worthbluepaper2015

The
blue
paper
2015 Magazine
Inaugural
London to Worth
Cycle Ride
Worth Society Life
A Peruvian Adventure
with Naomi Dring
Life and Times of Worthians
Julian Tang’s
Fighting Spirit
Making the Difference
in Public Service
The Old Place
Welcome to the
new Head Master
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE & OUTSTANDING PASTORAL CARE
OPEN
DAY S
2016
6TH FEB
12TH MAR
23RD APR
CATHOLIC BENEDICTINE 11– 18 CO-EDUCATIONAL
BOARDING & DAY SCHOOL IN THE HEART OF SUSSEX
www.worthschool.org.uk
The
blue
paper
Contents
Worth Society Life
Life and Times of Worthians
04
Chairman’s 2015 Report
Jeremy Fletcher (G’72)
36
Scott of the Antarctic
Paddy Scott (B’01)
05
A Message from Mary Lou Burge
Worth Society Committee
40
Fighting Spirit
Julian Tang (G’93)
06
Worth Society Events
2015 Careers Networking Evening – Jessica Coffin (StM’10)
42
Making the difference in Public Service
Jason Kitkat (B’97)
2015 City Lunch – Mickey Morrissey (R’78)
43
2015 Inaugural London to Worth Cycle Ride –
Justin Weisweiller (C’85)
Worth Serving
Robert Butterworth (StB’06)
44
Flying for Heroes
Neil Laughton (C’82)
46
The Journey from St Mary’s to St James
Katherine Farmer (StA’11)
48
Book Reviews:
The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making
of a Radical Pope by Austen Ivereigh (’84)
Reviewed by Fr Bede Hill
2015 St Benedict’s Day Mass – Ben Oakley (F’08)
1984 Leavers’ 30 Year Reunion – James Cockburn
1985 Leavers’ 30 Year Reunion – Jaime Dunster (B’85)
1994 Leavers’ 20 Year Reunion – Richard dias Azedo (R’94)
2004 Leavers’ 10 Year Reunion – Fred Bradley (R’04)
2005 Leavers’ 10 Year Reunion – James Longman (B’05)
18
Worth Careers Fair 2015
Duncan Pring, Head of Careers
19
Work Experience
Three of a Kind – Clive Bayne (G’66)
An insight into Financial Consultancy –
Samuel Poynder (F’13)
20
Global Action Awards
2015 Overview: Mary Lou Burge
22
GAA: Heart speaks to heart
Naomi Dring (StA’13)
26
GAA: A Land of Contradictions
Charlie Bridge (StB’09)
28
GAA: A deep encounter with the Lord
Peter Webb (C’14)
30
Worthians Sport
Rugby – Desmond Calnan (R’69)
Cricket – Michael Bilbé (StB’06)
Dialogue of the Heart: Christian-Muslim Stories
of Encounter by Dom Martin McGee OSB
reviewed by Dom David Jarmy OSB
51
Worthians Caught on Camera
54
Announcements
56
News in Brief
60
Obituaries
Tadzio Szczepanik (C’68)
By John Paul Szczepanik (B’01)
Patrick O’Toole Quinn (StB’70)
By Tim Marlow (StB’70)
Tomasz Szczepanik (C’71)
By Lynette and Tessa Szczepanik
Guy de Burgh (StB’73)
By The de Burgh Family
The Old Place
Golf – Ken Ross (G’65)
Squash – Jeremy Dowling
Football – Andy Taylor
Worth Society
Directors Nicholas Barnett, Fr Mark Barrett,
Mark Collini, Jeremy Fletcher, Michael Gabriel
Worth Society is a not-for-profit limited company (number 06506005)
The Worthians Charitable Trust
Patron Fr Luke Jolly, The Abbot of Worth
Trustees Nicholas Barnett, Fr Mark Barrett,
Robert Bodnar-Horvath, Jeremy Fletcher,
The Hon Crispin Hayhoe
64
The 1970 Monastic Experience Reunion
66
Head Master’s 2015 Report
Gino Carminati
70
Farewell to Gino Carminati
Alexandra Hess (StM’10)
71
Welcome to the new Head Master
73
Worthians – The Second Generation
74
University Destinations 2015
Advertisers
We would like to extend our grateful thanks to this
year’s advertisers:
Farleigh School
Latimer Vintners
Worth School
Magazine designed and produced by:
Green Lizard: 01892 619888
The Worthians Charitable Trust (registered charity number 1084948)
I 03
Jeremy Fletcher and Mary Lou Burge
Chairman’s
2015 Report
I
t is now over a year since I took over the reins from Nick
Butterworth as Chairman of the Society. In the intervening
period, the School has a new Head Master, and I have been greatly
honoured to join the Board of Governors of the School at the
invitation of the Chair, Alda Andreotti. So, not only has the drive
from London to Worth become once again as familiar as it was as a
pupil nearly 45 years ago, but I have also been on a pretty steep
learning curve and much more immersed in matters Worthian than
I had expected to be. No slacking with these Benedictines! I have
been amazed at the ever-increasing governmental regulation
around the education and welfare of young people and the huge
challenges this poses for both the effective running of our schools
and their proper governance. But I can confirm that with a strong
management team, an energetic and enthusiastic Board and the
support of the monastic community, our common heritage is in
excellent hands.
In the year under review, I am delighted to report that the Society
has, under the expert management of Mary Lou, remained very
busy. The big picture statistics tell the story. In the 12 months
covered by this Blue Paper, we have had 2 ten year reunions,
1 twenty year reunion and 2 thirty year reunions. There has been the
annual City Lunch, the St Benedict’s Day London Mass and a London
Careers evening. The School has also hosted events for Worthians
in Hong Kong and in Dubai. There have been Worthian Squash,
Football, Rugby and Cricket matches at Worth and an inaugural
WOBS Rugby Fun Day and Worthians Cycle Event – and Golf is still
going strong. We fielded 10 Worthian speakers for the annual Careers
Fair at the School in June and have put many Worthians in touch with
others for careers advice and work experience placements. We’ve
also awarded 5 Global Action Awards totalling £3,100.
As the newcomer, I am most struck and encouraged by the clear
underlying support for, and interest in, the Society and what it
represents, from all quarters. Members of both the teaching and
monastic communities tirelessly sit on our Committee, encourage
us and consistently attend both our deliberations and social events,
whether in London or at Worth. Alumni interest in the Society
remains strong (albeit not necessarily expressed in membership
fees!). This interest is partially reflected in attendance levels for the
events outlined above - people vote with their feet at the end of the
day - and in the direct feedback we receive, but also in people’s
willingness to get involved. Most telling, however, is the level of
‘incoming contact’ with which Mary Lou deals, on a daily basis, in
addition to making the Society events happen. A busy day can see
her fielding 100 emails; alumni appetite to network with each other,
to rediscover old friendships, reconnect with the monks or members
of the teaching staff, past or present, remains very strong.
The challenge for the Society, therefore, is to do more not less. With
limited human and financial resources at our disposal, it is very
important that every new initiative we take is correlated to what our
alumni want. Today, over 70% of the Society membership left the
School in 2000 or later and there is an ever-increasing body of girl
alumnae. These groups need to be represented. I am therefore
pleased to announce that 5 new alumni (Michael Bilbé, Maddy Ilsley,
James Madsen, Ben Oakley and Tess Ryan) have accepted nomination
to the Society Committee, the oldest of whom left the School in
2002. And so for the first time ever, the Committee now includes 2
girl alumnae. I am very confident that our new committee members
will add huge value to our deliberations and decision making on how
to take the Society forward most effectively.
Traditionally, alumni societies have tended to coalesce, beyond the
‘dinners’ and ‘do’s’, around sporting events, which obviously will
never appeal to all. I was therefore particularly heartened to witness
a bunch of Worthians, under the leadership of Ben Oakley, coming
together as an ad hoc choir to support this year’s St Benedict’s Day
Mass in March. Not only did this help to revitalise an otherwise rather
poorly attended event, but it was a great example of the pleasure to
be derived from bringing together groups of alumni with common
interests. The Committee is therefore now looking at ways in which
the Society can facilitate and encourage gatherings such as this, in
the fields of art, drama, music or singing. Anyone who would like to
get involved should get in touch with Mary Lou.
The Society should host more events; it is increasingly clear, in all
sorts of walks of life that, far from reducing human appetite for
direct social interaction, the likes of Facebook actually serve to
re-emphasise the need, whilst simultaneously facilitating it. Your
Committee is working on ways to host more, within the constraints
of our finances. Recognising that people lead very busy lives, it is
probably always going to be easiest for Worthians to get together in
London (although it is surprising how difficult it is to find suitable
and affordable venues). But I am particularly keen that we should
also find ways of drawing people back down to Worth. 350 acres of
real estate with stunning views of the South Downs, only 45 miles
from central London, is a great place to start if one wants to bring
together spouses, significant others and families, particularly when
you are all assured of the warmest and most open of welcomes from
both the monks and the School. Alumni Societies do best when they
are firmly connected to their Alma Mater and it is good for Worthians
to take the occasional trip down memory lane to rediscover their
past. The most common feedback from those who revisit, after a
long absence, is regret that they had not done so sooner.
Finally, the mantra down in West Sussex these days is increasingly
‘One Worth’, and I suspect that it is no coincidence that your
Chairman is now also a School Governor. For a variety of perfectly
good reasons, the School, Monastery and Society have probably
been less well coordinated than they might have intended over the
past decade or so. Whilst each must inevitably pursue their own
agendas, the interdependencies are obvious; a Benedictine school
without a monastery loses a critical point of differentiation in the
highly competitive world in which it operates, and a society without
a school will not survive. And for the Society to thrive, it needs to be
dynamic; with now over 4,000 alumni and growing, it is obvious that
if we are to best serve the interest of the alumni, we need the
financial, organisational, infrastructural and human resource
support that only the School and Monastery can supply. Similarly,
albeit in different ways, both the School and the Monastery need the
Society. It is therefore critical that the various parts that constitute
the body of Worth all reconnect and support each other more
effectively. With a new Head Master and new Abbot at the helm, and
a very supportive Chair of Governors, a more holistic approach is
being encouraged, and much thought and work is being devoted to
how best to achieve this. The Society is very much part of the
dialogue. To my mind, the foundation of a Development Office (a
body that explicitly promotes and facilitates reconnection and
mutual support) is one key element in better institutionalising the
connections and is inevitable (Worth being Worth is, of course, one of
probably only a handful of private schools in the country that doesn’t
have one!). Quite how the Society will align with a Development
Office remains to be seen. Watch this space, I guess!
Jeremy Fletcher (G’72)
04 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Fr Stephen and I also managed to engineer a very special reunion
from a photograph that he showed me last year. Five pupils had
spent a week in the monastery in 1970 to see what it was like to lead
a monastic life and, 45 years on, we were thrilled to be able to track
them all down and invite them back to recreate another bit of our
history, which you can read all about in the following pages.
Our 30 year reunion for the class of 1985 was another wonderful
event this year with many familiar and not so familiar faces
returning to Worth for mass, tours and dinner. The tour even
included a peek at some previous instruments of discipline in the
Head Master’s study much to the amusement of some who had
been somewhat familiar with them!
Message from
Mary Lou Burge
A
nother year has flown by in the Worthian hub and having
spent some time this year researching some fellow alumni
associations I can honestly say that ours is one of the most
active I’ve come across. With the increasing number of reunions,
sporting activities and networking events taking place there is never
a dull moment.
Following our 50 year reunion last year it occurred to us that the
School can no longer think of itself as the ‘new kid on the block’ and
it was time we started looking back and capturing some of the
legendary stories and fascinating characters that have played their
part in making Worth the wonderful place that it is today. So this
year has seen the start of our history capture project with Jeremy
Best (C’64) returning to interview Fr Kevin about those all-important
first 5 years of the Senior School. Only then did I discover that Fr
Kevin had kept a beautifully preserved scrapbook crammed full of
wonderful photos and documents from those early days – a great
start to our archives!
But the highlight of the year for me was our inaugural London to
Worth Cycle Event with 40 Worthians (and 2 monks) coursing
through the leafy lanes of Surrey and Sussex one glorious Sunday
morning in late September. At the Finish Line in the Front Quad we
had many families and members of the monastic community to
cheer our cyclists in, and then we all sat down to a very fine lunch
generously provided by the School. It was a fantastic day and one
we are keen to repeat with even more participants!
I am so grateful to those Worthians who come forward – or are
happy to be cajoled by me – to give up their time to either come
back to Worth and talk to pupils about their GAA experiences or
professions, who take part in our Careers Networking event, and
who offer work experience opportunities to young Worthians – your
kindness and willingness to help is quite staggering.
Please remember that you are always welcome to visit us here
at Worth, just drop me a line at worthsociety@worth.org.uk and
don’t forget to link to us on the Worthians Group on Facebook to
keep up with all the latest snippets of Worthian news!
Mary Lou Burge, Worth Society Manager
Go to www.worthsociety.org.uk for latest
news and event information
Worth Society Committee
Nick Barnett (G’73) – Director, Trustee
Office: 020 7404 4022
Email: nick.barnett@hotmail.co.uk
Michael Gabriel (C’85) – Director
Office: 01892 619888
Email: michael@greenlizardhomes.co.uk
Tess Ryan (StM’11) – Netball
Mobile: 07840 098323
Email: tessryan10@hotmail.co.uk
Fr Mark Barrett – Director, Trustee
Office: 01342 710340
Email: jmbarrett@worth.org.uk
The Hon Crispin Hayhoe (StB’82) – Trustee
Mobile: 07718 339802
Email: crispinhayhoe@hotmail.com
Fr Kevin Taggart
Office: 01342 710338
Email: ktaggart@worth.org.uk
Michael Bilbé (StB’06) – Worthians Cricket Club
Mobile: 07545 002803
Email: michaelbilbe@hotmail.com
Maddy Ilsley (StM’10)
Mobile: 07952 481636
Email: maddyilsley@hotmail.co.uk
Andrew Taylor – Football
Office: 01342 810548
Email: ataylor@worth.org.uk
Robert Bodnar-Horvath (B’74) – Trustee
Office: 020 8408 2524
Email: robertdodnarhorvath@blueyonder.co.uk
James Madsen (B’02)
Mobile: 07738 324438
Email: jamesmadsen@live.com
Worthians Golfing Society
Ken Ross (G’65)
Home: 01323 733499
Email: kandbaway@gmail.com
Robin Burdell – Director of Finance
& Operations, Worth School
Office: 01342 710205
Email: rburdell@worth.org.uk
Stuart McPherson – Head Master
Office: 01342 710222
Email: smcpherson@worth.org.uk
Mary Lou Burge – Worth Society Manager
Office: 01382 710241
Email: worthsociety@worth.org.uk
Mark Collini (StB’89) – Director
Office: 020 7783 4941
Email: markcollini@yahoo.co.uk
Jeremy Fletcher (G’72) – Chairman,
Director & Trustee
Office: 020 7070 6611
Email: jeremy.fletcher@kewcapital.com
Ben Oakley (F’08)
Mobile: 07973 899330
Email: boakley@cantab.net
Daniel Pring (R’03)
Mobile: 07865 064439
Email: Daniel.Pring@tokiomarinekiln.com
Duncan Pring – Careers
Office: 01342 710239
Email: dpring@worth.org.uk
Worthians Rugby Club
Desmond Calnan (R’69)
Mobile: 07535 939582
Email: dcalnan@tecres.net
Worthians Squash
Jeremy Dowling
Email: jdowling@worth.org.uk
Girls Sporting Co-ordinators
Louisa McCarthy (St’M10) - Hockey
Email: mcclouisa91@gmail.com
Alice Rooke (StA’12) – Tennis
Email: rookie93@hotmail.co.uk
I 05
2015
Careers Networking Evening
H
Events
alf a year after graduating and still with little idea
of what path my working life may take, the annual
Worthian Careers Networking Event, held on
Thursday 8th January 2015, provided the perfect opportunity
to speak to those who had already negotiated the murky
waters between university and the world of work.
Held in The Ship Pub, not far from Monument, the upper
floor was filled with suited Worthians, name badges visible,
drinks firmly in hand. A truly diverse range of careers were
represented by those attending, from banking and
insurance, to the civil service and journalism. All were at
various stages in their working lives, from those still
suffering from early morning commutes, to those made
stoic from 30 years of 6am alarms. As a result, we were able
to get advice from people with a plethora of experiences,
who could answer our questions in a relaxed, unpressurised
environment. Indeed, talk wasn’t just of careers, but stories
of school mischief and how things had changed broke up
the career questioning, making it clear that it was a
Worthian evening.
A big thank you must go to Mary Lou, for organising the
evening, and for making such an effort to ensure that those
from industries recent leavers were interested in were
present. And, of course, thanks to all those professional
Worthians for coming to talk to us; I’m sure those of us
present will remember how useful their advice was, and
return in a professional capacity to help future Worthians in
the years to come.
We welcomed the following young Worthians to the Worth
Society Careers Networking Evening:
Tom Wood (B’07)
Alex Dungate (F’08)
Alexander Gill (StB’09)
Jessica Coffin (StM’10)
Maddy Ilsley (StM’10)
Dani Jeyes (StM’10)
Wilf Lytton (C’10)
Celia Young (StM’10)
Antonia Foldes (StM’11)
Julia Hollis (StM’11)
Rebecca Bhargava (StA’12)
Aisling Dwyer (StM’12)
Kitty Gibson (StA’12)
Conor Keating (R’12)
Harry Killoughery (R’12)
Claire Hodkinson (StM’12)
Leonie Leuschner (StM’12)
Alice Rooke (StA’12)
Samuel Poynder (F’13)
Worthian Advisors included:
Jeremy Fletcher (G’72)
Private Equity (Kew Capital)
Patrick Holdich (G’74)
Diplomacy (FCO)
Mark Collini (StB’89)
Law (OFCOM)
Howard Brookman (G’93) Banking (Bloombergs)
Ben Babington (G’96)
Property (Jackson Stops
& Staff)
James Madsen (B’02)
Financial PR (Capital MSL)
Dan Pring (R’03)
Insurance (Tokio Marine
Kiln)
Ed Long (G’03)
Insurance (Faraday)
James Bannister (C’04)
Insurance (Caonpius)
Max Watson (F’05)
Asset Management
(Neuberger Berman)
John Barnes (StB’06)
Computer Software (ITRS)
James Talty (StB’06)
Accountancy (Ernst
& Young)
Michael Bilbé (StB’06)
Banking (State Street
Global Markets)
Jessica Coffin (StM’10)
Anthony Lamb (R’08)
Insurance
Dr Duncan Pring
Head of Careers
Worth School
We are always on the look-out for Worthians who wish to
share their valuable experience, so do get in touch if you
would like to help our younger Worthians.
06 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
2015 City Lunch
John Tate, Martin Green & Michael O’Sullivan
O
It was great to see so many old boys gathered in one place
and be able to reminisce and catch up on old times. There
was of course much discussion on the hot topic of the
moment, the possibility of my old tutor being fast tracked
to Sainthood! It was unanimously agreed that should this be
the case then the powers that be will have taken into
account Andrew Bertie's time at Worth.
Events
n Thursday 5th March 2015 I attended the annual
Worthian City Lunch along with my brothers
Anthony (R '74) and Paddy (R '84) at the now
established venue of Vivat Bacchus, London Bridge. As all
three of us work within a few hundred yards of each other
in the City it was easy for us to attend unlike our brother
Charles (R '72) who works further afield and sadly was
unable to make it.
Mark Collini & James Maxwell-Scott
Jeremy Fletcher, Mary Lou Burge & Nick Butterworth
The first old boy I met on entering the restaurant, who was
slightly older than me, had considered inviting his Father,
an octogenarian, to attend. He believed that he would
qualify as he had attended Worth in the 1940s when it was
the preparatory school to Downside!
It was wonderful to be joined by Abbot Luke, Fr Stephen and
Fr Kevin, who said grace prior to lunch. Needless to say that
both Kevin and Stephen look considerably younger than
most of the attendees.
The Morrissey brothers with Fr Kevin
A word of thanks must go to Mary Lou for organising a
very enjoyable lunch, the venue, food and drink were first
class as too was the company, and I would thoroughly
recommend this event for those that can make it next year.
Mickey Morrissey (R '78)
We welcomed the following 40 Worthians and guests to
the 2015 City Lunch:
Sean Donnellan, Chris Rybak & Tim Ross
Mary Lou Burge
Abbot Luke Jolly (C’71)
Dom Stephen Ortiger
Dom Kevin Taggart
Tim Pethybridge (StB’71)
Jeremy Fletcher (G’72)
James Forte (C’72)
Nick Barnett (G’73)
Hugh Bett (B’73)
Mark Lee-Barber (C’73)
Liam Hammond (C’74)
Anthony Morrissey (R’74)
Dominic Quennell (C’74)
Nigel Kennard (G’74)
Nick Butterworth (G’76)
Martin Green (C’76)
Mark Simpson (StB’76)
John Tate (G’76)
James Blake (B’77)
Chris Kelly (StB’78)
Michael Morrissey (R’78)
John Bennett (R’81)
Henry Thornton (B’81)
Patrick Morrissey (R’84)
Edward Horgan Goumas (C’85)
Sean Donnellan (StB’86)
Tim Ross (R’86)
Chris Rybak (B’86)
Mark Collini (StB’89)
James Maxwell-Scott (R’89)
Charles Gerada (R’90)
Chris Kelly (R’96)
Darran Smith (B’96)
Matthew Chan (R’98)
Alistair Myles (G’99)
Robert Stewart (B’99)
Edward Cooper (StB’00)
Nicholas Kelly (R’00)
Nicholas Michell (StB’03)
Michael O’Sullivan (R’07)
Rob Stewart & Alistair Myles
I 07
2015 Inaugural
London to Worth
Cycle Ride
Events
Before ‘La Gande Départ’ at the
Lido Café in Brockwell Park
I
n the olden days, getting up before dawn to do some
exercise was something they made you do as a
punishment when your good intentions had been
misunderstood. Corporal punishment was all the rage back
then in the we-were-the-youth-of-today-until-the-youth-oftoday-came-along-and-forced-us-to-start-complainingabout-the-youth-of-today days. But there is no denying that
all that punishing physicality made me the man I am today:
the kind of man who doesn’t generally get up before dawn
to do some exercise. And yet on Sunday 27th September
2015, between Saturday’s catastrophe at Twickenham and
Monday’s blood moon, I did get up before dawn and took a
bus, a tube, and then another tube, and crossed a road with
cars on it, walked along the aforementioned car-bearing
road and reported punctually to the starting post of the
inaugural London to Worth cycle ride.
Worth is excellently situated and easily reached by car, or by
train and taxi, and is also conveniently close to Gatwick
Airport for those travelling by aeroplane. I know these
things because it says so on the school’s website. My point
is this: there were alternatives. Clear alternatives. Openly
advertised and readily available alternatives. And yet 40 or
so Worthians and family members decided to cycle from
London to Worth: to do some exercising of our own free
8I
will! Except for Fr James and Fr Martin, who were
preordained and ready to hear confession: bless me, Father,
it has been some time since my last exertion.
My journey had actually started in May when I attended my
year’s 30th anniversary dinner. I found myself in a clear
majority of old boys who had had no contact at all with
classmates or the school in over 25 of the 30 years and was
very unsure about attending, but had the most wonderful
time. They told me there would be some kind of outing
involving pie in September and I thought, what harm could
there possibly be in that?
After signing in, we convened in the very pleasant and
friendly Lido Cafe in Brockwell Park in southern London to
fill our water bottles. Then Tina, the event manager,
explained we wouldn’t be getting any proper, Catholic,
physically literal pie but something altogether more
symbolic and ecumenical. PIE, it turns out, stands for
‘Passion in Events’, a wonderfully apt name for our wellorganised, happy and helpful cycle tour organisers. Tina
gave us a short, clear, organisational and safety briefing and
explained the highly intelligent design of our predestined
path. Then we went out to the car park to discuss our
penance and things got decidedly more Darwinian. The bike
guides checked out the expense of each person’s clothing
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
’The sleepy like to make excuses.’ (The Rule of St Benedict)
Events
and equipment, carried out natural selection and divided
us into four groups to ensure the survival of the unfittest.
They also handed out exeat forms: cards with emergency
phone numbers.
There were two routes from Brockwell Park to Worth. The
longer route was 90km (57 miles) to cover in 4 hours,
including stops, with 1,152m of climbs. The shorter route
was 60km (38 miles) with a mere (sic) 742m of climbing.
4 hours were planned, but there were as many stops as
people needed on the shorter route and we took nearly
5 hours. Each group had 8-10 cyclists accompanied by one
bike guide with a tool kit. Two groups did the longer route
shadowed by the first van, while two groups did the shorter
route shadowed by the other van.
If you are not regularly sporty, it is crucial to do a bit of
training before the day, at least to test the concept, but
nothing too extreme. I went out twice in the preceding
2 weeks and confirmed I could manage 41 miles in the time
on my very heavy, rubbishy urban bike. I had the loan of a
proper road bike from Jaime Dunster (B’85) and the theory
was expressed that I could probably manage the longer
route on a real bike with a top gear well above 12mph. This
may have been true on the flat, but I developed gravity
issues on the first really big climb and gratefully dropped
down to the shorter-route groups, who were following
behind. I think I was the first to invoke my exeat card and
make that call. And the first shall be last! The morally
inferior fast-living types shot off to do their thing while I
found there was much more smiling and chatting going on
amongst the amateurs. Apart from eight or so real climbs, it
was all much more of a lovely Sunday pootle. The two
short-route groups, with bike guides Howard and Ian,
more or less merged into a single group for the rest of the
morning. I can’t report from the point of view of keen,
serious cyclists, but I heard from them afterwards that it
had been a pleasantly challenging (hah!) and very enjoyable
ride for the pros, who needed to average about 20mph on
the flat and about 16mph overall.
The Clyde-Smith Family
reach the Finish Line
welcomed in by Fr Philip
and Fr Kevin
In Crystal Palace Park a man cheered and clapped and waved
us through and suddenly it was all very Tour de France. I felt
Rory Ryan is greeted by
Fr Aiden and Fr Patrick
I9
2015 Inaugural London to Worth Cycle Ride continued
Tess and Mia Ryan
A well-deserved lunch!
Events
and off through the leaves, and suddenly realize you are
about to jackknife into a pothole and buckle your friend’s
bike and your own legs, shouting ‘merde’ at the top of your
voice will shift your weight just enough to miss the hole and
run over a squirrel instead. Don’t look at me like that: it was
dead already. Never stood a chance against Fr Martin.
Guide, and former
Olympic champion,
Willie Moore en
route with Dominic
Dring
I should probably throw my water bottle away at this point,
but Crystal Palace Park is lovely (I had no idea) and well
worth not polluting. Besides, we had each received a
snazzy free water bottle from Huez, the cycling apparel
suppliers run by two Worthians, and I wasn’t about to throw
that away.
A Worth School education is for life and so this day afforded
us the opportunity to refresh some of the subjects we
learned so long ago. Those who had forgotten their
geography could rediscover the fact that Worth lies at
higher altitude than London. We also revised human
biology; with special reference to lung function, muscular
oxygenation and cardiovascular inefficiency; and we looked
at Newton’s laws of mechanics, the gravitational constant,
and mathematics, too: if a man grabs four free energy bars
and only has two socks, how many energy bars must he eat
straight away? I even got to practise my French: if you are
hurtling too fast downhill, blinded by sunlight flashing on
However, a Worth education is so much more than just the
exam subjects any old school can offer: it is about providing
a moral grounding and underpinning a lifetime of spiritual
searching and growth. The day was actually a very
Benedictine, seamlessly alternating, mixture of community,
physical work and solitary reflection. And so we spent the
morning pondering the grand metaphysical questions, too,
like ‘Why?’, ‘How much longer?’, ‘What’s around the
corner?’ and ‘Ooh, isn’t it pretty?’ And it was pretty. Very
pretty. The closer you get to Worth, the prettier it all gets.
It was a perfectly sunny early-autumn day with glorious
greens all around and the first autumn colours poking
through. There were horses; there were sheep; there was
an abandoned sofa halfway up one of the climbs. A sofa!
I mean, come on! That’s cruel AND unusual. At one point we
were treated to the magnificent sight of hundreds of birds
circling and swarming in preparation for migration. They
were very much like a group of Worthian cyclists waiting for
the off, if just a bit more vulture-like. But we were immune
to all temptations and intimidations by this stage.
Some bike guides, like James, do the seasonal thing and
spend their winters in the Alps as ski instructors and guides.
Howard doesn’t, but is obviously thinking about it: on the
huffy-puffy climby bits he would often decide he needed a
word with his colleague, Ian, at the front of the group and
would swoosh past us, ski-instructor style, just because he
could, wedeling past the wobbly snowploughers with his
anti-gravity pack turned up full and blinking red. He claimed
this was really just a rear light, but no one believed him.
Soon afterwards, Fr James would swoosh past, still chatting,
with all the arrogance of youth. But when a convoy of trees
formed behind me and started beeping angrily, I knew it
was time to dig deep and do some swearing. At the height
of my delirium, I suddenly had a vision of Major Paddy
Wheeler (G’85), latterly of the Army Air Corps, screaming at
me with motivating contempt (I AM a horrible man; I’ve
never denied it), and then getting squashed by the
Hurstpierpoint scrum-half. I actually laughed all the way to
the top (sorry, Paddy) and was unstoppable after that. Even
on the nastier climbs I found you just have to switch off the
logic circuits and zone out and the top is reached before
you know it. Soon I was overtaking stationary bushes with
all the denial of middle age and by the end I could even
keep Fr James’ back in view all the way up each hill.
Somebody should find a way to pass on special thanks to
the motorists of Surrey and northern Sussex. I am sure the
long-route groups were wheel-to-wheel in a dead-straight
line right at the edge of the road, but we in the slow group
were a straggly lot, avoiding the very edge of the road
Fr Martin makes it home!
10 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
The Finish Line!
The final rite of passage was passing through Turners Hill
and not buying any sweets or contraband. Then there was
just the home straight left to go, and on into the grounds of
Worth itself. There was a Finish banner spread across the
drive at the entrance to the Quad and each new arrival was
warmly applauded. With affectionate irony in my case.
There we met Mary Lou Burge, Abbot Luke and Frs Kevin,
Patrick, Stephen, Philip, Mark and David, who had been so
fast I hadn’t seen them at all up to that point. To return to
your old school after so many years and remember and be
remembered by so many is a wonderful thing: a real sense
of homecoming and family. The school buildings and
grounds are so much more beautiful than I remember
them. Whether this is the correction of jaded teenage vision
or something that has actually changed, I am not sure. A bit
of both, I suspect. Someone certainly does an amazing job
of looking after the place these days.
Stuart McPherson, the new Head Master, joined the cyclists
and several of their wives and children for lunch, which was
generously provided by the School. He is a decent enough
Head Master, by all accounts, but made a rather poor first
impression on me by looking more sporty standing still in
a tweed jacket than some of us looked on our bicycles. He
expressed regret that he hadn’t been able to cycle with us
this time, but PROMISED to join the ride next year. Consider
yourself hereby on the record, Sir!
The following Worthians and family members took part in our inaugural
London to Worth Cycle ride:
Kevin Clyde-Smith (G’70)
John Wild (C’70)
Harry Fisher (B’81)
Dominic Dring (G’82)
Jonathan Jenkins (G’82)
Charles de Viggiani (B’85)
Jamie Dunster (B’85)
Michael Gabriel (C’85)
Johnny Grieg (G’85)
Justin Weisweiller (C’85)
Dominic Bruning (StB’89)
Barry Cullen (StB’97)
Edward Simpson (G’97)
Tom Wild (C’97)
Edward Keelaghan (R’98)
David Micallef-Eynaud (B’98)
William Pasquali (StB’89)
Lorenzo Curci (B’00)
James Pymont (B’00)
Luca Belpassi (G’01)
George Clyde-Smith (G’05)
Rory Ryan (C’09)
Nicholas Elvidge (C’11)
Nick Gandy (R’11)
Julia Hollis (StM’11)
Henry McNeil (B’11)
Tess Ryan (StM’11)
Jack Udale (B’11)
Mia Ryan (StM’13)
Toby Wild (R’15)
Alex Burge
Harry Burge
Richard Butler
Emma Clyde-Smith
Fr James Cutts
Peter Hollis
Fr Martin McGee
Ravi Sabharwal
Huge thanks must go to Mary Lou, Mike Gabriel (C’85) and
everyone at PIE for organizing everything, to the Worth
Society for subsidising members’ participation and to the
School for providing a delicious (yes I know, what’s wrong
with the world? Back in my day mumble mumble …) lunch.
Let’s not mess around here: I was asked to write this
because I have been unanimously nominated for the ‘if he
can do it, anyone can do it’ award. And it’s absolutely true.
And if anyone can do it, let’s have even more cyclists next
year. 40 was an excellent number to ensure the success of
this year’s ride, but there is room for more next time. This
year’s cycle was ‘inaugural’. The next stop is ‘annual event’.
And then it’s just a short bike ride to ‘timeless tradition’.
Justin Weisweiller (C’85)
The two 60K groups arrive safely in the Front Quad
I 11
Events
where the surface was bumpier, loosely packed and less
aware of the cars around us. And yet the drivers we met
must be used to groups of cycling amateurs. Without
exception they were patient and sensible in the extreme:
not one beep, not one unsafe moment.
Lorenzo Curci and David Micallef-Eynaud
St Benedict’s Day
Mass 2015
Events
B
earing in mind the Worth Society’s mission ‘to
celebrate and develop the connection between
Worthians in their professional, social, spiritual and
sporting lives’ the annual St Benedict’s Day Mass is an
important occasion in the shared calendar of Worth’s
community past and present.
Set amongst the glass houses of the present day City of
London, the original St Mary Moorfields was pulled down in
1899 and replaced by the present church in Eldon Street,
which was opened on 25th March 1903 as London’s first
Catholic Cathedral.
On Thursday 19th March 2015 it certainly proved an
inspiring setting, and with the addition of music into the
Liturgy for the first time, this year’s mass felt like a muchrejuvenated occasion for Worthians to come together and
celebrate the life and death of St Benedict. Composed of
Worthian Boys and Girls spanning 10 school years, the choir
added a new dimension to the spiritual sense of occasion,
with pieces familiar to many generations
of Worthians, from SS Wesley’s Si
iniquitates to Cesar Frank’s Panis
Angelicus. It certainly felt St Benedict’s
life and teachings were fittingly
remembered by all present!
Fr Christopher Jamison offered a
typically insightful contemplation of the
impact of St Benedict. Said to be ‘the
epitome of Christianity, a learned and
mysterious abridgement of all the
doctrines of the Gospel and all the
counsels of perfection’ (Bossuet, Bishop
of Meaux 1704) Benedict’s rule once
again took on renewed relevance to
those present.
With Worthians turning out in good
number to share such prayer and music
together, the splendid drinks and food
laid on at Bangers Bar & Grill afterwards
also seemed an apt way to share in
Benedict’s spirit for community and the
continued commitment of Worth Society
to bring Worth pupils and monks
together. Attractive platters of food and
copper flagons of beer left all pleasantly
satisfied and we look forward to seeing
you and many more fellow Worthians at
next year’s Mass!
Ben Oakley (F’08)
Organ scholar, Luke Navin (F’14), accompanies Worthian singers
Please join us for
Our Annual
Worthians Mass
to celebrate
St Benedict’s Day
With the musical accompaniment of
Worthian singers and musicians
Thursday 17th March 2016
at 6:30pm
at
St Mary Moorfields
4-5 Eldon Street
London EC2
Followed by drinks at
Bangers, 2 Wilson Street,
London EC2
12 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
1984 Leavers’
30 Year Reunion
Ed Hooper and James Cockburn
James Cockburn
Keith Owers
Fabian Aiken
James Berry
Felim Connor
Andrew Cooper
Luan de Burgh
Martin Downes
Angus Hamilton
Edward Hooper
Austen Ivereigh
Norbert Kang
Nigel Laughton
Patrick McQuaid
Mark Moran
Patrick Morrissey
Benjamin Moseley
Alastair Mulcahy
Peter O’Dwyer
Dominic O’Neill
Conrad Payne
Rhodri Philipps
David Robinson
Christian Rooney
Julian Samengo Turner
Alistair Scrutton
Victor Szudek
Willium van Heyningen
L
iving, as I have been, in the depths of rural France, I
hardly ever see anyone apart from my French
neighbours, so to get invited to come to Soho House
on Saturday 20th September 2014 for a thrash with a load of
my former students and some colleagues from thirty years
ago, is something of a change from routine. And what a
wonderful party we all had!
The essence of these occasions is to roll back the years and
connect with our younger selves: to find out things about
ourselves that we have largely forgotten. And naturally the
stories tumbled out one after another. Just one may suffice
to make the point. When I arrived as Head of Art at Worth in
1980 I had only the briefest encounter with ceramics. At St
Martin’s School of Art I specialised in drawing and painting.
Luckily, on arrival at Worth, I found Fr Ian was an enthusiast
who had all the gear: a wheel, a kiln, clay and glazes - more
than enough to get the aspiring potter going. I quickly made
use of this fantastic opportunity but needed some proper
lessons myself. I therefore enrolled on an evening course at
Michael Hall School in Forest Row and – this is the clever bit
– once a week took a group of Fifth Form boys from Worth
who wanted to learn too. That way I had a number of young
enthusiasts learning alongside me. These included Nigel
Laughton, better known now as a trainer of Olympic gold
medal winning athletes. So to see Nigel after so long was
wonderful. Life’s not fair: Nigel still looks about 18.
At Worth all the teachers participated in activities way out of
their comfort zones. As an art teacher I took (and played)
rugby, cricket, football, squash and, probably most
demanding of all, took Sixth Form dances, as well as
organising annual trips to Wales and the South of France.
I created stage sets for school plays and acted in staff plays.
I even once played third trumpet in the orchestra. We were
Events
The following
Worthians and their
guests attended the
1984 Leavers’ 30 Year
Reunion:
Felim Connor, Peter O’Dwyer, Patrick McQuaid and Mark Moran
Dom O’Neill and Paddy Morrissey
kept happily busy from dawn until well after dusk seven
days a week. I therefore knew many of the boys who had
nothing whatsoever to do with art. My rugby team in 1984
was the unbeaten 3rd XV so it was great to see Peter
O’Dwyer who told me in his best Jo’berg accent, “I was
your best kikka!”
During the 1980s on Saturday afternoons during the Spring
Term I regularly joined a group of rugby players, staff and
pupils alike, to turn out for Haywards Heath Dinosaurs who
were delighted to have such a rush of fresh blood into their
teams. It was not thought then, as it is now, that it was
wrong to have adults playing in the same team as school
boys. So David Robinson and many other boys played
alongside Fred Belcher, Glenn Robertson, Jeremy Dowling
and George Daly to name a few. I thought then, and still do,
that Worth was a unique place for children to grow up.
Seeing the same boys thirty years later was to confirm that
the ‘boys’ had really understood how fortunate they were.
I would like to thank Angus Hamilton, Edward Hooper and
Luan de Burgh for organising the event and hope I see you
all again fairly soon. Waiting another thirty years will almost
certainly be too long.
James Cockburn
Butler Boys; James Cockburn, David Robinson, Ben Moseley, Felim Connor, Keith Owers and Angus Hamilton
Paddy Morrissey and Chris Rooney
I 13
The following Worthians and guests attended the 1985
Leaver’s 30 Year Reunion:
Mr Gino Carminati
Abbot Luke Jolly
Dom Philip Gaisford
Ms Evonne Gubbin
Mr & Mrs Stuart McPherson
Dom Stephen Ortiger
Mr & Mrs Keith Owers
Mr & Mrs Roger Stokes
1985 Leavers’
30 Year Reunion
Events
18 hardy and brave souls from the class of 1985 met at
Worth for their 30 year reunion during the evening on 21st
May 2015 with a mix of trepidation and expectation… Many
were absent due to the logistics of life but plenty made it
and some flying in especially. A large number hadn’t seen
each other during the years since leaving school, although it
transpires that a number of small groups still keep in touch
on a regular basis. Likewise, there are a heartening number
of best men and godparents to each other’s children
showing that the school friendship bonds are very strong.
Whilst faces unseen for a number of years were easily
recognisable, spookily so, what was very apparent was that
the ravages of time have treated the School far more kindly
than its former pupils. While the halls and dorms used to
resound to the likes of David Bowie, Dire Straits, The Cure
and The Jam, stories of ice, even running water, on the
insides of rooms, recollections of pyjamas worn under suits
and two jumpers and overcoats required to keep the chill
out were regaled to barely believing members of the Upper
Sixth who now luxuriate in centrally heated buildings and
ensuite facilities.
The old boys were kindly toured around the school after
Mass and pre dinner, on a lovely summer’s evening and it
was impossible not to notice the areas of improvement over
the years - the church completed, the grounds looking
immaculate, Rutherford no more and replaced, new
accommodation blocks and hockey pitches and even new
windows in the main school to keep the Siberian blasts out
of the pupils’ bones. And girls - how times have changed for
the better.
Having overcome the “it was never like this in our time”
moments during the tour of the facilities, an element of
Alistair Clayton
Gus Becvar
Charles De Viggiani
Jaime Dunster
Michael Gabriel
Johnny Greig
Edward Horgan Goumas
Joe Macari
Mike Moody
Gordon Moore
Bobby Noyes
Roly Owers
Jonathan Sharpe
Sean Taylor
Justin Weisweiller
Andy Weston
Paddy Wheeler
James Wills
nostalgia not surprisingly crept in as names were searched
for on honours boards and old stories were once again retold. Some of the School appeared a lot smaller - could we
really all have fitted into the old assembly room for entire
school assemblies? Whilst other rooms held different
memories - standing room only on Thursday evenings for
Top of the Pops, or more sombrely watching the news
reports of the Falklands conflict.
Our Upper Sixth hosts and guides departed after drinks on
the lawn with their ears burning at the antics that used to go
on - kitchen raids, Sixth Form bar stories, dances, Mayfield,
etc...and dinner was held in the monk’s dining room. Whilst
it was excellent to catch up with old mates what was also
terrific, and in no small measure added to the evening,
was to see so many old members of staff and other halves
looking so well and relaxed. As we all know monks don’t
age and some of that magic has definitely rubbed off on
former staff.
The Worth Society kindly hosted the dinner and afterwards
the majority retreated to a local hotel to carry on the
evening into the small hours. By common consent, and
confirmed by the flow of emails afterwards, it was a great
success, had been far too long since we all saw each other,
and a commitment to try and meet up again in the not too
distant future on an informal basis. Those not present were
missed but will hopefully be re-united soon.
Many thanks indeed to the school for hosting, Mary Lou
Burge for organising and for all who attended - it was one of
those evenings that was terrific to be at and left a smile on
the face for many a week.
Jaime Dunster (B’85)
1985 30 Year
Reunion Group
Shot
14 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
1994 Leavers’
20 Year Reunion
Montepeliano in Knightsbridge was the venue on Saturday
4th October 2014, kindly pre-arranged by Francesco de
Siena before he (predictably) unexpectedly had to run off to
Southern Italy again. With a great menu, real Italian
hospitality and an inexplicably 90's feel, it couldn’t have
suited the occasion better!
Everyone had a great time (I assume, I hope...I did anyway)
reminiscing on school life on Paddockhurst Road, past
teachers and friends, ciggies behind the tennis courts and
catching up on 20 years of post-teenage reality. Our
age/wives/travel commutes must be catching up with us a
bit however - shortly after desserts and coffee it was time to
head our separate ways. I guess things must be different in
Madrid - Alvaro was cursing under his breath a bit for the
early ‘lights out’ time...sorry mate, but I was under strict
instructions from Boris not to let you out on the rampage to
ruin his town!
Sadly, there were a lot of us who couldn't attend due to
other commitments, and some of us who we seem to have
lost all connection with - either way our thoughts are with
you. (And, if you're reading this, get in touch!)
As Paul and Paul noted, we definitely shouldn't wait another
20 years till we meet up again! Anyone else fancy taking the
baton to arrange the next get together?
Richard Dias Azedo (R’94)
The following Worthians and guest attended the 1994
Leavers’ 20 Year Reunion:
Nick Robinson
Dominique Coombes
Richard Dias Azedo
Alvaro Finat
Dan Fontanelli
Thomas Gommes
Paddy Keane
Patrick Long
Paul McCormack
Paul Moran
James Southon
It was really great to see everyone again. In a strange way,
we're still the same as we once were and yet we've all grown
and matured from our days at Worth. But I have to admit, it
was heartwarming to feel that connection we had as young
Worthians again.
Paddy Keane, Patrick Long, Thomas Gommes, Paul Moran & Paul McCormack
Dan Fontanelli, Nick Robinson, Alvaro Finat & Dominique Coombes
I 15
Events
A
fter 20 years, we managed to secure 10 old boys
and 1 former House Master (another sadly
succumbing to influenza) for 1 night in London!
Not bad for a group who, when we left school, had no email
addresses, no WebChat groups or Facebook accounts to
keep in contact!
The following Worthians and guests attended the 2004
Leavers’ 10 Year Reunion:
Dom Martin McGee
Andrew Taylor
Duncan Pring
2004 Leavers’
10 Year Reunion
Events
I
t was at the drinks reception following Glenn Robertson's
memorial at Worth when someone noted, "Next year will
be 10 years since we left Worth". The group nodded and
remembered some old stories, as you do. Then someone
chirped up, "Who's organising our 10 year reunion?". There
was a short silence whilst everyone looked around until I
noticed that a number of eyes were on me. David Osborne
and Elliot Webber, two of the finger pointers, claimed, "It's
your responsibility, you were Head Boy, you do it!". I forgot
the unwritten rule of ‘Once a Head Boy, always a Head Boy’.
A few months went by and I realised that something had to
be done, so I cajoled Elliot Webber into helping out as he
had recently bragged to me how he had saved over £4,000
on his wedding expenditure. We wanted to have a reunion
with as many of our year group as possible, and be able to
invite staff and monks who had been part of our lives at
Worth. We worked out we had 88 people in our year from
Year 9 to Year 13 (sorry to the Austin Boys!) that's including
the rather large group of early leavers in Year 11. Thankfully
the Worth Society had contact details for a good proportion
of us and for the rest there was always Facebook! In fact,
there were only two people that we found no way of
contacting!
Fast forward to Saturday 20th September 2014 where
the Class of 2004 met at the Antelope pub just off Sloane
16 I
David Armstrong
James Bannister
Guy Bartleet
Francis Bartleet
Fred Bradley
James Bruce
Tom Butter
Mark Corbyn
Michael Ede
Alexander Gazzi
David Gill
Roger Greaves
Oliver Ingram
Marcus Lee
Alexander Podbury
Lewis Stagnetto
Matthew Stott
Paul Stych
Charles Sunnucks
Elliot Webber
Andrew Welsh
Tristan ‘Zakk’ Williams
Square. Having put the money behind the bar, the one Kiwi
waitress who was put in charge of our room was henceforth
rushed off her feet!
We were soon reminiscing about our memories in ‘The
Cardboard Castle’ or our (probably not me included)
achievements on the rugby pitch. Despite regrettably
clashing with a wedding elsewhere in the country we were
comfortably represented with 22 peers in attendance.
Ingram and Gazzi eventually arrived admitting to having
been in a pub around the corner, waiting to come along
when things were busier!
We decided to send an open invitation to all our
Housemasters through the years at Worth, both past and
present. I managed to track down the majority including
Ben Dunhill who was so close to joining us but alas had to
travel to Geneva on a school trip at the last minute. We were
delighted that Duncan Pring and Andy Taylor managed to
come along and Fr Martin represented the Monastery.
In the end, it was a fantastic night with lots of memories
reignited. A lot changes in 10 years. So while many will keep
in touch in different groups of friends, we look forward to
2024 (that's the future) and our 20 year gathering! Who's
organising that one then!?
Fred Bradley (R’04)
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
2005 Leavers’
10 Year Reunion
But any doubts I had were dispelled very quickly. 43 boys
arrived (an amazing number!) looking very smart, along
with Frs Kevin and Thomas and Mr Mitchell - and almost
immediately it was as if we'd never left school. Slightly
hesitantly each boy or small group would come into the
room, and then wide eyed would recognize an old friend
and the conversation would begin in earnest. Drinks and
dinner flew by, and not wanting the evening to end, we
headed en masse into Soho.
Somehow 43 young men in DJs managed to get into a club
until the early hours. And then onto a house party until
morning, where it all got a bit 'Riot Club'. I've had a lot of
messages since with boys saying how much they enjoyed
the night. A little effort was definitely worth it.
Given that over half the group was still partying at 5am, I'd
say the night was a success. And I was surprised at how
much it meant to me. As I looked around the room at my
old friends, sharing stories from back in the day, or catching
up on more recent news, I actually felt very proud. This was
our 10 year reunion, and given that I arrived at Worth when
I was 8, it meant that I was really celebrating 20 years of
having Worth in my life. And I'm proud of that. Of what that
means to me. And of what the time my peers spent there
clearly means to them.
Events
I
t could have gone very wrong. I was worried no one
would come. Although many groups keep in touch,
obviously not all of us had seen each other since school,
and even if people did turn up, the formal dinner and black
tie could have killed any hope of a fun reunion. The plan
was drinks and then a three course meal - all at the Army
and Navy Club in London on Saturday 18th April 2015.
When I told some friends and colleagues about it, they
looked on bewildered. “Why would I bother going to a
reunion?” was the general response. I think that makes you
realise how lucky we were to have been at Worth. So much
has happened in 10 years - old boys tend to go off and do all
sorts of exciting things - but that so many of my year group
thought it worthwhile to come from China, Germany or
France, and take time out of their busy schedules all these
years later, is testament to how important Worth must have
been to them.
A funny thing happens at a reunion: you kind of revert into
the people you were years before. The joker, the quiet one,
the sporty one, etc. But without any of the hang ups. None
of the drama. Like romanticised versions of ourselves back
then, we laughed and joked and reminisced. And so for one
night at least, we could be school boys again. What a
wonderful feeling.
James Longman (B’05)
The following Worthians and their guests attended the
2005 Leavers’ 10 Year Reunion:
Alan Mitchell
Dom Kevin Taggart
Dom Thomas Haynes
Nicholas Bell-Young
Harry Bonn
Mark Breen
Charles Bunn
Oliver Corstjens
Felix D-M
James Fairbourn
George Furber
Tom Gilbert
Jonas Herrmann
Nicholas Hopkins
Stefan Humphries
Graham Hutchings
James Hutton
Daniel Hyde
Edward Keefe
Paul Keenan
Laurenz Klipper
Thomas Lewis
James Longman
Thomas Magee
Thomas McConnell
Maximillian McGowan
Constantin Meyer
Edward Michie
Nicholas Miller
Craig Monteiro
Oliver Mulcahy
Lukas Neuhann
William Orpen
Jack Rackham
Peter Rankin
Louis Redman
George Russell
Hugh Salimbeni
Sam Shepherd
Charles Spratt
Max Stangier
Joshua Taylor
Michael Thiebes
Marc Thurr
Max Watson
Christian Zaleski
I 17
Worth Careers Fair
2015
F
or the ninth year in a row, Worth organised a Careers
Fair for its Lower Sixth Form students. This took place
on 20th June – a Saturday morning towards the end
of term. It was felt that this would give more students the
chance to attend – and so it proved to be, with over 100
pupils taking part. The morning was designed to encourage
them to think about possible options beyond Worth and
indeed beyond university. The decision on which career to
pursue is one of the most important that anybody makes,
and the more that our pupils are aware of what really
happens in a given career, the better placed they will be to
make a wise judgement. The format we employed was
similar to previous years, with a number of outside speakers
talking about their own career to small groups of students.
Each speaker made their presentation four times, so
students had the opportunity to learn about life in four
careers that were of interest to them.
Once again we were indebted to the Worthians who
contributed in record numbers this year. In fact, of the 13
speakers, 10 were Worthians. It is on occasions such as
these that one really appreciates the willingness of former
pupils to give back to the place where they were educated.
None more so than Jonathan Stordy (StB’81) who has
contributed regularly to this forum and gave a very lively
presentation to students about life in general management.
For the first time we had a double act; not comedy, but
serious, and stimulating advice from Joe Bradley (F’09)
and Alex Gill (StB’09) on careers in the financial services
sector – an area that is well known, but also widely
misunderstood. James Maclean (StB’01), as one would
18 I
expect from an advertising guru, gave an assured
presentation on the intricacies of the advertising world,
while Dan Hyde (StB’05) offered some revealing insights
into the world of journalism in the modern era. Media
and marketing have both been transformed by social
media and we were lucky to have Fred Bradley (R’04) and
JP Matthews (B’06) offer their views on this brave new
world. Nick Hopkins (G’05) has recently passed some key
qualifications as an underwriter and spoke about life in the
insurance industry. There are strong connections between
Lloyds of London and the Worth community. Every year a
group of students go up there to look at the building and
it’s amazing how many Worthians we come across on these
visits. Clearly architecture is a specialised career and there
were limited numbers of students who joined these
sessions but those that did found Matt Chan’s (R’98)
advice and information about careers within that profession
very helpful. Last but not least Peter Osborne (R’08) gave
some ideas about life in the engineering profession and
again, although audiences were limited, there was very
positive feedback. Indeed student feedback this year was
particularly good – reflecting the fact that our speakers gave
advice and information that was exactly what the boys and
girls wanted and needed to know about the world of work.
After a hard morning’s talk, the event ended with most of
the speakers enjoying a lunch that was I am sure even better
than those which they used to enjoy in the refectory a few
(or in some cases many!) years ago.
Duncan Pring, Head of Careers, Worth School
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Three of a Kind
J
Left to right: Xavier Geissman,
John Franck and Clive Bayne
ust to demonstrate the power of the worldwide
Worthian network in our overly-connected world. In
July 2014 Mary Lou Burge reached out to me, Clive
Bayne (G’66), a long-term resident of Mexico City, to see
if I could help a recent leaver, Xavier Geissmann (B’11)
who wanted to spend a year in Latin America as part of his
Spanish and Philosophy joint Honours course at Exeter
University. I worked with Xavier by email and Skype to edit
Xavier’s personal history document and, with a reference
from Julian Williams, Xavier’s former Housemaster, I began
scouting for internship opportunities for Xavier in Mexico.
Mexico City. This conversation uncovered the fact that,
unbeknownst to me, John Franck (R’73) was also a
Worthian! Better still, John felt he could offer Xavier an
internship in his company, AngloInfo Mexico City.
Xavier duly arrived in Mexico City from Colombia the first
week of February 2015, and the photo shows the three
Worthians at an AngloInfo business meeting in Mexico City
on 10 February 2015.
Now, how often do things work out like that?
Clive Bayne (G’66)
In October 2014 I had lunch with a client, John Franck, and
mentioned Xavier’s wish to find some work as an intern in
An insight into
Financial Consultancy
D
uring my final years at Worth I studied Economics,
History and English Literature as well as completing
the EPQ, and finished my A-Levels with BBBA*.
With these grades I went on to pursue higher education,
studying International Politics & Military History at
Aberystwyth University.
Early in 2015, I got in contact with the Worth Society to ask if
they could organise some work experience for me during
my summer holiday period. I expressed an interest in
financial consultancy and so Mary Lou Burge put me in
contact with Chris Loftus (B’91) who works as Director of
Parker Lloyd Capital (a financial consultancy specialising in
high net worth clients). Having first got together for a chat,
Chris was kind enough to organise a couple of weeks work
experience for me at the beginning of the summer.
Upon arriving to work I was welcomed into the office and
immediately made to feel as if I was a genuine part of the
team. This went a long way towards making my time at
Parker Lloyd a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I was
rotated through a variety of tasks ranging from the
organisation of favourable mortgage and re-mortgage rates,
as well as helping research many different types of
investment vehicles, ranging from property to transport
tankers. This varied work load was rather useful as it helped
give me a broad taste of what is involved in working in the
financial consultancy sector in which I am still very
interested.
I am now in my final year of study and therefore applying to
a plethora of different graduate schemes and placements
ready for after graduation next summer. The work
experience I had with Parker Lloyd Group was a hugely
rewarding and insightful experience and will hopefully be
especially useful in making me stand out from other
applicants.
I would recommend to any Worthian undergraduate to
organise some work experience during their holidays, as it
not only helps you find out what you are interested in but
also helps improve your CV and overall future employability.
Samuel Poynder (F’13)
I 19
The Global Action Awards
The Global
Action Awards
T
he Worthians Charitable Trust (WCT) Global Action
Awards (GAA) programme is now in its 15th year –
during which time the WCT has awarded a total of
£22,930 to Worthians who have spent time in unpaid work
for the good of others and the community, in both the UK
and overseas.
We continue to encourage Worthians to apply for a GAA at
any age or stage in their lives – this might be during their last
year at School, during a gap year, or perhaps in anticipation
of taking a sabbatical from work later on in their lives.
The adjacent table lists the GAAs that have been awarded
by the WCT since the programme’s launch in 2000, and
demonstrates the depth and breadth of projects that
it supports.
Since the 2014 issue of The Blue Paper we have seen the
return of Naomi Dring (StA’13) and Charlie Bridge
(StB’09) from their respective GAA projects. Naomi was
given the maximum award for her 4 month project with
Worth Abbey’s Outreach Peru programme which proved
to be a deeply moving experience for her working at the
Puericultorio JAVA Orphanage in Ayacucho. Charlie spent
most of 2014 in Rio de Janeiro with TASK Brasil, teaching
English to disadvantaged children in a particularly challenging
environment. Both have returned with powerful memories
and many lessons learned about themselves and the greater
world - things that will be invaluable to them during the
course of their lives. You’ll enjoy reading the full reports of
their incredible experiences on the following pages.
Charlie Bridge
We were also delighted to welcome back Charlotte
Bonhoure (StM’13) and Naomi Dring (StA’13) this year who
came to give insightful talks to current students about their
respective GAA projects.
During this current year the WCT has awarded 5 GAAs
amounting to £3,100.
Peter Webb (C’14) was awarded the maximum funding
available for his 6 month volunteering project with the
Manquehue Movement in Chile. As he returned at the end
of August 2015 he has been able to write about the highs
and lows of his time there in this issue.
Benjamin Booker (B’13) and Beatrice Lewers (StA’13)
were both awarded funding to spend their summer 2015
break from university at the Puericultorio JAVA Orphanage
in Peru. Stephen Free (C’15) was awarded his GAA to spend
3 months in the autumn of 2015 working with VSO & ICS in
Tanzania, whilst Frances Oesterlin (StA’15) was awarded
funding for a 2 month teaching project in a village close to
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which she will undertake in early
2016 as part of her gap year. We look forward to reading all
about their experiences in our next issue.
If you’d like to apply for a GAA, donate to the GAA fund via
the Worthians Charitable Trust, or just want to find out more;
then do please contact me at worthsociety@worth.org.uk
or take a look at the Community Support section of our
website www.worthsociety.org.uk
Mary Lou Burge
Peter Webb, second from right
Naomi Dring during ACE Week in June talking about her time with
Outreach Peru
20 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
GAAs Awarded since 2000
2014-15 Peter Webb (C’14) – volunteering with the Manquehue Movement in Chile
£1,000
Benjamin Booker (B’13) – volunteering with the Puericultorio JAVA Orphanage in Peru
£500
Beatrice Lewers (StA’13) – volunteering with the Puericultorio JAVA Orphanage in Peru
£500
Stephen Free (C’15) – working with VSO & ICS in Tanzania
£500
Frances Oesterlin (StM’15) – teaching English in Cambodia
£500
2013-14 Merrick Winter (F’13) – teaching English with Global Vision International in India and Nepal
£500
Charlie Bridge (StB’09) – teaching English with TASK Brasil in Rio de Janeiro
£500
Thomas Harrison (StB’92) – founding Fusion Enterprise Music & Drama Group for adults
with learning disabilities
£150
2012-13 Charlotte Bonhoure (StM’13) – working with the Manquehue Movement in Chile
Naomi Dring (StA’13) – volunteering for Worth Abbey’s ‘Outreach Peru’ programme in Peru
£750
£1,000
James Folger (B’10) – teaching English at schools in San Jose in Costa Rica
£400
Ciaran Stordy (StB’12) – working with the Manquehue Movement in Chile
£500
2011-12 Niamh Fogarty (StM’11) – volunteering with Tanzanian NGO, TanzEd
Xavier Geissmann (B’11) – working with the Manquehue Movement in Chile
£500
£700
Francis Dring (C’12) – volunteering with The Peru Mission in the Amazon
£1,000
2010-11 Jack Clancy (F’11) – working for a remote Maasai community in Tanzania
£900
Chris Napleton (C’11) – volunteering at an orphanage in Nepal
£700
2009-10 James Harrold (StB’10) – working with the Manquehue Movement in Chile
Will Desmond (C’09) – working with Cross Purposes in the UK
2008-09 Tristan Stutchbury (StB’01) – teaching English in Uganda
£750
£400
£750
Max Watson (F’05) – voluntary work in Tarma, Peru
£250
Benedict Wintour (B’09) – working as a teaching assistant in Kenya
£750
2007-08 Benedict Kelly (StB’78) – fund-raising for communities in Peru
£500
Tom McMurray (B’08) – nature guide training in South Africa
£500
Fridolin Steinbeis (R’08) – working with aids orphans and as a hospital volunteer in Mexico
£780
2006-07 Luke MacWilliam (R’07) – eco-tourism in South Africa; teaching in Malawi
Rob Carson (G’94) – running a camp for disabled children in Ireland
2005-06 Dominic Moor (StB’00) – medical elective in Uganda
£750
£500
£500
Michael Burr (F’06) – conservation work in Cambodia
£500
Rob Carson (G’94) – running a camp for disabled children in Ireland
£850
Edmund Chedgy (G’00) – medical elective in China
£500
Johnathan Craik (C’00) – medical elective in China
£500
2004-05 Daniel Grace (F’05) – teaching in Chile
Elliott Webber (R’04) – teaching in Nepal
£500
£500
2003-04 Andrew Welsh (B’04) – teaching in the Galagapos Islands
£500
2002-03 Francis Binney (G’00) – conservation work in Indonesia
£200
2001-02
Mark Haden (G’03) – the building of nurses homes in Zambia
£250
James Powys Lybbe (B’02) – working as a carer in a Romanian orphanage
£500
Alex Tyrwhitt (G’02) – teaching English in China
£250
2000-01 Nick Smith (C’01) – teaching in Uganda
Ed Bonn (G’01) – teaching in Kenya
Charlotte Bonhoure talking to
students in January 2015 about
her project with the Manquehue
Movement
£500
£250
I 21
The Global Action Awards
Heart speaks to heart:
A Peruvian adventure
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Worth Society Life
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The Old Place
Helping a lovely patient in Chulucanas
I
n February 2014, after receiving a very generous Global
Action Award from Worth Society, I set out alone on an
incredible six month adventure in Peru, unsure about
what I would be doing and completely unaware of the
lasting effect this experience would have on me.
After arriving in a hot and overcrowded Lima I took the
overnight bus ride into the mountains to Ayacucho, a
town situated in the southern Andes and notorious for
being the birthplace of the communist group The Shining
Path. The violent struggle between The Shining Path and
the Peruvian military in the 1980s resulted in the death of
around 70,000 civilians, most of them from Ayacucho
itself, and the subsequent founding of the Puericultorio
JAVA orphanage, the place I would be working for the next
four months.
‘Puericultorio JAVA’ was set up by the teacher Juan Andres
Vivanco Amorin in the early years of the conflict, first as a
food kitchen and then as an orphanage. Starting with just
7 orphans, the numbers grew daily as violence escalated
and soon more than 300 orphans were being cared for at
the home. After the death of its founder, the running of
the orphanage was taken over by the religious order ‘Las
Hijas de Santa Ana’ (‘The Daughters of St Anne’) and, to
this day, a small group of incredibly resilient and selfless
Sisters from this order run it and dedicate their lives to the
care of its precious children.
Since the end of the conflict, the backgrounds of the
children of the Puericultorio have changed dramatically.
Instead of primarily housing orphans, the home now cares
for children who have been abused or abandoned, a
number with parents in prison and many with extremely
poor families who are financially unable to look after
them. The traumatic nature of many of the children’s
pasts often made my work challenging and emotionally
draining, but when I arrived I could have never imagined
the impact these children would have on me, the lifelong
friendships I would form, and the deep love I would feel
for the Puericultorio and for Peru.
My work in the Puericultorio varied from getting the
younger children ready for school and helping them with
their homework, to feeding and playing with the babies in
the nursery, but the focus of all the work – for me and
everyone at the home – was in loving the children and
being for them the closest thing possible to a family. This
mission was constantly affirmed by the love I received
from the children and the Sisters, from being called
“mum” on Mother’s Day by Ruben, whose mother had
been murdered by her husband after years of domestic
abuse, to having Kristel, a baby I had been looking after
since she was a few months old, say the word “mama” to
me in my last week at the Puericultorio. These are but a
few of the children and experiences that made my four
months in the Puericultorio completely life-changing and
my leaving Ayacucho the most difficult thing I have ever
had to do.
Kristel after her lunch!
After spending these four incredible months in Ayacucho
I travelled north to Chulucanas, the diocese where my
uncle had previously worked as a Missionary priest for
three years and where my brother Francis worked in 2013
Left: Visiting Machu Pichu Above: First day of the Global Health Ministry medical campaign
I 23
The Global Action Awards
Heart speaks to heart:
A Peruvian adventure
continued
With Rosa and Elsa at the
Puericultorio School
as part of his GAA. From there I travelled into the
mountains to the rural village of Huarmaca where I lived
with Sister Saane (an old friend of my uncle) helping in the
parish, teaching English in the primary school and visiting
patients. Living in Huarmaca was an incredibly humbling
experience. I had the privilege of meeting some really
inspiring people whose poverty did not stop them from
reaching out to neighbours in need and even welcoming
strangers like myself.
On returning to Chulucanas I began a two week period of
work as a volunteer and interpreter on the Global Health
Ministry Medical Campaign. I was assigned to the ‘Sierra
Team’ and travelled alongside a paediatrician, a general
practitioner and two nurses in the trusty hands of our
drivers Angel and Stalin (yes, really) into the mountains.
We visited four villages, staying in each for a day or two
seeing patients non-stop. These communities had either
very little or no access to medical care, so despite being
given a list of patients who had signed up in advance, this
was soon abandoned as people began arriving, often
having walked for hours to see us. As well as interpreting,
I helped in triage and took vital signs and nutrition levels.
I had no previous medical experience (I had never even
been to the doctor’s before!) so the opportunity to work
in a medical environment was something I did not take
for granted and continue to be incredibly grateful for.
On the medical campaign I met some amazing people
whose gratitude, kindness and capacity for hope in the
face of extreme poverty and illness both baffled and
inspired me deeply. Despite feeling at times overwhelmed
and constantly exhausted, I cannot put into words how
fortunate I feel to have been able to have this experience
and to have worked alongside such an incredible group
of men and women. It is something that will stay with
me forever.
After leaving Chulucanas and finishing yet another chapter
of this unforgettable adventure, I set off once again by
myself to travel around Peru. I spent a month exploring
more of Peru: visiting the Inca capital Machu Picchu; taking
a terrifying plane journey over the Nasca Lines; spending a
night on an island in the middle of Lake Titicaca; and
relaxing for a short time on the beach. During this time
I discovered more about the history and culture, and met
people from all around the world. This gave me a deeper
appreciation for a country I had already grown to love, and
was a great way to end the most amazing six months of
my life.
It is now over a year since I returned home from Peru, but
my love for the country has only grown with time as has
my longing to return. I am still unable to put into words
how much this experience changed me and how much the
Puericultorio, in particular, meant and continues to mean
to me. I am eternally grateful to the Worth Society for
enabling me to have this incredible experience.
Naomi Dring (StA’13)
Above: Having fun with Doris in the playground
Left: In Ayacucho with the locals
Right: Walking with Sister Saane in Huarmaca
24 I
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The Old Place
It is now over a year since I returned home from Peru,
but my love for the country has only grown with time
as has my longing to return.
I 25
The Global Action Awards
A Land of Contradictions
B
razil is a country of many contradictions. As one of
the world’s most progressive democracies (and the
fourth most populous) it scores worse on the
Corruption Perception Index than Cuba. It is the world’s 7th
largest economy but 7% of the population live on less than
$2 a day. These contradictions appear in its culture – African
tribalism blended with European colonialism and Latin
Catholic roots to produce a vibrant chaos of liberalism and
piety. More than half of all Brazilians are Catholic but samesex unions were recognised as early as 2004 and same-sex
marriage legalised in 2013. In 2012 more than 50,000
Brazilians were murdered, more than in Nigeria (and they
have roughly the same population).
I spent most of 2014 in Rio de Janeiro working for a small
charity called TASK Brasil. In my short time there I was
exposed to another, less internationally apparent
contradiction. Despite the worldwide perception of Brazil
as an up-and-coming BRIC nation with a liberal attitude,
energetic culture and positive eco-political momentum (at
least, until 2014), it suffers from a huge educational divide.
It is hard to quantify this issue, but it is also hard to ignore
that over 10% of Brazilians are illiterate and only 43% of
adults have completed high-school.
TASK Brasil began as a set of boarding houses for pregnant
teenagers and young mothers who would otherwise live on
the street or in abusive situations. In 2008 it changed its
objectives and now runs a free school three days a week,
teaching a variety of core subjects to children who would
normally spend all or part of their day in the street. While
some of TASK’s beneficiaries do attend school, they only do
so for half of the day due to the struggling Brazilian school
system, so often have a great deal of time on their hands
and very little supervision. The school run by TASK sits on
the poorer side of a hill which comprises the Santa Teresa
neighbourhood, formerly the centre of the wealthy
colonists’ residences but now a semi-urban Bohemian
district. The students come from the surrounding area,
many from places a Westerner would call favela. Despite
western media’s fascination with the term it is rarely used
in Rio, and there are a great many areas of un- or underregulated housing that have varying levels of development.
The worst of these, some of which have clearly defined
boundaries, are recognised as favelas but given the much
more positive label comunidades, ie ‘communities’.
When I arrived in Rio I thought I had sufficiently lowered my
expectations about my future students’ level of education.
I didn’t expect to find 12 year-olds unable to add single
digit numbers or 15 year-olds who could not read. These
students were in school and attending most lessons taught
by teachers who had not held them back a year (supposedly
standard procedure in Brazil), let alone report severe
learning disabilities. It is not fair to blame the chaotic,
understaffed maelstroms that are inner-city Rio schools.
I found the truth to be much more complicated, or to
understand. There is a pervasive disdain and apathy
towards any sort of education within broad swathes of Rio’s
lower classes, an attitude I expect extends to the entire
country. This is not a case of tension between the more and
the less studious in a class, sometimes evident in British
schools, of ‘nerds’ being picked on by fellow students, but
something far more widespread. The standard response
for many new TASK students to “what is 7 plus 4?” isn’t
a puzzled expression or an “I don’t know” but simply
“I don’t care”. The same goes for corrections to basic
Portuguese or general knowledge.
The children who arrive at Casa Jimmy, the school building
named after a very generous member of Led Zeppelin, are
taught English, Maths, IT skills and what we call PSHE. As
challenging and fulfilling as this teaching is, especially given
the open, easy-going nature of the kids who were far more
curious about me than about Maths, it is the pastoral role
which I believe will be of truly lasting benefit to them.
Trying to instil a greater respect for knowledge, for the
process of learning and for their fellow students is what
drove me to persevere. As anyone who has worked with
children can testify, the innate ability of the young to
change and learn is astounding. At the start of the year one
of my students refused to talk to me for weeks. He abused
his size by bullying his fellow pupils and couldn’t write his
own name. Six months later he was a respected member of
the class to whom the other students looked for protection
and advice, mature enough to handle significant
responsibilities and able to read at a fair pace. I cannot take
credit for his transformation; the safety and stability of Casa
Jimmy was the rock in his turbulent life that allowed natural
human compassion and maturity to take hold.
I would often wander down the Santa Teresa hillside in the
evenings, normally the only time of day cool enough to do
so, and meet children playing in the street. With a grubby
football or rickety skateboard between 10 boys and girls
they would be laughing and crying, like children anywhere.
Except the street was quite dark and steep, with motorbikes
whipping up and down every so often or drunken labourers
Charlie entertaining a pupil
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Worth Society Life
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of Worthians
The Old Place
stumbling home after half a day’s work. The children would
be there until the early hours of the morning, some as
young as 6, and yet without a parent in sight. The boys were
proud and aggressively curious, blurting out a string of
questions about England and English football and English
swearwords without giving me time to answer. They would
strut and boast and argue but the minute I asked someone
if they could say “good evening” in English, there would be
total silence. I accidentally stumbled upon perhaps the only
thing that consistently left them shy – speaking another
language. Even after insistent querying about school
lessons the best I could get out of them was “wun, chu,
tree” or perhaps “mai naymi iss” without a following name.
Even so, I’d be lucky to escape in under half an hour
some evenings as they continued to be fascinated by my
foreign-ness.
After a few weeks, when most would greet me with a
genuine attempt at “good evening” or “good night”,
I started challenging them to come to Casa Jimmy and
improve their English, find out how to talk to any gringo
they met on the street. Some of them did, and loved it, but
it took me a while to realise that my teaching had actually
started back out on the street. I represented something
completely alien to these children – someone who valued
honesty, politeness (perhaps to excess) and their education.
I hope the positive aspects of my attitude and fortunate
education rubbed off on them as much as their lively,
outgoing and curious energy has affected me.
In my first foray into charitable work, an undertaking which
the Worth Society sponsored so generously, I have learned
a great deal. The uphill struggle faced by many in the
charitable and educational sectors is something I never gave
much consideration to at School. I now have a much greater
respect for those who choose to teach or to devote their
lives to others, simply because I have seen how hard it
can be.
Charlie Bridge (StB’09)
I 27
The Global Action Awards
A deep encounter
with the Lord
Right: Peter (on right) with a good friend he made in Chile
Right middle: The Portsmouth Abbey School Group
Far right: Peter with the rest of Casa San Juan Crisostomo
Below: Lago General Carrera
I
never quite got to grips with what it was I was going to
be doing in Chile for 6 months before I arrived. I think
most of the time I just tried to convince myself that it
was all an excuse for a jolly around Chile. How wrong I was.
Perhaps it is better to pick out a few highlights of my time
there, because there were highs, but also lows. For most of
the time I was working in the Colegio San Benito, the
original of the three schools that the Manquehue Movement
runs, in the Tutoria department (sort of like the Chaplaincy),
helping with English lessons, violin lessons and a few art
lessons. I also went to San Lorenzo, another of Manquehue’s
schools but in a much more difficult area, twice a week.
My time in Chile was incredibly difficult, there is no denying
that – I was the only ‘gringo’ that went and so sometimes
felt very lonely. In some sense though, it was this difficulty
in San Benito that made other parts of my stay so
rewarding. For a good proportion of my time there, life in
the community was a strain. The house had a schedule and
customs that attempted to follow the Rule of St Benedict. It
was a big shock to the system, letting go of my total
freedom – not the typical idea of a gap year! After many
months though, this became a real joy, and in some ways
very freeing. The community begins to be all there is, and
the fact that things are planned and ordered means that
small things that normally fill so much of your thoughts and
time just disappear.
In late April I was sent down to the Movement’s retreat
house in Patagonia, San José. I had no idea what to expect,
other than almost every Chilean I had met told me it would
be the highlight of my trip. I flew to Coyhaique and from
there it was roughly a seven hour journey to the retreat
house. San José houses a community of permanent oblates
of Manquehue, and also a male and a female community of
students, in most cases ex-students of the Manquehue
schools now at university, who stay for four months. It is
one of the most beautiful settings imaginable, and the
A Patagonian mountain range
28 I
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The Old Place
sheer desolation that surrounds it makes it just an
incredibly silent and peaceful place. However, what really
struck me most in my time there were the students that had
gone to live there. They had put everything on hold, their
studies and their social life, to attempt something they
would almost certainly find incredibly difficult; living an
intense community life, and seeking a personal encounter
with God. My experience there was unique for me. While
I try to avoid self-indulgence, I had a very deep encounter
there with the awesome love and power of God.
Several months later in June, a group visited from St Louis
Priory School (an Ampleforth foundation and part of the
EBC) in Missouri. They came to learn about Tutoria for two
weeks and I was a small group leader for their visit. I had a
group of seven St Louis boys, and two Chilean tutors who
were there to help me. I was incredibly nervous about their
visit, as I was not particularly enjoying my time there then,
finding life in the Movement difficult. More importantly, I
felt I had absolutely no experience in what I was supposed
to be showing them. I spent two weeks with my group, and
it was the strongest experience of shared faith, Tutoría and
community I had ever had. I was able to share much of what
I had experienced thus far in Chile, and being honest about
it made me confront, challenge and strengthen my
convictions about what I was telling them. Sharing Lectio
and being together every day, they experienced a more
caring and open friendship that was so different to what
they were used to at home.
I made some incredible friends in Chile, and some incredibly
different friends. In July a second group of Americans came,
this time from Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island.
They came to go on a ‘trabajo’, a service activity that the
Manquehue schools organise for their students; the
students travel out of Santiago and build a house/hut for
someone who badly needs it and I went to help as an
‘honorary’ Chilean for the week! Whilst the service side of
the activity is incredibly important, the experience that
many of the students treasure most is the community life.
For me however, it was a very difficult experience. I found
myself becoming frustrated with the way things were being
run. Towards the end of the week a friend came to me, and,
being blunt, told me exactly how he saw where I was going
wrong. I had been trying to make the week about ‘me’ and
not living it for the American students I was responsible for.
That turning inwards was what had made me feel so
frustrated and angry. This was a very important moment for
me, and indicative of the type of people that I met in the
Manquehue Movement. They live their relationships for
each other, whatever implications that may have.
My time in Chile was special, and this only describes a few
highlights of it. It will take me a while to fully take stock of
everything that I experienced. However, what will stop this
from being just a ‘gap year tale’ is when I bring some of the
things I learnt into my new life studying Theology and
Religion at Durham University and beyond.
I would like to thank the Worth Society for their generosity
in facilitating my trip to Chile, which helped massively to
make my trip such a brilliant experience.
Peter Webb (C’14)
I 29
The following Worthians represented the Worthians RFC
Club during the 2014-2015 Season:
Worthians Rugby
2014-2015 Season
T
Sport
he 2014-15 season was an enormous success, with
the Worthians deservedly achieving promotion to
Surrey 2. We’ve been in Surrey 2 before, but this time
we expect to stay there – and hopefully push for another
promotion in the next couple of years.
The season was a typical ‘game of two halves’ with the
WOBS pitching in from the start with 8 successive League
victories in a row – just one win short of our best ever run of
four years ago. In fact our only League defeat before the
Christmas break was to our arch-rivals Old Georgians. But
despite that defeat we were riding high at the top of the
League at Christmas well clear of our nearest rivals.
Our fine vein of good form recommenced in the New Year
and continued into January and February with four more
wins on the trot. But then, just needing one more win in our
remaining 5 games to secure promotion, we took our foot
off the accelerator… and scraped our promotion by winning
just the one game required. There were reasons for this
sudden decline though. The loss of key players to injury in
these last few games, just when we were playing our
strongest rivals, while they too were all striving for
promotion themselves, meant that we simply weren’t as
good, as focused, and as confident as we had been at the
start of our long season. As it happened, we deserved our
promotion – and anything short of this would have been a
crushing disappointment given the supreme form we had
shown in the first 3 quarters of the season.
The team line-up was relatively stable through the season,
with a good blend of experienced players from previous
seasons plus some great talent just out of the school,
notably Dom Suckling in the back row and James Kemp at
outside centre. Both of these rookies made a huge impact in
their games, James as the top try-scorer in the club (13
tries) in his remarkable run of 22 games, and Dom with 5
tries in his 7 appearances. Front row has often been a
problem in the past – but we were well served this season
by the always-improving Marco Boodramsingh and Peter
Osborne as our regular props, along with the ever-green
Rob Rooney (G’01), James Madsen (B’02), Jack Bodkin (G’03),
Giles Heather (F’03), Dan Pring (R’03), Jamie Bruce (R’04), Adam
Braverman (G’05), Chris Brown (C’05), Richard Brown (F’05),
Craig Monteiro (StB’05), Josh Taylor (B’05), Dom Bosher (R’08),
Andrew Furness (F’08), Tom O’Hare (B’08), Peter Osborne (R’08),
Giles Sacarello (StB’08), Oliver Scanlon (G’08), Kevin DanagherSmith (StB’09), Ed Kemp (F’10), Christian Killoughery (R’10),
Marco Boodramsingh (C’11), Nick Elvidge (C’11), Ed Everington
(B’11), Tomek Nawrocki (F’11), Dom Robinson (B’11), Harry
Killoughery (R’12), Eoin O'Connor (F’12), Tom Poynder (F’12),
Tom Chandler (’13), Ben Derbyshire (B’13), Louis Gorringe (C’13),
Jack Rafferty (C’13), Max Bergot (F’14), James Kemp (F’14), Hugh
Murphy (B’14), Dom Suckling (B’14), George Suckling (B’15)
and fiercely competitive Giles Heather. Guest Ed Hackett
was our match-winning hooker – but when Giles left for
Qatar at Christmas, and Ed suffered a shoulder injury in
February our fortunes slipped as we lost our solid platform.
Guest Phil Swann became our regular hooker in the latter
part of the season, making a notable impact in some key
games, while Ed Everington made a difference to the team
when he was available to prop.
Our second row was provided principally by Dan Pring
(when not injured), Peter Osborne (when not propping), and
our new find, the experienced guest-player Jonathan
Burbidge, who was tempted to join the WOBS after watching
his younger brother playing for several months. Our back
row was dominant when former captain Jack Bodkin, Dom
Suckling, Giles Sacarello and guest Adam Burbidge were
playing and on the rampage. But again we suffered from
injuries, losing Giles (knee) after 14 successive League
games – while Dom Bosher and Josh Taylor were confined
to the physio’s bench for most of the season. Richard Brown
made a welcome return to the team late in the season after
a serious injury last year, to secure our vital final League win
with a stunning 40 metre try. And James Madsen and Hugh
Murphy both made an impact in the few games they played.
Our backs were always going to be strong – but two
unfortunate injuries meant that gym-junky and supreme
athlete Chris Brown (with an ugly dislocated knee accident)
played just three games and skipper Adam Braverman
(neck/back) missed the second half of the season – so we
were unable to play our strongest line-up after the opening
few games. We had an abundance of talent and speed
nevertheless, with James Kemp at 13, and a back three of
Christian Killoughery, Kevin Danagher and Ed Kemp. Behind
the scrum were Player of the Season the all-tackling, jinking
guest Neil Pickford at 9, along with Rory Garratt (a longterm regular with the club) and Olly Owen sharing the
number 10 and 12 shirts. Eoin O’Connor and Ben
Derbyshire, both made frequent appearances on the wing –
with Eoin demonstrating his remarkable footballing skills on
several occasions – while the experienced Craig Monteiro
The ‘Younger vs Older’ match,
September 2015
Back row: Marco Boodramsingh,
Desmond Calnan, Luke Cummins,
Finbar Tilford, Ed Kemp, James
Kemp, Niklas Giesse (g), James
Henwood, Dugald McDonald (g),
Ashley Guest (g), Rob Cottrell,
David Love (g), Alex Winter (g),
Fergus Murphy-Hunt.
Front Row:Tomek Nawrocki, Nick
Elvidge, Rory Garratt (g), George
Suckling, Christy O’Brien, Christian
Killoughery, James Madsen, Joe
Rivers, Angus Bonner, Toby
Jozwiak.
30 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Remember this is your Club, for all Worthians, and we always need new
players! Everyone is welcome to play even if you can’t commit to a full season.
Take your pick of these choices to join in:
• In August/September: Play in the National Under-21 Competition (Bank Holiday
Monday). Play in the ‘old’ versus ‘young’ Worthians match (played at Worth on the
second Sunday of September)
• During your gap year: Sign up for a few games before you set off on your gap travels
• While at University: Play in the Under-21 fixture at Christmas. Play in the Sevens at
Easter. Or ring up for a game if you’re visiting parents for the weekend!
• After University: Join Worthians RFC full time if you’re working in London or nearby
If you’re thinking of playing, all you need to do is call one of the following people:
• Jack Bodkin (Captain): 07917 415165
• Desmond Calnan (Chairman): 07535 939582 or 01372 386511
James Kemp considers passing as his brother Ed approaches….
Sport
Luke Cummins, the captain of the ‘Young Worthians’, receives ‘The Glenn
Robertson Challenge Trophy’ from Fr Kevin in the pavilion, following his
team’s 41-26 victory
added much midfield solidity to our defences, often playing
at late notice when free of his Rugby League commitments.
Jack Bodkin stepped aside from the captaincy for this
season, after two successful years, though he continues to
play for the club. Adam Braverman replaced him and has
been an inspirational leader on the field, urging the team
through difficult games to achieve their remarkable run of 8
League wins. Unfortunately Adam himself was injured midseason, but continues to be prominent in his support of the
team on match days and even more prominent afterwards.
Ed Kemp leads the team now on Saturdays, while the fourth
person in this dynamic group of leaders is Giles Sacarello,
our Social Secretary, who manages this role with style and
also coordinates and cajoles the weekly training activity on
Wednesday evenings in Battersea. We are very grateful too
for the match-day services of physio Lucy Sacarello who has
been invaluable to the team.
For the coming season in Surrey 2, the key to success will be
a stable front 5 in the forwards – which needs to include
several spare players for the inevitable injuries, skiing
holidays, stag parties and weddings which regularly
interfere with the season. And our line-out needs to return
to the skill levels of the O’Connell/Pring combo of the WOBS
in the late noughties, or dare I say it, the days of fox-hunter
Dom Jones in the early days of the Club.
The connections with the School and the Leavers, vital for
the continuing success of the Club, have been good in
recent years, with James Kemp’s recent contribution to this
particularly important. The trick will be to keep these
connections ‘live’ right through to the University Leaver
stage, which is where the real prize lies. Entry every year to
the Cronk-Cunis under-21 National XV’s Festival helps in this
regard and participation in several Sevens Competitions in
the summer months is also important. The Worth game in
September is always a good attraction and great fun, but
maybe the innovative and hugely successful ‘Worthians
Festival of Rugby’ Fun Day (reported in detail on the
following page) will prove to be the most valuable of all in
attracting former players to take up their boots again.
Desmond Calnan (R’69)
Marco Boodramsingh keeps possession!
I 31
The Inaugural Worthians
Summer Rugby Festival
I
Sport
t was the perfect way to end the summer, and to begin
the 2015-2016 rugby season in style. At the Worthians’
home ground in Walton-on-Thames, the Club hosted its
very first Worthians Summer Rugby Festival on Saturday 5th
September 2015. Following up on the League success of last
season, the club identified the need for an inclusive annual
event to improve our recruitment drive and to raise funds
for the continued development of the Club. The day was as
much for the enjoyment of the spectators as it was for the
players. Whilst relishing the high quality of rugby talent on
show, spectators feasted on the delicious Italian meatballs
supplied by the Belpassi Bros, and on home-made cakes
provided by our ever-faithful supporters.
Livio and Lorenzo Belpassi with
Philip Swann, an Amplefordian who
works with them, provided the
catering for the day with their
famous meatballs
32 I
The complexion of the Tournament was very different to
any seen before, with Touch and Sevens combined in the
same competition in the form of two Groups and a knockout stage. Each team was to play two group games, and
based upon this would enter into semi-finals or the 5th/6th
play-off match.
Group 1 consisted of teams captained by Edward Kemp
(F’10) with 2010 and 2011 leavers combined, and Daniel
‘Wasali’ Pring (R’03) and the ‘Fat Boys’ Touch team of WOBS
rugby legends led by PJ ‘Heart ’n Soul’ Bailey (R’95). They
say age matters in rugby, and it showed in this group. Ed
Kemp’s young team prevailed in both of their pool matches
to qualify top. The first game was between ’11 leavers and
the ’03 leavers, and this was a nail-biting first game ending
14-12 to Ed Kemp’s team. Then followed the two Touch
games where the innate skills (for ‘innate’ read ‘long past’)
of the Fat Boys gave them a first half lead in each game.
Sadly, in the opening game the Fat Boys lost two of their
playmakers – Lee Howard to a tweaked/dodgy hamstring
and skipper PJ to an unusual condition known as ‘appallingly
unfit’ – PJ’s soul remained, but sadly his heart packed in
after a little less than 5 minutes. However, with doubleinternational Tom Calnan (R’95), former WOBS captain and
head boy Rob Carson (G’94), and a sprightly Guy ‘Flid’
Robinson (G’93), there was plenty of play still in the Fat
Boys, and they were unlucky to lose both matches by a
single late try in each game.
Group 2 had the tournament favourites, a young James
Kemp’s (F’14) team, comprising almost the same Sevens
Squad who had played at Rosslyn Park for the School in
2013, after their gap year exploits but still looking sharp and
athletic as ever. Up against Peter Osborne’s (R’08) makeshift
team and Adam Braverman’s (G’05) team, aptly named the
‘glass-men’ for their surprising decision to opt out of
contact to contest their games in Touch. The group had it
all; size, flair, hair and despair as the ’13 team narrowly
edged out the ’08 leavers, with some brilliant quality
sevens. Osborne’s post-match team-talk dwelt upon their
fitness, but many supporters present probably would have
put the result down to the consumption of pre-game beers.
This was an example that the ’05 leavers were not going to
follow. All ‘dressed to impress’ in their matching sky-blue
kit, this team was the essence of a squad with all the gear
and no fear, playing touch was their forte and they were out
to cause an upset. Unfortunately, they did all but that, as
they lost (to their credit, narrowly) to both of their
opponents.
The next round of matches paired up the two Touch teams
(’95 and ’05) to battle it out for the wooden spoon in the
5th/6th place play-off. Once again the Fat Boys of 1995 took
a quick lead but they were always in trouble when
Braverman’s Boys threw the ball wide to the left, where the
rather speedy Stefan Humphries (C’05) lurked – as he
tended to score at will. Despite the assistance of Abu Dhabi
Aussie ringer Alex, the (only) Woman of the Tournament Kat
Bailey, and the hyperactive dummying Silver Fox, the Fat
Boys could only muster 2 tries; the first a neat touch down
in the corner by Kat after some good link-up play, the
second a fantastic finish by the Chairman who fooled
everyone (himself included) with a series of wild dummies,
eventually opening the way for him to scamper in at the
corner with all the pace and determination of a fox being
pursued by a pack of baying hounds. However this was not
enough, and the game was put to bed by a superb tap pass
by Rory Garratt to allow Richard Brown (F’05) to score the
Braverman Boys’ fourth and final try.
The competition was now heating up like a freshly cooked
Belpassi meatball, as the spectators turned their attention
to the semi-finals. In the first match, Daniel Pring’s 2003
outfit were up against the 2013 leavers, the favourites. The
first half was a closely fought encounter with the ’13 leavers
going into the break just one try up. However, a few basic
mistakes in the first few minutes of the second half led to a
couple of quick tries for the ’13 leavers and their superior
fitness told in the end to run out as eventual winners.
Despite this set back, Daniel Pring’s outfit went into the
3rd/4th place play off with plenty of confidence and ran in
4 unanswered tries in the first half, to secure a respectful
third place in the tournament.
In the second semi-final, the ’08 leavers were vying for an
upset to stop the possibility of an all Kemp final, to defy the
odds and to have a chance of avenging their defeat in the
group stages. The match kicked off and it was the perfect
start, some sublime handling and offloads from Andrew
Furness (F’08) and surprisingly Peter himself, and the 08’
leavers were two tries up. Sevens proved that dominance is
short-lived and there was a quick response from Edward
Kemp, easily out-sprinting Giles Sacarello to go in under the
posts, the latter was raising a few spectator eyebrows
having played wing at school. The match ended 25-23 to
the ’08 leavers.
The Worthians Rugby Summer Festival Final was to be
contended by a repeat of the Group 2 classic between the
’13 and ’08 leavers. There was a complete contrast in
playing styles on show here. The ’08 leavers played a direct,
physical game offloading out of every tackle, against the ’13
leavers who relied upon their agility and fitness. It was
surprisingly Peter Osborne’s ’08 leavers that were victorious
on this occasion, compensating for their loss in the group
stages winning a very tightly contested match. Special
mention must go to Tom Cruz (B’08) for his fearless tackling
and relentless determination.
The Club’s thanks go to all of the supporters who came
down to Walton to watch their peers. There were 70 players
and 70 spectators on the day, including Duncan Pring and
Alan and Sue Mitchell from the School, and many Worthians
from the earliest days of the club, including former captain
Chris Jackson and Old Brightonian Teds Littlewood, now
bringing their children rather than their boots. A sighting of
our esteemed London mayor Boris Johnson was also
recorded, although this may have just been Dom Suckling
(B’14) as he came out of the shower. Non-playing Tom
Mitchell (F’07) offered sound (but largely unheeded) advice
from the touchline, and the valuable prize of a signed
England Sevens shirt for the raffle. Over a hundred people
stayed on in the clubhouse afterwards to witness the
presentation of the coveted ‘Silver Fox’ Cup to the winners
and to enjoy the England vs Ireland warm-up international.
It was a great spectacle and a great day out.
Please come next year, as this Festival of Rugby will be an
annual fun day for all players, friends and families – with the
prospect of more sport and entertainment for all ages.
Giles Sacarello (StB’08)
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Worthians Cricket
2015 Match Report
As is customary, the season started with the Worthians
taking on the School 1st XI on Speech Day. Sadly this season
the report on the fixture is a little shorter than usual, mainly
due to the fact that the scorecard has been misplaced!
Although there is little to report in terms of cricket, the day
as a whole was extremely enjoyable and it was nice to see so
many people coming down to support the School. The day
ended in the Worthians losing a closely fought fixture.
The Worthians vs Occasionals fixture is always a tightly
contested match. This year had an extra edge with John
Denman poaching a strong selection of old boys to
represent the Occasionals. The Worthians won the toss and
chose to bat on what looked like a good batting wicket. The
game got off to a bit of a shaky start with the Occasionals
taking two quick wickets. This brought an in form Theo
Rivers to the crease. Theo played a stunning innings, easily
the best innings by a Worthian for at least three seasons,
hitting a classy 81 and missing out on what should have
been a well-deserved century. Thanks to some good
supporting batting from Luke Donegan (23) the Worthians
ended their innings on 152 for 5 from 30 overs.
The Occasionals got off to an equally shaky start losing two
quick wickets. A special mention goes to Tom Planterose
who took the first wicket with an excellent piece of fielding,
throwing down the stumps at the non-strikers end with a
quick pick up at mid-off. Although there was a solid spell of
leg spin bowling from Theo Rivers (2-18) the Worthians
never really found their bowling groove and the Occasionals
put together some very impressive partnerships. Toby
Pullan (26), Damian Cummins (19) and Luke Cummins (50
n.o.) all contributed to the Occasionals effort, helping them
to chase down the total in 28 overs. Although it was
disappointing to lose, the performance of the old boys
representing the Occasionals provided a lot of positivity for
the remainder of the season.
and Hugo Bashall (28) deserving special mention as we
chased down the total within 22 overs.
The final fixture of the season was against Downside
Wanderers. Last year the Downside fixture was the highlight
of the season with the Worthians winning the match in the
final over. Hopes were high that we would have a similarly
close fixture this season. Downside won the toss on a
beautifully sunny day and chose to bat. They got off to a
slow but steady start, accumulating 40-0 off the first 10
overs. Some tight bowling from Greg Russell (0-21) and
Michael Bilbé (2-27) kept the pressure on Downside forcing
loose shots and reducing them to 50-2 off 12 overs. This
pressure did not last long though with Downside putting
together a fluent 138 run third wicket partnership.
Thankfully Christian Killoughery (1-49) got the much
needed breakthrough with some excellent line and length
bowling and Thomas Bilbé (2-30) stopped the tail from
wagging to leave Downside 201-6 off their 35 overs.
The Worthians response got off to a weak start being
reduced to 36 for 2 off 9 overs. Thankfully the Worthians
fought back hard in the middle overs lead by a magnificent
innings from Hugo Bashall (60). Bashall found the boundary
with ease (including three 6’s in a row!) and was well
supported by Luke Cummins (23) and Greg Russell (23).
This left the Worthians in a strong position of 126 for 4 off
22 overs. Things suddenly took a rather unexpected turn
with Downside taking some quick wickets, leaving the
Worthians 167 for 9 off 29 overs. From such a strong
position this was rather disappointing and left the final
pairing of Thomas Bilbé and Christian Killoughery a
monumental task. Thankfully both fancy themselves as
middle order batsmen and proceeded to demolish the
Downside bowling, hitting the boundaries off nearly every
ball and showing us all how it is done. The highlight of the
cameo was Thomas Bilbé (35 n.o.) dutifully hitting a straight
6 to bring the winning runs and take the Worthians to 202-9
off 33 overs.
The following
Worthians
represented the
Worthian Cricket
Team during the
2015 Season:
Andrew Keatley (C’96)
Richard Gairdner (StB’98)
Michael Bilbé (StB’06)
Thomas Bilbé (StB’06)
James Innes (C’06)
Tom Planterose (R’06)
Ed de Mott (B’07)
Ed Hall-Smith (R’07)
Anthony Lamb (R’08)
Ben Oakley (F’08)
Tom Wright (B’08)
Matt Donnegan (StB’10)
Edward Kemp (F’10)
Christian Killoughery (R’10)
Joseph Rivers (F’10)
Rishi Amin (F’11)
Greg Russell (F’11)
Theo Rivers (F’11)
Luke Donegan (StB’13)
Ben Pullan (C’13)
James Kemp (F’14)
Toby Pullan (C’15)
Luke Cummins (C’15)
It is fixtures like this one that make the effort of arranging
the Worthians cricket team worthwhile and I would appeal to
anyone who has any interest in cricket to get involved in the
W.C.C. Players of all standards are welcome and we are keen
to get as many new players as possible involved in the club.
Michael Bilbé (StB’06)
Having lost the first two fixtures of the season the
Worthians vs St. Chads fixture was an important game. St
Chads were put in to bat on a day when the Worthians
bowling attack was firing on all cylinders. Tight bowling
from Greg Russell (1-13), Christian Killoughery (1-11) and Ed
De Mott (4-9) reduced St Chads to a tame 109 all out. With
victory in their sites the batsmen went out to chase a small
total in a confident manner. Although there were a couple
of cheap wickets the result never looked in doubt and the
Worthians cruised to an easy victory with Ed Hall-Smith (25)
Worthians vs School 1st XI on Speech Day
I 33
Sport
T
his season was my second full season in charge of the
Worthians Cricket Club and by far the most enjoyable.
On paper the Worthians only managed two wins from
our four fixtures. However I do not believe this is a fair
reflection of the season. The standard of cricket played was
probably the highest I have seen for the last few years and
there were some excellent individual and team
performances. As always our season was hampered by
unforeseen circumstances. This year the fixtures against
OACC and Emeriti were cancelled due to the opposition being
unable to field sides. Had these fixtures been played I am
confident we would have ended up with a winning seasons.
Moor Park Golf Club, the annual venue
for the Worthians Spring Meeting
(to be held on 27th May 2016)
Worthians Golf
2014-2015 Season
T
Sport
he annual autumn meeting was held again over a
weekend in November at The East Sussex National
Golf Club and was well supported. This year Dominic
Pasqua (B’76), who was a close third the previous year,
came to the fore winning the Worth Salver. Cleverly he only
played in the Sunday competition game, having alternative
engagements on the Saturday. As such he managed to avoid
the annual dinner the night before which took its toll on
some members, names not to be published!
The 2015 season opened as usual with our annual match
against The Old Gregorians at Royal Ashdown Forest Golf
Club. Matthew Wood (B’77) gallantly led the team with
Hugh Bett (B’73), Patrick Davey (F’04), Greg Pickard
(StB’81) and James Robertson (B’89) in support. The match
was close but unfortunately we lost by 2 points to 3.
Each year the Society plays in two scratch foursomes events.
In early May the South East qualifying round of The Public
Schools Old Boys Golf Association is played at Knole Park Golf
Club near Sevenoaks. The competition is of a high standard
and, despite entering each year, to date we have failed to
qualify for the final weekend at Hunstanton, and
unfortunately this year was no exception. Nevertheless it is
always an enjoyable day and the Society was enthusiastically
represented by Stephen Bamford (StB’68), Phillip Davey
(F’04), Stuart Hiscocks (B’95), Graham Hutchings (G’05),
Ken Ross (G’65) and Matthew Wood (B’77).
The Catholic Public Schools Russell Bowl competition is
played annually at Woking Golf Club in early June when the
course is in magnificent condition. The format is again
scratch stableford foursomes over 36 holes, with an
enjoyable lunch interlude between the two rounds.
Hugh Bett (B’73), Peter Gottelier (R’70), Ken Ross (G’65),
Simon Ross (G’98), Rupert Pridham (G’81) and Matthew
Wood (B’77) did battle for the Worthians and avoided the
wooden spoon!
To do better in these events requires a greater depth of low
handicap members and so it would be appreciated if anyone
reading this report could let me know of any such players.
The final event to report is the annual Spring Meeting which
for several years has been well supported at Moor Park in
June. The staff at Moor Park are excellent hosts and a most
enjoyable day was had by all with two rounds of golf between
which lunch and wine was consumed with enthusiasm!
Graham Hutchings (G’05) took the Worth Rose Bowl home
with 36 points, followed by brothers Simon (StB’78) and
Greg Pickard (StB’81) in second and third places
respectively. Prizes for nearest the pin went to Alastair
Milne Home (C’93), Matthew Wood (B’77), Peter Gottelier
(R’70) and Nick Hopkins (G’05), whilst Greg Pickard
(StB’81) swung his driver with sufficient alacrity to win the
longest drive prize.
I am pleased to report that in the last year a number of
younger Worthians have joined the Society, but we still only
have a relatively small number of members when one takes
into account the probable large number of Worthian golfers
that must be out there swinging their clubs in earnest either
frequently or infrequently with varying success like the
rest of us. The Society would welcome new members of
all ages and standards, and with a growing membership
more fixtures and events could be arranged. If you
wish to know more please get in contact with me at
kandbaway@gmail.com
Ken Ross (G’65)
Worthians Squash 2014-2015 Season
O
ur first match of the season against the students
took place on 15th November 2014 with the
following players taking part: Bobby Acworth
(C’81), Harry Fisher (B’81), Stephen Barham (StB’94),
Tom Lewis (G’05) and Matthew Doggett (F’07).
The second match of the season, on Sunday 22nd March
2015, coincided with the Worthians Football Tournament
and was arranged to start at 11.30am, so they would finish
in good time to either watch, or participate in, the various
football matches taking place on the same day.
As Bobby and Harry were far too strong and experienced for
the current Worth team, they played an exhibition match
between themselves, displaying their usual determination
on court and treated the spectators to a hard-fought match
which Harry eventually won. Stephen Barham played
Nathan Amin and brought out the best performance that I
had seen from Nathan all term with him coming back from
2-0 down to win 3-2. Tom Lewis won a tight match against
Alex D’Amario and Matthew Doggett, in his first game of
squash for some time, lost the first game to Phillipe Wijjs
but fought back to win 3-1.
The following players came along: Desmond Calnan (R’69),
Howard Brookman (G’93), Matthew Doggett (F’07),
Ben Oakley (F’08), and Sam Buckley (F’09).
They played one another in a series of matches and again it
was a pleasure to watch Desmond Calnan on court against
his younger opponents, his guile and experience ensuring
victory against all apart from Sam Buckley, who turned out
to be the eventual winner.
We are much looking forward to arranging further squash
fixtures in November 2015 and March 2016 and
wholeheartedly encourage any Worthian who enjoys the
game (at whatever level!) to come along and join us. If
you’re interested, then please do get in touch with Mary Lou
at worthsociety@worth.org.uk
Jeremy Dowling
34 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Worthians Football
2015 Match Report
The U21s 2015 Team
T
The football was competitive and very close with only a one
goal margin required to win in every game. Ben Oakley was
injured in the over 21 v staff game in a 50-50 challenge with
John Everest. Ben has only recently returned to playing 5-aside football on Thursday nights with the staff. Meanwhile
John Everest will be helping me run the 1st XI this year! We
also saw a dangerous tackle on Dan Hyde nearly
prematurely ending his successful career at the Telegraph!!
Happily he, and everyone else, was able to reach the bar in
the Pit Stop for a beer, a sandwich and time to reflect on
what might have been.
TEACHERS TEAM
OVER 21s
UNDER 21s
P
W
D
L
Pts
2
2
2
1
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
3
6
0
Sport
he 7th Worthian Football Tournament took place on
the pavilion pitches on a cold but sunny Sunday on
the last weekend of the Spring term.
The O21s 2015 Team
The 1st X1 won The Henry Surtees memorial cup beating
the Under 21s in a game of two halves. The under 21s
started to tire in the second half having played 2 matches
already in the H Trophy tournament.
Once again I am grateful to a number of people who should
be mentioned here. Mary Lou Burge for all her
administrative badgering, her organisation of players and
me, and her husband Alex’s photographs of the day. The
Captains, Mike Matthews (Staff), Mark Breen (O21s) and Alex
Davis-White (U21s) who competed for the H trophy and
assisted me greatly in sorting out the teams. The ground
staff, catering, referees, all of those who played football on
the day (including the 1st XI) and the supporters, especially
Mr Rivers, who had all 4 of his sons playing, 3 for the old
boys, Joe, Theo and Ollie and Max, who captained the 1st XI.
But most of all, of course, a huge thank you to Mr John
Surtees OBE, who continues to support this event whatever
the weather. Once again he was kind enough to present the
trophies in the Pit Stop Café and to sign my copy of his
autobiography!! (This is available in all good book shops,
half of the price going towards The Henry Surtees
Foundation.) A super present for Father’s day!?! I continue
The Worth School Staff 2015 Team
to be impressed by the humbleness of John Surtees who is
a true legend and one of our greatest sportsmen. As I said
on the day, “The only man to win the world titles at Formula
1 and 500cc motorbike and a winner of Sports Personality of
the Year”.
Finally, may I remind you all that the Football Tournament
will be held, as always, on the last Sunday of the Spring
Term - Sunday 20th March 2016. Make sure you put the date
in your diary, contact members of your year group and
come and join us, it’s more than just a game. All the best.
Andy Taylor
Far left:
Max Rivers
proudly
receiving the
Henry Surtees
Memorial
Trophy
The following Worthians played in the 2015 Football
Tournament:
Under 21s
Captain: Alex Davis-White (B’14)
Edward Kemp (F’10)
Joseph Rivers (F’10)
Tim Long (B’11)
Theo Rivers (F’11)
Charlie Wawn (StB’11
Alex Blake (B’14)
Marcus Fletcher (C’14)
James Kemp (F’14)
Oliver Rivers (F’14)
Andy Taylor
Over 21s
Captain: Mark Breen (B’05)
Tim Starkie (G’90)
Dan Hyde (StB’05)
Jack Rackham (R’05)
Jack Jenkins (C’07)
Ben Oakley (F’08)
Tom Wade (F’08)
Jonathan Whitehead (StB’08)
Christopher Adlam (C’09)
Charles Forbes (StB’09)
Matthew Stagnetto (B’10)
Harry Woodman (F’10)
Left:
John Surtees
presents Mark
Breen with the
Henry Surtees
Award
I 35
Scott of
the Antarctic
36 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
The whole team in Punta Arenas before leaving
I
grew up at Worth reading stories of daring do and
adventure, the likes of Shackleton, Hillary and Scott
featuring heavily. When the time came to leave I had a
vague notion that I would love to work outdoors, and to
somehow visit some of the places I’d read about. I had little
idea of how to turn this notion into a career, so after
studying Theology at Bristol, I followed lots of my
contemporaries into the City.
I spent a couple of years working for an oil broking firm but
found office life difficult to swallow. Eventually I took a
break and conducted my own expedition hiking solo from
Glasgow to Cape Wrath, raising money for the Alzheimer’s
Society. The expedition made me realise that it was time to
direct my working endeavours outdoors, to adventure, and
to my passion for documenting what I saw through
photography. After some good advice from family and
friends I decided to train as a cameraman, and gradually,
through a lot of luck and meeting some very kind people,
I fulfilled my wish. As a freelance I have been to some
incredible and interesting places, from war zones to remote
wildernesses, but there had always been one place above all
that I had wanted to venture to since reading about it as a
school boy; Antarctica and the South Pole!
When I was asked to join the Willis Resilience Expedition to
Antarctica in November 2013 my excitement at realising a
childhood dream was huge. The expedition had a duel
purpose - to test man’s resilience in extreme conditions and
to gather research data to help understand our changing
planet. I was to be cameraman to Parker Liautaud, a 19 year
Linking up with other Arctic Trucks to refuel
old American, as he struggled to trek 507km on skis in the
extreme climate from the coast to the Pole. The plan was to
fly in to Antarctica, via Punta Arenas in Chile, to a base at
Union Glacier. There would be two parts to the expedition;
in the first we would drive to the South Pole and then across
to the Leverett Glacier, taking ice cores at regular intervals
across the way to aid in climate change research. When we
finally got down the glacier where the sea ice started, Parker
and experienced Antarctic guide, Doug Stoup, would begin
their attempt to break the record for the fastest journey
skiing from coast to pole.
Showing its inhospitable nature right from the start we had
to wait in Punta Arenas for 10 days for a weather window
suitable for us to fly. On the plus side, the delay gave me the
opportunity to meet and chat to Doug Allen, a huge hero of
mine, and one of the BBC’s top wildlife cameramen, who
was on his way to film leopard seals. Finally given the green
light to go we were told the flight would be that night. We
went to one of the best restaurants in town for a last solid
meal (we live off freeze dried food while on expedition),
and had just ordered some huge Argentinean steaks when
we got the call saying our flight had been brought forward
and would leave in an hour - we had to leave before the
steaks were even cooked!
The flight into Antarctica is usually the same whether you
fly in via South America or South Africa. The only planes that
can land on the blue ice runways are Russian Ilyushins,
which are like something straight out of a Cold War film and
crewed by ex-Russian Air Force members, many of whom
Left: Paddy with a replica of Shakletons whisky he took on expedition Above: The Ilyushin II-76, one of few planes able to land on blue ice
I 37
Scott of the Antarctic continued
Paddy with a bottle of Doyne-Ditmas Family Chilli Oil – a real treat!
I'm sure are Cold War veterans! We took off in night-time
darkness and then as we flew south gradually saw the
sun slowly appear over the horizon as we got closer to
Antarctica. This was to be the last time we would see
darkness for the next two months.
As we were already delayed 10 days we began our drive
across the continent as soon as we landed. Many people
think of Antarctica as being flat ice or a layer of flat soft
snow, but in fact it varies enormously and you get anything
from deep powder to hard blown waves of ice called
sastrugi. Some of these can be up to 2 metres in height so
rather than driving over them you have to wind your way
through them as if in a maze, and often finding yourself
at a dead end. The vehicle we were using to navigate the
sastrugi was another highlight of the expedition. Arctic
Trucks are an Icelandic company that make the kind of
vehicles you see in comics, only much much bigger! They
made the truck in which Jeremy Clarkson attempted to
drive to the North Pole. Even so, our travelling speed across
the unpredictable ice varied from 50kmph to as little as
8kmph in bad conditions, but with Eyjo, the brilliant Arctic
Trucks engineer, on our team, we made steady progress.
One of the hardest things about being in Antarctica, aside
from the cold, is the constant daylight, and indeed below a
certain latitude the sun does not even dip but just rotates
around the sky in a continuous loop 24 hours a day. This
means it is very easy to lose all sense of time, and in our
haste to make up the time we had lost at the start we were
running on 30 hour days, travelling for 20-22 hours and
then resting for 8. Lack of sleep, irregular hours and 24 hour
daylight can make you quite confused, almost delirious.
Time starts to become irrelevant and all that matters is
distance travelled, a monotony broken by our scheduled
stops to drill ice cores every few hundred kms.
38 I
After about 2 weeks of constant driving we finally made
it across to the other side of the continent and then
dropped off our two skiers. The expedition then changed
dramatically and we started to follow the skiers at the pace
they set as they trekked against the clock to set the speed
record to The Pole.
For the most part conditions were good and the coldest
temperatures we experienced were around -40, which as
I found out on an expedition the following year, is relatively
mild for Antarctica! High winds are always a problem, and a
big fear is letting go of the tent while setting it up to see it
disappearing in to the distance and having to sleep the rest
of the expedition crammed into the truck.
After 19 days we reached The Pole on Christmas Eve,
Parker and Doug had beaten the previous record of 21days,
although by a shorter route than the previous record - an
impressive achievement.
After a few days rest Eyjo and I drove back to the base
where we could catch the Ilyushin flight out while the
others waited for a plane that would fly them back. This was
my first chance to drive the 6 wheeled truck that had been
our base for so long, and I can’t deny that I was pretty
excited to get behind the wheel of the ice crunching beast!
The guys from Arctic Trucks had told me endless stories of
the hallucinations they had experienced while driving in
Antarctica’s endless whiteness on very little sleep, and
whilst I believed them, I did think that they had possibly
exaggerated the crazy visions! However about 10 hours in
to my first stint behind the wheel, after not sleeping for
about 36 hours, I experienced them at first hand. It is really
extraordinary what the brain will do. I was seeing small blue
men and sheep running around in front of the truck and it
was all I could do to stop myself swerving to avoid them!
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
The pit we had to dig each time to get ice core samples
Paddy during his time at Worth
Although extremely tired, you are thinking clearly and
telling yourself this is a hallucination, but the vision doesn’t
go away. The only explanation I can offer is that your brain
being so sleep deprived and yet forced to stay awake needs
to invent something other than the monochrome white
landscape to look at in order to stay active.
After 56 hours of grueling driving with only two short stops,
one to cook some food and the other to replace a wheel
that had flown off, we finally arrived back to the base at
Union Glacier. We were greeted with a couple of beers,
which were a very welcome site!
When I finally touched down in Chile, the first thing that hit
me was the smell. I had expected to be struck by the
temperature change, which I was, but your sense of smell is
so heightened after 2 months in the frozen landscape that
you can smell the grass and the flowers beside the runway
from about 300m! It feels great to get back and enjoy
everything as if for the first time; showers, fresh food…
more beers! Having spoken to others it seems everyone has
a similar reaction being back, at first you swear that’s the
last time you will go to Antarctica, however within about a
week of being back; the bad bits fade from memory and the
idea of going back seems quite tempting. Indeed when I got
the call 6 months later to ask if I would like to join another
expedition driving a Massey Ferguson tractor to the South
Pole, I did not think twice!
Parker and Doug at the ceremonial South Pole
Paddy Scott (B’01)
Paddy filming the skiers
I 39
Fighting Spirit
I believe – Vancouver 2010
Winter Olympics
There comes a moment
When my heart must stand alone
On this lonely path I've chosen
Like a house that's not a home
Sometimes when I feel I've had enough
And I feel like giving up
You willed me to be all I can be
Now nothing can stop me
I believe in the power that comes
From a world brought together as one
I believe together we'll fly
I believe in the power of you and I
40 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Vs Peter Barwell (England)
I
started my fencing career at Worth in the 1990s and, like
any aspiring athlete, making my national team (I’m a
Canadian) was always somewhere on my bucket list. My
early fencing days were driven largely by results; pushing
the envelope at every corner; always going for broke. By
2000 I was on the right track to the high performance
squad, but alas tendonitis set into my sword arm which
initially hampered me competing, but later, without proper
rest, forced me to stop. Hopes were dashed, equipment got
zipped up, the journey was over.
At the onset of the condition I was unable to perform simple
tasks such as opening door knobs, lifting milk jugs, pouring
tea, or writing at length. Six years passed before I could
return to the sport, and even then in a very limited capacity;
any blade contact was accompanied by shooting pain. I had
to form my game around that porcelain elbow, so nothing
less than proper technique would do. In retrospect, it was
by breaking apart that I was able to rebuild and redevelop.
There’s a thing to be said about technique: nobody is
too small, too slow, too fragile, or too anything to fence;
everyone has a chance to develop and make something of
it. This is an intricate sport and there is a lot going on behind
that mask. The strongest and fittest don’t necessary finish
first. Fencing is riddled in layers, you need to be patient as
you work at it, unpeeling more and more of the puzzle.
It would be a decade since the initial injury before I resumed
competition nationally, and this time with a denser will to
succeed - I think I had something to prove to myself. Being
back, amongst other things, I had to relearn my opponents,
find my place in the ranks, adapt to rule and style changes,
and rebuild confidence. Competition can be harsh; aside
from the occasional peak in performance, there were many
long periods of flat lining. Travelling across the country I
would find myself at airports and hotels with lots of time to
ponder upon the sanity of this wayward endeavour.
By the 2012 Nationals, I failed to make the round of 32,
beaten by a lower seed, and at that point I had the
conversation with myself, “32 young fellas ahead of you, no
resounding national or regional level result in the last
couple years, the family’s busy, what are you in it for? Look,
it’s over, time to move on …” And so I heeded the advice, no
more expeditions, just stayed home and fenced for health. I
was resigned to that ending…
The Canadian Foil Team
In November 2014 I had the privilege of being selected to
compete for Team Canada at the Commonwealth Fencing
Championships, held in Largs Scotland, for Senior and
Veteran foil. The Championships are held every four years,
and every two for Veterans.
I finished the Senior event ranked 37 of 50, with participants
coming from countries such as Australia, South Africa,
India, and the Home Countries. It was thrilling to see the
upcoming fencing power, Singapore, with their nifty
footwork and sweeping blade actions, take on the age old
classical style of some others. Full coverage, including
webcams from L16 onward, can be found on the website
www.cfc2014.org
On Medalling at Veterans Foils
The following week I did Veterans Individual and Team,
and won bronze at both events. The thrill of winning no
different than winning my first Sussex U14 medal! Wearing
your team colours, and having your team-mates cheer you,
elevates you outside your skin; you get that huge adrenaline
rush, and for that brief moment you are in a different world.
At the Veteran event, I bumped into an old school rival, Jim
Crawfurd (Kings Canterbury), now Veteran Sabre Champion
for Wales. We were once South East England foil teammates, and we met again at different weapons 22 years
later! Fueled by the camaraderie respect, we cheered one
another on, both upset the top seeds along the way to
podium finishes, and then exchanged team jerseys to wrap
up an awesome week of fencing.
So in sharing this journey, if you happen to find yourself
stuck in a rough patch, keep your guard up and battle
through the storm. For it’s when one door shuts that
another opens; and you may be inches away if only you’d
known. I would like to close with lyrics from a Canadian
legacy (see opposite): to my dear wife Teresa; endorsing the
adventure; never losing faith; letting me be; and without
whom it wouldn’t have been possible.
With Jim Crawfurd (Wales)
Julian Tang (G’93)
Then in Winter 2013, as luck would have it, one of the core
qualifiers got held in town. I squeaked out a decent first
round: 4 of 5 victories, 3 of them narrowly at 5-4 score. I
was hanging on added time, and I well knew it. In the 32s;
on digesting the reality check, I came out a worker bee,
one emotionless focused blank state of mind, some call it
‘being in the zone’. This time there would be no mistake –
and I barrelled into the top 16. How odd, once you do it, you
can do it again, and again, and again, and so that summed
up my qualifier year: 2013-14 a bumper season, plus a spot
on the Commonwealth senior team.
Left: With Vincent Tang (G’91) and Miguel Mertens (StB’90) in Vancouver
Right: In the old gym at Worth c.1990
I 41
Making the difference
in Public Service
“Hello, I’m the Leader of Brighton & Hove” I said to the
Mayor of Oslo. “Oh,” he replied “is that near Brighton by any
chance?” So began my first trip to a European conference of
city leaders a few years back. After that I learnt that when
overseas I was always from Brighton, but when at home it
was most definitely Brighton & Hove!
I’ve just completed eight years of being an elected
councillor on Brighton & Hove City Council, an authority
which serves the 280,000 people of the City with around
8,000 staff and a £750 million annual budget. For the last
four years (May 2011 to May 2015) I was part of the UK’s
first Green council administration, first as the person in
charge of council finances, then for the last three years as
Council Leader.
As I recover from political life over this summer I look back
with no regrets but quite a bit of exhaustion. It’s been an
incredible experience serving the residents, businesses and
11 million visitors to the city I call home. I’ve had striking
bin workers marching on my office shouting my name, I’ve
had the opportunity to cut ribbons and dig first sods for
fabulous projects, collect national awards for our work and
rebut national media frenzies over manufactured and
barely true reports of what we had or hadn’t done!
One of the key projects I helped to ensure was funded to
fruition is The i360, currently under construction, which will
be the tallest building in Sussex. The tower was designed
and delivered by Marks Barfield who designed and built the
London Eye before operating it for its first decade. I
spearheaded a deal which used a government loan to fund
the i360’s construction and will create £1.1m a year profit to
the city council for the next 25 years, whilst ensuring a
major new attraction is built in Brighton.
I’ve learnt a huge amount about personal resilience,
public service and leadership. One thing that has struck
me which might be good for all Worthians to consider most of us simply don’t know enough about how our local
government works. Council Leaders and Directly Elected
Mayors hold far more power and influence than most MPs,
yet I was continuously asked when I wanted to step ‘up’ to
being an MP. No thanks! In most countries leading a city is
seen as the step up. We all need to do more to be engaged
with and understand our councils, especially at a time when
demand for their services is growing whilst budgets are
being squeezed.
Jason (far right, seated) signing the Greater Brighton City Deal with Greg
Clark MP, Cities Minister (centre, seated) surrounded by local MPs, council
leaders and business leaders
My lasting impression is that councils are filled with people,
both elected councillors and officers, who are dedicated
public servants working hard to make a positive difference
in their area.
Jason Kitcat (B’97)
Jason (second left) breaking ground on the i360 observation tower
42 I
Jason (left) receiving the LGiU Judges’ Special Award for Contribution to Local Government 2015
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Worth Serving
F
rom quite an early time at Worth I was interested in
the Armed Forces and became aware that a number
of Worthians had gone into the three Services.
Having started the selection process for the Royal Navy
during Sixth Form I was encouraged to defer an application
until after University, but by that time I had become a ‘moth
to light’ in the draw to a commercial career in London (I’m
currently working as a Property Analyst). Perhaps the
attraction of confined spaces had waned after luxury
ensuite accommodation at Worth for which I was an early
beneficiary! However my interest in the Navy was never
extinguished and thus I decided to combine military service
with a civilian career.
Midshipman Butterworth on exercise
HMS Iron Duke
Following acceptance by the Admiralty Interview Board I
was attached to HMS President Royal Naval Reserve division
in the City of London. After two years of training at various
naval establishments including Dartmouth, the next stage
involved two weeks at sea where I was on board HMS Iron
Duke. The ship is a frigate with multiple capabilities ranging
from anti-submarine warfare to disaster relief. Respecting
the limits of what I can recount, I experienced a joint
exercise with an Indian warship which involved various
activities including live missile firing. Having to settle into a
strict daily routine was somewhat reminiscent of school life,
albeit without having to jump overboard to avoid being
caught smoking!
The more time I spend with the Navy the greater I
appreciate the importance of its role, which most of the
population are not aware of having lost identity with the sea
following no major naval operations since the Falklands
conflict. Not only does our Navy protect the global shipping
lanes through which 95% of our trade relies but plays a
major role around the wold in anti-drug running to fishery
patrols, as well as humanitarian efforts to protect our
nation’s interests and supporting others.
Robert in his day job as a Property Analyst
I believe that the recent emphasis on expanding Reserve
Forces in the Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy provides
an incredible opportunity for many, who like me, have a real
interest in the Armed Forces yet wish to have a civilian
career. I am aware of at least one Worthian, Lt Col Simon
McMenemy (R’89), who has combined a highly successful
career as a lawyer with achieving a senior role in the Army
Reserve and is currently Commander of The Royal Yeomanry.
The great comradeship and mutual support during my
training, both at sea and in the field, were features I
experienced at Worth and under-lies the spirit of the Armed
Forces. I would encourage anyone that might be interested
to investigate the opportunity.
Robert Butterworth (StB’06)
I 43
Flying for Heroes
A
s we prepared for the most difficult and probably
dangerous flight of our lives, the man whose legs
had been blown off in a ditch in Afghanistan,
showed not the slightest sign of nervousness on his rugged
face. “Let’s do this!” Cayle Royce said eagerly.
We were a team of British pilots with wounded, injured
and sick services personnel from Help for Heroes as our
passengers, embarking on a 21 day, 1,000km flying
expedition in Kenya during September and October 2014. We
had three shiny black two seat paratrikes lined up at dawn on
the grass airstrip very close to our campsite called Monkey
Bridge, near Lake Nakuru at the bottom of the Great African
Rift Valley. Our mission that day was to fly approximately
90km to a remote farm on the high Laikipia Plateau which
Neil’s passenger, Cayle Royce
44 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
meant an 8,000 feet height gain. The problem was the
weather. On the airfield, we had a mere 500m horizontal
visibility and cloud base was down to 150 feet at best. This
was for me, with only 30 hours experience flying this open
cockpit, 70 horsepower propeller paratrike, a very serious
prospect, as we would be heading for a series of vertical
rocky cliff faces rising to 11,000 feet above sea level. You
need to be able to see where you are going! But like most
expeditions, we were under severe time pressure and a day
or two had already been lost due to poor weather.
As expedition leader, the safety of the team was ultimately
my responsibility and so it was down to me to make good
decisions. I felt decidedly uncomfortable as Alex Ledger and
Kester Haynes, my two fellow instructor pilots prepared their
aircraft for flight and underwent the pre-flight routines
including checking fuel & oil, warming the engine, setting
out the fabric canopy behind the paratrike, securing the
passenger into the rear seat, testing communications
between aircraft, checking the electronics and finally
assessing the wind strength and direction prior to launch.
Alex had suggested that we should all take off and head in a
North Easterly direction and hunt for a hole in the cloud base
in order to punch through to the blue skies we knew were
above us somewhere. If we were to find a hole, we would
spiral upwards and when above the cloud, head for the steep
cliffs and terraces of the Rift Valley.
I had always wanted to organise and lead an expedition for
the benefit of wounded soldiers, having served in the Armed
Forces myself. I had been appalled by the sheer number of
casualties and traumatic injuries suffered by so many young
soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. I knew that bodies and
minds had been damaged but the desire to get back to work,
lead a fulfilling life and take on exciting personal challenges
was still very strong for many of them.Charities like Help for
Heroes have provided a lifeline for their mental and physical
rehabilitation post trauma and now they were supporting
this rather formidable adventure in foreign lands. It had
taken two years of detailed planning and preparation and
thankfully everyone seemed to be having a great time.
My paratrike was the last to launch on the green grass
airstrip. An intense 30 seconds of activity that started with
foot pressing down on the accelerator pedal, wait for the
canopy wing to lift off the ground causing the three wheeled
aircraft to jolt a foot or so backwards before accelerating
slowly forwards, reduce the pressure on the accelerator
pedal and simultaneously applying half brakes on the
canopy steering lines to prevent the wing overshooting and
causing a frontal collapse, a quick check on the direction of
travel with adjustments made from both feet, check the
canopy is now fully flying above ones head and that there
are no snags or tears, commit to full power, wind beginning
to sting the face, wait for the front wheel to lift into the air at
approximately 45mph and then apply light touch steering to
navigate away from the airfield with trees, hangars and
power lines on either side. Phew! A big sigh of relief as we
achieve another successful simultaneous launch of our
Squadron of Paratrikes.
Normally we would circle around and wave a farewell to our
ground support team comprising more wounded soldiers,
sponsors and volunteers in three donated Land Rover
Discovery 4’s but, because of the length of this next leg,
difficulty of the terrain and of course the very low cloud
base, we all flew straight and level at 100 feet looking for
that gap in the puffy white stuff. It did not look too
promising for a while but then suddenly a little light blue
sky could be seen. Alex and Kester made a beeline for it and
started circling to gain height. I followed anxiously as we
passed through waves of dense cloud rendering us blind for
a number of seconds at a time. Finally we emerged from the
gloom into bright sunshine and could at last properly see
where we were going. Cayle let out a blood-curdling shout
of joy and we shared a happy few minutes of laughter at our
good fortune.
Neil during a break from flying
But the drama was not quite over for us as we approached
the steep rising ground. It became apparent that a
combination of higher altitude and our combined weight
(despite Cayle not having any legs!) meant that our height
gain was only 0.5 metres a second. This was barely enough
to clear the trees and rough built houses of the Rift Valley
slopes. We held our collective breath as I pulled maximum
power from the paratrike engine, adjusted the trim settings
and weaved a line between the tallest obstacles. I called Alex
and Kester to advise them that we were struggling to gain
sufficient height and that we would have to detour a longer
route up onto the Laikipia Plateau. They bid us well and we
set about a different and less aggressive route to the next
destination, a farm called Ol Maisor Ranch. The rest of the
flight was uneventful and we landed safely to a warm
welcome by members of our Advance Party.
Flying for Heroes was one of the most adventurous
expeditions ever undertaken by a group of wounded
personnel. Eight members suffering both severe physical
disabilities and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) took
part and completed an arduous 1000km voyage flying
paratrikes from Mt Kilimanjaro in the South of Kenya to Mt
Kenya in the North. In addition, £65,000 has been raised and
given to Help for Heroes that will be used to offer further
aviation related opportunities for wounded soldiers.
Neil Laughton (C’82)
I 45
Pig Farm Rehearsal Photo Credit:
Specular. Dan Fredenburgh (Tom),
Charlotte Parry (Tina) and Stephen
Tompkinson (Teddy)
The Journey from
St Mary’s to St James
most importantly, to work collaboratively. By the end of my
two years at Worth I knew that I was interested in directing
theatre and had been given the tools to prepare myself for
the next phase.
After Worth, did you go to university? If so, where, and
what aspect of your degree helped with your career?
Katharine Farmer (StA‘11) has just had her West End directing debut at the
St James Theatre in London with Pig Farm, written by Tony Award Winning
Writer Greg Kotis of Urinetown, starring Dan Fredenburgh (Love Actually,
A Few Good Men), Erik Odom (The Twilight Saga, Last Train To Nibroc),
Charlotte Parry (Blithe Spirit, The Importance of Being Earnest) and Stephen
Tompkinson (Spamalot, Wild At Heart). Here, West End producer Julian
Stoneman - who has worked on productions such as Mamma Mia!, Jersey
Boys and Billy Elliot - interviews Katharine about her time at Worth, what
she’s been doing since she left, and what she’s up to now.
What role did Worth play in your love of theatre?
From a young age, my family had always encouraged an
appreciation of the arts – which is often where it all starts.
I’d been taken to the theatre a lot in my childhood and by 16
years old Drama had become my favourite subject and I was
keen to pursue it further. Before joining Worth for Sixth
Form I was lucky enough to see a number of school plays
including Merry Wives of Windsor and School for Scandal and
was blown away by the professionalism of the productions.
When I later joined Worth, I took A Level Drama with Mr
Boughton and was thrilled to have a part in his production
of Master and Margarita. Mr Boughton understood instantly
that I was passionate about theatre and encouraged me to
apply for Drama School. By Year 13, I was attending acting
classes at the Junior Guildhall School for Music and Drama
every Saturday. From the material he selected in class, to
time he spent helping us with auditions and assessments,
Mr Boughton was a huge inspiration to us all. Sadly our time
with him was cut short when he fell ill during our second
year of study. The impression he left has shaped each
decision I’ve made pursuing a career in theatre. He opened
my eyes to the range of different roles within professional
theatre, he taught me to think creatively yet critically and,
46 I
I attended the University of Warwick straight after Worth
and read Theatre and Performance Studies. I’d spent a lot of
time selecting a university that would prepare me to enter
the industry, as well as having a strong drama society so I
could work on plays alongside my degree. Having the
Warwick Arts Centre on campus, I was exposed to a range of
regional and touring theatre as well as art exhibitions,
concerts and opera. With a major professional arts centre at
the heart of the campus it infused the University with a
sense of how the theatre business worked. Producing ‘packs’
to apply for funding for a production at the Arts Centre was
possibly the most useful thing I learnt during my studies. It
taught me to write budgets, think creatively about staging,
make marketing plans and learn how to pitch. We got the
opportunity to work in teams and take on responsibility of a
full production, which was completely invaluable
experience, yet in a safe and supportive environment.
What, when and how did you first have an experience
of putting on a full professional production?
Although I loved every second of my degree, it’s always
important to gain industry experience as well. And what
better way to learn than by taking a play to the Edinburgh
Fringe Festival! During my first summer holiday at
university, I produced, marketed and played the role of
Laura in Noel Coward’s Still Life (also known as Brief
Encounter). Described by the Fringe Guide as a ‘matinee
theatrical treat’, we took the teatime slot at C Aquila and
provided tea and cake for the audience. We were 16th top
grossing play and averaged 54 audience members per
show, which was remarkable considering it was 2012 and
due to the Olympics the average Fringe audience size went
down to 3. To make this production possible, I set up my
own theatre company called Dead Posh Productions. It was
a hugely rewarding experience and only confirmed to me
that I was on the right track. It was also hugely helpful in
affirming that I preferred being the other side of the stage!
What were your plans after university?
A rather serendipitous meeting with an American Artistic
Director led to me securing a year working for a theatre
company in California called Rubicon Theatre Company.
In the autumn of 2012, I had the pleasure of meeting Karyl
Lynn Burns who was on a trip to the UK to open her show
Daddy Long Legs. We struck up conversation about the play
and she later invited me for brunch. I hadn’t thought much
had come of our meeting until I received an email a couple
of months later inviting me to come out and assist in a
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Pig Farm Production Photo Credit: Specular. Erik Odom
(Tim) and Stephen Tompkinson (Teddy)
Photo Credit: Christopher Brown. Lily Nicksay (May) and
Erik Odom (Raleigh)
Photo Credit: Christopher Brown. Lily Nicksay (May) and
Erik Odom (Raleigh)
production. Due to exams in the lead up to the Christmas
break, I had to turn the offer down. However, the invitation
quickly turned to offering me a chance to work on a new
play development programme called Plays in Progress
during my Easter break. I went out to work at Rubicon in
Spring 2013. In preparation for this I was sent 50 scripts,
with the intention of selecting one to work on. The script I
chose ended up being optioned for a rolling world
premiere, with which I am affiliated as an Assistant Director
and Producer. So far the show has been produced at the St
James Theatre Studio which I directed in 2013. It was then
produced at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, New York
(2014) and then most recently at Rubicon (2014). The
premiere will continue when it opens at the Royal Manitoba
Theatre Centre in Canada in 2017.
As soon as my degree finished I moved out to California for
a Theatre Directing and Producing Internship at Rubicon.
During the year I managed to assistant direct Conviction
(Ovation Award nomination for Best Playwright and Best
Season), Last Five Years (Ovation nomination for Best Musical
Director and Best Season), the Off-Broadway production
of Wiesenthal and the Off-Broadway production of
Lonesome Traveler (which both received Outer Critic’s
Circle Award and Drama Desk Award nominations).
Earlier this year I was given the chance to direct my own
show on the main stage at Rubicon. I directed a production
of Last Train To Nibroc by Arlene Hutton, which received
three Ovation Award nominations, including Best
Production of a Play (in a Large Theatre). Despite having
moved back to London, Rubicon have invited me to return
in the new year to direct the rest of the Nibroc trilogy.
So what are you doing now?
I’ve just finished co-directing an adaptation of The
Importance of Being Lewis at the Dominion Theatre as a
fundraiser for the Duchenne Research Fund and am now
having my West End directing debut at the St James Theatre
in London Victoria with the darkly comic play Pig Farm.
Written by the Tony Award Winning writer of the equally
dark musical Urinetown. The show stars Stephen
Tompkinson, who you may remember from TV shows such
as Wild at Heart, DCI Banks and Drop the Dead Donkey and
also stars Last Train to Nibroc actor Erik Odom (Twilight). It
has been a huge honour and an exciting process to launch
this play in the UK and I can only hope that the production
reflects what great fun it was to work on.
I 47
THE GREAT REFORMER Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope
By Austen Ivereigh (G’84)
Allen & Unwin 2015
Book Review
Yorio and Jalics (both Jesuits under him as Provincial)? This is a
pivotal question in the book. Currently there are two schools
of thought on it. One says he behaved with integrity
throughout but was misunderstood and misinterpreted in the
heat and dust of the political fray; the other that he did collude
with the military to a degree that was significant, but later
underwent a profound conversion experience to become the
man he is today. Austen’s research leads him to paint a picture
that accords much more with the former than the latter. He
quotes from an interview with Bergoglio who confesses that
at 32 years old he was promoted to Provincial too early for
such responsibility. It seems he had never been the Superior of
any Jesuit community before being made Jesuit Provincial in
Argentina. So he clearly lacked experience. On the other hand
within a couple of days of his election as Pope Francis, we
heard him declare in public, “I am a great sinner!” And that
might seem to support the latter view.
F
or anyone seeking a better understanding of the
direction the Catholic Church is taking today under
Pope Francis’ leadership, Austen’s book is required
reading. The complex and often nefarious machinations of
20th century military regimes as they attempted to suppress
revolutions in Latin America are very visible in this book,
though of course Austen’s prime focus is on the man Francis.
Having myself lived in South America under a military regime
confronting a revolutionary movement, I can testify to the
cruel dilemmas in which truly conscientious members of the
Church living in such situations could find themselves. They
were often falsely branded as ‘Marxist’ or ‘Revolutionary’ in
the political sense. Sometimes other people’s physical
integrity depended on their decisions, and they were often
faced with having to choose between the lesser of two evils,
with no right option open to them. Furthermore, because of
the political intrigue, deception and confusion, ignorance
about what was really going on left many with only the
background of their sometimes narrow seminary training for
the priesthood on which to draw for decision making. In this
confusion, rife with suspicion, not only might they become
subject to violence from the State or from those who fought
the State, but within their own ranks secular clergy suffered
divisions and misunderstandings, which in some ways were
more painful than the oppression.
Austen writes of this dilemma as it affected Bergoglio and his
fellow Jesuits. Did Fr Bergoglio act in a covert alliance with the
military or with the Peronist Iron Guard, and in particular, did
he therefore tacitly allow the military to detain and torture Frs
48 I
Perhaps I may be allowed to throw in another factor. The
giants of the Latin American hierarchy in this period were
Cardinal Pironio and Archbishop Angelleli (Argentinians),
Bishop Romero of El Salvador, and Archbishop Helder Camara
of Brazil, all utterly courageous in their love of the poor.
Angelleli and Romero were murdered by the military; Pironio
was removed to Rome to avoid the same fate; and Helder
Camara lived permanently under explicit threats of murder.
These men all had one thing in common: they were utterly
devoted to deeply sincere personal prayer (Camara used to
rise at 2am every day to pray). Such a deliberate exposure to
the divine over a long period of time has a unique effect. It
produces a clear-sightedness about good and evil (what we
call ‘purity of heart’ in holy-speak), which is characterised also
by powerful charisma and great humility (the latter not being
‘mousiness’ by the way, but an ear for the will of God and an
ever courageous response to it). Such people see things with
great clarity and single-mindedness, which is why their
interventions are often so pithy. A well-known example is
Helder Camara’s observation, “When I say the poor have no
bread, they call me a saint; when I ask why the poor have no
bread, they say I am a Marxist.” But he too had his early
weakness: he freely admitted to being a fascist as a young
priest. I place Pope Francis firmly among this group, where I
think he can be better understood. I am not in a position to
affirm whether he made errors of judgment from
inexperience but it would be strange if he hadn’t. The fact is
that in Austen’s account we see a man who without a shadow
of doubt was deeply dedicated to prayer, and I am clear that
that is what has made him the man he is today: hugely
prescient, honest and courageous. It convinces me much
more than the mid-life conversion story.
I did feel one hesitation about this book; it concerns the
picture that emerges of liberation theology. A less than careful
reading of Austen’s work might lead one to suppose that it
originated in Argentina and was impossibly tarred with
violence. I would just point out that the term originated at a
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
to decide what God was calling them to be and do. This is so
very close to Bergoglio’s concept of the ‘pueblo fiel’ that
Austen describes, “the people whose collective fidelity to
tradition is always to be respected.” (See also last para on pg
305 for Bergoglio’s perspective.) It would have been a betrayal
of the gospel itself to try to tell them what their response to it
should be. In summary, main line liberation theology never
was violent, but it did give people, through the lens of the
gospel, the freedom to start sharing in the shaping of their
own destiny – and dictatorships don’t like that!
Book Review
meeting in Chimbote, Peru, in 1967, and was coined by none
other than Fr Gustavo Gutiérrez, the Peruvian theologian who
contributed most to this theological line; he lived and worked
in the same deanery as ourselves in Lima. Austen
acknowledges his significance on pgs 195 & 287. The other
principle theologian contributors to this line, if my memory
does not fail me, came chiefly from Brazil and Central
America. In Peru we met the occasional ‘theological refugee’
who managed to escape from Argentina while being hunted
down by the military. The ones I encountered were always
very tight-lipped about their experiences and wouldn’t utter a
word. I felt an aura about them of having experienced or been
involved in violence, but I never got to know the truth. The
best ‘nutshell’ description of liberation theology that I know is
‘reading the gospel through the eyes of the poor’. Its practice
by pastoral agents required them to live among the poor,
opening up the gospel with and for them, and allowing them
Austen’s book is a splendid work, the best available on the
topic and highly readable. It’s authoritative and thoroughly
researched, as even a cursory look at the list of sources at the
end suggests. It has had enthusiastic reviews. Get your copy
before it goes out of print! And thank you, Austen, for a most
worthy production.
Reviewed by Dom Bede Hill OSB
DIALOGUE OF THE HEART:
Christian-Muslim Stories of Encounter
By Dom Martin McGee OSB
Veritas Publications 2015
M
any former students might well know that Fr
Martin has a passion for the French language.
This prompts him to take opportunities when
they occur to explore and use that language in a variety of
contexts. Several years ago this took him to Algeria and
subsequently Morocco. He had heard of the life of a small
Cistercian Monastery, at Tibhirine in Algeria. This small
community of brothers sought to live a life of Christian
witness alongside their Muslim neighbours – to be ‘people
of prayer among a people of prayer’ – not to convert, but
simply to be alongside them. Their story became dramatic
when the military authorities became suspicious of their
presence, and rather than leave their neighbours they
decided to remain faithful, and paid the ultimate price when
seven of them were kidnapped and martyred in 1996. This
moving and powerful story became an award winning film
in 2010, Of Gods and Men. Fr Martin’s first book Christian
Martyrs for a Muslim People (Paulist Press 2008) explores
this story, and brings into English much in untranslated
French sources.
Dialogue of the Heart, Fr Martin’s second book, takes this
experience on and seeks to break open the dynamic which
inspired the monks to ‘live among strangers’ – and also
sustained them when their very lives were put on the line
through remaining faithful. The book begins with five short
biographical reflections on the inner attitudes of the
brothers. He explores the deep sense of a common shared
humanity, which genuinely accepts the differences which
mark them, but yet seeks to go beyond the fear and
mistrust which ‘difference’ so often evokes. A real
brotherhood emerges through very ordinary practical
sharing: Brother Luc (a physician) among his (mainly
women) patients; sharing the highs and lows of family life;
and joining the challenge of sustaining an income by
trading at the local market.
It is perhaps the experience of Fr Christian, the Prior, which
is the foundation from which the Community was able to
explore and express its life among their Muslim neighbours.
As a young man on military service in Algeria, Fr Christian
I 49
DIALOGUE OF THE HEART:
Christian-Muslim Stories of Encounter
continued
Book Review
who can also be recognised as active in those outside the
visible church. Perhaps it isn’t surprising that this was taken
hold of by a group of monks living according to the Rule of
St Benedict, who encourages us to “receive all guests as
Christ”.
The chapter headings in this part of the book give us a hint
of the dynamic as it is being experienced: Learning to Love
our Muslim Neighbours; Friendship, the core of InterReligious Dialogue; Loving those who are different; If the
other were to really become my brother. These sections,
with a strong emphasis on love, bring us to the heart of
Christian discipleship: “to love the Lord your God with all
your heart...and your neighbour as yourself”. This path is
of course not without its challenges, and as Fr Martin puts
it, is an expression of the essential of Christian life as
conversion, something which is starkly expressed by a
former Archbishop of Algiers (and friend of Fr Martin)
Monsignor Tessier:
struck up a friendship with a rural policeman, Mohammed,
a devout Muslim.
“Their regular discussions developed into
a spiritual friendship.
Then one day Mohammed had to intervene to
protect Christian’s life which had been threatened
by the National Liberation Front.
The following day Mohammed paid with his own
life for this courageous act of friendship. He was
found assassinated by the edge of a well.”
This act became a turning point in Fr Christian’s life – this
act of pure love “revealed to Fr Christian the beauty of God’s
love at work in his Muslim brothers and sisters.” He went as
far as to say that he could not but see Christ in his Muslim
neighbour, the one who had ‘given up his life for him’.
“The love, which reveals God, is not any old
sentiment. It has at least two characteristic
features. It is universal and free. To love those of
one’s own side is in the end to love oneself. But to
love without erecting boundaries is to respond to
the Sermon on the Mount. ‘For if you love those
who love you, what reward do you have? Do not
even the tax collectors do the same?’ (Mt 5: 46)“
Dialogue of the Heart is based on one particular context –
the deeply religious perspective of the Muslim people of
North Africa. This book doesn’t offer us a practical handbook, which can be translated directly into our largely
secular multi-cultural context. Perhaps what it does is offer
us the challenge to look at our lives, and ask, “How do
I relate to those around me who are different?” and in doing
so we could well find ourselves experiencing a ‘conversion
of heart’ which for all with a Benedictine foundation is the
beginning of the following of Christ, and by so doing in
small ways we begin to change the world.
Reviewed by Dom David Jarmy OSB
In Part 2 of the book, Fr Martin seeks to explore ways in
which our attitudes can be transformed through encounter
with those who are different. This is very powerful at the
present, when ‘media outlets’ are very keen to present the
endless examples of the negative effect of ‘Islamisation’. Fr
Martin shows how the teaching of the Catholic Church since
the Second Vatican Council and especially through the
teaching ministry of St John Paul II proclaims that “Christ is
present in every human being” or as Gaudium et Spes puts
it “by His incarnation, the Son of God has united himself in
some fashion with every man”. This statement opens up
huge potential for dialogue and encounter – whilst not
devaluing the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church, but
50 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Caught on
Camera
Chris O’Shea (G’03) starring in Point of Honor, an epic
series about the American Civil War on Amazon Prime
Max McAlister (G’02), Alan Mitchell, Tom Calnan (R’95) and Mark McAlister (G’98) all met up in April 2015 at the Hong Kong 7s
2012 Leavers Conor Keating, Illan Aboitiz, Charlotte Cotterell, Louise Moon and
Alice Rooke splashing around in Nuknukan, Philippines summer 2015
Graham Hutchings, Nick Hopkins, Paul Keenan & Peter Rankin (all
R'05) having completed The Ridgewalk Challenge in June 2015; a 52
mile trek across Oxfordshire & Wiltshire for the charity ‘Sense’
Al Ferraro (G’91) with his wife, Sue, backpacking in Galloway, Scotland in August 2015
Worthians Christopher Lamb (R’01) and Austen Ivereigh (’84)
covering Pope Francis’s visit to the US
Teddy Sacarello (B'06), Nick Bell-Young (StB'05), Ben Dunhill and
Javier Triay (B'06) get together in Gibraltar
Charlie Barclay-Hudson (C’13) receiving his gold
Duke of Edinburgh award in November 2014 in
his Liverpool University Air Squadron uniform
I 51
Caught on Camera continued
John Barnes (StB’06) flying back from Copenhagen was
surprised to hear Jamie Edgington (C’06) over the tanoy
as First Officer with Norwegian Air
Luke Navin’s (F’14) first album of solo
piano music now available on iTunes,
Google Play Store, and Spotify
Simon Hoskyns (B’83) on the London
to St Tropez charity bike ride he
organised in June 2015
Joe Warwick (R’90) came to interview students in December 2014 for Radio Four’s Christmas Food & Drink programme
An illustration of a red tail hawk found in Southern California by
David Barder (C’63)
Former Head Boy James Longman (B’05)
came back to Worth in October 2014 to talk
to students about his adventures as a BBC
correspondent in the Middle East
Lachlan Sykes (B’03) looking very professional in his barrister’s kit!
Jonathan Wilkins (C’70) won overall prize at Wikipedia Loves Earth 2015
photograph competition with his photo of the birth of a drone bee
52 I
Jeremy Best (C’64) returned to Worth to interview Fr Kevin for the start of
our ‘History Capture’ project
Worth Society Life
A lovely shot of a very happy Chris Kelly
(StB’78)
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
The 1979 Rugby Team; Rohan
Cavaliero (B’81) in the middle, to his
right Ben Elwes (G’81 & current
governor) and over his left shoulder
Jonathan Stordy (StB’81). All three
now have second generation
together at Worth (Ella Cavaliero,
Barney Elwes & Anna Stordy). Over
Rohan’s right shoulder is his best
man, Mark Jenner (C’81), sporting
the grand fop hairstyle which was
oddly in vogue at the time
Several Worthians helped on the OMV Pilgramage to Lourdes in July 2015 here with HE Dominique
Prince de la Rochefoucauld-Montbel, Grand Hospitaller of the Sovereign Military Order of St John of
Jerusalem, Rhodes & Malta
Jamie (StB’13), Simon (St’78) and Rory Pickard (StB’11) having completed a cycle ride from Geneva to
Nice in September 2015 to raise money for the Mathew Elvidge Trust
Worthians Charles de Viggiani (G'85), Jaime Dunster (B'85), Gordon Moore (G'85), Michael Gabriel
(C'85) and Fraser Moore (G'95) at the Eiffel Tower on their Paris to London cycle ride raising money
for 40tude curing colon cancer
Hugo Sanders, Nick Smyth, James Pymont and Lorenzo Curci (all 2000) and other friends during the
Maratona des Dolomites endurance cycling event in Italy in July 2015
Robert Carroll (R’71) with then European Union President, the ever affable Jose Manuel Barroso
discussing China, East Timor and Macau at an EU diplomatic cocktail party in Hong Kong
David (StB’94) and Uma Mishra-Newbery with daughter
Leela Wendy on vacation in Austria
Michael Saunders (C’77) (on left) now a Captain for
Ryanair at his Wings Ceremony with Ryanair Chief Pilot
Mark Collini (StB’89) with Beatrice in
Provence, August 2015
I 53
Announcements
Births
Crispin Hayhoe (StB’82) and Anne, a son, Samuel, born on
3rd July 2015, a brother for Sarah and Benedict
Andrew Bayles (B’98) and Maeve, a daughter, Darcey, born
on 26th September 2014
Mark Collini (StB’89) and Alex, a daughter, Beatrice Martha
Hope, born on 2nd February 2015
Alistair Myles (G’99) and Zia, a daughter, Martha Rose, born
on 12th June 2015, a sister for Eliza
Edward Gairdner (StB’91) and Lizzie, a daughter, Matilda
Beatrice, born on 23rd March 2015
Robert Birchall (R’01) and Natalie, a son, Samuel Edward, on
19th March 2015
Patrick Lynch (C’92) and Geraldine, a son, Patrick Eamonn
John, born on 24th November 2014
Samuel Hayhoe
Tom Calnan (R’95) and Bonnie, a son, Archie William
McMahon, born on 7th September 2015
Dan Harlow (B’95) and Krista, a son, Joshua Thomas, born on
9th June 2015, a brother for Sam and Ben
Toby Rumford (R’95) and Floriane, a son, Edwyn, born on
5th August 2015
Engagements
Anthony Long (G’01) to Sian Lewis on 25th April 2015
Philip Symonds (B’01) to Alice Turtle on 1st April 2015
Jim Condie (B’02) to Kelly Johnson on 9th September 2015
Javier Triay (B’06) to Harriet Ziegler on the 24th July 2015
Fred Bradley (R’04) to Louise Allen on 23rd January 2015
Angus Gairdner (StB’96) and Julia, a daughter, Myla Molly
Fitch, born on 16th February 2015
Phil Holmes (StB'97) and Justyna, a son, Aidan William, born
on 6th June 2015
The Collini Family
Darcey Bayles
The Gairdner Family
54 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Aiden Holmes
James & Rebecca Madsen
Marriages
Distinctions
Alex Kenney (B’97) to Jacqueline Sainsbury on 26th
September 2015 at The Hermitage Club, Vermont, USA
Dr Giles Maskell (G’72) was elected President of the Royal
College of Radiologists
Adrian Pring (R’01) to Annie Dickenson on 12th April 2015 at
Worth Abbey
Tom Carew Hunt (StB'02) to Sarah Johnson on 2nd May
2015 at St Margaret's, West Hoathly
James Madsen (B’02) to Rebecca Taylor on 4th July 2015 at
St Michael & All Angels Church, High Ercall, Shropshire
Angus Wardle (R’02) to Ann Charlott Karlsen on 1st
November 2014 in Tromsø, Norway
Charles Bellm (R’04) to Alice Hay on 19th September 2015 at
All Saints Church, The Priory
Roger Greaves (StB’04) to Alice Chilton on 30th May 2015 at
St Mary’s Church, Reigate
Deaths
Nicholas Blake (StB’67) on 30th May 2015, aged 66 years
Roger & Alice Greaves
Tadjio Szczepanik (C’68) on 12th May 2015, aged 65 years
Patrick O’Toole-Quinn (StB’70) on 12th September 2014,
aged 62 years
Anthony Carroll (R’71) on 18th April 2015, aged 62 years
Tomasz Szczepanik (C’71) on 13th April 2015, aged 62 years
Guy de Burgh (StB’73) on 21st December 2014, aged 59 years
James O’Donnell (C’78) in March 2015, aged 54 years
Nicholas Sharman (StB’78) on 5th March 2015, aged 54 years
Alex Podbury (C’04) to Lizzie Ryan on 13th June 2015 at St
Leonard’s Church, Turners Hill
Michael Burr (F'06) to Jenna Hallesy on 17th January 2015 at
Rhinefield House Hotel, Hampshire
Dominic Gordon (StB’85) on 1st June 2015, aged 48 years
Patrick Biggs-Davison on 11th January, aged 24 years
Michael & Jenna Burr
Adrian & Annie Pring
I 55
News in Brief
News in Brief
Former Staff
James Cockburn (Worth Staff 1980-1990) Now leaving France and have
bought a house by the sea in Walmer near Deal in Kent. Flora and I would
be delighted to see any Worthians if you are in our neck of the woods.
Paul and Carol Miller (Worth Staff 1980-2003) After twelve years at
Stowe School, have decided to retire from full-time education at the end
of August 2015 but hope to keep involved in tutoring and voluntary work
in the area of north Oxfordshire where we live. Always delighted to hear
from former colleagues and Worthians at psmiller49@gmail.com
Nicholas (Nick) Robinson (StB '75 & Worth Staff 1986-1998) Now in
18th year as Headmaster of King's College School, Cambridge, and still
enjoying touring the world with the famous King's choristers. Recently
awarded runner up by Tatler for Best Head of a Prep School for 2015.
Celebrated 10 years as Chair of the Duchess of Kent's music charity
'Future Talent', and also now a Trustee of the new St Aloysius Schola
Foundation in Glasgow.
Roger and Margaret Stokes (Worth Staff 1968-2001) Roger was Head
of Economics and Politics, Assistant Housemaster to Fr Bernard in
Rutherford, Housemaster of Chapman, Deputy Head of School for Fr
Stephen and Deputy Head for Fr Christopher. Margaret taught Geography,
Maths and RE in Junior House, One time Deputy Head of JH and Assistant
to Fr Luke when he was Farm Manager. Celebrated our 50th Wedding
Anniversary this year - in fact celebrated it twice with two big parties; one
in January when we were indeed married (for local friends) and the other
in the summer when the weather was likely to be clement. It was great,
and family came to them both (that is 4 children and 13 grandchildren).
Many old Worth friends came to the second one including some from the
Monastic Community. We spend much of our time looking after
grandchildren and keeping up with the family. Roger is Chairman of the
Church Stretton Arts Festival (do google the website) having been
involved for 14 years since we settled back in Shropshire. Margaret is a
pillar of the WI and our village hall, and works for many charities
especially our wonderful community and health centre. Have had some
wonderful holidays recently in Malaysia, India and South Africa, trying to
fit things in before we have difficulty flying and walking... but all good at
present. Reminisce about our very happy days at Worth and think of
many of you who have passed through our lives and we hope benefited
from this. Best wishes to you all.
Worth School
1960s
Peter Campbell (C’64) Still living in Brisbane Queensland and have
reached the tender age of 69. Still tutoring children, composing music
and following a very active life. Am also engaged to be married in October
this year!
Alexander Nauta (G’64) I retired in 2012 from a long career as an airline
captain but, finding this new life to be a bit too docile for my liking, I
decided to continue on a part-time basis, as a flight simulator instructor
here in the USA. I am thoroughly enjoying it and will carry on until the
time comes that I can’t continue. Have been in touch with John (Piti)
Dibos (G’63) who now lives in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, who seems to be doing
well and we’ve planned to see each other in the near future.
Richard Pollen (R’64) Last year saw us return for a while to London after
thirty years in the country. So we are now luckily surrounded by our seven
children and, so far, four married and four grandchildren. I am happily
back in the corporate communications world, whilst my wife and I retain
our Pollen Organics brand.
56 I
Paul Weitz (G’65) After leaving Worth, graduated with a degree in
Zoology, together with a Post Grad Cert Ed, and became a biology teacher.
After 10 years decided I wanted a change, and embarked on a career in
sales and business management. Can only advise anyone contemplating
such a move to consider this very carefully! Worked for many years for an
established large technology business in which my management role
included the promotion of an offer for the UK Identity Card Scheme – a
UK national project which, as we know, never saw the light of day. Married
Diane in 1972 (then a biology teacher). We now have 4 children, and 3
grandchildren. Am pleased to say that all 4 are in established professional
roles and all married. Diane set up a very successful financial planning
business based at home in Cheltenham. Spent part of my pension
building an extension at the back of our house to provide an office and
meeting room for the business which has worked well. The business now
has 5 employees, including myself part-time, and I even get paid! In my
semi-retirement, also work as volunteer treasurer for a local branch of a
national charity. Have rediscovered a strong interest in oil painting - am
sure this derives from days in the Worth art room under the tutelage of
Mr Renouf. Work in what my wife refers to as a ‘studio’ - my garden shed.
Not good to see others we have to come to know well succumbing to
serious illness of one sort or other, at our time of life. Very fortunate to be
in good health. Have given up going to the gym - because it is boring, but
play golf (without always hitting the ball straight), and tennis regularly.
Would be very pleased to see, or hear, from any other Worthians
paulweitz@live.co.uk Compliments to the Worth Society for its
professionalism and excellent publications. Have been involved with a
number of schools, which I’m sure could learn from what the Worth
Society achieves, even if it takes 50 years for some of us to take a more
active communication with the Society!
John MacWilliam (StB '66) Still working as a White Father missionary
priest in North Africa. Having recently been made Provincial Superior, will
now be spending more time in Algeria than in Tunisia, probably based in
Algiers. Invites your special prayers for peace in the region.
Peter Symonds (StB’66) My son Tom married Elsa Buckler on the 12th
July last year. Fr Christopher gave a brilliant address. Tom also trained his
50th winner and ran the London Marathon in 2 hours 38 minutes – the
fastest done by a member of the horse racing world. My elder son Philip
will marry Alice Turtle on the 2nd April next year. I have reduced my
farming activities in order to accommodate Tom’s racehorses and have
acquired a brood mare. She has a colt foal at foot which – one day – Tom
will train for me.
Robert Herring (G’68) Now 65 and eligible for my pension!! Something
that seemed incredibly remote when I was a schoolboy at Worth 50 years
ago. Have become increasingly retired over the last 20 years from a
(part-time) career researching and writing on energy efficiency and
environmental history at the Open University. Now still very active as an
ebay stamp dealer, bridge enthusiast and keen cyclist. I live in Holt,
Norfolk and looking forward to my 2 grandchildren coming to visit and
building sandcastles on the beach. Glad to say I still like childish things
with occasional sophistications. Great to be a pensioner and very healthy
and active (and the pension coming in regularly). Best wishes to you all.
David MacLure (R’69) Earlier this year I was appointed the Scottish
Delegate for the British Association of the Sovereign Military Order of
Malta.
1970s
Jonathan Wilkins (C’70) Still living in Brazil. Won the overall prize
at Wikipedia Loves Earth 2015 photograph competition with the birth
of a drone bee, placed 7th in Brazil and will be competing with other
countries.
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Robert Carroll (R’71) Did Art Basel, and two fascinating celebrity film
director interviews this year at the HKIFilm Festival; Peter Greenaway and
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, as well as interviewing several leading Hong Kong
politicians during the Occupy protests. Planning to be off to several
African countries early 2016 for a series of interviews with political
leaders. The marvellously eccentric auteur Greenaway (The Cook the Thief
His Wife and Her Lover) - who I also filmed for a short music video discovered knew rock star Ian Dury whose ex-guitarist I drummed with
for years including in Jona Lewie's backing group (Stop The Cavalry,
Standing in the Kitchen at Parties). Cannes-winning director (Kandahar)
Moshsen Makmalbaf, I found out, is a true humanitarian, champion of the
poor and suffering; A rare idealist in an often cynical profession.
Paul Leverton (StB’72) Marrying Annie Mitchell aboard the Dazzle Ship
(WW1 warship - google for more information if curious) on the Thames on
27th November 2015.
Richard D'Alton (B’74) Retired from the Police (2011), now working for
Civil Aviation Authority as a Senior Aviation Security Inspector. Married (to
Jackie) living in West Molesey with one son (Ben) who has just started
university reading law.
Mark Madsen (C’74) Married for 33 years to Caroline. Sons James and
Christopher, and daughter Emma who is getting married in August 2016.
Runs the leading media sector M&A brokerage www.madsenconsulting.com
and launching IntelligentForums in 2016. Lives in Kent and spends his
time shooting, salmon fishing and diving as much as he can.
Jeremy Sandle (G’74) Instead of trying to buy a London flat as an
investment how about buying an apartment or a villa in the delightful
Mijas Pueblo, near Malaga in Spain? As well as a good investment you
could stay in it and enjoy being outside all year round! I have 2 properties
in Mijas so have put money where mouth is! The market is on the way up
as it offers such good value. www.vivamijas.com
Tim Aldridge (B’75) Still working but beginning to spend more time
pottering about West Sussex.
Nicholas (Nick) Robinson (StB '75) Now in 18th year as Headmaster of
King's College School, Cambridge, and still enjoying touring the world
with the famous King's choristers. Recently awarded runner up by Tatler
for Best Head of a Prep School for 2015. Celebrated 10 years as Chair of
the Duchess of Kent's music charity 'Future Talent', and also now a
Trustee of the new St Aloysius Schola Foundation in Glasgow.
Robert Bathurst (R'76) Working in theatre and TV; two recent projects
are Love Loss & Chianti at Chichester and the third series of Toast Of
London on Channel 4.
James Madsen (C’77) Have now retired from being a full time executive
with the HSBC Group after 34 years and we left Dubai in April this year.
However still going back to Dubai and Riyadh as a Non Executive every
quarter to catch the sun. My wife, Fran, and I are splitting our time
between our home in Mere, Wiltshire and a newly acquired house in the
Gironde, France, getting to know and enjoy the wines from Bordeaux. Our
daughter Pippa is working in Geneva for JP Morgan and married to
another banker. Our son Charlie stayed on in Dubai and works in PR,
specialising in Food & Entertainment. Hoping to catch up with old friends
from Worth now I am back in Europe.
Patrick Sadd (StB’77) Married to Louise, a painter – children Gabriel (11)
and Madeleine-Rose (8). Living in west London, a barrister for last 30 years
– currently Counsel to Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, looking into child
abuse in the island.
Michael Saunders (C’77) Have left Monarch Airways and joined Ryanair
as a Captain based at East Midlands airport.
Lawrence Spiller (B’77) Married Jane Varden (Knibb) and now lives in
Pangbourne whilst mostly working in Zurich. In February went to Rome as
a guest of the Order of Malta to attend the opening stage of the
Beatification of Fra Andrew Bertie.
Justin Brown (C'78) Import, marketing and distribution in Myanmar with
established channels to represent.
Justin Goodbody (B’78) Thanks to the Society’s help with contact, I am
delighted to report that Justin, Sarah, and Amelia Goodbody dropped in
on Oliver (G’78) and Sophie Butcher at their lovely home in Ojay, California
this summer. Over a delicious lunch in their garden Oliver and Justin, who
hadn't seen each other for over 25 years, caught up on each other's news!
Philip Mould (StB’78) Just opened a new gallery in Pall Mall specialising
in portraits and British art and the odd old master. Working on next series
five of Fake or Fortune? on BBC1 - an art discovery programme I present
with Fiona Bruce. Addicted to ponds and meadows which I try to
engender in Oxfordshire with mixed results. President of Plantlife the
wild plant conservation charity and Kids in Museums (name self
explanatory). Married to Catherine Morgan. One son of 19 just off to
American University in Paris. Met up with Simon Pickard (StB’79) to my
great delight this year. Recently acquired hon doctorate from my old
University, East Anglia.
Andrew Rome (G’78) Just back from a nine week sabbatical which
involved travelling on my own to British Colombia and Alaska for 6 weeks
to go fishing. Quite wonderful to spend time in the wilderness and the
fishing was bloomin’ marvellous!
1980s
Andrew Bernard (C’81) Still in Hong Kong, developing a taste for
Chinese food (or ‘food’ as we know it here) and otherwise engaged in the
usual mix of work and idle sloth. Just celebrated 28 years of marriage to
Catherine, and actually managed to catch up with all the ‘children’, who
are generally off doing their own things rather well. I have been out in the
Far East for 15 months and have a small amount of badly accented
Cantonese, most of which involves food, alcohol and school boy
profanities - not unlike Spanish lessons with Fra Andrew Bertie. Would be
delighted to see/catch up with any Worthian travellers to the region.
Rohan Cavaliero (B’81) Still living in Kuala Lumpur with my family, corunning a property development business with an ongoing integrated resort
project in Langkawi. Often see Gerry Ambrose (G’76) who also lives here in
Malaysia in addition to regular, assault-like visits from Henry Thornton (B’81).
My eldest daughter, Ella, has just started at Worth in Sixth Form.
Jonathan Stordy (StB’81) Still living in Madrid and leading the
International division of San Miguel. Highlight last year was investing in an
American craft brewery called Founders. Enjoying seeing daughter Anna
at Worth. Wonderful to occasionally see legends like Frs Stephen, Kevin,
Charles and the great Helen Sweetman when we go to see Anna and that
she is at Worth at same time as Ella Cavaliero and Barney Elwes, children
of two friends of mine from Worth days.
Matthew Brown (C’82) lives in Shaftesbury, Dorset, with young
family. Earns a crust by coaching individuals on personal productivity.
Marketing brilliant debut novel to a reluctant publishing industry. In
touch with John Shepherd (B’82), Nick Moore (B’82), Giles Hamilton
(B’82) and Donal Quigley (R’82). Happy to chat with any Worthians
matthew@brownglobalenterprises.com
Peter Cullinan (StB’82) Still residing in Durban, South Africa, but have
worked remotely in Qatar for the last 2 years on one of the FIFA 2022 W/C
stadiums. After deciding to leave the ME one of my options was to head
up the company expansion into East Africa and those who know me will
know my long standing friendship with Hugo Douglas-Dufresne (G’82), so
after six years of looking after his and Antoinette’s kids in boarding school
in SA, it’s their turn to look after me. Really looking forward to working up
there and our kids are looking forward to the Christmas holidays there.
Eldest (Joshua) is off to University in Cape Town to study Bio Chemistry
and youngest (Danielle) is still at school but incredibly sporty so we travel
the country on waterpolo and netball provincial competitions (nice way
to meet new people and drink more wine).
Giles Hamilton (B’82) STILL in the City. But a very different City to the
one I joined in September ‘82. Married to Mini, living in Wandsworth and
getting up at 5am. We have two children, Lexi, 10, at Broomwood Hall and
Hugo, 14, at Eton (sorry Worth!). Would love to hear from any former
Worthians with sons at Eton. Have already linked up with John Ford (B’82)
and found myself sitting next to Dan Wilkinson (StB’89) at a parents'
dinner. His boy is in my lad’s house. In my spare time I continue to write
about 1970s rock music and tinker with customised motorbikes (as I did
I 57
News in Brief
David Parker (StB’72) is now the Master planner for the Kentucky Army
National Guard where he minimises the mismatch between personnel
and buildings (present and future).
Chris (Kellog) Kelly (StB’78) Popped in at the City Lunch in March and
enjoyed a good few moments. Delighted to see Frs Stephen and Kevin
again, and to meet the present Abbot. As they know I am ever grateful to
them for the education I received and the seeds of faith sown while at
Worth - my prayer accompanies them. Have apparation (4 minutes) in the
BBC2 series Secrets of the Castle last December presenting pilgrimage in
the 12th century and the great tympanum, a masterpiece of Romanesque
sculpture, in the Abbey at Vezelay in Burgundy where I live and work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMz7dnVMJuQ
at school!) and am an avid supporter of Crystal Palace FC (along with Chris
Bloy & Dan Preston R’81). Brother Angus (B’84) is still involved in sports
betting in Las Vegas and Costa Rica and my brother Ben (B’91) is Editor of
Scandinavia's English language newspaper, The Copenhagen Post.
Simon Hoskyns (B’83) Lives in London with his wife, Louise, three stepchildren and his daughter, Ottalie. Working in the ski holiday industry and
Partner at Alpine Answers and Alpine Luxury Chalets, organising ski
holidays to the Alps. Recently bumped into Ed Mannix (StB’78) who runs
chalets in Zermatt.
News in Brief
Luan de Burgh (StB’84) Living in London with my wife and son and
running a communication training company working with SMEs to leading
global firms. Spend a lot of time speaking at conferences in the UK and
abroad and also in the media, most recently for the BBC during the
General Election. More than happy to help any Worthian or their company
- you can contact me through the Worthian LinkedIn Group.
Paddy Morrissey (R’84) Have just done the London to Paris bike ride left on 10th Sept and arrived on 12th Sept - with 20 colleagues from my
company Sheffield Haworth (287 miles in three days). We have raised
over £26,000 for Hospice UK in memory of my Mother who died in 1984,
my A level year at Worth (she died in St Catherine's Hospice, Crawley).
This is combined with me hitting 50 in June this year!! Happy to hear
from any Worthians who work in financial services when considering a
career move.
Michael Bishop (StB’85) Works for a Swiss bank in London. Married to
Samantha with 3 children (Holly, Annabelle, George - one at Bristol
University, two at school). Home is near Marlborough in Wiltshire.
Robin Taylor-Hunt (B’85) Recently became engaged to Hazel Corpes.
Live in Farnham with Hazel and daughters (Anna & Maria, 16 & 14 years
old). Work at Turbomeca, the French helicopter engine manufacturer, as
UK Military Business Director. Still play squash and been learning to play
tennis at a very low standard.
Jon (Sharks) Sharkey (R’87) Living in Bucks with Bee and Philip (13), Imy
(12) and Kit (9). Working at KKR in London. Plodding around the odd
triathlon course every now and then, and enjoying coaching kids locally in
rugby and cricket. Always keen on West End beers. In touch with Mike
Turner (G’87) and Charlie Dunster (B’88).
Alexander (Alex) Buckley (G’88) Got a little bit fed up of working for
others and making them rich, so currently setting up my own business
(www.h-lister.com) that provides a social media plug-in to merchants that
increases customer loyalty and increases their revenues! It's a win win...
(looking for investors if anyone is interested, it's going to fly...)
Dominic Taylor-Hunt (B’88) Engaged to Luz Saavedra and lives in
Malmesbury in Wiltshire. Both work in the humanitarian relief sector;
Dom is the Disaster Risk Adviser at Concern (the Irish equivalent to
Oxfam), and is frequently to be found traveling to countries such as
Congo, Haiti, Afghanistan, Lebanon.
Mark Collini (StB’89) Alex and I have been enjoying parenthood
following the birth of our beautiful daughter, Beatrice Martha Hope, on 2
February 2015. We're taking her to Australia at the end of September to
introduce her to the kangaroos and the koala bears.
Julian Gairdner (StB'89) has been living in Palmerston North, New
Zealand for over two years and heads up the data and digital business of
NZX Agri (the agri-information division of the NZ stock exchange). His
wife Mel is a wonderful Mum and ‘busy as’ looking after the kids and
generally tidying up after us all! The lifestyle is great here (including the
weather...generally!) and NZ has certainly taken off the dual income work
pressure. Ollie (12) is playing representative cricket and soccer for the
region. Freddie (5) started school in January this year and Phoebe (4) is at
‘kindy’. We have had some great summer holidays (Coromandel in the
North Island) and winter skiing trips, most recently to the Nelson Lakes
area of the South Island. We were home in April and it was good to catch
up with family and friends. Worthians welcome to stay any time!
Edward ‘Dobbo’ Robinson (B’89) Still happily married to Helen, and the
boys (Tim and Jamie – 11 and 9 respectively) are another year older and
eating more – nearly as much as me which is the worry! Still working the
Maidenhead residential market and trying to keep my golf handicap
down. Big news for me is that I’ve given up drinking - since the middle of
June 2015. Woke up one morning with another nasty hangover and said,
“That’s it!” Have tried to trace how my drinking started and it was
probably at sixth form dances trying to impress Woldingham/Mayfield/
Roedean/Benenden girls – it worked (kind of) back then but has not since
58 I
September 1996 when Helen and I started courting! So if my profile next
year says “happy to meet up with any Worthian at the pub and get stuck
in to the beers” you will all know I’ve had a depressing year and have
fallen off the wagon! By the way, I would recommend giving up to
anyone, as I sleep better, have lost a bit of timber (weight) and am more
positive generally - saved a small fortune on holiday as well! Tim has
started The Oratory near Reading so if there are any other sons of
Worthians who go there then please let me know and perhaps we can
chat at matches, etc. Poor Tim is destined to follow his Dad and start
drinking heavily at the age of 17 in an attempt to woo the ladies as it is a
single-sex Catholic school! If he is good (and the Bursar makes an
acceptable offer) then he can go to Worth in the Sixth Form to mix his
drinks and with the ladies! Will check in again next year and am happy to
meet up with any Worthian in the area, play golf or have a drink as long
you don’t mind me having a ginless tonic water!
Mike Watts (C’89) Still teaching at St Benedict’s in Ealing (now with at
least two other Worthians). Happily married, and very much enjoying
(most of the time) having 3 young boys.
1990s
Dominic Stobart (C’90) Living in Pelham, NY. Married to Caden. Three
kids - William, Stella and Thorfinn. Working as a TV Producer and racing
bikes for Twin Six.
Al Ferraro (G’91) Based in Nottingham, and still thoroughly enjoying my
work as an NHS consultant in Renal (Kidney) Medicine (over 6 years now).
Never regretted my career choice, ever. In addition to my hospital ‘day
job’ I have a growing portfolio of other work-related roles including
contributing to 2 national programmes that should encourage and enable
patients to be more involved in managing their own long-term kidney
issues. Away from work, family life (for my wife Sue, me, and boys aged 9
& 7) includes church (including leadership roles) & various energetic
hobbies (including triathlons, skiing, camping, walking, climbing, and
now surfing). Some things never change...
Tom Calnan (R’95) Married Bonnie at the beginning of the year, and had
our first child, Archie William McMahon Calnan, born 7 Sept 2015
weighing 7 lbs 6 oz. Mum, Dad and baby are all doing fantastically. A very
special moment for WOBS RFC Chairman Desmond also - first grandson
for him and Julie! Am now a Partner at King & Wood Mallesons law firm,
still based in Dubai and specialising in commercial Real Estate.
Ralph Coman (B’95) Now a chartered accountant and tax adviser and
running my business from Dulwich, London. My website is
www.comanandco.co.uk/
Angus Gairdner (B’96) Myla Molly Fitch Gairdner was born on the 16th
February weighing 7lbs exactly. She is gorgeous – Mummy and Daddy
totally besotted and actually (as I write this) getting some sleep! Still living
in Putney and working for Sky and doing lots in Germany following the
European Sky merger in November 2014. The three of us head off down
under in December to see family and friends in Australia and New Zealand
including brother Julian (StB’89) and his family for a week in the
Coromandel. In the meantime family trips to Devon and Cornwall are as
far as we are going until Christmas having also missed the ski season this
year (but for a very good reason!!!)
Robert Cottrell (R'97) Married Ashley in August 2013 by none other than
legendary former Abbot, Fr Kevin - it was lovely to see him again and
great to have him preside over the ceremony where several old boys were
in attendance: the Madsen Brothers, Stephen Ebbett, Joe Thompson,
Jason Recordon and of course my brother Richard (Gooch) (R’98) as Best
Man. I changed careers from recruiting in the City to teaching Modern
Languages and Games, and having completed a PGCE whilst teaching full
time at Sutton Valence School in Kent for the last two years, I will be
starting a new post at 'Teddies' (St Edward's, Oxford) in January 2016.
Alexander (Alex) Kenney (B’97) In 2015 moved back from New York to
London via a nice two month trip passing through Australia, New Zealand,
Hong Kong, China, Mongolia and Russia. Now working in Canary Wharf
helping banks with AML and regulatory compliance issues. Recently went
back to the US to get married in Vermont and was very grateful that a
number of school friends made the trip from different countries for
the wedding.
Lucian Sumpter (St B'97) We now have two daughters, Ava (3) and Olivia
(11 months). Our once beautiful house is slowly being turned into a
Disney franchise.
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Andrew Bayles (B’98) Very happy to report that we had a little girl in
September 2014, Darcey Bayles. Still living in Wandsworth and working as
legal counsel for Fujitsu in Baker Street, London.
Daniel Mourad (B’99) recently made appearance for Singapore 7s
International Rugby.
2000s
Jack Harrison (G’00) After 3 years with Jardine Matheson (KFC Taiwan)
am swapping ‘The Colonel’ for Jamie Oliver - left to join a start up with the
franchise for Jamie’s Italian in Greater China. Spending the next few
months in HK so look forward to bumping into some Worthians here.
Robert Birchall (R’01) My wife Natalie and I are very happy to announce
the birth of our first child Samuel Edward Birchall on 19 March 2015.
Christopher Lamb (R'O1) Rome Correspondent for The Tablet, the
International Catholic Weekly, covering the Pope, the Vatican and the
Catholic Church worldwide. Living in Italy with wife Isabel and children
Joseph, 6, and Martha, 3. Anyone from Worth travelling through here feel
free to get in touch ctrlamb@gmail.com
Owen Lean (C’01) Currently living and performing magic in Paris. Just
back from a Canadian tour performing at festivals across the country.
James Madsen (B’01) Married to Becky (July 2015), living in London, still
playing the occasional rugby. Working in Financial and Corporate Public
Relations.
Adrian Pring (R’01) Married Annie Dickenson on 12th April 2015 at Worth
Abbey. Wedding service was co-celebrated by Fr Aidan and the reception
was held on the sunken lawn by the main school and new Gervase. It was
glorious!
Philip Symonds (B’01) will marry Alice Turtle on the 2nd April 2016.
Tom Carew Hunt (StB'02) married Sarah Johnson at St Margaret's, West
Hoathly on 2nd May 2015. Giles Turton (F'02) was Best Man.
Jim Condie (B’02) Got engaged to Kelly Johnson in September 2015 and
planning on a late Summer 2016 wedding. Currently living in London and
still see a number of Worthians of similar vintage.
James Madsen (B'02) Got married on 4th July 2015 to Rebecca Taylor in
Shropshire. Best men were Chris Madsen (B'04) and Tom Podbury (C'02).
Amongst his ushers were Otto Blom (R'02), Chris Coxall (R'02), Daniel
O'Connell (R'02), Sam Middlehurst (R'02) and Rob Cottrell (R'97).
Giles Heather (G’03) Qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in November
2014 and now working in Doha, Qatar, for a global construction
consultancy.
Tom Symonds (B’03) married Elsa Buckler on the 12th July last year. Fr
Christopher gave a brilliant address. Also trained 50th winner and ran the
London Marathon in 2 hours 38 minutes, the fastest by a member of the
horse racing world!
Stephen Gray (F’04) Internal Communications Manager at PRS for Music
who license music services on behalf of 110,000 songwriters, composers
and publishers, and is the largest employer in the UK music industry.
Roger Greaves (StB’04) Married Alice Chilton at St Mary’s Church,
Reigate on Saturday 30th May 2015.
Christopher Madsen (B’04) My wife (Hannah) and I are expecting a baby
boy at the end of November! Had a fantastic summer celebrating the
marriage of great Worth mates Alex Podbury (C’04) to Lizzie and Charles
Bellm (R’04) to Alice and my brother James Madsen (B’02) to Rebecca. I
have been working at Chelsea FC for 5 years now and currently focus on
the sales of the players’ image rights.
Paul Keenan (R'05) Runs a sports injury business called Sussex Injury
Clinics based at the Dolphin Leisure centre in Haywards Heath and the
Withdean Sports complex in Brighton. Having worked for a premiership
football club, with world champion athletes and lectured at Kent
University amongst other things, have most recently been asked to go to
Oliver (Oli) Mulcahy (C'05) Back in Portsmouth (still in the RN) as Guns
and Missiles Trials Officer. Had a busy move with the arrival of Theo
(11th Feb ‘15) just four days after arriving in the new house - wouldn't
recommend it! Now enjoying more shore time to spend with my young
family.
Michael Burr (F’06) This year has been relatively exciting as got married
to Jenna Hallesy on 17th Jan 2015 and then moved out to do a year’s
placement in Malaysia as a Finance Manager for Tesco. Had a number of
other Worth old boys, including Chris Roberts (R'06) and Laurence
Hegarty (StB’06) as groomsmen.
Edward Hall-Smith (R'07) Working at Sotheby's in London. Recently
scored 1 run for our cricket side, so a big improvement since school. Do
get in touch if you have a valuable art collection.
2010s
Oli Jacobs (F’10) Recording/Mixing engineer at Peter Gabriel’s Real World
Studios near Bath. I’ve been involved in some very interesting records,
with several albums released in the past year (including mixing a #1
album - albeit in the world music charts, not sure if that counts?). There
are several albums coming out in the next few months which I’ve been
very lucky to have been a part of in some small way which I won’t bore
you with here but I normally put on my website.
Andrew Pring (R'10) I have just graduated from the University of Bristol
with a 2:1 Master of Engineering with Honours in Aeronautical Engineering!
I will be looking for stimulating public sector orientated work between
September and January to pass the time, after which I will start Army life
at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst which I eagerly await!
Katharine Farmer (StA’11) Just returned from living in Los Angeles for a
year working for Rubicon Theatre Company. During my time in the States
I was able to assistant direct two Off-Broadway shows called Lonesome
Traveler and Wiesenthal, both nominated for Outer Critics' Circle Awards
and Drama Desk Awards. Had my professional directing debut in April
2015 with a play called Last Train To Nibroc by Arlene Hutton, which won
an Indy Award for Direction, Have now returned to London and directing
the aptly named Pig Farm by Greg Kotis at the St James Theatre in London
this autumn - a brooding dark comedy with a cast including Stephen
Tompkinson (DCI Banks, Wild at Heart) and Dan Fredenburgh (The Bourne
Ultimatum, Love Actually).
Jan-Philipp (JP) Hotze (B'11) Having spent the last three years in
Rotterdam, I graduated with a BSc in International Business Administration
at the Erasmus University. Last year I spent some time in Canada and
worked for a land development company as an intern. I will now focus on
scoring highly on my GMAT to start my Double Masters in Finance and
International Energy in September 2016. Let's see if and how that will
work out. If you can help with work experience in the energy industry,
I would appreciate it a lot jp.hotze@me.com. Feeling alive.
Rory Pickard (StB’11) Jamie (StB’13), my Dad (Simon StB’78) and I have
just completed a cycle from Geneva to Nice in order to raise money for
the Mathew Elvidge Trust. So far we have raised nearly £5,000 and it's not
too late to donate!
Theo Rivers (F’11) Have just moved to Australia as have been signed to
play for a cricket club in Melbourne for 6 months. If any old boys are out
in Melbourne let me know.
Kitty Gibson (StA’12) I have just graduated from the Royal Agricultural
University and am going to take a year out. I am planning on a trip to
Berlin to learn German in November for three weeks.
Arthur Russell (C’12) Commissioned as Second Lieutenant into the
Scottish and Northern Irish Yeomanry Reserves in September. Still studying
Civil Engineering at Heriot Watt University with 2 years remaining.
Luke Navin (F’14) Have just released my first album of solo piano
music. 7 and a half Visions of Love - 7 original pieces for the piano,
composed and performed by myself. Available now on iTunes, Google
Play Store, and Spotify.
I 59
News in Brief
Hugo Sanders (R’00) Along with Nick Smyth, James Pymont, Lorenzo
Curci (all ‘00) and some other friends completed the Maratona des
Dolomites, an endurance cycling event in Italy in July. All wearing Huez*
clothing, a company started by Hugo and Lorenzo which has now just
completed one year of trading! Would be great to have other Worthians
involved next year.
Vancouver, Canada with a patient to support her performance in the
Women's Powerlifting Commonwealth Games. Business is going from
strength to strength. Have also 1 Alaskan Malamute and 2 Canadian
Eskimo dogs which I compete with throughout the winter. Am in the
process of organising a 1,000 mile trek across Sweden for Cancer Research
UK in conjunction with Bear Grylls and a company called Survival Wisdom
(who train foreign special forces).
Tadzio Szczepanik (C’68)
16/03/50 to 12/05/15
Obituary
He retired early in 1993 and spent the rest of his time
enjoying family life, developing his hobbies and taking pride
in seeing his children grow up and settle down. Recently he
enjoyed a new lease of life as a grandparent, known as
‘Dziadzio’, the Polish for grandfather.
Tadzio’s devotion to Marie-Claire, his children and
grandchildren, and to his sisters and brother, became very
clear in the last days when he knew he was so ill. Fighting
both mental and physical pain, and with the tragic death of
his brother Tom and of his uncle shortly before his own
death, Tadzio showed incredible bravery. His primary
concern was that Marie-Claire would be taken care of and
that his affairs were in order.
In thinking about what mattered most to Tadzio there is no
doubt that his family was paramount. As one of his early
work colleagues said, “He always put family before ambition”.
His love and care extended also to his godchildren and his inlaws. As one put it, “He had a big generous heart, extending
his generosity to the wider family”.
T
adzio was born on 16th March 1950 in London, the
first son of Edward and Hanna Szczepanik. His father
was a renowned economist and ended up as the
Prime Minister in Exile of the Polish Government during the
last days of the Communist rule. Tadzio was the younger
brother of Basia and the older brother of twins Zosia and
Tom. Much of his early life involved travelling, spending his
early childhood in Hong Kong and Rome as his father took
up posts with universities and the UN.
In 1962 Tadzio came to Worth – a happy time by all accounts
and where he engaged with his Catholic faith in a practical
way, finding his skill early on as an altar server. One of the
monks, Andrew Brenninkmeyer, told the family, “Tadzio was
my right hand man in the liturgical team, being probably
the best MC that I had in the 12 years I was on the job”.
After a gap year spent travelling from Rome to Poland, he
started his physics degree in 1969 at Corpus Christi College,
Oxford where he took up rowing and real tennis and
became involved in the Catholic Chaplaincy. He was also a
founder member of the new Polish Society. And there he
met his wife to be, Marie-Claire.
Marie-Claire and Tadzio married in July 1973. After a year in
Birmingham they moved to Worcestershire and brought up
their family, three daughters (Helenka, Yvonne, Ania) and
one son (John Paul).
Tadzio’s first job was with Dunlop in Birmingham, followed
by a time with a company called CDC, then moving to
Droitwich to work for LINK. Realising that, primarily for
health reasons, working for large organisations didn’t really
suit him, he eventually set up his own company SSS
(Szczepanik Software Systems). This was very successful as
he developed a software package to enable councils to
manage the new Community Charge or Poll Tax. He later
sold the company very profitably to MacDonald Douglas.
60 I
He was very faithful to his Polish Catholic cultural roots and
to his Catholic practice, supporting Parish life in Pershore
and acting for over 20 years as one of the main MCs at
Sunday Mass. He was also a regular and generous member
of the Catenian Society in Pershore where, according to one
Catenian, “he could always be relied upon to bring wisdom
and a pithy comment to all our discussions!”. He was also a
lifelong and generous supporter of CAFOD and other
charities.
His childhood gave him a love of travel and learning
languages. He loved to speak Italian, French and Polish
and to organise family holidays, especially in Europe
and Cornwall.
He took forward various home and garden improvement
schemes and had a passionate interest in tennis and
international rugby, particularly Wimbledon and the
Six Nations.
In the condolence cards two of the most recurring
attributes were CLEVER and KIND. Tadzio was undoubtedly
very intelligent and this was evident in his success in his
professional career and in managing his own affairs. He was
also METICULOUS and SYSTEMATIC – a real perfectionist. He
liked things in order and was always a Man with a Plan – and
woe betide anyone who tried to alter his plan!
At the end of the day, though, it was his KINDNESS and
GENEROSITY that touched so many hearts; always looking
for connections with people and always a loyal friend.
But perhaps his grandchildren put it best. They described
Dziadzio’s qualities well with words like GENEROUS, LOVING,
JOYFUL, KIND, CARING, FUNNY and even COOL, and, of
course, DZIADZIO’s CAMERA.
John Paul Szczepanik (B’01)
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Patrick O'Toole Quinn (StB’70)
03/03/1952 to 12/09/2014
P
Pat began life at Worth in the autumn of 1965. He was
extremely tall and thin with a shock of ginger hair and
arrived at St Bede's carrying a large bow. In his first year at
the School this item caused a certain amount of mayhem
and was confiscated after an attempt to bag one of Mr
Renouf's chickens. Now deprived of his beloved archery
Pat sought other distractions and joined the Antiquarian
Society. This somewhat quiet interest only served to
enhance his eccentric ways. He was regularly in trouble with
his Housemaster Dom Edward Cruise - known as 'Ol Cwikey
- often being caught smoking in the bushes or anywhere
else for that matter. This usually warranted four from 'Ol
Cwikey's whacker but often became six after repeated
offences (for which Patrick was allowed to sign the
implement). On one of his other forays he had strapped
clusters of large bangers together and lobbed them through
the prep school dormitory windows after lights out where
they caused a Chinese cracker effect across the dormitory
floor. A further visit to Fr Edward was required.
Pat didn't enjoy sports and wasn’t really interested in
academia either. But, he was an entertainer. His writings –
he invented and wrote of a character named Armpit Nugga
– and his impressions, accents and ‘madness’ made him
many friends. He got on well with Fr Bernard Moss who had
said to him in history class “Squinn …you’re a monster!”
Later he also became known as Lord Quinn. In 1968, during
the holidays, he was escorted out of Guildford Castle by
security: dressed as a hunchback his 6’4” frame – later to
become 6’6” – had lurched from the shadows of the upper
turrets muttering Shakespearean lines whenever tourists
wandered near. In 1969 however, he committed the
cardinal sin at Worth and ran away with one of the nursing
staff. They were both caught soon after. She was immediately
asked to leave the school, he was called up before the Head
Master with, as he described, a tremendous dread. Ten from
the Head Master’s cane combined with being expelled were
the most extreme punishments of the day… both were
applied to him.
After Worth Pat was sent to Foyes School in Dorset for one
year – ‘Foyes for naughty boys’ as he called it.
He left there at the age of 18 and became interested in wine
and all its associations. Soon he was studying in the UK and
France to become a Master of Wine. This continued from
1972-79 when the wine supplying branch he was working
and studying with went broke. So, Pat decided to become
self-employed selling wine with his brother Michael. His
eccentric ways continued: during part of this time he shared
a house with his brother and a female nudist … you never
quite knew who would answer the door. The Quinn brothers
became infamous around Guildford in the 70's and 80's –
often Pat could be found in one or other of the local taverns
Obituary
atrick Timothy O’Toole Quinn was born to Lorna and
Major Paddy Quinn in Sidmouth, Devon on 3rd March
1952. His early years were spent living in the West
Country. In 1960 he was sent to All Hallows Prep School for
five years. During this time the Quinns moved from
Somerset to a farm near Guildford.
where, after a few pints, he would leap upon a table
spouting Shakespeare and mesmerising the locals. (Many
other events took place and were much chuckled about at
his wake.)
In 1984 his mother Lorna died and his life was about to
change as she had asked him to look after his elderly father
Paddy. Pat gave up work and nursed his father for eight
years until his death in 1992. He now realised what he really
wanted to do and took up a career in caring.
In 1991 he had met his future wife Janet and they married in
1997. The honeymoon proved a nightmare as Pat suffered
heart failure on the ferry to Jersey. His new bride had to
leave him in hospital on the island attached to wires and
tubes while she headed to the honeymoon suite on her
own. Fortunately he – and she – recovered and his caring
work for those with learning difficulties continued.
Pat and his brother now found they had been left a large
packet of letters and a painting by their parents. The letters
were from Mahatma Gandhi to their father – they had been
good friends in the Raj days – and the painting soon made
a half-page spread in the Guardian as a potential 'lost'
Caravaggio. The latter represented a fortune but
manipulations within the art world meant the Quinn
brothers received only a relatively small amount. Pat didn't
have a lot of interest in material goods, apart from Land
Rovers, so the loss of a possible life of luxury didn’t affect
him too badly. He forged on with his caring work until
diagnosed with cancer in early 2014. After a successful
operation he vowed to return on a part-time basis but was
subsequently issued with chemotherapy tablets. These
caused a massive allergic reaction and he died on the 12th
September 2014 at 12 minutes past 12 in Guildford hospital.
Pat was a compassionate and truly gentle giant who loved
a giggle and often a great cackle. He leaves a wife and a
brother but was loved by many more.
Tim Marlow (StB‘70)
I 61
Tomasz Stanislaw Szczepanik (C’71)
06/03/53 to 13/04/15
T
Obituary
om was born on 6th March 1953 in Hammersmith,
the youngest child of the Economics lecturer Edward
Franciszek Szczepanik (last Prime Minister of the
Polish Government in Exile) and Hanna Maria Janikowska,
who had arrived in England at the end of World War II.
Tom was christened three times: firstly by the midwife;
secondly by the hospital chaplain; thirdly in church. His
brother Tadzio and friend Adas even did a fourth version of
their own, using soot from the chimney! Tom moved to
Hong Kong with his family on 16th January 1954, when his
father became a lecturer at the university. Tom made such
good friends with the children on the campus that they all
still meet up for reunions in London.
Tom was one of the first pupils at Gleanealy Junior School
and could even spell his complicated surname before he
went there. During Edward's sabbatical in March-December
1958, Tom attended school in England and spent autumn
1958 in Bangkok, Thailand.
At the end of 1961 Edward moved to Karachi, Pakistan, so
Tom spent two terms at the International School there
before starting at Worth in September 1962. Tom
remembered fainting as an altar boy at one of the services!
Later, he attended Dulwich College for sixth form - attracted
by the bright lights of London. During Tom's schooldays, his
summer holidays after September 1963 were spent at his
parents' new home in Rome and on the beach at San Felice
because Edward worked for the FAO. Tom read Economics
and Social Anthropology at Manchester University. His
university friends were envious of his holidays in Italy,
whilst his Italian friends were envious of him living in
Manchester - near Liverpool, home of the Beatles!
After University, Tom became a graduate trainee at the
Clarks factory in Glastonbury, especially growing a beard to
appear older when he ran a department of 20 girls!
Subsequently he worked at Texas Instruments in Bedford.
Then he established his own computing firm and later
worked for Jermyn in Sevenoaks.
Fulfilling Tom's mother’s prediction that he would become
a banker, from 1981 Tom spent the next 34 years working in
various roles at Citibank: Citibank Savings in Hammersmith;
Diners Club in Kensington; the Private Bank in Berkeley
Square; the Consumer Business; Citi Insurance; Compliance
and most recently Operational Risk at Canary Wharf. Tom
was always very kind and enjoyed being a computer
helpdesk for family, friends and colleagues.
Tom continued to work for Citibank whilst Lynette comanaged BML Estate Supplies (a small subsidiary of Wilson
Smithett tea brokers) and then she ran the office of the
International Tea Committee. Tom and Lynette married on
26th July 1986 at St Saviour's Church, Tonbridge, Kent with
a reception at Penshurst Place, spending their honeymoon
on Bequia in the Caribbean.
Their daughter Tessa Charlotte Paulina was born 9 weeks
early on 22nd June 1987 in Hammersmith. The new family
moved to Tunbridge Wells in September 1987 to be near
Lynette's parents in Tonbridge and have a garden for Tessa
to play in. The family lived in Brussels between August 1989
and September 1990, showing family and friends the city
and battlefield of Waterloo, before returning to Tunbridge
Wells. They have lived in Tonbridge for the past 25 years.
Tom and Lynette used to go skiing and latterly enjoyed
visiting family in Europe, America and Canada. Tom, Lynette
and Tessa are all keen photographers, both of family and
friends as well as their holidays abroad.
Recently, Tom enjoyed delving into his Polish roots and
discovering more about his Polish great-grandfather, the
explorer Leopold Janikowski. He scanned in and republished a book about him, aided by his Uncle Stas. Tom
also wrote about his father Edward and great-grandfather
Leopold on Wikipedia.
Tom and Lynette were so proud of their daughter Tessa
gaining a 2:1 in Classics at Royal Holloway, University of
London, and following her dream of becoming a
Genealogist by gaining her Postgraduate Diploma via
Glasgow's University of Strathclyde.
Tom and Lynette are blessed to have wonderful, caring
family, friends and neighbours. Lynette and Tessa wanted
to write that without all your love, care and support, they
wouldn't have survived this traumatic ordeal of losing their
beloved husband and father to a sudden, fatal heart attack
and they wanted to thank you for the very kind and
thoughtful letters of condolence from several members of
staff at Worth.
Lynette and Tessa Szczepanik
In October 1984 Tom went to a Halloween party in
Sevenoaks and met his future wife, Lynette Angela Patricia
Murray, who was the Acting Commissioning Editor for
Academic and Defence Books at MacMillan Publishers. They
got engaged a year later at Piso Livadi on the island of Paros
in Greece. Tom and Lynette had a secret code, adding the
word ‘queue’ into any conversations with guests to refer to
Lynette's size 'Q' engagement ring, which privately meant 'I
love you'.
62 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Guy de Burgh (StB’73)
23/06/1955 to 21/12/14
G
Obituary
uy was born on 23rd June 1955 and was the second
child and eldest son of Michael and Penelope de
Burgh. He spent much of his early childhood in East
Africa before the family returned to England to live briefly in
Manchester before settling in Duncton, West Sussex.
Guy went to St John’s Beaumont Preparatory School where
he began to show his excellence in science and maths as
well as in boxing. From St John’s, Guy went to Worth (St
Bede’s House) and was part of the year group that produced
eight Oxbridge candidates. While taking his ‘A’ Levels in
Maths, Pure Maths, Applied Maths, Physics and Chemistry,
Guy was also taking his English ‘O’ Level for the fourth time!
At Oxford (St Peter’s College) Guy read Engineering as well
as representing the University at Judo and Rowing. After
Oxford, his first job was with Racal Electronics and it was
only a matter of time before his expertise was identified by
technology companies in the USA. In 1983, Guy moved to
California where he lived, with a brief stay in North Carolina,
for the rest of his life. He worked for various technology
companies including setting one up himself before he was
offered a role at Apple which he took up and was working
on right up until he was unable to continue. At his memorial
in January, Guy’s manager from Apple spoke of the unique
role at the company that Guy had and how they were
struggling to find anyone who could match the technical
expertise in the specific area in which he worked.
Guy was a gifted and enthusiastic photographer, amateur
astronomer and dedicated marathon runner taking part in
the London and Los Angeles marathons on a number of
occasions as well as various others around the US. He was
running up until his illness prevented him from doing so.
He also greatly enjoyed playing competitive Frisbee.
Guy died on 21st December 2014 at home in California and
is survived by his wife Martha and two step sons B.J. and
Jake in America and by his father, sister Melony, and two
brothers, Shaun (StB’74) and Luan (StB’84) in the UK.
The de Burgh Family
I 63
The Abbot had agreed to a unique opportunity for five of us to
look more closely at what life was like for Benedictine monks,
novices and postulants, before and after they taught us. It was
only a week, and I regret that my impressions - 45 years later may suffer from some loss of focus.
The 1970 Monastic
Experience Reunion
I
n 1970 Dom Hugh O’Neill, as part of his RE Course,
devised an essay competition to discover why, up to
then, there had been so few vocations to the priesthood
amongst pupils. The winning entry, by 16 year old Jeremy
Brooks, stated: ‘The monks at Worth do not do nearly
enough to inform people about religious life. You wish to
know why no boys join the Monastery? Well, it is that you do
not open the door to us. We are lazy, I admit, but we need
help. Let us see what it is like, let us gain knowledge.
A way to gain interest is to have a small group of boys to
stay in the Monastery for, say, five days. Let these boys do
everything a monk does; let them wear the same clothes,
eat the same meals, go to the same Offices, but above all,
keep cut off from the ‘outside world’.’
And so it was that, with Abbot Victor Farwell’s blessing,
the future Lieutenant Colonel Brooks and four other
boys, Paul Thompson, Charles Weston-Baker, Gavin
Hamilton-Deeley and Simon Nixon, went into the
Monastery for a five-day ‘taster’ in the final week of the
1970 Summer Term.
45 years on, we tracked them down and asked them back,
to reminisce, recreate the original photograph and to
reflect on how that short experience may have helped
shaped their future lives.
64 I
In order of priority, I would say that having time to empty my
mind was special. Although Edward Cruise, my Housemaster,
would probably say that an empty mind was probably status
quo for me, silence - and what might now be called sensory
deprivation - helped generate thought. But I had no way of
disciplining, or ordering them; prayer (which I remember was
quite frequent) helped. And I noticed other monks in the
community seemed to prove that practice makes perfect. So I
should have stayed for longer.
The second was the nature of community life 'off duty'. All the
monks were characters in some way and no doubt, sources of
joy (or irritation) for their fellow monks. You would need to be
patient, loving, a generous listener, if you are to spend your life
there. I am sure they were in equal measure refreshed and riled
by the boys, but it never showed. I wonder what it's like now
that the monks don't teach.
The third was the joy of eating in silence, unhurried, while
skilled monks (Dom Anthony, I do remember, with a range of
accents) read to us. Ian Fleming's Thunderball I recall was one,
but I tested this with Fr Stephen on our recent reunion, and he
assures me I was dreaming.
I shall be eternally grateful to Abbot Victor Farwell, Dom Hugh
O'Neill and the community of May 1970, who probably needed
a stiff gin after we'd left. For me, in retrospect, it was a pretty
good taster of what 30 years living with soldiers in a Regiment
would turn out to be.
Jeremy Brooks (StB’72)
What I think I do particularly remember, apart from how
surprisingly comfortable and practical wearing a habit was
and the mysterious aura (at least to me) of the monastic
library, which none of us had been in before, was the utter
calmness and tranquillity, as it struck me, of monastic life.
It felt very other-wordly which, for us youngsters who were
already beginning to strain at the leash to get out into the 'real
world' was, I suppose, probably more intriguing than inately
attractive. Perhaps we were too young really to appreciate it.
Now, looking back and in reminiscences in the years since,
I think it certainly reinforced my sense that Worth is a very
special place and I think it also gave me some greater insight
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
into the spiritual life and that there is more to life than simply
making a success in the big wide world. In now returning
to Worth, it was wonderful to see that the School and the
Monastery, whilst both much changed, and the old Cowdray
Estate which they so happily share, have all developed so
well and in harmony with each other. Worth remains to me
a very special place which I realise all of us, who have some
connection with it, are very privileged to share. Long may
that continue.
great truth of my stay in the community was the honesty and
honourable character of the monks. When I left Worth these
values shaped the way in which I dealt with the variety of
people I was to meet.
Left to right: Simon Nixon,
Jeremy Brooks, Paul Thompson,
Charles Weston-Baker and Gavin
Hamilton-Deeley
Paul Thompson (StB’72)
The week I spent in the Monastery many years ago was a
truly inspiring experience which has stayed with me ever since.
I found the daily routine of worship and reflection moving and
enjoyed the mix of quiet time with busy work and social
interaction. What did surprise me was the deep sense of
community amongst the monks and the sense of fun that was
also apparent. I subsequently visited the mission to Lima and
found the same positive atmosphere there, despite the
poverty. Above all, my stay in the Monastery has given me an
understanding of monastic life and a profound admiration for
St Benedict, whose rule established so many centuries ago is
relevant and alive today.
Charles Weston-Baker (B’72)
Worth was very much a monastic community first and a school
second in my day and as a young boy there seemed to be a lot
of Catholicism and dogma to digest. I wanted to experience life
in the Monastery to see what really went on behind the scenes.
What I came away with was the realisation that Catholic
Benedictine life was not all about dogma but a way of life and
that has stayed with me. My immediate impressions were
having to get up at about 6am to start life as a monk, working
hard in the forest during the day, eating in silence and wearing
a strange outfit which was a stark contrast to the school life I
was used to. On the plus side I realised that food could actually
taste good at Worth and wine was not just for Mass. After that
the time for reflection and beginning to understand what the
monks were experiencing started to kick in and I found the
experience surprisingly rewarding.
Gavin Hamilton-Deeley (R’72)
In order to fully experience the monastic way the absolute
prerequisite is faith and, in this respect, I failed. Despite
coming from a Jesuit background, I have never felt any
conviction that scripture held an ultimate veracity to which
I could adhere. I lacked the intellectual maturity to be able to
understand this at the time and, while I attended each prayer
session and performed the other offices as directed, the
underlying requirement of faith meant that the experience
failed as an incitement to consider joining the community.
That said, the experience was one with substantial gains. The
easily communicated values of decency, morality and spiritual
substance were a lesson in core values that I’ve taken to heart
and are an essential authority that I can readily accept. The
If a ready acceptance of Benedictine commitment was not for
me, the experience definitely helped me to be more equipped
to bring those values to prick my conscience when I fell short of
the community’s standards. Perhaps any of the major religions
may have this facility, but I am particularly grateful to Worth
for awakening this in me.
I can’t leave off without a comment on my fellow inmates.
A deliciously varied band that have travelled disparate paths.
Rather like a 1970’s war movie when a band of veterans are
assembled for a highly dangerous, but vital, mission to thwart
the enemy menace. The cast would number the Richards
Harris and Burton, David Niven, James Garner, Donald
Pleasance et al. While united by a common purpose, their
varied characters invite gloomy speculation about their ability
to form a cohesive band.
Our gallant leader was undoubtedly Jeremy Brooks. His
pulchritudinous outer crust reminiscent of a floppy haired, but
slightly superannuated Hugh Grant, and his inner military steel
that of a Captain Mainwaring. Jeremy’s ability to make an
Abbot meekly acquiesce to his demands was the catalyst for
our assembly.
Charles Weston-Baker has the lugubrious eyes of Robert
Mitchum. They speak of great depths of experience and
travails. Sadly, the romantic-tragic hero effect is undone by the
Ernest Bilko thatch.
Paul Thompson was the brains of the gang. His high forehead
creating an image of the Tefal scientist from the 80’s ads.
Indeed he may have managed to get away with his intellectual
authority unquestioned, had I not spotted him on the opposite
platform heading back to London after our reunion. He had his
mobile phone in his hands and a look of befuddled
incomprehension on his face that exploded the boffin myth.
Gavin Hamilton-Deeley retains the pin-up good looks of a
Robert Redford. His enormous motor car, only slightly smaller
than a Hercules transport plane, making him the ideal choice
for logistics and get-away driver.
Your correspondent unfortunately looks like a dissipated
Depardieu. His Cyrano days behind him, the loose cannon
role, normally filled by an erratic Telly Savalas, is earmarked
for him.
We failed in our mission, but better men, headed by Abbot
Luke, had more success.
Simon Nixon (StB’72)
I 65
Head Master’s
2015 Report
Gino and Anne Carminati
A
s ever this has been a very busy year with infinite
levels of energy expended over a wide variety of
activities across all aspects of School life and the
commitment and achievement of our pupils and staff
has been immense. I congratulate everyone who has
contributed to the life of the school throughout the year,
for the level of excellence that has shone through and for
the manner in which the community has conducted itself
and enhanced the ethos, values and expectations that guide
our very being.
Production of The Crucible
I would especially like to acknowledge and thank those
colleagues who will either be retiring or leaving Worth
at the end of the academic year for their outstanding
contributions and dedication. They include Mrs Anne Lynch
who leaves to take up the well-deserved headship of The
Royal School in Haslemere, Mrs Kate Huxley, Mrs Danielle
Lloyd, Dr Sheila Bartlett and Mrs Anne Carminati, all of
whom are retiring this year. Mrs Sue Cummins moves to a
full-time position at Brambletye Prep School and Mr Eamon
Manning leaves Worth to join the Oratorian Order and will
train for the priesthood. All these colleagues have made
exceptional contributions to the life of the School in so
many different ways. Many pupils and parents owe them a
tremendous debt of gratitude and I should like to thank
them for all they have done and to wish them every
happiness and joy in their future careers or well-earned
retirement.
My professional career as a teacher, Head of Department,
Boarding House Master, Head of Sixth Form, Deputy Head
and Head Master on three occasions, has spanned 33 years
across six very different but excellent schools; four in the
state sector and two in the independent sector. I have had
the privilege to have been engaged in every aspect of
school life from picking up litter and dealing with
overflowing washrooms to planning and delivering major
projects and change. Overall, the 33 years of my teaching
career have been blessed with overwhelming happy
encounters and memories, and when difficulty or tragedy
has struck, I have been fortunate to have been surrounded
by the care, compassion and support of my communities
and colleagues. It is a delight for me to acknowledge that
the vocation which I was called to take up in my green and
salad days has been one which I have enjoyed, loved, and
learned much from and have tried to serve as best I can.
Over the years I have of course experienced and sometimes
had to endure, countless new initiatives from selfproclaimed educational experts from various government
offices and think tanks. I have seen 14 Secretaries for
Education come and go with alacrity at times, each
generating a tsunami of innovation. As a Head, if I had
adopted, as directed, all the initiatives that came down from
on high I would have faced mental exhaustion years ago and
have been complicit to the advancement of educational
vandalism and the intellectual impoverishment of my
students. There can be virtue in the application of
appropriate resistance.
The ever increasing self-indulgence by successive
governments in the politicisation of education, the gradual
neutering of idealism, altruism, and the blurring of strong
moral values at the expense of poorly conceived political
correctness and relativism, makes me wonder whether
anyone with great political influence or power, has really
understood what they are doing when it comes to
educating the young and whether they had a well-founded
vision as to why they are doing it in the first place. It has
often felt as if we live in an age of ideological and ethical
bankruptcy in which popular and shallow sound bites are
used as a feeble substitute for gravitas and well-reasoned
intellectual conviction.
Raising money for 1 Voice
66 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Abbot League Olympics
Confirmation 2015
My generation has seen many benefits and advancements
in our society and many exciting innovations which have
made the current age stronger and better for the majority if
not necessarily for all. The opportunities that are available
for engaging in creative and imaginative teaching and
learning have been revolutionised from the black board,
coloured chalk and the bander machine, to interactive white
boards, the application of the internet and the myriad of
apps that can be downloaded instantly. I only have to look at
what goes on in our own classrooms to see that we have an
exciting and vibrant learning set of experiences here that
were unimaginable when I started teaching.
and inadvertent exploitation. Whatever happened to the
pursuit of beauty, goodness and truth for the greater
intellectual and cultural enrichment of man and the
nurturing of spiritual well-being for the advancement of
humanity and for the greater glory of God?
But we have also witnessed in many of our schools and
universities the advancement of a learning culture
dominated by skills-based training for the advancement of
utilitarian mediocrity, the promotion of selfish individualism
and the infectious spreading of secularism. When these
ingredients are combined and left unchallenged, they
produce a toxic force that can rob the young and those that
educate them, of any real sense of vision and idealism and
in turn, can rob a nation of its higher sense of being.
The key values that dominate many of our educational
establishments today are the pursuit of examination
achievement as the principal measure of success, training
people primarily to serve the work place and the promotion
of mean-minded materialism, with its various false images
In case you mistake these words for the cynical rant of a
retiring and jaded Head, let me reassure you. I remain as
passionate, hopeful and idealistic as when I first started my
teaching career, albeit I hope, perhaps a little wiser and a
touch more forgiving and patient – but only a touch!
I firmly believe that we must embrace change and modernity
with confidence and seek out that which has real value.
There is no place in education for King Canute entrenchment.
Yet we must also be bold enough to dismiss superficial
nonsense and that which has no real fundamental value or
undermines what is right. The education of the young is too
precious a gift and too great a responsibility to be left in the
hands of intellectual appeasers, lack-lustre visionaries or
here today, gone tomorrow politicians.
I remain confident and optimistic because whenever I look
around the audience of a school assembly, whenever I meet
parents and prospective students on an open morning,
when I sit down to write reports on the achievements of
the year or stop to reflect upon what is happening in my
School and take the time to speak with my students and
colleagues, I constantly see very uplifting, inspiring and
Head Boy, Oliver Campbell,
on Speech Day
I 67
First IB trip to Cuba
energising things. I see passion and eagerness to understand
and learn; I see people who seek meaning from life; I see
people with real social conscience, well-formed values and a
desire to do good and make things better for others as well
as themselves. I see young people who will shape our future
and be our future leaders; and what I see is good and noble,
and this sustains my hope and confidence.
Here at Worth relative secularism and utilitarianism do not
dominate and they are vigorously challenged and rebutted.
The culture of examination success at the expense of the
rounded education of the whole person does not have preeminence but is apportioned its due level of respect in the
overall picture of what we are trying to achieve. The pursuit
of selfish individuality and false image do not hold sway but
are diminished by our Benedictine teaching of community
life, by the value we place on the unique contribution of
each individual and by the promotion of a faith that gives us
a vision of humanity shaped in the image of the Divine, that
is to be respected and loved.
At Worth we have a strong philosophical rationale for our
existence and for the work we do. We promote the values of
a liberal western culture, the pursuit of reason and rational
thought, and we appreciate the need to engage artistic
creativity and the imagination alongside science, logic and
the advancement of physical well-being.
Moreover, we are a school founded on a clear philosophy
and way of life that is Christ centred and firmly reflective of
the teachings of the Gospel. We promote the living out of a
The House Chaplains
life of Christian Love and putting into daily practice the
values which we hold. We believe that each individual
member of our School has a unique vocation. Our aim is to
educate our pupils to discern this vocation, to inspire,
challenge and nurture them to realise this vocation. We
think it right that life should be lived to the full, with fun, joy
and delight and that part of what enables this to happen, is
to instil a sense of aspiration and an appreciation of
excellence in all that we do so that goodness, truth and
beauty have real merit and are sustained as ennobling, life
giving attributes.
The result is that whilst we at Worth can also train and
prepare the young for later life, to make valid contributions
to society and to make positive contributions to the
economy and the world of work, we are prepared to go
much further. Worth encourages its young to be beacons of
light in all things and to be visible examples and role models
for others to be inspired by. Whatever limitations we
sometimes have and whatever mistakes we occasionally
make, this School is firm in its pursuit of excellence and in
challenging its community to be bolder, better and add real
value beyond that which might be naturally expected.
It is for these reasons that parents send their children here
as opposed to anywhere else. It is for these reasons that as a
school we have grown to our filling number, why the levels
of achievement in all areas of life improve year on year, why
our pupils are better prepared for what lies ahead of them
beyond school and why the levels of satisfaction and
support for what we do are overwhelmingly positive from
the feedback that we receive. This is why the monastic
community and governors invest heavily in our continual
development and in the further improvement of our
facilities and the opportunities we offer and it is for these
reasons why my colleagues expend immense effort and
commitment to making our mission and our values a
living reality.
Over the last eight years the School has changed
significantly in size, in gender balance, in the range of
what is available both academically and in extra-curricular
terms. It is a stronger and bigger beast with a fulsome
appetite for further success. This encourages us to be ever
more professional in our operations and more far reaching
in our visioning and planning. It is for this reason that a
vision for the longer term development of Worth is being
devised – a vision that will greatly enhance and transform
68 I
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Achievement Award Winners
Ann Widdecombe after her lecture to students
the campus for both the Abbey and School, so that together
we can take our joint mission and vision to new and more
dazzling heights.
what we do here works; that what we do is good, and true
and beautiful and I am deeply proud of all that we achieve
together.
The last eight and half years have been very special ones for
me and for my family. When we arrived as strangers to this
community, we were warmly and generously welcomed and
supported to an extent which we had not experienced in
any previous school. This sense of welcome and support
has never diminished. I have witnessed what a Worth
education can do from the perspective of a Head Master
and a parent and I have seen the enormous and positive
effects that can be made to happen when we all work
together. I have seen a school that in most respects
practices what it preaches and succeeds in its endeavours.
I have had the privilege to live and work with inspirational
people of all ages, pupils and adults, who have taught me a
great deal and have allowed me the privilege of playing a
small part in their growth and development. I know that
To my successor, Mr Stuart McPherson, I willingly transfer
the leadership of this exceptional place knowing not only
that it is in a robust and healthy condition but in the sure
knowledge that it will be cared for, led and developed by
someone who has already shown a real love of Worth and its
mission.
To the Worth community, to the pupils, my colleagues,
parents, governors and the monastic community, I offer my
sincere thanks and heartfelt appreciation for the gift, the
honour and the privilege of leading this very special family
and wish Worth every success for the future.
Gino Carminati, Head Master, Worth School
Taken from the Head Master’s Speech Day Address,
May 2015
Corpus Christi Procession
I 69
Farewell to
Gino Carminati
A
s we were saying a fond farewell to Worth’s sixth
Head Master, Gino Carminati, it only seemed right
that one of the very first cohort of girls should
come and talk to him about one of the key challenges of his
headship! Andra Hess (StM’10), after leaving Worth, went
off to Whistler in Canada to work as a ski instructor and then
came back to Birmingham City University where she was
awarded a First Class Honours degree in Real Estate. She is
now working at Barber Wadlow, Fuel & Automotive Property
Advisers, and having just bought her first flat, is finding this
‘growing up’ malarkey rather weird!
Did you join Worth knowing that the transition was
planned to go co-educational?
Gino Carminati
That soon broke down! I knew that you were all the strong
suffragette type and that you weren’t going to take that
rubbish and that you’d cope with it very well - and you did.
You also had a great Housemistress in Caroline Brown who
helped you.
I think that was one of the things, when I look back,
that we were probably the year that had the strongest
characters.
No, the Governors had already consulted lots of people, but
the final decision hadn’t been made so I was appointed on
the understanding that it could still remain a boys’ school
but it was very likely to go co-ed. I said that I would be
happy with either but I much prefer co-ed and that was part
of the reason for coming to Worth.
Well you had to, that is the reason I chose you. We were so
over-subscribed that year. I had virtually three girls to every
available place. It was wonderful. Not only could I go for the
best of the best and brightest, I also went for the ones who
could add lots of different things. Sport was particularly
important and you all established girls’ sport at Worth so
quickly, when it could have taken years.
Were there quite a lot of schools at that time going
co-ed?
Haven’t the girls just had an unbeaten hockey season
in 2014/15?
I remember 20 years ago when I first became a Head, the
majority of schools were all boys and 20 years later I think
that you can count the all boy schools on one hand,
maybe two.
Yes, an unbeaten season for hockey – the girls’ sport is really
top notch here. We don’t play other schools’ mixed teams
anymore; we play their best and knock them for six.
Why do you prefer co-ed?
I think it is a better ambience, better balance, and more
natural, and I always take the view that if you are going to
marry each other and live with each other then you better
get used to it as early as possible really!
Yes, I think a few boys could have benefited from that
to be honest!
Well it was quite interesting at the time because the boys certainly the Upper Sixth boys and even the boys in your
year group - were a bit hesitant. It was as if they felt “oh it’s
the end of the world as we know it” but they all fell into line
virtually straight away.
Were there any parents that had a bit of a wobble?
I think originally there were fewer than 10 parents that
actually had reservations, but most of these were parents
with boys towards the senior end of the School who were
thinking “well at least it’s not on my watch and my son will
be out by then”. But those with younger boys who
expressed reservations and said that wasn’t what they
signed up to, were all won round shortly after. They all
thought it was great and nobody left, so it was a seamless
transition in many ways, and very easy.
70 I
I think as the first cohort of 36 girls coming into Year
12 it was a challenge with the year above when we
first arrived. They were the hardest to approach and
I think there was almost an unwritten rule stating that
they shouldn’t talk to us!
Did you have any set criteria for the first year of girls,
except for them being able to bring something to the
table?
Yes I had to have a variety so we could break into music and
sport. I needed very strong girls who could hold their own
but gel quickly. It was quite difficult to put together that
first intake. I had to make sure that the characters didn’t
clash as when you put strong characters in a room together
that can happen. I needed to make sure that collision
would be minimal and it was. There were one or two sort
of ‘prima donna’ moments but very few. It could have been
a lot worse.
Did you keep the same criteria going forward or did it
change with each year?
The girls we recruit still have what I call backbone and they
are still feisty girls which I think is good but I think they still
need to be. Even though we have over 200 girls in the
School now, we could do with a few more. We want to get to
60:40. However they are certainly loud enough to make you
think that there are more girls than boys!
Have you seen any changes with the boys? Have
grades dropped?
No, quite the opposite. Grades have gone up. The academic
standards of the School have risen and risen. The boys have
just calmed down a bit really.
Worth Society Life
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
A welcome
to the new
Head Master
Were there any years where you thought co-ed
wouldn’t work?
No, never at all. I thought that the boys’ reaction to co-ed
was really very positive. On the whole, I think they were very
welcoming. There were some silliness’s…
Any in particular?
None that I am prepared to repeat or have published! They
were minor things really. On the whole, I think that the
feedback from the girls at the end of their two years was
really positive, 97% positive I think.
We were quite nervous being the first year and having
another year coming in. We were almost territorial, a
bit like the boys might have been with us!
T
he Autumn Term has seen the arrival of Worth’s
seventh, and third lay, Head Master in Worth School’s
56 year history. Stuart McPherson was born in 1968
in Perth, Western Australia, and educated at Applecross
Senior High School and the University of Western Australia.
He was a teacher at Sydney Grammar School from 19902000 and from 2000 to 2015 taught English at Eton College,
where he was also House Master of Penn House between
2010 and 2015. He is married to Johneen, who is Director of
Studies at St Mary’s Ascot, and has four children between
the ages of 16 and 22. He enjoys reading, fishing and brief
periods of wild camping.
The Worth Society offers him and his family a very big
welcome!
Ah yes, the Queen Bee Syndrome.
Do you think that your legacy will be the introduction
of girls?
My legacy? Whenever people talk about a legacy I always
think of Tony Blair, so I like to think I won’t be leaving a
legacy…Um…Oh I suppose so. If they look back on
significant dates then yes, but we have done so much since
I have been Head in terms of new buildings and conversions.
Did you need girls?
No, Worth could have quite easily continued as a successful
all boys’ school but it would never have reached more than
450 pupils. It’s a happy place, it is a great community and it
has got stronger and better.
What do you think the future looks like for Worth?
Great. I really do. My successor is a lovely man who has
fallen in love with the place. He is down to earth and
I think people will like him very much. As far as Worth is
concerned, we are doing very well and we have ridden
through the economic recession without noticing it.
Numbers are good.
Are you going to miss it?
Yes, I will miss some of it hugely. I won’t miss being a Head. I
won’t miss having to worry about everyone else’s
responsibilities as well as my own. I won’t miss the forward
planning, but when you have worked all your life with
young people, who although can be frustrating, keep you
fresh and alive – I shall miss that. This is such a special place.
I will miss having all of this on my doorstep.
Will you come back and visit?
If I am invited! I can’t just drop in but yes hopefully I will be
invited back.
Andra Hess (StM’10)
I 71
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We are
delighted to
announce
that this year’s Glenn Robertson
Spirit of Rugby Trophy
was awarded to
Christy O’Brien (R’15)
and the Glenn Robertson
Sporting Promise Trophy
was awarded to current student
Gabriel O’Brien
Worthians—The Second Generation:
September 2015
Pupil
Surname
Christian
Name
Current
Year
House
Father’s/relatives name
Adams
William
12
Rutherford
Charles (R’86)
Bruning
Emma
11
St Mary’s
Christian (StB’88)
Byrne
Henry
7
Austin
Nephew of Edward Sherlock (StB’85)
Cavaliero
Ella
12
St Mary’s
Rohan (B’81)
Elwes
Barnaby
12
Rutherford
Benedict (G’81)
(house, year left)
Gabriel
Samuel
8
Austin
Michael (C’85)
Halffter
Toby
9
St Bede’s
Nephew of Jaime (StB’77) &
Fernando Zobel (StB’78)
Hamilton-Deeley
Harry
11
Rutherford
Gavin (R’72)
Jamison
Archie
9
Rutherford
Great nephew of Fr Christopher
Jamison
Many congratulations to you both!
Jenkins
Callum
11
Farwell
Jonathan (G’81)
Pack
Frederick
9
Chapman
Nephew of Laurence (G’83) &
Benedict (G’97) Kennedy
Pack
George
12
Chapman
Nephew of Laurence (G’83) &
Benedict (G’97) Kennedy
Rowland
Michael
11
Chapman
Michael (C’67)
Stordy
Anna
13
St Mary’s
Jonathan (StB’81)
Worthians Children currently registered
to join Worth
• Did you leave Worth
between 2009 and 2015?
• Were you doing your
DofE Gold Award and
never quite got round
to finishing?
It may not be too late...
If you want to find out if you could still
receive your Award (and go to St James’s
Palace to have it presented) please contact
the School DofE Manager, Giles Watson, at
gwatson@worth.org.uk
Pupil
Surname
Christian
Name
Proposed
start date
Year
group
Father’s/relatives name
Archer-Perkins
Georgina
2022
9
Richard (C’66)
Bailey
Genevieve
2016
7
Sebastian (R’93)
Bayles
Sebastian
2017
9
Simon (B’90)
Bruning
Annabelle
2016
9
Christian (StB’88)
Ceparano
Matthew
2018
12
Anthony (C’88)
Gracia
Beatrice
2016
9
Niece of Eamonn Store (C’86)
Johnstone
Dominic
2017
12
Rupert (R’85)
Le Gouellec de Schwarz
Amedee
2018
9
Nephew of James (G’93)
& Simon (G’98) Albert
Le Gouellec de Schwarz
Maximillien
2019
7
Nephew of James (G’93)
& Simon (G’98) Albert
Le Gouellec de Schwarz
Sophie
2016
9
Niece of James (G’93)
& Simon (G’98) Albert
Little
Lochlan
2018
9
Roderick (G’90)
Little
Matilda
2016
9
Roderick (G’90)
Main
Calum
2016
9
Kevin (StB’76)
Owen
William
2017
9
Nephew of Alex (G’88) &
Justin (G’91) Duckworth
Pavry
William
2016
9
Justin (StB’91)
Samuels
Raphael
2017
9
Dominic Quennell (C’74)
Simpson
Charles
2018
12
Nephew of Alistair (StB’95)
& William (StB’96) Lockhart
(house, year left)
I 73
Worthians—Year 13 University Destinations 2015
Name
Course
University
Name
Course
Georges Abousleiman
History
Kent
James Kemp*
Ancient History
King’s College London
Brennan Alleyne
Engineering
Hertfordshire
Benedict Konst
History and Philosophy
Queen’s Belfast
Alberto Alvarez Gonzalez
Computer Science
and Mathematics
Spain
Leo Lau
Civil Engineering
University of Surrey
Gordon Li
Anthropology
Durham
Christopher Bailey*
Mechanical Engineering
Plymouth
Carlo Lucarelli
International Management
City University London
Chloe Barnes
Music
Oxford
Ben Maher
Economics
Warwick
Josephine Bateson
Music and Philosophy
Nottingham
Maddy Man
Psychology
Exeter
Frederick Bernstorff
Materials Engineering
Swansea
Monica Marsh
English and French
Nottingham
Freddie Boag-Jones
History
Southampton
Leonard Boodramsingh
English and Italian Law
Swansea
Angus Bonner*
Psychology
Bath
Samantha Bowler
Events Management
Leeds Beckett
Alexander Brammer
English Literature
Sarah Buller*
Pharmacology
Eduardo Caderni*
English Literature
with Creative Writing
University of East Anglia
Nicolo Carlotti*
Mechanical Engineering
Sussex
Victoria Caruana
Interior Design
Regent’s College
Tomasz Cebrat
Liberal Arts Programme
University of Washington,
USA
Edward Chadwick
Biology
Dominik Masojada*
Economics and Management Bristol
William Masters
Business Management
York
Jennifer McGregor*
Theatre Studies and
English Literature
Glasgow
Exeter
Daniel Montagu
Psychology
Exeter
Bath
Patrick Murray*
Philosophical Studies
Newcastle
Kennard Ng
Computer Science
Newcastle
Christy O’Brien
Politics and Philosophy
Sheffield
Francis O’Donnell Bourke
English
Sheffield
Dilim Odinkalu
Law
Canterbury Christ Church
Cian O’Mara
Economics
Warwick
Otto Orssten
Mathematics
Reading
Henry Palmer*
Social Anthropology
London School
of Economics
Zbigniew Peplinksi
Mechanical Engineering
Southampton
Gregoire Philipon
Business Management
Southampton
Toby Pullan
History and French
Exeter
Cormac Riddell
Philosophy
Manchester
Dentistry/Biomedical Sciences Plymouth
Media and Cultural Studies
Keele
Jeffrey Chan
Pharmacy
Bath
Daniel Cheng*
Business Management
and Chinese
University of Central
Lancashire
Ruva Chipato
Architecture
Ryan Choi
Politics, Philosophy
and Economics
University
Nottingham
Warwick
Laura Chow
English Literature
Leeds
Alice Robinson
David Corr*
English Literature
Manchester
Nina Roussell
Luke Cummins
Exercise and Sports Science
University of South Wales
Rosanna Curtis
Geography
St Andrew’s
Benedict Davenport
Physics
Cameron Dent
Economics/History
Glasgow
Claire Dowle
Law with French
UCL
Benedict Eakin
Industrial Economics
Nottingham
Jasper Elwes*
Education with Social Science Keele
Samuel Elwes
Religious and
Theological Studies
Patrick Ely*
American Studies and English Nottingham
Thomas Ferguson
Economics and Politics
Leeds
Oliver Fletcher*
Accounting and Finance
Oxford Brookes
Stephen Free
Biomedical Sciences
Kent
Amanda Fullalove
History of Art
Exeter
Matthew Gallacher*
Medicine
Queen Mary University
of London
Emily Guest
Business Management
Suffolk
William Harries
Economics
Edinburgh
University of the Arts,
London
Freddie Roux
Combined Studies
Oxford Brookes
Alexander Rumsey
Real Estate/
Property Management
Westminster
Fergus Ryan
Accounting and Management Oxford Brookes
Hertfordshire
Jim Salmon
Ancient History
Winchester
Lorenzo Sartori
Law
Kent
Michael Shi
Politics, Philosophy
and Economics
London School of
Economics
Sian Skiggs
Forensic Computing
Plymouth
Piers Spencer*
European Politics
King’s College London
Oluwatobiloba Talabi
Business Management
Kent
Kingsley Tang
Civil Engineering
Brighton
Patrick Tang
Economics
Nottingham
James Thompson
Geography
Liverpool
Edward Tighe
Business Management
Portsmouth
James Tomlin
Philosophy
Southampton
Frank Wang
Actuarial Science
Heriot-Watt
Peter Webb*
Theology and Religion
Durham
Mia Wilcox
Politics, Philosophy
and Economics
Warwick
Cardiff
Elliot Hartley
Graphic Design
Norwich University
of the Arts
Alexander Henderson
Psychology
Plymouth
Federica Williamson
Management and Spanish
Nottingham
Thomas Hicks*
Integrated Wildlife
Conservation
Bristol University of
West England
Milhelm Wong
Law
Kent
Emily Hollings
English Literature
Exeter
See Yan Wong
Economics and Mathematics
Swansea
Aaron Jannoun*
Economics and Finance
Exeter
Patrick Young
Economics, Politics and
International Relations
Oxford Brookes
Polina Zotova
History
York
Olivia Jeffery
Theatre
York
Emily Johnson
History of Art
UCL
*denotes 2014 leaver
74 I
Worth Society Life
Please note: these details were correct at time of going to press
Life and Times
of Worthians
The Old Place
Wearing the Society Colours
Worth Society Merchandise
www.worthsociety.org.uk
Ties @ £20.00 each
Choice of:
• 100% smooth silk with Worth cross and crown
motif embroidered onto a navy background
(pictured above)
• 100% smooth silk, navy blue and gold striped tie
• 100% reppe silk, navy blue and gold striped tie
Enamel Cufflinks
Each pair comes in its own presentation box and is
available in either a chain-link or T-bar fitting
• Chain-link @ £35.00 per pair
• T-bar @ £30.00 per pair
Sterling Silver Charm @ £30.00
Engraved with the Worth crown and cross motif, has
a sterling silver lobster claw fitting for attachment.
Hallmarked on the reverse and comes in its own navy
blue presentation box
Socks @ £10.00
100% cotton striped in Worthian colours, choice of:
• Gentlemen’s, short (size 6-12)
• Ladies’, long (size 3-7)
Visit the Merchandise section of the Worth Society website at
www.worthsociety.org.uk
and purchase items safely and securely using PayPal.
Farleigh School is
a leading Catholic
co-educational prep
school in Hampshire
for boarders and day
pupils aged 3-13
“EXCELLENT”
ACROSS THE BOARD
Independent Schools Inspectorate
2013
Saturday 27th February 2016
Boarding Open Morning
& Senior Schools’ Exhibition
Thursday 17th March 2016
Military Wives’ Choirs
& Farleigh Choirs’ Charity
Choral Extravaganza
Saturday 23rd April 2016
Spring Open Morning
Register at:
opendays@farleighschool.com
Red Rice, Andover, Hampshire SP11 7PW
www.farleighschool.com
@FarleighSchool
REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1157842