INTERVIEWS * REVIEWS * COMMENT
Transcription
INTERVIEWS * REVIEWS * COMMENT
T M H N A I M O S E P G A 2 Z 0 I 8 0 0 2 N 7 E INTERVIEWS * REVIEWS * COMMENT EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 Over the past four years I have very much enjoyed working on both the format and the content of the Epsomian. This has, undoubtedly, been a challenge, but I hope that each edition will serve as a memory to you, our fine readers, of your own personal time here, in this incredibly diverse community. We gained another addition to the Epsomian family this year, in the form of Miss Butler, the new teacher/editor, who has sacrificed almost all her spare time to the production of this magazine. Little did she know the size of the task she had taken on! The result is that we have managed to bring publication forward a little, and we hope to continue this trend next year, meaning that you should now have less than a year to wait for the 2008–2009 edition. As usual, we owe a huge debt of thanks to all those who have contributed words, pictures and advice. The past four years working on the magazine have been thoroughly enjoyable, and, as I pass on the reins to a new group of Epsomians, I hope that the magazine continues to be a success long into the future. Here’s to the 138th edition. Enjoy. Annie Urwin, student editor 3 S E IZ R P R E H T O D ACADEMIC AN SUMMER 2008 Middle Fourth Form Lower Sixth Form Juliet Ariel (Rv) Dodd Speech Prize Liam Anderson (Rn) David De Vile Composition Prize Daniel Bradshaw (C) Dodd Speech Prize Max Bleilob (Fa) Melody Man (Cr) Crawfurd Commonwealth History Project Prize Prosser-White French Oral Prize Norman Colyer Memorial German Prize Zoe Sciver (Rv) Junior John Ingram Poetry Prize Guy Blunden (F) Politics Prize Peter Wilkin (Fa) Crawfurd Commonwealth History Project Prize Katie Bourne (Wh) Engledue Latin Prose Prize George Broom (F) Warren Pickett Award Janine Zager (Cr) Dodd Speech Prize Lawrence Ching (H) Dodd Speech Prize Jae Ho Chung (G) First Year Sixth Biology Prize Critical Thinking Prize Ely Webster Economics Prize Thomas Mathematics Prize Upper Fourth Form Samir Amin (Rn) Dodd Speech Prize Timothy Cobb (P) Claude Calthrop English Essay Prize Charlotte Davolls (Rv) Young Cooperatives Prize Kara Heggs (Cr) Dodd Speech Prize Uta Demel (Wh) Ralph Gooding Chemistry Prize Delna Karanjia (W) Dodd Speech Prize Ademola Elebute (F) Business Studies Prize Olagoke Solanke (H) Harvey Prize Charlotte Ellison (Rv) Business Studies Prize Fifth Form 4 Timothy Faccini (F) Cunning Nutrition Essay Prize David Gazet (P) Senior John Ingram Poetry Prize Madeleine Kuhler (Wh) Physical Education Practical Prize Dominic Behar (G) Junior Art Prize Esther Kwon (Wh) Instrumental Music Prize Paul Clarke (P) Junior Ely Webster Computing Prize John Lee (G) The Piano Accompanist Prize Max Denning (H) Prosser-White French Oral Prize Leonard Leung (G) Business Studies Prize Anna Hurley (Rv) Dodd SpeechPrize Carr Divinity Prize Edward Leung Zheng (G) Jennifer Leung (W) EAL Prize Cunning Nutrition Essay Prize Thomas Mathematics Prize Glyn Hughes Physics Prize Curtis Man (G) Junior Design Prize Carina Lindberg (Cr) Glyn Hughes Chemistry Prize Young Enterprise Award Caroline Lloyd (Cr) Warren Pickett Award Anthony McGhee (H) Warren Pickett Award Sophie Pontifex (Wh) Physical Education Prize Patrick Sweeney (H) Chamberlayne Prize Joe Trayfoot (Fa) National Sporting Award Annie Urwin (Cr) Young Enterprise Award Matthew Wynne (C) Cunning Nutrition Essay Prize Sterry Divinity Prize James Pease-Watkin (Fa) Sunderland Classics Prize Victoria Richardson (Rv) Dodd Speech Prize Nicholas Thomas (F) Dodd Speech Prize EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 Upper Sixth Form Alexander Adams (R) Barbers' Company Biology Priz Waterfield Biology Prize Frances Andrews (Wh) Aberdour Prize Dame Kathleen Raven Award Edward Ariel (C) Theatre Studies Prize Ronald Raven Religious Studies Prize David Blackburn (R) Senior Ely Webster Computing Prize Jennifer Bryant (W) Physical Education Practical Prize S.R. Piper Award Jacqueline Charlton (Cr) Charities Award Henry Charnock (P) Norman Rice Prize for Economics Senior John Ingram Poetry Prize Lisle Chase (F) G.A. Davies Bequest Biology Prize Matthew Chasey (Fa) OE Lodge Citizenship Prize Georgina Crate (Rv) Gardiner Prize Ralph Gooding Botany Prize Timothy Dawson (C) Clara Liddell (Cr) Dame Kathleen Raven Award Heli Metsmaa-Petersons (Wh) Norman Colyer Memorial Spanish Prize Newsom Instrumental Prize Alice Mowbray (Wh) Pendlebury Greek Prize Robert Nuthall (Fa) Martin Classics Prize Morenike Oyagbola (Wh) Radcliffe History Prize Max Page (G) Eric Radcliffe Award Wakeley (Harvey) Award Raj Sahni (H) Marcelle Rowe Drama Prize Nellie Eden (W) Brande English History Essay Prize Michelle Shanahan (Rv) Norman Colyer Memorial French Prize Sophie Farrelly (Rv) Fielding Senior Art Prize French Prize Gautham Shankar (C) Sealey Physics Prize Angus Field (G) Political Essay Prize Emma Sluman (Rv) OE Lodge Citizenship Prize Jamie Gillespie (H) Business Studies Prize Terrence Tai (G) Robert Gillespie (G) Heath Mathematics Prize Matthew Goodyear (G) Smith-Pearse Natural History Prize John Facer Chemistry Prize Wood Mathematics Prize Rosebery History Prize Politics Prize Engledue European History Essay Prize Propert Prize Abigail Temple (Rv) Rosebery Literature Prize Lina Grüger (Wh) Martin Mathematics Prize Christopher Tighe (F) Ann du Bois Award Corinne Hammond (Cr) Irish Medical Schools' Biology Prize Henri Trépant (H) Headmaster's Choir Prize Samuel Harley (C) National Sporting Award Rebecca Tse (Wh) Prosser-White French Oral Prize Sarah Haville (Wh) Mrs Major Geography Prize Baileigh Walsh (Cr) Spanish Prize Jennifer Hedges (Cr) Barford Literature Essay Prize Duncan Way (Rn) Natalie Ingham (Wh) Crawfurd Commonwealth Geography Prize Erasmus Wilson Senior Design Business Studies Prize Eleanor Wells (W) Newsom Choir Prize Wooram Jung (R) Dr Kiernander Medical Prize Smith-Pearse Natural History Prize Georgia Wilson (Wh) Jensen Drama Prize Hannah Kent (Rv) Dame Kathleen Raven Award Robert Wolstenholme (Fa) Wood Mathematics Prize Watts Science Prize Young-Han Kim (Rn) Irish Medical Schools' Biology Prize Max Page (G) Boys’ All-rounder Sports Cup Joanne Lan (Wh) Senior IELTS Prize Ely Webster Economics Prize Propert Prize Christopher York (P) Boys’ All-rounder Sports Cup Jennifer Bryant (W) Girls’ All-rounder Sports Cup Norman Rice Prize for Economics Max Eden (F) Brande Award Jessica Lee (Wh) Physical Education Prize Hannah Patel (Cr) Brande Award Andrew Leung (Fa) Watts Science Prize Wood Physics Prize Jamie Gillespie (H) Brande Award Beverly Lee (W) 5 NEWS CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD Four U6th-form Chemistry students acquitted themselves well in this year’s UK Chemistry Olympiad, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry. SPRINGBOK RUGBY LEGEND VISITS COLLEGE Rugby players from all age groups were delighted to meet Rugby World Cup winner Chester Williams when he ran two afternoon coaching clinics at the College. A former South African international winger, and the first non-white player to represent the Springboks after the ending of the apartheid regime in 1992, Chester won 27 caps for his country and went on to coach the South African 7s and Ugandan national teams. The highlight of his career was a winning appearance in the 1995 World Cup final against New Zealand, when he lined-up Andrew Leung, Matthew Goodyear and Robert Wolstenholme were awarded silver certificates, and Gautham Shankar a certificate of commendation, in the first round of the competition to select a UK team to compete in the 2008 International Chemistry Olympiad, in Hungary. These were the best results the College has achieved in this particular competition. COLLEGE COACH GETS ENGLAND JOB Dr Bob Chappell, one of the College’s sports coaches, has just been appointed manager of the England U18 men’s basketball team. The FIBA appointment is for a two-year period, and Bob will be coaching the U18 England squad which competed in the men’s 2008 European Championships, held in Hungary, in July. The England job comes hard on the heels of an announcement that Bob has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship by Brunel University, in recognition of his academic and sporting contribution to the university over a period of 30 years. 6 against the fearsome Jonah Lomu. Chester visited the College in his role as an Ambassador for Touraid, a charity that establishes sustainable relationships between schools and clubs in the UK with organisations around the world that support disadvantaged children. The coaching clinics focused particularly on wing play and back three options. Chester was impressed with the standard of rugby at Epsom. “The players are very enthusiastic and hungry, and show a lot of potential,” he said. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 COLLEGE ECONOMIST WINS IEA PRIZE COLLEGE HOSTS CHERNOBYL CHILDREN U6th-form economics student Jae Ho Chung has been awarded a major accolade, taking second place in the prestigious 2008 IEA (Institute of Economic Affairs) student essay competition. It may be more than 22 years since the world’s worst nuclear accident took place at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine, but the effects of radiation fallout are still blighting the lives of over a million youngsters living in the neighbouring regions. His essay was entitled: ‘How, where and why do markets fail and what is the answer?’ Nicola Morrow, Head of Economics and Business Studies, described the standard of Jae Ho’s essay as being on a par with undergraduate work, and said his paper gave an informative and imaginative discussion on why markets don’t always work. This summer, a group of children from Belarus arrived at the College for the start of a four-week respite holiday, organised by the Mid-Surrey Link, part of the national Chernobyl Children Life Line charity. WAKEBOARDING SUCCESS U4th student Sophie Cordery won a silver medal at the 2008 IWSF (International Water Ski Federation) Cable Wakeboard World Championships. Competing in Anapa, Russia, a seaport on the Black Sea, Sophie finished second in the girls’ event, missing out on a gold medal by just one point. A cable wakeboarding enthusiast for several years, Sophie trains with JBSki at Thorpe Lakes in Surrey. Wakeboarding is a fast-growing water sport, which involves riding and performing tricks on a board pulled by a cable or motorboat. Sophie will be setting her sights on a gold medal later in 2008, when she enters the European Championships in October. The boys and girls, aged 9–10, were hosted by local families and given access to the facilities at the College, including the swimming pool, sports centre, dining hall and meeting rooms. They also had use of the College’s minibuses for several of their trips, which included sightseeing tours of London, a visit to the seaside and some horse riding with local charity Epsom Riding for the Disabled. OLD SCHOOL UNIFORM GOES TO CHARITY A large quantity of old school uniforms, which is now surplus to requirements, has been donated to the Balkan Aid Relief Foundation (BARF), a charity that provides aid to disadvantaged schools in Bosnia-Herzegovina. BARF Chairman Neil Newitt came to the College to accept the donation from College Stores Manager Mike Coleman. 7 F LEAVING STAF BERWICK CURTIS JAMES POSTLE Berwick Curtis, a graduate of Emanuel College, Cambridge, joined Epsom College in September 1973 to teach French and German. Cool, calm, highly competent, cultured, kind and conscientious, above all a true professional, are all the qualities which colleagues, parents and pupils attribute to Berwick, who began his retirement at the close of the summer term. Throughout his career here, Berwick has brought to the College a wealth of creative talent and a meticulous eye for detail, enthusing and cajoling his many pupils to achieve academic success, and yet always alive to the needs of the whole child. Quietly efficient, Berwick has prepared many classes of pupils for all manner of public examinations, and his results over the years have been outstanding, reflecting his high expectations and his ability to get the very best from his pupils. A dedicated and accomplished classroom practitioner, Berwick intuitively understood the value of extra-curricular activities, hence his unstinting commitment to foreign language exchanges as well as his readiness to oversee a whole array of games and activities throughout his time here. His contribution to the Royal Navy section of the CCF has also been invaluable. Berwick’s care and attention have also benefited generations of pupils who have been under his care, pastorally, in the House system, and, certainly, many boys and girls (Berwick retires while a Tutor in Wilson House) have much to thank him for. A true all-round schoolmaster, Berwick has, indeed, given his time with generosity to all aspects of College life, not least of which is his support for Chapel. A committed Christian, he has been a stalwart member of the College community. Teachers of Berwick’s calibre are rare. Epsom College has been privileged to have kept such a unique man for so long, and we wish him every happiness in his retirement. Mr R. Ellison 8 The Common Room has recently lost one of its most talented and popular members, with the appointment of James Postle to the Headship of the Junior School at Blundell’s School, in Devon. ‘JRWP’s’ initial application to the College was in 1995, for the post of Master in Charge of Rifle Shooting, on the impending retirement of Michael Nash. Building on the legacy left to him by Michael Nash and Rex Goddard – the three have, in fact, spanned 58 years of outstanding achievement by the College in the sport – James has since gone on to help establish, and then confirm, Epsom’s reputation as the premier target rifle shooting school in the country. In shooting, at school level, it is the Ashburton Shield which is synonymous with success, and, with seven wins in the past 13 years, James is the undisputed expert in the field of cadet target rifle shooting. I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked the secret of James’s success – about which he is remarkably modest – but the essential ingredients are an unfailing instinct to discover and appoint new talent, a flair for motivating members of all age groups, superb skills in promoting team spirit, and, in matches, a canny eye for the main chance when the opportunity presents itself. James also made a significant impact in the History Department, being a highly respected teacher of English History at A level, and also a veteran organiser of the regular trips the department has undertaken with the Juniors to Ypres and the Battlefields of Belgium. A natural classroom practitioner, he used his skills and knowledge to great effect and helped to promote the large expansion which the History Department has seen in recent years. He was also appointed a Tutor, initially in Fayrer House, and later in Wilson – to which post he moved six years ago. But, in many ways, the best was still to come. Around that time, James had been a natural nominee for the position of Registrar, or Director of Admissions. His ongoing work on an MBA – with an important focus on Educational Management – meant that he was ideally placed to see the bigger picture when it came to strategic decisions affecting the intake of new pupils. This ability to review detail in a wider context was further enhanced by his appointment to a Travel Fellowship of the Winston Churchill Trust – as a result of which he was given the resources to study the public-private partnership in secondary schools in Australia. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 In due course, it was, therefore, a logical step for James to take over further aspects of the Marketing and Communications Office, and become a full member of the Senior Management Team. Here, an ability to grasp a huge amount of disparate detail enabled him to help the Governing Body navigate through the finely calibrated changes needed to maintain a successful blend of day and boarding, and boy and girl, numbers, at a time when the College has deliberately sought to become fully co-educational. Side by side with that has been the popularity he has generated across the whole spectrum of Prep-school Heads, whether at our more local and regular ‘feeder schools’, or further afield, either towards Central London or, indeed, with prep-schools overseas, in both Hong Kong and Malaysia. All members of the team he established in his office speak most warmly of his abilities as a manager, his innovation, his sense of fairness, his judgement – and his cracking sense of humour, too! He has been tireless in his efforts on all our behalves to get out on the road, make the necessary contacts and forge the links that any expanding school, such as our own, needs to maintain its momentum and success. His loss is therefore a considerable one to the College, but, at the same time, it brings the joyous news that James is to marry and settle with his partner of many years, Eve Jardine-Young, formerly Housemistress of Raven House. It is entirely right that young teachers of James’s creativity and drive should find senior positions at an early stage, and we are certain that he has an outstanding career ahead of him. We are, equally, delighted that he should have shared that first phase with us at Epsom and wish him, and Eve, every happiness and success in the future. Mr R. Gill THE REVEREND CLIVE A. CASE Some would say that they had never seen such shiny and wellpolished shoes! Some would say that his suits were more stylish than Saville Row itself! Some would wonder how he could drive such flash sports cars! Some would say that he was just a charming, wellmeaning and thoughtful individual. That is the persona of Clive Case. A fresh-faced and keen Mr Case arrived at Epsom in August 2003. He was appointed as the newly titled Head of Theology and Philosophy and as Assistant Lay Chaplain. He also found himself as the live-in Tutor of Forest House. It was clear from those early days that Clive was full of joie de vivre, with a personality the size of the Eiffel Tower. He fitted in to the Epsom set-up seamlessly! He is a very personable individual, with a marvellous sense of humour and a natural ability to relate to people at many levels, including the bursarial staff, fellow members of the Common Room and, of course, his pupils. Clive was already a year into his training for the Anglican Priesthood on arrival from Truro. In the two further years of training, he followed a course of study that led him to his ordination as a Deacon, in July 2005. A year later, Clive returned to Guildford Cathedral for his ordination to the Priesthood. Later on, during the evening of 2nd July, in the College Chapel, and supported by many of his closest family, friends and colleagues, he presided at the Holy Eucharist for the first time. It was a joyous occasion, and it was a pleasure to welcome back Fr Chris Brown (Clive’s predecessor), who had also been, at one time, Clive’s Housemaster and Divinity Teacher at his senior school. During this period of time, Clive was also attached to the Anglican Parish of St. Martin of Tours, where he was able to offer help and also further his knowledge of ministry in a wider sense. One thing that we all miss at Epsom are the ‘gimmicks’ that Clive loved to use as props in his sermons! Who can ever forget the time that he smashed a mug from the pulpit to the ground – in emphasising a good point … I think! On a serious note though, his sermons were always meaningful, yet there was, inevitably, a smile or two in there for the listener as well! Clive also initiated the annual Shrove Tuesday ‘Pancake Race’ – members of the College armed with frying pans, tossing pancakes, and running a race around the Chapel triangle! On leaving the College, Clive presented a frying pan trophy to be handed to the winning House every year! Clive also took a firm lead in the running of the Philosophy Society, and he cocoached the U14 ‘C’ rugby sides with me – affectionately known by the boys as the ‘God Squad’!!! As a keen athlete himself, he also ran the College cross country, and took athletics as his summer activity. Somewhere in the recesses of my memory, I think he even introduced some of the pupils to the French beach game of ‘boulles’! Clive arrived as a layperson and left as a Priest. He also arrived as a bachelor and left as a married man. He had taken the hand of Miss Sylvie Yvon, a French assistant teacher. Clive was, indeed, a popular member of Epsom College, well loved by all who knew him. It was inevitable that Clive would wish to run his own ‘show’ one day soon. Therefore, it was no surprise to me when, in December 2007, we bade him a fond farewell as he departed to St. John’s School, in Leatherhead, having been appointed as their new Chaplain. On a personal note, Clive was not only a colleague but a good friend too – completely reliable, loyal and dependable at all times. May I take this opportunity of wishing him all of God’s blessings in the future, in his ministry, marriage and parenthood. Thank you, for all that you achieved during your four and a half years at Epsom. Our loss will be the gain of your new school. Fr P. Thompson 9 F LEAVING STAF MIKE READ CAROLINE EVANS Mike Read arrived at Epsom in 2001, to take up a part-time post (five days a week!) teaching all year groups, including GCSE and AS/A2 level Design Technology Resistant Materials/Product Design. When Mike first arrived, many will remember his somewhat eclectic taste in clothing – stripes, spots and checks could appear in any combination and/or set of colours. He came from a background in theatre, stage and set design, and was duly pounced upon to produce set designs for many College productions, which he did tirelessly and with a real passion. Productions included Sweeney Todd, Figaro and Into the Woods. And who could forget the mammoth event at the Royal Albert Hall, where Mike was Stage Manager for Epsom’s 150th Anniversary, in November 2004 – an immense task, which he took in his stride. He has been co-ordinator for Judo and for Epsom College Young Co-operatives, dealing with Fairtrade and raising money for a charity in Malawi. In January 2007, Mike took the reins of the Design Technology Department, and has transformed the organisation, schemes of work, programmes of study and resources available. The department now has a strong structure from which it and its pupils can work. It is just a shame that he is not staying longer to see the fruits of his labours over the past year and a half. I have been immensely grateful for his calm and measured approach with the senior boys in Carr, where he took main responsibilities as a 6th-form Tutor. I extend our gratitude to Mike for all he has done, and wish him and Annie great health and happiness in whatever is around the corner. Mr M. Day Caroline arrived at Epsom in September 2001, having deciding that the education sector must be safer and warmer ground than her previous employment as an architectural conservationist. She worked on several notable projects, such as the British Museum and Highcliffe Castle – both involved cold, wet weather and heights! Her job description at Epsom was as a curious hybrid, a technician/teacher in the Art Department, the first of such a breed employed. She soon had the Art School organised and colour coded, every technical task she undertook was executed to an unremitting high standard – but it was her teaching that most impressed. At first, she took only the M4 classes for printmaking, but it soon became apparent that this potential talent should be stretched further. By the close of her time at Epsom, she had taught at every level in the College with unqualified success. She is, by nature, a cheerful and indomitable character, and this came across strongly in her contact with both pupils and staff, ever willing and indefatigable. She began as a House Tutor in Rosebery (a boys’ House) and later moved to Raven (with the girls). Her energy within the House echoed that which she showed in the Art School. She would spend hours diligently sifting through her tutees’ orders and reports, always anxious to give her best to her charges, both on matters academical and pastoral. Her sortie into matters theatrical was characteristically conscientious: she built a massive whale for Moby Dick, whose jaws, eyes and nearly everything moved! A simple job for someone like Caroline. We wanted an online gallery for artwork produced by the pupils, Caroline set to and taught herself how to design a website – we had our gallery. Nothing was too big or too much trouble for her, yet she achieved all of these tasks with a quiet, effective approach, modestly accepting copious amounts of gratitude. The College will miss her, but the Art School will miss her more, a splendid person to work alongside and a superb example to the pupils, in fact, a perfect example of a gifted teacher. We wish her every success in her new post at Bryanston, in her beloved West Country. Mr G. Poupart 10 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 RACHEL SUMERAY Rachel Sumeray came to Epsom directly from a career in engineering, with Atkins, in September 2004, as a trainee teacher. In that first year, she gradually took over the teaching load from John Odell, who did much to guide her. Having completed her GTP year she stayed with us, quickly establishing herself as a good classroom teacher. Inevitably, in this early period, she was relearning much of her old ‘A’ level Physics, and discovering, as we all have, that you don’t really know much Physics until you start teaching it. Her results show just how quickly she got to grips with the subject and coped with all the practical work. Her confidence in the classroom quite simply mushroomed. This past year, she undertook to look after the Engineering Education Group, who were doing a project with the INTECH science and technology centre, at Winchester. This really gave her a new outlet, encouraging the team and guiding them to a successful conclusion to the project, despite a very tight time schedule. It was a disappointment when she announced that she would be leaving at the end of the year. Initially, her thought was to take a well-earned break from teaching, but Downsend Preparatory School learned of her decision and have sought her out to do much of their Science teaching from now on. We all wish her well in her new post, and expect to see a dramatic improvement in the quality of the Science of our M4 recruits. Mr D. Poore JOHN HIGGS Few Secretaries to the Council have made much impact on the College in the past, but John Higgs has been an exception. Ever since he arrived, in 1998, he has taken an energetic part in the whole community – the College as well as the charity. In his central roles, as Secretary to the Council and Administrator of the Royal Medical Foundation (RMF), John has achieved a real change in the relationship between the RMF and the rest of the College. In part, this real change came from John’s very professional involvement in the details of administration: the successful stewardship of trust funds and investments and the efficient administrative support of the College Council. But John went much further than this: he was heavily involved in the preparation of the Statutory Instrument of 2000, which completely restructured the governance of the College, and he spent a good deal of time and effort finding and promoting the right candidates to join the new governing bodies, supporting a general renaissance in the corporate life of the College. For most of the community, John’s impact has been noticeable in many other ways. His support of the archive has meant the exploration of a huge area of College history, as the Council’s minutes were suddenly open to us. This was the beginning of many little campaigns that John ran to make the College aware of its unique heritage and links to medicine – from putting gold bars under paintings through financing frames for the front hall to finding and completely refurbishing the Founder’s grave – there is a long list of activities which have made a considerable impact on the way we see ourselves as a community. The most important and memorable of these campaigns were in support of the 150th-anniversary celebrations, especially the memorable Royal Albert Hall concert, and in preparing our case for the recognition of Hugh Glyn Hughes (OE), by the Jewish community, for his achievement in the liberation of the ‘horror camp’ at BergenBelsen in 1945. It is, in large part, due to John’s energy and meticulous attention to detail that we owe the success of both these enterprises. If that was all, then John would already have made his mark, but John has been active and supportive in many aspects of College life: he has organised Battlefield tours for the College staff and visits to Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz for the History Department; he has interviewed L6th Young Enterprise candidates; he has supported the Development Department in organising gift aid, the Senior Chaplain in organising speakers and very memorable Remembrance Days, the Old Epsomian Club, the Charity Committee and the Careers Department. He has taken a full part in instructing in the CCF and in helping the finer points of administration there, while, during the past few years, he has taken a very active role in supporting Carol Creevey in administering the very successful Friends of Epsom College. He has taken a very full part as a leading member of the College community. To return to the professional focus of John’s life here, as Administrator of the RMF, we have seen much to admire: his personal interest in the difficult cases the Foundation helps has been very obvious, while the College has benefited by the support given to Foundationers, to the Warren Picket Trust winners and in his extensive work to ensure that we do not fall foul of the recent Public Benefit Regulations. George Pincus, the Chairman of the College Council, pays tribute to his meticulous administration, efficiency, courtesy and the impact he has made in raising the profile of the RMF, both inside and outside the College. We wish John success as he moves on to become Secretary for the Rank Trust. Mr A. Scadding 11 LES IC EDITORIAL ART EPSOM COLLEGE CONTINUES ITS TRADITION OF SUPPORTING CHARITY 12 Epsom College has maintained a dedicated connection to charity ever since its foundation, and the spirit of giving in the College is as strong as ever. Guided by Mrs Davies and the House Charity Representatives the College community regularly contributes to a variety of charitable causes. Other charities that have become special to us are Help for Heroes and Thank the Forces. Help for Heroes is based at the Ministry of Defence Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court, close to the College, and the aim is to raise £6 million to help provide a swimming pool and gymnasium for the rehabilitation of troops injured in Afghanistan and Iraq. Over the past two to three years, the Kingston-based charity Growbaby has gained a particularly strong affiliation with the College, and the toy service for the charity has become an annual event. Growbaby was set-up by Mrs Farrelly, a parent at the College, and College members have fully embraced the cause and given generously. This year, we provided 500 Christmas presents for less well-off children, who may not \otherwise have received any. Through Thank the Forces, we have sent gifts, in parcels, such as Pot Noodles, deodorant or instant soup, to our troops. Our minimum contribution is small in comparison to the sacrifices the troops make, and is one we know is hugely appreciated. One act of charity that is maybe more personal, and certainly more painful, yet is undertaken by large numbers of staff and students, is the act of giving blood. The ‘Bloodmobiles’ regularly park at the front of the College, and it is never long until the beds are full of willing donors. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 The College not only supports local and national charities, but also those further afield – most notably, Task Brazil. The fundraising efforts of the College, in 2002, allowed a 55-acre site to be purchased 90km north-east of Rio de Janeiro, and Epsom College Farm was created. The ecologically aware farm produces organic vegetables and also provides a home (Forest House – situated within the farm itself) for up to 10 boys aged 10–14. For the street children, Epsom College Farm is a chance to escape a life of crime and live in a safe and caring environment. The College continues to support the cause, and we recently donated £10,500. Charity can be defined in many ways: ‘selflessness’, ‘generosity’ or ‘assistance to those in need’. However you choose to define charity, it is clear that all gifts – of time, of blood or of money, big or small – mean a great deal to those that receive them. For most of us at Epsom, it is not the ‘feel good factor’ of charity that motivates us, but a genuine desire to give to those less fortunate than ourselves. This is why I am proud to be an Epsomian. Lottie Mungavin Dear Lt Col Hamps hire and CCF Cade ts, I would like to than k you personally fo r the generous parcel yo u sent out, which I received today. It was very kind of you to send it, and I can assure you it is ve ry greatly apprecia ted. Irrespective of wha t is included in th e boxes, ever y item is used. For m e, the toiletries w ill come in extremely handy in the heat and dust y co nditions of Afghanistan. Many others in m y unit received sim ilar parcels this afternoon, an d I just wanted to let you know what a huge effect on morale they ha ve, but it is the message behind the gifts that really matter. The fact that you took the time to se nd us these means more than you can imagine. It is very nice to know that wha t we do is recognise d and that the support from back home is still there. Morale here is very good among the Br its, but it does feel a long w ay away from hom e, it is a real comfort to know th at you, and the pu bl ic, are thinking of the Briti sh forces, and our th anks, once again, for your thou ghts and generosit y, from myself and on behalf of ev ery soldier in Afgh anistan. I wish you good lu ck on your next CC F exercise. Yours sincerely, Stephen Taylor 13 M R E T S A M L E A H MIC 14 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 15 : TITION E P M O C L A R O CH Results: Carr Solo – Trott Cup Fran Andrews (Wh) A very sensitive rendition of ‘The Turtle Dove’ was given by Anthony Gillan, to kick off Carr. This was followed by a slightlyunrehearsed-yet-still-showing-promise part song! The unison stole the show for Carr: Ed Ariel’s extreme conducting was not only humorous but EXTREMELY effective! The boys sang with such enthusiasm that first place was their only option. Part Song – Carson Cup Holman Unison – Murray Young Cup Carr Overall Winners Holman Robinson To start off the whole show, Liam Anderson sang his rendition of ‘This is the Moment’, from the musical Jekyll and Hyde. For such a challenging song, Liam did well to hold his own, and delivered a very respectable performance, with a fantastic last note; a great start the show. The part song followed suit, with all the Robinson boys getting into the Beach Boys’ classic ‘Barbara Ann’, and two brave boys sang falsetto. To end on a high, the unison was well organised, with clear articulation, which resulted in a very effective performance. Rosebery The last year that Rosebery would ever be entered as a boys House – and what a way to end (despite being so low on numbers!). Not only did George Lucas co-write his solo song with Chris Girling, he performed it with such confidence and feeling that it really moved the audience. The part song was well maintained throughout, but perhaps a little too simple to gain a place in the top five. Finally, the sound of the unison filled the sports hall, despite the numbers. Although some words were a little unclear, the fact that all the boys were so involved was admirable. Crawfurd Forest Despite a slight memory slip, Richard Barth sang his heart out in his version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Close Ev’ry Door’. He had a really good tone, especially in the high notes. The select few from Forest then slipped on their jackets and performed a fabulous and entertaining version of ‘Ignition’, by R. Kelly. The combination of the melodic line and hilarious actions led to these boys grabbing second place! Finally, the House joined together for a well-disciplined version of Noel Gallagher’s ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’. Well tried by all, and great to see so many smiles. White Fran Andrews gave an extremely mature, musical and winning performance of ‘Per Pietá’, by Vincenzo Bellini. Her range was outstanding, and the overall performance was poised and deserving of the win. Then, for only three girls to stand up as the White House part song and deliver such a sensitive version of ‘Kiss from a Rose’ was incredulous. The parts were well maintained, though with such a small number it was hard to keep it in parts the whole way through. All the girls then gave a fantastic performance as they joined together to sing the unison, ‘We’re all in this Together’, from High School Musical. Whether the audience were lovers or haters of HSM, they realised that the girls sang well and made this popular Disney song their own. 16 Suzie Blunt began with a chillingly good performance of ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’. This performance was definitely deserving of a place, but, unfortunately, she was robbed! The part song was then sung in three confident parts, and very well handled, however, there was quite a bit in unison and the arrangement was slightly dull. Finally, a spirited rendition of ‘It’s Raining Men’, by all the girls, confirmed Crawfurd’s competitive reputation. The actions were good, but the song was so low at times that it was a little unclear! Propert Jordan Oldershaw sang ‘Mack the Knife’, in a ‘swing’ style, and was very confident in his delivery. He did very well to continue through the early applause, and definitely deserved third place. The part song deserved to follow suit, grabbing third place with the boys’ hilarious version of ‘Beautiful Girl’, by Sean Kingston. To see the two Oldershaw brothers up there was adorable. The great comedy element was continued by the ‘Propert Crew’, in their unison, which was enjoyed by all. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 Fayrer Holman Dan Bailey ironically sang ‘Danny Boy’, and, despite the words being a little lost at times, there was a nice sense of musical line and he performed it very well. The part song, Billy Joel’s ‘The Longest Time’, was then very ambitious (maybe a little too much) in its arrangement. It was then very entertaining to see approximately 70 boys singing ‘I will Survive’ as their House unison! The finger pointing was excellent and just added to the overall high spirit of the performance. Anthony ‘Debby’ McGhee gave a moving rendition of ‘Stars’, from Les Miserables, which earned him his second place. The boys, in the part song, attempted a barbershop song, which was an extreme challenge. They clearly pulled it off with their light-heartedness and came first. Finally, Holman’s very slick presentation of ‘Shine’, by Take That, with actions that worked very well, gave them that slight edge over the runners-up, Raven. All in all a spectacular performance from the whole House – they thoroughly deserved the win. Carina Lindberg Granville The audience was captivated by Tom Burgess, with his musical version of ‘Wishing you Were Here Again’, from the Phantom of the Opera, wxhich deserved its fourth place. The judge was quoted to have said that you could “have heard a pin drop”! The part song was an impressive five-part arrangement, and the combination of the shared solo and beatboxing led to an effective show! The boys were very committed to the unison and did very well to keep going, despite a technical blip. Wilson This House started with their part song, ‘Under the Sea’, from The Little Mermaid. Ellie Wells then continued with her solo – ‘Take Me to the World’, by Stephen Sondheim. It had a good sense of musical line and a very confident delivery. The audience was then in stitches during the unison when the M4’s and the conductor donned animal masks! A nice overall sound, and a performance definitely deserving of a place. The winners! Raven Laura Frazer blew the audience away with her rendition of ‘Think of Me’, from Phantom of the Opera (clearly a popular musical!), despite the fact that Laura forgot her music and had to run back to Raven to get it! The part song had a good collective sound that was clear and very well conveyed. The unison was also clear, with a huge collective effort. The sound was coherent and the syncopation was excellent! These three songs together led to a huge success for Raven, as they narrowly missed out on first place overall! 17 AY D E C N A R B M E M RE 18 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 S M A E R D – Y A D POETRY He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half-light, I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. W.B. Yeats Abou Ben Adhem Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!) Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw, within the moonlight in his room, Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom, An angel writing in a book of gold: Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, And to the presence in the room he said, “What writest thou?” The vision raised its head, And with a look made of all sweet accord, Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.” “And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,” Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low, But cheerily still; and said, “I pray thee, then, Write me as one that loves his fellow men.” The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night It came gain with a great wakening light, And showed the names who love of God had blest, And lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest. Leigh Hunt, 1784–1859 19 FI L A M F O S S E H C THE DU A voluptuous cascade of crimson, framed by funereal black. A chequer-board floor. Two uncapped pillars. This was the set (designed by Amanda Brookfield and beautifully realised by Mike Read) for The Duchess of Malfi. Simple and symbolic – opulence, life, blood and gore; calculation and chance; potency and truncation. Fade-in music, at once mysterious and melancholy, and flood the stage with cold, blue light. The mood and matter of John Webster’s great play is captured. Captured, too, was the audience, and not, as in years past, by a roll-call and by guarded doors, but by the sheer magic of live theatre. The Duchess is a long play; this performance could have been longer still and that audience would have remained entranced, because its members were aware that they were witness to something very special: a serious play, seriously well-performed. meaning, and Webster’s text is notoriously knotty – but they all teased out the subtleties and innuendoes, the ironies and paradoxes, the overt and covert dualities, as if they were Jacobean Drama specialists. What is a play? It is words. Webster’s words are wonderful – they are vivid; they are crisp; they are wildly extravagant. The second ingredient of a play is that the words are spoken aloud. Megan Abram, Rebecca Kjadegaard and Laura McClean rendered their lines with richness of tone, clarity of expression and subtlety of intonation. Nick Conner, Tim Faccini, Tom Harty, Ben Scarles and Chris Tighe produced a diversity of timbre any drama-school student would yearn to be sure of delivering. The spoken word, of course, is nothing without 20 Words create characters and themes. Not for one moment did one disbelieve in the population of this play’s world, as its individual members sniped and probed, deceived and schemed, tortured and murdered and suffered and died. As they did so, we were forced to contemplate what it was all about – a question that is the play’s central focus. What is it all about, this thing called “life”? “We are the stars’ tennis balls, struck and bandied which way please them,” says Bosola. Life, for him, is a lottery. “I am Duchess of Malfi, still,” proclaims the heroine. For her, it is about dignity and fortitude. “The Arragonian Bretheren”, Count Ferdinand and the Cardinal, consider it to be about power and privilege, whereas Julia, the Cardinal’s mistress, sees it as being about grasping and retaining opportunity. And then, of course, there is loyalty and love, such as motivates Antonio, Cariola and Delio. Once more, I must congratulate the cast upon the assuredness with which these facets of the play were revealed, with diamond clarity. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 A play is much preoccupied with its central characters. But walk-ons, too, have an important part to play: if not, they would not be written in! Max Austin, Henry Awin, James Barnes, Andreas Demetriou, Chris Devitt, Edmund Peppiatt and Amelia Storr each maintained a seriousness of purpose and a professional precision that was the hallmark of this production. Lines were not merely learned and mouthed – they were modulated. Finally, a play is about building a relationship between the performers and their audience. The audience on the night I attended was gripped. An extraordinary relationship was established, and the applause at the curtain call was an expression of admiration and of thanks. Thanks for the skill of the performers; thanks for the evocation of additional atmosphere, conjured-up by Paul Henson and his technical team; thanks for the authenticity offered by Jo Vernon-Harcourt’s costumes; thanks to Jae Ho Chung’s and Edward Leung’s stage gang, who managed the scene changes so slickly, and thanks for the clarity and intelligence lent to the production by Amanda Brookfield and her assistant director, Gabbie Jerrit. Mr R. Worrall 21 E IZ R P H C E E P S D D DO Every year, students compete for the Dodd speech prize. Lawrence Ching won the 6th-form prize with the following entertaining speech, entitled: ‘The effect of ‘instant messaging language’ on English’. Lol (laugh out loud) 4eva (forever) :) (smiley face) Many of us are now familiar with these shortened words and hieroglyphics, and many of us have used these in internet instant messaging, web logs or text messaging on phones. But why? It is simply because it is quicker to type. With the exclusions of ‘unnecessary’ vowels, double letters, grammar and punctuation in general, a sentence’s number of characters can be reduced to as much as a half of the original number. For example, take this average text message: Hey mate. That’s funny. What was the biology prep again? This consists of 47 characters. Now, consider the message in texting language: hA m8 lol wt wz d bio prp gen? This consists of only 22 characters. Surely, this isn’t English? But it is. In fact, it’s a very economical version as well. The texting function on a phone only allows a certain number of characters per page, and you get charged per page of text sent. We can all save pounds per month! Plus, imagine the time you could save, whilst still getting your message across. This form of English is simply logical, isn’t it? Now, we humans aren’t known for stopping when we’re supposed to, so we have developed more and more abbreviations over the years, to further erode our language. We even invented the emoticon, or the emotion icon, possibly the worst use of, and almost an insult to, punctuation. The cleverly named hieroglyphics deserve a complete glossary for themselves. There are countless emoticons around the world, such as the classic smiley face. In East Asia, especially Japan, further development had been made. A new set of emoticons had been invented that surpassed any other technological advance: the emoticon that did not require one to tilt one’s head to the left to be able to understand it. For example: ^^ (shift 66) – these are eyes to show happiness. =.=” – this emoticon usually refers to the extreme embarrassment or awkwardness caused by a bad joke or pun. Moving on, the introduction of the addition of numbers to shorten words, such as ‘l8er’ and the number 4 to replace ‘for’, has lead to such common use that singer Avril Lavigne, back in 2002, released her single ‘Sk8er Boi’. Now, the purpose was, of course, to show the rebelliousness of teenagers, and not to cut 22 back the characters. Note how the word ‘boy’ has been changed to ‘boi’. There is no logical reason to do this, as both forms consist of three characters. This merely shows how we have evolved to adjust our language, even when it has surpassed its original purpose. The title of this song is not to hack off characters, but to send a message: ‘I’m spelling it wrong and being cool at the same time’. Has that become the new function of instant messaging language? But is that not what communication is for, to get the message across? Our language is deteriorating. Say goodbye to beautifully eloquent literature, the musicality and magnificence of poetry, the power and delivery of speech. Say hello to a world of limited diction, where language is purely for functional purposes. The beauty of language can disappear just like that. This beauty lies in the difference of every single word. No English word in the entire dictionary means exactly the same as another. Every word is a different shade, one that can be used, artistically, to paint an entirely different picture. Take the word big, for example. Big is different from gigantic, enormous, mammoth, colossal and gargantuan. None of these are the same. But if we are to minimise our diction and our use of language, all we are left with is big. And that is it. There will no longer be a need for grammar, punctuation, excessive adjectives and unnecessary adverbs … there will be no need for the thesaurus! We must preserve the beauty of language. We must prevent future generations from divulging themselves in such jargon. We must stop the self-destruction of the English language. Or what will we become in the future? Robots that cannot express what they feel because language permits us only to communicate with the minimal effort. If we are to stop this decline, we have to change our ways. No more ‘2moz’ and definitely no more ‘shift 66’. We should be preserving the magic that is the English language. Let not the speed, convenience and practicality of instant messaging slang diverge you away from the way English was meant to be. Thank you, and ttyl. EPSOM COLLEGE RY CROSS COUNT EPSOM COLLEGE EPSOM COLLEGE EPSOM COLLEGE EPSOM COLLEGE EPSOM COLLEGE 23 GIRLS HOCKEY 1st XI P10 | W6 | D4 | L0 + TOURNAMENTS. UNDEFEATED After a successful Ireland tour, the 1st XI had a quite exceptional season. They became the most successful senior girls’ hockey side in our history. To have an unbeaten run with such a strong fixture card is a superb achievement. They were runners-up in the Christ’s Hospital tournament despite not losing a match, runners-up in the Bradfield VI’s and runnersup in the County Championship. Jennifer Bryant, as captain, led quite fantastically, a key player and pivotal to the team’s success. Ruth Payne, as vice captain, was also instrumental, and her efforts in defence throughout the season were second to none. Both these players were ably supported by Katie Crawford, who was quite awesome and tenacious on the right wing, Jessica Lee, ever reliable and solid in defence, and Helena Mortimer, who displayed much natural flair and skill throughout her second full season in the team … and she still has one to go! Convincing wins over Christ’s Hospital, Hurstpierpoint, St. Mary’s Ascot and Sevenoaks were particularly pleasing, as were our phenomenal statistics. Highlights were coming back from 2–0 down to defeat St. Mary’s, holding on to a draw against an accomplished Canford side and the last-minute winner to defeat Cranleigh. Overall, there was lots to celebrate for a very committed and talented squad, and, with nearly half of the team remaining, we hope for great things next season too. Mrs F. Drinkall County Honours Charlotte Ellison and Helena Mortimer Hockey Cup Jennifer Bryant Shaw Trophy Hannah Murray (most improved) Half Colours Charlotte Davolls, Laura Butcher and Meghann Murdock Full Colours Charlotte Ellison, Carina Lindberg, Hannah Kent and Hannah Murray Major Colours Jennifer Bryant, Jessica Lee, Ruth Payne, Katie Crawford and Helena Mortimer Natasha Nichols also played in the County Tournament and Bradfield VI’s for the 1st team, and became the first ever U4 to play for the 1st XI. Inter-House Winners – Wilson 24 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 2nd XI P11 | W8 | D1 | L2 Clara Liddell expertly captained the team. Not only did she bring a smile to everyone’s faces and motivate them on many occasions, she also played a huge role in organising the team before matches. The team, as a whole, worked incredibly hard to complement each other in games, and they were an excellent example of how to progress and work effectively as a team. They had their ups and downs, but, on the whole, they produced results that reflected their tremendous efforts in the matches. The opposition was tough at times, and the girls rose particularly well to the challenges that they faced. A particular mention must go to the last two matches. The first of these was a 1–1 draw against Christ’s Hospital. The girls were disheartened by the opposition scoring late in the first half, and, despite huge efforts, just couldn’t get the goal they so badly wanted during the second half. Fortunately, the girls managed to get a short corner just as the full-time whistle blew, and a deflected shot at goal gave us the draw that the girls really deserved. We knew the last match against Wellington College was going to be a tough one. The girls worked their socks off, which resulted in a very balanced match, with both teams working hard to get the win. The score was 2–2 until the final two minutes, when the girls scored their 3rd, and, more importantly, winning goal. I’ve never seen them jump so high, what a match to finish on! A special mention should go to Hannah Davies for being an outstanding goalkeeper and for being our saviour on so many occasions. Another commendation goes to Maddy Kuhler, who was probably the most skilful and committed player on the pitch, and was our best player for the season. However, this should not take attention away from the fact that no one in the team can perform to their best without the support and dedication of the others. Half Colours Sarah Titcombe, Rachel Evans, Clio O’Sullivan, Maddy Kuhler, Jessica Eden-Juster and Anna Dick Full Colours Hannah Davies, Corinne Hammond, Clara Liddell, Eloise Alexander and Fiona Edgley 25 GIRLS HOCKEY U16 A XI P8 | W6 | D2 | L0 The season started with an away fixture to Sutton Valence, to play their 2nd XI. After a slow start, the patterns of play developed and goals just poured in, and we ended up comfortable 8–0 winners. Probably our toughest match was against Cranleigh, when, after a period of initial dominance by us, Cranleigh took control and went ahead. They continued to be in control for most of the second half, but we would not give up, and, with about five minutes to go, Emily Newey scored what was to be the equaliser. Of the players, ‘Princess’ Leah, in goal, played very well indeed, and only let in 2 goals the entire season. She was ably assisted by her defensive team of Beccy Pearson, Sidony Laing, Lottie Mungavin and Rebecca Kjaedergaard. These girls really did work hard as a unit, and their teamwork was a major factor in the team’s success. In midfield, Anna Hurley was a star, and earned the player of the season award, while Jo Boddy ran and ran in every match and Lucy Murray showed some of the best stickwork of anyone. The key player in midfield though, was the captain, Steph Crouch. Up front we used Claudia Fletcher, who harried defences brilliantly, and Emily Newey, who scored loads of goals and comfortably ended up as our top goal scorer. This main group of girls was assisted by Livvie Moore, Ilsa Forsberg, Rachael Lenney and Laura Frazer, at various stages of the season. So, we ended up with an unbeaten season, which was wonderful for the girls after all of their hard work. Mr M. Oliver Colts Colours Leah Chowdhry, Rebecca Pearson, Sidony Laing, Lottie Mungavin, Rebecca Kjaedergaard, Anna Hurley, Jo Boddy, Stephanie Crouch, Lucy Murray, Emily Newey and Claudia Fletcher. Inter-House Winners – Crawfurd 26 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 U15s The U15 As enjoyed an immensely successful season, scoring an average of 5 goals per game (56 in total), allowing only 6 goals against. The fixture against Cranleigh was certainly the biggest test of the season, resulting in our only draw, at 2–2. The girls consistently played as a team, demonstrating perseverance against tougher opposition and grace when facing lesser opponents. Most Improved Player Award – Natalie Sciver The U15 Bs also had a really successful season, with many players improving their skills and understanding of the game. The team bonded well and tried to put what they had learned in practice into every game. Meanwhile, the U15 C team is going places! From a mixed start, where inexperience led to an unpredictable style of play, this team really gelled well, and their sense of determination and enjoyment in the game was palpable. U14s Most girls in the year group had an opportunity to play in a match, and all the teams continuously improved as they got to know each other. Enthusiasm was certainly not lacking, and the girls worked well and kept improving their skills. Everyone tried hard all season and had a really enjoyable time. It was a pleasure for the staff team to work with this talented and keen year group and see the improvement and progress of individuals and the teams. Well done to all the girls. Inter-House Winners – Raven Inter-House Winners – Raven 27 RUGBY Summary 2007 P W D L 1st XV 10 9 0 1 2nd XV 10 10 0 0 3rd XV 11 9 0 2 4th XV 9 4 0 5 5th XV 5 0 0 5 6th XV 3 0 0 3 Colts A 10 5 1 4 Colts B 10 2 0 8 Colts C 9 3 0 6 JC A 18 13 0 5 JC B 11 9 0 2 JC C 11 5 0 6 JC D 9 3 0 6 U14 A 11 6 1 4 U14 B 11 7 0 4 U14 C 11 7 0 4 U14 D 9 5 0 4 U14 E 4 0 0 4 Summary of the 2007 Season 2007 was an outstanding year for the College. We have taken on another strong block fixture with Tonbridge, to go with Wellington. The 1st XV have been consistently in the top-four schools in Great Britain, in the Canterbury (NZ) sponsored rankings. 28 Major Colours Chris York (reawarded), George Lowe, Max Eden, Ed Rushen, Max Page, Joe Trayfoot 1st XV Full Colours Gus Field, Adam Cooper, James Crisp – Palladino Award (most consistent player), Luke Davis, Greg Newman – Sanger Trophy (most improved player), Oliver Crouch, Robbie Gillespie, Joshua Li 1st XV Half Colours Roland Crouch, Max Polkey, Jamie Billings, Jeremy Evans, Patrick Iyoyin 2nd XV Colours Sam Wilkinson (reawarded), Jamie Gillespie (reawarded), Tom Key, Jamie Gillespie, Wooram Jung, Henry Way, Tim Faccini, Robert Wolstenholme, Tom Brown, Tom Lothian, Richard Trepant, Rhodri Needham, Charlie Mortimer, James Frewin, Peter Matthews, Sam Wilkinson, Jamie Phelan, Nick Connor, Aymeric de Vimal du Bouchet, Freddie Readhead, Johnathan Blackburn XXX Caps (3rd XV) George Freeman, Harry Falconer,Guy James (reawarded), Oliver Lloyd, Matthew Goodyear, Alex Fox, Owain Mason Johns, Jamie Allum, Piers de Haan, Jack Fraser Colts Colours Max Denning – Smith-Balewa Trophy (most promising Colt), Chris Davie, Mark Tampin, Ben Scarles, Pete Nichols, Alex Dowle, Jack Gospage Representative Honours England U18 – Joe Trayfoot Surrey U18 – Max Eden Surrey U16 – Jamie Falconer and Mark Tampin EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 Captain’s Report After the success of last season, there was much anticipation about what the 1st XV could achieve this year. With this in mind, we embarked on our pre-season tour to Ireland, which was particularly successful and stood us in good stead for a promising start. After a hard first week back, we headed into the first match against RGS. Despite a comfortable winning margin, everyone felt it was a good run out, and there were a few more gears available, if needed. However, our next game was an entirely different proposition. Harrow proved a tough opposition to break down, with a large home crowd, however, we eventually managed to work ourselves some breathing space in a tightly fought game. Unfortunately, our victory was slightly marred by a serious last-minute injury to one of the Harrow players. The definitive game of the season was against Wellington. Like Tonbridge, the game was hyped up a great deal, both in Epsom and at Wellington, drawing an impressively large crowd away from home. The game was extremely closely fought from the first whistle to the last, but, in a game that could have gone either way, Wellington handled the conditions better to grind out the narrowest of victories, and win 13–16, in a very physical match. However, Wellington’s performance later on in the season, seeing them eventually go on to win the ‘Daily Mail Cup’, undoubtedly underlined our ability to compete with the very best schools in the country. The final game of the season was against Eton, and for some us was our last for the College. It proved to be a somewhat personal affair, as we were facing many of the same players that had ended our undefeated season as Colts. With this in mind, we were not going to be beaten. The entire team upped their performance for one last game together, and we finished our season on a high, winning 29–19, and making amends for the Colts season. The season turned out to be one of the very best the College has ever enjoyed. However, for all of the effort put in on the pitch, the season would really not have come together without all of the help we have had from all the coaches over the years, particularly Mr Wolstenholme and Mr Whiteley. George Lowe Tonbridge was the game we were really looking forward to, but, despite its billing, the match started rather slowly, until Max Page managed to grab an interception try, which really sparked both the team and the game into life. Following another 2 interception tries, the forwards began to impose their authority, leading to 2 more well-worked tries, and we eventually ran out convincing winners by 39–12. 29 RUGBY The 2nd Side Between the excellent 4th XV victory at Harrow in sunny September, and a victory of similar credit away at Merchant Taylors’ in the hailstorm of December, representatives of 2nd Side never ceased to amaze the spectators, enjoy themselves, frustrate their coaches and, at times, stretch the patience of referees, home and away. With in excess of 60 keen and serious players listed for this game, Thursdays were very busy indeed. Most of the group were keen for matches on Saturdays, but only the 4th XV had anything like a regular fixture list. Members of the 5th and 6th XVs, with fewer fixtures, almost always against large, and predominantly boy, schools, had Colts C The C’s season can only be described as truly mixed but spirited. This side had tons of heart and soul, combined with the effort of pack donkeys, and never gave up, even when the tough got going. The side managed to score 120 points, but conceded 254. The first thing that comes to mind is this team is pretty bad. But the results aren’t a fair reflection of the effort and coaching. The team would like to extend special thanks to our coach, Mr Matthews, who worked hard to keep motivation and spirit within the team, and we would like to say a sad goodbye to Mr Curtis (known as the Blind Wombat by the boys), who has now retired. The big game of the season was against Tonbridge. In the pouring rain and on the muddy pitches, Epsom were flattened by the 6ft giants of Tonbridge. their work cut out, but showed great determination in matches against Harrow, Tonbridge and Wellington – all accomplished teams. Lack of competition is a serious concern, which is supported by sympathetic parents. Selection was always a problem, and for the right reasons: too many players and too few teams to put them in. Able members of the U6th, already established from last year’s encounters, proved themselves difficult to dislodge. A large, capable and keen L6th learned, for the first time in their school careers, to challenge their seniors directly for places in teams, which several felt they had the right to step into. For this reason alone, 2nd Side provides a new learning experience and an important lesson to take well beyond the confines of Epsom. Many L6th fought through the challenge laid down by the U6th and reached positions of seniority, several even ending up in the very successful 3rd XV. The side is in debt to the growing band of enthusiastic parents who gallantly supported the teams in a season of 50% wins, and to the many staff who have refereed, encouraged, advised, checked and transported the teams. Mr D. N. Rice 30 The fixture against local rivals Cranleigh was one of the closer and more exciting matches of the season. It was back and forth at both ends, action all the way. With minutes left, Epsom were camped just metres away from Cranleigh’s try line, needing a try to win. It came down right to the last action of the game – a scrum just 5m out. Epsom pushed on valiantly, and nearly won the ball, only to be pushed out to touch, ending the game in a 17–12 deficit to Epsom. Even though this was a disappointing season for the lads, the team worked hard and many players deserve praise. The team spirit was fantastic and the Blind Wombat’s bad jokes, on and off the field, were hilarious. An enjoyable season, even if it was not a successful one. U14s The U14s had a good season and won the majority of their games. The beginning of the season is always a trial, as the teams are all new, yet this was a particularly pleasing season. Against the big guns – Wellington, Harrow and the like – the teams never folded and were always competing. There were considerable improvements and many deserved promotions throughout the teams. Well done to all. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 U6th PLAY E PANCAKE RAC 31 HOW S Y IT R A H C F F A ST 32 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 33 LENT TERM 34 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 35 D SWEENEY TOD I don’t know how many bones there are in the human body, enabling it to hold together and to function with its extraordinary complexity, but I do know two pieces of data about this: there are very many, indeed, and if one of them – even the tiniest – cracks or breaks, noticeable impairment ensues. The bones beneath the flesh of this production of Sweeney Todd were many (56 named individuals in the programme, plus that indeterminate number implied by the phrase ‘& team’). If any of these bones had cracked or broken, an impairment would have been noticed. None did. Thus, each single individual is to be heartily congratulated for the part he or she played in creating a show that was, quite simply, superb. I use the word ‘show’ deliberately, for this piece is more than a ‘musical’. ‘Operetta’ is too light and too ‘am-dram’ a term; ‘opera’ would suit me better, but others, who know much more about these things than I, may dismiss this as nonsense. ‘Show’ takes it out of a specific genre, and I think that is right, for it is, if such an entity exists, ‘multi-generic’, requiring, as it does: a talented and versatile band/orchestra, dancing skills, razor-sharp timing, acting ability and singing voices capable of coping with a huge range, both of pitch and of tempi. What is more, this is before one begins to give thought to the technicalities of set movement and the demands of sound/lighting. Any school that can harness this array of accomplishments may feel proud of its talent; a school that can harness these accomplishments and hone them to the degree of precision presented to the audience of which I was a member (the first night) may feel extremely proud, indeed. Stephen Sondheim, as a composer, is always demanding. He does not write ‘tunes’ (not, at least, in my understanding of the term!). He writes, to my mind, a series of mini-choral-sonatas. Rarely is there a solo voice for long – even when one particular voice is central. Rarely is there a duet, or a trio in the sense of two or three voices singing the same words at the same time. Rather, there are parts which entwine around each other, fight 36 against each other, move off in different directions from each other, coincide, collide and do a whole variety of other vocal acrobatics. The result is as thrilling as a highwire act without a safety net. And ‘thrilling’ is as good a word as I can think of to describe the effect upon the audience of this production. Strident antiphonal chords, followed by a slow-moving tableau of sinister figures and shadows, established the mis en scène. We were in the Victorian Underworld of child prostitution; steam rising from a Thames, fetid with human excrement; public hangings and visits to the lunatic asylum would have been popular entertainment and the process of the law was utterly arbitrary – as the self-created Sweeney Todd knew all too well. The tableau froze, faces staring at the audience, eyes wide open and glinting in the stage lighting. It was the moment of our imaginative transportation from plush, easy Surrey into the dark heart of a quite different world. The tall and slender form of Charles Rivett-Carnac, tortured into extraordinary angularity, was straight from the illustrations accompanying Dickens’ novels. A ‘big’ opening number followed, including a small choir, standing side by side upon a bridge. With absolute synchronicity, their arms went up to coincide with the band’s silence. This, without a doubt, was going to be a welldrilled performance! EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 And so the show began. Not just because I directed him when he was a junior (but to some extent!), Liam Anderson has always impressed me greatly, both as an actor and as a singer. Judges of the House Choral Competition have not always agreed with me, but I remain convinced that he has an extraordinary vocal range. Singing much lower than is his norm, for this part, he still had opportunity to release that beautifully soft, light, high timbre that we are more accustomed to hearing from him. His diction is chiselled; he relishes the words. And, of course, he can act (also, we now discover, he can dance!). Whilst he clearly takes direction, Liam is doing, on stage, what comes naturally to him, and it is that aspect of his craft that he conveys so well. Who is Georgia Wilson? I confess to having to ask this question, myself, and I suspect I may not have been alone. No need to ask, any more! Hers was an extraordinary performance – and this was confirmed to me by a professional actress, next to whom I happened to be sitting. Georgia simply was Mrs Lovett. Whether speaking or singing, the glottal stop was absolute: better was be’’er, letter was le’’er, shutter was shu’’er! I felt that she would be able to stand-in for Barbara Windsor at the Eastenders ‘Queen Vic’ at the drop of a bosom-hugging purse! But it was so much more than comic-cockney. Her stage presence was magnetic. She almost succeeded in taking Mr Todd to the altar; Toby was besotted by her, and she seduced the rest of us too! Fran Andrews had already demonstrated, in The Coronation of Poppea, that she can both sing and act. This performance confirmed that knowledge. Any 17/18-year-old who can hold her notes, lying flat on her back on an uncomfortable settle, whilst her stage amorato is plucking kisses from her inbetween phrases, deserves our utter respect! Tom Burgess played the part of the put-upon simpleton, Toby. And he played it superbly (as the curtain call applause indicated). I have seen him perform before, and I know he is incapable of presenting badly; his heart and soul are always fully engaged. Watch his face, alone: whether singing or speaking, it is always registering the emotion his part demands. And he has a lovely voice, both in speaking and in singing mode: light and yet rich; young and touching; every word enunciated with unforced clarity. He is a show-stopper, yet his discipline and maturity prevent him from being a showstealer – that makes all the difference. Toby’s initial employer is the quack seller of hair restorer, Signor Pirelli, played by Henri Trepant. Pirelli, in truth, is an Irish chancer, and Henri captured, with gusto, both the fauxItalianate swaggerer and twinkle-eyed Irish tinker. His face was adorned with a massive grease-paint moustache, his shoulders draped with a theatrical cloak of fluorescent intensity, and he relished the caricature conman he was called upon to represent. The thoroughly evil double-act of the show is Judge Turpin (an ironic name?) and Beadle Bamford, played by Anthony McGhee and Greg Newman, respectively. As soon as they appeared, I thought of ‘Mr. Mephisto’ (I’m not sure from where) and ‘Pozzo’ (from Waiting For Godot). The former had all the sinister cynicism of Mephistopheles and the latter that manic cruelty which Beckett explores so well. Each has a big voice and each put this to great advantage – especially Greg, who can sing, but his part often required him to sing badly. Now, that’s a skill! Whilst their characters were not paired in production, I would like to consider Jordan Oldershaw and Clio O’Sullivan together. They both acted their socks off – I know them both! Jordan has now acquired the physical stature to play a ‘Romantic Hero’ role. He’s moving in the direction of ‘matinee idol’! His voice suits this role, as well: it is capable both of tenderness and of strong determination. You could not find a more wholesome and naturally delightful L6th-form girl than Clio – yet she managed to stink of trollop, with her ‘jig-jig’ gestures and her wild hair. She, too, has a singing voice that would not allow slumber in the back row of the gods! Of course, I could now (and would like to) consider each individual member of the company. But this is a review, not a book! What I will say is this: every single member of the company is a genuine actor and/or singer, and/or dancer, and/or performer, and/or theatrical magician. Forget Britain’s Got Talent. Epsom’s got talent. My thanks and admiration to you all for a magnificent evening. Mr R. Worrall 37 OIR – PEL CH A H C D N A Y T IE AL SOC THE CHOR AH IJ L E ’S N H O S S L MENDE The performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah on the evening of Sunday 3 February represented the first opportunity for the combined Epsom Choral Society and the College Chapel Choir to benefit from the newly refurbished setting of Big School. The event itself goes back many years, and is a regular fixture in the calendar, bringing together pupils, parents, friends of the College and members of the Choral Society. The previous year had seen some challenging problems in trying to accommodate such a choir into the confines of the College Chapel, for Britten’s War Requiem, but it is pleasing to record that this year, by contrast, an impressive combined choir of some 150, together with an orchestra of over 50 players, were comfortably accommodated in the new surroundings. Elijah retains its popularity in the repertoire of events such as this, and rightly so, given the outstanding performance to which we were treated under the baton of Mr Ian Holiday. Our own Chapel Choir had already entered into one of its strongest phases for many years, the event being placed midway between its appearances at Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, and nine individual members of the choir were able ART 38 to act as soloists in several of the quartets and other items. We were fortunate to be especially well served by our four visiting professional soloists: Debra Morley, Serena Kay, Mark van Ments and, former member of Common Room, David Stout, who gave a commanding performance as Elijah. All were impressively supported by the Orchestra (leader Elizabeth-Ann Binks); a particularly memorable rendering of the cello obbligato by Caroline Gough had the entire audience holding its breath in rapt attention before Elijah’s dramatic moment of realisation, ‘It is enough’, delivered immaculately by David Stout. It was, in conclusion, a well-rounded performance of what is, itself, a well-rounded work, and its dramatic intensity and strong emotional content were well sustained over the twohour period. The performance drew deeply appreciative comments from the large number of visitors for whom this was the first chance to witness the excellent acoustics of Big School, and we would hope to welcome them here again, on a regular basis, in the future. Mr R. Gill EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 EK – NCE WE IE C S L A N IO T A N CE A R G G E T A E R G THE On Thursday 13 March 2008, Epsom College hosted its own inter-house version of The Great Egg Race, to celebrate National Science Week. Each team consisted of two L6th pupils and two U4th pupils, and 11 House teams took part. The event was jointly organised by Mrs Muller and Mr Read, and supported by Mr Day and Mr Green. The students were given two hours to make a device, with a given pack of materials, that would propel an egg the greatest distance. Testing commenced in the Quad at 4pm, and attracted an enthusiastic crowd. There were a few false starts awarded, as eggs careered into the feet of the spectators, and, in another case, where the egg was sent backwards on the first attempt. The event was hugely enjoyable and keenly contested. The results were as follows, and cash prizes were awarded at final assembly. 1st Carr – with their catapult which propelled the egg a grand distance of 3.80m. The team consisted of George Frazer, Lorcan O’Duffy, Adam Webb and William Broad. 2nd Fayrer – with a slim-line cart that travelled 2.56m. The team consisted of Peter Slater, Felix Hugger, Ben Choi and Kelvin Chung. 3rd Propert – whose cart travelled 1.96m. The team consisted of Henry Way, Greg Stidolph, Martin Norton Amor and Peter McCallum. 39 CCF The College CCF was highly honoured to welcome Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, as the Reviewing Officer at the Combined Cadet Force’s Annual General Inspection (AGI) day, on 12 March 2008. The day commenced with a marching display by the Band of the Welsh Guards. This was then followed by the Guard of Honour (made up of 5th-form cadets and led by Sgt Thomas Morrison), to officially welcome General Dannatt to the College. Nearly 400 cadets then formed the parade, commanded by RSMs Alex Fox and Jamie Gillespie. General Dannatt took the Salute and inspected the Contingent. The ceremonial included an advanced Drill Team display, led by Sgt Holly Brook. The morning’s events concluded with the official opening of the College’s new CCF Headquarters. The Reverend Canon Ray Jones, from St. George’s Memorial Church in Ypres, Belgium, first gave a blessing. (The CCF visits Ypres, annually, as part of their summer-camp activities.) General Dannatt then performed the opening ceremony, with fanfares from the Welsh Guards. In the afternoon, cadets took part in inter-house competitions in a variety of disciplines, designed to demonstrate the training achievements of the CCF contingent. Visitors and cadets also had the opportunity to view displays by the Royal Navy and Army Recruiting Teams, a Royal Marines stand, undertake some abseiling and try out a climbing wall erected by the Royal Navy. In the evening, the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Hampshire, hosted a formal mess dinner to dineout the current U6th NCOs and to welcome in the new senior NCOs. Lt Col M. Hampshire 40 EPSOM COLLEGE EPSOM COLLEGE EPSO OM COLLEGE EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 EPSOM COLLEGE EPSOM COLLEGE EPSOM COLLEGE EPSOM COLLEGE 41 BOYS’ HOCKEY 1ST XI Epsom vs Whitgift Lost 1–2 Epsom vs Sutton Valance Won 5–3 Epsom vs Trinity Lost 0–5 Epsom vs Tonbridge Lost 0–5 Epsom vs Eton Lost 0–4 Epsom vs Reed’s Cancelled Epsom vs Charterhouse Lost 1–8 Epsom vs Cranleigh Lost 1–4 I was delighted to be made captain by Mr Head, even though his words, obviously chosen carefully, were ‘we may have the first non-starting captain!’ Despite these words of encouragement, I was still ready to take the job seriously. Having been at the College for five years, my earliest memories of Epsom College hockey were watching my brother play for the 1st XI against Wellington, and I remember being very impressed by the talent and competitiveness of their game. Unfortunately, as the years went on, there seemed to be a lack of true hockey players entering the College, and the standard dropped. This has always frustrated me, and the first thing I was ready to attempt to change was the attitude towards hockey, of the boys, within the College. produced some excellent hockey that we were unable to match, simply due to a lack of raw skill. Many of the players we came up against were thorough hockey players who had been playing for many years at clubs, and even county and divisional level. This is perhaps what we lacked, as our only player who played outside the College was Connor Payne, who tells us he is to become the next Epsom College teacher with 50 international caps (playing for England) to his name. Despite this, we learned more and more every game, and began to build an impressive structure to our game. What made the difference was dedicating time to drills mimicking specific scenarios in a game, allowing us to gain more control during open play. None of our losses were in vain, as we continued to learn, and we never gave up until the very last whistle, which I believe gave us a memorable connection as a team. Many memorable moments occurred during the season. One of my favourites was when Max Page dribbled from the 25-m line around four players, finally reaching the goal where he had to pass the ball to Max Polkey, for us to seal the goal. Polkey literally touched the ball into the goal from half a metre out, and he then ran around celebrating as if he’d scored a goal worthy of Maradona. This highly annoyed Page, as Polkey became the top goal scorer of the season, with Page getting none! I was immediately impressed by the turn out to pre-season training in the winter term, which ran every Tuesday and Thursday, especially by the L6, many of whom seemed very keen. When the season did arrive, the attitude was, initially, a lot better than I expected, and we trained hard right from the beginning. This was shown in our first game, in which we were 1–1 at half time, but, unfortunately, lost 3–1 at the end. Compare this to a 9–1 loss the previous season to the same team, Whitgift. Throughout the season, we met teams who had a greater understanding of the game, and, at times, Other memories are of some of Allum’s outstanding saves, which, at times, saved us from great losses; my partnership with Patrick Sweeney, in midfield, and the defence of Jamie Gillespie, Matt Goodyear, Connor Payne and Chris York, who, by the end of the season, worked as an incredible unit. On the wings, Roland worked with unrivalled pace and Lloyd with the versatility to play anywhere on the pitch. Next year’s 1st team have the potential to be a very effective team, and I wish them a lot of luck for their season. I would like to thank Mr Williams and Mr Kennedy for their efforts this season, and, of course, Mr Head, who has been an outstanding coach this season, sticking with us to the end and making us laugh, frequently, throughout. Greg Newman 42 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 2nd XI P9|W6|D1|L2 This was a highly successful season for the 2nd team. Given the current lack of club players at the College, it was an impressive achievement to win over 70% of our games. The three decisive factors were the willingness of the squad to play a simple brand of direct and attacking hockey, a desire to be one of the fittest teams around and the ability to work and communicate well as a unit. We were fortunate to have a consistent squad that was interrupted rarely by injury and 1st-team promotion. Five of the six games were won by a single goal, and this says a great deal of the resilience of the squad in adversity. If there were one fault, it would be that, once we got 1 or 2 goals up, we were unable to slow the pace of the game down and control possession of the ball. Tim Faccini showed great promise and made some vital saves, especially in the Trinity game, where he played in severe pain. We missed his calming influence at the back in the latter part of the season. O’Duffy filled in before Rushen took over for the last game. The defensive trio of Weingartshofer, Briscoe and James got better and better throughout the season. In front of the back was the ever-dependable Cramp. His deceptive fitness, distribution, intelligent positioning and vital role in front of the defence made him one of our most indispensable players. Patrick Sweeney deservedly gained promotion to the 1st team. His ability to hold the ball, do the basics well and his work rate make him a good player. Lee Cresswell always looked exciting on the ball and played a crucial part in some of the best goals of the season, playing a 1-2 and passing the ball past the helpless keeper on a couple of occasions. Gwyn Page typified the best facets of our play this season. He does the simple stuff really well, works tirelessly and at real pace in midfield, especially off the ball, and set-up, arguably, the goal of the season, in practice against the 1st team, Costain slapping the ball first time high into the net. Mortimer worked as hard as anyone did up front, running back frequently to rob the opposition midfield of the ball and exploiting gaps at every opportunity. He played intelligently in games, occasionally even putting into practice some advice from Mr Head and winning short corners. He scored some memorable goals, using his stick, feet and anything else he could get on the ball. Wong and Laing did much work off the ball up front. Wong looked dangerous with the ball and Laing, who struggled with injury, scored a couple of important goals earlier in the season. Costain proved himself as a natural goal scorer, and is indispensable up front. He is good at finding space in the wide channels and scored 2 goals of real class in matches – 1 with a back-stick flick whilst surrounded by the entire Trinity defence. Matt Wynne proved himself as a player of ability who can play anywhere, but, sadly, his season was beset by injury and illness. Jarred Pitout joined the team late in the season, and worked tirelessly up and down in the centre of midfield, while Lowe was very quick and brought his physical approach in rugby to hockey matches – his attitude was an example to others. It was a shame that he missed out, through injury, for much of the season. The team spirit, positive attitude in training and work ethic in games was impressive, and it has been a real pleasure to work with this group of players. Unfortunately, we expect to lose much of the squad to the 1st XI next season. Mr G. Kennedy Colts A Epsom vs Whitgift Lost 0–6 Epsom vs Sutton Valence Won 5–1 Epsom vs Trinity Lost 0–1 Epsom vs Tonbridge Lost 1–3 Epsom vs Eton Lost 0–1 Epsom vs Reed’s Lost 0–3 Epsom vs Charterhouse Drew 1–1 Epsom vs Cranleigh Lost 2–3 The aim of most sports is to score more points, or goals, than your opponents. In hockey, this is made especially hard when there is a small semicircle that has to be entered before a shot at goal can be counted. For the Colts A team, the aim was first to actually enter into the ‘D’ in sufficient numbers to suggest that one of our players may actually find the ball coming to them. Then there has to be the proficiency to get the ball to those players, without being intercepted. Finally, on the basis that all this has been achieved, there is the actual task of connecting the stick with the ball on a trajectory that may actually hit the target. This process was seemingly beyond the players this year, bar one match against a one-man team from Sutton Valence, where the goalkeeper saved at least 20 shots and still conceded 5. To be fair, a many players worked hard to improve their game. A couple may well end up on the fringes of the 1st team next year. General team improvement was made throughout the season, and the boys did not have much luck. In goal, Rory Adam improved greatly, as he stepped up to A-team hockey, aided by regular specialist coaching from the invaluable Hems. He has a bright future ahead of him. At the back, Xavier Dialdas and Nick Thomas read the game well, and were mostly effective against all but the most skilful players. Will Shaw was the player of the season – his reading of the game, his tackling and his distribution were outstanding, and he has a great deal of promise. Nikhil Waugh was also very effective and always enthusiastic. 43 BOYS’ HOCKEY In midfield, James Pease-Watkin struggled, manfully, to impose himself on games, but he often tried to do too much or suffered because of a lack of movement from others off the ball. He is one who will undoubtedly improve in a better team. Ollie Wilkinson, on the right, showed great technical skill to beat his man round the outside, but struggled a little with his distribution thereafter. Max Nicholson’s return from injury gave the team better balance on the left – a gifted player with good awareness and a bright hockey future. Harry Bradshaw, likewise, is an intelligent player who thinks about and reads the game effectively. James Edwards impressed me with his technical ability, and he has the potential to be a very good hockey player if he wants to be. In the forward positions, Otis Earle was the dictionary definition of enigmatic. At times breathtakingly skilful, his choice of options and final delivery too often disappointed, but he tried hard and cared. Jamie Falconer utilised his energy levels and general sporting awareness to good effect, and Pete Nichols reluctantly moved up as the high striker, to make the most of his prowess in the circle. All in all then, a slightly unsatisfactory season, dominated by a frustration at a lack of goals. My greatest thanks go to David Pease-Watkin for volunteering to umpire for the team, enabling the coach to do just that from the sidelines, as well as all the parents who travelled to home and away games giving the boys support. Colts B After a loss to Whitgift in the first week, the team was to lose only one more match. A chief characteristic of the team was its determination and work ethic, most exemplified by captain Ben Scarles, in the centre of midfield. In particular though, and especially in the middle of the season when we played traditionally tough teams such as Trinity, Tonbridge and Eton, the lads in defence can take many of the plaudits in matches when, at times, we were ‘under the cosh’. Burgess, as sweeper, was particularly good, tidying up loose ends behind the back three time and time again. In addition, Teo, in goal (and memorably Denning on one occasion against Eton), was a very good stopper at the back, and Jones, Cheetham, Williams and Mason, at different times, all showed tenacity in their defensive roles. In the middle of the pitch and up front, we had huge potential, which, unfortunately, we did not consistently utilise. Gospage worked very hard, but often in a less threatening part of the pitch. A striker with a sledgehammer of a hit, he will have been disappointed not to have received the ball in the opposition ‘D’ often enough. Phillips and Morgan were the usual wingmen, and both of these two were good strikers of the ball, Phillips, in particular, scoring 2 outstanding roofed goals from the top of the ‘D’. Singh added a touch of class to the midfield, being very comfortable on the ball, and scored a decisive goal against Trinity, to record a draw with the final whistle approaching. In the last couple of matches, the midfield was beefed up by the arrival of Waugh, whose play was instrumental in the win against Charterhouse, at the end of the season. It was, sometimes, a problem for me to give all squad members as much game time as they deserved, and, in this light, I was always impressed by the likes of Dewar, Brooks and Everingham, who trained hard and played their part to the full on the pitch, when given their opportunity. Junior Colts A Epsom vs Whitgift 44 Lost 1–10 Epsom vs Sutton Valence Won 7–2 Epsom vs Trinity Drew 2–2 Epsom vs Eton Lost 11–0 Epsom vs Reed’s Lost 3–2 Epsom vs Charterhouse Lost 2–0 Epsom vs Cranleigh Lost 9–0 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 Despite the results, it has been a good season, from a player’s point of view. Although we didn’t win as many games as we would have liked, we did achieve the skill levels and the type of hockey we want to play, in the future, in higher teams. From a captain’s point of view, it was extremely satisfying to see the team never give up, even in games when we knew we would be up against it. Michael Bennet was outstanding and continued his form from last year in goal. The defence performed consistently well, with skill, but, also with bravery. Lucas SmithMuller never stopped running and making tackles all round the pitch. Although his aggression did get him in trouble with the referee a few times, his willingness to win the ball saved us many a time in defence. In attack, Ben Francis and Tom Harty bombed down the right-hand side and provided many balls for the strikers to latch onto. Bradley Smith and James Patston worked well together up front and scored many goals between them. I would like to thank Mr Stephens, on behalf of the team, for helping us to develop our skills and understanding of the game. Josh Allen Junior Colts B TEAM: L. Shabbo, T. Flynn, R. Chisholm, H. Thomas, C. Hardy, H. Nelson, J. Malynn(C), C. Jones, E. Kang, M. Norton Amor, J. Song, R. Moore. Epsom vs WHITGIFT Lost 0–4 Epsom vs SUTTON VALENCE Drew 2–2 Epsom vs TRINITY Drew 1–1 Epsom vs TONBRIDGE Lost 0–7 Epsom vs REED’S Lost 0–5 Epsom vs ETON Lost 1–3 Epsom vs CHARTERHOUSE Lost 0–2 Epsom vs CRANLEIGH Lost 0–6 Junior Colts D Two draws, six losses and only one win is the sort of results line that would get you the sack in the Premier League. However, it is unlikely that a change of management will occur, as the spirit and effort of this side, in all matches, more than compensated for the lack of sparkling results. We beat Reed’s School in our first fixture. Energy and enthusiasm were clearly going to be the foundations for future success, but, as the season went on, we came up against sides that had more flair and skilful stickwork. Tonbridge, Reed’s, again, and Cranleigh all beat us by handsome margins, whilst the two draws against evenly matched sides did show that there was indomitable character in the side. I would like to thank Mrs Emma Peters, whose drills and enthusiasm in practices enabled progress to be made during the season, and it is hoped that the players will take these lessons with them into the next year. Mr K. Siviter 45 BOYS’ HOCKEY U14 A Epsom vs Whitgift Lost 0–5 Epsom vs Sutton Valence Won 1–0 Epsom vs Trinity Won 2–0 Epsom vs Tonbridge Drew 1–1 Epsom vs Eton Drew 2–2 Epsom vs Reed’s Lost 0–4 Epsom vs Charterhouse Lost 1–2 Epsom vs Cranleigh Lost 1–4 Epsom vs Whitgift Lost 1–2 Epsom vs Alleyn’s Drew 1–1 Epsom vs Dulwich Won 1–0 Epsom vs St. George’s Drew 0–0 Epsom vs Trinity (runners-up in group) Won 1–0 Semi-final vs KGS Lost 1–4 3rd/4th vs Cranleigh Lost 0–4 Surrey Cup For the first time ever, we were able to get some constructive work done with the boys in the Michaelmas Term, which meant that we were not starting from scratch in week one of January. In addition, there were a couple of players in the squad this year, and a few more, who picked up some skills very quickly. Our first match was, as ever, a challenge, against Whitgift, but we did not buckle under their pressure, and we certainly learned much from the experience. In week two, we competed in the U14 Surrey Cup, where we were runners-up in our group, having led Whitgift for a decent chunk of our second encounter. We played the winners of the other pool (Kingston GS) and lost 4–1, and then a very tired looking set of boys played Cranleigh, for what was to end up fourth place. Inbetween, we went to Sutton Valence and won 1–0, when we should have probably won by more, after a very convincing first-half performance. Our next few games saw us beat Trinity in the block fixture, where we did start to play some good, determined hockey. A sound draw against Tonbridge was a good result for us, against one of our traditionally strong rivals. Next we played Eton, where our patterns of play were glorious and we totally dominated, only to let in two really daft goals, resulting in a draw. However, it was pleasing to see how well the boys had progressed since starting to play. 46 After half term, we were rusty and missing some players when we played Reed’s, although they were, on the day, comfortably better than us. We were, again, a couple of players down when we lost narrowly to Charterhouse, and we ended the season with a rousing second-half performance against a very strong Cranleigh side. At 0–2 down at half time, we played very well in the second half, losing 1–2 and hitting the post. Mini Brad looked pretty tidy and useful in goal. Hugo, as sweeper, came on leaps and bounds during the season, and was a great ‘reader’ of the game. Teapot looked stylish, but could go walkabout every now and then, whilst Psycho, in central defence, showed what pace and non-stop running could do in a game. Ben played very well at left back, once the coach had moved him from centre forward! Our other main defender was Mad Max, who showed some great stick skills, and should develop well in the future. Wide right, we had Ben Crouch and Jordan Burns. Ben showed some magnificent stickwork, at times, whilst Jordan learned to use his remarkable pace to very good effect, once he had recovered from a rugby injury. Elsewhere, Briegley was at the top of the diamond, ‘Morris Minor Williams’ was our key distributor and the recipient of the Woodward Trophy for our squad. His vision, ability to make the right passes, willingness to try the odd aerial pass and to always turn up to games on time, made him an absolutely obvious choice for the award. Well done, Thomas. Wide left we used Olly Ramagge, who ran and ran and ran. As he improves his stick skills, he, too, will become a fine player. Up front we used Peter and ‘Ronald’ MacDonald. Peter had a good eye for the ball, but needed to be a bit more hungry for the ball in the ‘D’, whilst Ronald drove Mr Oliver mad at times. However, there was no doubting his real talent with some sublime stickwork, at times, and a wonderfully low centre of gravity when on the ball. ‘Ronald’ is a classy act, and, in a few years time, when he stops annoying coaches, he will be terrific. AJ also played early in the season, in defence, and was another who gave 100%, but, as others overtook him, skillwise, he moved into the B XI. However, he could so easily regain his A XI place, and should aim to do so next season. I thoroughly enjoyed taking this set of lads, and can see so much potential in them as a team, which is encouraging for the future of the College hockey. Finally, my very sincere thanks go to Mr Payne, for his magnificent support and contribution to the training of the whole A- and B-team squad. I really am most grateful to him. The Players: Daniel Bradshaw, Hugo Coleman, Teagan Pitout, George Lindley, Ben Roe, Max Dialdas, Alex Oxley, Ben Crouch, Jordan Burns, Charlie Briegel, Thomas Williams, Olly Ramagge, Robbie MacDonald, Peter Small. Mr M. C. Oliver EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 U14 B P7|W1|D1|L5 GOALS FOR 8, AGAINST 18 It is always a steep learning curve for boys playing their first term of hockey at Epsom. Initially, there are new individual skills to learn, and then these need to be combined with teamwork. The team was often at its best when playing against our 14 A side, in training. Our highlight was a 5–1 win over Sutton Valence. Players who stood out include Boote, with a very reliable strong hit that was effective at 16-yard hits; Rossi and Aves, who both worked really hard in the midfield, and Oxley, who was an excellent marker in defence. We used a squad of 21 players in trying to get the best team combination and hopefully they will try to improve on their record in the next season. As ever, the support from parents was always welcome and encouraging, even though the results went against us. U14 C Epsom vs Sutton Valence Lost 3–0 Epsom vs Trinity Won 2–0 Epsom vs Tonbridge Won 4–2 Epsom vs Eton Won 1–0 Epsom vs Reed’s Lost 2–0 Epsom vs Charterhouse Won 6–2 Epsom vs Cranleigh Won 2–1 2008 proved to be a tremendously successful season for the U14 C XI. With a mixture of games on grass and AstroTurf, the boys proved that, even with little experience, they could adapt to either surface. With many players having never picked up a hockey previously, we were thrown into the deep end for the first fixture of the season, against an U13 A XI from Sutton Valence, playing on AstroTurf. Despite recording a 3–0 loss, much confidence was taken from a game played against skilful and experienced opposition. Three wins on the bounce followed, with the level of hockey played improving week by week. Back on AstroTurf we came unstuck against a strong Reed’s team, but returned to winning ways for the last two fixtures, including an outstanding win, on AstroTurf, away at Cranleigh. Throughout the season, we defended resolutely and with determination, and attacked with pace and purpose, scoring some excellent counter-attacking goals. All members of the squad contributed during the season, and praise is due to all players, but a special mention to Weir and Whitehead, who led the attacking line; to James, who made some outstanding saves in goal – despite this being his debut season, and also to Corbett, who captained with maturity and led by example. Mr R. Young 47 RUGBY 7s 2008 was a very good season for the Senior 7s. On average, 25 boys trained regularly, twice a week, from early January. As usual, the standard was very high, and so were the expectations. The Sussex VII’s, the traditional ‘warm-up’ tournament, was eagerly awaited, and the new format, based on the World 7’s Series and involving international referees, was to prove very successful. Luckily, we were also able to enter a 2nd VII into the main tournament, which competed very well and learnt much about the game. The 2nd VII won the shield, defeating Abingdon in the final, and the 1st VII won overall, with a fine win in the final over Cranleigh, after extra time. George Lowe had the additional honour of being voted ‘player of the tournament’. A postscript to the season came in the shape of an invitation to play a ‘one-off’ match against John Fisher, the runners-up of the Open tournament at the National 7s, at the Rosslyn Park floodlit stadium, in May. Both teams played exceptionally well, and the result, 27–26 to Epsom, reflected the intensity and quality of the game. Several of the regular starting line-up were unavailable. George Lowe and Chris York were at an England trial and Patrick Iyoyin, Luke Davies and Max Page were all injured. So, great credit goes to the players who stepped up to meet the challenge – Adam Cooper, Josh Li, Ed Rushen and Jamie Billings. Mr A. Wolstenholme won won won 40–0 24– 5 43–0 Epsom vs Truro Epsom vs Cranleigh Epsom vs Millfield Epsom vs Colston’s won won won lost 43–0 24–15 (QF) 33–7 (SF) 14–24 (F) EPSOM COLLEGE Great credit should go to George Lowe, the captain, who did much to motivate the squad, both on and off the field, and to Max Page, who has real talent for the game. Together, they were the ‘icing on the cake’, who were well supported by all the players, who turned up every week, rain or shine, to play and enjoy 7s. Thanks go to Mr Drinkall and Mr Campbell for giving up so much of their time to help and support during the course of the term, and also to Mr Young for his input as well. Epsom vs St. Olaves Epsom vs Campion Epsom vs QE Barnet EPSOM COLLEGE The 1st VII went on to have a very good run at the Surrey 7s, before losing to Colston’s in the final. The highlights were another hard-fought win over Cranleigh, in the quarter-final, and a superb performance to defeat Millfield, in the semi-final. Unfortunately, Max Page, one of ‘stars’ of the team, suffered a bad injury when he broke his jaw, and this unsettled the team going into the final. Surrey 7s Sussex 7s won won won won won won 27–5 29–7 40–0 31–26 34–5 29–24 2nd VII Epsom vs Cranbrook Epsom vs Dulwich Epsom vs St. Pauls won lost lost 21–7 0–14 12–21 Shield QF vs St. Pauls SF vs Wimbledon College F vs Abingdon won won won 15–0 19–7 27–10 EPSOM COLLEGE 48 1st VII Epsom vs Eastbourne College Epsom vs Bridgend College Epsom vs Sutton Valence QF vs St. John’s SF vs Whitgift F vs Cranleigh EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 NETBALL 1st Team P13 | W13 This was the best, and most enthusiastic, senior netball squad that Epsom has ever had. The team was full of talented and committed individuals whom, when together, worked exceptionally hard for each other, to produce a determined and unstoppable team. In defence, Hannah Kent, Clara Liddell and Jenny Bryant formed the ‘tripod’. This formation was certainly unorthodox, but was really effective. Rebecca Kjaedegaard, the baby of the defence, was also a key member of the defending team. In the centre of the court, Helena Mortimer was ever reliable and produced numerous ‘turnovers’ for the team. In attack, Sarah Haville, Flo Kirby, Laura Butcher and Coralie Yeo scored an impressive 413 goals, while the defence only conceded 225. The team came second in the county tournament, narrowly losing to Wallington, by 1 goal, in the final. Sadly, we have to say goodbye to five talented netball players, four of which have represented the 1st team for two years, Coralie Yeo, Jennifer Bryant, Clara Liddell, Sarah Haville and Hannah Kent. Trophies and Colour were presented to the following: Most Improved Player Hannah Kent Senior Cup Coralie Yeo, for her role as captain Colts Colours Rebecca Kjaedegaard Full Colours Helena Mortimer, Flo Kirby and Laura Butcher Major Colours Coralie Yeo, Jennifer Bryant, Clara Liddell, Sarah Haville and Hannah Kent Inter-house Results 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Cranleigh King’s Canterbury King Edward’s, Witley Charterhouse Parel Vallei (South Africa team) Sevenoaks Haileybury Wallington Brighton College Downehouse St. John’s Bradfield Caterham White House Wilson Crawfurd Raven 26–18 17–11 32–2 60–19 27–19 21–12 21–15 35–33 36–24 44–28 39–9 36–19 19–16 49 NETBALL 50 2nd Team 3rd Team P11 | W10 | L0 P8 | W8 An excellent, unbeaten, season for this determined 2nd team. Jessica Lee and Georgie Morley were a dynamite double act in defence, despite Georgie never before playing GK. Our shooters were unstoppable, and both Sam Burke and Sophie Sweetman worked very effectively with GA and captain Fiona Edgley, whose energy around the circle was relentless. Our dynamic centre-court squad, of Danielle Rice, Fran Andrews, Eloise Alexander and Anna Dick, demonstrated some amazing attacking play, and the team strengthened their defence throughout the season. The team had an exceptional season, going from strength to strength. They produced big score differences in every game, thanks to some awesome shooting from Meghann Murdock, Holly Brook and Baileigh Walsh. Centre-court play was dominated by Carina Lindberg and Olivia Button. In defence, the opposition barely got a look in, thanks to Rebecca Pearson, Zara Marklew and Charlotte Davolls. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 4th Team P5 | W5 This team also had an exceptional, unbeaten season. With two of last years 3rds keeping things flowing at each end, Haanah Patel as GS and Hannah Davies as GK, the team achieved some outstanding results. Their best one being a home match vs Reed’s 1st team, where they won 22–14. During the season, they scored 130 goals and conceded only 59. Squad: Emily Newey, Steph Crouch, Leah Chowdhry, Grace Llewellyn, Rachael Lenney, Lottie Mungavin, Jo Boddy, Louise Hosking, Philippa Smith. Intermediate Cup goes to Rachael Lenney, for most improved player Colts Colours Jo Boddy, for consistently good netball Lottie Mungavin, for being an excellent captain and player Steph Crouch, for her hard work in defence U16 A Inter-house Trophy 1st Crawfurd 2nd Wilson 3rd Raven U16 B P8 | W2 | L6 Our season was characterised by the versatility of our squad, with a number of players finding themselves in various positions throughout the term. Despite the changes, the squad gelled together well and players embraced the challenge of new positions. Notably, Jo Boddy, as GK, Rachael Lenney, as WA and Grace Llewellyn, playing GD, in the epic Bradfield game – which was, undoubtedly, the needle match of our season. Going into the game missing Steph Crouch, as GD, we were quite nervous – especially as the opposition are known for being very aggressive! However, after a bit of a re-shuffle, Grace slotted into the defence and played courageously. In a close-fought game – in which Miss Thornley very nearly experienced heart failure – we snatched it in the last few minutes. Excellent shooting under pressure by Jo and Rachael, and a great effort by the rest of the team, made it a match to remember. Overall, a solid season, including wins over Sevenoaks, Kings Canterbury and Eastbourne. Well done to everyone who played, and a big thank you to Miss Thornley for her support and memories of the bright-red trakkies! The U16 B team worked incredibly hard and made huge progress because of this. They were finding their feet, and getting used to playing as a team, when they lost their first fixture to Cranleigh (1–31). In their second fixture, they had their first win of the season (16–5) against Manor House. They then played a good match against Sevenoaks’ 4th team (5–18). Despite losing, their confidence was boosted, which led to a very close match against Haileybury (13–19). They had their second win against Brighton (22–14), and, although they continued to improve as a team, their last three matches were losses, despite their excellent efforts throughout, against Tormead, Caterham and, finally, Eastbourne. The team were very versatile indeed, and played all over the court, putting 100% into every game, without exception. Special mention, though, must go to the captain, Ilsa Forsberg, and Olivia Griffiths, for some outstanding shooting. U15 A P11 | W9 | L2 Enthusiastic, and with a great desire to do well, this squad was cheerfully committed all season. Losing to a strong Brighton team taught them that they have to learn to be ‘clever’, and this will come with more experience. Their match record was certainly impressive, and they were ably led by Jenny Waterman. U15 B P9 | W5 | L4 A season of two halves – before half term they struggled, but, afterwards, they blitzed the opposition. Keenly led by Caroline Small and ably supported by all the rest, they improved, and so obviously enjoyed winning! If they keep up their enthusiasm, the A team will need to watch their backs next year ... well done! 51 NETBALL U15 C P10 | W7 | L3 The U15 C team had a shaky start to the season, but, as their skills sharpened up and their confidence grew, the standard of play rose, shown by their huge victory over Bradfield in the final game of the season. Elizabeth Diggins was a very reliable player throughout all the games, who was called up to the B team on a few occasions. Katy Gash was the most improved player of the season, with Georgia Malcolm being the most consistent player, and Talia Janson being the top goal scorer. U15 D Epsom vs Cranleigh 20–10 Epsom vs Kings Canterbury 19–13 Epsom vs Haileybury 13–6 Epsom vs Sevenoaks 16–11 Epsom vs Brighton 18–18 Epsom vs Downe House 40–6 Epsom vs Tormead 15–14 Epsom vs Bradfield 22–11 Epsom vs Caterham 32–16 Epsom vs Eastbourne 25–9 Margaux Monfared – captain P3 | W3 The U15 Ds had a good season, shown by their undefeated record. Much enthusiasm was seen by all the girls, during games and practises, and many players improved with each game. There was solid mid-court play by Steph Fernandes and great improvement by Beth Sluman. Junior Individual Trophy Awarded to Yasmin El-Sayed Inter-house Result 1st Raven 2nd Wilson 3rd Crawfurd U14 B The U14 B team had a brilliant season, losing only one match, against Sevenoaks, when the weather was not great! Our team worked well together which, over all, made success possible. Well done to everyone who played, and let’s hope we will be unbeaten next season. Thank you to Mrs Rice for being a great coach and teaching us lots of new skills. Felicity Beckett – captain U14 C The U14 C team were unbeaten this season, with only one drawn match to Eastbourne College. Alongside this result were many convincing wins, such as 19–5 against Brighton College and 16–5 against Haileybury. But our most successful matches were those against Bradfield and Downe House, where we won 20–5 and 21–3. Amy Gyngell – captain U14 D U14 A The U14 A team had an outstanding season. They were unbeaten, due to the dedication and determination of everyone on the team. Everyone wanted to win, and, to do so, we had to train hard and stay focused. We also were coached by Mrs Drinkall, which I think might have helped just a little bit! The results were as follows: 52 Our first match of the season was against Cranleigh School, it was a very close match, and the overall score ended up as a win for Epsom, 19–16, with a lot of great goals scored by both teams. Our second match was against Brighton, and we had a great victory against them, as the score was 22–5 to us. We then played Bradfield, and had another close game, but the end result was 20–13, another win for us. Our final game was away at Eastbourne, and there was a lot of great play from all members of our team, despite the bad weather, and we won 16–12. Emma Owens – captain Inter-house result 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Raven Rosebery Wilson Crawfurd EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 FOOTBALL 1st XI 2nd XI 3rd XI 4th XI 5th XI EASTBOURNE 4–1 W 2–1 W 10–0 W – – BRIGHTON COLLEGE 2–1 L 2–0 W 1–1 D 0–3 L 3–3 D SEVENOAKS 0–1 L 1–3 L 1–3 L 0–11 L – KING’S, CANTERBURY 1–1 D 0–2 L 0–3 L 0–2 L – TONBRIDGE 4–0 L 6–0 L 4–2 L 2–0 L – CRANLEIGH 3–1 W 0–2 L 3–1 W 2–5 L – RGS, GUILDFORD 2–0 W 1–1 D 4–1 W 0–4 L – CORINTHIAN CASUALS 3–3 D – – – – WELLINGTON 9–2 L 2–0 L 7–0 L 6–1 L – ST. JOHN’S 7–0 L 3–2 W 4–1 L 14–0 L – 1st XI 2nd XI This was a good season overall, with some very convincing performances against big schools and strong sides. Good wins came against Eastbourne, Cranleigh and RGS Guildford, and excellent draws against King’s Canterbury and Corinthian Casuals. Tonbridge were just too strong for us, and Wellington was not a scoreline that truly reflected how well we played. A series of errors and a short pitch did not help, or suit, our game. Overall, this was one of the best footballing sides we have had for some years, and one or two of the close games could easily have gone our way, particularly Brighton and Sevenoaks. The defence played well together, and midfield was commanded by Jordan Oldershaw, but it was the dynamics of George Freeman, James Crisp and Patrick Iyoyin up front, that marked out this season, and they notched up a very good number of goals each. Full Colours: Major Colours: William Twyman, Max Eden, Joshua Memour, Tom Lothian, Janil Ramesh, Jordan Oldershaw, George Freeman, James Crisp, Patrick Iyoyin and Aymeric de Vimal Du Bouchet Harry Falconer, for being an excellent captain and an absolutely superb leader and player throughout the season. The season started very positively, with backto-back victories over Eastbourne and Brighton. Team selection then became a little disrupted, with injuries to key players in the 1st and 2nd XI. A run of defeats followed. Games where we should have produced results, such as Cranleigh and Wellington, ended in losses, as we failed to hit the back of the net. Towards the end of the season, the team started to show a lot more promise, with more consistent performances against the 1st XI in training, following the bolstering of defence (with Blackburn and Gillespie) and midfield (with Fraser). Performances against RGS and Wellington were probably amongst our best, although we needed to find a few more shooting boots. Half Colours: Jon Blackburn, Jack Cole, Jack Fraser Mr P. Gillespie 3rd XI Despite a mixed bag of results, this was a successful season, for several reasons. From the outset, the squad members worked well together. There was much talent in attack and defence, and the whole team were able to play a well-structured passing game. Keenly contested games against Cranleigh and RGS Guildford earned deserved victories. A few enforced changes seemed to upset the balance of the team, and they found it difficult to match their previous standard. Nevertheless, an enjoyable season. Dr S. Wade Player of the Season – George Freeman Most Improved Player – Jordan Oldershaw Winners of the House Senior Football Competition – Forest. Mr M. Day 4th XI The team had lots of enthusiasm, but could not really hit the target or fill the gaps in defence. All enjoyed playing, however. 53 GIRLS’ RUGBY What an outstanding and undefeated season from a group of girls, half of whom had never picked up a rugby ball before this year. As it is only a 6th-form sport, girls in the junior end are deprived of such an exciting, and athletically challenging, sport! The term seemed to start well, with vast numbers of girls either joining or, heaven forbid, returning to play the sport. We all seemed to pick the sport up very quickly! However, we weren’t without injury, even before the first match – Hattie Askew broke her arm in one of our first contact sessions. Despite losing such a strong player, we moved on and entered our first tournament – the Christ Hospital Tournament. The 1st VII beat Christ Hospital 23–10 and Richard Challoner 12–0, securing first place. There was some excellent teamwork between Helena Mortimer and our captain, Jess Lee, as well as forceful tackles from forwards Carina Lindberg and Eleanor Thomas, against a big opposition. There was even a fear of a broken leg that turned out to be cramp (Raph …). The 2nd VII beat Richard Challoner, but lost to Christ Hospital in one of the most intense games; only a few points between, with determined play from Zara Marklew and Meghann Murdock and outstanding sprints from Alex Biggs. On the whole, it was an outstanding performance from both teams, which led to the cancellation of our next match against Christ Hospital! Despite fearless tackles and some extreme runs, we just missed out on returning for a second day. However, we had fought our hardest and had the bruises to prove it! From the first training session to the final match, both the teams really stuck together and had a lot of fun. We would all like to thank Mrs Adams, Mr Cooper and, of course, Mr Drinkall, for their fantastic support and coaching throughout the year. Good luck to all future girls willing to get stuck in! 1st VII: Forwards: Backs: 2nd VII: Forwards: Backs: K C E D N O S D N A ALL H Epsom entered five boats in the competition. In the fast fleet, Henry Nelson sailed his recently purchased Laser 4.7, Richard Barth sailed a Laser Radial and Natalie Thomas helmed a Wayfarer. Henry Nelson did particularly well, coming first in his first race, third in his second and fifth in his third. The best two results counted and he was placed second in his class and third in the overall fast fleet race. In the slow fleet, the College was represented by Caroline Small (helm) and Holly Brook (crew) in a Laser Pico, and by Morgan Bowen-Perkins in a Topper. Morgan ended up fourth overall, being beaten by the local knowledge of the Papercourt team, which took all three of the top places in the Topper class. Caroline and Holly were fourth at the end of the morning’s races in the Pico class, but, sadly, had a capsize in the afternoon, which forced them to retire. 54 J. Lee (captain), H. Mortimer, J. Eden-Juster Z. Marklew, S. Titcombe, H. Canby*, C. Davolls M. Murdock*, N. Barsby, A. Biggs, C. Pease-Watkin, S. Davison *Also played in Rosslyn Park 7s with 1st VII The season peaked at the Rosslyn Park School 7s, where the 1st VII were, unfortunately, placed in the hardest and most physical group – against Gwyr, Cranbrook and Peter Symonds. The College sailing team secured its best results in 10 years at the Surrey Schools Sailing Association Regatta, at the Papercourt Sailing Club in Ripley, in March. E. Thomas, C. Lindberg, E. Wells, R. Moore, S. Pontifex, C. O’Sullivan Carina Lindberg EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 RY CROSS COUNT With a fairly small squad this year, the team, nevertheless, performed very well and achieved some highly respectable placings in the fixtures entered. The season began with the gruelling Knole Run, and, despite injuries, there was a solid team performance, followed by creditable results both in the Wellington Relays and the Harrow South-East X Country Championships. The final fixture saw a fitting reward for commitment, as the College team scored a noteworthy second place in the coveted Ranelagh Trophy in Richmond Park. It must be emphasised that such good results were down to a team effort, and there were some very promising L6th runners, as well as the talented 5th former, Joe Toomey, who ran as a senior member for the team, with tremendous credit. The prospects for the 2009 season look excellent. Full Colours: Alex Davie, Matt Chasey Half Colours: F. Hugger, R. Trepant, L. Anderson, C. Hatfield, R. James Rhodes Cup for the most improved runner – F. Hugger Colts Colours: J. Toomey Cooke X Country Cup for the best individual performance – J. Toomey Mr R. Ellison FENCING The fencing team fought well this season, against much more experienced opposition. During the Michaelmas Term, Epsom’s Foil team were victorious against Worth, and the Épée team against KCS Wimbledon and RGS Guildford, which has been a new fixture this year. Impressive performances were seen from the team captain, Terrence Tai, who fenced all three weapons, and Reni Ip, who represented the girls’ team with enthusiasm. For many matches, the team missed the support of Gaurav Gupta, who has been busy fencing for the British Cadet Team, at events including the Cabriès Cadet International, in France and Samoria, in Bratislava. In addition, he achieved third place at the Hereford & Worcester Open Fencing Tournament, fifth place at the British Cadet National Championships and second place in the Public School Fencing Championships. The team had quite a turnover of members in January, resulting in a relatively novice squad. The Foil team faced further experienced opponents, but managed to stay in contention and push all their matches to a very close final score. Unfortunately, luck didn’t fall Epsom’s way very often, but another clear victory over Worth School was well deserved. The Sabre team were more successful, with victories against Tonbridge, KCS Wimbledon and Worth. Terrence Tai and Leonard Leung consistently represented the 1st Foil team, and showed notable improvement throughout the season. They offered a very tough challenge to all opponents. Full Colours were awarded to Terrence Tai, for his dedicated leadership of the team, and Major Colours were awarded to Gaurav Gupta, for representing the British Fencing Cadet Squad. Many thanks must go to Terrence Tai, who has acted as an excellent team captain for a second season, and to coaches Joe Shackell and Ian Keeble, for their invaluable support and help. Dr A. W. Hughes 55 BOYS’ SQUASH This year’s squash season proved to be one of the most successful yet. The boys’ 1st V won the Roehampton School’s invitational tournament and came runners-up in Neil Frankland’s annual tournament. The 1st team was composed of Matt Costain, Rishi Naik, Jonathan Malynn, Chris Parkinson, Rory Chisholm and Jenny Bryant. The U15 team, dovetailing nicely with the top squad, consisted of Jonathan Malynn, Chris Parkinson, Olly Ramagge, Rory Chisholm and Josh Allen. The highlight of the Michaelmas Term centred on the Surrey Independent Schools’ Championship, held at Epsom. The 1st team came top of their group and went into the semis, to face Charterhouse. A 2–1 victory led to a final against Trinity, which we lost 2–1. Meanwhile, the Epsom 2nd team, consisting of Jenny, Maddy Kuhler, Charlie Mortimer and Jack Frazer, did very well and managed to finish a very respectable 11th. In the Lent Term, the highlight was the U15 team’s performance in the National tournament. The quarter-final was against Christ’s Hospital (a known ‘squash force’), and Epsom won 5–0, with outstanding performances from everyone. The semi-final was held in Manchester, at the National Squash Centre. The boys were up against a very strong team from Wycliffe School, and lost 4–1 to the eventual winners. However, they played Newcastle Grammar School in the 3rd/4th playoff, winning 5–0, giving them an overall position of third. Not to be outdone by the U15s, the 1st team managed to win the Roehampton Invitational tournament, beating Harrow in the final. This was an outstanding result and rounded off a great year for all Epsom squash players. All the boys would like to thank Mr Johnstone, for accompanying us to every away match, and Dr Tod, for dealing with such mundane matters as organising the match itinerary and arranging the teas! Further thanks, of course, go to Neil and Mike, our professional coaches, and finally ‘Philly Baby’, without whom we would never have reached our destination! TABLE TENNIS This was a lean season for our boys, despite their commitment and hard work in training. The U19 team started well, beating Reigate College to qualify for the zone finals, in January. A draw with Hampton, and a loss to a strong Wilson’s team in the Surrey League, was the extent of their competition in the Michaelmas Term. In the Lent Term, two matches were cancelled, leaving only the final match against Whitgift (national champions!), which ended in a comprehensive victory – for them. TEAM: Andrew Leung (c), Tyrone Leung, Stuart Briscoe, Young Han Kim, Ihn Song. Senior Inter-house Competitions Winners: Holman & Crawfurd The U16 team qualified automatically for the Zone Finals, as it was the only Surrey County school that had entered. Like the U19s, they, too, drew their match with Hampton, but were outplayed in all their games against Wilson’s and St. Michaels in the Michaelmas Term. In the Lent Term, Whitgift were no less strong at this age group, and Ernest Bevin, having sports academy status, proved too strong for us. Team: Kelvin Chung (c), Benjamin Choi, Melvin Chow, Alan Lau, Matthew Man, Jonathan Malynn. Junior Inter-house Competition Winners: Fayrer & Wilson Mrs C. Rice CHESS Matthew Costain H GIRLS’ SQUAS This was our most successful year yet. A very capable and consistent team was captained by Jenny Bryant, with support from Maddy Kuhler, Helena Mortimer, Alice Davidson-Richards and Danni Rice. They performed really well all season, but the pinnacle of the season had to be reaching the quarter-finals of the National Schools competition, they were unlucky to not get through to the next round, as they lost 2–3, with the third string having a very close match. Next year! 56 The House chess trophy for 2007–2008 was won, and thus retained, by Fayrer. Robert Wolstenholme displayed a Karpovian willingness to grind down his opponents on the top board, which inspired his Fayrer teammates to a series of convincing wins throughout the competition. In a surprise second place, Rosebery were ably captained by David Blackburn, whose elegant middle games were, at their best, reminiscent of Paul Morphy in his heyday. It should be noted, in passing, that some of the games were tightly contested, whilst others were fabulously swift. The name of the unfortunate player who got checkmated in five moves will remain undisclosed. Equally, the player from a girls’ House who insisted on calling her knights ‘horsies’ and made ‘clippety-cloppity’ noises whilst moving them across the board will never be divulged – at least, not by me! In the end, as is right and proper, chess was the real winner. Mr I. McClure EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 IP – JUNIOR SKI TR DA A N A C , T N A L B M MONT TRE Easter 2008 Having been on two Epsom ski trips already, including one to Tremblant in my M4 year, I couldn’t believe my luck when Mr Day said that we’d be going back there again. The only fear we had before travelling was that – somehow – this trip wouldn’t live up to our rose-tinted vision of Tremblant in 2006. However, these fears were quickly assuaged! All the 5th form who had been on that previous trip eagerly awaited the ‘Tremblant experience’: the revered fast-food outlet that manifested itself under the little sign that read ‘Beaver Tails’; indulging in the veritable feast that was breakfast at Le Shack, and drowning whatever we were about to eat in copious amounts of maple syrup. Of course, this was all to happen before the morning ski, and well before we all retired to the hotel’s outdoor hot tub. Taking Gwen, the infamous HGV-driving instructor from 2006, as a benchmark, the groups had even better and more entertaining instructors for our second helping of Tremblant. The intermediates were taken by Pete, a Rossignol-sponsored racer, who extolled how he wanted to be ‘really dead’ when he died, and James. With temperatures reaching -30°C and an abundance of powder on the pistes, the conditions for skiing were perfect. Mr MacDowel saw this, and took advantage, reportedly cutting-up seven-year-olds on greens, bombing down blacks and, eventually, breaking his aluminium pole before proceeding to throw it into the neighbouring wood in disgust. Such was the nature of the skiing that even this did not win the coveted hat for the biggest wipeout. That prize would have to be awarded to Ollie Borch, who was foolhardy enough to attempt to ski through a tree. As any skier will know, the après ski is very important. This year’s sweetest trip was to a traditional maple syrup factory and restaurant. After an impatient look at how the syrup is made, we drizzled and then poured gallons of the syrup on to bacon, sausages and scrambled egg. The sweet was then served; fresh ice from outside on a stick covered in fresh, heated syrup. Even the staff professed to feeling a little hyper! Of course, none of this would have been possible without all the staff putting up with us and sacrificing their own holidays, and, for that, I, and everyone else who went, would like to thank Mr and Mrs Day, Mrs Odendaal, Mrs Muller and Mr MacDowel. For all those juniors deliberating whether to go on the Junior Ski Trip, it’s a great one to go on: you’ll meet people that you’d never bump in to at the College and make some great memories while doing so. Alex Dowle 57 IP – SENIOR SKI TR S E P L A X U E D S E L 22 March – Sophie’s 18th Birthday We left the College at 8am and all was quiet, apart from Sophie’s (scary) surprise party of shrieking friends adorned with loads of balloons, who then followed us to Gatwick for a birthday breakfast in Starbucks. Later, in France, after the girls had a morning glass of champagne, on the plane, to toast Sophie’s birthday, we were welcomed by the sight of rain in Grenoble. But the higher we climbed the rain turned into snow, making us all very hopeful for what the next seven days would entail. Boot fitting was followed by the first of many delicious dinners in the hotel, and then a very intellectual quiz, unreasonably testing us on our knowledge of world locations. After we celebrated one of the groups’ many birthdays in the Polar Bear Bar, Mrs K did involuntary splits on some ice on the way back to the hotel! novice alike. In the afternoon, Ollie’s 18th involved himself, Roland and Morrison skiing to the bottom of the mountain in very ventilated ski clothing, with temperatures at 17°C and white-out conditions. Their style certainly attracted strange looks on the slopes! The evening entertainment involved ice-skating in blizzard-like conditions. Leigh impressed the crowd with expert backwards skating … and the occasional wipeout. 25 March This was the best snow of the weekend, in fact, the best week for skiing in the past five years, so said the wise Spiderman (the intermediate ESF instructor). Perfect powder conditions were what Weaver seemed to love, falling over 10 times, saying he much preferred the icy conditions the day before … we sensed some lying here. The advanced group found themselves surviving some very extreme skiing with their ski instructor. 23 March – Lorcan’s 17th Birthday Our first day of skiing – after a night of snowfall we had nearperfect snow conditions, with blue sky making for good skiing. Everyone had a good day on the slopes and found their ski instructors very entertaining. Later came Lorcan’s bowling birthday party, in a neon-lit venue with great music. A few strikes and plenty of spares for ‘Chappers’. 24 March – Ollie’s 18th Birthday The weather was not quite as sunny as the day before, but the snow was in good condition and was enjoyed by expert and 58 The evening’s entertainment involved going to the outdoor swimming complex. This consisted of an outdoor heated pool, outdoor jacuzzi and steam rooms. Most of the group liked the idea of jumping in the snow and then into the heated water, especially Jake, who managed to scratch his chest on the snow! The rest competed to see who could last the longest in the snow before running for the warmth of the water; Sophie even managed to dip her toe in! Juan was also very depressed to miss a whole day of boarding, because he injured his knee the previous day. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 26 March Spiderman (the ESF ski instructor) injured his leg! We deeply missed him and his expertise for the remainder of the trip. All the skiers went up to the glacier, despite the harsh conditions. Lorcan somehow managed to wrap himself around the only tree in the entire ski resort! After another great skiing/boarding day, we went to the Piano Bar, below the hotel, to watch the England game. 27 March The intermediate group were still missing Rudi the ski instructor (aka Spiderman), but they gained another great one, in the form of Izold. This instructor took the intermediates to jumps they hoped never to repeat, especially on one where Lorcan flew like Eddie the Eagle, only to land flat on his face, breaking a pole and bruising his chest (and ego) in the process! In the afternoon, the highly competitive ‘boarder cross’ races took place … the overall winner was the mighty Doc RAJ, with a very bitter Roland coming in second, we don’t know if he’ll ever get over it! The evening activity was a trip out to the pool complex – we enjoyed the sauna, pool and steam room, with the girls spending most of the time in the jacuzzi, not allowing anyone else in! After our usual fantastic dinner we headed out to Smithy’s bar, for some après ski activities. 28 March This was our final full day on the slopes. Everyone was keen to take full advantage of the great conditions the French mountains had to offer. As it was the final day, the teachers decided that we should ‘enjoy’ our packed lunch on top of the glacier. This seemed like a brilliant idea, except for the sub-zero conditions, which made eating extremely difficult, but at least the drinks stayed cold! A little bit of culture was in order, and came in the form of the ice caves at the top of the glacier. We found that viewing was a lot easier for the shorter members of the group ... anyone over 5ft 7in was walking like the hunchback of Notre Dame. After enjoying the hotel food all week, our final night involved a trip to a restaurant. This was a big change, and everyone enjoyed the fajitas. After dinner, more fun was had downstairs, in the restaurant, when the floor was cleared for a dance area. This, of course, led to everyone strutting their stuff to the ‘best’ of their ability … special mentions go to Lorcan and Tim Medici for their top-quality Irish dancing – and all the rest for their amusing routines. 29 March A sad, sad day … as we left Les Deux Alpes. The air of sadness was sensed at breakfast, which was a very quiet affair. We will all miss Fran, our rather lovely ski rep (at least the boys on the trip thought so …), but most of all we will miss Les Alpinistes, our hotel, very much. The great food, the great hosts, the great accommodation, and, especially, the lift. At the airport, some of the party decided to be the last onto the plane (including the responsible teachers), receiving a well-deserved round of applause from other passengers! Looking back, we had fantastic trip! We had the best snow, the best nights, the best boxer-short-clad skiers, the best wipeouts and a smashing good time! See you next year! Epsom Ski Club 59 OUR: AMA T NEW YORK DR E’ L B A T T E G R O F N ‘SIMPLY U At 7.30am on Tuesday 8 April 2008, a rather bleary eyed, but eager, bunch of teenagers sat haphazardly on their suitcases at Heathrow’s Terminal 4. Having just been given our brand new top-of-the-range hoodies, we were a mass of ‘lilac’, and, frankly, we looked the business. Checking in wasn’t too much of a disaster, and Mr Oliver even managed to maintain his composure despite a variety of passport scares. So, in the end, everyone managed to keep track of everything. The flight was relatively comfortable, although Lucy Murray would probably disagree, due to the fact that, at the slightest hint of any turbulence, she could be found trembling and fearful under her British Airways complimentary blanket. Jamie Falconer wasn’t particularly happy either, after Ms Chandley had asked him, numerous times, to stop undressing under his blanket, he finally gave in and agreed to remain fully clothed (despite claiming that he much prefers sleeping naked). Seven long hours later, after watching re-runs of ‘P.S. I Love You’ and ‘American Gangster’ one hundred times over, we touched down at JFK airport. Our journey through customs and to the hotel could not have been any better, and our tour guide entertained us for the whole 40 minutes, as he recounted his life growing up in Jersey. He epitomised New York; it was absolutely fabulous. After stopping off at Pier17, and having a snoop around and a bite to eat, of gargantuan American-sized portions, we suddenly became aware that Hatty and Rachael seemed to have gone missing. The alarm was raised, but two minutes later their faces appeared on the horizon, grinning triumphantly. It was only as they got closer that all became clear. The Abercrombie & Fitch bags were a bit of a giveaway. Rachael and Hatty, apparently New York pros, had taken it upon themselves to slyly stray from the Pier 17 path and head off to (yes, of course) A&F. There was an outcry. Why had we not all been warned? Ms Chandley assured us that there would be plenty of time to visit Abercrombie & Fitch on 5th Avenue over the next five days, and, heartened by this prospect, we again took our places on the bus. As we rolled into the Hotel Pennsylvania, fatigue was beginning to show, and I think everyone was content to just crash out on their new beds. This wasn’t so easy for me, however. Having watched the recently released horror film ‘1408’, two days before, in which a man checks into a hotel room which makes its victims commit suicide, I was not so chilled out when I suddenly realised my room looked somewhat similar to the one in the film. When I commented on this to Ali Al-Fekaiki, he looked at me like I was a bit of an idiot, before saying ‘they filmed it here, you mug’. It was only after I’d checked under all the beds, looked in all the cupboards and inspected the bathroom from head to toe that I felt safe enough to relax. I must admit, the temptation to head to the fourteenth floor and take a picture of the room 1408 door was too great, and I did so! 60 That evening, after a brief sojourn at the top of the Empire State Building, which Ffion kept confusing with the Eiffel Tower, we had our first glimpse of the magnificence that is Times Square. Dwarfed by the buildings, and slightly overwhelmed by the neon lights, I think that was when it hit home just how lucky we all were to be there. What an experience! On returning, most couldn’t refrain from having a taste of the gourmet menus available at McDonald’s (where, funnily enough, a cheeseburger meal consists of not one but two cheeseburgers), and so that was where the majority ate. By 9pm, everyone was tucked up asleep, like little angels. Who’d have thought it was possible? As day two dawned, jet-lagged faces could be seen poking out of doors all along the third-floor corridor. Ms Chandley and Ms Morrow’s room had, temporarily, been turned into the Epsom College bank, and by about 8.30am it was jam-packed. An hour later, armed with a fistful of dollars and a sense of excited anticipation in our hearts, we headed off to Penn Subway Station, to get our very first taste of the New York Subway. It became immediately clear who was incapable of balancing within the confines of the carriage, however, and Michael Bennett, in particular, served to cause a lot of disruption, as he tripped over his feet every two seconds. After a short jaunt to the harbour, we took our places on the Circle Line ferry, and, despite a two-hour trip around New York on EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 the Hudson River, we managed to keep our interest up, especially when the Statue of Liberty came into view. Excited by our trip out, our opinions of NYC were soaring, and the matinee performance of Mamet’s latest drama, ‘November’, starring Nathan Lane, couldn’t come quickly enough. It was fabulous – a political satire ridiculing George Bush – which was met by an extremely appreciative audience. Later that evening, we had our first taste of a Broadway musical. As the house lights dimmed in the Schoenfeld Theatre on West 45th Street, we were blown away by the glitzy spectacle that was ‘A Chorus Line’. The dancing and energy were mind-blowing, and, by the time the show was over, two hours later, it seemed an enormous energy transfer had taken place, as we all buzzed with the songs we’d just heard. Day three rolled around, and it seemed, to all, that jet lag was a thing of the past. Knowing full well that we were all to take part in a professional Broadway dance workshop, we all sported our jazziest dancing gear. Some went for ankle warmers; others went for tights. But, without a shadow of a doubt, the best-dressed Epsomian was Jamie Falconer. Dressed from head to toe in a figure-hugging dance kit, he was a picture: the next Fred Astaire. As we trooped into the Chelsea Dance Studios, there was an array of different facial expressions. Sonny looked raring to go, whilst a couple of girls looked positively terrified, but it was clear from the moment that New York’s award-winning choreographer/dancer Jeff Shade (and his wonderful involuntary ‘snort’) walked in the door, that there was nothing to be apprehensive about. Immediately, he took us under his wing, and within five minutes there was not one person who didn’t look like they weren’t enjoying themselves. As dance captain of the show ‘Chicago’, Jeff worked us very hard, and, despite the sweat trickling off our foreheads, nobody wanted to stop. Especially Michael Bennett, who brought a certain je ne sais quoi to his rendition of a dance move that Jeff called ‘Find Nemo’. By the time the workshop was over, we were exhausted, and promptly headed over to Central Park for a picnic lunch in the sun, to help recharge our batteries before moving on to the MOMA, on West 53rd Street. Tom Harty proved himself to be an ‘art-pro’, as he swanned around asking, ‘How the hell can this be classed as art? My brother’s only one year old and can paint better than that’, but, all-in-all, we were pretty impressed, especially when we caught a glimpse of the real Starry Night by Van Gogh. After admiring the artwork we were let loose on 5th Avenue. It seemed that Abercrombie & Fitch might burst at the seams due to the sudden rush of intake. I am almost certain that their sales must have tripled in size by the time Epsom College were through. Tom Harty, Jamie Falconer and Talia Janson were all smiles as they left with job offers (which they gracefully turned down, due to being underage and English, but it gave them something to boast about anyway). We ended our day at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre, where we encountered something truly spectacular: Spring Awakening. It was a sort of ‘rock-musical’ adaptation of Wedekind, an 1890s expressionistic play, that captivated everyone (even Mr Green, whose head kept bobbing to the music throughout). It documented the lives of teenagers in a society where sexual experience just isn’t something people talk about, and the amalgamation of the fantastic lights and mesmerising music meant that it made for a simply enchanting evening. Friday came like a lead balloon. Knowing full well that this was our last full day, the morning felt heavy with an air of depressive anticipation. But, not to be disheartened by the knowledge of the inevitable, Mr Oliver and Mr Green helped to lighten everyone’s mood by having a hearty breakfast in Lindy’s, at the bottom of our hotel. Our day really began with a design workshop, in which we had the opportunity to speak, in detail, with a dancer in the chorus of The Lion King and Ron, the big man, who was Head of Stage Management in the same show, which we later saw that evening. The information we got was invaluable, especially to those of us with exams looming. After that, we got the chance to have a guided tour of the American Museum of the Moving Image, in Queens, which was fascinating. During our time we got to create a video and even do a voiceover of the film Babe: Pig in the City. Three hours later, we had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero and pay our respects, which was quite a moving experience for all. Later on, we saw The Lion King, which was very well received by us all. In addition, as if seeing the show wasn’t enough, we even got our very own personal guided tour of backstage by Ron the Stage Manager. Seeing the costumes and puppets up close was absolutely amazing, and this meant that, as GCSE students, we actually have pictures of the real deal. We ended our day at Ellen’s Stardust Diner, where the waiters and waitresses did a fantastic job of entertaining us, doing renditions of 1960’s tracks and dancing on tables. What a day! Saturday. How depressing! Not one person seemed glad at the prospect of going home. We visited our workshop studio, a place that had very much come to feel like home, for the very last time, but this time was a little different. Ms Chandley had organised a practise audition where five singers and four actors had to perform a song or monologue in front of the group and be coached by a Broadway casting director. It was a real learning curve for all of us, and it became clear how talented Epsom really is, with stunning performances from Laura Frazer, singing ‘Think of Me’, from Phantom of the Opera, and a monologue from Jennifer Waterman, playing Verity from Wymark’s play Find Me. After our own performances, we had the opportunity to see a professional audition by a Broadway leading actor, who was very impressive and probably made a couple of us feel a bit inferior! After our auditions we said goodbye to the studio, and, indeed, to the Hotel Penn, as we collected up our things and headed to a Korean martial arts show called Jump, where a dysfunctional family acted out their home life in the form of tae kwon do and ju-jitsu. Jamie Falconer and Hannah Gillett were dragged onstage at different points in the show, much to the amusement of the rest of us. As the show ended, so did our time in New York. As we headed, unenthusiastically, to the airport, still sporting our lilac hoodies, the reminiscing had already begun. New York Drama Tour 2008 ... simply unforgettable! Livvy Moore 61 SUMMER TERM 62 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 63 008 2 – 7 0 0 2 S E T O N CHAPEL The author of the book of Ecclesiastes must have been a most wise individual – he noted the passing of time and that everything has a purpose and finite focus. I often feel that when I pen these Chapel notes each year. The Chapel year clearly conforms with the academic cycle, but we also try to follow the liturgical calendar set by the wider church. With the Michaelmas Term inevitably comes the celebration of the harvest. This year, we welcomed the Children’s Trust, at Tadworth, who shared their work and vision. Our offering was in the monetary sense, and we hope it helped, in some small way, to the good work in the Trust. Our Armistice Day thoughts were inspired by Brigadier (ret’d) Alan Eastburn, (formerly a commander of mine), who spoke with sincerity and passion, as only someone who has seen active service for the country is able to do. The pupils of the CCF brought in their banners to be laid up on the pile of drums, assembled at the high altar. Later on, in November, our convivial organist, and also accomplished Methodist lay preacher, Martin Ellis, led us in our consideration of the Wesley commemoration. The service included many of Wesley’s hymns and poetry. Our ‘Toy Service’ has now become an annual event, and all of those in Chapel are ‘encouraged’ to bring in a gift for a boy or a girl – suitably 64 labelled for the recipient. The ‘Growbaby’ charity, based in Kingston, has continued to be the recipient of all we can collect. Nothing is too big or too small. The children (an ever increasing number too) of our staff came to Chapel for the Christingle Service, which, this year, was led by Fr. Clive Case. Apart from the annual Nine Lessons Carol Services, this was to be his farewell offering. Clive moved on to St. John’s, Leatherhead, after four and a bit years of faithful service as Assistant Chaplain. Helen Hynd arrived in January, as the Lay Chaplain, and has eased into her new role with relative ease and aplomb. We welcome Helen, Maurice, Maddie and Callum to Epsom, and hope they will be very happy here. During the Lent Term, Mala Tribich, a survivor of the BergenBelsen concentration camps, spoke very movingly and most eloquently about the awful atrocities that we recall in the annual Holocaust Memorial Service. Our Hindu priest, Krishna Gopal Das, led our thoughts during the multi-faith service, which included representatives of all faith communities in the College. Bishop Ian was our celebrant and confirming bishop at the confirmation service held in March. He was able to baptise from our newly created nave altar during the same EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 service. As ever, it was a joyous occasion for all the candidates: Timothy Cobb, Stephanie Crouch, Laura Frazer, Hannah Gillett, Owain Mason-Johns, Catriona Melville, Alexandra Smith, Lucinda Taylor and James Williams. In the summer term, it was a pleasure to welcome the Dean of St. Alban’s, The Very Rev’d Dr Jeffrey John, who preached an outstanding sermon on our Founder’s Day. Never before have I received so many favourable remarks about our speaker as I did this time. It was quite remarkable. Now some thanks that are due. First, to Mr Berwick Curtis. He has been a faithful supporter of all that St. Luke’s chapel stands for, and spoke from the pulpit on many occasions. We pray that God will continue to be with him in his retirement, and as he begins life as a lay reader in the Church of England. Second, to the team of sacristans led by Matthew Chasey, but also comprising Ellie Wells and Tom Hatton. Next is Kay, our plant manager, cleaner, foreman and general carer of the Chapel. She is just a great asset, and I am so grateful for all that she does. Finally, thanks go to the ‘flower mummies’. Thank you to Mrs Borthwick and all those good ladies who offered flower pedestals, week in and out. Perhaps you do not know, but you are much appreciated and never taken for granted. Fr Paul Thompson Senior Chaplain 65 ISE PR YOUNG ENTER tYEcoon MARTINI tYEcoon had a very successful year. After the appointment of the Managing Director (MD) and Deputy MD, Annie Urwin and Helena Mortimer respectively, the team all got to work on projects. MARTINI had probably one of the most successful years for a YE company. After a gruelling application process, which included filling in a lengthy form and a having a 20-minute interview, a great group of 12 people were selected. We quickly elected our Managing Director (MD), Carina Lindberg, and her deputy, Emma Cockeram, and set about to begin one of the most stressful, yet most rewarding, experiences. The team undertook almost more than we could cope with over the course of the year, but all the hard work and teamwork that we put into the company paid off in the long run. We started the year concentrating mainly on the College Calendar. We were able to sell 250, at £5 each, and the calendars got great feedback from staff, pupils and parents who all appreciated the its professional feel and look. Holly Brook worked exceptionally hard on this project, and was able to negotiate printing with a useful contact she had. Helena Mortimer also worked very hard on the sale of wrapping paper. This idea worked extremely well, and many parents and staff members used the efficient service to order their paper. The Lent Term was far busier for the tYEcoon team, especially after losing Mrs Irvine to appendicitis. We organised the sale of College T-shirts in two colours, the first of their kind. Designed by James Cramp, the T-shirts have revolutionised the wardrobe of most pupils in the College, and seem to be a popular choice of clothing in both games and free time. We also concentrated hard on the football tournament. Thanks to Pete Matthews and Will Twyman for all their help organising the tournament, and also to all the staff who were happy to give up their free time to help us out. Valentine’s balloons were another project, worked on by Suzie Blunt and Annie Urwin. Unfortunately, the success of this idea was limited, but most people enjoyed working on the project and we learned a lot about pricing products. Our final term was spent only on leavers’ hoodies, which finished off a very long but successful year. We were lucky enough to share a dinner with MARTINI, Epsom’s other YE team, and the Young Co-operative Society, where we said our final thank yous. We also presented Clic Sargent with a percentage of our profits. Thanks from all the team must go to Mr Bowler for his help with printing, Mr Hartley and Mrs Drinkall for their cooperation with the T-shirts, and, finally, to Mrs Irvine – without you nothing would ever have got done! Thank you also to all the parents, staff and pupils who supported our company. We all learned a lot about teamwork and business over the year, and YE really helped us all grow into confident and skilful business people. Annie Urwin 66 We seemed to pack most of our projects into Michaelmas Term, which is the longest and most stressful, so, in hindsight, probably not the best choice. However, we were eager to get the company up and running, and were quickly drawing up plans for another M4/U4 party. We sent out questionnaires and decided on the popular ‘rave’ theme. We organised a venue, food, drink, entertainment and decoration, only to be hindered by the fact that we had chosen bonfire night! Despite this set back, we still had an amazing turnout, and managed to make a considerable profit. We then turned our minds to the House polo tops, which turned out the largest profit for us. It was probably one of the most stressful times MARTINI has had, but we learned a lot through collecting in over 350 forms and placing a large, and complicated, bulk order. We were also successful in our other projects, including candy cane and Easter egg sales, and, most importantly, our selling of coloured, Clic Sergeant bracelets, to raise money for the charity – which helps children with cancer. Overall, it was one of the most fun and rewarding experiences I have ever taken part in, and I would like to think that we all took a lot away from it – including our salaries at the end. Well done to everyone! MARTINI members: Carina Lindberg, Emma Cockeram, Anna Dick, Sophie Pontifex, Elliot Grosvenor-Taylor, Leonard Leung, Tom Lothian, Mel Waite, Lorcan O’Duffy, Felix Hugger, Charlotte Ellison and Meghann Murdock. Carina Lindberg EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 The Young Co-operative Society The Young Co-operative Society was established, in recent years, as a way for pupils to engage with ethical consumerism. Membership is limited to 6th-form pupils, who are expected to trade their way to a profit but are restricted to using Fairtrade products. The Society struggles to raise funds, as many of its ventures are in competition with Young Enterprise companies, who are frequently able to undercut the Young Co-operative group. Competition is also faced from the College’s Charity Committee. The Society aims to not only sell its ethical wares but also hopes to raise the profile of Fairtrade within the College and encourage pupils to think about how food is produced. Charlotte Davolls and her band of enthusiastic volunteers worked in a determined and creative manner to raise funds throughout the year. Enterprises included selling roses for Valentine’s Day and candy canes at Christmas. Advent calendars appeared around the College, containing treats made from Divine chocolate (one of the first ethical companies started with cocoa bean sellers). On Founder’s Day, the Society decided to sell all the Fairtrade items they had in stock, ranging from jams and chocolates to after dinner mints and gentlemen’s relishes. Picnics were augmented with the strangest of items, including a Harrods coffee bean grinder that had been donated to the Society to raise funds. The College Catering Department also joined in and bought ethical mints to accompany the coffee being served. By the end of the year, the Young Co-operatives Society had raised over £800, which was used by the Landarini Trust, to help orphans in Malawi ‘walk out of poverty’. Funds were used to buy items such as cows and mosquito nets. Thanks go to Mr Reed, who spent many hours organising events, and to the Catering Department, who allowed us to sell chocolate through the College Tuck Shop. 67 PHOTOGRAPHY This year, the College saw its first group of 6th-form students doing Photography. This new subject provides an outlet for artistic people to demonstrate their creative ideas. As this is an art and design course, there are many opportunities for the students to use different art techniques and styles within their image making. The class consisted of highly motivated pupils keen to get their creative ideas onto paper. The group jelled very well and we all had a lot of fun. The quality of the coursework from the pupils was very good indeed; I will mention only a few here. One pupil decided to create a short film for the examiner to watch, another created a montage showing the relationship between the media and eating disorders. One student used a light box installation, one worked with mirrors, and another mixed Andy Warhol and phone boxes!!! Now that the course has got off the ground, we hope that it will go from strength to strength. Mr R. Johnstone 68 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 4 8 9 1 – Y A L P R IO JUN ‘Do you like it, sir?’ a U4 girl asked me, during the interval. ‘I admire it,’ was my response. Orwell’s novel was not written to be liked. This dramatised version was not selected as the Junior Play because it is likeable. Created, originally, in 1948, the novel was the product of less than half a century which had already squandered its potential in two world wars. Already, less than three years after the terminal action of dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a deep, global fissure had begun to develop, ranging the Communist bloc, which encompassed much of Asia and Eastern Europe, against the forces of Democracy, situated, predominantly, in Western Europe and North America. Were these two forces sizing each other up with a view to renewing hostilities? If so, what would be the outcome? What would life be like when the last two digits of the current date, 1948, became inverted? Orwell’s prognosis was grim. And grim, too, is the vision created by this dramatised version. The world is bi-chromatic: black and blood red – the colours of totalitarianism. Public announcement systems invade our hearing; the eyes of Big Brother (and Big Brother’s agents) invade the privacy of our homes, our minds, our souls. Emotion has been desensitised. Taste has been all but blunted. Fear is what we mostly smell, and those whom we touch, we touch not with tenderness but with the touch employed by Judas, when he betrayed Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. It is the vision of a world in which humanity has become beleaguered. Eliminated or perverted have those five senses become, through which, as human beings, we encounter what we call ‘life’. Placed (rather than scattered) around Big School were stooges of the regime: silent, immobile, threatening. Discordant noises mounted to a cacophony. Two bureaucrats sat at desks, attending to papers. Neither communicated; neither responded; neither reacted. This was a fitting prelude to Orwell’s dysfunctional world-vision. A prelude developed through the eight scenes which followed, tracing Winston Smith’s ‘progress’. If ignorance is knowledge; if war is peace; then it follows that progress is regress. My programme lists the names of over 30 M4s and U4s who contributed in one way or another. To mention each is impossible within the space allowed. To mention some and to ignore others is invidious. I shall be invidious as little as I can be! Ben Roe had a coldly commanding presence, as O’Brien. He was able to conjure cruelty through his voice – not the cruelty of the bully or the sadist, but the cruelty of the fundamentalist fanatic, so convinced of his position that he never needs to raise his voice to enforce it. His was a truly chilling performance. The part of Julia is extremely difficult. A young woman who, had she not fallen in love with a fellow doubter, would, no doubt, have muddled through, unscathed. Her feelings for Winston and her desire to please him are the feelings more of a woman than of a girl, and Jennifer Waterman is to be congratulated upon tapping into emotional reservoirs yet to be filled, in reality. Hers was a poised and convincing performance. An emotional range and intensity, well beyond his natural 15 years, was demanded, too, of Max Mayhew, as Winston. He embraced that range with touching sincerity. Intellectual curiosity, sexual attraction, obdurate truth to self, physical and moral courage almost too painful to contemplate, personal terror and the false calm of the emasculated: this is the list of emotional pulses the part requires to be registered. To do so demands the courage of a lion and the resilience of cast iron! It was a remarkable performance. A Chandley production is always going to be a production with a capital P! Here, no holds were barred. Short of a revolving stage, the gamut of modern theatrical technology was employed: voice-over amplification, multi-angled projection, pencil-point-accurate lighting, audience-blinding floods – it was all there! (The black and white film montage of Max, as Winston, pacing his torture-cage, rather like Ted Hughes’ zoocaged jaguar, was almost too painful – in the same way that Gloucester’s blinding in King Lear is almost too painful – to watch.) Omnipresent, too, was the trademark choric work that she does so well: many voices speaking in unison, split-second action and gesture timing; wordless walk-on parts who receive almost as much stage-exposure as top-of-the-bill stars! This style created a massive impact upon the audience. Did I like it? the U4 girl asked. I admired it – and I admired it enormously. Give me admiration over being liked, any day of the week! Mr R. Worrall 69 T U O K C O N K A IT’S A L6th-form leadership and teambuilding day held at the College proved to be something of a knockout, with students taking part in an afternoon of unique games and challenges. During the morning, Housemasters and Housemistresses led students in House-based activities, including a practical session on applying for university, together with exercises based on TV’s The Apprentice series. Various scenarios and role plays were acted out in small groups, involving organisational tasks and aptitude tests, and the morning ended with a reward-based treasure hunt. The fun continued in the afternoon, with students and staff taking part in an ‘It’s a Knockout’ competition. Having just returned to the College from study leave, fresh from completing their AS-level exams, students threw themselves into wacky games, getting wet and soapy whilst enjoying giant, colourful inflatables, obstacles and other props. 70 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 71 Y T IE C O S G IN T A DEB THE LIBRARY The year started with a flurry of introductions to the library for new students and staff. To welcome back the 6th form (and help fill their quiet moments) we launched our display programme with a selection of books recommended to them by staff. It provided an exceptionally wide-ranging choice of material. In November, in conjunction with the visit of the M4 to the National Theatre production of War Horse (based on the bestselling book by Michael Morpurgo), we presented a collection of books, DVDs and newspaper articles on the production and on the events and background to the First World War. The debaters met regularly throughout the year, on Thursday afternoons, covering topics such as racial profiling at airports, the legalisation of cannabis and presumed consent for organ donation. Lighter topics, such as the merits of chocolate versus sex and the abolition of fat people, were also discussed. Regular speakers included Samad Abdul, Hannah Patel, Matt Wynne, Anthony McGhee, Lucy Sharma and Matt Wade. Meetings were often enjoyably lively, with Mrs Jerrit, in the chair, making much use of her gavel! We also participated in the Surrey Schools’ Public Speaking Cup, an inaugural event organised by Sutton Grammar School. Despite an excellent speech from Matt Wynne, the hosts were the winners, but Matt Wade’s role, as questioner, was particularly commended by the judges. We learned a great deal about the slightly unusual format of the event, which will be put to good use in the future. Mrs G. Jerrit The library contains a varied selection of material relating to this period, from textbooks to songbooks. In addition, we are able to give borrowers access to the very moving accounts of the experiences of members of the College through the wartime issues of the Epsomian magazines stored in the library. We were very pleased to be able to include in our display two winning projects from the M4 History Project Competition. Thank you to Caroline Small and Jennifer Waterman for lending them to us. December saw the start of the annual Christmas quiz, with the theme this year being films based on books. A dedicated group of puzzlers solved a clue each day, with Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick) proving, probably, the most challenging. 72 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 Later, philosophy, linked to work undertaken by students in the L6th and U6th, provided the theme for a promotion of existing and new resources, and then, in February, with our 6th-form History and English students in mind, we were delighted to welcome author and historian Alison Weir to the College. She talked about the extensive research involved in producing her latest book, Katherine Swynford, and answered questions on writing and historical research from students and staff in the 6th-form Centre. February also saw our first lunchtime event: Mrs Jones, from the Modern Languages Department, and Ms Brookfield, from the English Department, gave a brief presentation on the allure of Latin American fiction. The audience was treated to readings, in English and Spanish, and an opportunity to try the Spanish delicacy dulce de membrillo. The publishing world these days seems full of awards, from the Man Booker to the Carnegie, but a small group of Surrey schools decided that none quite covered the books their students wanted to recommend, so, in March, the Surrey Book Awards were launched. All M4s and U4s were invited to take part, and the winning title (both at Epsom College and overall) was Charlie Higson’s Double or Die. National Science and Engineering Week falls in March each year, and, this year, it was marked with a display of library materials and a ‘quick quiz’ for break times. In June, the Theology and Philosophy Department kindly lent us some artefacts for a display on Hinduism and Sikhism, to tie in with lessons for the M4 and U4. As light relief for those revising in the library, June also saw our celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ian Fleming, with a display on the theme of espionage. As the summer term came to an end, we said goodbye to many valued borrowers (first making sure they had returned all their library books, of course …). We hope they have all found useful and happy libraries wherever they are now! Mrs S. Perry 73 CRICKET 1st XI P15 | W9 | D0 | L4 ABANDONED – 2 Team: M. Page, J. Ramesh, J. Pitout, O. Lloyd, J. Billings, C. Mortimer, P. Nichols, T. Lothian, J. Cramp, J. Faal, P. Matthews, N. Waugh, T. Faccini, J. Allen, J. Cole, J. Pease-Watkin, Charlotte Billings (Scorer). The 1st XI enjoyed one of their most prolific seasons, with notable victories over Whitgift, Cranleigh and St. John’s. The secret of this success lay in the experience of the senior players and the much-anticipated fulfilment of their potential. The batting showed a marked improvement, and was ideal for a game plan that included batting first, so as to put the opposition under pressure to bat against the board from the start. Numerous scores of 180+, coupled with the miserly nature of our bowlers, thus proved most effective. Success in this area was also achieved by the form of the top 6, all of who achieved 1 or more score over 50 and 2 hundreds. Page was instrumental at the top of the order and when in, quite literally, decimated opposition attacks. His aggregate of 392 runs (Ave 36, HS 140) won him the batting award. Mortimer (Ave 38, HS 108) and Nichols (Ave 23, HS 51) also impressed. Our bowling was definitely our stronger suit, and we were spoilt for choice. Not only was there a plethora of seamers at our disposal, but the availability of two spinners proved extremely valuable. I have always maintained that decent spinners, at this level, are potential match winners, as batsmen are weaned on a diet of seam-up bowling. Here, Pitout and Cramp were exceptional. They took 43 wickets between them, and, more impressively, especially considering the majority of our matches are limited overs, they averaged less than 3 runs per over. Special mention to Pitout (108 overs, 25 maidens, 271 runs, 27 wkts, best 7/21), whose contribution has been the best for some time – and who was arguably the most effective spinner on the circuit. The bulk of the seam bowling was done by Mortimer, who was ably deputised by Ramesh, Lloyd and Waugh. One area where Epsom have always flourished is in the field, and it was no different this season. The hard work put in by the team has definitely paid dividends. Matches can be won 74 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 by a brilliant catch or run out, and every run saved makes the overall task of winning that much easier. The standard this season was mostly outstanding, and was commented upon by numerous opposition coaches. One of the greatest attributes of the team was their enviable ability to maintain their collective focus and intensity, especially when the odds were stacked against them. It was incredibly difficult to choose the best fielder. Nichols’ contribution as wicketkeeper was outstanding, as was Pitout (who pulled off the best catch of the season), however, being the fulcrum of the side, his effectiveness standing up to the wicket, and general tidiness, gave Nichols the award by a nose. Special mention must be made, at this juncture, of the captain, Max Page. Max has played a pivotal role in the development of this young side and it’s considerable success. He led by example, was technically shrewd, proactive, and, most importantly, held the respect of his troops, which made for a highly productive and enjoyable atmosphere. It leaves me to thank my squad for all their hard work, both pre- and during the season. As always, it has been a privilege. Thanks also to all the coaches; to Charlotte Billings, for scoring; to Bev Spencer and her catering staff, who do such a superb job of making the lunches and the teas, and to Andy Lewis and the groundstaff, who are responsible for the grounds looking as good as they are. Lastly, thank you to the parents for all their support. Mr D. Campbell Awards Eric Radcliff Award: Max Page Batting Salver: Max Page Bowling Award: Jarred Pitout Fielding Award: Peter Nichols Major Colours: Max Page And Janil Ramesh Full Colours: Jarred Pitout, James Billings, Oliver Lloyd, Charles Mortimer, Tom Lothian, James Cramp And Peter Nichols. Half Colours: John Faal, Peter Matthews, Nikhil Waugh And Tim Faccini. 2nd XI P6 | W2 | D1 | L3 The first match of the season, a tie against Cranleigh, promised so much for the rest of the season. Our bowling was understandably rusty – rain had curtailed most practices in the first couple of weeks of term and had washed out the first fixture of the season. Catching, too, let us down, and Cranleigh rattled up 221. However, within this, Pease-Watkin and Twyman bowled particularly well in the middle of the innings, and our batting reply was pretty impressive. Polkey and Bush set-up the chase, with the former scoring 77. A quick-fire 30 from Needham and some lusty blows from Twyman left us needing 1 from the last ball, but Norman was run out to give a tie, probably the fairest result, and a great game of cricket. Above all, I was impressed by the ability of the batters to chase down quite a daunting total, something that requires nerves as well as ability. However, whilst our bowling was always respectable, for the remainder of the season we regularly failed to score enough runs to create competitive totals. Cole scored 40 to bring us a 75 CRICKET victory against Eastbourne in a very low-scoring game, and Twyman (38) and Matthews (51) scored vital lower-order runs against Dulwich, to set them a target. However, all too often, batsmen got themselves set, then gave their wickets away – at Brighton and against St. John’s, in particular, too few wickets were ‘taken’ by the bowlers, and, rather, were given away by impatience. Runs later in the season for Walton-Gould suggested he may have been batting too low (he told me this every week!) ¬– but, collectively, we let ourselves down in this department. On the bowling front, Matthews was always impressive, never more so than against Eastbourne (2–24), and he returned to the 1st XI the following week. Polkey was always sharp when opening the bowling, and, against St. John’s (2–25), almost turned the match in our favour with his opening spell. Twyman and Walton-Gould were ideal middle-of-the-innings bowlers, both taking the pace off the ball with their gentle swing, the latter producing remarkably tight figures against St. John’s (2–7 off 6 overs). Pease-Watkin also impressed early in the season with his off-spin, and I am sure he will move up to the 1st XI next year. I was left reflecting though, at the end of the season, that a season that comprises six matches is really too short, certainly to try and generate momentum. After four weeks of term, most players are on study leave, and, whilst the lads were pretty good about coming in for practices during exams, we were only able to have one middle practice all term – something absolutely vital to develop many of the skills 76 needed each Saturday. Finally, a big thank you to James Walton-Gould, a highly competent captain, and Max Polkey – something of a veteran in the team – for their commitment and leadership over this season, and, indeed, over their Epsom cricketing careers. Mr C. Conway Junior Colts B The brighter moments of this difficult season – good wins against Brighton and City of London Freemen’s – were offset by five heavy defeats against sides that were better all-round teams. Due to a small squad, we were obliged to borrow from a pool of players from the year group below, to make up a full team on Saturday. Given these circumstances, it was hardly surprising that we struggled in most departments. Both batting and bowling often gave cause for concern. The batting was fragile below the number 5 slot, although Josh Small’s innings of 58 vs Brighton and James Turner’s 124 not out vs City of London both created platforms for victories. Sadly, the bowling was characterised by a lack of accuracy and control – the total number of wides and no-balls in most games meant that we were playing against 12! Nobody really looked like a match winner, although effort and enthusiasm were clearly there. However, the fielding was probably the best aspect of our game – most players were keen to do their best. Despite the difficulties and frustrations, there was a willingness to practice and a passion to play that defied the results! Mr K. Siviter and Dr S. Wade EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 John’s, but, in the final match of the season, against King Edward’s of Southampton, the boys returned to form. The final ball of the season came from our star fielder, Kirby, who took the winning wicket and ensured a winning margin of 96 runs. A superb team and a great season, winning half their matches and promising much for their future performances at Epsom. Girls’ Cricket Report U14 B XI From a talented year group, a very strong B XI team emerged that was able to enjoy an even season under the committed captaincy of Ollie Dennis. In the first match, against Cranleigh, poor fielding allowed Cranleigh to score 198 runs in 30 overs. Despite a 43 from Standen and 24 from Rossi, Epsom were all out for 158, losing by 40 runs. However, the boys bounced back against Dulwich College, to record their first win there, at this level, for many years, and this form was repeated against Brighton College, where Sander made 53 not out to help Epsom to a lead of 161 for 6, from 30 overs. Dennis followed this up by bowling 4 for 14, with Hinds taking 2 for 12, and the team managing to bowl Brighton out for 88, to record a 73-run win. Despite scoring 152 against Whitgift, they had one talented player who was able to score 97 not out and ensure the win for them. However, Epsom came back in a 20/20 match against City of London Freeman’s, where some players got their chance to debut. Some poor bowling allowed CLFS to reach 102, but Roe and Standen set Epsom on a good path, scoring 27 and 15 respectively. Defeats followed against Eastbourne and St. Epsom’s girls’ cricket enjoyed a good season, with over 30 girls signing up for the activity and an expanding fixture list. Captained by Susie Blunt, the senior girls played their first match away at Wellington. Faced with a quality opposition, the girls bowled and fielded well to keep Wellington to 113 for 3 in 20 overs, with Ellison, Sciver and Nichols taking the wickets. With the loss of 2 early wickets, it was a tough task for Epsom, but Alice Davidson-Richards, from the M4s, stepped up, on her debut, to score Epsom’s highest ever girls total of 61 not out, taking Epsom close, but not close enough, to winning, as we lost by 4 runs. In the match against Charterhouse, Epsom bowled superbly, to win by 10 wickets, with Sciver taking 5 for 5 runs. With many seniors absent for the Cranliegh match, we were able to bring in a number of junior players. Epsom batted well to reach 101 all out, but Cranleigh had some excellent batting, and won the match by 9 wickets. The junior team only had two games, but the girls played brilliantly, to win both. Against Sutton Valence, Epsom fielded well to reduce the score to 80 for 3, with Reynolds, Sciver and Davidson-Richards taking the wickets, and Rachel Mewett impressing on her debut as wicketkeeper. Epsom comfortably reached their target in 9 overs. The second game was against Wellington, and proved to be a very competitive match. Wellington batted first and were able to make 107 for 7, in 15 overs, with Sciver, Nichols and Davidson-Richards taking the wickets. With a high score to match, Sciver and Nichols opened the batting, but, with the loss of 2 early wickets, Epsom were under pressure. It was Davidson-Richards who saved the day, again, and scored 50 not out, to take Epsom to a winning score of 108 for 4 in a thrilling game. Carina Lindberg girls cricket 77 TENNIS Senior Boys U16 A Boys’ Tennis At this senior level, we had decent strength in the As to give anyone a game, but failed to take our opportunities on too many occasions. Wins against Dulwich, St. Pauls, Sevenoaks, Winchester and Whitgift were pleasing, but losses against Hampton, Radley, Cranleigh and Wellington shouldn’t all have happened. The places amongst the first eight were always hotly contested, with no player consistently better than the rest. Everyone also suffered from a poor run of form, or a part of the game that let them down for a week or so – most commonly serves! With the season being cut short by GCSE’s, the team gained more wins than losses. The season started with a narrow loss to Sevenoaks, but, from then on, we became less rusty and played better as a result. The best game of the season was a victory over Winchester, with two out of three matches being won. Overall, the season was, yet again, like the previous two years, a success, with some of the players now looking to get into the 1st XI next year. In outside competitions, Josh Phillips and Rory Cook can be congratulated for reaching the final of the St. Georges’ pairs competition, where they found Reed’s just a little too strong. Major Colours: Matt Goodyear Full Colours: Guy Blunden, Stuart Briscoe, Ollie Clayton, Matt Costain, Matt Hack, Alec Laing (re-awarded), Gwyn Page, Josh Phillips Olly Wilkinson U15 Boys’ Tennis Another year, another load of nonsense. How long can I sustain this? How long can my loyal readers keep their interest? Don’t answer that one! This year we find ourselves in the Celebrity Big Brother House – with a difference. The celebrities may be real or fictional, fictional adaptations of real people or fictional adaptations of fictional people. In addition, the producers have added an extra twist – boys only! Hosted by our favourite personality – famous for those artistically pleasing hair adverts – and why not, with glorious flowing locks like his? – N.D. MacWheel-Zone. The first on the BB couch are, naturally, two celebrity couch users – the interviewers Michael Parkinson and Russell Harty. Then we meet someone who also loves a couch, but only if its got an engine in it and is trying to cross the Andes – Richard Hammond. 78 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 U14 Boys’ Tennis The U14 boys had a good season overall, where one player dominated, several others showed potential and improvement and many others just enjoyed their tennis. Overwhelmingly, the highlight for me, every year, is the vast numbers of boys keen to play for the College – long may that continue. Max Dialdas was the star – winning virtually every game he played, and the problem all year was finding an adequate partner for him – no disrespect to those who tried, but Max was a cut above the rest. Danilo Bardella, Alex Whitehead and, at the end, Cameron Jeffery all played very well throughout the season, but each possesses areas that will need significant improvement if they are to step up to a level appropriate for A team 1st pair tennis. That said, they were excellent, on the whole, in training and wore their hearts on their sleeves in every match. I could not have asked for more from them. The next wave, containing Ben Crouch, Alistair Porter, Sam Bonfield, James Scott and Jack Bainbridge, were all talented players, but, again, lacked either technical, psychological or motivational prowess to make them a complete player at this stage. They will need to work hard at the specific areas of their game, which needs addressing, if they are to improve next year. If we move into the kitchen, we find our thinkers, poets and men of science. The Greeks, Cobrates the philosopher and Alexis the comic poet; the Italian, Dante, describing the path to the inferno of hell, and the British scientist, Baron Kelvin, measuring the temperature of this path. Finally, three great mathematicians (although surely all mathematicians are great): Ed ‘Temple’ Bell (who could not love those Bell numbers?); Jonariste Malois, the inventor of Malois Theory (at the tender age of 15), and Yoonclid, the master of geometry. If you can’t stand the heat of the kitchen, then we need to switch to our garden cameras. Johnny Morris, personifying the animals and insects in his inimical, jolly way. Mr T (clearly a man) lifting the table and benches for fun. Sevvy Sabasteros, improvising a golf club from a rake, and those cheeky naval twins, Admiral Lord Nelson and Admiral Lord Nelson, playing battleships in the pool. As we come back through the door, we need to pass our selfappointed bouncer, Phil Mitchell. Tough and bald on the outside, but a real softy (although still bald) on the inside. Finally, we pan into the bedroom, where we find our poorly animated hero, Goggin the Gog and our puppet made out of drinking straws, Chizzle. Playing on the floor are three toy trains, Harry the Tank Engine, Peter the Tank Engine and, in a desperate attempt to keep the same bad idea going, but shifting to a surname connection instead of a first name, McEvoy the Tank Engine. You are allowed to groan now. Please don’t phone to vote them off yet, since the lines are most definitely not open (nor ever likely to be!). Results were mixed, with the A team punching above their weight, the B team doing pretty well and the C team performing outstandingly, with the greatest of effort at their relatively few opportunities to show what they could do. I thank all of the boys for a thoroughly enjoyable season, for their effort and their good humour. Likewise, I would like to thank Justin and all the coaches for their time, advice and patience. Ultimately, though, when the coach can win 17 out of 22 ‘choccie challenge’ matches against the boys, there must be a certain quality deficit prevalent! Mr A. Bustard Internal Competitions Senior House: Granville (Matt Goodyear and Ollie Clayton) Junior House: Fayrer (Chris Parkinson and Harry Thomas) Senior Singles: Matt Goodyear Junior Singles: Max Dialdas Mixed Doubles Senior Mixed Doubles: Helena Mortimer and Stuart Briscoe Junior Mixed Doubles: Alex Mungavin and Ben Crouch Until next year then. Mr A. Wilson 79 TENNIS Senior Girls' Tennis With 8 wins and only 1 loss, the Girls’ 1st V1 undoubtedly enjoyed a very successful season. We came across tough opposition in our match against Cranleigh, narrowly losing 5– 4. However, we proved our strength with convincing wins against the likes of Wellington and Kings Canterbury. I paired with Danni to make the 1st pair. Danni had an impressive season, constantly improving and gaining in confidence. In particular, she deserves a mention for her unfaltering patience in dealing with me and my ‘moments of madness’. Reaching the semi-final of the Surrey Schools’ Festival Tournament (losing to the eventual winners) was the highlight of our season, as our true potential came to light, and we put in notable performances against some tough opposition, which only served to strengthen our partnership. Miku and Sarah formed the unbeatable 2nd pair. They were so consistent and patient that it was borderline frustrating(!), but it worked wonders – which was evident from their consistently positive results. They were our most steady and reliable pair and will, therefore, be sorely missed next year. They have definitely given us something to learn from and think about for next season. Hatty and Holly made a very strong 3rd pair. Their fun, lighthearted nature contributed greatly to the spirit of the team. However, as soon as they stepped on to the court they underwent a sudden transformation, as they focused intently on their game. Their passion was clear in every match, and it often gave them the winning edge over their opponents. The 2nd V1 also enjoyed a successful season, winning four out of five of their matches. They had a squad of eight and, therefore, enjoyed the flexibility of being able to move around and play with different partners. The strong MoBryant (Alice Mowbury and JB) partnership, however, was not broken. All the players were enthusiastic and improved, steadily, throughout the season. Personally, my thanks goes to the team, which, despite the stresses of looming exams, was present and enthusiastic every Saturday. Our thanks go to Justin and his fellow coaches, Dan and Jamie, without whom we would still consider our tennis as a leisurely, relaxing affair away from the stresses of Epsom life. Instead, we have been made to train hard and we have unleashed our competitive side. Although not always the most attractive (as we were encouraged to make ‘Sharapova-style’ grunts/squeals), it certainly translated positively in our Saturday fixtures. Lastly, our thanks go to Mrs D, who managed to maintain a sense of composure even during our most nail-biting matches. 80 Her calm, supportive presence was felt on the side of the court and was always greatly appreciated. I hope that next year our season will be just as successful, if not more so. Helena Mortimer Full Colours: Helena Mortimer, Danielle Rice, Miku Fujita, Sarah Haville, Alice Mowbray and Jennifer Bryant. Half Colours: Holly Brook, Harriet Canby, Caroline Seabrook, Uta Demel, Sophie Pontifex and Sarah Titcombe. Senior Trophy: Helena Mortimer House Trophy: White House Girls 2nd VI P5 | W4 | L1 This team saw several variations in pairings, with Caroline Seabrook, Uta Demel, Georgina Crate, Corinne Hammond, Alice Mowbray, Jennifer Bryant, Sophie Pontifex and Sarah Titcombe being the regular players. They all played some positive tennis and benefited from advice given by our resident coach, Mr Justin Culver. Full Colours: Helena Mortimer, Danielle Rice, Miku Fujita, Sarah Haville, Alice Mowbray and Jennifer Bryant. Half Colours: Holly Brook, Harriet Canby, Caroline Seabrook, Uta Demel, Sophie Pontifex and Sarah Titcombe. Senior Trophy: Helena Mortimer House Trophy: White House David Potter Coaching Cup: Harriet Canby (for attitude to training and improvement throughout the year) EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 81 TENNIS Christ’s Hospital 8–1, but our other victories were all close calls, proving the commitment and determination of the whole team. Inter-house Competition Results 1st Raven 2nd Wilson 3rd Crawfurd U14 Girls’ Tennis For the first year since taking girls in at 13+, the M4 were allowed to opt for the sport of their choice – tennis, rounders, athletics or swimming – to pursue exclusively (or almost!) during their games times on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and in matches on Saturdays. Seventeen girls signed up for tennis, and all but one had the opportunity to play in the A, B or C tennis teams. Despite the enthusiasm and good focus in training, the girls were outplayed in all but four of their 13 matches, winning one and coming close in three others. It must be said, however, that 10 of the 17 girls had played little or no tennis before this, and, of the other seven, only one or two play, regularly, in clubs at home. The A-team girls, in particular, showed great potential for the future, and several others significantly improved their skills and tactical awareness as the term progressed. Well done to all the girls for their effort and commitment this term. U15 A Girls’ Tennis P7 | W5 | L2 Despite injury and illness, this was a successful season. Although the pairs changed most weeks, the team managed to adapt and learned to work together. The team showed many improvements throughout the season, and, hopefully, will continue with this next year. Jessica Wong made some amazing volleys throughout the term, and showed massive improvement as she came up from the B team. Louise Kelly’s deep groundstrokes helped the team to many victories, and everyone saw Sam Duff’s improvement in serving. Louise Walsom’s enthusiastic attitude and consistent play made her a very good player during the season, while Caroline Small, Cat Melville, Tash Nichols and Emma Albon all brought their own personalities and style to the team. U15 B P5 | W4 | L1 The team suffered only one loss early in the season, against King’s Canterbury. A superb effort was put in by all the girls, and this became a very competitive squad. We defeated 82 Mrs C. Rice Inter-house Competition Results 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Rosebery Raven Wilson Crawfurd EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 S IC T E L H T A ’ S L GIR Girls’ athletics is gradually growing, and, with this expansion, the results are ever improving. The Wellington fixture, held at Marlborough, proved to be a great start to the season, resulting in an overall coeducational victory. At Manor House, the junior team came third and the Intermediates came first, resulting in our final placing being second. The Cranleigh fixture once again resulted in the Intermediates winning and Juniors and Seniors coming fourth, our final placing third, with the following schools competing: Cranleigh, St. John’s Seaford and Caterham. The final meet of the season was at home with Manor House, Brighton College, Eastbourne and Cranleigh competing. The Senior team came fourth, Intermediates second and Juniors third – resulting in third place overall. During the district competition, we saw some very impressive performances from the Epsom team. At U15-level, Alice Davidson-Richards won both the shot and the javelin, and Sophie Cordery came second in the hurdles. In the U16s, Tamsin Barber produced a great run in the 100m, coming second, and Natalie Sciver won the 200m. Sophie Reynolds came a pleasing third in the 300m and Natasha Nichols ran a brave race from the front, winning the 800m-trophy. Emily Field did brilliantly in the hurdles, and came second, and Emma Albon impressed on the track, completing the 1500m in a cracking time, resulting in second place. The Surrey County Championships were just as impressive. In the U15s, Alice Davidson-Richards won the shot, making her County Champion. At U17, Steph Crouch won the hurdles, closely followed by Emily Field. In the Senior section, Laura Butcher won the long-jump competition and Meghann Murdock came third in the 1500m. Well done to Jessica EdenJuster for her superb role as captain. Mrs N. Wilson 83 S IC T E L H T A ’ S Y BO Despite the loss of our first match to rain, this turned into a highly successful season. Overall, the team won all the major trophies, bar one, with the victory at Eton, against seven of our strongest competitors, in the Lord Burghley Trophy being the most pleasing. We are getting involved in more co-ed meetings, and this seems to bring good performances out of both boys and girls. We also had our most successful year at the County Championships, with no less than 10 County Champions, and most other athletes were well placed in the finals. Senior Team The team was, once again, unbeaten against all of the schools that they played against, and produced four County Champions: Jeremy Evans in the triple jump, Freddie Readhead in the discus, George Lowe in the long jump and a captain’s effort from Patrick Iyoyin in the 200m. The team was split between U6th and L6th, and, on match days, was an inspiration to the junior years. Of those leaving, we will miss the power and determination of George Lowe, the versatility of Chris York, Max Eden’s guts over the longer distances and James Frewin’s skill and pace over the sticks. The athlete most missed will be our retiring captain. Patrick Iyoyin has been an outstanding sprinter, both technically and in his determination, throughout his time at the College. He leaves behind him a legacy of records in the 100m and 200m, and his captaincy has been an inspiration to the junior athletes. Nick Conner and Jeremy Evans will captain the team next year, and I expect them to continue producing the quality performances that we have seen this year. Major Colours: Patrick Iyoyin, George Lowe, Freddie Readhead and Chris York. Full Colours: Max Eden, James Frewin, Nick Conner and Jeremy Evans. Half Colours: Sebastian Weingartshofer, James Measures, Felix Hugger, Richard Trepant, Tom Brown, Josh Li and Leigh Cresswell. Intermediate Team This team was just as successful. Particularly pleasing were the efforts of the U4s, at the lower end of this age group, in winning the District Championships, where Bradley Smith (1500m), Tom Flynn (100m) and Ben Ivey (2,000m steeple chase) won their events. At the 84 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 County Championships, our best-placed athletes were Jite Avwunu and Eduardo Kang, coming first and second in the long jump. Both went on to represent the county. Joe Toomey, Jamie Falconer and Nick Thomas were injured for all or most of the season, and were big losses. However, it gave the others opportunity to come through and fill their spikes. Max Nicholson and James Edwards had a very good year over one and two laps, bringing their PB’s down almost weekly. Will Freeman was another that got better and better, both as a hurdler and a sprinter. The ‘fat boys’, Tom Shopland and Max Denning, proved very difficult to beat in the heavy throws, and a combination of Paul Clarke, Will Edgeley and Kieran Moore looked after the javelin. Along with Eduardo and Jite, Harry Bradshaw was our best horizontal jumper, with Ed Mason best in the vertical department. Colts’ Colours: Will Freeman, Jite Avwunu, Harry Bradshaw, Max Nicholson, James Edwards, Paul Clarke, Tom Shopland, Max Denning and Ed Mason. Junior Team The team came from a small, but very talented, group of boys. They had a very good year, including a win in the District Championships. At the County Championships, Hugo Coleman (javelin) and Alex Aves (hurdles) won their events, and, along with Jordan Burns (triple jump), represented Surrey in an intercounties match. All three set new College records (ie the best in over 150 years), including Jordan in the 100m, 200m and triple jump. In addition to these three, George Lindley had a good year in the sprints and with the spear, Connor Findlay was our best thrower and Russell Ramagge was our jack of all trades, with enough talent to turn his hand, successfully, to almost any event. Over the longer distances, Keiran O’Duffy and Alex Oxley became increasingly good, and could be relied upon for a fighting finish. There is a lot of talent in this year group, and I hope they carry on breaking records for the next four years! Mr J. Drinkall 85 TARGET RIFLE We began the year as National Champions, after huge success in 2006/2007. It was hard to imagine that our results could be bettered, and I think few of the team which assembled in September 2007 thought we could; but this was an extremely talented group of shots and they were led by an excellent U6 trio of Sam Harley, Sam Hunter and Will Stewart, who were determined that they would equal and better the record of the previous year. As usual, the M4 rush in September yielded some good new recruits in the form of Henry Awin, Ben Ross and James Scott, and Jen Lewsey from the U4. We also had a new L6 recruit, freshly poached from Dollar Academy, by the name of Nick Beesley, who quickly settled in and increased our Scottish contingent by 100%, much to the delight of Sam Hunter. The team quickly found their feet and were undefeated in all our home shoulder-to-shoulder matches, although defeat at the BSSRA Small-bore Championships at Wellington came as a shock, showing us that we could not be too complacent. This was more than made up for by the team retaining the national Staniforth Trophy (beating Dollar into second, to Nick’s delight), and the term ended with the excellent news that Sam Harley, Sam Hunter and Will Stewart had all been selected to represent the British Cadet Rifle Team in Canada in the summer – a fantastic achievement to have three on this tour for the second year running. Nick Beesley also gained selection on the Great Britain Under 19 tour to South Africa and had a fantastic trip over the Easter holiday, producing some excellent scores. The Lent Term saw us working hard on the Country Life Competition, and the hours of Group, Rapid, Snap practice paid off, with second place being achieved, being narrowly pipped to first place by Dollar Academy – much to Nick’s chagrin! Will Stewart is to be commended for his good work on the landscape section. The team reassembled, focussed and determined for our Easter Bisley Camp. Some excellent results in the Ibis Open Championship and the VIII retaining the Malvern Cup for the eighth consecutive year, were some of the 86 highlights from the weekend, interspersed with go-karting and hail! The summer season opened with the Clayton Challenge, which we retained with a score of 505.30 using 1.55-grain ammunition. The following week, in the LMRA Championships, the ammo being used by each school was inconsistent in quality, and the VIII was to be significantly disadvantaged. Our score of 467 was nowhere near the top, and we were frustrated that we had been so disadvantaged and ended with a result which didn’t reflect how well we had performed. Determined to set the record straight the following week, in the Open Surrey Championships, the team produced an excellent result to regain the Epsom Challenge Trophy, scoring 523.30, with Sam Harley winning the individual with 69.4. The pair of Oliver Stewart and Hannah Kent won the Officers’ Cup and Kate Ross and Jack Ball the Cadet Pair. This score was bettered in the Sawyer Cup the following week with a terrific 524.37, and we retained this trophy again, winning it for the 12th time in 13 years – an outstanding record! The Reserve Pair of Jack Ball and Oliver Stewart won their pairs match – very fitting in Oli’s last match representing Epsom. Sam Harley won the individual again, with a very impressive 70.10 out of a possible 70.14 – a tremendous shoot. As the exam season arrived and we had an enforced pause in the season, it was clear that we had the form and ability to dominate the National Championships in July, and perhaps even to match the outstanding performances of last year. A week after the end of term we assembled for the four-day Schools’ meeting, which culminates in the Ashburton Shield. Immediately, we began achieving some very high scores, and, over the first three days of competition, Epsom dominated the scoreboards to the same extent as the previous year. Of the 12 ‘open’ CTR schools’ team matches that Epsom College entered, we won 11 of them, including the DSG, Victoria, Devon, Kinder, Epsom, Cheltenham, Rutland, Garry and the Lucas. On average, the Epsom cadets occupied at least 10 of the top-30 places in every major individual TR match and at every distance. Seven individual competitions were won by team members: the 500 yards Aggregate (Cpl Slater), the 600 yards Aggregate (Sgt Hunter with Epsom cadets placed also second, third and fourth), the Monday Aggregate (Sgt Hunter), the Wednesday Aggregate (Cpl Beesley), the Fox Quaich (Sgt Hunter), the Cadet Rifle Aggregate (Cdt Dowle with Epsom Cadets also second and third), the Schools Hundred (Cpl Beesley and Epsom cadets EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 also placed second, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth) and the Cadet Grand Aggregate (Cdt Dowle with Epsom cadets placed second, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth). As Ashburton day dawned, the squad were, as in 2007, relaxed, calm, confident and determined, although the Master i/c in his last year was perhaps a little more uptight! The VIII put in a stunning performance at 300 yards: 34, 31, 34, 33, 35, 34, 31, 33, for an excellent 265/280, winning us the Kinder Trophy for the second year in a row, with Hannah Kent, on her debut for the VIII, putting in a super 35.5. At 600 yards we bettered our 300-yard score, producing 268, with a very tidy 35.4 from Alex Dowle. This total was 5 points ahead of the Oratory School, and we had retained our own Epsom Trophy by winning this distance. We broke for lunch, and with crowds growing and the pressure mounting it would have been easy to falter. However, the VIII held it together well, in a tricky wind, at 500 yards and scored 266/280, with no one scoring less than 31; Sam Hunter top scored with 102.14, Alex Dowle completed an excellent 101.10 with Ben Newman putting in a super 100.9. The VIII finished with a total of 790.75, retaining the Ashburton Shield, with a new record score and our title as National Champions for the third year in a row. Dollar trailed with 779 in second and the Oratory came third with 766. This fantastic score meant we had won the Ashburton for the 12th time in 19 years, the seventh time in 11 years, and, indeed, have not been out of the top-2 places in the past 11 years. Meanwhile, great heroics were going on with the other teams. The Reserve Man Competition had been shot by Charles RivettCarnac, who had had to go through a nail-biting tie-shoot to finally win the competition outright. His excellent score of 48.3, when combined with the Ashburton, won us the Rutland Trophy. The Cadet Pair of Jack Ball Kate Ross shot well and came third in the Under 16 National Championships. They combined with Samir Amin and William Broad to come second in the Cadet Four match – again a great result. The VIII also retained the Garry Trophy for beating the Canadian National Team, which sums up the strength of our performance. Finally, the Old Epsomians did their bit, and the huge Lucas Trophy for the past and present aggregate was also retained – over 20 trophies won in all. The internal Officers Cup was won by Sam Hunter, the Crawfurd House Cup by Carr (Sam Harley) and the Michael Nash Most Improved Trophy went to Jack Ball. Major Colours were re-awarded to the captain and vice captains and, now, also to Hannah Kent, Nick Beesley, Ben Newman and Peter Slater. Full Colours went to Charles Rivett-Carnac and Alex Dowle. Colts Colours to Jack Ball, William Broad, Kate Ross and Samir Amin. A great night of celebration was had by all with the Old Epsomians in the Surrey Clubhouse, and 14 stayed on to shoot the main meeting. Many shot well; we retained the Gary Jones Team Trophy and a number shot in the Queens and St George’s second stages. Sam, Sam and William had excellent tours of Canada and played key roles in the team as wind coaches and shooters. Thanks must go to our young OE coaches during the schools week, who were superb: James Lothian, David Nuthall and Harry Ball. Bob MacKeith joined us too, and, as ever, his sage advice and good humour was much appreciated. Throughout the year we would not manage without Andrew Lothian and Peter Dodd, who, again, gave up hours and hours to help and amuse us in equal measure – many, many thanks for all your help. Maureen Odendaal is an absolute stalwart who has become a very firm fixture in the set-up, and I am very grateful for all she has done for us, and Roger Gill remains one of the most respected and well-liked staff members on the school shooting circuit; his integrity is second to none and he has never failed in his support for the team or myself over the years; many thanks for everything, Roger. Last year I wrote “a great team in 2007? Yes, without doubt”. This year I have to say the same: the 2008 team was every bit as good as the 2007, one and they fully deserve the enormous success they have achieved. I was touched by the presentations made to me at the OE dinner on Ashburton evening, none more so than by my being made a life member of the Old Epsomian Rifle Club. I shall take away very fond memories of my 13 years at Epsom, and my involvement with the shooting will be pre-eminent in those. Thank you to all the team members, past and present, for your loyalty and hard work, and I look forward to seeing how you all progress in years to come. In the meantime, I am delighted that Miss Clare Huxter will be taking over from me; I can think of no one more suitable or able to continue the great shooting tradition of Epsom begun 57 years ago by Rex Goddard and continued by Michael Nash, my predecessor. I am certain that Epsom shooting will go from strength to strength under Clare’s guidance; good luck to you all. Mr J. Postle 87 GOLF This was another very busy year for the golfers. The highlight saw us win through to the finals of the HMC foursomes competition, beating KCS Wimbledon, Millhill, Whitgift, and Harrow en route. These were played over two days at Luffenham Golf Club, and we came very close to winning. Cheltenham and Reigate were beaten on the first day, but, on the second morning, we lost to Millfield School. In this match, despite the strength of their team, we were up in two of the three matches, with three holes to play, but their experience under pressure told, and we were beaten on the 18th and 20th greens. The team of Blease, Boote, Lloyd, Chasey (captain), Kuhler and Morgan bounced back, in the afternoon, to win the Plate competition from five other schools, including Loretto. ROUNDERS Senior Team U15 The Senior rounders squad was a pleasure to take this year. Unfortunately, we only had two matches, but this allowed us to put out two very different teams for each. All participants, whether they played in the team or not, were very enthusiastic, even when it was cold and damp. Only a very small number of girls in this age group chose rounders as their summer sport, but those that did were enthusiastic from beginning to end. Match success was mixed, but everyone who opted for this sport got a game, and spirits remained high, even when faced with superior opponents. U16 U14 The U16 rounders team had a very brief season this term, with one match against Cranleigh. Unfortunately, they lost, but their team spirit was excellent throughout. Well done to everyone. The U14 team achieved unprecedented success this season, winning every game except the first: some notable wins include those against Brighton College, Cranleigh and Eastbourne. Individuals who contributed particularly impressive leadership and rounders prowess included: Amy Gygnell, Katie Adam, Evie Cody, Fliss Beckett, Janine Zager, Rachel Mewett, Maisie Bayley, Sophie Glaas and Becky Quinlan. 88 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 T R O P E R G IN M IM SW During the whole of 2007/2008, there was a great buzz around the swimming pool. The input of some very enthusiastic boys and girls from the new M4’s intake provided a very welcome boost to the swimming morale and also to the team’s results. the competition, and the result of it all was a very impressive performance from our girls. The Epsom team, made up of M4 and U4 girls swimming in the senior age group, managed, not only, to make the final, but, also, to finish sixth in that final. In the Michaelmas Term we had the Division 11 relay trials, which gave our swimmers the chance to qualify for the Nationals. The M4 boys narrowly missed a swim at the Nationals when they qualified as second reserve. The summer brought a host of inter-school galas. Trips to Eastbourne and Harrow, and home matches against Reed’s, Glyn and Cranleigh, proved to be very exciting, and, at times, very close, with the boys winning against Cranleigh and the girls stunning the opposition teams by winning the annual Harrow fixture. The Lent Term is now occupied by the Bath and Otter Cup, a competition formed of independent schools from all over the UK. We took both a boys’ and girls’ team to Whitgift School for Mr A. Mason RT O P E R L L A B Y E L L VO We had a mixed season this year. To start with, a combined girls’ and boys’ team from Epsom beat the Beacon boys’ team 3 sets to 1 in early May. Just before half term, our annual invitation tournament took place, with the boys’ A team winning their Pool, and then losing 15–18 in a close semi-final against the Rikkyo School. The boys’ B team also qualified for the semi-finals in their group, but were outplayed by the Lycee B team, who beat the Rikkyo B team in the final. The girls played a round-robin competition, winning three of their four matches, to take second place – only 3 points down against the Rikkyo A team, who won all their games. Another combined boys/girls match against Thomas More boys was evenly contested in early June, with the Ashcombe tournaments following on 21 and 22 June. In the 4-a-side competition on the Saturday, our Senior boys were third, and, in the 6-a-side (adult) competition on the Sunday, the boys were third again, winning two and losing two matches. Four of our girls combined with players from Epsom Volleyball Club in the ladies’ competition, which was a great experience for them – they won one and lost three matches. Thanks must go to Lina Gruger and Andrew Leung for their commitment and enthusiasm as captains, and for their excellent assistance and support throughout that time. Well done to all those who played this year – Mr Hibbitt, Mrs Winmill and Mrs Rice have enjoyed working with you! 89 RTMENT ENGLISH DEPA IN TOUR TO DUBL On June 20 2008, an intrepid band of 17 L6th ‘Dubliners’ ventured forth on Ryanair, bound for the Emerald Isle, accompanied by Ms Brookfield and Mr Worrall. We spent three days in Dublin, sampling the cultural (and gastronomic) delights of this beautiful city, and exploring its wonderful Georgian streets and squares. After spending so much time, beforehand, preparing for the trip, it was exciting to finally be in the city that had shaped and celebrated eminent writers such as Swift, Joyce, Yeats, Wilde and Kavanagh. Highlights of the trip included: a performance of The Weir, by Conor McPherson, at the celebrated Gate Theatre; an illuminating visit to the Book of Kells in the Old Library of Trinity College; a slightly risqué one-man show at Dublin Writers’ Museum (somehow expletives sound quite charming in a soft, Irish lilt!); a fascinating visit to the James Joyce Centre (interactive media and all) and a rather damp open-top bus tour of the city. Somehow, we also managed to build in free time for the students to visit Dublin Castle and the Chester Beatty Library, to photograph Oscar Wilde’s statue in Merrion Square, and to explore Grafton Street and Temple Bar! All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Our students proved to be delightful company – mature, intelligent and witty … and capable of devouring vast quantities of pain au chocolat for breakfast! We intend to repeat the trip in 2009, with a similarly keen and intellectually engaged group. Ms A. Brookfield EL V A R T T E K IC P N WARRE AWARDS Rafting on the Colorado River After winning the Warren Pickett Travel Award, I had been looking forward, with eager anticipation, to spending a week rafting down the Colorado River. I had huge expectations of the Grand Canyon, but no words or photos can prepare you for seeing it for the first time. I was completely blown away. My mum and I were in a group of 15, and, after receiving life jackets, we set out for one of the most memorable weeks of my life. The boat was under the control of two boatmen who knew every part of the canyon off by heart, and they took us to all the best places. The Colorado River has some of the biggest natural rapids in the world, one of which almost swept me from the boat, but I managed to grab onto a rope and get pulled back on board. At lunchtime, we would pull in at a 90 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 beach, dry off in the 40oC-heat and play Frisbee while the boatmen set-up lunch. After a few more hours on the boat, we found a beach where we could set-up camp for the night. Everyone put up tents, just in case it rained, but it never did, and I spent every night sleeping on the beach beneath stars, which were incredibly clear and bright. Everyday, at some stage, we stopped, filled up our flasks and went to explore a side canyon. My favourite places were Havasu Falls and Shinumo Creek (this is where the picture of me jumping off the waterfall was taken). Along with the food, these walks were the best thing about the trip. The experience was one that I’ll never forget; everyday was full of exhilaration, but, also, relaxation. I recommend it to everyone. George Broom 91 VEL A R T T E K IC P N E WARR AWARDS The Tall Ships’ Award In August 2008 I had an amazing opportunity to spend a week aboard a tall ship, after being given the Warren Pickett Travel Award. The trip started in Den Helder, Holland, where we found our ship, the Stavros S Niachros, that the 48 of us were to crew for the next seven days. The crew was split into three watches, I was in red watch, along with 16 others. The first day was nerve-racking, as none of us knew each other, or anything about sailing! But it did not take long to resolve this, with an afternoon of training and a night out in lively Den Helder. The next day we prepared to set sail, but could not leave before the salute to the Prince of Denmark and his impressive procession of ships. We started our voyage heading across the North Sea, which, due to bad weather, was particularly rough. This made the first 24 hours preoccupied with seasickness. Each watch took it in turn to take the helm, keep watch and be ready to help the captain. The watches were, literally, non stop, resulting in being asked to steer a 60m-long ship in the pouring rain at 4am somewhere in the North Sea, which was amazing! On Sunday night we anchored just off Margate, to give people a chance to fully recover from seasickness, but, after that, almost all seasickness disappeared for the rest of the trip. The next morning we were ready to head off again, towards Dieppe, in France, and, for the first time, the wind was right to set the sails. This involved climbing 45m on to the yards, and, whilst we were up there, practising our newly found knot tying skills. Unsurprisingly, in the wind, it was terrifying! As we reached Dieppe, we received a warm welcome, with loads of people coming to see the boat. After anchoring safely, and lots of spaghetti runs to clean up the deck, we were set loose for a memorable night out in Dieppe. On Wednesday, I was lucky to be appointed mess man, which meant that I had loads of jobs aboard the boat, for example getting the rowing boats ready for our rowing race (which red watch lost, in our new-found style). I even got a ride in the speedboat after untying the ship from the dock, to catch up with the Stavros. We were sad to leave Dieppe, as we set the sails again (and so had another chance to climb to the yards), and we headed off towards Southampton. Red watch were determined not loose another competition, so practised hard for our entire watch, from 12–4am, for the knot tying competition the next day. The next day came, and we were ready for the competition, which we thought would be a definite red watch victory, but ended, as usual, with us coming last. As we anchored in Southampton, and after our last inter-watch competition, the egg drop (which we won!!!), we spent our last night together on land, and it was hard to believe that our voyage on the Stavros was over. I headed home on the Friday, exhausted and sad to be leaving the other members of the crew, as well as the beautiful tall ship. I had a fantastic time aboard the Stavros, and take away from it some amazing memories and experiences. So I strongly recommend the award to the L6th, as it is a truly fantastic experience. 92 Caroline Lloyd EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 UR O T Y B G U R H G R EDINBU After an extremely early start, the 33 players and support staff began the journey up to Edinburgh and prepared for the long days ahead. We were only going to be away for three days, but, somewhere in those three days, we had to fit in four matches and plenty of practice. This was not what we expected! We wanted a holiday away from our parents! Our first opposition was Edinburgh Academy. The B team had a somewhat weak opposition, with Will Entwistle scoring a try in the first seven seconds! After the speedy exploits of Usain Bolt in the Olympics, it seemed only fair to re-name our prop Philip ‘Usain’ Glover. So, the second remarkable play of the game was ‘Usain’ running through most of the opposition, culminating in a superb solo try. ‘Usain’ had made his mark! The rest of the team deserve credit, as the final score was 115–0 to Epsom College! The A team did not do quite as well, but they won 33–12. But there was no rest for the wicked, and no time for celebration, and that evening we went 10-pin bowling, where Mr MacDowel showed just how magnificent he was, by thrashing Mr Kennedy. The next day began with a little ‘culture’. After looking at Edinburgh Castle and seeing the Palace we ventured on to Murrayfield. We had an in-depth tour and saw the facilities for the players, with many of us even getting a close up view of the Calcutta Cup (which England has won more times than Scotland!). The afternoon was much more serious. Our opposition was George Watsons, a huge, all-boys day school, which has produced many Scottish Internationals in the past. Once again, the B team led the way, by defeating the opposition 15–10. For the A team, the pressure was on. If they won, it would be an unbeaten tour and a confident start to the beginning of the season and the Daily Mail National Competition. The team needed to get to the breakdown quicker and the backs needed to support more and give more options to the fly half. The game plan worked, and, once the tries started to be scored, the team became much more confident. The score, in the end, was 19–12 in our favour. For many reasons, it was an extremely successful tour and a great team-building exercise for the up-and-coming term. Thanks go to all the staff who gave up some of their summer holiday to accompany us up to Scotland. George Lindley R U O T Y B G U R A OUTH AMERIC S 93 NDA – UGA E G N E L L A H C WORLD Preparation After a gruelling series of visits to the hospital, for injections to vaccinate against yellow fever, rabies, hepatitis A and typhoid … not to mention the malaria tablets, and a weekend training expedition in Crowborough, where we woke up to snow, we were ready for our expedition to Uganda. Uganda lies in the middle of Africa. It is a green and lush country which has many lakes, the largest being Lake Victoria. The Rwenzori Mountains are in the west and Mount Elgon and other major peaks lie on the eastern side of the country. Uganda has many National Parks; we were able to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park and see a variety of animals, including lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, hippopotamus and buffalo. Uganda also has mountain gorillas, chimpanzees and a lot of birds. Our time in Uganda was divided into four separate phases: Acclimatisation We began this phase a couple of men down, as Ed Mason and Mark ‘Big Sneds’ Sneddon were stuck in Dubai. Unfortunately, Ed had left his passport on the plane, which made it tricky to get on the connecting flight. We flew into Entebbe International Airport and then made our way to Kampala, the 94 capital city. At first it was noisy and dusty, and then the rain came, like you have never seen before – not the Uganda we were expecting. Our guide, Frankie, helped us to exchange money without being ripped off, we then went to the ‘Shoprite’, to stock up on food. We stayed at a backpackers’ campsite and got used to putting our tents up and down. Our next journey took us to Lake Ruzongo. We crossed over the equator and finally arrived to be greeted by over 100 local kids. We played football, we lost, Uganda 3–England 0, then devoured the first of many rice and tasteless sauce meals. But it was better than what was to come. We travelled all across the west side of Uganda, meeting locals, young and old, and even some Italians, also staying at one of our many visited campsites. Eventually, after four or five stops at various destinations, many six-hour bus journeys (in good old Rosa) and finally learning how to work a Tranjia (portable cooker), we had made it to the ‘trekkers’ campsite in Klemebe. As part of the acclimatisation phase, we hiked two of the Buwata Community Trails. They were not easy, but we returned to Klembe and were offered an epic football match, this time complete with national anthems and a referee. An explosive second half finished 4–3 to KTFC, and the crowd screamed ‘Mazungu, Mazungu’ (white man, white man), they loved it. It was a real experience for us. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 Trekking up Mount Elgon We travelled, by bus, from Kampala to Mbale, the base camp for Mount Elgon. However, after more rain, the bus fell into a ditch, and we were forced to complete the journey to the base campsite by foot. The summit of Mount Elgon, at 4,321m (14,176ft), is Uganda’s second highest mountain. The forested terrain on the slopes, followed by open moorland higher up, provided stunning views during the four-day ascent to the highest point, Wagagai Peak. We travelled with a local team of guides, porters and ‘security’, a small army, and reached the peak in record time. It was an incredible high (mentally and physically) and well worth the effort. The descent down the Sasa Route, including several downhill ladders and a ‘wall of death which was painful on the knees, took a mere day and a half. We were very tired and very wet. We were delighted to have a big evening meal, and we then rested for the next couple of days. Project Phase: Salalira Primary School On arrival at Salalira School, we learned that the school had been without fresh water for two terms. The usual capacity of 1,000 children had dwindled to 200. We decided that we would spend quite a large proportion of our budget and pay for the water bill – we also paid for water for another year. The project which we undertook involved continuing on from where a previous expedition had left off, building a new classroom. We bought materials and then started work on the ring beam construction, which will allow another team to build the roof on top. We also built a ladder, scaffolding and timber planking. Unfortunately, rain caused delays, and so we spent time teaching P6/P7 students English, Science and general knowledge about English culture. We mixed concrete with stones, sand, water and cement to put into the ring beam, which was positioned on top of the new classroom walls – which will support the roof construction. We also spent time with the local children, playing football and other games. Rest and Relaxation After completing the trekking and project phases of the expedition, we had a few days of R&R. Then, we all squeezed into yet another minibus and headed for Jinja. We played golf, swam, fished, watched some TV, sampled some Nile beer and even gatecrashed a Christian party! We spent many a night on the town having some laughs; Briscoe had us in stitches for most of the time. Overview We trekked for miles and camped in some of the most remote parts of Uganda; this challenged us both physically and mentally, but we were rewarded with outstanding views of Kenya and Uganda, and a huge sense of achievement from reaching the Wagagai summit. We were greeted and looked after by friendly and generous locals and handed over gifts of books, colouring pencils and pens. We made budget and transport decisions daily and worked as a team to keep the books balanced. We had come a long way since landing at Entebbe International, some 28 days earlier, but all were looking forward to the journey home and the thought of sinking into a long, hot, deep bath (and a Subway). Oliver Borch 95 END S D N A L M O R F CYCLING S T A O R ’G O N H JO TO where the scenery was spectacular and the roads quiet, they enjoyed spectacular descents, achieving speeds up to 79km/h. Day three was to provide the stiffest challenge so far, with heavy rain, headwinds, seven punctures and a broken crank arm, requiring Jonny to cycle one-footed into Wigan. Day four brought the halfway stage, in very heavy rain, again, but also the epic experience of reaching the summit of Shap, in the Peak District. From here, it was a long, 249km-slog into Edinburgh, through a landslide in the Borders. By day five the pain was beginning to kick in, with sore backsides, knees, Achilles tendons and a general stiffness in the muscles, which took a good couple of hours to cycle out each morning! The ascent into the Highlands in day four and five was spent enjoying what scenery we could see through the teeming rain and trying to position the backsides on the saddle to ease the pain. However, the sun shone on the far side of the Cairngorms, and, after ascending the 1,200ft, we enjoyed coasting down to Inverness, where we saw John O’Groats, on the road signs, for the first time. In the first week of the summer holidays, Rob Johnstone and Graham Kennedy, from the Epsom College Common Room, accompanied by Jonny Foley, an old Marlboroughian, took on the challenge of cycling from the southernmost point to the northernmost point of the UK. This was done in order to raise money for Cancer Research. This involved cycling a distance 1,320km over six and a half days, with a heart-stopping and bottomnumbing 933km over the first four days, before they hit the Highlands of Scotland. On their way, they would face considerable adversity. In numerical terms, this would entail 20km/h headwinds for four days, 13 punctures, burning 8,000 calories a day and an average of 189km/day. This involved 5am starts followed by days of up to 10 hours in the saddle. Starting in hilly Cornwall, where the roads were as smooth as a baby’s bottom, but, also, unfortunately, as busy as one, progress was swift but unrelenting, as the three competed against heavy traffic on the flatter, but hectic, A30. Crossing the Severn into Wales, on day two, 96 Despite the slight shock of being overtaken, near Dornoch, by two very overweight men on a tandem bicycle travelling down a steep hill at 84km/h, we managed to scrape into John O’Groats with a tail wind and glorious sunshine, to finish at lunchtime on the seventh day. Despite the extreme nature of this endurance event, it was an incredible experience, and we were very grateful for all the support we received, both on and off the road. Your generosity has, thus far, raised just under £3,000 for Cancer Research UK. Many thanks. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 97 HOUSE NOTES Carr House Housemaster M. Day Esq Tutors F. C. Drinkall M. R. Read Esq T. S. Cooper Esq M. D. Hobbs Esq G. D. Kennedy Esq Head of House L. Davies Deputy Head of House M. Polkey Let’s get straight to the most important date of the College calendar, 4 October, The inter-house Choral Competition. Forget the solo competition, forget the part-song competition, the only cup that matters is the unison. Hours and hours and hours of practice finally culminated in Carr House being announced as the winners of the Murray Young Unison Cup, leaving all other Houses clutching at thin air. To quote our esteemed Housemaster: “The Unison Cup shows that a House is united and working towards one common goal and cause, it is the single most important and coveted trophy that any House can wish to win”. And yes, boys, we won it! Special mentions must go to Keval Patel for leading us through the many rehearsals on the piano. Also, to Mr Kennedy for his highly skilled and talented input, and we are all very sad that his talents are now to be wasted in Fayrer House. Finally, to Edward Ariel, for his inspiring enthusiasm – we well know the triumph would not have been possible without him (House colours were awarded to Ed and also to George Frazer for his efforts in leading the part song). To quote the adjudicator’s official report, we produced “Extraordinary conducting” and “Singing with real spirit and energy”. Well done everyone! 98 Moving onto more music success: Anthony Gillan achieved grade 8 on the flute with merit, Christopher Hardy grade 7 on piano and Jack Frazer grade 6 with merit. As well as music, Carr House had a great input into the drama productions at Epsom, particularly backstage. The stunning production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd saw Carr dominate the credits of the production team with Mr Read as Stage Manager and Will Broad, Alex Siba and Adam Webb responsible for the very advanced lighting during the performance. Then, in the summer performance of George Orwell’s 1984, Kush Chatrath was Stage Manager and Alex Siba and Adam Webb were, once again, part of the lighting/technical team who are essential for the success of a production. Each end of term final roll saw Carr House collect many academic prizes. In the Michaelmas Term final roll, Jack Barrass won a GCSE Prize for nine A*s and Stuart Briscoe and Matthew Wynne won the Ann Hood Prize for 10 A*s. In the summer term final roll, the boys of Carr House raked in the prizes: Alex Scales won the Chemistry Prize, Max Dialdas the History Prize and George Lindley the Physics Prize. Danny Bradshaw won the Dodd Speech Prize, Matthew Wynne picked up not only the Cunning Nutrition Essay Prize but also the Sterry Divinity Prize. Edward Ariel was also a double prizewinner, with the Theatre Studies Prize and the Religious Studies Prize. Sam Harley won the National Sporting Award and Gautham Shankar the Sealey Physics Prize. Carr is not so well known for its achievements in CCF. However, this changed during 2007/2008, as Danny Bradshaw became best cadet and Matthew Wynne became best NCO. The Junior and Senior teams both performed well on AGI day. We also had Alex Brunton-Reed, Henry Cheetham, Xavier Dialdas, Pete Nichols and Marcel Van Wyk achieving their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 In the Sports Department, Carr House continued to excel. The Michaelmas Term was host to many events that we did well in. Particularly, the much-anticipated cross-country competition! The M4s did outstandingly well by coming second. Special mentions to Ciaran O’Duffy, who won the race by 11 seconds, and to Danilo Bardella, who came in third (House colours were awarded to both for their superb effort). At the Intermediate distance Alex Dowle finished 10th, and at the Senior distance Luke Davies, Gareth Blease, Stuart Briscoe and James Frewin all finished in the top 30. The great turnout, from nearly all the boys in the House, and the huge effort from everyone deserved a better finish than sixth overall. Next were the swimming championships. We finished second overall only to a very strong Fayrer team, however, we won the U14 and the Standards Cup. Special mentions go to Alex Norris, who won the 50m breaststroke; Connor Payne, who came second in the 100m backstroke, and Seb Weingartshofer, who came second in the 50m butterfly. We also won the U14 4 x 25m medley and freestyle relays, and the same again in the Seniors’ competition. A great all-round House effort! We did not fare so well on the rugby pitch this year, with the U4s coming sixth and the M4s coming fourth. However, Luke Davies, James Frewin and Max Polkey all represented a very successful College 1st XV. It was much the same story on the hockey field, as the Juniors came seventh in the interhouse competition. Max Polkey, Connor Payne, Gwyn Page, Seb Weingartshofer, Connor Payne, Jaymish Patel and James Frewin all played for the College 1st team. The Senior House football was an epic story this year. From the kit arriving late, to potential last-minute winners, from diving headers to penalty saves. Captained by James W-G, Carr began with a very average loss, 2–1 to Holman. But then the kit arrived, and everything changed – we went on a rampage – with some exceptional performances from Gareth Blease and the captain. But the most important performance was from Andrew ‘Becks’ Bever, who scored the crucial 5th goal against neighbours Propert, in a tough 5–1 victory. A crunch game arrived against Granville, and we could only manage a draw, when we so badly needed a win. Even a 9–2 thrashing of Robinson couldn’t get us into a position to win overall. We were too far behind going into the last game to be able to win, but there was always pride to play for. The final game, against eventual winners Forest, went all the way to penalties, and, after Jack Barrass pulled off a stunning save to his right, James Frewin had no trouble in drilling the ball into the net for the win. A second-place finish was very good, but we all know we could have won if we’d taken all our chances. The summer term saw the arrival of the Athletics Standards Competition for the Junior boys. The U4s’ performance left something to be desired, whereas some of the M4s did outstandingly well – particularly Max Dialdas, who amassed 34 points, Cam Jeffery 35 and George Lindley 36 (House colours were awarded to George). Special mention should also go to Seb Weingartshofer, who represented Surrey in the triple jump. Max also performed very well in tennis, as he won the Junior Boys’ Trophy and House colours. In addition, Stuart Briscoe partnered Helena Mortimer to victory in the Senior mixed doubles tennis competition, and House colours were awarded to him as well. Stuart also partnered Gwyn Page as one of the College’s 1st team boys’ tennis pairs. Pete Nichols represented the College in the 1st XI cricket and he collected the fielding award. None of the success achieved by Carr House in 2007/2008 would have been possible without the help and guidance of our Housemaster, Tutors, Head of House, Prefects and U6th. On behalf of the House, I would like to thank Mr and Mrs Day, Mr Cooper, Mrs Drinkall, Mr Kennedy, Mr Read, Mr Hobbs, Luke Davies and Max Polkey for all that they have done for the House. And last, but by no means least, I would like to thank Sue and her team for looking after us so well! It is a sad note to end on, but we must bid farewell to Mr Read, who departs after seven years’ loyal service in the House, to find pastures new in the West Country at Bryanston School. He will be much missed. Mr Kennedy, after a brief foray in the House, has left to take up his position as Fayrer House resident tutor, and we wish him great success in that new role. We very much look forward to welcoming Mr Thomas and Miss Crossland to the House, in September 2008, as new tutors in Carr. Crawfurd House Where on earth could I possibly start? As to be expected, a million and one things have somehow been crammed into one academic year. Ranging from various academic successes to interhouse sporting victories, we Crawfurdians have definitely managed to keep up appearances with another enormously successful year. The year started off at its usual pace. Despite being used to the familiar chaos that comes with attending Epsom College, most of us were swept off our feet as the term broke into full swing. September became October almost immediately, and with October came the long-awaited Choral Competition. As Maddy White took to the stage, umbrella in hand, the sense of expectation was tangible. We did well in our rendition of ‘It’s Raining Men’, blurting out a quaver here and a crescendo there. Seemingly, however, the head judge was not of the same opinion. When it was revealed, after a long and tiring day of singing, that our unison had finished second to last, there was uproar amidst the masses. Not to appear ungracious in defeat, we kept our heads high, barely flinching as the news that our part song had also failed to gain a place in the top 5 was flung upon us. It was only as we gorged ourselves on Domino’s pizza, post-defeat, in an attempt to ease the pain, that the realisation settled in. The judge just couldn’t handle us, it was that simple. Cross country soon raced around the corner, and, with its arrival, our losing streak ceased to exist. Jo Boddy did us proud by finishing first, by miles, in the Intermediate Cup, followed by Tamsin Barber in U4 who came in at fourth place. Carina Lindberg of L6 and Sophie Glaas of M4 also placed themselves in the top 10 for their various age groups, and it would be wrong of me not to mention Lauren Bowman and Lucy Murray, of the 5th form, who valiantly trundled in right at the back to win the wooden spoon. Good effort, guys, at least you finished. 99 HOUSE NOTES The U16 interhouse hockey tournament was a tense affair, but, after securing a 2–0 win against Wilson, we battled on to eventually beat Raven on penalty flicks, and thus defended our title for the third year running. The end of term neared, and, as it did, Megan Abram and KJ seemed to disappear off the face of the planet in the run up to a hugely successful performance of The Duchess of Malfi. At the end of term we were forced to say goodbye to Angela, our immensely passionate and caring Housekeeper, and bubbly Nicole the gappie. Mrs Keevil just about managed to keep it together as we congregated in the Common Room to bid farewell to them both, but it was a sad event nonetheless. As the Lent Term began, so did Hannah Patel’s reign as Head of School (our first in ages, it was nice to steal the title from Wilson for once), and Clara Liddell took up her new post as Head of House. Despite an outbreak of the norovirus, most of us managed to soldier on, occasionally remembering to wipe down any keyboards we ended up using. Anna, Carina and Suzie then did us all proud on the sporting front by finishing in the top 10 of the Hendelah Waley Cup. By the time the soirée arrived, the ‘noro’ had retreated and the whole of Crawfurd was fighting fit. What a result. Suzie Blunt gave a terrifyingly accurate portrayal of Mrs Keevil (joking, Miss ...), which had the audience in fits of laughter, and Talia and Lucy wowed us all with a beautiful rendition of ‘Defying Gravity’, from the Broadway musical Wicked. A special mention must also go to Vicky Piper, who pulled off the part of the Big Bad Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood with incredible ease. What great acting skills you have, Grandma. After half term, disaster was in the air, as Hattie had her wrist battered in rugby, Mrs Irvine was rushed to hospital with appendicitis and Elspi suffered a chipped tooth just before a 100 trumpeting competition (which she somehow won anyway). But, in true Crawfurd spirit, they struggled on. Our theatre trip to Mamma Mia was a huge success, thank you so much Wozza for getting us such fabulous seats. I think the opening notes of ‘Waterloo’ were ringing around the Crawfurd corridors for many a month afterward. With the Easter holidays came Miss Thornley’s wedding, which, I hear, was a lovely occasion. Congratulations, Mrs Woolmer. Numbers dwindled with the arrival of study leave, but stress levels remained consistent, and no one killed anyone, so lots can be said for that. Much to the satisfaction of the 5th and U6th forms, the L6th were obliged to return to the College post-exams. With their return, came the announcement of the new Head of House, Suzie Blunt, who slipped into Clara’s shoes with admirable ease. The entire year took on the roles of acting prefects quickly and professionally, which is a credit to them all. More triumphs came flooding in for Crawfurd, with Kara Heggs winning the U4 Dodd Speech Prize and Janine Zager winning for the M4s, and, as expected, the Epsom College pace continued up to the very last day. As per usual, we all achieved a huge amount and put in a massive amount of effort; well done, team, long may it continue. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 Fayrer House Housemaster: P. J. Williams, Esq. House Tutors: D. J. R. Campbell, Esq., J. M. Drinkall Esq., Ms N. C. Morrow, Dr S. A. Wade, Mrs S. E. Williams Head of House: G. Lowe As the summer holiday came to an end, the boys returned to Fayrer expecting an intense year, as PJ looked to continue his legacy of success into the final year of his 15-year tenure as Housemaster. The summer had set the tone for the coming year, with good exam results across the top three years – the U6th being particularly successful. Even Monkey managed to exceed his own expectations. AS and GCSE results were also impressive, thus giving a good academic foundation to the year – even in Fayrer! Before the House could resume its domination of the Michaelmas sporting competitions, the boys were moved out of their comfort zone to face the always widely enjoyed Choral Competition. This year’s unison was ‘I Will Survive’, which, when performed with some well-drilled actions, was clearly a crowd favourite, though it didn’t quite achieve its deserved place on the scoreboard. The part song was probably best forgotten (sorry chaps!), whilst Dan Bailey sang ‘Danny Boy’ for the solo, in a highly stirring fashion, and was very unlucky to not be placed. Musical success continued this term for the House, with regard to exams, with Simon Jennings achieving grade 6 in singing. The next major inter-house competition was the cross country. PJ’s rigorous training routine had seen an unbroken winning streak throughout his reign as Housemaster, and he wasn’t going to let up in his final year. Hard work resulted in wins for both the Junior and Intermediate age groups, and the overall trophy. The M4s managed to achieve a remarkable nine in the top 12, led in by Ali Porter in second place. Joe Toomey cruised to victory in the Intermediate race, whilst Felix Hugger inched Max Eden on the line to take the Senior crown. Further cross-country success was gained by Joe, who was district runner-up the following week, and he has gone on to represent Surrey on a regular basis. The House was also successful in rugby. George Lowe captained the 1st XV, which had a strong Fayrer contingent in it, and A teams lower down the College were similar. Strong performances for the College were mirrored with successes in the House competitions, where good efforts by the U4 and 6thform teams and a win by the M4s, along with an incredibly exciting win in the 5th-form competition, won Fayrer the overall touch rugby shield. Other rugby awards included Major Colours for both George Lowe and Joe Trayfoot. Other sporting successes in the Michaelmas Term included total domination of the swimming pool, in which the James brothers led the Fayrer team to an overwhelming victory. Rupert James claimed the Smith Boys’ 100m Cup, whilst he shared the Huxter Boys Individual Cup with his brother, Guy. Fayrer also thrived in the less mainstream sports, winning the Junior boys’ table tennis, with a team ably led by Ben Choi, and winning the House volleyball competition. The Lent Term began with modules for all L6th and U6th, and books and files were hastily opened, as the Senior members of the House tried to quickly prepare. The 5th form, too, had their first experience of ‘serious’ exams, and the usual panic from them ensued. However, attention soon returned to House competitions, and, after a questionable defeat to Carr in the Great Egg Race, the House were determined to retain the House Pancake Race Trophy, which ended in a tie with Holman. As always, the House performed well in all sports. Top hockey teams were filled with Fayrer boys throughout the College, and, unsurprisingly, the House claimed both the Junior and Senior House hockey competitions. In other sports, the House had similar success. George Lowe led the 1st VII to the Sussex 7s title, whilst squash captain Matt Costain led the College to another successful season, with U4 Chris Parkinson also proving himself as a new member of the 1st V. Fayrer boys were also prominent in the shooting team, with Sam Hunter and Nick Beesley representing Great Britain as well as the 101 HOUSE NOTES College. In addition, Felix Hugger and Joe Toomey received cross-country cups as recognition for what was a highly successful season for them. Aside from sport, the now well-established chess captain, Rob Wolstenholme, along with his wing men Ed Rushen, Andrew Leung and Guy James, stormed to victory in the inter-house chess, continuing Fayrer’s tradition of dominance, in the most intellectual of House competitions. Fayrer was also well represented on AGI day, though didn’t pick up any awards, and the term ended with the usual exhortations from PJ to work hard over the Easter holiday as “the exams will be upon you before you know it”! As usual, not many took notice of this, so the return to College for the summer term was the regular panic, as tests and revision got under way. Quiet hours were strictly enforced with PJ patrolling the House with even greater regularity and an even shorter temper! Most members of the House still found time to enjoy the usual games of football and tennis just outside the back of the House – and at least there were no broken windows this year! In House competitions, we stormed to success in the athletics finals on Founders’ Day and also in the Standards Competition, but were less successful in the cricket – losing to Propert in the final. In the tennis we managed to trouble the opposition, and, in all sports, were hefty contributors to College teams once again. So the year drew to a close and the usual goodbyes were said: to George ‘Borat’ Lowe and Matt Chasey, who both led the House with distinction. To Freddie, Harding-Edgar, Woostie, Andrew and Nutters; and to Ed ‘I like my sofa’ Rushen, Bowman, Guy James, Oli ‘pie boy’ Lloyd, Masons, Sam Hunter and Roger. A farewell party was arranged for Mr and Mrs Williams on the last Sunday of term, and was attended by a huge number of past and present boys and parents to pay tribute to their time in Fayrer. Mr Williams spoke fondly of his years in Fayrer, following an amusing and entertaining summary of 15 years of life in Fayrer by Mr Drinkall. We obviously wish Mr and Mrs Williams well for the future, along with their sons, as they embark on a new life at Epsom, and thank them for all they have done. We also welcome Mr and Mrs Head and their family to the House and, as an ex member of Fayrer, have no doubt that Mr Head will continue the traditions of the House. So, that’s it really! Another successful year full of laughter, fun, success and hard work. Well done everyone – and good luck to Jarred and the team for next year. 102 Forest House [Max won’t mention that he was chosen to be Head of School – the first for Forest in six years – and he was rated as one of the best there has been in recent times – well done Max! This allowed Janil Ramesh to step up as Head of House.] Well, where to start? Another momentous year in Forest’s proud history. Best to go in chronological order, so as to forget as little as possible. As usual, at the beginning of the year, the House’s energy was focused on the choral competition. Practice for the unison was on schedule, but panic did ensue after the part song was performed for the House, and it was mediocre, to say the least. After 24 hours of toil, with five minutes here and there, it seemed ready. Harry Falconer led the part song through those dark hours, and, in the cabin of his room and with sheer focus, we found harmony together and knew our rendition of R. Kelly’s ‘Ignition’ was going to set the roof on fire. After a rousing speech to the troops from Alex Davie, easily comparable to Churchill, we proudly marched to the drama studio for a final rehearsal. There, Richard Bath surprised us all with his solo performance. The bravest and most talented of all of us, his final delivery was excellent, gaining the respect of the whole House for what he did. With blazers inside out (genius from Jamie) and hair slicked back, the part song boys looked as smooth as they sounded, and their dance moves had the crowd stunned. Tighe and Morrison’s booming bass kept the rhythm for Hack, Otis and Harvey’s melodies. This was a memorable moment that won us second place, and will be remembered for a long time. Tom Hatton strode straight from the part song to conduct our unison with aplomb. Spirits were high for days after the competition, and the College knew who the real winners were. Focus was soon turned to the cross-country competition, and everyone was keen to repeat the previous year’s success. There EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 were hard training sessions for weeks. I was proud to see many of our Juniors feed off the Seniors’ determination – seeing mini-Borch push himself on a final lap of training was certainly motivation for me, and is a moment still very clear in my memory. After one more session around Chapel under fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night, the day came. Step up once more Al Davie, this time comparable to Henry V, he poetically called for a monumental effort, and he then proceeded to lead on the course. The Seniors won for a second year in a row with excellent performances from Al, Tom, Ben, Jonny Blackburn and Trepant, with the ‘General’ Janil, calmly and coolly bringing up the rear. [Max is too modest here to add that he stepped back on the line to allow the overseas Fayrer runner – brought in on a free transfer for one season – to win the race, rather than see him fly into the crowd as they tussled for the victory, an act of sportsmanship that impressed everyone who witnessed it.] Also, in the Michaelmas Term, several boys performed in the College play The Duchess of Malfi, with outstanding performances from Nick Conner and Chris Tighe, whilst, later in the year, Richard Trepant performed in the outstanding Sweeney Todd musical. At the same time, there was a very successful Epsom rugby season underway, thanks largely to many Forest boys. Robbie Macdonald, Ollie Dennis and Tom Williams showed real promise in their first seasons representing the A and B teams, while Ed Bellringer and Josh Allen had strong seasons as part of a good Daily Mail U4 squad. Jamie Falconer led the 5thform A team, as captain, with explosive pace and a good rugby brain. He looks set for a good two years in the College 1st team. Nick Thomas had a solid season, and, when not plagued with illness, is one of the strongest players in his year. Otis Earle moved between scrum-half and full back with his quick feet, and developed as a player 10-fold with hard work that was also seen in the athletics season. In the Seniors, Harry Falconer had a good season with some performances in the 2nd team and as a solid rock for the 3rds. Blackburn (Brazil under 20s), Trepant (France under 20s), Faccini (Italy under 20s) and Nick Conner (Malaysia under 20s) worked hard for 2nd and 3rd team caps, helping to make it one of the strongest Forest rugby seasons for years. The soirée was memorable for several reasons: it was the first in a refurbished Big School, and, after Harry and Tom and I murdered a Kings of Leon song, the night was full of talent and fun. Mark and Alex did a sterling job as hosts, to a tough crowd! We find you funny! Your humour kept us going towards the end of the year. James Corbett produced the performance of the evening by a mile with his violin, although the most memorable moment was the Falconer episode, for which Harry is still, apparently, receiving therapy! The football season saw Harry Falconer captain the 1st team from centre back, earning major colours. It was a privilege to serve next to him, with the ‘General’ playing defensive midfield in front of us, and Josh Memour commanding the offside line next to us. Ben CareyLampard had a solid season in the 2nds, with Chris ‘Flush’ Tighe, Mark and Tom. This group, plus Blackburn, Norman, Blunden, Adegboye, Otis and Jamie, saw an undefeated Forest team win the football cup. Harry was a little bitter about not being the top scorer, but he didn’t do too badly. The crowd at the sideline, at every match, showed why we are so lucky to be in Forest, and what a band of brothers we are! Before we knew it the summer term was upon us, the U6th already feeling nervous of exams and leaving in general. Nevertheless, there were strong cricket performances in the House. Josh Allen played for the U4 1st team and continued his success with Surrey, all under our ‘General,’ Janil’s wing. He earned Major Colours after four years in the 1st team, a dedicated servant to College cricket. Ed Bellringer was the other outstanding cricketer, with a couple of half centuries at the crease. Guy, Hack and Josh Phillips bossed the Senior tennis team without managing to collect a single inter-house trophy amongst the three of them! There was excellent athletic ability shown by Max and Richard Trepant, in the Seniors, representing the College in long distance and steeplechase, with the former winning the 800m and 1500m on Founders’ Day. Otis, as always, was sterling in the same events for the College Intermediate team. Tighe and Kla dominated the gym, and everyone was in high spirits as the exams closed in. After the exams, Forest celebrated its 50th year in its present location. Unfortunately, the U6th were ‘helping communities overseas’ so couldn’t be there, but were sad to miss it. Many familiar faces came back home! The L6th did very well in their AS levels, an academically talented year, there were many straight As and excellent performances, including Blunden and Chris Davie, who have now seriously increased everyone’s expectation of them next year. Coincidentally, they kissed and made up and are now friends again! Lisle Chase (UCL), Mark Hempstead, Kla Athakravi (LSE) Jason Tong and Tom (University of Life) had outstanding grades in the U6th. Good luck to all the boys at their respective universities. Now is a good time to say a few thank yous: to Yvette, the ladies and Ken, from all of us, on the help and friendship you gave to us; to the tutors – Mr Irvine, Mr Hibbitt, Mr Henson and Mr Gillespie; to Mr Case, who sadly left us at Christmas to take up a well-deserved promotion as chaplain at St John’s after five great years in the House; and, finally, to Mr Bustard, for the wonderful time. Here’s to many more glorious years at the bottom of the hill, under the sun, with friends in Forest! 103 HOUSE NOTES Valete: Kla Athakravi, Ben Carey-Evans, Lisle Chase, Alex Davie, Max Eden (Head of School – Michaelmas), Harry Falconer, Tom Hatton, Marc Hempstead, Janil Ramesh (Head of House), Oliver Rayburn, Christopher Tighe, Jason Tong, James Wilson, Nathaniel Burns. Salvete: Max Austin, Jack Bainbridge, Richard Barth, William Borch, Melvin Chow, James Corbett, Oliver Dennis, Robbie MacDonald, Angus Martin, Tim Plumbridge, Thomas Williams, Andy Wong. Max Eden Granville House The start of the Michaelmas Term brought the usual flurry of anxious activity, but it was not long before all the newcomers began to feel more at home in the House of ‘red and black’. The term would be dominated by the three Cs (Chapel service, Choral Competition and Cross-country), and the House put in a great effort in every regard. Granville’s Chapel service was hailed, by common consent, to be the best of the year, featuring a clear moral message, a 5thform chorus and a rap from the pulpit containing the memorable line – ‘Let’s go back to 00 AD, life in Bethlehem was a little bit crazy’! Moreover, in the Choral competition, Tom Burgess’ fourth spot in the solo and the fifth place in the part song were further highlights of the opening weeks. While the ample unison preparation did not quite pay off on the day, the spirits of the troops were raised by some outlandish images of MALT and ‘Thumper’ held aloft before proceedings began! There were also some very notable achievements in the cross country. The House finished fourth overall, but excellent individual performances in their age groups included Ben Francis (seventh), Ben Crouch (20th) and Rhodri Needham (16th). As always, it was a relief to end the trauma of Chapel triangles and return to the normality of prep (and toasties). The Michaelmas Term was also characterised by exceptional sporting triumphs, in areas as varied as fencing, shooting, squash and swimming. In rugby, however, the Granville boys surpassed themselves, winning the Senior inter-house rugby competition and attaining numerous awards. Greg Newman received the Most Improved Player Award, James Crisp the Most Consistent Player Award and, in tandem with the others, Max Page gained Major Honours. Well done also to Gus Field and Robbie Gillespie, two further stalwarts of an outstanding 1st XV. Special Granville praise should also go to Rhodri and Charlie, a seminal half-back pairing in the 2nds, who ended the season unbeaten, with DJRC bursting blood vessels of pride. As always, Matt Goodyear’s superb organisation was in full view in the swimming gala (in which we finished fourth), and a noteworthy end of term event involved the House volleyball, with the hastily assembled team ‘learning on the job’ and proving that fitness is sometimes more important than technique. Alas, in the M4s, the excitement of the impending Xmas holidays was tempered slightly by the loss of ‘Yerbury’, after one term, as his family was relocating to Australia. He had proved himself an amazing academic and his eccentricity blended in well with his roommates! Nonetheless, after another successful term, all looked forward to the holiday and even hanging around, with little to do, for the final two days of term did not dampen the spirits too much. Inevitably, however, a sense of doom crept in with the AS/A2/GCSE exams at the start of the New Year, and the tone was set for much of the Lent Term! Nonetheless, the House was well represented in the hockey squads and the 1st XI contained Greg (as captain), Max, Matt and Rhodri. Although success was thin on the ground in the course of the season, all offered significant contributions and a healthy challenge was initiated in the House competition (narrowly missing 104 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 out in a penalty shoot-out on the day). However, never let it be said that Granville is only a sporting House, for, in Sweeney Todd, Tom Burgess, Greg and Charles Rivett-Carnac demonstrated, beyond all measure, that true drama excellence colours the corridors of the College’s ‘premier House’. The weeks, and months, of endeavour paid off in some spectacular performances, and all were proud of their efforts. With the advent of the summer term, and the Wilson pitch frolics, the mood of the House lifted immeasurably, with the U6th increasingly looking to the future and the prospect of sampling university life! As always, Founders’ Day proved to be a superb occasion, with Will Freeman being recognised as Victor Ludorum of his year (with victories in the 100m, 100m hurdles, triple jump and finishing second in the 200m), Harrison Mead and Tom Gray striding home one/two in their 800m event and Olly Ramagge being awarded the Lord Burghley Champagne Bucket for the (earlier) House Standards competition. Another magnificent aspect of the day involved watching the (rather rusty) Senior 400m team strive to remain unlapped and feign injury at every possible opportunity. Granvillians also featured prominently in other sports, with ‘Captain Fantastic’, and Head of House, Matt Goodyear, winning the Senior singles in the tennis and the doubles with Ollie Clayton. The L6th and U6th also continued the House’s fine reputation in cricket, with both Max Page and (more surprisingly for a fast bowler!) Charlie Mortimer smashing their way to centuries in the course of the season. Max deserves a special mention for winning Double Major Colours, the batting salver, best all-rounder and the Eric Radcliffe Award. Before leaving sporting matters, let’s not forget the so-called ‘minor’ ones: Johnny Malynn and Olly Ramgge were both instrumental in the U15 squash team, coming third in the National Championships (an outstanding achievement); Charles R-C and Ben Ross were both involved at Bisley for the target rifle, with Charles helping to return the Ashburton Shield to Epsom, and who can forget ‘Team Granville’ in the Saturday softball extravaganza, gaining an epic Granville victory and changing the modern face of the sport! As befits such an academic House (!), Granville was awash with prizes at the close of the year. Dom Behar and Curtis Man picked up 5th-form prizes, Jaeho Chung gained a remarkable four prizes (an excellent recruit from Robinson!), John Lee, Leonard Leung and Ed Leung Zheng all attained L6th prizes, and, fittingly, Gus Field, Robbie Gillespie, Matt Goodyear, Max Page and Terrence Tai were all rewarded colours in their final year. Prize-giving was, therefore, a significant affair, and the depth of Granville awards reflected the hard work of the chaps throughout the year. Alas, 2007–2008 was also a year of goodbyes. We bade farewell to our excellent gappie, Gus, from Australia, who proved a true Granvillian in every way and was a tower of strength in every setting. Thanks for all your efforts big man! His two replacements, Richard and Sean, proved big hits in differing ways, with Sean offering his own unique Zimbabwean take on life at every opportunity. We also lost the irreplaceable Jean, Housekeeper extraordinaire and member of Granville for over 24 years! In addition to keeping the boys and a succession of HMMs on their toes, she always offered a caring and wise approach to every situation, not to mention excellent treats at break time! We will miss her, and we all thank her for the unstinting care and devotion to the men in ‘red and black’. It goes without saying, of course, that the increasingly smooth running of the House would not have been possible without the abundant talents of the U6th, and Matt, as Head of House, deserves special credit for this. We also wish his successor, Charlie Mortimer, the best of luck in this demanding role. Thanks must also go to MALT and the tutor team, together with Jean’s House staff, for keeping all on track, and we wish Mr Young well as he pursues a new venture as resident tutor of Holman. Valete: James Crisp, Angus Field, Oliver Foster, Jack Fraser, George Freeman, Robbie Gillespie, Matthew Goodyear, Peter Keohane, Greg Newman, Max Page, Terrence Tai and Alex Yerbury. Salvete: Ben Crouch, Ben Grant, Sebastian Jennings, Matthew Man, Oliver Polkey, Oliver Ramagge, Ben Ross, Alex Whitehead, James Williams, Xavier Williams and Alex Yerbury. Holman House As usual, the year began with an expectant buzz. Upon arrival we were greeted with 12 new M4’s, two new U4’s and one new L6th – a certain Will McCarren, who had transferred over from Rosebery. As is the way in recent years with Holman, on the first Sunday we had a social day to introduce the new pupils and make them feel welcome. With true Holman spirit, we had a 5-a-side football tournament, followed by a treasure hunt. The evening concluded with a barbeque arranged by Mr Holiday. Not only was the day enjoyable, but the new M4s and U4s could now feel part of Holman House. The main bulk of fun early on was focussed on the eagerly anticipated House Choral Competition, and shortlists for this year’s unison were soon circling the House. Much credit is deserved by Foxy, Henri, Ms Chandley and Mr Holiday, for the enthusiastic help they gave during practice sessions, helping the House to win the part song and come second in the unison, performing ‘Shine’ extremely well, with some great conducting from Foxy. Anthony McGhee gave an outstanding performance for the second year running in the solo, and came very close to winning. Well done to him. Holman won the overall trophy and maintained their excellent record of the past five years. A good number of the House were involved in the College production of The Duchess of Malfi, with lead roles for Ben Scarles, Tom Harty, Edmund Peppiatt and Chris Devitt. In the 6th form Dodd Speaking Prize, Lawrence Ching delivered a brilliant speech to claim the award and continue Holman’s success during the term. Rugby always proves a major part of the Michaelmas Term for many in the House, with boys representing all levels of teams 105 HOUSE NOTES Throughout the year, the Chapel Choir performed to a high standard, leading numerous services at various venues. Holman were the most represented boys House and were led by our very own Henri Trépant, the Choir Prefect. throughout the College. Special mentions go to Will Brown, Tom Harty and Chris Devitt for their efforts in the Junior Colts, reaching the Daily Mail Cup quarter finals. Jite Avwunu, Ben Scarles, Max Denning and Will Shaw continued their good performances from last year into the Colts, and, at Senior level, Foxy, Leigh Cresswell and Patrick Sweeney were regular 3rdteam players who, after the arrival of their new shirts, actually looked quite good! Tino Charanba and Tom Key also played key roles and managed a few 2nd-team caps, where they joined Jamie Gillespie and Tom Brown, who put in some awesome displays – most notably against Wellington College. More success came in House rugby, with the Senior’s winning the plate against Forest in the final. Moving on from rugby, the annual cross-country race brought out some very determined runners, with Leigh Cresswell and Patrick Sweeney giving excellent performances. In the swimming gala, Henry Awin deserves a special mention for his contribution, and, in House table tennis, Holman’s team victory meant we were the first to take the trophy from Fayrer since records began. Well done to Raj Sahni, Patrick Sweeney, Alec Laing and captain Tyrone Leung. The other major news in the term was the discovery of ‘Halo’, and the Doctor spent many a night ‘saying goodnight!’ The Lent Term saw hockey take over from rugby, and the traditional Holman contingent, led by resident tutor Mr Head, all proved that the extra training throughout the rugby terms helps. Will Shaw had a great season for the Colts, while Alec Laing and Patrick Sweeney led the banter in the 2nd team with Mr Kennedy. Patrick broke into the 1st XI team towards the end of the season, where he joined Jamie Gillespie, who was vice captain for the season. Patrick is to be captain of hockey next year. Holman’s enthusiasm towards hockey was shown in the Senior House competition, where we were runners-up to Fayrer. 106 Drama played a huge part in this term, with many of the House contributing in the outrageously ambitious and tremendously performed Sweeney Todd, which was greeted with great appreciation by the College. Anthony McGhee played the crude judge and Henri Trépant played the hilarious Pirelli. Both gave five-star performances in a five-star show. Nick Hammond was in the company and one of Sweeney’s victims, and Jamie and Raj were stage managers for the show. A special well done should go to those people who put in an extraordinary amount of time and effort over two terms, working with Ms Chandley as director. It was described as one of the best ever College productions. Holman have traditionally done well in the AGI Day, and, once again, the House won the overall trophy to ensure that our name remains the only one on the cup! Well done to all who keenly contributed to this success. The contingent was ably led by Cadet RSMs Fox and Gillespie, who confirmed Holman’s dominance of the day. The enjoyable summer term then came along. It had already started on a positive note, with Jamie being appointed as Head of School to be succeeded by Raj as Head of House. In sport, Ashwin Singh, Rhys Thomas, Will Shaw and Ben Scarles played a high level of cricket in the Seniors, and, in tennis, we had many pupils, across different years, in top teams. Tom Harty represented the A team and Charlie Chapman played 2ndteam tennis. Alec Laing represented the College and was 1st pair in the 1st team, gaining full colours. Exam season was starting to loom. We’re glad to say that work did pick up for most; however, the U6th seemed to increase their gym time in preparation for their post-exam trip to Newquay! In this final term, Holman quietened down as study leave arrived and people started to work, with, perhaps, a few films watched here and there …. Overall, the year was very successful from a House perspective, in terms of sport, music and, of course, drama. We continued in the areas where we are traditionally strong and made good ground in others. The year was invariably dominated by the Friday night banter with Mr Head, which turns out to be his EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 last year in Holman, and the antics of ‘X’, which is now well and truly finished. As the year came to end, so did Mr Head’s legendary position as the resident tutor in Holman. Everyone enjoyed his Fridaynight shifts and he will never be forgotten in Holman. He is now becoming Housemaster of Fayrer, and we wish him all the best in his new job and hope he enjoys it with his new X-Box. Good luck to Mr Young, who takes his position as live-in tutor. Also, thanks to Mr Holiday, the House Tutors and House Prefects for ensuring the year went by enjoyably and smoothly. Good luck to Lawrence Ching, as the new Head of House, and his prefects: Leigh Cresswell, Tino Charamba, Anthony McGhee and Patrick Sweeney. A farewell to the U6th, who had some great and enjoyable times in the House over the past five years: all shall be missed and all shall miss Holman’s unique atmosphere. Long may the spirit and success continue into the future! Valete: Alex Fox, Danny Garrett, Jamie Gillespie, David Hosking, Tom Key, Alec Laing, Raj Sahni, Robbie Shaw, Henri Trépant, Dilee Vignarajah and Wilson Wong. Salvete: Jamie Akinlade, Henry Awin, Sam Bonfield, Oli Clark, Gherardo De Nardis Di Prata, Ed East, Jack Garton, Jamie Hanley, Charles Piper, Nick Reid, James Scott, Matthew Taylor, Allen Kim, Jack Martin St Valery and Will McCarren. There were many Propert boys representing the College in rugby at all levels. Adam Cooper, Ollie Crouch, Roland Crouch and Chris York were all part of a very successful 1st XV, only losing one game in their season. The 2nd team participants consisted of Tom Lothian, Pete Matthews, James Phelan and Henry Way, with another successful season going unbeaten. Tom Bliss, Peter McCallum and Tom Flynn played for the Surrey U15 side, and Oliver Weir, Sam Castle and Alex Aves for the U14s. Major colours were re-awarded to Chris York and Full Colours were awarded to Adam Cooper and Ollie Crouch. We weren’t as dominant in the swimming competition as last year, but many House members represented us with merit. Charlie Twyman came second in the 50m freestyle, 25m butterfly and 100m medley, and Tom Flynn finished second in the 50m breaststroke. All age groups finished mid table, and we still finished in a respectable fifth place overall. Apart from the inter-house competition, Propert reached its finest moment with a first-place position in the House standards competition. Well done to all those involved. The Michaelmas Term also entailed another one of Mr Thompson’s memorable soirées, called ‘The Sound of the Rings’, and mixing The Sound of Music with The Lord of the Rings, expectations were high, and the House succeeded with some great moments of humour and action. Many thanks go Raj Sahni and Jamie Gillespie Propert House 2007–2008 was a very significant year for Propert, as it saw Mr Wolstenholme’s first intake of M4s reach the U6th. We also welcomed Mr Zacharias as tutor for the M4 year. As usual, the first of many challenges for the year was the House Choral Competition, with our unique style established by the famous Mr Thompson, ably assisted by Mr Stephens at the piano. Jordan Oldershaw gave an outstanding rendition of ‘Mack the Knife’, to get us of to a great start. Our part song was ‘Beautiful Girls’, which was a hit with the audience – but not the judge! The unison was also well received, but, again, we didn’t catch the judge’s eye. We were positioned third in the solo, third in the part song and mid table in the unison, a respectable result in an excellent competition and a memorable afternoon. This was quickly followed by the cross-country competition, with Adam Cooper and Roland Crouch doing really well, with placings in the top 10. Despite being a very cold day, it was great to see so many Propertians committing themselves to taking on the challenge. Propert’s efforts were good enough for fifth overall. Propert has always performed well in the House Rugby Competition, and this year was no exception. In the Senior competition, Propert reached the final of the Senior Cup where we were narrowly beaten by Granville, and we won the Plate in the Colts with a determined team who had finally earned success after some years of hard work. In the M4 competition, again, Propert just lost out in the final. Above all, though, the U4 team came through for the House, reaching the final and winning the competition. Second place overall showed that we remain a strong competitor for sporting achievements. 107 HOUSE NOTES to Mr Thompson and Mr Stephens for taking time to make the night run smoothly. The Lent Term is dominated, for many, by exams, with mock GCSEs and AS and A2 modules. However, we still managed some good performances in the inter-house hockey. The Seniors ended the competition as Plate winners and the Juniors as runners-up in their competition. Senior football soon followed, with a podium finish of third place being another success, and congratulations also go to members of the House who played in the 1st VII rugby squad. House colours were to be awarded to Jamie Allum, Ollie Crouch, Roland Crouch, Chris York and Ben Everingham, after their efforts in the House hockey. In the spirit of Easter, there was the Great Egg Race, where Propert performed well, finishing in third overall. Propertians next turned their minds to the rhythms of the Solo Music competition. Propert were inspired by musicians like Michael Riddelsdell, who won the beginner drum kit section; Tom Bliss, who won the elementary drum kit section and Tim Cobb, who won the advanced brass section. Not surprisingly, Propert came first overall. As Propert ticked off the boxes in representation for Sports and Music, it was now time to focus their attention to the world of Drama. The College put on a production of Sweeney Todd, with Jordan Oldershaw and John Faal taking lead roles in an excellent performance of the well-known play. In the summer term, we saw the Junior Propert cricket team defeating Fayrer in the final, and, in athletics, the U16s won their age group, with some great individual performances from Tom Flynn, Connor Findlay and Alex Aves. With strong competitors in the M4s and U4s, the House came third overall in the House Standards competitions. A special mention should be given to Alex Aves, who went on to attend the National Finals for the Hurdles in his age group at Gateshead. House colours were given to Peter McCallum, Andrew Matthews, Tom Bliss, Martin Norton Amor, Ed Rosen and Tim Clews for the success in the Junior Cricket Competition. In the Junior School play, Propert was represented by Giles Way. There have been many achievements throughout the year, but there are some unsung heroes among the House who make Propert run as smoothly as it does. I would like to thank Mr Zacharias, Mr Stephens, Dr Hughes, Mr Thompson and Mr Ellison for taking on the challenge of being our tutors. Also, many thanks go to Sue and her cleaning staff for doing a great job keeping the House as clean as possible, despite some Christmas excitement getting out of hand. And last, but far from least, thanks go to Mr Wolstenholme for the commitment and time he put in to making sure everyone was in the right place at the right time. I’m sure everyone in the House would agree that due to everyone’s enthusiasm, good humour and loyalty to the House, 2007–2008 was another outstanding year for Propert. Chris York 108 Raven House Housemistress: Mrs J. Vernon-Harcourt M4 R Tutor and Housemistress of Rosebery elect: Mrs N. Wilson Tutors: Mr Baverstock Miss Butler Miss Evans Mrs Yvon-Case Head of House: Hannah Kent September came and we arrived back from the long summer holiday to find the House had changed again – we had stolen the John Propert room to put the U4s in and Mrs VernonHarcourt had stolen their sofa! We welcomed the biggest group of M4s to the House ever (as we shared the House with the newly formed Rosebery Girls): 21 at the time, shortly joined by Genny Measures to make 22, plus Anna Dixon into the U4, Caroline Lloyd from Crawfurd into the L6th and Mrs Wilson from Wilson too! Realising the choral competition was fast approaching, we started training in earnest. With the song sounding great from the beginning, all that was left to do was overcomplicate things by adding in lots of movements! But, with a true Raven spirit, we braved the sports hall and narrowly came second, both in the unison and overall. Well done everyone – especially Laura Frazer for her valiant effort in the solo! Next was the dreaded cross country! With many questioning just how long it would be, and lots of nervous M4s, we hit the Downs, and the Intermediates won their competition! It didn’t take long for the Christmas holidays to approach, and the House was festively transformed with ‘Secret Santa’ messages being transferred between girls and staff alike. When we got back after Christmas we were reminded that the soirée was just under five weeks away – that meant we all had a lot of preparation to do! But, in true Raven style, we entertained (whether off stage or on!) and put on the best show yet. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 Next up was the much ‘awaited’ interhouse swimming gala! We all showed a really good team spirit and great strength of character – lets face it no one likes getting into a swimming costume in front of a couple of hundred people and not many like thrashing around in the water trying to look like you’re not drowning! And the fact that we won was fabulous! In the summer term, athletics is always an interesting event for Raven, with oodles of teamwork and great results! Special mention goes to Emily Field and Emma Albon. Well done to everyone who took part – the U4s came out winners with the M4 Rosebery coming 1st and the Raven M4s a close second. It really was fantastic that everyone took part, with a wide range of abilities, yet all the same level of Raven enthusiasm. Tennis is always an event much anticipated by all Houses – with a lot of talent and fierce competition. The U4s dominated and emerged the winners! Also, the M4s had an equally proud game coming second. Congratulations to all for your fantastic efforts and even better results. Massive congratulations, once again, to all that took part in the cultural and sporting events. We may not be the biggest House, but we certainly do our best to aim high and have fun! Let’s hope next year is just as impressive! Thank you to all the tutors, prefects and members of staff in the House for their continuous hard work over the past year. Valete: Kate Catterall, Georgina Crate, Sophie Farrelly, Miku Fujita, Hannah Kent, Emma-Jane Langley, Roxanne ManekMacer, Ruth Payne, Mimi Phillips, Michelle Shanahan, Emma Sluman and Abigail Temple. Salvete: Juliet Ariel, Maisie Bayley, Felicity Beckett, Anastasia Bowes, Evie Cody, Sophie Cordery, Susie Durgan, Lauren Higgs, Caitlin Keep, Celine Klein, Sophie Lundsberg-Nielson, Sean McGrath, Genevieve Measures, Rachel Mewett, Margaux Monfared, Polly Norkett, Rebecca Quinlan, Zoe Sciver, Camilla Shopland, Alexandra Smith, Amelia Storr, Rebecca Tattersall, Anna Dixon and Caroline Lloyd. Caroline Ellison, Rosie Andrews and Victoria Harper Robinson House Another year has passed and, yet again, the Robinsonians have shone in many fields, both at the forefront of the College’s mind and in the lesser-known areas of College life. With the loss of Rosebery as a boys’ House came the gain of some former Rosebery boys for Robinson, both in the U4s and L6th. These new recruits fitted right in, and many of us at the end of the year can’t see how they were ever not in Robinson. Whether it was Eduardo Kang helping out in the Junior Robinson hockey team or Will Mitchell showing off some rather suspect haircuts, they have been a welcome addition to the House. Of course, with the new Rosebery boys came the new M4s. As Mr Conway described them, they are a, ‘diverse bunch’ – with sporting, musical and academic prowess on show in their first year. Robinson, yet again, entered into the spirit of the College by entering the inter house choral competition. We gave our best, with Liam Anderson, yet again, coming to the forefront with his solo performance. I, for one, am not quite sure what is going to happen when Liam goes to university, as he has been singing for the House since being an M4; a ‘volunteer’ will have to be found. Alas, the competition seemed to be judged more on dance moves than on quality of voice, and so Robinsonians sat in the crowd in dismay, as we failed to win a place in any of the three sections. But, not ones to dwindle on this disappointment, we launched ourselves into the College cross country. Unfortunately, we were struck by the distinct lack of most of our top runners, with Ivey, Edwards, Nicholson and Anderson away on the day of the big race. However, all was not lost, as top runners for the younger years included Oxley and Shammas, both placed in the top 10 in their races. Alex Oxley also showed his running skills in the 10,000mchallenge by coming top of the Intermediates. We continued to show our new success in athletics on Founders’ Day, by coming second – an achievement unheard of for Robinson! A string of first places came from Kang (who also won the Victor Ludorum), with Edwards, Nicholson and Ivey winning two first places each. ‘But all of these wins came from the Junior end of the House’, I hear you say. But no, Jeremy Evans came first in the long jump and high jump to win the Senior Jumps Cup. It would appear the 6th form aren’t all useless! The Senior years, in fact, outshone the Junior pupils with their achievement in the Senior House football – the first Senior Robinson team in 10 years to not only score goals (no, not just one, but many) but also to actually win a match! It truly has been a good sporting year for Robinson. It was not just team performances that were outstanding on the sporting side, but several of the fine pupils housed within our walls gave their best in their own solo areas. David Boote joined the 1st Golf team and helped them to third place in the HMC national finals; I’m quite sure he is one of the youngest members ever to join that team. Wallace, Hogarth and Brewis also got down to business in the swimming gala, coming first 109 HOUSE NOTES in their disciplines; Hogarth was also named most improved swimmer at the end of the year. Out of the water Sam Wilkinson and Jeremy Evans represented both the 1sts and 2nds for rugby – both teams had highly successful years, no doubt due to the Robinson influence. After we had come in off the sports fields and washed ourselves down, the Robinson army also showed themselves to be quite a cultured bunch (you heard it here first!). As a starter, the Robinson House soirée was a masterclass of comedy, music and acting. It was a really enjoyable evening that shall, hopefully, be repeated every year. School entertainment continued with the College production of Sweeney Todd, producing a stunning performance from Liam Anderson as Sweeney himself – Johnny Depp could have learnt a thing or two from that particular production. The L6th created yet another startling Robinson Chapel service, reproducing the David and Goliath story, a story that somehow turned into Samir Amin atop Jack Cole one on one with Theo Gibson – the art of religious comedy is not dead! While productions popped up here and there, a constant source of entertainment and intrigue was the new College publication, Epithet. Again, Robinsonians showed an intellectual level never before seen, with Messrs Wade and Clayton giving their opinion on such hot topics as Chapel and Saturday school. While they contributed to the interior of the magazine, Al Fekaiki lent a lot to the design of the magazine, as well as providing content inside. A year as successful as this would only be complete with a hefty sum of prizes, and this was exactly what we achieved. Matthew Wade with the GCSE Prize, Daniel Hollington gaining his Academic Exhibition Prize for the 6th form and Wallace, Brewis, Amin, Anderson, Way and Young Han Kim winning prizes in both academic and musical fields, these, on top of the sporting prizes previously mentioned. Indeed, it appears this year will be hard to follow, so, on that note, I will take this chance to say good luck to James Measures, as he takes over as Head of House, and also to say thank you to Mr Conway, from the whole of the U6th, for the five years he has endured with us. Rosebery House In September, the U6th and 5th form began the final year of Rosebery as a boys’ House. We relocated from Rosebery to the Old CCF Armoury, which had been vacated because a new CCFHQ had opened. The building had been designed by us as an open plan area with sitting locations, pool area, work and IT areas, showers and a large brew room. It was an ideal space for us and very soon we felt at home. We had been concerned as to how the two years would get on, but fears quickly disappeared and an excellent atmosphere emerged which was friendly, supportive and proud of our Rosebery traditions. Without the Juniors we took to playing pool, watching current affairs on our 110 new big-screen television and even playing chess. Given our numbers, we were aware that we would not be able to compete seriously in most competitions, but we were determined to be participants, and everything we did, we did wholeheartedly. First off was the House Choral competition. George Lucas performed our solo ‘Black Dress’, which he had written, the partsong was ‘Barabara Ann’ and our unison ‘Talk’, from Pickwick. Many were impressed with our programme, but the adjudicator did not really respond to us. Throughout the year many were involved in performing arts events and all of us played in College sports teams. EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 Anyway, we were good at parties! We had a drinks reception to welcome our parents to the House and another to show staff our new accommodation. We also had some supper and DVD evenings in the House, and visited our favourite curry house in Epsom. Our main focus was obviously to be public examinations. The combination of trial exams, modules and then the summer timetable meant there was quite a scholarly atmosphere, and the results achieved reflected this. The inter-house cross-country training proved gruelling for the contestants, especially as it was compulsory for the new L6th. However, White House members showed themselves to be determined and supportive of one another, as well as developing a desire to win. All this hard work was rewarded with White House finishing an impressive second overall, with seven members finishing in the top 15. This event started the ball rolling for further sporting successes. The L6th girls participated in the Hendelah Waley Competition in a positive Towards the end of the year we had a BBQ, which, because of the weather, we held in the Tuck Shop, but it was a good social evening. Then, at the end of the summer term, there was a large event organised for all who had been in Rosebery over the years. Some 150 Old Roseberians made the effort to visit the College, and they were welcomed by Mr Michael Hampshire and his predecessor Dr David Young. An excellent lunch was had in Big School, during which Tom Chatfield, Brian Chapman, Michael Holiday, Adrian Chapman and Amit Roy gave a concert. There were tours of the campus, which included the renovated Rosebery building. It was an event much appreciated by our visitors. And what for the future? The U6th left and the 5th year joined other Houses for their 6th form. The new Rosebery building was ready for September 2008 and girls arrived. It took a little while to get used to seeing girls in Rosebery shirts! However, they intend to continue the traditions of the oldest Day House in College. Good luck to them all. Our thanks to our tutors, Dr McClure and Mr Thomas, who were so generous with their time and support for our last year together. Also, our sincere thanks to Mr Hampshire who had stayed a further year as Housemaster to be with us. He was eventually able to retire from Housemastering after 16 years. White House The year started with the long-anticipated arrival of the L6th girls, who were warmly welcomed into the House by their fellow students and who would prove to play an important role in the House’s achievements. The early mornings and long days proved a dramatic contrast to the lazy weeks of the summer holiday, and, in true Epsom style, it was not long until we were all thrown in at the deep end with the inter-house choral competition. This provoked huge debate on song titles, and we eventually settled on ‘We’re all in this Together’ from High School Musical, which we felt to be appropriate, as it was all about team spirit. This unison turned out to be an energetic performance, deservedly reaching third place overall with Fran Andrews’ beautiful solo and the soulful part song of ‘Kissed by a Rose’, by Seal, performed by Esther Kwon, Jess Tetley and Fran Andrews. and enthusiastic manner, with Maddie Kuhler finishing in sixth place. White House’s performance in the volleyball inter-house competition was also spirited and competitive, and led to first place – a great achievement! In the inter-house girls’ swimming championships White House finished in second position, with Vicky Elmslie winning the Senior 100m freestyle. The tennis season also showcased further White House talent, with a team of Sarah Haville, Alice Mowbray, Jessica Lee, Sophie Pontifex, Harriet Canby and Uta Demel coming first in Senior House tennis. 111 HOUSE NOTES White House participated in various musical events, with a good representation in the Chapel choir. Jess Tetley won Senior Intermediate Singing in the House instrumental competition. The College’s sensational production of Sweeney Todd saw Georgia Wilson’s outstanding performance as Mrs Lovett and Fran Andrews as the splendid Joanna. Our soirée was hugely entertaining, with really varied content, including sketches, singing and a great dance performance of Soulja Boy. I’m sure next year White House will strive to even greater achievements! Sophie Jacobson Wilson House Housemistress: Miss K. R. Adams House Tutors: Miss K. D. Cloonan, Mr B. J. Curtis, Mr J. R. W. Postle and Mrs S. E. Teasdale Head of House: Jenny Bryant Prefects: Nellie Eden, Jess Eden-Juster, Kat Law, Beverly Lee, Raphaelle Moore, Emma Pearce, Eleanor Thomas and Ellie Wells The new College year brought with it a new Housemistress for Wilson. After 11 years of dedicated service to the House, Mrs Parsons left to begin her ministry in Devon, handing over the reigns to Miss Adams. Miss Adams’ first year has been an extremely successful one, with Wilson excelling not only academically but also in sport and music. Almost immediately after the academic year had begun so did the social events for Wilson, including a rather sophisticated wine and cheese evening for the 6th form and tutors, organised by Emma. 112 Another 6th-form social, the pub quiz, saw Mr Postle realising his hosting talents dubbing himself the new ‘Paxman’. Many would agree, however, that the Scrabble Championship was the social event of the season, culminating in a nail-biting final which saw the L6th team of Sam and Danni victorious in clinching the Chinese takeaway. Halloween saw our first Pumpkin Carving Evening, and much fun was had by all. Competitive spirits ran high, and some even had their own pumpkin carving kits! Well done to Caz and the U4s for their great efforts – a tradition we hope will long be continued. Wilson featured strongly in this year’s House Choral competition, with the House being placed third overall. Thanks go to Bev, Ellie, Meghann, Holly, Danni and Sophie for all their hard work on the part song; to Helen for accompanying the unison and to the M4s for wearing some slightly embarrassing masks! All bodes well for next year, with a very musical group moving into the U6th. We were even more successful on the sports field this term. In the House cross country we discovered the new M4s contained several secret running stars, with Tiffany winning the Juniors and Caoimhe coming in second, ensuring that the M4s won the Junior Trophy. In the Intermediates, Tash Watson ran superbly to finish second, with U4s and 5th form narrowly missing out on second place overall. In the Seniors, not only were six of the first 10 runners from Wilson, but Meghann’s victory also broke the College record! Overall, Wilson retained the House Cross-Country Trophy in great style. Similar passion was shown in the inter-house hockey, with the Seniors winning the trophy, 5th form finishing third, U4s second and M4s fourth – lots of potential for the future there. With Christmas fast approaching, Miss A organised a House trip to Hampton Court ice-skating rink. The usual grace of the Wilson girls was not always seen on the ice, although many smiling faces were. The tradition of Secret Santa was enthusiastically continued, which saw the House covered in posters, chocolates and treasure hunts, which is always so lovely to see, and the festive spirit was evident again at the EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 Christmas Party, where, this year, we were fortunate to have not one but two Father Christmas’s – thanks to Mr Curtis and Delna. Although the House was glad to see Christmas come we were sad to see our gappie, Sarah, leave, and we wish her all the best for the future. The Lent Term saw the House shine on the sports fields. In the Hendelah Waley Competition Wilson girls dominated the field, with Holly Brook winning the trophy and Helena Mortimer coming a close second. The vibrant quartet of Jess Wong, Jen Watkin, Louise Kelly and Alice Davidson-Richards displayed outstanding ‘table skills’, winning the Junior Inter-house table tennis competition, and the swimming gala saw enthusiastic and credible performances from all who competed, with Jade Warner winning the U15 breaststroke and the M4s showing great teamwork in the U14 medley. Great determination was also shown by all during the inter-house netball, which was clearly seen in the results with U15s, U16s and Seniors all finishing second. AGI Day was an exciting day, with a great display of teamwork throughout the House, and the practice and hard work by all was apparent. The parade in the morning was most impressive, and special mention here must go to Holly, Bev, Ffion and Charlotte for their leadership and role in the Honour Guard. The teams produced remarkable results during the afternoon, including Eleanor’s group pulling Mr Poupart’s car up the hill in a quarter of the time that Robinson took! Great fun was had on the assault course too, with Ffion entertaining our esteemed guests with her attempts to get over the wall! Congratulations to Holly Brook, who has been appointed joint Head of CCF for next year – if she can get all her hair into a bun, I’m sure the rest will quickly follow! So ends another year in Wilson. We would of course like to thank Miss Adams, all the tutors, Mrs K and her team for looking after us so well. Thank you also to JB and all the U6th for their hard work with organising the House this year, and we wish them all the best for the future. Regrettably, Wilson has to bid farewell to three tutors this summer: Mr Curtis, Mr Postle and Miss Coe-O’Brien, who will all be sorely missed. Mr Curtis takes with him our best wishes for a very happy and relaxing retirement, and good luck goes with Mr Postle in his new post as Head of Junior School at Blundells School, in Devon. Wilson also said goodbye to Cecilia, Helen and Issy, who moved to the newly revamped Rosebery House, and to Emily and Lucy, who moved to Raven. Although our ‘box of chocolates’ is distinctively less healthy than our ‘fruit salad’, we are sure Wilson will continue to thrive as both a House and home, and we wish Meghann and her team of prefects the very best for next year. Valete: Jenny Bryant, Jess Eden-Juster, Nellie Eden, Raphaelle Moore, Beverly Lee, Ellie Wells, Emma Pearce, Kat Law and Eleanor Thomas. Salvete: Maddie Billings, Alice Davidson-Richards, Caoimhe Murdock, Katya Lyashch, Becky Todd, Zara Mukhtashova, Camilla Green, Katie Lang, Lydia Sadana, Arianne Toussaint, Clare Williams and Tiffany Sachak. Ellie Wells The summer term came round far too quickly for many of the older years, who longed for the days of M4 IT and DT exams. The library became crowded and the snug was often used for cramming sessions throughout the term. Despite the stress of exams, Wilson continued to glow on the sports field, winning both the Senior and U15 Rounders’ Cups on Founders’ Day in dramatic style. Success was also seen on the tennis court, especially in the mixed doubles, which saw Helena win, Danni runner-up and Holly win the Plate. There was a strong display of sporting aptness in athletics as the new M4 sporting queen, Alice Davidson-Richards, set new College records for both shot and javelin. Wilson actively participated in numerous cultural events during the Summer Term. The Dodd Speaking Competition was won by Delna, who also was involved with Caz and Jen Lewsey in Miss Chandley’s production of 1984. The Big Band and Downs Singers concert saw Bev, Ellie, Meghann and Zara give impressive performances, dedicating ‘Do Wah Diddy’ to the newly engaged Miss Adams and Dr Tod, much to their embarrassment. Wedding fever swept the House this year, with not only our new Housemistress becoming engaged but also one of our long serving tutors, Mr Postle, to ex-Raven Housemistress, Miss Jardine-Young. All Wilson girls have already picked out their bridesmaid dresses for both occasions and are hoping that our new tutor, Mrs Teasdale (aka the bursar) will manage to squeeze the cost into the House budget … (yes, we realise the hot-tub may need to go …!) 113 SUMMER BALL 114 EPSOMIAN MAGAZINE 2007/08 BAINES design & print 01707 876555 Printed on environmentally friendly paper A30999 Epsom College, Epsom, Surrrey, KT17 4JQ Tel: 01372 821234 Fax: 01372 821237 e-mail: admissions@epsomcollege.org.uk website: epsomcollege.org.uk