Let me start with an apology to all First Year parents. I fear that, following Monday’s theatre workshop, it may now be more difficult to distinguish between the occasions when your offspring are giving skilful demonstrations of the dramatic combative arts, and the occasions on which they are genuinely exacting physical retribution for a perceived sibling slight.  Following an entertaining hour-long session, the boys are now experts in appearing – let me stress, appearing – to kick, slap, punch and pull hair. These skills will no doubt stand them in very good stead as they embark on their Drama lessons in Second Year, as I have never seen a Second Year devised play that didn’t feature a good punch-up. It comes second only to cross-dressing in the boys’ criteria for a good play.

I was given an excellent and very entertaining demonstration of their new-found thespian talents by Arthur Bothamley and Max Broughton at morning registration with 1W. On reflection, I am pleased that the Headmaster was not showing some important visitors or prospective parents around the School at the time. Had they looked through the window of Room 26, they would have seen two boys slugging away at each other with gusto, whilst an excited mob of classmates bayed their approval, and their teacher looked on and nodded with benign indulgence. It would not, perhaps, have at first sight been compatible with the caring ethos of the School which we are so proud to project.

Some of our top mathematicians were put through their paces on Tuesday during the Junior Maths Olympiad.  James Emery, Sandy Mitchell, Tom Olby, Younes Tahir, Andrew Lees, Billy Hutchings and Ben Strong grappled with a series of fiendishly difficult problems over the course of a two hour paper.  We await the results with interest.

The mental exertion of our mathematicians was matched by the physical exertion of our athletes, who have been competing in the regional (southeast) round of the English Schools Cup. Ethan Knight, Arthur Hopley, Chris Hardy, Kabir Sait, Louis Middleton, Ben Freer and Thomas Ketel were part of a squad that finished third out of 12 teams – all the more impressive given that this is an U13 competition. Well done boys!

We have some individual sporting success to celebrate in the form of Joshua Ross’s fifth place finish in the London Youth Games sailing event last weekend – a superb achievement, as this was Joshua’s first ever taste of this level of competition, and he was up against sailors who were up to 18 years old. He was sailing a Hansa access boat, which had been specially adapted for his disabled partner, Eliza.

Congratulations to our three merit certificate recipients this week: Joshua Ross (20 merits); Chris Hardy (40 merits); and Jonah Blake (60 merits).

 

Mr J. Partridge

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