OS news - Welcome to The Oratory School · PDF fileLeading the seminar was Dr. Tara Stubbs, associate professor at OUDCE and a non-tutorial fellow of Kellogg College Oxford. Tara

OS newsMICHAELMAS TERM 2016

THE ORATORY SCHOOL OS NEWS

OS NEWS MICHAELMAS TERM 2016

1

Prize Giving

The Oratory School Prize Giving was held on Saturday 2nd July in the main school chapel, where Governors, staff, parents and boyslistened to the Guest of Honour The Rt. Hon. The Lord Patten of Barnes, CH, give his speech. He told many amusing anecdotes ofhis time during political office but particularly emphasized to the boys the importance of being kind, courteous and humble and ofputting something back into society as they progressed along their career paths. At the beginning of Speech Day, the Chairman ofGovernors, Michael Hasslacher, welcomed parents and guests to the event. This was followed by acting Head Master, Tom Hennessy’sspeech, whereby he highlighted the year’s events and ended by thanking Paul Tomlinson, Pat Thomas and Ronnie Womersley fortheir many years of long service, who between them had accumulated over one hundred years of teaching at The Oratory School. Lord Patten also announced next year’s House Captains:Faber – Charlie Dart; FitzAlan – Archie Birkholm; Norris – Max Martin; St John – Tom Croisdale.School Captain: Lucas Huysinga; Deputy School Captain: Charlie Dart.After the prizes and announcements, parents went to their Houses for individual drinks’ receptions.Later in the day, the U6th and their parents attended Benediction and their own Prize Giving in the school chapel, followed by achampagne reception on the Head Master’s lawn, proceeding on to the Berkshire Conference Centre at the Madejski Complex, forthe Leavers’ Ball.


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Science and Technology Challenge Day

Twelve Oratory second and third form pupils participated in the Oxfordshire Scienceand Technology Challenge Day, hosted by Oxford Brookes University and organisedby MCS Projects. The day saw pupils from ten schools, in mixed teams, compete in avariety of challenges in STEM subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.The day consisted of four hands on challenges covering different aspects of the STEMsubjects.During lunch the pupils were given a tour of the Mechanical Engineering labs andworkshop at the University, which is home to Oxford Brookes Racing - one of thetop Formula Student teams in the UK who compete nationally and internationally.They build and race their own single seat race car every year, developing teamwork,design and manufacturing skills along the way. The pupils spoke to the students, whowere able to experience a real life workshop full of racing cars. There was also anopportunity to interact with the University’s multilingual and user-friendly humanoidrobot called Robothespian.The pupils competed in some unique and demanding tasks, drawing on theirknowledge, teamwork and creativity to adapt to each of the different thoughtprovoking challenges. All the Oratory boys excelled but a special mention must goto Alex Vile and Franky Tyler who scored highest and won the E-Fit Challenge.

Lower Sixth Literary Seminar

The Oratory English department joined together with that of Queen Anne’s School to hold a seminar on the analysis of previouslyunseen poems. The skills covered were not just relevant to the Literature A-Level courses of both schools, but they were also ofvalue for interview preparation to a number of universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.Leading the seminar was Dr. Tara Stubbs, associate professor at OUDCE and a non-tutorial fellow of Kellogg College Oxford. Tarahas written a monograph entitled ‘American Literature and Irish Culture, 1910–1955: the politics of enchantment (MUP, 2013)’ andhas just completed a book onthe Irish Sonnet in theTwentieth Century. Manythanks to all those involved,especially to Eileen Greenand her team at QueenAnne’s. The whole of theQueen Anne’s Englishdepartment came along andthe hospitality wasexceptional and the settingperfect. The pupils of bothschools soon found theirvoices and made some first-rate contributions. Theconference room setting andthe lecture format gave pupilsan invaluable insight intouniversity study.


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A Level Results

The Oratory School celebrated another strong set of A Leveland AS Results with the overall pass rate of A*-E grades up onlast year, enabling the vast majority of pupils to obtain theirplaces at their first choice university. High achievers were: Chris Humphreys 2A*s 1A (Bath -Chemical Engineering); Henry Lale 1A* 2As 1B (Surrey –Mechanical Engineering); Rory Baxter 1A* 2As (Bath –Economics); George Tyler 3As (Durham – Classics); Ruben Lo1A* 2As (Bristol – Economics & Management); Mark Price 2As1 B (Sheffield – French & Economics) and a significant numberof personal success stories. One of these was Anthony Dukewho suffered a severe setback in his studies after a motorbikeaccident but with grit and determination, bounced back to gain1A* 1A 1B. Michael Merritt finally gained his place at Bristol tostudy Aeronautical Engineering with a D1, 1A*, 1A & 1B. Particularly outstanding were the results for Pre-U Art &Design (which includes Photography) and for A-level Art. Fivegrades at D1 which is beyond A* at A Level and seventeen intotal were achieved all at Distinction, D3 or above. At A-levelwe achieved a complete set of fifteen grades at A* re-enforcingThe Oratory School’s award winning Art Department as beingone of the best in the UK for A Level. It was a fitting final set ofresults for Paul Tomlinson, who retires on a high having beenDirector of Art and Design for the last 37 years at the school.AS Results top scorers were: Ramon Krah, Chris Leong, OssianWarren and Johnny Wong.The new Head Master, Mr Joe Smith, who was on hand to offerhis congratulations to boys and parents said: “These are verypleasing A level and Pre-U results, which reflect the enormousamount of hard work and commitment by our boys and staff.Our top performers have achieved very well, with a healthyproportion of 37% of all grades being A* or A grades, and withsome notably excellent results in subjects including Art andMathematics. Also important for The Oratory, as a broad entryschool, are the many individual success stories where boys haveadded significant value beyond what they might have hopedfor. We celebrate all their achievements today.”

Science Magic

Dr. Matt Pritchard visited The Oratory School to entertain children with his scienceand maths magic show. Dr. Pritchard, who is an Associate of the Inner Magic Circle,inspired the children with hislove of science and amazinguse of magic to get theirminds engaged. Everyonewas fascinated by hisperformance and enjoyed itimmensely. The show washosted by the ScienceDepartment as part ofScience Week.

Left to right: Chris Humphreys, Joe Smith (Head Master), George Tyler

Mark Price (left) and Anthony Duke (right)

Dirk Van Den Berg, Bassey Henshaw, Phil Chaundy (Director of Art & Design),Chris Humphreys.


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Corpus Christi

On Thursday 26th Maythe Oratory Schooltogether with a group ofpupils from the OratoryPreparatory School heldits annual Corpus ChristiMass and procession. Inspite of concerns about

the weather it turned out to be ideal for the liturgy. The HouseCaptains had the honour of carrying the canopy as the Schoolgave public expression to our belief in the Real Presence. Theroute took everyone through the grounds of the school to anoutdoor altar for Benediction. An honour guard was formed bythe cadets of the CCF and both staff and students accompaniedthe Lord in hymns and anthems beautifully sung by the schoolchoir. It was a very uplifting occasion for all involved in whichprayers and praise were offered to Christ in the BlessedSacrament.

Confirmation

After four months of preparation seventeen pupils, fromnumerous countries, were confirmed by the RightReverend Robert Byrne, auxiliary bishop of Birmingham,in May with parents and other members of their familiesamong the congregation which filled the Chapel. Theceremony included a number of pupils who had beenrecently baptised as Catholic.The bishop preached an inspiring homily in which hereminded the pupils of the joyous nature of thissacrament and that in being confirmed they were bothwitnessing to their own faith and taking on theresponsibility of living by its customs and laws. Thesolemnity of the occasion was enhanced by the schoolchoir and a soloist. We hope that the years ahead will seethese young men grow both in wisdom as well asknowledge and good character.


5

Old Oratorian Honoured

A hero of the French Resistance, Louis de Rainvillers, an old boy of the School, washonoured at the OS on June 8th when his daughter unveiled a plaque to his memoryin the School Chapel. Louis was at the OS from 1914-15 when his parents sent himaway from the battle zones of north-east France where they lived. In 1939, Louiswas recruited by MI9 to be part of the Pat O’Leary line, which rescued and hid Alliedairmen and passed themsouth through France to safetyin Spain. He was betrayed and

arrested in 1942 and spent the next three years in a series ofconcentration camps. His Gestapo nickname – Le Muet, the Dumb – isa testimony to his courage under torture. He did not survive a forcedmarch from Sachsenhausen to Berlin as the Russians advanced in 1945and he has no known grave. His daughter Brigitte came at the invitationof OS Archivist Dora Nash and unveiled a plaque placed next to theWWII memorial, in the chapel, in a special ceremony. She also laid awreath in the CCF memorial garden.

Biennial Inspection

The 12th of May saw the Combined Cadet Force Biennial Inspection at TheOratory School. The Reviewing Officer was Lt. Col. Giles Harris DSO MBE,Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. The day began with areview of the Guard, which consisted of cadets from the three services withSUO Somerset Maitland as Guard Commander.After a successful parade the many guests were invited to lunch. Theseincluded a number of Oratorians, (Col. Tom Bonas, Capt. James Marsden andMichael Merritt). After an inspection of activities took place. These includeda number of stands manned by the Welsh Guards, to whom The OratorySchool is affiliated, and an assault course organised by the Army Outreach

Team. There was also an exciting practice attack led by Major Sudding. The Royal Navy team practised on a bridge simulator andcompleted chart work while the RAF cadets received a briefing on Cadet FlyingScholarships by Oratorian Michael Merritt and then competed in an eggparachute competition.The day concluded with a formal presentation of colours to the U6th SeniorCadets by the Reviewing Officer and the Contingent Commander MarlandGreen presented Lt. Col. Harris with a school colours tie as a reminder of theday. To reciprocate, Lt. Col. Harris presented the school with a mountedphotograph of HM The Queen presenting Colours to the Regiment at WindsorCastle, which had been attended by Wing Commander Marland Green, onbehalf of the School.

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CCF Summer Camp

The army cadets from years 9 and 10 attended their CCF summer camp at CentralCamp, 11 Brigade Crowborough, to give them a taste of what being in the army islike. The CCF put them through their paces by a team of army Reserve Officers andvarious other army staff overthe period of a week, duringwhich time they participated inall things military. Theseincluded camp craft, militaryskills such as shooting and mapreading, with some sniperstalking thrown in! Despite theoccasional rain storms, spiritsremained high at the camp anda good time was had by all.

New Boys’ Day

The Oratory Schoolwelcomed its new boysfrom prep and primaryschools around thecountry, who will bestarting in September ofthis year, to a day of funactivities and sports.They met their Housemasters and familiarized themselveswith their new surroundings, ending with a BBQ and gamesup at the Sports Centre, with parents attending.

OPS Year 5 Visit

The Oratory School welcomed members of Year 5 from its PrepSchool, who visited for a an afternoon of activities including golfputting, leadership games and Real Tennis. Tea was enjoyed in theupstairs function room of the new sports centre, overlooking the grasstennis courts, in the old Victorian kitchen garden.


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Activity Afternoon 2018 Entry

Prep school children visited The Oratory Schoolfor an activity afternoon for 2018 entry. Head ofBiology, Sarah Bevan introduced them to thefascinating world of lung dissection in the BiologyDepartment. On a slightly lighter note, the boyswent up to experience the School’s £5 millionsports centre to play Real Tennis, squash and aswimming session in the school’s new 25m pool.The afternoon ended with tea in the upstairsfunction room overlooking the grass tenniscourts in the Victorian walled garden, whereSecond Master Tom Hennessy thanked everyonefor coming.

Prep Schools’ Tennis Doubles

Budding tennis players from the Oratory Prep,Moulsford, St Edwards Tilehurst, and SonningCommon Primary School, battled it out in TheOratory School’s annual Prep Schools’ DoublesTournament. The tournament was played on theimmaculate grass courts in the beautiful setting ofthe walled garden. It was a hugely enjoyableafternoon with plenty of high quality tennis played.Rather fittingly, one pair from each of the fourschools won through the group stages to contestthe semi-finals. The final itself was between AlexLangton and Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny fromSt Edwards, against Jackson Andreae and ArionThompson, representing Moulsford. The matchwas hard-fought with some great rallies, but the StEdwards pair proved worthy winners.

U10’s Cricket

On 22nd June The Oratory hosted a full day ofcricket for the U10’s. Participating prep schoolsenjoyed a good day of cricket on the wonderfulOratory pitches, with the rain managing to stayaway long enough to complete play. Thecompetition was won by the Dragon Prep School,who experienced close games betweenthemselves and St Edwards, Tilehurst and withMoulsford. The Runners Up were Moulsford PrepSchool and in third place was The Oratory PrepSchool.


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Tale of Two Cities

The St Philip House play this year was A Tale of Two Cities, by Tony Stroker, a dramatic adaptation of Charles Dickens’sthrilling novel, set amid the turbulent and tumultuous events of the French Revolution in 1789. The two cities in questionare, of course, London and Paris and Charles Dickens’s novel, published in 1859 (the same year that Newman foundedThe Oratory School) was one of his most popular books. With one of the most famous opening sentences to a novelever written: ‘It was the best of times; it was the worst oftimes…’ Dickens begins his tale of heroism, horror andhaberdashery (Madame Defarge, the leader of therevolutionary mob, was a non-stop knitter) using, as greatnovelists do, the story of the experiences of a few individualsto throw into relief the cataclysmic upheavals of world-changing historical events. All the St Philip House cast wasexcellent, but particular praise must go to the principals:Charles Dickens…..Peter Evans, Marquis St Evremonde, aFrench aristocrat…..Matthew Dickson, Charles Darney(formerly St Evremonde)…..Frankie Tyler, Sydney Carton, alawyer…..Alex Vile, Madame Defarge, leader of the Frenchrevolutionary mob…..Awoniyi Tolulope, Lucie Manette,

daughter to Dr Manette…..OliverPryce, Doctor Manette, a doctor,formerly a prisoner in La Bastille…..Oliver Wilkins, Barsad, a Frenchspy…..Ben Machin. Thanks also dueto many helpers but in particularto Jack Thompson and OllieSylvester-Monye, led by MusicalDirector Stephen Burrows, forproviding the music and to CharlieDart, Sam Farlow and DanielPhillips for sound and lighting.


9

Art Exhibition

The Oratory School’s award winning Art & Design Department held anexhibition and Reception in the Tomlinson Gallery entitled: “It’s Time toMake a Change” at the end of the summer term. Mostly Sixth Formwork, including Pre U, the boys were proud to show off their work. Thiswas the Director of Art, Paul Tomlinson’s last exhibition, having joinedthe School in 1980. Many parents came to wish him well and to admirethe outstanding work that the department has produced under Paul’sguidance. Recently at a farewell party for Paul, an Old Oratorian hadflown in from San Francisco to thank him for helping him on his wayinto the world of art. He now has an art business in America. Just oneof the many grateful students that Paul has encouraged during his timeat The Oratory.The school wishes him and his wife Jan all the best for the future. Mr.Phil Chaundy will take over leadership of the department in September.

Music

The Oratory School Consort sings throughout the year for Chapel services, as well as for various concerts and functions. OnThursday 5th May they presented a concert of music for the liturgical year in St Joseph’s Chapel. Unaccompanied motets bycomposers such as Byrd, Viadana and Farrant were performed alongside works for choir and organ. The brass group joined in thisconcert for the Purcell funeral sentences. This group is on wonderful form. They have had an amazing year of singing and the standardof their work was very clear to the appreciative audience. Events planned for the Autumn term include the Old Oratorian’s RequiemMass at the Brompton Oratory; St Cecilia’s Concert at St. John’s Church, Hyde Park in conjunction with Queen Anne’s School andthe School Advent Carol Service at the end of term. Hong Kong 2017: Plans arewell underway for a tour toHong Kong for the Consort.This will be happening inMarch 2017 and the Consortwill be singing for a number ofservices, concerts and recitalswhilst in Hong Kong. Venuesinclude St John’s Cathedraland La Salle College. There willalso be an event for HongKong based Old Oratoriansduring our stay.


10

Hopkins Society Jazz Night

The school resounded with jazz throughout aday in the Lent Term. Starting with a workshopand performance for Prep Schools. 35 buddingjazz musicians played saxophones, trumpets,flutes, oboes, drums and bass guitars and weregiven wonderful instruction by Mr MarkArmstrong. Mark is the Director of the NationalYouth Jazz Orchestra and has performed at TheOratory on a number of occasions. Over half ofthe day was performed without notated music,allowing these young musicians to explore vitalelements of music such as rhythm and pulse.This was followed by the Hopkins Society JazzEvening, which has become a firm fixture in ourcalendar. The theme this year was Mardi Gras,which was celebrated through elaboratedecoration, ‘soul’ food and New Orleans Jazz.The Big Band from the Oratory Prep Schoolplayed at an exceptionally high standard underthe direction of Mrs Linda Anderson. TheOratory School Big Band then followed, underthe direction of Mr Gary Howarth. They werejoined by Mark Armstrong, who played as asoloist for their performance and Phil Chaundyfrom the OS. The level of playing heard wouldhave been at home in any jazz club and was aprivilege to experience. This was a magnificentevening of great music, great food and greatcompany.


11

St Philip House Adventure Training

St Philip House travelled to Trewern OEC on the Welsh/English boarder for theirannual adventure training weekend towards the end of this term. Their visit wasall about adventure and pushing their limits. On the first evening they completedthe assault course as well as taking on a number of traversing challenges in the

climbing wall. On Saturday they all went caving,visiting three different caves across the twogroups, which included Llygad Llwchwr, BridgeCave and White Lady. Tight spaces, swims andintimidating entrances were just some of thedifficulties to be overcome. Sunday was a slightlyshorter day as the boys were off to mid Walesfor some bivouacking and survival skills in the rain at Cwm Rhaeader, so a paddle from Glasbury toHay-on-Wye was just the ticket. After a very wet journey everyone arrived at Cwm Rhaeader andthe boys set about building their shelters and learning how to light a fire in the rain. Darkness fell asthe boys finished with a quick bed time snack. They awoke the next morning to more rain but allshelters had survived the night and most boys were dry. It was time to go home!

Day of Recollection

The 4th Form day of Recollection was once again in thebeautiful setting of Harvington Hall near Kiddeminster.The boys were taken through the history of TudorHouse as they were shown a few Priest holes used byvarious Catholic Saints including the famous St. NicholasOwen. Some of the boys had seen a video about hislife prior to the day out. After the tour there was apicnic in the grounds and then the traditional annual‘village’ football on a nearby field! The boys were thenon tour again and introduced to the ‘Holy Door’ of thebeautiful Old Catholic Church and reminded of PopeFrancis’ Year of Mercy, that is whilst going through a ‘HolyDoor’ a Plenary Indulgence can be claimed undercertain conditions e.g. Confession and Holy Communion. Providentially the Parish priest was late setting up the altar forHoly Mass and Fr Peter Gee decided that Rosary and Confession were better in relation to the Holy Door theme. The ThirdForm went to Prinknash and Gloucester, the Lower Sixth to the Birmingham Oratory, the First Form to St Albans and theSecond Form to Oxford and Littlemore.


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Boarders Learn to Surf

Report by Lucas Sieyes, Form 3Early on Sunday morning, Mr Jordan and Mr Holden took a minibus of 15 boys to West Wittering Beach. When we arrived we hada bit of time before we started so we played a few games. We then quickly put on our wet suits and we all went into the freezingcold water. We had a short little lesson on the beach with our instructors, Max and Stew and then got straight into it. We were allimproving very quickly but Pablo Mata was very confident and clearly the most experienced. After 2 hours of surfing we were allsoaking and exhausted. We headed home after a great day. I would like to thank Mr Jordan, Mr Holden and Clare from the HealthCentre, on behalf of the boys, for such a great day.

French Language Tour to Nice

Last term, a party of 19 boys studying French for their GCSE and A level,accompanied by Mr Berkley, Mrs Green and her husband and Mrs Tuite-Dalton,arrived in Nice for a language tour. The boys met their families soon after arrivaland accompanied them to their homes, where they would spend the followingsix nights. During the course of the week, the boys were taught for three hoursevery morning by Laurent and Christophe. In the afternoons, they went onexcursions to Monte Carlo, Monaco, and Cannes looking at the Film Festivalarea and the old part of town. They were lucky to pick a time for good weatherand enjoyed some time at the beach followed by a guided tour of Nice whichtook everyone up a large hill, culminating in a beautiful view of the city. On the Sunday night, the boys watched the Nicoisbeat the Corsicans in a football match and on the last afternoon everyone visited the Museum of Modern Art, ending theday with a game of bowling, before returning to their hosts for the last evening. A very enjoyable trip all round.


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Chalke Valley History

Towards the end of term, The Oratory Schoolattended the Chalke Valley History Festival.Pupils from Y9/Y10 heard talks by ProfessorChris Lloyd on Britain’s History, Dr JoanTumbletye on the French Revolution andauthor and reenactor Ben Kane on Varrus’ lostlegions. In addition, the boys were given aTrench experience by historical reenactors.The next day it was the L6th historians’ turn.Talks were provided on their A level topics onStuart Britain and on US Civil Rights, as well asproviding an opportunity to listen to eminenthistorian Huw Strachan and Britain’s leadingarchaeologist, Barry Cunliffe.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award

DofE has been very active in school over the last two terms withpractice expeditions for Gold, Silver and Bronze. Ian Aitken,Stephen Blount, Ollie Whelpton and Christian Turner from theupper sixth completed their Gold Duke of Edinburgh training andpractice expedition to the Black Mountains in Wales. This consistedof two days spent learning how to micro-navigate and locatethemselves using the surrounding environment, which taught themthe necessary skills for their assessed qualifying expedition thissummer.Three teams of Duke of Edinburgh Silver participants completedtheir assessed qualifying expedition. The eighteen boys returnedto the Brecon Beacons National Park to undertake a three dayfully self-sufficient expedition. Whilst the forecast was better than

anticipated, hill fog tested the navigational competencies of the teams, culminating in a steep climb up to the summit of Pen-y-Fan(886m). Qualifying expeditions must have an aim and are concluded with a presentation to their Assessor. These differed in eachteam, ranging from evaluating the pressures of leadership to looking at different land uses within a National Park. For the first time in the school’s history, 6 fourth formers completed their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award Qualifying Expeditionby canoe. David McDonald, Tolu Hastrup, Ed Bromilow, JackHoath, Ciaran Keogh and Jack Winterbottom, set off on theirtwo day expedition. Under the Award guidelines this wasplanned entirely by the boys and was completed self-sufficiently. The expedition was remotely supervised by stafffrom the Adventure Dolphin Centre and was assessed by Mr.Watkins.Four teams of Bronze DofE participants completed theirqualifying expedition over two days - they journeyed in thelocal area navigating routes that they had devised themselves.They also spent time working towards their expedition aims.Despite the terrible weather on the first day, the teams didwell and reached their campsite in good time. On their returnto school, all teams gave a presentation to complete theirassessment.


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Nicaragua Expedition

Open to all current 5th formand L6th pupils, a wonderfulchance to experience theculture and bio diversity ofNicaragua with the Mt.Society’s expedition, organisedthrough Wilderness Expertise.The boys will of course beaccompanied by Oratory staffmembers. Parents wereinvited and attended a fullpresentation of the tourexpected to take place in theLent Term.

The Oratory School celebrates DofE success at Buckingham Palace

In May, David Watkins attended a once in a life time Duke of Edinburgh’sAward (DofE) Gold Award Presentation at Buckingham Palace, on behalf ofthe School. At the event The Oratory School was presented with a specialplaque from the DofE Charity, by celebrity supporter Dr. Christian Jessen,acknowledging the school’s commitment to running the DofE and thanking itfor giving young people the opportunity to transform their lives. The DofE iscelebrating its Diamond Anniversary throughout 2016, having supportedmillions of young people in the UK and across the globe to achieve DofEAwards since it was founded in 1956. Members of the Royal Family; HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, HRH The Earl ofWessex and HRH The Countess of Wessex, congratulated those that werepresent including young Gold Award achievers, organisations that deliver theDofE and special guests such as corporate supporters and DofE Diamond

Challengers, who have set themselves a personal challenge to raise money for the DofE Charity in its anniversary year.The Oratory School has been delivering the DofE for over 30 years and a large number of its young people have achieved an Awardafter volunteering in their community, learning a skill, getting fit, going on an expedition and, for Gold, taking part in a week-longresidential. Doing a DofE programme significantly impacts upon young people’s futures, enabling them to develop vital skills for lifeand work, such as confidence, commitment, resilience and team work. David Watkins, DofE Manager at The Oratory School attended the presentation. Speaking proudly about their involvement with theDofE, David said: “The Oratory School has held a licence to deliver the DofE for many years and I feel honoured to have beeninvited to Buckingham Palace to receive a commemorative plaque to acknowledge and say thank you for our work with the Charityduring its Diamond Anniversary year. I have been the DofE Manager at The Oratory for seven years and in this time over 300 pupilshave started an Award. Our young people are encouraged to push themselves outside of their comfort zones when doing theirDofE and the skills that they develop can be life-changing, so for us to be involved is something very special. I was also exceptionallyproud that Michael Groehe, a former pupil, received his Gold DofE Award at the Palace on the same day. It was great to see his hardwork being rewarded in such a stunning location, whilst in attendance with his father”Peter Westgarth, Chief Executive of the DofE Charity said: “Through the DofE, The Oratory School is inspiring the success of itsyoung people; equipping them with the attributes and skills to get a job and build strong relationships whilst opening up their worldsand introducing them to a broad range of interests. We are truly grateful to all of our Licensed Organisations for the work that theydo, they are an integral part of the DofE family, and our Diamond Anniversary is a fantastic opportunity to say thank you.”

Photo: David Watkins receiving the DofE Licensed Organisation plaque from Dr. Christian Jessen.

Rowing

At the Wallingford Regatta in May, the crews raced on the famous Olympicrowing lake. The crew of Daniel, Archer, Kibble, Howard-Jones, Anidjah,Gwillim, Green, Tyler and Stone did well and finished the course in justunder seven minutes. The J15 VIII of Anidjah J, Haimes, Cutler, Machin,Mackay, Tritton, Bromilow, Grenfell and Stegeman, were racing in their firstever rowing race having previously sculled. The crew raced well againstMonmouth, Eton, Kings College School and Bedford and gained valuableexperience for the rest of the regatta season. The Bedford & The Ball Cup:At Bedford all age groups represented the school with some hard foughtracing over the famous 1200m course. At the Ball Cup, the Senior rowershad a close fought tussle with King Edward VI, Charterhouse and Licensed

Victuallers. The A crew struggled with the strong wind but managed to gain a silver medal. The B crew of Will Daniel, Lukas Haitzmann,Louis Kibble, Brandon Archer and Henry Stone, made easy work of another King Edward VI crew, Charterhouse and LicensedVictuallers and took the gold medal. At the first Oratory inter-house regatta with took place for well over 20 years at OSBC, Andy Green won the individual single scullsand FitzAlan won the Fours and Eights.National Schools’ Regatta: The Junior 14 quads started early with some close racing, the A crew beating Great Marlow School. TheJunior 15 coxed four of Anidjah, Tritton, Mackay, Grenfell and Phillips were placed 11th out of over 25 crews in their category, beatingShiplake and St Pauls along the way. The school 1st VIII beat Monkton Combe in a very close race. Reading Regatta followed withthem racing Bryanston, finishing a 1/3 of a boat length short of the win. The Novice VIII consisting of U15s and U16s raced DulwichCollege’s U16s, again just missing out. In the IVs the U15s rowed brilliantly, beating Shiplake and then Southampton University toreach the final, which they just lost to Surrey University. At Marlow the 1st VIII crew raced well and made progress, beating crewsfrom Hampton and Shiplake. Thames Valley Park: Three crews made the finals and the Junior coxed four won the event. At theHenley Regatta Qualifying Races, the 1st VIII just missed out on qualification. A very busy and productive season all round.


15

Portugal Rowing Camp

Nineteen boys and four coaches travelled by air, rail, sea and road to Portugal for theBoat Club’s Easter Training Camp. The camp started early on Tuesday for Mr Watkinsand Mr Burton, who having been told that their ferry was cancelled due to high windsin the Bay of Biscay, had a quick change of plan and drove through France via theChannel Tunnel. The boys, accompanied by Mr Poynter and Mrs Bevan, had a morestraight-forward journey, flying to Porto with all parties meeting at the lake on theThursday.The club rowed on the international standard 2000m Montemor-o-Velho lake on theWest Coast. The facility was world-class, with its own warm up lake with over twentydrive-through hangars for boats and vehicle storage. The course has hosted variousInternational races, including the European Championships, World Student Games andthe Coupe de la Jeunesse. The very pleasant hotel was based in the coastal resort of Figueira da Foz and the club were well treated

by the Parreira family, with plenty of food on the menu includingoctopus and other locally caught fish.The boys rowed twice a day on the lake and worked on bothtechnique and fitness. This intensive training was most valuable andequated to approximately four weeks of training back at school.The seniors and junior 15 oarsmen combined on the Friday andraced against each other in two eights, with never more than a boatcanvas separating the crews for the entire 2000m course. The boysrowed in singles, fours and eights for the rest of the camp andfinished with two eights battling it out for the bragging rights on theway home.


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Cricket

Cricket at The Oratory has been extremely active with far too many matches toreport on individually (full match reports are on our website), but with someexcellent performances all round.

Prior to exeat weekend, St Philip had anexcellent win over Caldicott & therewere wins for 1st, 2nd and 15 A’s overPangbourne. At the next match v ReadingSchool & Davenies: St Philip won by 8wickets with pleasing individualperformances from Diego Rivera, taking1-3 off 2 overs & Ollie Wilkins 32 not out.The Junior Colts had 2 good wins thanksto a hat-trick from Matthew Petty and 59runs from Daniel Orjiako for the BX1 &93* from Mikey Williams 67 from Jarryd

Wallace for the AX1. Together they shared a huge partnership of 160. The 1st X1were comfortable winners mainly thanks to an impressive 103* from Will Legg.Playing v Shiplake, the Yearlings and Junior Colts both lost but all 3 senior X1’s won.Mention must be made of Ali Sharazi’s bowling figures for the Yearlings B’s of 3 oversfor 3 runs taking 3 wickets. The 3rd X1, chasing 166 off 30, were led superbly in therun chase by Joey Griffiths who ended 67*. The 2nd X1 bowled Shiplake out for 96and chased them down for the loss of only 1 wicket, thanks to an excellent 55* fromAl Squires and 29* from Lucas Huysinga. The 1st X1 restricted Shiplake to 135 off40 overs. In the run chase, Will Legg continued his good form with a dominant 45ably supported by Mikey Williams with 35* to pass Shiplake’s total in 19 overs. The match v Magdalen College, the Yearling B’s, batting first, scored 141 off 20 &then restricted MCS to 136 off 20 with some excellent bowling and fielding. The 3rdX1 lost by 2 runs and the 2nd X1, chasing 233 made 212 in their 30 overs, thanksto 60 from Alfie Jordan and 59 from Harry Criss, (who scored five 6’s in eight balls).In the 1st X1 game, despite making a solid start, found themselves 111/8 looking asif the innings would be over by lunchtime. However, thanks to James Appleyard &Craig Rintoul, there were some excellent runs between wickets. Eventually Jameswas out for 49 & Craig ended up on 47 setting MCS 226 off 50 overs. OS restrictedMCS to 67/2 off 30 at tea. The OS bowled and fielded well, to ensure MCS onlypassed the OS total with 7 balls remaining. The highlight of the day must go to Jo-JoIbru for getting a hat-trick for the 3rd X1 (ball awarded).Eton College, always a highlight of the season, was a damp affair. The Yearlings AXIwon again by 9 wickets with Mikey Williams scoring 45 not out and JackWinterbottom 25 not out. The 1st XI, affected by rain, played a reduced 30 overgame. Keeping Eton to 150 was an excellent effort but the Eton bowlers bowledtight and restricted the OS batsman. Will Legg (41) batted well but gave his wicketaway. It was left to the lower order to get close, led by skipper Alfie Clifton (29 nooff 29 balls) – unfortunately the XI ended up 9 runs short.At the inaugural Oratory School Club T10, the OS helped Peppard Stoke Row Kitesto an enviable win. PSR, who featured 10 Oratory Under 19 players, alongside captainRichard Ashton saved their best for last by beating Woodcote by 50 runs in the final.The Catholic Cup final this year was between The Oratory and Radcliffe College.Winning the toss, the OS batted first and scored 112 off 10 overs, thanks to WillLegg’s 75 not out. Radcliffe ended up 15 runs short, after some superb Oratoryfielding.In the National T20 the OS were grouped with Radley and Wellington. Playing Radleythe OS gained 123 off 20 overs (Mark Price 61). The OS continued to take wicketsso Radley needed 11 off the last over. A nice tight over bowled by Max Baker-Smithmeant they only scored 3 runs off it. Max finished with 4-16. In the last game vWellington the OS posted 131 off 20 overs, however Wellington secured victory inthe 16th over with a loss of 3 wickets. A thoroughly good day of cricket.

Kwik Cricket

On the 23rd June, the School hosted itsannual Kwik cricket competition for localprimary schools with over 90 childrenparticipating in an afternoon of sport.Parent supporters enjoyed a greatafternoon of cricket with Emmer Greenas overall winners. Emmer Green werealso winners last year, so what a greateffort! Kwik Cricket Results:1st Competition winners Emmer Green1/Runner’s Up The Hill. 2nd Competitionwinners Emmer Green 2/Runner’s UpPangbourne Primary.


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Rugby

The Oratory continued to impress on the rugby field over the Easter holiday at representative andacademy level. 1st XV captain Max Clementson was capped for England Counties and put in strongperformances against France and Ireland in the under 18s Tri-Nations, scoring a try against the former.George Probyn (right) continued to show real promise for Wasps U17 against Saracens and Connacht,making some powerful carries in his side’s 52-5 victory against the touring Irish side. Having played forWasps in the Premiership Rugby U18 Academy League a year early, George is hoping to make a bigimpact in the competition next season.At U16 level, Michael Monaghan was selected for the London Irish academy in the revamped BMWWellington Festival. The festival is the culmination of the U16 academy season which pits the best playersin the age group from around the country against one and another with the hope of gaining selectionfor England U16s. Michael played in games against Sale, Bath and Worcester whilst also having theopportunity to work with national team coaches and former internationals like World Cup winner andBritish Lion Richard Hill.

In July the Italian Rugby Sevens Team stayed at the School,coached by former Old Oratorian, Andy Vilk, inpreparation for The Mitsubishi Motors Exeter 7s. Andy isnow Head Coach, Italy Sevens at Federazione ItalianaRugby. Andy is a former Northampton and Treviso playerand has had an impressive rugby career. He captained theEngland Sevens Team in the 2007-2008 world series, whenthey beat New Zealand for the first time in four years, anda week later reached the final of the Edinburgh leg of theSevens’ Series. Photo: the Team with Andy Vilk, TomHennessy and Orazio Arancio (Manager).

Real Tennis Doubles Championships

The British Under 12/15/19 Championships were held at The Oratory over the weekend of 25th/26th June. The Under 12 final wascontested between Harry Gale/Jacob Knight (Moulsford School) and James Medlow/Barnaby Tambling (Seacourt). James and Barnabycontinued the fine record that Seacourt has in this event with a convincing win. There were many close games but they managed towin them all and finished the match 6/0 6/0 to become U12 British Junior Doubles Champions. At the Under 15 level the two pairings to come through the group stages were the Radley pair, Max Wetton & Ed Crowston andthe Seacourt pair, Max Jones & William Flynn. The Radley boys got off to a flying start, winning the first set 6/2 and looked to beheading for a comfortable victory before their opponents suddenly found their feet. As a result the second set became extremelytight and a three set thriller looked very likely before the Radley boys made one last push to win the match and the title 6/2 6/4. Inthe previous round, the Oratory School Pair, Harry O’Sullivan & Jack Mather gave the runners-up a scare but eventually lost 8/5. The group stages of the Under 19 section produced an all Radley final. Henry Batstone & Wolmar Boris Moller, playing BenedictYorston & Ned Batstone (Henry’s younger brother). Once again a comfortable first set win by the older pairing of Henry & Wolmarwas followed by a very close second set. At one point Benedict & Ned led 4/1 and had a point for 5/1 only to see it slip away withHenry & Wolmar coming out on top 6/1 6/4 to becomeBritish Under 19 Doubles Champions. Wolmar is fromSweden and this win most probably makes him Sweden’smost successful Real Tennis player of all time. In the previousround, The Oratory School/Prestead hall Pair, Stephen Blount& Zak Ramjane gave the winner and runners up a scare buteventually lost both matches 6/4. Pictured right: U15 Finals day participants: Marc Seigneur(Oratory Head Professional)/ Jack Mather (Oratory School)/Max Jones & William Flynn (Seacourt) / Max Wetton & EdCrowston (Radley School) / Harry O’Sullivan (OratorySchool) / Paul Weaver (Tennis and Rackets association juniorProgram Chairman).


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Golfing Success

The Oratory School golf team did extremely well to reachthe semi-finals of two Independent Schools’ competitions,then going on to the final, which is the first time the Schoolhas reached such a level. In the first semi-final the teamtravelled to play Radley College at the championship courseof Frilford Heath. The team, led by Captain of Golf Ian Aitken,was Tom Shaw, Chris Humphreys, Max Teixeira, Josh Bisdeeand the School Captain Cameron McLean, just losing out in avery tight match. The second semi-final was played against StEdward’s School Oxford. The Oratory team of ChrisHumphreys, Tom Shaw and Max Teixeira, playing on a neutralcourse, secured a comfortable victory. In June the Teamentered the finals to gain a credible 6th place out of 11 schools with a total of 97 points. Oakham took first place with ascore of 106. Well done to the Team and Coach Jeff Burt. (Photo: Jeff Burt, Tom Shaw, Chris Humphreys and Max Teixeira).

Athletics

The Oratory School has been going from strength to strength in the world of athletics: the U17 team did well in the 4 x 100mfinishing 4th out of 18 teams, at Radley College in April, in a time of 48 seconds, they then went on to win their race in the MedleyRelay, and came a great 6th out of 21 teams. Harry Davies (Capt.) led the 4 x 100m in with an impressive leg. Christian Bonham-Lloyd proved an incredibly fast runner in the Medley relay with his first run since having surgery on his ankles. Team members: HarryDavies (Capt), Charlie Gibbon, Chris Eseka, Cameron Sommerville-Bailey, Ollie Fox, Christian Bonham-Lloyd, Josh Bisdee, CharlesTchen.There was more success at the South Oxfordshire Trials in May at Tilsley Park, Abingdon. From the1st Form Charlie Maculan (photo right) won convincingly and qualified for the County Championshipsin the U13 Shot Putt. Perhaps the star for our team was the eye catching 2nd Former Masa Moriyamawho jumped up a year and finished 2nd in the U15 100m final after winning his heat and as a resulthe also qualified for the County Championships. The team comprised of John-Paul Ilomuanya, MasaMoriyama, James Simmonds and Ollie Monye won the U15 4 x 100m relay by a good ten metres,and crowned the team’s day. 3rd Former Ollie Monye qualified for the U15 Long Jump by finishingsecond. 5th Former Harry Davies could not compete this year due to GCSE exams, but his officialtimes were enough to get into the U17 100m and 200m South Oxfordshire Team. 4th FormerCharles Tchen finished 2nd in the U17 100m, final losing to the competitor he beat in the heats –Charles’ time was good enough to be a County Championship reserve to Harry Davies.Finally, there was no Javelin competition but Jack Mather’s previous PB was enough to qualify as thelone U17 South Oxfordshire representative at the County Championships. The Championships willtake place at Horspath Track, Oxfordshire, on Sunday 12th June from 11am.

Emerging Form 1 star Charlie Maculan, won the Shot Putt eventat the Oxfordshire County Athletics Championships, on June12th at Horspath Athletics Track in Oxford. Unexpectedly, OllieMonye who was the B string Long Jumper in the Junior eventfinished in the top three with some fine jumping achieving a PB(Personal Best) over 5m and it could have been more had hishand not cut the distance in the sand. Masa Moriyama finished7th in the Junior 100m but considering he is in the Year below,this was a great achievement. Jack Mather achieved a PB in theJavelin finally hitting 40m. Overall, a successful outing to theOxfordshire Athletics County Championships 2016 and we lookforward to challenging again next year.

Left to right Josh Bisdee, Chris Eseka, Harry Davies (Capt), Charlie Gibbonand Cameron Sommerville-Bailey.


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Shooting Team – Schools’ Meeting at NRA Bisley

The Oratory School Shooting Teamdid exceptionally well, Captained byYew Wen Thorne, they won theFalling Plates Competition and fourgold medals, in an exciting final withCharterhouse, going on to come2nd in the Cadet GP Match and 3rdin the Marling – a great beginning tothe week for the Schools’ Meeting atBisley, where schools from all overthe country come to shoot targetrifle.

Shooting Captain, Yew Wen Thorne, won the Cadet Champion at Arms together with six Oratory Cadets coming within the top 26out of a total entry of 517. Cdt. C. Dart (6th); Cdt. T. Shaw (9th); Cdt. S. Maitland (15th); Cdt. E Farley (25th) and Cdt. T. Nicholls(26th). The Team of Thorne, Shaw, Dart, Maitland, Nicholls and Farley, also won the Challenge Trophy and eight gold medals in theCadet GP Rifle Match. Four cadets won GP Twenty badges in the GP Challenge Cup, all in the top twenty (Thorne 6th, Dart 10th,Shaw 13th and Maitland 14th) and four cadets placed in the Cadet Hundred (Thorne, Maitland, Dart, Farley). The school came thirdin the RSM Milson Cup, the Cottesloe Vase and the Schools’ Aggregate. Yew Wen Thorne won silver in the Ashburton Individualcompetition and came 7th in the Cadet Grand Aggregate alongside Cdt. S Maitland (12th), out of a total entry of 487 cadets. Welldone to all the team, some of whom stayed on for the international Imperial Meeting.

Yew Wen Thorne – Captain of Shooting

The Shooting Team’s excellentresults this year, during theSchools’ Meeting were due inpart, to the high scores of itsCaptain, Yew Wen Thorne, whohas had an exceptionally goodshooting career while at TheOratory School. At the age of 13 he was theyoungest Cadet to win theClayton Challenge cup in theU16s and at 15 qualified as an NRA marksman. In2014 aged 16, he was selected to shoot for the UKCadet Rifle Team on their tour to Jersey and in 2015

aged 17 (a year younger than his team mates), he was selected to join the UK CadetRifle Team (The Athelings), on their tour to Canada. Only eighteen Cadets, from allover the UK make this team and competition is fierce. During this tour he tied for1st place in The Michael Faraday match aggregate. A competition which had beenwon three years running by the Canadians.At the recent Schools’ Meeting at Bisley, Yew Wen won the Cadet Champion AtArms and won silver in the Ashburton Individual, and came 7th in the Cadet GrandAggregate. At the Imperial Meeting he came 48th in the Duke of Cambridge (outof 848 competitors); 60th in the Prince of Wales out of 828 and 45th in theWimbledon out of 852. It is worth noting that the other competitors includedveteran marksmen, military and professional shotists, so he has done very well tocome within the top 100. Yew Wen will hand over the Captaincy of The OratoryShooting Team to Charlie Dart at the Shooting Club Dinner next term. He will nowshoot for the Oratorian’s Team, The Oratory Cardinals. We wish him luck for hisfuture ambition to get into the England U19 Team.

First Team Colours awarded toPaul Tomlinson after 37 years withThe Oratory School Cricket Club


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UPCOMING EVENTS

St. Cecilia Concert - Friday 25th NovemberStart time will be 7:00pm - at St John’s Church, Hyde Park. This concertis a joint performace with the Chamber Choir of Queen Anne’s School,Caversham and Choristers of The Oratory Prep School. It will includeHaydn’s Nelson Mass.

Christmas Fair - Monday 5th December6:30pm - 8:30pm in the Front Hall, Black Room and Library with outsidestall holders and boys’ games.

School Advent Carol Service - Wednesday 7th DecemberThis will be held as usual in the main School Chapel for family and friendsstarting at 11:00am.

Overseas ToursMountaineering Society Trip to Nicaragua Lent Term 2017 organised byWilderness Expertise and accompanied by Oratory staff, this is for 5thand 6th form.

Music (Consort) Tour to Hong Kong in March 2017.The Consort will besinging for a number of services, concerts and recitals whilst in HongKong. Venues include St John’s Cathedral and La Salle College.

Friends of The Oratory SchoolFor more information on how to get involved in the new parent'sassociation, go to the Parent's Area of the school website.

For more details see: www.oratory.co.uk

Show RoundsThese take place on a daily basis during the working week, includingSaturday mornings. They can be in the form of a “boy” show round or apersonal show round given by a senior member of staff. To register for ashow round or to book an appointment with the Head Master, email theRegistrar on: [email protected]

Taster DaysThese days are designed for certain year groups to give them an insightinto a day at The Oratory. The 13+ (Year 9) Entry for 2017/2018 will be onFriday 30th September and the 11+ (Year 7) Entry for 2017/2018 will beon Friday 7th October. To attend either of these days, please email:[email protected]

Primary and Prep School EventsThe School puts on regular events to which primary and prep schools areinvited.

Maths Challenge for Primary Schools -Tuesday 11th OctoberThis will include two fun challenge sessions for teams of four from Year 5.Lunch will be included.

Real Tennis Prep School Doubles -Thursday 17th NovemberThis is a doubles tournament for years 6 & 7 including coaching session,tournament and tea with presentations.

Art Workshop - Wednesday 23rd NovemberOrganised by our award winning Art & Design department, this will be aworkshop for prep school children from Year 6. There will be two sessionsincluding tea and presentations.

If you would like to attend any of the above events, email:[email protected]


For more details see: www.oratory.co.uk

The Oratory SchoolWoodcote

Nr ReadingSouth Oxfordshire

RG8 0PJ

www.oratory.co.uk

FOUNDED in 1859

Tel: +44 (0)1491 683500Fax: +44 (0)1491 [email protected]

Documents

OS news - Welcome to The Oratory School · PDF fileLeading the seminar was Dr. Tara Stubbs, associate professor at OUDCE and a non-tutorial fellow of Kellogg College Oxford. Tara