Document Version - Hurtwood House Newsletter

alumni@hurtwood.net
Freshers3
Hurtwood Film Prize
Quintessentially Quaffing
4-5
Hurtwood at the Bar14-15
Sports6-7
Snippets16-17
Kate Burns: Google Her
Philanthropist in our midst
18-19
A letter from the Head
20-21
8-9
Les Misérables the Film
10-11
Flash, Bang, Wallop
12
13
Next issue
18
Richard Jackson
Sophie Jackson
Rob Cooper
Josh Lloyd Lyons
Daniel Huf
Zara Brownless
Richard is the founding
Headmaster of Hurtwood
House.
(Née-Harrison) 1990-1992.
Sophie is married to Ted
Jackson. They met as
students at Hurtwood and
now run Cornhill Manor
boarding house.
Josh lives in Peaslake House
and is currently studying English,
Economics and History. Josh is
also doing an EPQ on History/
military strategy. He aspires
to study History and English at
Oxford University.
Daniel lives in Cornhill
Manor and is studying
English, History, German and
Sociology. He is also doing an
EPQ on the origins of science
fiction. He hopes to go on to
read English at Cambridge.
Rob is an integral member
of the Hurtwood I.T.
department.
Zara lives at Peaslake House
and is studying Maths, English
and History and is doing an
EPQ on Oscar Wilde. Zara
hopes to do English at Oxford,
and then Filmmaking or
Journalism.
James Hartman
James Hartman was a student at Hurtwood House.
James is now back on the Hurtwood team as a
teacher of Psychology and Theatre studies.
Walter Matharu-Daley
Walter is in Peaslake House, he hopes to go into
music production when he leaves Hurtwood.
George De Freitas
The photography and IT
departments, Jaqueline Thomas,
Juan Sedeno, Bobby Genower,
Steve Beale, Ted Jackson, and
Flipside for Design.
OUR
SEND US Y
EWS
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TO
PHO
& STORIES
t
rtwood.ne
alumni@hu
George is also a Peaslake resident. George is
planning to take Film Studies in America when he
finishes at Hurtwood.
Alumni article
“Freshers” is one of every Hurtwood student’s
most memorable moments and this year was to
prove no exception. The dances were, as per
usual, entertaining to watch and mortifyingly
embarrassing to perform! There was a marked
variety in this year’s dances – ranging from
the competency of the uninhibited and fluid
dance performed by ‘The Lodge’ to the
confused erratic movements conducted by
Ewhurst, which for some unfathomable reason
included an inflatable dolphin. There was also
the traditional ‘baggy trousers’ dance, which
has been performed for over thirty years!
When the choreographed dancing was
finished, the informal dancing quickly began in
the searing heat of the schools ‘cosy’ theatre
– The time honoured tradition of boys and girls
really getting to know the people they would
be spending the next two years with then really
began. It was, all in all, a great evening where
everyone got the chance to loosen up and
socialise, but more importantly it was a very
friendly welcome to life at Hurtwood and would
help set the tone for the year.
– By Josh Lloyd Lyons
3
h Lloyd
– By Jos
Lyons
R PHOTOS,
SEND US YOU S
IE
R
NEWS & STO
net
ood.
alumni@hurtw
Students at Hurtwood come to us from a wide range of backgrounds and achieve in a
vast array of professions. No one exemplifies this better than former student Max Birch
(Hurtwood House 1989 -1991) who has gone on to found a string of vineyards and a winery
with Sir Cliff Richard in the Algarve region of Portugal.
A
lthough Hurtwood does offer wine tasting
for Second-Year students, credit must go
to Max for this outstanding achievement.
The winery has gone on to win numerous awards in
the International Wine Competition in London, along
with winning the Berlin Wine Trophy in 2011. While at
Hurtwood, Max lived in Beatrice Webb House and
played a leading part in the production of ‘West
Side Story. He graduated from Hurtwood in 1991 and
later trained in Viticulture and Oenology at Brighton
University, where he passed with distinction. Max
remembers Hurtwood House fondly and says that it
was a huge creative influence that helped him to
fulfill his viticultural aspirations.
Max describes working with Sir Cliff Richard as a
thoroughly relaxed and enjoyable experience as
Cliff is able to provide expert feedback and features
as a positive and encouraging influence throughout
the winemaking process.
Max manages a total of three vineyards, all of
which make use of the natural growing conditions of
dry, limestone rich soils which restrict the quantity of
water reaching the twisting vines, while sea breezes
offset the long hours of scorching Portuguese heat.
Innovative modern growing methods ensure both
the quality and yield of these thriving vineyards,
under the vigilant care of the viticultural team. The
4
winery itself is modern and custom designed; with
the emphasis firmly resting on the amalgamation of
modern, cutting edge technology with traditional
winemaking techniques to produce wines of an
exceptionally high quality.
A wide array of wines are produced there; of
which the Vida Nova Tinto is particularly spectacular
with a great depth of flavour, notes of black fruit
and a smooth finish. There are several ranges – from
the Vida Nova range that uses a blend of both
indigenous Portuguese grapes and those from
abroad, to the Onda Nova range which uses only
a single grape varietal and there is also a sparkling
rose that is bottle fermented for fifteen months to
bring out deliciously biscuity notes. Max’s personal
favourite changes periodically but at the moment
is the oaked Onda Nova Verdelho 2010 and the
Vida Nova Rose Espumante 2009! Due in no small
part to the passion of the winemakers; the winery
features visiting as an integral part of its ethos with a
tasting bar and if you are in the Algarve on holiday
Max says that you should go there for a tour and a
tasting!
It is not necessary to go to Southern Portugal to
taste their delicious wines as many are now being
stocked by eminent British retailers and can also be
purchased online from their website!
visit the Vida Nova website
www.winesvidanova.com
email Vida Nova
visits@winesvidanova.com
All photos copyright of Adega do Cantor/danbirchphoto.com
5
The Hurtwood Football team has had a great Autumn term
winning all of their regular fixtures with other schools and
only losing out in the Surrey and National Cup competitions.
Notable victories were against St Bede’s (6–1), Eton 3rds
(3–0), and Charterhouse 3rds (5–4). The term finished with the
students seeing off an ageing staff team 7–3.
T
he termly staff v students football match turned
out to be something of a ‘drubbing’ by the
students. The staff’s team tactics were a gallant
failure. By half time, the students sat comfortably on
a 3–1 lead. With the ageing staff kicking uphill in the
T
second half, the students found the few attacks that
were mounted very easy to defend! The final score
was students 7, staff 3. The staff are now licking their
wounds and planning revenge in the next match!
he Hurtwood Basketball team has quite a few new players this
season. These promising AS players have already started to challenge
the A2 members for a place in the starting five. They are relatively
inexperienced but ambitious.
No victories to report yet but this is a very promising team, with a lot of
self-belief and we are confident that success is just around the corner!
Last year was our best year
ever, and 2012 is shaping up to
be better still. We already have
some fantastic victories under our
belt and the team, excellently
led by Charlie Morton, is feeling
confident and having a lot of fun.
The Hurtwood Rugby team has enjoyed some
real success over the last few years with excellent
victories over local rivals such as Charterhouse and
Christ’s Hospital. Hurtwood has also continued its
long-standing tradition of sending a squad to the
National Schools’ Sevens Tournament where we
often look forward to a mauling by giants such as
Millfield and Wellington – but in true Olympic spirit,
it’s the taking part that counts!
7
L
ess than 15 years since the company’s birth, ‘Google it’ has become an expression commonly used
across the globe. Little did you know that this internet giant owes its current success, in no small part, to
one of Hurtwood’s own: Kate Burns. (HH 1989-1991) She joined Google in 2000 when there were only 250
employees as opposed to 53,000, becoming its UK Managing Director, and first non-American employee.
Read on as Zara Brownless tracks her journey from Hurtwood’s leading lady to Internet’s wonder woman.
Q. What might it have been about you that made
them chose you for such a huge move?
A. I got involved in the online world very early –
my first job was at Yahoo where I was part of their
start up team, and prior to that I’d worked at The
Sun newspaper. We taught the big brands how
to get online because at that point they had no
idea what the world wide web was so we were this
bunch of cavaliers that were evangelizing about this
new technical space that was going to influence
everyone’s lives. From Yahoo I went to a company
called Doubleclick which Google actually acquired
three years ago for a couple of billion, and from
there I went on to the first search engine which
was called Altavista, which was the Google back
then. So at twenty-six I was running their European
operations.
Q. After leaving Hurtwood you must have been
about 18-19 so where did you go from there that led
you into that world?
A. It was all sort of by accident really! I read English
at university and my parents wanted me to be a
lawyer even though I wanted to be an actress.
But in reading English I got really into media and
advertisement so when I left uni, completely broke,
and saw an advert for News International who
8
needed a media sales executive for £12,500 a year I
took the job, and that was me through the gates.
Q. Where did your aspirations of being an actress
end up?
A. It’ll always be a bit of a nag, a niggle, but I’ve
managed to get it out of my system with the
positions that I’ve held that have always had a big
media component, especially at Google and Bebo,
my current job. I speak to the press, I’ve done a lot
of TV and radio work and I’ve spoken at some major
conferences to tens of thousands of people. It’s so
much harder than acting because you don’t have
a script, you’re having to convey someone else’s
beliefs and ideas, and you have to be a heck of a
lot sharper – most journalists will want you to deviate
or screw up. Having learnt that X-Factor-ness at
Hurtwood really helped, but I’ve been media
trained consistently over the past fifteen years and
it’s an art – you become more like a politician than
a businessperson. That kind of got acting out of my
system I suppose.
Q. Hypothetically, if you had gone down the acting
route what’s the part you would have always loved
to play?
A. Blimey, well I would have been a sort of
independent, Brit flick chick I think. Definitely not
Hollywood - I’d want to be on the edgier, grittier,
independent film scene.
Q. If you had to pinpoint one or two make-it
moments that you’ve had since leaving Hurtwood,
what would they be?
A. Meeting the founders of Google and becoming
very close colleagues with them has to be one,
because Larry [Page] and Sergey [Brin] will be
up there with Steve Jobs, and they’re my friends!
Before I met them I was actually very unconvinced
about Google, but when I met them they were very
genuine people and I had never seen that kind of
vision before, and still haven’t. It wasn’t just a focus
on a product or a strategy, they sincerely wanted
to change the world, make it a better place and
make information accessible to everyone, and I
was like ‘Okay! What do you want me to do?’ From
that moment I had a feeling that this was going
to be something amazing, and money – even
though it flowed in from every direction in ridiculous
quantities – it was never important, we never talked
about money, it was almost an embarrassment, it
was bizarre. And I was the person that convinced
them to take it international. They were a bunch of
kids from California that had never travelled outside
of the USA, then I came in with a bright pink suit,
bleached hair, a pierced tongue and British accent
– they’d never seen anything like that before, they
just thought I was an alien! It’ll probably go on my
epitaph that I was part of that formative team that
helped lay the foundations for Google. I wouldn’t
call it an achievement but it was a huge honour to
be part of that story. I think my time at AOL recently
is also something that I feel very proud of because it
was such a huge task: when I joined, the company
was losing tens of millions and I had 800 people
across 18 countries with a year to sort it out. And
we did. In a year we turned the whole company
around. So I think those are the two things where I
can sit back and go, ‘Yeah, that’s alright.’
Q. Having already gone so far, why do you go from
job to job now?
A. I genuinely am a builder. I’m the kind of woman
who would come in and help build a team and
launch offices and get a businesses established,
and I enjoy getting my hands dirty, rolling up my
sleeves. If you boil all of that down, I like working
with people. I’m not a product person, I’m not an
engineer, I’m not even a marketing person. I know
my strengths and what I enjoy doing and that’s why
I don’t think I could ever retire. I won’t ever retire.
Q. So to take you back to your Hurtwood days,
what were your memories of Ted Jackson in his
school days before he became a Housemaster?
A. It’s hilarious to think of Ted as a Housemaster!
Together we’d played the leading roles in Andy
Johnson’s production of Woychek where Ted
played this big, burly soldier. He was always larger
than life and we were really good mates – I’d
always be winding him up and vice versa, but he
has a heart of gold.
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9
Sophie Grieg (HH 20102012) tells us what it was
like to be part of the cast
for the film adaptation of
‘Les Misérables’, having
performed in Hurtwood’s
show last Christmas...
– Edited by Zara Brownless
Sophie and her
on-screen brother
“When I arrived at my costume
fitting in April 2012 I still had no
idea what I’d really be doing
in the movie ¬– I’d only been
emailed the script for ‘Do You
Hear the People Sing’ and the
finale (which, without revealing
too much, is a little different to
the stage show!) At the fitting –
which took a while considering
I had to get into a corset and
three petticoats before the
actual costume – I was told I
would be playing Coufeyrac’s
Little did I know that for one of the
songs I would spend the entire time
walking side by side with Claude-Michel
Schönberg and Sir Cameron Makintosh
of the battles I get elbowed in
the face by the National Guard)
plus a hidden ear piece and
microphone as all of the singing
was recorded live on set, which
was the first time such a feat had
been tackled on a feature film.
The sight of the barricade at the
Old Naval College in Greenwich
was absolutely spectacular; it
was three-stories tall and covered
in red flags with small fires and
rubble all around, with about 100
actors scattered across it. Little
did I know that for one of the
songs I would spend the entire
time walking side by side with
Claude-Michel Schönberg and Sir
Cameron Makintosh (producer of
the West End show), both of whom
had cameo roles in the scene.
When I first auditioned for the
film back in January I definitely
didn’t think I’d end up filming
alongside some of the greatest
actors of this era. During my time
on set I met many renowned West
End performers who had roles in
the film, as well as some of the
Hollywood stars such as Hugh
Jackman and Anne Hathaway,
who was so kind and kept
everyone cheery during breaks
when we were all freezing. But
my favourite moment would have
to be when I stood next to Eddie
Redmayne on the barricade.”
14-year-old younger sister, even
though I’m eighteen. I then
rehearsed with the conductor of
the London show and ClaudeMichel Schönberg, one of the
shows composers, through most
of which I was completely star
struck. Having participated in
Hurtwood’s production I felt well
prepared as I knew the songs and
had experience knowing what
characterizations would suit them.
For filming I was given a
black eye (apparently in one
11
Hurtwood scoops
Saatchi success
The photographic excellence of Jim Johnston (HH
2008-2010) and Finn Bruce (HH 2008-2010) was
recognised last year in the Saatchi Gallery Art Prize
for schools. They each managed to beat over
18,000 applicants from around the world to get
into the top-twenty shortlist for the prize. Johnston
in fact came just shy of winning, receiving second
place and a handy £1,000 in prize-money, and an
even handier £5,000 for the
photography department.
We anticipate great things
to come from these two
growing talents in the world
of photography, and wish
them all the best in their
artistic endeavours.
– By Daniel Huf
Ladder, Jim Johnston
12
Farm, Finn Bruce
– By Daniel Huf
I
n recent months Hurtwood has been running the
Hurtwood Prize and recently the winners of this
year’s prize were announced.
The Hurtwood Prize began as an ambitious idea
to create a national competition similar to The
Booker Prize that would make Hurtwood’s name
synonymous with talented young filmmakers.
After a long incubation the idea became reality
with the help of David Alberts from Mofilms, the
father of current student Kara Alberts; Mofilms is a
company that organises film competitions for major
multinational companies. The Hurtwood Prize was
to be hosted electronically on the Internet using
YouTube as a platform, with the tagline “welcome
to the industry.” Once Polydor had provided four
tracks from up-and-coming bands to download
from the Prize’s YouTube page, the stage was set
for a competition designed to find the ten best
filmmakers between the ages of 16 and 20. The
hopefuls then created pop music videos from these
tracks and uploaded them to YouTube. After several
hundred entries the videos were shortlisted to 30 out
of which industry professionals and our own resident
media department selected ten.
These ten winners were able to come down to
Hurtwood for a weekend, meet the top people
in the industry and experience what the business
is really like behind the surface of the polished
product seen on screen. They were able to learn
from these experts about the entire process of
making a music video, from conception and
commission to shooting, editing, and producing.
The pinnacle of the competition came several
weeks after this weekend of industry specialism
(which was for many the real prize) with the handing
out of the Hurtwood Prize to Josh Renaut and
Maddelena McNicholas at a magnificent awards
ceremony at the prestigious Shoreditch House.
To see the winning entries and find out more about
the competition go to:
http://www.youtube.com/hurtwoodprize
– By James Hartman
T
he Southeastern Bar Council ran a course this
year at Keble College, Oxford during which
nearly 80 barristers from all over the world were
trained to cross-examine vulnerable witnesses in a
court of law. The training was conducted by Queen’s
Counsels (QCs), Judges and, remarkably, Hurtwood
House students. So what did the Hurtwood Students
do?
On the Monday before the start of term we met
at Hurtwood and spent the day examining the case
notes of a child called Jude. Jude had witnessed his
mother being assaulted, but to complicate matters,
Jude suffers from Asperger Syndrome. Asperger’s is
a mild form of autism and those whose condition is
especially pronounced, like the fictional Jude, have
difficulty communicating. Additionally they tend to
repeat particular behaviours when anxious, such as
clapping, repeating strange noises or counting. To
make matters more difficult those with Asperger’s
like to adhere to strict routines and if these are
disrupted, for example by having to appear in court,
this can result in severe anxiety attacks. Having
studied Asperger Syndrome and the case notes
in detail, we spent a number of hours adopting
Aspergic-like behaviours and going through a
series of improvisations. By the end of the day each
Hurtwood student was able to ‘become’ Jude and
could respond to questioning in exactly the way a
child suffering from Asperger’s would respond.
It was important that the barristers did not interact
with the students, but only with the character, Jude.
The following day we drove to Oxford and, as is
typical of the level of professionalism we like to
foster in our students, we entered Keble College ‘in
character’. The discomfiture of the various Judges,
QCs and Barristers was immediately apparent.
They began to realise they were not going to
have an easy day. Each of the thirteen students
14
then went into a mock court and sat in front of
six barristers and two ‘trainers’. The trainers were
either Judges or Queen’s Counsel. It ought to be
added that the barristers were fully qualified and
had much experience, but this was simply further
training. The Hurtwood Students had to remain in
character for long periods of time while they were
cross-examined. If the barrister handled the witness
incompetently, then the witness (Jude) would have
an anxiety attack.
On one occasion, when a barrister had not
cross-examined particularly well, a highly regarded
and formidable QC stood up and said, “I’ll show
you how it is done,” and proceeded to make a
mistake. Her tone was too aggressive, she upset
Jude (in this case, Jess Stent) who began to have
an anxiety attack. Beads of sweat broke out on the
QC’s forehead, she fumbled her lines and although
“The feedback we got at
the end of the day was
unanimous and effusive”
she managed to regain control of the situation, Jude
had thrown her. When the cross examination ended
she turned to the barristers, her severe and cold
exterior now severely diminished and said, “bloody
hell, it’s not easy is it?”
At the end of the session, when the actors came
out of character, they received spontaneous
rounds of applause. And they deserved it. What
the Hurtwood Students had created was an
extremely accurate rendition of a child suffering
from Asperger’s. This is not only my opinion, but
also the opinion of the two clinical psychologists in
attendance, both of whom specialise in Autism and
Asperger’s. It should be noted that staying in role for
the best part of a day is exhausting and I applaud
the stamina and dedication of all those involved.
The students enjoyed themselves immensely, as
did I. One of the highlights was being served lunch
in the vast Keble College Dining Hall, the longest in
Oxford and akin to dining at Hogwarts. The students,
gained a valuable insight into psychology, theatre
and law and one of our team, Chloe Cannon, has
been offered a mini-Pupilage next summer with a
HH Susan Topping QC.
The feedback we got at the end of the day
was unanimous and effusive praise. To have Lord
Justice Munby seek me out to offer his thanks and
congratulations was particularly gratifying and I am
immensely proud of all the students who took part.
He asked if the actors were professional, to which I
replied, somewhat elusively, “They’re professional
actors from Hurtwood House.”
I would like to extend especial thanks to Audrey
Campbell-Moffat of Liberty Chambers in Hong Kong
who approached Hurtwood and asked us to get
involved. We had an incredible experience and we
owe her much thanks.
Hurtwood Students past and
present with, from left to
right, Dr Emily Phibbs Audrey
Campbell-Moffat QC, HH
Susan Topping QC, Patricia
Lynch QC, Sarah Clarke and
Dr Richard Woolfson.
Keble College, Oxford
15
H
urtwood students record and
produce an album every
other year, to showcase their
musical talents and technical
skills. The songs have all been
produced and engineered
by current and previous music
technology students. The
musicians have been drawn from
students and staff across the
whole school community.
Follow this link to download and enjoy
the Hurtwood album 2012 –
http://www.hurtwoodhouse
performingarts.co.uk/#/musicgallery/4533777582
T
he idea of a reunion for Hurtwood alumni has
been around for quite a while, but finally we’re
making it a reality for our 44th year – 2014. The plan,
as it stands, is to create a ‘banquet’ style reunion
for Hurtwood alumni and their partners at a London
venue such as the Dorchester Hotel in Park Lane.
We are currently planning on grouping together
different year groups and as such we would love
it if anyone could take on the role of ‘year/table
organiser’ – or if they could help in any other
capacity. Aside from that; please contact us with
any ideas you might have.
oup
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As many of our readers are no doubt aware, Felix
Baumgartner recently set several skydiving world
records. At the time, Housemaster Ted Jackson
spoofed on his private Facebook page that Felix
was one of our ex-students. Alarm bells rang when it
appeared on Wikipedia and the BBC started ringing
for interviews – Ted found himself backpedalling
faster than a free falling Felix. Sorry everybody!
T
hings are certainly going up market at Corrie!
Nigel Havers has starred in a central role for the
last two years and now, better still, they have got
Ricki-Sol Heras (HH 2004-2006) as Ryan, Michelle’s
tearaway son, and (surprise surprise) new resident
heartthrob! Is it absolutely necessary to get your shirt
off in every episode Ricki!?
THE
VOICE
OF
Hurtwood has just learnt that ex-student Lucy Irving
(Lucy Bigland HH 1990-1992) is the voice-over artist
for BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing 2012.
Lucy is much in demand as a voice-over artist and
you can also hear her on ITV’s Daybreak and many
other adverts and radio and TV shows.
2
A
nyone listening to BBC Radio 2 will be likely to
hear Emily Andrews (HH 2007-2009), known
professionally as Moya. Her current single, ‘Making
Me Fall,’ has made the playlist and is receiving lots
of airplay. Congratulations Moya.
17
WITHIN OUR MIDST...
T
erry Nicholls, Head of our English department,
director of the Hurtwood debating team and
philanthropist talks to Daniel Huf about his time
organizing debating competitions in Kenya and
the charity efforts in Hurtwood.
Q. You have been organising these
competitions for several years now, why
do you do it?
A. My reasons for doing the competitions
are quite simple; I want to encourage these
Kenyan children to think laterally because
their education system is very prescriptive
and does not teach them to be critically
minded, making them quite vulnerable to
the influences of authority figures. Especially
conducted in English, which is a very important
skill for the students to learn because all higher
education in Kenya is conducted in English.
In addition, to growing their minds we are
also able to feed the children during these
competitions, an important element of their
development.
Q. Considering that the goal of these
competitions is to get the participants thinking
critically how competitive does it get between
the schools?
A. It gets extremely competitive. I was
astonished at the increasing quality of the
debate as more schools became involved
and teams were clearly practicing away from
the competitions. In fact the principles of
one of the schools involved has told me that
there is a marked improvement in his students’
fluency in English, now that they are honing
their debating skills throughout the year. The
atmosphere is of course quite tense because
of this competitiveness, but overall the children
leave smiling because everyone gets at least a
bronze medal and a meal.
Q. How has the competition grown since you
started?
A. When I started the competition it was
between two schools. I’ve now expanded the
competition base to eight, so we had a very
big event this summer.
considering the political unrest in Africa, with
different militant groups trying to instil their
own ideologies, and the barrage of western
materialism these children experience I think
it is increasingly important that they learn to
think independently. Another very important
element of the competitions is that they are
18
Q. How on earth did you wind up organising a
debating competition in Kiandutu of all places?
A. Well everything started in 2007 with a text
I got from Sam Whittaker (HH 2001-2003), a
former student, who was volunteering for a
charity called Action for Children in Conflict
(AfCiC), which operates in the Thika district of
Kenya. Having been on my debating team
in the past she had the idea to organise a
debating competition in Kiandutu to address
some of the challenges faced by the Kenyan
schools.
Q. How is the charity fundraising you do
connected to the debating competition?
A. It isn’t; I pay for the competition. What the
school contributes to is the far more essential
feeding programme that AfCiC organises
throughout the Thika district. The programme
provides meals for over 2,500 children in three
schools. Over 60% of street children in Thika
turn to the streets because of hunger, the
Q. You mention other charity efforts in the
school, what form do they take?
A. The kitchen staff holds cake-sales regularly
throughout the year and with the money
from that they are the sole supporters of the
cooks at Garissa Road school, Florence and
Monica, who provide a meal for 1,000 children
every day. In addition Stella takes a group of
volunteers every week who spare a few hours
from the rush of Hurtwood life to contribute to
the local community.
Q. What has been the success rate of the
Hurtwood charity over the years?
A. I think the numbers speak for themselves;
the contributions of my committee alone are in
excess of £14,000 having surpassed
our targets every year since
2007. This means, considering the
fluctuation of food prices, we have
been able to provide around 150,000 meals in
four (school) years.
The programme provides meals for
over 2,500 children in three schools
feeding program keeps these children off
the streets and in school, giving them the allimportant education that can mean a way out
of poverty. Our contribution to the program
has become increasingly vital because food
prices have risen, making each pound more
significant. When we started contributing a
pound would feed a child for two weeks, now
a pound only covers one week. However,
considering the amount it costs to maintain our
living standards in the West, I think it’s important
to realise just how far this money goes.
If you too would like to help support the charity
or simply find out more about it go to:
http://www.justgiving.com/Hurtwood12
19
Another year of brilliant A-level results
– AVERAGE GRADES A* A A
O
nce again Hurtwood has achieved outstanding A-level results, with 29% A* grades
compared to the independent school average of only 18%!
On average each Hurtwood student achieved 374 UCAS points (equivalent to A-level
grades A* A A) and it is not surprising therefore that all our university applicants were
successful, with 96% of them gaining entry to their first choice, which included Oxford
and Cambridge and all the other elite universities. It is particularly notable that 11
students gained entry to the London School of Economics, who only accept 7% of all
their applicants every year.
All the subject-by-subject statistics are available on the website and it is impressive to
see how strongly our students performed in Maths and Science and other core subjects.
Although Hurtwood is world-famous for its creative and performing arts departments,
Mathematics and Further Mathematics deserve special mention, with 68 out of 75
student being awarded A* or A, making this one of the largest and most successful
Mathematics departments in the country.
As far as the creative subjects are concerned, it almost goes without saying that, as ever,
Hurtwood students have been outstandingly successful. Year after year we have been
able to maintain our position as the foremost school in the country for aspiring actors,
directors, dancers, singers and artists etc etc, and this was another bumper year, with
entry to all the major drama schools, art schools and film schools.
These splendid results reflect the hard work and enthusiasm and ambition of our students,
and they are a tribute to our inspirational and dedicated teachers and the ethos of the
school. In this respect, I was particularly touched to receive these comments from the
parents of one of our departing girls this summer:
“
… Hurtwood made her think outside the square, provided a cosmopolitan take,
and taught her to celebrate uniqueness and see its value … Hurtwood is no sausagefactory, pumping out the same product year in, year out as fodder for our institutions.
Plenty of them about. I can’t see too many Hurtwoodians in Compliance or Regulation,
but I can see them (as many already are) leading the world of art, media and
innovation and as entrepreneurs – which is the stuff that nations are built on.
”
Bravo!
Cosmo Jackson, Headmaster
20
Foundation Drama
Royal Holloway University
Gap Year
Royal Welsh
Graphic & Media Design
SAE
Graphic Design & Illustration
School of Oriental & African Studies
Hispanic Studies
Sheffield University
History
Southampton University
History & Philosophy of Art
The University of West London
History (Modern) & Politics
Toronto University
International Relations & French
UCL
Internship
UCL - Slade
Investment & Financial Risk
Management
University in Sweden
City & Guilds
Commercial Photography
City University
Japanese and Economics
Communication, Media & Culture
Durham University
Law
University of Edinburgh
Contemporary Dance
Edinburgh University
Management
University of Essex
Cordwainers Footwear Design
Exeter University
Management Sciences & Spanish
University of Exeter
Dance
GSA
Marine Biology
University of Glamorgan
Diploma in Music
Guildhall
Marketing & Management
University of Kent
Drama
Hertfordshire University
Materials Science
University of Liverpool
Drama & Theatre Studies
Imperial College London
Mathematics
University of St Andrews
Mathematics & Computer Science
University of Surrey
Drama Foundation
Institute of Contemporary Music
Performance
Mechanical Engineering
University of the Arts London
Drama Studies
Kent University
Media Production
University of Warwick
Drumming
Kings College London
Menswear
University of Westminster
Economics
LAMDA
Music
Urdang Academy
Economics & Economic History
Leeds College of Art
Music (Popular Music)
USA - Berkeley
Economics & Industrial Organisation
Leeds College of Music
Music Career
USA - Chapman University
Economics & Statistics
Leeds University
Music Production
USA - Michigan University
Economics with Political Studies
London Studio Centre
Musical Theatre
USA - Southern California USCA
Education with English & Drama
Loughborough University
Pharmacology with Study in Industry
Warwick University
Electronic & Electrical Engineering
LSE
Employment
Manchester University
Engineering
Marangoni London
English
Newcastle University
English & Comparative Literature
Northumbria University
English & Drama
Oxford Brookes
European Politics, Society and
Economics
Oxford University
Accounting & Financial
Management
AADA
Accounting & Finance
ACM – Guildford
Advertising
Architecture Association
Apprenticeship in Film Industry
Arts University College Bournemouth
Architecture
Bath Spa University
Banking & International Finance
Bath University
BFA Fine Art and Photography
Birmingham University
Biomedical Science
Bournemouth University
Business Management
Brighton University
Business Management Diploma
Bristol University
Business with Economics
Queen Mary University
European Theatre Arts
University of Cambridge
Philosophy and Economics
Philosophy and English Literature
Photographic Arts
Photography
Physics
Politics
Politics & international Relations
Politics with Economics
Fashion
RADA
Practical Filmmaking
Fashion Management
Ravensbourne
Private
Film Production
Ravensbourne
Psychology
Film Studies
Reading University
Tailoring
Fine Art
Regents Park (LSPMP)
Veterinary Biosciences
Foundation Diploma Art & Design
Rose Bruford College
Vocal Performance
21
Part of a £3 million
development
Could you please send us
any memories and photos
of David to...
wood.net
alumni@hurt
wood.net
alumni@hurt
Merry
Christmas
s
from all of u
use
o
H
d
o
o
t
r
u
at H
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www.hurtwoodhouse.com
To view previous editions of the Hurtwood Newsletter go to
www.hurtwoodnewsletter.com