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IN THISISSUE
Channel CrossingOPs smashworld record
Plans andDevelopmentsEvolving faceof School site
FriendsReunitedHillelians gathersixty years on
HumphreyJenningsOP Filmmakerwho raised ourwartime morale
OurPERSE GIRLSCo-Educationcomes of age
Winter 2012
2013 is already looking busy. On 8 January, OP Derek Taylor came to give our annual Josef Behrmann Lecture. On Founder’s Day, 25 March, OPs are welcome to join usfor a lecture on esteemed alumnus andinternationally renowned documentary film maker, Humphrey Jennings. Our London drinks reception has turned into our most popular annual gathering, with OPs travellingfrom all over the country to catch up with friends and make new contacts in some of the capital’s most interesting venues. The next reception takes place on 16 May at the stunning St Pancras Renaissance Hotel – see our pages on upcoming events for details. For those who wish to visit the School itself, we are launching a twice-termly ‘Fish and Chips Friday’ when you can come and join us for a very informal Perse school lunch with staff and pupils, and have a tour ofthe site.
If you haven’t yet been to an OP event for fear that you might not know anyone, please get in touch with Lindy Clegg at the details below. She can help you track down old school friends, tell you who is coming to events, and even invite them to join you at any OP occasion. And don’t forget you can connect with OPs virtually as well. Simply visit our LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook groups at the links below.
With all best wishes for a happy andproductive 2013!
Eddie Copeland (OP – 2002)Development Director
SCHOOL News
Page 2–4School Round-up
Page 5–6OP News, Views and Letters
Page 7–8Past Events
Page 9–10Upcoming Events
Page 11Hillel Lunchand Behrmann Lecture
Page 12–14Our Perse Girls
Page 15–16Building Plansand Developments
Page 17–18Obituaries
Page 1 Page 2
Lindy CleggAlumni Relations [email protected]
Facebook Page:‘The Perse School’
Twitter@Old Perseans
LinkedIn Group:Old Perseans
Roxanne NapierDevelopment [email protected]
Development OfficeThe Perse School, Hills RoadCambridgeCB2 8QFTel: 01223 403 808www.perse.co.uk/oldperseans
CONTENTS
I can’t help asking the question:Where did 2012 go?
If your year was anything like that at The Perse, it will have rushed past in a flash, and yet on reflection a very great deal has been achieved. We hope you will enjoy readingthis issue which offers news about Old Perseans’ activities as well as some of the School’s major accomplishments in academic, sporting and extra-curricular fields.
2012 was also a significant milestone for The Perse. As of September, the Schoolis fully co-educational, with girls in everyyear group from age 3–18. To mark thecompletion of this transition, you’ll find a special feature on some of our female OPs on pages 12–14.
Here in the Development Office, 2012 was a busy year, too. We held a record 16 OP events, with reunions taking place all around the UK in notable venues such as Tower Bridge, The Scotsman Hotel, Jesus College and the House of Commons. Gatherings also took place internationally, in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and the USA. On page 11 you can read about our recent special event for former boarders of Hillel House – the School’s Jewish boarding house which operated between 1904 and 1948.
DEBATERS Are on the Money
LEADING SCHOOLSWeigh Up Way Forward
BENCHMARK for Perse Chemists
YOUNGSCIENTISTSAchieveGold Standard
Our Sixth Formers have proved themselves skilful public speakers with knowledge to back up their arguments, beating five other schools to win the local round of the Bank of England Target 2.0 competition andprogressing to the next stage.
Hugh Chatfield, Dylan Spielman, Georgie Evans, Charlotte Grace and Hari Chitnavis,gave an excellent 15 minute talk onthe state of the UK economy and thenresponded impressively to some demandingquestioning from the panel of Bank of England staff.
Technology in education, more specifically the use of computers or tablets in classroomsin a so-called “1 to 1” arrangementwhereby each student has a device of hisor her own to bring to every lesson, wasthe focus of a conference at the prestigious
For the first time, The Perse has won the Mid-Anglia Regional Top of the Bench Chemistry Competition, sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry and held atOundle. Mixed-aged teams were challenged on their practical skills and chemicalknowledge beyond the Chemistry IGCSEsyllabus. The Perse will progress to theNational Final at Imperial College, London, and will host the regional heat next year.
Congratulations to members of our Upper Sixth whose Science Research placements last summer earned them prestigious Gold CREST awards. Three of them also achieved Nuffield Bursaries.
Jonathan Lau took part in a GeogebraProject, writing a programme to helpmathematics students solve cubic equations; Felix Barker worked at ST Roboticsdeveloping a challenge kit for schools;Fergus Waugh developed simulationprogrammes at the Department ofEngineering; Francois Sherwood workedon the acoustics of micro-perforated panels at Anglia Ruskin; and George Davies worked on a confidential project at Cambridge Consultants. Lucy Morgan gave an excellent presentation at the awards ceremonyabout her research into biotinylation ofclose-proximity proteins at The Babraham Institute.
If you are aware of any research scientistsor educationalists in the Cambridge area who might have an interesting four-week project to suit a bright student next summer, please contact Head of Science Jeremy Burrows at [email protected]
For all the latest school news, please visit www.perse.co.uk
Meanwhile, a team of Lower Sixth students triumphed in the Debating Matterscompetition. Daniel Adamson, Lottie Howson-Smith, Edmund Smith and Dylan Spielman are now through to the regional round. Daniel and Dylan’s contributions were described by one of the judges as“the best debate I’ve ever heard in the competition”.
A further Sixth Form pair, Freddy Banksand Sylvia de Luca, won the EnglishSpeaking Union’s Mace competition in Bury St Edmunds.
RDFZ Xishan School in Beijing, which like The Perse was a founder member of the Sage Alliance of Global Educators.
Duncan King, Perse Head of Geography and Virtual Learning Environment Co-ordinator, attended the conference alongside teachers from leading schools in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the USA.
He said, “It was very interesting to seehow different schools were using devicesto support learning and the wide rangeof meaningful, personalised activities that are possible, especially when technologyis embedded in lessons rather than residing in a dedicated ICT room.
“The conference also highlighted theimportance of treading cautiously in this area and how introducing 1 to 1 comes with issues that need to be tackled to maximise any positive impact.”
Michaelmas Term’s Saturday sportingcalendar concluded with boys’ rugby and girls’ hockey victories against The Leys,and other fixtures against Bedford School,Bishops Stortford College, Ipswich and Stowe; one of our busiest sporting Saturdays.
At the close of a great season for the 1st XV, The Perse sealed a convincing 34–11 winin their derby match against The Leys. Inthe hockey, the girls’ 1st team drew 0–0 in a very competitive match which demonstrated such clinical defence from both teams that neither could score. The 2nds and 3rdsboth won, with the 2nd team topping offa fantastic season (played 12, won 11, goals for 43, goals against 4).
The girls’ hockey 1st XI are County champions,and only lost two games, whilst at U14 level the A team also only lost one game. In a first Perse double both the U16 girls’ and U16 boys’ teams won their respective County Indoor hockey tournaments, with the U16 boys qualifying for the national finals. The U16 girls are also County netball champions.
The School’s rugby teams have played well all season. The 1st XV won eight of their ten fixtures only losing to exceptionally strong teams from Stamford and Kirkham Grammar.At U13 level the A team won nine of their ten fixtures and the Perse U13 A–F teams enjoyed a clean sweep of victories against St. Faith’s.
Head Ed Elliott put on record hiscongratulations to the School’s sportsmen and women and their teachers and coaches on the term’s achievements, and thanked parents for their support.
“We have also enjoyed numerous successes with our Cross Country, Orienteering and Rowing squads, and it is good to see Perse sport going from strength to strength. We remain committed to a programme that both provides sporting excellence for our elite sportsmen and women, whilst also providing a diverse range of qualityopportunities for those like myself whose enthusiasm is greater than their ability,”he said.
Page 3
ARTS MASTERCLASSES Inspire Creativity PAST GLORIES, New Triumphs
SURVIVING THE GREAT OUTDOORSPerse Exploration Society
SUMMIT 10
COMBINED Cadet Force
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTSon Pitch, Track and Water
Professional artists have led three creative workshops with Year 11 pupils, focusingon innovation within their specialist areas.
Renowned designer Matthew LaneSanderson OP, showed pupils how to create sculptural forms from iron and steel using wire, while local printmaker and illustrator Sue Jones allowed students to exploreinventive mono-printing and etchingtechniques at the Curwen Studios,Chilford Hall.
Tim Marrs, graphic artist and contemporary illustrator, demonstrated combiningdrawing, photography, screen-print and digital techniques to create dynamic modern-day images.
Wet, Wet, WetNine members of the Adventure Racing Club braved the cold for a weekend oftraining on the River Cam. Pupils hadintensive training in the use of Canadian canoes (both tandem and solo) and kayaks, but there were also plenty of opportunities for sheer good fun.
Elsewhere on the river, a special mention must go to a crew of Year 10s whoperformed stunningly well in the Cambridge
Autumn Head – despite it being their first ever rowing race.
Christian Martin-Redman, Edward Gardiner, Robbie Sewell, Freddie Scott and cox Ollie Quantrill won the J15 coxed quadscompetition – also beating The Leys J16 and J18 crews. Their overall time put them ahead of more than 50 other (mostly adult) crews. They went on to win the Winter Head too.
A belated well done to Stuart Smith (2001), former Perse Cricket captain, who waspart of the Reed team that won the National Village Cup, the final being played at Lords’back in September. A number of Old Perseans were in the crowd cheering him on.Phil Frenay (2004) Perse captain three years after Stuart, is also a member of Reedand played in an earlier round of the competition.
Towards the end of October the PES winter camp was held at Stonewall in Kent. The forward party of Year 10s erected theshelters swiftly and everyone was asleep almost immediately.
Unloading and unpacking were accomplishedthe next morning before the arrival of the coaches at 11.30, and a welcome to camp. The patrols set up their campsites andprepared chili con carne. (General consensus:food preparation needed to improve.) The PES Summit 10 group travelled to the
Peak District National Park over half-term for three days’ hike training. The 30 students took a series of long distance hikes through the limestone valleys of the White Peak area, with each fire (patrol) carrying all itskit over a total distance of 41 km.
Pupils displayed great tenacity, withtemperatures dropping below freezingovernight. There was also training in first aid, emergency shelter and night navigation.
First destination for the CCF Field Weekend was RAF Cottesmore, home of the Royal Anglian Regiment, “The Poachers”, to visit the recruitment team and tour the senior NCOs mess. Staff Sgt Mark Bradley, the Quartermaster, who came to the School from The Poachers, made it abundantlyclear all must be looking their best.
Newark Air Museum was the next stopand then it was off to Childerley Hall Estate.In their flights, the cadets began buildingBashers, ponchos raised at one end and pegged to the ground at the other – easyto make and quick to disassemble, andideal for military camping.
Highly calorific British Army rations helped keep up morale as the rain came down.The weekend was packed with exercises, including night noise recognition, a night walk, camouflage and concealment,navigation, and stealth and intelligence gathering. Drill and war games were alsoon the agenda.
SUPPORTINGGood CausesAn Own Clothes Day raised £1800 forthe Red Balloon School, which helps badlybullied children back into mainstream education. The Perse hopes to have raised £5000 for the charity in total, with theaddition of collections at the two School carol services. Year 10 buskers staged the first ever Perse Jamathon, filling the School with rock, pop and classical music over a lunch break in aid of Read International.
PERSEANSIn The KnowThe Perse has recorded a remarkable achievement in the Schools’ ChallengeGeneral Knowledge Senior competition.
For the first time we fielded two teams in the event and now they’ll meet each other in the East Anglia Regional Final.
In the semi-finals Perse A convincinglydefeated Norwich High School, whilePerse B recorded a resounding win over Framlingham.
The School has taken the national title at Junior level for the past two years and will be hoping that whichever team comes out on top in this (very) local derby will go onto challenge for the Senior crown.
Finally, the camp was so efficiently packedup the woods looked as though the cadets had never been there.
Following the field weekend, four seniorNCOs were promoted and presented withyellow Instructor Cadet lanyards by Sqn Ldr Ron Miller, HQ Air Cadets. He inspected the unit and was impressed by its turnout and bearing.
Inspections followed and then games of ‘wide’, with players hunted through the woods. The day finished with a whole troop campfire.
A variety of important skill-based activities were accomplished on the second day, plus laser paintball. Lunch was a risotto and a definite notch up! Inspections and sectional campfires with singing followed.
Food came to the fore on Day 3 with rabbit stew prepared from scratch, after lessonsin safe gutting. Interestingly, the girls got stuck in, while the boys seemed less keen. An epic wide game followed, based on the movie Shrek.
RADA and RSC graduate Gerard Logan gave a mesmerising rendition of The Rape of Lucrece in the Perse lecture theatre. Gerard’s performance of the poem by Shakespeare had previously taken a top prize at theEdinburgh Festival. For Perse pupils and students from several local schools who are studying the poem as a coursework text it was a great resource. Earlier in the day Gerard ran a workshop for pupils.
Meanwhile, actor Lisa Ellis provided a dayof physical theatre, games and improvisation for the Performing Arts enrichment group. Another former RSC performer, Lisa has devised work for the National Theatre and featured in top “soaps”.
The music department was delighted to welcome the leader of the BBC Concert Orchestra Charles Mutter for a performance and series of master classes. In an inspiring lunchtime recital, and joined by Jill Rose,the School’s Head of Keyboard, Charlesperformed the virtuosic Bartok Rhapsody and the rapturous Elgar Violin Sonata.
The annual Winter Concert at St John’s Smith Square delighted the audiencewith exemplary performances. Heartycongratulations to the musicians and the music department for its efficiency in transporting 147 pupils and 72 parents to Westminster and back.
Check out this linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWC69SDTQso and join more than 100,000 others who have watched George Harliono-Evans (Y7) playing an old piano in Cambridge left out as part of anart installation. The quality of the videois poor but can’t disguise George’s undoubted talent.
SCHOOL SPORTS ROUNDUP
Extra Curricular Activities
Photo: Ben Hall (Y10)
Page 4
Page 5 Page 6
HARD TIMES forNew Graduates and How OPsMight Help
HI-TECH WELDING: From Pumps to Golf Balls
TAUGHT BYVyvyan Richards?
FRIEND DROPS INAfter Sixty Years
OP Olivia Flynn (2009) wrote about the value of work experience – particularly for university students with no definite career plans and even more so after graduation – and the role fellow Old Perseans might play.
“With all the difficulties that graduates face in getting jobs now, I think the value of work experience has increased hugely which has consequently meant that the competition is fierce… For instance, I had two interviews just for one work experience placement with no job!
“Additionally, obtaining work experienceis largely about whom you know – even if it is just that those people make you aware of the opportunity rather than secure it for you. Some of my uni friends had great clubs/forums/links through their old schools where old pupils would let the school know if their company had any opportunities that people could apply for.”
We know our Old Persean community is supportive both of the School itself andfellow OPs. Please let us know how you think we could take this idea forward. You can also help share ideas, business links and job opportunities on the Old Perseans LinkedIn group at: www.linkedin.com/groups/Old-Perseans–2626184
During a recent visit to hold reunions for some of the 36 Old Perseans now livingin California (see page 8), Deputy HeadEd Wiseman and Development DirectorEddie Copeland were invited to have a tour of Richard Trillwood’s Electron BeamEngineering factory in Anaheim. Accompanied by OP Brian Hunt, Ed and Eddie enjoyed seeing some of the incredible products produced with machinery designed by Richard (who featured in the summer edition of OP News), from medical pumps to golf balls. Pictured are (L-R) Ed Wiseman, Brian Hunt and Richard Trillwood viewing one of the factory’s sophisticated welding machines.
An MA student at the University of EastAnglia is researching teacher VyvyanRichards, a member of The Perse Classics staff 1944–45. The School has littleinformation but some of you may have memories you are willing to share. If so, please contact Lindy Clegg (contact details page 1), who will be happy to pass them on.
OP David Bowley (1951) writes: “While
touring western Canada to celebrate our
golden wedding anniversary, Ann and I
stopped off in Victoria, British Columbia,
to visit a cousin. Having read in a past OP
News edition that Peter Rourke (1952) was
living in Victoria, I checked the local phone
directory and yes, he was listed.
“We made contact for the first time after
a 60-year interval. We had great fun
studying two of Peter’s School photos, the
Scouts in 1947 and the whole school in
1949, but sadly memories fail and we could
only identify a handful of the pupils staring
stony-faced at the camera.
“We visited Peter and his wife, Ema, in their
apartment overlooking the Juan de Fuca
Strait towards Port Angeles in Washington
State, and later adjourned to a restaurant
right by the harbour of downtown Victoria
– possibly the most beautiful city in North
America. Can’t wait to go back!”
In the decades since the two were at The
Perse, Peter (right in picture) served for 20
years as a navigator in the RAF before
emigrating to Canada in 1973. Slowly
working his way from Ontario to Alberta –
and after a short sojourn in Alaska – he has
settled in Victoria “for a life of tennis and
travel”. He would be pleased to hear from
his contemporaries and be delighted if any
more passing through Victoria were to drop
David spent three years in the RAF before
emigrating to Canada for three years: two
in Toronto working for Canadian National
Railways and a year in Vancouver at the
Bank of Montreal. He returned to UK to
run a family betting shop in Herne Bay
and then spent 16 years supervising the
Accounts department of the Chartered
Institute of Bankers. “So my life has been
between betting and banking – not a lot
of difference.” Since 1975 he has been
involved in Rotary International, being
District Governor of Kent and East Sussex
in 2000/2001.
OP News, Views and Letters
NAVAL LUNCH Proves a Winning FormulaNineteen former Perse CCF Naval cadets returned to the School five decades after leaving to swing the lantern over lunch with popular former master Keith (aka Ken) Symons. The event took place on the same day as the 2012 OP Dinner and was the brainchild of one of those former cadets,OP David Ward (1962).
He galvanised his old oppos into attendingby reminding them of good times past: “Sleeping(!) on board HMS Vanguard, East Coast and Norfolk Broads sailing, MFVtrips around the Scottish West coast,accompanying the Queen and Prince Philip on board the Royal Yacht on their west country cruise, punting Canadian canoes on the upper Cam and being examined in Morse and semaphore are but some of the activities which come to mind.”
The lunch was held in the Barry Room at the School and proved so popular we are keen to hear from any other groups who would like us to help them organise a similar event.
(L-R) Keith Starling, Keith Preston, Peter Dann (only partially visible), David Alexander, David Wilkie,Peter Byrom, Tom King, John Calvert, Chris Clapham, Keith Symons, John Brady, Lewis Dann,David Ward, Nick Parry-Jones, Ian Gordon, Brian Bertram, Richard Maxey, Ron Lilley and Duncan Paige (partially obscured)
There was twice the reason to thank OP Prof Philip Graham (1949) when he returned to The Perse in November. As well as giving us his memories of life as a boarder at Hillel House – as part of our on-going Oral History Project – he stayed on to deliver a fascinatinglecture to sixth formers. A leading expert in the psychiatry of children and adolescents,he talked about depression in the very young. The lecture drew some interesting and insightful questions from his audience.
THOUGHT-PROVOKING LECTURE CapturesSixth Form Interest
Page 7 Page 8
THE AYES HAVE IT – Commons Event Sells Out
OPs GATHER In The Golden State
COLLEGE SETTING Adds Grandeur to OP Dinner
Westminster received a hearty vote ofapproval from the Old Perseans whogathered there for a dinner at the Houseof Commons. The event was hosted by oneof their number, MP for Cambridge Dr Julian Huppert, and was a sell-out. The guests ranged in age from 20 to 90 years. The most senior, Mr Frederick Taylor MBE, left the School in 1940.
Julian spoke engagingly about his time in the House and his work as a constituency MP and then gamely took any questions. But politics for once was not the principal subject under discussion in the ChurchillRoom; recounting memories of Perse schooldays and catching up with old friends topped the agenda.
The 60 guests enjoyed an excellent three course meal and it is clear there is anappetite for gatherings of this sort in the capital, particularly among OPs working in the city. The School is delighted so many came along and also impressed by the distances travelled by some of the others attending.
We would love to hear your ideas for venues in which to hold dinners or drinks receptions in London. If you’ve been anywhere thatreally stood out for its beauty, interest,cuisine, value for money or convenience– or better still for all of those things – please tell Alumni Officer Lindy [email protected]
As part of the School’s now regular seriesof international Old Persean reunions, Deputy Head Ed Wiseman and Development Director Eddie Copeland (both OPs themselves)joined Perse alumni for two events inCalifornia.
The first of these took place on 16 November and was expertly arranged and hostedby OP Brian Hunt at Duke’s Restaurant,Huntington Beach. Alumni in attendance were (pictured clockwise from far left)Amir Kazerouni-Zand, Peter Rothholz,Harin Hulugalle, Brian Hunt, Hugh Davies,Richard Trillwood, Tighe Parmenter, and Sanford Chen.
The following evening, a second reunion was held at Lusk Restaurant in SanFrancisco’s trendy SOMA district. OPspresent included: (back row) Douglas Nixon, Rory Everitt, Alexander Cooper; (frontrow) Malcolm Potts, Charles Gray, and Sam Buttrey.
Jesus College proved an elegant settingfor the OP Dinner 2012, this year stagedas a black tie event. Each of the tablestook the name of one of the School’s
eight newly designated houses, bar one.The ninth table was named by his friends
in honour of the late David Knight OP,who died in May last year.
We are likely to bring the annual OPdinner back to The Perse in 2013,
but we are always very happy to hearyour views.
Friends of the late David Knight OP at the table named in his memory
OP Peter Biggs chats to Development Officer Roxanne Napier
Duke’s Restaurant Huntington Beach
25 Lusk San Francisco
LEGATORS’ LUNCH with the Head
On Wednesday, 24 April 2013, the Head Ed Elliott will host a special lunch asa thank you to all those who have pledged to leave a legacy to The Perse. The eventwill be held in the Barry Room of the Upper and there will also be the opportunity
of have a guided tour around the School. Further details will be available soon.
Page 9 Page 10
UPCOMING EVENTS
FISH AND CHIPS Friday
DRINKS RECEPTION to be Heldin Victorian Gothic Splendour
OP HOCKEY AND NETBALL Matches Scheduled
No need to ask what’s on the menu when Fridays come around: it’s fish and chips! And very popular they are, too. Now we would like OPs to drop in and join the alumni team for a fish and chip lunch once or twice a term. Just let us know a day or two ahead to help the catering staff (contact details on Page 1). Spouses and partners are welcome.If you’ve time, stay on for a brief Perse tour afterwards.The inaugural lunch will take place on Friday, 1 Februaryat 12.30 p.m. NB: Other menu options will be available!
Calling all OP hockey and netball players –
matches against the School have now
been scheduled so please mark Saturday,
23 March 2013 in red in your diaries.
Glenn Kirkham and Laura Broderick have
lined up 1st and 2nd teams to play. Now
we just need some competition for them.
The event will begin at 2 p.m. and there’ll
be some catering laid on for afterwards.
If you would like to play please register
your interest with Alumni Officer Lindy Clegg
(contact details on page 1).
Restored to the pinnacle of its Neo-Gothic
glory at a cost of £150m, the St Pancras
Midland Grand Hotel will provide a dazzling
backdrop for The Perse London drinks
reception 2013.
Join us on Thursday, 16 May, in the
building architect Sir George Gilbert Scott
called“almost too good for its purpose”
and see how one of London’s great
landmarks has been saved from a parlous
state of near decay.
No expense has been spared in the repair
and refitting of the newly-named Marriott
St Pancras Renaissance. Enjoy the elegance
of another era for yourself at our reunion.
More details to follow.
Bring to mind one of those powerful British wartime propaganda films and there’s a fair chance that OP Humphrey Jennings would have directed it. Jennings, who went on from The Perse to achieve a starred First in English at Cambridge, was an artist, stage designer and intellectual.
But it is for his revolutionary documentary films, using non-professional actors and coaxing extraordinary performances from them, that he is best remembered.
FOUNDER’S DAYSpotlights OP Who Boosted the Nation’s Morale
A leading member of the Mass Observation Movement, no one better charted the war on the home front. Many of his short films concentrated on working class life.
Jennings is the subject of the 2013 Founder’sDay lecture, to take place on Monday,25 March. More details will be announced but please make a space in your diaries. The School will host a buffet lunch for OPs before the lecture. Tours of the site will be available for those who would like to see all the latest developments.
Page 11 Page 12
OLD HILLELIANExtends Warm Hospitality To Fellow Boarders
EIGHTEEN YEARS of Girls Allowed
HILLEL HOUSE HISTORYOld Persean Professor Derek Taylor is very keen to establish contact with as many Old Hillelians as possible to help him with his research for a book he is writing on Hillel House, as part of the School’s 400thAnniversary celebrations.
Derek would be delighted if you couldcontact him at your earliest convenienceat: [email protected]: 020 8455 138822 Mountview Close,LONDON, NW11 7HG.
There was a real family atmosphere when former residents of Hillel House, The Perse School’s Jewish boarding house, gathered for a reunion lunch in London. The warmth was generated by old friendships andfostered by the setting – the family homeof one of their number, Laurie Marsh (1948).
Laurie and his wife Gillian were the perfect hosts. The six decades separating theOPs from their schooldays vanished andreappeared as the guests recalled their time in the House and then brought friends up to date.
There was talk of retirement and grandchildren but the 16 Old Hillelians were a lively crew. Many are still working in a variety of fields and show little sign of stopping. Leisure interests include charitable work, art, travel and sport.
Gillian and the multi-tasking DorothyNoble (Laurie’s commercial PA/part-time housekeeper and cook/part-timebook-keeper) provided a first rate buffet lunch. Old school photographs brought along by some of the guests were passed from table to table so the sitters could be identified.
Those photographs will be added to the School’s Hillel Archive, a project which has now been running for several months. The significance The Perse places on its former Jewish boarding house was emphasised by Senior Tutor Bruce Kinsey, who spokeabout how Judaism, Religious Studies and Philosophy fit into the present curriculum and how vital it is for current pupils tohave access to the experiences of thoseof the past.
With 40,000 nautical miles and more thana 1,000 scuba dives logged, marine biologist Jessica Wurzbacher has more than proved her maritime credentials, but while her present post allows her more shore time the sea remains central to her life.
As Jessica Fry she left The Perse in 1997 to study biology at Bristol University, a natural choice for a girl with a scientific mind who had filled the garden of her childhood home with animals.
The pull of the sea became undeniable one afternoon as she sat on a beach on an island off the coast of Indonesia, where she’d gone on a research trip after graduating.
“We had spent the day scuba diving for a coral reef survey. I was looking out over the ocean and I suddenly knew this was what I wanted to do – to study the oceans. I wanted to know the name of every single organism, what it eats, and how it behaves. I wanted to know everything, and that’s what I set out to do.”
While working on coastal managementprojects in the South Pacific and theBahamas, she met her future husband Dan Wurzbacher, who introduced her to sailing. After a year back in England gaining her Master’s degree, Jess and Dan spent thefollowing six sailing two-masted schooners: the 88ft Ocean Star which they took around the Caribbean and the 112ft ocean-going Argo. Jess, as programme manager and chief scientist, taught parties of college students while Dan was the skipper.
New to sailing, Jess spent the first term learning the ropes alongside the students. She is now licensed to captain 200-ton vessels, as well being as a certified diving instructor. The first-hand experience of life at sea was as fulfilling and inspiring forthe Wurzbachers as for the students butthe desire for a shore base and accessto the English side of the family, led the couple to buy an old barn in Jamestown,Rhode Island.
Dan now works for a British-based companyselling ocean-going yachts and Jess is
Director of Education for the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry, Rhode Island’s official Sailing Educational Vessel and flagship non-profit maritime campus. The magnificent 196 ft, three-masted square rigged tall ship will offer experience-based learning to a diverse student population.
“The build is on schedule to launch next summer and our goal is to collaborate with Rhode Island educational institutions and the marine industry to create a sustainable plan that promotes our seafaring heritage with programs that serve as symbols of our stewardship of the Ocean State’s maritime environment.”
Jess also teaches night classes in MarineBiology at Roger Williams University, ina town called Bristol, and runs her own company, www.thefairlead.com – making nautical dog leads and collars.
“I’ve been in business for 2 years nowand sold nearly 700 leads and 100 collars,”she said. The couple’s chocolate lab Cadbury is one of the many satisfied customers.
OP SHEDS LIGHTOn PACIFICOAFFAIRJosef BehrmannLecture
Historian Professor Derek Taylor OP unravelled
the mysteries surrounding the famous case
of David Pacifico, in an enthralling talk given
as the 2013 Josef Behrmann Lecture. Professor
Taylor explained why Palmerston was right
to blockade Athens in support of one British
subject whose home had been ransacked by
an anti-Semitic mob.
“I was looking out over the ocean and I suddenly knew this was what I wanted to do – to study the oceans.”
Jessica Wurzbacher (née Fry) (1997)
In 1995 The Perse welcomed girls into the sixth form for the first time. Almost 18years later, the School has just completed its first term of full co-education, with girlsin every year group from age 3–18. To mark this significant milestone, we askedsome of our female OPs to tell us what they have done with their Perse education.
Jess, Caddy and Ben Wurzbacher
Page 13 Page 14
I was asked to write this article on 2 July and now I sit and
write this the evening before the deadline (5 December). School
memories of trying to finish pieces of coursework and essays
go through my mind... Eleven years down the line I should have
learnt from this, but apparently not!
Having joined from The Perse Girls as an extremely shy teenager,
the two years I spent in the Sixth Form at The Perse were the
most enjoyable of secondary school that I had. The atmosphere
encouraged you to fulfil your ambitions. I left The Perse in 2001,
originally to study Physiotherapy at The University of East Anglia
in 2002. Fate has a funny way of working – I didn’t gain my
desired A Level results but still gained a place at King’s College
London in 2001. Training was hard work, but after being in
Perse education for seven years, this was second nature.
I qualified in 2004, and started my first job at Oxford University
Hospitals NHS Trust. I spent 3.5 years working as a junior
physiotherapist, before moving into a senior position working
in Acute General Medicine which is an extremely busy and
challenging environment, not least because of the pressures
that the NHS is under.
My job involves mainly working with the elderly and I use
my knowledge and skills in respiratory, neurological and
musculoskeletal disorders in order to assess and rehabilitate them.
My responsibilities include supervising junior staff, deputising
in the absence of my team leaders and being a clinical educator
for students. I have also helped to co-write a chapter for
a physiotherapy book for students and juniors.
I am still an avid cricket fan and hope to fulfil my ambition of
becoming official cake baker for Test Match Special (I’m sure there
is a role for that).
So what did I gain from my time at The Perse? It helped build
my confidence and taught me that if you want something badly
enough, work hard for it and fight for it – if I hadn’t I wouldn’t
have got on to my physiotherapy course. A learning environment
for students and junior physiotherapists needs to be fun but also
nurturing so that individuals can achieve their potential. And
ideally not leaving things until the last minute...
I left The Perse in 1998 and started my training at The Royal Veterinary CollegeLondon. I had some amazingexperiences at university – including a brief spell at Cornell University, Ithaca, USA; working as a keeper at Woburn Safari Park; pig farming and night lambing
in Scotland in the freezing cold delivering 1500 lambs in 3 weeks.
After graduating in 2003 I started work in Lancashire in a mixed practice looking after dogs, cats, horses and cattle mainly. This was varied work, involving long hours and a lot of map reading. I was up in the middle of the night performing C-sections on cows and then working all day the next day. After six months I needed more sleep so took a job as a small animal vet working with dogs, cats and rabbits.
I then moved to Essex following my husband’s career where I worked as an intern at an oncology and emergency/critical care hospital. I helped the oncologists take animals for radiotherapyat Cambridge University and scrubbed in with some top surgeons. I then worked at small animal clinics, my main interest being soft tissue surgery.
My little boy Luke was born in February 2008 and my little girl Ruby in July 2010. I worked very part time for a short while but really wanted to stay at home and look after my children. While Luke was a baby I did an evening course in beekeeping. We now have five hives in the garden and Luke has his own suit and helps me sometimes.
We moved to a small holding in November 2011, which has been a dream come true. We are growing organic vegetables and keep a pony and a small flock of 10 chickens as well as the bees. Beekeeping is a very addictive hobby and I go swarm chasing in the summer with my uncle. I’ve really enjoyed producing our own honey and we have sold any surplus which we’ve made whichis a bonus. This summer has been a washout but I’m hoping fora better one next year.
As far as careers go I’m going to do something that fits in withthe children when they’re both at school, whatever that may be. At the moment I have plenty of things to do and I’m lucky to be able to stay at home – I wouldn’t miss this for the world.
Bev Greensitt (2001) Becky Lowten (née Smith) (1998)
My love of all things outdoors started on
a CCF expedition to the Pyrenees with Mr
Gant in 1998. I remember hiking through
the mountains and wanting to know how
they had got there and why they formed
here rather than anywhere else.
I studied geophysics at Durham and when
I finished my Master’s degree I spent some
time working in Mexico on Colima Volcano.
One weekend we planned a trip to a field
site a few kilometres away from the active
cone, where we were going to set up our
equipment to monitor the amount of
sulphur dioxide emitted in the volcanic
plume. A lava dome was building at the
summit and blocks of lava were calving
off the dome and crashing down the flanks.
Some of the larger collapses would set off
small pyroclastic flows down the sides of
the volcano – quite alarming when one
came down straight towards us!
As night fell we would sit and watch the
red glowing blocks bounce and shatter
down the mountainside, like upside-down
fireworks. This kind of lava moves very
slowly (it has the consistency of toothpaste)
and a few weeks later the lava flow had
almost made it to our campsite. We would
lie awake listening to the crackle of the
advancing lava front, and the occasional
crash as it took out another tree.
I worked in the oil industry for a few years,
flying geophysical surveys, looking for oil in
far flung corners of the world. I loved the
job but the living, breathing mountains kept
calling me back and I gave up my job to do
a PhD in volcanology. I study the earthquakes
that volcanoes generate. These are important
because we use volcanic earthquakes to
forecast eruptions at volcanoes and the
volcano I study (Telica Volcano, Nicaragua)
does some really unusual things. Since we
installed a network of seismometers in 2009
we have recorded over 350,000 earthquakes
generated by this volcano. This is not normal
volcano behaviour and makes it quite hard
to forecast an eruption!
There is a family who live and farm high
up on Telica Volcano, a family I have got to
know well, who give me coffee when I am
cold and soaked, who help carry equipment
up the volcano for me. They always ask
me if the volcano is going to erupt, if she’s
safe, but right now we don’t have all the
answers. It’s people like this who remind
me that this isn’t just pure science, that our
work has real impacts on the people who
live around these fascinating, but often
deadly, volcanoes.
Mel Rodgers (1999)
Page 15 Page 16
PLANS AND DEVELOPMENTS:The Evolving face of the School siteArtist’s impression of The Perse. On the far right is the teaching facility due to open in September 2014. In the centre is the teaching and library block which opened in 2010.
The new outdoor pursuits centre, which has the old Scout hut at its heart – literally and metaphorically. The building provides a leaders’ office, kitchen, male and female changing facilities, a dedicated storage area, and a wide open-plan space for outdoorpursuits activities.
Computer diagram of the School site. Planned buildings are highlighted in yellow. Proposed performing arts centre is shown in yellow on the right hand side.
The new teaching block opened in September 2010.
If you haven’t been back to The Perse in a while, you may be surprised at justhow much the school site has been extended and enhanced over the past few years. In this article, we take a look at some of the recent developments that have taken place, and offer an insight into what we can expect to see in the coming years.
Recent Developments
The Next Phase
One of the most significant additions to the School site took place in September 2010, when a new teaching block was opened, providing twenty-one brightand modern classrooms, a large new library (named after Perse headmaster,Dr Rouse) and a suite of three state-of-the-art ICT rooms. The building currently houses English, Maths and Modern Foreign Languages (MFL), and has transformed the teaching space available for each of those subjects.
Other buildings have been updated and extended, not least the Sports Centre, which has been expanded to include a large dance and gymnastics studio and extra changing areas. Space for sixth formers has improved with an enlarged common room, andstudents now have their own dedicated work, study and ICT space to help them
study for their A Levels. In the same building,a new Psychology department has alsobeen added.
The Art department has witnessed significantchange, with extensions into two former MFL classrooms creating larger, brighter spaces to help Perse pupils achieve their
best in the creative arts. The School hasadditionally seen an upgrading of theTechnology and Classics departments,further cycle storage, improved medical facilities, and a large extension andrefurbishment of the old Scout hut to create a dedicated outdoor pursuits centre(see picture).
In addition to all this, construction of new tennis and netball courts to the west of the Sports Centre and immediately adjacent to the main all weather pitch was completed just before Christmas 2012.
The next major stage of the School’s physical development will start during Easter 2013 with the construction of a second newclassroom building, immediately to the south of the building completed in 2010. This new facility will be made to the same high standards as its neighbour and willprovide an extra seventeen classrooms; sevenmeeting/interview rooms, departmental and pastoral offices, and a large multipurposespace. The ground and first floors will be home to the English and Modern Foreign Languages departments. The large space on the upper floor will be available for sectional assemblies, large meetings, Drama and exams, and will be an invaluable flexible facility in a school with so much going on.
With English and MFL housed in the new building, the 2010 building will continueto be a home for Maths while also providing History and Geography with new departments,as well as enabling the School to further expand the Dr Rouse Library. These facilities will all be completed in summer 2014 ready for the new academic year in September.
Alongside this major building project, other changes to be made during the summer holidays of 2014 will provide more andbetter facilities for Art, Science and Religious Studies (RS) and Philosophy. Art will gain an additional art studio and an art computerroom; RS and Philosophy will move into
the current Geography rooms; and Science will be extended via a newly constructed bridge link to the area currently occupied by History, with three more dedicated science laboratories. Significant alteration andrefurbishment will take place to provide the right environment for each room’s new use.
This academic year, work will start on anextension to the Margaret Stubbs building to provide a larger and more flexible space for use both as a pavilion and for meetings and seminars (as well as providing better facilitiesfor match day spectators). This should be completed during the Winter term of 2014.
The FutureThe School’s most ambitious plan is to
construct a dedicated performing arts
centre. Whilst the building has not yet been
designed, this project is expected to form
part of the school’s upcoming 400 Campaign
to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the
School’s founding in 1615. With dozens of
plays, concerts and lectures taking place at
The Perse all year round, a performing arts
centre will offer a inspiring space which
can build upon the school’s great mummery
tradition of teaching English through drama
and public speaking. It is expected that
further details on this building will be
available later this year.
See it for Yourself !If you would like to come and have a personal guided tour of the School, please don’t hesitate to contact Lindy Clegg (details on page 1). Alternatively, why notjoin us for lunch and a tour at one of our twice-termly Fish and Chip Fridays?Details on page 9.
Page 17 Page 18
Recently deceased:
John Samuel Ingram (1931)
Michael Oliver Deighton (1941)
Geoffrey Martin EdgarThomson (1950)
John Raymond Dawson (1951)
Raymond Alan Jephson (1959)
Mark Andrew Copping (1975)
Obituaries
Michael Astbury (1947)
Mrs Margaret Astbury writes:
Michael Astbury joined The Perse School in 1942. During the war
years he was ever ready to leap on hisbicycle if a bomb dropped on Cambridge and ride to a specified location and alert people there to take the agreed measuresto protect it.
Towards the end of the 1940s he undertook National Service and saw action in Greece, where the task was to stop the advance of the communists. He also served in Egypt.
Michael read law at St Catherine’s College, Cambridge, but the death of his father meant there was no money to furthera legal career, so he joined Fisons as amanagement trainee.
He was given paid leave to read for the Bar – for which he qualified – but without the funds to build up a practice, he joined the offices of the Manchester Ship Canal Company.
National Service had whet his appetite for travel and he next took a post as Assistant Secretary to the Employers Federation of Ceylon, eventually becoming Secretary.He always got on well with the trade union leaders and liked them, which was reciprocated – many of them had been to Cambridge – and negotiations, marches and strikes were less traumatic than they might have been.
He and Margaret met when she visited the renamed Sri Lanka and they lived there for
Jeffrey David Harris (1944)
Mrs Celia Harris submitted the following: We are not quite sure of the exact dates that David attended the Perse School but we know that, together with his brother Nigel, he was a boarder at Hillel Houseduring the war when a bomb fell on the school and there was great excitement as lessons were cancelled and the boys given a day’s holiday. He loved his time at The Perse and often spoke of it with great fondness. I well remember David bringing me to the school a few years ago when he delivered a speech about the war years which gave him a great deal of pleasure. Nothing made him happier than when he could be helping others, particularly with career advice to the young and making introductions for work opportunities. My favourite story aboutDavid’s time at The Perse was the following:
One morning at assembly the headmaster announced that Jack Hobbs, the greatEnglish batsman, was in town and looking for a game of cricket. Volunteers weren’t in short supply that day and it wasn’t long before Jack was despatching delivery after delivery to all parts of the boundary with nonchalant ease. Enter David Harris, aneager medium to fast paced bowler. He
took Jack’s wicket with his first ball andthe scorecard proudly read: Hobbs “caught” Harris “bowled” Harris – for it was hiselder brother Nigel who took the catch at wicketkeeper. He went on to Trinity College, Cambridge, to read Law but enrolled into the army and his career there was spent in India. Mostof his adult years were spent in advertisingand he started his own company which was ultimately floated on the London Stock Exchange. David continued to work as a consultant long after his retirement fromthe company and thankfully was only sick for a few weeks before his death in Aprilaged 86. He is survived by myself, Celia (his wifeof 50 years), son Jonathan, a literary agent working in London, daughter Francesca, working and living in California, andgrandsons Solomon attending University High School San Francisco and Milo about to graduate from Marin Primary.
He is sadly missed by us all but will be remembered, amongst other things, for his kindness, generosity and sense of fair play and a wonderful sense of humour, all of which were partly fostered at The Perse.
Bill Greenwood(joined The Perse 1935)
Bernard Wolfe (1935)
David Coppin writes:
Bernard entered The Perse Prep at the age of eight, aneducational choice made by his father
through “fear my accent was becominga mixture of the broad vowels of thecountryside and the mock Cockney heardin the less affluent regions of Cambridge”. I’m quoting here from Bernard’s ownbiographical notes. In 1927 Bernard entered “The Big School”. In his second year he won a Foundation Scholarship and consequently had the letters FS put after his name onthe School’s register slip. This also meant that “father no longer had to pay the fees of around twenty-four pounds a year”. He read for a degree in Natural Sciences at St John’s College, Cambridge, and in 1938 his first job was as resident science master
at Shebbear College, Devon. At this time he married Betty and the couple remained together until her death in 2004.
The War ended Bernard’s teaching career and he was directed to explosives research work first in Lancashire and then at Fort Halstead in Kent. On one occasion a V1 doodlebug flew very low over his head when he was having a picnic lunch on the North Downs. He said it was low enoughto see the rivets in its wing. But the greatest risk to his safety came after 1945 when he dealt with munitions shipped back from the Far East; due to the tropical climate some had become dangerously unstable.
Fort Halstead was also a primary location for the UK’s post war efforts to develop an independent nuclear weapons programme. It was thus perhaps almost inevitable thatat some point Bernard transferred away from the problems of conventionalexplosives to the Tube Alloys Project or HER (High Explosive Research) which were the early code names given to the building of a British nuclear bomb. The work took Bernard to Aldermaston in Berkshire and participation, in 1956, in nuclear weapons tests at Maralinga in South Australia. Later he was responsible for the editing, printing and distribution of all the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment’s scientific reports. He retired from the Establishment in 1976. Though childless, in the late 1960s Bernard and Betty started looking after a babygodson, the writer of this obituary. Bernardeffectively adopted me from that point onwards, although legal status was never given to the arrangement. Bernard stayed in touch with Cambridge by maintaining membership of the Cam Sailing Club at Waterbeach where in 1979 he purchased a small chalet, but even after retirement he stayed on in Old Basing in Hampshire, near to his former workplace. Although wheelchair-bound outside the house for the last couple of years, he was still quite active, travelling to places of interest in southern England before finally succumbing to old age after a minor fall at home.
Obituaries are reproduced in full on our webpage www.perse.co.uk/publications
At the memorial service Philip Hutley paid tribute to his friend OP Bill Greenwood:
“Bill lived his early life in Takeley and wentto school at The Perse in Cambridge. His father died when he was a boy and he left school young, but gained employmentwith Chivers the jam makers just outside Cambridge. He was there for two years, earning 45 shillings a week, but paying 42s a week for his digs.
“He was offered by his aunt the freehold of a farm in the Fens, provided he did not join the Army. What an offer! Bill chose to fight for his country. How many of us would have made that decision? He had four years of service, leaving as a Captain in the Army.”
He managed a farm for 14 years before buying New Hall at Purleigh in 1942, with money raised through tireless entrepreneurial activity, beginning at school with breeding mice for a pet shop, through battery hens, raising rabbits for meat and chinchillas for their fur, and running a nappy cleaning and delivery service. His working day beganat 4 a.m.
At New Hall, Bill “tried various innovative crops and was one of the early ‘Pick Your Own’ farms with crops of rhubarb, broccoli,runner beans, French beans, peas andmarrows. He also had a contract to produce 8,000 pigeons for canning and export. I get the impression he did the shooting and the family the plucking.”
Bill had always wanted to grow vines as there had been vineyards in Purleigh from the 12th to the 17th centuries. One harvest he drove down to Kent to get a spare part for a broken down combine and spotted at the agricultural merchants a bargain offer – 10,000 cuttings for £6.
These vines were planted in 1968 and in 1972 the first harvest was about 16lbs of grapes. Bill and Sheila made the wine inthe kitchen.
“In 1976 the winery was built. Piers (his son) joined in at that time and spent half the year in the Alsace and half at New Hall, but after four years he went into the Army before returning to work with and eventually take over from his father. From those modest beginnings, Bill and Piers built the vineyard from 20 to 110 acres and from 15,000 bottles a year in 1983 to 230,000 today.”
Bill was equally industrious on the sporting field, making a major contribution to local cricket and hockey, boxing, playing competi-tive table tennis and skiing.
“When his legs no longer coped with skis, he took to curling and was extremely proud to have had the opportunity to play for the English team once.”
Mrs Greenwood added: “Bill was a playing member of the MCC – that doesn’t mean he played for England – and was very proud of that fact”
several years after their marriage. Both their children were born there. Back in England, Michael faced unexpected difficulties finding a post because it was wrongly assumed he had been living an easy expat lifestyle.
He took a job in the legal office of the Board of Trade, where he worked in the company law division, and relished travelling round the country prosecuting breaches andappearing in court.
Despite liking the work and the people, Michael did not enjoy working in the Civil Service and left it to join the Bar Council.He enjoyed working in the Middle Temple with the body representing his ownprofession but it was a difficult time with all the changes being proposed and disputed. When it had all settled down he moved to his last job.
This was as Secretary of the Institute of Valuers and Auctioneers and it was the job that all his other jobs had prepared him for. He was very happy there, liking both the work and the people it brought him into contact with.
He served as Chairman of the Kent MedicalService Committee. His voluntary work included helping to set up and run a scheme to make home visits to people with terminalcancer and also to provide them with a day centre. He sat on the Parochial Church Council of St Peter’s Church, Ightham,and his pastoral work there included more home visiting. He served on the Chaplaincyteam at Maidstone Hospital and on the committee of the Kent branch of theCambridge Society.
