Newsletter – February 2015

Congratulations to the nine students who have received offers from Oxford and

Cambridge. They are from left to right: Alistair Nicklin (Chemistry – Balliol College, Oxford), Jonathan Midgley (Chemistry - New College, Oxford), Elliott Lindsay (Engineering – Pembroke College, Cambridge), James Miller (Natural Sciences – Churchill College, Cambridge), Charlie Crisp (Natural Sciences - Pembroke, College, Cambridge), Sam Ford (History – Trinity College, Cambridge), Ralph Colley (Natural Sciences – Queen’s College, Cambridge), Max Bates (English – Brasenose College, Oxford) and Tom Corner – missing from photograph – (Natural Sciences – Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge).

From the Head Master

Depending on your point of view, I write on Friday 13th , or the eve of Valentine’s Day. I think I

prefer the latter. It seems appropriate to end Term 3 on Friday 13th however: in some ways this is

the term that everyone needs to get through, right at the heart of the school year, with dark

mornings and dark evenings and the usual smattering of very cold days.

But the mercury seems to be rising and mornings and evenings are definitely longer. Rugby moves

into sevens mode, the hockey season is well underway, the senior production of Faustus (a

triumph) is over, and mock GCSE and A levels are done. Pupils should be re-assessing targets, in

academic and extra-curricular terms, and those with public exams should be girding their loins

(and preparing) for the challenge ahead.

There is no substitute for systematic revision of course, though I did mention in Assembly this

week the extra benefit of training the brain. Scientists have concluded that dark chocolate, eating

cold meat for breakfast, and counting to 99 in threes whilst brushing your teeth with the wrong

hand, all benefit cognitive ability: make of that what you will. Lateral thinking puzzles are also

highly effective. I repeat there is no substitute for systematic revision, but every little helps.

A new prefect team from Year 12 takes over at the school after the half term break. Our thanks to

the Year 13 team, whose thoughts turn to A levels, for their unstinting and highly effective service

over the past year. They now deserve the chance to prioritise their academic careers. The way

senior students handle such responsibility is a defining feature of the school.

With every good wish for Valentine’s Day, Pancake Day and the week’s holiday.

Mr E Wesson

Headmaster

I had the pleasure of taking eight Year 12 students on the first French Exchange to Vannes in January, accompanied by Mrs Lindsay, a parent of one of the students on the trip. The week was thoroughly enjoyable and the boys did us proud. We were welcomed by the Headmaster, together with a school from London and one from Oslo, our students giving a presentation about Tunbridge Wells in French. During the week we attended focussed lessons such as History, delivered in French for our students, as well as attending normal lessons with French students. Our boys were complimented on their excellent behaviour and enthusiasm: genuine behaviour for learning. A reception given by the Deputy Mayor at the Town Hall featured us in two regional daily newspapers. We had an excellent guided visit of the castle and cathedral in Nantes and embarked on a fact-finding quiz in Vannes. Another highlight was watching a French film at a local cinema . The students reported the extent to which their week had helped their spoken French in particular, and through staying with families, their experience of French culture first hand. The MFL Department is now looking forward to strengthening links in the future.

Caron Wickham Modern Languages Dept.

FRENCH EXCHANGE TO VANNES

A team of Year 12 gardeners busy planting a large number of roses -a generous gift to the school - in the border of the front lawn in December. We hope of course that they will bloom this summer, further brightening the front of the school.

The Art Department recently submitted students’ work to the prestigious John

Downton Awards. The John Downton Award for Young Artists is an annual

exhibition and encourages the creativity of Kent’s young artists. Open to

students aged 11 to 18 across Kent, the award is hosted by Kent County Council.

Reuben Turvey from the U6th won the overall top prize for a mixed media piece.

His screen print was based on his 2013 art trip to Spain and was produced on

the Tonbridge printing course in November of that year. His work, along with

the other winners, was on show at the Turner Contemporary in Margate until 4th

January and was then displayed at the Kaleidoscope Gallery in Sevenoaks until

early February 2015. The exhibition commemorates the life and work of John

Downton, the celebrated Kent artist, poet and philosopher.

Well done Reuben.

Mr Hillier

Art Department

JOH

N D

OW

NT

ON

AW

AR

D W

INN

ER

James Puxty pictured below on the right, won the U15 race in the Kent Cross-Country Championships, held in atrocious conditions on 2nd January in Hythe. In addition, Dan Seagrove came 9th, James Stoney 15th and Oscar Hussey 25th. James also went on to win the South of England Cross-country Championships at the end of January. The photo is of the Kent champions, Tonbridge Athletics Club. Half the team were Skinners’ boys.

The 1st XV pictured after their final game of the season, a 29-14 victory at Campion, which capped a fine season. The U6th members of the team have lost just 6 matches in 7 years at Skinners’!

The 1st XI performed strongly in the Frank Mason memorial tournament in Canterbury last week. On a freezing day of blizzards and bitter winds (I think the pictures give a bit of a sense of the weather!), they reached the semi-final of the Plate Competition before being agonisingly edged out on penalty flicks to the eventual winners, Sir William Joseph’s Mathematical School 1st XI. Skinners’ player of the tournament was Max Akers-Douglas for his attacking success on the left side of midfield and his “crowd pleasing solo wonder strike” against Borden.

Year 11 Art students visited Amsterdam from 16-18th January, where they visited Huis Marseille - Museum of Photography, The Rijks Museum, The Stedelijk Museum of Contemporary Art and The Anne Frank House. All of these places offered a diverse range of inspiring artwork and narrative to help the boys with their ideas. They had the opportunity to take part in a workshop in the Stedelijk where they observed a piece consisting of a set of very slow writhing choreographed movements carried out by a dancer. The guide asked what their response would be if this was seen outside the gallery setting, Sam Evans replying “I’d probably call for an ambulance!”. Upon leaving, our guides commented that the boys were “a very nice bunch of enthusiastic boys, with positive energy!” On the final morning they visited the Van Gogh Museum before the journey home, with a delay on the Eurotunnel being averted by being able to catch an early ferry crossing. A very successful and informative trip.

Mr Hillier Art Department

Scenes from the Harvard MUN trip undertaken by Year 12 students in January, accompanied by James Coltella, Charlotte Schillinger and Jacqui Charvat; a trip that would see them rise to the top of the Empire State Building, eat dangerous quantities of American food, visit the foundations of the United States and ultimately be challenged and enriched in the unique Harvard Model United Nations conference. Evacuated from New York by 'Snowpocalypse', the group travelled to Boston to perform with distinction at the Conference, one of the students commenting that it "has changed people from passive, conscientious students to eloquent and convincing diplomats; thrown in at the deep end and yet flourishing, even surpassing their own expectations." Two outstanding delegate awards and two honourable mentions awarded to Skinners’ at the closing ceremony only reaffirmed the success of the school.

Harvard 2015

RS Student Memories of Auschwitz

Year 13 Religious Studies twins, Christian and Barnaby Haysom, were recently selected to travel to Poland to visit the notorious Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. They were tasked with returning to Skinners’ and educating the school about the atrocities. They did so through moving assemblies and this report below. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz : a poignant time for the boys to visit. They were accompanied by the school’s Head of Religion and Philosophy, Kevin O’Brien. Christian and Barnaby reflect on their day visit.

“We were privileged to have been selected for the Lessons From Auschwitz project, orchestrated by the Holocaust Education Trust. This was a day-long trip visiting both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II –Birkenau. What can be said about a place where such unremitting and brutal dehumanisation, humiliation, torture and mass murder occurred? It was cold and eerie. It was best witnessed with the naked eye rather than through a camera lens. A great solemnity was observed by all visitors. It was not easy to be there and emotions ran high. Scenes previously seen only on movies were suddenly brought alive. Sifting through the victims’ possessions was particularly moving. Seeing the girls’ dolls and the boys’ toys made me cold. These were real victims. Observing the victims’ suitcases, complete with their home addresses, made the visit more harrowing. Seeing the actual train tracks bringing victims into Birkenau brought it all home. The brief, silent stop in the gas chamber was the moment the Holocaust stopped being a concept and became something I really understood. The scale of the site is immense, the mechanical and industrial scale of this event has never been witnessed before in the history of humanity. This was where people from all over Europe were sent to die. By endeavouring to learn more about the victims’ lives, we must begin to re-humanise them as individuals. As it is the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, our visit was particularly poignant as it emphasized the importance of learning from history, so that atrocities like this can never happen again. With a resurgence in anti-Semitism sweeping through Europe recently, projects such as this are imperative in educating future generations about the effects that hatred can have even in a civilized Western democracy”.

Christian Haysom Year 13

“70 years on from the liberation of Auschwitz, very little remained of the camp to suggest it had been the site of one of the worst genocides in human history. Instead, it was through the immense size of the Auschwitz camp itself that the importance of this place was revealed, not only as a historical landmark, but also to serve as a stark reminder that this was murder on an industrial scale under a developed nation not too dissimilar to ourselves. The horrendous living conditions as detailed by accounts of the place now exist solely in the history books, as many of the buildings have been destroyed. Of those that did survive, it was obvious that the camp had been ruthlessly efficient in its purpose of manufacturing mass suffering. However, this didn’t come as a complete surprise given that I had studied the topic in considerable detail at GCSE level. Therefore, it was the presence of a Holocaust survivor on the day, recounting her personal experiences, that evoked the greatest emotional response in me, illustrating that whilst their ever-decreasing community was alike in that they had survived against the odds in the epicentre for the cruelty and oppression of the Nazi regime, survivors all had unique experiences of the same event. I found the lady’s story of her childhood experience particularly powerful, insofar as she hadn’t been much older than my own sister, who is 8 years old now, and had to lie about her age in order to avoid the death camps. The experience shall live long in my memory as the sheer scale of the camp became apparent in a way that isn’t comprehensible by just looking at what took place just in terms of numbers. The trip also enabled me to have a greater appreciation for the people involved in the Holocaust, and made me conscious of a tendency to group all the people who had been inmates in the camp, rather than the need to look at each case as uniquely sad in its own right”.

Barnaby Haysom Year 13 The day finished with a solemn, poignant candle-lit ceremony, led by Rabbi Marcus, half in English, half in Hebrew, on the infamous railway tracks of Birkenau that brought millions, unknowingly, to their deaths.

Report by Kevin A. O’Brien Head of Religion and Philosophy

YEAR 8 CHARITY

INITIATIVES

8B held a charity event on Friday 5th

December. The boys managed to get 11 teams, each with 5 team members, to compete in

Nerf Gun Wars. With the class split into

groups of game play, advertising, food and drink, music/visual and armoury, they all excelled in making the event a great success raising £180 for their chosen charity, Ebola (donating to Oxfam).

Name That Gnome, organised by 8R raised £50 for Hospice in the Weald (October 2014).

8G cake sale raised £46.01 in support of

“When You Wish Upon a Star” (November 2014).

Christmas Jumper Day, organised by

Mrs. Wickham, Mr. Cannan-Branniff and The Charities Commission raised £300 for Save the Children (December 2014).

8R’s Secret Santa raised £15 for Hospice

in the Weald (December 2014).

8W had a Dodgeball Tournament in

December in aid of The Anthony Nolan Trust, and raised about £150. Teams from Years 7 and 8 entered the tournament (around 20 teams) with a Year 8 team winning overall. Money was also raised through selling snacks – Sam Fletcher’s Oreo cupcakes being particularly popular! Every member of the tutor group was very proactive through either advertising, designing posters, selling or donating snacks, refereeing, participating in the tournament or designing score sheets etc.

It was an outstanding team effort and 8W should be very proud.

Mrs C Wickham Head of Year 8

Members of the A2 Religious Studies class have enjoyed an experiential day studying religious experiences at a local Christian Church. ‘Religious Experience’ is a key component of our course this year and we examined in lessons how real or ‘veridical’ people’s claims of encounters with the ‘divine’ might actually be. Numinous encounters with the ‘wholly other’ or ‘almighty being’ is one of the most prominent reasons people give for maintaining their faith or finding one in the first place. There are world famous psychological, sociological and physiological attacks on the reality, truth and validity of alleged religious experiences; we examined and critiqued these in lessons meticulously. However, sometimes people stop and take note when atheists suddenly report encounters with a ‘higher being’ through prayer, miracles, voices, signs or whatever. Is there perhaps something behind these experiences? To that end, our class decided to witness a religious service in action in Royal Tunbridge Wells to see if we could feel a sense of the divine. We wanted to know if one of us might feel an attachment or and awareness of God. We chose a local evangelical church because they are known for glossolalia - ‘speaking in tongues’ – through alleged contact with the holy spirit. It was absolutely fascinating to turn the theory of the lessons into a real living experience. All

students sat attentively and patiently and absorbed the music, the prayers and the sermon. We carefully noted the behaviour of the regular attendees – gentle swaying to the music, outstretching of the hands, closing of the eyes and the occasional spontaneous verbal affirmation of Jesus. Student, Richard Poole, said “it was a very interesting musical experience but did nothing to change my perception of the invalidity of religious experiences”. Meanwhile, student Leo Barnes, said “it was intriguing to see how topical news stories were used in the sermon to relate to the believers’ beliefs”. Finally, student Christian Haysom, said “it gave me a new context through which to view religious experiences in people’s everyday lives”. We did not see anyone speaking in tongues that Sunday morning, but we certainly witnessed people being gripped by their faith and confidently prepared to show it. The famous American psychologist, William James, said it is impossible to prove the reality of religious experiences but was absolutely certain that they are purposeful if they give a person’s life meaning, comfort and direction. “Do not judge religion by its roots”, he cautioned, “but by its fruits” (The Varieties of Religious Experience).

Report by Kevin A. O’Brien Head of Religion and Philosophy

Egghead Thomas Bunn has pocketed £50 and been crowned the Form Group 10B Quiz Champion (Terms 1 and 2). The 15-year old Edenbridge brain- box triumphed in the twice-weekly Form quizzes aimed at boosting the boys’ general knowledge. From September to Christmas, Thomas showed breath- taking knowledge in science and nature, geography, history, film, sport, maths, conundrums, literature and general knowledge.

THOMAS BUNN IS 10B QUIZ CHAMPION

The boys love the quizzes as their knowledge is growing no end; there’s also a healthy competitiveness involved and a few quid to incentivise them.

Kevin A. O’Brien Form Tutor

Thomas finished Term 2 on an incredible 442 points from 500; his nearest challengers were Oscar Kaczer Sorensen (426 pts), Alex Bankier (390 pts) and Harrison Plant (385 pts). Form Group 10B are again locked in battle for the next £50 up for grabs at Easter. At the moment, Edward Engleback is in first place (225 pts), following closely by Callum Rawlins (224 pts). So where’s our egghead, Thomas Bunn, this term? Fear not, he’s currently third with 217 pts so it’s all to play for after half-term.

A wide number of Civics talks have been experienced by the Year 12s in the last couple of terms. We were very pleased to welcome back to Skinners’ John Levy, Educational Director of the Friends of Israel. John always provides a well-balanced view on events in the Middle East and the position of Israel in the Geopolitics of the region. Given the events recently in Paris, John also provided uncomfortable evidence of growing anti-Semitism in the UK and across the world. We were also fortunate to have also had a number of talks for universities which dealt with admissions, the advantages of going to university, university fees and loans. A big thank you to Lilly Phoon from the University of Glasgow, Hannah Dunlop from the University of East Anglia and Student Finance England. We were also royally entertained by journalist and author Christopher McCooey. Chris, an Old Skinner and father of the actor Matthew McCooey, provided excellent advice on writing and entering the world of journalism, whilst at the same time sharing his tales of studying with Bill Clinton and travelling to various parts of the globe. The author of Chameleon 2012, David Albert also provided much inspiration and food for thought in discussing the development of his latest novel. Just before Christmas we were delighted to welcome back to Skinners’ Peter and Simon Richards – both of who left in the early 1960s. It was amazing to hear Peter tell tales of his career in the early development of commercial flying for BOAC and later in the development of his professional career in Engineering. Peter passed on to the year group his years of experience from interviewing young men and women to become chartered Engineers – he was also delighted

to view his bench in the window of BH1 which he made as part of his DofE Gold Award in 1962/3. Simon, the younger brother, also enjoyed regaling stories of his youthful misbehaviour at Skinners’ and his eventual career as a Church of England Minister. Many thanks to both for coming to visit us.

Remembering 70 years since the Holocaust Professor Christopher Browning delivered the annual Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lord Merlyn-Rees Lecture at Church House (beside Westminster Abbey). Browning, one the world’s most respected Historians in the field, talked at length on the development and nature of the Holocaust and how many “ordinary” people eventually became involved in the world’s largest genocide. A truly memorable evening was capped by the introduction of a number of Holocaust survivors, some of whom had been freed from Auschwitz 70 years ago. We have been very fortunate to have been extended an invite from the New College of Humanities to be involved in their annual series of Open Lectures. It has been a real pleasure for over 40 Skinners’ students and staff from across the curriculum to be able to hear lectures from some of the leading academics in the country.

The talks kicked off with a wonderful evening in the company of A.C Grayling,

Master of the NCH, and involved some deep

discussion on philosophy and the meaning of life.

We were fortunate to have had Professor Grayling

(pictured above) with us at Skinners’ last summer and his talk certainly provoked much discussion amongst

our students.

John Levy

Chris McCooey

Professor Browning

SIXTH FORM ENRICHMENT

The English Department was similarly inspired by a lecture

given by Professor Steven Pinker on 'The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century'. Pinker, a Harvard Professor, is best known for his work in Evolutionary psychology, linguistics and visual cognition, and his book, the Better Angels of our Nature, was chosen by Mark Zuckerman as one of his “book club” recommendations. The New Year was kicked started by a lecture delivered by Sir Christopher Ricks, one of the country’s foremost literary academics. Ricks delighted our students and staff with a

thoughtful talk on “The Dramatic Monologue.” Professor Richard Dawkins, perhaps the best known and controversial of all the academics we have heard so far, delivered a carefully crafted and persuasive lecture on supporting evidence for Evolution (for the non- scientist). Joshua Barker of our Lower Sixth had the pleasure of asking him if evolutional theorie did not provide evidence of the existence of a human conscience – you will have to ask Josh the answer provided!

Above: Professor Richard Holdaway CBE , Old Skinner and member of Sebastian House, gave a lecture on “Landing rockets on comets and other stuff.” Richard has had a remarkable career in Science and Technology. Graduating with a Ph.D in Aeronautics and Astrodynamics from the University of Southampton, he was appointed Director of Space at RAL in 1998 and has been involved with numerous missions in Space Science and Earth Observation with NASA, ESA, China, Russia and the UK National Programme. Richard spoke at length about advances in Space Science and technology and their potential applications for the future – a truly inspiring hour for a very keen group of Sixth Formers and Year 11s.

Late September we welcomed Dr Alan Bullion (pictured below) to Skinners’ to talk about the European Union and to give students the opportunity to consider the pros and cons of remaining in the EU – over 90% of the Sixth Form felt that remaining in the EU brought considerably more benefits to the country than it did problems.

The Upper Sixth Civics groups have also been very busy with a schedule of diverse and interesting talks. The year started with the painful business of considering student finances at university – a clear and efficient talk from Student Finance England however was an awakening for some Sixth Formers on the sacrifice needed to gain a degree these days.

Ruth Chambers, West Team Leader for Planning Services in Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, together with past pupil Henry Wagstaff, visited in early October to give a lecture about planning issues in the town and how planning applications are made and (sometimes) resolved. This was particularly interesting to some of the Upper Sixth Geographers who had been studying the issues behind the construction of the new Sports Hall and how these were resolved with most in the local community. The students also considered what might happen to the application for the new Sixth Form Centre. Graham Withers from Rathbones in London gave a highly entertaining and informative lecture on how investments work in the financial sector – I can hear many parents hoping they learned a lot from this!

We were very lucky to have an outstanding speaker from the Kenward Trust give a sparking talk on the dangers of drugs and alcohol on young people, most notably the worrying development of so-called legal highs, and the consequences of experimenting with illegal substances. The closing talk of 2014 came from Emma Cole of Positive Voice HIV. Emma has been coming to Skinners’ for many years and is a superb speaker and a truly inspirational lady. She has spent the last 20 years dispelling myths of HIV and AIDS – as one of the Upper Sixth remarked “That was a really excellent talk and I learned a lot about a serious subject; but I was also able to laugh about my own and others’ ignorance.” The Upper Sixth would like to thank everyone involved in our Civics talk so far.

Craig Fleming

Assistant Head Master The Skinners’ School

We would like to thank Dave and Jenny Harkin (pictured above) for their inspiring presentation to our Upper Sixth from their 7 Billion Ideas programme. It was fascinating hearing of future ideas from the younger generation.

The School was very pleased to welcome almost 200 parents and pupils to our annual talk on university applications given by Mr Bob Hall. Bob has been coming to Skinners’ for 20 years and as a previous Director of Admissions at Brunel University we have found over many years his knowledge and understanding are second to none. We should like to wish Bob a very happy retirement and all the very best for the future.

Both Lower and Upper Sixth Formers have been involved in sessions designed to inspire entrepreneurship in young people. We were very pleased some of the Sixth Formers original ideas for business developments – we weren’t convinced by all of the ideas! Thanks to Lorraine Nugent (ably assisted by James Mason) of Young Start-Up Talent who is pictured alongside two members of the Upper Sixth, Henry Saunders and Archie Wells.

The Sixth Form were delighted to hear a very interesting talk on the development of international charities led by old Skinner, James Niblett. James was heavily involved in the creation of Hospices of Hope, a charity raising vital funds for children’s hospices in Romania. Lately, James has taken a leading role in the creation of a Christian health based charity in Suffolk. We thanks James for all of his time, effort and continued support of Skinners’.

S N I P P E T S

Pictured left are members of U6E3

who commemorated holocaust memorial day with the symbol 27.1.45 to remember the 70th anniversary of the liberation of

Auschwitz-Birkenau

From the Shard to the development of Tunbridge Wells town centre, Architecture has arguably never had such a high public profile. We were delighted to welcome back to the school Tim Bell (pictured above, centre) of BellPhillips Architects in London, to give a thoroughly interesting talk on how architects develop ideas from plans to reality. It was particularly nice to see Tim who is an old boy of the school and the architect of the plans for the new Sixth Form Centre. He fielded some very interesting questions and it was clear a number of students are now thinking of architecture as a career.

It was a real pleasure to welcome back to Skinners' old boys Peter and Simon Richards. Peter and Simon left the school in the 1960s - Peter eventually pursued a career in aerospace and Simon had a slightly higher calling as a Minister. Year 12 very much enjoyed their stories of the school from the past and Peter's talk on professionalism and the aerospace industry.

August G Page - £150 H Bennett - 100 A Bolam - £50

November R Wright - £120 A Corner - £80 P Huxham - £40

October R Ferry- £120 A Ellis - £80 N Marshall - £40

September C van der Zanden - £120 J Hamilton - £80 G Page - £40

January 2015 H Street - £120 L Labuschagne - £80 A Cunningham - £40

December S Dutton - £120 J Cooper - £80 M Sinclair - £40