Charterhouse remembers Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
Isabelle Duncan: Our OC talks cricket and commentating
School News: Sports, music and capital projects
Saunderites to Sutton: How the House has changed
We are delighted to have seen so much activity across the community these past 12 months. Music and sports have been in full flow at the School with fixtures, tours, concerts and an energetic School production of Fame!. Whilst in the OC community our clubs and societies have enjoyed reinvigoration with some new additions along the way, including global activity in Dubai and Australia, and the imminent return of the Old Carthusian City Association.
The last 12 months have also seen moments of historic significance. Not only did we celebrate the School’s 150th anniversary in Godalming and the anniversary of the eminent Old Carthusian, Ralph Vaughan Williams (R1890), but within a few months we mourned the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. Our OCs had many fond memories of her visits to the School and, whilst we couldn’t reprint all of their stories, we hope you enjoy reading the selection in our dedicated segment in this year’s magazine.
As always, we hope you enjoy the magazine and welcome any feedback or suggestions you may have for further additions.
September 2022 saw 940 pupils enrolled at Charterhouse, our largest ever pupil roll.
In support of our future teaching and learning we have made excellent progress on two crucial developments within the School; our Business, Leadership and Entrepreneurship Centre and the Art and Design Centre.
Phase one of this exciting project is now complete. The full renovation of the School’s 200 seat Lecture Theatre was finished in November 222 and has been in daily use since and has become a wonderful asset. As well as transforming the seating and technology, the space has also been opened up into a much more comfortable, light and airy facility for the whole School to use. The previously hidden windows in the room have been re-exposed to provide more natural light and a brand-new stained-glass window has been added to commemorate the 150 year anniversary of our move to Godalming.
The final phase to create the Business, Leadership and Entrepreneurship Centre will transform the site previously occupied by the School Shop into a suite of spaces which aim to mirror the university and Business spaces that our pupils will move into in later life.
We know that the future workplace will change immeasurably for our young people. The Centre will enable us to deliver a broad programme of activities from which all Carthusians will have the opportunity to develop their skills for business and the workplace, equipping them with the ability to present, persuade, pitch and debate, within a state-of-the-art facility that encourages participation. Indeed, we are placing these skills at the very centre of our education. Work begins at Easter and will be completed in November 2023.
This £2.6m project has been full funded by donations from our OC and parent community and we thank every single donor for their contribution.
Summer 2023 will also see construction begin on an extension to Studio, to create a new gallery space and classrooms. Pupil interest in Art, Design Technology and Engineering continues to increase and the new classrooms will provide much needed additional creative and exhibition space, as well as finally linking together Studio with John Derry Technical Centre to create a joint space for innovation and inspiration. Groundworks were laid in summer 2022 ready for the build.
Looking further ahead, 2024 will see work begin on the Ben Travers Theatre (BTT). A theatre is a place where anything can happen, it brings people together and is a space where pupils can be themselves. We want to harness this creativity by creating a new studio space within the BTT, one which can be used flexibly for smaller productions, dance performances and as rehearsal space. We will also refurbish the existing Theatre, providing new lighting and sound to improve the quality of performances, and enabling students to get further involved in every element of creating a production.
As part of our long-term strategy, we continue to explore opportunities to create a family of Charterhouse schools. We believe we offer something particularly exciting, unique and innovative, with a strong global and international perspective. Couple this with an increase in demand for a British education but closer to home, and it makes sense to offer our education internationally, as well as in the UK.
Our offer differs from other schools as it represents what we are. Our approach is forward looking and global, with a focus on modern skills and education, albeit combined with some traditional aspects. Our philosophy of learning is much more about equipping people for life, not just for passing exams.
In the international schools’ market, we have an established long-term agreement with a partner organisation to open schools in a number of priority countries in Asia. Charterhouse Asia Ltd, based in Hong Kong under the leadership of Old Carthusian Sabrina Chao (P93), has been instrumental in opening our first coed international school in Charterhouse Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. This originally opened as a sixth form college in August 2021, but we now have students in the GCSE year groups, and by next year we will have four year groups across the school.
Malaysia is a wonderfully vibrant, well-educated country, where they really value high quality education, so it was an ideal place to set up our first school. The reputation Charterhouse has is valued by the community and international parents and we are already starting to see much success in the region.
Our Head is Richard Davidson, a specialist in international education, so he understands what is needed to create a successful international school. There was never any doubt that we would hire an international educator, as we feel it is extremely important not to impose a British model and vision on the market, but to ensure we have a cultural fit. We want to adapt our vision to those markets, whilst staying true to our values.
Part of our strategy, as it has been in the UK, has been the emphasis on pupil voice, giving these pupils a sense of contribution, whilst providing an environment where the sixth form can learn to transition to be ready for university study and learning. The Cambridge International Examinations A Level courses are taught, alongside the IGCSE, and the school is selective. The AS results last year were exceptionally good.
The A Level approach is slightly different to the UK as it is a project-based approach. Just as we have introduced the electives and the EPQ into the A Level system to ensure pupils get the breadth of educational approach that you get from IB, our Malaysian school has strongly embedded a similar project-based approach to A Levels. It’s exciting
and innovative, and mirrors our educational offering. Doing project-based work is important, as it mimics what many of us have to do in our working lives. In this way, they have created a version of our ‘educating people for life’ model which is ‘Future Ready’. We are already seeing some good success with a growth of 150% in student numbers in our second year, and a target of 75% growth for our next year. Such growth can be fed back into the School through our support of public benefit, and our ambitions to continue to grow our bursary offering.
Our second international school is due to open in September 2024 on a different continent, and we are also looking at an additional two or three opportunities before 2030. Increasingly, we are finding that potential partners are reaching out to Charterhouse on a regular basis, on a par to how things were pre-pandemic, because demand for a British education continues to grow. Any partners of the School will be chosen because they will endorse and create schools that are a genuine reflection of what Charterhouse UK is, not just academically, but also our values, like kindness and open-mindedness.
I have spent the past 25 years developing an educational philosophy and creating education programmes that are student centred with a specific emphasis on developing life-long learners and preparing students for the ever-changing future.
I believe passionately in high academic standards, but I am equally passionate about the need to develop the full breadth of these whilst building character, a positive growth mindset, and a range of transferable skills.
At the heart of our excellent school is a commitment to providing purposeful experiences that develop: strong academic performance; critical life skills; a sense of service; and the full range of human intelligences; ensuring our students are ‘Future ready’.
Charterhouse Malaysia is a learning organisation that is at the heart of the local community. Our service and entrepreneurial approach, whereby learning is not restricted by traditional curricula, classroom walls, or even the school campus, encourages and empowers our students to grasp the many opportunities provided to develop as young, compassionate leaders.
Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein (S1888)
Schleswig-Holstein was a province within the German Empire, adjacent to Denmark, having been conquered by Prussia in 1864. Following World War One, the Allied powers held referendums, which resulted in Northern Schleswig voting for reunification with Denmark and Central and Southern Schleswig remaining as part of Germany.
Prince Albert John Frederick Charles Alfred George of Schleswig-Holstein was born on 16 February 1869, the younger son of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Helena, daughter of Queen Victoria. The family lived permanently in the United Kingdom and Prince Albert grew up as part of the British royal family. He attended Lambrook prep school with his older brother, Prince Christian Victor, the first members of the royal family ever to attend a public school. Prince Christian Victor then went on to Wellington College, whilst Prince Albert came to Charterhouse in Long Quarter 1884.
The Prince spent four happy years in Saunderites under the care of the Headmaster, Dr Haig Brown and his wife, Annie Marion Haig Brown. The Carthusian records that he played tennis, football (reaching the 3rd XI) and 1st XI Cricket (described as “a useful but rather weak bat; very poor field”); he was an active member of the Rifle Corps and was promoted to Sergeant. In June 1888, Prince Albert made his maiden speech in the Debating Society: the topic “that the statesman is more beneficial to his country than the warrior” was fiercely debated and won by a single vote, with Prince Albert arguing against the motion.
Prince Albert’s parents visited Charterhouse a number of times to watch sports events, and for his confirmation in April 1886. In July 1887, Prince Albert was able to take three friends with him to Windsor to present a Golden Jubilee gift to his grandmother – a fluted silver bowl, inscribed “a loyal and affectionate offering to their beloved Queen from the Charterhouse boys”. A Haig Brown family anecdote alleges that Prince Albert once ran out
of pocket money and wrote to Queen Victoria asking for £1. She wrote back, enquiring what he needed the money for, to which he replied that he no longer needed it because he had sold her autograph for £5.00, demonstrating true Carthusian entrepreneurship and business skills.
Prince Christian Victor was destined for the British army, whereas it was decided that his younger brother, Prince Albert, should join the Prussian army: he was duly commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Hessian Dragoons in 1889, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Tragedy struck in October 1900 when Prince Christian Victor died of enteric fever whilst on military service in Pretoria; Prince Albert therefore became heir to his cousin, Duke Ernst Gunther of Schlewig-Holstein, succeeding to the title in 1921. However, we know that Prince Albert, a quintessential English gentleman, continued to spend much of his time in the United Kingdom: the Charterhouse Cricket XI was invited to play against ‘Prince Albert’s XI’ at Cumberland Lodge; he was a committee member of the OC
Football and Cricket Clubs, he was Captain of the OC Golf Club, he attended Founder’s Day Dinners and in 1911, was elected as President of the OC Club.
Prince Albert’s comfortable lifestyle came to an abrupt end following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria in June 1914. The Prince was recalled to the Prussian army and separated from his British friends and family as war broke out. The German Kaiser did at least exempt him from active service against the British (a kindness not extended to others who found themselves on opposing sides from friends and relatives) and instead appointed him to the staff of the Governor of Berlin. Prince Albert worked to improve conditions for British prisoners of war and made a point of contacting OC prisoners. The war put him in an extraordinarily difficult position and left him isolated, a victim of political circumstances beyond his control. After the war, he was able to resume his regular visits to England, but many OCs continued to shun him for the remainder of his life. He died in Berlin, aged 62.
‘CarthusianDay Cricket’, an engraving by Alexander Hamilton Wardlow. Prince Albert played for the 1st XI against the OCs in this match Cricket 1st XI 1888 Isabelle Duncan (S92)
Iwas very focused on sport, mainly because of all the opportunities on offer. I got here, and it was like Christmas! Squash, hockey, cricket, rackets... Plus we had Freda Noble (BH90-14), Head of Women’s Sport, professional cricketer Richard Lewis, and some very enthusiastic beaks.
Us girls were a minority, about 70 in number, but we were a particularly sporty year and cricket was relatively popular, so we didn’t have trouble picking a team. And we were pretty good! We even had a game on Green against the England Women’s cricket team, which Freda must have organised. My love for cricket was very much instilled at Charterhouse, because of the enthusiasm and the facilities, and, once you’ve fallen in love with cricket, you love it for life.
After School, I went to Durham University, a big cricket university, and one of the first to have a cricket
academy, funded by MCC (there are now lots across the country). It’s a great opportunity to get a degree and keep playing high level cricket, so I did find it rather unfair that it was boys only when I was there. Little did I know at the time that this was all about to change…
Just after I left university, in 1997, the whole thing about women members in MCC reared up again. MCC hadn’t had female members for 211 years, and there had been three votes on this subject throughout the 90s. There was a large marketing campaign to tip the vote to the two-third majority needed to admit female members, and I got involved by being on the cover of the Wisden Cricket Monthly. The vote hadn’t come through then, so it was a bit controversial to be wearing an MCC sweater before we’d been admitted! There was a lot of media attention, and the vote came through. I got involved in more MCC projects after that.
Having women in MCC was a turning point for women’s cricket. It showed women were a force to be reckoned with, and that they were talented. It also helped the ordinary woman who loves cricket and wants to watch cricket from the best seats in the house. And why shouldn’t she? There are enough women out there who love cricket. Since then, it really has flourished. Rachel Heyhoe Flint was the first woman to be on the main committee and I joined the committee a little later. Now there are over 600 female members of MCC.
Throughout, I carried on playing. After Captaining Durham Women’s 1st XI, I made the decision to play men’s cricket. Women’s clubs were hard to find, and I didn’t fancy travelling miles to play and train. So, I turned up at my local club, Albury, and played there, even captaining the 2nd XI men’s team between 2006 and 2012. I played league cricket and friendlies,
“Despite being born and bred in Charterhouse (my father was Housemaster of Pageites), I wasn’t a model pupil!
to me and even gave me an advance! But I had to write it in six months, which was quite tight (ready for the Women’s Ashes 2013). It was a lonely six months.
Radio is more colourful; you can be yourself more. On a four day match you can show your personality, tell a few stories. I’ve commentated for BBC Local Radio, Radio 5 Sports Extra, and other platforms.
and then later for lots of wandering sides, the Invalids and Heartaches… there are plenty of sides, but I did seem to be the only woman, most of the time. Now, there are a lot more women’s clubs, and, if you’re thinking about a career in cricket, that’s where you’d start. Back then I couldn’t become a professional cricketer, but now, it’s very different.
Eventually, I decided to work in cricket and entered the field of commentating. There are far more female commentators now, but back in 2014 when I joined the county cricket circuit there were only two of us! I learnt my ‘trade’ with the BBC and they threw me in the deep end, sending me to a game to commentate straight off! It’s definitely a skill and not an easy transition. I much prefer radio over TV commentating. In TV there are the pressures of countdowns in your ear and you have to be economical with your words. Radio is
more colourful; you can be yourself more. On a four day match you can show your personality, tell a few stories. I’ve commentated for BBC Local Radio, Radio 5 Sports Extra, and other platforms.
I wrote my book a bit by accident! I went to a book launch of a friend and was chatting to someone at the end of the party. When he asked me if I had ever had an idea for a book, I relayed the idea of a history of women’s cricket. It’s never been done before and there are lots of interesting things to relay: women invented overarm bowling, and the World Cup. Their history is as deep as the men’s, going back to the eighteenth century. He said he liked the sound of it, and to send him a synopsis. It turned out he was the owner of the publishing company we were at! So, I wrote it, and I didn’t hear anything for a while, so thought they didn’t like it. Eventually they got back
The research was fascinating. For the MCC chapter I got hold of the minutes from the debates prior to the 1998 vote, and some of the comments why women shouldn’t be allowed in were hilarious! The ‘clacking of knitting needles’ disrupting play, worries about breast feeding – all sorts! And I had to travel to Lancashire where I met Carole Cornthwaite, an ex-England cricketer who was storing most of the women’s cricket memorabilia in her cowshed! There’s a museum now which is open to the public, but that was quite a day, rummaging through her cowshed.
Alongside commentating I work at FairBreak, promoting gender equality globally through cricket. I’m also President of the Cricket Society Trust. At the Trust we are currently supporting the MCC Foundation’s Cricket Hub for State School Girls in Essex, Birmingham and Guildford. The aim is to use cricket to empower young people to reach their full potential. There’s a national drop for girls in sport at around 12 to 14 years, mainly because girls become more self-conscious as they go through puberty, so these hubs, and encouraging cricket in secondary schools, is really important. Even wearing whites can put girls off, so a lot of teams are now encouraging coloured clothing or ‘pyjamas’, as we call it. All these things help promote girls into sport, and into cricket. The future of women’s cricket has never looked better.”
The society was led by the Head of Art, the charismatic Mr Ian Fleming-Williams (BH47-70), with the help of a committee of boys. Members paid a small subscription to cover costs of visiting speakers, trips to art galleries and also to the ballet at Covent Garden, and an annual party held in Studio.
“I was one of the founding Beer Soc members. Studio was the one civilised area in the whole place – I must have discovered it fairly early on, and, as sport was not as compulsory as in many public schools, I spent quite a few afternoons there. I remember that Ian [Fleming-Williams] was the only teacher who addressed one by one’s first name, which certainly meant a lot to me at the time. Ian was very liberal in outlook, enthusiastic about all forms of modern art, as well as being knowledgeable about the Old Masters, architecture and the applied arts. As I recall, we had voluntary meetings every Sunday night in Studio, and if there wasn’t a special lecture, Ian would spread out a boxful of postcards, we could each select one, and he would then discuss it. I think I picked out a cubist Picasso, which I said looked like Lino floor covering, which Ian took completely in his stride.
Ian took us on outings once or twice a term, and I particularly remember a trip to see French Landscapes at the Royal Academy, after which we were invited by the friendly Agnews to see round their then very extensive premises in Bond Street. Chiefly memorable were hot cocktail sausages and red wine, which were a novel experience for most of us so soon after the war, and a very jolly bus journey back to Godge. It may well be due to this happy experience that I finally became an art dealer myself!”
James Kirkman (L53)
By CQ1957 the Society’s funds had reached £30 and, instead of having a big party, it was agreed to use the money to buy paintings and sculpture by young artists. For the next ten years, the society regularly visited London salerooms and art exhibitions, selecting affordable work by up and coming young artists, which were carried home to Charterhouse on the train or school bus. The result was a unique collection of contemporary art to be displayed and used for teaching purposes.
“Enough people either were confidence-tricked or genuinely appreciated what was good for them for the membership to be raised to a quarter of the whole School in the Oration Quarter. Moreover, they were even honest enough to have contributed their two-shillings subscriptions so that there has been enough money to buy two paintings this year instead of one. The first of these was A Tree Trunk by Edward Middleditch which was, fortunately, not expensive enough to prevent us from buying in addition The Gathering by David Leverett. The Committee saw this at the Young Contemporaries Exhibition earlier this year,” wrote Richard Kerr-Wilson (H65) in The Carthusian of the same year.
“The society was very democratic. Each year the members would appoint a committee of four and they would choose the artwork. In 1967 we bought a sculpture at an arts graduation exhibition held as a recall at the Tate. It was in the shape a newel post with a rubber or plastic skin covering a mechanism, which caused it to wobble and vibrate. One can understand why school boys might choose it!
Most of the funding for purchases came from the annual sale of clay articles made at the School pottery. Although, at the suggestion of Mr Flemings-Williams, the Society voted to spend the 1966 sale proceeds on funding a volunteer, who helped with the rescue of Florence’s artistic treasures after the flooding of the Arno in November of that year.”
David Milton (V67)
Despite the Society often appearing to have a lack of members – “merely due to the fact that the excursions it arranges are open to all!” (comment by Dawn Graham (g82) in the 1981 Carthusian) – the Society went from strength to strength throughout the 1970s and 80s, visiting numerous exhibitions, hosting lectures, and establishing the House Art Competition with the help of beaks Brian Souter (BH70-04) and Michael Woods (BH58-94). By the late 90s, the Society seemed to have been subsumed into the Art Department with no further references in The Carthusians of those years.
Fast forward over 20 years to 2021 and the Beerbohm Society has had a happy revival led by Emily Xu (Su22), who has taken the direction back to Beerbohm’s roots, creating witty cartoons and comic strips. Long may the Beerbohm tradition continue!
Peter Morrell Kenneth Brazier self portrait Mark Shepherd, Director of Music
When I was at school at Cranleigh, I played piano and the French horn, and was in the orchestra. I loved playing the piano and then I got on to the organ, and in the last two years at Cranleigh I played the organ for the chapel services.
Ithen went to Oxford and got an organ scholarship before becoming a professional organist in a cathedral, and a Director of Music at a large parish church. I didn’t start teaching until I was 35!
Having freelanced and taught part time, I realised I enjoyed working with pupils but didn’t want to teach in a music college, preferring to teach in a school. I was lucky enough to become Head of Music at Wycombe Abbey, which I did for four years before coming to Charterhouse. I’ve since taught for 20 years here, and that’s been my whole teaching career!
I was attracted to Charterhouse as music, even then, had a real profile in the School, not least because of the legacy of the wonderfully enthusiastic Bill Llewellyn (BH50-87), who has sadly just passed away. It could have felt very pressured coming in to this environment, but I was hugely supported. Mark Blatchly (G77, BH96-18)
was working here at the time and we had a great partnership, myself conducting and him accompanying. It didn’t take me long to settle with such support, especially with the ‘home from home’ feeling; the set up of all boy under school and mixed sixth form was just like my previous school, Cranleigh.
The School has changed hugely over the last 20 years being utterly transformed from where it was. I’m so pleased that we’ve gone coed; only this morning at hymn practice did I hear, for the first time in 20 years, significant groups of both boys and girls singing hymns. Likewise, the new junior chapel, which is a new group of mainly girls, is seeing growth every year as we’re joined by new cohorts of voices each year. It’s refreshing for even an old timer like me.
Inclusivity is a key direction of travel for us and I love it when you find someone who says that they’re not
particularly musical and then they find something that they can do. Music then becomes something that they really treasure. A lot of OCs return and say to me that chapel choir became the most enjoyable thing that they did at Charterhouse. It’s lovely to recognise the high fliers – those pupils who are infinitely more capable than I could ever be – and to celebrate and support them, but just as rewarding to see pupils you never normally see come through our doors, learning to love music.
This is definitely helped by the broader provision of music that we now see. Yes, we want to hold on to our classical music but we do want to include as many people as possible. In the last four to five years we’ve seen the rebirth of the connection between Music and Theatre, manifesting most specifically in the musicals that we’ve been putting on in the last few years. And just this last year we’ve also introduced rock music.
Yes, it’s always been there, but it was a bit undercover and a bit hit and miss. Now, we’ve invested in the physical resources with a professional coach who is here every Thursday. We’re only in the second term and we already have three bands. And we’ve got a whole string of pupils who are having lessons in conjunction with this. This has opened music to a whole load of pupils, especially the younger ones, who might not have been involved before.
Music tech is also going really well and is becoming embedded into School life – all the Fourths who do ‘Culture Carousel’ on Tuesday afternoon get a little taste of this then. They all do their own composing through the technology with some producing some very impressive compositions. We also look at film music in this as well.
There are many wonderful music events in the School Year now. So much so that it’s hard to pick a
favourite. If I had to find some highlights I would say: House Singing, as it’s utterly inclusive now and involves the whole School. It’s not the most ‘musical’ event of the year but it’s a very important one, and it’s great to see it growing in popularity. The Eve of Carthusian Day Concert, which is a real celebration of all musicians, is also a personal favourite. But I have to admit, an event which nearly brought tears to my eyes, was our first ever rock concert last term. It was so nice to see a completely different set of pupils and their enthusiasm.
I think music is such an important part of life. Not only should it give you an enormous amount of pleasure but it’s also wonderfully stimulating for mental skills, quick reactions, quick learning, teamwork… there’s all sorts of scientific research that shows learning a musical instrument is advantageous. You also learn an awful lot about public performance as well, taking risks and building
confidence. If you are able to perform, especially in front of people who know you, then you have really raised your skills, and you take that with you in later life.
There will be lots of things that I’ll miss about Charterhouse, but I’m privileged that I’ll be leaving at a time when the School’s ascendant. And, if I could boast about anything that’s a worthwhile legacy, then I would say it’s the people around me. The Music Department is absolutely fantastic in terms of their quality and their delivery to pupils, putting the pupils first. My greatest achievement here has been the appointments I’ve made, and ensuring the Music School is a happy welcoming place to be.
I’m so pleased that we’ve gone coed; only this morning at hymn practice did I hear, for the first time in 20 years, significant groups of both boys and girls singing hymns.
Over the Platinum Jubilee four boats and one Morgan Plus 8 made their way to Saint-Vaast-laHougue on the northeast coast of the Cotentin Peninsula. The boats took part in a race to Utah Beach and back to St Vaast, celebrating OC Stephen Barney (R39), who took part in the famous St Nazaire Raid and D Day. A close-run pursuit race, it was eventually won by Clara, skippered by Charles Blampied (g67).
Several OCYC members took part in the annual Round The Island Race (RTIR) circumnavigating the Isle Of White. This is one of the largest yacht races in the world, and there are two prizes awarded by the OCYC for this event. Xara, skippered by Jonathan Rolls (W64), won the Cecil Donne Trophy for top OCYC boat in class IRC. Eagle, skippered by Jim Miller (P85), won the Beaumont Trophy, having had a spectacular race coming home 8th in class. She was crewed entirely by OCs.
Our August Rally took place at Lymington. On the 28th, six OCYC boats competed in “Tom’s Tootle” named after Thomas Howard, the second son of the 4th Duke of Norfolk. Entrants raced for The Commodore’s Trophy. Eagle diced with Xara on the upwind leg, whilst downwind saw Eagle being chased hard by the huge pink spinnaker of Clara. Eagle was poised for the inevitable overtake, but in a cruel twist of fate, the large pink spinnaker failed to cooperate, allowing Eagle to pile along the remaining spinnaker reach and take line honours. Eagle was crewed enthusiastically by Skipper Jim Miller, Tim Miller (P83), Camilla Stockdale (D16) and Luke Hochschild (W17). The Commodore’s Trophy was won by the New Houses.
Early October saw the OCYC compete in the independent schools’ Arrow Trophy in The Solent. With expert knowledge gained from Peter Mills (D99) winning his class in the same boats at Cowes Week, Charterhouse came in a highly commendable 4th place overall and won the Radley Shaker.
Early November saw us race in Bessie’s Gallop –Merlin’s Mission Edition. This race is held in Good Queen Bess’s honour, close to the anniversary of her accession as Queen of England, her gallop to the London Charterhouse and her forming there of her Privy Council prior to riding into the City of London. It seems that every year this race is held in rather cold and stormy conditions and this year was no exception. It was won convincingly by Xara skippered by Jonathan Rolls.
After the long break imposed by the sneeze that dare not speak its name, the OCFC is firmly back in action. Despite a relatively low turnout the 2022 Winter Challenge went very well for the OCs. We took Charterhouse on in all three weapons: sabre, épée, and foil A and B. The foil B team consisted of Captain of épée Tom McMahon (B09), dedicated épéeist Toby Hindson (g82) (who was press-ganged by our persuasive Match Secretary Antoine) and the only expert foilist in the team, Charles Beck. Foil B achieved a surprising but convincing 45-19 win. Foil A consisted of Antoine Grey (B13), Alex Beck (B15) and Savva Shilin (H20); this was a hard fought contest against some particularly able Charterhouse fencers but again the OCs came out on top winning 45-34. Toby, Savva and Tom represented the OCs in épée winning 45-36, a closer run thing than the score suggests. Charterhouse has some very promising épée talent, particularly Zac who gave the whole team problems, showing deadly accuracy and self-discipline. Savva, Antoine and Alex fought a great sabre match winning 45-37.
The OCs swept the board on this occasion, a great achievement for a small team of very varied age, and I would like to thank Mick, CWM and the Charterhouse pupils for their unfailing good sportsmanship and cheerful attitude which made the event so enjoyable. Thanks too to our loyal physiotherapist Lesley Elphick.
Toby Hindson, President OCFCOCAS continues to provide a stimulating focus for OC artists, industry professionals and art lovers, whilst maintaining an important link with the School via the annual OCAS Prize for Carthusians showing outstanding promise in their artistic studies.
The Biennial Exhibition takes place this September at Charterhouse, and there will be various other events throughout the year. To find out more and get involved email ocas@hotmail.co.uk
The OCs were able to compete in two matches against the School in 2022. March saw strong teams in both swimming and water polo defeat the School teams with results of the water polo being 14-3. India Gray (F19), Alex Reeve-Tucker (g08), Kirill Baev-Stockmeier (S12), Peter Mason (S07) and Harry Semper (B20) and Matthew Semper (P21) swam for us. Tom McKay (P09), Mark Sparavalo (B20), Artem Veligodskiy (V20), Peter Mason (S07), Michael Fatsis (P10), Max Lawson (S08), Harry and Matthew Semper played in the water polo.
December saw us back for a rematch. Both the School team and the OCs were short of swimmers and the School team were victorious. Kieran Nash (F16), Peter Mason, Tom McKay and Hugo Millington-Drake (S08) swam for us.
The water polo team were far too strong for the School winning 17-0. Players were Tom McKay, Max Lawson, Peter Mason, Hugo Millington-Drake, Michael Fatsis and Ciaran Dougherty (L13).
Summer 2022 may not have been a vintage one in terms of results, but it was an exciting summer of firsts with plenty of reasons for optimism.
Our trip to Millfield in June for the first round of the Cricketer Cup got off to a strong start with James Hamblin’s (g96) score of 106, allowing us to reach a semi-competitive (or so we thought) total at the halfway point. Little did we know, the opposition opening batsman had starred, just 3 days before, for Glamorgan in the 2nd XI T20 cup final, scoring a century in record speed, securing himself a professional contract in the Blast in the process. Let’s just say, our ‘semi-competitive’ total, was made to look not very competitive, very quickly. You’ll all be glad to read that we’ve drawn Millfield away (again) in the first round of this year’s competition.
On a more positive note, in May the Friars were hosted on Green by the School XI in what we hope will become the annual 100-ball fixture. I’ve got to be honest, I’m not sure any of us really knew all the rules. But that didn’t stop us having a great afternoon. The sun was shining, we had a great crowd, there was music at the fall of every wicket and boundary, and the cricket was of a really high standard. Luke (g) turned in a ‘Player of the Match’ performance for the School, taking the game away from us in the run chase with some powerful stroke play. Keep an eye out for him in the future. We’re expecting great things.
Fast forward to this summer and we’ll (hopefully) be moving old boys’ cricket forward by hosting the inaugural cricket festival on Green and Maniacs. We’ll be playing a series of fixtures with old boys from Uppingham, Lancing and Eastbourne over the weekend of 14th, 15th and 16th July. Much like the 100-ball fixture, we’re putting on the festival in response to the demand from our playing members to keep providing varied opportunities to play cricket and socialise with our friends from across the old boys’ network.
If this weekend sounds of interest, please contact me at: benrydersmith@gmail.com
I’d like to sign off by thanking the Friars committee for all their work behind the scenes, and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible out on the field this summer.
Ben Ryder-Smith (L06)
Basketball is really thriving here at Charterhouse thanks to the efforts of Phil Stmpson (BH11-, L04). So it was no surprise when the U18 School team beat the OCs 69-56 in a thrilling game on Saturday 26 November 2022. The U18s have since gone on to win the Public Schools Basketball Tournamentthis January (2023). With so many talented School players OC Basketball can only go from strength to strength.
Congratulations to Luke Doyle (S16), Nigel Mukherjee (W83) and Rupert Negus (P79) who competed for Charterhouse in the 70th running of the Thames Hare and Hounds Old Boys / Alumni 5 mile race. Luke came in a respectable 28th with Rupert and Nigel 6th and 34th in their age categories, respectively.
Interested in cross country? Email Luke Doyle (S16): lukealexanderdoyle@outlook.com for more info.
OC Real Tennis has been steadily growing over the past year with matches for the Henry Leaf Cup and, most recently, at the Petworth House Tennis Court (PHTC). In the former our strong pair of Adam Dolman (V99) and Tim Drayson (V94) were knocked out in the semi-finals, whilst we had an even stronger performance at our new fixture at PHTC. Our OCs saw a match result of 6-2, in favour of the OCs. Congratulations to all players: George Andrews (G77), Nigel Pendrigh (P79), Hereward Taylor (D87), Dickie Cowling (R87), Isabelle Duncan (S92), Digby Don (R07), Henry Don (R08), Ben Jeffery (B09), and Hector Don (R14).
To get involved please contact Brian Sharp (R54): bsharp318@aol.com
2022 represented a return to normality in many (positive) ways. Hot off the heels of an unprecedented Autumn-time Halford Hewitt in 2021 (and disappointing first round exit), a strong OC squad assembled ready to right the wrongs of 2022. Round one saw them face the Old Etonians, and in 40+ mph winds. We emerged victorious –holding our own in conditions many pros would struggle with. A comfortable win over St Paul’s followed, before a titanic clash against the Old Malvernians with a 3.5-1.5 win for the OCs. Next up at Quarter Final were Loretto – current holders. And despite what looked like a comfortable win for them at 4-1, we ran them close with 4 matches going down the 17th. Other team events entered by the OCGS saw more mixed success – with first round exits in the Grafton Morrish, the Darwin and the Senior Darwin. Silver lining being the Darwin team’s victory in the Plate at Woking.
Elsewhere, the OCGS had its best result in the Alba Trophy at Woking for a few years with a 3rd place finish. And in the iconic Wimbledon Putting competition – after making it through qualifying with consummate ease –a much-changed OC team of ‘elite putters’ finished 1 point shy of overall victory.
Other notable individual accolades this year included: Club Championship victories for Richard Allen (B84) at Rye and Ryan McKinnia (L07) at The Berkshire, and Mark Benka (W91) joining the very elite group of OCs and others who have made 100 Halford Hewitt appearances.
The scratch and handicap winner at the OCGS Spring Meeting at Royal St Georges was Charlie Smith (V07) and the scratch went to Julian Hill (W78) and handicap to Alastair Bell (R80) at the OCGS Autumn meeting at the Berkshire. Daniel Ray (H98) again won the Kenya Cup, our summer knock out competition.
The third hosting of the ‘Unders vs Overs’, or ‘Young Guns vs Oldies’, OC match at The Berkshire, saw a comeback of epic proportions from the Unders. It then went to our second consecutive year of a sudden death playoff with Sam Godby (W08) draining the winning putt on the 1st green.
Hewitt – Robert Manning (D89)
Darwin (over 55) – Julian Hill (W78)
Senior Darwin (over 65) – Michael Robinson (H68)
Grafton Morrish – Andrew Hollingsworth (L98)
The current rate of annual subscription for those over 25 is £40. Please email jeremywauters1@gmail.com for joining details.
“Iam delighted to announce the relaunch of the OC City Association and reestablishment of the formal Old Carthusian business network.
The Association was originally established in February 2009 and actively operated for a number of years before work and family commitments usurped the committee’s time.
The main purpose of the Association is to organise business networking events where OCs connected with the City can meet and get to know each other. It is hoped that such events will provide the opportunity for OCs to make new friends socially and potentially help each other out in the business world. The OC City Association can also help current Carthusians or younger OCs with first hand guidance on further education and careers, as well as with work experience opportunities.
Our events typically comprise of drinks parties and dinners in the City or West End, which are attended by around 30-50 OCs from different vintages.
Since the launch of the OC City Association, over 300 OCs have attended our events or been in direct correspondence with us. We are keen to keep growing, so if you have not already done so, please email us at occity@hotmail.co.uk with your contact details so we can keep you up to date about events that we will be organising. We will also endeavour to provide you with potentially interesting introductions.”
Alex Campbell (W93) – Chairman
We say a fond farewell to Adam Coulter (S87), who has been the OCMLS Chair since its inception some 12 years ago! Over the years he and the team have organised a wonderful array of speakers and some delightful evenings. Thanks to all the team who have worked so hard on OCMLS including: Ben Sutcliffe (W99), Jon Grafton (H97) and Adam Dolman (V99).
And welcome to new Chair, David Norris (G79). We look forward to 2023 and an exciting number of events.
Football at Charterhouse clearly remains firmly in the School’s DNA and it’s pleasing that we can again report on another successful season of Old Carthusian action.
welcomed significant numbers again, continuing a nearly 20-year era home any external cups this year, the
Our 2nd and Veterans XIs were less successful on the trophy hunt this year, but they remain a vital part of our Club’s offering and, as the playing rosters continue to develop and settle down, we expect some entertaining years ahead for both of these sides.
Part of the joy of remaining involved with OC football for so long, is that you have time to understand the magnitude of our role in the development of ‘modern’ football, and you are afforded personal connections along
the way with OC footballers across the generations. This was all brought to life wonderfully this year with our participation in the second edition of ‘The Generation Cup’, a national invitational tournament for teams that have won the FA Cup (the inaugural winners were Crystal Palace!). The event saw OCs in their teens right through to their 50s take to the field together at a regional qualifier hosted at Charterhouse. Three wins and one draw were not enough to see us through to the finals at St George’s Park, which is probably for the best as Bolton Wanderers, managed by Sam Allardyce, were the winners of the northern qualifying event.
The 21/22 season marked the end of the 1st XI captaincy of Ant Beddows (G08). Ant’s tenure brought much success, including our first ever AFA
Senior Cup (the toughest competition we enter) as well as countless ‘domestic’ honours. He’d be the first to point out that he’s been blessed with a squad of incredible talent, but his leadership and the example he has set both on and off the pitch have taken our Club to the loftiest of heights, even for this very successful period in our history. If we were permitted to cast our players in bronze and set them around Big Ground, then Ant’s statue would be getting designed currently, although we’d need a lot of bronze, and probably a granite base.
Thanks as ever to the School, the OC Club, our committee, captains, supporters and players; it’s a remarkable football club we have, and we look forward to an ongoing commitment to ensuring it remains so for many generations to come.
Led by Sam Morris (see p30) our Dubai based OCs came together for their alternative Founder’s Day Dinner on 24 November 2022. Our 11 OCs enjoyed private dining in Prime68 at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, and much fun was had by all.
On Saturday 13 August eight OCs, some partners and a daughter, met at the UWA Club in Perth to talk Charterhouse. The guest of honour was Brian Wilson (D42).
Brian is a remarkable OC, grew up in Penang, boarded at both prep school and Charterhouse, fought in WW2 and went on to be a senior administrator in Hong Kong. He has also published three books on his life. The first documents his early years includes a chapter on his time at Charterhouse and the second is about his war time experiences including landing on the D-Day beaches, participating in Operation Market Garden, and losing a foot in an explosion. The third book is about life in Hong Kong. Both fathers of two attendees, Jimmy Elliott (H43) and John Heyworth (H43), were contemporaries of Brian.
Those OCs in attendance were: Max Fox-Andrews (R05), David Russell-Weisz (H82), Peter Heyworth (H81), Richard Doggart (G79), Michael Elliott (H79), Johnnie Rowden (H76), Jeremy Wells (W72), and Brian Wilson (D42).
Our thanks to Michael Elliott for organising.
James Croft (B99): “I was demonstrating the climbing walls… I was climbing up the overhang but was on quite a challenging course, so had to jump from a horizontal hanging position to the next hold. As I did so, I startled the Queen, who wasn’t expecting to see my little ginger head pop up above the balcony! She said, “Oh, hello!” and, despite being briefed on how to address her Majesty, I replied an equally short, “Oh, hello!”. Well, I was a bit startled myself!”
Giles Barling (R98): “I had the pleasure of playing for the Queen in the school symphony orchestra. My main memory was of running from place to place to ensure there was always a crowd to applaud her.”
Matt Bray (R01): “Various sports teams were put out to train for the whole afternoon. I was the U14A hockey goalkeeper and was training on the Astro in front of the QSC. …I remember I saved a nasty shot with the inside of my knee, missing all my padding. I hit the deck in quite a lot of pain. Someone told me the next week the Queen had actually seen this event occur and said “Oh dear, I hope he’ll survive!”. I felt very lucky to have received our Sovereign’s sympathy!”
Peter Reeves (BH84-06) and Seetha Hallett (D97) presenting the product from that year’s Young Enterprise Company
Charles Percy (G76): “It was pouring with rain and there had been some delay in the proceedings. Prince Philip was heard to say: “You’d better get a move on, or we’ll be opening a bloody swimming pool’.”
Rupert Nathan (g75): “I was a pupil in Duckites under Housemaster John Marriott (BH45-85), the Queen’s philatelist. Given his connections, our House was selected for the royal tour… We were all sat down in a study area before she arrived. I had a text book open, with the ‘kosher’ book cover on display, and ‘Sting Like a Bee’ by Mohammed Ali on the inside. When the Queen finally entered the room, she addressed me with a beaming smile, enquiring whether I was ‘pretending to work’. I clearly expressed my amusement together with an affirmative. John Marriott, who was gifted with little sense of humour, was horrified, to my even greater pleasure!”
Michael Power (g78): “I recall the Duckite yearlings were tasked to be doing ‘normal things’ so were playing ping pong and chess. Appropriately, I was tending to my stamp collection. I remember the Queen knowingly asking one boy what would REALLY be happening in that room were she not visiting. He smiled and said “Not what you see today, Ma’am”. Unlike her great, great grandmother, she WAS amused.
At the time, my family was living in Kenya where I had been born. The pride of my collection were my ‘East Africans’. Naturally, my display focused on the event that started the Queen’s reign: the night at the Treetops Forest Lodge in 1952 when ‘she climbed up a tree a Princess and climbed down a Queen’. I had always felt a special link to this event as I had been born in 1959 in the nearest town to Treetops, Nyeri. She asked me about why I had this interest in the stamps commemorating that day and I explained… whereupon she became animated and recounted her own memories. I noted that the last church she prayed in as a Princess was the same tiny church my parents were married in. Quickly she said “Don’t tell me” and, after a few seconds, said “St Philips at Naro Moru”. The late Queen had an extraordinary memory.”
Roger Ecob (P73): “I encountered the royal car in the early afternoon when I was on my way to take part in daily 1st XI football training; nothing could interfere with that, so it was going ahead irrespective of the sovereign. We’d been advised to stand to attention and show suitable respect if such an encounter happened, which is what I did. I have no idea to this day whether the Queen was actually in the car at the time, but I like to think she was and that she gave me a personal wave... who knows?”
Helen Darbishire (V80): “I have very clear memories of the visit of the Queen in 1972, despite being only 11. My father, David H. Darbishire, was Housemaster of Verites. As part of the preparations, it was decided that during the walkabout, if Prince Philip was caught short, he would use the downstairs toilet on the Housemaster’s side at Verites… In the end the toilet was never needed, but for the rest of our time in Verites we called it ‘Prince Philip’s Loo’!”
Brian Souter (BH70-04): “I was asked by the Headmaster, Oliver Van Oss, to take charge of the photography and the press. I was also given the job of conducting Prince Philip around Studio. Not an easy task, since the Duke went where he wanted. He went straight into the darkroom where the boys were taken completely by surprise.”
Giovanni Fontebasso (BH86-00): “I met Her Majesty in 2008 at Buckingham Palace, and I had the opportunity, when asked, to relay to her my time as a Head of Catering at Charterhouse. I well remember her reply: “We are very familiar with that noble School”.”
The Queen was coming to officially open the new Houses and, as Head of School, I had a big role to play. One job was to deliver the three cheers for the Queen at the stage around the plaque. When practising I made this awful spoonerism: “Charterhouse! Three queers for the Cheen!” and I was in absolute panic that I would do this on the day.
When the day arrived, I was determined I wouldn’t muck this up, and managed to do it ok. Well, once I had that right, nothing could really go wrong for me! I had to escort her to Chapel with the Head, Van Oss (who was in his element!), and the Deputy Head of School. There, we displayed a variety of music including the most wonderful rendition of The Lark Ascending, played by the amazing Peter Oundjian (S73). Whenever I hear that to this day, I still envision the Queen standing next to me.
There was this tea party that ended off the visit. The Library had been recently redesigned with an upstairs floor. The long table housed Prince Philip and the round one, the Queen, and the Matrons were to serve the tea.
Prep for the tea party had started a week or so before, when someone came down from the Palace. We went to the Library together and he told me how to pull the chair out for the Queen, as I was to be seated to her right. “Let her stand in front of the table for a few seconds, and then gently push the chair so she can sit down at the table.” This, frankly, terrified me. He then went on to explain: “The Queen will not eat. She will drink a cup of tea and that’s all – do not press her. She won’t discuss anything substantive, like politics or anything, so please keep the conversation light. And don’t be surprised if she doesn’t know who you are – just introduce yourself.”
So, we sit down to this tea party, and I get the chair in, and she has this whacking great big handbag that she’s had all afternoon which she puts down on the floor and starts fiddling with. She was very hungry and ate lots! We were open mouthed at how hungry she was! She ate sandwiches to start with – cucumber I remember – then cress, and something else too. And she had at least one piece of cake.
She knew exactly who everybody was, in detail! It was incredible. She knew what our parents did, even my father, who was in Lebanon at the time… incredible. She even started discussing the IRA hunger strikes which had just started earlier that year. We were all enchanted, and nobody felt scared or on edge.
It only really dawned on us after the event that the whole prep from the Palace had been a bit of a put-up job. She had been presented as a stiff, conventional, unapproachable person, but she was a really warm and chatty lady. We all thought she was marvellous. It was a wonderful experience.
Chris Beckett (P72)
The Charterhouse Museum was founded in 1874 by the Revd Gerald Davies, first Housemaster of Daviesites. His intention was to collect anything and everything to enrich the education of Charterhouse pupils.
Artefacts were donated from around the world, and a purpose-built museum was erected in 1891 with two sections – one for Natural History and one for Antiquities and Anthropology. In 1972 the Museum was re-housed at one end of the Library, but this space was lost when the Library was refurbished and many of the most valuable museum artefacts were sold at Sotheby’s in 2002. Some Natural History specimens were transferred to the School Biology department, but the bulk of the Museum collection (more than 1,900 items) ended up in the basement.
This could have been the end of the Charterhouse Museum story, but the collections have been given a new lease of life. Every item has been re-catalogued, photographed and re-packaged. The collection is still rich in objects from ancient cultures, from Natural History and also includes ‘Carthusiana’ – artefacts directly relating to the School
Since 2015, the School website has featured one museum item at a time in a series called ‘Charterhouse in 100 Objects’ (borrowing the name from Neil MacGregor’s famous radio series, History of the World in 100 Objects). The completed century has now been published in a beautifully illustrated book, now available to purchase. Books are £35 if collected from Charterhouse, or £47 with postage and packaging.
If you would like to purchase a copy please email Catherine Smith, Archivist: archive@charterhouse.org.uk
Sam Morris (G00)
“The human body is designed to move… But somewhere along the way, comfort became the key to happiness. … and yet the material things never seem to make us happy and, in the process, we’ve softened both mentally and physically. Where did we lose our way? Is there something in our DNA that finds comfort in discomfort?
When trying to explain why I undertake ultra-challenges this quote from Billy Yang’s documentary, The Why?, really encapsulates it for me. Challenges are more mental than physical, almost like a type of meditation, and I was ready for my next one.
The seed for the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge was sown many years ago, when some friends of mine rowed across the Indian Ocean to fundraise for the Mark Evison Foundation. I had observed my good friend and fellow adventurer Charlie Martel trying
Sam left School in 2000. Since then, he’s done a lot of crazy things... trekking the Himalayas, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, completing the Marathon des Sables (250km), the Oman Desert Marathon (165km), and many more. Here, he tells us about his biggest challenge to date...
to be the first person to row across the North Pacific. After witnessing these two expeditions, the idea of rowing had been planted. We were also talking a lot about plastics in the ocean at the time, and rowing went hand in hand with this important cause.
Due to the mental challenge, you do need strong individuals. I had run the 250km Marathon Des Sables with Will, and our joint friend Toby is a former infantry officer, so if anyone could row across an ocean, I knew all three of us had the mental toughness to pull it off!
There was a two year lead up to the race which was like having a second job! The fundraising, logistics, paperwork, and much more. Our sponsors paid around £120,000, which included a fiberglass boat made especially for us. The R45 Elite is tiny – 8.64m long and 1.83m high, with just two cabins and solar panels on top. The back cabin
stores the comms and radio equipment, and the front is for sleeping and storage. You soon learn the essentials you need to survive are: your navigation; your water maker; and your automatic identification system, alerting ships in the area of your presence. The last thing you want to do is crash into a container ship!
There are various compulsory courses and rowing hours you need to do prior to the race (120 hours straight in a boat is the minimal) and these include Marine Radio, Sea Survival, Essential Navigation & Seamanship, and First Aid at Sea. The latter really made it real; if someone got bitten by a shark, we would have had to deal with it ourselves!
The physical training was hard, but so was the mental training. We pretty much had marriage counselling to make sure we were all fully aligned. My life was in their hands and vice versa. Pre-race all competitors also
go out two weeks beforehand. This isn’t just for safety checks, but to start to mentally disassociate yourself from the world, ready for full isolation.
The 3,000 mile race is said to be the world’s toughest endurance challenge. It’s a staggered start and a boat goes every four minutes. By about seven hours you can only see about six boats around you. Then, at night, you can see perhaps a few lights bobbing on the water. And then, you start seeing no one. Well, no one but your teammates. And you get VERY close to your teammates! There’s not a lot of space in there and hygiene is a big thing. You’re constantly covered in salt, exposed to the sun, and wet from the ocean.
There’s always someone rowing. We had a two hours on, one hour off, during the day schedule. After a few days we changed our shift as we wanted more sleep, so we entered a solo pattern at night. We saw some amazing things – dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, birds! But some moments were super scary. Halfway across we had some very big waves hit us at night. It was like rows of terraced houses just coming at you. You’re in pitch black but then you see these black walls coming at you. At that point we didn’t have the correct
weight distribution for these big waves. The rudder had come out of the water, and we were sliding down the waves sideways, lucky not to capsize. It happened three times until we worked out it was the weight.
We were expending 7-7,500 calories a day, but your body can only really absorb 5-5500 calories a day, so I lost 11kg. The daily ration intake was split into main meals – three to four meals of c.800 calories that you just add hot water to, and then… snacks! And that was amazing! I had a giant fruit and nut bar every day, pork scratchings, Haribo sweets, etc. We also took protein powders, supplements, and meals in a shake.
The race took us 38 days, and, in many respects, it was very freeing not being contactable. We celebrated Christmas and New Year out there, dropping the oars for 45 minutes each time, enjoying a mini bottle of red wine in our Christmas mankinis, and then a small bottle of Champagne at New Year.
The finish was amazing! You’ve been at sea, not seen anyone else and you’ve been living on adrenaline for 38 days. Then suddenly you see the twinkling lights of Antigua. We ended up dropping our oars at around three in the morning as we wanted to wait
for the sun to come up to row in. After a small slug of whisky we rowed in, coming into the harbour where all the superyachts honked their horns.
Looking back, it was the toughest thing I have ever done. Physically you adapt, but mentally it’s very draining. You start to slur your words from sleep deprivation as the crossing goes on (and, of course, you develop a great beard!). I would regularly take videos as my way of coping with the mental impact of the challenge. Many find it hard to integrate back into society with c.60% not only changing their job, but their entire career. Luckily, I work for a great group and have come back to an exciting project that benefits the UAE by bringing FDI to the region.
We raised nearly £70k for Ocean Generation. Ocean Generation created the video A Plastic Ocean, said to be ‘one of the most important films in our time’ by Sir David Attenborough. We also raised awareness for Azraq, the first marine conservation focused non-profit organisation set up in the Middle East. Both charities work hard on clean-ups, educating schools and corporates, but also influencing government organisations, which is key to making change happen for our oceans.”
The human body is designed to move... But somewhere along the way, comfort became the key to happiness.
Our thanks to Diana Almazova (F12) for helping to coordinate the 10 Year Reunion on 1 December 2022. It was great to see so many could make it.
L-R: Diana Almazova, David Torkington (P12), Harvey Jullien (D11), Daniel Grierson (D12), Emma Scarf (F12), Lydia Collett (F12), Natasha Kempner (G12), Oliver Coleshill (D12), Kitty Benzecry (W12), Sanjana Shetty (S12), Charlotte Mawdsley (B12), Philippa Lawson (H12), Angus McLean (P12), Fern Thomson (G12), Thomas Mathias (P12, sadly absent from photo)
It was lovely to see that reunions were back on after our lost years during Covid. 2022 saw the classes of 2012 and 2002 come together, as well as a very large reunion on Carthusian Day for the classes of 1970, 1971, and 1972.
Many of our 2002 leavers met for informal pub drinks to celebrate 20 years since leaving the School: Izzie Stanley (V02), Lizzie Powell (R02), Will Goy (W02), Jackie McDevitt (D02), Jon Guest (L02), Roddy Hamblin (D02) and Charlie Lumsden (née Burton) (V02).
Given that we were unable to hold a 50 year reunion for the past three years we invited the classes of 1970, 1971 and 1972 back to join us on Carthusian Day, along with some surprise guests being their old beaks!
Here’s what some of them thought of the event...
“ We had a great day so thank you for organising everything... we took lots of photos but this is my favourite of Charles and his daughter.”
“... Just a note to say how much we enjoyed our visit on Carthusian Day and especially the Gaudy. Very strange to meet those I taught who are now 66 / 68 years old!”
Brian Souter (BH70-04, Art and History of Art Beak)
“The day was full of nostalgia, but also it was very impressive to see how the School has moved on so much during the last 50 years... one of the highlights for me was going into my old House and at the top of one of the staircases seeing some framed photos from the 1920s, three of which included my father! Had he been still alive he would have been thrilled!”
Revd Canon Michael Mitton (L72)
“It was great to have an opportunity to meet up with some ex-pupils, most of whom I have not seen for 50 years, and the Catering Staff looked after us very well...”
Mike Bawden (BH69-72, Mathematics Beak)
“I’ve lived in Switzerland since the age of five, being schooled prior to this completely outside the English boarding school system. I wanted to switch it up a bit, and, having come here in 2018 for a Chelsea football camp, I was blown away by the beauty of the area. I never officially came to visit the School, as I applied during Covid, but I was very set on Charterhouse so I didn’t look at other schools. I’ve never been happier though. Genuinely, Charterhouse has completely changed my life for the better.
My old school was the birthplace of the IB, and I’m still doing the IB here, mainly to indulge my wide interests. I didn’t want to give up certain subjects, like Maths, as I love stimulating a different part of my brain. Maths A Level would have been such a core part of my study, but IB allows me to just enjoy it.
At Higher Level I do Geography, History and French, and at Standard Level I do Environmental Systems in Societies (ESS), Maths and English. Studying IB has helped with my organisational skills, and I like the way a lot of the IB is about coming to your own conclusions, based on your knowledge. We also have a seventh subject called Theory of Knowledge (TOK) which links back to most of our subjects. It forms part of our core points and can add up to 3 points for a combination of your final TOK essay and your exhibition. It’s evolved over the two years to be very discussion based; you have to come up with your own arguments for your exhibition on
where the theory of knowledge is present around us. This element of independent learning and making connections should stand me in good stead at university in my studies, and also through the university application process. I’m really enjoying all my subjects and it’s cemented my love of geography, which I hope to study further.
The boarding school week fits well with IB… six days, six subjects, and you’re given a banco timetable so there’s only one day per week when beaks can assign banco to be due. So, all I have to do is look at what is due for the next day, do that banco, and I’m set. I also appreciate how coursework is handled here. My old school gave us months to complete coursework but, for me, I’m very aware that work stretches to fit the
time you give it. So, I really like how here, especially for ESS and Geography, we do field work and then we’ll come back and just write it all up and turn something in. Getting it out of the way is great.
My House, Fletcherites, is very diverse and you get the most wonderful characters. I’m so proud to be a Fletcherite, and I didn’t even choose them! The House Team are genuinely interested, and take time to get to know you. I try and replicate this in my role as Senior House Monitor. Although part of the role is to help the other monitors, I think it’s mainly about the girls themselves. It’s about being a safe space, especially for the younger years coming in. When I joined, I was unbelievably homesick and I can’t imagine what that’s like for a Fourth and the
From the pitch to the stage, Senior House Monitor, Maya Bayliss, shows her Carthusian spirit.
A profile of Maya Bayliss, 2YS Fletcherites
international girls, who are so far from home at such a young age. So, I make sure I am approachable and friendly, especially in those first few weeks, as it calms down a lot after then.
In my spare time I’m in the BTT a lot. Our Actor in Residence, Dean Chisnall, is amazing; he and the rest of BTT have been fundamental to my experience at Charterhouse. I had done GCSE Theatre but had never been in a show or had the opportunity to do musical theatre. I was in A Christmas Carol and Fame! last year, and have just auditioned for this year’s production of Titanic: The Musical. Mr Chisnall told me my voice had really progressed since Fame!, which genuinely made my heart happy! That comes from the amount of time spent in the BTT, not because I had to, but because it’s become my happy place.
Football for me is huge. I am a netballer too, and played for the Swiss National Netball Team, but the commitment was too intense, making me realise that football was what I loved. I’m Captain of the girls’ Football 1st XI, which has been a wonderful experience, and I’ve loved watching them grow. I’m working with the Head of Girls’ Sport, Mrs Edwards, to encourage more football among the junior girls, especially after the Lionesses’ win last summer. Many of them haven’t played football before, so the standard isn’t where it should be, but that’s because they haven’t had the opportunities that we’ve had in sixth form and we’ve just become coed. I really want to ensure this changes, and leave this as part of my legacy as an OC. Especially as Charterhouse is so fundamental to football as a sport.”
“ Charterhouse has completely changed my life for the better.”
“I’m one of five, and we come from an international background. My parents are Swedish and when I was born settled permanently here in the UK. I went to an International American School, like my siblings, for 11 years. Being older than me, they moved away and, long story short, I felt lonely so I thought, why not try boarding? I visited quite a few boarding schools but I clearly remember visiting Charterhouse, and being in awe of the wonderful campus.
I was always set on joining a House in the old School, and every person, weirdly, I spoke to on my visit recommended Duckites! It might have been by chance, but who knows? At the time, Dr Langman (BH08-20) was Head of House, and I’m so glad I chose Duckites. We’re a positive, friendly group of people, and Mr Hazeldine (BH00-) is a great Head of House. I’m very excited about Duckites going all girls. There’s something very cool about being the second only ever coed House in Charterhouse’s history. I will miss five year groups of boys playing football on Duck’s grounds (40 boys on one pitch!) but I’m excited to see the change.
It was a bit daunting at first, going from day school, to here. I remember the School was dead quiet when we arrived and we had some group activity to get to know each other. It’s quite weird being shoved in with 14 boys you’ve never met, expected to get along immediately… which we did! The first person I met with all my bags was Head of House, Hugo Samuelson (g21). When the Fourths arrive, the Head of House and a few other Specialists are always there to
make sure they settle in, and I had very good Specs when I joined. I remember them saying: just wait until everyone else gets here and the School will explode. I remember being both excited, and perhaps a bit nervous, about having everyone else arrive, and on being the lowest in the food chain(!).
Boarding was much better than I expected. It wasn’t difficult. It wasn’t lonely (you’re far too busy to be lonely). I just found it fantastic, and have decided when I have children, they will definitely go boarding (if I can), and hopefully at Charterhouse as well. I just find the routines you build here, the independence, and the friendships, make a great sense of community. I’ll always remember one of the first talks we received, being from Mr Turner (BH99-). He spoke about two pupils he knew that made it their goal to do the most they could
through their time here. And I’m trying to do the same – fit in as much as I can. Obviously, that’s tiring, but that’s why you go to boarding school.
The one thing that did surprise me was how well I settled in, academically. In the Fourths, I was honoured to receive ‘Pupil of the Quarter’ in my very first term. It’s still one of the highlights of my time here. It’s an award given by the Head of Year to the pupil who has done the most in one Quarter for the School, so winning it in my first term was fantastic. I think it’s because I settled in so well, and did so well academically. I’m also an Academic Scholar which means I go to extra meetings where we discuss different topics. There are about 20 scholars in my year and it’s designed to push you to do your very best. For example, last year we had an essay competition based on ‘What If…’.
Fifth, Viggo Terling, tells us why he’s so proud to have achieved his House Scholar tie.
It’s optional for the School but compulsory for the Scholars. My old school doesn’t have this, and I like that they push you – I think it’s motivating.
Being a Scholar comes with a tie, but I don’t actually wear that one, and prefer to wear my House Scholar tie. I got that for my participation in the House Debating Competition. I have aspirations to be a politician in the future, and for this reason I love debating. Fellow Fifth, Stasys, and I, had no high aspirations when we entered the competition but we managed to beat three sets of Specialists and get to the Finals! This was David and Goliath, with us versus the Head of School, and a School Monitor. We lost, but we had a tough topic, being ‘Private School Pupils should be restricted from Oxbridge’ (we were for!) and we debated in front of the Head. So, the tie reminds me of what I achieved, and I’m very proud of it.
I’ve been lucky enough to get involved more in debating, participating in an inter-schools debate recently, which we won. I also got to attend a Model United Nations School trip to Milan in October.
If you want to join the CCF, you can choose: Army, Navy, RAF or Royal Marines. It’s one of the opportunities the School gives you, that you don’t get elsewhere. I joined the RAF, as you can fly here. I haven’t done any yet, because of Covid, but they’re restarting now and I think I’ll go flying soon. I’ve only just been promoted to Lance Corporal and it’s very satisfying to be rewarded after two years of training. So, my time here just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait to be a Spec, and help run the School and have additional responsibility. I’m definitely going to apply for both Head of House and Head of School, and am looking forward to the next few years.”
“ My time here just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait to be a Spec, and help run the School.”
It was with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of these former members of Brooke Hall. Each one was a pillar of our community and the embodiment of Carthusian spirit.
BH 1950-1987
In 1950, the year Bill and Mildred married, Bill became Assistant Music Master at Charterhouse. He had previously co-founded the Linden Singers, regularly broadcasting on BBC TV’s Music at Ten and on radio with Friday Night is Music Night, performing across the UK, and touring Spain.
In 1965, Bill became Director of Music. For his last two years at the School, he was also Second Master. During his tenure at Charterhouse, behind the scenes of the new subscription concert series, Bill and Mildred entertained many distinguished musicians in their home.
Under Bill’s leadership, the Ralph Vaughan Williams Music School was built (opening in 1983) and a Composer in Residence was appointed. He conducted the Choral Society, performing works such as Elgar’s The Kingdom and Bach’s Mass in B Minor. Bill also took the orchestra on exchange visits to Germany and the choir on tours of the US.
Bill continued his musical activities outside School as Musical Director of the Farnham & Bourne Choral Society; Music Director and President of Godalming Operatic Society; Music Adviser to the National Federation of Women’s Institutes; and President (1977–78) of the Incorporated Society of Musicians.
From 1981 to 1995, Bill was Festival Conductor of Leith Hill Musical Festival, where Ralph Vaughan Williams (with whom he had collaborated in the 1950s) had been the first to hold that position. Bill was also conductor of Petersfield Musical Festival.
In 1987, Bill was appointed MBE for his work in music and education. Retiring to Colyton, he spent 12 years as Chairman of the Devon area of the Royal School of Church Music, and nine as conductor of Bridgwater Choral Society.
Bill composed and arranged music, as well. His Requiem, On Earth in Concert Sing – addressed to “those left behind”– was first performed in Lincolnshire by the Boston Choral Society. He also compiled and edited The Novello Book of Carols
Into his nineties, Bill worked with hymn writer Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith, finding, arranging, or composing tunes for and editing several Canterbury Press publications.
More about Bill, and to share memories: rememberingbill.co.uk
BH 1957-91
Norman Evans taught Classics and English at Charterhouse. He was also Housemaster of Lockites between LQ1970 and CQ1985. On his retirement his ‘valete’ in The Carthusian was colourful and heart-warming. We share some of these entries here…
Tony Day (BH54-90)
Lockites of his time as Housemaster have particular cause to be grateful. The boys and girls could not help but be affected by his wide interests, high personal standards, total integrity and his care and concern. LAF (Lockites Festival of Art, Music and Drama), which he produced annually in May was but one example of his skill, inspiration and commitment.
David Newman (BH72-00)
Norman was as keen as any Housemaster to further the sporting success of his House, so fair weather or foul, he was always to be found on Northbrook or Broom & Lees cheering on ‘his men’ in even the lowliest of housematches.
Ernst Zillekens (BH79-17)
Norman’s untiring effort and enthusiasm resulted in not only a great deal of enjoyment, but also it furthered a lot of talent (Lockites tended to dominate many a cast in School productions, for example).
BH 1965-97
D.R. Thorpe (BH65-97), universally referred to as DRT, taught History and Politics at Charterhouse. He also enjoyed a career as an esteemed political biographer. At School, he was a supporter of the Beveridge Society and was responsible for inviting many eminent speakers. The most prestigious was Harold Wilson, who came to speak in 1981. Richard’s mother had been in the same form as him in Yorkshire many years earlier.
He was a keen footballer and for many years coached football teams. He was a stalwart of the Brooke Hall team, for whom he was centre forward. Richard kept a tally of his goals over the years. His score was on 98 at the beginning of the House match against P. He scored early in the game to reach 99, but was stuck there like a nervous batsman. The referee awarded a slightly doubtful penalty in injury time, which Richard duly converted. His mother baked a rectangular cake covered in green icing and white lines for the team to celebrate a few days later.
He was also an enthusiastic golfer and would sometimes help with School matches. There was a game on the Halford Hewitt course in 1989 between the School and the OCGS. Richard was playing for the boys and I for the OCGS. Ours was the final and, as it proved, decisive match. We came to the last all square and managed to halve the hole in two, with the result that the School won.
DRT wrote a number of political biographies. His first was The Uncrowned Prime Ministers (1980), followed by Selwyn Lloyd (1989) and Alec Douglas Home (1996). He took early retirement in 1997 and was made a member of the Senior Common Room at Brasenose College, Oxford. He produced official biographies of Anthony Eden (2003) and Harold Macmillan (2010). This last one won him the 2011 English Speaking Union Marsh Biographical Award. He was later awarded the MBE for his services to political biography. In his last two works, he edited the diaries of Kenneth Rose.
He had a love for music, especially opera. In later years, he would go on foreign opera tours, often with former BH colleagues. In many ways, he was a shy man until one got to know him. He had a fund of stories and was a marvellous racounteur. I can remember many wonderful Brooke Hall dinners with him in full flow. He was extremely kind and hospitable. He died quietly after a lengthy illness.
“I connected with Mark, a current parent, through the Charterhouse Connect networking platform in spring of 2022 hoping to discuss potential work opportunities for the summer of my second year of university. I knew that I was interested in finding work broadly within the financial sector, so I used the Find a Mentor search tool on the platform to filter my search and whittle down the results to fit my interests. I was able to find OCs who worked in this field and had ticked ‘offering work experience and / or internships’ under the Willing to Help subsection of their profile.
Ihad a look at Mark’s profile and his company’s website, and decided it fit quite perfectly to the sort of work I was looking for, so I sent him a quick message via the platform’s Message tool. I introduced myself, including details on what I was studying, and expressed my interest in any potential opportunities he had for that summer.
Mark’s reply was very prompt, we discussed dates and the type of work I was interested in, and he put me in touch with a colleague to sort out the details. I started in early June in the London office and stayed for a period of just under two months – longer than I had initially planned! Mark’s team were able to provide me with a wide range of tasks, tailored to the interests I’d expressed, in research and analysis; I was even given the opportunity to write a series of white papers on the EU Green Deal, and publish an article for the company’s blog on the financial impacts of the EU Green Legislation, all under my own name! This opportunity has provided me with great experience
of being part of a business working environment and will support me well in my applications this year for further summer internships and graduate jobs!
Any internship might provide you with invaluable opportunities like this, but what remains different and unique about using Charterhouse Connect, is that you already hold a common thread with the mentor you contact, and they already have a vested interest in your progress – otherwise why would they sign up to be a mentor? From an intern’s point of view the impact this
connection has on your internship experience and ability to network through it, is only positive.”
Lydia Jones (D/Su20)
Since our last Greyhound magazine we’ve been hosting numerous networking events both online and in person. To date we’ve had four fantastic events revolving around Law, Finance, STEM, and Property. All our events are listed on Charterhouse Connect in the Events section so have a look and sign up to build your network and meet more people in your industry.
“Lydia was great! Proactive, a superb work ethic, great energy, excellent research and writing skills. A lovely personality and a good collaborator. She produced excellent thoughtful leadership pieces and helped with due diligence for some of our new service propositions. She was probably our best summer intern yet –and a huge credit to Charterhouse.”
Mark Simms (Current Parent)“”We are celebrating year three of our mentoring and networking programme with an amazing 184 relationships forged since the start.
“ Many thanks for organising; the event was a great success. It was fantastic to connect with fellow OCs working in finance.
I want to compliment the size of the event as it is easy to have too many people, but I thought the numbers were perfect. It was also great to have a range of experience in the room and it helped some of the younger OCs who were unable to do much face-to-face networking due to COVID. This is definitely something I would consider going to again in the future.”
Seb Chan (g12)89%
In the last academic year we saw an in the community growth using the mentoring programme and 50% of our network are now offering mentoring and networking in a meaningful way
If you would like to find a mentor or become a mentor please use the Directory on Charterhouse Connect and update your profile accordingly.
Alternatively, please reach out to Karen Grindrod in the Foundation Office ( karengrindrod@charterhouse.org.uk) and she will be able to assist you.
In 2019 we welcomed Sutton to our list of Boarding Houses. But what changes were made to convert our beloved Saunderites to Sutton? Through floorplans and images we show you how the House has changed...
• Sutton pink adorns the walls
• Plush furnishings and their own artwork create a relaxing ‘home from home’ environment
• A reduction in Common Rooms enables space to be carved out for a resident Assistant Head of House, part of the School’s commitment to increasing pastoral care in all Houses.
• The Boarding Pastoral Assistant (was Matron) takes a role front and centre with an office on entry to the House.
• The new House accommodates 70 beds, four more from the days of being Saunderites.
We are delighted to have won the award for ‘Best Student Careers Programme’ at the Independent Schools of the Year award ceremony in London. This award is for the school which most impresses the judges with the way in which it helps its students with advice and support on preparing them for life after Charterhouse.
2022:
1. Newcastle
2. King’s College, London
3. UCL
4. Exeter / Edinburgh / Durham
1. Finance & Business
2. Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical, Chemical Sciences
3. Engineering
4. History
5. Politics
The 2022 applications cycle was extremely competitive due to universities accepting more students than planned in 2020 and 2021, owing to grade inflation and continued growth in applications from international students. Despite this we worked hard to make sure pupils had a balanced range of choices for their UCAS application as well as making sensible firm and insurance choices. As a result, on results day, the majority of pupils achieved their firm or insurance choices. Of all UCAS places accepted, 12% were insurance offers (10% in 2021) and 12% clearing (9% in 2021). Internationally 29 pupils went to North America (up from 14 the year before) and 6 to Europe. Universities included Harvard, Duke, Columbia, UPenn, Boston University, Northeastern, Toronto, SCAD and Bocconi.
The university landscape is expected to become more and more competitive with UCAS forecasting up to 1 million applicants in 2026 (683,650 in 2022) due to an increased birth rate and a continued increase in the number of international students. The US and Canada continue to be popular with our pupils with approximately 40 pupils applying this cycle. This year we also have several pupils applying to degree apprenticeship schemes such as JP Morgan.
Our Careers Programme successfully prepares students for life after School in a variety of ways. Our aim is to raise awareness of key employability skills and how to acquire them. We integrate this as a core part of the School’s curriculum and our PSHE programme. Awareness of employability skills including emotional intelligence, resilience, teamwork and adaptability are all part of a Charterhouse education. This programme is delivered by a dedicated team of advisors with successful business backgrounds.
Last year the core programme included the following events:
PSHE Future steps workshops such as developing a growth mindset, core employability skills, how to write a CV/cover letter and create a LinkedIn profile and the job application process including psychometric testing, what to expect at an assessment centre and interview skills.
Two days of seminars for the 1YS with external speakers covering the graduate job market and how to prepare for it, including: interview skills; first impressions and body language; communication; social media and emails; and cultural intelligence – both geographic, generational and corporate.
A simulated financial trading event run by Amplify Trading, used by Investment Banks such as Morgan Stanley.
Regular newsletters which highlight opportunities to gain work experience, company insight events and apprenticeship opportunities.
Numerous speaker events covering a range of careers and industries such as Intro to Cryptocurrencies, How to build a fashion brand, How to get work experience and prepare a CV
Charterhouse Connect is our online platform for OCs and parents. With over 3,000 contacts in the directory, all searchable by location, career profile and how they are willing to help, this is a great resource to either build your own network and opportunities, or seek opportunities and internships for your children. There is also a Resource Library which hosts some talking head videos on a number of careers and an events section updated with all our upcoming events for the community. To join please use this link: www.charterhouseconnect.org.uk
Head of Academic Music, giving a sermon in Chapel to all the pupils about him. The final event of the Series was a Commemorative Service of Evensong on 10 November, featuring a commission by OC Mr Mark Blatchly (G77, BH96-18). Chapel Choir gave a superb performance in the presence of the composer who was most touched to be part of the occasion. The Concert Series has been a real celebration of the composer and we wish to thank all the musicians and organisers who have helped to put this together, especially our returning OCs Tony Zhang (H21), Henry le Feber Robertson (S20), and Benedict Wong (G20).
excellence. Aomi has been a real star since joining Charterhouse, singing in just about every ensemble going! Mention must also go to her quartet partners – Hattie Palmer (F22), Rosie-May (N) and Thomas (g), all who supplied an ethereal compliment to the efforts of the main Chapel Choir in a performance that created a serene sense of calm and contemplation.
2022 marked not only the anniversary of our 150 years move to Godalming but also the 150th anniversary of one of our most eminent Old Carthusians, Ralph Vaughan Williams (R1890). There were seven planned Concerts and a Festival Service of Remembrance to celebrate the life and times of the OC, and each one showcased some amazing music and talented musicians.
The School was also delighted to be part of a wider national programme of events celebrating RVW, which began with a concert given by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. The Vaughan Williams Foundation ably supported the year long series of events, of which our very own Charterhouse Concert Series was involved. We also celebrated ‘In Every Corner Sing’ in Chapel, a week-long national celebration of Hymnody of RVW, with Dr Millard (BH00-),
Chapel Choir continued to go from strength to strength with a particular highlight of the year being their performance of Allegri’s seminal Miserere mei in the Evensong for Ash Wednesday. Tasked with the responsibility of the soaring ‘top C’ was Aomi (Su) who soared with beauty and
Over in musical theatre, the spring production was Fame! which completed a run of six performances. In a world where it is impossible to avoid would-be celebrity at every turn in the media, it might seem an odd choice for a school musical but it’s actually not a story about being ‘famous’; it’s about the hopes and drive that so many young people have within them to be successful. And our Carthusians got stuck in with their usual aplomb!
As we slipped further into summer our musicians geared up for Carthusian Day and the Eve of Carthusian Day Concert. Symphony and Chamber Orchestra were joined by four soloists in four concerto movements – Taki Ejima-Dalley (V22), Michael Huang (G22), Sophie Ju (C22) and Horace Choi (G22) – whilst Carthusian Day saw some of the Fame! cast reunite to take centre stage in the Main Tent. We also brought music to the wider community, welcoming pupils from Hoe Bridge, Edgeborough and St George’s to take part in our Choral Day. The pupils sang their hearts out and there was a lovely solo in the ‘Pie Jesu’. Further collaboration, this
time with the good folk of Godalming, saw our wonderful Jazz Band take to the Godalming Bandstand to delight the masses with their toe-tapping numbers. It was enjoyed so much they’ve been booked again for next summer!
After a well-deserved summer break OQ skipped straight into Lack of Talent, our annual pupil-led show which raises money for charity, closely followed by the ever-popular House Singing Competition. Credit to the pupils, House Singing 2022 was a most enjoyable occasion. Mr Jonathan Howard was most kind and thoughtful in his comments, helpful and positive, stating how much he had enjoyed listening to the performances and his experience of the occasion. However, there can be only one winner: in joint third came Bodeites and Saunderites, Sutton took second spot with Lockites taking the top spot.
There were two beautiful services in the Memorial Chapel for Remembrance Day. Felix (S) and Tim (B) bugled the Last Post and Reveille most excellently, whilst Senior and Junior Chapel Choir sang with poise and precision for their respective services.
As Autumn turned to Winter, the glimmer of Advent and Christmas began appearing all around us. The festive feel began to creep into our surroundings, with Carol Services, Candlelit Carols and Fête de Noël. Amongst the services in Chapel, Jazz Band also gave their annual Christmas Band Show taster concert. Junior Jazz Band also strutted their stuff and the Junior Sax Quartet gave us a flavour of things to come.
For many, Candlelit Carols is a fixture in the Christmas calendar that is never missed. The atmosphere created by just the flickering flames of candles all over the Memorial Chapel create a scene of tranquillity and calm, only to be serenaded by the floating soaring voices of Chapel Choir. In his final Candlelit Carols event, Mark Shepherd directed the choir through a beautiful programme of carols and anthems. Starting at the West end, the choir opened with Once in Royal David’s City, the solo first verse somehow immediately putting us into the Christmas spirit. The choir moved to the East end, processing to Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth, continuing to set a tone of beauty and serenity.
This year’s choir was a joining of both our Junior and Senior Chapel Choirs. Perhaps the highlight for many was the wonderful Carol-Anthem by Herbert Howells, setting the 14th century text A Spotless Rose, baritone solo provided by Thomas in his final year with the choir. Quartet soloists were Aomi, Rosie-May, William (V) and Jago (R).
This has been another wonderful year of music-making, full of creativity and excitement, with the wonderful addition of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Concert Series. As we look to the end of the next academic year, it will be hard to imagine Charterhouse music without the leadership and direction of Mark Shepherd, and we thank him for all his dedication over the last 20 years.
Woodwind:
Fraser (V) (Junior)
Alex (S) (Intermediate)
Horace Choi (G22) (Senior)
Singing:
Oliver (D), TianZong (H) and Aomi
Composition:
Full house of prizes to Verites
Pradeep (V) (Junior)
Taki Ejima-Dalley (V22) (Senior)
Claire
Piano prizes came round again as we entered a new academic year. In the Junior category, Kirsten (C) and Richard (L) –Highly Commended (Junior)
Christy (F) (Junior)
William (V) and Claire (Su) –Highly Commended (Senior)
Justin (L) (Senior)
The 2022 cricket season saw the 1st XI have an excellent year, led expertly by Jonty (V) we won over half the games playing on a very tough circuit. Luke (g) continues to dominate and is now the leading academy bowler at Surrey. Jevan (W22), Seb (D) and Jonty had stellar seasons. The girls’ cricket programme had a welcome reintroduction into School sport and in 2023 we shall be fielding five teams in total. Looking ahead, plans are to tour South Africa with two boys’ squads in 2024.
The first pair of Harry (V) and Jonty (V) notched up some good wins over Marlborough, Clifton, Harrow and Eton, and, for the first time, we were able to include a girl in the senior boys’ pair. Amelia (W), with her partner Charlie (W), caused many upsets, comfortably beating a number of pairs. The Colts (Alex (G) and Charlie (H)) were delighted to notch up their first win as a pair, beating Haileybury in a 3-2 nail-biter. The JCA pair of Ollie (D) and Alex (D) showed their strength, beating Tonbridge, Marlborough and Eton, and recently we included our first Yearlings pair with Max (D) with Eddie (D) victorious over Winchester in a 3-0 win. In the National Singles Competition, Ollie reached the Quarter Finals of the Jim Dear, with Harry making it to the last 16 of the Renny Cup.
Henry (B) achieved a silver medal at the Surrey Schools’ Athletics Championships in the shot put. Jimi (S), Mathieu (D), Thomas (S) and Logan (G) dominated in the shorter track events. All four, plus
Lucas (V), were selected to compete for Waverley in the Surrey Schools’ Athletics Championships. Lucas finished fourth in the 80mH – an event he had never tried before starting at Charterhouse. This was the first season in which Charterhouse fielded a girls’ junior athletics team; Beatrix (F) finished just out of the medals in the 200m at the Surrey Schools’ Championships.
Charterhouse Basketball are having a successful 2022-23 season. The U18 side won the Public Schools Basketball Tournament at Wellington College, claiming the title of top Public School for Basketball for the next year.
With over 220 girls playing representative netball across 22 teams, the season ahead looks to be very promising. Freya (F) and Maya (F) are excellent captains and role models for the Under School to look up to. This year will see a netball tour to the UAE and a very full fixture list. We currently have three girls who were selected for the London Pulse satellite hub and attend weekly training.
Lacrosse’s success from the previous year continued through OQ and we saw the biggest numbers to date in recent years. Being able to field two teams with regular fixtures was fantastic to see. Felicity (F) was Captain and Charlotte (F) as Vice. The highlight of the season was winning the Invitation Tournament on the last weekend and beating many established teams. House Lacrosse was won by Fletcherites.
The 1st XI won 4-2 over Eton, the B and C teams across the board, and the U14As scored 19 goals in three games. Getting more boys playing this sport in LQ is key and it’s great to see the best part of 65 Fifths playing hockey. We currently have 16 hockey teams representing the School.
In less than three seasons of sport (20/21 season discounted due to COVID) the girls’ hockey programme has grown to 11 teams playing 106 fixtures throughout OQ. There is also a flourishing House Hockey tournament. Our partnership with Guildford Hockey Club is developing nicely and has allowed more of our junior players access to club training at Charterhouse.
OQ22 saw some excellent progress for Charterhouse Football. We were able to add a 15F team as well as a 6th XI playing regularly, and a 7th XI playing a handful of matches. It’s great to see more boys representing Charterhouse on the football pitch. Our link with the Chelsea FC Foundation entered its second season, improving from last year; every Charterhouse team has a Chelsea coach take their session every 7-10 days, and every Charterhouse beak has a Chelsea mentor to support the development of their coaching every 7-10 days. Our 15A team had a good run in the ISFA Cup, losing 1-0 in a really tight match in the last 16 away. They also finished second in their division of the Elgin League and have qualified for a semi-final, playing Aldenham who finished top of the other division.
However, the standout has to be the 1st XI who are having their best season in many years. With one match left, we are sat top of the Hudl League. A draw in our last match will be enough to secure our first league title. We are also in to the ISFA Cup Final for the first time since the 2010/2011 season with the match against Royal Russell scheduled for Monday 6 March.
Girls’ football has gone from strength to strength; we have both U15 and U14 fixtures for the girls. The 1st XI, captained by Maya (F), have had a good season to date and are playing across two Quarters. With increased numbers we have a large playing squad and have tried to get as many people playing as possible. The team are working towards our Invitation Tournament, ISFA Cup and the House matches at the end of Quarter.
This year saw our biggest team ever. Taking many first places in this year’s fixtures, special mentions go to Ella (F), Chloe (W), Arina (C) and Kate (W). The boys also showed great strength with wins from the U16 boys: Sander (S), Cyprus (W), Jonty (S), Timothy (V) and Captain, Serge (R). We also saw the return of House swimming. In the Senior Girls, Chetwynd took the win with Arina (C) receiving the Maria Steyn Trophy. Fletcherites won for the Junior Girls, with Ella (F) the winner of the Annabell Timberlake shield for ‘Swimmer of the Day’ after breaking two records. In the boys’ House swimming, the Intermediates put in some brilliant performances, but Saunderites who came out on top, whilst in the Seniors it was much closer with Robinites and Verites both finishing in first place.
With the help from Captain Zhangir (S), OQ was about recruiting new members and this paid off, allowing us to have U15, U16 and U18 teams for the first time in many years. We have already kicked off this year’s ESSA National Tournament; our U18 players were up first, playing away at Whitgift against five other schools. With many goals coming from Jack (D), Nero (H) and
Vladimir (V), Charterhouse came away with fourth place putting us through to the National Plate Semi-Finals.
The Charterhouse fencing team has had a successful few months, with good victories against rival schools Whitgift, Westminster, and Tonbridge. We have seen an increase in numbers and are now able to field two beginner foil teams.
The Boys’ Senior Tennis Teams have been indebted to Thomas de la Chaise (S22) and Jamie Richardson (B22) for their fine services to the School, for which they received red sport colours. The Girls’ U15A have had a tremendous season with victories over Tormead, Guildford, Epsom and Wellington. In all 10 fixtures they were competitive which bodes well for the future. The Boys’ U15 programme has seen vast numbers – our U15C and U15D were also involved in fixtures against other schools’ A teams, which makes the boys’ U15 record of winning 74% of all sets played even more remarkable. The Girls’ U14s have consistently been strong, and it is again testament to their ability that Ksenia (N) and Eva (F) have already played 1st team tennis.
The Boys’ U14s have also been competing at a high level – special mention to Humphrey (P) and Max (P) for their excellent performances.
It has been a pleasure to see all courts consistently being filled with Carthusians once again. There have been some excellent performances from First pair, Hugh (B) and his partner William (V), who have notched up wins against Cranleigh, Eton, Berkhamsted, and the Brigands.
The 1st V have successfully reached the second round of the National Championship. The U15 boys secured a notable win against Eton in a friendly, and managed to progress to the second round of the U16 Nationals. The U15 Girls and U14 Boys sides managed to make it to the plate in the aforementioned tournament.
We finished the Shooting Year with Max (P), George Lake-Coghlan (S22), Max Gerhardt (H22), Hermione (N), Lucas (g) and Nick Shutt (D22) staying on after the Schools’ Meeting to shoot in the NRA (National Rifle Association) Imperial Meeting. Max won through to Her Majesty the Queen’s Final (the top 100 competitors at the meeting), and was the top Tyro (beginner) and Top Cadet winning two huge trophies. Max Gerhardt went on to represent us in the successful GB under 19 Team. In LQ we had two Teams in the BSSRA (British Schools Smallbore Rifle Association) where the Seniors won their Division. We have been informed that Max has been selected to represent the GB Under 19 Full-bore Team on a tour of the Channel Islands, and Hermione, Freddie (B) and Henry (P) have been invited to try out for places in the UK Cadet Under 17 Target Rifle Team. Finally, Hermione and Max have been Selected to represent England in the British Schools’ National Finals.
In CQ22, our junior girls took part in Cranleigh School’s Girls’ Invitational in which we came second in the Under 15s. As at LQ23, we are currently in the area semi-finals of the HMC Foursomes and in the area finals of the ISGA Plate match play.
The squad continue to make huge strides, with a number of younger players joining the team. With a new and revamped coaching programme and more fixtures than before, it has been great to see some really positive results. Well done to Dylan (G) and Aaron (P) for leading the team. The team are looking forward to the upcoming Harrow Cup and re-establishing themselves.
With sadness, Charterhouse reports the passing of the following Old Carthusians, notified since February 2022. OCs are listed chronologically according to their year of leaving.
1930s
P38 ROUTH, Russell aged 97 on 18 August 2018
1940s
D40 OPPENHEIMER, Michael aged 96 in 2020
V43 BENNETT, Anthony aged 96 on 14 January 2022
V43 WHITWORTH, John aged 97 in September 2022
V44 HARDY, Guy aged 95 on 10 September 2022
P45 RAEBURN, David aged 93 on 1 February 2021
W45 ELLIOTT, Victor aged 89 on 19 November 2018
B46 REISS, Robin aged 94 on 9 October 2022
H46 MCLELLAND, Carrick aged 93 on 14 April 2022
P46 LIES, Jeff aged 93 on 12 April 2022
S46 FRANKLIN, Norman aged 94 on 1 January 2023
g47 GOLDSMITH, Peter aged 92 in March 2022
g47 HODGKINSON, Patrick aged 85 on 21 February 2016
G47 HUMPHERY, Martin aged 93 on 1 January 2023
V47 WEARE, Ted aged 92 on 11 March 2022
W47 SIMMONS, Peter aged 91 on 14 September 2022
g48 EGGLESTON, Robin aged 92 on 16 February 2023
B49 HOLE, David aged 90 on 8 May 2022
g49 HUDSON, Christopher aged 91 on 25 July 2022
L49 BERKLEY, David aged 91 in December 2022
L49 BUCHAN-HEPBURN, Alastair aged 90 on 1 February 2022
P49 BURLEY, Richard aged 89 on 12 February 2021
W49 MAITLAND-JONES, Hugh aged 91 on 28 October 2022
W49 TUCKETT, Robert aged 92 on 11 November 2022
D50 PEERS, John aged 90 on 24 May 2022
L50 MAXWELL, Bill aged 91 on 10 July 2022
P50 JOHNSON, Thomas aged 90 on 31 December 2022
R50 CURTIS, John aged 90 on 14 October 2022
S50 SHELDON, Robin aged 90 on 10 August 2022
W50 WHITWORTH, John aged 87 on 1 September 2022
L51 SMITH, Colin aged 89 on 3 July 2022
P51 FOX, John aged 89 on 1 June 2022
R51 GRAY, Nic aged 88 in July 2022
V51 WATKINS, Peter aged 88 on 3 April 2022
W51 PECK, Geoffrey aged 89 on 16 December 2021
D52 DEMPSTER, Jonathan aged 88 on 24 August 2022
R52 STRONG, David aged 87 on 16 July 2021
H53 BERLIAND, David aged 86 on 17 July 2022
L53 DEAN, Christopher aged 87 on 30 June 2022
W53 MORRISH, Leslie aged 86 on 22 May 2022
W53 SEWELL, Jeremy aged 87 on 1 November 2022
V54 MOORE, Jon aged 85 on 23 March 2022
L55 HAXWORTH, Martyn aged 79 on 26 September 2016
L55 TAYLOR, Brian aged 82 on 8 August 2019
B56 COULTON, Teresa aged 84 on 4 August 2022
g56 CURRIE, Simon aged 84 on 11 September 2022
H56 FRY, Lindsay aged 84 on 6 July 2022
R56 HAWKINS, Stewart aged 83 on 20 March 2022
S56 RAMSAY, Andrew aged 84 on 12 December 2021
V56 FORD, Malcolm aged 82 on 19 October 2022
B57 WELLS, Myles aged 83 on 8 July 2022
L57 HAXWORTH, Richard aged 82 in June 2022
B58 BANHAM, John aged 81 on 9 August 2022
P58 EDDISON, Charles aged 80 on 25 June 2022
S59 VERNON, John aged 79 on 23 June 2020
W59 ULLMAN, Joe aged 81 on 15 February 2022
g60 RIGG, John aged 80 on 12 August 2022
G60 KEYMER, Peter aged 81 on 17 February 2023
H60 COHEN, Anders aged 79 on 23 April 2022
G61 DE SAVARY, Peter aged 78 on 31 October 2022
P61 MCCALL, Peter aged 80 on 12 August 2022
G62 MCISAAC, Ian aged 76 on 24 September 2021
S62 ARNOLD, Hugh aged 77 in 2020
B65 SMITH, Jonathan aged 74 on 6 November 2022
H67 TAYLOR, Andrew aged 72 on 1 November 2022
G69 GIBSON, Nigel aged 71 in 2023
P70 JONES, Chris aged 69 on 14 September 2021
V71 HEWAT-JABOOR, Philip aged 68 on 31 March 2022
G72 FALDO, Mark aged 69 on 9 December 2022
H76 MYGIND, Tim aged 64 in November 2022
g78 KNUL, Michiel aged 61 on 19 March 2021
H78 EWENS, Stephen aged 61 on 16 August 2022
EVANS, Norman (BH57-91) aged 91 on 12 July 2022
LLEWELLYN, Bill (BH50-87) aged 97 on 1 January 2023
THORPE, Richard (BH65-97) aged 80 on 1 February 2023
We would like to remind you of all the wonderful Clubs and Societies that are available to OCs and Parents. Below are just some that you can join. To see the full list, please visit Charterhouse Connect at www.charterhouseconnect.org.uk
• OC Art Society
• OC Basketball
• OC City Association
• OC Fencing Club
• OC Fives Club
• OC Football Club
• OC Golf Club
• OC Media & Literary Society
• OC Netball
• OC Racing Society
• OC Swimming and Water Polo
• OC Technology Club
• OC Yacht Club
• The Carthusian Society
If you would like more information, please contact the Foundation Office at foundation@charterhouse.org.uk
Charterhouse Godalming Surrey GU7 2DX
Tel: 01483 291759
foundation@charterhouse.org.uk charterhouse.org.uk