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2014/15
Welcome
4/11
12/44
45/63
64/76
77/107
108/1113
114/119
120/126
127/134
135/152
153/154
Speech Day
Community
Houses
Trips & Expeditions
Sport
CCF
Music & Drama
Art & Design Technology
Awards
Old Wycliffians
Wycliffe College Foundation
THE WYCLIFFIAN1Extracts from the Head’s speech
Thank you Robin for your most kind comments about my time as head of Wycliffe College. I will always smile when I remember the first time we met. I stupidly attempted to help out by making you and your lovely wife, Celia, a cup of coffee of my accustomed nuclear strength and ended up nearly killing you both.Thank you very much for being such a wise, caring and effective Chairman.
I would also like to take this opportunity
to thank our hardworking and totally
committed Trustees whose roles have
increased in complexity and responsibility
since I first took on the Headship. You
freely give of your own valuable time
and expertise to ensure Wycliffe has the
highest standards and a bright future. I
would also like to thank Paul Etheridge
who is President of the Council of
Trustees for giving me the opportunity
to take on this role. I was and frankly
still am surprised that you ever gave me
the job! I imagine that not only was the
thought of appointing the first female
Head of Wycliffe seen as a bit of a risk
at the time but given the fact that I am
sure I failed my numerical reasoning
recruitment test (but everyone was too
gentlemanly to tell me) makes it even
more of a wonder that I stand before you
today.
I remember so well the first time I
was called upon to make this speech all
these years ago. Staff seemed to be really
interested in my speech and in particular
how long it might be; at first I was rather
touched by this but soon I realised that
the length of my speech was the subject
of the staff sweepstake.
Ten years ago I nervously began my
speech and tried extremely hard to be the
model of a serious headmistress and to
say all the standard things that I thought
were expected. Looking back I have to
tell you that my speech was pretty dire -
worthy but dire. Not that I can promise
you a masterclass in oratory today.
However what I do hope to convey to you
is the most important lesson I believe I
have learnt during my time at Wycliffe,
and that is the importance of being true
to yourself and having the confidence to
hold dear to what matters most to you.
This is something that I would like all our
pupils to treasure as they continue their
education here or like me leave to enjoy
new challenges.
Taking on the leadership of this
school was not easy at what was a
difficult time and it wasn’t only me that
was lacking in confidence; the whole
school community was suffering from
a serious inferiority complex. We spent
a great deal of our time comparing
ourselves unfavourably with other schools
and we were extremely diffident about
what we stood for.
I am glad to say that this has
changed. We have all worked extremely
hard as a community to shape our niche
and be secure in what we offer, which
is to be forward-thinking whilst at the
same time staying true to the original
values of our founder GW Sibly and his
son,WA Sibly or WAS as he was known.
I would love to have matched him in his
renowned eccentricity. I gather that my
general untidiness may well equal his,
although I never resorted to putting my
files under assorted rugs on the floor!
I believe WAS expressed the true
spirit of Wycliffe better than I ever could
when he wrote:
‘No small part of the Mission of this
school is to cherish its individuality,
its liberty to experiment and even
its eccentricities. It is our faith that
sunshine and morality, energy and
serenity, friendship and reverence,
truth and liberty can best go hand in
hand, and that only when they do so
are each and all truly safe’.
comments about my time as head of Wycliffe College. I will always smile when I remember the first time we met. I stupidly attempted to help out by making you and your lovely wife, Celia, a cup of coffee of my accustomed nuclear strength and ended up nearly killing you both.Thank you very much for being such a wise, caring and effective Chairman.
4
5
SPEE
CH
DAY
The world has of course changed
beyond all recognition since these sterling
words were written but surely this is still
central to Wycliffe’s mission today. This
is not a one-size-fits-all school. Each and
every pupil has their role to play in this
community whatever their individual
talents and indeed shortcomings. Pupils’
strengths are nurtured for themselves
and for the benefit of others. One of my
abiding memories will be the marvellous
house competitions which bring out the
very best in every single person whether
they are leading with talent or just being
part of the whole thing despite the fact
that they are tone deaf or can’t act for
toffee. The sheer exhilaration of those
shared performances is based on so much
hard work and a real commitment to
giving of a collective best.
By simply sharing a room or forming
a bond in a sports team or singing
together in Chapel, all of our pupils,
both UK and international, experience
and understand what it means to belong;
working together towards a common goal
such as a House competition, a Duke of
Edinburgh or CCF expedition or taking
part in Young Enterprise is essential for
the future success of our young people.
Teamworking, tolerance and breadth of
experience is essential for what lies ahead.
There is no such thing as a typical
Wycliffian but what they do share is
a loyalty to the values we and you as
parents have done our best to instil
in them; a quiet confidence, care for
others and a commitment to making a
difference.
Over the last few weeks I have
been privileged to attend so many
celebratory events – the sports dinners,
the Sixth Form musicians dinner, the
CCF dinner, the House film competition
to name but a few. It certainly has done
absolutely nothing for my waistline but
it has reaffirmed for me the importance
of providing such a wide range of
opportunity for pupils to shine, and shine
they do.
Being Head has given me the
opportunity to take part in so many of
these special and most memorable events.
A particular highlight has been taking
part in the school play ( I use the term
loosely). I have loved making a bit of an
idiot of myself on stage over the years; I
will always be grateful to those staff who
allowed me to join in, especially
Mr & Mrs Golightly who I am sure will
be greatly relieved that they will no longer
have me take part after about 10 minutes
of rehearsal. Who will play the old lady in
a shawl next year I wonder?
I would also like to thank all the
pupils over the years who valiantly helped
me to appear on stage roughly on cue
and who often had to take their cue from
my half-remembered lines. A particular
favourite for me was when the Year 9 girls
volunteered to do my make-up. I was
cheerfully surrounded by very giggly but
keen ‘artistes’ who made me look like a
panda!
Thank you pupils for letting me
share your enjoyment and fun.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Extracts from the Head’s speech cont’d
a very bright Year 9 lad which meant I
had to be in the top sets for his lessons.
As you have already no doubt gathered,
maths is not a particular strength of mine
so the thought of even sitting in on a
Year 9 maths class filled me with some
trepidation. To add to the fun of the
lesson, it was duly arranged that Mr Scott
(for it was he who had to welcome me to
his class) would ask me a few questions
for which the pre-arranged answer would
always be 1,000. Things went badly
wrong when we got out of sync and I
answered 1,000 when in fact the answer
was one! I was happily rumbled much to
the amusement of my fellow pupils.
Thanks too must go in particular
to my leadership team who have worked
so hard to move Wycliffe forward. Thank
you for your companionship, your
camaraderie and your commitment. Today
we mark the departure of teachers who
will be sadly missed. We say goodbye and
heartfelt thanks to Mrs Williams and
Mr Hardaker for the huge contribution
they have made to Wycliffe over the years.
We also bid a sad farewell to Mrs Wentzel
whose enthusiasm and brownies have
sustained us all. Our gratitude also goes
to Mr Callister who was an excellent
Head of Lower School, Mrs Imrie, Mrs
Sampson, Mr Ellis, and Mr Edgecumbe. I
would also like to thank Mrs Trainor for
her excellent stewardship of Haywardsend
House. You all take with you our thanks
for all you have done to shape the lives of
so many pupils.
I hope you will indulge me when I
make particular mention of three women
who helped me enormously throughout
my time here. In my marvellous portrait
I would like you to note three significant
references; the chair I am sitting in
was upholstered for me by Rebecca
Whitworth, my first PA who supported
me through the tough early days of my
Headship, the beautifully painted scarf
I am wearing was given to me by Liz
Buckley who has been an incredibly
supportive colleague through many a
crisis, and finally the pearl brooch on my
lapel was a gift from my ever patient and
deeply caring PA, Carol Philp, whose
dubious pleasure it has been to try and
keep track of my world. Thank you to
all three of you and again my heartfelt
thanks go to all of the Wycliffe staff.
Looking to next year, I know that
Mr Gregory is very fortunate in having
such a strong and united team to support
him in his first year. It has been a true
pleasure to get to know him, albeit
briefly. He is a most committed and
caring man. I am confident that under
his leadership Wycliffe will go on from
strength to strength.
My thoughts now turn to the pupils
who are leaving us today, some after
many years in our midst. Five years ago
a new group of little fresh-faced Year 9s
made their nervous appearance and I
have watched their progress through all
their ups and downs. Year 13, you have
all been a great group with many talents.
You have led the school and all its events
with real commitment. You have all had
individual success and have given back
a great deal this year in the example you
have set.
It is clear that your sense of
belonging has been central to your
Wycliffe experience.
My sincere thanks go first to Anna
Fishwick who has led the School so well
and who galvanised the senior leaders in
It is to our staff that I now turn.
The whole team, both teaching
and support staff, work extremely hard
to provide so much for our young
people. You work tirelessly to provide
opportunities for the learning and
development of those in your care; you
are always prepared to go that extra
mile for pupils in so many ways. You are
also totally committed to preparing our
pupils for the uncertain and changeable
world they will inhabit and to giving
our pupils every opportunity to explore
their individual talents whilst supporting
those undergoing increasing academic
pressures.
The genuine care and time given
to our pupils is of course shared by the
whole community of loyal and relatively
unsung support staff whose loyalty,
dedication and generosity of spirit I
have greatly appreciated. I will miss
filing Autumn Term invoices with the
Finance team accompanied by mince
pies and failing lamentably to fold letters
properly when lending an inept hand
to the secretarial team.You have been
marvellously supportive of me and my
eccentricities.
I would particularly like to thank
those members of staff who were imposed
upon by having me in their houses and
classes when I swapped with a pupil
for the day, another of my Wycliffe
highlights. The prospect of having me
around as a pupil must have been a little
daunting. The first time I swapped with
1
6
7
the College to raise the impressive sum
of over £2,000 for the Elms Care Home
through an amazing range of activities.
To my great surprise and joy, you also
organised the most marvellous surprise
for me. When I walked into my study it
was festooned with hundreds of lovely
post-it messages from so many pupils.
Thank you so much to everyone for this
brilliant prank, which I will never forget.
Anna, you have led by example
in showing an overriding commitment
to achieving the best that you can be
whilst showing real dedication to others
and to Wycliffe. Equally, Lara Bathurst
and Toben Ronald you have been the
most able of Deputies. It has been a real
privilege to work with you. My special
thanks also go to the Senior Prefects who
have done sterling work all year.
You have led all our prefects who
have been an excellent and exemplary
team. Our Heads of Houses have also
worked very hard to make the House
events such fun.
I know Mr Gregory is very much
looking forward to working with his new
Head of School, Tom O’Driscoll and his
two excellent deputies Amelia Henley
and Jack Evans and the rest of the senior
leaders who I have no doubt will rise to
the challenges of continuing to embody
all of the values we hold dear.
To Year 13 and indeed every pupil
gathered here today, I would urge you to
be bold and loyal, to always be true to
yourselves and to have faith in your own
abilities. I will always want to have news
of you and all of us who have invested so
much care and commitment will want to
know that you are happy and successful.
I hope everyone will join me for the
Leavers’ Service - a very touching and
important celebration of our community
and an opportunity for the whole school
to say their goodbyes. I will do my best
not to cry! But if true to past form I
probably won’t last much longer than the
first hymn.
I would also like to bid a fond
farewell to our parents. I hope you feel
our work together has been a fruitful
partnership. I thank you for all your
support and the faith you placed in us to
do the very best for your children.
As for me next year, when I am not
scaring the socks off other independent
schools in my role of Reporting Inspector,
I will be walking in the High Peaks in
Derbyshire and travelling the world. I am
very excited about the next stage of my
life but I will take with me many superb
memories.
Before I finish I would like to
mention my bursary fund, my legacy
to Wycliffe, which I hope will enable
a worthy pupil to join this community
and to benefit from its atmosphere and
aspirations. It would mean a great deal to
me if we were to reach the target.
Finally, I would like to thank
you all for your support of the college
and of me personally. I feel immensely
privileged and hugely grateful to have
been given the opportunity to lead this
wonderful college over the last ten years.
It only remains for me to wish the whole
community every success in the future.
Wycliffe is a truly amazing school and
long may it flourish!
SPEE
CH
DAYTHE WYCLIFFIAN
THE WYCLIFFIAN
my things, my mum trying to conceal
that she was as nervous as I, and after a
prolonged goodbye hug, I waved them
off standing on the doorstep bawling
my eyes out. Mum had promised to call
me as soon as they had arrived back.
However, I never did answer that call as
by then, I was already too preoccupied
with my newfound friends, homesickness
already a distant memory. I never will
be able to thank the people I met that
first day enough, who, to this day, seven
years later, I am still lucky enough to call
my best friends and despite their moving
schools, I know we will be friends for life.
This is true for all of the friends I
have made here at Wycliffe. I would like
to take this opportunity to thank firstly
all of the class of 2015 who have made
our years together the unforgettable
experience it was. Our successors
definitely have a lot to live up to. More
specifically however, I want to thank my
closest friends - I won’t mention all of
your names, despite your asking for a
‘shoutout’, but you know who you are.
You have supported me throughout my
various shenanigans over the years and
have always been there for me, no matter
what. Excuse the cliché, but you have
become family to me and family can never
be broken. Thank you for everything.
School years are turbulent and
often difficult as we begin to define
ourselves as individuals. This, combined
with the stress of studies and of all the
extraordinary amount of extracurricular
activities that occur here at Wycliffe, can
make our school lives occasionally, very
difficult. We are often told that ‘School
years are the best years of our lives’, and
honestly, this can be very hard to believe
sometimes, especially when you have a
Saturday away match in Wales and six
preps due Monday, or when you’re late
back to House again, only to be greeted
with another gating card. Trust me, we’ve
all been there. But what I say to that, is
that they are just small flecks in the great
big picture of school life – growing up
would not be the same without these
little bumps in the road. I’ve had my fair
share. The admission process to study
medicine was both grueling and at times,
disappointing and it was often hard to see
the light at the end of it. It is easy during
times like this, to wish the time away and
look towards the end of your A levels
or GCSEs and ultimately, to the end of
school. However, I urge you not to view
your time at school this way. Instead,
embrace each moment, even when school
can seem monotonous or tedious. I am
sure all of my fellow leavers will agree as
we stand here today, looking back over
our careers as Wycliffians, that while it is
done with pride and contentment there
is an overwhelming sense of sadness
and nostalgia as we know we will never
again bear witness to these little aspects
of Wycliffe life, which at the time seemed
laborious, now seem so rich.
It is impossible not to look over
our time as Wycliffians fondly, as our
I arrived at Wycliffe aged 11 as a full-time
boarder, having previously gone to school
in Saudi Arabia my entire life. To mentally
prepare myself for this transition, I spent
the summer reading Enid Blyton’s ‘The
Twins of St. Clares’, due to some very
misinformed advice from my mum, in a
somewhat misguided attempt to try to
understand what I should expect from an
‘English Boarding School’. When I arrived
however, to my surprise, which now,
looking back in hindsight should have
been no shock, I found that Wycliffe was
nothing like the boarding experience I
had imagined. I suspect this was primarily
down to three reasons: the first one being
that Enid Blyton book, as I so cruelly
discovered, are not factual and it is no
longer in fashion to have midnight feasts
with the other 40 girls in your ‘dormie’.
In fact, there are no longer dormitories
of 40 and it is somewhat uncool to call it
a ‘dormie’ anyway. This leads me to my
second point: ‘The Twins at St. Clares’
is very outdated. However, the third and
final point is probably the most true of
them all and it is this: Wycliffe is not a
regular ‘English Boarding School’- and
I am sure that it is this that made what
can be such a frightening transition from
living at home to becoming a full-time
boarder in a different continent, so
smooth and enjoyable and ultimately
what has made my time at Wycliffe, so
genuinely filled with happiness.
I remember my arrival here vividly.
I had spent the car journey crying,
absolutely terrified about what lay ahead
of me. My parents helped me to unpack
Speech Day 2015 by Head of School, Anna Fishwick (Year 13)
1
my things, my mum trying to conceal
I would like to start this speech by expressing how incredibly grateful I am that I have had the opportunity to deliver it.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
8
9
SPEE
CH
DAY
education here stemmed so much farther
than what we read in our textbooks and
what we were taught in the classroom.
However, Wycliffe now has no more to
teach us. We have been prepped and
groomed as much as we could be and
now as leavers today, we prepare to
take our first steps from the sheltered
Wycliffe bubble into the real world.
While probably the majority of us leavers,
admittedly myself included, may leave
here today totally inept domestically, I am
sure that come university or wherever we
go from here, we will be living off baked
beans and toast for the next year or so,
we have been so thoroughly prepared
as individuals. The outstanding element
of a Wycliffe education, in my opinion,
is the support you are given to flourish
as an individual. We have been so lucky
here that being unique is celebrated and
ultimately this is what will provide the
foundations for the next chapter of our
lives and allow us to find happiness.
It is difficult to express in words
why Wycliffe is different – it just is. The
atmosphere is one of friendliness and
acceptance throughout both staff and
pupils alike. The key to this aura that
Wycliffe presents, I’m sure, lies within the
ethos of the place, summed up perfectly
by G.W. Sibly in his ‘Twelve Rules of
Life’. However, during my lifetime as a
Wycliffian, it has become clear that it
would be impossible to argue against the
idea that Mrs Burnet Ward has had an
immense influence on the school and its
charming character. I would like to extend
my thanks to a few more people that
have helped to shape my life at Wycliffe,
starting with all of the teachers and staff
of the College. Your dedication does not
go amiss and we, as the student body,
are incredibly grateful. I would like to
say a special thanks to all of the teachers
that have had to put up with me over the
years, in particular those who have taught
me at A level, who have encouraged and
supported me throughout a hectic period.
I would like to say a huge thank you to
Dr Rose and Mrs Williams for helping
me with my medical application and who
managed to prevent me from having a
heart attack despite my submission of the
final form to UCAS just hours before the
deadline and again to Dr Rose, who then
reversed my cardiac health by fuelling
my caffeine addiction during my A level
revision. To Mrs Russell, who has been a
guide and mentor from the moment we
arrived at Wycliffe together. To Mrs KC,
my housemistress of four years, who not
only has provided me with invaluable
advice, but who has also become a
great friend. To Lara and Toben, my two
deputies, thank you for your support
and advice thoughout the year, without
you both, my job would have been
impossible. Thank you to the prefect
team, for being such great friends as well
as for supporting me throughout the
vast expanse of charity work I somewhat
foolishly decided to take on, especially to
those who took part in the running and
rowing relay – without you we wouldn’t
have raised the amount we did for such
a worthy cause. Finally, thank you to my
wonderful parents, who have had to put
up with seven years of wobbly phone
calls and birthday cards which somehow
are still ‘lost in the post’.
Wycliffe will be a very different
place as of next year. The new Year 10s
will become insufferable as they move up
from the bottom of the school and try to
assert their authority over the new gaggle
of Year 9s that arrive in ill fitting uniform.
Year 11s will become Sixth Form and
as for the Year 12s: enjoy your much-
deserved time as top of the school – I
know we did. I would like to extend my
congratulations again to the new prefect
team and in particular Tom O’Driscoll,
Amelia Henley and Jack Evans, who are
our new Head and Deputies of school
respectively – your appointment is proof
of your great characters and I know that
you will do a tremendous job. Just please
don’t do so well that you make us look
bad! Of course, I would like to say a huge
good luck to Mr Gregory, Mrs Burnet
Ward’s successor. While you stand in
the shadow of an amazing woman and
headmistress, I have no doubt that you
too will be outstanding, just as we have
grown accustomed to.
As of tomorrow, us leavers are no
longer students, but instead, become Old
Wycliffians, which is a difficult concept
to take in. By now, if I have managed to
go through this entire speech without
crying, it is a huge achievement for me,
as those of you who know me well, will
know that I can occasionally be quite
emotional, to put it lightly. In fact, it will
be a relief to move on to a place where
I am no longer known as the girl who
cried at the Simpson’s Movie. However,
I think that we can all be very proud to
have survived the tumultuous year that
was A2s and the entirety of school to
have successfully made it out the other
side. While we mourn what is truly the
end of our childhood and look back with
nostalgia over our time here, let’s also
remember to celebrate the wonderful
memories we have shared together. It will
indeed be a bittersweet day. However,
I would like to finish my speech with a
quote from who I believe to be one of the
greatest minds of our time. It is of course,
Dr. Seuss, who wrote: ‘don’t cry because
it’s over, smile because it happened’.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Prizes for Speech Day 2015
SUBJECT PRIZES
ART Eva Yan
BIOLOGY Francesca Robinson
BTEC HOSPITALITY Risa Miyajima
BTEC SPORT James Garrett
BUSINESS STUDIES Linara Gaisina
CHEMISTRY Oliver Lovejoy
CREATIVE WRITING Christopher Clough
DESGIN & TECHNOLOGY James Garrett
ECONOMICS Julija Laksa
ENGLISH Francesca Robinson
FILM STUDIES Linara Gaisina
FRENCH Rohan Easby
FURTHER MATHEMATICS Jerry Huang
GEOGRAPHY Toben Ronald
GERMAN Clara Immink
HISTORY Elise Clements
ICT Subash Ale
JAPANESE Jane Liu
MATHEMATICS Julija Laksa
MEDIA STUDIES Linara Gaisina
MUSIC Abigail Covill
MUSIC TECHNOLOGY Cameron Brooks
PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS Emma Bastin
PHYSICS Andy Wu
PHYSICAL EDUCATION Anna Morgan
PSYCHOLOGY Cressida Wyer
SOCIOLOGY Julija Laksa
SPANISH Cameron Brooks
THEATRE STUDIES Joseph Oliver
FORM PRIZE
YEAR 9 Lowri Clarke, Ella Kitching, Iona
Lundie, Isabella Naish,
Rebecca Taphouse
YEAR 10 Alice Dean, Evgenia Gencheva,
Isabella Menendez, Thomas Parker
YEAR 11 Frances Friend, Max Glyn,
James Leach
DEVELOPMENT YEAR Vsevolod Bilous, Ivan Krakhotkin
ACADEMIC COMMENDATION
YEAR 9 Lowri Clarke, Iona Lundie,
Ella Kitching, Isabella Naish,
Katie Cruickshank, Lauren Turbott
YEAR 10 Holly Bankes, Chloe Bayliss,
Alexandra Bolton,
Janouk Brynjarsdottir, Alice Dean,
Evgenia Gencheva, Erin Lavender,
Annie Rees, Thomas Parker
YEAR 11 Zoe Davison, Lucy Parker,
Jessica Randall, Summer Turner,
James Leach, Frances Friend
DEVELOPMENT YEAR Kirill Filatov, Polina Jelanskaja, Maria
Pucci, Vsevolod Bilous,
Ivan Krakhotkin
YEAR 12 Kate Hampson, Markus-Christian
Lohmeyer, Thomas O'Driscoll,
Mi Wang, Amelia Henley
YEAR 13 Emma Bastin, Cameron Brooks,
Anna Fishwick, Julija Laksa, Risa
Miyajima, Francesca Robinson,
Zhenwei Xiao, Linara Gaisina
THE WYCLIFFE SPECIAL AWARDS
THE MORSE EVANS CUP FOR MUSIC Risa Miyajima
JONATHAN BAILEY MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR MUSIC Louise Elliott
MJ SQUANCE PRIZE FOR SCIENCE Anna Fishwick
STUART RENNIE MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR POLITICS Rachel Ibanga
PJS AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PROGRESS IN SCIENCE Robert Allman-Carter
DJ AMIES AWARD FOR APPLIED SCIENCE James Whitaker
LEWIS PRIZE FOR CRAFTMANSHIP Thomas Yeung
HADLER PRIZE FOR IT PROGRAMMING Geroge Hartson
P D JONES MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR EFFORT Clara Immink
CARTER PRIZES FOR ENGLISH Cressida Wyer, Lara Bathurst
SIBLY ENGLISH AWARD – YEAR 9 Iona Lundie
SIBLY ENGLISH AWARD – YEAR 10 Evgenia Gencheva
SIBLY ENGLISH AWARD – YEAR 11 Isobel Garbett
BATHGATE PRIZE FOR LANGUAGES Arturs Rakovskis
MORSE EVANS AWARD FOR CONSIDERATION Ramazan Samat
CHRIS VAUX TROPHY FOR ALL-ROUND CONTRIBUTION Subash Ale
ARMY PRIZE FOR LEADERSHIP Alexander Gilchrist
ROBERT PURVIS CUP FOR CCF ACHIEVEMENT Emma Bastin
THE OLD WYCLIFFIAN LODGE PRIZE FOR SERVICE George Turner
THE QUEEN ELIZABETH AND QUEEN MOTHER AWARD FOR GREAT STRIDES IN PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Sophie Caesar
1
THE WYCLIFFIAN
10
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SPEE
CH
DAY
PRIZES FOR EXCELLENCE AT GCSE 2014
Sebastian Abbott, Amy Bromley, Jeffrey Chan, Reagan Gettel, Kate Hampson, Matthew Lee, Illya Nuzbrokh, Thomas O’Driscoll
OTHER AWARDS
PASS CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION Angus Allen
PASS READING COMPETITION Noah Murray
DRAMA (BACKSTAGE) George Turner
DRAMA (FRONTSTAGE) Arturs Rakovskis, Sophie Caesar
MARGIE BURNET WARD ART PRIZE Jessica Randall
CHAPEL PRIZE Lucy Parker
MATHS DEPARTMENT PRIZE FOR INTELLECTUAL ENQUIRY Robert Allman-Carter
THE BUCKLEY AWARD FOR RESILIENCE Oliver Lovejoy
THE FAWCUS CUP FOR BEING AN OUTSTANDING WYCLIFFIAN Anna Fishwick
SPORTS AWARDS
CLAUDE REDDY CUP FOR ATHLETICS Zoe Davison
JOHN CAMM CUPS FOR SPORT IMPROVEMENT Oliver Lovejoy, Clara Immink
CUP FOR SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR Noah Cooper Llanes
SALVER FOR SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR Lara Bathurst
ELIZABETH WOODS UNSUNG HERO GIRLS HOCKEY AWARD Georgina Downton
JAMES DROVER BAILEY PRIZE FOR CRICKET Noah Cooper Llanes
BEN GANNON BOWLING AWARD Chad Trainor
STUDENT OFFICER AWARDS 2014 - 2015
HEAD OF COLLINGWOOD HOUSE Alexander Gilchrist & Ellie Roberts
HEAD OF HAYWARDSEND Elise Clements & Elisabeth Puig
HEAD OF HAYWARDSFIELD Nicholas Brown & Jasper Meehan
HEAD OF IVY GROVE Emma Bastin
HEAD OF LAMPETER HOUSE Eleanor Carr & Amanda Khatri
HEAD OF LOOSLEY HALLS Henry Ford & Anna Morgan
HEAD OF ROBINSON HOUSE Peter Carr & George Turner
HEAD OF WARD’S HOUSE Subash Ale & Alexander Schranz
DEPUTY HEADS OF SCHOOL Lara Bathurst & Toben Ronald
HEAD OF SCHOOL Anna Fishwick
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Community
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Toben’s Gold
Hundreds of young achievers from across
the UK had a date in the prestigious
setting of The Palace of Holyroodhouse on
July 2nd, including Toben Ronald.
Toben, Year 13 achieved his Gold
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. He travelled
to Holyroodhouse to receive his certificate
from the DofE’s Patron and Founder –
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
The Gold Award Presentation (GAP)
was a celebration and recognition of
Toben’s achievements in completing his
Gold DofE programme. The GAP is a
unique event and a fitting culmination to
mark the hard work, determination and
perseverance required.
Toben worked tirelessly through
the five sections of his DofE programme
for over 18 months to achieve his Gold
Award. His diverse activities ranged from
playing rugby for Glenwood High School
in Durban for four weeks, to brewing cider
in his garage. Throughout his DofE, Toben
was able to prove himself to be a great
team member and leader, both essential
attributes for working life.
Toben said of his achievement: “The
whole experience was enormous fun,
and has provided me with memories that
I’ll treasure. I know I will keep in touch
with the friends I made whilst in South
Africa. Being in the Combined Cadet
Force has been an invaluable experience.
All this made the programme even more
worthwhile.
“The skills I learnt from doing DofE
are invaluable. I would recommend it
to anyone who is interested, even if you
intend doing silver or bronze.”
These experiences show what an
impact doing your DofE can have, and
how it can develop the skills needed for
life. Toben’s Gold Award helped him gain
a place at Exeter University, studying
International Relations and the future
looks bright for him.
The whole experience was enormous fun, and has provided me
with memories that I’ll treasure. Toben Ronald
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Wycliffe student leaders hit new heights!
After morning sessions based on campus,
a team of 29 students were then whisked
off to the Cotswold Water Park to spend
the afternoon swinging from ropes
courtesy of the ‘Heads4Heights’ company.
Amongst all the laughter and fun was a
practical way for the team to learn some
communications skills, bond together and
challenge themselves a little. The day was
rounded off with a barbecue by the lake in
glorious June sunshine.
Next year’s Prefect Team along with all the Heads of Houses recently spent the day undergoing some training for their new positions of responsibility.
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By Peter Woolley, Deputy Head
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THE WYCLIFFIAN
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Lara goes to the U18 Futures Cup
The tournament was for the top five
percent of players in the country. Each
team had 18 members from different
centres, with 72 competitors in all.
I arrived at Cannock Hockey Club
on 29th October and received my Wessex
Leopard kit. To wake us up from a long
car journey, we had a training session to
familiarise ourselves with the pitch and
each other. After this session, we settled
into our hotel and prepared ourselves for
the forthcoming matches.
The next day we had our first
After the regional trials, I was selected to play in the U18 Futures Cup. Futures Cup is a selection process for the U18 National Hockey Team, organised by England Hockey. It included the teams: Wessex Leopards, Mercia Lynx, Pennine Pumas and Saxon Tigers.
70-minute match against the Pennine
Pumas. We came away with a 6-0 win
and in the evening, we analysed our
performance from the video footage.
On 31st October, we played our
second match against the Mercia Lynx.
Our performance was strong in the
first half going into half time 1-1 but
unfortunately we lost 5-1. After the match
to keep us motivated, we received one-to-
one advice from our coaches.
Tiredness was beginning to kick
in for the third match against the Saxon
Tigers. With a really close game, we just
missed out on the final with a 2-1 loss.
The last day, 2nd November, Wessex
Leopards were in the playoffs against the
Pennine Pumas. We were all absolutely
exhausted but we never gave up and came
out with 3-1 win, placing us 3rd overall.
To round off this National Tournament, we
had a medals ceremony. It was an amazing
sporting experience. With the standard
and stakes so high, it raised our game,
giving us all a taste of what it would be like
to play for our country.
By Lara Bathurst, Yr 13
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However, in amongst some of the
uncertainties and unforeseeable events,
it is good to know that our life here is
punctuated by a series of services which
remind us of our values as a group which
seeks to organise itself according to
Christian values.
Following a joyous Harvest Service
of Thanksgiving with the Lower Prep
in October, we then contemplated
the horrors of mass warfare as we
commemorated the centenary of the
outbreak of the First World War. An
initiative suggested by Mr Arman to have
a separate Prep School Commemoration
on the Thursday afternoon before
Remembrance Sunday proved to be
inspired and it was especially poignant
to hear the Year 8 students read about
the lives of their forbears which they
had researched, whilst the complete
Roll of Honour was recited quietly in
the background. It was also wonderful
After three years as Chaplain, I have discovered that Wycliffe is a busy, diverse and constantly surprising community in which to minister.
to welcome back the various Scouting
communities associated with Wycliffe and
this is something which we will work to
build upon next year.
The Christmas Carol Services were
joyful and festive, and full marks must
go to our new organist, Mr Weaver, who
managed to keep calm when the new
organ decided to shut down during one of
the nine lessons. The old adage of ‘switch
it off, then switch it on again’ proved to
be inspired, even though the lighting
connected to the pulpit was less easy to
fix and decided to have a psychedelic fit
during the Head’s reading! Apologies to
all who may have been ‘waxed’, but don’t
worry – the Chaplain has a cunning plan
for future services.
Many assume that young people
nowadays are not interested in their
spiritual lives, but this opinion was
certainly confounded when 13 students
put themselves forward for Confirmation
in April. Seven of them had not yet been
baptised and so our distinguished visiting
Bishop, the Right Revd. David Jennings,
was particularly pleased to be able to
bring such an encouraging number of
young people into the joy of the Christian
faith. For so many students, the majority
of whom were teenagers, to make this
commitment entirely of their own volition
and without any previous experience of
the church was both courageous and
encouraging for the spiritual life of the
College.
We now look towards the Leavers’
Service at the end of term, where we say
farewell to not only students moving on,
but also to Mrs Burnet Ward, who has
done so much to support the centrality of
the Chapel in the life of this community
and has also supported me personally as
Chaplain on many occasions. We wish her
well and ‘God speed’.
Chapel ReportTHE WYCLIFFIAN
By Rev. John McHale
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Comic Relief2
Wycliffe pupils and staff donned wigs,
wings and fancy dress to raise £1,200 for
Comic Relief.
Student Houses bid against each
other to win the chance to wear one
of the nine themes on offer for non-
uniform day.
Students showed off their baking
skills and staged a cake sale during break.
Teachers pitted themselves against
pupils in a football match. Pupils paid
£1 to play five minutes against the “has
beens”.
“We had everything from the
Michelin man to retro hippies,” said Mr
Sean Dunne, Deputy Head, who sported
a red punk wig. “As always the whole
Wycliffe community were involved, and it
proved to be a fantastic day.”
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THE WYCLIFFIAN2
As ever, the much anticipated Year 13
Leavers’ Ball was a sumptuous affair – the
sun shone, the champagne flowed and the
assembled guests were dressed to impress.
The evening was a fitting finale to the
students’ time at Wycliffe and the perfect
opportunity for their parents and the
teaching staff to join together to mark this
monumental occasion in style.
The evening’s revelries included a
delicious three course dinner, disco, fun
casino and a delicious chocolate fountain.
The night would not have been the
success it was without the hard work
and dedication of a talented group of
people, who between them organised,
decorated and transformed Wycliffe Hall
into a stunning party venue. A vote of
thanks to Jonathan Hardaker, Bernadette
Cook, Sarah Hardaker, Debbie Tetley and
Judith Johnson and the rest of the team at
Chartwells.
Leavers’ Ball
Leavers’ Ball
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THE WYCLIFFIAN2Year 11 & DY BallBy Lucy Parker, Year 11
On Saturday 21st March, the Year 11 and
DY pupils had their end of year ball. After
rushing off from match teas on Saturday
afternoon everyone returned to school
completely transformed. All the girls
looked incredibly elegant in their ball
gowns and the boys looked very smart in
their best suits.
Everyone was seated for the beautiful
food provided by the catering staff, who
should be thanked, for their help in
making the evening to be such a huge
success. Once everyone was suitably full, it
was time to party the night away with the
disco and for the real fun to begin.
The evening proved to be a great
success allowing all pupils to spend some
quality time together with the friends,
before the hectic exam period in the
SummerTerm.
Year 11 & DY Ball
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Miserden Day
The activities were good fun and varied,
especially launching water filled rockets. In
the CCF activity we nervously attempted
a blindfolded assault course where we
had to navigate safely across a log over a
river, putting all our trust into the person
who was guiding us. The art activity was
also interesting as we drew, painted and
sketched mixed media drawings of the
church. In photography we were taught
how to use high quality cameras. Then
in geography we measured microclimates
and were taught how to use the weather
instruments.
Overall, the day was enjoyable and
informative with the aim of getting us
working together as a team. This was
certainly achieved!
The first educational trip of Year 9 to the village of Miserden, North East of Stroud, was an enjoyable one. I was in a group with people who I didn’t know particularly well. Therefore all members of the group had to put every effort into working as a successful team.
By Izzy Naish, Yr 9
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Ask the Expert
How did the idea for keeping bees come
about?
I wanted to promote it in the school so
that students could see how important the
care of wildlife is in our lives. Our Prep
School started their hive about five years
ago and uses it for their Grow and Cook
Club but the children aren’t involved in
the care of the bees. Here at the Senior
School the students look after the bees in
our beekeeping club.
How many hives do you have and how
long have you had them for?
We have one hive and have been keeping
bees for about four years. We lost our first
hive to what is called colony collapse. A
colony has one queen (who lays all the
eggs), and approximately 3,000 drones
(males) and 50-60,000 female worker bees
at the peak of summer. The workers kill
remaining drones in the autumn and the
colony has about 5-7,000 workers to keep
it ‘ticking over’ through the winter.
Do you need a particular size garden to
set up a hive? Where do you buy bees (are
there different types?)? Where do you
get the hive? What safety equipment is
required?
You don’t need a large garden but you
need a position where there is a bit of sun
to warm the bees and it isn’t too damp.
There are lots of different types of hives.
Ours is quite modern, made of plastic and
is insulated. There are different types of
When librarian Sharon Hodgkins isn’t sharing her love of books with students she is sharing her love of bees. The apiarist runs the Senior School’s beekeeping club. Sharon was recently interviewed about her interest in bees.
bees and you can order them online. They
are delivered through the post – honestly.
You will need quite a bit of equipment
such as safety suits, hive tools, feeders
and of course a smoker (or liquid smoke
which we like to use). The best place
to start is to join your local beekeepers’
association that can help with advice and
guidance. Julian Cleeton, from the Stroud
Beekeepers’ Association is our mentor and
a huge support. Our two colonies came
from swarms – so they were free. A swarm
happens when a queen leaves the colony
with a large group of worker bees to find
a new home with more space. Our last
swarm came from Bath.
How does it work once you’ve built the
hive and bought the bees – what makes
them stick around?
As long as they have a nearby food and
water supply and are warm and dry they
will stay put; they only swarm if they run
out of space. If you manipulate a hive
correctly, your bees will not feel the need
to swarm.
How much maintenance do bees need?
You need to inspect them weekly to look
for any telltale signs of disease, or the
deadly parasite Varroa mite, or possible
swarming. To keep Varroa in check we
weekly ‘ice’ the bees by using a sieve to
sprinkle icing sugar on them. By dusting
them in icing sugar you encourage the
bees to groom themselves and they get rid
of the Varroa mite in the process. Also the
icing sugar adheres to the footpad, causing
the mite to lose its grip on the bee. At the
times of year when we are feeding them we
may need to spend a bit more time with
them, but it is not a huge amount.
Do you need to feed them and clean the
hive?
We feed them in the autumn to help
them prepare for winter and usually we
give them a mid winter feed of fondant
(which looks much like solid fondant
icing that you would put on a cake).
Some beekeepers buy a special syrup
called Ambrosia but you can make your
own sugar solution to feed them very
easily. The only time we cleaned our
hive was after we had the sudden colony
collapse to prepare the hive for a new
swarm. Cleanliness in handling the hive
is essential but we don’t actually clean it
out. However, we do regularly sterilise our
equipment and wash our protective suits.
Bees are very clean and will remove any
waste products or dead bees themselves.
Does having a hive mean that you have
bees buzzing around the garden all the
time?
They are not like wasps. Bees are
interested in nectar – not humans. They
leave the hive, go up in the air about
10ft to orientate themselves and then
go in search of nectar. They will not be a
nuisance.
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How much honey are you harvesting from
the hives?
We haven’t harvested much honey but it
was our fault – not the bees. Last year we
harvested 10 jars. The reason for the lack
of honey was because we gave too much
room for the brood frames, so the bees
kept all the honey for themselves! There
are two levels in the hive. There are the
brood frames – that’s the bees’ store – and
then the super frames, which is where the
worker bees make the honey without any
access for the Queen. The honey from the
super frames is not mixed with any eggs
or larvae. We won’t make the same error
this year.
And how does that work – do you literally
scrape and jar, or is there a more
complicated process?
The bees build honeycomb in the super
frame where they store the honey. You
lift the supers out of the frame and it
is extracted from the honeycomb with
a honey spinner. The spinner works by
centrifugal force. The comb is held in
place and spun around, causing the honey
to be flung out and in this way the comb
can be used again.
Is it a seasonal thing? How often can you
do it?
Yes, you extract it in the summer when
there is lots of food for the bees. In the
spring, autumn and winter, when there
is little food for them, you need to feed
them a glucose solution or they will starve
to death.
What does the honey taste like? Is the
flavour influenced by the surroundings,
for example?
Our honey was amazing. Everyone who
tried it commented on how light it was
and how it tasted a bit like elderflower.
The plants the bees gather nectar
from influence honey. There were no
elderflowers in bloom when our honey was
made but we think it was a plant called
the Himalayan Balsam that gave the honey
its unique taste. The plant, which belongs
to the Impatiens family, grows along the
Stroud canal just near the school.
Do you use the wax to make candles
and how does that work?
Not yet but we are saving our wax
and hope to have a go soon. It smells
wonderful.
How are the children involved with the
beekeeping?
We have around eight children involved in
the beekeeping club. You don’t want too
many crowding around the hive when you
are working with the bees. As we have just
the one hive this is a perfect number and
the children always take the lead in the
inspection.
Is it a safe activity to get the whole family
involved in?
It would be a marvellous activity for a
family, just perfect. I know a teacher
who has a hive at home and the whole
family are involved in its care. I have seen
quite young children looking after bees
with their little bee suits on. Wycliffe
Preparatory School also has a hive but the
children are not involved in the care of the
bees. They spin the honey and cook with
it at their Grow and Cook Club. They also
sell their honey at their school fete and it’s
always a sell-out in minutes.
What would be your top tip to someone
who is looking to set up his or her own
hive?
My advice is to contact your local
beekeeping association and sign up to a
course, or simply go along and see what
it is like to be close to the hives. Not
everyone can cope with the bees buzzing
around you but I love it. The bees come
out to inspect you and I always talk to
them. They get to know people. One
of the teachers at the school says being
around the bees helps her stress levels. She
loves the serenity the bees can give you.
“Our honey was amazing.
Everyone who tried it
commented on how light it
was and how it tasted a bit
like elderflower.”
THE WYCLIFFIAN2Activities
Wycliffe Cryptology Club is an enrichment
activity for pupils interested in code
breaking, and it entered a team in the
2014 National Cipher Challenge. The
National Cipher Challenge is organised by
the University of Southampton’s School of
Mathematics. This year competitors will
be challenged to tackle an international
gang of cyber terrorists, and the story
will unfold in a series of short encrypted
messages for the competitors to crack,
using all their skill and cunning.
The competition commenced
Thursday 2nd October 2014 and our
Wycliffe team, called ‘Team Tiger’, quickly
broke both texts.
The Cryptology Club welcomed new
members this year. Year 10 pupils, Katie
Briggs, who is also the team captain for
the competition, Janouk Brynjarsdottir,
Amelia Crystal, and Year 9 pupils Joshua
Petersen and Owen Marsh joined the club.
The competition runs until January
2015, but the club does hold activities
throughout the school year. The
Cryptology Club is open to all years and
abilities and is looking for additional
members. In addition to the fun of solving
a puzzle and uncovering a mystery,
Cryptology relates to many areas of
interesting and advanced Mathematics and
Computer Science, and requires a lot of
team work. Good luck Team Tiger.
Team Tiger enter National Contest
On Sunday 26th April, a group of Wycliffe
prefects set off at 9am from Stonehouse to
run 21 miles, to King’s Walk in Gloucester
town centre, in a team relay, where they
then met up with the other half of the
Wycliffe prefect body. This totalled to,
on average, eight miles each. It was then
the task of the second group to row the
same distance, on dry land with the use
of a rowing machine. The second group
completed the 21 miles distance in good
time and with the support of members of
the public as well as family and friends.
Head of School, Anna Fishwick has
been working at The Elms as a volunteer
for the last seven months and really
wanted to do something to help raise
awareness as well as money in support of
the residents and staff at the Elms. Anna
has set up a Go Fund account and would
be grateful for any donations, however big
or small. http://de.gofund.me/qarhk8
Charity Run & Row
By Mark Dennis, Maths Teacher
By Mrs Knighton-Callister, Head of Applied Science
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A group of Wycliffe pupils have won a
National Pony Club Competition.
Eight Wycliffe pupils were part of the
Beaufort Hunt Pony Club team who were
crowned Junior Tetrathlon Champions
2014.
They beat 400 competitors in
the Pony Club National Tetrathlon
Championships at Bishop Burton College,
East Yorkshire. Children from England,
Ireland, Scotland and Wales took part in
the four-day event.
The competition involved a three-
minute swim, a 1,500 metre run, 10 shots
at a 7m turning target and 18 jumps over
a tough, mixed terrain cross-country riding
course.
Zoe Davison, 15, Sasha Green,
15, Jess Telford, 14, and Olivia Sealy,
15, competed against 91 individual girls
and 18 teams in the junior girls category.
Zoe, Sasha and Jess were also individually
placed in the top 10.
Isla Green, 13, Thomas Kendell, 15,
Henry Stratton, 13, and Rachel Hatherell,
13 competed in the mixed junior category
and their team was placed second.
Thomas Kendell was also placed
eighth individual boy. All awards were
made by champion jockey Frankie Dettori.
Wycliffe pupils crowned Junior Tetrathlon Champions
Zoe wins again!
For Year 11 pupil, Zoe Davison and her
horse Accolino II, it has been an action-
packed few days, with the pair winning
both the Cheltenham Ladies’ NSEA on
Friday 12th September and the Dodson
and Horrell Eventers Challenge on
Saturday 13th September.
Zoe and Accolino II took part in the
Cheltenham Ladies’ NSEA show jumping
at Rectory Farm and won the qualifier,
beating over 80 other competitors. The
Dodson and Horrell Eventers Challenge
at Blenheim followed this the next day,
where Zoe and three other members of
the Beaufort Pony Club competed against
46 teams from all over the UK to win the
title. Zoe jumped one of only a few clear
rounds from over 180 competitors and
had the best winning team. Zoe was also
judged sixth on style. This was an amazing
achievement and well done to all those
involved.
Zoe and Accolino II will now be
going on to represent Wycliffe at the
National Schools finals in Addington this
October.
THE WYCLIFFIAN2Activities
For World Book Day, the Senior School
invited author and storyteller, Jamila Gavin,
to run storytelling sessions with Year 9 and
Year 10 pupils.
The author of ‘Coram Boy’ spoke
about her love of tales and legends and how
World Book Day
they originated and how she has been able
to weave the geography and history of a
place/story into her own tales.
Pupils took part in a book swap and
were encouraged to dress up to raise money
for Book Aid International which supports
libraries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Librarian, Sharon Hodgkins, dressed
as Scout Finch from ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’
– her favourite book. Other staff dressed
as Little Bo Peep, Anne Boleyn and Miss
Haversham from ‘Great Expectations’.
Art Teacher Exhibits Talent
Wycliffe’s Art teacher, Steve Hubbard,
was very pleased to hear that he has
had two prints accepted for the 247th
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition,
selected from an open entry of 12,000.
Coordinator of the show is leading British
artist and influential teacher, Michael
Craig-Martin RA. The hanging committee
for the Summer Exhibition includes Royal
Academicians Norman Ackroyd, Olwyn
Bowey, Gus Cummins, Jock McFadyen,
David Remfry, Mick Rooney, Alison
Wilding and Bill Woodrow. The exhibition
runs from 8th June until 16th August at
Burlington House Piccadilly.
The prints Steve has entered are The
Coronet, a four block Lino print in an
edition of 60 based on a 1930s bellows
camera, and Fireworks, a six block Lino
print in an edition of 60 of fireworks from
the 50s and 60s. He constructed the
fireworks that he based the print on, using
labels available on the Internet. In the
background of the image is a portion of a
Standard Fireworks poster.
Careers Outside the Box
Students are often influenced by pre-
conceived ideas when considering career
choice. The aim of this event was to
encourage students to think beyond
stereotypes when considering future
careers and also find out about sectors
they may not have considered. Each
student attended three sessions out of a
possible eight; allocations to these were
based on their responses to questions.
We had very varied careers represented
by local employers (photographer,
arboriculturalist, product designer,
engineer, equine physiotherapist etc.)
and all sessions were attended by boys
and girls.
Year 10
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Business Studies
short period of time to set up and have
everything ready by 7pm and also the
technical aspect of moving speakers and
lights in there but, with the help of other
students, this was achieved.
Guests had the opportunity to see
the gallery of the makings of the short
films, having their photograph taken with
famous actors in the form of masks and
the chance to talk to the producers and
actors whilst they waited for the event
to start.
The short films consisted of six two
minute films from the AS class followed
up by two, five minute films from A2
students. These were greeted with
enthusiastic applause from the audience
many of whom had actually starred in
the films.
The awards ceremony culminated in
an Oscar fashion with each student being
The hospitality students organised and
hosted an amazing Film Awards Ceremony
event for AS and A2 Film Studies students
on the 4th March. This was part of our
unit 22 final in our course.
This event was to showcase the work
done by students from Mr. Beamish’s
Film Studies class this year. The event saw
110 guests in the school Chapel on the
Wednesday night which was transformed
from the everyday Christian place of
worship into a loud, busy, energetic
cinema experience with large speakers,
projection, complete with endless amount
of popcorn, nachos, sweets and drinks for
all to enjoy.
We were very excited to use the
Chapel to host the event as we saw this
as an opportunity to try new venues
rather than the traditional Sibly Hall. We
recognised the challenges of having a
The Films Studies Awards Ceremony – Alex Gilchrist Year 13
given awards from categories seen at the
academy awards. Each student, nominated
by Mr Beamish, had the chance to come
up to collect their awards and express their
thanks to parents, stars and teachers.
Feedback from the event was
exceptionally good and the film evening
will now be high on the agenda when
organising further events at Wycliffe. One
teacher said he normally goes to events but
he is not always there in thought, always
thinking about something else. However,
on this occasion he was able to become
fully involved in this film evening and
enjoyed it immensely.
As this is the last year we will be
studying the BTEC course, we felt this
event went extremely well and was a fitting
tribute to mark this very popular, and for
many, career defining course at Wycliffe
College.
THE WYCLIFFIAN2English
docked and passengers streamed off the
ship, clearly desperate to hit land again.
Clenching her book tighter against her
chest, Isabelle joined the scattering crowd.
Drops of rain sent shivers down her
as they touched her unprotected head
and neck like icy pins and needles. She
looked around eagerly, in search for James,
moving swiftly aside to let passengers by
as they hurried for the railway station to
avoid the rain. But her mind was only
on James, who was nowhere to be seen!
Maybe he had forgotten about her arriving
today. Isabelle started forward as a hand
gripped her shoulder.
“Miss Tanner?” A croaky, heavily
accented voice spoke down to her. She
turned to see that a man was standing
behind her. He was tall, and was wearing
a long black coat and top hat, which
shimmered from the rainwater. From what
she could see, his face wore no expression
at all, as if he hadn’t spoken to her.
Isabelle had to fight the urge to
shiver away from him, but she stood her
ground, regardless. She was intrigued by
this man; how was it he knew her name?
“Yes?” Her words had come out unsteadily
and anxious and she immediately cursed
herself for it.
“Your brother sent me to get you.
He was caught up at work and couldn’t
make the journey. Miss Tanner?”
Instead of a reply, she nodded.
“Come along then, Miss!”
Isabelle wanted to ask where her
brother was but she found the man had
already turned and walked away. She fell
silent and quickly dashed through the
crowd after him; his steps were long and
uneven and she had to nearly run to keep
up. Suddenly, he came to a halt in front
of a large, black carriage. It was very dull,
nothing indicating to whom it belonged
and it wasn’t at all pretty to look at apart
She held her book now, clutched between
her fingers, as the Main glided in between
other massive steamships like itself to
find a spot at the docks. Isabelle leaned
over the edge and glanced down, curiosity
brushing over her and then a feeling of
disbelief. It wasn’t at all what she had
expected. Her brother spoke of London as
beautiful, the sun shining every day but
this was drearily grey. You could hear the
sound of the rain as it drummed down
onto the rooftops nearby, whilst heaps
of black smoke rose out of the chimneys
of rooftops and stained the already dull
coloured sky. A crowd of people in dark
clothing stood waiting on the docks.
Isabelle longed to see if her brother was
amongst them but she couldn’t see well
through the thickening fog.
It was chilly out and a shiver
passed through her. Well, Isabelle thought,
hopefully the weather in London shall be
better, because she had no warm clothing
with her – only the shawl that Gran Ruth
had given to her before her passing.
When Isabelle’s brother, James, left the
little apartment in New York for London,
the family had been broke, struggling to
keep the bills paid. So, James left to find
work in London. Since then, he had been
sending over money in the post to keep
them going, so that he could come home
one day. But that was five months ago, and
here she stood now, in the same place as
he had, waiting. Of course, this wasn’t the
original plan, but after Grandmother took
a bad turn and passed away, Isabelle had
to sell the flat and some of her things to
pay for her funeral and so she had sent a
letter to her brother explaining what had
happened and saying she was alone. Then,
one day, a letter came back with a first
class ticket on the Main to Southampton,
signed by her brother.
A shout went up. The Main had
Creative Writing – Gee Gilchrist Year 9
from the velvet red curtain it had drawn
across the windows.
The door of the carriage opened
and a woman leaned out. She must have
been in her late 40s for she didn’t look
particularly youthful. “You must be Miss
Isabelle Tanner?”
Isabelle nodded. The tall, dark
man pushed her aside to help the woman
from the carriage. She immediately opened
an umbrella and raised it to cover herself
from the rain. Then she fixed her dark
brown eyes on Isabelle. She was very tall
and thin; you could see the shape of her
collarbone and her cheekbones were bold
and sharp. White hair was scraped back
into a tight bun at the back of her head.
She wore a dress of red silk and matching
red gloves. “Well, what a delight to meet
you finally; your brother has spoken much
about you. Allow me to introduce myself
– my name is Mrs Wait.” Her voice was
sharp and had no welcoming tone to it.
Isabelle, soaked and freezing,
struggled to find her words. At last she
spoke: “I don’t understand. Where is
James? He said he was coming.”
“He was held back by business
in London. He just simply could not be
spared. So he sent us along instead. Here
we have a note.” She handed over a rolled-
up piece of paper.
Isabelle turned away to read it. It
was short but straight to the point. He
apologized for not being at the docks but
let her know that she could trust Mrs
Wait – I know she seems a little odd, Izzy,
but she’s really quiet caring – to bring her
safely to London.
With a last glance over the
scrawled words on the paper, she rolled
it back up and slipped it into her sleeve
before turning back to face the woman.
“Very well,” she said, fighting down her
anxiety. “I shall come with you.”
Southampton, 1876
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“You didn’t tell us that. I’m not
trying to get shot,” I whispered angrily.
“Nobody’s getting shot. Now let’s
go,” he said, continuing to walk.
I don’t know what made me follow,
because the feeling in my gut was telling
me to do the opposite. Maybe it was some
delusion that the pretty girl we’d left at
the house would be impressed or maybe
all that peer pressure stuff I’d heard
about was real. Either way it didn’t really
matter, I was doing something stupid
and that’s all there really was to it. We
reached the house a few minutes later;
the only sound at that point was the
gravel on the road crunching beneath
our Nikes. My breathing sounded more
like a marathon runner than a teenager
and I was sweating more than I should
on a chilly, November night.
The darkness that had swallowed the street
made me feel claustrophobic. It was close
to midnight and the only company I had
was the sparse lighting of street lamps and
the two friends who had dragged me into
this. Dressed in dark colours and hoodies,
we were probably doing more to stand
out than to blend in. Luckily the street
was completely empty, partially due to the
curfew that had begun an hour earlier. The
result was an eerily silent neighbourhood,
like a disapproving observer judging us
for what we were about to do. We were all
too nervous to say much, other than small
talk or going over the ‘right’ way to do it.
I didn’t really listen; I wasn’t carrying the
knife anyway. That was until one of my
friends, Dom, said something that caught
my attention.
“They’ve got a gun in the house,”
he muttered.
Creative Writing – Chris Clough Year 13
“It’s not even there.” Dom had
stopped in the middle of the street. “The
car’s gone.”
I felt like I could breathe again for the
first time since we’d left the house.
“Looks like we wasted our time
then. You can’t slash tires if there’s no
car,” I mumbled while trying to sound
disappointed.
The others agreed and we decided to
give up and call it a night. On the surface I
looked defeated. In reality it was a different
story; I might as well have just won the
lottery. As we walked back I thought about
what could’ve happened if the car had
been there, because I knew I’d have gone
through with it. Looking back on that
night, it was probably that thought that
had scared me more than the gun.
Eaglewood Nights
Journeys – Ffion Healy Year 12
A soundtrack in your head.
It’s the little things that bring a meaning,
To everything.
It’s also the little things,
That ruin it all.
The flashing of ominous,
Blue lights
A knock on the door
Late at night.
The way your mother says, oh
No. when on the phone
In that way, she always does
Dark bus journeys home,
The romantic feel of those small moments.
Perfection, like spotting a firework,
On the way to your friend’s house.
Or quietly reading a good book,
Looking up and realising,
In this moment, you are truly happy.
The nostalgic song,
Always puts a smile upon lips.
Lights fly past as you cruise,
Along the motorway in a bubble.
Scenery disappearing behind you,
When someone dies.
Words are the worst,
Just one can destroy your world.
Bad news, the lyrics
Of a song that used to make you so happy
Now you can’t stop the tear
That comes with.
Or even just the blase ones
That come from,
The mouth of the only person,
That ever mattered.
“Excellent!” Mrs Wait said,
clapping her hands together, but the grin
that spread across her face sent a shiver
down Isabelle’s spine. “Let’s get you out of
the rain then, child.” Mrs Wait helped her
up into the carriage, and then clambered
in behind her, reaching to shut the door
before settling into the seat in front. She
grinned again, baring her teeth this time
and they gleamed in the dimness as if
they were made of metal. Isabelle laid a
hand upon her book, taking comfort in its
presence, as the carriage lurched forward
into the rain.
THE WYCLIFFIAN2English
All the students and the teachers
had taken part in a secret writing exercise
which proved very illuminating. Ten
anonymous pieces of writing were
produced and everyone read each other’s
and then tried to match the author to
the piece. It was interesting after a year
On Wednesday 1st July, the Creative
Writing A level class spent their morning
at Stonehouse Court having a Writers’
Breakfast. It was a beautiful morning
– hottest day in a decade apparently,
but as it was 9am it hadn’t reached full
boiling point.
Writers’ Breakfast
of writing together how quickly we all
identified each other’s narrative voices.
It was a very enjoyable morning and
highlighted what a strong writers’ group
they have all become over the course of
the year. We are all looking forward to the
second year of this inspiring A level.
In addition to writing books,
Rachel has also written over 20 original
afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4, and
major adaptations for the Classic Series,
Woman’s Hour and also a TV drama
adaptation for BBC2. In 2007 she won
the Tinniswood Award for best radio play.
Rachel moved to writing after a 20 year
On Wednesday 17th September, Rachel
Joyce, the prizewinning author of ‘The
Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’, which
was shortlisted for the Commonwealth
Book Prize and longlisted for the Man
Booker Prize, ‘Perfect’, and ‘The Lovesong
of Miss Queenie Hennessy’ came to speak
to our Sixth Formers.
Visiting Author – Rachel Joyce
career in theatre and television, performing
leading roles for the RSC, the Royal
National Theatre, The Royal Court, and
Cheek by Jowl, winning a Time Out Best
Actress award and the Sony Silver.
Rachel shared with us how she was
inspired into writing by her early love
of words, and how, despite describing
herself as an introvert, she has found
the written word to be an outlet for her
inner voice. The students asked such
detailed questions about characterisation,
structure, inspirations, motivations and
were engaged throughout.
By Elaine Lambert, English Teacher
By Elaine Lambert, English Teacher
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Writers’ Workshops
Rona believes workshops and courses
should be fun as well as educational and
our students were encouraged by her
workshop on writing film scripts.
JAMILA GAVIN
On Thursday 5th March, Indian born
writer, Jamila Gavin, visited Wycliffe to
speak to Year 9 and 10 and also to inspire
our A level Creative Writing and English
Literature students. Born at the foothills
of the Himalayas, to an Indian father and
an English mother, she explained how: ‘I
inherited two rich cultures which have run
side by side throughout my life.’ The A
level students were able to question Jamila
This year the Creative Writing A level
students had the benefit of a number of
expert writers who came in to share ideas,
inspire and teach the class in writers’
workshops.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S WRITERS’ NETWORK
On the 22nd January 2015, Dr Rona
Laycock from the Gloucesterhsire Writers’
Network visited Wycliffe to work with
both the A level Creative Writing Class and
the A level Drama class. Rona is a poet and
short story writer who has been teaching
creative writing since 2001. She has an MA
in Creative and Media Writing and a PhD
in English, both from Swansea University.
on the processes of writing and gained a
valuable insight into her work ethic and
how her ideas develop into stories. It was a
really inspiring session and we hope to see
her in college again.
MARIAN MCCRAITH
Following the seventh annual Creative
Writing Competition, playwright Marian
McCraith, ran a scriptwriting workshop for
our A level Creative Writing Students. She
is always an encouraging and enthusiastic
mentor for our writers in college and
students were taught to think of new ways
into creating dramatic scripts for the stage.
We look forward to her visit next year.
of the evening there was to be a winner
of the reading prize, a winner from each
year group and an overall school winner,
selected by the two judges.
Year 13 member, Chris Clough,
kicked off the evening’s proceedings
as he was the first student to read his
piece. The rest of the 20 pieces duly
followed as each piece was read aloud
by, understandably, somewhat nervous
students.
After the pieces were read, Jenny
Wicks awarded the reading prize. A few
honourable mentions were named before
the prize ultimately went to Noah Murray.
It was then time for Marian McCraith to
Thursday the 7th of March, played host
to the seventh annual Wycliffe College
Creative Writing Competition. Out of
over 200 entries, just 20 were selected to
be placed in the ninth annual anthology
and thus were finalists in the competition.
Parents, grandparents, friends and
others flocked to the Atrium to witness
the event, in which 20 students from
across the year groups read their pieces
aloud. Each student received praise and
comments on the creative merits of their
pieces by playwright, Marian McCraith,
and feedback on their reading that
evening from theatre director and former
Wycliffe student, Jenny Wicks. By the end
Wycliffe College Creative Writing Competition 2015
announce the winners for each year group,
as well as the overall winner. For Year
9, the winner was Gee Gilchrist. Chad
Trainor won the Year 10 prize. Following
him was Natalie Newport, who won
the Year 11 prize. The Year 12 winner
was Stephanie Bagnall and, last but not
least, Chris Clough was awarded the Year
13 prize. The overall prize went to Year
13’s Angus Allen.
Congratulations to all of the 20
finalists and special congratulations
to all the winners from the evening.
We look forward to what next year’s
competition brings.
By Year 12 student, Ben Asquith
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History2
He further imparted the value of
curiosity to the audience. Speaking on
his experience in the National Archives,
he analogised that historians were almost
cryogenic scientists; and the ‘holy
curiosity’ is what warms the pages. He
finished his speech by suggesting that
history was something like vapour trails,
and that historians gather these trails,
ending poignantly by saying, “May the
vapour trail always be with you.”
Questions from the audience
followed, and these sparked interesting
debates on the public appetite for
inquiry. Hennessy remarked that a fear
of inquiry by investigative journalists or
even the government led to little being
documented, removing the paper trail
that shows the thought process behind
He focussed on the importance of
documenting history, saying that
documents are how we record our
memory, and instilling a sense in
the audience that documenting the
experiences one might experience is more
important than we might be led to believe.
His previous career as a journalist for ‘The
Times’ provided a unique perspective on
the prevalence of history in journalism,
calling newspapers the “first rough draft
of history”. He continued to illuminate
the value of being a ‘relentless listener’ in
an era of highly interrogative journalism;
as opposed to continually questioning the
interviewee. Lord Hennessy believed that
simply listening and waiting encouraged
the interviewee to explain themselves and
their thought process.
decisions. Further questions revealed his
opinion on the internet’s prolific history
of ‘whistle-blowers.’ Dismissive of the
actions of Edward Snowden, he claimed
information should indeed be released
unless said information could cause danger
to people. Equally he assessed that though
the internet’s journalism is prolific, it often
required a specialist to simply reassess the
information, and impart an informed view.
He then went on to surmise his thoughts
on the current expansion of Russia into
Ukraine by quoting Clement Attlee; “It
needs watching”.
His speech was a highly informative
and thought-provoking event, enjoyed by
all who attended.
Hennessey Lecture By OW Alex Rogers (2006-2013)
On Friday 27th of February at 7:30pm, Lord Peter Hennessey spoke at Wycliffe on the subject of ‘writing the history of one’s own times’.
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Professor Doyle comes to Wycliffe By Kevin Patrick, History Teacher
friend of the College over the last five
years and was the inaugural speaker at the
On Tuesday evening of the 21st
September, Professor William Doyle,
Emeritus Professor of Bristol University
and a leading world authority on the
French Revolution came to Wycliffe
College to give a lecture and to help guide
students through an exam paper based on
their studies. This event helped AS History
students to improve their understanding
of the origins of the Revolution and how
it came about. Students also had an
opportunity to ask Professor Doyle any
questions about any aspect of his studies.
Professor Doyle has become a good
Convent Club By Nicola Scott, Head of History
were the men who signed the death
warrant of King Charles 1st in 1649 and
it focussed on how his son King Charles
2nd pursued them in revenge. Many were
executed or faced other horrific deaths.
The students, accompanied by Mrs Scott
On Thursday 30th May Wycliffe Senior
School History students were invited to
attend The Convent Club to listen to a
fascinating History lecture by Charles
Spenser based around his book ‘Killers
of the King’ i.e. The Regicides. They
and Mr Patrick, thoroughly enjoyed the
lecture and chatted with him afterwards.
Charles Spenser read History at Oxford
and is the brother of Princess Diana. He
is also a blood relative of both a regicide
and royalty.
Annual History Lecture which the Parents’
Association funds so generously each year.
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ICT
Wycliffe Robofest 2015 saw 60 pupils from
the Prep School and local primary schools
learning to design and build robots. The
children, ranging from Years 5 to 8 built
monorail robots in two-hour workshops
as part of the ICT and Computer Science
Department’s outreach programme.
Mr Ittyavirah, Wycliffe’s Director
of IT, co-ordinated the workshops, and
explained how this event stimulated the
pupil’s interest in robotics and helped
them think like engineers.
“The robotics workshops teach
pupils problem-solving skills, how to
make predictions and how to think like
an engineer,” he said. “Pupils learn to
design and build robots and then make
adjustments to them to correct the design
flaws. It is total team work with some
logical reasoning involved to be successful
in the tasks.”
Children from Wycliffe Preparatory,
King’s Stanley Primary, The Croft Primary
and Amberley Parochial Primary School in
Gloucestershire were invited to the event.
They learned the basics of
embedded systems and electronics with
an open-source electronics prototyping
platform called Arduino. Mr Ittyavirah said
this combined ICT, Science, Technology,
Engineering and Maths skills. The staff
A creative event designed to fuel the enthusiasm of future engineers has resulted in Wycliffe students dreaming of making a robot that plays football.
2
were amazed at how the younger pupils
embraced the steep learning curve to pick
up demanding technical concepts.
Mr Ittyavirah is now planning future
events to encourage young computer
scientists with ambitions, hoping pupils
will go on to design and programme a
football-playing robot.
One Wycliffe Prep School pupil
said: “I have never had so much fun being
creative and learning something technical
at the same time. I now know the basics
and want to learn more about Arduino and
embedded systems. I am looking forward
already to the next Robofest”
“I have never had so much
fun being creative and
learning something technical
at the same time.”
Wycliffe Prep School pupil
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travelled to Germany where it was our
turn to experience the typical German
life. On two of the days we were taken
to our partner’s lessons, where we found
it interesting to compare their school
life with ours. Trier is the oldest city in
Germany; therefore we were lucky enough
to be able to visit various UNESCO
heritage sites, including the Roman baths
and the ancient city gate “Porta Nigra”.
We first made contact with our partners
via email, before their week-long visit in
June. While they were here, they either
stayed with our families or in our boarding
houses, where they took part in our daily
routines. We taught them traditional
English games like rounders, and showed
them some of our tourist attractions in
both Bath and Bristol.
On the 24th of November we
On other days we travelled to Luxembourg
and Bonn, where we saw a special
exhibition on the divide of Germany.
We also really enjoyed shopping at the
Christmas markets in the evenings.
We would recommend everyone
doing German to take part in the next
exchange, as it not only helps your
language skills but it also gives you a true
insight into the German lifestyles.
German Exchange
Over the last year we have taken part in the German Exchange, with our partner school the Freidrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium, Trier.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Languages
By Lucy Haynes, Year 11
LanguagesTHE WYCLIFFIAN
National Speech Contest By Satoko Suzui, Teacher of Japanese
Japan Webpage Contest for schools,
which led to the school being asked to
introduce its blog at the event. Year 10
Eve Gencheva and Year 12 Brian Kan
presented the blog excellently,
and Wycliffe’s nine consecutive years of
reaching the final of the contest, coupled
with its five winners and two top three
contestants’ leads to the school being
highly recognised amongst the Japanese
teaching community and the
Embassy staff.
On the 20th of June 2015, Jane Liu of
Haywardsend, Year 13, took part in the
National Speech Contest, a competition
of Japanese speech on several levels
such as the topic of her speech, her
level of fluency and to answer a series
of spontaneous questions about their
speeches. She excelled and impressed
the entire audience with the level of her
fluency and accuracy, and she received
praise on her speech and her ability with
the language from the head judge.
Furthermore, the department’s
Japanese Trip Blog was shortlisted at the
Languages Uncorked! By Manuella Bray, Teacher of Spanish
The evening expands students’
knowledge and appreciation of wines from
across European countries such as Spain,
France and Germany, and the students
were also allowed to taste Japanese Sake!
The event was hosted by the MFL
teachers, with a theme of ‘white wines’
The annual ‘Languages Uncorked’ event
took place on Thursday 20th November
and was as ever, a great evening! The two
hour wine tasting journey is hosted in
Modern Foreign Languages for the Sixth
Form linguistic students, this year allowing
the students to invite a guest.
this term, and the necessary provision
of continental nibbles to accompany the
wine tasting. All those attending had an
enjoyable and educational evening, and
have requested another wine tasting event
for the New Year.
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Maths
The Team Maths Challenge
summed up the day by saying: “Overall
it was a fun day of maths. It was nice
to be faced with challenging questions,
and working as a team to solve them.”
Barnaby also added: “I enjoyed feeling
part of something and learnt some great
teamwork skills.”
Cheltenham Ladies’ College came
in first place, followed by The King’s
School, Worcester, in second place and
Pate’s Grammar School in third place. Well
done to all the teams that participated in
this very challenging day. Mr Thomas,
a Wycliffe College Mathematics teacher,
who assisted with the event, stated
“It was great to see so many young
people demonstrating enthusiasm for
mathematics.”
Wycliffe College hosted the regional finals
of the UK Mathematics Trust, Team Maths
Challenge (TMC) on Friday 6th of March
2015 in the Sports Hall.
The TMC is run by the UK
Mathematics Trust and involves teams
of four pupils; two Year 8, and two Year
9. The TMC is a competition with four
events that test mathematical problem
solving, communication and teamwork
skills. Students compete against teams
from other schools and colleges from their
region. Talented mathematicians from
25 schools from the surrounding area
participated on the day.
The Wycliffe College team consisted
of Year 8 pupils James Colvin and Sam
Shipperbottom, and Year 9 pupils Ella
Kitching and Barnaby Hudson. Ella
Mathematical Circle
new friends from other schools around
the area, as well as discovering some new
areas of mathematics. Will Robertson from
St Peter’s High School stated he “found
the maths over the two days interesting
but difficult”, and Amy Edwards from
Barnwood Park Arts College said, “It
was enjoyable working with like-minded
people.”
Volunteers with the UKMT including
Dr. Peter Neumann OBE, Dr. Vicky Neale,
both from the University of Oxford, Dr.
Geoff Smith MBE, University of Bath,
Mr. Philip Coggins, formerly of Bedford
School, and several teachers from Wycliffe
College delivered Master Classes on
various subjects. Topics included Modular
Young and capable mathematicians
gathered at Wycliffe College on Monday
15th and Tuesday 16th of June 2015,
for a UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT)
Mathematical Circle. Mathematical Circles
are UKMT enrichment events for able Year
10 students.
Pupils from Farmor’s School,
Gloucester Academy, Barnwood Park Arts
College, Churchdown School Academy,
St Peter’s High School, The Crypt School,
Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School,
and Cleeve School joined some pupils
from Wycliffe College for two days of a
mathematically demanding programme.
It was a great opportunity for these
pupils to discuss mathematics and make
Arithmetic, Complexity Theory, Algebra,
Geometry and a Physics activity.
Evgenia Gencheva of Wycliffe
College summed up the two days saying:
“It was great to meet people interested in
Maths. The lecturers made difficult Maths
seem interesting and easy to grasp.”
Wycliffe College hosts several UKMT
events throughout the year. The UKMT is a
registered charity whose aim is to advance
the education of children and young
people in mathematics. Many of the pupils
indeed felt that this UKMT event made
them think about pursuing the study of
mathematics further.
By Mark Dennis, Teacher of Mathematics
By Mark Dennis, Teacher of Mathematics
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Politics2
Wycliffe on the Campaign Trail By Peter Woolley, Deputy Head
Despite the chilly weather, the political
temperature reached boiling point at a
recent Westminster Conference attended
by the Year 12 Politics students. As the
parties get ready to launch their campaigns
in readiness for the general election next
May, Wycliffe students got a taste of things
to come from a variety of leading party
politicians. The Speaker, John Bercow,
set the scene before the likes of William
Hague and Nadine Dorries (for the
Conservatives), Tristram Hunt and Rachel
Reeves (for Labour) and Simon Hughes
from the Liberal Democrats all promoted
– and defended – their stances on key
issues ranging from the state of health
care, to education reform, to public sector
cuts. However, and maybe not for entirely
positive reasons, the star of the day was
Nigel Farage. Whilst few appeared to agree
with UKIP’s views on the EU (especially
immigration controls), he certainly
managed to engage and stimulate a heated
debate amongst the student body.
A long day but it was great to witness
party political democracy in action and
it was healthy for Wycliffe students to
mix and mingle with a large number of
students from across the country that
had one thing in common; a deep seated
political curiosity and engagement with
the political process – something all the
speakers endorsed and encouraged.
Wycliffe goes to Wales By Peter Woolley, Deputy Head
In late November, the Year 12 Politics
group set sail for a wet and windy Wales
to visit the Welsh Assembly Building in
Cardiff. After an entertaining tour of the
architecturally impressive building, we
watched a lively session of FMQs (First
Ministers’ Questions) where the leader
of the Labour majority – Carwyn Jones –
faced a barrage of questions in English and
Welsh from members of the Opposition.
Leading this verbal assault was our very
own Andrew RT Davies (OW 1981-
85) – leader of the Welsh Conservatives.
Andrew was then kind enough to take
time out from his very busy schedule to
meet us afterwards for a cup of tea over a
Q&A session with the students. Andrew
provided us with a fascinating insight into
his own farming background, shared some
of his memories of School House and
didn’t hold back when asked his views on
a variety of political issues ranging from
the impact of UKIP, the prospects for
Welsh independence, his assessment of
Cameron’s leadership and the chances of a
Tory victory at the next general election.
A splendid day enjoyed by all which
will provide an interesting contrast to the
visit planned to the House of Commons
next February.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
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Religious Studies
Questions of Faith
On Saturday the 9th of May, Wycliffe’s Year
8 students participated in the third annual
inter-faith dialogue event ‘Questions of
Faith’; whereby students posed questions
they had prepared to representatives of a
range of different beliefs and worldviews.
The panel, composed of a number of
Senior School staff, consisted of a range of
traditions including a variety of different
Christian denominations, a syncretic blend
of Catholicism with Buddhism, and finally
myself as someone without a religious or
spiritual faith.
This event afforded students an
invaluable opportunity to directly question
any aspect of beliefs and practices that
they were curious about, from the
perspective of a real person of that faith
or background, as well as seeing another
dimension to the staff they will get to
know at the Senior School through their
transitions into Year 9 and beyond. The
issues raised by the clearly engaged and
inquisitive students were addressed with
open and sincere consideration from the
members of staff involved, while the whole
event was expertly hosted by Mr Arman.
Both staff and students commented that
they had all felt they learnt and gained
something from this experience.
The questions ranged from the
metaphysical and moral – such as the
existence and nature of life after death,
and the impact of one’s beliefs and sense
of meaning upon actions – to the more
practical and personal, including whether
a lack of belief constituted an absence of
any higher meaning or purpose in life.
The quality of the questions, along with
the genuine interest and sensitivity with
which they were posed, were testament
not only to the preparation Mr Arman put
in with the students prior to the event,
but also to their own intellectual curiosity.
Furthermore, the students’ patience was
exemplary, with the event once again
lasting just over an hour and a half with a
number of hands still raised by the end!
By Chris Hancock, Head of Religious Studies
Six students going to America
Six Wycliffe students have been offered
places at prestigious American universities.
This builds on last year’s success, when
four Wycliffe students took up their places
to study Stateside.
Wycliffe offers a unique support
service to help students gain entry to US
universities. Those wishing to study in an
American University must sit a Scholastic
Aptitude Exam, which tests critical
reading, maths, and critical writing.
“American Universities want to
accept the person, not just their academic
record. They want to ensure you fit in with
the university ethos,” said Betsy Wentzel,
US Applications Coordinator.
Nigerian teenager Oluyomi Awosope,
17, will study Economics at Oklahoma
State University.
“I would never have managed the
personal statement without the help I
received at Wycliffe,” he said.
Twins Eleanor and Peter Carr are
bound for the States in September. Eleanor
will study at the University of Missouri
while her brother will study at North
Carolina University.
Nicholas Brown was offered a
$60,000 scholarship to Seattle University
but has decided to go to the University of
Washington.
Christopher Clough will study at
Pennsylvania State University and Hannah
Kent will be studying at North Carolina
State University.
Mrs Wentzel said that being accepted
and attending an American university
helps a student stand out when they enter
the job market.
“It’s a highly competitive market
and the more things you have that set
you apart the better,” she said. “Being
accepted at an American university shows
independence and initiative.
I’m so proud of all of these students
for their hard work and determination.
Their futures look bright as there will, I
am sure, be lots of opportunities ahead of
them.”
American Universities
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Science2
Birds of Prey By Justin Mace, Head of Biology
On Tuesday 23rd June, Year 12 biologists
visited The International Centre for Birds
of Prey at Newent. Jimmy, who has been
working there for a number of years,
gave them a guided tour of the centre.
He talked through the adaptations of the
different birds and showed some of them
up close. The students were all especially
taken with the Jungle Owlet (above left).
As soon as the tour had finished, the
students were then treated to the first of
two flying displays; a Lanner falcon was
put through its paces as well as a Grey
Buzzard eagle and a beautiful Ashy-faced
owl.
After the display the students had a
picnic lunch and toured the grounds and
aviaries. The second display of the day
showcased the flying talents of a Saker
falcon and a Merlin, as well as the less
impressive but more comical antics of a
Burrowing owl. The finale involved a flight
of four Yellow-billed kites flying at once
and catching food morsels in flight. The
trip has already added a valuable context
to the ecology unit which the students are
currently studying, and was also a lovely
day out after all of their hard work in their
examinations.
Chemistry Department goes to Bristol University
On the 5th November, Wycliffe Chemistry
Department took the Year 12 Chemistry
students to Bristol University for what
proved an invaluable day.
Wycliffe has very strong links with
the Chemistry Department at Bristol
University. They have visited Wycliffe in
the past and given demonstration lectures
and even allowed Wycliffe chemists to
use the “Spectroscopy in a Suitcase”
equipment in the school. However, there
are still some aspects of A level Chemistry
that are beyond the scope of even the
most well-resourced school and therefore,
these regular visits to Bristol University
are highly beneficial to the students. The
Wycliffe chemists were able to use the
equipment in the Bristol teaching labs to
extract, purify and analyse caffeine using
solvent extraction, rotary evaporation and
infrared spectroscopy.
Having completed the practical side
of the visit, the students then had the
opportunity to meet and question two
former Wycliffians, Rosie Grindrod, who is
in the second year of her Chemistry degree
and Ceska Waggett, who is in the fourth
and final year of her Chemical Physics
degree. Both girls are currently studying
at Bristol.
The day concluded with two
fascinating lectures and the students are
now looking forward to putting their new-
found knowledge into practice!
STEM Day
Hundreds of primary school children
discovered that the proof of the experiment
is in the eating.
The youngsters made ice cream in
Wycliffe’s new food experiment labs, part of
the £850,000 refurbishment of the school’s
Science block. More than 400 children took
part in the STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics) day. It
also involved 88 Wycliffe Sixth Formers,
who taught or acted as guides during the
science day.
Throughout the day they enjoyed
lessons and talks on everything from biology
to steam cars.
The primary schools taking part were:
Stroud schools Minchinhampton; Amberley,
Rosary and St Dominic’s; Wotton schools
The British School, Charfield and Bluecoat
and Stonehouse schools Park Juniors and
Hopelands.
Children made slime, engines and
structures with spaghetti and marshmallows,
wrote code and watched birds of prey
in action. They also learned about the
technology behind Bloodhound, a project to
construct the first 1,000mph car.
Companies and organisations
supporting the day included Messier Dowty,
Renishaw, IDS, Advantis, Mantra Learning,
Stroud Beekeepers, and the James Dyson
Foundation.
The STEM is the brainchild of
Matthew Archer, Head of Science
at Wycliffe. “If you can get children
enthusiastic about science at an earlier age
then they are likely to pursue it longer in
school and hopefully as a career. That is
what today is all about; to make children say
‘Wow’ when they think about the sciences.”
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PASS is pleased to report on another
rewarding year, utilising our funds to help
pupils throughout the school to experience
or achieve that bit more, and adding those
special extra touches to life in the Houses.
We have enjoyed meeting pupils from
many interest areas and Year Groups, and
are invariably impressed by the presentation
of their bids. These have been conducted
in an impressive, charismatic and well-
planned way; the questions from the PASS
committee being answered with authority,
intelligence and often humour.
Below is a list of a few of the
individual projects PASS has supported
throughout the last academic year – some
large, some small – all in addition to its
support of academic prizes and cultural
travel awards. The list bears testimony
to a diverse and wide-ranging scope of
interests and activities, and is a credit both
to the students who have presented their
proposals, and to staff members who have
given of their time and support.
Masks for Theatre Studies; blankets
for Haywardsend; cooking equipment for
Haywardsfield and Ivy Grove; building
materials for Robinson; a table-tennis
table for Loosley; commissioning a play
from Stroud-based dramatist, Jamila
Gavin; a camera for the squash club; a
barbeque for Wards; dance mats; computer
programming; Christmas decorations for
Lampeter; fireworks for Science Day; the
CCF’s Alpine Challenge and shooting team
and newt pots(!) for Duke of Edinburgh
awards.
In the coming year, PASS would
encourage members of the school
community to ‘think big’: there is a
sizeable fund available for deserving and
inspired schemes – whether for house
improvements or personal challenges – and
the committee will welcome ambitious,
perhaps longer-term projects. We can’t
promise to back every idea, but we will give
positive consideration to all that we receive.
Wycliffe Parents’ Association Senior School (PASS)
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Marriages
Alexandra Selfe, College librarian and
husband, James, welcomed the safe
arrival of baby Astrid Emilia (named after
Alex’s favourite author Astrid Lindgren)
on Saturday 25th April 2015. Astrid
weighed 9lb 3oz.
Ross Beamish, Head of Media Studies and
fiancée, Liyarna Lyes, were delighted to
announce the safe arrival of Jack William
Beamish on 21st September 2014. Jack
weighed 8lbs 7oz.
Benoy Ittyavirah, Head of ICT and wife,
Anna, were pleased to announce the arrival
of Eoin George on 5th July 2015. Eoin
weighed 6lbs 8oz. He was born in
Gloucester Royal Hospital.
Births
Births
Nikki Green, Head of Art and partner,
Adam Hinks, celebrated the safe arrival of
their daughter, Peggy, on 16th November
2014. Peggy weighed 8lbs 5oz and is a
much cherished sister to Albie and Wilf,
who are completely besotted and she has
already got the boys completely twisted
around her little finger!
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Engagements, Marriages & Births
German teacher, Nadja Mikesch married
David James Stephens on the 15th August
2015. The ceremony was held at the
Stroud registry office followed by a family
meal and a handfasting ceremony at
Tickmorend in Horsley. They are now
Mr & Mrs Stephens-Mikesch.
Charlotte Conway, History teacher, and
her husband, Alan were delighted to
welcome Matilda Elizabeth Lois, born
on Tuesday 11th August in Southmead
Hospital weighing in at 9lb7oz.
SPEA
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Houses
THE WYCLIFFIAN3A year in the life of Ivy Grove
Head of House : Emma Bastin
House Motto : If you can dream it, you can do it
These included our fantastic House
cooking evenings run on the weekend by
Mr and Mrs Lunch where we get to opt
into helping to cook the evening meal or if
the weather’s good a BBQ cooked by Mr
Lunch on the weekend and the occasional
fun treat in the evening such as the ice
cream sundaes.
The year kicked off at rapid pace
with House song rehearsals beginning
almost immediately with our song this year
being ‘Girlfriend’ by Avril Lavigne, and
whilst we did not place, we all had a really
great time! Our next House event was the
Christmas Dinner with Haywardsfield who
really swept us off our feet by giving us
surprises in the form of chocolate, roses
and music in order to win us over. We
returned the favour by offering them a
party night with an epic dance off on the
Wii. The actual night was again great fun
with a photo booth that caught a lot of
interesting poses and a few funny awards.
This year also saw a lot of our girls
doing well in lots of sport with Sophie
Caesar and Omina Jones representing the
1st XI .Natasha Wait, Yulia Ukrayinska,
Katie Briggs and Janouk Brynjarsdottir
Kok represented the U15s and Izzy
Naish, Tillie Graham and Saorise Purkess
represented the U14s. We have also had
a number of strong rowers; Rhiannon
Tasker, Georgie Barr, Cindy Liu, Evgenia
Gencheva, Nadia Hirsi, Angela Chen,
Gee Gilchrist and Fenella Purkess taking
part in competitions throughout the
year. In the Netball season Natasha Wait
played for the U15a, and Izzy Naish
won a bronze medal in the South West
regional finals as a part of the U14s and
has earned herself a place in the county
development Netball squad. The Summer
Term has seen Sophie Caesar captaining
the Senior Rounders team that included
Becky Bidwell, Emma Bastin, and Caitlen
Cooper. For the U15s Tasha Wait played
and recently competed for the district, for
the U14s Izzy Naish was Vice Captain
and Emma Livingstone and Omina Jones
played team Tennis. These players and
others within House really helped in
the inter-house sport competitions with
everyone having great fun and lots of
enthusiasm that even though we didn’t
win any we always performed well and
came very close on several occasions! (2nd
in Rounders)
There have also been many girls
getting involved in the school play the
‘Fiddler on the roof’ with Sophie Caesar,
Louise Elliott and Caitlen Cooper having
lead roles and Rhiannon, Alexandra
and Nadia Hirsi forming the supporting
cast. Frances and Fenella played their
instruments as part of the school orchestra
which was amazing on each performance.
We also have a number of budding
actresses that have taken part in LAMDA
exams; Sophie Caesar, Alexandra Daws,
Erin Holley and Nadia Hirsi have all done
extremely well.
There have also been a number of
music events which the girls have been
involved in such as House Music where
we were teamed with Haywardsfield.
First of all, we all got involved in the
prelims where we had to sing and play an
instrument (we won this round!!) and
then we performed four pieces in front of
the whole School which told the story of
a rocky romance between the two Houses.
We have also had a large number of our
House getting involved in choir, VOX and
the various concerts around school with all
of the musicians giving the most incredible
performances and making the rest of the
House really proud not to mention a bit
envious of their talent! In addition, we had
inter-house debating where the Juniors
Saoirse, Alex and Eve came second with
some truly fantastic arguments that left the
opposition stumped! The Seniors Emma
Bastin and Francesca Robinson came first
again, as per usual!
Lots of Ivy girls have also been
involved in the Chapel and have even won
the chapel prize this term for our theme
of being holy. Alex Daws and Nadia Hirsi
must get a special mention for their very
brave and informative talk alongside Mr
Lunch on dyslexia, as well as our amazing
House assistant Miss Madden for her
solitary talk on hope. This year has been
incredible with so much going on and it
would not have been the same without our
super girls and House staff!
This year at Ivy has been busy as always with many fun activities being run throughout the year, such as the usual inter-house competitions as well as a few within House.
Housemistress : Mrs Emma Lunch
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A year in the life of Loosley House
Head of House : Harry Ford & Anna Morgan
House Motto : International bonds
Housemaster : Mr G Buckley
Starting the year with the House Song
was a great way in which to integrate new
members of the House and create a strong
alliance which continued throughout
the year. Singing ‘Wavin flag’ became a
team effort, hugely led by Hannah Kent
and Ieva Povilonyte. Loosley put on a
performance of which each and every
participant can be proud.
This year sport has become a
substantial part of the House, with teams
competing in House Rugby and Hockey
in the penultimate week of the Christmas
term, both boys and girls fielding strong
teams in both competitions. Special
mentions go to Anna Poliakova and Pilar
RubioPeña who stepped in having never
played hockey before and Ben Clarke
leading the boys in some tough rugby
fixtures with the support of players such
as Henry Moss.
The Autumn Term came to an end
with the annual Christmas dinner, which
was an opportunity for the whole House
to come together after a stressful term
for both the Lower Sixth who were just
finding their feet at a new school, and
Upper Sixth who needed to hit the ground
running in their final year. The evening was
filled with a fantastic dinner accompanied
by speeches and awards to lead us into
an evening of dancing which saw many
hobbling to the bus at the end!
Sport showed dominance again
with yet more appearances from people
new to sports with Rachel Ibanga taking
part in House Netball. The girls put up
a fierce fight with the other Houses. The
boys fought strongly in the Football,
with Captain Arturs Ribakovs having an
outstanding tournament and they were
very unfortunate to miss out on winning
this year’s inter-house Football but fought
for an excellent second place. Squash has
also become a huge part of the House,
with Amelia Henley, Ellie Jones and
Duncan McKillop all joining the House
this year alongside Arhant Simah. Their
participation in the Wycliffe squash squad
boosted the school to both the mens’ and
womens’ nationals squash titles.
House Music made stars shine
within the House; the hugely talented
Julija Laksa played the piano beautifully
with what can only be described as the
best performance of the night. Ramazan
Samat and Alberto Guerro Martinuzzi
took on the huge task of learning the
song ‘Wonderwall’ on the guitar in only
three hours, however they surpassed
expectations with a stunning performance,
alongside the Loosley choir, which brought
great entertainment and all had great fun
participating.
The year came to an end with
the House Film. Hours of preparation,
editing and filming were put into such an
incredible film by Linara Gaisini. Lead
actor Tommy Xiao is hoping to direct us
to win the competition for the fourth year
running!
Overall it has been an extremely
fun-filled and active year in Loosely Halls
and we are sad to say goodbye. Everyone
in this House has become family but we
know that next year in Loosley will be just
as much fun, for the remaining year and
the new Year 12 who will join them. We
would also like to take this opportunity to
wish Ben Clarke and Victoria Daws all the
best in leading the House to more trophies
in the coming year, with help from
deputies Artur Ribavovs and Zoe Mitchell.
By Harry Ford and Anna Morgan
This year has been an entertaining and eventful year for Loosley, with half the House being replaced by a host of different characters who brought a new atmosphere to the House.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
A year in the life of Robinson House
Head of House : George Turner
House Motto : Contribution, connection and conduct
Housemaster : Mr J Mace
As always, Robinson has defended its title
as a notoriously fierce competitor in the
inter-house sporting competitions; we saw
our Juniors win House Rugby in the first
term and come the final term, we stole the
gold in Sports Day for Senior and Junior
Fencing, as well as Junior Rowing. Well
done to all who took part.
However, Robinson witnessed a
change of tune, as 2015 saw our first
House Music win in several years. Head
of House George Turner, along with
his musical maestro Boris Lourenco,
choreographed and delivered an
outstanding performance to take away
the trophy at the end of the night.
This will always be remembered as
part of Robinson’s history… as will the
celebrations that followed!
Inter-house competitions are just one
aspect of the vast spectrum that has been
life in Robinson for the last year. Despite
the hectic schedule for many of the boys,
we still managed to fit in a lot outside of
our sports and studies. Winter term saw
the infamous Christmas Dinner, which was
thoroughly enjoyed by all. In the second
term, Mr Mace, having reared a pig, taught
us how to make ‘real’ sausages from it! A
deer was then brought in, with which we
made jerky out of, and was an experience
for most of us who had never eaten one
before! Many of the boys have certainly
learnt a thing or two about preparing meat,
as well as making desserts, with a bucket
of tiramisu being made, and devoured in
the same evening, leaving no remnants of
leftovers.
The new patio being installed in
Robinson’s back garden has seen many of
the boys pulling their socks up to make
their mark on the House, with notable
mentions going to Angus Wightman and
George Turner, and of course Mr Mace.
The patio will allow for more convenient
barbeques in the future, and for a more
open space.
This year in Robinson, we have seen the arrival of many new boys who have all, in their own way, helped to create a new look to the House. This included winning our first House Music in many years, as well as competing in all other House activities.
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Overall it has been a very successful
year for Robinson House, and one that I’m
sure will be followed up by an even better
one next year under the leadership of Illya
Nuzbrokh and Angus Wightman; I wish
the lads all the best.
“[The House Music victory]
will always be remembered as
part of Robinson’s history...
as will the celebrations that
followed!”
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A Year in the life of Ward’s House
Our matrons Corrine and Fran are the
true sources of this environment. Their
office is always open to anyone who
wishes to have a talk, and they really are
like our second mums.
Ward’s has had a slight losing streak
for many years now as we never quite
managed to come out on top; however,
we kick-started the year by winning the
House Song competition. Our rendition
of ‘Year 3000’ by Busted placed us first in
the House Song competition, outdoing all
other competitors. This is the first time
Ward’s has won the House Song in over
10 years, and so as you can imagine the
boys couldn’t hold back their excitement.
After a small celebration, that night we
went to bed with pride that Ward’s House
had reached an all new high!
We have also managed to win
House Football this year, beating the
favourites, Loosely. This was a well fought
competition, with a well-deserved win.
We also just missed out in House Rugby,
with a couple of our key players out due
to injury.
This year, we also got our hands on
some brand new House kit. Each of the
boys in Ward’s now has a personalised
House shirt belonging to them. This kit is
meant to be used in all the House Sports
competitions, and while we always had the
performance we now have the look
to go with it.
Head of House : Subash Ale & Alex Schranz
Ward’s had a few improvements last
summer, decorated with a new kitchen
being installed and common room
refurbished. This really cheered the place
up and provided a much needed face lift
to the building. The common room is now
an area in which people feel much more
comfortable and provides an environment
in which people are able to relax and enjoy
themselves.
Midway through the year, we went to
PASS (Parents’ Association Senior School)
committee meeting and secured ourselves
the funding for a brand new BBQ and
the equipment that comes with it. This
has been a great source of entertainment
for the boys with a BBQ on a Saturday
evening being the regular event. This
provided us with vital time in which we
are able to relax and have fun with our
friends away from our exams during the
Summer Term.
The last week of school saw every
House compete in Sports Day. The day is
split into two halves, with the first being
the Legacy Sports and the second the
standard Sports Day. During the Legacy
Sports event we managed to secure wins
in the table tennis and then the basketball.
This makes it the second year in a row that
we have won basketball. In the afternoon,
we had boys pushing themselves to the
limit, however here we fell short with only
a few wins in events.
In House Tennis, Felix and
Christian, a doubles partnership had a
hard fought and well deserved win. They
battled it out to come back from 4-1
down, and after a tough match, defeated
their opponents to finish first and bring
back the trophy.
The last Thursday of the term was
the House Film competition. Here every
House puts together a short film around
six minutes long and it is then displayed
in front of the whole school in Sibly Hall.
Joe Oliver dedicated his last few weeks
of school to create Ward’s piece. In this
competition we finished second to Loosely
with our film ‘Hogwards’. The films were
judged on technical aspects, meaning we
lost out to Loosely even though everyone
enjoyed our piece much more.
Finally to finish off the year, we had
the much anticipated Ward’s summer
party with our partnered girls’ House
Lampeter, held in the garden of Ward’s.
We had caterers who provided us with
excellent food. We also had a bouncy
castle set up and many of the House staff
from both Houses decided to join us that
evening. The Ward’s party was an excellent
way to finish the year and everyone
thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Massive thanks must go to the
Golightly family who do a fantastic job of
looking after each and every one of us, and
without them Ward’s would truly not be
the same.
By Alex Schranz
House Motto : Probably the best House in the world
Ward’s House prides itself on its friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Everyone is cheerful and we aim to support each other throughout the year.
Housemaster : Mr Andrew Golightly
THE WYCLIFFIAN
A year in the life of Collingwood House
Head of House : Alexander Gilchrist & Ellie Roberts
House Motto : Faster, higher, stronger!
Housemaster : Mr Kevin Patrick
All students have been exceptional in
studies and activities this year and have led
Collingwood to another successful year.
Almost immediately at the start
of the school year, preparation began
for the House Song; the song we chose
was “Stacy’s Mom”, which was decided
through House vote. Rehearsals are
definitely a challenge as a Day House, but
we feel we coped well and in the end, the
evening was a lot of fun. On reflection this
was probably not the best song choice for
the House, but we still had a really good
night, and as Heads of House, we garnered
many comments about how well the
House performed and improved on years
gone by.
As December approached, Christmas
dinner arrived. This was held at the ‘Old
Lodge’ in Minchinhampton; it was a lovely
evening for all with comical awards which
had been voted within the House! There
have been many other House socials as
well as a Sixth Form curry evening which
have really helped to bring the House
together, creating a sense of community
with interaction across the years.
House Music came around in the
Spring Term; and with hard work from
many talented musicians, including Jack
Evans’ solo cover of Ed Sheeran, and
Rohan Easby uncovering his hidden
talent of piano in a beautiful rendition of
I Giorni. Overall we came second, and we
could not have been any prouder of the
House, as this was the first time in four
years that we had even been placed in the
top three; especially as the competition
was very fierce!
Sport has also been successful this
year as always, with wins in Senior Boys’
House Rugby and Junior Girls’ House
Tennis to name a few. The annual Sports
Day was also a day of great fun, although
we did not win anything overall. However,
we did have our individual shining stars in
the form of Senior Boys’ Squash (Charlie
Richards & Jack Price) and Junior
Girls’ Squash (Ellie Bathurst & Mary
Evans), Senior Boys’ Rowing (competed
multi-gender by Kate Hampson & Jack
Evans), Junior Boys’ Shooting (Joshua
Currie & Alex Seymour) and Junior Girls’
Badminton (Emily Riley & Alex Bolton) in
the legacy morning.
As the year comes to a close, we still
have one more House event we are yet to
see the results of with House Film on the
last Thursday of term.
Alex and I have immensely enjoyed
our time as Heads of House, and have
been proud to share our knowledge and
experience with new pupils to the school
directing Year 9s into where they are going
and watching them progress from the
start to now. Our time in Collingwood
has been varied, yet the experience of
Head of House has been wonderful. To
be a leadership figure, helping to run
the House from the student perspective
has been an experience which will never
compare to any other. We would like to
wish Charlie and Georgie the best of luck
in their leadership, and hope for another
successful year.
By Ellie Roberts
Collingwood has had another busy year, with lots going on within the Year Groups! September saw the arrival of many new students in both Year 9 and Year 12, who we believe settled down and fitted in to Collingwood very quickly.
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A year in the life of Haywardsend
Many girls in the House have huge
personal achievements this year; Abigail
Covill achieved a merit in her grade
eight singing, Jane Liu participated in
the Mehong Cup, a Japanese speaking
competition, Holly Bankes achieved the
tenth fastest time in the country for the
800m as well as qualifying for nationals,
and Zoe Davison represented Great
Britain this year and became the national
champion in Triathlon.
The Autumn Term brought with
it the House Song, The girls all pulled
together working as a unit with the House
prefect team leading the way and making
the House song a resounding success
coming a close second to Ward’s, with
only one point in it. This was the best
result the House has achieved many years.
The Spring Term brought many fun
and exciting events including; House
Music, House Debating, the Year 13
House trip to TGIF and the school play
which was chosen as ‘The Fiddler on
the Roof’ this year. The Haywardsend
girls revealed an incredible range of
talents by participating in many of the
events this term. The combined efforts
Head of House : Elise Clements & Elizabeth Puig
of Haywardsend and Robinson led the
Houses to a combined victory in the
House Music event which was greatly
celebrated by both Houses that evening;
this could not have been achieved if
it were not for the efforts of all the
members of both Houses during the
preliminary rounds, once again showing
Haywardsend’s team spirit. Several of
the girls showed immense ability in the
form of their House Debates this year
with Beth Puig and Jane Liu representing
the Seniors, with Lauren Parker, Megan
Nash and Georgie Febery representing
the Juniors. The Year 13 trip to TGIF was
a great night which truly highlighted the
closeness of the Sixth Form. Many of the
Haywardsend girl’s contributions lead to
the outstanding play ‘The Fiddler on the
Roof’; girls who took part included Teri
Butcher, Lucy Parker, Annabelle Pearce,
Alice Dean, Shasha Pysarieva and Risa
Miyajima.
Sports Day is always a fun occasion
at Wycliffe and this year was no different
with the legacy events allowing the entire
House to participate in various events
ranging from Football to Fencing. But
House Motto : Get involved, have fun and try your best
Housemistress : Mrs Sharyn Trainor
Haywardsend’s true strength always lies in
the athletics, with the Juniors winning the
Junior Sports Day for the second year in a
row. The Seniors were very unfortunate to
lose to Ivy with it coming down to the wire
in the relay and eventually the result of the
medley relay was the decider with Ivy just
gaining victory in the end.
This year Haywardsend continued
two long standing traditions, involving the
entire House – the Easter egg raffle and the
Race for Life. This year we had a vote as
to which charity we would support. Bath
Intensive Care Unit was a clear winner, it
being very close to the hearts of several of
the girls in House. The Easter egg raffle
this year was hugely successful with all
the girls’ efforts enabling us to raise over
£250. For the previous three years the
Haywardsend girls have taken part in the
Race for Life in Gloucestershire and this
year was no different with the girls raising
an impressive £280 for Cancer Research.
This led to Haywardsend winning the
Charity Cup in the Summer Term.
This year has been another enjoyable and successful year for all the Haywardsend girls, with both individual and collective successes.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
A year in the life of Haywardsfield House
Head of House : Jasper Meehan
House Motto : Collectively celebrating individual achievements
Housemaster : Mr Ian Russell
Friendships throughout the year have
turned to lifelong companionships, no
matter the distance after School ends.
From Russia to Thailand or Spain to
China, living so closely to one another
would inevitably result in being close to
those around you but Haywardsfield offers
something completely unique, a genuine
constant interest in the philosophy and
comforts of those you are surrounded by.
This was highlighted through this year’s
House Music. Despite not coming first,
Haywardsfield was said to be ‘entertaining
and unexpected’ by the judge, Tom
Hartley. Within the competition, nearly
every member of the House was involved;
something no other House could offer.
The new addition of not only the
Year 9s, DY students and some Year 12s
but also our House Master, Ian Russell has
created a new flavour to the House. In the
past, Haywardsfield has not been regarded
as a particularly sporty House, yet this
year we defied all odds by winning both
Junior and Senior divisions of the Sports
Day competitions as well as two of our
members gaining the Junior and Senior
individual awards for best athletes (Jack
Newey – Junior award, Yomi Awosope –
Senior award). This was a very successful
and enjoyable day, with every member of
the House competing.
As a Head of House, it has been
wonderful seeing the House and the
people within it grow and learn exactly
what Haywardsfield offers. I believe
that next year’s Head of House, Luke
Whitmarsh, and Deputy, Tom Parcell,
will emulate this well. Their leadership
skills and respect that they have gained
throughout the year will result in the
House being run in an organised and
enthusiastic manner. The future for
Haywardsfield is extremely bright, and can
only get brighter.
By Jasper Meehan
The Haywardsfield family, like any other family in the world, is welcoming and comforting yet in its own special way is culturally diverse.
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“Friendships throughout
the year have turned to
lifelong companionships,
no matter the distance after
school ends.”
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A year in the life of Lampeter
Head of House : Amanda Khatri and Ellie Carr
House Motto : Never, never, never give up!
Housemistress : Mrs Louise Knighton-Callister
We welcomed many new students at the
beginning of the year, including a new
matron, Jean, and they have been an
excellent addition to the House. It has
been an exciting year for Lampeter, in
which in one of the biggest competitions,
the House Song, we came third singing
Cee Lo Green’s ‘Forget You’. As we
approached Christmas we were very
thankful to the PASS committee who
gave us funds for Christmas decorations,
making Lampeter feel even more homely.
We also had our annual Christmas dinner,
and we were paired with Ward’s this year.
All of the girls looked beautiful and the
dinner gave them a chance to let their
hair down after what had been a very
busy and stressful term. We were also
fortunate enough to host the South African
exchange student, Wendy Van Wyk, for
the second year running (clearly we have
a good reputation over there) who was
an absolute delight and became a true
Lampeter lady.
Moving on the Spring Term, many
Lampeter girls including, Chessie Turner,
Kirsty Turbott, Liza Mavrodi, and Rufina
Valiullina, participated in the school
play, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and helped
to make it a great success! Moreover,
Lampeter joined with Ward’s House to
put their best musicians forward in the
House Song, providing an entertaining
evening which exhibited their many
talents. Additionally, the Senior Netballers
won inter-house Netball for the second
year in a row! On the academic side, we
participated in House Debating when the
Seniors, Mariana Botelho Bonamigo and
Carina La Garde, argued excellent points
but unfortunately lost to Collingwood.
Similarly for the Juniors, Laura Robinson
and Holly Tyler put on an excellent
debate, revelling in much support from the
Lampeter girls.
In the final term, despite always
being stressful due to exams, the Lampeter
girls proved their resilience by participating
in inter-house Rounders, where both the
Seniors and the Juniors won. This was
topped off by the Senior Tennis players
of Lampeter, where Holly Tyler smashed
her opponents and won the inter-house
Tennis.
On a more personal note, we would
like to congratulate the new Heads of
Houses Aanis Reymond and Mariana
Bonamigo who we are certain will do
an excellent job and bring Lampeter
many more successes. It has been an
absolute pleasure knowing each and every
Lampeter girl and member of staff in
Lampeter who have contributed towards
making our experiences at Wycliffe
memorable. Our word of advice would
be that the time here goes by so quickly,
and so you should cherish each and every
moment. We have started a tradition
of doing House breakfast regularly, and
getting all the girls together every two
weeks for House movie night. This has
made the House even closer, strengthening
the relationships throughout each Year
Group. Lampeter is a lively, homely House
that we are both truly honoured to have
been a part of for the last few years and
we know it will only continue to flourish
under Mrs. KC’s wing.
By Amanda Khatri and Ellie Carr
To be a Lampetarian is to be a lot of things: kind, loyal and enthusiastic. 2015 has been no different, as Lampeter has seen pass through its doors, a wide array of what we can only call true Lampetarians.
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Trips &Expeditions
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Trips & Expeditions
Field Studies in Arran
It took several hours to reach our
destination and the weather was a
typical British mixture. We left a damp
Stonehouse very early on the Friday
morning and just north of Manchester we
experienced the first flurries of snow. By
the time we reached the Lake District, the
snow had capped the mountains in both
Cumbria to the west and the Pennines to
the east. The scene was very impressive for
lunch, especially for a motorway services.
Things then improved as we drove into
Scotland and, by the time we reached the
Ferry Port at Ardrossen, it was a balmy,
sunny, 15 degrees.
The ferry crossing was calm but
spectacular, as the sunset behind the Isle
of Arran threw up red and orange hews
silhouetting the mountains of the island
in black. We arrived in Loch Ranza and
settled into our accommodation, ready for
the next day’s fieldwork.
On Saturday we set about recording
changes that take place along the River
Chalmerdale. The fine weather of the
previous day had disappeared, and it
had a more seasonal chill to the wind.
We started high up near the source and
gradually made our way down the valley
to the mouth, recording the velocity, area
and discharge of the river together with
the bed load. In the evening we wrote up
our methods and findings and statistically
tested our hypothesis.
The Sunday was a much more
pleasant day as the clouds had blown away
and temperatures had risen.
The morning was spent looking at
new fieldwork, sampling techniques on
a salt marsh. In the afternoon we had a
tour of the island, taking in some of the
key geological features that attract many to
the island.
Despite the journey, it was a
successful trip. It was amazing to see so
many stars in the unpolluted night sky
and even more spectacular to get a brief
glimpse at a meteorite as it brightly burnt
up in the sky above Scotland.
By Richard Pender, Head of Geography
In March, the Upper and Lower Sixth went to the Isle of Arran, in Scotland as part of the field studies experience.
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eco-system with a large population of
leopards. Its summit is 2,776m.
Our second mountain was KipiPiri
which was much harder both navigation
-wise and physically, as it was a very steep
slog through unpaved dense forest until
we reached the summit of about 4,000m.
We then camped further down where
we had to do a night watch with armed
guards to protect the camp from some
very aggressive bulls!
After this we had a rest day to sort
out our kit and visit the school we would
be working in before starting the ascent of
Mt Kenya.
This was a five day journey as we
started 26 miles outside of the National
Park, and had an extra day to explore and
get used to the altitude. We went through
deep rainforest along a very muddy dirt
track. These trees soon turned into grassy
plains, as we got higher up the mountain.
We then went up some steeper hills and
everywhere was covered in lilandi, which
are gorgeous big plants that come in many
different shapes and sizes. Finally, as we
reached the summit the surroundings
changed again and we were surrounded by
the most beautiful mountain ranges and
pools and even a little bit of snow. Even
though we were on the equator, our camp
at Mintos was 4,800m and the night time
temperature fell to -15°C. We all reached
the summit at 4,995m but we couldn’t
stay there long as it was very cold and the
weather was starting to take a turn for the
We had to attend three training sessions in
the Lake District. The first was a selection
weekend where our fitness and team skills
were tested. If you passed the weekend
then we did a summer mountain course
for a week in October, which was possibly
in the worst weather conditions possible.
In contrast, our training expedition for
a week in April, whilst more physically
demanding, was in absolutely stunning
weather.
Finally, after numerous kit checks on
the 27th of July we were ready. After a long
flight and rickety bus journey we arrived at
our first campsite and had our first night
listening to the Kenyan wildlife. It was the
morning when we first witnessed the true
beauty of Kenya. However, driving through
the towns to get to Hells Gate National
Park we saw just how poverty stricken
Kenya is with many people out on the
street begging. Our first acclimatisation
phase was a walk along a large steep gorge
that was above geothermal vent so all the
water there was hotter than all three of
the showers we got whilst out there! The
next day we took a longer walk around the
park and saw some obsidian caves as well
as getting up close to lots of wildlife. We
also did some technical rock climbing up a
volcanic plug called Fishers Tower.
We then moved on to the more
intense part of the acclimatisation with the
ascent of Mt Longonot that is a dormant
volcano with a 7km rim. Inside the caldera
is dense forest in which there is a separate
By Emma Bastin, Yr 13
Kenya – Once in a lifetime
worse. The descent took two days. On the
second day we ran the whole day as we
were so acclimatised that it made it easy at
the lower altitude.
After we completed the mountain
trip we had a couple of days rest in the
park, going on safari before we started the
community project. For this project we
built a new building for the Reception and
Year 1 class to replace the tiny mud hut
classroom, which also doubled up as an
eating area.
There were three groups that worked
on this classroom – an adult group that
laid the foundations and built the main
structure, Group 1 who built desks and
toys, did some painting outside and
finished off the roof. And our group did
the concrete steps and path, plastering and
painting, to give the building the finishing
touches.
And finally, as an end of expedition
treat, we went extreme white water
rafting. I have to say this was the scariest
experience of the entire trip as being
sucked under waterfalls in Kenyan water
was not quite in my comfort zone but it
was a great adrenaline rush all the same.
It is safe to say it was a once in a
lifetime experience and I would just like to
thank Wycliffe and the CCF for enabling
me to go on this fantastic expedition.
I was asked two years ago whether I would like to apply for a space on an expedition to Kenya, and saying yes was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made as I had the best experience of my life so far.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Trips & Expeditions4
The expedition started the next day near
Pencelli, and the group followed an east to
west route across the Beacons, finishing in
the Black mountain area by Usk reservoir
after four days of hiking and three nights’
camping. Congratulations to Ramazan
Samat, Angus Allen, Emma Bastin and
Toben Ronald on successful completion
of the expedition. The positive spirit
and great team work of the group was
commended by the assessor and Toben
Ronald has now finished his award and
received his Gold certificate in the gardens
of Holyrood palace in Edinburgh this
July, with others soon to follow. A great
achievement!
There was a large intake of 21
students at Bronze level this year and their
first expedition challenge was a day walk
in the local area at the start of February.
Students navigated on circular walks
in teams, taking in features such as the
Iron Age fort at Uley and Coaley Peak. In
May the groups undertook a full practice
expedition in the Cotswold area, camping
overnight at Cranham Scout camp, with
two days of walking. The final expedition
at the end of June took place for the first
time in the Gower peninsula. We had a
wonderful welcome at St Madoc’s Youth
Camp, Llanmadoc, remotely situated on
the headland north of Rhossili beach,
where students acclimatised with some
home cooking and a bed for a night before
The academic year began with a final Gold level expedition taking place in the Brecon Beacons during Half Term in October. We met the assessor at YHA Brecon, a converted farm house by the river Tarell with views towards Pen y Fan.
the hike began. The weather improved
on the second day of walking and the
groups then had the reward of stunning
cliff top views from the Wales coastal path
and from King Arthur’s seat (mountain
in the interior). All groups successfully
completed the challenge and particular
commendation to two groups for
fantastic follow up presentations on their
experience.
Most students are well on the way
to completing their whole award, so
keep up the good effort!
Two smaller groups of Silver
participants have undertaken expeditions
this year. The first took place at the end
of March, again in the Brecon Beacons.
This was a Silver final expedition and the
four participants were very fit and worked
purposefully as a team. The acclimatisation
night was spent at Danywenallt YHA
next to Tal-y-Bont reservoir. During the
following hike, poor conditions on the
mountain tops meant the group wisely
taking evasive action on one occasion and
following their bad weather route, but they
completed in glorious sunshine coming
down by Hay Bluff to finish at Hay on Wye
on day three. Well done to James Leach,
Oliver Denning, Andy Wu and Karl Fong
for their achievement.
The last expedition of the Summer
Term was a Silver practice in the Wye
valley and the Forest of Dean area, with
the final expedition scheduled for Exeat of
Autumn Term 2015. The group, consisting
of Mi Wang, Chloe Yung, Irvin Lau,
Andrew Smith and Robert Allman-Carter,
experienced some navigation difficulties
through the fiendishly complex network of
paths in the forest but enjoyed spectacular
scenery at Symond’s Yat, taking the ferry
across to find King Arthur’s Cave, famous
for its prehistoric remains. They also saw
Tintern Abbey and camped one night at
Biblins’s youth camp in the heart of the
forest.
In other areas of the award, students
have been completing their volunteering,
sport and skills sections. The new
‘Newt’ group, run by Mrs Chadwick and
students, was awarded a considerable sum
for development after an excellent PASS
committee bid. Other activities students
are involved in range from Parkour running
to reading to younger pupils at the Prep
School.
Many thanks to all the staff who have
helped, particularly to Mrs Larkin, who
has covered for Mrs Jeffries while she has
been away on maternity leave.
Duke of Edinburgh – Review of the YearBy Kate Elliott, Teacher of ESOL
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Science Live
There were talks from various scientists
including Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock and
Professor Lord Robert Winston.
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock was raised
and studied in London and obtained a
degree in Physics and a PhD in Mechanical
Engineering from Imperial College
London. Maggie develops TV programmes
showing children fun experiments to
do at home. She is currently a presenter
of BBC 4’s ‘The Sky at Night’ and she
also featured in a BBC 2 series called
‘The Cosmos’. She has set up her own
company Science Innovation Ltd, which
she runs in her spare time. Maggie has
won a number of awards including an
MBE.
Dr Maggie gave a presentation on the
kind of work she does and how she would
love to take people on tours to space
which was an interesting concept. She
talked about wanting to emigrate to Mars
for her retirement. Her work is mainly
to manage a range of projects that make
satellite sub-systems. These are designed
to monitor wind speeds and the Earth’s
atmosphere. They are designed to improve
our current knowledge of climate change
and predict the weather more accurately.
To begin his presentation, Professor
Lord Robert Winston made the audience
clap their hands three times and then
take a deep breath in. Shortly after he told
us we had just inhaled our neighbor’s
skin cells; which we all found disgusting!
Most of his talk was based upon IVF
and the subjects related to it. He is a
pioneer of IVF treatment and a renowned
communicator of science. He engaged
the audience by asking questions such as:
How many eggs do you think there are in
average human 14 year old female? (14 or
15 being our ages) The answer is 300,000.
His talk was mainly related to the Biology
GCSE course we are taking. A key part
that we will be tested on is this topic of
fertilization and all the surrounding topics.
These include hormones and the body
parts involved in the reproductive system.
Professor Lord Robert Winston may
have been a famous actor if he hadn’t
chosen to be a scientist and thought about
going into theatre in the early part of his
career. Thankfully he took up science, and
became a pioneer in his field. One of his
main contributions was his development
of precision surgery on fallopian tubes.
He is also the author of best-selling books
aimed to help people who are thinking
about having children. He has also written
and presented TV series such as ‘The
Human Body’. Due to all of this great
work he earned a life peerage in 1995.
Another scientist who did a
presentation was Dr Simon Singh. Simon
realised early on that a life in the sciences
was ahead of him and gained a degree in
physics at the Imperial College London.
He joined the BBC Science Department
and soon started publishing books. Simon
enlightened us on the uses of science and
went on to include how the Simpsons
actually includes ‘enough mathematics
to form an entire university course’. As
well as this, Simon shared his experience
with the singer Katie Melua after he wrote
an article on how scientifically wrong her
song ‘Nine Million Bicycles’ was. We were
then treated to hearing a version of the
song with the correct scientific facts!
As well as all of the scientists, we
were given a presentation on how to
succeed in our examination. This was very
helpful as it taught us how to answer
each type of question, in order for us
to get more marks in our exams in the
future. Also, we were advised on how to
revise and the best revision techniques.
All of the students on the trip found this
section very useful and felt more secure
on their understanding of how to answer
exam questions.
Overall, the trip was very
successful and was enjoyed by every
student. Not only had we been advised
on exam techniques, but our minds had
been opened to the possibilities that
science creates.
By Alex Bolton and Kelly Fletcher
Trips & Expeditions4
On the 2nd March, a group of Year 10 Science students went to a day of lectures from famous scientists and a talk on science exams.
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A2 Psychology Trip
On Friday 7th November, Year 13
Psychology students headed to the
Institute of Education in London for an A
level conference. About 750 young people
heard lectures and participated in seminars
about the psychology of time, sporting
success, laughter, memory, and the effects
of dance on the brain.
BBC Radio 4’s ‘All in the Mind’
presenter, Dr Claudia Hammond delivered
a ‘Time Warped’ lecture, which looked at
the effects that factors such as boredom,
new memories and rejection by others
have on our perception of time duration.
Then, Dr Jon Simons’ talk on
‘Memory research’ focused on how this
research can help students to revise more
effectively, and how this relates to findings
in neuro science.
On to the ‘Psychology of Sporting
Success’, a subject dear to the hearts of
many Wycliffe students. Dr Jonathan
Smith, who worked with the Olympic
rowing team in 2012, introduced us to the
‘chimp model’ of the mind which he and
colleagues use to focus sports men and
women to achieve their personal best and
break records.
After lunch, Dr Sophie Scott gave
an interesting talk on laughter – how it
functions to bring people closer together,
and how it is a universal emotion shared
not only by all humans, but even by other
mammals, such as rats!
A fantastic climax was produced
by Professor Peter Lovatt, a former West
End dancer, who as well as explaining
how dance can improve our cognitive
functioning, managed to get all 750
people on their feet dancing to rhythmic
Latin-American music.
We finished with some shopping
and Chinese food before returning to
Stonehouse on a rather crowded train!
By Amanda Khatri, Yr 13
On the 5th November, Wycliffe Chemistry
Department took the Year 12 Chemistry
students to Bristol University for what
proved an invaluable day.
Wycliffe has very strong links with
the Chemistry Department at Bristol
University, who have visited Wycliffe in
the past and have given demonstration
lectures and even allowed Wycliffe
chemists to use the “Spectroscopy in
a Suitcase” equipment in the school.
However, there are still some aspects of A
Chemistry Trip to Bristol UniversityBy Dr Keith Rose, Chemistry Teacher
level chemistry that are beyond the scope
of even the most well-resourced school
and therefore, these regular visits to Bristol
University prove to be highly beneficial to
the students. The Wycliffe chemists were
able to use the equipment in the Bristol
teaching labs to extract, purify and analyse
caffeine using solvent extraction, rotary
evaporation and infrared spectroscopy.
Having completed the practical side
of the visit, the students then had the
opportunity to meet and question two
former Wycliffians, Rosie Grindrod, who is
in the second year of her chemistry degree
and Ceska Waggett, who is in the fourth
and final year of her chemical physics
degree, both of whom are currently
studying at Bristol.
The day concluded with two
fascinating lectures and the students are
now looking forward to putting their new
found knowledge to practice!
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Trips & Expeditions
Viva Espana!
It was excellent to see so many students
involved and wonderful to take this many
away. It was a weary start as we departed
from Wycliffe at 2am for Gatwick airport
but as soon as we landed in the beautiful
sunshine at Alicante airport we all soon
woke up. We arrived at the Arbolar Centre
and were greeted by the excellent team
who looked after us for the entire week.
With the beach right opposite our
accommodation, it did not take long for
it to be filled with our students, taking
in the sun and playing beach rounders.
We completed the first day with an early
night in preparation for the next day.
The second day began with Spanish
lessons, which were differentiated to
accommodate students’ levels of Spanish.
After lunch students gathered on the
beach for more games, all conducted in
Spanish.
The third day started with a Spanish
lesson which focused on the topic
shopping for the morning activity. After
the lesson we went to a big traditional
Spanish market and students were given
money to buy items on a shopping list.
Most words on the list the students had
not come across and so they had to ask
local people where they could find the
different items. The students did very
well on this task. In the afternoon we
were back on the beach taking part in
a sandcastle competition. Students in
groups had to build a sandcastle and
come up with a story in Spanish about
the castle. This was a fantastic task that
encouraged students to use creative
language in Spanish.
The following day we stayed at
the Arbolar Centre. It was a beautiful
sunny day and we took part in water
sport activities including sailing and
kayaking. Students first had to listen
and understand the instructions given in
Spanish and then took to the sea in their
boats. The sea was lovely and calm and
all enjoyed this activity immensely.
The fourth day we went to the
beautiful naval city of Cartagena. To help
the students get their bearings, they were
given a task that would allow them to
explore the city and come across different
famous landmarks. Once completed
students busied themselves in shops
buying souvenirs, presents and gifts for
themselves. We then took them to a
large catamaran boat, which we had to
ourselves sailing all around the coast.
This was a huge highlight of the trip as
we danced salsa on board and took in
the beautiful views and sunshine. After a
very busy day, students settled down to a
Spanish film.
The fifth day started with a cookery
lesson cooking Spanish tortilla and
Gazpacho. The tortilla went down well
but students found it hard to understand
why one would serve cold soup. In the
afternoon we took a trek up Carmoli and
were impressed by the wonderful views
from the top. Later when we reached
the bottom we were met with a lovely
surprise of a tapas eating experience
where we tried some delicious Spanish
delicacies including chorizo, squid,
octopus and more.
The sixth day started with a visit
to the incredibly beautiful and unspoilt
coastal nature reserve Calblanque. Here
students were greeted with wonderful
views of the sea and amazing coastal
scenery. Rounders proved very popular,
as everyone was involved in this game.
In the afternoon students had their
last opportunity to go shopping at the
Dos Mares shopping centre and this
was followed with a game of bowling.
As it was our final evening we had a
Karaoke night and Spanish themed party
outdoors.
The trip was a huge success and
was enjoyed so much by everyone.
All students came back with more
confidence speaking and understanding
Spanish and it was wonderful as a
teacher to see them use their knowledge
of the language in an authentic Spanish
environment.
By Lisa Wisbey, Head of Spanish
During the first week of the Easter holidays we took 62 students to the Mar Menor, Spain, for a cultural and immersion language trip.
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Trips & Expeditions4
World Tour Biathle Series, Portugal
The squad was made up of 64 competitors
competing in Youth E through to the
Masters races. I was one of six girls in
the Youth B Team. On Friday morning,
the whole squad was taken to the race
venue to have a short training session
in the sea because of the very strong sea
current. This was a hard session but very
worthwhile and gave us all a taste of what
to expect on Saturday.
The races started mid-morning
on Saturday 18th July, but my race was
not until later in the afternoon. The
temperature was around 32 degrees and
we had to stay in the shade and make
sure we were drinking lots of water.
Eventually, it was my turn! On the start
line, I was feeling quite nervous as most
of the other girls were much bigger and
older than me. My race started with a
1,000m run, continuing with a 200m
sea swim, against a very strong current
and finishing with another 1,000m run.
Overall, I came seventh out of a strong
field of 14 competing against athletes from
Portugal, Italy, Belarus and Great Britain.
In the evening we attended a Gala Evening
rounded off by everyone going into the
hotel pool.
I was really pleased with my
performance, especially my running and
hope to go back again next year. I will be
competing for the GB Youth B Team at the
next World Tour Series Race in Weymouth
on Sunday 6 September 2015. The Biathle
is good fun and I would encourage anyone
to give it a go!
By Emma Livingstone, Year 9
On Thursday 16th July, I travelled to Setubal, Portugal, to compete in one of the World Tour Biathle competitions with the GB Biathle Squad.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
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Mission Impossible
On Friday the 24th of April, five Year 9
pupils headed out to GCHQ (Government
Communication Headquarters) for
a fun, educational and unforgettable
experience. Previous to going to GCHQ
we had won a competition at school
which encouraged all of Year 9 to ‘think
business’ and become inventors for the
day, independently creating and adapting
products within our groups. Our idea was
a Wi-Fi boosting coffee cup named ‘WiFi
2 Go’. In the few weeks we had before
departing for GCHQ we adapted our
Wi-Fi boosting coffee cup and hoped that
it was enough to boost the minds of the
judges and ‘wake them up’ to our idea.
After a long and arduous journey
to Cheltenham on the minibus, we
approached the doughnut shaped building
and began to head towards the entrance to
sign in. Following this we were invited to
see a wide display of stalls that promoted
GCHQ’s array of careers. We realised how
crucial the security was when we even
had to ask permission to use the toilets.
We were then taken into a large room
where half of the groups performed their
presentation to the judges. Immediately
we realised that the quality of the
presentations was a lot higher than we had
expected.
After a quick break, it was time for
our team to show our presentation to
everyone. We were very nervous but we
managed to get through our pitch and
answer some tough questions from the
judges. After all of the presentations, the
judges announced the results. Although
we received some positive comments,
unfortunately we were not placed, but we
were very happy that we performed our
presentation to the best of our ability.
We would like to say a massive thank
you to Mrs Rhymes for helping us prepare
and to Sally, a businesswoman who also
helped us. We had an amazing day at
GCHQ, and we are really glad that we
had the opportunity to see inside such a
fantastic building.
By Rebecca Taphouse and Maisie Spiers, Yr 9
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Trips & Expeditions4
On Wednesday 24th September, the A level
English Literature and Creative Writing
students visited Thomas Hardy’s birthplace,
Max Gate and Stinsford Church.
The visit to Stinsford Church was
atmospheric, where we read poems: ‘Rain
on a Grave’ with a bit of drizzle in the air,
next to Hardy’s grave. We went inside
the church, to see where Hardy would
have listened to the choir and musicians,
Dorset Trip – Thomas HardyBy Elaine Lambert, English Teacher
no doubt inspiration for ‘Under the
Greenwood Tree’.
We then headed for Max Gate,
Hardy’s impressive home, which he
designed himself. The National Trust has
now opened up the attic, and we were able
to imagine Emma living up there in the
confined quarters. There was a dramatic
scream from one of the girls at one point,
so maybe ‘His Visitor’ was still afoot! There
was a bit of dressing up, and everyone
looked very fetching!
After lunch in the gardens, we moved
on to Hardy’s birthplace, where we listened
to a traditional Dorset storyteller and
musician. We were encouraged to have a
dance in the living room, just as the family
would have done. It was a magical day.
She sat here in her chair, Smiling into the fire; He who played stood there, Bowing it higher and higher.
Childlike, I danced in a dream;
Sport
THE WYCLIFFIAN
After success in the District Athletics
trial, a team of ten Wycliffe athletes were
selected to compete in the County Athletics
Championships held at the Prince of Wales
Stadium in Cheltenham.
First to race on the track was Ross
Livingstone, who ran in the Senior Boys’
400m and dominated the race from start to
finish in a commanding victory and a time
of 51.7 seconds. This was a great start to the
day for the Wycliffe athletes and gave others
the confidence to perform to their best.
Tillie Graham and Matt Lambie
competed in the Junior Girls’ and
Intermediate Boys’ 100m. Both had worked
hard prior to the championships and were
rewarded with good times and places. Matt
finished 5th in his race in a time of 12.1
seconds, while Tillie was 7th in the final.
In the field events Sophia Rai and
Luke Barnett both competed in the Shot-
put. Sophia was 8th overall, while Luke
was Wycliffe’s second County Champion
of the day winning the Senior Boys with an
excellent throw.
Emma Livingstone ran in the Junior
Girls’ 1500m and was delighted to run
a personal best time of 5 minutes and 7
seconds. This was a very close race that
Emma won ahead of her rivals. Jess Telford
also ran a great race in the Intermediate
Girls’ 1500m to win the bronze medal.
In his second event of the day, Matt
Lambie jumped a massive 6.04m in the
Intermediate Boys’ Long Jump to finish a
close 2nd.
Holly Bankes, Ross Livingstone, Matt
Lambie and Emma Livingstone were all
selected to represent Gloucestershire at the
South West Championships in Exeter on
the 20th June. Emma ran another personal
best in the 1500m, and Ross was 3rd in the
400m. However, it was Holly that managed
to win her 800m and qualify for the English
Schools Championships later in the summer.
The Year 9 and 10 athletics
competition at Archway was again enjoyed
by all athletes. The Year 9 Girls’ Relay
Team comprising of Emma Livingstone
Tillie Graham, Izzy Naish and Isla Green
performed really well. This event also
gave athletes a chance to prepare for the
competition at the Prince of Wales Stadium
the following week.
At these District Championships for
athletes from Year 9 and 10 saw some great
performances. Holly Bankes and Jack Newey
both won the 800m. Emma Livingstone
and Jess Telford dominated their 1500m
races to win easily, while Matt Ansell and
Matt Lambie won the Long Jump. Harriet
Stevens was brilliant winning the discus and
Katie Cruickshank won the Javelin. Batraz
Albegov was also 1st in the Shot, despite
two no throws.
As well as Wycliffe’s District
Champions, there were also some really
determined performances that athletes can
be proud of, with all contributing to the
team performance. Overall, the Year Group
teams produced some good results. The Year
9 boys finished 9th, the Year 9 girls finished
3rd, the Year 10 girls finished 4th and the
Year 10 boys finished 3rd.
The highlight of the season was the
performance of Holly Bankes in the English
Schools Athletics Finals.
Athletics
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Wycliffe Year 11 pupil, Tom Seabrook, a
member of the Gloucester Rugby Academy
and the South West Division Rugby Squad,
has been selected for the England U16
team. He earned his first cap in a decisive
victory against Wales, in Caerphilly.
Although not getting on the score sheet,
despite coming close on a number of
occasions, Tom made vital contributions
throughout an excellent all-round display,
resulting in a 34-0 win for England. This
match rounded off an excellent season
for Tom, who has been at Wycliffe since
Reception and a key player in Wycliffe
rugby teams over the years.
“I am really excited about the
opportunity ahead and can’t wait to get out
there and start playing,” said Tom before
the game on Sunday 19th April. “I am
especially looking forward to wearing the
England shirt and playing against Wales,
who will be strong opposition.”
This is certainly an exciting time for
Tom and a wonderful achievement.
Seabrook earns first England cap
THE WYCLIFFIAN
The Cross-county season started at
Kingshill, with the district Year 9 & 10
relays. The performance of the season
was from a combined girls’ team of Izzy
Naish, Emma Livingstone, Jess Telford
and Holly Bankes that easily won the U15
age group.
A large team of athletes then
competed at the Sir William Romney
district trials, with some excellent
performances. In the Junior Boys, Jared
Carter finished 4th. Ryan Coombs
finished 6th in the Intermediate Boys
with Jacob Richardson (14th). Ross
Livingstone rounded off a good race
finishing 2nd in the Senior Boys. In the
Junior Girls, Emma Livingstone matched
her brother’s performance to finish 2nd,
while Isla Green managed a deserved
4th place. However, the performance of
the day came from Holly Bankes, who
dominated the Intermediate Girls’ race
to win overall. In this race, Zoe Davison
was 4th to round off an excellent day for
Wycliffe. All these athletes were selected
for the District team to race at the County
Championships.
At the County Championships, Holly
Bankes again managed 1st place in an
excellent race. Emma Livingstone was 4th
and Ross Livingstone 6th in their respective
age groups. There were good performances
from Isla Green (9th) and Ryan Coombs
(19th).
The South West Championships saw
Emma and Ross Livingstone continue with
their good form, to finish 24th and 44th
against a high quality field of runners. This
was an excellent achievement, resulting in
them both being selected for the National
Cross-county Championships held in
Blackburn.
Holly Bankes also represented the
County at these Championships finishing a
Cross-country
respectable position.
Congratulations go to all these
runners, especially Emma, Holly and Ross
for their outstanding achievements.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
with wins away at Rendcomb College
(3-1) and against Malvern College 2nds
(6-0). Other results were as follows:
2-2 against Colston’s, 0-5 loss against
Monkton Combe, 2-2 against Hereford
Cathedral. The 0-1 loss against King’s
Gloucester was a tense match which saw
one goal disallowed. A 4-0 win against
Rendcomb at home was followed up in
the final match of the season by a fantastic
win against Christ College Brecon (3-1)
at home.
I am incredibly proud of the whole
squad for their huge improvement and
commitment this year. They have been
a pleasure to coach, even at the most
frustrating times! Huge thanks go to all the
girls for their effort, not just in matches
but on the training ground too.
Squad: Lara Bathurst (Captain),
Anna Morgan (GK), Immy Gray,
Alessandra Fraser – Pye, Omina Jones,
Izzy Garbett, Megan Nash, Laura Hall,
Laura Robinson, Anna Fishwick, Sophie
Caesar, Becky Bidwell, Sasha Green, Lucy
Haynes, Holly Tyler, Mollie Young, Ellie
Mapletoft.
2nd XI:
Played 8 Won 1 Lost 5 Drew 2
The 2nd XI, captained by Erin
Holley, a great season with some mixed
results. After a slow start – a 0-0 draw
1st XI:
Played 12 Won 4 Lost 6 Drew 2
The 1st XI had one of the most
frustrating seasons this year, with many of
the results not quite reflecting the quality
hockey that has been played. It was a
turbulent term with many ups and downs
within the squad. This was noticeable
on the pitch, and it took time to build
self-confidence, team morale and strength.
Positive attitudes, coupled with some very
skilful hockey players created a successful
formula that inspired the squad to play
well in some fixtures, especially against
Cheltenham Ladies’ College. Captain,
Lara Bathurst, has continued to improve
within the England Hockey pathway by
being selected to represent the South West
in the Futures Cup. Reaching the Futures
Cup Tournament was an outstanding
achievement. Sasha Green did well to
reach the JRPC stage of selection.
Defensive plays have been the
strongest part of the team this year. They
have worked well together to defend
against some strong attacking schools.
Goal scoring was our nemesis, with plenty
of opportunities created throughout the
season but not as many as hoped being
converted. The majority of the squad
enjoyed the combined Hockey and Netball
Dubai Tour during October half-term.
To summarise, the season started
against Queen’s Taunton and the 1-5
Loss against Cheltenham Ladies’ College
really tested the team, – their team spirit,
enthusiasm, and continual excellent work
ethic showed progress in many different
areas. Even the games that were lost
were close and the spirit never faltered.
The defensive transfer was a target for
improvement throughout the season, and
it finally paid off in the final match against
Dean Close. Demonstrating composure to
release the ball into our attack, limited the
final score to just a 1-2 defeat.
It was a heavily defensive season,
with attacking chances few and far
between, but when an attacking chance
arose the forwards were sure to find a shot
on target. The midfield linked together to
show real team work and worked tirelessly
throughout every game. This proved
essential in a 1-1 draw with Monkton
Combe, in an end-to-end game of Hockey:
a brilliant display of Hockey by every girl
on the pitch.
The girls were finally rewarded in
their match against Hereford Cathedral,
with a nail biting 2-0 win proving hard
work and determination pays off. The
team played sensible Hockey, keeping
possession, closing down Hereford’s
defensive hit outs and transferring the ball
wide to expose their defence. This game
really was the highlight of the season.
Girls’ Hockey
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With a large squad, the substitutions
were frequent and the girls had the
versatility to play in new positions. The
team’s encouragement for each other,
during training and matches was a
pleasure to observe. Well done for all the
hard work this season.
Squad: Erin Holley (C), Kaylee
Brooker, Lilly Reeder-Katsipis, Clara
Immink, Lucy Grindrod, Rebecca Bidwell,
Amanda Khatri, Lucy Parker, Jess
Randall, Summer Turner, Amy Bromley,
Georgie Downton, Zoe Parrott, Ella Barry,
Natalie Newport, Francis Friend, Martha
Burgees, Elena Azcona, Elise Clements.
U15A XI:
Played 14 Won 10 Lost 4 Drew 0
The U15s started the season with
three high-scoring wins against Rendcomb
(4-1), CLC (6-0) and St Edward’s (5-0),
but were brought back to ground with
3 tight losses against KES Bath (0-2),
Colstons (0-1) and King’s Worcester (0-1).
They finished before half-term with a win
against Monkton Combe (2-0).
After half-term they hit the ground
running with only one loss, against St
Mary’s Calne (2-3). Wins against Christ
College Breacon (3-0), Hereford Cathedral
(1-0), Dean Close (3-1), King’s Gloucester
(3-1) and a very hard fought victory
against Rendcomb (2-1). They finished the
term with a 1-0 win against Pates.
Squad: Grace Aspinwall, Holly
Bankes, Ellie Bathurst, Chloe Bayliss,
Alice Dean, Kelly Fletcher, Charlotte
Greensmith, Josie Hampson, Izzy
Menendez, Emma Morgan, Anabelle
Pearce, Josephine Rogers, Harriet Stevens,
Jess Telford, Natasha Wait, Ellie Walker.
U15B XI:
Played 4 Won 3 Lost 1 Drew 0
The U15B won both home and away
in the double header against Cheltenham
College. Playing away, the team notched
up a convincing 4-0 win. Every Junior
Girl who trained throughout the term
had pitch time in the return fixture at
home and all contributed to the 3-1 win.
The performance against Dean Close was
encouraging, although the score line was a
0-1 defeat. In the mixed AB game against
The King’s School, Gloucester, the team
won 3-1: the B team players involved in
this performed well amongst the A team.
Squad: Janouk Brynjarsdottir, Erin
Lavender, Alex Bolton, Katie Briggs,
Maude Collingridge, Sacha Pysarieva,
Josephine Rogers, Emily Riley, Annie
Rees, Amelia Crystal, Ellie Jones, Lauren
Parker, Imogen Norman.
U14A XI
Played 11 Won 10 Lost 1 Drew 0
U14BXI
Played 3 Won 3 Lost 0 Drew 0
The A team’s sole defeat came in
the second match of the season against
Cheltenham Ladies’ College. This aside,
it was an outstanding season for the U14
girls. An early 6-0 win against Rendcomb
gave an indication of things to come,
the next game was gainst CLC and then
Colston’s. To a certain extent it was a win
that had a hint of luck about it – the game
could have gone either way, with Wycliffe
eventually coming away with a 3-2 win. An
easy 5-0 win against King Edward’s School
Bath, got the girls into their stride again,
but another tight game against Bromsgrove
resulted in a 1-0 win. It was shortly after
this that the Bs played their first game
against Cheltenham College: a 2-1 win.
The U14 hockey team played
and won the County Schools’ Plate
Competition, and went through to
play in the main draw, beating Newent,
Balcarras, High School, Bournside, King’s
Glos, St Peter’s in the semi-finals and
King’s Glos again in the final. It was a
fantastic result! Monday 13th October,
saw the main draw of the U14 National
Schools’ Hockey Competition in which
Wycliffe faced tough opposition. Wycliffe
performed outstandingly well and
produced some fantastic hockey. They
beat Dean Close and Pate’s, drew against
Cheltenham College and lost to CLC.
Wycliffe finished on 7 points, 3rd overall,
just behind Cheltenham College and CLC
who finished on 8 points: an outstanding
achievement!
The trend continued in the second
half of the term : some ‘tight’ games
followed by big wins – Christ’s College
Brecon and Pate’s Grammar 2-0 followed
by St Mary’s Calne 6-1; Dean Close
1-0, one of our best performances of the
season, then King’s Gloucester 3-0. The
last game of the season was called off by
Bristol Cathedral School. However, the
Bs with fewer fixtures in the second half
of the season continued in their winning
ways with a 5-1 win against Cheltenham
College and a 4-0 win against Rendcomb
College.
U14A and B Squad: Isla Green
(Captain), Sophia Rai (GK), Katie
Cruickshank, Lucy Parsons, Iona Lundi,
Lucy Burgess, Izzy Naish, Saoirse
Purkess, Katie Seymour, Becky Taphouse,
Ella Kitching, Lowri Clarke, Emma
Livingstone, Tillie Graham, Jess Taylor,
Eloise Davies, Nicky Jennings,
Mary Evans.
Senior Inter-house Winners:
Collingwood House
Junior Inter-house Winners:
Collingwood House
PASS Senior most improved:
Clara Immink
PASS Junior most improved:
Natasha Wait
THE WYCLIFFIAN5Sport
Peter Ibanga and Tom Seabrook. The 200m
and relay were equally as exciting.
All athletes were committed to
performing for their Houses and the effort
and determination displayed by almost
everyone was hugely commendable.
The standard of field events also saw
an improvement with Batraz Alebgov
dominating the shot and Matt Lambie the
Long Jump. Jack Newey also showed his
versatility on track and field.
Overall, the House competitions could
Sports Day 2015 saw some of the highest
standards of Athletics on display in recent
years. There were some fantastic dominating
performances throughout the afternoon,
notably from Holly Bankes who had already
broken the school record earlier in the term,
Ross Livingstone and Emma Livingstone
who broke a 30 year old record in the
1500m during Sports Day.
The 100m saw three athletes all within
a pace of each other at the finish, but it was
Yomi Awosope who finished slightly ahead of
not have been closer. The Senior Girls was
tied and only the result of the Medley Relay,
won by Ivy Grove, confirmed them as the
winners ahead of Haywardsend. Rebecca
Bidwell, Emma Bastin and Sophie Caesar
all made huge contributions to the Ivy cause.
However, Haywardsend were dominant in
the Junior Girls and Haywardsfield won the
Senior and Junior Girls.
Well done everyone!
Sports Day
Award Pupil Name Award House Name
Best Junior Boy Jack Newey Junior Boys’ House Trophy Haywardsfield
Best Junior Girl Emma Livingstone Junior Girls’ House Trophy Haywardsend
Best Senior Boy Yomi Awosope Senior Boys’ House trophy Haywardsfield
Best Senior Girl Sophie Caesar Senior Girls’ House Trophy Ivy Grove
Sports Day Winners
THE WYCLIFFIAN
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Rowing
Highlights from the regatta season
saw brilliant wins by Kate Hampson
and Chessie Turner, getting through
tough rounds at Hereford, Worcester and
Monmouth regattas, with multiple wins
in both the J16, J18 single and the J18
double. With brilliant results coming
Rowing is a very difficult sport in regards
to winning events. To achieve an event win
you have to beat multiple opponents from
different schools and clubs throughout
the course of a day, sometimes in excess of
six rounds. Wycliffe rowers are now being
developed to compete at local, regional
and national level. This summer alone we
have won 19 rounds, made 13 semi-finals
and nine finals, coming home with five
wins.
At the start of the year we held a
very successful rowing dinner, an event to
celebrate the Boat Club and achievements
made throughout the previous year.
Multiple awards were presented by double
World championship medallist and
Olympic hopeful, Charles Waite Roberts.
Charles offered words of wisdom for the
forthcoming year.
The Head Race season saw
solid results and more importantly
improvements from race to race. Three
clear highlights would be Thomas Kendell
in the J16 1x coming 3rd out of 12 in
a very competitive Gloucester Head
Race. Secondly Georgina Barr and Kate
Hampson at City of Bristol Head Race
winning the J18 event. Finally, the J14
Girls’ Quad of Iona Wasdell, Fenella
Purkess, Katy Porter, Maisie Spiers and
Lauren Turbott coming 3rd in their event
at Wycliffe Small Boats Head Race.
Wycliffe’s Small and Big Boats Head
was yet again a huge success again this
year seeing entries fill up in a matter
of hours. Phil Clements ran the event
with his usual high level of efficiency.
Every event ran on time with the fastest
publishing of results of any race on the
circuit. A huge thanks to Phil’s continued
support of Wycliffe Boat Club.
from our J14 rowing squad throughout the
season, the future is looking bright. With
large amounts of rowing training taking
place throughout the holidays, next year
promises to be one of the best years in a
long time.
By Greg Flower, Head of Rowing
THE WYCLIFFIAN5Sport
team work greatly improved, and results
reflect this, showing that every match was
hugely competitive. An initial defeat in
the first game of the season against CLC
14½-21½ was the biggest loss. They went
on to secure wins over KLB, 19 -16, and
King’s Worcester, 15-13, losing narrowly
to Bromsgrove, 14-18 along the way. Well
done to all of those who played.
Squad: Ella Kitching, Tillie Graham,
Eloise Davies , Mary Evans, Maisie Spiers,
Lowri Clarke, Nikki Jennings, Saorise
Purkess, Lucy Burgess, Jess Taylor.
U15A Rounders
Played 11 Won 6 Lost 5
The U15s team captained by
Charlotte Greensmith has had a mixed
season, with player’s availability being
wide-ranging. They started the season losing
9-26½ against a well-practiced Cotswold
School team, due to some nerves showing
in the fielding, and some inexperience in
the batting. However, they soon found
their form, winning two games in a row
beating King’s School, Gloucester (18-8½)
and CLC (17½-12½). The U15s faced a
difficult spell in the middle of the season,
The U14s played in a faultless district
tournament: with convincing victories over
Stroud High, Maidenhill, Archway and Sir
William Romney, they faced Farmor’s in
the semi-final winning 7 rounder’s to 2½
to take them through to the final against a
strong KLB side. The girls did everything
right, fielding perfectly and finding the
space to score plenty of rounders. The final
score of 8 rounders to 1½ saw the U14s
crowned as district champions. This was
an excellent way to finish a successful and
enjoyable term of rounders. Well done!
Squad: Lauren Turbott (C), Izzy
Naish, Katy Porter, Lucy Parsons, Katie
Cruickshank, Iona Lundie, Isla Green,
Emma Livingstone, Rebecca Taphouse,
Katie Seymour, Nikki Jennings, Jessica
Taylor, Maisie Spiers, Sophia Rai, Lucy
Burgess, Saoirse Purkess, Lowri Clarke.
U14B Rounders
Played 4 Won 2 Lost 2
The U14s only had five games this
summer because of cancellations by other
schools. But the five matches they did
play showed a brilliant display of batting
and fielding. Their communication and
U14A Rounders
Played 10 Won 7 Lost 3
The U14 Rounders team, captained
by Lauren Turbott, had a really promising
season after a slightly rocky start, losing the
first game of the season against a strong
Cotswold School side, where inexperience
and nerves came into play. The final score
was 12-21. A narrow win against King’s
Gloucester, 17½-16 was short lived and
quickly followed by a defeat to Cheltenham
Ladies’ College, 7½-13. The girls trained
hard, found their confidence and thereafter
started to really play as a team. Their
batting and placement went from strength
to strength, and their fielding became
increasingly difficult for the opposition to
break down. Good wins followed against
Colston’s 18-15½ Pate’s 15 ½-13 and KLB,
in a thrilling 12-11 victory. The toughest
match of the season by far was against
Bromsgrove School. The girls were really
tested against such strong opposition,
finally losing 13-20 ½ to the better team
on the day. One last winning streak took
the girls to the end of the season, securing
brilliant results against Maidenhill 15-11½
and King’s School Worcester 14½ -10.
Rounders
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U15B Rounders
Played 5 Won 1 Lost 4
The U15B team had a tough season
with a different line up nearly every match.
Winning the first game against CLC 22½-
20 was a brilliant opening game with some
big hitting. The girls then fielded tightly to
secure a brilliant win. As the season went
on, the team improved but opposition got
tougher. Hereford Cathedral (6 -16 Loss)
Bromsgrove (13½-17 Loss) and KLB (9
½-24 Loss) were the toughest games of
the season but the girls always battled on
until the end, keeping the opposition on
their toes. They were unlucky not to grasp
a victory against Colston’s School, losing
narrowly in the last few balls of the game,
10-9. There is lots to work on for next
season, but the girls have put in brilliant
efforts both in games sessions and matches.
Well done to all who took part.
Squad: Katie Briggs, Janouk
Brynjarsdottir, Lauren Parker, Erin
Lavender, Imogen Norman, Annie Rees,
Emma Morgan, Josephine Rogers, Ellie
Jones Jobst, Nadia Hirsi, Sasha Pysarieva,
Amelia Crystal, Alex Bolton.
Congratulations to Lampeter,
outright winners of the Junior Inter-house
Competition.
Senior Rounders
Played 3 Won 2 Lost 1
The Senior’s Rounders season was
short but sweet, due to exam pressure and
availability; however the girls still managed
to put in a stellar performance this term.
The Seniors (captained by Sophie Caesar)
dominated from start to finish in their
fixture against Cotswold School. They had
a blistering victory, scoring 331/2 rounders
to 13, the all-out innings even had to be cut
short as our players could not be defeated.
The player of the match was Ellie Jones for
her excellent placement when batting. The
Seniors played valiantly against a very strong
King’s School Gloucester but unfortunately
with lack of availability and inexperienced
players, losing four games out of five.
The first was a loss to Hereford Cathedral
(8-18½) followed by losing to Colston’s
3½-20. They played a very talented Pate’s
team, playing an all-out first innings in what
turned out to be a high scoring game, with
Wycliffe coming out on top, 30-26½. An
away fixture against KLB recorded another
loss for the side 8-25, with KLB showing
some excellent fielding skills to restrict
our batting. Next up were fixtures against
Bromsgrove on a beautifully hot summers
day. Unfortunately, Wycliffe was defeated
8-21½. Towards the end of the season, the
A team found its form and finished on a
three-game winning streak. First up was
a convincing 29-16½ win against King’s
School Worcester, with some tight fielding
and solid batting from all. After that, a
fixture against Stroud High School with
another substantial win 26-15, closely
followed by the final game of the season, a
tight fought win against Maidenhill, 23½-
19. The girls played well throughout and
applied themselves to an ever-changing line-
up. The district tournament rounded off
the season, Wycliffe losing only one game
in their group against KLB but winning a
further three games against Farmor’s, Deer
Park and Maidenhill to secure a place in
the semi-final. The semi-final was a nail
biting 6-6 draw against Stroud High School,
requiring a five ball face off. Excellent
fielding set the target of half a rounder,
which Ellie Bathurst achieved in style from
the first ball, which included a fall! In the
final, Farmor’s chased down Wycliffe’s
target, to win four to 3.5 rounders. The girls
have adapted well to demands this season
and ended the year on a high.
Squad: Charlotte Greensmith (C),
Grace Aspinwall, Ellie Bathurst, Chloe
Bayliss, Lucy Cole, Alice Dean, Kelly
Fletcher, Josie Hampson, Natasha Wait,
Ellie Walker, Harriett Stevens, Emily Riley,
Alex Bolton, Maude Collingridge, Izzy
Menendez.
lost 24-16½. However, the team came
back with a ferocious fighting spirit against
CLC, their masterful fielding securing a win
of 22-18½. Though a brief season, it was
punctuated with powerful performances by
all. Well done!
Seniors Squad: Sophie Caesar (C)
Zoe Parrott, Clara Immink, Laura Hall ,
Amanda Katri, Ellie Carr, Ellie Jones, Elise
Clements. Alessandra Fraser-Pye, Rebecca
Bidwell, Emma Bastin, Anna Morgan, Amy
Bromley, Amelia Henley.
U16 Rounders
Played 3 Won 3 Lost 0
The U16 Rounders team (captained
by Izzy Garbett) was undefeated this
season. Although a short Summer Term
due to exams, the girls still wanted to prove
they are a force to be reckoned with. A
close 23½-20 win over Cotswold School
saw the team off to a great start with
some promising batting placement. The
momentum continued into their second
game cruising to an easy victory over King’s
School Gloucester, 18½-7 ½. The final
game of the year was their best performance
yet, fielding tightly and securing yet another
win 19½-9½; an excellent way to finish the
season. Well done to everyone that played.
U16 squad: Izzy Garbett (C) Summer
Turner, Ellie Mapletoft, Laura Robinson,
Lilly Reeder, Mollie Young, Elena Azcona,
Holly Tyler, Lucy Haynes, Georgie Febery,
Ruth Harris, Katie Harris, Ella Barry,
Natalie Newport, Sasha Green, Francis
Friend, Caitlin Cooper.
Congratulations to Lampeter for
Winning the Senior Girls Inter-house
Rounders Competition.
THE WYCLIFFIAN5Sport
1st XI
Played 11 Won 4 Lost 6 Drew 1
The 1st XI can consider itself
unlucky with the number of defeats this
season. They were a well organised and
competitive side and, with the exception
of the match against Monmouth, were in
contention throughout all other games.
The win against St Edward’s, Oxford
(2-1) was one of the highlights with two
goals worthy of consideration for goal of
the season. To the same extent, the match
against Bristol Grammar was a lowlight
with far more possession and territory, but
little to show for this on the scoreboard.
Trailing against Sidcot at half time,
the second half was probably the best the
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Oyewumi, Oliver Denning, Charlie
Ballans, Louis Grobkopf, Joshua
Kraushaar, Luke Barnett, Tom O’Driscoll,
Subash Ale, Henry Moss.
3rd XI
Played 4 Won 1 Lost 3
This team showed great character
from the start of the season when drawing
with St Edward’s, Oxford (2-2). There
were many positives from what was mainly
a young side and one that often lacked
physicality compared to opponents.
However, this proved the main success
of the season, with heavy defeats against
Monmouth and QEH, Bristol. However,
the team did compete well against King’s,
Taunton (0-2), in the last match of the
season.
Overall the team played well and
with spirit, despite managing a sole draw
in four games.
Squad: Karl Fong, David Roper, Dan
Aspinwall, Seva Bilous, Louis Grobkopf,
Felix Wente, Hiro Tokura, Joshua
Kraushaar, Tom O’Driscoll, Cameron
Brooks, Nick Brown, Vincent Schaaf.
4th XI
Played 3 Won 1 Lost 2
The 4th XI was amazing in their first
match, beating St Edward’s, Oxford (4-3):
a match that really was a thrilling end-to-
end encounter. Sadly this was the pinnacle
of the season, as two defeats followed.
However, these were against significantly
larger schools and should not detract from
the enormity of the success in Oxford that
ensured that every senior team that played
that day returned unbeaten.
Squad: Christian Besch, Denis
Federov, Henry Lister, Ivan Gagov, Seb
Abbott, Hosny Abdelnaim, Frank Ho,
Gabriel Jung, Jeffery Chan, Matt Stevens,
Anar Mamdov.
U15
Played 7 Won 4 Lost 2 Drew 1
team played, scoring four goals to overhaul
the deficit and secure a comfortable victory
(4-1). Another commendable performance
was against Downside (1-1) where, in a
volatile match, the team showed great
togetherness and managed to gain a great
draw.
The OW Football was an excellent
occasion. Having battled hard to draw with
the Over 25s, it was very disappointing to
lose the overall competition by conceding
two late goals against the Under 21s.
However, this sort of summed up the
season, being so near, but so far from
success.
Overall it was a pleasure to watch
this team play and compete.
Squad: Peter Carr, Ryan Coombs,
Tigran Melkonyan, Jasper Meehan, Oliver
Lovejoy, Tom Caesar, Luke Whitmarsh,
Joe Caple, Henry Moss, Isaac Fearnley,
Yomi Awosope, Arturs Ribakovs, Subash
Ale, Jack Price.
2nd XI
Played 11 Won 4 Lost 5 Drew 2
For the 2nd team training has
been a key area of development this
season, with the players responding well
to the instructions of our Cheltenham
Town coach, Matt Hall. He has helped
the squad develop fundamental skills,
increasing the team’s tactical awareness
and strategy. The 2nd team trained with
the 1st team as a squad which was hugely
beneficial, raising the standard of play all
round. A major factor that has enabled the
team to progress further was adapting their
defensive strategy to incorporate a sweeper
and thus create more attacking players.
The 2nd team was lucky in having strength
in numbers and it was highly competitive
for places. This was undoubtedly the best
season ever for the 2nd team and it is
exciting to think what next year will bring!
Squad: Ryan Coombs, Henri
Eustrup, Peter Ibanga, Simon Magill,
Jon Arapov, Sasha Ukrayinskyy, Seni
It was a relatively successful season
or the U14 team, winning more that they
lost and retaining the Stonehouse Cup,
in the annual battle with our town rivals.
The season started with a good win over
Bromsgrove. Followed up with probably
the best performance of the year against
Maidenhill, to retain the Cup. However,
injuries to one or two key players led to
weakened teams losing to both QEH and
Monmouth in succession. Neither of these
teams were better than the Wycliffe side,
who led in both matches, but squandered
chances to make them safe.
After these two defeats, and without
the services of its Captain, the team
displayed good spirit to bounce back with
three convincing wins and a draw to end
their season. The squad has good strength
in depth and the players have performed
well over a disjointed season punctuated
by cancellations and water-logged pitches.
U14
Played 7 Won 1 Lost 6
The U14 side really enjoyed their
football, working hard in training and
matches. Whilst the overall statistics
convey a disappointing season there
were some great matches. Against
King’s Taunton the team competed well
throughout the match and deserved more
for their pressure. The team also scored in
every match they played.
The only win was a convincing
performance that gave the players
confidence and showed their improvement
as a team from the start of the season.
Squad: Lukas James, Cullan Lloyd,
Barnaby Hudson, Noah Murray, Alex
Seymour, Munsi Shakantu, Zachary
Chan, Matt Ansell, Ollie Tomblin, Ben
Richards, Malik Hamad, Charlie Leach,
Poonpun Yoksap, Kieran Bradley.
U14 XI
The ‘Fighting14s’ had a challenging
season coming up against some strong
opposition when some players were
still mentally taking guard and not
quite ready to face their first ball. As the
season gathered momentum, the boys
displayed some gutsy determination
and their enthusiasm for the game never
flagged. This cumulated in much stronger
performances and, indeed, victories at
the back end of the season. All the boys
became better players over the course
of the season and everyone contributed
something of note before stumps were
drawn. Josh Currie and Alex Seymour
shared the captaincy, Matt Ansell kept
wicket with great energy and scored
valuable runs, Noah Murray and Jaiden
Jay bowled a good line and length and
there were batting cameos from Charlie
Leach, Kieran Bradley, Olly Tomblin, Ben
Richards and Cullan Lloyd. If the team can
maintain the same spirt next year, they will
undoubtedly continue to win matches and
enjoy the game even more.
U14 Squad: Josh Currie, Alex
Seymour, Matt Ansell, Cullan Lloyd, Ben
Richards, Charlie Leach, Ollie Tomblin,
Kieran Bradley, Noah Murray, Jaiden Jay,
Lukas James, Barnaby Hudson.
1st XI
It was always going to be an
interesting term after a number of last
year’s squad had left. A young squad
struggled for consistency throughout the
term. Bowlers rarely put the ball in the
‘right areas’ and failed to bowl to the
correct field setting. Chad Trainor was the
leading wicket taker with 13. After a poor
start, the batting finally came good towards
the end of term. Useful contributions from
Chad Trainor, Ollie Carey and Captain
Noah Cooper-Llanes helped the team win
against Hereford Cathedral, QEH and Dean
Close. Other highlights included, 98 from
Noah Cooper-Llanes against the MCC
and a 1st XI debut for Year 7 pupil Will
Naish, aged 12 years and one day, who
scored 33 not out at Hereford. With six
Year 10 pupils playing at some stage during
the term, they will have gained valuable
experience for the future and hopefully be
prepared to work on their game during the
winter. Full Colours went to Noah Cooper-
Llanes, Most Improved: James Garrett
and the Ben Gannon award for the leading
wicket taker: Chad Trainor.
1st XI Squad: Noah Cooper-Llanes
(Captain), Jack Lister, Jasper Meehan,
Oliver Lovejoy, Angus Wightman, Tom
Caesar, Ben Clarke, James Garrett, James
Leach, Henry Lister, Chad Trainor, Oliver
Carey, Jamie Ealey, James Gristock, Innes
Pierce, Aaron Collins.
U15 XI
The U15s enjoyed a fine season. They
reached the semi-final of the County Cup,
losing narrowly to Bournside School, and
only lost one other game. Six of the squad
represented the 1st XI in various fixtures
throughout the term, gaining valuable
experience for the future. They were Chad
Trainor, Jamie Ealey, Oliver Carey, Aaron
Collins, James Gristock and Innes Pierce.
With the team often missing players to
the 1st XI, it was a credit to the rest of the
squad who trained hard and were able to
make the most of their opportunities when
called upon. This was truly reflected during
a great one wicket win against Hereford
Cathedral School. With three wickets and
hitting the winning runs, Man of the Match
went to Meroj Alisherkhujaev in only his
first ever game of cricket, highlighting
the strength and depth of the squad.
Hopefully, all will attend winter nets to
further improve their techniques for the
future.
U15 Squad: Chad Trainor, Jamie
Ealey, Oliver Carey, Aaron Collins,
James Gristock, Innes Pierce, Tom
Smith, Harvey Abbott, Tom Stanley, Jack
Newey, Josh Greenhalgh, Matt Lambie,
Lewis Rawlinson, Freddie Lister, Meroj
Alisherkhujaev.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Cricket
5Sport
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Wycliffe was represented by four
fencers this year. Returning for his 2nd
championships, Markus Lohmeyer was
competing in both Senior Boys’ foil and
epee events. Making their first appearance
were Andrey Molchanov, Charlie Leach
and Cullan Lloyd. Andrey was unable to
take part in his first event due to illness;
he decided to sit out the epee and save
his energy for the foil event the following
day. Charlie and Cullan however, both
started their championships in the epee
event. Neither boy had any experience
at this weapon, as all of previous fencing
experience is with the foil.
Competing in a field of 97 fencers,
Cullan won two from four and Charlie
won three from five, promote both boys
to round two. Cullan was to fall at this
stage without a victory in four fights.
Charlie went through to the round of 64,
with three wins from four in round two.
He was seeded 26th for the elimination
rounds. Despite no real experience with
the epee, Charlie fought will skill and
determination. Sadly he was unable to
go any further, losing narrowly to another
left hander in a thrilling fight. Charlie was
36th and Cullan 70th.
In the Senior Boys’ foil, a field of 78
fencers took to the pistes. Markus won
three from four in round one to progress to
round two. Once again, he won three from
four to be seeded 19th for the elimination.
With a bye into the last 32, his next
opponent put up a strong challenge, but
was unable to break down the solid defence
of the Wycliffe athlete. Markus took the
bout 15-11 to book his place in the round
of 16. This is where he met an on-form
fencer who ended his hopes of another final
eight position. Markus was placed a very
creditable 15th.
Day two saw Andrey take to the piste
in a field of 103 fencers in the Boys’ Junior
foil. Still suffering the effect of a virus,
Andrey was in a pool of five fencers, three
of whom were very strong experienced
athletes. Unable to secure a win, Andrey
did not progress any further and was
placed 89th. Despite feeling down after his
performance, it is a credit to Andrey to enter
an event of this level with less than two
terms’ fencing experience.
Charlie and Cullan were now
competing at their preferred weapon,
foil. The Mount-Haes Boys’ foil had 101
entrants. Cullan won one from four and
managed to make the cut into round two.
Charlie won two and also made it to round
two. Cullan with one win in the 2nd round
was this time unfortunate and did not make
the round of 64 for the elimination stage.
Charlie however won three from four and
was 24th seed for the round of 64. With a
comfortable 15-8 victory, under his belt, he
took his place in the round of 32. Here he
met an experienced and very capable fencer,
who used a variety of well timed attacks
and ripostes to end Charlie’s’ dream for this
year. Charlie was placed 22nd overall with
Cullan 68th.
Markus was also competing that day in
the Senior Boys’ epee. A little off form and
fencing his less preferred weapon, he won
just one fight and did not make the cut for
round two. He was placed 77th.
Overall I was pleased with the way
the team approached each days’ events.
Determination, hard work and a sense
of fair play combined to promote the
reputation of our squad. This is something
that a number of other fencers and indeed
coaches could aspire to. A number of
unsavory confrontations between coaches
and referees were witnessed by both myself
and members of the team. It was pleasing
to see that our boys conducted themselves
with dignity and sportsmanship even when
decisions went against them. We look
forward to next year as always!
Public Schools Fencing ChampionshipsNational Sport Centre, Crystal Palace, London – 17th & 18th March 2015
By Shaun Garley
THE WYCLIFFIAN5Sport
Wycliffe College squash players achieved
a triple crown at the National Schools’
Championships in Manchester, winning
the U19 Boys’, U15 Boys’ and the U19
Girls’ titles.
Jonny Harford, Director of Squash,
believes Wycliffe is the first school to scoop
three titles in the championships.
For the Wycliffe squad it was a great
triumph, with nine of the 12 players having
been at Wycliffe for less than year!
The U19 Boys’ final saw the two most
prestigious schools in squash, Wycliffe
College and Millfield School, battle it out.
The match was stuck at 2-2 but Wycliffe
had more strength in the end and took the
title with a 3-2 score.
“They were all brilliant victories but
the U19 Boys was special because it was
so even and it all came down to the last
match,” said Jonny.
It is the first time since 1997 that
Wycliffe’s U19 Girls has secured a national
crown. They beat Dame Allan’s School 3-2.
The U15 Boys had a more decisive 4-1
victory against Gosforth Academy to secure
their national title.
“Squash is usually an individual sport
so it was nice to see the players come
together as a squad and celebrate as a
team,” said Jonny.
Triple Squash Champions
Members of the U19 Boys were:
Alex Schranz, Jared Carter, Jack Newey,
Arhant Simha and Duncan Mckillop.
Members of the U15 Boys were:
Jared Carter, Jack Newey, Nathan Mead,
Jack Bloomfield, Ben Richards and Alex
Van Blerk.
Members of the U19 Girls were:
Amelia Henley, Ellie Jones, Amber Peacey,
Holly Tyler and Ellie Bathurst.
Unlike the traditional Sports Day that is
aimed at awards and trophies, the Legacy
Sports morning is based on participation and
enjoyment. A number of House competitions
based on the legacy of the successful London
2012 Olympics, enable pupils to compete
and experience events that might only occur
during PE lessons or activities.
Legacy Sports Day
The morning was again a huge
success. Football was added for the girls
for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed
by the participants and spectators alike.
Thanks must go to Cheltenham Town
Football Club for providing the coaching
for this session. No event was more keenly
contested than Basketball, and this again
proved a hugely enjoyable event.
The winners of each event are not the
individuals competing, but the different
Houses they represent.
It is hoped that this event is one
that will long be continued and enjoyed at
Wycliffe.
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This was the first Rugby 7s tour that
Wycliffe has arranged. The timing was
perfect preparation for the 7s season which
starts after half-term. A 14-strong tour
party boarded the plane to Venice, all with
high hopes and looking forward to the
challenges that lay ahead.
A training session was arranged for
the first afternoon, the perfect way to get
a day of travelling out of the system before
the two evening tournaments. The pitch at
Monselice RFC was a little worn, but the
squad were ready for the off.
The morning of the first tournament
was spent sightseeing in Monselice. The
seven churches and the old part of the
town were picturesque. A pasta lunch in a
local restaurant was enjoyed by all, before
boarding the coach to travel to the Carwyn
James 7s Tournament being held at Oderzo
RFC.
The hospitality of the Club was
exceptional from the start and certainly
more welcoming than the pitch! The
absence of grass was clear, but the players
were determined from the outset to set high
standards, despite the hard, bare ground
that greeted every fall or tackle.
The first match was against a local
club side Rugby Piave. The kick off from
Jack Lister was perfectly hung and enabled
Angus Wightman to turn the ball over and
set Alex Schranz to score within seconds of
the start of the match. This was the perfect
start! This lead was built on throughout
the match and, although the second half
became scrappy, it was a solid 24-5 win to
begin the tournament.
The second match was against a very
determined host club. From the outset,
Grifoni Rugby Club Oderzo were physical
in the contact and tackled very effectively.
Despite individual effort, the collective
performance of the Wycliffe team was
not enough and the team slipped to a
disappointing 0-17 defeat.
The first evening of the tournament
concluded with presentations and a meal
at the club.
On the Wednesday evening, the
team faced four more Italian sides,
including a regional select team. Putting
the disappointment of the previous evening
aside, the team started the second day with
some of their best rugby. Ross Livingstone
scored the first Wycliffe try of the evening
with an electric burst of pace to finish a
mazy run. Angus Wightman in contrast,
galloped home in the final seconds to score
a second try and secure a 10-0 win against
Rugby San Dona. This was a brilliant
start to the evening. In the second match
the team began to play some intelligent
rugby and, moving the ball away from the
Italy Rugby 7s Tour
opposition, won 36-0 against Rugby Riviera
MMX.
From this point on, the team
continued to play some outstanding rugby.
Against Selez Fruili Venezia Giulia, the
team defended with total commitment,
and despite conceding a wave of penalties
and refereeing decisions that went against
the team, they prevented a score until after
the final whistle of the half. At the start of
the second half, Angus Wightman scored
to bring the team back into the match, but
again the whistle was against the team and
a late try confirmed a 5-12 defeat.
This introduction to the local laws
of the game continued in the final match
against Ruggers Tarvisium. Despite playing
well and showing outstanding discipline,
the team lost 0-14 to finish the tournament
in a well-deserved third place.
During the presentations, Toben
Ronald was named as the Wycliffe player of
the tournament. The team also received a
shield for their achievements.
The final day of Tour was enjoyed in
the romantic and beautiful city of Venice.
The visit to St Mark’s Square involved
walking along narrow paths and over
bridges as well as passing through the fish
market, shops and stalls. A traditional lunch
was enjoyed by all, followed by a boat trip
along the Grand Canal and through the
narrow inlets. The trip was certainly one of
the highlights of the tour.
In the evening the final tour meal was
enjoyed at the Pizzeria in Monselice. It was
an opportunity for the players and staff to
celebrate the successes of the tour whilst
savouring some of the finest Italian cuisine.
Overall, this tour was a wonderful
experience for all concerned. It is hoped
that the players will build on the success
during the forthcoming season.
THE WYCLIFFIAN5
three games from winger Ross Livingstone.
– the squad tried to play with positive intent
throughout the term when we were able to
win quick ball.
The team was well led by the
example of Toben Ronald, who represented
Gloucester Rugby U18. Jack Lister and Zeb
Waite gained selection for Gloucestershire
U18 and Tom Seabrook South West
Division U16 Divisional Squad. New
additions to the squad included Angus
Wightman, Noah Cooper-Llanes, Jack
Shepherd and Ben Clarke who provided
strength in depth and ensured competition
for places remained keen.
1st XV Squad: Toben Ronald
(Captain), Jack Lister (Vice Captain), James
Garrett, Ross Livingstone, Alex Schranz,
Zeb Waite, Tom Seabrook, Noah Cooper-
Llanes, Ben Clarke, Harry Ford, Charlie
Richards, Simon Magill, Matt Parsons, Oli
Lovejoy, Sasha Ukrayinskyy, Jack Shepherd,
1st XV Rugby:
Played 9 Won 4 Lost 5
Points Scored 174 Points Against 190
Three days of pre-season training
enabled us to look at new players and give
those returning the chance to stake a claim
for a starting place in the 1st XV.
A competitive trial game against KLB
ensured we were ready to start the term in
a positive mood. A resounding win against
Wells Cathedral School was followed by
tougher assignments against Dean Close
and Hereford. While the team remained
competitive, we struggled to stamp our
authority on these games and were let
down by basic errors. Some momentum
was gained by beating King’s Gloucester
(18-5), St Edward’s Cheltenham (65-5) and
a return fixture against KLB (20-18) under
floodlights at Stroud RFC. Without ever
putting in a complete team performance –
the individual highlight was seven tries in
George Turner, Arkeld Bozo, Angus
Wightman.
2nd XV Rugby:
Played 6 Won 2 Lots 4
Points Scored 85 Points Against 142
This was the first time in four years
that Wycliffe College had put out a regular
2nd XV, impressively everyone who played
stepped up and did the college proud. At
the start of the first match the team selected
Matt Lee as Captain; he should be really
proud of this, it is almost unheard of for
a Y12 to be Captain of a Senior team. The
squad was a mixture of players new to the
game and students who had represented
Wycliffe College for eight years in a row.
What was really good to see was the way the
team gelled and enjoyed the matches. It was
also good to see how well the U16 players
were incorporated when the teams played
as one.
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staff and pupils for a great season and their
continued support. Special mentions go
to Tom Seabrook, James Leach, George
Hartson, Henry Radcliffe, Jack Price
and Nathan Adams who all represented
the District. Nathan and Tom were also
selected for the County squad and Tom has
progressed to a final South West Divisional
trial.
Squad: Mark Zheng, James Leach,
Denis Fedorov, Nye Hamer-Nickells, James
Whitaker, Hiro Tokura, Jamie Jones, Sergey
Zaprudin, George Hartson, Henry Radcliffe,
Henry Lister, Nathan Adams, Ryan
Coombs, Aiden Coffey, Ollie Denning, Tom
Seabrook, Liam Mclaren, Jack Price, Felix
Wente, Louis Grobkopf, Seva Bilous.
U15A Rugby:
Played 12 Won 2 Lost 10
The U15A team started the season
with some wonderful expansive rugby and
comprehensive wins against Rendcomb
(64-12) and Thomas Keeble (29-15).
Unfortunately these two matches also took
their toll on the squad and a number of
players missed all or the vast majority of the
remainder of the season through injury.
The players that continued to play
week in week out deserve huge recognition
for their commitment and determination.
Many of these players were playing in
the A team for the first time. There was a
lack of team structure, which would have
been provided by some of those that were
missing. However, every player has made
significant improvements to their own
game and while the team struggled to get
a positive result, there were some fine
moments.
In a number of matches the team
came from behind to win the second half.
This happened against Cokethorpe and the
Cotswold School. One of the best matches
was against St Edward’s, Cheltenham where
some fabulous team tries were scored in a
29-39 defeat. The final game of the season
confirmed the team’s ability by scoring five
tries in a 27-48 defeat to King’s, Bruton and
The speed came from Yomi Awosope
and Peter Ibanga, the direction from Tom
Caesar and Matt Lee and the rucking
from Harry Ford and Sascha Ukrayinskyy.
The whole team should be proud of their
achievements, hopefully all the year 12s will
play for the school again next year.
Squad: Henry Hudson, Yomi Awosope,
Isacc Fearnley, Luke Barnett, Peter Ibanga,
Matt Lee, Tom Caesar, Rob Allman-Carter,
Sasha Urkayinskyy, Chris Clough, Jack
Evans, Ramazan Samat, Jeffrey Chan,
Harry Ford, Alberto, Peter Carr, John
Arapov, Charlie Ballans, Jasper Meehan,
Ben Asquith, Hosney, Angus Allen.
U16 Rugby:
Played 8 Won 5 Lost 3
The Wycliffe U16 team started
their season off brilliantly with a superb
performance against Wells Cathedral (50-
5). The main objective for the season was
the District Cup, between KLB, Kingshill,
Archway, Marling and us. The boys had high
expectations in this competition and wanted
to do well. Some phenomenal well-fought
games were played. In particular, the match
against Archway, where the boys stepped up
physically and closed out an intimidating
Archway side and were rewarded with a 16-
10 win. The team went on to win all four of
their group matches and made into the final
where they faced KLB.
This final was played under lights
at Stroud RFC. Wycliffe opened the
scoring late in the first half where they
went seven points up. In the second
half the continuous ploy from KLB of
slow ball pick-and-goes, eventually led
to a try, to make it 7-5. In the last ten
minutes KLB continued to wear down the
Wycliffe defence and scored a late try to
make the score 10-7 at full time. Wycliffe
played some great attacking rugby with
everyone putting in a huge effort, but were
unfortunate on the day. This result does
not reflect the standard played throughout
the season.
A big thank you goes to the parents,
again win the second half!
The strength of the team was out wide
and when given space Alex Watson and
Matt Lambie troubled every opponents.
Charlie Pritchard proved a motivating
Captain, while Meroj Alisherkhujaev and
Archie Ronald were a driving force up front.
This age group still has much potential
and I am sure will continue to improve next
season. Well done!
Squad: Matt Lambie, Tom Brooker,
Charlie Pritchard, Aaron Collins, Alex
Watson, Chad Trainor, Lewis Rawlinson,
Jamie Ealey, Anuar Ulzhibayev, Jacob
Richardson, George Walker, Archie Ronald,
Meroj Alisherkhujaev, Laurie Buckingham,
Aiden Anderson, Harvey Abbott, Freddie
Lister, Aiden Tasker, Enno Hoyndorf, James
Gristock, Josh Greenhalgh, Batraz Albegov.
U15B Rugby:
Played 3 Won 2 Lost 1
The U15B team began where they
left off the previous year with victories over
Wells Cathedral (47-38) and a well-deserved
win against Dean Close (26-24). Regular
fixtures were again hard to find, but there
was still improvement through training.
The final weekend of the season saw
every boy in their Year Group represent the
school in either A or B teams against King’s
Bruton. This was a wonderful achievement,
matched only by their enthusiasm and
commitment. The B match was another
excellent contest with lots of tries. In the
end, a conversion split the teams and the
U15Bs slumped to their first ever defeat
27-25.
This was another enjoyable year and it
is hoped that more of these players start to
contest for A team places in the future.
Squad: Fraser Grandfield, Roy Kong,
Will Molyneux, Ollie Harris, Charlie
Haden, Tom Stanley, Wilf Hunt, Tom Smith,
Alex Lauchlan, Joe Simpson, River Jay, Ollie
Carey, Max Edgeson, Hammond Ozakpolor,
Mysha Chinchin, Innes Pierce.
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THE WYCLIFFIAN
tries in these games. The whole squad
worked tirelessly in defence. Group B was
dominated by Kingswood School who went
on to play Millfield in the Final. A hard-
fought game ended 19-19. In sudden-death
time any score would suffice. A clever
cross-field kick from Kingswood allowed
the winger to touch down for a memorable
victory 24-19. The Plate Final, for teams
finishing second in each group, was won
by Sir Thomas Rich’s who beat KES, Bath
24-19.
At the Gloucestershire Sevens, Wycliffe
was no match for a physical Pates team in
their first group game losing 5-31. Matt Lee
scored with the last play of the next game,
to help defeat Bristol Cathedral School
19-12. Probably the best performance of
the afternoon was a 28-17 win against KLB.
Tries came from Noah Cooper-Llanes, Jack
Lister, Ross Livingstone and Zeb Waite.
The team was unable to continue this form
as, losing its last group game 5-10 to St
Edward’s Cheltenham.
The Dean Close Tournament offered
a chance for teams to fine tune for the
National Sevens. How better to start a
tournament than by beating the host
school: Wycliffe 28, Dean Close 14. There
followed a much improved performance
against Pate’s from the previous week’s
tournament despite a 14-28 loss, meaning
After a successful ‘Team Bonding’ tour
to Italy during Half Term, the 1st Sevens
squad travelled to Hereford for the 32-
team Marches Sevens, for their first UK
tournament of the term. After two tough
group games against Cheltenham College
and Blundell’s School, our third group
game against Bridgend College resulted in
a walk-over victory as they failed to turn
up! This left Wycliffe third in the group,
and a Quarter Final against Solihull School
in the ‘Bowl’ competition. After enduring
a three hour wait, Wycliffe put in a fine
performance on a sodden pitch in wind
and hail, to lose narrowly 14-17. Try scorers
were George Turner and Angus Wightman
with two conversions from Jack Lister.
The Wycliffe Invitation U18 7s,
played on Thursday 5th March saw, ten
teams compete in two groups of five. In
Group A. Wycliffe started with a narrow
but confidence boosting win against QEH
15-12. Showing discipline in defence,
well worked tries came from Zeb Waite,
James Garrett and Ben Clarke. In the
three remaining group games Wycliffe
suffered defeats against Dean Close, 21-31,
eventual finalists Millfield, 22-43, and King
Edward’s Bath, 5-24, finishing third equal
in the group. The team showed glimpses
of its capability when allowed to dominate
possession and scored some excellent
a place in the semi-final against Prior Park.
Wycliffe was well-beaten, in a disappointing
performance, so played Tewkesbury School
in the Plate Final. This time we decided
to play our best sevens, and duly won the
Plate 24-14.
The National Schools Sevens always
provides a stern test, but is a fantastic
opportunity to compete in an exciting
environment against different schools from
our regular fixture list. After the draw was
made, you could be forgiven for thinking
Wycliffe was in the ‘group of death’. We
started with a close loss (15-17) against
Trinity School, Croydon, playing some
outstanding sevens in a game we should
and could have won. The squad failed
to achieve this standard again, however,
and further losses to Colfe’s School,
Berkhampsted School and King’s School
Worcester ended our participation in the
tournament. Six Lower Sixth players were
in the squad and they will have gained
valuable experience, which bodes well for
the future.
U18 Sevens Squad: Toben Ronald,
Jack Lister, Zeb Waite, Alex Schranz, Harry
Ford, Simon Magill, George Turner, James
Garrett, Jasper Meehan, Matt Lee, Angus
Wightman, Ben Clarke, Charlie Richards,
Noah Cooper-Llanes, Henry Hudson, Ross
Livingstone.
Wycliffe Rugby 7s
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composure with wise tactics on the points
that mattered, a gripping final, 6-4. Many
thanks to all who took part, we hope even
more OWs return next year, for what is a
great day.
Another highlight of the season
was our match against Monmouth. The
fixture consisted of singles versus opposite
seed and doubles rubbers to everyone’s
satisfaction. Although the fixture was lost,
all players raised their game and played
classic tennis. From a coach’s perspective,
it was a delight to see training skills
implemented in matches, with everyone
enjoying themselves.
Thank you to everyone in the squad
for their dedication and efforts. To all the
leavers, I hope you keep playing tennis
and the best of luck in all your future
endeavours.
Full Colours: Subash Ale.
Half Colours: Irvin Lau, Sasha
Ukrayinskyy, Joshua Kraushaar.
Squad: Subash Ale (C), Sasha
Ukrayinskyy, Ruslan Albegov, Markus
Lohmeyer, Irvin Lau, Joshua Kraushaar,
Seni Oyewumi, Evan Cheng, Felix Wente,
Christian Besch, Duncan McKillop, Henry
Moss, Ivan Gagov, Artus Ribakovs.
Junior Boys’ Team Tennis Season
Played 9 Won 4 Lost 5
A highlight of the season for the
Juniors was entering the LTA Year 10,
Gloucestershire, Division Two league.
The other schools in our draw were Dene
Magna, Cleeve, Severn Vale and Cotswold
School. The competition required every
The season started with indoor Tennis,
played in the double Sports Hall here at
Wycliffe. This was run by our external
coach Jason Boon (head coach, Frampton
Tennis Club) and was a mixture of cardio
tennis during a lunch-time session, then
technical skills in an evening session.
During the season Jason worked alongside
Mr Lunch to deliver coaching sessions on
Monday and Thursday afternoons, working
on doubles and singles tactics with both
the Senior and Junior squads.
Senior Boys’ Team Tennis Season
Played 5 Won 1 Lost 4
The Senior Squad has grown in size
this year and there was a great competitive
nature and battles for positions in the
1st and 2nd pairings. Pupils trained very
hard and improvements were abundant.
In particular, serve and volley has been
emphasised in the squad’s game play.
Subash Ale led the team as captain and his
cool calm approach will be sorely missed.
Special thanks must go to Subash for the
last five years and his commitment to the
team.
One highlight was the Old
Wycliffians Day. It was fantastic this year,
with a record number of OWs returning
for a knock-out style competition. The
pairings of Andrew Golding with Stephen
Savery & Tom Harris with James Lunch
reached the final. Special mention must
go to Stephen Savery who still runs
around court, playing lovely winning
shots at the grand age of 80 – absolutely
amazing! Andrew and Stephen’s cool
player to play their opposite seed in a
game of singles and then partner up to
play a set of doubles. Two of our four
matches went to a doubles championship
tie-break, to ten points. Unfortunately we
lost both, but this was a very close league
that Wycliffe will definitely enter again
next year.
The District Cup this year was a
nail-biting competition with three schools
in the running to enter the final. All the
teams in the league won the same number
of fixtures so the decision went down to
games won collectively. Unfortunately,
Wycliffe Junior Tennis narrowly lost out to
Marling who went through this time, but
there is always next year!
The squad is developing well and
we wish the Year 10s a smooth transition
into Senior Tennis. Thank you to all the
Juniors who have represented Wycliffe in
the fixtures and we hope they continue
playing next year.
Full Colours: Batraz Albegov, Oliver
Harris
Half Colours: Zachary Chan
Squad: Batraz Albegov (C), Oliver
Harris, Enno Hoyndorf, Jack Newey, Alex
Seymour, Jared Carter, Sergey Zaprudin,
Stoyan Petkov, Roy Kong, Hammond
Ozakpolor, Anuar Ulzhibayev, Freddie
Lister, River Jay, Jacob Richardson.
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Nash played at 2nd pair with Holly Tyler
and Sasha Green 3rd pair. Some excellent
displays of tennis were observed, with the
girls developing their tactical awareness
to build rallies and win points being the
focus. A frustrating first round tie against
Stroud High School seems to be the norm
in the National Schools’ Cup, but the girls
gave their very best to make the opposition
earn its victory. Wins against St Edward’s
School, Cheltenham and Rendcomb
College were applauded whilst losses
against the strong opposition of Monkton
Combe, Cheltenham College and St
Mary’s School, Calne were competitive
and worthy opposition to test ourselves
against.
Holly Tyler won the Senior House
Competition for Lampeter.. Megan Nash
was awarded tennis player at the Sports
Dinner.
Squad: Lara Bathurst, Anna
1sts:
Played 5 Won 2 Lost 3
Cardio Tennis ran as the preseason
programme in the Spring Term, with
LTA coach Jason Boon. Jason has had a
greater impact in the Summer Term than
in previous years, delivering a tennis
programme to the Juniors on a Monday
games session, as well as to both Junior
and Senior age groups on Thursday
afternoons.
The examination period is always
a difficult time for students to balance
their time and commit to a busy sporting
programme. The Senior Squads played the
majority of their fixtures before half term,
whilst the weather affected some fixtures
in the second half, including the mixed
match verses Malvern College.
Lara Bathurst captained the squad
at 1st pair with Head of School Anna
Fishwick. Anais Reymond and Megan
Fishwick, Anais Reymond, Megan Nash,
Holly Tyler, Sasha Green.
2nds:
Played 4 Won 0 Drew 0 Lost 4
Captained by Imogen Gray, the
2nds fielded a versatile squad this season,
with ten girls representing the squad
in competitive fixtures over the term.
The depth was needed during a busy
examination time for these players in
order to field pairings. Results didn’t go in
Wycliffe’s favour and often failing to reflect
the competitive nature of the individual
points played. All girls have played with
motivation and a keenness to give their
best on the courts.
Squad: Imogen Gray, Lucy Parker,
Lucy Haynes, Erin Holley, Omina Jones,
Anastasia Albegova, Ivana Dimitrova,
Polina Kozyakaeva, Carina La Garde,
Jess Randall.
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U15:
Played 7 Won 4 Drew 0 Lost 3
It was a successful season for the
U15s. Strong wins against Rendcomb
College (6-3), (12-11), Pate’s (7-2) and
Bromsgrove School (5-4) were deserved,
with the three pairs playing some excellent
rallies and winning shots. Two close 5-4
losses against Cheltenham College and
Monkton Combe provided some great
competitive Tennis for the spectators and a
battle for every point from the girls.
In the Aegon Division Two league,
wins against Farmor’s School, The
Cotswold School and a forfeited match
against Westonbirt placed them top of the
league.
Ellie Bathurst and Alice Dean won
all their matches and the first place medal
in the round-robin tournament in the
South Cotswold district tournament.
Collingwood House won the Junior Inter-
house competition with Ellie Bathurst and
Josie Hampson winning all three House
matches.
Izzy Menendez was awarded Tennis
player at the Sports Dinner.
Squad: Ellie Bathurst, Izzy
Menendez, Alice Dean, Josie Hampson,
Grace Aspinwall, Harriet Stevens, Emily
Riley, Sasha Pysarieva.
U14:
Played 7 Won 4 Drew 0 Lost 3
It was another excellent sporting
season for the U14s, who performed to
their potential to challenge the bigger
schools and achieve successful results.
A 1-2 loss against St Edward’s took place
after a delayed start, and time constraints
conditioned the play. An early season
match against Dean Close, although a 3-6
loss, was competitive and highlighted the
potential of the squad. Four wins followed,
with displays of improved technical and
tactical tennis. The girls deserved the wins
against Rendcomb College (9-0), Pate’s
(7-2), Cheltenham College (6-3) and
Monkton Combe (5-4), all considered to
be credible sports schools. A narrow 3-5
loss against Bromsgrove was unlucky but
competitive, with the result dependent
upon the last round of matches. Iona
Lundie and Katie Cruickshank won the
South Cotswold District tournament after
being undefeated in their five round-robin
matches.
Squad: Katie Cruickshank, Iona
Lundie, Emma Livingstone, Isla Green,
Lucy Parsons, Rebecca Taphouse, Katie
Seymour, Mary Evans.
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THE WYCLIFFIAN
the Quarter Finals, however only Jared
progressed to the semi and then the final,
where he lost a tight battle against the
number one in England. In the Girls’ U17
event, Amelia Henley was clearly the one
to beat. Unfortunately for the rest of the
field this wasn’t to be, and she became
the National champion without dropping
a game.
December saw the European
tournaments. We had already tasted success
at the Welsh Junior Open, with Amber
Peacey winning the Girls’ U17, Jared Carter
the Boys’ U15 and Jack Bloomfield the
Boys’ U13. Now the whole squad travelled
to Switzerland for a Super Series event. Jared
was the only one who went on to win, but
Amber and Jack Bloomfield were one spot
away from taking another European title,
both just losing out in close-fought finals
against highly ranked European opposition.
January is the turn of the British
Junior Open, in Sheffield, the strongest
Junior Tournament in the world. Wycliffe’s
outstanding performer was Amelia, who
wasn’t seeded but finished fifth, really
announcing her presence on the world junior
stage. Ellie, Amber, Jack Newey and Jared
also performed very well, finishing above
With so many influential characters
and players leaving the school in July
2014, September was always going to be
welcomed with a little apprehension and
worry. However, this was soon replaced
with excitement because of the quality of
the players and personalities that had been
recruited over the summer.
The year began with the County
Closed events and Wycliffe players
dominated the Gloucestershire event,
with Ellie Jones, Nathan Mead and Jack
Bloomfield all bringing home titles. Jack
Newey replaced Lyell Fuller as the number
one boy in Devon, by capturing their U19
and U17 titles. A strong start to the year
continued with the Regional Closed events
where the two Jacks won the South West
U13 and U15 titles. Ellie Jones and Amelia
Henley won their respective U17 Girls’
regional closed events, with Jared Carter
winning the U15 Boys’ title in the South.
From these set of results and with
high English rankings for many of the
players, Wycliffe was probably taking one
of its strongest contingent of players across
different age groups to the British Junior
Closed. The Boys’ U15 were particularly
strong with three of the eight players in
their seeding amongst the highest ranked
English players.
It is fairly non-stop for the elite squad
at the school, with tournaments and regional
training squads taking up a lot of weekends.
For those in their first year, it is a lot to
take in with so much more squash during
the week and it was admirable to see how
everyone managed this. During this time
as well, the National Schools’ competition
took place. The Boys’ U15 and U19, along
with the Girls’ U19 team all progressed
through to the finals with relative ease. The
Boys’ U15 were first to win and retain their
title, it was then the turn of the U19 Girls
who did so with the help of Holly Tyler and
Ellie Bathurst, winning 3-2 in the final. The
Boys’ U19 team followed this up with a 3-2
win over long-time rivals Millfield, giving
Wycliffe a hat-trick of titles, something never
achieved before. It was fantastic to see the
players come together for these two finals
days in Manchester, even more so because it
had been such a new squad of friends and
players only a few months earlier.
Particularly pleasing in the Boys’
U19 event were wins for Arhant Simha
and Duncan Mckillop who didn’t enjoy as
much success in the English tournaments.
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through his hard work and dedication.
The final event of the year was the
English National Championships held in
Birmingham. Again, we had high hopes and
with six quarter finalists across all the age
groups we were contesting better than ever.
Progressing to the semi-finals were Ellie &
Jack Newey, while Amelia Henley went on
to reach the finals where she lost out in a
close-fought match to long-time rival and
the England U19 number one, Georgina
Kennedy. Jared Carter however, showed
his class and became the English champion
without dropping a game. A fantastic
achievement, considering he still has one
more year in the age group.
Other notable achievements this year:
Jack Newey and Jared Carter taking up two
of the three places in the Boys’ England
U15 team who became European team
They were really playing for something and
because of their improvement and effort over
the year, these victories were fully deserved.
It was also the last time Alex Schranz, the
squad Captain, would represent the school;
unfortunately he didn’t win but played a
crucial part in the team’s victory as he has
throughout his years at the school. To arrive
at the school having never played squash
and leaving as the number one in the squad
is testament to his hard work, hopefully
showing some of the Prep School players
that it can be achieved.
In amongst all this were some smaller
National events with Alex Van Blerk winning
his first title, Arhant Simha reaching his
first final of an English event and beating
someone ranked in the top 16 in England.
This really outlines how much Arhant has
improved in his two years at the school
champions. Amelia also came third in the
European Junior Championships, before
helping England retain the European U19
team title. She goes on to represent England
at the World Junior Championships in
Eindhoven this summer.
It is testament to the support the
school gives squash that even with so
many players leaving in one year, the
school went on to have one of its most
successful seasons. It will be hard to
replicate this in the coming year, but we
will retain a lot of the names repeatedly
mentioned above and their goals will be
very high. We will also enter more teams
in the National Schools to continually
develop squash within the school.
Commonwealth games and his experience
was invaluable for the girls.
These sessions are one of the biggest
changes to the way in which WASP helps
more pupils, a number of sport-specific
sessions are planned for next year.
On a more generic focus Matthew
Thompson (MBPsS, MSc, PGDip, BSc
(Hons)), a Sport Scientist specialising
in Psychology from the University of
Birmingham, was invited to school and
worked with Prep and Senior School WASP
members on how they approach their
sport. Confidence, mental preparation and
self-belief were all touched upon in a fun
practical and theoretical approach.
Chartwells provided a sports
nutritionist to meet with the pupils and
discuss their individual needs. It is hoped
that this will see an improvement and
appreciation of the dietary needs of the
school’s sportsmen and women. Packed
Wycliffe Academy Sports Programme has
continued to help develop and support the
elite sports men and women within Wycliffe.
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
delivered a session on diet and nutrition, as
well as outlining training habits and advice
for students. This has been supported
brilliantly by Ben Gannon, who regularly
carries out individual fitness appraisals
for pupils to help focus and advance
their training.
Alex Gidman (Worcestershire County
Cricket Club), has headed up the WASP
programme and the cricketers in the Prep
and Senior School have benefitted from his
expert coaching and mentoring throughout
the winter and into the summer. Similarly,
Rosie Pretorious (Wales Netball), delivered
a masterclass for the netballers preparing for
the County and Regional finals. There was
also a session for hockey players from Mark
Moss, who was involved as a coach at the
lunches are one area that was discussed and
will hopefully be improved for next year.
WASP will continue to benefit pupils
throughout the school as they strive to
achieve their best in all sport.
Wycliffe Academy Sports Programme (WASP)
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Alice and George Tomblin rode in the
Grass Roots competition; it was their first
ever show jumping competition on their
new ponies, and both rode brilliantly,
learning so much and gaining huge
confidence along the way. Alice rode in the
50 and 60cms classes’ producing beautiful
rounds to go clear in both. George rode
in the 60cms class, having just one minor
problem with his pony spooking at one
of the fences, leaving him on four faults
at the end. It was a great effort, with so
much talent, at such young ages. It will
be exciting to watch their progress. Zoe
Davison rode in the main arena later in
The Wycliffe College Equestrian Team
is now well established, with a great
core group of riders ranging from eight
through to 18 years old. Wycliffe is once
again a member of the, National Schools’
Equestrian Association (NSEA), and
took part in lots of schools competitions
throughout the year.
Sunday 14th September 2014,
saw the Inter-schools’ Show Jumping
competition, hosted by Cheltenham
Ladies’ College at Rectory Farm,
Cirencester. Wycliffe only had three
individuals there this year, due to a
calendar clash with the CCF weekend.
the day. With 50 competitors per class it
was a long day, but that did not affect Zoe
and her horse Nellie, as they produced a
faultless performance and won the 1.05m
class in pure style.
Sunday 21st September, saw the
Inter-schools’ Team One Day Event hosted
by and run at Stonar School, Wiltshire.
Wycliffe had three individual riders entered:
one in the British Eventing 90cms class,
which was a huge class, and two in the
British Eventing 100cms. Isla Green, 13,
riding Oliver rode in the 90cms with Jessica
Telford, 14, riding Tockas and Zoe Davison,
15, riding Nellie rode in the 100cms.
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This was a challenge, being the first time
both Jessica and Tockas, and Zoe’s horse
Nellie, had competed at this height. The
competition consisted of a dressage test, a
round of show jumps and then galloping
round a fast cross-county course. After
walking the course, the team realised that
there were a fair few questions for horse
and rider on the course, as well as a lot
of huge fences that needed to be jumped
accurately. BE 90 and 100 are recognised
events within the British eventing world
and this event had no age restriction, so
our riders were riding against students
who were up to 18 years old: it was a
huge ask for such a young squad. All three
riders finished the day just outside the top
ten, which was a fantastic result. Riding
this huge cross-county course, clear, inside
the time for these riders was outstanding
and really showed how talented they all
are. Not many riders completed the course
on the day, let alone inside the time!
Sunday 1st March, was the Inter-
school Dressage competition, at King’s
Equestrian Centre. Iona Farrow-Wilton
and Charlotte Byrnes, both Year 8 pupils,
entered this event turning their hand to
pure dressage. Charlotte rode well in both
classes, but with a slight misunderstanding
on tack regulations she was unable to
be placed. Iona rode in the novice class,
riding a complex routine and against riders
much older than herself on much bigger
horses. Iona and her pony, Spot the Spot
II, rode a faultless round leaving them just
outside a qualifying place in 3rd. It was a
fantastic first result for Wycliffe.
Charlotte Byrnes was again, three
weeks on the trot, out competing under
the Wycliffe name at the Jumping with
Style event, at Millfield, on Sunday 8th
March and the Inter-schools’ Show
Jumping Grassroots Qualifier at King’s
Equestrian Centre, on Sunday 15th March.
In both events Charlotte rode mature
rounds to finish just outside the top ten.
In huge classes this was a very good result.
During the Easter holidays, the
Wycliffe Equestrian team got together for
a team training day. 13 out of the squad of
16 turned up to train under the instruction
of two qualified instructors/coaches. Mr
& Mrs Hatherell were incredibly generous
to allow us to use their fantastic facilities
which meant all riders got an hour of
dressage coaching followed by an hour of
show jump coaching and some fun out
on the cross-county course. The groups
were split according to the classes they
compete in, and there were no more than
four riders per group. It was a wonderful
day with the weather being incredibly kind
to the spectators, who enjoyed watching
and picnicking, while the riders enjoyed
themselves and worked hard. The day set
the squad up nicely for the May’s Stonar
One Day Event. There are plans to hold
equestrian team training days more often
after the success of the first.
Sunday 17th May, saw the Wycliffe
Equestrian Team travel to Stonar School,
for the Mini and Junior One Day Event.
Wycliffe had only one individual and
one team entered in the 90cms class, the
second team was balloted out because
entries were so high. All riders have to
learn and practice their dressage test in
their own time. Both the show jumping
and cross-country courses looked
impressive and had some technical
questions for both horse and rider. All
five riders rode good dressage tests,
leaving them all in the top ten in their
individual sections after dressage. In
the show jumping was next Isla Green,
Rachel Hatherell and Charlotte Byrnes
produced faultless clear rounds, leaving
them on their dressage scores heading
out to cross-country. Jess Telford had a
very unfortunate four faults and Emma
Morgan’s pony was spooked by the
presentation going on next to one of the
fences and lost concentration, popping
in two stops but Emma rode brilliantly
to get him round to the finish adding
12 faults to her dressage score. After a
quick drink and change into cross-county
colours it was straight down to cross-
county. Rachel and Isla rode first with
strength and confidence. Next it was
Jess and Emma, followed by Charlotte.
All rode superb rounds to finish on their
dressage and show jump scores. After the
cool down and ponies had been bathed,
it was time to head for the results table.
The team finished 7th out of 25 teams
and individually we had two placings, with
both Jess and Rachel coming 7th in their
sections against 30 other competitors. It
was another outstanding achievement and
performance. Sunday 24th May, was the
Inter-Schools’ Show Jumping Qualifier
at West Wilts Equestrian Centre. Jess
Telford and Charlotte Byrnes entered this
event as individuals. Charlotte rode strong
confident rounds in the 90cms and 1m,
not going fast enough to be placed this
time. Jess rode two good rounds, on her
new horse Joey, in the 1m and 1.10m
again not quite getting in to the placings
this time. Both should be very proud of
their performance.
Well done to our Equestrian Team
members, who have all trained hard and
produced some fantastic results. We look
forward to another great year next year.
Equestrian Squad 2014/2015:
Sasha Green, Georgina Barr, Thomas
Kendell, Jessica Telford, Isla Green, Mimi
Green, George Tomblin, Alice Tomblin,
Sebastian Barr, Charlotte Byrnes, Zoe
Davison, Anna Morgan, Emma Morgan,
Iona Lundie, Iona Farrow-Wilton, Rachel
Hatherell, Evie Green.
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has been a consistent squad throughout
the season, and we had the luxury of
two fantastic shooters in Ellie Carr and
Izzy Garbett. The squad trained hard
together throughout the season, building
in confidence, skill and maturity on
the court. During matches, the attack
produced some excellent well-worked
goals and lots of outstanding court play.
The defence worked well together, turning
over plenty of ball and always at critical
points of the game. Captained by Laura
Hall, the team worked well together,
following their leader in warm ups and
listening to her and each other out on the
court. There was versatility in the squad,
with players confidently switching and
adapting to any changes made. As a team
their attitude and passion for the sport was
outstanding: they never gave up and their
encouragement and support towards each
other was a joy to see.
Notable victories were recorded
against Monkton Combe 28-13, Colston’s
18-13, Malvern College 25-20 and Dean
Close 31-24.
Squad: Laura Hall (C), Ellie Carr,
Izzy Garbett, Omina Jones, Megan Nash,
Sophie Caesar, Laura Robinson, Natalie
Newport, Elise Clements, Zoe Parrott and
Rebecca Bidwell.
3rd VII
Played 11 Won 5 Lost 6
It has been a fantastic season for the
3rds’ with many successes and particularly
impressive wins against Bromsgrove,
Monkton Combe, Colston’s, Dean
1st VII
Played 10 Won 6 Lost 3 Drawn 1
The talented crop of Year 11s added
strength to the current four Sixth Formers
that remained from last year’s squad. Anna
Fishwick led her team superbly as captain,
playing in defence along with player of the
season, Kaylee Brooker, a formidable force
against even the best opposition.
The season started in fine form
with wins against Bromsgrove, St Mary’s
Calne and Queen’s Taunton. A frustrating
four-goal loss to Cheltenham College, after
winning throughout the game, reminded
the girls to play with intensity for all
four quarters. Wins against Monkton
Combe, Colston’s and a deserved victory
(21-14) against Dean Close showcased
the potential of the squad when on
form. Passages of play were often fluid,
controlled and stylish, with the girls
playing real quality netball. Two single
figure losses against Malvern and Hereford,
towards the end of the season were
unlucky and frustrating, on another day
could have gone in our favour. The season
finished with a high quality and evenly
contested 18-18 draw against CLC.
Squad: Anna Fishwick (C), Lara
Bathurst, Holly Tyler, Lucy Haynes, Sasha
Green, Elena Azcona, Immy Gray, Kaylee
Brooker.
2nd VII
Played 9, Won 4, Lost 5.
After coaching the Wycliffe 2nd
team for four years now, it has to be said
that we had our best season to date. It
Close and Malvern. With a good mix of
experienced Senior Girls, together with
some younger players, there were many
opportunities for players to learn new
skills and grow in confidence through the
season. Despite some tough opposition,
the team always stayed positive and
played the highest standard of netball. A
special mention must go to Josie Randall
for showing such versatility, swapping
between GS and GK in some matches.
Zoe Parrott also put in some impressive
performances and, as captain, was often
instrumental in ensuring the girls gave
100% while on court.
Squad: Zoe Parrott (C), Amanda
Khatri, Josie Randall, Becky Bidwell, Erin
Holly, Lucy Parker, Martha Burgess, Liza
Mavrodi, Georgie Febery, Lilly Reeder.
4th VII
Played 5 Won 1 Lost 4
This was the first time Wycliffe
had the depth in numbers to field a
consistent fourth team. It has been a
very exciting year, seeing new players
develop their Netball skills and play in
some very competitive matches. They
started the season on a high, beating
Queen’s Taunton 15-8, showing some real
potential: a great way to start the season.
Unfortunately some tougher games were
ahead, and while the team was improving
on a weekly basis so was the opposition.
Losses against CLC (7-18), Cheltenham
College (6-24), and Bristol Cathedral 2nd
VII (12-35) showed there was still plenty
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against Dean Close, but then resoundingly
beat St Bernard Lovell (30-2).This was
followed by another loss (21-27), to
Malvern College, before finishing the year
on a high, winning 28-17 against Hereford
Cathedral School.
Squad: J Hampson (C), H Bankes,
A Pearce, J Telford, A Dean, I Menendez,
N Wait, C Greensmith, K Fletcher, E
Bathurst.
U15B VII
Played 10 Won 6 Lost 4
Solid wins against St Mary’s Calne,
Monkton Combe, Bristol Cathedral,
Colston’s, Dean Close and Hereford
Cathedral School contributed to a
successful season for the B team. A close
loss against Malvern, by two goals, could
have boosted the statistics further. The
squad achieved these, results despite
injuries and availability, mostly in attack.
Harriet Stevens found herself in the
attacking circle to which she has given her
best efforts and taken on the challenge to
shoot.
Squad: Chloe Bayliss (C), Alice Dean
(C), Harriet Stevens, Erin Lavender, Lucy
Cole, Ellie Walker, Yuliya Ukrayinska,
Alix Bolton Grace Aspinwall, Ellie Jones-
Jobst.
U15C VII
Played 7 Won 2 Lost 5
The C team rewarded every Year 10
girl for their commitment to training, with
the opportunity to play in competitive
fixtures. Imogen Norman captained
the C team. Although there were more
defeats than losses, the girls’ performance
intensity and game knowledge improved
throughout the season. An excellent 15-13
win against Dean Close and a one goal loss
of 13-14 against CLC shows they can be
competitive when matched against bigger
schools.
Squad: Imogen Norman (C), Katie
Briggs, Janouk Brynjarsdottir, Josephine
of work to be done. A highlight of the
season was the thrilling match against
Dean Close (13-14), a real nail-biting
finish, with the winning goal securing a
Dean Close win in the dying seconds of
the game. Defensively, the team turned
over a number of balls to give the attack
plenty of opportunities, but choosing the
correct feed into the circle and the number
of shots on target was sometimes a little
hit and miss. However, marking opponents
and creating pressure was a real team
strength and something the squad worked
hard on improving throughout the season.
The team was interchangeable, with new
players stepping into the starting line up
nearly every game, but this never deterred
the girls and they always gave 100%.
The team sprit was superb both during
matches and training; coaching them was
a real pleasure.
Squad: Clara Immink (C), Ruth
Harris, Ella Barry, Francis Friend,
Summer Turner, Lucy Grindrod, Zoe
Mitchell, Jess Randall, Anna Morgan,
Mollie Young, Katie Harris, Polina
Kozyaeva, Victoria Daws, Ellie Roberts,
Emma Bastin.
U15A VII
Played 10 Won 5 Lost 4 Drew 1
It was a tough season with some
difficult fixtures and an ever-changing
squad, but the U15s managed to win
more than they lost.
The season started well, with solid
wins against Bromsgrove (26-14) and
St Mary’s (23-20). However, they were
brought back down to earth with a close
loss (23-24) against CLC and Cheltenham
College (20-31). They soon found their
feet again, with an impressive win against
Monkton Combe (36-22) and followed
this with a draw against Colston’s (16-16).
The following four matches showed how
variable their performance was throughout
the season, winning two and losing two.
They lost a close-fought match 22-24
Rogers, Maude Collingridge, Emily Riley,
Mary Evans, Annie Rees, Emma Morgan,
Sasha Pysarieva, Nadia Hirsi.
U14A VII
Played 8 Won 5 Lost 3
The U14As had a brilliant start to
the Netball season, as runner-up in the
county tournament to go through to
the regional playoffs in Bournemouth.
Matches played in preparation for the
regionals were slightly disheartening,
losing to Cheltenham College (36-30),
CLC (32-27) and Bromsgrove (18-29) but
this newly put together team was simply
finding its feet. At the regional play-offs,
everything came together and the team
really started to gel. They were a force
to be reckoned with and a strong group
performance of four wins, one draw and
one loss saw the squad through to the
semi-finals to play Millfield School. This
was a fantastic achievement and a first
for Wycliffe to progress in to the latter
stages of this competition! With a strong
second half performance, the squad were
beaten by eventual tournament winners
Millfield. The road to Nationals Finals
ended with a third-fourth play-off against
Colston School who had inflicted our
only loss in the group games. Regrouped
and focused on achieving the bronze
medal, they dominated the game with
a confident display, winning 12-4. This
was an excellent achievement for Wycliffe
and the squad confirming them as the
third best Netball School at U14 level
in the South West of England. On their
return from regionals the girls had new-
found confidence and continued their
winning streak, securing wins in the next
five games. They displayed dominating
performances against Colston’s, Dean
Close, St Bernard Lovell and Malvern
College, demonstrating the team’s
versatility and improvements made
throughout the season. Eager to finish the
season on a high, losing players to injury,
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with great versatility. It was a consistent
squad performance with brilliant team
spirit throughout. A game that stood out
was against Dean Close, which resulted in
a fantastic win, 19-5. The attack moved
the ball down the court with great skill,
feeding it into the shooters who didn’t
miss a goal. With such a strong team,
the girls were able to play out of position
in the last four matches of the season.
This gave them great insight into all the
positions on the court to help them all
develop as players.
All of the girls gave 100% this season,
and I thank them all for this. They have
been a true pleasure to coach!
Squad: Fenella Purkess (C), Lucy
Burgess, Lowri Clarke, Becky Taphouse,
Iona Wasdell, Sophia Rai, Lauren Turbott,
Saoirse Purkess.
U14C VII
Played 6 Won 2 Lost 4
The U14C team had a good season,
playing some strong teams and producing
the final challenge for the team’s last game
of the season against Hereford Cathedral.
The girls’ ability to deal with pressure
and their determination to come from
behind was paramount and they achieved
a thoroughly well-deserved 12-11 win. It
was a fantastic season which I hope will
continue next year. Well done to all who
took part.
Squad: Iona Lundie (C), Katie
Cruickshank, Isla Green, Lucy Parsons,
Sophia Rai, Isabella Naish, Emma
Livingstone, Katie Seymour, Katy Porter,
Iona Wasdell.
U14B VII
Played 9 Won 7 Lost 2
This season was hugely successful
for the under 14Bs, playing nine games
in total, winning seven and losing only
two. It took the girls a few games to get
back into the netball season, but then they
became unstoppable. The whole squad
consisted of very talented netball players,
some strong performances. Although
finishing with more defeats than wins, the
team performed well and were genuinely
unlucky in some matches.
During every game they maintained
their energy and effort and always aimed
to improve individual performances and
teamwork. They all adapted to playing in
different positions and encouraged each
other throughout the fixtures. Notable
victories were against Bristol Cathedral,
18-11 and Malvern College, 21-15.
Squad: Maisie Spiers (C), Emily
Flitton, Ella Kitching, Nicole Jennings,
Eloise Davies, Mary Evans, Tillie
Graham, Angela Huang.
Sports Dinners
was a great start to the evening. In fact, the
Rounders, Girls’ Tennis and Boys’ Tennis
had all been victorious throughout the day
and everyone was in a brilliant mood
to celebrate.
The Senior Dinner was a formal
black tie event held the night before. The
Captains of the sports teams were asked
to prepare a collective speech to deliver,
based on their experiences of sport at
Wycliffe. A few had finished their exams
only that afternoon, possibly not the best
preparation for the speech. However,
the video that was compiled and the
different messages delivered made for an
entertaining and enjoyable presentation.
The annual sports dinners again celebrated
the successes and achievements of
the Wycliffe teams and individuals in
style. Team Bath and England Netballer,
Shaunagh Craig was the special guest
and made the presentations to the
award winners, as well as saying a few
inspirational words about her career
and the determination she required to
overcome setbacks and meet challenges to
get to the top of her sport.
The Junior Dinner started with a
Barbecue and drinks reception outside. As
always the cricketers were the last to arrive,
having played in Hereford during the
afternoon. However, returning victorious
The awards are always keenly
contested and deliberated over to attempt
to recognise all worthy recipients. The two
favourite awards are for the Junior and
Senior teams of the year. The Junior award
was deservedly won by the U14 Netball
team for their brilliant performances in
the Regional Netball Finals. Similarly, the
Senior award was won by the U19 Girls’
Squash team for winning their National
Schools title.
Overall, both evenings were
thoroughly enjoyed by staff and pupils,
and it was a fitting way to say a huge thank
you and farewell to Mrs Burnet Ward for
all her support over the years.
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SENIOR AWARD WINNERS
HOCKEY (GIRLS) Lucy Haynes
RUGBY Jack Lister
U16 RUGBY Tom Seabrook
RUGBY 7S Toben Ronald
NETBALL Kayleigh Brooker
FOOTBALL Yomi Awosope
SQUASH (BOYS) Arhant Simha
SQUASH (GIRLS) Amelia Henley
ROWING Kate Hampson
BASKETBALL Jack Shepherd
TENNIS (GIRLS) Megan Nash
TENNIS (BOYS) Subash Ale
CRICKET Noah Cooper-Llanes
ATHLETICS Ross Livingstone
SPORTING COMMITMENT Zoe Davison
JUNIOR AWARD WINNERS YEAR 9 YEAR 10
HOCKEY (GIRLS) Lucy Parsons Ellie Bathurst
RUGBY Ben Richards Charlie Pritchatrd
U16 NETBALL Katie Porter Josie Hampson
FOOTBALL Matt Ansell James Gristock
SQUASH (BOYS) Jarred Carter Jack Newey
ROWING (BOYS) Tiernan Purkess
ROWING (GIRLS) Fanella Purkess
TENNIS (GIRLS) Katie Cruickshank Izzy Menendez
TENNIS (BOYS) Zachary Chan
CRICKET Alex Seymour Chad Trainor
ROUNDERS Lauren Turbott Charlotte Greensmith
ATHLETICS/CROSS-COUNTY Emma Livingstone Matt Lambie
SPORTS COMMITMENT Jess Telford
JUNIOR AWARDS OF THE YEAR
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR Jack Newey
MOST IMPROVED SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
Matt Lambie
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR Josie Hampson
MOST IMPROVED SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
Alice Dean
SENIOR AWARDS OF THE YEAR
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR Noah Cooper-Llanes
MOST IMPROVED SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
Oliver Lovejoy
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR Lara Bathurst
MOST IMPROVED SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
Clara Immink
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Dubai Hockey & Netball Tour
We were in Dubai for nine days, including
a day trip to Abu Dhabi on the last day. To
say we packed in a lot throughout those
days would be an understatement.
As soon as we arrived in Dubai,
we went to the Dubai Sevens ground to
see the dawn and enjoy breakfast before
training for the next day’s match. A trip to
the sunrise camel racing was squeezed in,
too. Of course, it wasn’t all work, so after
training we went to the hotel to check in,
claim our rooms and acclimatise by the
rooftop pool!
Next day we had our first netball
match which, was played at 2pm outside
and not undercover. Wow! We’d gone
from 15°C in England to 35°C in Dubai,
I think it is fair to say we weren’t exactly
used to playing sports in such heat.
Unfortunately, all three teams lost their
matches against a strong Dubai College.
However, by our second match we had
started to adapt to the heat and ended up
winning all three matches!
On our rest day we visited the
Atlantis Water Park at Atlantis. I think
we broke the record for how fast 24 girls
can get changed! My favourite part of the
trip was when we went on a desert safari,
which followed the cultural experience
of visiting the spice and gold souks. We
were picked up at the hotel in 4x4s and
headed straight for the desert, where
By Ellie Carr – Tour Captain
24 girls from Years 11 to 13 were involved in the tour to Dubai. The best thing I found about the tour is a lot of the girls went from knowing each other around school to becoming such good friends throughout the trip.
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we went over sand dunes and watched
the sunset. From there, we went to the
campsite where we rode camels, ate
traditional Arabic food, had henna tattoos
and watched belly dancers and other
cultural dancing.
Luckily, we had opportunities
to go shopping – which suited all the
girls quite nicely. We went to both the
Emirates Mall and Dubai Mall, where
we ate watching the fountains, and
experienced haggling at the souks. The
Burj Khalifa was impressive from the
moment we stepped in the elevator. It
is the third fastest elevator in the world,
going at 36 km/h. The view from the
world’s tallest building was breath-taking
and scary, all in one.
We also took part in a night time
hockey tournament that went on until
12am! This tournament consisted of five
teams. The 1st XI finished second after
losing 1-0 to Dubai ladies and the 2nd XI
came third. This tournament lasted for
four hours, leaving the girls happy but
exhausted. Sasha Green received the player
of the tournament award.
On the final day we had an early
start. Travelling to Abu Dhabi, we were
able to visit the Zayed Grand Mosque, all
dressed in abayas.
We had our final netball matches
against Abu Dhabi representative teams.
The 1st VII and 3rd VII won their
matches while the 2nd VII lost theirs
by three goals. The final tour meal took
place at Yas Marina, after the group had
experienced cycling around the Formula
1 racetrack.
It was a fantastic trip: we were
able to play our favourite sports, see
sites, have fun and most importantly
get a tan!
Thank you to Mrs Dudley, Miss
Howard and Miss Sherwood for their
efforts in organising the tour.
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The CCF at Wycliffe
Ten days before the Easter holidays, a team
of seven staff and cadets took part in an
arduous cross-country skiing expedition
to the Hardangervidda Mountain Range,
in southern Norway. The aim of the
trip was to introduce a group of novice
cadets to cross-county skiing. The first
four days were spent in hotel-like huts at
Finse Hyatta, and saw the cadets learn
the essence of cross-county skiing, as
well as Arctic and cold climate survival
skills, essential for the later expedition,
especially constructing snow holes. With
temperatures recorded at – 27 during
the expedition, it was essential the cadets
were well informed of the safety and
survival measures.
The route saw the cadets leave Finse
Hyatta to the similar Kreakkja, a gruelling
24km journey to begin the trip. After
spending the night in accommodation
similar to Finse, the cadets skied to
Kjeldbu, which saw slightly less luxurious
surroundings, with the cadets cooking
their own food once they arrived. Kjeldebu
seemed like a five-star hotel on the third
day, as a massive 20km trek was followed
by an accommodation of snow. The cadets
slept in a snow hole overnight, with an
internal temperature of -2°C, with the
outside being -9°C.
Lt Col Rothwell said, “During the
construction we did hit some rock at
the back of the cave, but with a little
improvisation, we managed to work
around this by elevating the floor and
scraping away about a foot of snow from
the ceiling. A few hours later all were
in our comfortable ice bound abode,
cooking a well-earned evening meal.
Soon afterwards sleep just seems to
come naturally.”
The final day of the journey saw
the cadets leave their luxurious snow
hole to return to Finse, the shortest part
of the journey at 10km. Lt Col Rothwell
stated: “The brilliant sunshine gave us
some wonderful views of the surrounding
snow covered peaks. The route was
straightforward enough, mostly over
fairly easy, undulating terrain. However,
the steep downhill sections did provide
a number of interesting falls, mainly
involving cadets being totally submerged
in powdery snow!”
Returning to Finse, the cadets had
the great privilege of seeing a herd of
reindeer galloping through the deep snow,
with the Hardangerjokulen glacier as a
backdrop – a sight they will never forget.
On the trip as a whole, Lt Col Rothwell
was proud of the cadets. “For a group
who had never cross-county skied before,
certainly with 30lb rucksack on their
backs, it was quite an achievement. Many
Norwegians that we met were equally
impressed. I have no doubt that most
will remember this unique experience for
some time to come. It really is a rare and
unique experience for UK based pupils.
Congratulations to all who took part: Lt
Col Paul Rothwell, Will Day-Lewis, James
Garrett, Aiden Coffey, Liam McLaren,
Thomas Kendell, Henry Radcliffe.
Nordic Challenge
THE WYCLIFFIAN6The CCF at Wycliffe
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Over the week 27 Jun – 3 July, 50 of our staff and cadets attended CCF Central Camp, run by 1ARTYX-SW Brigade, Cadet Training Teams, with some assistance from 4 Rifles.
Overall this was a brilliant event, held
just a few miles from the seaside resort of
Newquay at RAF St Mawgan.
Camps are vital to the team building,
leadership and development of our cadets.
The activities included fieldscraft, military
skills, and ranges. There was also a day of
surfing on a nearby beach. Survival skills
included fire lighting, problem solving,
and the use of knives for making wooden
tools, as well as axe throwing, archery, and
rope climbing. During the last two days,
the Cadets took part in a 24 hour infantry
skills style exercise; and they were rubbing
shoulders with regular soldiers. The
whole thing was professionally organised.
The instructor’s good humour and lively
repertoire with the cadets ensured that
the whole thing had a sense of fun and
direction about it; it was run at just
the right pace. After six days of training
together our sense of unity and purpose
had been greatly enhanced. Our boys and
girls were certainly very tired at the end of
the week, but their sense of achievement
was very evident, and much was achieved
in such a short space of time.
One of the highlights of the week
was the Year 9 pass out parade, where our
recruits became full-fledged trained cadets.
And an excellent group they were.
I am very pleased to say that
Lauren Turbott was selected as the best
Year 9 Cadet.
There were also very solid
performances from: Matthew Ansell, Lowri
Clark, Charlie Leach, Lucy Parsons and
Poonpun Yoksap.
CCF Annual Camp 2015By Lt Col Paul Rothwell
The aim of Challenge Weekend was to give our new Year 9 pupils an informative, challenging and fun insight into the CCF. There was also a very strong emphasis on team building. The weekend was organised in three parts.
Situated in and around the school grounds
and local area, pupils took part in a
demanding programme of team-building
skills, log run, orienteering, .22 shooting,
infantry skills and a search and rescue
exercise.
For the next phase students had
the experience of camping out overnight
at Cranham Scout Campsite, using fairly
basic two man military bashers (tents)
The highlight of the weekend was
probably the final phase on Sunday. The
inter section CCF Physical Challenge,
involving a series of military style relay
races conducted at the campsite
Overall, the Year 9 pupils showed a
great deal of motivation and enthusiasm.
The winning team (mainly girls from
Haywardsend) led by Charlie Haden (by
the way he is being promoted to LCpl),
they were the outstanding team, by some
distance. All got medals:
Katie Cruickshank (E), Iona Lundie
(E), Lucy Parsons (E), Sophia Rai (E), Isla
Green (E), Jacob Smith (C), Ben Richards
(C), Rebeca Taphouse (C).
There were also some excellent
individuals performance and the following
were shortlisted for the best all round Year
9 pupil:
Lowri Clark, Emma Livingstone,
Izzy Naish (It appears a chip off the old
block!), Ben Richards, Katy Porter, Jack
Palmer.
The outstanding Year 9 Pupil was
Kieran Bradley: who has put his name
down to join the CCF
At the moment 25 pupils want to
join the CCF.
Year 9 Challenge WeekendBy Lt Col Paul Rothwell
THE WYCLIFFIAN6The CCF at Wycliffe
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Over the middle weekend
in May, a team of Year 10 Cadets
took part in the arduous Ten Tors
Challenge, after four months of hard
and committed training. The two-day
expedition was held on the remote
and rugged terrain of Dartmoor
National Park. The challenge is all
about teamwork, physical and mental
stamina, and sound individual,
and group, organisation. Accurate
navigation skills are essential if
the demanding challenge is to be
completed successfully.
All teams have to be self-
contained, carrying all their own
individual and group equipment,
which weighs about 35 lbs, and they
have to wild camp overnight on the
Moors.
Our team, led by Mark Zheng
did exceptionally well, completing
their route well within the allocated
time. A special mention must go to
Annabelle Pearce, who was the only
girl in the group. Also at the sixth
Tor, the sole of one of Alex Watson’s
boots came off, leaving him sole-less
for about 14 miles, a remarkable
achievement!
There was little doubt that all
were very weary at the end, but team
spirits were high. All should be very
proud of what they achieved over the
weekend, as were the many parents
and family members who were there
to see them finish the event. At
the end, medals and certificates of
achievement were presented to our
35 mile team:Mark Zheng (Captain),
Fraser Grandfield, Wilf Hunt,
Annabelle Pearce, Thomas Stanley,
Alex Watson.
Ten Tors Expedition
Ten Tors Expedition
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It has certainly been an exciting and busy year in the Music Department with over 20 musical events taking place between September and June.
The widely acclaimed Autumn
Concert featured some of the strongest
performances of the year. Solo items from
Cameron Brooks, Risa Miyajima and
Annabelle Pearce complemented a range of
ensemble items, culminating in a massed
group performance of ‘Happy’. One of the
highlights of the night was the jaw-dropping
performance of Rodrigo y Gabriela’s ‘Diablo
Rojo’ by Year 12 guitarist Jack Evans and
his duet partner Beth Poultney.
The series of Teatime Concerts has
also been hugely successful this year with
a waiting list for performers and standing
room only for each of the concerts in
the Music Room (not just because of the
cakes!). Thank you to all of the students
who have put themselves forward for these
concerts, finding new music to play and
developing their confidence in a supportive
environment. We look forward to many
more Teatime Concerts next year.
Wycliffe musicians have a wide range
of musical talents and interests: we run
both Music and Music Technology courses
and have a range of different ensembles. We
have been pleased to be able to showcase
the work of our able A level Music
Technology students at various points
through the year, and to put on our first Gig
Night in recent years, which featured some
superb performances from students such as
Ben Asquith, Boris Lourenco Lee and Jacob
Richardson, to name but a few. Thanks
must go to George Turner and Mr Murphy
for their technical support at such events.
The Choir has done itself proud
this year and we accomplished our aim
to maintain a high standard of singing
and build up our boys sections after
losing some key choristers last summer.
Gloucester Cathedral Evensong in October
was a highlight of the year, and the Choir
performed superbly despite not having long
to prepare all of the specialist repertoire,
with this year’s anthem being Bruckner’s
‘Locus Iste’. The Remembrance Service
featured a very moving performance of the
Choir Introit, ‘For the Fallen’ by Blatchly.
We were pleased to be able to include a
new anthem ‘For the Fallen’ for this special
service, marking 100 years since the start
of the First World War, with the Choir
being accompanied ably by Year 13 pianist
Cameron Brooks. The Carol Services were
as magical as always, with some excellent
performances and the inclusion of some
new Choir pieces: ‘Torches’ and ‘Angelus
Ad Virginum’. The Choir’s performance
of ‘A Truth From Above’ was particularly
stunning, featuring a solo from Abbi Covill.
Wycliffe musicians have enjoyed
performing in the local community once
again this year, including a brilliant concert
at the Stonehouse Baptist Church and
performances at the Stonehouse Goodwill
Fest. We have been pleased to maintain
our link with the Stonehouse Friendly
Circle, performing an annual Christmas
Concert for them, and we were very
grateful for the kind donation they gave to
‘CAMMPAIGN4ROB’ after the concert. We
have also been fortunate enough to develop
a new link with the Jeloy Choir, who visited
us from Norway in June. They gave a
wonderful concert in the Chapel, featuring
a range of music and some breath-taking
performances. Our Choir enjoyed working
with their conductor Trond Oftung during a
short workshop which culminated in a joint
finale concert performance of Rutter’s ‘The
Lord Bless You and Keep You’.
House competitions are always
rousing and entertaining events. Following
the cancellation of the House Cross-county
event, the House Song Evening in October
was the first House competition of the year
and brought the students in each House
together in a meaningful way, with a lot
of work going in to the rehearsals and
planning of entertaining dance moves.
Each year the Houses raise their game to
produce some fantastic performances, with
this year’s competition being no exception.
Mr Palmer and his team of adjudicators,
featuring Mrs Phelps and Mr O’Sullivan,
had a difficult decision to choose the
winner, but it was Ward’s House who came
out on top this year with their energetic
version of Busted’s ‘Year 3000’.
This year also saw the running of
the biannual House Music Competition,
which took place over several weeks. Mr
Weaver and I very much enjoyed listening
to each House complete their preliminary
rounds where each student had the
opportunity to give three performances:
solo vocal, solo instrumental and ensemble
Music & Drama Round-upBy Gemma Russell, Director of Music
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Music & Drama7
(all captured on video!). At the end of
the preliminary rounds, the joint House
of ‘Haywardsfield/Ivy Grove’ were in the
lead, with Collingwood and Robinson/
Haywardsend close behind. The House
Music Evening featured a mini concert
from each of the Houses and the standard
was very strong. The evening was a huge
success and featured so much talent. We
were very grateful to OW, Tom Hartley and
his band Chinese Missy who travelled from
London and gave up their time to judge the
competition and perform a set of their own
pieces at the end of the evening. Chinese
Missy had a difficult decision to make, but
it was Robinson/Haywardsend who came
in first place for the evening to take the
lead and win the 2015 trophy. I now hand
over to Mr Golightly for next year’s House
Drama Competition before House Music
returns in 2017!
Another highlight of the year was
of course our superb production of the
musical ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ in January.
After putting on such an incredible
performance of ‘Les Miserables’ in 2012,
we had a lot to live up to, but the students
did not disappoint and worked tirelessly to
produce something very special. The four
shows were given to packed audiences and
were the result of months of hard work. The
chorus and leads all performed brilliantly,
with stunning singing from students such
as Sophie Caesar, Louise Elliott and Jasper
Meehan, to name but a few. The star of
the show was of course Arthur Rakovskis
with his superb characterisation of leading
man Tevye. The band was made up of
talented Wycliffe students and they played
with energy and musicality to complement
the stage work. Well done to all involved,
including the technical and backstage
teams, and thank you to Mrs Golightly for
her fantastic work as Director.
Behind the scenes, my wonderful
team of visiting music teachers have
been working hard to teach over 120
instrumental lessons each week. We are
very grateful for their inspiring teaching and
for the work they do helping us to run the
specialist ensembles: String Group, Brass
Group and Flute Group. The new Guitar
Group run by Mr Reynolds has also been a
great success this year and we look forward
to seeing this continue to develop over the
coming years. We say a sad goodbye to the
lovely Mrs Moran, who has spent many
years working as the Music Administrator
and organising all of the instrumental
tuition so ably. We wish her well in her new
post as a full time teacher and thank her for
all of her hard work to help the department
run smoothly. I would also like to thank Mr
Weaver for all of his support and work in
his first year as Assistant Director of Music
at Wycliffe.
At the end of such a successful year of
music-making, we bid farewell to our Year
13 and Year 11 leavers. We wish them all
the best for their futures and thank them
for their music-making throughout their
time here at Wycliffe. It can feel very strange
losing so many dedicated musicians and it
is easy to wonder what we will do next year.
We trust that, just as last year, these places
will be taken by the aspiring musicians of
the next generation and next year will be
another wonderful year of music at Wycliffe.
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Fiddler on the RoofBy Melanie Gray, Director of Marketing
“‘Fiddler on the Roof’ was the best
school production I have ever seen. The
quality of acting, music, lighting and sound
was a real credit to the hard work and
talent of the dedicated staff and students
at Wycliffe. It was an evening that I will
remember and enjoy for many years to
come,” said one parent.
‘Fiddler on the Roof ‘tells the story
of Tevye, a poor milkman in the village of
Anatevka in Russia who has five daughters
and a despairing wife.
Tevye, a Jewish man who sticks to
traditions, is faced with a problem. Young
women do not get to choose whom
they marry as it is the job of the village
matchmaker but his daughters want to
marry for love! Yente the matchmaker
(painstakingly played by Liza Mavrodi,
who bent double and aided by her walking
stick acted the perfect busy body) is the one
who makes the matches and so begins his
difficulties. He adores his girls, but Tevye
must convince his wife, Golde that the world
is changing and allowing them to marry who
they wish is the right decision.
Arturs Rakovskis, who played the
part of doting father perfectly, brought
Tevye’s character to life. Arturs was totally
convincing, switching his emotions from an
exasperated to a confused parent with perfect
comic timing. With a superb singing voice
and fantastic body language, Arturs had it
all. His renditions of ‘If I Were a Richman’,
‘Tradition’ and ‘Do You Love Me’ were as
good as anything one might see on a West
End stage.
An outstanding cast supported
Arturs with Sophie-Jane Caesar as his
long-suffering wife, Golde. Sophie’s pure
voice gave the performance real star quality
and her duet with Arturs, in ‘Do You
Love Me’, was sung beautifully with both
actors showing the vulnerability they felt at
admitting their feelings. Sophie should also
be congratulated for her brilliant accent,
which she maintained throughout the show.
Also too, the wonderful daughters, Tzeitel
(Teri Butcher), Hodel (Louise Elliott), Chava
(Caitlen Cooper) were superb in their roles
and delivered strong performances.
The girls were complemented
beautifully by their love interests, with the
earnest Motel (Oliver Hawes), the bookish
revolutionary Perchik (Jasper Meehan), and
the scholarly Lazar Wolf (Jack Evans). They
all played their parts with style and energy.
Also to be congratulated are the ghostly
apparitions of Grandma Tzeitel (Josephine
Rogers) and Fruma-Sarah (Annabelle Pearce)
who were both genuinely frightening. The
energy of all the performers was palpable and
maintained throughout.
‘Fiddler on the Roof’ is a musical
filled with glorious songs, and I found it
hard to stop myself from singing along
too as they are so catchy! Fortunately, the
show didn’t need my help and, under the
superb leadership of the Director of Music,
Gemma Russell, the school band and chorus
delivered a dazzling musical performance,
complimented by the Fiddler (Emily Riley)
who opened and closed the show with her
beautiful solo fiddling.
A show of this standard does not
happen without a lot of hard work and many
hours of practice. The tireless energy and
dedication of Wycliffe’s dynamic duo, Mrs
Nicola Golightly, who directed the show
and Mr Andrew Golightly, the producer,
was totally awe-inspiring. Well done to
every member of the cast, production
team, backstage support, set designers and
costumes – you all deserve Oscars!
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Drama7
In a haze of red carpets and evening wear,
the Oscars Dinner once again hit the mark,
as the Drama department celebrated the
achievements of its students in all parts
of the department, from those acting on
stage to those behind the scene working
with stages, lighting, music, makeup
or the creation of the costumes used in
the play. Pupils were awarded with their
own Oscars, which were awarded after
a delicious meal from the catering team.
Joe Oliver was awarded Best Comic for a
slew of enjoyable antics and performances.
Jasper Meehan was awarded the most
likely to succeed, and Alexandra Daws as
Most Improved. Oliver Hawes and Teri
Butcher were awarded Best Supporting
Actor and Actress respectively, and the
Oscars would hardly be complete without
the Best Actor and Best Actress awards,
which were given to Arturs Rakovskis and
Sophie Caesar.
Oscars DinnerBy Andrew Golightly, Head of Drama
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Greece Lightning!
stems from too many years under foreign
occupation: 300 years under the Ottoman
Empire from the mid-15th century to 1821
and then under the Italian, German fascists
and the Bulgarian forces of the second
World War.
On our second day we visited one
of the wonders of the world: the Acropolis
and the Parthenon. It is impossible to
overestimate the importance of this ancient
site which has to be seen and explained to
be believed. Unfortunately, it rained heavily
and we had to scramble for shelter but the
sense of 2,500 years of civilisation was all
around us. Like drowned cats Matt, Jasper
and Mr Golightly climbed up to an empty
alcove to shelter from the unrelenting rain
and it turned out to be the temple of Nike
and people stared in wonder that it had
come to life!!
We then visited a theatre and
experienced a classical tragedy performed
just for us. There was also training in
mask making where we all made our own
individual masks while our clothes dried
around gas heaters. The company were
so friendly and accommodating we really
relaxed and learned a great deal. We think
this might have been the day that Joe didn’t
get off the underground train fast enough
and we all watched helplessly as it pulled
away with his worried face disappearing into
the distance. We mouthed for him to get off
at the next station and come back by return.
Apparently he had some more adventures
before his return but we all cheered when he
came back. We kept an even closer eye on
him after that but it didn’t prevent the ceiling
from collapsing on his hotel room or from
locals growling at him for a variety of Joe
misdemeanours which you might like to talk
to him about at your own leisure.
Who would’ve thought traditional
Greek Folk instruments would have been
interesting but they were from the point
of view of getting beneath the surface of
their history and culture. We spent time
On Friday 27th March, the drama
department undertook its first, but long
anticipated visit to Athens in order to enrich
our understanding of Ancient Greek Theatre.
We departed at ridiculous o’clock following
the House Music Competition and post
show parties.
There may have been one or two fragile
travellers but we won’t name names!
We had a great travel company who
really looked after us and we were greeted
at the airport by a friendly guide and a
coach to the hotel, Best Western Candia
in Theodorou Dilgianni street close to the
centre of Athens.
We wasted no time following Mrs
Golightly and her map, jumping on the
underground and heading for Parliament
before dinner. We were amazed at the
unexpected sight of the changing of the
guard, who are quite unique. More of that
later. We found Athens to be edgy; it is an
unplanned metropolis of sprawling concrete
and graffiti that stretches in all directions and
is only hemmed in by the distant mountains
and the sea. The atmosphere was something
else, particularly when you think that out of
a population of 10 million over half live in
the City.
Greece as a nation, is also unique as it
has chosen to vote for a Government who
oppose the current European cult of financial
austerity measures. There’s is a charismatic
leadership who are attempting to buck
the trend, perhaps with limited success,
but you’ve got to admire their nerve! We
learned that the Modern Greek truculence
in a museum of musical instruments on
our next day which brought us to a closer
understanding of the dramas we study. We
also stopped at the original Olympic Stadium
for some exercise. That night our guide
took us to a restaurant in the city centre
overlooking the Acropolis and we were
able to appreciate the live music and Greek
dancing. The skills were exceptional and
should not be underestimated. Mr Golightly
is really proud of a photograph that shows
a whirling dervish of limbs spinning at high
speed but the face of the dancer is still visible
in the middle.
Our last day was beautiful and hot.
We organised our own time and visited the
Theatre of Dionysus that was below the
Parthenon and we were able to understand
a little of what we had been learning in
Theatre Studies. We also went into the town
and bought gifts and food for a picnic. We
found a lovely spot on the hill overlooking
the sights we had seen and enjoyed the
sunshine with real wild tortoises frolicking
on the rocks.
Athens isn’t an obvious place to visit
since there is much more that is pretty and
worth visiting on the islands but we were
taken by the classical antiquity of the city and
the people who were very keen to show it off
to us. We really hope the trip can become
a feature of Drama and Theatre Studies and
that it can be extended to include some of
the island beauty as well.
By Stephanie Bagnall & Ffion Healy, Year 12
Art & Design Technology
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Year 10
Year 10 have been producing the first two
of the three units that will go to make
up their coursework presentation. The
photographs are of final pieces for their first
unit called ‘Towards Abstraction’. With this
unit the students started off drawing a still
life of domestic objects using a variety of
media and techniques. Following this, they
investigated artists whose work related to
the theme and then began to develop these
images using Photoshop and collaging,
before producing the final painting.
Year 11
These photographs are a selection from Year
11’s GCSE submission, both supporting
work and final pieces either for the exam
or for their coursework. Students have
used a variety of techniques and materials,
including large wood block prints,
acrylic paintings and oil; pastel drawings,
producing work that reflects their reaction
to the set themes they have been working
on for the past two years. During the year
students visited London to see exhibitions,
visiting Tate Modern and Tate Britain,
travelling between the two by river boat on
the Thames.
Year 12
Year 12 produce two distinct elements
for their AS submission, and the photos
represent final pieces for either the exam or
the coursework. The theme for this year’s
coursework was ‘Collections’, and students
made collections of their own choosing,
spent a day drawing in Oxford, and had
an eclectic still life in the art room to work
from containing musical instruments,
children’s push-along dog toys, shoes and
hats. They also visited London to see art
galleries and museums to expand their
understanding of the theme and provide
them with a variety of source material on
which to base their development work.
Year 13
Year 13 choose their own theme to
study, which is reflected in both the
contextual and practical elements in their
submission. In the course of the year they
visited London galleries to underpin their
knowledge of the theme, and worked in the
studio to develop a personal and in depth
response to their chosen area of study,
experimenting with media and materials to
expand their skills and understanding. The
photographs are of final pieces submitted
for either exam or coursework.
Art ReviewBy Nikki Green, Head of Art
Pilar Rubio Peña Yr 12Olly Pitts Yr 11Annabelle Pearce Yr 10
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Sergey Yaprudin Yr 10 Yana Vorobeva Yr 12Liza Mavrodi Yr 10
Innes Pierce Yr 10
James Leach Yr 11
Eva Yan Yr 13
Mark Zheng Yr 10 Caitlen Cooper Yr 11Danny Lui Yr 11
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Stephanie Bagnall Yr 12
Frances Friend Yr 11
Jess Randall Yr 11
Josie Randall Yr 13Sophie Lloyd Yr 10Amy Bromley Yr 12
Jack Shepherd Yr 12
Macy Ying n Yr 13Daria Gavrilova Yr 13
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Design Technology8
George Turner Yr 13
Matthew Lear Yr 12 Pilar Rubio Peña Yr 12
Henri Eustrup Yr 12
Tom Parcell Yr 12
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Jessica Randall Yr 11
Isobel Garbett Yr 11
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Design Technology8
James Garrett Yr 13
Tom Yeung Yr 13
Tom Kendall Yr 11
Awards
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Awards 2014-15
SENIOR PREFECTS 2014 – 2015
Emma Bastin, Christopher Clough, Abigail Covill, Jasper Meehan, Alexander Schranz
THE PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION PRIZES FOR ACADEMIC EFFORT
YEAR 9 YEAR 10 YEAR 11 & DY
ADDITIONAL SCIENCE Mollie Young
ADDITIONAL APPLIED SCIENCE Thomas Bastin
ART Ella Kitching Isabella Menendez Jessica Randall
BIOLOGY Isla Green Oliver Harris Lucy Parker
BUSINESS STUDIES & ECONOMICS Erin Lavender Oliver Pitts
CHEMISTRY Ella Kitching Katie Briggs Jessica Randall
COMPUTER SCIENCE Archie Ronald Joseph Lewis
CORE SCIENCE Batraz Albegov Christian Besch
DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Jacob Parsonage Thomas Brooker Jessica Randall (Graphics),
Thomas Coles (Resistant
Materials)
DRAMA Nicole Jennings Ellie Jones Jobst Kirsty Turbott
ESOL Angela Chen Mark Zheng Ivan Krakhotkin
ENGLISH Joshua Petersen Emily Riley James Whitaker
FRENCH Iona Lundie Thomas Parker Thomas Bastin
GEOGRAPHY Isabella Naish Chloe Bayliss Max Glynn
GERMAN Mary Evans Evgenia Gencheva Kirill Filatov
HISTORY Lowri Clarke Joshua Greenhalgh Laura Robinson
ICT Joshua Petersen Katie Briggs Joseph Lewis
JAPANESE Lauren Turbott Cindy Liu Ryan Coombs
MATHS Katie Cruickshank Aidan Tasker Joseph Lewis
MUSIC Fenella Purkess Charlotte Greensmith Kirsty Turbott
PE Chad Trainor Sasha Green
PHYSICS Charles Leach Annie Rees Edward Perry
RS Rebecca Taphouse Kelly Fletcher Georgina Febery
SPANISH Katy Porter Jacob Richardson Ellie Mapletoft
MOST NOMINATIONS Iona Lundie & Ella Kitching
OUTSTANDING GCSE MOCKS Max Glynn, James Leach &
Frances Friend
THE OLD WYCLIFFIAN SOCIETY PRIZES FOR Y12 ACADEMIC EFFORT (PRESENTED IN SEPTEMBER 2015)
ART Amy Bromley
BIOLOGY Alessandra Fraser-Pye
BTEC TRAVEL & TOURISM Zoe Mitchell
BTEC SPORT William Goodwin
BUSINESS STUDIES Elin Jones
CHEMISTRY Kate Hampson
COMPUTER SCIENCE Anna Poliakova
CREATIVE WRITING Ffion Healy
DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Thomas Parcell
ECONOMICS Arturs Ribakovs
ENGLISH LITERATURE Thomas O'Driscoll
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SCHOOL PREFECTS 2014 – 2015
Robert Allman-Carter, Louise Elliott, Laura Hall, Clara Immink, Amanda Khatri, Julija Laksa, Jack Lister, Anna Morgan, Francesca Robinson,
Ramazan Samat
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Awards 2014-15
ESOL Kasparas Juscius
FILM STUDIES Iana Vorobeva
FRENCH Kate Hampson
FURTHER MATHS Alberto Guerra Martinuzzi
GEOGRAPHY Amy Bromley
GERMAN Alexandra Dymova
HISTORY Amelia Henley
ICT Peter Ibanga
JAPANESE Joy Chu
MATHS Olaseni Oyewumi
MEDIA STUDIES Olaseni Oyewumi
MUSIC Boris Lourenco Lee
MUSIC TECH Benjamin Asquith
PE Amelia Henley
PHYSICS Alberto Guerra Martinuzzi
PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS Illya Nuzbrokh
POLITICS Thomas O'Driscoll
PSYCHOLOGY Chloe Yung
SOCIOLOGY Anna Poliakova
SPANISH Henry Hudson
THEATRE STUDIES Oliver Hawes
YEAR 9 SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED BY WYCLIFFE COLLEGE (TENURE FROM SEPTEMBER 2015)
ACADEMIC James Colvin, Sam Shipperbottom, Atolani Oyewumi
ART Nathan Mead, Amy Gardner
DRAMA Matthew Cole, Phoebe Gerard
SPORT (BOYS) Ethan Goring, James Clements
SPORT (GIRLS) Amy Cook, Olivia Garrard
DT Harry Bays, Sebastian Clarke
WYCLIFFE COLLEGE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS (TENURE FROM SEPTEMBER 2015)
WCF SCHOLARSHIP FOR ROWING George Hartson, Thomas Kendell, Rhiannon Tasker
LOOSLEY ENDOWMENT SCHOLARSHIP Hiro Tokura
PENDRILL SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIP James Leach
WARD’S SCHOLARSHIP Toben Ronald
SIXTH FORM SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED BY WYCLIFFE COLLEGE (TENURE FROM SEPTEMBER 2015)
ACADEMIC Aiden Coffey, Oliver Denning, Elena Azcona, Max Glynn
ALL-ROUNDER Jess Lindsay, Aiden Coffey
ART James Leach, Natalie Newport, Phoebe Stewart-Carter, Katie Harris,
Katherine Pinnington
DT Thomas Coles, Thomas Kendell
DRAMA Natalie Newport, Kirsty Turbott, Oscar Pickard, Martha Burgess
MUSIC Lucy Parker, Vsevolod Bilous
RUGBY Eben Pirie, Adam Harrison, Luca Caldrone
SPORT (BOYS) Thomas Seabrook, James Leach, Ryan Coombs, George Hartson (Rowing),
Thomas Kendell (Rowing)
SPORT (GIRLS) Sasha Green, Holly Tyler, Zoe Davison, Rhiannon Tasker (Rowing)
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Awards 2014-15
SCHOOL HONOURS AWARDS (NATIONAL RECOGNITION IN SPORT OR ACADEMIC FIELDS)
ENGLISH SCHOOLS ATHLETICS FINALS Holly Bankes
GB BIATHLETE Emma Livingstone
ENGLAND U16 RUGBY Thomas Seabrook
ISFA U15 NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM Luke Williams
ENGLAND U15S SQUASH Jack Newey, Jared Carter
ENGLAND U19S SQUASH Amelia Henley
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AWARD Risa Miyajima
SIBLY AWARDS (FOR YS 12 & 13 FOR OUSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE COLLEGE IN MORE THAN TWO AREAS)
Risa Miyajima, Ross Livingstone, George Turner, Oliver Lovejoy, Markus-Christian Lohmeyer, Jeffrey Chan, Daria Gavrilova, Teri Butcher,
Alessanda Fraser-Pye, Clara Immink, Ramazan Samat
LOOSLEY AWARDS (FOR YS 9 TO 11 FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE COLLEGE IN MORE THAN TWO AREAS)
Owen Marsh, Eloise Davies, Joshua Petersen, Lowri Clarke, Lauren Parker, Eleanor Bathurst, Mollie Young, Annabelle Pearce, Thomas Parker,
Mark Zheng, Josephine Hampson, Fraser Grandfield, Holly Tyler, Charles Pritchard, Laura Robinson, Batraz Albegov, Vsevolod Bilous, Iona Lundle,
Katie Briggs, Fenella Purkess, Katie Cruickshank, Saoirse Purkess, Evgenia Gencheva
INTER-HOUSE DEBATING
JUNIOR Robinson (Aiden Coffey and James Leach)
SENIOR Ivy Grove (Emma Bastin and Francesca Robinson)
ENTERPRISE DAY YOUNG DRAGONS (SCHOOL WINNERS) Jacob Smith, Rachel Smith, Maisie Spiers, Rebecca Taphouse, Jessica Taylor,
Oliver Tomblin
ASSOCIATED BOARDS MUSIC EXAMS 2014
GRADE 1 ALTO SAXOPHONE WITH DISTINCTION Barbara Imrie
GRADE 1 HORN IN F WITH DISTINCTION Liza Mavrodi
GRADE 2 FLUTE WITH MERIT Jessica Taylor, Ka Wai Yung
GRADE 2 ALTO SAXOPHONE Barbara Imrie
GRADE 4 HARP WITH DISTINCTION Thomas Parker
GRADE 4 PIANO Emma Livingstone
GRADE 4 SINGING Eloise Davies
GRADE 5 FLUTE WITH DISTINCTION Fenella Purkess
GRADE 5 ALTO SAXOPHONE WITH MERIT Noah Murray
GRADE 5 MUSIC THEORY WITH MERIT Rebecca Taphouse, Emily Riley
GRADE 5 MUSIC THEORY Jeremy Burne, Lucy Parker, Charlotte Greensmith, Louise Elliott,
Ross Livingstone
GRADE 5 SINGING Hannah Kent, Liza Mavrodi, Fenella Purkess
GRADE 6 VIOLIN Lucy Parker
GRADE 7 SINGING WITH MERIT Abigail Covill
GRADE 8 SINGING WITH MERIT Abigail Covill
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Awards 2014-15
COLOURS FULL SENIOR HALF SENIOR FULL JUNIOR HALF JUNIOR
MUSIC Jack Evans, Kate Hampson, Ross
Livingstone, Boris Lourenco Lee
Aaron Collins, Noah Murray,
Fenella Purkess
CCF SMALL BORE SHOOTING:
MARKSMAN Aidan Anderson, Alexander Seymour, Malik Hamad, Matthew Ansell, Liam McLaren
1ST CLASS SHOT Evita Zablocka, Ronnakit Yoksap, Alexander Lauchlan, Matthew Lambie, James Garrett, Joshua Currie
2ND CLASS SHOT Charles Leach, James Gristock, Tom Parcell, Lucy Burgess, Lauren Turbott, Jacob Palmer
CHAPEL AWARD HOUSE EFFORT TOPHY
Autumn Term Haywardsfield Autumn Term Haywardsend
Spring Term Lampeter Spring Term Haywardsend
Summer Term Ivy Grove Summer Term Haywardsend
CHARITY CUP Haywardsend
MATHS CHALLENGE CERTIFICATES
GOLD Jerry Huang, Andy Xiao, Evan Ng, James Leach
SILVER Elise Clements, Risa Miyajima, Thomas Yeung, Charlotte Davison, Julija Laksa,
Arturs Ribakovs, Jeffrey Chan, Hiro Tokura, Annie Rees, Martin Lu,
Barnaby Hudson, Ella Kitching, Zachary Chan, Charles Leach, Mary Evans,
Noah Guerrini
BEST IN SCHOOL Jerry Huang, James Leach
BEST IN YEAR Jerry Huang Y13, Evan Ng Y12, Hiro Tokura & James Leach Y11, Annie Rees
Y10, Barnaby Hudson Y9
TEAM MATHS CHALLENGE CERTIFICATES Robert Allman-Carter, Julija Laksa, Amelia Henley, Illya Nuzbrokh
CRYPTOLOGY CLUB Katie Briggs (Captain), Janouk Brynjarsdottir, Amelia Crystal, Joshua Petersen,
Owen Marsh
COMPUTATIONAL CHALLENGE (80 students from Senior and
Prep school took part in an online challenge sponsored by Oxford
University which assessed their computational and problem solving
skills. Certificates of Distinction awarded to)
Fenella Purkess, Malik Hamad, Mary Evans, Katy Porter, Jared Carter,
Georgiana Gilchrist, Jacob Richardson, Yuliya Ukrayinska, Kelly Fletcher,
Katie Briggs, Josephine Hampson, Charles Haden, Laurie Buckingham,
Alice Dean, Oleksandra Psyarieva, Anna Poliakova
STUDENT WITH HIGHEST MARK Y12 Georgy Karakozov
STUDENT WITH HIGHEST MARK Y9 Iona Lundie
STUDENT WITH HIGHEST OVERALL MARK Freddie Lister
SPORTS
COLOURS FULL SENIOR HALF SENIOR FULL JUNIOR HALF JUNIOR
ATHLETICS Ross Livingstone Holly Bankes, Matthew
Lambie, Emma Livingstone
CRICKET Noah Cooper Llanes Oliver Carey, Aaron Collins,
Jamie Ealey, James Gristock,
Innes Pierce, Chad Trainor
Matthew Ansell,
Joshua Currie,
Alexander Seymour
CROSS-COUNTY Ross Livingstone Emma Livingstone, Holly
Bankes
EQUESTRIAN
FOOTBALL Peter Carr, Isaac Fearnley,
Oluyomi Awosope, Subash
Ale, Henry Moss, Jack Price,
Ryan Coombs
Tigran Melkonyan, Oliver
Lovejoy, Jasper Meehan,
Arturs Ribakovs, Luke Barnett
Oliver Denning
Matthew Ansell, Noah
Murray, Luke Williams,
Matthew Lambie, Enno
Hoyndorf, James Gristock
Mykhaylo Chynchyn, Harvey
Abbott, Charles Pritchard,
Joseph Simpson
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Awards 2014-15
FULL SENIOR HALF SENIOR FULL JUNIOR HALF JUNIOR
HOCKEY Lara Bathurst, Sasha Green,
Lucy Haynes
Holly Tyler, Elena Azcona Josephine Hampson, Ellie
Bathurst, Jessica Telford, Lucy
Parsons, Isla Green
Ellie Walker, Sophia Rai,
Katie Cruickshank, Emma
Livingstone, Katherine
Seymour, Iona Lundie
NETBALL Anna Fishwick, Lara Bathurst,
Kaylee Brooker
Eleanor Carr, Laura Hall Josephine Hampson, Katie
Cruickshank, Isla Green,
Isabella Naish, Katy Porter,
Lucy Parsons, Iona Lundie,
Katherine Seymour, Emma
Livingstone
Sophia Rai, Iona Wasdell
RUGBY Jack Lister, Zebedee Waite,
Toben Ronald, Nathan
Adams, Thomas Seabrook,
James Leach, George Hartson
Benjamin Clarke, Angus
Wightman, George Turner,
Henry Radcliffe, Jack Price,
Sergey Zaprudin, Yinan
Zheng, Hirotaka Tokura
Alexander Watson, Matthew
Lambie, Charles Pritchard,
Matthew Ansell, Benjamin
Richards, Noah Murray
Lewis Rawlinson, Meroj
Alisherkhujaev, Archie
Ronald, Tiernan Purkess,
Lukas James, Cullan Lloyd
SHOOTING George Turner, Alexander
Gilchrist, Emma Bastin
Aiden Coffey Yinan Zheng, Sergey Zaprudin
SQUASH Arhant Simha, Amelia Henley,
Ellie Jones Jobst, Amber
Peacey
Duncan McKillop Jared Carter, Jack Newey
TENNIS (GIRLS) Lara Bathurst, Anna Fishwick Megan Nash Eleanor Bathurst, Alice Dean Katie Cruickshank, Iona
Lundie
TENNIS (BOYS) Subash Ale Joshua Kraushaar, Irvin Ives
Lau, Oleksander Ukrayinskyy
Batraz Albegov, Oliver Harris Zachary Chan
ROUNDERS Lucy Cole, Charlotte
Greensmith
Lauren Turbott
WYCLIFFE TEAM SPORTING HONOURS 2014 - 2015
CUPS AND SHIELDS
HOCKEY
JUNIOR PASS SALVER INTERHOUSE Collingwood
SENIOR PASS SALVER INTERHOUSE Collingwood
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED JUNIOR PLAYER Natasha Wait
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED SENIOR PLAYER Clara Immink
RUGBY
JUNIOR HOUSE TANKARD Robinson
SENIOR HOUSE CUP Collingwood
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED JUNIOR PLAYER George Walker
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED SENIOR PLAYER Ross Livingstone
FOOTBALL
BATCHELOR CUP FOR MERIT - JUNIOR Haywardsfield
GRAHAM CHALLENGE CUP - SENIOR Ward's
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED JUNIOR PLAYER Joseph Simpson
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED SENIOR PLAYER Subash Ale
9
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NETBALL
JUNIOR HOUSE CUP Collingwood
SENIOR HOUSE SALVER Lampeter
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED JUNIOR PLAYER Katy Porter
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED SENIOR PLAYER Elise Clements
CRICKET
SENIOR HOUSE ROWELL CHALLENGE CUP Ward's
JUNIOR HOUSE CUP Collingwood
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED JUNIOR PLAYER Oliver Carey
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED SENIOR PLAYER James Garrett
TENNIS
JUNIOR GIRLS INTERHOUSE SHIELD Collingwood
THE CHAPLAIN TENNIS CUP FOR SENIOR GIRLS INTERHOUSE Lampeter
JUNIOR BOYS INTERHOUSE SHIELD Collingwood
THE TOM TUCKER CUP FOR SENIOR BOYS INTERHOUSE Ward's
WYCLIFFE COLLEGE TENNIS CUP FOR JUNIOR BOYS SINGLES Oliver Harris
PASS CUP FOR SENIOR BOYS SINGLES Irvin Ives Lau
JUNIOR GIRLS SINGLES CUP Eleanor Bathurst
TL HILLER CUP FOR SENIOR GIRLS SINGLES Holly Tyler
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED JUNIOR GIRL Isabella Menendez
PASS (SWIMMING JAMES) SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED SENIOR GIRL Megan Nash
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED JUNIOR BOY Stoyan Petkov
PASS SHIELD FOR MOST IMPROVED SENIOR BOY Joshua Kraushaar
ROUNDERS
THE BENTALL CUP FOR SENIOR INTERHOUSE Lampeter
CUP FOR JUNIOR INTERHOUSE Lampeter
SQUASH
CUP FOR MOST IMPROVED PLAYER Jack Newey
Awards 2014-15
TOURNAMENTS
DISTRICT HOCKEY TOURNAMENT WINNERS U14s
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT Emma Livingstone
DISTRICT ROUNDERS TOURNAMENT WINNERS U14s
SOUTH DISTRICT TENNIS TOURNAMENT WINNERS U14s and U15s
THE WYCLIFFIAN9Awards 2014-15
AS PHYSICS CHALLENGE CERTIFICATES (a competition organised by Oxford University for students studying Physics in Y12)
COMMENDATION Sebastian Abbott, Jack Evans, Alberto Guerra Martinuzzi
BRONZE Evan Ng
SILVER Illya Nuzbrokh
PHYSICS OLYMPIAD ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS CHALLENGE (a competition organsied by Oxford University for students studying
Physics and/or Astronomy in Y13)
BRONZE Ze Cheng Wu
SILVER Robert Allman-Carter
Y9 RESEARCH PROJECT
GOLD COMMENDATION CERTIFICATE Jaiden Jay, James Hughes, Benjamin Richards, Rebecca Taphouse,
Owen Marsh, Isla Green, Iona Lundie, Tillie Graham,
Isabella Naish, Fenella Purkess, Saoirse Purkess, Rachel Smith,
Emily Flitton, Ella Kitching
COMMENDATION CERTIFICATE Jared Carter, Charles Leach, Tiernan Purkess, Noah Murray,
Katherine Seymour, Maisie Spiers, Lauren Turbott, Iona Wasdell,
Kamen Genchev, Lowri Clarke, Katie Cruiskshank,
Emma Livingstone, Lucy Parsons, Lucy Burgess, Katy Porter,
Mary Evans
DUKE OF EDINBURGH
GOLD Toben Ronald, Emma Bastin
SILVER Alessandra Fraser-Pye, Karl Fong
BRONZE Chloe Bayliss, Charlotte Greensmith, Erin Lavender,
Kelly Fletcher, Harriet Stevens, Lucy Cole, Josephine Hampson,
Charles Richards, Mary Evans, Joshua Petersen
Gold Final Expedition Emma Bastin, Toben Ronald, Angus Allen, Ramazan Samat
NATIONAL INDOOR CLIMBING AWARD SCHEME
FOUNDATION CLIMBER Batraz Albegov, Joshua Petersen
TOP ROPE CLIMBER Matvey Lyubin, Cindy Liu
Old Wycliffians
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Old Wycliffian Society10
Welcome to the Old Wycliffian section of the Wycliffian Magazine.
At the OW Annual Meeting in May, Ashley
Bodey, Fred Ford, Tom Lister, and Tom
Woods were elected to the Management
Group and they have been very involved
in writing a new strategy for the OWS.
One part of the new strategy will be for the
OWS to expand the support of Sixth Form
pupils with gap year projects. For example,
this year Kyran Young was given £500
towards recording equipment to enable
him to document his 2663 mile walk from
Mexico to Canada whilst raising money for
The Gorilla Organisation.
During my travels around the world,
I was able to spend an evening in Toyko
with four OWs. The evening flew past
and only finished when I had to get to
bed before a 6am flight! The London
gatherings have continued to be very
successful. The last one was at the RAC
club where over 50 OWs, (aged from 22
to 90!) met Nick Gregory, the new Head.
OWs are always welcome at these
gatherings and if you wish to visit the
school, please contact the office to make
the necessary arrangements.
Phillip Clements, Chairman of the OWS
As part of a new stratergy,
Kyran Young (pictured) was
given £500 towards recording
equipment to enable him to
document his 2663 mile walk,
raising awareness for the The
Gorilla Organisation.
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leaving me to paddle. Suddenly there was
a tremendous shout and there was John
peddling for all his worth and being chased
by a bull. He made for the towpath gateway
and literally dived from his bicycle over the
gate. It was a near thing, the bull had no
interest in the bicycle and when he had
calmed down a bit it was carefully lifted
over the gate and out of harm’s way.
Weed continued to be a problem
and progress became far too slow. At this
point the River Frome was very close and
flowing fairly fast and in the right direction.
Accordingly we dragged the canoe down
the steep bank and continued on the river.
All went well until we became aware that
the river was flowing faster than before
and that ahead we could hear the roar
of a weir and mill race. Clearly all was
not well and the river had to be quickly
abandoned. We were just in time to avoid
some serious white water canoeing with
all its consequences. Back on the canal we
eventually made the Bristol road bridge
(A38) and after portaging underneath
continued to Whitminster lock. Weed
infestation became a serious problem again
however the final section to the junction
was in reasonable condition. It was here,
just above the old iron swing bridge, that
a kindly boat owner agreed to look after
the canoe where it would be safe until our
next visit.
By now it was getting really late and
a quick phone call to Wycliffe put minds
at rest. After a very late supper we were
My friend John Phillips was with
me at the time and together we decided
that it might be possible to canoe along
the Stroudwater to its junction with the
Gloucester and Sharpness Canal at Saul.
The present Wycliffe boathouse is located
at this spot.
Suitably dressed and carrying onboard
a bicycle we set off on the very next fine
Sunday afternoon. This in itself was rather
precarious as balance was critical. Initial
progress was good, past St Cyr’s Church
and to what was called The Ocean, a
turning point for boats. Great care was
called for here as this was the home of
several swan families who resented our
intrusion into their territory. Keeping our
distance we continued under the railway
bridge to Eastington lock where it was
necessary to portage the canoe over, not
under, the road bridge. Luckily the road
traffic was light. At this point disaster
struck, when the canoe was relaunched
water just poured in. Apparently the rough
road surface was too much for the already
thin and corroded bottom. It was decided
that John would return on his bicycle to
Wycliffe and bring back all the chewing
gum he could lay his hands on. After much
chewing we had sufficient gum with which
to plug the various holes and successfully
relaunch the canoe.
After a while progress, due to weed
infestation, became very slow and laborious.
It was decided to lighten the canoe and
that John would cycle along the tow path
As a new boy settling in I strongly felt
that come Sunday afternoons a degree
of freedom should have been permitted,
instead of which one was expected to go
on organised walks and cycle rides. After a
while this ‘restriction’ was lifted and subject
to obtaining an exit chit one could begin
exploring some of the more out of the
way places.
Ships and the sea have always been
a special interest of mine and when I
requested an exit chit to visit Sharpness
Docks, it was not granted on the basis that
there was nothing to see there! Clearly
a rethink was called for on my part and
it was whilst exploring the old school
boathouse down by the Stroud canal that I
came across a number of relics of a bygone
age. All the wooden sculling craft were
completely rotten but to one side there
were a number of metal Canadian type
canoes. All but one were completely rusted
through. It had been painted green at one
time and looked as though it might float
without sinking.
Life at Wycliffe over 65 years ago was by today’s standards a completely different world.
Voyaging From Wycliffe in a Canoe(This true story is dedicated to my school friend John Phillips)
Michael John Phillips
thanked for keeping in touch but to our
surprise no questions were ever asked as to
what we had actually been up to!
The following Wednesday was fine
and being a half day we set off for Saul, on
two bicycles this time. It was great being on
open water where it was possible to practice
the some of the skills required in order to
be able to canoe safely. There was obviously
a lot to learn. After a while there was a
tremendous shout from John who was in
the canoe at the time and on his own. I
turned quickly only to see him swimming
away from the canoe which was sinking
rather fast. A hasty return to Wycliffe was
called for.
Clearly matters could not be allowed
to rest and on the next available occasion
a return visit was made to Saul and the
site of sinking. From a small rowing boat,
which we were able to borrow, grappling
irons were used to drag the canal bed. The
dragging was carried out systematically,
it was however fruitless. The failure of
subsequent recovery attempts led us
to conclude that as the canoe had sank
so quickly that it had become deeply
embedded in the soft bottom mud.
To lose our ‘pride and joy’ after all
this effort was almost too much. At least it
had been a good adventure, if somewhat
perilous, and together the satisfaction of
probably being the very last craft to make
this voyage. An Act of Parliament in 1954
sanctioned the abandonment of the whole
waterway.
Footnote: For me personally
Sharpness became the gateway for further
adventures and many years of happy sailing
with family and friends. Voyages were made
along the Exmoor coast to North Devon
and across to Tenby on the Welsh coast.
Visits to Lundy Island were also made,
quite difficult at the time due to lack of
proper landing facilities.
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Old Wycliffian Society10
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Reflections
Following Jules Goddard’s mention in the
last Wycliffian that our paths had crossed
after 50 years, I felt I should sketch what
has happened to me during those 50+
years since I left Wycliffe. First, I must
say that Wycliffe prepared me well for an
interesting and eventful life. I have always
valued its spirit of tolerance, respect for our
differences, and its lack of snobbery and
stuffiness, a sound grooming in downright
good manners.
I am now 70 years old; I live in
Totnes, a small town in the glorious
Devonshire countryside. I moved here ten
years ago with my second wife, Angie, who
is Chinese and cooks wonderful food. I sold
our house in Phuket, Thailand, where we
had lived for six years after I left the South
China Morning Post, my employer for the
previous ten. That makes 16 years in the Far
East, travelling all over, writing and taking
photographs. What an experience!
Back to Wycliffe which I left in 1962,
not a moment too soon. We were on the
brink of huge cultural and social change,
though we didn’t know it. Like many
teenagers I didn’t hold much respect for my
elders, unless they were abstract painters
or modern jazz musicians, and while I
David ThurstonSH 1957 – 1962
enjoyed the academic side of school and
the friendships, I hated the rules. Straight
away I went to Paris in what would now be
called my gap year. I only really came out at
night, to hear some of the great musicians
in clubs that London lacked at that time.
Coltrane, Miles, Monk, MJQ, Getz,
Mulligan, fantastic. Then three years at the
London School of Economics emerging into
the joyful chaos of the mid-Sixties with a
BSc(Econ) in government and a passion for
the blues and Bob Dylan.
After three months’ coast-to-coast and
back again on buses in the US, I needed
a job, perhaps a career even. Journalism
seemed to be a suitable option, and in the
next three years I worked as a sub-editor for,
successively, regional morning newspapers
in Plymouth and Bristol and an evening
paper in Brighton, during which I decided
that although I had gained valuable
experience (which would be useful later), I
didn’t want to live the life of a news hack,
I wanted to be a photographer. London
beckoned, it was the swinging sixties. I
set about learning the tricks of fashion
and advertising photography working as a
freelance studio assistant.
But, as the song goes, the times they
were a-changing, and 1972 found me
doing something completely different. I
would be living just outside of the Forest of
Dean, I would have eight milking goats, 50
sheep, geese, ducks and hens, dogs, cats
and mice and a large patch of vegetables,
and I would be father of a baby which my
wife Rosalind (we had met in Brighton)
and I named Jack. In 1979, seeing an ad
in a Sunday paper I joined one of the very
first package tours to China not realising
that it would change the direction of the
rest of my life. I sold everything and went
to Cambridge University for a year to learn
mandarin, which led to a British Council
scholarship to the Central Academy of Fine
Art in Beijing, at a time when China was
like another planet. I returned to London
for a couple of years on the ‘Evening
Standard’, but frustrated by Fleet Street
and it incipient fawning over celebrities, the
journalism on envy, I moved to Hong Kong.
I was 41.
From then until now, I have continued
my love of photography into the digital
age and have been lucky to have received
several national and international awards
and accolades, and three pictures hung
in the prestigious summer exhibition of
the Royal Academy, as well as a successful
one-man exhibition in London and several
shows in the west country. In 1999 I was
diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which has
slowed me up, but I refuse to let it get on
top. In 2013 through the generosity of
friends and relatives I raised £6,000 by sky-
diving for the Parkinson’s UK charity, for
which I have also been an editorial adviser.
I remain a keen vegetable grower and I have
lent my press experience to the campaign
for more allotments in Totnes, to which
end I organised a scarecrow contest in the
castle grounds, enlisting as judge Billy Bragg
who I happened to meet at a friend’s New
Year party. Much of my life, I have relied
on chance meetings to inspire ideas and
fuel change. As they say of photography,
taking pictures is easy, the key is to be in
the right place at the right time, and be
close enough. This brings me back to Jules
Goddard and our strange meeting.
Of other OWs, Jason Wilson, whose
desk I sat next to in the fourth form at
the age of 13, I count as one of my best
friends and I also see his brother Norman
from time to time. Jeremy Williams is
a shareholder in our family business
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Old Wycliffian Society10
Reflections
in Lydney, which was founded by my
grandfather Arthur Watts and great uncle
John Watts and is now chaired by my
brother John Thurston, uncles Cecil and
Melville Watts, the latter sadly deceased,
having been on the board of directors.
For all our many differences we all share
Wycliffe values, and value Wycliffe
memories.
“Tommy” Reid’s early morning maths
tests with “Question number one” echoing
down the corridor before he’d even arrived;
cycling on a Sunday afternoon, through the
gates and freedom for three hours; hearing
news of Sputnik in an art class; skiving
off to Gloucester for a curry at a chicken
curry and green tea Chinese restaurant;
climbing onto the roof to fix a coat hanger
aerial for my crystal set; coxing on the
canal; toast in the art room; the irregular
footstep on the lino of “Dai” Paine’s tin
leg, coming to wake us, always too early in
the morning; George (“Lugs”) Loosley’s
urgent stride up from headmaster’s house;
Peter Beynon’s vintage timber-trimmed
estate car; Mr Wilden-Hart lighting coupon
collecting Kensitas cigarettes during
Spanish lessons, held for the five of us in
his home at Wards; the notoriety of “Spiv”
Johnson’s outrageously vigorous dap on the
bum when caught talking after lights-out;
swapping Dave Brubeck for Little Richard;
cross dressing for Gilbert and Sullivan;
early morning prep before breakfast; blobs;
sweet, tiny Mrs Murdin fetching large glass
jars from the shelves in the tuck shop; not-
so-sweet Mr Murdin tearing a jelly baby in
half to make the exact weight on the scales;
walking back from the parish church under
the stars on a Sunday evening.
I could go on... but enough...
Thank you all for this opportunity to relive
some moments.
Douglas MacMillanW 1955 – 1960
In 1955, I arrived at Wycliffe as a somewhat
timorous 13 year old who had been
awarded a scholarship on account of
potential development as a scientist but five
years at Wycliffe transmogrified the budding
scientist into an18 year old musician,
theologian and philosopher – whose only
claim to any sort of scientific career (in
surgery and becoming a Fellow of the Royal
College of Surgeons) was determined by
the necessity of paying the mortgage and
earning enough to pay for art and music.
Above all, Wycliffe was a place of
character, a place which encouraged
individuality and which possessed its
own unique language. I recall the Second
Master (‘Tommy’ Reade) wearing his tin
hat in the rain, the Young Farmers’ Club
(YFC – colloquially the ‘whiff and stink’),
a bug rake (hair comb) and the trough,
well-described by a previous writer in
these pages (1950s cow pie left much to
be desired…). Few, perhaps, will now
remember the ‘beetle-squasher’, a small
steam railway which ran along the
canal bank.
And sport. The mania, the sine
qua non, of public school education.
I loved rowing, but rugger… on one
occasion I found myself struck by the ball.
The supervising master enquired (not
unreasonably) ‘MacMillan, what are you
doing?’ My answer ‘Sir, I was wondering
why the smoke from the brickworks
chimney was going in two separate
directions’. We lost the House 4th. XV
match (under my captaincy) 64-0.
Not surprised.
But to be more positive, I must turn
to music, religion and Scouting. It was at
Wycliffe that I discovered music, initially as
a clarinettist and eventually as the founder
of a wind ensemble and conductor of the
school orchestra. My subsequent musical
career has led to the Fellowship of two
colleges of music, two doctorates in music,
25 publications in academic journals and
a book. Regular chapel services introduced
me to spirituality and to my eventual
ordination as a deacon in the Church of
England (those who denigrate regular
religious worship do so at their peril: at one
time I was an avid atheist). In Scouting,
I was the last pupil to be a warranted
Assistant Scout Master.
Watching the gliders circling over
Frocester Hill fascinated me and in 2009
I was able to pilot one of those gliders,
looking down on the steep ascent to
Nympsfield, up which we were expected
to ride on Sunday afternoon exercise: flying
is much more appealing to my equanimity
than pushing a bike up a very steep hill…
Looking back after more than half
a century, I realise that many of the
formative influences on my life were
three schoolmasters (not teachers in the
modern sense: they were ‘masters’): Claude
(‘Beaker’) Allen, an immensely intellectual
organist, Eric (‘Prune’) Bevan, who taught
me classics, philosophy and exquisite
precision in the use of language, and Alan
surprise of my tutor! Wycliffe also, in
a roundabout way, gave me the path
to my future. During my sixth form
there were lectures by an OW on Latin
America and another on VSO. Somehow
by the time I reached my second year
at university I only wanted to go out
as a British volunteer to Latin America.
To my surprise, I was selected to go to
Colombia (and a year later to Bolivia) as
a UNA volunteer working for UNDP. I
have no idea what I would have done if
I had not been accepted. Wycliffe and
Bristol University together gave me the
motivation and interest that would serve
me well for my working life to date.
After four years in Birmingham, in
1973, my wife and my 18 month old
daughter Emma accompanied me to the
Solomon Islands and for the next 14 years
I worked as a Government Statistician
there and in Kiribati in the Pacific. Our
son James (who also went to Wycliffe) was
born in Honiara.
Since then I have spent much time
in conflict and post-conflict zones –
working to put into place programmes
to strengthen the aid community,
improve living standards and the welfare
of civilian populations, and so on. In
the 1990s, we went to Peshawar in
the NWFP of Pakistan dealing with all
aspects of Afghanistan – working with
the aid community and the authorities in
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran (and the
Taliban).
Since Pakistan I worked in Timor,
Indonesia; back to Afghanistan as an
adviser to the Government following
9/11; Iraq after the war based in Basra
and Al Amara on governance. I ran a
Danish NGO in Sri Lanka for three years
– working on both sides of the border –
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Reflections
(‘Sooty’) Savage, PhD, a brilliant biologist.
To these, and many others, I owe much.
It is fair to say that, while at Wycliffe,
I discovered myself, and was encouraged to
develop my individual talents even against
a backdrop of general conformity. The
great strength of Wycliffe was – and from
what I read and experience when I read
about and visit the College today – is its
ability to enable young men and women
to explore and encourage their strengths
and weaknesses in a safe and tolerant
environment. I have little doubt that,
without Wycliffe, I would have not been
able to enjoy the fulfilled life I have been
able to lead in surgery, music and theology.
I arrived in Wycliffe in 1954. My time
was, on the whole, enjoyable – I was a
vegetarian and the food pretty good, a key
reason for being there. I enjoyed living
in the Cotswolds, a great area (especially
for Cross-county!), the head master and
staff very supportive. Whilst I survived
the school – it is sad to think that both
my houses Sherwell and Springfield have
since been knocked down!
I managed to be accepted at Bristol
University to read economics – to the
Charles MacFadden J S 1954 – 1963
When I arrived at Wycliffe for the sixth form
it was still ‘the early years of girls’. It was
the mid 70’s and I was 15. Five of us girls
in Wards lived above the Squance’s living
quarters. Very quickly I found out that
House masters were an entirely different
kettle of fish to House mistresses and need
to be treated with a good deal more respect.
Over and above expected normal
education Wycliffe taught me two things
that stood me in good stead for future
years. The first was how to follow a game of
rugby. I quickly grew to love the game. Now
Lucy Milne (nee Brooke)W 1976 – 1978
leaving after the end of the war in 2009,
then to Darfur and back again to Pakistan!
It has been a privileged working
life – working with some great people
in some fascinating countries. It has all
been interesting and I like to hope that
maybe we made a difference. What I do
know is that our western perceptions
of what a country and the people need
can differ wildly from the actual needs of
the people living with the conflict – and
that remembering this is critical for the
solution. We now live in Bristol, our two
children are doing well and we have five
grandchildren!
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Old Wycliffian Society10
Reflections
that I have two rugby playing sons it seems
I spend half the year watching it.
The second thing was learning how
to draw over and above an adequate level.
Soon after I arrived at Wycliffe, the school
had been granted the ‘go ahead’ to convert
the Sub-room into an art department and
as a result Peter Beynon, head of art, was
totally immersed in the project. In fact we
hardly saw him in the old art room behind
the library (“Frateretto calls me and tells me
Nero is an angler in the lake darkness”(sic))
so there was little teaching apart from
his excellent history of art lessons. These
often featured hilarious conversations
between cheeky cockney types Leonardo
and Michaelangelo over progress in the
Sistine chapel or critical remarks about
their mate Raphael....very Pete and Dud!!
But in some state of desperation, as my A
level practical drew close, I insisted that
Mr Beynon at least gave me some tuition.
Old Wycliffians Football Report
In a change to the normal format, the
traditional Old Wycliffian match against the
school 1st XI was changed to acknowledge
that this event was to be Mrs Burnet
Ward’s last before her retirement. To mark
the occasion her sons were instrumental
in getting three OW teams back to play a
tournament with the school 1st XI. Mrs
Burnet Ward donated a trophy which will
now be played for annually.
There were three OW teams from
different eras of Wycliffe Football. The
Under 21s, the 21-25 year olds and then
the Over 25s.
The first match for the school 1st XI
was against the Over 25s and was a physical
encounter. However the school adapted
well and created some early chances.
Neither side could find the net and the
match finished 0-0.
The second match was against the 21-
25 year olds. This OW team was possibly
better suited to rugby. The school 1st XI
played some great football to record a 3-0
win with goals coming through a brace
from Yomi Awosope.
The final match was an exciting affair
with the Under 25s taking an early lead.
However, pressure from the school saw
them equalise. The start of the second
half was excellent with school dominating
to lead 3-1 going into the closing stages.
However, the under 21s scored two late
goals to draw the match 3-3. This match
was crucial to the final result of the
competition with the Over 25s winning
all their other matches and claiming the
trophy. Therefore, the Over 25s captain
Adam Burnet Ward received the new
trophy from his mother.
In a memorable afternoon the staff
match v the OWs saw the staff team record
an excellent 1-0 victory, with the winning
goal coming from Mr Hardaker. Who
would have thought that this lucky strike
would be Mr Hardaker’s last contribution
to Wycliffe Sport now he leaves the school
at the end of the year for challenges in the
north of the County!
Overall this was a great afternoon’s
football and a fitting way in which
Mrs Burnet Ward can remember her
families’ contribution to school and Old
Wycliffian Football.
Whatever it was that he said must have
been remarkable because in a short while
my draughtsmanship changed forever. After
that there was no looking back. Brilliant
teaching, thank you.
Happy memories. Oh! And there is
the tale of ‘the Misdemeanour that never
came to light’ which involved a bottle of
elderflower champagne exploding in my
bedroom just weeks before A levels but that
is another story ....
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• Brilliant for cross curricular work
between history and English, especially
when pupils were going to create their
own historical narrative
• Great for independent learning and
a chance for them to produce their
scrapbooks
• Would provide a backdrop to a
Remembrance service to be held at our
Chapel, where pupils could share some
of their work
• Interpretive and investigative skills
would come to the forefront when
researching soldiers’ records.
Not only these benefits but it would
be a great opportunity to share this to the
broader community, such as newspapers
and radio companies.
THE PLAN
We decided that the English and
history lessons would be a combined effort
and that the term’s assessment would be a
joint effort too.
The pupils would work on their set
text ‘When the guns fell silent’, which
would help give them get a clearer picture
of the experiences of soldiers in WW1.
Alongside this I would plan to help the
children research their Old Wycliffian
whom I had studied in the summer.
Getting ancestry on board with this
idea of a project worked very well, they
bent over backwards to give us full access
excellent resource for the pupils to use as a
starting point.
I knew there had to be many unseen
records and documents relating to these
individuals, records which would help bring
to light a whole host of different possibilities
regarding the lives of these people. There
were untold stories just waiting to be told,
records that would reinforce and make clear
aspects of what actually happened to them.
I really hoped that the children might
be able to access some of these records,
either digitally or even through books! If
they could do this then we could be onto a
gold mine.
GETTING OTHERS ON BOARD
I realised that I needed to get others
to join with me and then this could really
take off and who better than the English
department. They already read texts to
support the World War I theme. The head
of department was keen and so together we
planned or should I say outlined a term’s
work. It meant dropping what we would
normally do; risky if you teach a strictly set
curriculum, but surely the benefits would
far outweigh any limitations. I decided to
list the potential benefits:-
• High level of pupil interest and family
interest
• A topic that related to a national
awareness of the centenary, which
would greatly endorse the topic
Being a keen genealogist myself I thought it
would be a great opportunity to help pupils
to search, locate and find records which
would help produce a narrative about real
people who fought in World War I.
History is, after all, about telling a
story. WWI is a story that needs to be told,
this was our chance to create a new angle, a
new perspective; creating a personal human
interest story, something that might make
great reading. With this in mind I started
looking for ways in which I could do this.
THE BREAKTHROUGH
I asked around our school, Wycliffe
College, to see whether any of the past
pupils had fought in the war. I knew some
had, but I was to be absolutely bowled over
by the fact that 78 past pupils had fought
and died in the war, and many more had
also fought and lived. By far the biggest
bonus was that in the 1920s the then
headmaster of Wycliffe produced a book,
entitled ‘Wycliffe and the War 1914–1918’.
It is, without doubt, this book that is the
main reason for the success of this project.
The headmaster, W B Sibly, had
written biographies on all those who died
serving their country and who had, at some
time, been a student at the college. Reading
these biographies took me on a special
journey of discovery. I got into some of
the lives and personal stories of these past
pupils in a big way. Some of the individual
biographies were very detailed and an
Bringing World War 1 into the ClassroomSteve Arman, Head of Humanities, Preparatory School
With the centenary of World War I fast approaching last summer I decided to look into the possibility of conducting a school project where I encouraged and supported pupils to find out about the past.
Old Wycliffian Society
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Old Wycliffian Society10
to all their records for the term’s work,
free of charge via the school’s network of
computers.
Alongside this I had hoped that
whatever we found could be uploaded
digitally onto the Imperial War Museum’s
website www.livesofthefirstworldwar.org,
through a community page which I had
set up.
STARTING OFF AND INSPIRING THE
PUPILS
During the holidays I sent a letter
to encourage parents and pupils alike to
research their own families to find out
whether they had any World War I stories
that they could share on their return. We
also planned for the second week of term
to be a World War I themed week. I pushed
the boat out and booked up three events
involving a theatre company and two well-
known authors on World War I.
The theatre company really got the
show on the road so to speak. This worked
beautifully; we had children coming in
for weeks with World War I stories and
artefacts, pictures of their great, great
uncles/grandparents and so forth. Then the
work began with the Year 8 pupils on their
research.
It was hard to gauge just exactly how
well the children may or may not cope with
the research. So I made sure that I had
prepared enough research myself to support
those who would find it a real challenge
accessing records such as census returns,
medal roll index cards, probate records, and
any other military records as well as World
War I newspapers. I had to make sure we
had back up resources for them.
I gave the more able pupils an
individual each to research, whilst I gave
many of the other pupils one person to
research between two of them. They had
to find information and interpret it. There
were many lessons in the IT room where
the pupils researched and found out new
things. Lots of information was found by
googling these people too. If anything there
was information overload and some pupils
became swamped with too much data and
how to start to deal with it. But overall they
began to paint a picture. With good writing
frames and clear objectives, alongside time
management, a picture began to emerge for
many of the Old Wycliffians.
When we were ready we created an
autobiographical/biographical framework
in which they could begin to produce
their final pieces. We also planned our
first Preparatory School Remembrance
service. We needed a suitable inspirational
character/s to bring this alive for the pupils.
Enter Edward Lister.
THE LISTER CONNECTION
When I did my summer research I
noticed that there was a familiar surname
of one of the existing Year 8 boys to one
of the biographical stories I had studied,
namely Edward Lister. I knew that I would
be teaching this boy in the September term.
When we started our studies and the boy
came to my lesson I said to him “Charlie
I’ve been researching a chap called Edward
Lister do you know anything about him?”
“No sir, I don’t know anybody in my
family who fought in this war.”
“Well would you like to have a look
into this chap, his name is Edward Ashton
Lister.”
“Really, my middle name is Charles
Ashton Lister the same as this guy.”
“Wow, maybe he is related to you. You
need to go home and ask.”
Charlie did go home and did ask and
it was his great, great uncle. Charlie really
did enjoy studying World War I and he
loved beginning to tell the story of his great,
great uncle. It was this that spearheaded
quite a lot of media attention and interest
namely resulting in the local radio wanting
to interview both of us and Charlie said his
piece. It was a fitting way to remember what
his great, great uncle did in WW1.
If nothing else then the project been
has worthwhile for him and I have no
doubt that he will always remember what
he’s done and what his great, great uncle
did for his country. All those pupils from
Year 8 now they have a sense of what World
War I means and they can then pass on
what they found out hopefully one day to
their children.
Many of the biographies were so good
that I added them to the digital archive
on the www.livesofthefirstworldwar.org/
Imperial War Museum website, with the
permission of the pupils and their parents.
This narrative that some of the pupils have
produced gives a flavour of what may have
been and helps readers to appreciate the
lives of men who fought in WW1 and is a
fitting tribute to their studies.
ADDENDUM:
I am about to start another term’s
work with the Year 8s studying WW1
OWs. This time the area of focus has been
refined and become much more focussed.
There are two main characters whom
the pupils will study. Two students will
travel at half term, with two members of
staff, to Belgium/France to find out more
about them and share their stories at the
Remembrance service on their return.
I am grateful for the financial support
that the OWS has given to this project.
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Obituaries
The Stroud community in general
and Wycliffe friends in particular, were
saddened to learn of the death, on January
23rd at the age of 91, of Eddie Price, one
of its most distinguished, yet self-effacing,
alumni. Born into a Wotton-under-Edge
farming family that moved into nearby
Frocester Court in 1935, Eddie became
a self-taught archaeologist after he
discovered that there were Bronze Age,
Iron Age, Roman and Saxon remains
beneath the surface of the fields he was
farming. Over the past half century he
carefully excavated and recorded his
findings, eventually publishing them,
gaining national recognition for
his labours.
Edward G. Price MBE JP FSA Hon
PhD is recorded in our lists as a Day Boy
in Haywardsfield from 1937 until 1940,
although it is known that he spent some
time as a boarder at Lampeter when the
school was evacuated. Having taken his
School Certificate in 1940, he returned
to Frocester to join the family farm and
play his role in ‘Digging for Victory’.
But for his remarkable discovery and
patient labours, he might have remained
a successful farmer on his 300 acre
farm, playing a leading role in the local
community, serving as a Magistrate and
enjoying his life-long hobby of fishing
for carp and perch. In 1959 he caught
the then second largest carp ever caught,
weighing over 40 lbs. During the 1950s he
kept a fishing diary which was published
as a limited edition in 2007 – and was
sold out even before the print run had
been completed!
Eddie began the systematic
excavation of his fields in 1960 after
his plough struck buried foundations.
He then worked with established local
archaeologist Captain Henry S. Gracie,
from whom he learned the digging and
recording techniques that formed the basis
of his later distinction. Following Captain
Gracie’s death in 1978, Eddie decided to
carry on the dig, which took place every
summer until 2007 – training hundreds
of amateur aspirant archaeologists and
students in the process (not least our own
archaeologist, Wycliffe chemistry master
David Evans, who was involved in his own
Medieval dig at nearby Kings Stanley.)
The Frocester dig was reputed to be the
longest-running archaeological project in
the country.
Over the decades over 1,100 Roman
coins were unearthed, as well as 60 sets
of human remains. One of his most
significant finds, a small bronze horse, is
on show in Gloucester Museum. All the
finds were meticulously recorded. In 2000
Eddie published a two volume work which
traced, in extraordinary detail, the story of
the human occupation of the area from the
Bronze Age to the modern day.
His archaeological interests were
not confined to digging up the past, but
included the restoration and preservation
of the no less than 13 listed buildings
on the farm: a 13th Century tithe barn –
reputedly the largest still standing in the
county – and a 15th Century farm house.
On both of which he did the work himself
– and it took him eight years!
In 1965 Eddie was made a
Justice of the Peace; in 1998 he was
elected President of the Bristol and
Gloucestershire Archaeological Society;
he was elected a Fellow of the Society
of Antiquaries and in 2008 he was
awarded the MBE by HM the Queen for
services to archaeology. In 2009 he was
awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the
Open University. His 90th birthday was
Edward Godwin Price 1935 - 2015
THE WYCLIFFIAN
Old Wycliffian Society
Full Obituaries can be found on the OW website www.oldwycliffians.co.uk
Photo credit – Stroud Life
THE WYCLIFFIANTHE WYCLIFFIAN
Old Wycliffian Society10
Obituaries
NAME SCHOOL DATES DATE DIED
Clive E Shrimpton S 1939 - 1941 17 NOVEMBER 2014
Michael Stokes P H 1942 - 1948 24 NOVEMBER 2014
G John Skinner SH 1941 - 1944 DECEMBER 2014
Alan C Taylor W 1970 - 1974 28 DECEMBER 2014
Richard K Morris J S 1954 - 1962 7 JANUARY 2015
Michael H B Beard DB 1945 - 1950 9 JANUARY 2015
Paul C Biggs H 1950 - 1953 12 JANUARY 2015
Charles D Sandell W 1946 - 1951 18 JANUARY 2015
Edward G Price H 1937 - 1940 23 JANUARY 2015
Roger Bailey H 1950 - 1954 6 FEBRUARY 2015
Leslie G Pride S 1948 - 1952 6 FEBRUARY 2015
Mrs Joan Squance Staff and Wife of Mr Michael Squance 6 FEBRUARY 2015
William R Trumper J SH 1943 - 1948 10 FEBRUARY 2015
Hugh A Snell H 1941 - 1949 12 FEBRUARY 2015
Jeremy 'Jem' Marsh SH 1942 - 1946 2 MARCH 2015
Raymond T H Jeffes P DB 1932 - 1938 17 MARCH 2015
William Roger Powell J H 1950 - 1957 24 MARCH 2015
Thomas M Sims P 1939 - 1942 24 MARCH 2015
Paul C Pusey SH 1954 - 1958 1 MAY 2015
V Desmond Vowles J H 1932 - 1941 3 MAY 2015
Anthony H Chivers J SH 1931 - 1938 3 MAY 2015
Martin Harrison SH 1946 - 1949 20 JUNE 2015
Michael F Bailey SH 1940 - 1942 12 AUGUST 2015
The following OWs have died in the past year – we remember them with thanksgiving and affection.
marked by the presentation of a coat of
arms from the Royal College of Arms
– their device taken from the Roman
villa mosaic, and the motto Opus et
Stadium – work and study. The Curator
of Gloucester City Museum remarked that
Eddie’s “pioneering report on Frocester
Court Roman villa set a benchmark for
archaeological publications, not just in
Gloucestershire but across the country.”
In 1951 Eddie married Ruth
Chandler from Chestnut Farm in
Haresfield and together they had six
sons, three of whom now run Frocester
Court Farm in partnership. As part of his
archaeological studies Eddie had made
a Roman kiln and pottery. One of his
Roman-style urns was used to hold his
funeral ashes before they were buried
beneath his own fields.
A Thanksgiving Service to celebrate
Eddie Price’s life was held at St Michael
and All Angels’ Church at Eastington, St
Andrew’s Church at Frocester being too
small for the likely congregation (and the
Frocester’s original Church of St Peter now
forming the Wycliffe College Chapel.)
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New Members for 2014
Old Wycliffian Society
YEAR 7 LEAVERS SCHOOL DATES
Elie Renucci 2014 - 2015
Rebecca Richards 2014 - 2015
Alexander Van Blerk 2014 - 2015
YEAR 8 LEAVERS
Isabelle Clough 2013 - 2015
Piotr Haretski 2014 - 2015
Vavara Kulibaba 2012 - 2015
David Wentzel 2012 - 2015
YEAR 9 LEAVERS
Anton Bodrashov 2011 - 2014
Toni Greenhalgh 2013 - 2014
Ignasi Mullerat 2013 - 2014
Alona Shulyak 2013 - 2014
YEAR 10 LEAVERS
Angela Chen 2014 - 2015
Kamen Genchev 2014 - 2015
Georgiana Gilchrist 2003 - 2015
Benjamin Richards 2012 - 2015
YEAR 11 LEAVERS
Nathan Adams 2012 - 2015
Daniel Aspinwall 2007 - 2015
Elena Azcona 2012 - 2015
Georgina Barr 2009 - 2015
Ella Barry 2005 - 2015
Christian Besch 2015
Daisy Bing 2012 - 2015
Oliver Denning 2009 - 2015
Denis Fedorov 2013 - 2015
Karl Fong 2004 - 2015
Isobel Garbett 2010 - 2015
Aneurin Hamer-Nickells 2012 - 2015
Ruth Harris 2011 - 2015
Lucy Haynes 2001 - 2015
Enno Hoyndorf 2013 - 2015
Jamie Jones 2007 - 2015
Supakorn Kijnitikorn 2014 - 2015
James King 2012 - 2015
Lukas Kinzel 2014 - 2015
Joshua Kraushaar 2015
James Leach 2012 - 2015
Joseph Lewis 2006 - 2015
Thomas Lewis 2006 - 2015
Steve Li 2014 - 2015
Henry Lister 2006 - 2015
Volodymyr Litvinov 2014 - 2015
Anar Mamedov 2011 - 2015
Ellie Mapletoft 2010 - 2015
Rhys Marsh 2010 - 2015
Liam McLaren 2012 - 2015
Lewis Overfield 2013 - 2015
Oliver Pitts 2011 - 2015
Jack Price 2012 - 2015
Maria Pucci 2014 - 2015
Henry Radcliffe 2006 - 2015
Lilliana Reeder-Katsipis 2012 - 2015
Benjamin Robinson 2010 - 2015
Laura Robinson 2012 - 2015
David Roper 2009 - 2015
Thomas Seabrook 2003 - 2015
Rhiannon Tasker 2010 - 2015
Francesca Turner 2012 - 2015
Summer Turner 2010 - 2015
Maksim Yiu 2014 - 2015
YEAR 12 LEAVERS
Luke Barnett 2014 - 2015
Henri Eustrup 2014 - 2015
Erin Holley 2007 - 2015
Robert Keefe 2015
Carina La Garde 2015
Liudas Vinkleris 2014 - 2015
DATE REVISION
Rory Gordon 1998 - 2014
THE WYCLIFFIAN10Old Wycliffian SocietyNew Members for 2014
YEAR 13 LEAVERS
NAME SCHOOL DATES DESTINATION SUBJECT YEAR STARTING
Anastasiia Albegova 2013 - 2015 University of Southampton Politics and Economics 2015
Subash Ale 2009 - 2015 University of Bath Electronic and Communication
Engineering (Sandwich)
2015
Angus Allen 2006 - 2015 Bath Spa University Creative Computing (Gaming) 2015
Robert Allman-Carter 2009 - 2015 University of St Andrews Physics 2015
Valerie Antonova Anguelova
2012 - 2015 Bournemouth University Communication and Media 2015
Ellis Asante 2010 - 2015 Swansea University Business Management 2015
Oluyomi Awosope 2013 - 2015 Oklahoma State University Liberal Arts 2015
Charlie Ballans 2013 - 2015 Southampton Solent University Football Studies 2015
Sebastian Ballim 2013 - 2015 University of the West of
England
Filmmaking 2015
Emma Bastin 2008 - 2015 University of Nottingham Biochemistry and Genetics 2015
Lara Bathurst 2006 - 2015 Swansea University Law 2015
Rebecca Bidwell 2009 - 2015 University of South Wales Sports Leadership and Development 2015
Khalel Bizhanov 2013 - 2015 No information
Arkeld Bozo 2013 - 2015 No information
Cameron Brooks 2013 - 2015 Falmouth University Creative Music Technology 2015
Nicholas Brown 2009 - 2015 University of Washington Liberal Arts 2015
Teri Butcher 2011 - 2015 Cirencester College Business and Administration Apprenticeship 2015
Sophie-Jayne Caesar 2006 - 2015 Univeristy of Creative Arts Acting and Performance 2016
Eleanor Carr 2011 - 2015 University in USA 2015
Peter Carr 2011 - 2015 North Carolina State University Liberal Arts 2015
Elise Clements 2013 - 2015 University of Plymouth Accounting and Finance 2015
Christopher Clough 2013 - 2015 University in USA 2015
Abigail Covill 2008 - 2015 Cardiff Univeristy Politics 2015
Charlotte Davison 2013 - 2015 University of Brighton Mechanical Engineering (with Integrated
Foundation Year)
2015
Rohan Easby 2000 - 2015 Swansea University Mathematics and French TBC
Louise Elliott 2008 - 2015 Queen Mary, University of
London
Biochemistry with a year in Industry/
Research
2015
Iskander Fakhritdinov 2013 - 2015 University of Westminster Commercial Music 2015
Isaac Fearnley 2008 - 2015 No information
Anna Fishwick 2008 - 2015 University of Birmingham Medicine 2015
Henry Ford 2013 - 2015 Gap year
Linara Gaisina 2013 - 2015 University of Warwick Film Studies 2015
James Garrett 2005 - 2015 Harper Adams University Agriculture 2015
Daria Gavrilova 2012 - 2015 Aberystwyth University Agriculture with Business Studies 2015
Alexander Gilchrist 1997 - 2015 No information
Lucinda Grindrod 2008 - 2015 Royal Agricultural University Equine Management 2015
Alvin Gu 2013 - 2015 No information
Laura Hall 2009 - 2015 Cardiff Metropolitan University Psychology 2015
Jerry Huang 2013 - 2015 University of Warwick Mathematics, Operational Research,
Statistics, Economics
2015
Rachel Ibanga 2013 - 2015 Aston University Accounting for Management 2015
Clara Immink 2013 - 2015 No information
Janos Gabriel Maria Jung 2012 - 2015 University in Germany TBC
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NAME SCHOOL DATES DESTINATION SUBJECT YEAR STARTING
Hannah Kent 2013 - 2015 North Carolina State University Liberal Arts 2015
Amanda Khatri 2008 - 2015 University of Southampton English 2015
Almira Khojalakova 2013 - 2015 University of Westminster Marketing Communications and Advertising 2015
Julija Laksa 2013 - 2015 Durham University Economics 2015
Jack Lister 2006 - 2015 Kingston University International Business 2015
Fay Liu 2012 - 2015 University of Birmingham International Relations 2015
Jane Liu 2012 - 2015 University of Surrey Business Management 2015
Oliver Lovejoy 2008 - 2015 Swansea University Mathematics 2015
Mayvey Lyubin 2012 - 2015 No information 2015
Jasper Meehan 2009 - 2015 Gap year
Tigran Melkonyan 2012 - 2015 University College Birmingham Hospitality Business Management 2015
Risa Miyajima 2012 - 2015 University of Surrey International Hospitality and Tourism
Management
2015
Anna Morgan 2013 - 2015 Bournemouth University Events Management 2015
Viva Ng 2012 - 2015 The Arts University Bournemouth Interior Architecture and Design 2015
Joseph Oliver 1999 - 2015 Gloucestershire College Creative Media Production: Film and
Moving Image
2015
Zoe Parrott 2010 - 2015 De Montfort University Forensic Science 2015
Mathew Parsons 2005 - 2015 University of the West of
England
Drama 2015
Nikita Polukeev 2013 - 2015 Univeristy of Westminster Business Management (Economics) 2015
Ieva Povilonyte 2013 - 2015 University of Surrey International Hospitality Management 2015
Elisabeth Puig 2012 - 2015 University of Essex Media, Culture and Society 2015
Arturs Rakovskis 2012 - 2015 School of Oriental and African
Studies
International Relations and Chinese 2015
Josephine Randall 2008 - 2015 Goldsmiths International Studies 2016
Francesca Robinson 2010 - 2015 Swansea University Law 2015
Toben Ronald 2006 - 2015 University of York International Relations 2015
Ramazan Samat 2013 - 2015 University of Warwick Economics 2015
Oliver Scarr 2013 - 2015 Roehampton University Business Management Entrepreneurship 2015
Alexander Schranz 2007 - 2015 Aston University Biomedical Science 2015
Arhant Simha 2013 - 2015 No information
Edvards Stankevics 2012 - 2015 Brunel University Business and Management 2015
George Turner 2011 - 2015 Joined the TA
Zebedee Waite 2013 - 2015 No information
Andy Wu 2013 - 2015 University College London Engineering (Mechanical) 2015
Cressida Wyer 2000 - 2015 Queen Mary, University of
London
English 2015
Andy Xiao 2012 - 2015 Queen Mary, University of
London
Economics 2015
Eva Yan 2012 - 2015 No information
Thomas Yeung 2011 - 2015 Coventry University Civil Engineering 2015
Macy Ying 2013 - 2015 De Montfort University Architecture 2015
Old Wycliffian SocietyNew Members for 2014
THE WYCLIFFIAN10
We spotted Richard Derrington (H
1963-65) at Cheltenham’s Everyman
Theatre on the tour of Bernard Shaw’s
‘Mrs Warren’s Profession’. Richard and
his colleague Ryan Saunders were playing
the father and son, the Rev and Frank
Gardner. The reviewer opined that they
presented ‘a wonderfully comic pairing;
both are equally adept scene-stealers’. No
change there then! On a more sombre
note, Robert (aka David) Gwilym (J & W
1965-74) gave an impressive performance
in Richard Harris’s psychological thriller
‘The Business of Murder ‘at Malvern
in June.
Simon Holloway (W 1964-68) paid
a visit to the school in May to inform us
that his ministry has returned him to the
West Country. The last location that we
had recorded for him was Sparkbrook
in Birmingham in the 1980s. Since
then he has led the team ministry in
Horley, near Gatwick in Surrey and spent
three years in Ayia Napa, Cyprus. In
September 2014 he returned to the UK
to take up the challenge of running five
rural churches around Axminster and
Honiton in Devon. They call themselves
‘The Five Alive Mission Community East
Devon’ and Simon has the responsibility
of leading the team which attempts to
help these small parishes work together
to build a social and worshipping
community with a sense of unity. They
also hold regular services with other
local ‘partner churches’ working in the
Baptist, Methodist and Roman Catholic
traditions. The monthly ‘Parishes’ Paper’
is a colourful and lively production,
incorporating a wide range of news,
information and services, far beyond
the parochial concerns of the churches
themselves, and appears to be a major
organ in encouraging integration. We
wish Simon well in his new challenge and
look forward to seeing him again.
Gavin Sparkes (J & Sp 1958-
69) wrote us a most interesting letter,
initiated by those well-known middle-
aged activities of sorting, de-cluttering,
down-sizing and, inevitably, reminiscing.
In the process he discovered the on-line
presence of the Wycliffe archives, the
perusal of which will assuredly slow
down the achievement of any of the
afore-mentioned tasks. He was reminded
of behind-the-scenes stage management,
Scout lorry construction, lugging the
sleepers and telegraph poles from the
Stonehouse to Nailsworth ‘beetle-crusher’
line to build the assault course, several
exciting but inclement mountain and
climbing and canoeing expeditions –
even being commissioned to paint a new
Springfield House flag. Such were the
memories of the ‘60s that well justify
Gavin’s position on the Head of School
boards, which we hope that he will some
day return to see.
It’s always good to read theatrical reviews to see how OW actors are doing and this summer was interesting in that there were two OWs playing in the area:
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We congratulate OW farmer A.John
Cullimore (Sp 1973-75) on his firm
Cullimores Organics which picked up
two awards for quality in recent years:
one at the Taste of Gloucestershire Food
and Farming Awards and the other the
award for the Best Livestock Farmer. In an
area famous for the quality of its farming
and food products, there was strong
competition and we share his delight.
For some years we have reported on
the successes of Simon Weaver (J & H
1968-76) whose Cotswold cheese-making
has developed a national reputation,
with products like his Single Gloucester
and Cotswold Brie appearing widely on
supermarket shelves. His firm, Simon
Weaver Organic, set in some of the
Cotswold’s most wildlife-rich pastures
near Bourton-in-the-Water, has recently
invested in a robotic milking parlour as
the first step in building a new centre that
will tell the 6,000 year history of wildlife,
farming and food in the Cotswolds. The
development has been supported by the
Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage
and the Gloucestershire Environmental
Trust. The long term aim is to emphasise
the relationship between the land, the
farm and the food we eat.
We had a long and interesting letter
from M. Jeremy H. Smith (1973-77)
who left Wycliffe to join the overseas
department of Lloyd Bank in the City of
London. As opposed to the stereotypical
ordinariness of bank working, Jeremy
describes some of the excitements of the
job, particularly when one is involved
in international trade operations. Even
the struggles with banking and linguistic
examinations to achieve promotion have
their moments of exhilaration (and relief).
After his full 37 years Jeremy retired
from the Bank in August 2015 and
became deeply involved as a volunteer
with the Birmingham and Solihull
Rugby Club. His involvement is varied
– from match announcer to cleaner and
maintenance man, but volunteering is a
relaxation after years of being pressurised
in business. In the club he has come
across Matthew Long (J & H 1980-91)
who has recently retired from playing to
concentrate on coaching.
We were delighted to note that, at
the end of 2014, Tim Watkins (J & Sp
1970-80) took over the managing partner
role for the Stroud accountancy firm of
Randall and Payne. The school has had
a long connection with the firm which
has provided a secure training ground
for OWs entering the profession, many
of whom have gone on to establish their
own independent practices. We wish
Tim well.
We were pleased to learn of a new
enterprise begun by Peter Meredith (J
& SH 1980-90) from whom we had
not heard from some time. When he
left school he trained as a shipwright
specialising in classic yacht restoration
and then spent many years as captain
of a variety of wooden ships. In 2014
he started up his own company making
fine wooden articles, often bespoke and
personalised, from recycled hardwoods.
This ‘up-cycling’ converts potential
waste woods into new products of better
quality or better environmental value. His
company, based locally at Saul, seems to
have found a ready market.
Contemporaries will remember
James Gorick (H 1991-96) for his wide
range of musical skills and his subsequent
experience with leading choirs and
schools. In April 2015 he moved with
his wife and two sons to Cambridge to
become Director of Music at St Faith’s
Preparatory School, which is not only the
largest Prep School in the city but has
a strong reputation for the quality of its
music. But then so does James – and we
wish him well in his new responsibilities.
Gloucestershire cricketers, not
least the OWs amongst them, will have
been sad to learn of the departure of
Alex Gidman (J, Sp & R 1991-99)
from the County side at the end of
the 2014 season. However, signing for
Worcestershire, he has moved up to a
Division 1 side and will therefore have the
opportunity to demonstrate his talents at
a higher level.
Alex made his debut for
Gloucestershire in 2001 and was the only
member of the team remaining to have
shared the award of national ‘silverware’
in competition during his thirteen years.
He captained the County from 2009
to 2012 and, whilst at Gloucestershire,
scored 23 first class centuries and 57 half-
centuries – with a total of over 11,000
runs, at a match average of 36. In his last
season he scored a career best with 264
against Leicestershire, to pass 1,000 runs
in a season for the sixth time.
Alex’s departure prompted
widespread regrets, as well as
considerable admiration, summed up
no less by his younger brother and team
mate, Will, who said that Alex “was one
of the most selfless cricketers you could
hope to meet... He plays cricket hard
News of Old Wycliffians
THE WYCLIFFIAN
News of Old Wycliffians10
but fairly and has been a fantastic role
model.”
Yet another blow for Gloucestershire
cricket in 2014 was the news that Will
Gidman (J & H 1992-2001) brother of
the aforementioned Alex, was also to
leave at the end of the season. Widely
applauded as “a huge loss – and the best
domestic all-rounder the County has had
in the last four years”, Will announced
his move to join Nottinghamshire for the
2015 season. As with brother Alex, this
will mean a move up to the lst Division
and stronger competition.
The Gloucestershire Director of
Cricket, in explaining the move, argued
that “we were unable to keep him
financially – that’s the bottom line. Our
budget reduces this year and we are
unable to compete with the big boys. The
big-paying Test clubs just cherry-pick the
biggest apples at the top of the tree.”
Will had an outstanding four years
with Gloucestershire, coming to us
from Durham, where his talents were
underused. In his debut season here he
achieved the double of 1,000 runs and
50 wickets, whilst in the 2013 season
he passed another landmark when he
scored a century and took ten wickets
in a championship match against
Leicestershire at Bristol. We wish Will
continued success and will follow his
progress keenly.
Since his success in the C.S. Lewis
classics ‘The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe’ and ‘Prince Caspian’, we have
heard little from William Moseley (J &
W 2000-2005), but have proof that he
has been honing his acting skills carefully
in the United States. At the beginning
of 2015 came the announcement of his
up-coming parts in two very contrasted
roles. The first is a contemporary TV
series, ‘The Royals’, about a fictional royal
family, in which William stars alongside
Elizabeth Hurley. William’s role is that
of the younger brother, pitched into the
responsibility of kingship through the
death of the heir in a military training
accident. The TV tale, a mélange of
‘Hamlet’, contemporary reality and family
tragedy, is in strong contrast to ‘The Veil’,
William’s next feature film project, a US
post-apocalyptic film, set in a war-torn
land where tribal factions live in fear of
annihilation. Success in both will test his
dramatic range and we all wish him well.
It’s often only when one reads the
small print that you find mention of
some OW achievements. One such was
the sight of Robbie Maycock (2004-08)
in the list of the Commonwealth Games
participants for Glasgow in August
2014. Representing his home country of
Bermuda, as he had done previously at
junior level, Robbie was one of the 119
players from 28 nations competing in
the Squash championships. He was very
generous when speaking to reporters
and is quoted as saying “ I can’t speak
highly enough of my time at Wycliffe. The
excellent coaching and the exposure I had
to national and international tournaments
provided the springboard for a lot of the
success I had.”
We learned in September 2014 of
the plans being made by Guy Davies (J
& C 1998-2009) to direct his second
short film. His debut film ‘Emily’ was
well received at several film festivals in
2014, encouraging him to work on ‘Day’,
which was scheduled to be filmed in New
York in the Spring/Summer of 2015. The
film is based on true events and follows
several characters over the course of a
single day in New York. The script follows
a boy in his late teenage years, growing
up in a rough neighbourhood and depicts
a series of realistic adolescent adventures.
Later, in June 2015 we learned that
another of Guy’s short films ‘Sick to my
Bones’ had been nominated for an award
at the SOHO International Film Festival
in New York and had also been accepted
by the Palm Springs Film Festival. If
successful at the latter, it could qualify for
shortlisting for Oscar nomination. Shot
on the Isle of Sky, the film explores the
relationship between good and evil. Like
Guy, we will cross our fingers.
Having attended a boarding school
as a girl which she felt was a cruel
place, she was determined to follow in
Wycliffe’s founder’s footprint and create
a school that was caring, enabled pupils
to be themselves, to treat others with
respect and tolerance, and to be proud of
that character.
She spent the first 15 years travelling
as an English language teacher developing
her love of travel and different cultures. It
was the importance of family that caused
her to return to the UK and she still
regularly visits St Andrews to holiday with
her brothers and their families.
Over the years Wycliffe has had
to adapt to teach young people using
a balance of formal teaching whilst
embracing new technologies. The ability
to adapt is what Margie hopes is her legacy
to the young people she has supported
at Wycliffe.
Throughout her 40 year career the
one constant has been the continuing
change in education, changes which
unfortunately don’t come from those who
work directly in education. Now she has
retired to a property in Derbyshire and
divides her time between walking and
being an ISI Lead Inspector. We wish her a
long, happy and healthy retirement.
THE BURNET WARD BURSARY
As part of Margie’s retirement legacy
to the College she set up the Burnet Ward
Bursary and asked that any recognition of
her service to Wycliffe should be through a
contribution to this bursary fund.
The target is to raise £75,000 and
we have to date raised over £40,000. This
will enable the Foundation to help fund a
pupil who would otherwise not have been
able to benefit from a Wycliffe education.
The campaign is ongoing and
collectively we can make a real difference
to what can be achieved. We very
much value every single gift we receive,
regardless of size and any donation made
From her time as Deputy Head through to today, Margie has made it her mission to foster a welcoming family atmosphere at Wycliffe.
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WYC
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Wycliffe bid farewell to Head, Margie Burnet Ward
Many of you who attended the Prep
School will remember the small brick
structure which has been in use for many
years. Over the next eighteen months the
College aims to raise over £100,000 to
enable us to build an oak framed sports
pavilion which we know will be much
used and appreciated by all.
This pavilion will not only offer a
place for serving match teas and much
needed toilet facilities, but also provide
protection from both good and bad
weather from its viewing veranda.
All donations large or small will be
very much appreciated and will make
a valued contribution to the fund. All
gifts of over £100 will be permanently
recognised with the display of a plaque
within the pavilion.
If you can help with a major gift,
there are other naming opportunities and
the Foundation Office will be delighted to
discuss with you how your donation can
be recognised in perpetuity.
Please help us realise this wonderful
facility.
If you wish to donate please go the
Foundation Office page at http://www.
wycliffe.co.uk/wycliffian-society/ or
through http://uk.virginmoneygiving.
com/fund/prepsportspavilion
Prep School Sports Pavilion
by a UK tax payer can be increased by an
additional 25% with the addition of Gift
Aid. Please help us to raise the much
appreciated funds for bursaries.
If you wish to donate please go the
Foundation Office page at http://www.
wycliffe.co.uk/wycliffian-society/ or
through http://uk.virginmoneygiving.
com/fund/wycliffe/burnet-wardbursary
“Over the last ten years I have had the immense privilege and joy of
helping to shape the lives of so many young people who have not only
contributed to the life of our community but have gone on to make
a difference to others. I would love to see this positive impact being
continued, by allowing promising young people the chance to have a
Wycliffe education through offering a bursary in my name.
I very much hope that fond memories and a grateful appreciation of
the value of a Wycliffe education will prompt you to be generous”.
Margie Burnet Ward (Head 2005-2015)
THE WYCLIFFIAN
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Wycliffe Senior School & Sixth Form, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire GL10 2JQ Telephone: 01453 820412 Wycliffe College Incorporated is a Registered Charity No 311714 and is a Company limited by guarantee and registered No 255632 in England and Wales. DE
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www.wycliffe.co.uk