedition was a triumph with good weather, comfortable snowholes and spectacularly, a huge herd of

screaming through the valley below). Camping and more hill-walking completed the menu and the four days in Snowdonia were thoroughly enjoyed by one and all. In March the Corps introduced a new set of Canford Colours, updating the old and rather faded banner that has been in use for many years. The next development will be rather more momentous and will involve the Armoury as generations of cadets remember it. In December the bricks and mortar of the current building will be felled to make way for the new Library, while our new home will move to Franklin Field. This will bring the range, the offices, the assault course and all the CCF and Duke of Edinburgh stores under one roof: the Canford Outdoor Education Centre. We look forward to our new home. I congratulate our prizewinners from this year and thank the NCOs for their work in helping develop the younger years. Benner Award for Leadership

Cdt WO1 P Perry

Clive Meyers Award for Services to the CCF

Cdt WO2 H Cox

Top Junior NCO from the NCOs’ Cadre LCpl S Smith Drum Major’s Bugle

WO2 B Thomson

Best Junior Cadet: Navy Cdt S Jefferson and Cdt A Crosscourt Marines Cdt F Tuck Army Cdt J Fry

outdoor enterprises

500 reindeer thundering through the path and splitting the teams on the track. Ten Tors has grown over the years under the stewardship of Rob Hooker and this year saw four teams, the most ever, enjoy a mild weekend walking across Dartmoor along with 2400 others.The demise of the AS exams has played into our hands in this respect, allowing the Sixth Form to stray a little from the academic path, and two 45-mile teams were successful, along with the now standard two 35-mile teams. As I write, those who were in the 45-mile teams are plotting to do the 55-mile route, but it remains to be seen whether they pull it off in the face of their final exams at Canford. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rob Hooker for his work with the Ten Tors, first as a Canford cadet himself, then as an instructor and finally, for the last twenty years, as manager. He is now standing down to allow Major Rob Hoey, who is joining Canford in January 2020 straight from the Royal Engineers, to pick up the baton. The Navy Section for the third year running has embarked on a trip along the South Coast.This year we returned to the 75-foot ketch, the Donald Searle, owned by the Rona Sailing Trust, and invited pupils from the Bourne Academy to join us. It was another spectacular sail with fine weather and the crew learned a great deal about themselves while enjoying some excellent sailing. The Three Peaks Challenge (the Welsh ones) has now become an established excursion with 29 cadets scaling first Snowdon, starting at 4 am, followed by Cadair Idris and finally concluding the non-stop exercise on Pen-y-Fan at 9.30 pm. Last year was too hot but this year saw each summit clothed in clouds, giving us little satisfaction other than the pleasure of having been to the tops of these three iconic Welsh peaks in a day. The Snowdonia trip has shrunk in numbers with many cadets switching to the higher profile of the Three Peaks Challenge, but this has given us greater scope to spend more time climbing.The emphasis this year was placed on scrambling – the level below fixed multi-pitch climbing requiring ropes – first up the North Ridge of Tryfan and second up Bristly Ridge in the spectacular Ogwen Valley (famous for being able to look down on RAF jets

“It was another spectacular sail with fine weather and the crew learned a great deal about themselves while enjoying some excellent sailing.”

As the year closes, following another hugely successful ‘campaign’, it only remains for me to thank the units that have supported us, the parents for their support, and of course the cadets as well as the staff who have all worked so hard to generate such a productive entity. Major Craig Risbey and Lieutenant Matt Cowlard, the Adjutant and Quartermaster respectively, who work tirelessly to deliver such a valuable education in life skills for the cadets, in particular deserve our thanks. Lt Col Dan Culley

outdoor enterprises

“Their cycling through the mountains in Wales proved to be an exhilarating and rewarding experience. Luckily, they escaped injury, pile-up or mechanical failure to finish triumphant.”

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award THE growth in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at Canford continues to move on apace with increased demand from both pupil and parental perspective. This year has seen increased numbers filter through to fruition with 19 of the 25 Gold candidates completing the award from the 2016-18 year group. The next year group, 2017-19, who finished at Canford in June this year, includes 38 candidates, many of whom are now finalising their evidence and are being invited to St James’s Palace. Numbers for 2018-20 grew further up to 55 and the latest Lower Sixth intake appears to be settling at that level. As a result, Canford has turned to a commercial organisation, Expedition Wales, to help with their expeditions, with considerable success. Aled Davies has taken over the training and the delivery of the practice and assessed expeditions. The pilgrimages to first the New Forest and then to Wales have become standard fare for many, and both the November and January excursions brought spectacular conditions and great walking. The practice expedition to the Brecons in June was a different story, however. The rain and the midges

challenged the groups mightily and pupils donned midge nets and shower caps on their heads in the campsites to cope. Such challenges did focus the mind, though, and left us all well prepared for the assessed expeditions later in the season. Six groups thereafter returned to Wales, this time without the midges or the rain, and duly completed their expeditions. Two years ago, one of our groups ventured to the jungles of Thailand to complete their expedition and whilst this year we did not have anything as exotic as that, two groups did step away from the stereotype. The first tackled their excursion through Snowdonia, heading south to finish under the shadow of Cadair Idris, but decided that walking was too pedestrian and climbed onto their bicycles. Training in the Purbecks was met with high winds and the group quickly found that cycling with heavy panniers in hilly terrain was not the fun bimble through the countryside, with the bike taking the weight, that they expected. Nonetheless, their cycling through the mountains in Wales proved to be an exhilarating and rewarding experience. Luckily, they escaped injury, pile-up or mechanical failure to finish triumphant. A second group travelled to the French Pyrenees, seeing Canford returning to Lescun for the first time in thirteen years. There they tackled an ambitious section of the Haute Route and enjoyed a challenging but stunning walk along the French-Spanish border. The weather was kind and the journey, through spectacular woods and valleys filled with wild raspberries and blueberries up onto glacial moraines with views over multiple ridges, was spectacular. The six girls swam in the lakes to cool off and enjoyed walking for the most part, without seeing many other people at all. The Bronze cadre from the Fourth Form, again seeing record numbers (27), settled for the Purbecks for their training expedition and finished their campaign in the New Forest with glorious weather but with one small hiccup: the sixth adder bite in the UK this year brought an end to one participant’s attempt. The victim recovered swiftly but despite her protestations, was not allowed back onto the expedition; she will be completing her walk in October this year. Overall the year has gone well and considerable momentum has developed in the DofE world at Canford. Congratulations to all those who have achieved their awards. Dan Culley

The Canford Community

THE usual array of Canford Community events punctuated the year and were very well supported by OCs and parents alike. Over 1,500 people joined us and this number is rising each year. Without your support and commitment, the Canford Community would not be so strong and vibrant. Thank you. As part of the remit of the Development Office, we aim to support OCs of all ages where we can and particularly as they embark on their first career after leaving university or school. A lot of work took place before Christmas to launch our new alumni platform – Canford Global Connect. This is a new online facility for OCs and parents. It allows all who join access to a powerful network. You can share news, offer to help by mentoring or answering industry-specific questions, offer work experience and post job vacancies at your organisation. For OCs it is also a great way to find, reconnect and reminisce with other OCs. Many schools and universities have adopted this platform and we very much hope that you will join and make use of the valuable contacts available to you throughout the Canford Community. This last academic year saw our first pupil leaders and with their introduction came a wave of enthusiasm and support in the Development Office. Assigned three pupil leaders, we met regularly and together we decided that to raise awareness of our Martin Marriott Foundation (MMF) for bursaries, we would organise a whole school fundraising event. After discussions and suggestions, by far the most popular choice was a colour run: a 5km fun run where participants are squirted with colourful powdered paint at various stages around the course. The pupil leaders were involved with the preparation, lead up and organisation on the day. All who took part had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. In addition to all of the fun, the money raised was divided equally between Cancer Research UK and the MMF. This will be an annual event so do save the date – Sunday 19 April 2020. The Annual Fund which supports the MMF again reached its target of £52,000 to fully fund a Sixth Form

day pupil for their full two years at Canford. I would like to thank most sincerely those who contribute so generously to this. It is my greatest pleasure to meet and talk with Canfordians in receipt of bursaries just before they leave. They tell me about the difference that a Canford education has made to them personally and to their families, and about the friendships that they have built which will stay with them through life. They clearly understand how much this opportunity has meant to them and how much it has changed their lives. They are sincerely grateful to those who have helped to award them a place at Canford and they are all so keen to give back in many ways when they are able to. Informal meetings with OCs took place as Canford prepares to celebrate 50 Years of Co-education. It was interesting to hear thoughts and views from a range of OCs on how this milestone year should be marked. Celebratory events are planned, including an Arts Day in April. Our social media streams will be busy posting memories from OCs of co-education at Canford and there are plans afoot to thread this theme across the school curriculum. Rowena Gaston, Development Director

“You can share news, offer to help by mentoring or answering industry-specific questions, offer work experience and post job vacancies.”

CANFORD COMMUNITY

Friends of Canford School ONE of the best ways for parents and the wider Canford community to enjoy and feel involved in Canford life is by taking part in activities organised by the Friends of Canford School. These include a tour of the school at the start of the academic year, the October quiz night, being entertained by beautiful carols and seasonal sketches during Noël Noël in the school’s stunning Great Hall, learning about the special trees in the school’s arboretum,

and taking on the Headmaster and his team on the testing Canford golf course. There is always something new to try. Also, this year we were inspired during the Spring Lunch by a local, young businesswoman, Sonnaz Nooranvary, who is one of the expert restorers on BBC2’s The Repair Shop. She shared her colourful journey, from living on an Iranian Merchant Navy ship as a newborn to how she came to be in business and on television. We charge a small amount for events to raise funds which make a difference to the lives of others who do not have the chances which the Canford pupils have. Once again this year, we have been able to award significant grants to two of the school’s partnerships: City Reach and SHINE. We have also refreshed the grant scheme and are encouraging applications from the new pupil leaders and all Canford staff. Each application needs to demonstrate social and/or educational and/or environmental impact beyond the school gates. Everyone is welcome. Have a look at the community pages on the school website for details and to sign up to events. Anita Ambrose-Hunt, Chair, Friends of Canford School

Friends of Canford Rowing ROWING is a tough sport which takes hours of training in the gym, on the erg and on the river in all weathers. The beauty and reward from all of this hard work is often not seen until the summer regatta season, when the weather is kinder and regattas on the Thames are more of a spectacle. The Friends of Canford Rowing continue to provide ‘the roar from the riverbank’ for Canfordians taking part in head races and regattas and it is this support and recognition that can make such a difference to those taking part. Not only is the encouragement and cheering of great support but hot drinks and snacks served before and after races help to build friendships between parents and home-made cakes or bacon rolls are a welcome sight for rowing pupils.

“The Friends of Canford Rowing continue to provide ‘the roar from the riverbank’ for Canfordians taking part in head races and regattas.”

Rowers attended and were supported by parents at many races this year including the National Schools Regatta at Eton Dorney and Head of the River in London, while crews represented Canford at both Henley Women’s and Henley Royal Regatta. The social rowing season culminated after the House Regatta with the Boat Club Dinner. Guests listened to after-dinner speaker Guin Batten, British rower and silver medallist at the 2000 Olympics, talking about not only her Olympic experience but the challenges of rowing solo across the English Channel: she became the first solo female to cross, in 3 hours and 14 minutes! This was closely followed in early July by lunch and drinks at Henley Royal Regatta, where parents, rowers and OCs gathered in glorious sunshine. Friends of Canford Rowing

CANFORD COMMUNITY

Friends of Canford Music IT’S been yet another busy year, with each year seeming to surpass the previous. In the Christmas Term, the traditional set pieces were followed by Evensong in Winchester Cathedral, the magical Christmas Concert and sublime Carol Concert at Wimborne Minster. The Easter Term welcomed the annual residence by the Britten Sinfonia and a masterclass by pianist Libby Burgess, followed shortly by the effervescent Jazz Concert, this time without last year’s snowstorm! This was followed by the trip to St John’s Smith Square, where Canford’s musicians played and sang to the beautiful acoustics of the historic hall. Finally the Summer Term and a stunning concert, ‘A Plethora of Pianists’, performed by the talented Canford piano teachers and music staff, celebrating the recently refurbished Steinway piano in the music hall. To complete the year was the summer concert, highlighting

some spectacular solos by Upper Sixth leavers. Events are regularly supported by Friends of Canford Music (FCM), comprised predominantly of parents. Its aim is to support the department both in publicity and in warmly welcoming you to events, often with a beverage and programme! The instrument donation scheme is in full swing: perhaps you have a good-quality but unused instrument gathering dust and would like to donate it, thereby helping more young people to make even more music? If you would like information on this, or to join the FCM mailing list, please email us at fcm@canford.com. A special mention to Ben Davies, a member of the Friends of Canford Music over the years. Ben originally helped establish FCM and has been Chair for the last six years. His performance over the years will be difficult to follow! Martin Hancock

“Perhaps you have a good-quality but unused instrument gathering dust and would like to donate it, thereby helping more young people to make even more music?”

Old Canfordian Society I LOOKED at my Eagle diary of 1969 and suddenly realised that it is 50 years since I left Canford. My memories of those days are as clear as the school bell – remembering what I did yesterday is more of a challenge! You must have heard the saying, ‘Where does time go?’ Very true: as Thomas Edison said, ‘Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing we can’t afford to lose.’ There are many things in our world that undoubtedly need changing. However, we must take care that change is not merely for change’s sake, but to make the lives of others better than it is. The OC Society has supported Old Canfordians for over ninety years, and tried to make their lives better through regular contact and events such

as this year’s reunion for OCs who left in 1989 (pictured), organised by the Development Office which now takes on the coordination of OC events. Recently there have been attempts to modernise the way the Society operates. I am all in favour of progress and adapting to current ways of thinking and doing things and it is good to see that the OC Society will continue to work closely with the Development Office to achieve this. I am retiring this year as President of the OC Society after ten years, and eleven years before that producing our OC Magazine. I have enjoyed the contact with the school and I wish every happiness and success to Canford and to the OC Society. Robin Wright, President, Old Canfordian Society

Support matters

David Brook on looking after Canford’s past and building its future ‘No one who has known Canford over the years can be unaffected by its beauty.The Victorian house with its Great Hall and Long Gallery, the towers, the sunken lawns, the mediaeval splendours of John o’ Gaunt’s, the gravel paths, balustrade and rose walk, Canford Park stretching to the Bournemouth Road with Canford Heath beyond, the glories of Mountjoy and the playing fields, the trees, Mountjoy Oak and Spanish Chestnut and Wellingtonia, the river, suspension bridge and mill pool, all these evoke the fondest of memories.’ Henry Baynham & Robin Whicker, A Portrait of Canford 1923-1998 “Canford is perhaps the very embodiment of the notion that the whole is much greater than just the sum of its parts.”

THE independent schools of the United Kingdom certainly have more than their fair share of impressive old buildings and heritage assets, many purpose-built over the centuries for the education of the nation’s children and others developed and adapted from grand houses and residential estates built for the aristocracy and wealthy merchants. Canford is, of course, no exception, with the magnificent Bloordesigned and Barry-modified Manor House being the very heart of the school ever since its inception in 1923. Canford might not have the imposing scale of some of the country’s more ancient public schools such as Charterhouse, Eton or Christ’s Hospital, but

it would be very hard to argue that there is a more attractive school setting anywhere in the land. The appeal of Canford’s physical site is much more about the way in which the Grade 1 listed building sits within and integrates with its surroundings than it is about sheer size; more about simple, high-quality functionality than keeping up with the Bryanstons; and more about a genuinely warm, homely and inviting feel than it is about dramatic, award-winning architectural form. Although the Manor House is certainly the primus inter pares of Canford’s assets, it is simultaneously balanced and enhanced by the natural tree-rich parkland and modern educational buildings

SUPPORT STAFF

1920s alike and no single aspect of the site dominates unduly. Canford is perhaps the very embodiment of the notion that the whole is much greater than just the sum of its parts. It would be all too easy to take this understated and all-but-perfect beauty for granted, but keeping Canford’s site at the top of its game in the 21st century is a complex affair made even more tricky by a number of legislative constraints. The most well-known of these is the Grade 1 listing of the Manor House, John o’ Gaunt’s Kitchen and the pierced stone screen that connects the main building to the Nineveh porch. Only 2.5% of all listed buildings are Grade 1 listed. These buildings are of exceptional architectural and historic interest and there are significant restrictions on what can be done to them and how they can be maintained. In almost all cases, any proposed changes to these buildings require listed building consent from the local planning authority, who are advised by an organisation called Historic England. Work carried out without such consent could well be deemed a criminal act. Furthermore, the law says that the listed building also includes any ancillary object or structure within the curtilage of the building, which forms part of the land and has done so since

before 1 July 1948. So, many of our buildings such as the Assembly Hall and the Monteacute/Wimborne building, and structures such as the balustrade and the sunken lawn, although not listed in their own right, are covered by listed building curtilage regulations. The curtilage is the area of land and other buildings that is around and associated with that principal building – in Canford’s case, this effectively means the whole of the school site. The second area of legislative constraint lies in the fact that Canford is situated in an area designated as part of the South East Dorset Green Belt. There are only fourteen separate areas of Green Belt in England, covering just 12.4% of the country. Development on Green Belt is tightly controlled unless there are exceptional circumstances to justify it. In general, the creation of new buildings, or the significant extension of existing ones, is incompatible with Green Belt regulations. The entire Canford site is also covered by an Area Tree Protection Order. This prevents the cutting down, topping, lopping, uprooting or otherwise damaging of any trees with a trunk diameter greater than 7.5cm (approximately the width of an adult’s palm) without the local planning authority’s written consent.

“Keeping Canford’s site at the top of its game in the 21st century is a complex affair made even more tricky by a number of legislative constraints.”

2000s

support matters

Importantly, the cutting of roots also requires consent and the root protection zones so created can be areas of up to 30 metres in diameter. This can severely restrict where construction can take place and how underground services such as gas, water and fibre optic cables can be routed. Finally, large parts of the Canford site also lie within the Canford Magna Conservation Area. Conservation areas, which cover 2.2% of England, are designated areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. In practice this brings additional planning controls and considerations into play such as limiting the changes to the outside appearance of buildings or additional controls on materials used for new-build projects. The team charged with navigating this veritable spider’s web of rules and regulations, while simultaneously acting as guardians of the school’s past, maintaining all the infrastructure required to house, feed, shelter, educate and entertain more than 650 pupils, 400 staff and large numbers of external visitors

“That document, published in 2018, took into account the views of a huge range of stakeholders.”

in the present and ensuring that Canford can evolve and remain competitive in the inevitably competitive and contemporary environment of the future, is led by the Director of Estates, Andrew Bruce. Since 2013, Andrew has been leading a comprehensive review of the entire site with the aim of providing a Site Development Masterplan that outlines a vision of the physical development on the Canford site required to support the school’s educational and pastoral needs. That document, published in 2018, took into account the views of a huge range of stakeholders and has been agreed by the local planning authority and Historic England as the basis for planning at Canford into the medium term. Now that Governors have approved a strategic plan for the school over the next ten years or so, Andrew and his team have been able to develop more detailed plans of how that plan can be brought to fruition while complying with the principles set out in the site masterplan. Much of the detailed work around the new-build projects that will be needed is being carried out by the school’s capital projects manager, Tristan

support matters Hutton, an Old Canfordian who has returned to the area with his ever-growing family – he has celebrated the birth of a son and a daughter since joining us a little over a year ago! The first of those projects is the provision of a new library and improvements to the assembly hall that will allow the whole school to congregate in one place for the first time in many years. Planning permission for the project, which will be built on the site of the current Combined Cadet Force building, has been granted and work is expected to start in early 2020. To make way for the library, a new Outdoor Education Centre is being built adjacent to the newly refurbished assault course on Franklin Field. Meanwhile, the task of looking after what we already have falls to the Building and Surveying team under manager Toby Cosgrove, another recent recruit to Canford, and the Mechanical and Electrical team under Jacqui Mould – who has been here much longer. On Jacqui’s side, plumbers Martin Pope and Jim Boles ensure that water flows into, around and out of the site in an orderly fashion and is heated, treated and cooled at the right times and places, while electricians

Lee Cross, Joshua Smith and Colin Horne keep the lights on and the power flowing throughout the dark winters and bright summers alike. Toby’s team comprises builders Mark Rudd and George Mann with the multi-trades maintenance technicians, Richard Lines, Mark Colbourne, Kevin Cackett and Paul Symes, working for Mike Morris to carry out a huge variety of carpentry and maintenance tasks throughout the year. When the team needs a little extra support, exRoyal Marine Doug Northage is there to co-ordinate specialist contractors. These teams really come into their own during the school holiday periods, when the absence of pupils and teachers allows them to crack on with a myriad of essential projects that can’t be easily done while the site is full, but there is rarely a day throughout the year that Canford’s infrastructure, old and new, doesn’t need at least a little attention. So next time you are wandering amongst Canford’s magnificent, beautiful and hard-working buildings, spare a thought for the team whose unseen, unglamorous and often unnoticed work provides the foundations for those ‘fondest of memories’. David Brook, Managing Director and Bursar

“Plumbers Martin Pope and Jim Boles ensure that water flows into, around and out of the site in an orderly fashion.”

sport

Fraser Portraits

Back row, left to right: James Longrigg, Nick Newton, Charlie Ford, Stefan Perry. 3rd row, left to right: Sammy Smith, Stewart Boyd, Adam Phillips, Archie Van Der Flier, Jack Carpenter. 2nd row left to right: Freddie Charles, Pat Taylor, Will Hannah, George Billson, Thomas Sykes, James Martch. Front row, left to right: Tom Ralls, James ‘Chuck’ Norris, John Ireland (captain) Tom Conibear, Joe Nalbantoglu.

Rugby “It is the essence of education: stretching, challenging and supporting our pupils on their journeys from dependence to independence.”

LOOKING solely at results, particularly from the 1st XV, it would be easy to talk about a season of disappointments. This year’s cohort may well look back at some games that slipped through their grasp at the death as well as some matches where a mindset wasn’t quite where it should have been. There were games where the exact opposite was true: in particular Marlborough, the always powerful Craighouse outfit and the muscular Seaford College were all games where true fighting spirit, determination and bravery was clearly on display. Our teams are asked to replicate this mental fortitude on a weekly basis in matches and to apply themselves consistently in training sessions so that gradual progress may take place. Clearly this is one of the reasons we use sport, and rugby in particular, in a school setting: to help develop these and other traits. Doing this in unison and co-operation with

others adds a little more complexity to the situation. It is the essence of education: stretching, challenging and supporting our pupils on their journeys from dependence to independence. Perhaps, then, knowing how complicated it can be to acquire these victories and how hard opponents are working to the same end is why winning feels so satisfying. Maybe the successes of the past two years have allowed us to forget how much a win on a Saturday should be cherished, as past performance offers no guarantee that next week or next season might end with more points on the board or wins for our teams. The 2nd XV by comparison enjoyed a season where they racked up plenty of wins, a credit to their teamwork and togetherness. However, without being able to push boys up to the 1st XV and for them to strive for selection week to week, the value added

1st 12 0 0 12 2nd 10 6 0 4 3rd 6 2 1 3 U16A 12 4 2 6 U16B 3 0 2 1 U15A 16 6 2 8 U15B 10 4 2 4 U15C 2 0 0 2 U14A 14 6 3 5 U14B 12 7 1 4 U14C 7 3 2 2 U14D 4 0 4 0

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to help the 1st XV was limited over the course of the season. As a club we need boys to be bold and aspirational in pushing from the 2nd XV to the 1st XV and from B teams to A teams lower down our age groups. However, there are some fabulous opportunities and exciting prospects that may, hopefully, emerge from the ashes of last season. The 1st XV regularly fielded ten Year 12 or 11 players (Lower Sixth and Fifth Form). And with another six boys tasting some first-team experience from outside our Year 13, there is much to be hopeful about. Given this year’s experience, my hope is that the boys will spend some time knuckling down over the summer with a view to returning in September in better physical shape than we did in September 2018. There are more reasons to be hopeful. The 1st VII squad, when they finally got to play some competitive matches at Rosslyn Park (unfortunately all practice tournaments were cancelled over the course of the term due to inclement weather), was outstanding. Skill, tenacity, work rate were absolutely spot on and they missed qualifying from their group by an absolute gnat’s whisker, giving pre-tournament group favourites RGS Newcastle the fright of their lives in the group decider. They represented the school in outstanding fashion and I was thoroughly proud to have worked with them this Easter Term. Within this group, Upper Sixth leavers include John Ireland (capt), James ‘Chuck’ Norris, James Martch, Gus Jarrold and Tom Ralls. RGS Newcastle went on to win the Bowl competition. With seven boys eligible for next year’s tournament, progress in the competition is a real possibility. The Colts, too, performed out of their skins in their Rosslyn Park tournament, also ending up as group runners-up but pushing Berkhamstead all the way: a fantastic achievement when you bear in mind that Fred Charles was playing up into the 1st VII. Given

their torrid XVs season this was another outstanding effort. It was made all the more pleasing by the inclusion of six Year 10 boys (Fourth Form), who never once looked out of place against their older counterparts in terms of skill or size. We also saw Year 11 boys like Miles Quick, Toby Philpot, Thomas Matthews and Seb Collingridge show moments of real class and underline their undoubted rugby brains and brawn, supported extremely well throughout the day by Rory Jones and Will Hobden. Also to be noted are John Ireland’s inclusion in the Dorset and Wilts U20s team, Fred Charles’s continued involvement with Bath Academy and the county U16s, joined in the county setup by Toby Philpot. U15s Roman Gill and Ben Ashton have stepped up from the Bath DPP to their full Academy. There is no reason why the likes of Seb Gallego, Tommy Davies and Joel Bibby cannot join them at this level, given a good summer. In the U14s pathway are Oscar Feingold, Oscar Berridge and Jack Janaway. The U15s’ run in the national competition is also worthy of mention and highlights the progress they continue to make as a group We have lots of boys capable of doing very well on the rugby field. There may be external pressures from modern life and the contrast between relatively comfortable lives many of our pupils enjoy and the discomfort inherent in playing rugby might be slightly offputting initially. But, at our very best and when we stand together with one mind and one purpose, we continue to be highly effective and competitive. Peter Short, Director of Rugby

“At our very best and when we stand together with one mind and one purpose, we continue to be highly effective and competitive.”

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Fraser Portraits

The 1st XI squad. Back row, left to right: Daena Shah, Abbie Rowsell, Grace Leggett, Beanie Culley, Molly Fairbairn. Middle row, left to right: Hannah Fairchild, Abby Childerley, Sophie Saunders, Katie Ashcroft, Lizzy Balls, Imogen Fairweather. Front row, left to right: Holly Hazzard, India Still, Martha Taylor (captain), Lydia Harvey, Hannah Cox (vice-captain).

Girls’ Hockey

“A young and creative 1st XI, comprising just three Upper Sixths, played with attacking flair and defensive resilience.”

IN a very productive 2018-19 season, Canford’s girls played with determination, quality and maturity, thereby gaining greatly from their shared experiences. The overall record for our 13 teams was P119 W77 L26 D16, with 334 goals scored and 109 conceded. A young and creative 1st XI, comprising just three Upper Sixths, played with attacking flair and defensive resilience. Sophie Saunders led the goal charge, netting 33 times in 28 games. Encouraging early-season form was rewarded by back-to-back victories in the Cardiff Met Invitational Tournament and the Sherborne Tournament. This was complemented by hard work in training in the weeks that followed. An unexpected Round 1 defeat in the U18 Tier 1 National Cup on penalty strokes away at Taunton meant we found ourselves in the equivalent Tier 2 Plate competition. The capacity to bounce back from

this initial disappointment typified the spirit and fight within the group, as notable wins were registered against Chilean touring side Craighouse (3-2), Millfield (3-2), KES Southampton (4-1), Cranleigh (4-2) and Marlborough (5-2), to name a few. Five further victories, including wins away at Bromsgrove and home against Blundell’s in the quarter-final, took us through to Tier 2 U18 National Finals at the Olympic Park. Here, we beat Northwood 3-1 in the semis before a last-gasp winner from captain and England U18 International, Martha Taylor, led to a 2-1 triumph over Norwich and a National Tier 2 title: a fantastic achievement. The entire squad deserve huge credit, whilst the travelling parental support network did us proud! The 2nd XI enjoyed a fine season, which reflected the strength in depth of the squad. The brand of hockey improved throughout the term, and refreshingly, the success gained was by no means down to one or two superstars but via a genuine team effort. Steel and composure in defence initiated counter-attacks through our midfield, who carried effectively and pressed the opposition defence. Our forwards not only had genuine pace but also the ability to finish. Highlights included beating Blundell’s (6-0), KES Southampton (2-0) and Wellington (1-0), and there was also a very entertaining 3-3 draw versus Millfield. Places in the 3rd and 4th XIs were very competitive, with players coming from across three age-groups of varying experience and ability. The 3rd XI were in fine fettle, conceding only two goals all season and scoring freely. A seven-game winning run was only ended by a solitary defeat to Cranleigh, and their determination in all their matches was commendable. The 4th XI were also a strong unit, beginning the term with five consecutive

sport victories, including emphatic wins over Blundell’s, King’s College Taunton and Millfield, and showing great spirit and enthusiasm throughout. In the National Tier 1 Cup, the U16 age group (featuring several U15s) secured some impressive results. Comprehensive wins over Prior Park College and Blundell’s in the first two rounds led to an away day at Marlborough College. A Marlborough winner decided a close affair in the second period, and despite several decent efforts, we could not find an equaliser. Molly Fairbairn (also in the 1st XI) was the pick of the players, with her efforts being rewarded with her England U16 debut versus Ireland. The U15A team kicked off the season well, winning three matches in a row. A strong overall season boasted 43 goals for and only 11 against. The defensive unit consistently performed at a high level, while end of term wins over Wellington (4-1) and Marlborough (5-0) were particularly memorable. The U15Bs became the draw specialists, notching four draws away at Millfield and Cranleigh and at home to Marlborough, while winning as many as they lost, in a season which saw the girls grow further in confidence. The U15C team played an equally significant role in the success of the year group, with fine wins over Bryanston (6-0), Clayesmore U15As (7-0) and Marlborough College (3-1). The U14As retained the county title in style. Furthermore, there were some encouraging early season

wins over Bryanston, King’s College Taunton, Blundell’s and Millfield, as well as well-contested encounters against some strong opposition in the latter stages of term. Unfortunately, a tough group at the regional finals meant we did not make the knockout stages. However, the girls will no doubt take great experience from this in future similar situations. The U14Bs enjoyed a successful season, winning half of their ten games, the highlight of which was a thumping win over King’s College Taunton. A lovely group, they demonstrated togetherness and a keen collective identity. The U14C team recorded four wins, most notably against Bryanston, Millfield and Cranleigh. The girls responded positively in coaching sessions and games alike. They developed the core skills of passing, receiving and ball-carrying effectively, and scored some fine goals in the process. All Shell pupils were involved in team hockey throughout the course of the term, and this was a great credit to their enthusiasm. The Easter break saw the Shell girls travel to Scheveningen in Holland for their annual tour. Both A and B teams were hosted superbly by our Dutch hosts at Roomburg HC, Ring Pass HC and Forescate HC, and our stay on the coast at the Boulevard Hotel was enhanced by the presence of a number of travelling parental supporters. My thanks to all of the coaching staff for their continued efforts throughout the year, and to the parents for their support. Matt Collison, Director of Hockey

“All Shell pupils were involved in team hockey throughout the course of the term, and this was a great credit to their enthusiasm.”

1st 28 22 3 3 2nd 9 6 2 1 3rd 9 8 0 1 4th 9 6 0 3 U16A 3 2 0 1 U15A 12 7 3 2 U15B 10 3 4 3 U15C 7 3 1 3 U14A 15 11 1 3 U14B 10 5 2 3 U14C 7 4 0 3

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Fraser Portraits

The 1st XI squad. Back row, left to right: Harry Mitchell, Tom Conibear, Charlie Peplow. Middle row, left to right: Tom Sykes, Harry Pickard, Will Whitmore, Richie Steavenson, Lochie Fulton, Luke Hett. Front row, left to right: George Robson, Jack Sherborne, Matt Daubeney (captain), George Baugniet (vice-captain), Jordan Le Boutillier.

Boys’ Hockey IN a thoroughly progressive and memorable season, the Canford boys’ hockey club has had much success, winning 53% of all competitive matches played. Overall, our 12 teams gained an impressive record of P105 W56 L32 D17, scoring 284 goals and conceding 181. An experienced and inventive 1st XI had an excellent campaign. The brand of hockey on offer was a spectator’s delight, with an attack-minded positive passing game complemented by a commitment to a tight defensive structure and desire to regain possession as fast as possible. We returned to the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona for a very useful and well-balanced pre-season abroad at the famous Hockey Reyes tournament, where we finished third. The key playing elements of the side were fostered through a fine sense of team unity. Having started our England Hockey U18 Tier 1 League before Christmas, there followed an undefeated domestic campaign. A number of confident victories meant that we finished second in our league and continued the momentum

“A number of confident victories meant that we finished second in our league and continued the momentum with other strong performances.”

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with other strong performances. Indeed, we beat KES Southampton (4-2), the Portsmouth Grammar School (6-0), Sherborne (5-0), Millfield (5-3), Marlborough College (2-0) and Sir William Borlase (2-1), as well as a high-quality 1-1 draw away at Dean Close. Following our league progress, we travelled away to Whitgift in the National U18 Cup quarter-final. We went toe-to-toe with the much fancied opposition; a roller-coaster affair finished with a 3-4 defeat, but much credit was due all round. Captain and player of the year, Matt Daubeney, and vice-captain and players’ player of the year, George Baugniet, led by example in fostering such a tight-knit group, while there were other notable contributions from George Robson, Richie Steavenson, Harry Mitchell and England U16 international Will Whitmore. The 2nd XI had a decent squad this season, though not the depth of previous years. Opening wins over KES Southampton (3-0) and Lord Wandsworth College (9-1) allowed the squad to gel effectively and be quick to understand their roles within the team. A few draws followed, but a clinical 3-0 triumph over Millfield and 3-1 victory over Clayesmore’s 1st XI made up for defeats versus Sherborne and Marlborough. It was a strangely challenging season for the 3rd XI with matches at one end of the scale, against Winchester 1st XI and Bryanston 2nd XI, proving too much, but by contrast big wins against Millfield and Wellington, who were both blown away by our hard running and determination. Zach Fenwick benefited most, as a simple pass in his direction would invariably end in the net. Billy Pocock was the player of the season, while William Bloxham was outstanding at the back, ever dependable under pressure. Likewise, Rob Thomas was the other stand-out star of the show, with close games dependent

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upon some agile and athletic keeping on his part. Seb Jones was the most improved player of the season. A young 4th XI endured a tricky set of games. Despite beating Clayesmore 2-0 and drawing against Sherborne, they lost the majority of their matches to Lord Wandsworth College, Bryanston and Marlborough. Following an opening day 1-6 reverse versus a very talented KES Southampton side, the U16As only lost once in round 3 of the National Cup in their remaining eight games, winning six of them. An increasingly mature approach saw the standard and confidence within the group flow freely, with Tom Prest netting 18 goals in just eight games. The U16Bs and U15Cs suffered a few cancellations due to the weather and opposition withdrawal, but they both saved the best for last, the U16Bs producing an exciting 4-3 win at home over Marlborough, and the U15Cs beating Wellington (3-2). The attitude throughout the year groups was pleasing and the boys should be proud of their progress. The U15As played some lovely stuff during a season in which much progress was made. Winning five of their nine matches, highlights included 5-2 wins over Bryanston and Clayesmore, as well as Millfield (3-1) and Wellington College (5-0). The U15Bs scored 32 goals in their nine games and produced some fine hockey along the way. Hard fought wins over Lord Wandsworth College (2-1) and Sherborne (1-0) built confidence, and were followed by crushing victories over Millfield (10-0) and Wellington (9-0). The U14As won half of their 14 matches and finished runners up in the U14 Tier 1 County Finals. Unfortunately, progress at the Tier 1 West Regional Finals was halted at the quarter-final stage. They learnt some valuable lessons along the way about game management but stuck to their principles of attractive, positive, passing hockey. On their day, they were brilliant, but lacked some consistency in big games, which can be a target for next year. For a squad who were relatively inexperienced, the U14B season produced some great results. Convincing wins over Lord Wandsworth College (4-1), Bryanston (7-0), Sherborne (5-0) and Millfield (4-0) demonstrated the improvements made within the group. The U14Cs were slow to start but improved their core skills rapidly to register several wins and score as many goals as they conceded. My thanks to all of the coaching staff for their continued efforts throughout the year, and to the parents for their support. Matt Collison, Director of Hockey

1st 17 12 3 2 2nd 9 4 3 2 3rd 8 4 2 2 4th 6 1 2 3 U16A 9 6 1 2 U16B 4 1 0 3 U15A 9 5 1 3 U15B 9 6 1 2 U15C 4 1 0 3 U14A 14 7 2 5 U14B 9 6 2 1 U14C 7 3 0 4

â&#x20AC;&#x153;They learnt some valuable lessons along the way about game management but stuck to their principles of attractive, positive, passing hockey.â&#x20AC;?

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Fraser Portraits

Back row, left to right: Holly Hazzard, Beanie Culley, Hannah Fairchild. Front row, left to right: Millie Dickins, India Still, Lucy Stalker (captain), Charlotte Butt, Nia Burley.

Netball THE netball club has had an exciting year. Thirteen teams took to the court and represented Canford in competitive matches. Canford netball saw the largest number of girls participating this year, but it is also a growing success in both the results and the attributes that the girls are exposed to while playing the sport. The U14 and U16 squads qualified for the SW schools regional tournament this year. They both went on to secure a place at the national finals. This is the first

“This is the first time in Canford’s history that two teams have been in this prestigious competition.”

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time in Canford’s history that two teams have been in this prestigious competition. Individual achievements include Daisy Askew in the Dorset pathway and Daisy Brown performing in the Hampshire pathway. Evie Corn, Lauren Corn and India Still are in the Team Bath futures pathway (Dorset hub). India was then selected into the Bath Academy performance centre. The 1st VII have had a strong and positive season. They displayed great team ethos throughout and have been brilliant role models to the younger years. A highlight of the season was the Bradfield indoor tournament, where the girls played some of their best netball and made their way comfortably into the final, before falling at the final hurdle to a strong Wellington team. The girls put everything that we had been working on into practice, they looked relaxed and played with smiles on their faces and enjoyed the entire day. Throughout the term this team have had a strong record and their performances grew in strength from week to week. Their final game as a team was against KES Bath, where I couldn’t have asked anything more from these girls. The intensity of the match was phenomenal, and it was a great game to watch. Holly Hazzard was awarded players’ player in her first season in the 1st VII. Lucy Stalker was awarded coach’s player for consistent performances in the shooting circle and for always putting herself on the line for her team. She was also awarded her captain shield for motivating and creating a great team ethos within the team but also throughout the whole club. Lucy has played three years in the first team and was also awarded her netball cap in recognition of the hard work and commitment she has shown to Canford netball over the past three years.

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The 2nd VII had a respectable season, a highlight being their game against Bryanston. It was close and competitive all the way through and Canford came out on top by two goals. Each player played their part and it was fantastic to watch. Congratulations to Cece Rogers for captaining the side. The 3rd team made improvements every time they took to the court. They played the whole season with smiles on their faces and we saw them enjoying their netball whatever the score line. Congratulations to Grace Leggett for being captain this term. The U16As had a slow start in their campaign to regain a place at the national finals, but they went on to play the regional tournament in style and were without a doubt the team to beat. At the nationals they ended the day in the top ten of the country, which is an incredible achievement. Their Saturday matches were consistent and gave them a great opportunity to try different combinations and to get on court and put things into practice. The U16Bs had a very successful season, only losing one game by one goal. The rest of their games were closely contested, the team had to stay calm and go through the motions to take the win. The squad changed from week to week, and it was great to see the depth and diversity that this team had. The U15As set themselves a target at the start of the year to become Dorset county champions. They played some flawless netball in the PEDSSA round. They then played some superb netball at the county tournament. In the game against Bournemouth School for Girls, their shooting was excellent and they made countless turnovers, to take the win. The U15Bs had a mixed bag of results but have continued to push their opposition all the way to the final whistle. The U15Cs and Ds have seen a lot of movements throughout the season but put out good team performances each week. The attitude in training has been fantastic, with the girls wanting to get on court and put what they have learnt into practice. For some of them it has been the first time they have played netball. We welcomed the new Shells to the Canford netball club and were able to put out four full teams in competitive and enjoyable fixtures. The U14As were entered into the national schools competition, where they were a little slow to get started. At the regional competition they played some slick and smooth netball to earn themselves a place in the national

finals, where they finished in the top 10 in the country. The U14Bs put out some great performances each week; the Portsmouth GS fixture was a fast and highly competitive game, with only one goal in it at the final whistle. The U14 Cs and Ds saw their squads changing each time the team stepped out on court. They had some fantastic fixtures, notably matches for both teams against Sherborne, where they played with grit and determination while having fun despite the rain most of the time. The inter-house games were played with true team spirit, and the afternoons were filled with sunshine and laughter. The senior final was between Beaufort and de Lacy, with de Lacy coming out as victors. The junior final saw Wimborne and Beaufort battle it out in a very skilful final, and Wimborne took the win by a couple of goals. Netball is continuing to rise here at Canford, and with a big year ahead with a home World Cup, we are excited to get the 2019/20 season under way. Lucy Read, Director of Netball

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The inter-house games were played with true team spirit, and the afternoons were filled with sunshine and laughter.â&#x20AC;?

1st 15 10 2 3 2nd 7 3 0 4 3rd 5 0 0 5 U16A 7 6 0 1 U16B 6 5 0 1 U15A 11 9 0 2 U15B 7 3 0 4 U15C 6 1 0 5 U15D 3 1 0 2 U14A 11 10 0 1 U14B 9 6 0 3 U14C 8 3 1 4 U14D 4 2 0 2

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Fraser Portraits

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The senior boys’ squad. Back row, left to right: Tati Reed, William Yeatman, George Vaughan, Jamie Lucas-Rowe, Joe Nalbantoglu, Simon Jowett, Sean Herrington, Max Beaney, Rory Jones, Matt Butterfield, George Farthing, Nathan Bulstrode, Robert Way. Front row, left to right: Charlie Bartlett, Nat Cranton, Olly Scudds, Tom Dodd, Rory Johnson, Sam Smith, Leo Bishop, Hamish Johnson, William Galbraith, Joe Cox.

Rowing

“This is one of the biggest events in the rowing calendar and provides a platform for young rowers to row against potential future Olympians.”

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THROUGH the 2018-19 season, the Boat Club competed in around twenty different Head races and regattas, and enjoyed another successful annual training camp in Italy. Canford entered three crews into the Schools Head of the River in London in March. Sadly, due to poor weather conditions some crews were cut and our girls did not race. The 1st VIII started in 26th position and finished in 14th place, while the 2nd VIII also acquitted themselves very well. In April, Canford once again joined with King’s, Canterbury for a most successful training camp in Lago D’Orta, Italy. The weather this year gave us blue skies and flat water conditions. The time was divided between a significant amount of technical and physical work, and the pupils’ academic work. The camp was incredibly productive and we hope to return next year. In the Summer Term, as the rest of the school returned home for the half-term holidays, four crews were representing Canford at the National Schools’ Regatta at the Olympic rowing venue of Eton Dorney. This is one of the biggest events in the rowing calendar and provides a platform for young rowers to row against potential future Olympians. The J15 boys’ quadruple scull event had a massive entry of 62 crews from various clubs and schools, and Canford needed to finish in the top 12 to proceed into the second round of racing, which proved too tough an ask. The 1st VIII were one of 28 boats entered in the competition for ‘non-championship’ crews. Canford finished 22nd in the time trial and fifth in the C final. The 2nd VIII were pleased with their time trial and moved into the B final, giving a good account of themselves to finish in an overall position of 11th. This crew contained four J16s, so prospects are promising for next year. The girls’

quadruple sculls were up against 37 crews but qualified for the semi-finals. They did not make it into the A final but finished fourth in the B final. More than 100 pupils were involved in Canford’s annual House Regatta, which saw some exciting racing on our stretch of the River Stour. With plenty of parents in attendance and music by Poole Borough Brass Band, the scene was set for another fantastic showcase of disciplines in both sweep rowing and sculling. Senior girls single sculls: Olivia Imms bt Lucy King by 1 length. Senior boys coxed fours: Wimborne bt Salisbury by 1 length. Junior girls double sculls: Marriotts ‘B’ bt Marriotts ‘A’ by 1 length. Senior girls coxed fours: Marriotts bt Lancaster/Salisbury by 1 length. Shell boys single sculls: Charlie Hall bt Charles Hallam by 2 lengths. Shell girls coxed quadruple: DeLacy bt Lancaster by 4 feet. Junior boys single sculls: Archie Gardiner bt Matthew Butterfield by 1 length. Senior boys coxed pairs: Franklin ‘A’ bt Wimborne ‘A’ by 2 feet. Juniors boys coxed quadruple sculls: Salisbury bt Court by ½ length. Shell girls single sculls: Eliana Covell bt Isobel Heffner by 3 lengths. Shell boys quadruple sculls: Salisbury bt Monteacute by 1 length. Senior boys single sculls: William Galbraith bt Oliver Scudds by 1 length.

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The senior girls’ squad. Back row, left to right: Imi Gallego, Helena Jackson, Grace Hewett, Tess Marley, Lucy King, Liv Imms, Kiki Sullivan, Charlotte Wittram, Rachel Ko. Front row, left to right: Louisa Matthews, Eve Hewett, Aggie Cox, Emma Dalton, Phoebe Kibble, Bea Webb, Ines de la Cruz, Emilia Milner.

The overall winners of the 2019 House Regatta were Salisbury, retaining their title. A massive thank you to all our members of staff for their help in the running of the day and to James Lee for his commentary. Thanks also to Guin Batten, Olympic medallist and transatlantic rower, who gave an inspirational talk at the Boat Club dinner. Henley Women’s Regatta proved quite a way to finish the year for the girls’ rowing team. Two weeks before the event, our VIII was rejected, so four girls missed out on racing as we entered a coxed IV. The support over the weekend was incredible, even more so because three of the girls who missed out on a seat in the IV came to support those with whom they had been training all year – evidence of the team ethos, bond and respect these girls have created together. In the IV’s time trial they were seventh fastest of the sixteen crews that qualified out of 21 crews entered – a notable achievement in itself. In their first side-by-side race, the girls were drawn against Headington School, a club with great rowing prestige and pedigree. Canford held an advantage throughout the race, staying strong and composed. With 400m to go, Headington put in a fighting push to try and get through our girls, but to no avail. Canford crossed the line two lengths ahead of Headington. Their performance and victory was the best Canford has seen in seven years. For their quarter-final race, Canford were drawn against Henley: another formidable club, whose girls have dominated regattas the past two seasons. Canford were on the back foot early on, but stayed in contact for most of the way. Coming into the last third of the race, Henley – the eventual winners of the event –

were up to a length ahead, before crossing the line two lengths ahead of Canford. Canford’s boys’ 1st VIII qualified for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Their first-round race was against St Joseph’s Preparatory School from the USA. At the start the crews were evenly matched, but St Joseph’s had a stronger rhythm, continued with a higher stroke rate and won by two lengths. In the home internationals, Grace Hewett and Liv Imms, with coach Emily Doherty, represented Wales. Ian Dryden, Director of Rowing

“Their performance and victory was the best Canford has seen in seven years.”

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Fraser Portraits

1st XI squad. Back row, left to right: S L C Ives (Master in charge), Seb Fecher, Freddie Pryce, J H Shackleton (Cricket professional), Matt Longley, Jordan Le Boutillier, Miles Quick, M Keech (Director of Cricket). Front row, left to right: Max Anand, Freddie Peters, Harry Moores, Nick Broad, Matt Daubeney (captain), Zac Organ, Tom Sykes, Harry Mitchell, Billy Pocock. (Absent: Tom Prest)

Cricket “As the team began to settle down and the dark clouds of exams had drifted by, we played some excellent cricket.”

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WITH such a short term, it was important to start well and a washed out pre-season meant that we went into the first couple of weeks playing catch-up. Losing to King’s Taunton and Millfield, two of the best cricketing schools in the country, was a tough start. Injuries to five of our initial first twelve selected also led to younger players being drafted in earlier than we would have liked. It meant that we played twenty players’ in five matches and made players roles difficult to cement and manage. However, Matt Daubeney as captain coped admirably, led by example and showed maturity beyond his years.

He must be commended on his commitment, training ethic and ability to stay positive when things got tough. (It’s also worth mentioning his excellent A Level results alongside!) As the team began to settle down and the dark clouds of exams had drifted by, we played some excellent cricket. Of the three hundreds scored this season, captain Matt’s versus King Edward VI, Southampton, was paced beautifully and allowed us to chase down a competitive total; a superb attacking one from Freddie Peters versus the Rifles Regiment showed the talent we have coming through; and finally there

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was a thoroughly deserved one from Tom Prest versus Winchester. It’s also worth mentioning his 99 versus the MCC. This has been a hard season for the bowlers with most coming back from injuries. Tom Sykes was our leading seamer and Tom Prest our spinner. In fact, it’s been a tough season all round, thanks to a very short term, exams and injuries, but we also take away lots of positives and hopefully some important game and life experiences. We have some real talent through the school and if we can get the balance of classroom/sport right, we can flourish equally in both environments. The 2nd XI dominated their fixture card, losing only the one game against Millfield, and we have high hopes for some making the step up in to the 1st XI next season. Special mentions must go to Fruin MackillopHall as captain and to ‘Bugs’ Mitchell, who scored a superb 100 against King’s Taunton and finished the season with an average of 223! It was a spin-heavy side, but we look forward to seeing if the likes of Max Anand and Jacob Browning can push for first-team places. Our talented U15s squad lost only three of the ten games they played and showed the real potential they have as a group. James Barker continued to score runs all season and loves to be at the crease. An excellent seam attack of Organ, Khashu, Hill and Marsh gave them lots of options and Pocock is calm and consistent behind the stumps. A talented, sporty year group must now compete for limited places next season. Shadowing the U15s are a very similar Shells group.

Talented, seasoned cricketers who had not experienced much failure in their cricketing lives thus far have hopefully learnt a great deal from a season of real learning opportunities. ‘Games are not always won by the best team on paper’ and ‘Every run counts’ are comments that they have heard throughout the season. At times they played some exquisite cricket and at others resorted back to prep school dashers. They will be a better side for the season they have had. Matt Keech, Director of Cricket

“We have some real talent through the school and if we can get the balance of classroom/ sport right, we can flourish equally in both environments.”

1st 12 7 0 0 5 2nd 5 3 0 1 1 3rd 2 2 0 0 0 4th 1 1 0 0 0 U15A 10 6 0 1 3 U15B 2 0 0 0 2 U14A 10 7 0 0 3 U14B 8 2 0 0 6

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Athletics “There were some fine performances, with twenty topthree finishes, including eight runners-up and seven county champions.”

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AT the start of the season the athletics team congratulated Millie Dickins and Jack Sherborne on becoming athletics club captains. Both have made huge contributions to athletics over the past five years and even a busy exam period saw them both leading by example. The season started with a bang, with the boys competing at Yeovil in the Lutra Shield. The competition format saw A, B, and C string competitors in every event and this meant lots of boys stepping into unfamiliar events in order to score points. The team spirit and camaraderie on show was something to be proud of with the Upper Sixth boys, Jack Sherborne, Tom Ralls, Charlie Ford and George Baugniet, setting fine examples. Notable performances were seen by Jack Sherborne taking 1st place in the 110m hurdles and 2nd in high jump and Adam Phillips claiming 1st in discus. Adam Kwan, Joba Agdedejobi and Eddie Stirling performed

admirably against boys two years older, taking 3rd position in the 100m hurdles and 400m B string races respectively. While the boys were at Yeovil, the girls competed away at Marlborough. It was an ideal opportunity to blow away the cobwebs in the first weekend. Highlights saw Polly Yule (intermediate) run confidently in the 80m hurdles to win her race, Evelyn Young (junior) throwing some impressive distances in both discus and shot and Inès Mitchell running her first 400m in competition.

The following week, a significant number of younger athletes competed at the PEDSSA trial at the Ashdown track. There were excellent 1st place victories for Shell pupils Daisy Brown (junior girls shot), Evelyn Young (junior girls discus), Esther Browning (junior girls 800m) and fourth-formers Alicia Hudson (intermediate girls 200m), Seb Gallego (intermediate boys 100m and 200m) and Rupert Peach (intermediate boys 400m). Twenty-seven athletes were then selected to represent Poole and East Dorset at the DSAA County Championships at King’s Park. There were some fine performances, with twenty top-three finishes, including eight runners-up and seven county champions. Congratulations to the following who were picked to represent Dorset at Exeter in the South West Championships: Daisy Brown (junior girls shot), Evelyn Young (junior girls discus), Polly Yule (intermediate girls 80m hurdles and shot), Imogen Fairweather (intermediate girls shot), Seb Gallego (intermediate boys 100m), Eddie Stirling (intermediate boys triple jump), Adam Phillips (senior boys shot and discus), Zach Fenwick and Mattie Effick (senior boys javelin). At the South West Championships, Eddie Stirling finished in 6th place in the triple jump with a distance of 12.40m, 1cm short of the school record. Mattie Effick threw a new personal best, finishing 4th overall and improving the school record to 47.37m. Zach Fenwick finished in 6th place in the same event. The only South West Schools champion from Canford this year was Adam Phillips in the senior boys discus, throwing almost 45m to take the title and booking his place for the forthcoming English Schools Championships in Birmingham in July. The format of the ESAA track and field cup team has all competitors participating in two events, one track

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and one field, which really generates team spirit amongst the athletes. The inter girls team made up of Shells and Fourth Form pupils finished 2nd behind Sherborne Girls, with Georgie Boon the pick of the group, scoring 39 points in her two events. The boys were 25 points behind the 2nd place team but the accumulation of points meant they had progressed on to the regional round in Basingstoke. Seb Gallego was the star in the boys, scoring 42 points from his two events. At the regional round it was the first time Canford has seen both girls and boys qualify to represent Dorset in ESAA South West Regional B Final. The boys had a strong performance, with their overall points increasing from the first round by 55 points. Improvements were seen by Max Lockyer and Giovanni Perin in the long jump, Joe Bland in the 300m, Ben Ashton in the shot and Matthew Kosgei in the discus. The girls’ team were down on points, but improvements were seen by Bella Hunter in the high jump and Georgie Boon in the long jump. A full team of fifty athletes made the trip up to Devizes to grace the new tartan track at Dauntsey’s and their efforts were well rewarded. The full team finished 2nd overall and within the respective age groups there were 2nd place finishes for inter and senior girls and senior boys, but pride of place went to the inter boys team, who claimed first place. Congratulations to the following pupils who secured victories: Serena Blake (1500m), Imogen Fairweather (shot), Evelyn Young (discus), Alice Milton (javelin), Martha Taylor (javelin), Seb Gallego (100m), Eddie Stirling (400m and long jump) Jack Sherborne (high jump) and Seb Gallego, Joba Agbedejobi, Thomas Matthews and Eddie Stirling in the 4x100m. And how did Adam Phillips fare in the English Schools Championships in Birmingham in July? Adam has another year within this age group, yet he finished 4th in the senior boys discus, and his distance of 46.98m broke the school record that had stood since 1977! Natasha Wilson

“Adam has another year within this age group, yet he finished 4th in the senior boys discus.”

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Tennis

“Whether pupils at Canford play tennis to make it into a team or just to enjoy the game, they all benefit.”

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RESEARCH by the Tennis Foundation has found that 72% of teenagers playing tennis increased their problemsolving skills and 80% increased their communication skills. Whether pupils at Canford play tennis to make it into a team or just to enjoy the game, they all benefit. 253 Canfordians took part in the Summer Term and the biggest increase was seen in the senior boys, with 80 boys participating. In the shortest term of the academic calendar, the tennis club played 91 competitive matches and entered LTA junior schools events to play a more varied opponent, resulting in our pupils playing against some of the best juniors in the country. This year, the girls’ 1st team was captained by Millie Edwards. Her positive attitude and passion for tennis was needed as the seniors suffered a tough fixture list, with some schools added back into the mix as our tennis reputation grows. Although a heavy defeat, the highlight was a loss away at Marlborough; the girls performed well and every point was up for grabs, but the opponents had better depth and consistency. Over the last few years, Sherborne have always seemed to get the better of us, but this year, the girls managed to pip them to the post with a 5-4 win. The 2nd team lost only one match and a thrilling victory over Millfield, 6-3, finished the season off. The 3rds and 4ths enjoyed their season, with a gutsy win over the local rival Bryanston. The U15s had a fantastic season, from the As to the Ds! A very hard-fought win over Sherborne showed confidence at the net and good placement of the serve. They might not all be the most technical of players, but their footwork as they get into a good position before making contact with the ball has been brilliant. Congratulations must go to Rosie Ireland and Flora Lingafelter, who as a pair have not been beaten all season. As ever, the U14s had often not played that much This was a fantastic achievement and I look forward to tennis at their prep schools, so the emphasis for the them spicing things up in the seniors next year. coaching staff was on technique, to ensure that we are giving the girls a good technical foundation before they move up the school. Highlights were a fantastic win over Millfield and, although it resulted in a loss, an inspired performance against Sherborne, The summer was the most successful term of boys’ tennis to date. Not only did we see a rise in the participation levels of boys across the tennis club, but the 1st and 2nd teams both completed no-loss seasons in the regular fixture list. There was a notable win against Millfield; the matches went on for a long time and the score did not reflect the match, even though we came out victorious. Harry Pickard, William Pickard, Ben Morris and Bennet Von Tschischwitz made up this year’s National Cup team. They lost in the second round and displayed true grit against Bournemouth Collegiate, who are home to a world ranked and national ranked players. A big thank you to leaver Harry Pickard for being an exemplary player in the 1st team since Shells. The U15s and U14s enjoyed different fixture lists this year. As well as the regular fixture list, the boys entered a regional schools competition, enabling them to compete at singles as well as doubles. The U15s enjoyed a tough fixture list and competed well all season, their fearless attitude at the net being especially impressive. The U14s had a very well-balanced fixture list, with plenty of close losses or wins. Emma Bennett, Director of Tennis

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Football ONCE upon a time, ‘Canford football’ was a bit of an oxymoron. Those days are thankfully fast becoming a distant memory now, and the sport is thriving in the school. The uptake is high, with over 40 sixth-formers opting for the beautiful game in the Christmas Term and a similar number partaking in the Easter Term. What’s more, we are making quite a splash with our performances, showing that we can compete comfortably with schools with a much stronger football tradition than ours. Though not quite our annus mirabilis – that is still the astonishing 2016/17 season – it was a jubilant one indeed. We have become accustomed to fielding a 1st and a 2nd XI, the Oaks and Acorns, but we managed to get a match for a 3rd XI, too, and that is cause for celebration, especially as it ended in a convincing win. Moreover, the mighty Oaks, our very best footballers, played some fantastic football over the two terms, winning 14 of their 22 matches. Our seconds, the Acorns, might not have had quite as convincing a win ratio, but their improvement over the season was astonishing and they took on an Oak-like form towards the end. Although Easter was our crowning term, a good narrative should start with hardship and the tackling of adversity. Kind of. The Oaks actually got off to a flying start in the Wessex Schools Independent League, soaring to the top of the league and holding that spot until the very last match of the season. After we had swept aside every team, Millfield became our bête noire, sneaking all three points in both fixtures. Nevertheless, only a point was required in the final match of the season, away at Wells – a team we had beaten 6-0 earlier in the season. It wasn’t to be: we hit the post thrice and created more than a dozen clear chances but contrived to lose the game in the final minutes of the match. Heads were hanging when the final whistle blew. Still, the term’s work was ultimately remembered with pride. Bill Shankly was wrong in thinking second is nowhere: it is pretty good, actually. Moreover, our demolition of a school as strong as Wellington in the ISFA Cup felt sweet, earning us a memorable overnight trip to Stockport for the second round.

For the Acorns, our draw specialists, it took eight matches (three losses and five draws) for them to finally record a win. But when they did, they couldn’t stop winning, surfing through the Easter Term, only outmuscled by Winchester’s Bs and the glorious Corinthian Casuals. The Corinthian Casuals match is always the highlight of our fixture list: our boys play footballing gentlemen and learn a lot about the history of the game as well as the Corinthian spirit. The fact that the Oaks won their match against wily adults added to the glory of the day, and our shared feast thereafter was a glorious meeting of minds with speeches galore and the love of the game ramped up further. Football is a team game and it was very much as a collective that we impressed. That said, some special mentions are in order. We had some superb young men playing football this year, with Oaks captain Freddie Johnson the embodiment of leadership and never-saydie attitude; Nick Broad towering in defence and either scoring or creating more than a dozen goals with his howitzer of a left foot; and Zach Organ playing like a more attractive-looking Frank Lampard. The young tyros, Doug ‘Ngolo’ Rowland, Mattie ‘Laser-foot’ Effick and Joe ‘Hollywood’ Hollywood, were also stalwarts – and grounds for great optimism going forward. Sindre Vandvik

“Bill Shankly was wrong in thinking second is nowhere: it is pretty good, actually.”

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Real Tennis “There was great camaraderie on the day, as well as focus and a desire to give it their all in every match.”

THE school played seven fixtures this year, against Wellington College, Radley College and the Hyde Tennis Club in Bridport. Three were won, three drawn and one lost. At the U18s National Schools competition at the Queen’s Club, both our top two pairs finished bottom of their group, but they really dug in for every point. The Canford second pair, Anthony Graham and Connor Elliot-Murray, never quite got going, but worked well as a team and narrowly lost to Canford 1. Our top pair of Michael Galley and James Fountain were unlucky not to progress further up the ranks with two tight 6-5 losses against Wellington 2 and eventual group winners Radley 2. Our third pair of Max Kibble and Barney Peddie performed strongly and topped their group with three convincing wins. Perhaps they relaxed a little in the semifinal, losing 6-3, but overall a great performance. This was the last National School Doubles for all six players in our senior pairs; there was great camaraderie on the day, as well as focus and a desire to give it their all in every match. The under 16s was held at Radley. Charlie Anstee and Miles Quick reached the semi-finals and at one point looked as if they would go all the way. Jake Paterson and Freddie Peters were placed sixth. Both pairs got better throughout the day and both were unlucky not to achieve a better result in the end.

Alice Milton was the only girl to represent Canford this year, which is a great shame. Hopefully more girls will play next year. As always, one of the fun events of the year was the Speech Day challenge. This year James Fountain and Mike Galley took on the might of Chris Fenwick and Dan Culley. Youth came out on top in the end, winning 6/4 4/6 6/2. More practice, staff! Steve Ronaldson

Golf AS has been the format for the last few years, the school plays fewer and fewer matches against other schools and concentrates on two major national competitions. The HMC Foursomes is a played as three pairs taking alternate shots, so relies heavily on consistency. Our team consisted of Morgan Taylor and Charlotte Brook, Josh Brook and Giacomo Perin, and Adam Reid and Tom Holtby. After being given a bye in round 1, we had to face Millfield. On a wet and windy afternoon at Yeovil GC, the players did very well to keep the games close at the turn. However, we lost the first and third matches by 4 & 3 and halved the second match. The encouraging part is that five of the six players will be around next year. The other major competition is the ISGA Singles, which is a team of three players: Morgan, Giacomo and Josh. Beating Milton Abbey, Wellington School and Truro School meant that the team made the national finals for the second year in a row. A special mention must go to Giacomo, who is unbeaten in these scratch singles matches as he seems to psyche out his opponents very successfully. We travelled down to Sandwich for the finals, which switch to a team format, with the two best scores of the day from the team of three counting. The first day of play was at a windy and cold Prince’s GC. The boys struggled to keep the ball in play, especially when hitting into the strong wind, and found themselves too far behind to compete for individual or team honours.

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After the second day, played at Royal St George’s, the team finished fourteenth out of twenty schools. All three players played many good shots but will look back and think ‘What if …?’ – but golf is never a game of perfection and sometimes needs good course management rather than trying to hit the cover off the ball. Gary Shaw

THIS year Canford lacrosse took another leap forward as we had huge influx of fifth-formers starting to play in the Christmas Term. Many caught on very quickly and three ‘beginners’ were good enough to play in the first team by the time of the National Tournament in the spring. This was only the second time Canford had entered the Nationals, but a larger cohort of girls now wanting to play means we will be entering on an annual basis in future. Again, Canford did themselves proud at this tournament, considering it is not a core sport at the school: they kept out of the bottom division play-offs by a combination of feisty attacking in the attack, led by co-captain Deya Shergill, and good concentration in the defence, led by co-captain Imi Nichols. Progress through the year was shown as the first team beat the St Swithun’s third team in the Easter Term having lost to them the previous term, while having lost to Sherborne 2nds in a February match, they then convincingly beat them in the Marlborough Tournament at the end of March. In the Easter Term, we also fielded a second team – many representing a school team for the first time – who lost in close matches against Milton Abbey but dominated against Bryanston and Talbot Heath. The Scott Cup for Most Improved Player went to Yasmin Chadwick whose confidence has leapt forward, together with her skills, making her a key member of the defence. Francis Fleming from the Fifth Form won Players’ Player – largely due to her stepping up to play

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Lacrosse

goalkeeper for the firsts a week before the Nationals, having only played in goal once before! With natural talent and after some extra practice, she played brilliantly in the tournament and thoroughly deserved the accolade from her peers. All in all it was a very positive lacrosse year for Canford and the increased player base promises an exciting future. Michelle Bray

Cross-country EVER-GROWING in popularity, cross-country attracted over 40 pupils in each of the first two terms of the academic year. All of our runners participated in the PEDSSA races that took place during the long and gruelling Christmas Term, with many of them consistently turning in good performances. So good, in fact, that Charlie Bird finished as the best runner in

his category (intermediate boys) over the four races, with Zarah Warr also finishing in the top three for her category (senior girls). A number of Fourth Form boys – Jamie Barrington, Rupert Peach, Aidan Dure-Smith, Felix Tuck – appeared on our radar for the first time in their Canford careers and showed what an exciting prospect they are for the next few years. In the Easter Term, the races come thick and fast, with at least one race each week of term. This year we have enjoyed an extremely successful series of races with both individuals and teams medalling in nearly every single race of the term. We enjoyed team success at Downside (intermediate boys), the Ken Bailey races at Bryanston (senior boys) and at Sherborne (senior boys), as well as individual success at the Clayesmore Classic, the Studland Stampede and at Milton Abbey. Rather pleasingly, our senior boys finished off the season in style with a win at our home relays event. We are tremendously proud of Charlie Bird, Josh Davey, Ines Mitchell, Jamie Barrington and Jackson Kennett, who all represented Dorset at the English Schools Cross-Country Championships in Leeds in March. This is a tremendous achievement, and to have five runners representing Canford at such an event is our best showing for a number of years. Well done to all, but especially Charlie Bird, who finished in the top half of runners in his race. Stuart Gordon

“This year we have enjoyed an extremely successful series of races with both individuals and teams medalling in nearly every single race of the term.”

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Swimming

Squash

THE main event in the Christmas Term was the traditional Dorset Schools Relay Gala, a very competitive event that attracts swimmers of the highest standard. Our intermediate boys’ team managed a respectable tenth place in the 4x50m freestyle relay and seventh in the medley relay. The senior boys’ team came eighth in the 4x50m freestyle relay, and in the medley relay ninth. Our senior girls’ team performed similarly: ninth in the 4x50m freestyle and eighth in the medley. The senior house gala was fiercely contested in October. The girls’ trophy was taken by Beaufort with 43 points, followed by Marriotts with 36 and de Lacy with 32. On the boys’ front the winners were School House with 49 points, just ahead of Salisbury with 41 and Monteacute with 40. The Easter and Summer Terms were quieter than usual with some friendly galas at home. In the U16 girls’ gala at Sherborne versus Leweston, King’s Bruton and Sherborne Girls, the Canford team took third place overall with some consistent performances. The achievements of two of our Shell pupils, Robbie Hemmings and Conor Cherrington, were exceptional. Conor was ranked fourth nationally in both the long course 100m and 200m breaststroke, and in the firstever English Schools’ Swimming Association national championships won gold in both those events, plus a silver and three bronzes. Robbie performed exceptionally at the British Summer Swimming Championships, returning with a new record in the 50m and 100m backstroke for 14-year-old boys. Fran Compan

WE are definitely seeing younger faces on court, with activity and Carousel sessions giving Shells and fourthformers the opportunity to play squash and Real tennis early on in their time at Canford. Jude Organ, Bennet Von Tschischwitz, Freddie Young and Archie Liddle (to name just a few) are definitely ones to watch over the coming years. It is always exciting to see our top team players battling it out for the higher positions. Michael Galley dominated the number one spot, but Connor Elliot-Murray, Anthony Graham and Felix Spowers all made huge strides forward. Charlie Anstee and David Offer continue to impress and look the most likely to be the ones to take over the baton next year. We had twelve hard-fought matches with Bryanston, Clayesmore and Sherborne, winning eight of them. A number of younger pupils made their debuts for the school and grew in confidence with each match they played. Congratulations to School House on winning the junior boys’ house squash title, the first time in many years this has been won other than by Court and Franklin. The boys’ senior title was taken by Court, beating a spirited Lancaster in the final. The girls’ senior title was won by Beaufort in an exhilarating final, which went right down to the wire, with de Lacy. The girls’ junior title was initially too close to call, with a three-way tie for the top spot: Salisbury, Beaufort and Wimborne. The teams were called back for the ‘grand final’, with Wimborne eventually lifting the trophy. James Ryan, Squash and Real Tennis Professional

Badminton

Basketball

THE badminton squad grew to 23 players last year. Several new players joined, many of whom were taking the game up for the first time. By its nature, badminton allows a mix of boys and girls to play against each other. The practice sessions were fun and constructive, with everyone eager to improve. Mr Lee and I had a thoroughly enjoyable term due to the positive attitude of the pupils involved. There were three matches for our beginners against other schools; Canford came out winners every time, although the final match was decided by one tie-break point in the last match on court. The old stalwarts (our more experienced players) were too strong to play in these matches, so next season we have entered a team in the local men’s league. This will be a good challenge for the boys and a chance to get out of school to play matches against adults at clubs in the Poole area. The school badminton sessions are changing to the Christmas Term next season, which will give us longer to develop the players to be ready to play matches. We may even have time to develop a few backhand shots! Canford was represented at county level by Zach Fenwick, who played for the Dorset U19 team in the SW inter-county championship. Chris Fenwick

THE retirement of Dr Wilkinson and the departure of Mr Paramore to Bristol Rugby meant that the basketball team convened for the Easter Term with a new coaching team of Mike and Luca Dronyk at the helm, alongside our graduate assistant, Mr Haines, and Director of Sport Mr Burley. Mike and Luca’s involvement with the Bournemouth University basketball programme provided the boys with a more nuanced tactical structure but a lack of fitness and preparation time were evident in the first match of the season against Clayesmore, where the boys went down 38-30. With a couple more weeks of technical practice and teamwork under their belt, the team travelled away to Sherborne for their next match. Strong performances from James Barker, Michael Ma and captain Fin Boardman saw the boys take a 44-30 victory. A double-header against Bishop Wordsworth’s and Marlborough proved too much of a physical test, but the final game of the season saw a vastly improved performance against Bournemouth Collegiate School, whose team competes regularly in the adult Bournemouth League. Despite going down 34-42, the team displayed real grit alongside some excellent rebounding on both sides of the ball to push BCS all the way. Mark Burley

SUMMER BALL 2019

Including photography by Paul West | www.paulwestphotography.com

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