Insight Summer 2016

Bancroft’s School newsletter
insight
www.bancrofts.org
SUMMER TERM 2016
goodbye to Mrs ireland
Nikki Pandya, U6W and Kim Rana, U6N
In honour of her final term at the
School, Mrs. Ireland sat with us in
the Head’s Garden to answer a few
questions and reflect on her time
at Bancroft’s.
of each other.” She gave great praise to
the Chaplain in handling the situation;
however, she added “no Head ever wants
to see young people with great futures
ahead of them dying so early.”
For the past nine years one of the areas
she wishes had been improved upon is the
number of Oxbridge acceptances because
“when you look at how amazing our exam
results are it is often difficult to understand
why our achievements seem so few and
far between.” Having said this, she has
encouraged changes in the preparation
process in order to improve Bancroft ’s
success rate.
Her time at Bancroft ’s has been full of
highlights: the success of netballers getting to
national finals; the launch of the Bancroft ’s
Foundation; leavers’ events and listening
to Rebecca Leung play in assembly, none
of which she could place as her favourite.
Unsurprisingly, she says that her most
satisfying moment is seeing her intakes
“going off at eighteen as mostly sensible but
generally lovely young people” really giving
her a “wow moment” seeing the people
we’ve become despite it taking seven years
for her to reap the rewards.
On a day-to-day basis it is impossible to
predict what Mrs Ireland will be doing at
any one time (other than telling us off
for not wearing our jackets or leaving our
top buttons undone); it is her job to react
to situations as they come, for example
reassuring “worried parents” their children
are in safe hands. Year-on-year, she feels
her greatest challenge has been getting
the right balance and number of students
for the upcoming Thirds, even if that
means turning away siblings of current
Bancroftians. However, the single greatest
challenge she has had to face was “having
to deal with the deaths of two recent
members of the School community (Dan
Clack and Paul Watkins) within three weeks
advice for her successor is to “find out
what’s good and what’s not before you
make changes”.
She also has a few words of wisdom before
she parts for the students she is going to
leave behind. Her advice for us is to “make
the most of it but enjoy yourself and what
you’re good at” as well as the obligatory
“work hard”.
Throughout her time at the School, Mrs.
Ireland has taken Bancroft ’s from strength
to strength and has proven herself as Head.
She will be greatly missed; considering she
is the only Head we have known we cannot
imagine anything different. Given her passion
for the School and its pupils it is no wonder
why she describes her time here as her “Nine
best years”.
Quick Fire Questions:
Whisky or Wine?
Wine
Sweet or Savoury?
Savoury
Tea or Coffee?
Tea
On a more light-hearted note, finding a
Vogue model posing as Head in her office
was among the most bizarre moments of her
time at Bancroft ’s, alongside the ‘flash mob’
in assembly just this year.
Sudoku or Crossword?
Sudoku
After leaving the ‘Bancroft ’s Bubble’ Mrs.
Ireland is making her way to Eastbourne to
“retire” and “recover”, whilst also becoming
a Draper (we could never get rid of her
that easily). As for Bancroft ’s, she hopes it
will continue to be a “beacon of excellence
for everything it does”. She added that
Bancroft ’s is “a great model for how society
can evolve. We are a multicultural society
that works, why can’t everyone else do it?”
as she fears most the impact the outside
world could have on the School over the
next decade. Leading on from this, her
Sunset or Sunrise?
Sunrise
Senior School
Bancroft ’s School, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 0RF
020 8505 4821 office@bancrofts.org
Film or Book?
Book
Cats or Dogs?
Dogs
Fried or Scrambled egg?
Scrambled
Asking or Answering Questions?
Asking
Favourite Colour?
Green
Preparatory School
Bancroft ’s Preparatory School, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 0RF
020 8506 6774 prep.office@bancrofts.org
2 STEM SUBJECTS
Primary Science Fair 2016
Our annual Primary Science Fair,
which takes place in National Science
Week, has become an anticipated
fixture of the Spring Term. Every
year our L6 scientists work hard to
come up with new ideas for their
stalls and this year saw a fantastic set
of eighteen displays each based on a
different aspect of science.
As well as entertaining and educating our
visitors – we had almost 400 visitors from
a whole range of local primary and prep
schools – the stalls are in fierce but friendly
rivalry to be judged the best. Judging this
year was by Head, Mrs Ireland, and Second
Deputy Academic, Mr Dixon. They awarded
first prize to “Hydrogels” (Mahnu Bhabutta,
Prashan Clare, Sayon Uthayakumar and
Matthew Willougby); this stall was really
impressive and the judges particularly
commented that it had the most complete
storyline of the science on display. Runnerup prizes were awarded to “Glo-many
Germs” (Emman Bhangu, Charlotte Leung,
Christina Okafor and Aarya Sajilal) for an
excellent activity idea and poster display and
to Jack Laumann-Mamas with “Aquaponics”
for his originality and enthusiasm. The
visiting pupils also got to vote for their
favourite stall; the pupils’ choice was
“Slingshot Mania” with “Scaletrix Science”
a very close second. It is worth noting that
Big Bang Fair
Ethan Cohen, L4
On Wednesday 16 March, about twenty L4 students
went to the NEC in Birmingham where The Big Bang
Fair 2016 was taking place. This is an event where the
technology of today and tomorrow, from drones to
cars and robots to mini wind turbines, is on display.
each of the eighteen stalls received some
votes – every one was someone’s favourite!
As well as the stalls, the pupils visited our
labs for activities based around physics
(rocket launching), biology (DNA necklaces)
and chemistry (a Fire and Fizz display). The
children left buzzing about the afternoon’s
activities and, we hope, inspired by the
science on display.
The day started off with a two hour drive from School; although
long and boring it was worth the journey to get to the end result.
As we pulled into the NEC car park there were streams of people
from school children to families, all waiting to go inside. Inside the
main hall there was an array of technology on display everywhere
you looked. We were split into small groups and were told to go and
have fun.
One of the main displays was the Quiz Pod; in here were games and
quizzes. After the completion of these they would tell you, based on
how you answered, what sort of job you were suited for. My group
decided that we would have a go at some soldering. We completed
it with only a few burns, and a new circuit. We had built a lie
detector. Whether it works or not is irrelevant, the fact that we had
some fun while doing it is what counts.
My favourite part of the day was when my group and I decided
to take part in a challenge! It was to build a wind turbine out of
paper and plastic and connected to a small generator. We turned
it towards a fan and turned the fan on to see how much power we
were able to create. No matter how we designed it we could barely
even start the generator, let alone win.
As we left to go home Mr Ceeraz asked one of the students to
sing the periodic table. So we left a hall of science for the sound
of science. Most of the journey home was spent talking to friends
about what we had seen and done during the day. I said I wanted
to go back next year, and how I wanted to have some of the cool
technology on show. We all agreed on was it was a great day and a
great experience.
STEM subjects 3
Biology Trip to Diamond Light Source
Aarya Sajilal, L6E and Alex Pentecost, L6S
On Tuesday 9 February, a group of thirteen excited
Lower Sixth students alighted at 7am. At this time
it was difficult to ascertain whether said excitement
was due to the opportunity to visit one of the most
advanced and varied scientific facilities in the world,
or the equally tempting potential of stopping off at
McDonalds. Two hours, a nap, and no McDonalds’
breakfast later, we arrived at Harwell Science and
Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, much more
focussed on the amazing research ongoing at the site.
Diamond Light Source is a pioneering establishment built around
a synchrotron, which utilises electrons to produce light 10 billion
times brighter than the sun. This is split up and directed into
different laboratories, where it is then used to study subjects from
proteins, to new medicines.
Our morning was spent attending workshops on both, first
discussing pathogen based diseases and brainstorming how to
categorise them in terms of how serious they were. Whether this
was based on the scale of the disease or its virulence, was linked
to what pharmaceutical companies looked for in their new drugs;
the difference between concentrating on widespread, non-serious
diseases such as Athlete’s Foot versus more contained but harmful
diseases such as the current Zika virus.
Our second workshop looked at how proteins are isolated in insects
and humans and we had the chance to use specialist micro-pipettes
to replicate and separate DNA. We also learnt about protein
chromatography and how proteins can be separated due to their
different molecular weights.
After lunch, we went into the main building which houses the
synchrotron. The afternoon was again split into two sections,
the first visiting the membrane protein laboratory (MPL) and the
second was a tour around the synchrotron itself. In the membrane
protein laboratory, we discussed the roles that proteins play in cell
membranes and how they are vital for the cell to function. We then
crystallised lysozymes from chicken egg whites using a technique
called vapour diffusion. This involved placing an inverted cover slip,
with a drop of the protein solution on it, above a reservoir solution.
After this we used a microscope to look at some crystallised
lysozymes and then looked at computer models of a protein. Lastly,
we had a tour of the synchrotron where we learnt about many
different aspects of the facility, including engineering, physics and
how scientists are able to apply to use the facility. The whole day
was extremely informative and we learnt a lot about how proteins
can be manufactured and more about their role in cells. For me
it was really interesting to see how scientific experiments are
performed differently in real laboratories compared to schools.
Headstart Courses, 2016
Every year an impressive number of our young scientists and engineers apply
for and are accepted onto Headstart courses. These residential courses are
designed for year 12 pupils with a keen interest in STEM subjects (science,
technology and maths). For more than sixteen years, Headstart has been
providing hands-on taster courses to encourage young people into technology
based carers. The courses take place at some of the country’s top universities,
such as Imperial College, Durham, Warwick, Manchester and Leeds, and
provide an ideal opportunity to connect with professionals and technical
specialists as well as developing skills such as team work and problem solving.
This year we have a fantastic nineteen pupils who have been accepted on courses. Although
many of them are attending the broad based engineering courses, which are ideal for giving an
insight into various aspects of engineering, others are attending more focussed and specialised
courses such as Humanitarian Engineering, Computer Science and Natural Sciences. The
courses represent a great chance to find out more about subject areas; they also give a taster
into student living and university teaching, before pupils make those important choices in the
U6! Chloe Wong, who attended a course last year in Durham said, “It enabled me to try out
life as an undergraduate student. I was able to experience many types of engineering and
spent time with other people
interested in similar areas.” Jakub
Rutkowski agreed that he “got
a taste of what undergraduate
life might be like” and he also
“took part in various challenges
throughout the week.” Neil
Jacques, Head of Science, agrees
that the courses are valuable,
“They give our pupils exposure
to university life and experience
of various subjects beyond A
Level. Pupils can be inspired to
take these subjects further and
the courses help them to make
sensible university choices.”
Biology
Competition
Successes
We have had some great results in
the Biology Olympiad (for L6 and
U6 pupils) and Biology Challenge
(for members of the U4).
Thirty three A Level Biologists sat the
Olympiad, with three Gold Award winners,
Peter Andreev and Gaurav Bajaj (both U6)
and Ben Norris (L6), an excellent result
for someone in year 12. There were also
three Silver Award winners: Emma Jackson,
Rajdeep Dhamu and Tony Aloysius (all U6)
and three Bronze Award winners: Jadene
Lewis (U6) and Anand Bahri and Amy Kelly
(both L6). In addition, three pupils were
Highly Commended and a final eight were
Commended. The L6 have a further chance
to compete when they take part in the
Biology Intermediate Olympiad in June.
Out of the twenty five U4 pupils who
sat the Biology Challenge, two (Anwar
Jouhary and Oscar Saharoy) achieved a
Gold Award; three (Jeremy Jebaneson,
Lauren Heskey and Lauren Walker) a
Silver and eight a Bronze Award (Farouk
Asubiaro, Soumya Kumar, Mihir Shah,
Sarina Ramasamy, Neil Cifelli, Jathavan
Thevarajah, Jamil Haque and Zain Khan).
A further eight were Highly Commended
and three Commended.
4 STEM SUBJECTS
Recent Maths Successes
L’Oréal Trip
Congratulations to the pupils who participated in the recent Junior
Maths Challenge, gaining a total of 29 Gold, 29 Silver and 10 Bronze
certificates. Special congratulations go to the four pupils who have
qualified for the next round, the Junior Olympiad: Sara El-Khamlichi
(RE), Jai Robinson (RW), Max Stear (RW) and Akhila Natarajan (3S).
Aakifah Gani, RE
Pupils from the L4, U4 and Fifth forms have achieved some excellent results in the
Intermediate Maths Olympiad, following their performance in the Intermediate Maths
Challenge. Out of the Intermediate Maths Challenge entry of over 200,000, around 500
of the top students in each year group qualified for the Olympiad. In the Intermediate
Olympiad papers the top 25% of entrants received a “Distinction” and the next 25%
received a “Merit”. Special congratulations go to Soumya Krishna Kumar, Swasthi
Surendran and Alex Yan for Distinctions. Swasthi also received a medal for scoring in the
top 55 of all entrants, and Alex received a medal and a book prize for scoring in the top
21 of all entrants. Well done to all our participants; we trust that it was a valuable and
enriching experience for everybody taking part.
Following her excellent performance in the Intermediate Maths Olympiad, Soumya Krishna
Kumar (U4E) has been selected for invitation to the National Mathematics Summer School
2016, which is being held at Woodhouse Grove School, Leeds.
Sixth Form Biology Trip
Lily Lee, L6S
On 23 February, a group of A Level biology students travelled to the City of
London School to attend a biology conference consisting of lectures from
people from various fields of biology.
The first came from Dr Iain Barber
from the University of Leicester
who presented an interesting
lecture on parasitic organisms
and how they manipulate the
behaviour of hosts through
secreting molecules which
affect the neurochemistry of
the host. An interesting topic
from this lecture was about the
common parasite Toxoplasma,
which has infected over 25% of
the population, and the symptoms which sufferers show include neuroticism (for example
jealousy) and boldness. It is though that Toxoplasma, which resides in the brain of the
human host, causes behavioural differences which make men gain leadership qualities. The
second lecture was from UCL lecturer Charmain Dawson who explained to us the brain’s
role in the regulation of body weight through hormones such as leptin and how short term
dieting is ineffective because it is easy to return to your previous weight.
After lunch, we sat down to, what was for many, the highlight of the day, a lecture from
Dr Nessa Carey, who has published books on epigenetics and junk DNA and which she had
come to talk about. Did you know that only 2% of our genome codes for proteins and the
other 98% is ‘useless’? This ‘useless’ DNA is known as Junk DNA and Dr Nessa has spent a
lot of time researching its biochemical functions, for example being a genomic filler or being
responsible for inactivation of the X chromosome to prevent neurological disorders.
Our final lecture was presented by Dr Adam Rutherford, a BBC Radio presenter. His lecture
was on a very controversial topic which prompted many questions from the audience
- the origin of life. Dr Rutherford explained why he rejects ideas such as spontaneous
generation, the idea that Adam was created by God and the Panspermia Theory (the
belief that life on Earth has come from space). Additionally, he discussed the idea that
the first informational molecule was not DNA but in fact RNA as it has appeared to have
catalysing properties.
Overall the day was thoroughly enjoyable for many of us and I would like to thank Mrs Carter
and Mr Raw for accompanying us on what was a very educational and informative trip.
On Monday 17 March a group of
Removes students went to the
L’Oréal office in Hammersmith. We
were all very excited as we were
finding out the science behind
the beauty products we use every
day. Even though this was an
educational trip we did do a lot
of fun activities and learnt which
other beauty brands are under
L’Oréal.
We had a presentation about our hair and
how our hair grows from a scientist working
at L’Oreal. There were samples of hair from
different ethnicities and we learnt how to test
the porosity levels. It was really difficult to tell
but we had some lucky guesses! It felt weird
feeling other people’s real hair. Fun fact:
100% of our body’s surface is covered in hair!
We then got a tour around the L’Oréal
office which was huge and we were able
to meet different departments, even
securing a ‘goodie bag’ along the way.
There are over thirty brands under L’Oréal
such as Matrix, Redken, and Essie etc.
In the afternoon we entered a team
competition to design our own shampoo
brand targeting a hair problem such as
dandruff or hair loss. At the start we gave
our target market great consideration.
Initially we wanted to make a dandruff
shampoo involving super heroes, but
realised this may not appeal to the adult
buyer. We also learnt that the packaging
colour has a big influence on the buyer, so
we moved away from a striking red and
black colour scheme. We had to act out an
advert in front of three judges, who worked
at L’Oreal. My group won with our dandruff
fighting shampoo which was great as we
got gift bags full of beauty products.
The whole day was just brilliant and we’re
so grateful to L’Oréal for inviting us and
Miss Korcz for taking us.
STEM subjects 5
Top of the Bench Competition
Daffodil Dhayaa, 5E
Having previously won the Essex
round of this national chemistry
competition, Mr Choy and the
team of Daffodil Dhayaa, Sarina
Ramasamy, Swasthi Surendran
and Alex Yan made the journey to
Loughborough University to compete
in the National Top of the Bench
competition, where the top thirty
two schools in the country took
part in a range of chemistry-related
activities. This was the first time
Bancroft’s had got through to the
National Round, so we were all very
excited to see what was in store.
as the topic had come up in our previous team
‘training’ sessions! The second task was more
practical and required efficient teamwork. We
were taken to the labs and had two hours to
perform a range of experiments and activities.
The challenges ranged from titrations
to electrolysis to even creating our own
galvanised cell. We were asked to calculate
the mass of precipitates, calculate the voltage
across a component and form the structure
of a medicine using an atomic kit. The team
worked particularly effectively in this section,
and we were unusually excited as we saw
copper form on our electrode!
The standard of the event was very high, but
we stepped up to the challenge! As the top
six schools were revealed we were beyond
exhilaration to hear we had placed third in
the country! The smiles on our faces were
definitely worth the early morning journey!
Overall the day opened many doors to the
greater world of Chemistry, as we were
given the opportunity to attend a lecture
in which four students from the University
pitched their research proposals. I gained a
lot of experience and improved my practical
chemistry skills at the competition.
The first task consisted of an individual exam,
where we sat a half hour paper, aimed at our
different abilities according to our age groups.
This was particularly successful for our team,
Oxford Oncology Day
Chandana Nagaraj, L6W and Thuza Naing.L6S
We arrived at the department of Oncology an hour
early, which we killed trying to find an adequate
parking spot. After meeting the first place winner and
the guides, we got down to the science. An hour was
spent talking in depth about how cancers developed
on a cellular level in terms of protein receptors that
we had not yet encountered in the L6.
After this we had a break, during which various students studying a
range of sciences enlightened us on their university experiences in
their respective fields. We were happy to discover the different routes
available at university and that taking a subject-specific course, such
as chemistry, does in fact provide many opportunities, contrary to
popular belief. Not to mention, the food was also great!
Another thing we found memorable was how the department had its
own cafeteria. This may not seem so important, however our guide
found it essential that students could sit down with a cup of coffee
and actually talk face to face about their ideas and meet people who
could assist them in their findings.
We were awarded our own unique trophies along with the £50
Amazon voucher for third place and then followed the guide to the
lower ground floor for a tour of the Linear Particle Accelerator (the
only one in the world), created by Oxford’s own students. This helps
scientists undercover the way cancer cells repair the damage caused
by radiotherapy. This machine was also used to create the intriguing
“frozen lightning” effect on our trophies, hence why they are each
unique. The rest of the tour involved visiting the labs and examining
the technique of some scientists working in sterile conditions.
Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to roam the city, and
so embarked on our journey back in beautiful sunshine. We strongly
encourage younger years to take part in such competitions despite
any qualms about whether or not you will succeed. Our aim was only
to enjoy making a video, and, considering our last-minute failure
with the music, we had no expectations of placing in the top three.
However the overall attitude you should approach these competitions
with is just to have fun!
Thank you to Mr Choy for introducing us to this competition and
dealing with our mishap five hours before the deadline. Many thanks
to Miss Grimwood who gave us valuable feedback on our first draft
and to Mr Raw for not only taking us to Oxford, but also for putting up
with our awful music taste.
6 STEM SUBJECTS
L4 Maths Afternoon
L4 School were the proud winners of the Lower Fourth Interhouse Maths Competition 2016. All pupils in the year group participated in this annual
activity afternoon which was held in the Great Hall in May. Working in teams of five, they tackled a variety of problem solving tasks and mathematical
challenges and the event was fiercely contested. As Captain of School House, Sonya Kalsi was delighted to receive the Cup from Mrs Ireland.
Cambridge Science Fair
Zal Canteenwala, L6S and Anand Bahri, L6W
Having spent two months preparing and carrying out
various investigations, thirteen L6 Biologists went up
the M11 to Cambridge alongside the veteran biology
legend Mr Poore, who had taught many of us lower
down in the School. We were to present our findings to
the public on what makes weeds so successful.
Our investigations included: different seed dispersal mechanisms;
asexual reproduction of weeds; competition with other plants and
phenotypic plasticity. As we were in ‘the City of Scholars’ many of the
‘general public’ were in fact academics in various disciplines which
made for a rather intimidating prospect! Particular crowd favourites
at our stand were the burdock seeds. Using microscopic hooks, which
actually inspired the development of velcro, they attach easily to
clothes which allows for humorous photo opportunities.
At Cambridge we also managed to see other exciting science
projects from other schools. We saw investigations into woodlice,
robotics and many of us made our own miniature lava lamps.
We also had the opportunity to participate in the wider science
festival at the Cavendish Laboratory and were able to observe a
number of stalls ranging from how fossils are used to classify long
extinct species to the quantum locking of superconductors. At first,
Cavendish and the science at the fair seemed rather daunting, but,
thankfully, the stalls were run by students at the University who
were very enthusiastic and knowledgeable.
Many thanks to Mrs Dawkins, Mr Raw and Mr Poore who helped
organise and oversee the project as they have done for many years
now. The science fair provided a unique opportunity for us to plan our
own experiments and discuss them with the public. We are sure that
next year’s L6 will have as fantastic an experience as we did!
English 7
Julia Golding’s Visit
Kemi Olarinmoye, 3E
On Thursday 3 March, Julia Golding, the author of many
books, including The Diamond of Drury Lane, came to
visit our school. First of all she set up everything she
needed for her lunchtime book signing in the Library.
Quite a few people came to get their books signed; the choices were
The Diamond of Drury Lane (the first book in a series of six) and Young
Knights of the Round Table. It was amazing! And the books looked
very good. After we all had our books signed we took a picture with
Julia Golding and her books written under her different pen names,
Eve Edwards and Joss Stirling. Afterwards we talked to her about
books and being an author.
Then the Thirds were very fortunate to get to talk to Julia Golding.
Our group talked about what authors do and how they spend their
time. After that we viewed her book trailers which showed some of
her upcoming books. We also talked about mashups, which was a
very exciting topic. A mashup is when two very separate topics are
put together to make a story, for example vampires and romance
would be Twilight.
Then we made our own story using the idea of mashups. Julia Golding
brought out her story board and hung different items on it which
represented different topics. A shoe represents being in someone
else’s shoe and what it feels like. Our story was a mashup of sci-fi and
romance, about a demon god, Dido who lives in California and a girl
who fell from the stars. They meet unexpectedly when the girl who
fell from the stars saves Dido from being eaten by a bear. We really
enjoyed writing and creating the story. Overall, we all had a great
time with Julia Golding.
Spoken English 2016
Jess Avery, L6N
Inter-House Spoken English takes
place towards the end of the Spring
Term when each House competes
in Choral Speaking, Monologues
or Duologues (depending in the
age groups) and also an ensemble
presentation from Shakespeare.
The latter is a relatively new
addition to the competition
and this year saw extracts from
Macbeth (the winners School and
East), A Midsummer Night’s Dream
from West while North House
presented King Lear. Jess Avery,
director of North House, writes
about her experiences:
This year I directed the Shakespearean
Ensemble with actors from Removes to
the Fifth Form. We used the opening
scene from King Lear, in which Lear’s
three daughters tell their father how much
they love him in order to inherit his land.
I chose this extract because I thought it
had the potential for strong female and
male characters. As always with House
productions, the rehearsal process was
fun and each person brought their own
interpretation to their character. Louis
Japaul did a fantastic portrayal of King Lear,
commanding the stage and the attention
of the audience, whilst Jeremy HawardGrau built the tension of the extract, also
spiking the interest of the audience. Chris
Weber did a wonderful job at opening the
piece with Jeremy and setting the scene so
that it was clearly understandable. Davina
Veselichka came to her character with a
shy but strong personality. This allowed her
to show how gentle and harmless Cordelia
is, whilst portraying her defiance. The
climax of the performance was the section
in which Cordelia is disowned by her father
and I think both Davina and Louis depicted
the situation poignantly. Vicky Veselichka
and Susie Bramwell also approached
their roles in different ways: Vicky made
her character sly and scheming, whereas
Susie’s character, Goneril, was sweet yet
conformed to her father’s wishes. Getting
through the heats was exciting, but it was
full steam ahead with only a few days
between the heats and finals. We managed
to squeeze in an extra two rehearsals and
gave an engaging performance at the finals
which gained us second place and allowed
us to contribute to North’s double victory
this year.
8 Modern Foreign Languages
Modern Foreign Languages Fair
Sarah Ugradar, L6S
On Thursday 3 March, twenty two
members of the L6, aided by Mrs
Whalley, hosted a Modern Foreign
Languages fair for pupils, aged 9
and 10, from various local prep
schools such as Bancroft’s and
Woodford Green Prep who
enjoyed various stalls run by the
Sixth Formers.
These stalls included Bingo with the numbers
being in French, playing “Boule,” the French
version of bowling and a treasure hunt
around the Great Hall with French clues.
The children also enjoyed tasting French
food, including chocolate filled éclairs, and
impressively completed a maths challenge
with the numbers written in French. The
children described the day as “incredible”
and were introduced to modern languages
in a wider context, not just in the classroom.
By learning phrases in fun, energy-packed
games, the event has inspired the children
to pursue the subject in the future. Oliver
Hughes said, “This was one of the best days I
have ever had in school”.
As Sixth Formers we have gained an insight
into the planning and execution of a large
scale event. We had to work in a team and
show organisational and communication skills
which will be invaluable in the future. We have
really enjoyed being part of this course.
Lecture on the L4 Spanish Trip to the
Algerian War British Film Institute
comfy seats in which we relaxed
for the majority of the day whilst
looking at the very large screen in
front of us.
Deesha Relwani, U6E
On Friday 29 January, Professor M
A Lasfer, a finance lecturer at Cass
Business School, came in to speak
to us about the Algerian War, one of
our two French A2 culture topics.
Having been born in Algeria halfway through
the war and lived there throughout his
childhood, Professor Lasfer had first-hand
experience of the war and was really able
to bring it to life for us. By him answering
questions from students about the war, we
were able to better understand the viewpoint
of the French who lived in Algeria at the
time, and also how brutal the living situation
was for native Algerians in their own country.
What I found most striking from the seminar
was learning that in in 1954, 90% of all
native Algerians were illiterate, which was a
tremendous increase from 50% in 1830. This
was due to the fact that when the French
invaded, they took over the education system
so there was no way for most Algerians to
access education as they were not able to
understand or speak French.
On Tuesday 1 March, twenty L4
Spanish students took a trip to
the BFI Southbank. Despite the
wet and bitterly cold weather
the trip turned it to be a very
enjoyable one. After a long train
journey it was a relief to stand
in the warmth of the great BFI
building. It was an impressive
place with many posters and
pictures all over the walls that
kept us intrigued whilst waiting
to enter the theatre. Finally, we
were ushered into the vast room
to find row upon row of red rather
A lady, who was fluent in both English and
Spanish, took to the stage and talked to
us about the films we would be watching
through the day. We then analysed
different types of shots and camera angles
which appeared in the three short films
we viewed in the morning. We worked
in small groups and thoroughly enjoyed
discussing the films and even got the
chance to speak in a microphone to
answer some questions the lady asked. It
was soon lunch time and afterwards we
were given the opportunity to watch a
long Spanish movie called Zipi y Zape. It
was almost a Spanish take on the Harry
Potter movies and left everybody in a good
mode afterwards. Overall the trip was a
huge success and a memorable one where
not only did we learn something but we
also had fun.
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES 9
Removes Spanish Trip to Salamanca
Christopher Weber, RN
During the Easter Holidays,
twenty-nine Removes,
accompanied by four Spanish
teachers, departed from Heathrow,
heading for Madrid, to get to our
final destination, Salamanca. We
stayed in pairs with Spanish host
families for six nights. The trip was
a study trip, designed to develop
not just our understanding of the
language, but also the Spanish
culture. Probably the biggest
difference for us was that we
had to get used to having dinner
at 9pm! Salamanca is a stunning
university city approximately two
hours from Madrid. The university
is the third oldest in Europe, dating
back to 1218.
We had Spanish lessons from 9.30am
to 1pm and again from 4pm to 5pm in
Academia Mester, apart from on Friday
when we visited the pretty town of Segovia
and its impressive aqueduct and the
Alcázar. Each lesson focused on a different
aspect of the Spanish language, for example
one focused on vocabulary and another
focused on different grammatical structures.
We had every meal with our host families,
so it was nice to return at lunchtime for a
hot lunch.
We participated in many cultural activities.
These included: Salsa and Sevillanas
dancing; a Mediterranean cooking class
where we cooked a Spanish omelette;
Gymkhana (a treasure hunt around the city);
a Tapas tour and a tour of the Cathedrals –
which included climbing up to the top of the
tower and being able to take in the stunning
views of the city. We were given lots of
freedom in Salamanca and it was nice to be
able to walk to and from school. We were
also given some free time nearly every day,
enabling us to walk around the Plaza Mayor
(the main square) and buy souvenirs and
some rather tasty food, including chocolate
con churros.
By the end of the trip, we had all improved
our Spanish speaking and our knowledge of
the culture. On behalf of all who went on
the trip, I would like to thank the staff of the
Spanish Department who gave up a week of
their Easter break to come help us enhance
our Spanish.
Dr Par Kumaraswami’s Lecture on Cuba
Param Barodia U6Nb
Starting with a very interesting question, the lecture
on Cuban culture given by Dr Par Kumaraswami,
Professor in Latin American Cultural Studies at the
University of Reading, to pupils of Bancroft’s, Forest
and Trinity, was incredibly interesting. The question
was, “What is the first thing that pops into your head
when you think of Cuba?”
The Professor then gave us an hour long education on Cuba, a
society with a history and a way of thinking and doing that is very
different to our own, without private property and a tumultuous
political past that is only just beginning to resolve itself. She also
talked to us about the tricky, but important, relationship between
Cuba and the USA and the significance of literature and books
in general for the Cuban people, including the massive book
fairs which attract almost half of the country. She finished with a
discussion on what the future of Cuba could be and some questions
on this topic from Mr Hay. The students and teachers both enjoyed
the lecture and found it very useful, as Cuba is a very interesting
country with a significant role in the Hispanic world, thanks to its
politics and its influence in the worlds of literature and art.
10 Classics
Greece Tour
Sonali Arora, 5N
On Tuesday 29 March, at the ungodly and absurd hour
of 4am, a group of eager Classics students, along with
Mrs Baker, Mr Brennand, Mr Ceeraz and Miss Stewart,
boarded a flight to Athens, where we were met by
our generous and kind coach driver, who escorted us
around Greece for the whole week.
Upon arrival, we headed to Thorikos, a ruined ancient city with a
spectacular view of the sea, known for the exploitation of silver
mines. Luckily Mr Ceeraz, a physicist, was on the trip and so he
thoroughly explained to us fascinating facts about the mines, both
scientifically and historically. We also visited Sounion, seeing the
wonderful Sanctuary and Temple of Poseidon, where we admired the
20 feet high Doric columns and the amazing view! Our first day was
a success, ending with a delicious dinner in the bay. The next day we
walked around Athens, visiting the Agora, a market place showing the
remains of workshops and the well-preserved Temple of Hephaestus.
We also visited the Acroplis, which was my personal favourite, where
we admired the wonders of the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike
and the unusual Erechtheion. This was extremely exciting as we were
surrounded by tourists from all over Europe (in fact, we seemed to be
the only British people there!)
Throughout the rest of the week, we visited more riveting and
remarkable sites, such as the Byzantine monastery of Hosios
Loukas, before settling into the hotel in Delphi and embarking on a
treasure hunt around the town, before joining the teachers in a café
for a fun game of cards. We also went to the Sanctuary of Apollo
(on the slopes of Mount Parnassos), along with the Sanctuary of
Athena. In Olympia, we visited the sanctuary of Zeus and the site
of the PanHellenic athletic competitions (where we even ran a race
ourselves). However, on our last day, we visited Epidauros where
we climbed to the top of the theatre and Corinth, where we stood
above a 120ft deep canal before heading back to Athens airport.
Other highlights of the trip included: the hotel quiz in Tolo; the
teachers singing 21 Pilots in the coach; hunting every day to find
waffles; being surroundwed by bees and bats in the tholos (beehive
tomb) at Mycenae; attempting to quiz Mr Ceeraz on his knowledge
of Michael Jackson lyrics (he knew too much to be defeated) and a
hilarious (and certainly memorable) play performance by some of the
students in Olympia. James McGregor stated, “Greece was a great
place to spend our Easter and it improved our knowledge a lot”. Amrit
Minhas agreed, “We got to learn so much about what Greece used
to be like, and we made friends with people we may not otherwise
speak to.”
We’d like to thank Mrs Baker, Mr Ceeraz, Mr Brennand and Miss
Stewart for organising and accompanying us on the trip around
Greece, as we had a marvellous time and made many memories that
we won’t forget.
eυχαριστώ!
Building The Trojan Horse
L4th Greek
One of the best parts of studying Greek is reading all
the fascinating stories from Greek mythology. This
year we have looked at the great heroes from the
Trojan War and the adventures of Odysseus’ journey
back home to Ithaca.
Recently our class had the opportunity to recreate our own version
of the Trojan Horse from Homer’s Iliad. The gigantic wooden horse
was used as a hoax by the Greeks to attack Troy from within the
city walls, enabling them finally to put an end to the ten year war.
We didn’t need the excuse of a war to have a go at building
our Trojan Horse however, and we think our final product is good
enough to rival the real thing – we reckon that it took them a bit
longer than three lesson to build theirs though!
Classics / Geography 11
Catullus and the Foolosophy of Love
Fola Amuludun, L6S
On the 25 February, Dr Sharon Marshall from the
University of Exeter came to give an informative talk
about the great Roman love poet, Catullus (84-54 BCE).
Although this was especially necessary for the GCSE
Latin groups, who are studying Catullus’ poems as one
of their set texts, this was equally thought-provoking
to anyone who had an interest in the Ancient World,
literature or philosophy. We were also pleased to
welcome some students from Forest School.
Dr Marshall focused on how Catullus, although being hailed
predominantly as a love elegist, should also be taken seriously in
the field of philosophy since his works featured many allusions to
Epicureanism. We also learnt about the ‘persona theory’ - whereby
poets do not write about their true feelings but take on a character/
persona - and Dr Marshall suggested that Catullus’ use of persona
theory was overstated and that we could find out more about Catullus
from his work than we realise. Dr Marshall also mentioned Lucretius,
writer of On the Nature of Things and interestingly revealed how
Catullus’ and Lucretius’ work were similar in more ways than one,
prompting the question; whose work came first? For example, both
writers wrote about similar ‘symptoms’ of love and it was interesting
to see how Catullus shaped it to make love seem like a pleasurable
experience, whereas Lucretius tailored these same symptoms to
jealousy, making love seem painful. Dr Sharon Marshall, voted best
lecturer at Exeter, certainly provided a fresh perspective on Catullus’
work which was found equally stimulating to both people who study
him and those who do not.
Restless Earth – Visit to Sicily
Soumya Kumar, U4E and Anisha
Choda, U4N
On Monday 11 April, thirty nine U4
geographers gathered at school,
keen to escape the English rain and
enjoy a week away in Italy. Upon
arrival at Catania airport, with
layers coming off and sunglasses
coming on, we checked into our
first hotel, around two hours’ drive
from the airport. The first night
was a blur of organising rooms,
with opportunities of exploring the
town after dinner.
The next day we boarded a hydrofoil from
Milazzo to the island of Lipari, where we
checked into our second hotel. Then we
took another hydrofoil to the island of
Vulcano. Despite our tour guide getting
muddled on timings, we managed to do all
we had intended that day. After bathing in
the famous naturally heated mud baths,
we began our guided trek to the crater of
Vulcano. This, although admittedly not easy,
was well worth it; we were greeted with
stunning views of the Aeolian Islands and
was an excellent photo opportunity! Having
shopped for souvenirs and enjoyed an icecream, we headed back to Lipari.
The third day was by far the best, after an
early morning hydrofoil to the island of
Stromboli we checked into our hotel, which
had picturesque views of the Aeolian Sea.
We had three hours free time in which to
eat and explore the island. However, we
didn’t realise that we had gone out during
the afternoon siesta, so most of us ended
up at the one café which was open, eating
ice creams and pizza, watching the sea.
The weather was gorgeous so we headed
down to the stunning black sand beaches,
and made the most of the beautiful views.
Then we went back to prepare for the main
attraction of the trip, the walk up Mount
Stromboli! We were all excited, but also a
little bit nervous as we didn’t know what the
trek would be like. We met our tour guides
at the bottom of the volcano and began to
climb. After a hard yet rewarding trek to
the top, the views were stunning and we all
watched the sun set over the volcano, it was
a moment to remember! We then climbed
down in the darkness, which sounded
daunting, but was actually great fun.
The next day we woke up late after the
strenuous trek and had a few hours to
enjoy the beautiful black sand beaches. We
were able to explore the island. This was
definitely one of the highlights of the trip!
After a three hour hydrofoil back to Milazzo,
we arrived back at the hotel in which we
had stayed the first night. We then visited
the Castello de Milazzo and enjoyed the
views of the city. After dinner we had a giant
quiz, including games such as ‘Who said
this?’ and ‘Details of the trip’. Then we all
went out to enjoy our last night in Sicily and
get our final gelatos!
The final morning involved a very early start
and a two hour coach ride to Mount Etna;
we then took a cable car to the summit
followed by a 4x4 truck to the rim of the
crater, and enjoyed the views at the top
across Sicily. Since it was very cold at the
top, we made the most of the geothermal
vents on the ground to warm us up! Most
of us fell asleep on the coach back to the
airport after an action-packed few days.
This was definitely a trip to remember and
we would definitely recommend that pupils
in the Lower School consider this trip as it
was jam-packed with things to do and see!
12 HiSTORy / ART
Bancroft’s First A View at The View
Ever History
Magazine!
Once again, The View Gallery, Ranger’s Road in Chingford was the
home of our Sixth Form Art exhibition, which opened with a very
successful private show held on Friday 13 May for pupils, parents,
staff and friends.
Miss Kate Hughes
We were
delighted to
release the
first edition
of The Past
Paper,
Bancroft’s
first ever
history
magazine,
at the end
of February
this year. L6 historians worked hard
to create this first edition which
focused on the theme of women’s
history. With a range of articles,
spanning from the role of women in
ancient Persia to the role of female
spies in World War Two, we hoped
to engage students in topics outside
of the usual history curriculum and
we particularly wanted to highlight
interesting stories and individuals
across different time periods. We
think we achieved this!
The road to producing this first edition
wasn’t always easy. We met every week to
check everyone was on track with writing
their articles but the hardest part was the
editing. Proof-reading, double checking,
editing font and pictures and ensuring it
all flowed from one page to the other was
surprisingly difficult! We have to thank
Noor Hashemi-Tabrizi for this part of the
process. As our first editor, she had the
mammoth task of making the edition
complete and we were so impressed with
the outcome.
Currently, we are working on our next
edition which will be released before the
summer holidays. Due to the success of
the first edition we have welcomed two
new, keen historians to the committee:
Dylan Ferguson and Emilia Hitching (our
only Lower School members). We are
hoping they will continue the success of the
magazine throughout their school careers!
We don’t want to give too much away, but
the next edition focuses on, ‘The Greatest
Crimes in History’. As we speak, the students
are researching and writing about exciting
and unique crimes, ranging from the Great
Train Robbery to the Black Sox Scandal.
Not only did the visitors get a chance to admire the wide range of artwork produced by
our very talented students, but they also were entertained by some Bancroft ’s musicians.
All visitors were in agreement about the high standard of work on display, confirming
that many of the pieces produced by these young artists would sit comfortably in any
gallery displaying contemporary work. The pupils had worked very hard to complete work
for the exhibition and Alan Ford, Head of Art, said “To be able to showcase the work in
such a beautiful venue, was an opportunity we just couldn’t miss.” In addition, pieces by
members of staff from the art department were on display.
Mary Ireland, commented, “The impressive range of work is enhanced by the venue; I was
thrilled at the professionalism of the students’ work and proud of all they have achieved.
Having some of our talented musicians performing was the icing on the artistic cake!”
Deputy Head, Marwan Mikdadi, described the show as “spectacular” with artwork which
“challenged the senses and imagination.”
MUSIC 13
Muscial Notes
Mr Roger Bluff
There were four major musical
events in the second half of the
Spring Term. The Spring Concert
included a very large number of
performers in several choirs and
instrumental groups, and it was
good to hear that the retiring
collection raised £702 for Macmillan
Cancer Support.
The Drapers’ Hall Concert, which is always
a musical highlight in the calendar, had
a broad mix of high quality vocal and
instrumental items, including solos by
three Sixth Form music scholars – Lucy
Ruben (clarinet), Rebecca Leung (piano)
and Isabelle Ormerod (saxophone). The
Bancroft’s Singers led the musical worship
at the Francis Bancroft Commemoration
Service and sang the beautiful setting of The
Cantique de Jean Racine by Fauré. The last
week of term saw the culmination of weeks
of hard work and preparation by pupils for
the Final of the House Music and Spoken
English Competition. The music adjudicator
was Krystyna Budzynska from the Royal
Academy of Music who offered sound
advice and encouragement and presented
the music cup to North House.
This Summer Term, Bancroft’s took part in a
Showcase Concert in the Cadogan Hall with
the London Chamber Orchestra – details
in a separate article. We now look forward
to two events after half term – the Junior
Chamber Concert on 9 June and the String
Masterclass on 16 June with Rachel Roberts,
one of the top viola players in the country.
Music Junction with the
London Chamber Orchestra
Emily Jackson, L4N
The LCO Music Junction was a
fantastic experience for everyone
involved. The aim of music junction
is to allow children from a wide
range of backgrounds, including
many who have never played
an instrument, to be involved
in composing and performing
a classical piece of music. It is
hoped that this experience will
instil greater belief and selfconfidence in the children involved.
A combination of professional
musicians from the London
Chamber Orchestra and children
already playing in orchestras
acted as mentors to the fledgling
musicians during the process.
At the beginning of the scheme we
performed ‘flash mobs’ to different
schools including Bancroft’s with an aim
to inspire anyone interested in music to
get involved. After our performance at
Walthamstow Academy we welcomed those
who wanted to try out any instrument they
wished. We then met regularly over a six
month period in preparation for the final
performance in a Showcase Concert at the
Cadogan Hall in Chelsea.
The work we created emanated from a short
tune from the much-celebrated Sir Peter
Maxwell Davies (who unfortunately died
this year). Our composer Cheryl FrancesHoad transformed the simple melody, along
with our improvisation, into an exciting
and inclusive piece performed in Cadogan
Hall. Our conductor was the celebrated
Christopher Warren-Green, possibly best
known for his role in the wedding of the Duke
and Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster
Abbey.
The concert itself was a true sensory
spectacle; from the brightly coloured
LCO T-shirts to the variety of percussion
instruments on display. Other works
performed included an Overture by Catel,
Haydn’s Military Symphony and the Egmont
Overture by Beethoven. A truly memorable
night!
14 DramA / Sports
TAAL 2016
Friday 6 and Saturday 7 February saw almost two
hundred pupils from Thirds to U6 take part in the
annual Taal event. With its fusion of dancing, music,
acting and even a fashion show, Taal is more than just
another School production, it has grown over fourteen
years to become an integral and much anticipated
fixture in the School calendar as well as an important
part of the School’s cultural life. The event is totally
student driven with members of the Hindu, Sikh,
Buddhist and Muslim Society (HSBM Society) writing,
choreographing and directing the event.
This year’s script was a Bollywood style update of Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice, written by Fahed Gani with Shaan Mann (both
U6) overseeing the choreography. Shaan said, “Taal is a chance for
Bancroft’s pupils to embrace and show off their culture and different
talents which they might not be able to show in regular School events.
I was so proud not just at putting on a large scale production but also
at bonding as a family with the rest of the Taal team. This year was
particularly special because of how much we connected.”
Taal is also a major fund raiser for charities and this year it
supported United World Schools, a charity which is transforming
the lives of some of the poorest and most vulnerable children in
the World through educational opportunities. UWS builds schools,
such as the Takok Charai School in Cambodia, which Bancroft’s
supports, and provides a free basic education for children who
would otherwise not receive an education at all. Jack Clark, School
Partnerships Director at United World Schools, was a guest at the
Friday night performance which he described as “spectacular”.
Shaan Maan said that she hopes that this year’s Taal will have raised
ten thousand pounds for this charity.
Marwan Mikdadi, Deputy Head, said, ““What a fantastic show. I felt
privileged to be part of such a spectacular event, with pupils from all
year groups and cultures coming together to raise money to support
our commitment to Takok Charai School. The adaptation of Pride
and Prejudice made use of every opportunity presented to include
a dance and some uplifting music. Well done to them all; they did
Bancroft’s proud.”
Total Immersion Swimming
Mrs Susan Cheshire
In recent years Bancroft’s School
has seen significant changes in
the way that swimming is taught,
with our Head of Swimming and
Certified Total Immersion Coach,
Susan Cheshire introducing Total
Immersion to the PE curriculum,
making Bancroft’s one of the first
schools to adopt this method of
teaching. This revolutionary and
highly effective method of teaching
swimming provides pupils with the
knowledge, skills and techniques
required to master a fast, efficient
and beautiful stroke.
For many swimmers completing a length or
two of the pool can leave them completely
exhausted, not surprising when you
discover that a recreational swimmer is 3%
energy efficient. With water being nearly
a thousand times denser than air, moving
through it creates considerable resistance
and drag. With so much energy being lost
when swimming, trying to add raw power
in order to increase speed or distance is
counterproductive and traditional methods
that focus on pulling and kicking further
reinforce our awkwardness in the water.
In contrast, dolphins, with their ability to
move effortlessly through water, are 80%
efficient; this leads us to the question at the
centre of all our lessons, ‘How do humans
swim efficiently?’ By understanding the
science of swimming, cross-curricular links
are made to turn swimming from a physical
activity into a problem solving exercise that
engages both the body and mind, hopefully
making the experience of school swimming
positive and enjoyable.
Jonty Pollard, Head of Physical Education,
describes total immersion as, “The most
significant development to the PE curriculum
that I have witnessed in twenty years of
teaching. Pupils learn through understanding
and progression is no longer limited by
athletic ability.”
Mrs Cheshire has collaborated with Total
Immersion to create a series of films
demonstrating the progressive sequence of
drills. With funding kindly provided by the
Parents’ Association a large waterproof screen,
which has been installed on poolside, allows
pupils to see these films in a class environment.
The opportunity for pupils to visualise and
understand the biomechanics of swimming
in relation to the water is the next step in the
development of our swimming programme.
This cutting-edge resource offers opportunities
for pupils to receive individualised and instant
feedback through video-analysis, a resource
that will play a pivotal role in the development
all our swimmers.
For further information, please visit
www.susancheshire.co.uk
sports 15
Bath Cup
Our top swimmers took part in the Bath Cup (the
National Public Schools Swimming Relays) at the
Aquatic Centre, Stratford on Friday 11 March.
This event is now in its 50th year and this year’s
competition saw eighty boys’ and seventy girls’ teams
travelling from schools across the country to compete,
resulting in an outstanding level of swimming.
The Bancroft’s boys’ team of Theo Athienitis, Zach Foster, George
Whalley and Oscar Saharoy swam solid races in the 4x50m Medley
Relay and 4x100m Freestyle Relay. This year’s heats were seeded
and the girls’ team of Amrita Robertson, Evie Foster, Dora Zhou,
Alice Bolitho and Grace Kelly competed in the fastest heats against
Caterham, Alleyn’s, James Allen’s and Eastbourne College. The girls
swam well achieving some personal best times; however, they just
missed out on this year’s finals, by a fraction of a second.
Cricket Tour of Barbados 2016
Tom Oliver, L6W
At the beginning of the Easter
holiday a team of fifteen cricketers
got the opportunity to participate in
the Gordon Greenidge tournament
in Barbados. It was a young side and
we were to come up against some
strong opposition in what were our
first outdoor fixtures of the season.
Along with the invaluable cricketing
experience, we had some amazing
excursions including a visit to the
museum of West Indies cricket and
a tour around the Kensington Oval
cricket ground, where we met a
couple of the game’s greatest icons:
Joel Garner and Gordon Greenidge.
We arrived at school at 4am on a freezing
cold English spring morning. The first good
experience of the tour came in the form of
breakfast at Nando’s, which was significantly
better than the daal served on the plane.
When we landed in Barbados we were
immediately hit by the heat and humidity; an
obstacle that we would have to overcome in
order to succeed.
A couple of days’ training and a practice
match gave us the chance to adjust to
the climate and to the standard of the
opposition. This preparation was obviously
useful as we won our first tournament game
against Alleyn’s School, leaving us with high
hopes and confidence for the rest of the
tour. Unfortunately, the rest of the tour did
not prove as successful as this game and we
found ourselves in a battle for third place
which came down to the last game of the
tour against the other English team. We
thought we had thrown away our top three
position when our batting innings came to
a close after 25 overs and a score of only
75 runs on the board. However, we did not
give up and after the lunch break and a
memorable team talk we began defending
our total. The bowling attack were on fire as
they took 5 wickets before Lancaster Royal
Grammar School could reach 50 runs. Just as
we thought we may actually win the game
the only bout of rain all tour hit us and the
game was called off with LRGS 55 for 6. We
finished fourth overall but the results of the
fixtures did not reflect the high standards of
cricket played and how well the team gelled
despite the disparity in ages.
The team chemistry was helped by the
amount of time spent experiencing the local
culture and night life. The visit to Oistins and
to the Harbour Lights show were highlights
and provided us with some great memories,
including some questionable dancing from
certain members of the team. As well as
getting to know each other better through
nights like these and playing together, we
were able to get to know locals and form
friendships with all the extremely welcoming
teams we came up against, making it even
harder to face going home.
The tour has left us in good stead for the
new season and performances in Barbados
have given boys solid places in the first XI.
If only our pre-season training could finish
in the Caribbean every year! Thank you to
Mr Greenidge, Mr Lever and Mr Flaherty for
putting together a brilliant trip.
16 Sports / co-curricular
Biathlon
Miss Dani Mugridge
For the first time in Bancroft’s
history, several pupils entered
the National Schools’ Biathlon
competition. The competition
involves a 200m swim and
1600m run; a target time for
each event gives competitors
1000 points, where points are
then lost or gained.
The first stage of the competition
was the Eastern Region qualifier
in Watford and we achieved some
fantastic results with three of our
pupils finishing in the top four, Dora
Zhou in first place, Grace Kelly in
third and Raya Uzunova in fourth.
We also had top twelve finishers in their respective age groups. From
this competition Dora, Grace and Raya qualified for the National Team
Finals in the Modern Biathlon Championships in Solihull in November
and Dora and Grace qualified for the British Schools Modern Biathlon
Championships at Crystal Palace. Over 900 qualifying athletes,
from U10 to Senior age groups, travelled from across the country
to compete in the Modern Biathlon Championship. The weather
provided the girls with challenging wet and windy running conditions.
With a strong head wind on the home straight, the girls then moved
into the pool for the 200m swim in which the girls competed against
some of the country’s best county and national swimmers: they really
held their own. The girls gave their all and performed incredibly well
coming fifth in the team competition.
Following on from their success at the Regional Biathlon, Grace
and Dora competed in the British Schools’ Modern Biathlon
Championships at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre on
Saturday 19 March. This was the girls’ third competition of the year
and they performed with great confidence in these individual events,
both girls scored their highest marks so far, with Grace breaking the
2000 point mark. Grace came 23rd with 2053 points and Dora 26th
with 1996 points.
Model United Nations
Rohini Dhatta, L6S
Model United Nations is a popular
activity which gives students
the opportunity to exercise their
debating skills as they try to
construct a resolution to tackle
the world’s key issues. The venue
of the conference was the City of
London School attended by around
two hundred delegates from twenty
three schools in and around London.
The guest speaker was Gadi Zohar, a
former Israeli military officer. He provided
an insightful view of politics in the Middle
East; speaking of the strength, cooperation
and peace that must be reached to ensure
stability in the region. It was up to us to show
a similar level of passion and persuasion.
Bancroft’s’ eight attendees formed two
delegations representing Colombia and
Guatemala on a range of different topics. These
included ceasing systematic torture under the
Human Rights Council and the Special Council
who discussed the Ukraine crisis. Throughout
the day delegates engaged in challenging but
satisfying debates to construct a resolution
tackling their Council’s issue.
Many Councils got off to a tough start;
struggling to find suitable clauses to build
their resolutions. However after many hours
of debating, all Councils ended up with a
suitable resolution on which to vote, many of
which were passed.
After a short break, delegates participated
in an emergency debate on which they were
unable to prepare. Only finding out their
topic minutes before the start of debating
provided a significant challenge for most. An
example of this was in the Special Council
which had to construct a resolution to deal
with a rather topical scenario of the DPRK
(North Korea) threatening South Korea with
nuclear missile strikes. There were many
conflicting viewpoints and so the debates
proved extremely challenging.
It was a very enjoyable day where we were able
to consider world events in a forum of similar
aged children in the scenic setting of the City
of London School with its views across the
Thames. Although it was not a normal Saturday,
it was immensely enjoyable and something that
I would encourage others to try.
co-curricular 17
CCF Adventurous Training 2016
Tom Walton, L6E
During the second week of the Easter
holidays, a group of cadets from both
the Army and RAF Sections travelled
up to the Lake District to take part
in a week’s Adventurous Training.
We were all up bright and early on
Monday morning for the drive up
to Coniston. This being my second
time taking part in the trip since U4 I
was pleasantly surprised by the new
centre when we arrived, located just
by the lakeside with great rooms,
facilities and views. After settling
into our rooms we began to prepare
for the three days of activities ahead.
Each cadet has a choice of three activities:
from gorge walking with mountain biking,
climbing with abseiling, canoeing and caving.
High mountain day is also available for the
Sixth Form. I enjoyed climbing, the high
mountain day and, finally, caving which was
my personal favourite. After the first three
days of adventurous activities, spirits were
high and it was clear everyone was looking
forward to what remained of the trip.
After drying off from an eventful first three
days and packing our bags we prepared for
the three day expedition starting on Friday
morning. For many this would be the hardest
part of the week as many younger years only
had a Bronze DofE Practice under their belts;
however, all groups pushed on and managed
to finish the expedition successfully, having
faced some steep inclines and tough tracks.
The weather was generally very positive for
the three days of walking, and we were lucky
enough to see some fantastic views.
As we got ready to head home the next day it
was clear everyone had thoroughly enjoyed
the week and the activities many had tried for
the first time. I’m certainly looking forward
to returning next year, as I’m sure are many
other members of the Contingent based on
the smiling faces throughout the week.
Celebration of DofE Success
at Buckingham Palace
Mr Dominic Argyle
On 16 May, DofE Manager,
Dominic Argyle attended a once
in a lifetime Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award Gold Award Presentation at
Buckingham Palace. At the event
he was presented with a special
plaque by the DofE Charity by
broadcaster and comedian Greg
Burns, acknowledging the School’s
commitment to running the DofE
and thanking the School for giving
young people the opportunity to
transform their lives.
The DofE is celebrating its Diamond
Anniversary this year, having supported
millions of young people in the UK and across
the globe to achieve DofE Awards since it was
founded in 1956. This prestigious Gold Award
Presentation at Buckingham Palace is one
of many memorable events taking place to
celebrate sixty years of the Charity.
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, HRH The Earl of
Wessex and HRH The Countess of Wessex,
congratulated those who were present
including young Gold Award achievers,
organisations which deliver the DofE and
special guests, such as corporate supporters
and DofE Diamond Challengers, who have
set themselves a personal challenge to
raise money for the DofE Charity in its
anniversary year.
Speaking about the Bancroft’s involvement
with the DofE, Mr Argyle said: “Bancroft’s
has held a licence to deliver the DofE for
over thirty years and I feel honoured to have
been invited today. Our young people are
encouraged to push themselves outside their
comfort zones when doing their DofE and the
skills that they develop can be life-changing.
I am also wholly grateful to the many
colleagues at the school who help to provide
the young people with these opportunities.
I was also proud to witness Olutunmise (TJ)
Ashaye, who left the school last summer,
receive his Gold DofE Award at the Palace on
the same day.”
Peter Westgarth, Chief Executive of the DofE
Charity said, “We are truly grateful to all of
our Licensed Organisations for the work that
they do, they are an integral part of the DofE
family, and our Diamond Anniversary is a
fantastic opportunity to say thank you.”
To celebrate its sixtieth year, the Charity has
launched the DofE Diamond Challenge. This
one-off initiative allows people of all ages
to take on a DofE inspired challenge and
earn their Diamond Pin. Signing up to The
DofE Diamond Challenge has an amazing
double benefit – whilst challenging yourself,
pushing your boundaries, you’re also raising
money for the DofE Charity so that it can
transform the lives of more young people
and offer free places and bursary grants to
those most in need.
18 co-curricular
Lord Cashman at Launch of Equality Society
Jess Avery L6N
On Monday 9 May, months of
work finally came to fruition, when
Bancroft’s hosted its first ever
Equality Society event. We were
honoured to host Lord Michael
Cashman, who delivered an
inspiring talk about LGBT (Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual and Transgender)
rights, including his own personal
experience and advocacy. The talk
was rounded off with a thought
provoking Q&A that showed clear
engagement with and interest in the
topic, which is something I hope the
society will explore further.
Hopefully, this will be the first event of
many as we raise awareness about different
types of inequality we may experience, from
sexism to ableism, in an engaging and safe
environment. Having set up the society, with
encouraging staff support along the way, I
hope to organise other such events, forging
links with the local community and making
sure everyone’s voices are heard. Students
and teachers from Woodbridge School
also attended the event, and we hope to
collaborate with them in the future in order
to grow our society and learn from and with
them. The next meeting will be a brainstorm
to enable us to get a clear idea of what each
person hopes to gain from the society.
Community Service
Karan Shah, L6W and Umayair Ullah, L6N
The School’s Community Service
Programme takes place every
Wednesday afternoon, and is
organised by Miss Gadhvi, who
guides you through the process of
both obtaining and making the most
out of your placement. As part of
the Programme, you can volunteer
at a placement organised by you,
or at Whitefield School (which is
organised by Bancroft’s), a school
for children with special needs.
Karan Shah writes, “I volunteer at Whitefield
School on Wednesday afternoons,
and have been doing so since the Fifth
Form. Whitefield Schools and Centre is
a combination of different special needs
schools for pupils of different ages and
abilities, with the ages ranging from 3-19. As
well as the school providing for people with
a large range of special needs; it is also the
largest special school in all of Europe.
Over the past two years, my placement
at Whitefield’s has been an eye-opening
opportunity for me, allowing me to meet
and work closely with children with
special needs, ranging from Autism
Spectrum Disorder to Down’s Syndrome. I
currently volunteer at the secondary school
section, Neils Chapman School. The pupils
in my class are between 13 and 14; the
majority of them have different types of
autism. My main role at the school is as a
teaching assistant, which involves helping
the pupils when they require my assistance
with schoolwork.
As an aspiring medic, it has been interesting
to see the range of special needs and the
effect, socially or intellectually, that they
have on the children. Some of the children
are more social, and will approach people
easily, but have difficulty with reading or
writing. On the other hand, I have met
children who were reluctant to initially
speak to me, but are exceptionally talented
when it comes to schoolwork or music.
Volunteering at Whitefield’s has not
only been an opportunity for me to help
children with special needs, but also for
me to learn much more about different
types of special needs and to eliminate any
previous misconceptions of my own. All in
all, volunteering has been crucial for me
to try to understand special needs better.
After two years of getting to know the class
that I’ve been assigned to, it has been so
rewarding to see the children grow up and
develop, as well as seeing them appreciate
and actively ask for my help.”
Fellow member of the L6 Umayair Ullah
also volunteers at Whitefield, “ Having
enjoyed volunteering at a primary school
in Loughton in the Fifth Form, I decided to
continue with Community Service, but at
a different location. I also wanted to gain
an insight into helping people with special
needs, which is why Whitefield School is the
perfect opportunity for me.
I have been volunteering in the Early Years’
Centre, the nursery of the school. There
are two small classes in the nursery with
roughly eight pupils in each, but the classes
are often combined. Every week there
are different activities which encourage
the children to learn through play, such
as looking at the movement of water,
growing plants, or creating Lego vehicles
and buildings. The nursery teachers and
assistants are incredibly friendly, and are
always there to help and give advice; this
placement has, undeniably, been a learning
process for me too!
The children at the nursery act as any
other children. They play, laugh and sing;
one of the most rewarding things about
this placement is realising how anything
you do, such as helping them do a puzzle,
will bring a smile on their faces. One of
the highlights so far has been the Easter
Assembly at the Nursery. We all had a great
time carrying out an Easter Egg Hunt with
parents and the children.
I have learnt many lessons, especially
different methods of communication,
understanding the children’s thought
processes, as they are often unable to
express their emotions through words. I
have enjoyed this placement, and I would
thoroughly recommend volunteering here
for anyone who would like to help others
whilst learning something new.”
bancroftian community / From the prep 19
From The Parents’ Association
Jo Hughes, PA Secretary
The PA is proud to share with
you photos of the most recent PA
purchases requested by the School.
The waterproof large-screen TV for
the School swimming pool will be
used to improve pupils’ swimming
technique and Susan Cheshire
(Head of Swimming) has written
to the PA expressing her gratitude
and confirming the wonderful
input it will have. The Bancroft’s
Prep School branded, high visibility
jackets are for use on Prep School
trips on public transport; the Prep
pupils will look very smart! Finally,
the two new benches for the Senior
School with dedication plaques look
wonderful in the Quad, and the
PA are looking to purchase several
more. Our next planned purchase
is a new high-tech projector for the
Performing Arts Centre.
Looking ahead beyond the busy Summer Term
- with the Staff v Parents Cricket Match, Sports
Day, New Thirds Evening, New Alphas Morning
and the PA Masquerade Summer Ball - the date
of PA AGM is Thursday 13 October 2016 and
we look forward to seeing many parents there.
The always popular Christmas Fayre will take
place on Saturday 3 December 2016 and we are
excited to announce a Ceilidh Night on Saturday
4 February 2017. You can stay updated with
Floreat
Floreat covers the whole history of the
School but has a particular emphasis on
the period from 1931 to the present. It is
a handsome volume, lavishly illustrated
throughout and has been very well
received by members of the Bancroft’s
community; Professor Philip Ogden,
Chairman of Governors, described it as
“excellent – full of interesting material
and beautifully presented.” We would
like to thank the Drapers’’ Company and
OBA both of which gave financial support
towards the publication. Any profits
made from sales of Floreat will support
the Bancroft’s Foundation, which provides
Means Tested Scholarships at the School.
Facebook Bancroft’s School Parents’
Association
Twitter@PABancrofts
Sports Relief Mile
On Friday 18 March all pupils from
Bancroft’s Prep School, together
with their teachers, took part in a
mile for Sports Relief 2016. This was
not a sponsored event but everyone
was asked to make a small donation
for this excellent cause and the
event raised £781.
After several years of meticulous
research, former Deputy Head and
current archivist Jeremy Bromfield’s
new history of Bancroft’s School
was launched on Monday 21
March, after the annual Francis
Bancroft Memorial Service.
details of these events by following us on
Facebook and Twitter.
In place of assembly everyone was
encouraged to run, or walk, a mile on the
School field. There was a great atmosphere,
with the children cheering and spurring
one another on. All participants were
encouraged to wear something red, which
added to the atmosphere. A few children
even suggested starting every school day
this way! Joe Layburn, Head at the Prep,
commented, “To see the whole School,
children and staff, running round the field
was an impressive sight. We like to think
we’re pretty sporty and fit here at Bancroft’sit was a challenge to run the mile and we
enjoyed it. It’s always good to be part of
national charity raising events and we’ll
certainly be involved in Sport Relief again
next year.”
Following on from the success of the Sport’s
Relief Mile, the Prep School have introduced
a Daily Mile when a relatively small group of
children and staff either run or walk around
the School field at 8am. It’s not just for elite
athletes, although some who come will be
on the cross-country and athletics squads,
but it’s for everyone. Amongst the regular
runners is Mr Layburn who says that he is
already feeling the benefits, “The main thing
is to take part. We like the idea that this
exercise is part of the life of the Prep School
and that it will help us to be fit in mind and
body for the rest of our day.” Prep 2s even
continued with their Daily Mile when in
France on their recent PGL trip!
20 FROM THE PREP
PgL For Prep 2s
Charlie Day, 2MP
At last, Bank Holiday Monday and
our much anticipated trip to PGL had
arrived. It was an early start at 6am
to hop on board the two coaches to
Dover to catch the ferry to Calais. I
hadn’t been on a ferry before so it
was a big adventure for me.
The Prep go
Quackers!
After an extremely long journey we were
so relieved and excited to arrive at Chateau
Grande Romaine and have a tour of the
facilities we could use, including the football
pitches, volleyball courts, tennis courts and a
pool. At the Centre there was a huge tower
with rock climbing and abseiling and we also
had the opportunity to have a go at archery,
which I really enjoyed.
We visited a nearby town and explored the
French market where we had a go at putting
our French speaking skills to good use. A
visit to a snail farm was very interesting and
we tasted garlic snails the following evening,
which were actually quite tasty!
Parc Asterix was awesome! It had some
scary rides as well as fun ones and also six
lands to explore including The Vikings and
The Roman Empire and The Egyptian age;
there were also some cartoon characters to
meet. Some of us were lucky enough to win
characters at the carnival type stalls at Parc
Asterix. This particular day got even better
as we went bowling later on.
The Prep School saw some very
popular and extremely cute new
additions in the form of eleven
Pekin ducklings last term.
The visit to the medieval style castle, watching
a French play and jousting tournament were
my favourite memories. Unfortunately, my
worst experience was being stuck in a cave, a
dark cave, on a ride for an hour only to be told
it was closed Then it re-opened again as soon
as we got off!
A big thank you on behalf of all the Prep 2
leavers to all the Bancroft ’s and PGL staff who
looked after us so fantastically and organised
such a brilliant, fun packed week.
The ducklings hatched from twelve eggs
and, thanks to a web cam, the whole
School was able to watch this happening
and follow the ducklings’ progress. Each
duckling was marked and weighed daily
so that the children could monitor their
growth. As they grew, they began to learn
to swim in boxes set up in the lab. Every
lunchtime and break pupils and staff alike
queued up in the lab to stroke and cuddle
our latest additions.
Miss Ellery, Science Co-ordinator at the
Prep, said that each of the ducklings
had its own personality. Some were
definitely more daring than others
and ready to explore the world while
others would “cry” a little if they were
not picked up! As a group they were
friendlier than the chicks which had
been hatched in previous years.
Alas, the ducklings were not to become
permanent residents at Bancroft’s
and they have now moved on to good
homes with two Prep children who
already keep ducks.
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Senior School
Bancroft ’s School, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 0RF
020 8505 4821 office@bancrofts.org
Preparatory School
Bancroft ’s Preparatory School, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 0RF
020 8506 6774 prep.office@bancrofts.org