Olavian Cover 2014_Layout 1 18/11/2014 15:20 Page 1

The Olavian
Vol. 117 2014
Vol. 117
2014

Vol. 117
2014
Olavian Editor: David Craig
Old Olavian Editor: John Brown
Assistant Editor: Aman Tiwari
Sub-Editors: Rachel Wood

Contents
Contents
Headmasters Introduction
Editorial

3
4
5

School Notes

Staff 2014
Students Work
Prize Day
Sixth Form News
2014 Leavers Destinations

12
21
37
47
54

Clubs and Extra-curricular

57

Maths & ICT

Science
English & Drama
The Library
Chaplaincy
Music
Modern Foreign Languages
Humanities
Sports
Art, Design & Technology

68
74
81
86
90
91
96
102
114
126

Old Olavian

132

From the Headmaster

whole Olavian community who can take great pride in
this resounding endorsement of the excellence which
characterises our ancient, and very special, St. Olaves
Grammar School.

nce again we were delighted with the achievement

of our students in the 2014 Public Examinations
and our listing as The Telegraphs 2nd best school
nationally. At Advanced level 95% of grades were at A*
to B with nearly 75% at A* or A. At GCSE, a new school
record saw 88% of grades at A* or A with 53% at A*.
These students have been joined by a stunning cohort
from other schools so that the new Year 12 now has 75
students with 9 13 A* grades. 53 of our leavers have
now taken up places at Cambridge, Oxford or Medical
College, along with others who have commenced courses
at top universities such as Imperial, Bristol, UCL,
Durham, etc. It has been a real privilege to work with
all of them, to share in their endeavours and to celebrate
their triumphs.
I invite you to enjoy reading about the extraordinary
array of activities and successes in which our students
have been involved, whether cultural, sporting, scholarly,
international or personal, and my thanks go, once again,
to our Classics Master, Mr Craig, and to Rachel Wood
and Aman Tiwari for skilfully editing this fine magazine.

fter eight years of waiting Ofsted finally paid a visit

to St. Olaves on 6-7 March. It was a relief, if not
entirely surprising, that the inspection report concluded
that the school is Outstanding in every aspect achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour
and safety of pupils, the Sixth Form, leadership and
management and overall effectiveness. I have read many
Ofsted reports over the years but few that are so completely
full of superlatives. The inspectors noted the value of the
pupil mentoring, the enormous range of co-curricular
activities and the many clubs with distinguished outside
speakers. Teachers were praised for having very high
expectations; students for their scholarship and the high
quality academic journals they produce. I was particularly
pleased that they found students spiritual development
to be promoted exceptionally well so that they mature
into considerate, thoughtful young adults. The report
is, I believe, a just reward for the endeavours of the
4 Olavian 2014

Aydin na
Headmaster

Editorial
T

his year the magazine has been produced with the

help of two new subeditors whose unfailing support
and encouragement have been invaluable. They are
very much fine examples of the calibre of students who
attend the school, have attended it and will inevitably do
so in the future. Peter Leigh after extraordinary service
to all aspects of the school has now moved onto study
Classics at New College, Oxford. I have tried as ever to
give a broad brush of what has happened over the year
in every aspect of a school which positively pullulates
with activity seemingly at each hour of the day. The
importance of the Olavian remains. It is a record of the
girls and boys achievements which seem to grow each
year. The magazine in no manner detracts from the
other faculty and departmental publications, but brings
together a great deal of material beneath one literary
umbrella. In no way be surprised at the common themes
which are excellence, endeavour and participation. The
school does a very great deal and its ability to rise to new
challenges is well-documented here.

David Craig

Editor; Head of Classics

Editor - The Olavian

Editor - The Old Olavian

David Craig, Esq.

St. Olaves & St. Saviours Grammar School,
Goddington Lane,
Orpington,
Kent BR6 9SH

John M Brown, Esq.

60 The Lawns,
Rolleston-on-Dove,
Burton-on-Trent,
Staffordshire DE13 9DB

dcraig@saintolaves.net

johnmbrown60@gmail.com
Olavian 2014 5

SCHOOL NOTES 2014

Academic Olaves
Ofsted
ndoubtedly the highlight of the school year was
the outcome of the inspection on 6-7 March which
concluded:

Achievement of pupils
Quality of teaching
Behaviour and safety of pupils
Leadership and management
Overall effectiveness

Outstanding
Outstanding
Outstanding
Outstanding
Outstanding

I have read many Ofsted reports over the years but few
that are so completely full of superlatives as this. The
inspectors also judged the Sixth Form to be outstanding,
noting the value of the students clubs, academic journals
and mentoring of younger pupils. The outstanding
achievement of girls was attributed to the careful support
they receive during transition. They had high praise for
the way the curriculum promotes students scholarship
and curiosity. They noted the enormous range of extracurricular activities and distinguished outside speakers.
Teachers were praised for having very high expectations
and setting challenging targets. I was particularly
pleased that they found student behaviour in class and
around school to be outstanding; that their spiritual
development is promoted exceptionally well so that they
mature into considerate, thoughtful young adults. The
report is, I believe, a just reward for the endeavours of
the whole Olavian community who can take great pride
in this resounding endorsement of the excellence which
characterises our ancient, and very special, St Olaves
Grammar School.
Examination results 2014
Once again we are all delighted with the achievement
of our students.
At Advanced level:
95% of grades at A* to B
Nearly three-quarters of grades at A* or A
28 students with 3 or more A* grades
Telegraph 2nd best state school with mixed 6th Form
88.1% A/B grades at AS level (school record)
At GCSE:
88% of grades at A* or A (school record)
53% at A*
25 students with 9 or more A* grades
6 Olavian 2014

Top student Jeevan Ravindran gained 12.5 A*s

Telegraph 2nd best Boys state school

We were delighted that 53 of our students successfully

gained the grades to take up their places at Cambridge,
Oxford or Medical College. We take a great pride in their
successes, just as we do for all of our students, who are
receiving offers from top universities such as Imperial,
Bristol, UCL, Durham, etc. It has been a real privilege to
work with all of them, to share in their endeavours and
to celebrate their triumphs.
Celebrations
n September, Senior Prize-giving, in which we
celebrate excellence in academic achievement and
other cultural activities saw special guest and Old
Olavian, Sir Roger Sims JP, present the prizes. His
fascinating address covered a wartime posting in Berlin,
careers in The City, a journey across Africa and some
extraordinary encounters with Monarchs and Prime
Ministers. In June, the Lower School Celebration saw
prize winners and proud parents gather in The Great
Hall with former Captain of School, Mr Alex Allen,
giving an inspiring address on his time at St Olaves
and his work as an engineer with Network Rail. In the
buoyant Congratulations Evening successful applicants
from a wide range of schools received a warm welcome
and were able to mix informally with staff and with their
new peers. The 453rd Service of Commemoration took
place in the spectacular setting of Southwark Cathedral
with the Rt Revd Lindsay Urwin and with the choir on
particularly fine form.

Sixth Form Events

he academic year commenced with Year 12 induction
at Blackland Farm for team-building, abseiling and
forging friendships for the future. The new Scholarship
Fortnight then inspired students to aspire to the highest
levels of academic excellence with Senior Scholarship
Evening celebrating the finest independent research of
our Senior students; the launch of the Medics Society,
the Law Society and the Academic Journals; Harvard
Outreach UK focusing on differences between US
and UK university admissions; the Symposium Series
where Old Olavians studying at prestigious universities
presented university-level talks; and a talk by Jenny
Medland of Mansfield College, Oxford, who gave
an Oxbridge Application Workshop. Senior students
presented their EPQs, covering a veritable cavalcade of
scholarship in astonishing depth.

A packed crowd of about 2000 students and parents

attended the Sixth Form Open Evening. I was

particularly pleased to hear positive comments about the

maturity of the student ambassadors and the quality of
their presentations.
Jennifer Barton of Durham University gave helpful
advice on university application and personal statements
as part of
On UCAS Day, A panel of recent leavers offered the
student perspective, covering the joys of offers and the
heart-ache of rejection.
Leavers Ball was a rousing farewell to Year 13 students.
The Great Hall hosted speeches from the Headmaster,
the Director of Sixth Form and Captain of School,
Skanda Rajasundaram, before coaches took students to
the Grand Ball at Oakley House.
Further enlightenment was provided by the Woodard
Leadership Course at Worksop College, attended by
our Captains of School, and a talk by Professor Sarah
Coakley of Merton College, Oxford, on Evolutionary
Altruism.
Other Events
We welcomed back Old Olavians Mr Chris Harris, Mr
Chris Irving, Mr John King and Mr Richard White,
as well as veteran Mr Graham Milne who, together
with Captain of School, laid the wreaths at our annual
Remembrance Day assembly.
5 students were confirmed by the Rt Revd Michael
Turnbull, former Bishop of Durham and of Rochester.
Year 9s attended the Livery Companies Showcase Event
at Apothecaries Hall, for an insight into careers from the
Worshipful Companies of Salters and Upholsterers. A
massive crowd of over 3000 parents and children visited
the school for Open Morning in June.
Internationalism
was very excited when the British Council approved
our bid for a Connecting Classrooms link with La
Martiniere School for Girls, Kolkata, India. Initial staff
exchanges saw Vice Principal Mrs Sarkar and teacher Mrs
Mukherjee spend a week at St Olaves with a subsequent
visit of two of our staff to Kolkata. We shall be working
together on student exchanges and curriculum projects
with a focus on Global Citizenship and sustainability.
We also welcomed students from Goudse Waarde, a top
bilingual school in the Netherlands, to further broaden
our students international perspectives.

Sixth Form Art students visited Copenhagen, taking in

The Louisiana Museum with works by Rothko, Bacon,
Moore and Kandinsky, before a visit to the famous Little
Mermaid sculpture, who was coincidentally celebrating
her 100th birthday. Others returned from trips and

exchanges in France, Germany and Spain; visited to

the sites of ancient Greece; did geography fieldwork on
the glaciers of Iceland or enjoyed financial and political
experiences in Washington and New York.
Three World Challenge groups survived monthlong expeditions in Honduras, Laos and Thailand. 28
boys completed the Croatia Junior World Challenge
expedition in August, trekking up canyons in Paklenica,
kayaking down white water, and protecting camp and
tents from a vicious Bora wind. Others experienced
bush-craft in Penshurst, biology in Nettlecombe and
Gold expeditions in Snowdon.
In the Cricket tour of Antigua the Juniors managed to
win four out of five fixtures and the Seniors two out of
five. Other highlights included a catamaran trip, a jeep
safari around the island, and meeting one of the greats
of the game Sir Viv Richards. More recently our rugby
squad enjoyed a splendid tour of Barcelona.
European Week of Languages provided colourful
assemblies with Karaoke singing in French, German,
Spanish or Portuguese; Spanish dancing, led by Flamenco
guitarist, Juaina Garcia, and themed lunch menus
such as Chicken Fricasse with Haricot Vert, Spanish
Omelette, Italian Lasagne and German Frankfurter with
Sauerkraut tempted the taste-buds. The International
Peace Poetry Recital heard pupils recite poems and
listen to recordings from pupils in Syrian refugee camps,
the Lebanon, and our partner school, La Martiniere for
Girls. Sifundo Msebele was inspirational with two of her
favourite poems, performed with musical soundtracks.
This years Cultural Evening was, once again, a highlight
of the Michaelmas term, with musical presentations,
poems and a colourful fashion show, and representation
from all over the globe. It was no surprise that the exotic,
international 5* food disappeared in minutes!
Science has been buzzing with successes
Caterina Hall, Isabella Inzani, Aarushi Khanna, Uroosa
Chughtai and Alexandros Adamoulas were awarded
Gold medals in the 1st round of the Biology Olympiad
placing them in the top 6%. Aarusha and Uroosa have
been invited to attempt the 2nd round for selection to
represent the UK in the International Biology Olympiad
in Bali. Elena Rastorgueva won 1st Prize in the Cassini
Scientist for a Day competition; she has been invited to
carry out work with Professor Carl Murray at the Queen
Mary University, as well as having her entry published
by the European Space Agency. Rebecca Daramola won
the Royal College of Science Union (Imperial College)
Science Challenge 2014 with her essay on a question
set by Pallab Ghosh. She came away with a trophy, a
substantial cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to
Cern. Eamon Hassan was awarded a Gold certificate
in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge; nine students
Olavian 2014 7

gained Silver and 5 Copper. Year 12 students Akhilesh

Amit, Kush Banga and Chandan Dodeja also gained
Silver certificates in the Chemistry Olympiad. Leo
Bennett, Alec Hong, Eugene Lee, Nicholas Leigh
and James Tang won the competition at the Centre
for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and
Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX) at UCL and Adam
Stagg was invited to his investiture into the Worshipful
Company of Scientific Instrument Makers as part of his
Arkwright Scholarship award. Well done to all these
students and to Rebecca Daramola and Lucy Morrell for
establishing the new Experimental Chemistry Society.
Mathematical Olympiads
ongratulations to the 13 Years 7s and 8s who
qualified for the prestigious Junior Mathematical
Olympiad. Samuel Mellis was awarded a Bronze medal
and Alexander Song completed an amazing year with a
Gold medal.

13 students qualified for the Intermediate Mathematics

Olympiad, with Tom Wang winning a Certificate of
Distinction and Alec Hong a medal plus book prize,
placing him in the top 50 in the country. 41 students
qualified for the Kangaroo round, with 16 finishing in
the top 25% of this select cohort.
This years Senior Mathematical Challenge produced
a record 37 Gold, 116 Silver and 128 Bronze.
Congratulations to Alastair Haig and the 6 students who
qualified for the 1st round of the British Mathematical
Olympiad, and to the 23 who qualified for the Senior
Kangaroo Mathematics follow on round. Alexander
Song, Year 8, went on to produce 4 perfect solutions in
the difficult BMO Round 1, aimed primarily at Sixth
Formers. Following the even more challenging BMO
Round 2, he was invited as the youngest of 22 students
nationally to attend the UK Mathematics Olympiad
Initial Training Camp at Queens College, Oxford.
Chess
aunak Rao captained the Kent U18 team to a
tremendous 2nd place in the National Youth Chess
Association tournament; he also came 2nd in a World
Chess Association rated tournament at Coulsdon and
is currently ranked among the top 30 U18 FIDE-rated
players in England. More recently, despite being one
of the youngest teams in the competition, St Olaves
secured 3rd place in the Millfield International Chess
tournament, maintaining our unbroken run of top 3
places for the last decade. In the Annual Kent Junior
Grand Prix Chess Raunak became the third consecutive
Olavian to win the U18 title, having been top of the
leader board throughout the year; Anantha Anilkumar,
Year7, won the under 14 title. To crown the achievement
StOGS, won the secondary school championship for the
7th consecutive year, 160 plus points ahead of the 2nd
placed Sevenoaks School.

8 Olavian 2014

Anantha represented England in the FIDE World

Youth Chess Championship in Abu Dhabi, where 1773
players from 121 countries were competing, finishing as
the 2nd best England U12 player and the 4th best player
overall out of the England squad of 24. He then went on
to win the U12 British Championship at Aberystwyth,
without losing a single game and, as part of the National
Junior Chess Squad, jointly won the Under 12 section
of the 4th Junior International at the Caleta Hotel,
Gibraltar.
Art

rt students visited: the White Cube gallery

in Bermondsey and the Paul Klee exhibition
at the Tate Modern, exploring the juxtaposition of
architectural styles; the Michael Landy Saints exhibition
with its collection by Caravaggio, Rubens, Van Dyck
and Turner; the National Illustrators Award exhibition
at Somerset House; 500 Years of British Art exhibit at
the Tate Britain and the contemporary Saatchi Gallery,
all providing inspiration for future work. Year 7s enjoyed
a day at the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Modern,
the Wallace Collection, with its most famous painting,
the Laughing Cavalier by Franz Hals. Christopher
Page won the youth section of the national Landscape
Photographer of the Year. His 1000 winning photo
was in the Sunday Times and featured in a 2 month
exhibition in the National Theatre foyer. The endeavours
of GCSE, AS and A level students were displayed to
an appreciative audience at the splendid summer Art
Exhibitions.

National Poetry Day

umanities, Literature and Poetry. Literature Society
celebrated National Poetry Day with recitals of
works by John Donne, Dylan Thomas, T. S. Eliot and
original poems by Jack Bradfield and Fintan Calpin.
Joelle Taylor, Artistic Director of SLAMbassadors UK,
was inspirational in her performances of Last Poet
Standing. She, Alan Brownjohn and Sifundo Msebele
were celebrity guests at the Poetry for an enlightened
age event that we organised with The RSA in The Bronte
Room of The British Library.

The competition to write a 100 word story with a

twist produced some entertaining winners with Oliver
Bennetts take on The Three Little Pigs and Fergus
Macdonalds Tis Pizza Shes a Whore. In the regional
final of the Cambridge Schools Debating Competition,
our team came 2nd in a tightly fought contest. At
Blenheim Palace His Grace, the Duke of Marlborough,
offered a warm welcome to students in the National Sir
Winston Churchill Speaking Competition where the Rt
Hon Michael Fallon spoke eloquently about democracy
before Carrie Grant encouraged students to speak form
the heart.

Christopher Tower Poetry Prize

ongratulations to Jack Bradfield whose poem
Helmets has been long-listed for the Christopher
Tower Poetry Prize headed by poet and academic Peter
McDonald at Christ Church, Oxford; to Richard
Decker who reached the final of the national Poetry by
Heart competition in a high-life weekend with dinner
at Planet Hollywood, mixing in illustrious company
with Sir Andrew Motion and presenter of Radio 4s
Poetry Please, Roger McGough; and to Ivan Tregear
who gained a Distinction with 92 marks in his LAMDA
Grade 6 (Bronze medal) Speaking of Verse and Prose
examination.

Understanding WW1
s part of understanding WW1, Year 8s saw a
performance of Back to Blighty exploring the lives
of the working classes and the aristocracy in 1914. They
then focussed on the role of women, General Haigs
motivational speech and the plight of the soldiers with
shell shock, before a poetry workshop on Dulce et
Decorum Est preceded a sonnet writing competition.
History students developed their knowledge with
visits to the National Army Museum and to the WW1
battlefields of Ypres, the Somme and Dunkirk which
saw the 1940 evacuation of the British Army. Year 9s
also had a focus day on conscientious objectors in the
WW1 writing poetry from the objectors perspective,
learning how they were treated to criticism, hard labour
camps and even the death penalty.

Cultural Day
KS3 cultural day took in backstage at the National
Theatre, a Pounds and Pence presentation at The
Bank of England, the Elgin Marbles and the Mummies
Exhibition at the British Museum, where Classicists also
studied the narrative within the metopes which adorned
the external elevations of the Parthenon on the Athenian
Acropolis. Cross-curricular days considered Who was
Jack the Ripper? and an attempt to create a Utopian
society.

Target 2.0
ell done to the Target 2.0 team - Michelle Vero,
Shunta Takino, Lucas Bertholdi-Saad and
Musab Shamekh who narrowly missed the top prize in
the Shadow Bank of England Competition at St Pauls
School.

Music
n a unique concert at Windsor Castle our Choristers
of the Queens Chapel of The Savoy joined forces
with those from the other Royal Chapels to mark Her
Majesty the Queens 60-year reign. A packed Great Hall
hosted the splendid Christmas Concert; particularly
impressive was the Chamber Orchestra, with a string
section that would be the envy of any school. Mid-Term
Concerts served as a showcase for our Junior ensembles

and many aspiring solo performers like Eric and Ivan

Leung, Violinist Lucy Morrell, Junior Jazz, Summer
Strings, Guitar Group and the Morrell Piano Duo.
The St Olaves Jazz Band, resplendent in Hawaiian
shirts, brought the house down in the Bromley Schools
Prom at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon. The annual Jazz
Spectacular was a great evening of musical entertainment
with impressive solos from Samuel Wootten and Aaron
Lewns. Guest saxophonist Derek Nashs stunning
improvisations left us in no doubt about the reasons for
his having performed with the likes of Jools Holland and
Sir Paul McCartney. At the PA Summer Fun Day the
school shook to the beat of Olavian Sambistas as each
Year 8 form explored the rhythmic verve of Brazil. Showstoppers showcased a fine display of musical, dance and
dramatic talent to round off the light entertainment side
of the musical year.
In a fine Easter Concert the full Symphony Orchestra
opened with a resounding Beethoven Symphony No.
1; Wind Band surprised us with the revelries of Mejis
Dutch Masters Suite; and the choirs reflected the
strength of choral music at St Olaves.
Stefan Beckett, now on a scholarship at the Royal College
of Music, featured in the BBC2 percussion final of the
BBC Young Musician of the Year; Lucy Morrell gained
Distinction in her Grade 7 ABRSM Organ examination
and Richard Decker, our former BBC Chorister of the
Year 2012, was presented with the Chancellors Medal
of The Duchy of Lancaster for his outstanding service
to music at The Queens Chapel of The Savoy. Students
spent an afternoon at the Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden for a matinee performance of Bizets classic,
Carmen; others attended the BrightSparks concert at
the Royal Festival Hall, given by the LPO with a varied
programme including GCSE set works and the highlight
- a performance of the Lord of the Rings Suite!
Drama
he Shakespeare Triology saw three of Shakespeares
finest plays each reduced to 35 minutes: Richard
III, set in the 1930s to a soundtrack of live jazz, Romeo
and Juliet accompanied by Motown music, and a modern
day Much Ado About Nothing. Daniel Finucane,
Alicia Harris, Peter Debenham and Jack Bradfield gave
outstanding performances of The 39 Steps, a parody of
the famous Hitchcock film, much to the enjoyment of
the audience and, we hope, the visiting examiner. KS3
students performed Hearts at The Marlowe Theatre
as part of the National Theatre Connections scheme,
giving the students their first taste of performing in a
professional theatre and even enjoying their own dressing
rooms!

In the well-established Olavian tradition of top quality

student directed plays, Elling lived up to expectations

Olavian 2014 9

with a polished production and quirky interpretation

by Jack Bradfield and Matthew Roberts. Mithiran and
Jeevan Ravindran did a wonderful job directing Arthur
Millers dark and passionate tale, A View from the
Bridge.
An off-the-wall production of Shakespeares The
Tempest, performed by just four actors, came to
The Great Hall bringing to life next years A2 text.
Members of Theatre Society visited The Young Vic to
see Kander and Ebbs exciting and provocative musical
The Scottsboro Boys and The Duke of York Theatre to
see P G Wodehouses Jeeves and Wooster: A Perfect
Nonsense. Others from the Sixth Form Culture Club
went to see the revival of Matthew Bournes Swan
Lake at Sadlers Wells, emerging inspired by the male
ensemble of swans who dispelled any idea that ballet is
stuffy and boring!
Congratulations to Jay Routh whose play The Least Fun
A Girl Can Have made the shortlist in The National
Theatre New Views playwriting competition, receiving
a reading at The National Theatre; and to Ivan Tregear
who has landed the lead role of Zack in a new animation
series for Nickelodeon, which is recording this year.
Technology
n our highest achievement yet Team Linear won 2nd
place at the final of the Design Ventura competition,
narrowly missing out on 1st place and receiving great
feedback from designer Sebastian Conran. In the World
Skills competition, our team won 2nd place and a Silver
WSC award in the Mobile Robotics section from
visiting celebrity judges, Nick Clegg and Theo Paphitis.
For the second year running Abhay Gupta and Eddie
Ho won a place to represent St Olaves at the final of the
Jaguar Maths in Motion competition and in the VEX
Robotics Final at the NEC, Birmingham, the Year 11
team returned with the build trophy for the second
year running. Well done to Bradley Sawyer who won
1st prize in the Stoneham Kitchen of the Future design
competition, claiming not only his own prize, but also
500 for the school to spend on equipment.

Gallagher won the U15 Singles; Kieran Walton and

James Tate won the U15 Doubles. The Adult Midlands
Championships saw William Edmonds and William
Belsham become the youngest pair to ever win the
Festival. In the Richard Barber Cup at Eton College,
the Old Olavians with William Phillips, Josh Ravi and
Kieran Walton demolished Shrewsbury school in the
final to retain the title for the third year in a row. The
U14s won the three-pair Team Cup held at Harrow
School. In the Adult Northern Championships held
at Shrewsbury School, Chukwunenyem Nwuba and
Tomas Gallagher became the youngest pair ever to take
the title in the Festival section. In the National Schools
Championships at Eton College, involving over 1000
pupils from schools all over England and Wales, U16s
Chukwunenyem Nwuba and Tomas Gallagher defeated
the second seeds from Highgate in the Semi-Finals
to earn a place in the Final against Shrewsbury; U14s
Kieran Walton and James Tate won their Semi-Final to
reach the Final against Highgate.
In Cricket the Year 9 squad won the Bromley Cup and
the Year 10s retained their title in the Bromley Cup
Festival of Cricket. Sohayl Ujoodia was selected for the
Kent Cricket U14 Boys Winter Training Squad 2014
and was invited by the England Cricket Board to attend
a Talent Test at the National Centre at Loughborough
University. The Antigua tour rounded off a fine season.

Our swimmers dominated the Kent County Schools

Swimming Championships with Golds for Henry
Rennolls, Felix Haslam, Michael Jacobs, Timothy
Adelani and Molly Haynes and secured victory at the
Sevenoaks School gala. At the LSSA Championships at
Crystal Palace, St Olaves finished 2nd out of 20 schools,
with 11 Golds and 3 Silvers. Michael Jacobs and Molly
Haynes were selected as part of the Bromley team; Felix
Haslam and Jacob Gaskell were selected as part of the
Aquathon team. Henry Rennolls won 2 Golds in the
ASA regionals, both in National Qualifying Times, and
will go on to compete in the National Championships
in Sheffield. Henry also won Gold and the title English
Schools Champion for the Junior Boys 100m freestyle
at the ESSA National Inter-Divisional Championships.
Particularly pleasing was the selection of Theodore
Haslam for the Sainsburys 2014 School Games in
Manchester a huge event with alumni representing
England and winning medals in the 2012 Olympics.

Another successful Fives season saw victories against

Westminster School, Harrow, Berkhamsted and Eton
College. In the Rossall Schools Championships, Tomas

Thomas Young was selected to play for England at

Korfball in their tour of Flanders; Jake Egelnick was
selected for the Great Britain National Taekwondo
Poomsae Squad and will be competing at international
level in Germany this year; Alexander Jochim won a
national U14 singles Tennis tournament at Sutton and is
now ranked No. 7 nationally and No. 1 in Kent; Connor
Stimson was selected to represent the sport of Archery
for the London Youth Games. Charles Davis, Alexander

Sport
he 1st XV Rugby season saw some notable victories
against Colfes, London Oratory, Rochester Maths,
Brighton Hove and Wallington. The season climaxed
as the squad reached the last 16 of the Natwest Vase
competition. The 1st XI Football team also had an
excellent season starting with an unbroken run of 5 wins
out of 5 matches. The Barcelona tour was a well-deserved
highlight for those who have shown real leadership,
dedication and commitment to representing the school.

10 Olavian 2014

Leggatt and Joshua Davidson helped Bromley to finish

2nd in the Kent Schools Cross Country Championships
with Charles, Alexander and William Ruiz selected to
run for Kent in the SE counties division. In the West
Kent Athletics Championships our Junior athletes
outpaced all of the opposition to finish 1st out of 12
teams. The KS4 Badminton team progressed to the
regional round of the National Schools Championships.
The season concluded with Sports Day where, under
cloudless skies, exciting races, good sportsmanship and
broken records were all in plentiful supply.
Outdoor and other pursuits. I was pleased that Timothy
Adelani, Alex Tse, Samuel Wells, Max HamiltonJenkins, David Giles, James Watson, Charles Kershaw,
James Curling, Alexander OHalloran, Charles Hallett,
Alexander Bailey and James Fargie completed their
Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Well done to Toby
Clarke, Kai Smith and Edward Parker Humphreys
who have been selected for the World Scout Jamboree
in Japan 2015, joining 40,000 Scouts from over 180
different countries; and to Taranpreet Bhoday who
visited Australia to compete in the St John Ambulance
International Cadet competition.
Charity
estival ushered in the end of the Michaelmas
term with a frenzy of fun and fund-raising. The
Great Hall was transformed into an atmospherically
lit venue for Cabaret evening, with an eclectic mix of
Olavian talent ranged from the soulful vocals of Matipa
Chieza to the witty verbal badinage of MCs Emmanuel
Soyombo and Daniel Finucane. Favourites such as
University Challenge and the traditional Just a Minute
helped students raise 9,500 for our two chosen charities
Water Aid and the Jennifer Trust. I was touched by
the generosity of students and parents who, in response
to my appeal for a special Own clothes day, raised
4,109.55 for the Disaster Emergency Committee,
D.E.C. Philippines Typhoon Appeal. It was pleasing to
hear that the Woodard Langalanga Secondary School in
Kenya, which our students supported 3 years ago, now
has a roof on the school hall and the walls will soon be
clad. Well done to Matthew Perry along with Dillan
Patel, Oliver DCosta, Charles Anderton and Dylan
Evans who completed the Alphabet Tube Challenge, to
raise funds for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

Staff development
staff have completed the Outstanding Teacher
Programme which is now fully embedded within
St Olaves ethos and INSET provision; 5 of them have
also finished the Outstanding Facilitator Programme.
A number of valued colleagues retired this year; some
excellent new appointments have been made to the staff
team.

36

Support Staff
The schools success is in good part generated by a
magnificent team of staff who work tirelessly and with
very special effectiveness to help those of us who are in
front of the students. Their great expertise which lies
in several areas be it in reception or in room ten or in
the examination office or dealing with the fiscal side
of the school is greatly appreciated. There are those too
who brave the elements at all times to keep the school
looking beautiful on the outside and those who keep
the school looking sharp, tidy and well-presented on
the inside. To those concerned we are very grateful.
LSEF and outreach
t Olaves was awarded a special role within Boris
Johnsons London Schools Excellence scheme. The
school is running a project called PLASMA-T, Putting
London ahead through Mathematics, Science and
Technology, to support outreach work with colleagues
across London schools in developing subject excellence,
with a particular focus on programming, robotics and
medicine. As part of this, St Olaves welcomed staff
from Imperial Colleges Medical Faculty to run an event
for aspiring medics. Year 12 students taught lessons in
our Science Week at St Pauls Cray Primary School,
introducing new topics with practical demonstrations.
220 pupils from local Primary schools enjoyed a
Maths and Science Day at St Olaves, learning about
Chromatography and Electromagnetism before a
carousel of problems and a Mathematical orienteering
competition.

Visiting speakers
he Olavian Lecture Series I hosted presentations
by some very high-profile figures, including Lord
Professor Robert Winston, Dr Adam Rutherford and
Dr Robert Mulvaney. Series II is now underway and will
host Dame Mary Archer and The Rt Hon Lord Butler
of Brockwell. Other fascinating speakers, organised by
student societies, have included Jo Johnson MP, Dr
Lawrence Goldman, Mr Roy Cromb, Dr Andrew Lilico,
Mr Chris Giles and many more.

Contributions
arents and Old Olavians continue to support the
school through these austere times. We remain
grateful for the contributions made each year by the Old
Olavian Society and the work of Chairman, Chris Harris.
The PA Committee and the EEX group of parents have
raised substantial sums through parental contributions,
Auction of Promises, own clothes day, Leavers Posterity
Bricks and the annual dinner which significantly enrich
the experiences of our students and ensure ongoing
links with the school through networking with former
students. Ray Toomey (1959-1965), who was in the
first Olavian team to win the Fives Barber Cup, visited
the school from Australia. After graduating as a Civil
Engineer he worked on the Thames Barrier, then on a

Olavian 2014 11

Dry Dock in Mombasa before settling in Australia with

BHP, involved with marine works and tunnels.
Publications
ongratulations to Akhil Sonthi who has written
and published his own Mathematics Handbook a
beautifully crafted ibook with clear, colourful diagrams
to help GCSE students to grasp mathematical concepts.
Old Olavian, Peter Leonard, also published his book
The Olavian Fallen and the Great War, 1914-1918,
to coincide with the WW1 centenary. The ongoing rise
of scholarly publications has seen recent editions of the
new Classics Journal, the History magazine, the Medics
Society Journal, Natural Sciences Society magazine and
Volume 1 of the new Literature Society Journal, For
Words.

Captain of School and Senior Prefects

We said thank you and farewell to an outstanding
team, 2013-14: Captain, Skanda Rajasundaram; Vice
Captains, Timothy Adelani, Charlie Bishop, Jordan
Fisher, Sinead OConnor and Zeinab Ruhomaly. We
offer our congratulations to the new team for 201415: Captain, Teddy McAleer; Vice Captains, Matthew
Allen, Jack Bradfield, Lucy Morrell, Abhishek Patel and
Elena Rastorgueva.
Site development
lans are now well underway for the development
of two new Science laboratories with Planning
Permission secured and work due to start on site in
September 2014 for completion in January 2015.
Emergency repairs to the internal structure of the Gym
roof have resolved urgent health and safety problems.
The telephone system has been replaced with upgrading
of voice and data cabling in core areas of the School;
emergency lighting provision around the School site has
been upgraded. Repairs and/or replacement have taken
place to part of Fives Court glass roof following storm
damage, the roofs of the Chapel and Sports Hall, and
to the Pavilion boilers. Remedial works to a number of
trees around the site has allowed the re-opening and
reinstatement of the cross-country track. A detailed
survey of the school buildings has highlighted wideranging issues associated with lack of investment over
a period of years. This indicates the need for minimum
annual spending of circa 200,000 required simply to
keep things going, within an estimated cost of circa 3.9
million over a five-year period to restore all buildings
to optimum condition. This includes replacement of
parts of the main School heating boiler and associated
pipework and on-going problems with water penetration
to the Fives Courts.

Support
e remain grateful for the generous support and
guidance received from the Foundation, both
in terms of annual funding and special support for the

12 Olavian 2014

new Science development, without which our students

education, endeavours and experiences would be
substantially less enriched.
Summary
believe we can take great pride in concluding that
2013-14 has been another highly successful year for
St Olaves Grammar School, supporting our students in
fulfilling the very highest aspirations and ambitions.

Aydin na
Headmaster

National CompetitionsStaffing 2014 - 2015

Chairman of the Governors
S. Hibberdine, Esq., B.Sc., F.R.I.C.S.
Vice-Chairman of the Governors
The Revd Professor P. Galloway,
OBE, JP, PhD, DLitt, FSA

Elected Parent Governors

Miss J. Cattell, LLB, TEP
Mrs S. Chaudhary, M.A., B.Ed.
R. Senior, Esq., M.A., ACMA
A. Wright-Jones, Esq., B.A.

Foundation Governors
Appointed by the Lord Bishop of Rochester:
R.P. Highmore, Esq., M.A
M.H. Lovett, Esq., F.C.I.B.
Appointed by the Rochester Diocesan Board of Education:
The Revd H.A. Atherton,
M.A., M.Th., B.Sc., F.G.S., Dip.Ed.
I. Ketchin, Esq.
The Revd B. McHenry, CBE, M.A., B.A.
Appointed by the Chapter of Southwark Cathedral:
N. Grenside, Esq.
Appointed by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge
acting jointly:
M.A. Edwards, Esq., M.A., M.Sc., A.C.A.
Appointed by the Senate of the University of London:
The Revd Professor P. Galloway,
OBE, JP, PhD, DLitt, FSA.
Appointed by the Dulwich Estate:
S. Hibberdine, Esq., B.Sc., F.R.I.C.S.
Appointed by the Special Trustees of
Guys and St Thomas Hospitals acting jointly:
Councillor N.R. Reddin, F.C.C.A.

Elected Staff Governors

Mrs K.S. Brooker
Mrs C. Johnson, B.Sc.
A. Kenward, Esq., B.A. (Ed)
Local Authority Governor
Councillor J. Grainger.
Associate Governor St. Olaves Grammar School
A. Stoneham, Esq.
Ex Officio
A. na, Esq., B.Mus., BSc., ARCM, FRSA
Clerk to the Governors
R. Walters, Esq., M.A., ACA
Senior Leadership Team
Headmaster
A. na, Esq., B.Mus., BSc., ARCM, FRSA
Deputy Headmaster

M.J. Evans, Esq, BSc, University of Durham

Assistant Headmaster

A. J. Rees, Esq, BSc, University of Bristol

Director of VI Form

D.J. Budds, Esq., M.A., St. Peters College, Oxford

Olavian 2014 13

Assistant Staff
R.N. Archer, Esq., B.Ed.(Hons), Loughborough
University
A.T. Henley, Esq., B.Sc., M.Sc., C.Math, M.I.M.A.,
University Coll. Cork & South Bank University
C.E. Davies, Esq., B.A., A.T.D., M.A., Universities
of Wales, Bristol & London
D.M.G. Craig, Esq., B.A., M.Phil., Bristol University & King's College, London University
L.J. Ward, Esq., B.Sc., M.Sc., University of Sussex
& City University
N. Maltman , Esq., M.A., Pembroke College,
Cambridge
Mrs S.L. Beston, M.A., St Catherine's College,
Oxford
P.E. Holland, Esq., B.Ed.(Hons), Brunel University
A.M. Kenward, Esq., B.A.(Ed.)(Hons), University
of Exeter
Mrs H.C. Cooley, B.Ed.(Hons), University of
Sussex
D. Bowden, Esq., B.A., University of Lancaster
Mrs. R. Maxwell, B.A., University of Manchester

Mrs E.J.Kite, B.Sc., B.A., University of Birmingham

& The Open University
Ms. B. Onifade, B.Sc., Ph.D. University of Central
England
Mrs J.S. Penny, B.Sc., Royal Holloway College,
London University
Mrs S.J. Wallace, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., University of
Lancaster & Christs College, Cambridge
T.M.W. Conway, Esq., B.A., University of Kent
J.A. Greenwood, Esq., B.Sc., University of Bradford
Mrs K.A. Hodges, M. Eng., St. Catherines College,
Oxford
M.G. Price, Esq., M.A., Trinity College, Cambridge
Mrs P.Padmore, B.Sc., University of Sussex
Miss M. Delage, Master 1, Universite de Limoges
Mrs V.E. Watson, B.A., University of Sussex
L.D. Espejo, Esq., M.A., University of St. Andrews
Mrs E.A. Goodman, B.A., University of York

Mrs M.T. Morinan, B.A., B.Sc.,M.Sc.,M.R.S.C.

National University of Ireland & Open University.

Miss R.E. Hawley, B.A., Middlesex University

Miss M.F. Sullivan, B.A., Westfield College,

London University
Ms. S.K. Wilcox, B.A., Goldsmiths College,
London University

G. Buckley, Esq., B.Sc., University of Sheffield

Ms C.E. Marwood, B.Sc., The Open University;

L.R.A.M., Dip. R.A.M.

Mrs J.M.Cooke, B.Sc., University of Wales.

Mrs.P.Garton, B.Sc., University of Kent.
Mrs J. Upsdell, B.A., University of Surrey
Ms. J.Bradley, B.Sc., Ph.D. Kings College & Royal
Free School of Medicine, London University
Mrs C.Johnson, B.Sc., University of Nottingham
Mrs D.E.Lewis, B.Sc., University of Portsmouth
Mrs D.A.Storrs-Fox, B.A., University of
Southampton
Ms G.C. Gardiner, M.A., Newnham College,
Cambridge

14 Olavian 2014

Miss A. Wilkie, M.A., B.A., University of Warwick

& Goldsmiths College, London University
A.R. Gyford, Esq., MSci, University College,
London University
Miss S.L. Heraghty, B.A., Loughborough University
P.S. Holton, Esq., M.A., B.A. University of Sheffield
Hallam & University of Loughborough
Mrs S.G. Latcham, B.A., University College,
London University
T.A McCurroch, Esq., MMath, Magdalen College,
Oxford
J.R. White, Esq., B.Sc., University of Bath
Mrs J. M. Munday, M.A., Cambridge
Mrs K. I. Steel, B.A., PhD, Oxford & University of
Southampton
Miss H. Baguley, B.Sc., Bristol University
D. R. Shilling, M.Cam., Bournemouth and Poole
College

J. Geoghegan, Esq., B.A. University of Durham

Mrs S. L. Beard, B.A., University of East Anglia
A. Lake, Esq., B.A., University of Nottingham
Miss L. G. Dunlop, B.A., University of Sussex
R.C. Cliff, Esq., M.A. (Cantab)
J. B. Davis, Esq., B.Sc. (Cardiff )
J. Dodd, Esq., B.A. (Oxford)
Miss R. Garswood, B.A. (Exeter)
W. Haines, Esq., B.A. (Hons), M.Sc. (Manchester)
Mrs S. Kemal, B.A. (Hons), University of Kent
Miss M. Lawrence, B.A. (Hons) (Cantab), MEng
(Cantab) M.A. (Cantab)
Dr A. Sidhu, B.Sc. (UCL), M.Sc., (Exeter), Ph.D.
(Warwick)
Dr J. N. Stewart, Ph.D. (Herriot Watt)
S. Thompson, Esq., B.Sc. (Keele)

Olavian 2014 15

Valete - July 2014

Tom Henley
Tom joined St Olaves twentyseven years ago and from the
outset it was clear that he was
a frighteningly perceptive
mathematician
with
a
passion for finding as many
different ways as possible
to solve a single problem.
Throughout the nearly four
Olavian generations that he
supervised, Tom inspired
many of our top mathematicians to study the subject
at degree level and way beyond. He also demonstrated
his passion for the subject in his love of mathematical
literature, running of extension classes for the STEP
examinations and inaugurating the mathematical lecture
series. However, his interest in matters academic and
cultural extended much further than the Mathematics
department. Tom is a true polyglot and his love of
languages including Arabic, Japanese and many more
inspired him to be instrumental in the setting up of many
languages clubs run by native speakers within the school
community. Tom is also a culture vulture who for many
years was a member of the steering committee for the
highly successful annual Cultural Evenings. In addition,
Tom has been a highly effective sixth form tutor and will
be remembered fondly by pupils and colleagues alike
for his sharp wit. An example of this when he asked a
student what studying and speaking Japanese was like,
the student said, I like it because no one can understand
what you are saying. Quick as a flash, Tom replied,
I know the feeling well. In short, Tom is the type of
larger-than-life character without whom St Olaves
would have been a far less colourful community and we
wish him all the best for a long plus happy retirement.

we wish him every success as he takes up a teaching post

in Beijing.

Andrew Gyford
Andrew has been a much-valued
member of the Mathematics
department for the past three years.
He joined as a Newly Qualified
Teacher with an obvious passion
for communicating the subject
in creative, engaging ways. He was always organised
and quietly cheerful. One of his final achievements in
the department was to lead a Year 9 team to victory
in the inaugural SiMPLEX mathematical modelling
competition. Andrew gave of himself to many other areas
of school life including sport, the Duke of Edinburgh
Award, Chapel Weekend and many trips as well as being
an approachable form tutor. He will be sorely missed and

Hanna has a particular talent to enthuse students about

German language, culture and history. This is obvious
through the many trips she has run with virtually all
year groups. Over the years, her trips and exchanges to
Aachen, Berlin, Heidelberg, Starnberg and Vienna have
become legendary, she will give up holidays and sleep to
make them happen.
Hanna is loyal and supportive to colleagues, never saying no to joining a trip or actively helping to set up a
club to enrich students experience. The best examples of
this being:
The number of times she went on the battlefields trip,
even after she was left in Maidstone
The chess club, which she not only kept alive but led to
success

16 Olavian 2014

Sarah Wallace
Dr Sarah Wallace left the
History department at the
end of 2014-15 having taught
at St. Olaves since 2006.
While the courses taught by
the department did not lend
themselves to her expertise
in Tudor History, Sarah was
particularly enthusiastic about
the Year 13 Development of Democracy course. Sarahs
time at the school saw a great deal of personal change
as she gave birth to Jane and Tom in recent years. Sarah
contributed a huge amount to the History department,
leading EA trips and working to develop and publish the
History Society magazine with a characteristic efficiency
and lack fuss. She will be sorely missed as she leaves to
teach at Sydenham High.
Hanna Cooley
During the 22 years Hanna
has worked at St Olaves,
she has been nothing but
dedicated to the students.The
last few years of her career
have been enough time for
me to appreciate how hard
working, determined and
full of energy she is. Always
amongst the first members
of staff to arrive in school,
and very often in even when
she would have free periods.

Valete - July 2014

The languages clubs, and trust me it would take far too
long to list them all or the incredible effort put into
organising Cultural Evening.

Generous and kind hearted, Hanna has also been a

committed form tutor and still meets ex-tutees regularly.
She has worked hard to get some of them through
difficult times and through to university.
Finally, the publication of Max and Moritz is
undoubtedly one of Hannas greatest successes and an
incredible reward for her dedication.
Denise Storrs-Fox
It has been a great pleasure
to work alongside Denise
for a good number of years.
She has given advice and
support at all times and by
her immense hard work
and tenacity has been an
exemplar of excellence.
Within the faculty and
in the wider spectrum of
the staffroom she has shown herself to be a wonderful
listener whose care and kindness have been underpinned
by a strong and invaluable Christian faith.
It is in great part that her resolve and endeavour have
raised standards in French at KS4 with the running of
support sessions, the developing of engaging teaching
resources and the establishment of the French residential
trip in Normandy. Her passion for teaching has been
always wholly visible. Both her talent and her creativity
make language teaching fun and engaging. She will be
greatly missed by the Faculty and the school as a whole.
Philip Holton
Philip steered the schools
faculty
of
Design
and
Technology for three years
whilst also maintaining a keen
interest in the senior soccer
team. Under his gubernatorial
skills the school maintained its
strong tradition of excellence in
this subject. There was always
a rising sound of earnestly
employed equipment emanating from his rooms
juxtaposed by the fervent application of his students
to all aspects of design taking in the functionality, the
aesthetic and the materials of their intended outcome.

Under his auspices there too arose an enormous interest

in creating robots which boys of various ages enjoyed
considerably. It is no surprise that Philip has now moved
to new heights. The faculty and the school as a whole
wish him well.
Sarah Latcham
Sarah Latcham from the
Classics Department has
joined the staff at Shrewsbury
School in Shropshire. Sarah
was an outsatnding member
of the Classics Department.
Having joined as a NQT she
showed that she could excel
in all aspects of the syllabus
in the teaching of Latin,
Greek and Classical Civilisation. At no time daunted by
anything she was a superb form teacher whose brillliant
pastoral care was driven by a strong unshakeabale
Christian faith. In this respect it is no surprise that she
participated in the Christain fellowship weekends. She
greatly enjoyed DoE and spent several weekends on
some of the more advanced trips. She was also a very
fine cricketer having captained her university side. She
was a boon to the sports faculty with her willlingness
to coach and umpire cricket. An exemplary teacher with
the most lovely attitude to life she will be greatly missed
by the staff and the head of department.
Jonathan Geoghegan
Jonathan started his teaching
career as a PGCE student and
to everyones benefit stayed
on at the school as a full-time
member of staff. This utterly
delightful Northern Irishman
was wholly involved in all
aspects of the department be
it rehearsing or conducting.
He played a huge part in all
the superlative school concerts
and was deeply liked by all members of the staff. As a
classroom practitioner he was superlative, beautifully
dressed and able to converse too in French. He was never
a man to shy away from commitments to all aspects of
school life and was a very valued member of many trips
both overseas and in this country. He leaves us now
to join the music department as Assistant Director of
Music at Latymer Upper where we wish him the very
best and look forward to hearing news of his success.
Olavian 2014 17

Salvete - September 2014

Teacher of Science
(Physics)
Mr Mark Acheson, who
joins us as an NQT, was
educated at Rathmore
Grammar
School
in
Belfast and went on to the
University of Manchester
where he gained a Degree
in Physics. Mark undertook
a PGCE at Kings College, London. Mark enjoys
hiking and is keen to become involved with the Duke
of Edinburgh Scheme. He is also a technology and
computing enthusiast and would be interested in setting
up extra-curricular activities for this subject.
Teacher of Classics
Mr Alexander Carroll also
joins us as an NQT. Alexander
was educated at Kings
College School, Wimbledon
and went on to Cambridge
University where he gained
a BA in Classics. He then
went on to the University of
London, Courtauld Institute,
where he studied for an MA
in the History of Art. Alexander undertook a PGCE at
Cambridge University. In June 2012 he attended a course
in Budapest where he gained a Cambridge Certificate
in English Language Teaching to Adults. Alexander is
a keen musician. He enjoys listening to, playing and
teaching in brass bands and currently plays Eb Tuba with
Cambridge Section and District Band. He also enjoys
Public Speaking. He holds both Silver and Gold Duke
of Edinburghs Awards and likes to travel.
Teacher of MFL
(German)
Miss Laura Cooper, who has
been appointed under the
e-Qualitas Training Scheme,
attended City of London
School for Girls and the Anglo
European
School,
before
studying German at Oxford
University from where she has
just completed her finals with a First Class Honours.
Fluent in German, Laura also speaks French and
18 Olavian 2014

Spanish. She is an accomplished musician, playing the

Piano, Saxophone and Classical Guitar.
Teacher of English
Miss Philippa Doorbar joins
us as an NQT. Philippa was
educated at Cotham School
Bristol and went on to the
University of Warwick where
she gained a Degree in English
Literature. She then went on
to gain an MA from the School
of Oriental and African Studies
before completing a PGCE
at the University of Exeter. Philippa has a passion for
languages, literature and is a regular visitor to the
theatre. She is also an accomplished musician, playing
both the viola and cello. Philippa has been training for
the marathon and is keen to become involved with the
Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.
Teacher of Art
Miss Deborah Farr, also an
NQT, was educated at Sutton
High School and went on to
Wimbledon College of Art
and the Slade School of Fine
Art, UCL, where she graduated
with a Degree in Fine Art.
Deborah then undertook a
PGCE in Art and Design
Education at the Institute
of Education. Deborah has
advanced IT Skills, regularly exhibits her own art and
design work, makes short films and photographs live
music events for an online magazine. Deborah was
awarded a Gold Medal for her LAMDA Acting Grade
8 and has achieved Grade 4 on the Drum Kit. She also
holds the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.
Teacher of History
Mr David Gonsalves was
educated at East Barnett
School
and
Woodhouse
College. He then went on
to the University of Sussex
where he gained a BA in
History, followed by an MA in
Social and Political Thought.

David undertook a GTP Training Place in History at

Canterbury Christ Church University. He was Deputy
Head of Sixth Form and Teacher of History and
Sociology at Dover Grammar School for Boys. David is
a keen musician achieving Grade 6 Classical Piano and
Grade 4 Musical Theory. He is a dedicated sportsman
who enjoys golf, cricket, tennis, squash and running; he
also holds the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award and
the Community Sports Leaders Award.
Teacher of Design
Technology
Miss
Samantha
Lands
completed her Btec Diploma
in Art and Design at
Camberwell College of Art
and Design before going on
to Ravensbourne College of
Design and Communication
where she gained a BA in
Visual Communication Design. Samantha completed
her PGCE at Goldsmiths University. For the past 4
years Samantha has been a teacher of Design Technology
and Head of Learning at Crown Woods College. She
was also a mentor for trainee teachers within the DT
Department and a member of the working party for
Design Ventura at the Design Museum. Samantha has
built up links with designers in industry and universities;
she has also organised several educational trips in the
UK and Berlin.

experience of running an ICT Young Leaders Club and

working with G&T students. Mrs Sauls daughter Kezia
was a Sixth Form student at St Olaves Grammar School
and has just gained a place to study Medicine.
Teacher of Biology
Dr Ateesh Sidhu has just
completed his School Direct
Programme Training Place at
St Olaves Grammar School.
He was educated at Blue Coats
CE School and went on to
University College London
where he graduated with a
Degree in Molecular Biology.
He continued his studies at the University of Exeter
where he gained an MSc in Bioinformatics and the
University of Warwick where he gained a PhD in
Structural Biology. Ateesh speaks fluent Punjabi and
some Hindi and has a keen interest in sport.
LSEF

Mr David Thomas who has given many years of

service to the school joins us again to support the
PLASMA-T outreach work in Robotics and Computing.

Teacher of Mathematics
Mr Ryan Palmer was educated
in Jamaica where he gained a
BA in Economics and an MSc
in Economics; he continued
his studies in Florida and went
on to gain an MSc in both
Mathematical Sciences and
Financial Mathematics. Ryan
was a Teacher of Mathematics
at St Edwards School in Oxford. He is an avid reader
and has written a book on the laws of self-regulated
learning and improving academic attainment; he is also
a keen Chess player.
Teacher of Computing
and PLASMA-T
Outreach Training
Mrs Sujatha Saul was educated
in India and has an MSc in
Computer Sciences. Sujatha
was a Teacher of ICT at
The
Ockendon
Academy
and was responsible for KS3
Computing.
She also has
Olavian 2014 19

Students Work

National Competitions

Students Work

This years creative work section reaches out to various different subjects within the school,
showing individual/group excellence within them. It is our hope that all readers will find
something to interest them within this section containing illustrations from the Art exhibition
and works from English, Geography and Economics. It is, unfortunately, as ever, impossible to
include works from every subject that submitted pieces, but, with the continued presence of the
new school journals, including the Olavian Academic Journal under the patronage of Mr Budds,
we remain sure that such articles will not be lost to people as a result of not being printed here.
Self-Similarish
By Fintan Calpin

A War Without End

By Mehmood Ali

Each of us has in a moment been

a love that sticks string-and-wax-fixed
wings on our own backs
in solar winds

On the battle fields hate and rage brews,

Savagery and anger surface inside.
We fight against others but one side must lose,
By the end thousands, millions will have died.
Pain never subsides when through trenches we crawl,
Mud and wounds feel like a stab to the heart.
Together we wait for that final call,
That says we have won and played our own part.
Until then we try to escape with broken bones,
Killing and murdering to try and gain peace.
Listening to those bombs and gunfire alone,
Hoping, wishing, wanting the war to cease.
But I must come to terms with the cold truth,
A war being fought by all our youth.

lived in hoar-frosted dream

rooms like urban foxes
curled round pale fires of phone screens
to keep cosy
or seen with superstitious eyes
a dead friends Facebook page
comforted by the remnants when we die
outliving our bodies or souls.
Each - in a moment of 6 days! - built
a house of worries, walls painted with woes
in fractals and the rest of the week
unbuilt it again.

walking to your house on Soundlessness Street

I listen for the rip of your seams,

for 18 years
sealed in an envelope,
unopened SMS rustling in your pocket
like leaves split in spilt arctic breeze.
I can touch four walls in here
while I am standing

still.

Divider: Adrian LaMourys painting

Above: Photography by William Ruiz
Olavian 2014 21

Compare the ways in which Owen

portrays the impact of war on soldiers in
Conscious and The Letter
Owen explores the impact of war on soldiers in two
different situations, which are in many ways similar. Both
are overwhelming situations for the personas, but their
environment and physical conditions are contrasting. In
both poems, Owen presents examples of the stoicism of
the soldiers fighting in the First World War within the
personas internal monologues.
Owen portrays the effect that war has on soldiers
minds in two different, yet somewhat similar, situations.
One soldier is conscious, alert to his surroundings and
interacting openly with others. The other is struggling
to regain consciousness and is completely locked in,
scarcely able to communicate with others and fighting
an intense internal battle. This second persona is isolated
in a hospital ward which feebly attempts to mimic a
homely environment, but in reality is suffocating. When
the persona wakes, his fingers flutter up the hospital
bed; this delicate motion alone seems out of place in
this context and a stark contrast to the ongoing war. He
frantically begins to take in his surroundings, incapable
of keeping on one train of thought for too long. It is
these non sequiturs that make up most of the first stanza,
and reflect the confusion and disorientation of war. In
the space of four lines, the persona moves from noticing
the sound of the drawling blind-cord, to commenting
on what a smooth floor the ward has, to glancing at
the three flies creeping round the shiny jug. This is
the impact the war has had on this man he is still the
observant, attentive soldier he once was, but he is now
rather weak and feeble. The fact that he notices how the
blind-cord drawls across the window-sill shows how
isolated he is this near-inaudible sound is all he has
to focus on. The drawling sound is also quite slow and
subdued, which lends to the clouded, almost unconscious
feel of the poem. The odd notion of the soldier noticing
what a smooth floor the ward has shows what war has
done to his mind as well. The smooth, clean floor of the
hospital so contrasts the boggy, muddy and often corpsestrewn trench floor, that the soldier seems entertained
by such a minor detail. The theme of disjointed ideas is
also present in The Letter. When the bomb hits the
trench, the personas world is thrown into chaos, which is
emphasised by the disjointed nature of the lines, broken
up with punctuation: Guh! Christ! Im hit. Take old.
Aye, bad. The soldier tries to run through the drill that
he has practised so many times, getting his fellow soldiers
to gives a hand with pack on, not realising that he has
been hit. This further accentuates the disorientation of
war.

22 Olavian 2014

The fragmented structure of the lines near the end of

The Letter reflects the separation of war something
the soldier is experiencing first hand, being separated
from his wife. The fact that he tells his wife his mother
might spare [her] half a sov shows that the image of
well-looked-after families back home during the war
is completely false. The separation in Conscious is
expressed through the personas complete isolation. His
only attempt at interaction with the hospital staff is shot
down with a strict, matronly Yes, all right, all right.
This once again shows how the field hospitals were wellordered, but suffocating. Order is very much imposed on
these men. At the beginning of the second stanza, it is
said that sudden evening blurs and fogs the air. The
fog in the evening air represents the soldiers clouded
mind and the sudden aspect of this line emphasises
how quickly the mans health begins to deteriorate as he
slowly falls unconscious once more. As the soldier slips
back out of consciousness, perhaps dying in the hospital
bed where he lies, he struggles to hold on to the only
human contact he can, but there is no light to see the
voices by. This line highlights the personas confusion
and disorientation, as voices are not things that can be
seen. In such a confusing situation, it is odd that the
alternate rhyming pattern throughout the poem is so
regular the structure and order are never broken. This
reflects the order which is imposed on the men and their
constraints and restrictions as soldiers; they are forced to
follow a pattern.
Owen accentuates in both poems the stoicism of the
soldiers at war, but emphasises that this is just a front,
and the soldiers are bearing their hardships internally.
In Conscious the persona opens his eyes after a period
of unconsciousness with a pull of will, Helped by the
yellow mayflowers by his head. The may-flowers and
their colour symbolise the optimism that still lingers
somewhere within the personas mind, and the pull of
will with which he opens his eyes once again shows
the stoic nature of the soldiers, and their unwillingness
to give up. However, we discover that the normality
in the hospital does little to restrain the images of the
battlefield that permeate the personas thoughts. Music
and roses burst through crimson slaughter suggests
that the normality within the hospital only occasionally
infiltrates through the tormenting flashbacks the persona
is experiencing. The harsh plosive sound of burst along
with the emotive slaughter reinforces the traumatising
effect the war has had on the soldier. The vivid image
of crimson slaughter makes this even more tangible
to the reader. The tolerance of the men is also reflected
in the language the persona uses in The Letter. The
soldier clearly puts on a brave face when writing home
to his wife, choosing not to complain about the poor
conditions or his injury, instead convincing her that he
is out of harms way in a nice, hospitable environment.
The euphemistic approach he takes when writing home,

the charming manner and colloquial language (squareeaded Uns), is contrasting to his reality, in which he
is half starving and by no means out of danger. Not
only is the soldier limited as to what he can tell his wife
by censorship laws, he also takes matters into his own
hands, including a certain amount of self-censorship
in his letter. Owen makes this no clearer than when
the persona writes Were out in rest now. Never fear,
which is immediately followed by the sound of a bomb
dropping not far from where the persona is situated.
The comforting reassurance the soldier offers his wife
is starkly juxtaposed with the onomatopoeic VRACH!
sound of the bomb hitting. The harsh interruption of
VRACH! in the poem, the capitals and the nature of
the word, reflects the unexpected explosion of the bomb
in the trench.
The structures of the poems are vastly different, and are
designed to portray the impact of war in two differing
situations. In Conscious, the second stanza marks a
change in the poem the situation is suddenly different.
The sudden evening represents the darkness in the
personas vision as he loses consciousness and shows how
his perception is being distorted. The Letter on the other
hand, was written as one large stanza, which represents
the rushed, dynamic situation the man is in. Owen could
have written the letter to the soldiers wife as one stanza,
and another stanza at the front line, but the concurrent

narrative is more realistic in representing the confusion

that war brings. The structure of The Letter lends an
empathetic opportunity for the reader in this regard
they too are confused at first, by the brackets and the two
simultaneous narratives.
The main impacts of war that Owen hopes to portray in
Conscious and The Letter are confusion, disorientation
and separation. He conveys these ideas in different ways
in the two poems, but the same resounding message can
be seen in both: the men are ultimately constrained by
the expectations of the soldier, and both end up losing
their grasp on reality.

Photography by Chirs Page

Artwork by Adenekan Lipede

Olavian 2014 23

Close Analysis of Little Things

Raymond Carvers Little Things is a short story focusing
on the breakdown of a relationship, incorporating
the themes of miscommunication, possession and
destruction. A motif of light changing to dark also runs
through the story, reflecting its dark and deteriorating
narrative. With the addition of Carvers trademark
minimalist style, dictating the action through dialogue
and only using sparse description, Little Things is a
gripping and disturbing piece to read, with no distractions
from its blunt and hard hitting storyline.
The light motif is present throughout, used primarily
to represent the couples failing relationship, as well as
the oncoming darkness that is about to consume their
household and family life. The idea of it becoming dark
on the inside foreshadows a rising tension and darkening
tone, and in a literal sense is very visually suited to the
kind of gritty domestic drama being played out, creating
a claustrophobic atmosphere that closes in around the
action. The couple no longer have any hope, or light,
in their relationship, and have instead become isolated
in their own, darkening relationship. This gathering
darkness and tension can also be seen in the snow...
melting into dirty water outside, another environmental
representation of the failing relationship. What was once
pure and special has now dissolved into a commonplace
substance that nobody wants but physical traces of
what once was still exist, similar to the babys existence as
evidence of the couples past love for each other, however
brief and broken.
A lack of communication is a recurring theme in many
of Carvers works like One More Thing in which the
family can only shout or speak in secluded groups. This
theme is included in Little Things, where the action in
the scene is mainly told through the dialogue, devoid of
speech marks, making the piece seem almost closer to a
play dialogue driven, and often without authorial voice
- consequently leaving large sections of the story open
to interpretation, for example: Let go of him he said.
Get away, get away! she cried In this case the extended
use of dialogue almost provokes misunderstanding from
the reader, leaving the sequence of events and emotions
half-unexplained. As the action is muddled and
uncertain anyway, the lack of clear description enhances
the sense that domestic dramas -especially one as dark
and entangled as this - are confusing and unsure, with
no one person taking the blame. The sparse speech gives
the dialogue importance and physicality, and makes
each statement seem more weighted, like an action or
description of one, with even simple statements such as
Get out of here! having stronger force. This is further
accentuated by the space on the page, with line breaks
frequent to space out both the dialogue and action. The
24 Olavian 2014

distance between the characters is mirrored in the space

between their interactions on the page, evoking a sense
of separation between them physically, and accentuating
the idea of mental barrier.
Objects also make a frequent appearance in Carvers
short stories, often to symbolise a relationship or theme
within the piece a good example in Little Things being
the babys picture on the bed which begins the entire
argument. The use of this photograph initiates questions
about the history of the couple, and influences our view
on the upcoming events. The woman is seen to have
aggravated the man into action, as her desperation at
the situation has driven her to provoke him she noticed
the babys picture on the bed and picked it up. Yet this
by no means prevents sympathy also being invoked on
her part in fact she can easily be interpreted as the
more loving character, being more family orientated and
thinking about the child first, she uncovered the blanket
from around his head, demonstrating concern about his
welfare over the fear induced by her husband, as well as
shifting focus towards the baby who is now no longer
seen as only an object. The new character of the baby
adds another layer of tension to the story, as the child has
changed from being a stationary image in the picture to
a vulnerable character; twined with the darkening light
motif the tension is raised even further.
Carver represents the breakdown of a relationship in
One More Thing, another short story centring around
the breakdown in a couples relationship and the effects
on their child; it is easy to draw parallels between One
More Things jar of pickles being pitched through the
kitchen window and when in Little Things, a flowerpot
that hung behind the stove is knocked down. In both
stories, the destruction signals the shattering of any
remaining hope in the household, and any normality
that came with it. It is also to some extent a catalyst
for later events, a final act of violence and disregard for
safety sending the relationship crashing over the edge.
In Little Things, after the flowerpot is broken far more
obviously violent words like tightened and screaming
are used, to foreshadow the oncoming wave of violence
and the rising tension in the scene.
The terse sentences with next to no punctuation create
a faster narrative pace to engage with, and it is this
quickened pace that suggests a rising climax to the
scene. The woman, after initially provoking the man into
action, having picked up the babys picture and then
stared at him before leaving, becomes more flustered
in her dialogue; she cried out, exclaiming For Gods
sake! Her actions, once bold and daring have now been
undone by the fear and tension evoked by the quickening
narrative, these feeling will be emulated by the reader,
as the story seems to be reaching a climax. The mans
tone remains monosyllabic and unflinching throughout;

his dialogue is brief and determined, I want the baby.

and, Let go of him. the persistent nature of the speech
creates a dangerous tone, and the narrative seems more
climactic and terse.
The climax in question happens when all the created
tension is suddenly and sharply undone and the man
[pulls] back very hard on his own baby. The final line
of the issue being decided seems almost inappropriate
given the horrible image that preceded it the reader is
left with no idea of who won the argument, what even
happened to the baby, all serving to create an ending of
anti-climactic horror and ambiguity. The tragedy of the
preceding events is almost accentuated by their not even
leading to a tangible conclusion.
In brief, Little Things is made to be an effective short
story through its tightly packed content and literary
technique, the themes are represented well, and the
surrounding motifs and style of writing help support
them in their success.

Above: Photography by Chris Page

Below: Painting by Adrian LaMoury

Olavian 2014 25

Was the Emperor Augustus a Keynesian?

It is astonishing what foolish things one can temporarily
believe if one thinks too long alone, particularly in
economics. John Maynard Keynes
He could boast that he inherited it brick and left it marble.
- Suetonius
1,819 years mark the time between the death of
Imperator Caesar Divi Augustus the first true Emperor
of Rome - and the birth of John Maynard Keynes the
single most influential economist of the 20th Century.
Those centuries saw the fall of the Ancient world, the
rise of the old world and the meteoric ascension of the
new. Some would argue that any mutual examination of
these two men is rendered null and void by the epochs
that yawn cavernously between them. However, I would
argue that the chronological distance between these
two men lends itself to a sense of detachment when
comparing their ideas, actions and words; allowing for a
purer distillation of their beliefs unsullied by the smears
of their contemporaries.
Before we ask if Augustus himself was a Keynesian;
and define what we mean by Keynesian economics
we must first establish whether the Roman economy
was sufficiently developed such that we can apply
20th Century models and theories to its functions
and politics. For the sake of ease, I intend to examine
the economy of Rome through the lens of Polanyis
three part definition reciprocity, redistribution and
exchange. These definitions identify three separate
solutions to the economic problem a feudal system
of social obligation, a centrist system of redistribution
and a free market system of exchange. It is evident that a
ruler in an economy confined to any single one of these
systems could not be described as a Keynesian; as the
interaction between market forces and state intervention
is a fundamental aspect of Keynesian economics. Whilst
some would argue that Rome only really fulfils one of
these criteria, Id argue that the Roman economy was
a sufficient enough blend of all three, such that it was
developed enough to be labelled with a term from a
patently more advanced economy and economist.
The Roman Economy
The often overlooked fact about the Roman economy is
its immense size and complexity. In his dissection of the
Roman economy, Goldsmith estimates the population of
the empire in 14 AD to have been roughly 55 million
whilst other studies range around this figure, as high as
100 million, Goldsmiths estimates remain somewhere
in the middle ground of more extreme estimates.
These 55 million people living under the cosh of Rome
were involved in a huge range of economic activities
industrial, agricultural and manufacturing with extensive
evidence of mechanisation through primarily hydraulic
means. For example water sluicing in Iberian mines
26 Olavian 2014

allowed the Roman economy to produce a raw tonnage

of ore unmatched until the industrial revolution.
In demographic
terms, approximately 5% of the
Roman population were enslaved a major component
of the spoils of war which drove growth massively from
200BC onwards. A very striking aspect of demography
of the early empire was the enormous wealth inequality
contributed to by the omnipresence of slavery. This had
an immense impact on the plebeian lower classes, who
rarely owned land; whereas senators estates manned
primarily by slaves rather than tenant farmers, sprawled
for hundreds of acres across the Italian countryside.
These immensely wealthy senators represented a cadre
of society that paid at private expense for the majority
of public buildings in the late republic, and arguably
formed the basis for the Keynesian actions of Augustus
in the early Empire.

Fig. i. Gini coefficient graph of the late Republic

On the surface, the Roman economy may appear to fit

more in the model of social reciprocity than any other; the
oligarchs of the senate, in a system technically democratic
in nature but closer to feudal fealty in reality, funded
and supported myriad projects for the betterment of the
Roman people. Triumphant generals would regularly
fund the maintenance of infrastructure such as roads
from their personal wealth, under the direction of the
senate thus increasing aggregate demand in the
Roman economy. Furthermore, the annona, or grain dole
for Roman citizens provided 84,000 tonnes of corn for
200,000 people per annum in the city this massive state
led injection into the circular flow of income is plentiful
evidence for the centralised manipulation of aggregate
demand in the late Roman republic. These acts evidently
show an economic model with both redistribution and
reciprocity; to the extent that a central authority either
the senate or an autocratic Principate, would have enough
established authority to actively manipulate the level of
aggregate demand within the economy; thus conforming
to a Keynesian model of economic control.
However, for reasons that will be discussed imminently,
a purely reciprocal and redistributive economic model
would not fulfil the criteria required for the Keynesian

model. Therefore, in order to label Augustus a Keynesian,

we must establish the presence of market forces in the
Ancient Roman World and prove that the Mediterranean
market for goods and services was sufficiently developed
for interplay between state manipulation of demand and
natural commercial activity an uneven dominance of
one over the other would prohibit us from describing
Augustus policies as Keynesian. There is a wealth
of evidence for private enterprise and private sector
transactions which show the genuine presence of a
developed economy in the ancient world. Firstly the
shipping trade was dominated by private firms competing
and fulfilling sophisticated contracts including insurance
frameworks, letters of credit and a quality assurance
scheme for transported grain. Furthermore, large firms
concentrated in specific provinces of the empire were
able to cut administrative costs through mass production
of goods such as the large number of metallurgy
workshops concentrated in Iberia. The fact that these
economic transactions took place outside of the auspices
of centralised governmental control clearly shows that
there was a genuine free market economy in the Ancient
Mediterranean fulfilling Polanyis three separate
economic descriptors and thus allowing us to view the
actions of Augustus as the political ruler of a developed
economy, who can feasibly be described as a Keynesian.
Keynesian Economics
In order to truly understand whether Augustus was
a Keynesian, we need to understand what is meant by
Keynesian economics. Keynes set out the core of his
economic beliefs in his magnum opus The General
Theory of Employment, Interest and Money; they can
be summarised thusly:
Demand is the most crucial aspect of the economy;
demand not only determines output, but also plays the
primary role in the cycle of boom and bust.
Manipulation of aggregate demand by the state is a vital
tool in any developed economy; government spending is
the best response to take in the face of recession
A successful economy will have significant input from
both the private and public sectors breaking away from
the laissez faire consensus that triumphed throughout
the 19th Century.
Given the constraint of Polanyis three stratified answers
to the economic problem, it is clear that Keynesian
economics relies on a mixed economy with a strong
exchange based private sector which drives investment
and a large proportion of ordinary transactions. However
in a Keynesian system, the State must also act in the
redistributive or reciprocal modes for the provision
of public goods in times of prosperity and the artificial
increase of Aggregate demand in response to recession in
order to drive the recovery. It is evident that the Roman

economy combines Polanyis three categories enough for

Keynesian fiscal policy to be employed in the Ancient
World.
As Keynes was primarily writing in the aftermath of
the Wall Street Crash and Great Depression, it is a fair
assertion that Keynes primarily believed in using public
spending to alleviate the damage of the boom and bust
cycle. This is far and away the most compelling similarity
between Keynes and Augustuss doctrines as the first
Emperor inherited a nation torn apart by more than fifty
years of warring, desolation and genocide. His response,
over a 41 year reign, was to spend enormous amounts
of his own wealth and public money thus restoring
the output of the economy to its previous high, through
expansionary fiscal policy; to this end Augustus was a
textbook Keynesian.
Bust and Boom
The Roman Civil Wars of 49 BC to 30 BC quinquimated
the population of Rome with twenty percent of the
adult male population dying in the conflicts. These
wars were particularly costly to Rome as since the fall
of both Carthage and Corinth in 146 BC, Rome was
the undisputed ruler of the Mediterranean. This meant
that casualties or damage on either side of the campaign
would both equally damage the strength and capacity of
Rome and its economy unsurprisingly, come Augustus
ascension in 27 BC, Rome was in a worse position than
it been since the sack of Italy at the hands of the Gauls in
390 BC. Augustus sought to repair the damage done by
the wars through an extensive program of spending and
infrastructure development; this action inadvertently
helped the recovery even further with government
spending feeding back into the wider economy thanks
to the multiplier effect, leading to a greater than
proportional increase in aggregate demand at a time when
political instability and conflict had left consumer and
business confidence in the future of Rome at an all time
low. Expansionary fiscal actions included the repair of
dilapidated roads across the empire, done at the expense
of the senate and the building of aqueducts with public
money. Augustus who offered the public coffers more
than 150,000,000 sesterces (0.75% of contemporaneous
GDP) personally claimed responsibility for the building
and repair of 82 temples across the Empire. The sheer
quantity of materials and labour this required would have
been of enormous benefit to firms operating around the
Mediterranean and thus represents a Keynesian injection
of public spending into the circular flow similar to the
building of Hoover dam or the Autobahn projects of
1930s America and Germany. Whilst Augustus himself
would have had no awareness of Keynesian theory,
aggregate demand or the multiplier effect, his actions
are pre eminently Keynesian in nature he sought to
actively repair and replenish the economy through lavish
public spending; simultaneously winning popularity and
founding a dynasty that would last for centuries- passing
Olavian 2014 27

its name on to the royal families of Germany and Russia

centuries later. Furthermore, the Keynesian approach
genuinely worked the period following his rule saw
peace, prosperity and a HDI figure unparalleled until the
1700s.
However, it could be argued that Augustus was not
genuinely a Keynesian. The primary argument in favour
of this is that Augustus didnt take any public debt during
his rule in traditional Keynesian theory the shortfall
from spending and tax cuts is recouped through debt;
however due to the huge amounts of money flooding
into Rome from the provinces, there was no such
shortfall. Similarly, the growth experienced throughout
this period was due to an influx of wealth from newly
conquered provinces such as Egypt. The injection of
this income was inevitable as the Romans expand their
borders and due to the hierarchical Roman system, this
wealth went straight into the hands of the ruling elite
the senatorial oligarchy. While its a nuanced distinction
to draw, it is clear that there is a difference between
Keynesian public spending and the socially obligated
actions of the money grabbing patricians. However this
argument is null and void as regardless of the mechanism
or intention of the spending, Augustuss actions still had
a prominently Keynesian bent and effect. A much more
compelling argument against Augustuss position as a
Keynesian is his lack of alternatives whilst there was
a prominent private banking sector in Ancient Rome,
the principate and senate had no authority to regulate
these bankers beyond a legal maximum lending rate.
This was never utilised and remained at 12% for the
entirety of Augustus reign therefore Augustus was not
a Keynesian by choice but by necessity as monetarism
was entirely outside of his options as Emperor.
Overall, the actions of Augustus were genuinely
Keynesian in nature; but more than that they were
highly successful in transforming the Empire from a
war ravaged ailing state into an unparalleled superpower.
The Julio-Claudian dynasty and its successors ruled the
Mediterranean unequivocally into the 3rd Century AD
this strength was thanks to the enormous successes of
Augustus in founding a prosperous Empire on the back
of proto-Keynesian economics.

28 Olavian 2014

Artwork by Oscar Ridout

A small sample of Dominic Jelfs work

Olavian 2014 29

Why is engineering the key to a strong

economic future in the UK?
Engineering is the application of scientific and
mathematical principles to real world challenges.
While the necessity and importance of engineering has
rocketed in the UK in recent years, with the development
of new technologies and the widespread demand for a
greater quality of life, the engineering sector has largely
stagnated with the economy shifting increasingly
towards services, as Figure 1 shows. While in 1970,
the engineering sector accounted for 32% of the UKs
GDP, double the contribution of 16% from services,
services now contribute three times more to GDP than
engineering (ONS Blue Book, 2009).
This clear and continuing trend is, for the reasons detailed
below, a cause for great concern for the UK government.
Engineering is a sector where the UK has the potential to
surge ahead of the competition and, particularly as new
technologies emerge and new engineering opportunities
arise, it will indeed be the key to a strong economic
future in the UK. It would be greatly beneficial for the
UK to embark upon a programme of supply-side policies
in order to inspire and equip young people to lead the
industry into the next generation.
A first reason why engineering is so vital to the future
of the UK is that the government must strive to achieve
balanced economic growth. Aggregate demand in
the UK is, at the moment, heavily biased towards and
dependent upon consumption. Such dependency, with
investment and exports lagging, makes the UK economy
fragile and vulnerable. A shock to consumption, which
could be caused for instance by a rise in interest rates
incentivising saving and increasing the cost of borrowing,
could cause economic collapse and disaster for the
UK, with no other components of AD to fall back on.
Consequently, it is imperative that the UK acts now to
stimulate investment and exports. The Director General
of the Confederation of British Industry John Cridland
endorses this view, arguing that the key to the UK
getting back on track is growth, founded on a rebalanced
economy geared much more towards manufacturing and
export. The latter is especially applicable to engineering.
The root cause of the UKs modest exports is the fact
that, as a nation, we do not manufacture nearly enough
consumer goods. With the regulation and costs which
come with production in the UK, it would be foolish to
suggest that the UK should dedicate its resources to the
manufacturing of low quality goods, as businesses would
find it impossible to compete with such economies as
China. However, the opportunity for the UK lies in the
engineering and development of higher quality goods,
which it can then export to the rest of the world. The UK
has the infrastructure, the capital and, if effective training
schemes are introduced, the human resources required to
truly lead the world in the manufacture of high quality
goods. While we cannot compete at the bottom end of
30 Olavian 2014

the market due to our high costs of production, we can

compete at the top end where emerging economies lack
the resources that the UK possesses. This is our niche
area where our exports can compete and it is imperative
that we exploit it so to avoid economic stagnation and
being overtaken by the BRIC countries. The challenge
therefore is how to seize this opportunity and produce
these high quality goods, which require research,
innovation and human skills, all of which come under
the category of engineering. UK gross investment in
Research and Development was modest at 1.8% in 2010
compared with 3.2% in the USA and 2.8% in Germany.
There are a lower percentage of firms deemed innovation
active in the UK than the entire developed world at just
36% (Statistics from Jobs and growth the importance
of engineering skills to the UK economy). However,
the turnover from this limited innovation is often the
best in Europe. This portrays perfectly the unfulfilled
potential which exists in the engineering sector. If the
government invests in engineering research, innovation
and skills, the UK can greatly strengthen its exports
and in doing so, rebalance what is currently a frail and
susceptible economy. However, it should be stressed that
such an approach would take years to implement it
is a long term solution. For instance, changes made to
school curriculums to develop more engineering skills
will take a generation to impact upon the economy.
The dependence on consumption in the UK economy
is an immediate threat and not one that can be left
unaddressed for such a period. Hence, it could be argued
that developing engineering is not the ideal solution to
the imbalance in the makeup of UK aggregate demand,
and that other measures with lesser time lags should be
pursued.
Another reason why engineering provides the key
to a strong economic future in the UK is the growth
and development of technology, which provides new
engineering opportunities. The services sector has served
the UK well in recent years as London particularly has
surged ahead of its foreign opponents in areas such as
finance, law and management consultancy. However,
emerging economies have begun to diversify and are now
beginning to compete in the international services sector.
Activity in Indias services sector grew at its fastest pace
in well over a year in June, as new business poured in,
according to Reuters which also refers to the broadening
of the Chinese economy into services. Consequently,
opportunities for services in the UK are declining as
business is leaked to emerging economies. However,
opportunities are ever increasing in the engineering
sector as new innovation provides potential new routes to
economic growth. An example of this is the biomedical
engineering sector which, through the development
of new technological capabilities, has emerged as an
area in which the UK can dominate the world market.
According to Design News Magazine, the biomedical
engineering sector is set to grow 62% by 2020. This is an

encouraging example for the UK and it is vital that the

use of new technology is extended to other, somewhat
stagnant, engineering sectors. Aerospace and chemical
engineering are both forecast to grow by less than 10%
by 2020 yet, if these industries can embrace innovation
and apply it to their fields; there is great potential for
them to move forward. In this way, the application of
new technology in engineering is an exciting chance for
the UK to dominate an international market, diversify
its economy and bring sustained economic growth.
It is thus imperative that steps are taken so that the
engineering skills and infrastructure are in place to apply
and use technology in the sector. However, developing
technology in engineering is a risky sector for the
government to invest in. While the UK may be able to
develop new products, it is relatively easy for these to be
copied my other countries businesses. In such cases, the
UK pays the cost of research and development, but other
economies reap much of the reward. A similar example
on a national scale was when Samsung allegedly copied
Apples iPhones in the way in which they designed their
Galaxy smartphones. As such, while the UK may be able
to develop innovative products, they may not be the sole
benefactors from them and so developing technology in
engineering may not be such an economically attractive
prospect.
A final reason why engineering is integral to a strong
economic future in the UK is the positive impact that
engineering can have on so many sectors of the economy.
Investment in engineering creates a positive multiplier
effect as the skills acquired by trained engineers and the
goods they produce can be utilised all over the economy.
Figure 2 below shows how, while many thousands
of workers in Science, Engineering and Technology
are employed in the manufacturing and construction
sectors, over 800,000 work in either Business Services or
Computing. Engineering qualifications are numerically
challenging and give students a wide range of
transferrable skills which are greatly valued by employers
in various sectors across the UK. This is demonstrated
by the fact that engineering graduates are the second
highest earners, according to a recent Telegraph study.
In a similar way to engineering skills, new products
developed by engineers can also bring greater efficiency
and greater profit to businesses in other sectors, and
greater growth overall in the economy. For instance,
the mechanisation of a factory by an engineering firm
may increase the efficiency of a retailers production line,
cut costs and increase profit. In such a way, engineered
products can have a beneficial effect on almost every
industry in the UK. More investment is thus required in
inspiring and educating engineers, which would create
growth not only in manufacturing, but also across the
economy as a whole. This multiplier effect is yet another
reason why engineering is so important to the UKs
economic future. However, the impact of innovative

engineering can occasionally have negative impacts on

the economy. Returning to the factory example above,
mechanisation may improve efficiency, cut costs and
improve profit margins, but it will likely put many
people out of jobs, meaning the income and purchasing
power of the population falls. In this way and others,
engineering in other sectors can sometimes lead to
economic problems as well as benefits.
To conclude, engineering provides an opportunity for
the UK to dominate a world market and rebalance
its economy, while also taking advantage of new
technological innovation. The engineering sector has
somewhat stagnated over the past 40 years as the UK
economy has become increasingly geared towards
services. Now is the time for the government to
intervene and reverse this trend. The engineering of high
quality products provides an ideal chance for the UK to
boost its struggling exports and address the reliance of
aggregate demand on consumption, an immediate threat
to the economic recovery. While competition in services
will intensify greatly in the coming years with the
diversification of emerging economies, the UK has the
infrastructure and potential to set itself apart from the
world market in engineering. It would thus be advisable
for the UK government to increase its investment in
supply-side policies to establish a more prominent
engineering sector with more skilled workers, to lead the
UK into a strong economic future.

Drawing & Sculpture by Luke Reveley

Olavian 2014 31

Top: Artwork by Louis Newby

Lower: Photography by Luke ODonovan
32 Olavian 2014

Left: Photography by Celeste Brant

Above: Artwork by Louis Newby
Below: Photography by Luke ODonovan

Olavian 2014 33

Left: Artwork
by Tom Willis
Collage by
Jordan Butt
Below:
Watercolour
by Will
French

34 Olavian 2014

Above: Artwork by James Laing

Below: Sculpture & Photography by Iwan Haines
Bottom: Photography by William French

Olavian 2014 35

Prize Day

National Competitions

Prize Day

Prize Day Speech by the Headmaster

hairman, Professor Sir Colin Berry, The Worshipful
the Mayor of Bromley, Cllr Julian Bennington,
Lady Mayoress, proud parents, students, colleagues; it
is a pleasure to welcome you to this celebration of the
achievements of our senior students as we reflect on the
world of education and another excellent year.

And this begs the question Post Ofsted, where next?

So I want to break with tradition a little and leave my
colleagues to describe the array of cultural, individual and
team successes throughout the last 12 months. I would
like to briefly consider the wider educational context and
share a few thoughts with you about my vision for the
future.

Two students were arguing when a Headmaster

unexpectedly entered the class-room. HM: What are
you boys arguing about? Boy: We found a 10 note and
decided that whoever tells the biggest lie should keep it.
You ought to be ashamed of yourselves said HM at a
school with such strong values as this. When I was your
age I didnt even know what a lie was. The boys gave the
10 note to HM.

The landscape ahead is already dominated by two external

factors over which we have little control: curriculum/
examination changes and further funding reductions. We
shall almost certainly have to add to these following the
general election. However, it is important that we have
a positive vision for what else the future holds, within
the context of the 21st century and a rapidly changing
world.

I am pleased to say that our students not only have

such wit and creativity but do indeed have a sense of
true values. Tonights prize-winners also know how
to use their intelligence to delve into areas of personal
interest and pursue our aspiration for true scholarship.
In so doing, they build on the heritage of this prestigious
Grammar school, embarking on life with optimism for
the future in a new and changing world.

The former Secretary of State for Education, although

not universally popular for his style, introduced some long
overdue changes to public examinations and associated
curricula, in order to bring standards up to those of the
most advanced nations. Teachers have already begun the
process of restructuring schemes of work and preparing
for a completely new grading system. A return to the
days of 2-year linear courses, with terminal examinations,
has major implications for Sixth Form programmes, AS
levels, university applications and pressure on students.

Our Year 13 leavers again produced even more

remarkable A level results than last year, confirming St
Olaves position as the 2nd best state school with mixed
6th Form. 95% of grades were at A*/B; a record 53
students secured places for Oxbridge or Medicine; and
28 gained 3+A*s. Students, as well as staff and parents,
can look back with great pride on these achievements.
Year 12s produced the best ever AS results with 88%
A/B grades, a superb overall standard which augers well
for next year. GCSE results were no less impressive and
with a record 88% of grades at A*/A and 53% at A*. 25
students here this evening gained 9+A* grades; they will
be joined by 130 new 6th formers from other schools,
50 of whom also have 9+A*s. You will not be surprised
to hear that we have fairly high aspirations for the new
Y12.
Such results have clearly not gone unnoticed by
prospective parents with applications for Y7 places
rocketing to 1061 this year. It was not just the quality
of achievements but also that of teaching, behaviour and
leadership that were, not perhaps surprisingly, endorsed
by Ofsted as outstanding across the board when they
paid us a visit in March.

It will be important that we build on our care systems

for their well-being with effective motivation balanced
by reassurance and support. With the relentless growth
of electronic communications and internet influences,
many positive, but some with potential dangers, students
will need more guidance on the safe use of social media.
We shall need to ensure that our transition arrangements
are as supportive as possible, so that our youngest pupils
and those new to Y12 settle in quickly and feel secure.
Current pressures on Grammar School funding show
no sign of abating; 2014-15 will be the worst year
so far with further cuts of 130,000 in our annual
budget. Given that the first year post general election
is historically a lean year, it will be important that we
continue to exercise prudent financial management at
the same time as working with parents, grand-parents,
corporate sponsors, and the OO community to develop
new income streams. The good news is that, despite
the pressures, we have managed to operate successfully
over the last 3 years. Generous support from the Fdn
has helped towards the much needed development of
new Science accommodation, to be completed around
Olavian 2014 37

Christmas. It would be good to feel that, at some stage,

we could revisit the possibility of the all-weather pitch to
broaden the range of winter sports; and also to support
the Old Olavian 5s community as they progress their
project to build 4 new Fives courts and encourage other
state schools to become involved.
Like most selective schools, a review of our Entrance Test
arrangements will be a key priority as we struggle to cope
with the relentless increase in the number of applicants.
More importantly, I would like to find a way of enabling
StOGS to fulfil that original Grammar School ideal
of enabling greater social mobility for youngsters from
areas of social disadvantage. Children from such areas
often attend low performing primary schools and lack
positive educational influences and aspirations from
their families and communities. How to identify and
support such children is not just a substantial challenge,
but a duty from which we should not shirk.
High quality student journals, EPQs, play scripts &
musical compositions, are testament to the way in which
scholarship now leads the agenda at St Os. Student
societies and the new 3-year KS4 encourage research
into areas of personal interest, with inspiration provided
by scholarship fortnight, the Olavian Lecture Series and
teaching colleagues, many of whom have Doctorates or
backgrounds in interesting areas of research. The pursuit
of intellectual enrichment also contributes to the success
of students aiming for top university places. There is still
headroom to increase these through more work with
younger students, more forums like the STEP, Medical
and Economics electives, with a more orally discursive
culture to hone student interview skills and confidence.
An interesting change is taking place in the ethnic
demographic of the school with a steady increase in the
proportion of ethnic minorities. How should we respond
to this social change, gain from this blossoming cultural
diversity? It is increasingly important, as the world
shrinks, that our students understand global issues, other
communities, their values and aspirations. Life changing
experiences can be gained from the array of overseas
trips and exchanges about which you will hear from
my colleagues. Our new BC link with La Martiniere,
Kolkata, will see students working jointly on global
citizenship and sustainability. We hope to create a team
of ISAs to add to this portfolio countries with different
perspectives, perhaps in Africa or the Middle East.
Coming slightly nearer to home, Ofsted suggested that
we use the PLASMA-T project to spread best practice
amongst other schools. We shall do this by promulgating
the OTP, by providing training in computer programming
and robotics; and by sharing our expertise in Oxbridge
and Medical school preparation. We shall also seek to
nurture a more cohesive OO community and to build
38 Olavian 2014

on the impressive intellectual capital therein to prepare

students better for university and life beyond.
So what will this life, this 21st C, look like? It is important
that we, as educators, do not duck this slightly daunting
question, but rather share in the excitement of what lies
ahead to prepare and challenge our students as best we
can. If I might dare to hypothesise:
Biotechnology, or a synthesis of biochemistry and
mathematics, will be the Industrial Revolution of the
21st C, with profound implications for human health,
food, diversity, sustainability. As populations grow,
energy will become ever more important, particularly
sustainable sources related to the sun and nuclear fusion.
An explosion in robotics will permeate all aspects of life
and ultimately lead to the recreation of ourselves. We shall
need to understand, accommodate and influence climate
change before it is too late. Communications systems
will proliferate with transmitter-receiver implants that
grow connections into our CNS. We shall discover other
habitable planets and unlock more secrets of cosmology,
time, dark and anti-matter, inter-galactic space travel.
We must better understand the oceans and protect the
planets diversity as we replace the current bankrupt
banking ideology with ecological economics. Our social
consciences ought to prompt us to ensure that everyone
has nutritious, sustainable food and access to clean water
though, sadly, I suspect this will remain a lower priority
than ongoing arms races and politics of power. In
health, we shall quickly learn how to beat the superbugs,
whether by phage or new generation antibiotics; the
science of stem cells will generate instant ET-like organ
re-creation and remedies for debilitating conditions
such as dementia and paralysis; extending life-span will
become a trillion dollar industry. Perhaps, like Lucy, some
of our students might even learn how to use more than
10% of their brain capacity! And there will, of course, be
things we cannot even dream of yet.
The 21st then will be a century of unparalleled Science;
but science needs to be tempered with a concomitant
set of values. Splitting the atom was an act of profound
scientific brilliance and creativity; building the nuclear
bomb distorted this in an act of political and industrial
irresponsibility. I hope, Chairman, that our education
system at St Os will not only inspire our prize-winners
to unlock some of the mysteries of the 21st C, but also
equip them with the social awareness and values to
use their talents with discernment. If they can balance
their scholarship and enlightenment with wisdom and
compassion, then the glittering prizes awaiting them,
and human-kind, will be even bigger than those which
they thoroughly deserve here this evening.

Prize Day Speech by Director Sixth Form,

David Budds
hairman, Sir Colin, worshipful mayor, Ladies and
Gentlemen, as you have already heard it has been an
outstanding year academically for the Sixth Form with a
remarkably impressive set of results both at A2 and AS.
All of our students are bright; most of them shine and
some of them are positively incandescent. Whilst the
aggregates are indisputably superb, they are only the sum
of the incredible efforts of individual students. Tonight
we celebrate the personal endeavours, triumphs and sheer
hard work and determination on which those aggregates
are based, not to mention the incredible range of other
contributions which our remarkable Sixth Formers have
made to the school and the potent legacy of excellence
which they leave in their wake. To our Prize winners,
your school is proud of you and we can only imagine the
pride which your families will feel in reflecting on your
various achievements this evening.

How these superlative young people fit it all in, goodness

alone knows, but our Sixth Formers also found time
to get involved in a huge range of extra- and supercurricular activities. My greatest challenge in fact in
preparing this speech was deciding what to leave out, as
there is so very much which has been remarkable. You
will, I trust, forgive me if I cannot cover every single
remarkable thing you have done. We would be here for
so very long that your dedicated teachers who delight in
your achievement would be up way beyond their usual
waking hours and too exhausted to teach any lessons
tomorrow it is possible even that were I to enumerate
them all, you still all be sat in this hall, listening to me
talk when those lessons began.
In addition to their strong A-Level results, 34 Year 13
students completed their Extended Project Qualification
and gave highly accomplished and cogent presentations
of their 6000 word dissertations. EPQ topics were diverse
and challenging, ranging from Whether Quantum
Indeterminacy is responsible for Free Will to Why
did Chinua Achebe choose to write in English. All
EPQ candidates were subjected to rigorous questioning
from the floor and the students rose to the challenge
with exemplary Olavian erudition and aplomb. Other
academic achievements beyond the mainstream A2
curriculum were abundant, with highlights including
Caterina Hall, Izabella Inzani, Aarushi Khanna, Uroosa
Chughtai and Alexandros Adamoulas being awarded
gold medals in the first round of the prestigious Biology
Olympiad, placing them in the top 6%. Aarushi And
Uroosa were subsequently invited to the second round,
competing to represent the UK in the International
Biology Olympiad in Bali.
In sport, the first XV rugby season included notable
victories against Colfes, London Oratory and Wallington
and climaxed as the squad reached the last 16 of the

Natwest Vase competition. The first XI football team also

had an excellent season, starting with an unbroken run of
five wins in five matches. The quality of sports leadership
for our teams this year has been exceptional, with our
senior students giving up a very significant proportion
of whatever free time they have to lead sessions, to give
great opportunities to those in younger years and to act as
role models for them. There are many who could be cited
here, but Charlie Bishop, as ever, is a great exemplar of
the genre with his inspirational captaincy of the hockey
team, giving high-quality coaching, uncompromising
on-pitch leadership and total commitment in all games
played. All of our captains are commended and all are
thanked for the legacy of inspiration and excellence
which they leave behind. The captains were supported
by a very dedicated team of sports prefects who also
consistently set the highest standards of aspiration and
support for our younger students. No less impressive
than the team efforts and the captaincies and prefectures
which relate to them are the achievements in more
individual pursuits, which include William Ruizs setting
of a new 3000m senior athletics record and Tim Adelani
being placed 3rd in Kent for the senior 100m backstroke
heats.
Aside from Sport, the Sixth Form have enjoyed many
other proud achievements. Drama continued to flourish
at the school with Year 13 taking prominent roles
throughout their time in the Sixth Form at events
including the extravaganza of musical theatre that is
Showstoppers, splendidly compered last year by Louis
Cokell and Jay Routh and in which Fergus MacDonald
gave us alarmingly good cause to fear sadistic musical
dentists. Jay went on to become a finalist in a national
play-writing competition and had her work performed
at the National Theatre and Fergus proved his comic
talent once again in his leading role in Elling this year
although not even in the most colourful and impassioned
sermon or the most fraught chamber choir or Savoy
choir rehearsal have I heard quite so much swearing
in the school chapel as I did on that evening. Other
dramatic highlights of our leavers time in the Sixth
Form have included Fintan Calpins memorable and
inspirational staging of The Resistable Rise of Arturo
Ui which, together with his earlier production of the
Playboy of the Western World abundantly demonstrated
his directorial vision and panache. Audiences enjoyed an
impressive production of Cabaret in which several of our
leavers including Larissa Schymyck, Eyiara Olugunna,
James Curling and again Louis Cokell, performed
leading roles superbly and many other leavers danced or
were in the band. Musically, Sixth Formers have played
prominent parts in the Christmas and Easter concerts
as well as through their involvement in the wide range
of orchestras, ensembles and choirs both as leaders and
active participators.
This year also saw the continuation of The O Factor, St
Olavian 2014 39

Olaves answer to the X Factor! A memorable polyphonic

performance of Farrell Williamss Happy by Leeke,
conducted brilliantly by Peter Leigh, being one of many
highlights. The Art Exhibition held at the end of the
summer term again showed what intensely talented and
creative students we have. The time, thought and effort
put into the many pieces on display was an outstanding
achievement.
Senior students once again found themselves organising
a wide range of events this year with probably the
highlight for most being Festival with afternoon lessons
being suspended in order that students could enjoy the
various stalls run by form groups, and events such the
firm Festival favourites Just a minute and University
Challenge. As well as Festival, Cabaret was held on
the Friday night before the end of the Christmas term,
and this event showcased the wide range of talent in the
Sixth Form including a great variety of singers and bands
including the inimitable Mutton. All this was done in
support of the charities Water Aid and the Jennifer Trust
for whom the sum of almost 10,000 was raised this year.
The Sixth Form provides students with many
opportunities to take on positions of leadership within
the school and our local community and this year was
no exception. 139 members of the then Year 12 took up
positions as form, duty and academic prefects. The Senior
Prefect Team of Skanda Rajasundaram, Tim Adelani,
Charlie Bishop, Jordan Fisher, Sinead OConnor and
Zeinab Ruhomauly progressed admirably with the
reinvigoration of the house system with development
of the annual calendar of competitions taking place in
academic subjects as well as the with various sports and
societies and through the organisation of a charity quiz
with the PA which funded the purchase of trophies and
a trophy cabinet for all house events and a set of house
banners with re-designed logos. Sixth Form students
visited St.Pauls Cray primary school on a number of
occasions to assist with their French day, Science Week
and their Sports Day. The school was once again host
for the annual Mathematics and Science Challenge Day
for Year 5 pupils from our partner primary schools with
activities organised and led by the Year 12 Academic
prefects. Student-led societies continued to flourish,
along with a real blossoming of the culture of academic
journals (including this year for the first time a crosscurricular journal, a law journal, an art journal, a literature
journal, a classics journal and a modern foreign languages
journal). Sixth Formers remain heavily involved in and
committed to the Schools Le Chavetois Programme,
assisting and supporting a range of local communitybased endeavours and improving the quality of life of
hundreds of other people, old and young, throughout the
borough. Sixth Formers also organised Cultural Evening
which included an exotic display of music and dance as
well as culinary delights and a dazzling fashion show.
40 Olavian 2014

And finally at the close of this academic year, following

the A level examinations, Year 13s took time to celebrate
the end of their school careers, but hopefully not the
end of their contact with the school, at the Leavers
Reception where students, parents and staff enjoyed
canaps and champagne before the students went onto
the Leavers Ball held at Oakley House.
Many of you will be aware that this particular year
group has a lot of personal significance for me and it
has been a real privilege to have served as their head of
year for two years for the internal boys, for a year for the
whole group and subsequently as their Director of Sixth
Form. They could scarcely have made me prouder in the
time that I have worked for them and I thank them
abundantly for enabling me to say that.
In giving a final valedictory salute, you may remember
from a couple of years ago that I had some difficulty
in finding an appropriate collective name for our Prize
winners, having come to the conclusion that Sons
of Olave sounded like a mysterious Scandinavian
paramilitary group. Since then, matters have become
still more complex. Up until about a year ago, I would
have said Sons and Daughters of Olave has the air of
a harrowing Ibsen play fused with a dismal antipodean
soap opera. Children of Olaf ? A dystopian Sci-Fi
thriller. However, the sad truth now is that, as so
frequently happens, Disney have ruined everything
and since the film Frozen came along any collective
appellation indicating descent from Olaf suggests that
you are the progeny of a slightly saccharine animated
snowman with a poignant and misguided longing for
summer, so I think well draw a line under the whole
of Olave title. Whatever we call you, our Prize
Winners tonight, may your dreams and aspirations be
less doomed to failure than those of the Disney Olave
and less bloody than those of our own Olave. May
those dreams and aspirations be noble, worthy of your
brilliance and challenging but achievable. Chairman,
tonight celebrates the very great deal of hard work
conducted by our students and their dedicated teachers
and all concerned richly deserve to share in and enjoy
this occasion of celebration. Outstanding exam results
will open up the widest range of opportunities for these
remarkable young people and I know that as they move
on to university, and to bright careers beyond, they will
take with them not only glowing results, but all that they
have learnt during their time at St Olaves Grammar
School. To the outgoing Year 13, you have set a fantastic
example for the new Year 13 to follow, you were led by a
superb school captain, an excellent senior prefect team
and you have been an absolute credit to the School and
to your parents. It has been a wonderful privilege this
evening to eulogise once again about this remarkable
year group. I nearly said for a final time, but I hope that
this is not the case. You will go on to bright and brilliant
things in your lives beyond the school, and we look

forward to sharing news of your future triumphs in the

place where you are cherished and in which you will live
long in the memory as an outstanding year group. You
are the Young Olavians of today and the Old Olavians
of tomorrow; once an Olavian, always an Olavian. On
behalf of all of your teachers, I thank you all for your
commitment and wish you every possible success and
happiness for the future.
Prize Day Speech by James White, Head of
Middle School
hallenging, difficult, not maximising their potential,
lively, energetic, a handful, all words to describe the
outgoing year 11 as they were handed to me at the end
of year 9. How will they survive their GCSE years I
thought? Well as you have already heard the examination
results the year group produced were exceptional with 25
of the top performers here tonight to collect their prizes
and it has been a privilege to see how these students
have matured and developed over the course of the last
2 years.

When it comes to their academic studies, as well as

the GCSE results our year 11 students have achieved
a great deal more. 23 students undertook the Higher
Project Qualification which enabled them to undertake
a research study on an area of interest. The diverse range
of research questions included a world without Rome,
the probability of extra terrestrial life on exo-planets,
how do ants behave and communicate and Why did the
British Economy enter the recession and how can the
national debt deficit be reduced?.
13 students received gold medals in the intermediate
mathematics Olympiad including Tom Wang who
gained a certificate of distinction as a top performer
in the country. Akhil Sonthi took his passion for the
subject even further by producing his own mathematics
handbook, an ibook to help GCSE students understand
different mathematical concepts.
The successes have followed in the ADT faculty with
Team Linear coming 2nd in the Design Ventura
competition at the design museum. This has resulted in
them undertaking further product development with
the hope of getting their product into the shops in the
near future. The VEX Robotics finals were held at the
NEC in Birmingham where the Year 11 team of Wilfred
Kiondo, Oscar Hinze, Sean Seeds, Daniel Bakare and
Nathan Lewis won the Build award for fantastic quality
and design for the second year running. Bradley Sawyer
also won 1st prize in the Stoneham Kitchen of the future
design competition.
On the sports field year 11 have shone with the rugby
squad having a very successful season with a number of
players playing up higher in the senior 1st and 2nd XVs
during the course of the year which is always the sign

of a strong squad. The season finished with an unbeaten

tour to Barcelona which capped a great year.
In the pool we are lucky enough to have one of the
countries top swimmers in Theo Haslem who has
recently competed at the Sainsburys School Games in
Manchester winning the 50m freestyle, he also holds the
London and County Youth records for 50m and 100m
freetsyle. A phenomenal achievement.
The performing arts culture continues to thrive within the
school and in year 11 in particular. A number of students
participated in Showstoppers and the Shakespeare
Trilogy but a particular highlight was the Ravindran
brothers Jeevan and Mithiran directing Arthur Millers
tale, A View From The Bridge. Mithiran then followed
this up by completing his own short play for a national
theatre competition.
Over 60 students have received full and team colours for
their commitment to various clubs and societies. None
more so than the newly established Polish, Tamal and
programming clubs that have been set up by students
in the year group. DoE continues to grow with nearly
every member of the year group completing their Bronze
certificates and many going on to complete their silver
awards.
The entrepreneurial spirit of the year group was in full
swing to raise money for our Festival charities with the
fried chicken and hotdog stall selling out in record time
and the dodgeball group making vast amounts of money
from throwing balls at each other. Each form has also
shown off their talents through year group assemblies
with rap, acting and film directing being some of the
highlights. These examples demonstrate the sorts of
students we have in year 11 and we recognize 12 of
these students tonight who receive form prizes for their
contributions to the life of the form through their hard
work, politeness and general Olavian spirit and attitude.
I will finish by returning to the opening of my speech
and that is to celebrate the vast array of characters,
personalities and individuals that have made the year
group what it is. Not only have they set records as a
year group they have shown it is possible to do so whilst
maintaining the individuality that makes them so special.
It has been a pleasure to help guide them through these
two years and I look forward to seeing how they follow
in the successes of our Year 13s who leave us tonight.
From one Old Olavian to a group still with time left,
continue to make the most of the opportunities given to
you and ensure you stamp your own mark on the school
in the same creative and imaginative ways you have done.
Dont allow these years to pass you by without grabbing
every opportunity available to you. Congratulations to
you all and enjoy the rest of the evening.
Olavian 2014 41

Special Prizes

Ben Read Trophy

Angus Dalgleish

Gordon James Christie Prize for

Cricket

Tomas Gallagher

Douglas Keeble Prize for Fives

Dominic Robson

Senior Victor Ludorum

Giles Pilcher Prize for Public Service

Skanda
(Awarded by The Old Olavians Lodge) Rajasundaram

Timothy Adelani
Charlie Bishop

John Marshalls
Educational Foundation Prizes

Jordan Fisher

Sinead OConnor
Zeinab Ruhomauly

William Ruiz

Keeran Rajendran

Prizes for Achievement

in Public Examinations
H.G. Abel Prizes for A-Level

Chambers Prize for Leadership

Olumide Ololade

Alexandros Adamoulas

Dominic Robson

The Woodard Board Prize

Vithushan Nuges

Uroosa Chughtai

Shivani Singh

Michelle Vero

Thomas Franks-Moore

The Anthony Jarvis Shield

Michael Pugh Prize for Public

Speaking

The Renshaw Shield for Debating

Headmasters Prize for Poetry
O.O. Lodge Prize
Contribution to School Life

for

Dawud Khan

Louise Selway

Christian Jackson

Charlotte Kingdom

Oscar Wilkins

Jenni Visuri

Fintan Calpin
Jenni Visuri

Cathedral Parish Prize for Voluntary Service Owen Harcombe

Leslie Sanders Prize for English Literature Fintan Calpin
French Prize

Eyiara Olugunna

Spanish Prize

Louise Selway

A.W. Walker Prize for German

Matthew Holmes Prize for Classics
The Ashley Prize for History
Antiquarian Society Prize
a History Project
Geography Prize
Economics Prize

Harry Little Prize for Mathematics

Paul Slade Prize for Physics

Keir Bowater
Peter Leigh

Aiyan
Maharasingam

for Lucas
Bertholdi-Saad
Shunta Takino
Shunta Takino
Tomas Dean
Jenni Visuri

Brian Ruth Memorial Prize for Physics Dominic Robson

Gnaanachelvan Prize for Biology
Biology Project Prize

George Dyson Prize for Chemistry

Chemistry Project Prize
Computing Prize

Phyllis Packer Prize

for Practical Musicianship

Alexandros
Adamoulas

Isabella Inzani

Fraser Boistelle

Richard Byfield
Not Awarded

Sebastian Cook

Frederick Whichello
Oscar Wilkins
Dawud Khan

Musab Shamekh
Fraser Boistelle
Harry Jenkins

Angus Dalgleish

Vithushan Nuges
For G.C.S.E.

Fintan Calpin
Jordan Fisher

Mitchel Fruin

Aleksandar Ristic-Smith
David Giles

Sunkanmi Ogundipe
Isabella Inzani

Anthony ORourke
Shunta Takino
Caterina Hall

David Van Egghen

Bradley Sawyer

Xavier Chitnavis

Arulkumar Keirthanan

Oliver Allen

Finn Duggan

William Edmonds
Dayan Graham

Leo Henderson Lockley

Andreas Hogstrand
Steven Howell

Rowan Wright
James Read
Rishil Patel

Edward Parker Humphreys

Daniel Jenkins
Nathan Lewis
Chun Liu Ka

Thomas Miller

Edward Tolmie

Alexander Mulroy

Iham Mohamed Kasem

Sebastien Santhiapillai
Jeevan Ravindran
Tom Wang

Lower VI Form Prizes

An Old Olavian Prize for Music

Aaron Lewns

Art Prize

Louis Newby

Joseph Cordery

Eren Salih

Robert Edghill

Adrian LaMoury

Charlie Grozier

Religious Studies Prize

Graphics Prize
Design Prize

Susan Owen Medal for Drama

Anna Greenall

Awarded by the Parents Association for enthusiasm, commitment and imagination in the use of the Lower Sixth year

Leon Brown

Katie Tragheim

Louis Cokell

L.W. White Prize for Sporting Activities Angus Dalgleish

I.W. Kirk Prize for Sportsmanship
42 Olavian 2014

Charlie Bishop

Eamon Hassan

Form Prizes

Douglas Mathers

11H

Nnamdi Babundo
Thomas Cordrey

11J

Edward Tolmie

Leo Henderson

11K

Micaiah Felix

Benjamin Neal

11L

James Reed

Oscar Hinze

11M

Kosi Nwuba
Jacob Page

Theodore Antonov

Rosa Rushton
Jay Desai

Charlie Bishop
Shunta Takino
William Ruiz
Jay Routh

Frederick Whichello
Anthony Cheuk
Rugby

National Youth Choir and Rodolfus

Choir

Netball
Fives

Hockey

Athletics

Headmasters Fund

Charles Edmonds

Senthury
Jegatheeswaranathan
Sebastian Cook

Robert Georgel
Daria Veysey

Arun Vigneswaran

Thomas Crowland

The Witton/Newmarch Award: Louis Newby

The War memorial Scholarship:

Dominic Robson

Angharad Ganguli
Football

Max Goodwin

Katherine Hunt

Charles Bishop

Fintan Calpin

The Lennie/Gridley Award:

James Speed

Christopher Leech

Finalist in the National Theatre

Playwriting Competition

The Potto Hicks Award:

Mitchel Fruin

Anthony ORourke

Cross Country

The James Burdett Prize:

Angus Dalgleish

Olumide Ololade

Doce Pares

Grants for Outward Bound, Travel and Gap Year projects

Nicholas Colling

Charles Jones

Member of Rodolfus Choir and

Inner Voices

Tennis

Sixth Form Association: Shino

Hirasaki

Alexander Tate

Adrian Santhiapillai

Hockey

Zeinab Ruhomauly

Krishan Preddy

James Black

BBC Young Musician of the Year

Competition

Skanda Rajasundaram

OFactor: Peter Leigh

James Patterson

Junior Royal College of Music

Sinead OConnor

Old Olavian Magazine: Peter

Leig

Fawaz Shah

Grants and Awards

Jordan Fisher

Cultural Evening: Grace Anteyi,

Fintan Calpin, Louis Cokell,
Srishti Suresh

Samuel Gaiger-Marriott

10N

Charles Bishop

Festival: Lucas Bertholdi-Saad,

James Curling, Max Miller,
Louise Selway

Qais Zaidi

10M

Timothy Adelani

Cabaret: Elaine Drayton, Robert

Edghill, Dominic McDonald,
Mororeoluwa Okoh

Daroon Ramadani

10L

Dominic Jelf

Contribution to School

Jack Cornish

10K

Peter Leigh

Senior Prefect Colours

for Commitment to the
School

Iham Mohamed Kasem

10J

Sebastian Cook

Senior Colours

Wilfred Kiondo

11N

Governors Awards

Full Colours

Tennis

Cricket

Matthew Hodges

Alexander McHale
Aldous Poole

William Ruiz

Shunta Takino

Angus Dalgleish
Olavian 2014 43

Sebastian Cook
Keir Bowater
Dominic Jelf
Music

Peter Leigh

Karen Mortby
Rosa Rushton

Marie-Therese Treloar
Jenni Visuri

James Curling
Fintan Calpin
Drama

Louis Cokell

Fergus Macdonald
Eyiara Olugunna
Jessica Routh

Debating

Timothy Adelani

Christian Jackson

Rugby
Fives
Cricket
Athletics
Swimming
Music

Drama
Chess
VEX Robotics

Oscar Wilkins

Other Clubs & Societies Political Economy Society:

Gavin Benson

Physics and Engineering

Society: Keir Bowater, Dominic
Robson
Academic Journal: Dawud
Khan, Vithushan Nuges

Amnesty International Society:

Anna Greenall
Art Club: Luke Reveley, Luke
Richards
Art History Society: Leon
Brown James Laing, Louis
Newby

Biology Club: Joe Cox, Abigail

George
Chemistry Club: Adedoyin
Agbonin, Aidan Nicol, Louise
Selway

Design Ventura

Clubs & Societies

Junior Colours
Rugby

Fives
Swimming

Design Club: Leon Brown,

Daria Veysey

Cricket

Languages Club: Shino

Hirasaki, Shunta Takino

Athletics

History Society: Aiyan

Maharasingam

Law Society: Shammah Bumade

Agbaje, Srishti Suresh

Chess

Medics: Zeinab Ruhomauly

Tennis

Literature Society: Fintan

Calpin

Natural Sciences Society: Fraser

Boistelle, Harry Jenkins, Jenni
Visuri
Political Economy Society:
Lucas Bertholdi-Saad
44 Olavian 2014

Intermediate Colours

Music

Douglas Mathers, Daniel Jenkins,

Tom Willis
William Belsham, William
Edmonds, Leo Henderson, Harry
Russell
Prabu Sathananthan

Williams Adams, Benjamin

Stanbury

Theodore Haslam, Matthew Ruiz

Thomas Miller, Oscar Ridout

Jeevan Ravindran, Mithiran

Ravindran, David Van Egghen
Xavier Chitnavis, James
Wagstaff-Hall

Daniel Bakare, Oscar Hinze,

Wilfred Kiondo, Nathan Lewis,
Sean Seeds

William Belsham, Finn Duggan,

Leo Henderson, Daniel Jenkins,
James Read, Benjamin Stanbury
Languages Club: Yaroslav
Bilokopytov, Jeevan Ravindran
Edward Tolmie
Programming Club: Peter
Maslin

Thomas Lambourne ,Matthew

Lane, Finn Macpherson, Thomas
Whichello
Samuel Caine, William Carew
Matthew Lane, Charles Stocks,
Kameron Swanson, James Tate,
Devashish Ujoodia, Kieran
Walton
Henry Rennolls

Edward Cranston, Thomas

Lambourne, Matthew Lane,
Oskar Lewns, Finn Macpherson,
Laiq Nagi, Hasan Rahij, Aahan
Sabharwal, Martin Senior,
Charles Stocks, Devashish
Ujoodia, Kieran Walton

Anthony Dale, Finn Macpherson

Ammar Kisat, Zeeshan Kisat

John Bentas, Cristiano Da Cruz,

Harry Haynes, Gabriel Ide,
Henry Miller, Eric Leung
Alexander Jochim

VI Form News

VI Form News
Blacklands Farm Induction Day
The Lower VIth students, both new and existing
Olavians, travelled to Blacklands Farm in Sussex for a
day of team-building exercises to enable them to interact
with their new peers. After a lively coach journey, the
students were excited and eager to participate in the
activities, whilst learning more about each other. The
activities included abseiling, high ropes and logic puzzles,
with the onus on each student to support the rest of their
teammates through the activities and work as a team;
all whilst trying to protect an egg from the rigours of
the challenges and also from the other groups. The day
culminated with the final challenge which saw each
group attempt to construct a shelter or parachute for
their egg, so that it would remain intact on impact after
being launched from the abseiling tower; the dramatic
finale was a fitting end to a satisfying and enjoyable event.
Throughout the day, it was clear to see that the students
put aside their early apprehension and they were fully
supportive of each individual within their group; the day
helped the Lower VI students to feel more comfortable
amongst their peers and forge new friendships.
Study Skills Day
Saturday 16th November was our Year 13 Interview
Skills Day, in which any Year 13 student who wanted
to prepare for the increasingly prevalent challenge of a
university interview had the opportunity to benefit from
a presentation on interview skills from David Vaiani of
Aspire followed by a one-to-one interview from one
of our panel of 25 interviewers who generously gave of
their time and expertise for the day. One hundred of
our students signed up for the day and each met for at
least one half hour appointment with our interview team
which this year included a wide range of current and
former staff, parents of current students and returning
Old Olavians. Some students even had the opportunity
for two half hour interviews with subject specialists
during the day. The School is very grateful to all of its
interviewers and would like to encourage even wider
participation in next years event so that we can offer all
of our students two practice interviews each. We trust
that the experience will stand our students in good stead
as they face the rigours of the increasingly competitive
university selection process.
Cabaret
Friday 13th December proved lucky for any and all who
were fortunate enough to attend this years Cabaret
event. A glittering cavalcade of talent was on display
46 Olavian 2014

from a range of musical and terpsichorean luminaries in

the Sixth form. The evening showcased a host of crowdpleasing and polished acts from soloists, ensembles,
instrumentalists and vocalists and the atmosphericallydecorated Great Hall looked almost as well-presented as
the black-tie audience. A splendid time was guaranteed
for all; it promised to be a great evening and delivered on
that promise abundantly. Our thanks go to the organising
committee of Dominic McDonald (13F), Robert Edghill
(13G), Rore Okoh (13I) and Elaine Drayton (13N)
and to their Senior Prefect Liaison, Sinad OConnor
(all of Year 13) for all of their hard work in arranging
such a slick, polished and thoroughly enjoyable evenings
celebration of Olavian talent.
Independent Learning Conference
On Friday 4th October the whole of Year 12 benefitted
from a workshop on independent learning in which they
practised and developed the following skills, vital for
successful A-Level study and higher education: speed
and skim reading, effective note taking, condensing
text, effective learning, time management and creative
thinking. The day was designed to support students
in their transition from GCSE-Level study to the
more independent style of study necessary for success
in the Sixth Form and beyond. The event was run by
independent practitioners, The Life Skills Company.
This was the second year that the School has hosted
the Independent Learning Conference and, once again,
student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Cultural Evening
On Saturday the 16th of November, this years highly
anticipated annual event showcased a variety of talent
music and dance. It was well attended and, once again,
an amazing experience. The students, led superbly by
Srishti Suresh (13H), Fintan Calpin (13F), Grace
Anteyi (13H), Louis Cokell (13F) and Rore Okoh (13I),
produced a wonderful event with musical presentations
from all continents, poems and a wonderful fashion
show, again from all over the globe. The compring by
Aiyan Maharasingham (13F) and Max HamiltonJenkins (13G) was fast and original, if somewhat daring
here and there, it certainly made us laugh and a little
thoughtful at times!
The food, produced and served by parents and students
and presented on beautiful stalls made by DT students,
was absolutely exquisite and thoroughly appreciated by
all the quality and variation was 5*.

Blacklands Farm Induction Day

Olavian 2014 47

We were delighted and grateful that a number of adult

helpers turned up on Friday and Saturday; their knowhow and active input made it possible to prepare the
hall to a much higher standard and certainly more easily
than we could have managed without them. Much to our
surprise and delight, this included Geetha Subramanian,
who had pioneered the event in 2004.
It was a great success. The evening ran perfectly and
smoothly, the seamless transitions between the acts
were achieved mainly by the input of a great amount of
time and talent of the main organisers. Thanks to all the
performers; each and every act was a sheer pleasure to
see and hear.
Thanks go to the many students who helped with the
preparation, organisation, setting up, selling tickets,
working backstage, and all the major and minor tasks in
the weeks leading up to the event.
Thank you to the Headmaster, teachers, students and all
visitors for coming and joining us for the event.

Arias (Year 13I). We also welcomed back a whole host

of Old Olavians for our Symposium Programme; our
returning students gave a series of ten university-level
talks for senior students over the fortnight on subjects as
diverse as Platos Meno, medieval French poetry, medical
ethics, game theory, the rule of law and the polity of
late medieval England. The whole fortnight proved a
stimulating start to the term.
St Olaves Academic Journal
I am delighted to announce the publication of the
first edition of the new St. Olaves Academic Journal.
Founded by Dawud Khan (13K) and Vithushan Nuges
(13F), this epitomises the Olavian pursuit of scholarship
with erudite articles ranging from The Mediterranean
Monk Seal to The Shape and fate of the Universe.
Most of the first print batch of 75 copies sold out last
night but I hope that more will be available at various
forthcoming events. I thoroughly recommend it to you
and congratulate all of the contributors.
Festival
Our annual fund-raising Festival this year was held
on Thursday 19th December and proved a fittingly
enjoyable and productive end to an astonishingly busy
term at St. Olaves. The students elected to support the
following two charities this year, one international, the
other local: Water Aid and The Jennifer Trust.
The days events included Festival favourites such as
Just a Minute, University Challenge and Beat the
Keeper and, as ever, our forms contributed a splendidly
eclectic range of stalls for students to enjoy as they went
off timetable for the afternoon.

Cultural Evening

Scholarship Fortnight
One of the highlights of the new September initiative
was the Senior Scholarship Evening a chance to hear
again some of the finest presentations from last years
independently researched Higher Project Qualifications
and Extended Project Qualifications and to celebrate the
astonishing diversity and intellectual acumen of some of
our most remarkable students. Topics addressed during
the evening were varied and included income inequality,
the life and works of Oscar Wilde, causes, effects and
treatment options for cancer, the impact of new media
on journalism, innovations in healthcare, the level at
which natural selection works and the Eurovision Song
Contest. The evening also saw the launch of our new
pan-curricular academic journal, edited by Dawud Khan
(13K) and Vithushan Nuges (13F), our new Medical
Journal, edited by Zeinab Ruhomauly (13G) and our new
Law Journal, edited by Srishti Suresh (13H) and Camila
48 Olavian 2014

Our thanks go to this years Festival Committee of Max

Miller (13N), Louise Selway (13I) and Lucas BertholdiSaad (13N) and to their Senior Prefect Liaison, Zeinab
Ruhomauly 13G) for their splendid hard work in making
the day such a success and for enabling us to make such
generous contributions to our two chosen charities.
30 gain Oxbridge offers
We are delighted that 30 students have received Oxbridge
offers in a variety of Arts, Humanities, Languages and
Science subjects, from the full range of colleges. We take
a great pride in their successes, just as we do for all of our
students, who are receiving offers from top universities
such as Imperial, Bristol, UCL, Durham.
Link with India
A British Council Connecting Classrooms link with
La Martiniere School for Girls, Kolkata, India will
open up a new international perspective. Joint projects
may include: ecological economics; how science and
technology can contribute to global sustainability; global
equality for girls in education and women entrepreneurs;

an intra-school e-magazine of scholarly articles and

Peace Poetry Established in 1836, La Martiniere is one
of the most prestigious institutions in India, known
for its academic excellence and rich extra-curricular
programme.
Olavian Lecture Series
This popular series is now attracting large audiences
not only from the Olavian community but also from
other schools and the local community. Professor Sir
Richard Friend, Cavendish Professor of Physics at
Cambridge University, gave a fascinating talk on The
next-generation electronic flexible screens and solar
cells with some eye-opening science ranging from
Graphene to organic flexible display screens. Professor
Robert Freedmans lecture on Protein Folding treated
the audience to an amazing journey through the history
of genetic engineering, growing proteins in bacteria, and
recreating a fried egg from a scrambled one! A captivating
presentation by TV personality and film-maker, Dr Adam
Rutherford, covered the last 4 billion years of creativity
through genetic natural selection, heralding the next
great Industrial Revolution of Synthetic Biology. Steve
Jones, Emeritus Professor of Human Genetics at UCL,
continued with his lecture - Nature, Nurture or Neither?
The view from the genes on misunderstandings in
nature v nurture, using examples from sport and obesity.
Sixth Form Culture Club
Sixth Form Culture Club went to see the revival of
Matthew Bournes Swan Lake at Sadlers Wells, where
Tchaikovskys captivating score proved perfectly suited
to the modern choreography imagined by Bourne.
The inspired use of the male ensemble of swans was
incredible; the choreography was beautiful and striking,
focusing on the grace of the swans, but also on their
violence and strength, dispelling any idea that ballet is
stuffy and boring!
Prefect teams
Year 13 prefect have been handing over the reins to
their successors in Year 12. Our Duty Prefects help the
smooth running of the school, acting as role models
to younger students at lunch and break times. Our
Academic Prefects engage in departmental support,
particularly through mentoring of younger students. Our
Ambassador Prefects are preparing for various public
events and will ensure a smooth transition for our new
Sixth Formers. Our Form Prefects offer support and act
as role models to the lower school students in their care.
Preliminary elections to Senior Prefect positions have
taken place and a rigorous interview process for final
selections will take place next term. New Year 12 Form
Prefects have been taking part in a training programme,
looking at what make an outstanding prefect, how
to support forms both academically and pastorally,
safeguarding, child protection and bullying.

Oxbridge Evening
Tutors from Oxford and Cambridge spoke in The Great
Hall to a packed audience of Year 12 students and
parents from St. Olaves and a range of other schools
about applying to these prestigious universities. Dr
Daniel Gerrard, St. Peters College, Oxford; Dr Sally
Boss, Churchill College, Cambridge; Cressida Ryan,
Merton College, Oxford and Laura McGarty, Pembroke
College, Cambridge offered an erudite blend of frank
advice, statistical information and pragmatic wisdom
to challenge the aspirations and benefit all those in
attendance.
Higher Education Evening
This was a welcome opportunity for Year 12 to find
out more about the challenges of student life as they
prepare for the UCAS process. Michelle Mallender of
Birmingham University tackled the questions: Why
go to university?, Which university should I go to?
and What course should I choose?; Roisin Hurst of
Queen Mary University looked at key aspects of student
finance; and Jonathan Tinnacher of Imperial College,
London focused on completion of the UCAS form.
Extended (EPQ) and Higher (HPQ) Project
Qualifications
Staff and parents had an excellent opportunity to
celebrate the scholarship of our students in the Year 11
HPQ and Year 13 EPQ. A staggeringly diverse range of
topics included: the aesthetic capacity of computers, the
significance of the decoding of Linear B, the challenges
of funding the NHS, electoral reform and the likelihood
of inter-stellar travel. The standard of research was
remarkable, even by Olavian standards, and augurs well
for the participants future academic success.
UCAS day
Following AS-level study leave and examinations, we
welcomed back Year 12 students in the middle of June for
their UCAS day. Students received a general introduction
to the higher education admissions process and advice
on writing a personal statement from Jennifer Barton of
Durham University, who offered helpful insights before
students finalise their application in the autumn term.
This was complemented by a panel comprising recent St
Olaves leavers and current Year 13 students, who kindly
came in to offer a students perspective on the challenges
which Year 12 will face. Year 12 heard about the quirks of
the admissions process, the joys of offers and heart-ache
of rejections and also the experiences of writing personal
statements. We trust that this firm foundation of advice
will stand our students in good stead for a wealth of
successful applications in the year to come and will
encourage them to aspire with realism and confidence for
some of the most sought-after courses and institutions in
the country.
Olavian 2014 49

Sixth Form Association

After a very successful year at the helm, our outgoing
Sixth Form Association Committee members (Max
Hamilton-Jenkins (13G); Chair, Shino Hirasaki (13J);
Secretary and Alexander Bargeron (13F); Treasurer)
oversaw the election of new incumbents for the coming
academic year. We would like to wish the new Committee
members: Chair: Eren Salih, (12Q); Secretary: Shezara
Francis (12W); Treasurer: Andrew Bertini (12V); every
success in their roles and trust that they will represent
the interests of their peers with the integrity, eloquence
and diligence of their predecessors.
Scottish Country Dancing
Just ahead of the last day of teaching for our A2
students, before they embarked upon their study leave, it
seemed fitting for our Year 13 students to have their final
(Highland) fling. A troop from the Orpington & District
Caledonian Society visited St Olaves on Friday 9th May
to lead a Scottish country dancing session, filled with
energy, hilarity and the sound of the accordion. Trying to
bring Year 13 literally into line proved to be a Herculean
task; for such a large number of skilled mathematicians
present in one room, the concepts of circles and straight
lines appeared to be inordinately taxing! Nevertheless,
no participants could stifle the smiles on their faces and,
despite initial scepticism amongst some who had not
tried this activity before, by the end everyone seemed to
have had a fun time.
New Senior Prefects

Following a substantial process which has sought

student and staff views as well as a two stage interview
process with a student panel and a Headmaster panel, I
am delighted to announce the new Senior Prefect Team
for 2014-15.
Captain of School: Edward McAleer (12X)
Vice Captains of School: Matthew Allen (12O); Jack
Bradfield (12O); Lucy Morrell (12Q); Abhishek Patel
(12R); Elena Rastorgueva (12S).
50 Olavian 2014

Student Publications
Issue 2 - Medics Society Journal
Well done to outgoing President, Zeinab Ruhomauly
(13G), and all the contributors, on the 2nd edition of
the Medics Society Journal. The fascinating articles
include Henrietta Lacks. The unsung heroine of modern
medicine, by Alex OHalloran (13I); Synesthesia tasting
shapes and seeing music, by Raunak Rao (12V); Beta
Thalassemia, by Uroosa Chugtai (13K); Replacement
bio-teeth, by Saarah Kaba (12V); Organ donation, by
Janushanth Sritharan (12T); The first licensed gene
therapy, by James Speed (13M); the Milwaukee Protocol
as a treatment for Rabies, by Caterina Hall 13K);
Allergies, by Arun Desouza-Edwards (13M); Regulating
blood sugar levels, by Abhishek Patel (13R), and many
others.
Issue No. 5 of the Olavian Natural Sciences
Society magazine.
President Abhishek Patel (13R) and editors Raunak Rao
(12V) and Elena Rastorgueva (12S) have come up with
yet another impressive Issue No. 5 of the Olavian Natural
Sciences Society magazine. This thought-provoking
read includes Chlorine: the love-hate relationship, by
Avni Gupta (12X); The nature of time, by Jenni Visuri
(13H) and Marc Foxhall (12W); Bio cassava and
Sub-Saharan Africa, by Rebecca Daramola (12R); The
triple helix competition, by Year 9 and 10 students; How
do we smell? by Isaac van Bakel (12S); Illuminating dark
energy, by Kush Banga (12X) and lots more.
Issue 1 Literature Society Journal
To complete this threesome, congratulations to outgoing
Chairman, Fintan Calpin (13F), his editorial team and
the many contributors to Volume 1 of For Words The
Literature Society Journal. The fine articles include essays
such as Rachel Woods (12O) Penguins, prisoners and
poetry how does language work and what is literature?;
society talks, with Matthew Roberts (12Q) Rebecca:
unjustly unloved; theatre reviews, including Joe Cordery
(12O) on The resistible rise of Arturo Ui by Brecht; book
reviews, with Alice Millar (12O) on The past is myself by
Christabel Bielenberg ; creative writing such as Samuel

Luker (12O) Browns A hymn to clemency and Jay

Edavanes Uncomfortable
Olavian Lecture Series
A good audience turned up to hear Dr Robert Mulvaneys
talk as the final instalment of the Olavian Lecture Series
I. His presentation unveiled some interesting parallels
between the early explorers like Scott and Shackleton
and present day teams such as his own. Extracting ice
sections from almost 1000m deep has revealed secrets
of the atmosphere from thousands and millions of years
ago, enabling us to make more informed speculations
about the impact of Carbon Dioxide levels and the
implications for global warming today. Look out for
Lecture Series II which will be starting in the autumn.
Leavers Ball
At the Leavers Ball last Friday we bade a rousing farewell
to our Year 13 students with a double bill of events.
The new quad was a wellspring of sunshine, canaps
and badinage for the Reception at which parents and
students enjoyed the opportunity to mix with staff in a
friendly and relaxed environment. The event moved into
the Great Hall for speeches from the Headmaster, the
Director of Sixth Form and outgoing Captain of School,
Skanda Rajasundaram, before coaches took the leavers
off to phase two, the Leavers Ball at Oakley House.
To the accompaniment of the Take Five Party Bands
retro repertoire our students danced the night away,
enjoyed a sumptuous buffet and were astonished by the
legerdemain of the magician. This was an appropriately
celebratory evening for a fantastic year group who, we
hope, will keep in close contact with the school for years
to come.

of a Medical Student, Preparing for Interview and an

interactive You Be the Doctor session, all designed to
support applications to Medical courses.

Above: Leavers Ball

Below: Sixth Form Sports Day

PLASMA-T, Putting London ahead through

Mathematics, Science and Technology.
St Olaves has been awarded a special role within
Boris Johnsons London Schools Excellence Fund
(LSEF) to support colleagues across London schools in
developing subject excellence, with a particular focus on
programming and robotics. DT staff, in conjunction with
STEMNET, have already hosted a 3D printer workshop
where attendees were able to build and programme a 3D
printer.
Outreach Events
On Wednesday we welcomed staff and students from
Imperial College Londons Medical Faculty to run
two outreach events for aspiring medics. For Years 10
and 12 respectively, these new initiatives are part of
the PLASMA-T project - Putting London Ahead
through Science, Mathematics and Technology - which
St Olaves is running in conjunction with the London
Schools Excellence Fund. Olavians and students from
six other partner schools benefitted from workshops
on Preparing for Admissions Tests, A Day in the Life
Olavian 2014 51

Leavers Destinations 2014

Name
Alexandros Adamoulas

Timothy Adelani
Shammah Agbaje
Adedoyin Agbonin
Theodora Aiyeola
Eboselumen Akhilomen
Grace Anteyi
Matthew Antwi
Camila Arias Buritica
Georges Audish
Alexander Bailey
Kajanan Balakrishnan
Vinushan
Balansethupathy
Alexander Bargeron
Chloe Bargery
Timur Basaran
Elliot Beagley
Gavin Benson
Lucas Bertholdi-Saad
Charles Bishop
Fraser Boistelle
Keir Bowater
Justin Brown
Leon Brown
Isobel Brunton
Richard Byfield
Fintan Calpin
Anthony Cheuk
Chiha Choi
Uroosa Chughtai
Ken Chung
Louis Cokell
Ben Cole
Megan Collett
Nicholas Colling
Sebastian Cook
Madeline Coomber
Joe Cox
52 Olavian 2014

Destination
Merton, Oxford

Peterhouse, Cambridge
Warwick
UCL
KCL
Southampton
Warwick
Reapplying for medicine
LSE
Magdelen, Oxford
Birmingham
Bath
Bristol
Southampton
Bristol
Bristol
Birmingham
Bristol

Wadham, Oxford
Bath
New, Oxford
Jesus, Oxford
Cardiff
Edinburgh
Sheffield
Bath
Wadham, Oxford
Imperial
Nottingham
Imperial
Reapplying for medicine
Southampton
Bristol
Durham
Bath
Durham
Exeter
Durham

Course
Biological Sciences
Classics
Law
Pharmacy
Pharmacy
Computer Science
English & French

Law
Maths
Economics
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Economics
Psychology
Law
Music
Economics

History and Economics

Chemical Engineering
Biochemistry
Engineering
International Relations and Politics
Product Design
History
Chemistry
English
Biochemistry
Mechanical Engineering
Biomedical Science
History
Classics
Biomedical Science
Economics
Music
Maths
Biomedical Science

Thomas Crowland
James Curling
Angus Dalgleish
Rhiannon Davis
Daniel Dawson
Alexander Dean
Tomas Dean
Krishen Desai
Arun Desouza-Edwards
Elaine Drayton
Robert Edghill
Charles Edmonds
Samuel Fergusson
Jordan Fisher
Thomas Franks-Moore
Mitchel Fruin
Veeraj Galiveti
Angharad Ganguli
Cameron Garrett
Abigail George
Robert Georgel
David Giles
William Gobey
Max Goodwin
Anna Greenall
Caterina Hall
Max Hamilton-Jenkins
Zubair Hassan
Ross Hicking
Jessica Hickman
Margaret Hicks
Thomas Hilbig
Shino Hirasaki
Matthew Hodges
Oliver Hodgkiss
Nikita Hukerikar
Katherine Hunt
Rowan Ibbeken
Thomas Ibbotson
Isabella Inzani
Christian Jackson
Harin Jayawardena
Senthury
Jegatheeswaranathan

Bath
Nottingham
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Sussex
Nottingham
Durham
Christ's, Cambridge
Nottingham
Reapplying for medicine
UCL
Nottingham

Sport and Social Science

Chemistry
Land Economy
Geography
Physics
Natural Sciences
Maths
Economics

Sheffield
Gonville and Caius, Cambridge
Fitzwilliam, Cambridge
Hertford, Oxford
Warwick
Warwick
Warwick
Manchester
Reapplying
St. Catharine's, Cambridge
Bristol
Bristol
Durham
UCL
Imperial
Southampton

Economics and Politics

Land Economy
Natural Sciences
Biological Sciences
Accounting and Finance
Physics
History
Biochemistry & MFL

Nottingham
Bristol
Liverpool
LSE
York
York
Bath
Nottingham
Bath
University of London Institute in
Paris
Sydney Sussex, Cambridge
Reapplying
Southampton

Economics
Biochemistry
Criminology
Environmental Policy with Economics
Social and Political Sciences
Biology
Maths
Psychology
Mechanical Engineering

Economics
Mechanical Engineering

Engineering
Economics and Politics
Spanish and Portuguese
Philosophy
Biomedical Science
Medicine
Mechanical Engineering

French Studies
Natural Sciences
Civil Engineering

Reapplying for medicine

Olavian 2014 53

Dominic Jelf
Harry Jenkins
Charles Jones
Ahalya Kajendra
Felicity Kenny
Dawud Khan
Aarushi Khanna
Charlotte Kingdom
Benjamin Kwok
James Laing
Sophie Lawson
Alexander Lee

Reapplying for medicine

Durham
Bristol
Liverpool
Durham
LSE
Leicester
Bristol
Reapplying for dentistry
Bristol
Glasgow
Bath

Christopher Leech
Maximilian Legemah
Peter Leigh
Lap Leung
Anton Levi
Aaron Lewns
Stephanie Liang
Adenekan Lipede
Edmund Liu
Alexander Lomax
Arran Lundy

Bath
LSE
New, Oxford
Harvard

Fergus Macdonald
Tamara MacIntyre
Aiyan Maharasingam
Sarah Majekodunmi
Bennett Marcellus
Dominic McDonald
Micah McDonald
Shannon McGregor
Alexander McHale
Benjamin McKechnie
Sabriye Mehmood
Catriona Millar
Max Miller
Karen Mortby
Isaac Muk
Felicite Mukeshimana
Laura Murray
Sameer Nagi
Annabel Nash
Louis Newby

Kent
Bath
Hertford, Oxford
Southampton
Exeter
Bristol
Reapplying for dentistry
Nottingham
Liverpool
Southampton
St George's
Edinburgh
Nottingham
Southampton
Queen Mary University of London
Imperial
Durham
Reapplying for medicine
Fitzwilliam, Cambridge
Falmouth University

54 Olavian 2014

Southampton
Exeter
Newcastle
Southampton
Nottingham
Liverpool

Biological Sciences
Aerospace Engineering
Dentistry
MFL
Economics
Medicine
Maths
Music
Physics
Sociology
International Management and
Spanish
Economics
Classics

Music
Politics and International Relations
Architecture
Biochemistry
Ancient History
Medicine
English & American Literature and
Drama & Theatre Studies
MFL
History
Medicine
Accounting and Finance
Music
Economics
Classics
Medicine
Medicine
Philosophy
Geography
Acoustical Engineering
History
Medicine
Primary Teaching
Geography
Art (Foundation Course)

Aidan Nicol
Vithushan Nuges
Immanuelle Nyamali
Sinead O'Connor
Sunkanmi Ogundipe
Vanessa Ogunko
Alexander O'Halloran
Mororeoluwa Okoh
Olumide Ololade
Eyiara Olugunna
Anthony O'Rourke
Oliver Owen
Nikhil Patel
Barnabas Pitts
Aldous Poole

Reapplying
Imperial
Sheffield
Queens', Cambridge
LSE
Cardiff
Reapplying for medicine
Southampton
KCL
University of London Institute in
Paris
Bristol
Surrey
KCL
Loughborough
Exeter

Vasundara Prasad
Krishan Preddy
Joshua Price
Kishan Ragutheeswaran
Skanda Rajasundaram
Gabeetha Ravindran
Luke Reveley
Luke Richards
Aleksandar Ristic-Smith
Dominic Robson

Hertfordshire
Reapplying
Bristol
Reapplying for medicine
Lincoln, Oxford
Aston
Nottingham
Manchester
Mansfield, Oxford
Durham

Jessica Routh
Samuel Rowe
Zeinab Ruhomauly
William Ruiz
Kate Rushton
Rosa Rushton
Larissa Schymyck
Louise Selway
Musab Shamekh
Shivani Singh
Caspar Smart
Emmanuel Soyombo
James Speed
Ian Steatham
Srishti Suresh
Shunta Takino

York
Dundee
KCL
Birmingham
Liverpool
Sheffield
Emmanuel, Cambridge
Reapplying
Emmanuel, Cambridge
Imperial
Warwick
Nottingham
UCL
Nottingham
Queen's, Oxford
New, Oxford

Medicine
Medicine
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Economics
Medicine
Geography
Medicine
French Studies
Economics
Business Management
Dentistry
Physics and Maths
Classics
Digital Systems and Computer
Engineering
Economics
Medicine
Chemical Engineering
Architecture
Architecture
Engineering
Physics
Theatre: Writing, Directing and
Performance
Architecture
Medicine
History
French
French Studies
Modern and Medieval Languages
Economics
Medicine
Maths
Industrial Economics
Medicine
Physics
Law
PPE
Olavian 2014 55

Alexander Tate
Sankavi Thavarajan
Marie-Therese Treloar
Pearl Vernon-Howe
Michelle Vero
Daria Veysey
Arun Vigneswaran
Jenni Visuri
Samuel Wells
Frederick Whichello
Eleanor Wickens
Oscar Wilkins
Samuel Williams
Elizabeth Wilson
Louisa Wong
James Wood
Ahmad Yasin
Hing Ping Yau

Bristol
UCL

Archaeology and Anthropology

Medicine

Sheffield
St Andrew's
Loughborough
Prague
Murray Edwards, Cambridge
Royal Veterinary College
Durham
Warwick
Churchill, Cambridge
Bath
Lincoln, Oxford
Durham
Sheffield

Chemistry
Maths
Product Design and Technology
Medicine
Natural Sciences
Veterinary Medicine
Maths
English
Natural Sciences
Economics
Biomedical Science
Chemistry
Law

Dundee

Mechanical Engineering

Students who gained Oxbridge offers

56 Olavian 2014

Clubs
& Extra-curricular

Clubs and Extra-curricular

The Duke of Edinburgh Award.
The Duke of Edinburgh scheme continues to be very
popular and successful with students from Years 9 to
13. By doing the DofE, students are in for an amazing
adventure and masses of fun as they take part in a range
of activities, all leading to the achievement of an Award
thats recognised by unis and employers alike.
Bronze Expeditions
This is a busy time of year for all those involved with
DofE. Since Easter until the end of term there will
have been 2 Gold, 1 Silver & 2 Bronze expeditions
out and about across the country. This last weekend
saw the Bronze Assessed out walking through to West
Kingsdown and back to school in 2 days. All students
worked well in their teams with only a few questioning
their map reading skills. Saturday night saw the World
Cup being played out on the campsite to everyones
enjoyment. A big thank you to all the staff that helped as
without them this just would not happen
Gold Expedition Dartmoor
The Gold expedition is, as it should be, tough. Dartmoor
certainly provides this year in year out with a testing
environment & some very testing conditions. This year
the weather once again threw all it could at us with
driving rain, a very wet moor with the streams flooding &
howling gales. This took its toll on equipment, with two
wrecked tents and many wet soggy students. However
this did not deter the party who spent 4 nights on the
moor wild camping and covering a great distance over
the 4 days.
Despite all the weather the groups all passed the practice
and after this experience the assessed at the end of the
summer term should really be a walk in the park
A big thank you to the staff who gave up part of their
holidays and a warm comfortable dry bed.
Chess champion, Anantha Anilkumar
Congratulations to Anantha (7B), who represented
England in the 2013 FIDE World Youth Chess
Championship held in Abu Dhabi, competing with
1773 players from 121 countries. He finished as the 2nd
best England player in his U12 age group, and as the 4th
best player overall out of the England squad of 24.
Chess Report
After some excellent play throughout this term, the
Saint Olaves team finally went out of the National
Schools Championship in an extremely close match
58 Olavian 2014

against Sevenoaks with wins from Anantha Anilkumar,

Nigel DSouza and James Wagstaff-Hall. Well done to
the team who, in the ECF tournament at Eton, secured
wins against Hampton, Wilsons and Eton to emerge 5th
out of the 20 teams entered.

World Challenge 2014 - Honduras

We flew into the city of San Pedro Sula, driving at night
through a strange city on a strange continent. Everyone
was exhausted after the two flights required to get here,
one to Miami and another across the Gulf of Mexico.
Many of us had never been to a tropical country before,
and were still reeling from the brief journey from the
air-conditioned airport to the air-conditioned minibus.
We arrived at our accommodation for the next two
nights, and tried to get as much sleep as we coulddespite the conditions. The next day was spent running
around exchanging money and sorting out food and
accommodation for the next couple of weeks, and
acclimating to the intense heat and humidity.
We headed out to the coastal city of La Ceiba next,
where we would spend the next few days in the Pico
Bonito national park completing acclimatisation treks
and learning jungle bush craft. We camped in the
rainforest, and soon learned it was not called that without
good reason. One of the persistent highlights of the trip
was the people we met, and we got off to a very good
start with Jorge Salaverri, our guide, who was extremely
knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of the jungle,
and was forever picking fruit off branches for us to eat.
After leaving La Ceiba we went straight onto the Project
Phase, in the hillier, temperate Santa Barbara region
of Honduras. Here we would be helping to clear bird
watching trails through the cloud forest. Living up in the
hills gave us some of the most spectacular scenery we saw
on the trip, and we got to meet and work alongside local
villagers, all clearly passionate about improving the lives of
those in their close-knit community. After two nights we
came down from the hills, having successfully completed
our trails. There, we helped to paint murals designed by
local schoolchildren and played a few friendly football
matches. Our local contact, William Orellana is building
up an eco-tourism business in Honduras, emphasising
its untouched beauty and quality of bird watching.

For our Rest and Relaxation phase we caught the ferry

to the tropical island of Roatan, where we all engaged in
four days of scuba diving, in the incredible Mesoamerican
barrier reef. We also all got a great taste of the Caribbean
lifestyle and climate.
Honduras really does prove that you should never judge
something by how it appears on the surface. If you were
to look up Honduras now, all you would get would be
reports of violence and corruption, yet this does not
compare with actually visiting the country and seeing for
yourself the beautiful countryside, and the ever-friendly,
driven people determined to improve Honduras standing
in the world, and I sincerely hope that they will succeed.

We then visited the Mayan Ruins at Copan, beautifully

preserved and full of incredibly colourful scarlet macaws.
On the next phase we were supposed to be trekking
through the Celaque National Park and reaching the
highest peak in the country, but due to a combination
of injury and illness we only managed a day of trekking.
Instead, we spent a lot of time getting to know the
town of Gracias we were staying in, and explored the
surrounding area.
Eventually we got back on itinerary and went back to
La Ceiba, for white-water rafting and river hiking in the
Rio Cangrejal, full of imposing boulders and drops. This
day, was for sure, a highlight of the trip.
Olavian 2014 59

World Challenge 2014 - Honduras

60 Olavian 2014

World Challenge - Thailand and Laos

17 Olavians from the current Year 12 and 13 met on
the final day of the Summer term in July, when we had
our build-up day; we had a kit check, spent time with
our Expedition Leader (Matt), ran through important
expedition procedures and sorted out last-minute
problems before the big departure day!
After a pizza, we eventually got to sleep at about 01:00,
before an early 04:00 start. We packed up, had a quick
breakfast, distributed group kit and caught our coach
to Heathrow. On arrival, we prepared our rucksacks for
transit and sorted the group money. Finally, we boarded
our 12:30 flight to Bangkok, buzzing with excitement
for our upcoming adventure!
Upon arrival at Bangkok, we spent a further 5 hours
at the airport, taking the 11:40 flight to Vientiane (the
capital city of Laos), where we were first introduced to
the blazing heat and thick humidity of the country. We
spent two nights in Vientiane, in which we bought team
phones and did some sightseeing we visited a typical
daytime market place and night market, took a walk
alongside the River Mekong and enjoyed the unexpected
calm that pervades the city.
After our time in Vientiane, we took a 3 hour tuk-tuk
journey to the village of Ban Na dangerous, slightly, but
there was a nice breeze! We stopped at several markets
along the route, for refreshment and for our guides to
purchase supplies it was amazing to see the hustle and
bustle of the markets, with huge varieties of food! From
Ban Na, we began our 3-day acclimatisation trek around
Phou Khao Khouay National Protected Area. We only
trekked for several hours each day; however, the heat and
humidity ensured it was comparable to a MUCH longer
trek back home, not to mention walking up seemingly
endless uphill routes on wet, rocky ground from huge
amounts of rain. There were plenty of opportunities to
slip! Our nights were spent in tents, which proved to
be obstacles themselves to overcome you would have
thought, given the climate and the walking taking a lot
out of us, we would sleep like rocks. No! This is World
Challenge: between the sweat, the stuffiness and the
water seeping into your tents, it was preferable to some
to just stay awake! After our second day of trekking, we
spent the afternoon and early evening playing games
with our guides up in the elephant tower and at the
end of the trek, on the third day, we were treated to a
ceremony by the village in which religious bands were
tied on us, before being laid on with a feast!
After a truly exhausting trek phase, we transferred back to
Vientiane, from which we began our transit to northern
Laos for our project phase, beginning with a 3-hour
minibus journey to the scenic riverside town of Vang
Vieng. After spending the night there, we continued
62 Olavian 2014

to take a 7-hour minibus journey to Luang Prabang, a

beautiful laid back city set into the mountainous region
of northern Laos. Staying here for two nights, we cleared
up some admin work and planning and were able to visit
a waterfall park nearby. Here, there was a bear enclosure
dedicated to their protection and we climbed up to
the top of the waterfall and then made a fairly difficult
descent down, enjoying the views and being splashed
with water on the way down!
On our third day in Luang Prabang, we were introduced
to our translators for the project phase Mon and Jit
who we went shopping with to purchase supplies for
the village we were going to work in, Ban Kok. We then
travelled by boat down the Mekong for two hours, where
were met by a host of children and women, who bore
necklaces and cups of flowers to welcome us. We settled
into our accommodation for the first day (in a village hall)
and then went out to play with the kids with some toys
we had purchased them. Throughout the course of our
time in the village, we helped to paint over a school, filled
in a new toilet block for the village, did some gardening
in the area around the school and even managed to
teach some basic English lessons to the children! For
the whole team, our time in the village was particularly
special to each of us, we all took great joy in playing the
kids, cooking with the adults and appreciating the fact
that they have so little, but were always (both kids and
adults) up so very early with beaming smiles on their
faces! Other highlights included the temple that sat up
above the village, which proved to be an excellent spot
for peace and reflection, taking a tour of the rice paddies
near the village and, once more, partaking in a ceremony
of thanks and good luck laid on by the villagers. In our
thanks, we sang for the villagers (of course including
Jerusalem!) and the kids sang in return. A truly special
time in the expedition, we left the village and headed
back to Luang Prabang, ready to move onto the main
trek phase.
From Luang Prabang, we needed to travel to Chiang
Rai in northern Thailand for our main trek. We did this
through two 8-hour boat journeys on the Mekong and
a public bus over three days the first boat trip was to
Pak Beng (a small riverside town in Laos) and then onto
Hauy Xai (a border town in Laos). We crossed over
the Thai border and took a short transport to Chiang
Khong, where we stayed the night and had dinner at a
tourist-adapted bar, giving us a small taste of home! The
following day, we took a 4-hour public bus to Chiang
Rai city, staying the night at the accommodation of our
trek providers, the Akha Hill tribe.
Finally, the day had come that some had been dreading
the start of our six day main trek! We began by taking
a speed boat to a hot spring site, where we had lunch
and some time to bathe in the pools. We then started

World Challenge 2014 - Thailand and Laos

Above & Left: In the village enjoying our

time with the kids
Below: At Kuang Si waterfall and
relaxing after our main trek

Olavian 2014 63

Clockwise, from top: Kuang Si waterfall in

Luang Prabang, In Bankok Village outside our
accomodation, At the summit of our main trek,
Making the most of out time in Bankok Village
64 Olavian 2014

their cooking, laying it out on banana leaves. The best

night was by far Jungle Camp night. Sleeping outside
in hammocks was quite the experience a comfy nights
sleep and entertainment provided in the form of peoples
hammocks collapsing in the middle of the night!
Post-trek, we were driven back to Chiang Rai, where we
had several hours to eat lunch, re-pack and shower before
taking a 3-hour bus journey to Chiang Mai. This marked
the start of our R&R phase and, as such, we enjoyed
watching Muay Thai for an evening, shopping around in
some of the most dazzling night markets, taking a scenic
walk through the Old City (seeing countless grand
and beautiful temples) and visiting a huge mall. After
two nights in Chiang Mai, we took an early-evening
overnight train to Bangkok, arriving at 11:00 the next
morning at Hua Lamphong station.
our serious trekking to our accommodation for the
night (surprising to us, a hostel!) with our guides Som
and Atit. We visited a waterfall later on in the evening
in which we were allowed to swim, a nice refreshment
after a tough trek that day. Over the next several days,
we trekked between villages; there were ups and downs
emotionally and quite literally one of the hardest parts
was the hilliness of the northern Thai jungle: we would
trek up a steep hill and it would immediately go back
down after. A killer for the feet! Between the sweat and
exhaustion, some team members managed to contract
colds, being given a day off from trekking on the third
day. Their return to the group members was nothing
short of culturally typical for a south-east Asian country
packed into the back of a truck, they were driven along
to the village meeting point and endured big bumps,
little space, driving on the edge of cliffs and sliding
back and forth on up and downhill parts! Amazingly,
the guides crafted all of our eating utensils (cups and
chopsticks) from bamboo, from which they also did

We had finally made it to the hustle-and-bustle city of

culture, Bangkok! We purchased metro tickets and took
the metro from Hua Lamphong to Sutthistan, where we
walked to our hotel, Bangkok 68. Over the course of our
time in Bangkok we did huge amounts of sightseeing
(of particular note were the Golden Mount, a stunning
place to see a panoramic view of the whole of Bangkok,
and the Grand Palace, a beautiful array of temples and
buildings steeped in history, culture and art, housing the
emerald Buddha), visited a mall to rival those in London
in size (in which we took a tour around an aquarium),
went bowling, had two meals at night markets (one at
the famous Khaosan Road) and relaxed in Lumphini
Park.
On our final day, after a lie-in, swim in the rooftop pool
and a game of bowling, we packed up our last things and
took a train journey to the airport. We checked-in, had
dinner and boarded our 01:10 flight from Suvarnabhumi
to Heathrow. 11 hours later, we landed back home in
London, after an amazing month-long expedition.
From the more exotic foods we were able to try, having
to use a long-drop toilet during our times outside of
hostels and using bucket-showers to living a month
away from our families, overcoming tough physical and
mental obstacles and working as a team in a different way
than anything we had experienced before, everything
contributed to the life-changing opportunity we had and
memories that will last a lifetime.
Top left: A bamboo forest
Bottom left: At Chaing Mai Reservoir

Olavian 2014 65

Visit to La Martiniere School for Girls,

Kolkata
During Activity Week II at the end of last year the
Head Master and Miss Heraghty visited La Martiniere
School for Girls as part of the British Councils
international link schools programme. Focusing on
the themes of sustainability and global citizenship and
commemorating WW1, projects were instigated across
departments. The epitome of the hospitality, the Indian
international team were able to give a real flavour of La
Martiniere; through basketball matches, inaugurations of
66 Olavian 2014

societies, the annual Art exhibition and a tour of Kolkata

to name a few. Speaking to their students highlighted
the similar mentality they have to our Olavians, with
the girls being ambitious, creative and academically
curious. The school has a strong link to the citys Science
Museum and students are able to use the laboratories to
perform experiments, test out new inventions and learn
about robotics. The aim is for the link between the two
schools to continue for years to come.

Societies
Hip-Hop & Design
Hip-Hop & Design Society has enjoyed a successful
dbut year, with members presenting on a broad range
of intellectually stimulating topics, from Architecture
in the Projects to The Art of Spoken Word. There
has also been an exciting line-up of guest speakers,
with Old Olavian Dhaval Kale speaking from Dubai
via webcam on Jazz Hip-Hop, and Los Angeles
photographer Dexter Navy and Hackney rapper Bate
Nate H are amongst those scheduled to talk later in
the year. The society is now looking forward to an even
more prosperous second year, with new ventures such as
a society magazine journal on the horizon.

Photography Club
Photography club has been running every Thursday
lunchtime, teaching students from all years how to take
professional photos. This years talks have so far included
macro photography, lens whacking, and photoshopping
by Henry Gill, portraiture and lighting by Luke
ODonovan and long exposure photography by Chris
Page.

both at a local and global scale, using puzzles and games

to remember these.
Film Club
At film club, students from all years have been making
short films based on the theme Time, with talks on the
filmmaking process from Alastair Haig, Daniel Gillette
and Henry Gill. The teams have so far written their
scripts, drawn their storyboards and are starting to shoot
their productions on DSLRs and a professional cinema
camera.

Hope Foundation
St.Olaves continued the long standing partnership with
the local Hope Foundation food bank charity, and this
year we saw an exceptional increase in dontaions after
sixth formers Daniel Bradford, Luke ODonovan and
Shezara Francis visited the food bank to learn how
valuable their service is to the community, and then
presented their findings in a whole school assembly.
A number of students also volunteered to help the
charity during half term, assisting with their week-long
operation of sorting out all of the food donations from
across the borough ready for distribution to those who
need it most.
Thank you to everybody who made a donation this year,
and we are looking forward to continuing the schools
collaboration with the charity on the future.

Wonders of the World Club

Attendance to thenewWOW (Wonders of the World)
club has been rapidly increasing. Activities have involved
an opportunity to develop creative skills through the
planning and design of earthquake proof buildings as
well as joining Attenborough on his journey through
planet earth, embracing the incredible landscapes and
ecosystems of the African continent. Students have also
developed their knowledge of places in the wider world

Olavian 2014 67

Mathematics
& Computing

The Faculty of Mathematics,

National Competitions
ICT & Computer Science

he past year has seen the Faculty sustain its

outstanding contributions to the academic plus
co-curricular aspects of school life. New teaching
resources have been embedded within the curriculum
whilst there have continued to be developments in the
extracurricular clubs and competitions on offer. These
have enabled Olavian students to develop their problemsolving, logic, communication and team-working skills
in a variety of ways culminating in impressive results in
external plus internal examinations as well as enabling a
significant proportion of our Year 13 students to embark
upon mathematics or mathematics-related degrees at
university.
Around 80% of Year 13 students completed the A2
Mathematics course with almost half of these also
undertaking the A2 Further Mathematics course.
Over the past five years there has been an average of
around sixty-five students completing the double
mathematics course meaning that nationally St Olaves
has had the highest absolute number plus proportion of
students undertaking this demanding course. In terms
of examination results, despite the new system with all
units being sat in the summer, over 80% of entries were
graded at A* or A and a record proportion achieved the
highest grade in A2 Further Mathematics. It was also
encouraging to observe the significant decrease in the
proportion of lower grades.
In Year 12 there was another huge cohort of 158
mathematicians with a significant majority completing
the double mathematics option and hence have achieved
AS Levels in Mathematics and Further Mathematics.
Overall, the year achieved very commendable results.
The results in AS Mathematics were very similar to
previous years with around three quarters achieving the
highest grade. For Further Mathematics AS, whilst a
good majority achieved the top grade, the demands of
undertaking all six units in the summer meant that a few
more students than usual struggled to assimilate all the
topics.
Our Year 11 students had the daunting task of following
in the footsteps of last years outstanding first set
of IGCSE results. It is pleasing to report that they
responded positively to the challenge, achieving a new
record 87% A* grades and many students achieving close
to full marks in one or both of the papers. The top two sets
sat the Free Standing Unit in Additional Mathematics,
an excellent extension qualification in preparation for
sixth form studies of the subject. The results were very

encouraging with a record number achieving the top

grade.
Students in Years 7 to 10 have continued to demonstrate
their considerable ability plus enthusiasm for the subject
through impressive end-of-year assessment results plus
involvement in clubs, mathematics activity days, national
mathematics challenges plus team competitions,
attendance of mathematics clinics, involvement in the
buddy system and preparations for Olympiads.
The department has continued its intense involvement
in the United Kingdom Mathematics Trusts Junior,
Intermediate and Senior Challenges with all Olavian
students having at least two opportunities to sit each
Challenge. As ever, huge numbers of students achieved
certificates placing them well within the top half of
the selective cohort sitting the papers. In addition,
significant numbers go on to the follow-on rounds of
the Olympiads plus Kangaroos. In view of the confirmed
desire to introduce a greater problem-solving element
to public examinations, this involvement should ensure
that Olavians have been given additional opportunities
to develop this aspect of the subject.
Computing has continued to go from strength to
strength under Dr Onifades leadership. A record
eighteen students completed the AS Computing course
with pleasing results. An encouraging number of these
students have embarked upon the challenging A2
Computing course. In addition, the subject has continued
to develop in Years 9 to 11 with each year now consisting
of two groups undertaking the GCSE course. The Year
11 GCSE results were encouraging. The Key Stage 3
course with its greater emphasis on computing skills has
been well received and should lay firm foundations for
further developments over the coming years.
At the end of the year the Faculty bade farewell to two
members of staff with contrasting lengths of service
within the Mathematics department. Mr Tom Henley
has been an integral part of the Mathematics department
for twenty-seven years making significant contributions
to sixth form provision, including STEP classes plus
preparing students for university courses, as well as
being regarded with much fondness by students for his
sharp wit. We wish him an extremely full and enjoyable
retirement. Mr Andrew Gyford moved on to teach in
Beijing after three years at St Olaves during which his
creativity and willingness to assist in myriad aspects of
department and school life have been appreciated by
Olavian 2014 69

colleagues and students alike.

In September the Faculty welcomes two new members
of staff, namely Mr Ryan Palmer who will teach
Mathematics throughout the school plus Mrs Sujatha
Paul who will teach Computing plus assist within the
PLASMA-T project. In addition, Mr James Davis will
take over as Head of the Faculty and Mrs Polly Padmore
will become second in charge of the Faculty. Finally, Mr
Timothy McCurrach takes over responsibility for Key
Stage 3. This team will seek to sustain and develop the
successes of the Faculty over the coming year.

noteworthy were Kush Banga (12X) achieving a

certificate of distinction and Alexander Song (8C)
being awarded an amazing result of a bronze medal as
a result of four faultless solutions a truly remarkable
achievement as the Olympiad is designed for sixth form
students! Following this stratospheric result Alexander
sat the round 2 paper and managed to solve one of the
four problems designed for top Year 13 students. In
the light of this plus other remarkable results during
the year Alex was invited to be the youngest student
attending a summer Mathematics Olympiad training
camp in Oxford.

As I reflect upon the past year, I continue to marvel

at the determination of Olavian students to push
themselves academically whilst seeking to broaden their
mathematical horizons. It has been a privilege to oversee
this for the past two years and I look forward to another
year of exciting developments.

Senior Kangaroo
In the European Kangaroo competition, Charlotte
Kingdom, Tomas Dean, Luke Richards, Nigel DSouza
and William Edmonds achieved a certificate of
distinction and in so doing demonstrated impressive
problem-solving skills under considerable time pressure.

Neil Maltman

Head of Mathematics

National Competitions
Senior Mathematical Challenge
On Thursday 7th November, the Senior Mathematical
Challenge was undertaken by all students in Years 12
and 13 studying Mathematics plus the top two sets from
Year 11. This years paper proved to be slightly more
straightforward than last years and, as ever, our students
responded positively to the twenty-five challenging
problems.
The 353 Olavian entrants managed to achieve a record
281 certificates (37 gold, 116 silver and 128 bronze)
representing an outstanding 80% of entrants, eclipsing
our record of last year. Special mention should be made
of Alistair Haig (12W) who achieved the best in school
with a score of 107 plus Oscar Wilkins (13G) and Tom
Wang (11N) who achieved best-in-year results.
Six students from Years 12 and 13 qualified for the
first round of the British Mathematical Olympiad and
an encouraging twenty-three qualified for the Senior
Kangaroo Mathematics follow on round. All these
results continue to reflect the excellent problem-solving
abilities possessed by many senior Olavians.
British Mathematical Olympiad
Olavians performed well in the follow-on rounds to
the Senior Mathematical Challenge. In the British
Mathematical Olympiad Round 1 several of our
eight entrants achieved creditable results, the most
70 Olavian 2014

Intermediate Mathematical Challenge

In the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge, students
from Years 9 to 11 achieved an impressive 77 gold,
100 silver and 68 bronze certificates. A near-record 59
students were invited to take part in follow-on rounds
of the Intermediate Olympiad and Kangaroo papers.
Special congratulations to Tom Wang (11N), Richard
Moulange (10J) and Henry Miller (9B) who achieved
best-in-year results.

Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad and

Kangaroo Competitions
Thirteen Olavian students from Years 9 to 11 qualified
for the Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad. Virtually
all managed to solve two or three of the six demanding
and unusual problems. Congratulations go to Tom Wang
(11N) for his achievement of certificate of distinction
and Alec Hong (9L) for being awarded a medal plus
book prize placing him in the top fifty in the country.
An incredible further forty-one students sat the slightly
less daunting Kangaroo Mathematics competition,
achieving some of our best results ever. Sixteen students
achieved certificates of merit placing them in the top
twenty-five percent of this select cohort. The best-inyear results were achieved by Ishaan Oza (9H), Tomas
Gallagher (10K) and Nicholas Wright (11N).
Junior Mathematical Challenge
Congratulations also go to Years 7 and 8 students
upon their very impressive results in this years Junior
Mathematical Challenge. The 232 Olavian entries
achieved an amazing 101 gold, 69 silver and 42 bronze
certificates, breaking several records for the school.
Thirteen students, the highest number in nearly a
decade, qualified for the Junior Mathematical Olympiad
in June, placing them in around the top thousand entries
nationally. Special mention must go to Alexander Song
(8C), who solved all twenty-five problems successfully,
plus Ian Rodrigues (7L) who achieved the best-in-year
results.

Junior Mathematical Olympiad

A near record thirteen Years 7 and 8 Olavians qualified
for the prestigious Junior Mathematical Olympiad. All
the students managed to solve at least one of the six
demanding problems, but special congratulations must
go to Samuel Mellis (8C) who was awarded a bronze
medal and Alexander Song (8C) who completed an
amazing year on Mathematical achievement with a gold
medal.

UKMT Team Mathematics Challenge

Regional Final
On Wednesday 6th March St Olaves hosted a regional
round of the UKMT Mathematics Team Challenge
for thirty-six teams of four students from Years 8 and
9. The day consisted of four rounds of mathematical
problem-solving involving a crossnumber, head-tohead challenges plus a final fast and furious relay. The
St Olaves A team of Daniel Maghsoudi, Henry Miller,
Hai Duong and Alex Song were in the lead at the half
way stage with two faultless rounds, but faltered in the
afternoon to be pipped by a point by Eltham. The B team
of Alec Hong, Christopher Rajendram, Swastik Gupta
and Mehar Bijral came a very creditable fourth.

The A Team

UKMT Senior Team Challenge

On Wednesday 27th November Ebi Akhilomen and
Oscar Wilkins of Year 13 and Alistair Haig and Elena
Rastorgueva of Year 12 visited Ravenswood School to
represent St Olaves in the regional heats of the UKMT
Senior Maths Team Challenge. After the first round they
had a perfect score and were feeling confident. However,
a particularly difficult crossnumber (a numerical
crossword) left the team a little shaken. A strong effort
in the final round improved our chances, but was sadly
not enough with St Olaves falling just short of the
medal positions. However the students had a thoroughly
enjoyable day and can be proud of their performance
against some very tough opposition!
SiMPLEX Mathematical Modelling
Competition
Following a lesson on mathematical modelling looking
at the behaviour of penguins, two teams of five year 9
students were invited to a competition at the Centre
for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and
Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX) at University
College London. Upon arrival students were presented
with documentary footage on the perilous journey
faced by new born turtles on their way to the sea, before
being asked to come up with their own questions about
survival strategies. Students were then given materials
to develop their own game to model the situation and
answer their questions. After lunch students trialed their
games and reflected upon the efficacy of their models
before presenting their findings to the other groups. Both
Olavian 2014 71

groups presented well with the competition organisers

particularly impressed by the groups analyses of their
models. The winning team of Leo Bennett, Alec Hong,
Eugene Lee, Nicholas Leigh and James Tang are to be
congratulated upon winning this inaugural round of this
competition.

Other Activities and Clubs

Oxbridge Mathematics Symposium

For the second year running, the department was
pleased to welcome back Old Olavians Luke Abraham
and Kit Harris (2004 11) studying at Cambridge and
Oxford respectively to lead an Oxbridge Mathematics
Symposium. As well as providing useful insights into
the application and interview process at their respective
universities, they shared interesting vignettes of subject
areas of interest to them plus answered various questions
from Olavian students.

against them and their choice of tyres made cornering

in the rain difficult. After 72 laps of the Brands Hatch
course, their car finished in a respectable 18th place.
Years 8 and 9 Mathematics Activity Days
Prior to undertaking their end-of-year assessments, Year
8 students engaged in a wide variety of mathematical
team activities. After a hundred minutes of hectic
solving of problems plus sudokus as well as the 1, 2, 3, 4,
5 Challenge, a team from 8C emerged victorious with a
record total score, whilst 8H won the form competition.
As part of Activity Week 2, Year 9 undertook a variety
of mathematical activities for a morning consisting of
a team competition as well as designing racing cars on
computers in pairs to race around a virtual Formula 1
circuit. In the team competition, 9L were the clear victors
whilst the car races were fast and furious with high levels
of vocal support throughout!

Royal Institution Mathematics

Masterclasses
The department funded five Year 9 Olavians to attend
the seven Saturday morning Mathematics Masterclasses
held at Bromley High School. Through a series of lectures
and exercises the students learnt about many enrichment
topics covering such as advanced trigonometry and
the importance of maths in navigation. Favourite
student topics involved extended use of calculators
and algorithms, but all the sessions served to broaden
students mathematical horizons.

Year 5 Mathematics Activity Day

As part of the PLASMA-T initiative, St Olaves hosted
over two hundred Year 5 students from seven local
primary schools for a day of mathematical and scientific
activities. The Year 12 Mathematics prefects ran a variety
of events including a tiring orienteering problem solving
to a carousel of mini-activities including the leaping
frog problem, sudokus, tangrams and a polygon memory
game. There was a real buzz of excitement as the pupils
tried to conquer the problems set and many a cheer
when they did so!

Maths in Motion Club

The Jaguar Car Maths in Motion Club has continued
to offer Key Stage 3 students opportunities to use their
arithmetic and mathematical skills to design and refine
racing cars to take account of the different racing tracks
and weather conditions thrown at them by Peter Leigh,
our long-serving co-ordinator of this club who has taken
his final bow in this role after many years of faithful and
much appreciated service.

Post A Level Mathematics

Several Year 13 students are preparing to take university
entrance examinations in mathematics. Here is a taste of
the sort of questions they have to tackle.

Jaguar Maths in Motion Challenge

National Final
Having beaten over 1000 other competitors, for the
second year running Abhay Gupta and Eddie Ho of 8H,
won a place to represent St. Olaves at the final of the
Jaguar Maths in motion competition. Faced with the
task of designing a car, and then racing it in a simulation
against other schools, there would be much careful
calculation required if they were to succeed. During the
initial design phase, the Olaves car was positioned at
5th place on the grid (out of 30), but some last minute
alterations and practice laps by some of the competitors
left them finally starting in 12th position. Although
the car was well designed, the weather conditions were
72 Olavian 2014

Entrants for the STEP examinations have been solving

questions such as:

Find:

[Clue: consider u=1/x]

The MAT examination contains multiple choice

questions such as:
Which is the smallest? [No calculators allowed]

Those applying to study computer science have to answer

logic questions such as:

Alf, Beth and Gemma sit in the same room.
One of them always tells the truth, one always tells a lie
and the other tells the truth or lies at random. Suppose
Alf says Beth is the one who behaves randomly, and
Gemma says Alf always lies. Then Beth says You have
heard enough to determine who always tells the truth.
Who always tells the truth? Who always lies?
We hope that you enjoy having a go at these too.

Top: Students Teaching at St. Pauls Cray School

Below & Right: Students attempting the Penguin
Mathematical Challenge

Olavian 2014 73

Science

The Faculty of Science

National Competitions

he Science Faculty has gone from strength to strength

this year with increasing sixth form numbers driving
an exciting project to build two new Science labs. The
focus on challenge and scholarship continues and the
three major sixth form societies attract large audiences
and regularly publish impressive journals. 2014 saw an
increase in the use of outside speakers, many of whom
have been quite inspirational and, of course, the Olavian
Lecture Series has featured eminent scientists such as
Lord Professor Robert Winston and Adam Rutherford.
Students also attended events outside school, with A
level Biology students experiencing a fantastic range of
lectures at the Institute of Education, Chemistry students
attending several lectures at the Royal Institution and
a group from Natural Sciences society enjoying Friday
evening talks at UCL.

experience as she has agreed to return to St Olaves to

take on a couple of Year 12 classes.
It is a huge privilege, as Head of Science, to oversee
such a wealth of talent, commitment and creativity
and, as pupil numbers rise, along with the walls of the
new Science labs, and exam systems and specifications
change, I know that we are well placed to face the many
interesting challenges ahead.

Caroline Marwood

S___Head of Science Faculty

Sixth form students were successful in the national

Olympiad competitions for Biology, Chemistry and
Physics and, not to be outdone, many Year 10 students
gained gold, silver and bronze medals in the national
Biology Challenge.
During the Summer activity weeks, A level Biology
students returned to Nettlecombe Court Field Study
Centre in Somerset to prepare for A level Biology
coursework, and lower school pupils enjoyed a range of
trip including visits to the Natural History Museum and
the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
In June, Year 11 Biology students were the first cohort
to take the Edexcel Certificate in Biology. We awaited
the results with some trepidation and were thrilled that
94% gained A/A* grades with 77% of those grades at A*.
This clearly bodes well for the Chemistry and Physics
departments who follow suit in 2015. Exam success
was notable across all the Sciences at AS and A level
and many students were successful in gaining places at
Medical Schools and at top universities.
In 2014, we were joined by two schools direct trainee
teachers, Dr Ateesh Sidhu and Jeremy Dodds, an old
Olavian. Both completed the year successfully and,
while Jeremy left to take up a post at Abingdon School,
Dr Sidhu was appointed as a Biology teacher from
September 2014. We are also joined by Mark Acheson,
a newly qualified teacher of Physics. We were sad to say
goodbye to Mrs Mary Morinan who retired from St
Olaves in July after 14 years as a Chemistry teacher and
Head of Chemistry. However, the good news is that we
continue to benefit from her immense commitment and

Top: Winners of the Gold Olypiad

Students taking part in the Chemistry Challenge

Olavian 2014 75

Biology Field trip 2014

The biology field trip was a fantastic experience. I felt
supremely prepared for the trip, particularly in choosing
a coursework topic because of the practice studies we
had prior to the field trip in lessons. On the first couple
of days of the trip, we visited different locations (the
rocky shore, an artificial mountain, a nearby pond,
meander and river). We were given the opportunity to
explore a vast array of options of where we would like
to carry out coursework and which species we would
like to focus on. We started by practicing various data
collection techniques (for example using quadrats and
transects) on the artificial mountain. I personally wanted
a plant based project so being able to practise before
actual data collection day proved valuable. I learnt about
the different grass species such as yarrow and buttercups
and specific adaptations they have. We also carried out a
mini-study investigating the distribution of plant species
across the mountain. This was a simple task but yet a great
experience and it left me thinking about how I would like
to carry out my own pilot study, the length of transact
and what species I would like to focus on. On the next
day, we visited the rocky shore and carried out a small
study on the distribution of plant and animal species
(such as seaweed, limpets and periwinkle) as you go
offshore. Through this, I learnt about how various species
adapt to the varying harshness of the intertidal zone and
the importance of having stable conditions to different
species. We also went to the Embercombe valley, where
we visited a nearby river. Initially we learnt about the
geography of river ( such as pools and riffles, how to use
equipments needed to work out the velocity of the river
and other river variables, working out the discharge of
the river and how conditions in the river changes from
riffles to pools. We also investigated the distribution of
fresh water shrimp using stratified sampling in the pools
and riffles, particularly looking at the species diversity
in the pools and riffles at 2 sample sites of the river. The
day before our pilot study, out teacher showed us around
Nettlecombe court where we could carry out our study in
and around the site. We visited a nearby pond (where we
could vary out a fresh water based project), areas where
there has been soil compaction due to trampling (so
soil compaction could be an abiotic variable we would
consider), woodland area with varying light intensity
(for projects based on investigating light intensity and
the distribution of a particular species e.g. ground Ivy,
the church graveyard where we could investigate how
the distribution of lichens is affected by abiotic variables.
Some people choose to visit the meander and as a result
choose to carry out their main investigation there. The
whole experience of the trip was exciting. Through it, I
began to both explore and understand ecology, which
would be valuable for the A2 biology course.
Rebecca Daramola 13R
76 Olavian 2014

Ensuring Excellence
EEX is working hard to attract capital funding, urgently
needed for new science laboratories. Bids are in the
pipeline with external foundations and further potential
donors. Engagement with City firms is providing
interview practice and work placement opportunities.
Alumni networks should benefit both old and current
students alike, whilst a regular Grandparents Day for
Y7s to show off their new school to their families. More
families, 64%, are donating than ever before, with Gift
Aid on top their contributions should exceed 320K p.a.
Thank you all for your support: Every Parent Counts!
Biology Olympiad 2014
Congratulations to Year 13s, Caterina Hall, Isabella
Inzani, Aarushi Khanna, Uroosa Chughtai and
Alexandros Adamoulas, who were awarded Gold medals
in the Biology Olympiad, putting them in the top 6.5%
nationally. The two highest scorers, Aarusha Khanna and
Uroosa Chughtai, have been invited to attempt the 2nd
round paper for selection to represent the UK in the
IBO in Bali in July.
Natural History Museum Visit Year 7
During Activity Week 1, Year 7 visited the Natural
History Museum, taking the opportunity to learn about
many different areas of Natural Science. The students
enjoyed exhibits on Earth Science and Human Biology,
in addition to the vast collection of animals, birds and
insects. The boys travelled on public transport and were
congratulated by commuters on their behaviour.
National Biology Challenge
Year 10 Biology students took up the National Biology
Challenge in March, sitting two online papers which
covered the whole range of Biological Sciences. 43
students were awarded medals with 12 receiving gold
medals which placed them in the top 5% of the national
cohort. 10 students received silver medals and 21, bronze
medals.
Natural Sciences Society
Natural Sciences Society has had an extremely eventful
and enjoyable year. With a packed programme of
presentations, attendance at UCL lectures and quizzes,
not to mention the Olavian Lecture Series, the scientific
enrichment at the school has reached unprecedented
levels.
As the new presidents of the society (Abhishek Patel,
Raunak Rao and Elena Rastorgueva), we have continued
to give students the opportunity to write scientific articles,
and have published our Spring Term Society Journal.
Article topics ranged from the mysterious concept of
dark energy to the malnutrition crisis in Sub-Saharan
Africa. We are looking to publish our second journal in

Biology Field Trip 2014

Olavian 2014 77

the Autumn Term, which will be the sixth issue for the
society.

Adam Rutherford and Professor Steve Jones during the

Autumn and Spring terms.

At the society gatherings every Friday, we have been

privileged to hear from seven external speakers, who
presented on a multitude of topics. First, Dr Tom
Clarke from Imperial College London presented on
how the immune system recognises the presence of
bacteria and protects us against infection, discussing
some of his biomedical research, and advancements
in the understanding of immunology. March was a
dynamic and vibrant period for the society, giving rise
to the name Science Month. We heard from Professor
Julian Evans from University College London, who
gave a thought-provoking talk on How do we nurture
creativity in the science curriculum?, capturing the
imagination of many students and staff alike. This was
followed by a presentation of astronomical proportions
by Professor Carl Murray, titled Saturns Rings from
Cassini, with some fascinating images from the space
probe that Professor Murray had been working in close
collaboration with for over 20 years. Next, Dr Philip
Zegerman from the University of Cambridge gave a
presentation titled Beer, bread and frogs: the best recipe
for cancer research, discussing various aspects of cell
biology and how they can be applied to the fight against
cancer.

We look forward to welcoming new sixth-form students

in the forthcoming academic year to this dynamic,
vibrant society that encapsulates the essence of science
at Saint Olaves.
Abhishek Patel, President of the Natural Sciences Society
Olavian Natural Sciences Society
Magazine
Congratulations to Fraser Boistelle (13K), Harry Jenkins
(13M) and Jenni Visuri (13H) for compiling Issue 4
of the Olavian Natural Sciences Society magazine.
Researched and written by our students, this contains
an array of fascinating articles from extremophiles to the
Mandelbrot set, from parthenogenesis to dark matter.

During the final week of March, former Olavian Asher

Leeks presented on the topic What makes us human?,
and Dr Julian Ma of St Georges University London
gave a talk titled Biomedical Research what is the
point?, outlining how his team of scientists discovered
the first ever vaccine against tooth decay, his latest
research into using plants to create medicines against
HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases, and the
importance of biomedical research in the future to
ensure that treatment is accessible, affordable and up-todate for everyone around the globe. We also welcomed
former Olavian Natsai Chieza in the summer term who
presented on her research on genetically engineering
bacteria to produce coloured dyes.
On top of this, we were delighted to give students
the opportunity to present on widely ranging topics,
including The Science behind Dying by Isaac van Bakel,
The Game of Life by Daniel Barovbe, and Mad Cow
Disease by Ben McKechnie.
Thanks to the hard work of the three previous presidents
of the society ( Jenni Visuri, Fraser Boistelle and Harry
Jenkins), the headmaster, and members of staff in the
science department, the Olavian Lecture Series has
continued with high levels of success. Students, staff,
parents, friends and the local community have enjoyed
presentations by Lord Professor Robert Winston,
Sir Richard Friend, Professor Robert Freedman, Dr
78 Olavian 2014

Medics Society
The Medics Society has had a fantastic year under both
the leadership of the new and previous leaders. I think I
speak on behalf of all the Medics when I say thanks to
Zeinab, Tolu and Skanda for their great leadership and
dedication to the society...
With Ella Day, Matipa Chieza and myself being newly
elected in February, we set out with the aim of creating
a new identity for our society. Our aim was twofold: we
wished widen our focus at medics to include further
fields of medicine such as physchiarty and neurology and
we wanted to create a way of distingishing the society

from all the others. For the former, we have welcomed

many riveting presentations from various experts in the
medical field, held various sessions entirely focused on
helping medics in their BMAT and UKCAT exams
and we have even enjoyed trips to UCL seminars and
lectures at The Royal Society of Medicine (RSCM) in
London. For the latter, we pulled together to create the
new society logo and have spent countless hours editing,
designing and publishing the fantistic journals.
We have been very priviliged this year at the society,
having a prominent best selling author/professor Nessa
Carey come in to present on her field of epigenetics
alongside lectures from the lead and in fact only professor
of medical innovation at NHS England and the RSCM.
The turn-out for these events was phenomenal and we
hope to continue this success with more prominent
medics such as Dr Henrietta-Bowden Jones, TEDX
Medical lecturer and leading consultant psychiatrist due
to attend the society in the coming weeks.
Id like to take this opportunity to thank all the society
members who tirelessly attend every week and never
fail to contribute articles to the journals. I would also
like to warmly welcome the new Year 12 members and
hope you enjoy and fully immerse yourselves in what the
society has to offer.
Liam Carroll , President of the Olavian Medics Society.

Experimental Chemistry Society

This brand new society extends interest through fun
experiments such as deducing what a mystery substance
is through a series of chemical tests. Congratulations
to Year 12 founders Rebecca Daramola, Lucy Morrell,
Avni Gupta, Sevenia Khandelwal, Effie Iossifidis, Simon
Ng, Saarah Kaba and Pamela Tickell.
Chemistry Olympiad
Fuelled by biscuits from Dr Steels Olympiad preparation
sessions, students took part in the 2014 Chemistry
Olympiad. From a total of 5682 students nationally who
entered the competition, congratulations to Year 13s,
Fraser Boistelle and Isabella Inzani, who achieved Gold
awards. Well done also to Year 13s, Uroosa Chughtai,
Tomas Dean, Harry Jenkins, Caterina Hall and Ben
McKechnie; and to Year 12s, Chandan Dodeja, Akhilesh
Amit and Kush Banga, who received Silvers.
Salters Festival of Chemistry
Salters festival is a prestigious chemistry festival
competition held every year in 36 locations by the
Salters institute. On the 23rd of April 2014 a team of
2 Year 7 students and 2 Year 8 students attended one
of these competitions of at University College London.
This team consisted of Dylan Evans (7H), Shane Morris
(7L), Marcus Finn (8H) and Conor Donohoe (8H).
The team travelled to UCL with Mrs Morinan who was
allowed to help a bit during the first challenge but not
the second. This team competed very well with relatively
few mishaps; however they did not win any awards. The
experience was a brilliant one for all involved and we
hope St Olaves continues to attend next year.
Physics Olympiad
In another very successful year for the Physics Olympiad,
Sixth Form students pit their brains against students
from across the country in a very challenging examination
going well beyond the scope of A level. Congratulations
to Year 13s, Oscar Wilkins, Dominic Robson and Jenni
Visuri, who achieved Silver awards; and to Aleksandar
Ristic-Smith and Keir Bowater who achieved Bronze.
Science Challenge Winner
Congratulations to Rebecca Daramola (12R) who was
declared the overall winner of the Royal College of
Science Union (Imperial College) Challenge 2014, for
her essay in response to a question set by Pallab Ghosh.
She was presented with two certificates and a trophy at
the final, held at the Imperial War Museum.
Cassini Scientist for a Day Competition.
We were delighted to hear from Dr Alison Hartshorn,
(School of Mathematical Sciences, Physics and
Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London) that
Elena Rastorgueva (12S) was the 1st Prize winner of
this prestigious Competition. Elenas prize includes the
opportunity to work with Professor Carl Murray at the
Olavian 2014 79

University, as well as having her entry published by the

European Space Agency.
Year 8 trip to the Royal Observatory in
Greenwich
Year 8 visited the Royal Observatory and Maritime
Museum in Greenwich, on a beautiful day at the end
of Activity Week 1. The students enjoyed a fun practical
lesson on Exploring Exoplanets, and a visit to a show
at the Planetarium, in addition to the hands on displays
at the Observatory. After the show they were given the
opportunity to quiz an astronomy expert. Staff at the
Observatory were very impressed by the curiosity and
background knowledge of the students.
Astronomy Club
This year, Kush Banga, Akhilesh Amit and I decided
that the existing astronomy club which focused mainly
on practical skills needed rejuvenating. The astronomy
club we created is one which concentrates mainly on
astrophysics (and occasionally general physics) through
a weekly talk given by anyone with a burning desire to
share some esoteric knowledge about the universe. We
have had talks on everything from black holes to star
formation and from alien life to the planets and moons
of our own abode, the solar system. We have a loyal band
of regular astrophysicists from Year 7 to 12 all of whom
contribute to animated and informal discussions about
the finer workings of the world around us. Black holes
excite the most debate, with such poignant questions as
what would happen if you nuked a black hole? and is it
true that water is the only thing that can escape a black
hole? Putting aside the disturbing obsession among the
Year 7s with nuclear weapons, we were delighted to have
the opportunity of remotely accessing the Haleakala
observatory in Hawaii to take our own look at the subject
of some of our debates, kindly organised by Loren Noble.
All years are welcome so come and discover your inner
astrophysicist at 1pm, Wednesday, S7. See you there!

80 Olavian 2014

Above: Experimental Chemistry

Below: Blowing Methane Bubbles

English & Drama

The Faculty of English & Drama

ooking back, the

successful and full
excellent grades in the
super progress despite
from the Government.

last academic year was very

of fun. Our students achieved
public examinations and made
the many changes emanating

Our spirits and souls were enriched by the appointment of

Mrs Sezgin Kemal, former Head of English at Newstead,
to the department for a year. As an ambassador for The
Poetry Society, her enthusiasm and knowledge energised
us all creating a number of opportunities for the boys to
enter competitions and write their own poetry.
Working with the British Council, we hosted a poetry
tea in the main school library for other schools across the
borough. Our students and those from La Martiniere,
India composed peace poems which were shared at the
tea and prizes were presented for the best pieces. Through
Mrs Kemal we have established a link with Joelle Taylor,
a performance poet, who inspired our younger students
in a workshop and then shared her work and advice with
our Sixth Form Literature Society at lunch.
Such was the success of this event that we invited Dan
Simpson, a spoken word poet, to school in the summer
having met him at the final of the Poetry by Heart
competition in London where Richard Decker (year 10)
competed.
Speaking and listening are vital skills that our students
develop in school and, although removed from the
GCSE qualification, they continue to be a critical part
of students preparation and experience here at Olaves.
The poetry work aids students creativity and offers an
opportunity for performance. In years 9 and 10 the boys
were invited to attend a public speaking workshop and
compete in the Bromley Speakout! Challenge. There
is a Junior Debating Club where boys can engage in
lively, thought provoking debates and demonstrate their
analytical skills and logic. The Senior Debating team
competed in both the Cambridge and Oxford Schools
competitions, winning through the first rounds.
For the first time we entered the Winston Churchill
Public Speaking Competition which culminated in a final
at Blenheim Palace. This was a marvellous opportunity
to learn more about Churchill and gain access to some
excellent coaching at Chartwell in the spring term.

82 Olavian 2014

Drama has been a highlight of the year with many student

led productions and some superb exam performances
from the GCSE and A Level classes. Miss Wilkies
Shakespeare Trilogy was an ambitious undertaking and
proved a terrific success. Over 50 students were involved.
The theme was love and war combining a reduced
1930s jazz version of Richard III, a Motown Romeo
and Juliet and a modern Much Ado About Nothing
featuring the popular band Colour Blind. All three
plays were interspersed with live music and dancing,
ensuring fun for the whole family!

Liz Goodman

S___Head of English Faculty

School Productions
Senior School Drama A View from the
Bridge
An accomplished student led production of Millers play
about immigration and honour was performed in the
Chapel. Directed by the Ravindran twins who captured
the close, tense atmosphere of 1950s New York and the
tragedy of ordinary men.
The Shakespeare Trilogy
Shakespeares plays are known for being lengthy, so I am
sure many raised an eyebrow at our decision to stage not
one, but three of Shakespeares finest plays. However
that is what we chose to do , and on Thursday 20th and
Friday 21st of March, the Drama department performed
Richard III, set in the 1930s to a soundtrack of live
jazz, Romeo and Juliet accompanied by Motown music,
and a modern day Much Ado About Nothing. All
three pieces included live music and dancing to enrich
the superb acting on display from this very talented
cast. We began the evening with the History play, and
Jack Bradfield was outstanding in his depiction of the
villainous Richard, as we watched him dispose of the
other characters one by one. We were then treated to
romance and tragedy as Max Lewthwaites Romeo
met Alicia Harriss Juliet, before racing to their deaths.
Finally light relief came in the comedy of Much Ado
with Daniel Finucanes(120) hilarious Benedick sparring
with Emily Macpherson-Smiths (12V) feisty Beatrice
set alongside the very sweet Claudio ( Joseph Cordery
(120) and Hero (Rachel Wood (120). Congratulations
to the whole cast, including musicians, for a wonderful
show!
Showstoppers
Those of us who attended Show-stoppers on Thursday
evening were treated to a fine display of musical, dance
and dramatic talent with extracts from Wicked, West
Side Story, The Lion King, Matilda and lots more.
Congratulations to all the performers involved and
thanks to the music and drama staff for the time and
energy they gave to make this happen. The pictures speak
for themselves.
Out and About
Theatre Society
85 members of the Sixth Form Theatre Society were
entertained by Tory Boyz a peek behind the scenes at
Westminster focussing on attempts to avoid crises and
scandals. The term ended with The Scottsboro Boys at
the Young Vic a bold, radical show confronting prejudice.
On 13 December, 60 students attended a performance

Top: Cast of A View From The Bridge

Bottom: Cast of the Shakespearean Trilogy
Opposite Page: Cast memebers of the
Shakespearean Trilogy
Sam Edwards in A View from the Bridge
Showstoppers

Olavian 2014 83

of Carmen at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

as part of the Schools Matinee series, with tickets very
kindly subsidised by the Taylor Family Foundation. For
all but a lucky few, this was the first opera students had
seen, although many recognised the thrilling tunes. The
production was fast-moving and passionate and we loved
the full-blooded sound of the orchestra and the dramatic
performances of the singers. It was a wonderful end-ofterm treat and a brilliant introduction to this art form.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed watching Kate OFlynn
and Lesley Sharp in Shelagh Delaneys A Taste of
Honey at The National Theatre. Written when she was
just nineteen, the play is one of the great defining and
taboo-breaking plays of the 1950s. Students are looking
forward to seeing A Perfect Nonsense at The Duke of
York Theatre later this year.
6th Form English Trip Tis Pity Shes a
Whore at the Barbican
On 22nd April, Sixth Form English students had the
pleasure of seeing John Fords Tis Pity Shes A Whore
at the Barbican, in a modernised production by the
theatre company Cheek By Jowl.
Before the performance, the students also attended
a talk and open discussion with the shows Assistant
Director Paris Erotokritou, who spoke to us about the
performance and the theatre company more generally.
Paris discussed the particular approach to the text that
had informed this production and the changes they had
made to Fords original text.
Focussing on the themes of love and loss, they developed
a physically intense and visually rich interpretation of
Fords still controversial play, which handles issues of
incest, manipulation and corruption. The plot centres
around the young Annabella, sought in marriage by a
cast of competing suitors, and her ardent relationship
with her brother Giovanni, which will ultimately
end in tragedy. Set entirely in Annabellas bedroom
and bathroom, this production gave a central role to
sexual desire and desirability in a complex society of
ubiquitously compromised morality.
Striking, excessive and ceaselessly hedonistic, the
production was a powerful spectacle and troubling moral
exploration that gave little in the way of resolution.
The evening was a thoroughly enriching and - despite
the weight of the themes - very enjoyable one. It was
especially rewarding for the Year 13s currently studying
the play and no doubt left a strong impression on the
Year 12s, which they can carry forward into their studies
next year. Our thanks to Mrs Goodman and Ms Wilkie
for organising the trip.

84 Olavian 2014

Around School
Jack the Ripper
Year 8 cross-curricular day considered Who was Jack
the Ripper? through History, Chemistry and English
lessons, reviewing a range different sources, including
the infamous Ripper letters. Despite the five murders in
Whitechapel, 1888, it was difficult for police because of
unreliable witness statements. Students tried to draw a
photo fit image based on witness reports and conducted
experiments to investigate chromatography and traces
left at the scenes, linking this to handwriting analysis
they did during English. Alas, they were unable to
unravel the mystery!
County Final of Poetry Recital
Competition
Kent Universitys Gulbenkian Theatre hosted the County
final of Poetry by Heart where, after intense competition,
including a pre- and post-1914 poem, and one from a
World War 1 anthology, Richard Decker (10M), the
only boy, emerged as the winner of an all-expenses-paid
poetry weekend at the London regional final. Beginning
with a reception at St Martin in the Fields, he will enjoy
readings by famous poets, Andrew Motion and Jean
Sprackland, a tour of the National Portrait Gallery and
dinner at Planet Hollywood. Richard has prepared The
Death Bed, by Siegfried Sassoon, Ulysses by Alfred
Tennyson and The Galloping Cat by Stevie Smith; we
wish him well in the final.
Bookbusters and Young Writers
These new clubs run by the Librarian and 6th Formers
enable Years 7 9 to take part in activities and
discussions on book themes, such as Anthony Horowitzs
Stormbreaker series. Young Writers group encourages
members to write creatively and produce a stories based
on various subjects and genres.
Speakersbank Workshops
Following training by professionals in public speaking,
4 finalists, Tommaso Candita Simpkins (9C), Henry
Rennolls (9C), Martin Senior (9H) and Tanay
Vankayalapati (9B) were chosen for the borough wide
Speak-Out challenge, acquitting themselves very well
in a competition of very high standard.
Playwriting Group
The New Views group went to see Nick Paynes Blurred
Lines in The Shed, the new performance venue at the
National Theatre. This new piece explores womens roles
in modern society and the more subtle sexism that goes
unchallenged. Our playwrights have now handed in
the first drafts of their plays and have met individually
with a National Theatre playwright to receive individual
feedback on their work.

Y8/9 Play: Hearts

As part of The National Theatre Connections scheme,
students have been working on Hearts, a play set in
the changing room of a football club that is dying as
players leave one by one to join a better team. Their
performance was attended by representatives from The
National Theatre and will be staged at The Marlowe
Theatre in May.
Christopher Tower Poetry competition.
Congratulations to Jack Bradfield (120) whose poem
Helmets has been long-listed for Christopher Tower
Poetry Prize - a competition that attracts hundreds
of entries from budding young poets from across
the UK. Now in its fourteenth year, this is one of the
most prestigious poetry competitions in the UK, with
a reputation for discovering fresh and exciting talent
such as Caroline Bird, Helen Mort, Richard OBrien,
Charlotte Runcie, Anna Lewis and Annie Katchinska.
Funded by a bequest to Christ Church, Oxford, it is
headed by the poet and academic, Peter McDonald, first
holder of the Christopher Tower Tutorship in Poetry in
the English Language at Christ Church, where he also
holds a lectureship.
Olavian 2014 85

Library

National Competitions

joined the School at the end of Novemberas School

Librarian and have enjoyed working with students in
both the Main and Sixth Form libraries.
The Main Library is open during morning and lunchtime
break periods and caters for students in Years 7 11,
however over the year, it has also frequently been used
as a classroom and for Year 7 Library Inductions and
book talks. The Sixth Form Library is open throughout
the school day until 4.30pm and has been visited and
utilized regularly by upper school students. I have been
assisted very efficiently in the running of each library by
a team of Student Librarians to whom I am very grateful.

Library News

Lego. I would like to wish them every success in the

continuation of this project this year.
My first year has been a very happy and rewarding one.
I have settled into my role and look forward to working
in and developing both libraries throughout the coming
year.

Catherine Beck

Library and Learning Resources Manager

The vast collections of fiction and non fiction in both

libraries have been maintained and added to regularly
by buying new academic text books and recently
published fiction including copies of the 2014 Carnegie
Award winner and the other shortlisted titles. There is
currently a Carnegie display in the Main Library from
which students and staff can borrow the winner, Bunker
Diary and the other shortlisted books. There has also
been other book displays in the Main Library this year
celebrating events and favourite authors such as Chinese
New Year, Christmas, World Book Day and Anthony
Horowitz.
World Book Day in March was celebrated in various
ways with quizzes and competitions including a Design
Your Own Book Cover competition where students
redesigned covers of their favourite books! I also
carried out a My Favourite Book Survey in which all
students and staff were asked to write down the title of
their favourite childhood book. The results were very
interesting and were displayed in the Main Library
ranging from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Rebecca
by Daphne Du Maurier!
In February I introduced two new library clubs which
both run lunchtimes in the Main Library for students in
Years 7 to 9. The first is Bookbusters at which members
take part in book related activities and the second is
Young Writers which encourages members to write
creatively. These clubs have both been successful so far
and it is hoped that they will continue to be so during
this academic year as well.
The Main Library also welcomed a new exhibit which
is being overseen by two Year 9 students Sam Richards
(9C) and Shaun Sanu (9B). The project was started in
June and they are building a model of the school out of
Olavian 2014 87

Chaplaincy

Chaplaincy

013-14 has been another very full year for the School
Chaplaincy, with regular Chapel services and a broad
range of special events as well as the Chaplains day-today pastoral support for students, parents and staff.
One of the years greatest encouragements came when a
group of parents asked if it would be possible to establish a
Parents Prayer Meeting with the Chaplains support and
guidance. This group unites parents from a wide spread
of location and church background, and now meets twice
each term to pray for the needs of the school community
and the wider world. The Staff Prayer Meeting has also
continued to run this year under the leadership of David
Bowden, with a faithful group of teaching and support
staff gathering week by week in the science block.
The annual Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving
in Southwark Cathedral on 1st May was led by the
Cathedral Precentor, with guest preacher Bishop Lindsay
Urwin of the Woodard Corporation. The service featured
student presentations on the theme of Tradition, and an
Elgar anthem performed by the Chamber Choir based
on Longfellows poem King Olaf (the saint after whom
the school is named). Special services were also held for
Harvest, Remembrance, Christmas and Passiontide (at
the end of the spring term), with a Farewell service for
leavers in July.

and sometime controversial topics, including If there is a

loving God, why do innocent people suffer? Then in the
end-of-term special event known as Roast the Reverend,
the Chaplain was subjected to a quick-fire barrage of
difficult questions put by the students. His knowledge
of theology bore up reasonably well, though he was left
speechless by the question When there are so many
musically gifted radio presenters around, why does the
BBC employ talentless idiots?!

Andrew McClellan

School Chaplain

Le Chavetois
The schools voluntary service programme known as
the Le Chavetois Society has continued to grow, with
nearly forty Year 12 students involved this year in
community projects ranging from healthcare to charity
fundraising. We were also able to maintain our strong
links with St Pauls Cray Church of England Primary
School, where our students helped the younger classes
with reading and writing, and ran a maths club for older
children. Placement supervisors testified to the positive
contribution our students made within the community.
They have all formed good relationships with residents
and staff, wrote one care home manager. They are
polite and courteous and a delight to have.

Continuing the schools tradition of preparing lower

school boys for Confirmation in the Church of England,
five students Louis Dowland, Samuel Nunn, Matthew
Perry, Sam Richards and Tom Storer were confirmed in
April by the Rt Revd Michael Turnbull, former Bishop of
Rochester. The boys also helped to lead different aspects
of the service such as Bible readings and prayers. Music
was led by the Chapel Choir, conducted by Richard
Decker and Ollie Morrell.
Our annual Chapel weekend away at Carroty Wood
Activities Centre near Tonbridge was rescheduled this
year due to increasingly complex clashes with other
school trips. This next event will take place at the end
of September 2014, allowing the new Year 7 intake to
participate alongside older students.
A group of Sixth Form students has continued to lead
the Senior Christian Union, giving opportunities for
Y12 and Y13 students to lead prayers and Bible study
discussions. Meanwhile the Chaplains weekly discussion
group Firm Foundations, which is aimed particularly at
boys in Y7 to Y11, has covered a wide range of exciting
Olavian 2014 89

Music

National Competitions

elcome to Music Faculty Corner, our round-up

of events, activities and achievements this last
academic year. Before presenting to our readers some
of the musical highlights of 2013-14, I would first like
to pass on congratulations to Mr Geoghegan who,
following two years at St Olaves, has taken a promotion
to the role of Assistant Director of Music at Latymer
Upper School in Hammersmith. Naturally, I am sorry to
be losing him from our team and I will miss in particular
his dry wit, his choral conducting and his organ playing
enormously.
When a member of the Music staff leaves, it is always
with special poignancy that we look back upon the year
which has just passed to remember all the best moments.
The choirs, orchestras and bands all united once more
to give four enjoyable end-of-term and mid-term
concerts. Showstoppers, now on its second biannual
tour, and the now long-established Jazz Night this
year were both evenings of outstanding entertainment.
It was also pleasing to be able to take our musicians
off-site to experience music in other contexts. The Jazz
Band took the Fairfield Hall audience by storm at the
Bromley Schools Prom in February. Both the A-level

A Year of Music

and GCSE musicians experienced professional musicmaking by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, whilst
the instrumentalists brought the study-works to life.
It was also impressive to attend concerts given by the
London Schools Symphony Orchestra, demonstrating
the vitality of classical music-making amongst the young
musicians in the capital.
This was also a year for impressive individual
achievements, with one current and one recent Olavian
making significant progress through the rounds of
the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition.
Additionally, over half of the Music A-level leavers
secured offers to read Music at university, including one
at Cambridge; I wish them all every success in their
future pursuits. I hope that all Olavian leavers this year
have, in some large or small way, been reached by the
musical activities at the school, whether it be through
the co-curricular provision, the music in assemblies or
special events, in the classroom or from the numerous
other occasions in which music has played a significant
part. Remember us fondly when youre reminiscing
about your happy times here.

Matthew Price

S___Director of Music

Olavian 2014 91

Christmas & Easter Concerts

Above: Easter Concert

Below: Christmas Concert

92 Olavian 2014

Above: Bromley Schools Prom

Below: Jazz Night

Olavian 2014 93

A Coronation Special: The Wakeham

Choristers
On 25th September our Choristers of the Queens
Chapel of The Savoy joined the three other Royal
Choirs in a unique concert at Windsor to mark HM
The Queens 60-year reign. After two hours of rehearsal,
and an inter-choir football tournament, they performed
great works such as Waltons Te Deum to an audience of
hundreds. Their solo, O Taste and See, was described by
some as the best item of all! They loved the opportunity
to perform for The Queen, meet Prince Edward, Earl of
Wessex, and sing with other distinguished choirs. The
concert was later broadcast on Classic FM.
A-Level Barbican Trip
On the 14th November a group of students from years
11, 12 and 13 went to the Barbican to a fantastic concert.
The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Valery
Gergiev, played a program of music by Hector Berlioz.
The concert began with the Waverley Overture and then
Mezzo-Soprano Karen Cargill sang Les Nuits dt
which consisted of six songs accompanied by a smaller,
chamber orchestra. After the interval, the full LSO
played Symphonie Fantastique which was an exciting
end to an enjoyable concert.
Mid-Term Concert
The mid-term concert was held on 13th November
and served as an enjoyable showcase for our junior
ensembles and many aspiring, solo performers. It was
particularly pleasing to see so many performances from
both the lower school (with notable performances from
Ivan Leung (7C) and Sam Jolly (8L) and the GCSE
classes (represented by pianist Kayo Kufeji (10L) and
saxophonist Richard Moulange (10J).Violinist Lucy
Morrell (12Q) and soprano Jacinta Treloar (13H) offered
stylish performances on behalf of the sixth form.
Christmas Concert
In another wide-ranging evening on 4th December,
the schools senior choirs and instrumental ensembles
performed a great variety of high-quality music. The
Symphony Orchestra took on the ambitious work
of Holst, playing Jupiter from The Planets Suite.
The St Olaves Choir was a force to be reckoned with
in its rendition of Charpentiers Messe de Minuit. It
was pleasing for the students to be supported by such
a warmly receptive audience. Congratulations go to all
involved for some superb music-making.
BBC Young Musician of the Year
Congratulations to Stefan Beckett (2006-2013), now on
a scholarship at the Royal College of Music, who has
been selected for the percussion final of this prestigious
competition.

94 Olavian 2014

Showstoppers spectacular!
Star performers treated the audience to a fine display of
musical, dance and dramatic talent with extracts from
Wicked, West Side Story, The Lion King and Matilda,
and superb choreography by Chloe Daley (12P) and
Holly Lewis (12W) for Hairspray and The Lion King
medley.
Bromley Schools Prom
The St Olaves Jazz Band brought the house down in the
Bromley Schools Prom at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon.
Resplendent in Hawaiian shirts, their electrifying
numbers: The Eye of the Tiger and Tequila set toes
tapping and hands clapping. People were up and out of
their seats as the group gave a blistering performance,
repelling the melancholic worst of the February weather!
Easter Concert
At the Easter Concert the senior Music ensembles,
orchestras, choirs and bands delighted the enthusiastic
audience with shining examples of the schools musical
best. This was the last major showcase for many Year 13
leavers for whose contributions we are grateful; we hope
music will always continue to play a part in their future
lives.
Musical Achievements
Congratulations to Lucy Morrell (12Q) who gained a
Distinction in her Grade 7 Organ examination with a
stunning 139 marks. Well done also to Oscar Ridout
(11K) - 115, Grade 6 Organ and Gabriel Ide (9B) 126, Grade 5 Piano. Year 13 A-level recitals included
impressive performances by Dominic Jelf (13M) (Cello),
Dominic McDonald (13F) (Acoustic Guitar) and Karen
Mortby (13H) (Oboe).
Carmen
An afternoon at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
saw a splendid matinee performance of Bizets classic,
Carmen. Spectacular staging and impressive singing
made this a memorable experience for many students for
whom this was their first foray into the world of opera.
O-Factor
The annual house singing competition, The O-Factor,
saw 240 pupils, ably rehearsed by our Music Prefects
and House Captains, perform songs, including Keanes
Somewhere Only We Know (Bingham), Bon Jovis Livin
on a Prayer (Cure), Aviciis Wake Me Up (Harvard),
Pharrell Williams Happy (Leeke) and favourite hymns
I Vow to Thee My Country and Jerusalem. The winners
will receive a new trophy, courtesy of the PA and the
fundraising endeavours of our Senior Prefect Team
Jazz Night
Our Annual Jazz Night, the last major musical event
of the year was held on Monday 29th April. Those who

attended were treated to some impressive solos, from

Sam Wootten (11K) and Aaron Lewns (13H), as well
as from enthusiastic performances from the Junior Jazz
Ensemble, the Senior Jazz Band, and the Dixieland
Band. Sam Perkins was awarded the dubious honour
of the traditional worst shirt accolade. Alongside
our talented performers, professional Saxophonist and
special guest Derek Nash (accompanied by Jim Treweek
on Keyboard, Eric Guy on Bass and Buster Birch
on drums) provided an inspirational highlight to the
evening with his charismatic playing.
Samba Workshop
The fabric of the Music Department once again shook to
the beat of Olavian sambistas. On Tuesday and Thursday
of this week, the students of Year 8 were introduced to the
rhythmic verve of Brazil. All four form-groups proved
that the collective power of nearly thirty percussionists,
drumming as if their lives depended upon it, is a force to
be reckoned with! It was impressive to see how everyone
entered into the spirit of it and, through collaboration,
united to become energetic, entertaining ensembles.
Each form also managed to invent its own ideas for
inclusion in the whole-class performance and so give
each one a unique twist. I am looking forward to the
Summer Fun Day on Saturday 12th July, when these
four samba bands go head-to-head in competition for
the Year 8 Samba Band of the Year trophy.

The second mid-term Concert

The Mid-Term Concert proved a civilised alternative
to the hysteria surrounding the beginning of a minor
football tournament on the evening of Thursday 12th
June. The audience was treated to a number of highquality performances from the enthusiastic members of
Junior Jazz, Summer Strings and Guitar Group. The
middle school fielded several strong performances from
Eric Leung (9H), Harry Stanbury (10M) and Richard
Decker (10M) and the audience were thoroughly
entertained by the Morrell Piano Duo. Well done to all
who participated.
Jazz Night
Those of us who attended the annual Jazz Spectacular
were treated to a great evening of musical entertainment.
Particularly impressive were solos from Samuel Wootten
(11K) and Aaron Lewns (13H), and the Senior Jazz
Band led by the inimitable Nick Beston. Highlight of
the evening was guest saxophonist Derek Nash whose
stunning improvisations left us in no doubt about the
reasons for his having performed with the likes of Jools
Holland and Sir Paul McCartney.

Olavian 2014 95

Modern Foreign
Languages

Modern Foreign Languages

National Competitions

he Modern Foreign Languages had another very

successful year in all areas, French, Spanish and
German.This strength across all subjects within the faculty
was underpinned by determined teaching and actively
engaging the students in all aspects of the languages.
Trips were made to France, Spain and Germany. All were
both enjoyed and extremely beneficial. The attention to
detail by the staff has engendered within the students
across all three key stages an enthusiasm for articulation
in a foreign language and hopefully a confidence to use
that language in its natural environment. The acumen
of the faculty has stemmed in good part from two
colleagues who have now left. The benignity, charm and
charisma of Denise Storrs-Fox will be much missed
and her contribution to the welfare of both the learning
needs and pastoral concerns of her charges will be
remembered fondly. A colossal lacuna will be left by the
retirement of Hanna Cooley after many years of service
not only to the promotion and teaching of German
but to the organisation of numerous trips to Germany.
Under her auspices the German students travelled far
and wide throughout Germany and even produced
excellent translations of German stories for publication.
The Faculty has now moved on and with a new Head
of Faculty looks forward to further progression and
diversification.

Marjorie Delage

S___Head of MFL & French

European Day of Languages

On Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th September we
started off with some colourful assembly presentations,
complete with photographs and entertaining accounts,
by students who were involved in the German, French
and Spanish trips and exchanges last term.
At lunchtime on Thursday 26th a range of activities
were hosted: Karaoke singing in French, German,
Spanish or Portuguese in The Chapel; performances of
poems in a foreign language in the Drama room and
the Million Pound Drop with quiz questions about
the French, German and Spanish speaking world. This
was underpinned by a special European lunch menu
with tasty temptations such as Chicken Fricasse with
Haricots Verts, Spanish Omelette, Italian Lasagne and
German Frankfurter with Sauerkraut. For those who
were still feeling peckish, Master Chef in the Food
technology room provided the chance to learn how to
cook Crpes, Black Forest gateau and Tortilla.
A2 French: Language and Identity Course
Pendant la semaine, nous avons fait beaucoup de choses
diffrentes. Les soirs, nous avons regard des films qui
sappellent A Bout de Souffle, Le Bonheur et Les 400
Coups. On a appris un peu de la Nouvelle Vague dans
laquelle ces films sont classs.
De plus, on a donn un expos sur des articles quon avait
trouv au sujet de La Langue de lidentit. Aussi, on a
tudi de la posie; on a lu environ deux ou trois pomes
de Baudelaire dans son anthologie Les Fleurs du Mal;
en particulier, Au Lecteur et Une Charogne. Donc on
a appris lire de la posie et comprendre la structure
du pome tel que le fait quil y ait douze syllabes dans
un vers pour former un alexandrine. Ctait une bonne
exprience pour moi et on a appris pas mal de choses!
Eyiara Olugunna 13F.

Opposite: Landyacht racing at

Normandy
Above: Students at the Lourve

A2 French Trip
On Saturday 26th of October, a group of 10 Year
12 students, accompanied by Mlle Delage and Mr
Geoghegan made their way to St. Pancras for a very
early start to our weekend in Paris. Following a couple
of hours on the Eurostar we arrived at Gare du Nord
in Paris. Straight away we went to lle de la cit to see
the gothic style cathedral of Notre-Dame, before visiting
Sainte Chapelle with its stunning stained glass windows.
In the evening we went to la Place des Vosges and to
Trocadero to see the Eiffel Tower at night, before a walk
Olavian 2014 97

along the Seine passing le Pont de lAlma with its famous

statue, used as a flood warning.
On Sunday, after another early start we went to the Place
de lEtoile to see the Arc de Triomphe and to walk along
the Champs Elyses. After some free time we had lunch
at the world famous Chartier restaurant, where we tried
traditional French dishes such as snails. Afterwards, we
visited le quartier du Marais where there is the Centre
Georges Pompidou, and had time to explore the streets
and visit many of the unique vintage shops around. In
the evening we saw a French film called 9 mois ferme, a
comedy about a pregnant lawyer. It was truly hilarious,
perhaps even too hilarious for some.
On Monday, our final day, we visited Montmatre and le
Sacr Coeur with its great views of Paris from its high
dome, overlooking the Place du Tertre. We then went
up la Tour Montparnasse to see the magnificent view of
the whole of Paris before we had to return one final time
to our youth hostel to pick up our luggage and leave. We
were all sad to return from our trip, but we thoroughly
enjoyed our time there.
Trip to Aachen and Paris Xmas Market
On Friday 13th December, our Y9 boys made their
way to Paris by coach to visit the Christmas markets.
Despite the early start, our students enjoyed their day
in the capital of France purchasing regional products
and souvenirs for their family and friends. Although
originally from the Alsace region, Christmas markets are
hugely popular in Paris in the most popular areas of the
city students enjoyed a great view of the Eiffel Tower
throughout the day the day was most certainly an
unforgettable experience. The rest of the day was spent
in the Army Museum where boys learnt about the First
World War.
Argentinian students visit St Olaves.
On Wednesday 11th September we had a group of
Argentinian students from Colegio French visit us. They
gave us a presentation on Argentina telling us about
traditions and facts about Buenos Aires. Afterwards we
gave them a tour of the school and they accompanied
us to our lessons. During lunch time the girls sat
and discussed their life in Argentina asking us many
questions and the boys played football against the year
7-9 St. Olaves boys. They were an extremely friendly
group of people that we all enjoyed getting to know, all
the while practising our Spanish skills.
Mircoles pasado, algunos alumnos del
colegio French visitaron St. Olaves
Nos dieron una presentacin sobre las tradiciones de
Argentina y hablaron de Buenos Aires. Despus vinieron
a nuestras clases (matemticas y biologa por ejemplo).
Durante la comida, las chicas hablaron de su vida en
98 Olavian 2014

A2 Paris Trip

Argentina y nos preguntaron sobre muchas cosas. Por

otra parte los chicos jugaron al ftbol contra los chicos de
St. Olaves. Era gente amable, y disfrutamos conocerlos
mientras tuvimos la oportunidad de practicar nuestras
habilidades en espaol.
Y7 French Day at the Institut Franais
In a rewarding day at the French Institute in South
Kensington, Year 7 students launched into a variety of
workshops to practise speaking in the target language.
Lunch was accompanied by a viennoiserie (pains au
chocolat et croissants) and du jus dorange, before
a French film called Les Enfants de Timpelbach,
challenged their language skills even further.

Languages Film Club

MFL Prefects and Languages Ambassadors launched
this new Club, starting with screenings of El Laberinto
del Fauno (Spanish), Krabat (German) and La Haine
(French), to quench the cultural thirst!
Europa Centre
The Europa Centre in Havering enabled Year 7 boys
to use their foreign language intensively for 2 hours,
finding information about an imaginary missing person
for a prize, and engaging in shopping conversations with
native Spanish speakers to buy real food and drink in
the caf.
French Day at St Pauls Cray Primary
School
The French Day at Saint Pauls Cray saw Year 13 students
running a variety of activities, games and quizzes with
Primary pupils, as well as a visit to the French caf and a
look at some French web-sites
Careers in Languages Day
Jeevan Ravindran (11L) made the most of an exceptional
outing at the Languages Day at Westminster University.
Talks showed how interesting careers existed in
translation, subtitling and conference interpreting, and
that there were job prospects in the EU, incorporating
travel and a great deal of freedom. By the end of a taster
session in Chinese he knew how to say, Mother is
scolding the horse! and was inspired by the importance
of languages in mutual understanding and breaking
down barriers.
Year 8 Boulogne trip
Despite having to wake up early to meet an early Channel
tunnel crossing, as year 8 students arrived in school at
5.30am we were all talking about what we would be
doing in Boulogne. After the journey from the school
to Folkestone, across the Channel then on to Boulogne,
we stopped just outside the city walls at the top of the
town. After walking along the ramparts and looking at
the views, we then visited a grand basilica-style church
with an impressive dome. This was followed by a sojourn
to the market and we were allowed to go wherever we
wanted within the market. Although some struggled to
use the correct grammar and vocabulary, we had a lot of
fun watching nervous people hesitating to buy and then
ending up buying 2kg of potatoes! After the market, we
took a walk down to the port and along to the beach
where we had lunch. After lunch we went to the sea-life
centre where we had a chance to admire the sharks,
tropical fish and other creatures before watching the
sea-lion display with their impressive jumps and tricks.
After a brief visit to the shop we went out to find the
rain had really set in, so beach games were abandoned
in favour of a visit to the large shopping centre of Cit
Europe, where we could spend our final euros. After a

long, tiring but fun day, we had the long coach journey
back to school. Overall, everyone found it to be a great
and fun experience.
Trip to Normandy
En juillet, nous sommes alls en France en Normandie
pour une semaine et nous avons fait beaucoup de choses.
Par exemple nous avons visit le Mont Saint Michel
(ctait tellement touristique!), un march traditionnel et
une chvrerie. Aussi nous avons fait beaucoup dactivits
comme faire du cano ou faire du char voile. Nous
sommes rest La Grande Ferme et nous y avons pass
notre temps libre (a nous a plu, nous avons pu jouer
au foot, au volley ou au ping-pong) et nous avons visit
Carrefour un hypermarch Franais. Dans lensemble,
ctait une semaine fantastique!
In July, we went to Normandy for a week. We did lots of
things there, for example we went to Mont Saint Michel,
which was very touristy as well as visiting a traditional
French market and a goat farm. We also did many
activities such as kayaking and sand yachting. We stayed
at La Grande Ferme and spent our free time there (we
could play football, volleyball and table tennis, we loved
it) and we visited Carrefour a French Hypermarket. All
in all it was a fantastic week!
Justin Reed 11J
German
German Exchanges
On the Saturday, 5th July, six Year 10 students set off
with Frau Cooley on the return leg of the Starnberg
exchange. We were looking forward to seeing our friends
again who had spent a week here in May/June. It turned
out to be as splendid as we had hoped. We spent two
days in Munich, seeing the historic centre, the Olympic
Park, the university and the Englische Garten and had
a Grand Tour of the BMW world, assembly plant and
museum. We thoroughly enjoyed our two days in the
Alps, one walking through an amazing ravine cut by a
river, the other to the fairytale castle Neuschwanstein.
The morning at school felt quite odd, as most students
and many teachers wore jeans, and the boat trip round
Lake Starnberg was wonderfully relaxing. It was quite
surprising how much free time we had with our German
partners in spite of the full programme during the day.
We thoroughly enjoyed the times out with them and
even the food-faddies among us found German fare
rather better than feared! The Germans hospitality and
friendliness was thoroughly appreciated and we have
deepened our existing friendships and forged new ones.
The week passed far too quickly.
Year 10 Rhineland Trip
During Activity Week 2 28 year 10 students enjoyed a
Olavian 2014 99

week in a hotel on the banks of the beautiful river Rhine.

They enjoyed a boat trip along the river, a cable car ride
up to some spectacular views, a castle visit, swimming,
bowling and, of course, some shopping. The highlight for
most was the fun day spent at Phantasialand, a theme
park with plenty of amazing rides to keep them all busy.
A good week was had by all and thanks to Mrs Latcham,
Mrs Johnson and Mr Espejo for accompanying the trip.

Trip to Aachen
At 21:00 on Thursday, 12th December, a group of 49
students and 4 staff, Mrs Latcham, Mrs Johnson, Mr
Henley and Frau Cooley, set off for Aachen, to see
the town, cathedral and treasury and, of course, the
Christmas market. The coach was filled to the last seat
and the students thoroughly enjoyed the long drive, or
rather the opportunity to chat to each other most of the
night on the way there. Breakfast in the 17th century
buildings of the Alt Aachener Kaffeestuben was much
appreciated and we then went off to browse around the
main shopping area with its Christmas decorations. The
displays of the many bakeries were especially admired.
Punctually, we all met for the guided tours round the
cathedral and treasury, with many impressive items
dating back to Karl der Groe (Charlemagne). The
students then had lunch, met for group checks afterwards
and then did the much anticipated Christmas shopping
on the Christmas market.
Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the magical
atmosphere of the market with its many stalls offering,
for example, crafts, sausages and special bakes such as the
Aachener Printen.
The behaviour of the students was exemplary throughout;
their punctuality for all meetings was perfect. They were
a real joy to take.
Heidelberg Exchange
On Saturday, 15th February, seven 6th form German
students, accompanied by Mrs Cooley and Mr Henley,
set off for a week in Heidelberg. We had a poor start
100 Olavian 2014

to the trip, as our flight was delayed by 2 hours and

we therefore missed the connecting train at Frankfurt
airport. The amazing generosity and hospitality of the
German host parents kicked in straight away, as two cars
raced up the autobahn to rescue us!
We had a superb week, sightseeing, eating, celebrating
and speaking a lot of German, making the best of
the dry weather and the wonderful openness of our
hosts, parents, teachers and students alike. We visited
Heidelberg Castle with the worlds largest wine barrel
and the apothecary museum, the Carcer (student
prison!), the Friedrich Eberthouse, a memorable Dix/
Beckmann art exhibition and the technological museum
in Mannheim with many hand-on exhibits, which
were both practically and intellectually challenging and
most enjoyable. In Speyer we saw the worlds largest
Romanesque cathedral (11th century) and Roman and
medieval remains; in Frankfurt we had a guided tour
through the historic quarter, appreciated the architecture
and the many famous paintings and exhibits of the
Kunstgalerie Stdel, and thoroughly relaxed in the
gemtliche Eppelwoikneip (warm, comfortable apple
wine restaurant) Wagner.
In the evenings, many of the group met and/or went
out together, the safer and more relaxed atmosphere of
the environs of Heidelberg allowing the teachers some
relatively worry-free time!
Many parents joined us on Saturday evening, when all
German and English students and teachers got together
for a meal, and we had a wonderfully harmonious, if a
little sad time together, as we had to return on Sunday.
The exchange was a great success; we made many friends
and speak much better and more fluent German. We are
all looking forward to the return visit of our German
exchange partners and friends from 26th April to 3rd
May.
Spanish
Spanish Trip to Malaga
During the February half-term Year 13 students visited
Andaluca in southern Spain, with ample time to sample
the tapas bars and practise speaking Spanish. Based in
the historic port of Mlaga they visited the Moorish
castle, La Alcazaba, and the Museo Carmen Thyssen
which specialises in Spanish art. A trip to the ancient
city of Ronda included stunning views of the famous
bridge and gorge, whilst a day in Marbella highlighted
the charm and Spanish traditions of the old town.
Year 8 Spanish Experience 2014
The Spanish department organised an intensive Spanish
experience Year 8 during Activity Week 1. On Wednesday

21st May, students embarked on a carousel of enrichment

activities giving the opportunity to experience different
aspects of life in the Spanish speaking world. From
Flamenco in session one, cooking Tapas dishes in
session two, and watching a newly released film from
Argentina concerning their favourite sport, football, this
day offered the full Spanish experience.
Murcia 2014
On Monday 14th July, a group of very tired boys met
under the chapel at 2.30am. It was dark, and many had
not slept after watching the World Cup Final match
the previous evening. This made for a lovely quiet
journey! We arrived on time, but sadly had to wait
ages for our luggage. However, as soon as we got to
our accommodation, the Centro de Alto Rendimiento
in Los Alccares, it was time to change into shorts
and flipflops and get down to the beach. The local
beach was just outside the back door of the centre, and
played an important part in our trip. We enjoyed many
competitions, including a closely fought world cup of
our own, which was won by Iran. We also enjoyed visits
to historic Cartagena and the wildlife sanctuary Las
Salinas, as well as to the local funfair and market. We
had a watersports session in which we sailed, windsurfed
and paddle surfed. We had useful lessons with our local
guide, Carolina, and completed quizzes and treasure
hunts in the local area in Spanish. The highlight for
many was the Brazilian samba drumming workshop
one evening we were really loud but the neighbours
clapped and our drum teachers were really impressed.
We had the now traditional mud bathing experience,
and we enjoyed a concert from a Cuban salsa band which
gave us the chance to show off our dancing skills to the
other students staying at the centre. We used lots of
Spanish talking to them and made friends. The food
and accommodation in the centre, which was originally
built for the Barcelona Olympics, was excellent. Several
students in the group swam for the first time and
overcame all sorts of fears well done to them! We all
came back to school completely exhausted but knowing
we had had a really good time and learned a great deal.

Olavian 2014 101

Humanities

The Faculty of Humanities

National Competitions

013-14 proved to a very successful one for all the

departments within the Humanities Faculty. Will
Haines and Rachel Garswood joined the faculty and
alongside its stalwarts the quality of teaching continued
to improve and all pupils achieved excellent results in
public examinations.
The faculty continues to work actively to promote
scholarship; the societies run by its pupils have produced
a range of thought provoking publications and have
hosted many intriguing speakers! The faculty remains
active in organising cross curricular ventures and 201415 will see it help to organise a mock election parallel to
the General Election to be held in 2015.

Daniel Espejo

S___Head of Humanities

Olavian 2014 103

The Faculty of Mathematics,

The Department of History
ICT & Computer Science
The War was decided in the first twenty days of fighting,
and all that happened afterwards consisted in battles which,
however formidable and devastating, were but desperate
and vain appeals against the decision of Fate.
Winston Churchill

t has become something of a tradition to begin

the History report in each edition of the Olavian
magazine with a quote and given the commemoration
of the 100th anniversary of the start of World War 1
in 2014 Winston Churchills words feel particularly apt.
Optimistic thoughts of a quick victory in 1914 quickly
dissipated and the 2013-14 edition of the History
Society magazine focused on the causes of war including
Joe Coxs (13H) analysis of the situation in Europe prior
to July 1914. The department bid a fond farewell in July
2014 to Dr Sarah Wallace who did so much to promote
History across the school particularly in her work editing
the History Society magazine and in organising a range
of trips across year groups. She was also the driving
force behind the first Year 9 cross curricular day which
focused on World War 1 as the History department
worked alongside English and Art to focus on the plight
of conscientious objectors and the way in which they
have been commemorated. 2013-14 also saw a record as
Year 11 students achieved a department record with 99%
achieving A*/A grades including 80 A*s!
2013-14 saw the department return to the World War
1 battlefields around Ypres and the Somme for the first
time in two years as all of both Year 8 and 9 were able
to experience the trench warfare which dominated the
western front between 1914-18. While the First World
War provided a focus for the year, Year 9 were also able
to enjoy a day trip to the historic dockyards at Chatham
which included the opportunity to explore a Cold War
era submarine! These extra-curricular ventures were

104 Olavian 2014

supplemented by the work of the History Society. Aiyan

Maharsingham ablely presided over its speakers which
included a talk led by the irrepressible and irreverent
Old Olavian Godfrey Bloom which attracted a sceptical
audience of almost 100 pupils in rm21! The society will
only continue to grow in the coming year.
With the addition of David Gonsalves from Dover
Grammar School 2014-15 promises to be a year to rival
the last!

Daniel Espejo

S___Head of History

History Society Magazine

The latest edition of the History Society Magazine,
entitled Causes of War, features excellent articles on
the First World War, the 1066 Succession Feud and
the intriguing if slightly ridiculous War of Jenkins Ear.
Well done to Lucas Bertholdi Saad (13N) for editing
and Leon Brown (13J) for design
History Trip
Year 8 & 9 students visited the National Army Museum
to see Napoleons horses skeleton and equipment used
in both World Wars, before museum staff described how
the weapons have evolved.
Olavian Scolarship
For another example of Olavian Scholarship, you may
be interested to look at the following link: http://goo.
gl/tYD7AR where Matthew Roberts (12Q) and Samuel
Luker Brown (12O) have prepared the first edition of an
historical vignette.
History Society Welcomes Old Olavian
Godfrey Bloom
Old Olavian, explorer, philanthropist, thespian, current
MEP and ex-member of UKIP, Godfrey Bloom, kindly
visited as a guest of St Olaves History Society recently. A
crowd of almost 100 students was eagerly waiting to hear
his interesting political views. He discussed the nature
of democracy and the role of an MEP before being
subjected to a variety of well researched questions from
the floor, covering his views on women in British society,
Bongo Bongo Land and the importance of the minimum
wage. We are grateful to Mr Bloom who, despite not
winning over the entire audience, certainly informed and
entertained with his sharp wit and clarified several of the
more controversial statements attributed to him.

Year 8 Battlefields Trip

Year 8 spent 3 days in Belgium and France exploringsites
from the first and the second world wars, on a very
enlightening trip. Our first stop was Lijssenthoek
Military Cemetery, where we were struck by the rows
upon rows of graves, containing the bodies of soldiers
of all nationalities, from British to Chinese, proving
that it really was a world war. We visited a German
cemetery next, where we were struck by the marked
contrast between the Allied and German ones. German
cemetries contain mass graves and are more gothic than
allied ones, as the German government bore the brunt of
the cost of the war. We observed the Last Post Ceremony
at the Menin Gate in Ypres in the evening too, during
three Olavians laid wreaths.
After a night where we realised that European tv
often makes no sense at all, we boarded our coach and
drove down to the Somme in France. We visited many
important destinations including the Ulster Tower and
Thiepval Memorial. We also visited Newfoundland
Memorial Park, a Canadian memorial which includes
a great view over part of the Battlefield and wellpreserved trenches. One of the most visually stunning
places we visited was a 60 foot deep mine crater, set off
immediately prior to the British attack at the Somme.
The explosion when it went off was so loud it apparently
could be heard in London. There is still an unexploded
mine out there somewhere at the Somme. We visited
Dunkirk on the final day, but first we went to Cassel, a
tiny market town with really good views over Normandy
and the French countryside. It had been defended by the
British army as they retreated toward Dunkirk in 1940
at the start of World War 2. For many, the highlight of
the day was having lunch at Dunkirk beach, looking over
the clear blue sea. After playing (and laughing at people
falling over on) the sand dunes, it was time to leave, and
now it was time for reflection. We laid a wreath at a small
cemetery on the outskirts of Dunkirk. Some of us had
also been able to remember dead ancestors that had been
here before us.

Year 9 Battlefields Trip

Year 9 visited the WW1 Battlefields of Ypres and the
Somme along with the beaches of Dunkirk which saw
the evacuation of the British Army in 1940. They learned
about the nature of the Great War itself, experiencing the
trenches which dominated the fighting on the western
front. 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of
WW1, so commemoration and remembrance were at
the heart of visits to British and German cemeteries and
memorials which allowed pupils to reflect on the nature
of the sacrifices made by men often not much older than
themselves. The visit to Dunkirk presented a compelling
lesson in the way warfare developed following the end
of WW1. Pupils visited the small town of Cassel, where
the British Army was forced to retreat toward the sea
by the rapidly advancing German Wehrmacht. All 3
days enabled pupils to reflect on WW1 and WW2 and
the experiences of the millions of personnel that served
during them.

Olavian 2014 105

History Visit to Chatham Dockyard

Year 9 enjoyed a day at the Chatham Dockyard where
they toured three vessels: the Victorian sloop HMS
Gannet, a World War Two Destroyer (HMS Cavalier)
and HMS Ocelot, a claustrophobic but impressive Cold
War submarine. The boys also got to see the Rope Walk,
a quarter-mile long ropery which is still producing rope
today.
More photos from the Year 8 and Year 9 trips to
Belgium and France

106 Olavian 2014

The Department of Geography

National Competitions

he Geography department continues to enjoy many

fieldtrips and excellent results. This year saw the
introduction of a new trip to study Microclimates in
Activity Week One, and a second opportunity to visit
Iceland the land of ice and fire. Geography is an
incredibly wide-ranging subject and students this year
learnt about a wide range of topics including Tectonics,
the Geography of Conflict, Rivers, Globalisation,
Glaciation, Energy, Ecosystems, Tourism, Development,
Coasts and much more!

Victoria Watson

S___Head of Geography
Bromley Worldwise Competition
In the Bromley Worldwise competition run by the
Geographical Association, well done to Samuel Wootten
(11K), Oscar Ridout (11K), Edward Tolmie (11J),
Seraphin Gnehm (10N) and Coby Plews (10J) who
came 1st in this pub-quiz style competition and now
have the opportunity to host the next event.
Year 12 AS Geography fieldtrip to Malham,
Yorkshire
In the week preceding half term, the Year 12 geographers
travelled to Malham Tarn. The first geographical feature
of note was Watlowes Valley, as we walked part of the
way to the field centre, giving us a taste of the beautiful
scenery of the Yorkshire Dales. This valley was a perfect
example of a U-shaped glacial trough, complete with
misfit stream and truncated spurs landscape features
we had studied at GCSE.
On the first day, we investigated local energy generation
schemes. This involved visiting a small scale hydroelectric
scheme and asking local people their opinions about
it, as well as studying the site of a proposed wind
farm to study the topographic exposure and potential
environmental impact. Throughout the day, we filmed
interviews about the schemes and in the evening we used
Geographical Information Systems (analysing data &

information using computerised map overlays). On the

second day we planned and completed an investigation
into Cowside Beck, a small river. We constructed our
own hypotheses based upon geographical theory, and
conducted a risk assessment very important in the icy
conditions! Having collected the data, we dried ourselves
out and analysed our findings.

The weather held and was glorious the first day, with
snow falling overnight a good excuse for a snowball
fight! The field centre staff were exceptionally impressed
by how polite and conscientious the students were they
even said this was the first group theyd ever had where
nobody whinged or complained whilst completing their
data collection, which was particularly remarkable given
the weather conditions. Well done to all the students.
Geography & RS Fieldtrip
Year 7 classes have enjoyed a joint Geography and RS
trip to Farningham, Eynsford, and Lullingstone Villa
this activity week. The boys were brilliant both days, they
walked a fair way and fully immersed themselves in the
Kent countryside; each class was given the challenge to
match the full range of Dulux colours to their natural
environment, a game which proved very popular. For RS,
visiting St. Botolphs church and St Peter & St Pauls
church enabled the boys to appreciate the differences
and similarities and think about the design of their
own church for their IPM. For Geography, visits to the
different settlements helped the boys visualise the OS
map we had studied and develop their understanding of
siting factors and modern day functions of settlements.
Left:
Students
practice
field
sketching
Adjacent:
Year 12
Post-AS
trip

Olavian 2014 107

Maidstone Geography Trip

On Friday 2nd May, 97 Year 10 Geographers went on
a fieldtrip to Maidstone, collecting data to ascertain
whether it is possible to delimit the Central Business
District. They planned their own hypotheses regarding
various things like functional land use, building height,
evidence of planning, urban heat islands, traffic, peoples
perceptions of place and so on. Their findings are to be
fully analysed during the summer term.
Year 8 Study Microclimates!
On Tuesday and Thursday of Activity week, Year
8 Geography students took advantage of our local
environment to study microclimates in Priory Gardens
park, Orpington. We had created our own hypotheses
and planned our own methods for data collection during
lessons. These included things like temperature will
decrease with height from surfaces or people create
microclimates affecting temperature and windspeed.
On the day of our trip, we first created a map of the park
(pictured) and then collected the data we needed for our
investigations. We will interpret and analyse our results
next half term.
Iceland
During Activities Week 2, a group of 14 students from
Year 12 went to Iceland for a Geography field trip.
Having met early at Gatwick on Monday 14th July, we
boarded our flight, which took us into Keflavik airport,
about 50km south west of Reykjavik and the largest
airport in Iceland. It was there that we met Dave, who
would be our tour guide for the trip.
The first thing we did was go to Vikingaheimar, a Viking
museum just outside of Keflavik. The centrepiece of the
museum was a replica of a Viking ship that sailed across
the North Atlantic over a thousand years ago. From here
we drove south to bathe in the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal
spa and one of Icelands most popular tourist attractions.
After spending over an hour relaxing in the near
40-degree water temperatures and covering our faces
with silica mud, we left for our hotel in Hverageri.
The next morning we set off early to walk around
ingvellir National Park, a UNESCO world heritage
centre,
where
the
Althing,
an
open-air
assembly representing the whole of Iceland, was
established in 930 and continued to meet until 1798.
Next on our itinerary was Geysir, the famous spouting
hot spring which can periodically hurl boiling water up
to 70m in the air. After that we visited Gullfoss, a
spectacular staircase waterfall, before checking into our
hotel in Hvolsvollur for the night.
Our third day began with a visit to Seljalandsfoss
waterfall, which is 60m tall and unique in the fact that
you can walk behind it, the only waterfall in Iceland
108 Olavian 2014

where this is possible. On our way to the second waterfall,

we stopped off at a visitor centre looking at the damage
caused by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano
and its lasting impacts on the Icelandic landscape and its
people. The second waterfall of the day was again 60m
high, and called Skogafoss, and despite not being able to
stand behind this one, it was just as impressive as the
previous waterfall. The next stop of our busy schedule
was to visit the Solheimajokull glacier, and having
donned our crampons and helmets, and armed with an
axe, we set about walking on it. The glacier was very
different to our expectations. Instead of it being white as
you would associate with ice, it was largely grey and
black, the ash from the Eyjafjallajokull eruption four
years previously still prominent. After a brief stop at
Reynishverfi beach to look at the basalt columns, we
headed towards Reykjavik for an all you can eat pizza
and finally onto our hotel to conclude our busiest day of
the trip.
We made our way towards Reykjavik to start our final
day of the trip, and our first stop was Hallgrimskirkja,
the unmissable and striking church located in the heart
of Reykjavik. After a wander through the capital city, we
made our way back to Keflavik airport, but not before
stopping at the Krisuvik hot sinter pools. A great time
was had by all.
Charlie Grozier 13T
Post AS Trip
On a lovely sunny Friday afternoon, the Lower VI
Geographers took to the River Darent to collect data
about changing river variables downstream. Despite
Friday 13th being unlucky for some, we were able to
measure the river this year despite the high amounts of
rainfall recently which had threatened to make it too
deep for us to safely work in. The students managed
to stay bright and cheerful even though most of them
succeeded in filling their boots with water - once again
proving that they are the most willing and practical
cohort of geographers that we have had in many years at
St Olaves. The data will be used to build the foundations
of their Unit 4A exam in Upper VI.
Geographical Society
Geographical Society has been going from strength
to strength this academic year with the managing of it
superbly taken over by Shunta Takino (13I) and Cameron
Garrett (13L). Attendance has been consistently good
and students have enjoyed talks such as The Future of
Population, When Pigs Fly: vertical farming and food
sustainability, The Facts about Fracking, and Chris
Eatons (12X) When the Ice Caps Melt.

The Department of Classics

National Competitions

arpe diem! Seize the moment! In the slight dull

that lingers in the Humanities corridor prior to
study leave and then activities weeks, I am taking this
opportunity to write. The Classics Department as ever
has been proceeding purposefully and faced the new
challenge uniquely of encouraging the pupils to select
Latin for a GCSE subject both in year eight and in year
nine. First teaching September 2014 we will have the
situation where there will be GCSE Latin sets in three
year groups. The numbers across the key stages are full of
promise with up to sixteen pupils alone doing Latin A/S
alongside a strong contingent of Classical Civilisation
students at A level and a sizeable number of Greek
GCSE candidates too. In large part this has been the
result of the brilliant teaching of my colleague Sarah
Latcham who sadly is leaving the school after three years
to take up a position at Shrewsbury School. The moment
she told me that she was being interviewed I knew in
my heart that she would be departing too. I have really
enjoyed working alongside her and benefitting from her
pool of knowledge and common sense. In addition to
being a brilliant classicist capable of teaching the full
gambit of subjects to A level, Latin, Greek and Classical
Civilisation, she has supported the Modern Languages
Faculty with her knowledge of German by taking two
trips to the Rhineland in Activity Week Two. Away from
the classroom where she has been an exemplary form
tutor, she has committed herself to the DoE, Chapel
Weekends away and cricket. I knew immediately when I
met her on interview day that anyone who liked cricket
and taught Classics must come out of the highest of
drawers. She has excelled in every aspect of her life here
at Saint Olaves. Her new school Shrewsbury with its
very fine tradition of cricket and classics has netted a
very good teacher.
Sarahs replacement will be Mr Alex Carroll who is a
Cambridge graduate and possessed of a masters degree
too from the Courtauld Institute. After working briefly at
Bonhams in the manuscripts department he has recently
completed his PGCE back at his alma mater. He has
a great interest in public speaking, DoE and playing
in orchestras. It is testament to the reputation of the
school that we can recruit such high calibre teachers and
the department warmly welcomes him and shall look
forward to integrating him into our modus docendi.
Never unwilling to participate in and organise trips the
department took the whole of year seven to Porchester
where as ever they enjoyed the impressive Roman walls
which surround the tremendous Norman keep. We also
took Year 9 and some of Year 7 (though not all at once)

to visit the Elgin marbles and the Parthenon metopes.

Naturally we also went to Greece and its report follows
beneath.
The Olavian Classicists have been performing superbly
at university with a good number achieving first class
honours degrees; Tom Hughes and Jack Owens at
Bristol, George Jenkins at Cambridge ,Jordan McGauran
at Liverpool and Lisa Chung at Kings College, London.
My congratulations go to all these students and my
memory of them at Delphi when they were at school
still brings a smile to my face.
The study of Classics is thriving with large numbers of
students going on to universities to study the subject. In
the past five years there seems to have been an exodus
towards Durham and Warwick. However there now
seems to be a much keener enthusiasm for Exeter
and Bristol. No doubt all the universities have their
individual merits. Students also head for Oxbridge with
Peter Leigh going to New College Oxford and Timothy
Adelani to Cambridge. In spite of such enthusiasm there
are challenges ahead and as ever we shall encounter them
and deal with them appropriately.

David Craig

S___Head of Classics

Classics Department trip to Greece 2014

I am part of all that I have met; yet all experience is an arch
wherethro gleams that untravelld world, whose margin
fades for ever and for ever when I move.
Ulysses Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Tennysons romanticised vision of Ulysses is really quite
extraordinary given that Ulysses or strictly speaking
Odysseus travelling was full of experiences which far
from engendering comfort contrived the opposite, fear.
They were indeed in part on the margins of the world
where law and order yield to barbarity or at least a
world which Odysseus cannot accept and will wish to
destroy, harm or deceive and they certainly help us to
think of Odysseus as the man who is full of cunning,
much- travelled, and a man of many turns. Fortunately
Odysseus nostos bore no resemblance to ours but we
would like to think that our experiences have contributed
to our make-up and outlook.
Olavian 2014 109

There seems to be a sense of some recovery in Athens

and it certainly did not have that edge of uncertainty
that still pervaded last year after the violent protests
around Syntagma square. On arrival we walked around
the classical zone at ease against the constant backdrop
of cicadas enjoying the temples of the Acropolis in the
afternoon and thereafter the new Acropolis Museum.
Around the remains of the theatre of Dionysus a good
deal of work has been done and a recently-sculpted
statue of Menander has been erected. We stayed in
the Herodion for the second time running where the
students delighted in the roof top caf and its hot tubs.
It is a hotel of exceptional value for a school trip and its
position adjacent to the lower entrance to the Acropolis
is ideal.
We visited the agora where the pupils particularly enjoyed
seeing the voting discs, the ostraka covered in the name
of Themistokles, the klepysdra and the machine created
for picking the jury men, the kleroterion. Though we
were unable to insert our own pinaikon we came away
from the museum having a fuller grasp of the mechanics
of democracy.
From the streets of Athens we headed north up towards
Marathon and the wonderful site of Rhamnous, a place
which should be on the itinerary of all school trips. A
caveat is that pre-booking is now essential .It took all
my powers of persuasion to be allowed into the site. The
reward is immense .The route down to the main entrance
to this fortified town and military garrison is lined with
immense tombs and the site is possessed of a theatre
that far from being carved out of the natural incline
of a hill sits actually on a raised flat area. Its purpose
was not merely for dramatic performances but seems to
have been for meetings of the people; this was where
democracy and theatre elided. As in the previous year
its inaccessibility, its position overlooking the straits of
Euboea, its colossal towers and massive walls enthralled
the students.
The drive up to Delphi was as divine as ever with the
hills coated with pine trees and terraces of olives. The
small town with its narrow streets full of gift shops,
selling replica armour and helmets, its pottery emporia
and countless bars appealed too. The site itself was as
magnificent as always though the Roman gymnasium
has now been closed permanently for fear of falling rocks.
We battled through the crowds of tourists following
haplessly behind the guides with their red umbrellas
reading from their pre-written script. In moments
of quiet we were able to consider the light and shade
of Mount Parnassus and why such vastly important
decisions were made as a result of a visit to the oracle.
We were also able to consider Herodes Atticus and the
theatre he had built here. He is a man who should inspire
an EPQ for the future.
110 Olavian 2014

At Olympia we stayed in the lovely Europa Hotel where

we were met appreciatively as ever. The students dined
al fresco under pergolas some of them eating rabbit for
the first time and all of them declaring they had never
seen artichoke hearts before. They appeared to enjoy
equally the sites of Olympia especially the palaestra and
the proximity of the workshop of Phidias to the Temple
of Zeus. Unseen by the group before they have opened
up a Roman mosaic just to the left of the entrance and
this was a marvellous example alongside the Roman
bathhouses how this pan-hellenic site was used not only
throughout the Greek world but also the Roman one.
This year we went to Bassae again but I think this may
be the last time. The road there is becoming increasingly
dangerous and given its relative proximity to Olympia
the journey is extremely long.
On arrival there we also discovered that much of the
temple has now been shut off and I feel I have to balance
the benefits of seeing this extraordinary work of Icktinos
with the longevity of the coach trip there. From there we
headed straight to Nafplion and the Argolid.
In the Argolid we visited the traditional sites of
Epidauros, Paleo-epidauros, Mycenae and we raced at
Nemea though strictly speaking I competed rather than
raced. I certainly did not carry off the Herculean lion
pelt. The students were captivated by the treasury of
Atreus and the museum at Mycenae and even showed
some enthusiasm for Ancient Tiryns. Corinth and the
National Archaeological museum were visited on the

way back to the airport.

For next year some changes are afoot. We need to do
something different or more strictly speaking I do.
Plans have been put in place to visit Sounion, Thorikos
and Oropos. We hope too to see a live performance at
the theatre of Epidaruros and not to see abandoned
dogs as we did this year at Argos. The Classics trip is
extremely rewarding but some changes are needed to
avoid monotony for the party leader. This year we cut
the trip down by one day but did not reduce the content
from previous trips the result being total exhaustion on
my return.
The success of the trip depends in large part on the
cooperation of the students who as ever were well-behaved
and this was noted by four retired teachers who were
staying at the Europa who expressed their admiration
not only for their behaviour but astonishment that so
many students studied classics. This year the students
performed the annual cabaret which I must say may well
have been the very best ever with the most hilarious take
on the embassy of Odysseus to the newly name Achillies
and some very interesting lyrics on regrets sung by Jack
Bradfield to the accompaniment of a ukele and Matthew
Roberts appearing in a dress doing a brilliant scene from
the History Boys. I am sure that the hotel is convinced
of our eccentricity now and long may this conviction
last. But the trip is also successful because of the huge
support I receive from my wife in the running of the
trip. She is certainly an honorary Olavian and certainly a
boon to the department.

Olavian 2014 111

The Department of
Religious Studies

ur editor, Mr Craig, is at his happiest when articles

provided for the Olavian are accompanied by
photographs, and so it was that I trawled through the
archive on the hunt for suitable pictorial embellishments.
Two photographs caught my eye from the Year 7
Religious Studies and Geography trip to Eynsford,
Farningham and Lullingstone. The first image shows
Moses Ibn-Ibrahim sitting on a pew in 14th Century St
Botolphs Church at Lullingstone Castle, looking quite
the most contented Year 7 in the country. What, I asked
myself, does this captured moment of serenity tell us
about our students?
As Moses, a fearsome rugby player, paused for thought in
this ancient place of worship, he was doing what scores
of Olavian students do on a daily basis through the
Religious Studies Department: engaging critically with
ideas both ancient and profound. Through discussion,
debate and critical writing, our students continually
astound with their maturity, empathy and insight.
The second image shows Kit Whitaker, another
accomplished rugby player, pausing for lunch with a
daisy chain around his head. I have yet to determine the
significance of this, but he seemed happy enough.
The Eynsford trip was one of three offered by the
department this year, the remaining two trips being
provided for Year 9 in Activities Week Two. A
particularly interesting element of the Year 9 curriculum
is their investigation into the link between Church and
State in the UK. It was to complement this that Year 9
took a walking tour of Orpington Churches, on which
the leaders of three local churches hosted our group and
fielded some unabashed and forthright questioning from
the boys.
Later in the week, Year 9 were again treated to a day
out by the department, this time in conjunction with
the Classics Department. The British Museum and

Jewish Museum trip was in equal measure fascinating

and sobering. Educators at the Jewish Museum used
artefacts from one particular Dutch family to put a human
face to the dehumanising statistics of the Holocaust,
giving uncomfortable colour to the familiar facts. Our
students responded to some challenging questions with
pathos and intelligence quite beyond their years. As we
departed, museum staff declared them the most wellbehaved and engaged school group in recent memory.
In September, the school was privileged to play host to
the Right Reverend Chad Gandiya, Bishop of Harare.
Bishop Chad spent time with classes in Year 10 and 12,
fielding questions on ethics, God and faith in the face
of suffering. The bishop was gracious and thoughtful in
his answers, speaking with the authority of one who had
lived what he taught.
Meanwhile, in the regular business of the department,
it was a matter of slow but steady growth. The new
Key Stage Three curriculum was consolidated, tweaked,
polished, and ably delivered by a team of non-subject

112 Olavian 2014

specialists to whom the department is ever-indebted.

Further up the school, the GCSE course continues to
evolve and improve and it may be for this reason that
interest in pursuing the subject at A Level has increased.
Student numbers across the two year groups at A Level
increased by about 40% in 2013-14, and for 2014-15 this
looks set to increase by a further 50%.
Philosophy Society ran lively and well-attended weekly
lunchtime discussions. It is always pleasing, and a real
testament to the spirit of scholarly enquiry in the school,
that these sessions are very well attended, including by
those not taking Religious Studies A Level.
Inevitably, OFSTED will garner column inches
elsewhere, but for Religious Studies it really was a
non-event. The phone call that signals the impending
arrival of governmental inquisition coincided with
another phone call, that signalling the impending arrival
of child number two to the Lake family. The department
duly set outstanding cover work, to be delivered by our
cover supervisors, and departed for a week or two to
continue the work of slow but steady growth, this time
on the home front.

Andrew Lake

S___Head of Religious Studies

Olavian 2014 113

The Department of Economics

he Economics department has had another busy

and successful year. In September we welcomed
William Haines as a full time teacher of Economics. He
has made a fantastic contribution to both the delivery
of the curriculum and extra curricula work of the
department. In terms of results the department achieved
an exemplary set of A level results with 98% of students
achieving grades A*to B. The depth of these results can
be shown by 52% of students achieving A* at A level.
At AS level 95.7% of students achieved grades A to B.
The department has also been involved in a number extra
curricula activities throughout the year.

John Greenwood

S___Head of Economics

Chris Giles, Economics Editor of the FT

The Political Economy Society

The Political Economy Society had undoubtedly one
of its most succesful years to date, with a number of
fascinating presentations from both external and internal
speakers. To begin the year, the society welcomed Roy
Cromb, a former employee at the Bank of England, to
present on the current economic situation of the UK.
Mr Cromb spoke with great scepticism over the recent
boom in the housing market and the inflated growth
figures given that real wages still remain worringly low
in comparison.
Chris Giles, Economics Editor of the Financial Times,
continued this theme with his own prediction on how
the UK economy would look by the end of 2014.
Having recently arrived back from the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Mr Giles was able to give an accurate
account of the current optimism that surrounded the UK
economy and how the outlook looked very different to
what economists had predicted only a year ago.

partial success, he challenged some of the coalitions

spending cuts through targeting the wrong areas of the
government budget.
In the Spring term, Thomas Wardle, a Lead Research
from The Centre for Social Justice, was welcomed to the
society. His talk, titled Reforming Welfare, Transforming
Lives, highlighted the importance for the government
of understanding the broad nature of poverty in the UK.
From his own research, he showed clear evidence that
despite the increased spending on welfare over the last
ten years, the number of people on out-of-work benefits
has in fact hardly fallen.
Our final external speaker of the year was Jo Johnson,
Member of Parliament for Orpington and Chair of the
Prime Ministers Policy Board. Mr Johnson gave an
insider view on the Budget Report and held discussion
on other topical issues. Students asked some probing
questions on the Economics Conference

Our focus at the society then moved away from domestic

economic issues and towards the international economy
as Professor Alfredo Saad Filho from the University of
SOAS discussed the rise of the emerging markets and
whether they would continue to grow at such a fast rate
over the coming decade.

On Monday 3rd December Year 13 Economists attended

a conference in London to enjoy a range of presentations
by Ed Balls MP (Shadow Chancellor), Hugh Pym
(Economics Editor, BBC), Tim Harford (Author of The
Undercover Economist, BBC and the FT) and various
economists.

Andrew Lilico, Chairman of Europe Economics, was

the next guest speaker that the society were fortunate
to host as he discussed austerity in the UK economy. Dr
Lilico argued that austerity measures should have been
implemented much earlier, with the current scheme
more reactive than proactive. Despite evidence of some

Bank of England - Target 2.0

On the 26th February the Saint Olaves Monetary Policy
committee represented the school in the Area final. The
competition involves the students analysing Economic
data and making a recommendation as to what the Bank
of England should do to achieve the inflation target of

114 Olavian 2014

2%. The team opted to incentive banks to encourage

more lending in the economy. The team unfortunately
did not win through to the national final but they would
like to thank everyone for helping to fill in their surveys.
Work Related Learning & Enterprise Days
As part of their work related learning, Year 10 visited
the Bank of England including a talk giving valuable
insight into why it is essential to manage inflation in the
economy and what constitutes economic stability. The
day also included a business game which all enjoyed.

Some photos from the Economics and History trip

to New York and Washington DC

Olavian 2014 115

Sports

National CompetitionsThe Sports Faculty

port continues to thrive at St. Olaves with a wide

range of activities to engage the students both
in the curriculum and as part of the extra-curricular
programme. The Sports Prefects support this programme
by organising clubs and attending fixtures, and their
support is much appreciated by staff and pupils alike.
There have been some exceptional performances this year
in a variety of activities which we have been delighted
to mention in the Headmasters newsletter. Impressive
results are obviously something we are very proud of, but
effort is also highly rated by the PE department and the
students continue to impress with their positive attitude
and willingness to learn and improve.

Andy Kenward

S___Director of Sport

1st XV Rugby
At the start of the season many of the 1st XV could
not have dreamed of the success we were to have in
the upcoming season. A pre -season tour to South
America had been a great learning experience and had
certainly bought the two year groups closer together in
preparation for the start of the new campaign.With early
season wins over Colfes the Old Boys and Wallington,
the team had started to show the ability and skills which
would hopefully propel them forward in the NatWest
Cup tournament. Two losses followed, but this losing
run ended with a comprehensive 56-7 win against St.
Dunstans in the first round of the cup. The desire of
the team to succeed was highlighted in a 27-27 draw
against Skinners, where the team managed to overturn a
20 point deficit in the last ten minutes. A disappointing
loss to Dartford meant we entered the NatWest Vase,
but this only inspired us to have a cup run with a big
win over Gravesend Grammar school in the first round.
The next couple of rounds saw hard fought victories over
Brighton and Hove Sixth Form College and Robert
Clack.This put us into the last 16 of the vase where the
team came up against a tough Worth side. The game was
played at Saracens Allianz Park which proved a great
experience, but after a valiant performance with great
support, the team just lost 12-10, ending a significant
cup run. Other notable victories were recorded against
local rivals Langley Park and Chislehurst and Sidcup.
After the regular season the squad embarked on a series
of 7s competitions where expectations were high. A
promising opening in the St Olaves 7s saw the squad
reach the semi- final stage but this was topped by the
Kent 7s where victories over Judd and Dartford to name
two resulted in the team reaching the final where they
narrowly lost out to Eltham College, the best result for a

St Olaves team in many years. This season has provided

the team with many memories and been a superlative
way to end the Year 13s last year of school rugby. A
thank you to Mr White and Mr Haines who gave up
a great deal of their time throughout the season and
helped the team reach their full potential.
Senior 7s
In the Kent County 7s competition, the Senior squad
overcame Maidstone Grammar, Duke of York, Gravesend
Grammar and Judd to top their group. This set up a tense
semi-final with Dartford, where a strong second half
come-back saw St. Olaves win by 26 24. In a highly
entertaining cup final against Eltham College, although
the opposition just snatched victory with a last minute
try, St. Olaves can take great pride in their performance
to come runners-up in such a tough competition.

2nd XV Rugby
With 10 wins out of 17 games the 2nd XV season
was a great success with no shortage of tries scored. A
commendable total of 445 points included a 67-0 win at
Colfes and a 41-7 win against Wallington. Leavers will
look back fondly on this as their last year in representing
St Olaves.
Under 16 Rugby
The U16s have claimed some notable scalps this season,
with victories over Wimbledon College, Judd and
Bishops Stortford. Some fine attacking play and resilient
defense saw them finish with 7 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses,
with several selected to represent the 1st or 2nd XV.
Under 15 Rugby
The U15s had a disrupted end to the season losing
several fixtures to the weather, but improved throughout
the year to bond very well. With the 7s season to go
Olavian 2014 117

they can look forward to further success.captain Danny

Jenkins (11K) and vice-captain Billy Belsham (11J) for
their input into selection.
Under 14 Rugby
The under 14s have played some of the most entertaining
attacking rugby we have seen in a while, shocking teams
such as Judd and Ravens Wood, and now looking like an
all-round quality team. They are competing in the Nat
West cup where we hope to see them beating the top
teams in Kent.
1st XV

2nd XV

Under 13 Rugby
After a shaky start the U13s notched up some notable
scalps such as Judd, St Dunstans (56-7), London Oratory
and Robert Clack. Moving into the 7s season they were
optimistic, beating Dartford and Langley at The Saint
Olaves 7s to reach the semi-finals and progressing to
the quarter finals in the Kent 7s.
Under 12 Rugby
All of the U12 games have been close and the future
for these players looks most encouraging James Gander
(7B) has been a very able captain who has been wellsupported by the rest of the team, with many of the boys
in Year 7 having the opportunity to represent the school.
Rugby Results

Under-16 A, 2013-14

Under-15 A, 2013-14

118 Olavian 2014

Played Won Lost Drawn

1st

24 13 9 2

2nd

17 10 7 0

U16A

14 7 6 1

U16B

4 2 2 0

U15A

U15B

11 2 9 0

U14A

18 10 8 0

U14B

15 11 4 0

U13A

16 5 11 0

U13B

16 8 8 0

U12A

15 8 7 0

U12B

13 5 8 0

21 6 15 0

Hunt (13J), Megan Collett (13M) and Bumade Agbaje

(13N) for their leadership and to Sue Ellis for her
excellent coaching. It is really appreciated by all.

Under-14 A, 2013-14

Netball Team, 2013-14

Under-13 A, 2013-14

Under-12 A, 2013-14
Netball
The Netball season began well with the A team gaining
a victory over the Young Olavians team. Given it was so
early on in the season and as such the girls had not been
able to play as a team before, they performed extremely
well. At the Kent Netball tournament the girls tried to
build on their previous success and certainly developed
more of a team identity. Especially noteworthy was
Chloe Daleys (12P) defensive manoeuvrings. The
team came second in a local tournament, losing only to
Colfes. Coaches there commented on their impressive
performances. A and B team matches against Eltham
College allowed all of the girls to be involved and
certainly it was evident that future talent is beginning to
shine. House Netball also added another dimension to
the fixtures this year. Well done to all involved and we
hope that this terms success will encourage girls to get
even more involved. Thanks are extended to Katherine

1st XI Football Update

This year sixth form football has been run solely by Mr.
Holton and the benefits have been instantly repaid with a
perfect season of 7 wins and no loses. Currently the team
lie top of the league with 3 points and a game in hand on
the next team down. The exceptional performance of the
team is a collective result that has seen over 30 different
players run out for the 1st XI, a testament to the strength
of the squad and the result of consistent training sessions
on the top field. Outstanding performances have seen
Jacob Skelly score the current goal of the season, a left
footed hooked long range shot into the top corner to kill
a game off. Outstanding debut goals for Sam Ferguson
and Charlie Grozer, and consistent strikers Connor
Smieja and Michael Cann-Abaidos complement the
outstanding resilient performances of the older squad
players, who have led from the front. Tom Crowland and
Matthew Hodges have organised the squad as captains,
whilst Aldous Poole has cemented his place alongside
Alex McHale as one of two names on every team sheet.

Football 1st XV, 2013-14

Swimming.
Harry Rennolls (9C) achieved a time of 26.08 sec. in the
50m freestyle on 29 Sept., in the Orpington OJ Open
Gala. This is the fastest time in Britain for this event by
a 13 year old in 2013 and is the 14th fastest 13YO time
of all-time, using age at 31st Dec. 2013.

Olavian 2014 119

Harry also won the 200 IM for 13YOs, and was second
in the 200m freestyle - both in Kent qualifying times.
During the weekWend of 12th October Henry Rennolls
(9C), Michael Jacobs (10M) and Theo Haslam (11K)
travelled to Sheffield on as part of the Kent Team taking
part in in the National County Championships.
Henry came fifth in the boys age 12/13 year old 100
metre freestyle and 11th in the boys age 12/13 year old
100 metre backstroke. He was also in the boys age 12/13
year old 4x 50 metres medley team which finished in
second place.
Michael came 10th in the boys 14/15 year old 100
metres backstroke. He and Theo were in the boys age
14/15 year old 4 x 50 metres medley team which finished
in 11th place.
Theo came sixth in the boys 14/15 year old 100 metres
freestyle. He and Henry were in the 6 x 50 metres mixed
age freestyle relay team which finished in fourth place.
The Kent team finished in fourth place overall, which is
their best result in recent years. Congratulations to all
three swimmers on these outstanding performances in a
national competition.
In the Kent County Schools Swimming Championships,
Henry Rennolls (9C) destroyed the opposition to claim
victory in the 100m Freestyle with a new KSSA record
time of 57.84s; Felix Haslam (8C) secured 4th place in
the 100m Back-stroke; Michael Jacobs (10M) triumphed
with a Gold in the Intermediate boys 100m back-stroke;
Timothy Adelani (13L) posted the 4th fastest time in
the Senior 100m Back-stroke and Molly Haynes (12O)
won the 100m Freestyle and 100m Butterfly. Having
never quite won in galas at Sevenoaks School over recent
years, the squad performed exceptionally winning all but
one of the individual races and relays, to secure victory
by a convincing margin of 195 171, a testament to the
dominance of the Olavians and the depth of talent in
the school.
Swimming Tour
Five boys represented St Olaves at the LSSA
Championships on Sunday 13 April at Crystal Palace
National Sports Centre. The five boys grabbed 11 golds,
three silvers and one bronze between them, as well as
several places.
St Olaves finished 2nd overall out of 20 schools that
enteredjust 4 points behind Whitgift and comfortably
ahead of the 3rd placed school. This is another fantastic
result and we are very fortunate to have such a strong
swimming representation at the school.
120 Olavian 2014

The details are:

Felix Haslam (8C) (11/12 age group - age at the
beginning of the academic year) - Gold in 50 metre
butterfly, Bronze in 100 metre freestyle and fourth in
100 metre backstroke;
Theo Haslam (11K): (15/16 age group) - Gold in 50
metre freestyle, Gold in 100 metre freestyle, Gold in 200
metre freestyle, Gold in 50 metre butterfly and Gold in
100 metre butterfly;
Michael Jacobs (10M): (13/14 age group) - Gold in 200
metre back stroke;
Henry Rennolls (9C): (13/14 age group) - Gold in 50
metre freestyle, Gold in 50 metre backstroke, Silver in 50
metre butterfly, fourth in 100 metre freestyle, fourth in
100 metre backstroke, fifth in 50 metre breaststroke and
sixth in 100 metre butterfly;
Matthew Ruiz (11L): (15/16 age group) - Gold in 50
metre breaststroke, Gold in 100 metre breaststroke,
Silver in 200 metre breaststroke and Silver in 50 metre
butterfly.
Achievements in the pool
Congratulations to Harry Rennolls (9C) in Year 9 who
competed in the ASA SE Region Age-Group. In his age
group Harry won the following medals:
1. Gold in 100m freestyle in a National Qualifying Time
(NQT).
2. Gold in 100m butterfly in a National Qualifying Time
(NQT).
3. Bronze in 200m freestyle.
Consequently he will be competing in the National
Age-Group Championships which take place in
Sheffield in the beginning of August.
Harry Rennolls
Congratulations to Harry Rennolls in Year 9 who won
the gold medal in the Junior Boys 100m freestyle event,
making him the 2014 English Schools Champion for
100m free ( Junior Boys).
He also swam the anchor leg on both the 4x100 freestyle
and 4x100 Medley relays. The London teams won Gold
& Bronze medals in these events, respectively.
England Korfball Selection
Congratulations to Thomas Young (9L), who has been
selected to play for England at Korfball. Our very best
wishes go with Thomas who will be joining the team on
their forthcoming tour of Flanders.

Badminton
On Tuesday 26th November evening the Key Stage 3
and 4 teams played in the first round of the national
schools badminton championships where they faced
Langley Park. The KS3 team played thrilling match and
were narrowly beaten 3-2. The KS4 team proved far too
strong for the opposition and won 5-0, they will now
progress through to the regional round which will be
played next term.
Congratulations to Kevin Wu in Year 8 who recently won
several badminton medals. He achieved an impressive
third in the Kent restricted Doubles for U15, second in
the Tunbridge Wells Badminton League U13 singles
and managed to win the U12 doubles event in the same
league.
Cross Country
The first round of the national cross country was hosted
by Darrick Wood School. Saint Olaves entered runners
into the Junior and Intermediate events. Intermediates
Charlie Davis (10L), Alex Mulroy (11K) and Justin
Mills (11N) finished 3rd, 6th and 10th respectively and
are hoping to go through to the next round along with
Joshua Davidson (10M) who was unable to run on the
day. Alexander Walker (9C) finished 6th in the junior
race and should also progress through to the second
stage.
Congratulations to Charles Davis (10L), Alexander
Leggatt (10L) and Joshua Davidson (10M) whose efforts
in the Kent Schools Cross Country Championships
resulted in Bromley finishing in 2nd place and welldeserved medals for the boys.

Tennis
The senior boys team played in the AEGON tennis
championship and played a tough fixture against
Tonbridge School. Despite ending on the losing side the
boys showed great promise with the doubles scores just
going Tonbridges way, 6-4 for the first pair and 7-5 for
the second pair
Young Olavians Day
It was a pleasure to welcome back a host of leavers and
supporters for the traditional Young Olavians Day on
Wednesday 9th September 2013. A fine spirit of good
sportsmanship prevailed despite some keenly contested
matches, with results as follows:
Badminton

Young Olavians won:

5-1

Basketball

Young Olavians won:

58 - 35

Chess

School won:

Fives

Young Olavians won:

2-0

Football
(5 - 4 on penalties)

Young Olavians won:

1-1

Hockey

School won:

8-3

Netball

School won:

24 - 4

Rugby

School won:

34 - 7

Squash Young Olavians won:

games)

2.5 - 1.5

1 - 1 (YO won more

Badminton
There were several close matches in a tightly fought
Bromley contest at Langley Park. The KS4 team were
dominant throughout and won their section easily by 8
matches to 0, setting set them up well for the London
regional round of the National Cup where they managed
to finish a very creditable third after beating Graveney
School and Hampton School but losing to Coombe
School.

Hockey
This is looking healthy this season, with many year 12
students adding to the stalwarts in Year 13. We continue
to use Darrick wood Astroturf pitch, with the kind
permission of the school. Of particular note recently
has been the quality of coaching and exercises led by
Angharad Ganguli (13K), one of the hockey captains,
along with Charlie Bishop (13M).

Antigua Cricket Tour

Over the Easter holidays cricketers from Years 8 to 11
ventured to Antigua for a 12 day tour. The fixtures were

Olavian 2014 121

competitive and there was plenty to admire from all

players. The Junior team managed to win four out of five
fixtures and the Seniors won two out of five. Within each
game there was lots to learn and the players have now
returned ready to start the domestic season in fine form.
Highlights of the tour, other than the cricket, included a
catamaran trip and snorkelling, a jeep safari around the
island, the enthusiasm and friendliness of the opposition
and, pictured, meeting one of the greats of the game
Sir Viv Richards. Well done to all of the players, and
good luck in your forthcoming season.

Under-15 XI, 2014

Under-14 XI, 2014

Under-13 XI, 2014

122 Olavian 2014

Under-12 XI, 2014

U15 Cricket
The U15 cricket team had an early disappointing loss
this season in the Kent Cup but since that defeat the
team has gone from strength to strength going unbeaten
so far in every other game. Highlights include impressive
victories away to Skinners and Langley Park and home
to Chis and Sid. So far the team have played 7 and won
6 with Tomas Gallagher top scoring with the bat and
Arjen Anilkumar performing best with the ball.
U15 Bromley Cup Cricket Winners
The inaugural Bromley Cup Festival of Cricket was held
for Year 10 on Thursday 26th June. Having won the longer
format competition last year the team were focused on
retaining their title and were pitted against Hayes school
and Langley Park in a triangular group. The team faced
Langley Park first and managed to set a total of 126 with
Amrit Dawood top scoring with 44. This was a healthy
score which was always going to be tough to chase and
so it proved with our bowlers restricting Langley to 101.
The second game was against Hayes. They batted first
but were in a position only to score 92 with the bat. With
victory in sight the team went out to bat in an aggressive
mood and promptly achieved the required runs inside 9
overs with Henry Edwards top scoring with 41 off 22
balls. This victory ensured that we topped the group and
came home with the silverware.
U14 Cricket
Following the successful Antiguan cricket tour hopes were
high for an impressive start to the season. Unfortunately
the rain hampered this and progress was slow. Despite
this the boys have trained well and have now managed
to play several fixtures. There were wins over Rochester
Mathematicals, Langley Park and Wilsons with the only
defeat so far an agonising 1 run loss to Chislehurst and
Sidcup Grammar School. The squad has depth, interest,
desire and ability and it has been great fun working
with them again. Captains Sohayl Ujoodia and Matt
Lane deserve credit for their handling of the team and
assistance with the weekly head-ache of selection. Well
done to everyone involved.
U13 Cricket
The cricket started off slowly with the first few being

cancelled due to the weather. Since then it has been full

speed ahead with often 2 fixtures a week and training
on top.
U12 Cricket
The U12 cricket team has an excellent bowling attack,
with Vikram Rajendran (7C) and Joel Kovoor (7L)
providing spin and Nikhil Dawood (7B) and Joshua
Aderanti (7H) pace. Rajendran has set the pace with the
bat but the side needs to develop its other batsmen so
that we have other threats. Hutchinson has proved a safe
pair of hands behind the stumps.
Cricket Sight Screens
Thanks to the hard work and generosity of our Parents
Association the school cricket teams have new sight
screens for the forthcoming season.

Winners of the Bromley Cricket Cup

Cricket Results
U15 - played 14 won 9 lost 5; won the Bromley Cup,
runners up in County Plate
U14 - played 13, won 10, lost 2, abandonned 1; won
Bromley Cup
U13 - played 6, won 4, won Bromley Cup
U12 - played 6, won 1; runners up in Bromley Cup
Eton Fives
The Fives team remains undefeated this season. Matches
have been won against Westminster School, Harrow,
Berkhamsted, RGS High Wycombe, Mill Hill, Lancing
College, Belmont, Eton College, Old Citizens and The
Abbey Club.
In The Rossall Schools Championships, Max Brookes
(12P) reached the Final of the U18 singles. Tom
Gallagher 10K) won the U15 Singles, and Kieran Walton
(9L) and James Tate (9C) won the U15 Doubles.
William Edmonds (11J) and William Belsham (11J)
become the youngest pair to ever win the Festival

section of the Midlands Championships. William

Phillips (12S), Josh Ravi (12Q) and Kieran Walton (9L)
won the Richard Barber Cup in partnership with The
Old Olavians.
In the Individual Tournaments held at Harrow School,
William Carew (9L) reached the U15 Final, Sohayl
Ujoodia (9C) and James Tate (9C) won the U14s, and
Harry Wintour (7L) was a Finalist in the U12s. Charlie
Stocks (9H) and Will Carew (9L) were finalists in the
Southern Schools Championships
Senior Fives
Motivated, reliable and well organised! As a result, the
Seniors contributed a great deal to the good school
fixture results, but also towards the running of the massive
school team as a whole. The outstanding Captain, Dom
Robson (13K), together with superb support from Ed
King (12X), Josh Ravi (12Q), Will Phillips (12S), Max
Brookes (12P), Arun Vigneswara (13H) and Jon Leech
12T), masterminded a great recruitment drive for Year
7. Much effort was also given towards the training of
the junior players as well as selfless contributions on a
regular basis at lunchtimes; Kosi Nwuba (10K) deserves
special mention for this also for running his own group
training! On court, Dominic Robson (13K) reached the
Northern Championships Semi-Finals, and Josh Raviv,
Jon Leech, Ed King (Aran Sivapalan, Kosi Nwuba and
Tom Gallagher (10K) were key players in the Team that
won the Adult Third Division.
U16 Fives
The highlight this season was undoubtedly the
performance of Will Edmonds (11J) & Billy Belsham
(11J) in winning the adult Midlands Festivalwho are the
youngest pair to have won this! This by any standards is
a great achievement. The whole squad has worked hard
and with great enthusiasm, with Leo Henderson (11J)
and Harry Russell (11N) making particular progress
with Top 16 training. Connor Quick (11K) deserves
particular mention for his commitment over the year.
U15 Fives
There were many highlights for the Year 10 Team, where
the work-ethic is unbelievably self-driven! John Oxley
(10L) and Morgan Pugh (10M) were Semi -finalists in
the U15 National Championships, whilst Kosi Nwuba
(10K) and Tom Gallagher (10K) played outstandingly
to reach the U16 Final, still a year-young. They also
became the youngest pair to win the Adult Northern
Championships Festival. The commitment of so many
players in this large Team squad this season has ensured
that there is great strength in depth. As a result, almost all
school matches were won across the season; Vishwakrith
Shetty (10N), Joshua Hutko (10K) and Coby Plews
(10J) deserve particular mention for a great year and
their help with Year 7 training.
Olavian 2014 123

Senior Fives

Junior Fives

U14 Fives

U12 Fives

124 Olavian 2014

Under 14 Fives
Simply the most successful U14s season ever! Kameron
Swanson (9L), James Tate (9C), Kieran Walton (9L),
William Carew (9L), Sohayl Ujoodia (9C); all established
outstanding Nationally ranked players, have recently
been joined by Charlie Stocks (9H) on this list. Without
these six players, the U14s would still be extremely
strong, with many talented and experienced players such
as Sam Caine (9B), Laiq Nagi (9L), Matthew Lane
(9L), Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang (9C), Izaak Hasnain
(9H), Hasan Rahij (9B) and many more having enjoyed
a superb season. The team, between them, won the
National U14 3 pair Competition and the Rossall U15
Doubles. In the Nationals, Carew & Stocks reached the
Quarter-Finals, Ujoodia & Swanson the Semi-Finals,
with Tate & Walton reaching the Final.
U13 Fives
Eight very committed pairs of Year 8s worked hard all
season and represented the school very well in numerous
matches and weekend events. The whole squad performed
well in the National Schools Championships, with
Louis McLean (8H) and Sachin Balaji (8B), playing
brilliantly to reach the National Semi Finals where they
only narrowly lost out on a place in the Final. They did
however reach the Final of the REFCA National U13s
event! Jack McKeone (8C), Louis McLean (8H), Tom
Liddemore (8H), Swastick Gupta (8L), Michael Li (8H)
and Shachin Pratheepan (8C) all took part in the Swiss
Fives Tour in the May Half Term.
U12 Fives
The U12s Fives Team is a very large one, with some
30 players training on a regular basis and competing
in school fixtures. Good wins were achieved against
Emanuel and Berkhamsted schools. Most of the squad
took part in an Individual championship held at Harrow,
being randomly paired each round with different partners
from a variety of schools. Harry Wintour (7L) played
outstandingly well to reach the Final. Together with
George Smith (7L), Harry also reached the 4th round
of the Schools National Championships at Eton. All
players in this talented squad will enjoy more matches
and success next season.
Swiss Fives Tour
The St.Olaves Fives Tour to Zuoz, in the Engadine
Swiss Alps, took place in the May Half Term. 21 pupils
from Years 7 to 10 took part in this trip. What other
activity or sport ever manages, or even attempts to
throw pupils together like this across the year-groups?
Together, mixed in and operating as three level teams in
a week-long multi-sports training and competition Tour,
the group all enjoyed daily training and matches together
culminating in the Lindt Chocolate Fives Tournament
which saw Morgan Pugh (10M) & Kieran Walton (9L),
defeating rising star Charlie Stocks (9H) with Tom

Liddemore (8H) in the Final, taking the entire stash

of entry fee chocolate! Tennis, Basketball, Football and
Quiz-night were all enjoyed in this incredibly beautiful
setting!
Athletics
This season has seen some excellent performances from
our athletes in a variety of competitions. In the West
Kent Athletics Championships our Intermediates came
4th out of 12 schools whilst our Juniors won the meeting.
Following this over 10 athletes were nominated for the
Kent Schools Championships. At the Bromley Minors
the Year 8 team came 3rd out of 13 schools and the Year
7 team came 2nd out of 13 schools. Will Ruiz in Year 13
broke the senior school 3000m record with a time of 9
min 20.7 seconds a record that had stood since 1991.
Tennis
Tennis continues to be a popular sport in the school
and with tennis coaching provided by professional
coaches on Tuesdays and Thursdays the standard being
played is improving. Our best players continue to be
involved in the AEGON Schools tournaments as well
as representing their clubs. Alex Jochim (9B) 9 has
particularly impressed this year, with a rating of 4.1 and
ranked number 1 in Kent as a 14 year old and under, and
6th nationally. Our thanks also to Shunta Takino(13I)
who leaves this year but has helped organise the tennis
teams and played some excellent tennis himself, currently
being ranked 6th in the county for U18.
Senior Snooker Team
The snooker team enjoyed a prestigious first season,
capped off by a silver medal at the inaugural BSC Schools
Snooker Championships. The team had a strong start
to the tournament, with captain Henry Zhu scoring a
phenomenal century break to secure a confident 3-0
frame score against Shrewsbury, and despite a narrow
3-2 loss to Eton, St. Olaves progressed to the knockout
stage following a 3-1 victory over Harrow, with Luke
ODonovan sealing the win with a precise chipped shot
to pot the black.

Wolverhampton Grammar, with Hoan Truongs delicate

cushion shot and an intelligent snookering by Jacob
Skelly being the highlights of a 3-2 frame victory.
Close rivals Eton also enjoyed a 3-0 semi final win over
Rugby, setting up a hotly anticipated final against St.
Olaves. Sharp play by James Burtonshaw and Oscar
Dixon raced St. Olaves into a 2-0 frame lead, but the
mental exhaustion caught up with the team and Eton
recovered their lost frames, leaving the title to play for
in the final frame. A valiant team performance set up
St. Olaves to take the victory, but a chalking error by
Shaun Bentum-Siripi led to him squandering a ten-inch
potting opportunity, and Eton stole the victory from the
jaws of defeat.
Moving on from this setback, the team are hoping to
take their strong form into the Nationals in February.
Sports Celebration Dinner
This event, hosted by the PE department, and held in
the Great Hall was well-represented by a range of years
groups and a range of sports. Prizes were presented by
Old Olavian, James Toop, and we were grateful for his
speech and encouragement to those present. With a
raffle, an auction, bar (with speciality beers), BBQ and
speeches by Key Stage representatives (Matthew Lane
(9H) KS3, Billy Belsham (11J) KS4 , Katie Hunt
(13J) and Charlie Bishop (13M) - 6th Form) there was
plenty to keep everyone entertained on a full but highly
enjoyable evening.
London Youth Games
We were thrilled to hear that Connor Stimson (12W),
Michael Jacobs (10M), Molly Haynes (120), Felix
Haslam (8C) and Jacob Gaskell ((7B) have been selected
to take part in the London Youth Games representing
the London Borough of Bromley at the Games, to be
held on July 5th. Michael and Molly will form part of
the Bromley swimming team, whilst Felix and Jacob will
take part on the Aquathon (swimming and running)
events. Connor will be part of the five man archery team.
Students will compete against representatives from 24
other London Boroughs, aged up to seventeen years old.
Connor has only recently begun archery, but is routinely
improving his personal best score each week, having
already improved his handicap from 95 to 75. We wish
all our Olavian competitors best of luck in their events
on 5th July.

Snooker Team

In the semi-finals, the team took on reigning champions

Sports Prefects
A big thank you to the current cohort of Sports Prefects
for their input into the extra-curricular programme at St.
Olaves. This is a crucial part of the sporting programme
where their leadership enables many pupils to engage in
school sport, either recreationally or by participation in
matches.
Olavian 2014 125

Art, Design &

Technology

Art, Design & Technology

National Competitions

esign and Technology has had another excellent

year and continues to grow in the opportunities
offered both in and out of the classroom. Students
attended trips to Thorpe Park, the Design Museum and
WorldSKills UK and achieved the best result to date
in Design Ventura. VEX robotics continues to grow,
offering opportunities to all Key Stages and the first
Crest awards of the department. Congratulations to all
the staff and students for another fantastic year.

Rosie Hawley

S___Head of Design & Technology

VEX Robotics
The regional competition, hosted at St Olaves, saw the
Year 11 A team, and the Year 10 B team successfully
gain places in the national competition in Birmingham,
competing against 40 of the best school teams in the
country. Our teams, Smooth Operators, and The
Machines managed to knock out several opposing
entries to progress to the 2nd day. Well done to the boys,
particularly the Year 11s who won a trophy for Best
Build and who and are already planning another robot
for the November World Skills event.

South Bank outside the museum.

Congratulations to Team Linear: Ben Stanbury
(11J), Billy Belsham (11J), Danny Jenkins (11K), Leo
Henderson (11K), Finn Duggan (11M) and James Read
(11M).
Congratulations to Bradley Sawyer (11L) who recently
won 1st prize in the Stoneham Kitchen of the Future
design competition. In addition to his own prize, Bradley
has won 500 for the school to spend on art and design

equipment; his winning entry will be displayed at the
Stoneham Kitchens stand at the Grand Design Live
2014 event at ExCeL, London on 11 May.

Design Ventura
Congratulations to Year 11 Team Linear - Benjamin
Stanbury, William Belsham, Daniel Jenkins, Leo
Henderson, Finn Duggan and James Read - who were
awarded second place in the Design Ventura competition
- our highest achievement yet. Their wallet design,
featuring an innovative and stylish living hinge, received
great feedback from designer Sebastian Conran. The
prototype is now on display in The Cube on the South
Bank and will be sold in the Design Museum shop.
Arkwright Scholarship
Congratulations to Adam Stagg (12W) who has been
invited to attend his investiture into the Worshipful
Company of Scientific Instrument Makers as part of his
Arkwright Scholarship award.
Design Ventura
This years Design Ventura team, Linear visited the
Design Museum again on Monday 28th April to
discuss the development of their product, the wooden
wallet which came 2nd in the competition earlier this
year. The team made a start on trying to explore some
of the problems and possibilities of their design and are
excited to be working with a design firm to develop their
concept further and hopefully get it into production.
Their prototype is now on display in the cube on the

VEX Robotics

Olavian 2014 127

f an Olavian student could be defined in one word,

that word would be creative. The work produced in
the Art department this year has not only reflected the
students originality and inventiveness, but also their
tireless dedication to the subject.
The department has been a constant hive of activity, with
students running an increasing number of clubs and
societies. Art History Society has gone from strength
to strength, helmed by Louis Newby and James Laing.
The standard of presentations each week continued to
impress, provoking discussion and debate. Many of
these talks became academic essays that were featured
in the departments first annual journal, Article. Art
club has produced some innovative work this year and
the students who attended approached each task with
energy and enthusiasm. Luke Reveley and Adenekan
Lipede ensured that the young artists were inspired by
new techniques and ideas. Design and Culture Society
began this year, run by AS student Luke ODonovan,
and attracted a staggering number of sixth formers, eager
to discuss the links between topics such as architectures
relationship with social mobility, to contemporary music
influencing the evolution of the album cover.
As always the department took advantage of Londons
rich variety of galleries, visiting the National Gallery,
Tate Britain and the Saatchi Gallery among others.
A real highlight of the year was the sixth form trip to
Copenhagen. Embracing everything Scandinavian, the
group visited galleries, saw the sights and were able take
inspiration from a new and exciting city.
The department opened the new Lower Field Gallery
this year with the first ever GCSE Art exhibition.
The support for the event was impressive and it was a
fantastic way to showcase the work of an exceptionally
talented year group. This success was closely followed
by the much anticipated AS and A Level exhibition.
This included a wide variety of installations, paintings,
sculptures and graphic design. Again, the turnout was
much larger than precedented, with present and past
pupils, parents and friends supporting the cohort. The
exhibition highlighted the huge amount of artistic
talent we have here at St Olaves and it was a truly proud
moment for the department. 2013-2014 has been an
exciting year for the Art department and 2014-2015 is
promising to be just as industrious.Sixth Form Art &

Siobhan Heraghty
S___Head of Art

128 Olavian 2014

Art Club
Art Club has restarted with a bang, run by the new Art
prefects.Subject to no apron, no entry students have
created abstracts using contemporary practices by filling
balloons with drawing ink and exploding these onto
paper to give dynamic splatters and layers of contrasting
colour.
Year 10 Gallery Visits
First stop for Year 10 was the Photographers Gallery,
with inspiring works by Andy Warhol, David Lynch
and William S. Burroughs, capturing moments on
film. Across the river at the Hayward gallery students
interacted with the works of controversial artist Martin
Creed, enjoying his Turner Prize winning room,
particularly as it filled with huge white balloons!
Architecture at University
Architecture student, Aidan Thomas, gave an interesting
presentation on the reality of studying the subject at
university. Now at Cambridge, Mr Thomas highlighted
some intriguing new programs and techniques he is
currently using to work on a building in Londons
Cannon Street.
Cross Curricular Day
In a Year 9 cross-curricular day on WW1students learnt
how conscientious objectors refused the conscription
call up in 1916 on religious and moral grounds. In Art
they designed memorials, in English they wrote poetry,
in History they learnt how the objectors were treated
before presenting commemorations to honour those
who faced hard labour camps or even the death penalty
for refusing to fight.
Year 7 National Portrait Gallery
Year 7 enjoyed a cultural day in London on Thursday.
Most experienced the National Theatres backstage tour,
learning about the engineering behind the scenes and
how the props, sets and costumes are crafted. Despite the
extensive building work, and the requirement to wear a
hard hat, they enjoyed a fascinating tour.
The boys then went on to different art galleries
including: The Wallace Collection, The National Portrait
Gallery and Tate Modern where they learned about
famous artists and writers and the cultural context
that surrounds the paintings and exhibits. One group
attended a Pounds and Pence presentation at The Bank
of England learning about our currency, inflation and
bullion rates. A final group spent the day at the British
Museum learning about the Elgin Marbles and then the
new Mummies Exhibition. The boys were extremely
well behaved with several members of the public and
gallery staff complimenting them on this and their very
smart appearance. We hope that the experience will
make them want to go back independently having had a
taste of what is on offer.

GCSE Art Exhibition 2014

It is always inspiring to see the breath of talents held by
your typical Olavian student and the GCSE Art exhibition
showcased just this. On display was a staggering range
of media and creativity. From stopmotion films, to glass
sculptures, to digital innovation and tradition painting;
the show had something for everyone. It was a fantastic
opportunity for students, their families, and staff to
celebrate the huge amount of work they have put in
throughout the course. Congratulations to all the artists
that took part and thank you to everyone that made the
show such a success.
Restoration of Portrait of a Young Girl by
John Bettes the Younger [?] C1587
Portrait of a young girl has been hanging in the school
hall since the school moved to Orpington in 1967. It
had not been cleaned for a considerable time and it was
decided a specialist conservator should be invited in to
give some advice regarding the care of this painting.
Richard Hallas, a specialist from the National Portrait
Gallery, visited St Olaves on 6th June 2014 to clean and
restore the painting to ensure it is stabilised and secure
for the foreseeable future.
The girl in the painting is likely to have been an important
person as it would be unusual to have had such a large
portrait done at that time and she is dressed in very fine
clothes.
The painting is on a wood panel. A carpenter would have
prepared the timber and fixed the three, different sized,
timbers together. The wood is probably Baltic oak as it
has an even, tight grain. On the reverse of the panel is
a cradle which was probably added C1880. The vertical
pieces are glued to the panel and the horizontals are
supposed to move freely to allow the wood to breathe.
However, our cradle is mostly stuck!

The glass is separated from the frame by glazing spacers.

Richard added a velvet tape to prevent the paint surface
touching the wooden glazing spacers. [Oils from the
wood can often creep into the painting and spoil the
work of art.] The tape has a special conservation glue
attached to the back strip.
Richard lined the mirror plates [used to secure the
painting to the frame] with plasterzote a dense foam.
This acts like a sponge and allows the frame to move
whilst securing the picture in place.
The glass was cleaned using a commercial cleaner, using
a brush to clean the frame and then wiping with water.
[Some frames have been water gilded and these should
never be cleaned with water as the gilt will rub off.] A
clean, wide, brush was used to clean the actual painting.
He wiped the brush carefully up and down and left and
right repeatedly.
Once reassembled the final task was to add a moisture
barrier made from Marvel seal to the back which was
then taped down. Plasterzote blocks were added to
the back to act as spacers so that when the painting
was rehung it would stand proud of the wall, allowing
a good air circulation around the painting and reduce
temperature variations.
Our thanks to Richard for his work restoring our
painting for future
AS and A Level Exhibition
This year has been an extremely exciting one for the Art
Department. The range of talent across the cohort, and
the dynamic discussion from the weekly Art History
Society, have fuelled a hub of creativity within St Olaves.
The exhibition included intriguing installations, collaged

Richard removed the panel from the frame and was

relieved to find no traces of woodworm.
The original frame would probably have been a fairly
simple, English oak. There wouldnt have been any glass
which wasnt installed until the 19th Century. [Paintings
quickly had glass added to protect them from the
polluted air in the smogs of the time.] Our frame is of
no particular significance. It is probably a copy of a frame
by Carlo Marratta and made in 19/20th century. The
frame is likely to be pine and has had plaster ornaments
applied. The ornaments would have been reverse
moulded and the inner embellishment is canvas leaf and
shield [tongue] and the outer is twist ribbon and stick.
Originally it would probably have been gilded, but often
when the gilt dulled bronze paint was applied but this
looks very dull and flat, very quickly. A coat of shellac has
been added over this.

by Tom Willis
Olavian 2014 129

films, photo realistic paintings, and even a sculpture

formed of chicken bones. Staff, students and family
came out in huge numbers to celebrate the hard work of
the AS and A Level artists; a fitting end to the year for
the many students who will be leaving us to study Art,
Product Design and Architecture at university. Many
thanks go out to all that helped set up the exhibition.
Photography trip to Copenhagen
During half term, sixth form Art and Photography
students
visited the stunning Danish capital,
Copenhagen. A hub of Scandinavian culture and design,
Copenhagen provided the group with inspirational
architecture and world class galleries, museums and
exhibitions. Students experienced the extravagant
Glyptotek Museum, the surreal Tivoli Gardens and the
Danish Design Museum, alongside a compulsory visit
to Copenhagens famous Little Mermaid sculpture, who
coincidentally celebrated her 100th birthday this year.
A highlight of the trip was the Louisiana Museum of
Modern Art. Set in a picturesque sculpture garden set
right by the sea, the gallery included works by artistic
heavy weights, Rothko, Bacon, Moore and Kandinsky,
alongside contemporary masters such as Ai Weiwei,
Keith Tyson and Wolfgang Tillmans. Despite the
stormy conditions, the students all thoroughly enjoyed
their Scandinavian experience and we look forward to an
equally successful trip next year.

130 Olavian 2014

Clockwise, from
top: On the streets
of Copenhagen, The
iconic mermaid, at the
Louisana art gallery,
a small selection of the
work we saw

TILL ALL OUR FIGHT BE FOUGHT

THE OLAVIAN FALLEN AND THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918
PETER LEONARD
A fascinating biographical narrative of the lives
and deaths of nearly two hundred men from many
different walks of life and social circumstance, all
linked by their attendance at St Olaves Grammar
School, at that time in Bermondsey, now in
Orpington, with a long history dating back to
Elizabethan London of 1562.

Tales are interwoven within a chronological

survey of the Great War campaign, with specialist
chapters from aerial, infantry and naval combat to
medical support, artillery, engineering, machine
gunnery and tank technologies. Individual and
personal details abound, helping the reader to
get to know many of the warriors, with several
indexes of interest for genealogical, local history
and military research.

Images of all the fallen are included with the often

passionate narrative punctuated with poetry,
letters home, school masters observations and
pertinent quotes that add subtlety to the story.
The author is donating half the profits to St Olaves.

Pub date: 14 July 2014

ISBN: 978-1-908336-07-1
Format: 152x229mm / Binding: Paperback
Extent: 320pp / Retail Price: 16.99

Order Your Copy Today for the

Special Price of 11.99
Poignant vignettes of the fallen: moving stories that remind us never to forget.
Richard van Emden, Author & Historian

132 Old Olavian Olavian 2014

Old Olavian

Contents
136

Editors Notes
Chairmans Report

Chris Harris

Annual General Meeting

Chris Harris

Annual Dinner

Jeremy Gould

Skanda
Rajasundaram

137
138
141

Rajiv Purwar
Richard Wheeler
A response to StOGS in the Fifties

Roger Brown

After StOGS in the Fifties

Robin Dadson

Well Olaf - we did bear along

Dick Haylett

142
143
147

Clubs and Societies

Old Olavians Lodge

Peter Hudson

Cricket Club Tour 2014

Lance Giles

Eton Fives Club

Howard Wiseman

152
152
156

John Brown

157

Old Boys Notes

1940-2014
In Memoriam

134 Old Olavian Olavian 2014

158

Editors Notes
So, another year has passed, another year
full of various activities and experiences. In January I
returned from a six-week holiday in Australia, a very
mixed experience: my regular readers will know that
I have a passion for cricket, and have had ever since
I discovered the game when I was at StOGS in the
mid-twentieth century. I watched four of the five Test
matches - in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney
- as most readers will know Australia had much the
better of the series, so supporting England was not the
easiest way of spending my time. Happily there were
plenty of good compensatory moments during my time
there - amongst these was meeting up in Adelaide with
an old cricketing friend in Chris Swadkin, one of the
best cricketers to emerge from St Olaves during the
past seventy years or so.
In June when Derbyshires match with Kent finished
early at Canterbury, where I had been scoring the game
for Derbyshire, I was able to visit the school for the
first time in many years. As a result I was for the first
time able to meet Jane Wells, who does so much work
for the Old Olavians. She told me that I did not look
anything like what she had expected, although she did
not reveal how she thought I should look. On the other
hand I was able to tell Jane that was she much more
glamorous than I had expected.
Jane was very generous in giving of her time: she took
me on a conducted tour of part of the school, and drew
my attention in particular to the archives, documents
and memorabilia of the Old Olavians Society. Some
of these were on display in glass-fronted display cases,
so present pupils would be able to absorb some of the
schools history and perhaps recognise their own place
in that history. We are very lucky to have someone of
Janes calibre and enthusiasm looking after our interests.
The more observant of our readers will have noticed
that the contributions of OOs who left school during
the 1940s have dwindled during the last two editions.
We have heard recently that Roger Hards who, for so
many years, collated all the contributions from members
from this decade so thoroughly is having trouble with
memory-loss, and this explains why it is that what had
become his own section of this magazine has virtually
disappeared. Roger has acted as OO archivist for many
years; he has also helped with the proof-reading of this
section of the magazine, so it is right that we should
acknowledge the considerable contribution which he
has made to the OOs.

responded to my plea to send their own memories

of the Good Old Days - contributions from
Professor Roger Brown, Robin Dadson (again!)
and Dick Haylett all make excellent reading and I
am sure that older members, in particular, will enjoy
looking back at those mostly happy days of their
youth. I am sure that these contributors will have
enjoyed putting down their memories on paper
(or is it screen nowadays?), so I hope there will be
others whose consciences will make them follow
suit.
My own cricket season was very mixed: some readers
will remember the tragic start for Derbyshire when
their wicket-keeper was involved in a car crash in
which the driver, his father, was killed. This resulted
in the first match being postponed: thereafter,
the team struggled to come to terms with events
and their performances on the field fell far short
of what they would have expected of themselves.
Gradually the season picked up, so that they
finished strongly by winning five of their last six
championship matches. So the season ended in
an air of optimism for the coming seasons, but at
almost the same I heard of the death of my closest
friend among county scoring colleagues, Alan West
from Lancashire.
As I have said 2014 was, therefore, a very mixed
season: I had even played in a couple of matches
myself, but certain events come along to remind
us all that there is more to life than cricket, or any
other of our more trivial pursuits. If any of the
students at school have taken the trouble to read
this far in these notes, I would urge them to make
the very most of all the opportunities which come
their way; and be proud to be an Olavian.
As always, I must acknowledge the enormous
debt we owe to Jane Wells for the most efficient
manner in which she collates and forwards all the
contributions which are sent to her.

John Brown
Editor, Old Olavian

I am very grateful to the three Olavians who have

Olavian 2014 Old Olavian 135

Chairmans Report
At the end of last years report, it was late September 2013
and I had just enjoyed the reunion at the RAF club. My
next duty in the Societys year was attendance at the School
Remembrance Service, which took place in the Great Hall
on Monday 11th November. It is good to see Old Olavians
attending, especially from The Old Olavians Lodge who are
always represented at this service by Graham Milne (195663). I will be attending again in a few weeks time and would
encourage those local enough to attend, to try to come along
in 2015. The date is announced quite early in the winter
term, and it will be in the newsletters and in our Events
Calendar on our website.
As chairman I am very fortunate. I am often invited as a
guest to concerts and other events. So it was that I took
my place at the School Christmas Concert. This was the
beginning of what will be two years, where often I will not
just be there as an Old Olavian. I was also there as a proud
father and the concert with its mix of choral, classical, jazz
and carols was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
The AGM was held again in March, and the minutes are
below. Trev Read resigned from his post on the committee
and I would like thank him again for the support he has given
to me and the Society since I was elected to my current role.
We were lucky to have two Old Olavians willing to stand
as committee members, and in order to boost the strength
of the committee it was agreed that posts would be found
for both. I am pleased to say that Rajiv Purwar (1970-77)
and Graham Milne (1956-63) were proposed, seconded and
voted onto the committee. More Old Olavians are very
welcome to attend, and to have a say in what goes on. The
date will be published in the new year on our website.
The 40s Lunch this year took place at the RAF Club
Wednesday 30th April, the day before the School
Commemoration Service. Jane Wells arranged it, and those
in attendance had a lovely time reminiscing. I know that
Jane is investigating the possibility of holding a future lunch
in the new hotel that has taken the Tooley Street premises.
The owners are planning to open in 2015, and we will
perhaps have an opportunity to visit and see the rooms that
had to remain little changed due to being listed the Great
Hall and the Governors room. Watch this space or our
newsletters and website for more information.
In recent years, Old Olavians have been meeting up on the
morning of the annual Commemoration Service to relive
memories of days spent in the Tooley Street school buildings,
and to act as guides to lower school pupils. This year, the
old school premises were again not accessible, and probably
will never again be recognisable as St Olaves, once inside,
with the exception of the Great Hall and the Governors
room. Whilst a few did meet for lunch beforehand, expertly
136 Old Olavian Olavian 2014

organised by Jane, it was just before, and after, the service

that we were able to catch up with each other. Old Olavians
attending the service are reserved seats, and invited to tea
afterwards, as long as you let Jane know you are attending.
Unfortunately I missed the Headmasters garden party
again, and still have not had the opportunity to see the
magnificent roses. The only year I was able to put in an
appearance, it rained and the venue was changed to the
foyer. Maybe this year?
Whilst I have been fortunate to attend concerts and
productions through the year, most have been as a Dad.
That said, Old Olavians are welcome at all School concerts
and productions, and Jane will be very happy to arrange
tickets. The Olavian Lecture series has been very successful,
and the speakers, often renowned in their field. So please
read the newsletters, both ours and the Headmasters, and
visit our website and the Schools to keep up to date with
what is on offer.
And here we are back where we started, well a year on.
September Friday 26th and the Old Olavians reunion
at the RAF Club in Piccadilly. The RAF Club looked
after us very well, with a menu of Smoked Salmon, Roast
Rib-Eye of Beef with Yorkshire Pudding, roast potatoes
and a selection of vegetables, and Chocolate Gteau,
Coffee and Petits Fours to follow. We again had Old
Olavians attending who spanned nine decades of the
School. However, there is always room for more diners.
It was very good to see Eric Bickerdike-Hibbs there again.
He joined the School in 1937, when the headmaster was
Henry George Abel. Five of the senior prefects who had
left in the summer came along as Old Olavians. They were
students under the current headmaster, Aydin na, who is
only the fourth headmaster since Henry Abel.
Mr na, our President, spoke about the School, their
achievements and the future, before proposing the
toast to the Old Olavians. Replying this year to the
Headmasters toast was Noel Tredinnick (1960-67). He
can be properly described as a maestro. He is a composer,
organist, orchestrator, and conductor and, as a professor at
theGuildhall School of Music and Drama, he still teaches
conducting, orchestration and music awareness. He tried
to teach us how to conduct, he had us laughing and he had
us singing. He reminded us of the extraordinary musical
talent that has come out of the School, even introducing us
to a man in the room, Roy Moore (1961-66), who among
many other things composed the theme tune to Allo
Allo with David Croft. There are others recollections
of the evening in the pages that follow, so I will let them
describe what they remember. I must just say it was the
best rendition of Olaf to Right the Wrong I have ever
experienced, to finish the formalities.

It is likely that we will return to the RAF Club in Piccadilly

for the 2015 reunion on Friday 25th September. Pencil
it into your diaries now. Please keep an eye out for
confirmation of the date and venue, which will be posted in
the newsletter, and on our website. The guest speaker will
be Sir Antony Wands (1968-75).
This year also saw the publication of Till all our fight be
fought, written by Peter Leonard (1970-77) and funded
by the Old Olavians Society. The book remembers the
192 Olavians who lost their lives in the Great War, and
whose names are recorded on the memorial in the Great
Hall. The release was timed to coincide with the 100 year
anniversary of the outbreak of war, and the School will
benefit from a share of the profits realised. I hope that you
have already purchased your copy. I am sure Jane will still
be able to source a copy for you if you have not.
And so that brings us to the beginning of a new year.
The Old Olavians Society, and ultimately the School, are
grateful to those who remember this great institution in
their own wills. No matter the amount, the funds can
always be put to very good use.
Last year the Society and the Benevolent Fund donated
20,000 to the School, including specific donations and
excess funds. The uses to which these funds are put enable
the School to continue to support the pupils in ways that
many state schools are just not capable of doing. One
only has to read The Olavian to see the breadth of student
activities and the talent nurtured by this great school.
The Old Olavians group on LinkedIn is over three hundred
strong now. Please dont forget that you can add a link
to your LinkedIn profile, your Twitter account and your
Facebook page, should you wish to, on your personal details
page on the Societys website - www.oldolavians.net. That
is also where you should direct any Old Olavian that you
know is not receiving our newsletters.
And, as ever, I still like to know what else you would
like from the Old Olavians Society, preferably with a
suggestion of how it can be achieved. Write or email via
our administrator at the School, Jane Wells (details below).
Looking forward to serving, and hearing from, you.

Chris Harris (1970-77)

Can be contacted via OOs Administrator
jwells@saintolaves.net

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

OLD OLAVIANS SOCIETY ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING 17th March 2014

1. Minutes of Last Meeting

Agreed

2. Matters Arising
2.1. Investment costs

The invested funds were to be moved to Lansdowne

& Hargreaves during the year,; however completion
of the formalities became too complicated.
Another agent may have to be found in the coming
months.

3. Chairmans Report
3.1. Membership

Old Olavians on our Database 7377, of which

2437 have provided their email addresses, an
increase of 200 on last year. 402, including 23
sponsorship members, have paid full membership
of 20, entitling them to the Olavian and a
discounted price for the Reunion Dinner/Lunch.
A further 378 members have paid something,
bringing total subscriptions excluding sponsorship
receipts to 11,585.

3.2. Society Administration

This continues to be managed entirely by the

schools OO Administrator ( Jane Wells).
Keith Goldsack (1962-69) is looking at our website
for us, with a view to making it more worth visiting.
Audit, Magazine & Reunion managed by the
committee pro tem.

3.3. Magazine

Thanks were expressed again to the OOs section

editor, John Brown, who would welcome any
memories of school life, staff, etc.
And a special thanks went to Robin Dadson whose
second instalment of life at STOGs in 1950s and
60s was promoted to the main part of the 2013
Olavian (Vol.116).

4. Finance Report
Copies of the audited accounts were provided to
the meeting
Olavian 2014 Old Olavian 137

4.1. Accounts
General Fund

Benevolent
Fund

Income

2013

26,347

2014

16,672

Expenditure 23,462

16,462

Excess of
Income/
2,885
Expenditure

150

Balance
Sheet

39,248

36,363

Income

1,245

1,928

Expenditure 5,000

Excess of
Income /
( 3,755)
Expenditure

1,928

Balance
Sheet

56,692

60,447

4.2. Notes General Fund

Income Subs and sponsorship were up 72, and
investment income was down by 500. The leap
in income was due to a bequest of 5,000 passed
on to the school, and the transfer of the benevolent
fund donation (see below), which was also routed
through the society.
Within the balance sheet 16,449 is maintained
in a separate account, held on behalf of the Old
Olavians Rugby Football Club. These funds are
specifically held to support the club, should it be
brought out of its hibernated state.
The Reunion lunch was subsidised to the extent
of 550. As the objectives of the Society are
the bringing together of Old Olavians for the
furtherance of personal friendships, the chairman
proposed that it was acceptable use of the Societys
funds. It was slightly more than the proposed 7
discount per subscription member attending.

4.3. Donation to School

The headmaster had written with his thanks, and

reported the good uses that last years donation
had been put to, including purchasing new Tablet
Computers, support for Wakeham Choristers and
the Chapel weekend, and Fives, Rugby and Chess
coaching.
After some considerable debate about why we
maintained such large sums in the accounts it was
recommended and agreed that the donation to the
school would be increased to 15,000 inclusive of

138 Old Olavian Olavian 2014

the sponsorship funds. Whilst we do not wish to

constrain the uses found for the money it was the
meetings wishes that it was put to good use and
not simply swallowed up to meet the running costs
of the school.
One suggested use was the provision of a balcony
on the pavilion, as it seems odd that the sports
pavilion does not provide a viewing platform.
The chairman promised to raise this with the
headmaster.

4.4. Hidden assets

We have in stock 30+ pairs of cufflinks and 90 OOs

ties.

4.5. Notes Benevolent Fund

In the previous year the trustees donated 5,000 to

the Headmaster, who confirmed that it was used
to support students whose financial circumstances
would otherwise have made it impossible for them
to participate in enrichment activities. There were
no other requests for funds acceded to during the
year. However, with the benevolent fund objects
in mind:
TO ASSIST NECESSITOUS OLAVIANS,
WHICH TERM SHALL INCLUDE BOTH
CURRENT AND PAST PUPILS AND STAFF
OF SAINT OLAVES AND SAINT SAVIOURS
GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BY PECUNIARY
GRANTS OR IN SUCH OTHER MANNER
AS MAY BE DEEMED APPROPRIATE.,
it was proposed and agreed that another 5,000
would be given to the Headmaster. This is to
be used in cases of hardship, and the Society will
expect a letter from the headmaster confirming
that its use met with the funds objectives.

5. Functions Report
5.1. Reunion

The reunion was a dinner held at the RAF Club

in Piccadilly on Friday 20th September. It was
attended by almost over 70, with attendees
spanning nine different decades. Les Padfield was
the guest speaker, whose recollections of his time
teaching at the school had us wanting more. This
year it is anticipated that we will return to the RAF
Club. A date has been provisionally booked Friday
27th September 2014 and a guest speaker has yet
to be secured.
The dinner in 2015 will also likely be at the RAF

Club (date and venue to be confirmed), and the

guest speaker has already been engaged. It will
be Sir Antony Wands KGCM MA PhD FRSA
MSI (UK) (1968-75), and it will mark the 40th
anniversary of his departure from the school.
The possibility of returning to the school for a
lunch was raised, with 2017 being mooted. This
could coincide with a celebration to mark an
anniversary or anniversaries of masters joining and
or leaving the school. Some are remembered with
affection by many of the Old Olavians who attend
these reunions. Graham Milne has offered to look
into the feasibility of arranging this event.

6. Club Reports
6.1. Cricket Club

Ian Giles confirmed that the interaction with the

school cricket team the previous year had generated
some interest in turning out for OOs and that the
exercise was repeated with a presentation to the
school teams by himself and Chris Swadkin.
For tour they had a couple of new players. The
tour was, as ever, a success, and it was hoped that
everyone had seen the tour report in the 2013
Olavian.
The club would welcome a 500 donation to assist
with tour costs. The donation was approved.

6.2. Rugby Club

The club continues to exist in its hibernated state.

7. Election Of Officers
7.1. Trevor Read tendered his resignation, which
was accepted. The chairman expressed his thanks
to Trev for all his support since being elected to
the Chair.
7.2. A new member was sought, and both Rajiv
Purwar and Graham Milne put themselves
forward. Both were proposed and seconded. It
was decided that a new ex-officio position would
be created, and both were duly elected to their new
posts. The remaining committee members were
re-elected to office:

8. Other Business
8.1. Promoting Old Olavians Society

It is clearer than ever that the school wish to tap

into the membership both for money and support
for students. The latter is already happening

more, with recent leavers returning to school to

address the students with advice on the choices of
courses available, with practice interviews for those
applying to Oxbridge, and with careers advice.
If we are to support the school with more funds,
then the paying membership has to increase faster.
After much discussion, it was agreed that all leavers
would be offered free membership for a minimum
of three years, or until they finished university.
Upon completion of their courses the Society
would contact them and seek to convert them to
subscription members.

8.2. Reducing Costs

The cost of the Olavian can be a drag on the

amount we can make available to the school.
Could this be provided electronically? Would
members prefer an electronic version? Should we
consider providing just the Old Olavians section
electronically? The Chairman will discuss with the
school to see whether an electronic version has been
considered. The chairman was able to confirm that
the school publishes Summatim each term, which
is six glossy pages on events etc. Jane Wells was
looking to get this published electronically so that
it could be shared with the members of the society.
The Chairman will follow up on this.

8.3. Tooley Street school life

The Tooley Street film is available on YouTube. It is

now unlikely that we will be purchasing the rights
and selling it to members. Anyone that wants to
see what school life was like in 1962 can find it by
searching YouTube for St Olaves on Horselydown
(1962).

8.4. Till all our fight be fought The Olavian Fallen

and the Great War 1914-1918

One of our members, Peter Leonard (1970-77)

previously wrote a book about the Olavians who
lost their lives in WW1. The society are funding
the rewrite, a new edition, which with the advances
in media will, for a small outlay of 500, see a more
professional book published. For each book sold,
whether through the society or the publisher, the
society will receive a small royalty. Any funds
created in excess of the initial outlay will increase
the funds we have available for the school. It
will be published to coincide with the 100 year
anniversary of the outbreak of war.
The meeting was adjourned at 8.55pm, and those
present all retired to the Maxwell PH to reminisce.
Chris Harris (1970-77)
Olavian 2014 Old Olavian 139

Annual Dinner
To save himself the task of writing a report on the dinner,
our chairman persuaded three Olavians from different
eras, Rajiv Purwar (1970-77), Jeremy Gould (1994-2001),
Skanda Rajusundaram (2008-14) and one memeber of
staff - Dr Richard Wheeler (1961-1965) - to send in
their personal views of what seems to have been another
memorable occasion. These reports follow here:
Rajiv writes: A Personal Reflection: It was with some
initial trepidation that I attended this event for the first
time (having purchased a tie in readiness at the behest
of erstwhile chairman, George Snelgrove, some fifteen
years ago!). But I neednt have worried because it was a
thoroughly enjoyable affair, during which I was able to
renew my acquaintance with Richard White from my
school class, whom I had not seen since leaving school, as
well as sundry other members of my school year (1970-77).
Our grand total of eight was exceeded only by one other
younger (and very much younger-looking!) year group,
amongst some of whom I embarrassed myself later on in
the bar by accusing them of being current pupils!

Our year group also included Chris Harris, the current

great helmsman, who compred the proceedings with
expertise and brevity in equal measure. This last quality
was particularly appreciated as it gave more space for
the main speakers to perform. Aydin na the current
Headmaster (and previously a concert-standard pianist, we
were later told!) and Nol Treddinick, an eminent musician
and Professor of Music at the prestigious Guildhall School
of Music & Drama, duly obliged with substantial speeches
that were highly thought-provoking and even more highlyentertaining, respectively.
Mr na set out some of the (many and varied)
achievements of the school, moving swiftly on to his vision
for the future of education in general, and culminating in
an erudite ecologically-orientated (not to say distinctly
New Age!) blueprint for nothing less than the healthy
future of the entire planet. This deserved slightly more
intense concentration than, fortunately or unfortunately, I
140 Old Olavian Olavian 2014

was able to give it by that stage of the proceedings!

Mr Treddinick, on the other hand, is clearly a born
entertainer whose witty wide-ranging speech was matched
by his impassioned, but nonetheless hilarious, style of
delivery that, by accident or design, was worthy of the best
stand-up comedy! I especially appreciated the way he
shuffled his papers (pleading time constraint) in order to
produce, like rabbits-from-a-hat, the choicest bits from a
seemingly boundless supply of anecdotes and information
that had me in stitches at times! He peppered the whole
with seemingly spontaneous vocal renditions to illustrate
some of the musical aspects, and all I could say at the end
of it was Bravo (and come back next year!).
My own particular highlight, apart from the honour of
sitting with Des Coulson (the previous headmaster but
one -now very much the dignified elder statesman of the
school to whom many of us owe so much, although I still
cant bring myself to use his Christian name to his face!)
came when Mr Treddinick also chose the erstwhile school
hymn Gather Us In to sing in addition to the predictable
Olaf To Right The Wrong. As he informed the younger
element, the former was the hymn that was always sung
on the last day of term, to the apparent disapproval of
the school chaplain, who would boycott it if my memory
serves me correctly. It was always sung with great gusto,
which must have eventually degenerated into such disorder
that the aforementioned ex-headmaster told me that he
eventually had to ban it some years after I left! This struck
such a chord with me because I chose it for my late fathers
funeral on account of its appeals to religious tolerance and
exhortations to inclusivity - and this message seems even
more relevant today.
Hope to see (more of ) you next year!

Rajiv Purwar (1970-77)

Jeremy writes: Attending the Old Olavians Dinner at
the RAF Club is always a treat. Quite apart from the
gastronomic and alcoholic delights on offer, it is always
good to see faces old and new, and to be reminded of the
common bond that unites, and on these occasions, reunites
us.
This years dinner was no exception - and yet it provided
exceptional value in its combination of gifted orators
(The Headmaster and Nol Tredinnick), mix of pleasant
company, and of course gustod singing of Olaf To Right
The Wrong (alas for the younger alumni, not accompanied
by a spontaneous version of Jerusalem that has been
known to sound also).
As well as friends from my time at St Olaves (Orpington),

my table was joined by a cohort from St Olaves (Tooley

Street), making that trip down Memory Lane even more
diverse and spirited.

Thanks to all who made the evening a great success - such

a success, in fact, that under the stewardship of some OOs
younger than myself, I did not make it home until 5am.
My report card would surely read must do better.
Jeremy Gould, 1994-2001
And Skanda writes: Having officially left the school
only four months ago, it was a pleasure a see a number of
familiar and not so familiar faces at the ever-elegant RAF
club. As members of the previous senior prefect team, it
was refreshing to attend an event which was not only our
first formal event off duty, but also our last before we all
depart to university. Having had such a wonderful time,
however, I can safely say it wont be our last Old Olavians
dinner (the salmon was, in my humble opinion, exquisite).
The highlight of our evening was singing the school song
for only the second time and having the honour of hearing
several generations of Olavians, past and present, singing if
not in harmony, most definitely in unison.

of St Olaves, of Bermondsey, of the Old Olavians Cricket

XI for whom I played (without distinction I fear) but with
great enjoyment, whilst I was at the school occasionally and
subsequently until I moved to Hertfordshire in 1965.
I have renewed my acquaintance with St Olaves thanks to
the kindness of the Headmaster in inviting me to lunch at
the new site in Orpington which I had never visited, as I
left a little before the move. Last summer, I met up with
George Snelgrove and John Lawrence who were captains
of my swimming team at school. I have also kept in contact
with Dr Andrew Crozier who went on to lecture at my
old alma mater, Queen Mary College in East London. At
the dinner I found myself sitting at the same table as Ian
Giles, Keith Hamp, John Williams, John Gilfrin and Roy
Moore, who remembered my history teaching (I hope at
least never boring!). Amazingly our distinguished guest
speaker for the evening Professor Noel Tredinnick was in
my class (II Remove ) as a boy when I was his form teacher.
As others will report, he gave a splendid and entertaining
address, including leading the gathering in renderings of
that old Tooley Street hymn at Dr Carringtons Assemblies:
Gather us in thou love that fillest all and of course Olaf
to raise the song, which brought back memories that I
much enjoyed.
It was a pleasure for me to renew acquaintances with
Olavians and I shall try to keep in touch and to attend
the dinner again next year. Perhaps we might have an even
bigger gathering of Olavians from the Tooley Street days in
the early sixties. It would be marvelous for me to hear what
you have all done with your lives. You were such a receptive
group of all ages to teach.

Dr Richard Wheeler (Staff 1961-65)

ST OLAVES IN THE FIFTIES

I was at StOGS from 1958 to 1966, leaving as School

Captain. I wonder if I may add a few glosses to Robin
Dadsons admirable account of the school between 1954
and 1959, which was very recognisable to me but I imagine
quite unimaginable for current Olavians. I have some very
Skanda Rajasundaram (2008-2014)
clear memories of the school at this time.
What a splendid evening it was for someone like myself
who was renewing an acquaintance with St Olaves and
The first, which Robin brings out very well, was the schools
Olavians after an astonishing gap of nearly 50 years. Where
physical setting. London was a pretty drab place in the
have all the years gone? I ask myself. I should explain to
fifties (it wasnt long since the War had ended and there
more recent Olavians that I taught history at the school
were many bomb-sites). The walk down Tooley Street
in Tooley Street from 1961 -1965. It was my first post in
from London Bridge between dingy industrial buildings
teaching. I had only recently graduated from University
could be really depressing, especially if (a) it was raining (so
and I was scarcely older than the Sixth Form. As a history
no playground footy), and (b) the days timetable included
teacher, I was enthusiastic but raw and inexperienced.
treble physics. It was even worse if after Assembly you
Indeed, Olavians of that generation at the school in Tooley
had to appear before Dr Carrington to recite a poem due
Street may well remember that. Nearly fifty years on I
to a previous misdemeanour: failure here could mean a very
remember faces and many names and have happy memories
severe penalty indeed. Incidentally, am I the only OO who
Olavian 2014 Old Olavian 141

feels that the London Dungeon (which has since moved

from London Bridge) might more appropriately have been
located at the Tower Bridge end of Tooley Street?
Second, the staff. Robin mentions a number of masters
who were still there in the early sixties. Some had quite
colourful backgrounds.
Signor Baldelli, who taught
Russian and Spanish, had fought in the Spanish Civil
War and was the author of the Pelican book on anarchism.
Reg Renshaw, who took over the school play from Benny
Hill, had some incredible stories about a fellow Aussie by
the name of Errol Flynn. John Ackerman Jones would
begin every English lesson with a recital of a poem by
Dylan Thomas and spent quite a lot of time showing
us pictures of the great mans grave. He was said to be
working on a biography of Thomas, and subsequently
reviewed plays in the Evening Standard under the name
of John Ackerman. Geoff Chapman, who was head of
geography, was well known for his bon mots; what he didnt
know was that these were lovingly recorded by his form
(4R) and handed down from year to year as the Book of
Chapmannerisms (I wonder what happened to it: was it
lost in the move to Orpington?). Incidentally, although
Robin doesnt mention it, I have a very clear recollection
that Miss Gilbert Robinson, who had indeed been hired to
improve our diction, did herself have a speech impediment
in the form of a slight stutter. I wonder how many of
these teachers would be found in state schools today. Most
of them had Oxbridge degrees but only a handful had a
teaching qualification and, whilst some were inspirational,
others were very poor teachers.
One omission from Robins account is the enormous range
of student-led clubs and societies. The doyen of these
was the Debating Society, and the post of Secretary of the
Society was more prestigious than being School Captain.
Masters would often support these, giving a lot of time to
them. Thus Boggy Newmarch, who was also the longestserving master, was the Chair of the Debating Society
and presided over its meetings with a knowing twinkle.
Meetings would be announced by the Head in Assembly. I
had started a Jazz Society, with Dr Carringtons permission.
One of our early meetings was to feature a talk on Jelly
Roll Morton. The whole sixth form collapsed in a heap
when Dr Carrington announced a talk on J R Morton.
Fortunately I was not asked to account for this reaction.
My final reflection is that, ironically for a grammar school,
StOGS in my day was not a particularly academic place,
and certainly much less academically successful than it
is now. A lot of effort went into things like the school
play, which in Renshaws time involved almost the whole
of the upper school, to the despair of masters trying to
prepare us for the Easter mocks. As Robin says, there
were recitals by groups like the Marylebone String Quartet
142 Old Olavian Olavian 2014

and the London Singers. There seemed to be various other

distractions such as the periodic visits by the Public Schools
Appointment Bureau. I remember very clearly going to
tell Dr Carrington about my Exhibition at Cambridge.
His response was Hummph (Dr Carringtons initial
exclamation is impossible to render), Brown, boys at St
Olaves arent supposed to get scholarships to Cambridge.
That at least seems to have changed.

Roger Brown (Professor - 1958-66)

After STOGs in the Fifties
Having exhausted my memories of my days as a student
at St.Olaves in Tooley Street it has occurred to me that
starting out to work in the mid-twentieth century would
be to enter a totally different world to that of 2014 and a
glimpse of those days might be of interest to anyone under
approximately 45 years of age although I realize more
senior Old Olavians could find my experiences somewhat
familiar.
The one drawback of leaving St. Olaves to earn my keep in
the big wide world of commerce was that, rather than enjoy
a Christmas break until the end of the first week in January,
on the first day of the year 1960 I reported to the offices
of Messrs Furness Withy & Company Ltd, Shipowners,
at 56 Leadenhall Street EC4 to take up a position as a
junior shipping clerk. Several years were to pass before
New Years Day became a bank holiday in England. I was
fortunate enough to have been offered employment with
more than one shipping company, but I accepted that of
Furness Withy as they had indicated a salary standing at
the princely sum of 285 per annum which was 20 higher
than their nearest rival. In this present day and age that
small difference in a years salary might seem quite paltry,
but in those days anyone earning 1,000 per annum was
considered to be very well off indeed. I still retain one of
my earliest pay slips which shows I took home just under
20 per month when I first started out in employment but
I was still better off than several people of a similar age that
I knew at the time.
I believe the former Furness House still stands in
Leadenhall Street, but that it has been greatly modified
internally. When I worked there the main hall was a very
large imposing area which featured marble pillars and had
lines of continuous long bench-style desks on both sides
of the ground floor rather than the individual ones we see
these days. Down the centre of this hall was a wide aisle
and the ceiling was some two or three storeys above this
main working area although there was a narrow balcony
with desks on three sides at first floor level. In modern
times I really cannot imagine so much prime working space
in the City of London being wasted in this fashion but the
building dated from a vastly different era. At the start

of the 1960s few buildings in the city were more than six
storeys or so high, and the development of London Wall
during that decade led to much publicity being given to
the skyscrapers being erected. I really do not remember
the actual dimensions of the several blocks that were
constructed, but they soon became dwarfed by subsequent
projects and I am not sure if any now remain.
I was appointed to the Inward Freight Department of the
North Pacific Service in which six vessels of just under
10,000 tons operated on a regular schedule to the Pacific
Coast of the USA and Canada via the Panama Canal
throughout the year. There was also a seasonal Great
Lakes Service which voyaged to the North American Great
Lakes via the St Lawrence Seaway when the latter was not
closed by ice. The attitude within the City was still very
formal in the early 1960s with individuals being addressed
by their surnames preceded by the appropriate title of Mr,
Miss or Mrs and the use of Christian names was avoided.
Naturally I soon got to know a few new recruits that were
of a similar age to myself and formalities were dispensed
with as we referred to each other as Robin, Heath, Beryl,
Marion and the like but more senior staff would continue
to call us by our surnames and we reciprocated in a like
manner. Departmental managers and assistant managers
were Sir and there were no female managerial staff at all
that I can remember, although there were recognized senior
secretaries who were obviously a grade above departmental
typists. Equality of the sexes was still some way off ! In
those days many male workers in the city sported a pinstripe
suit and would never have dreamed of leaving home without
wearing a bowler hat and carrying a very neatly folded
umbrella. In strolling through the streets of the city you
were confronted by whole platoons of Mr Mainwarings as
so magnificently played by Arthur Lowe in Dads Army.
On one occasion a member of my departmental managerial
staff was required to go on a business trip to the USA
and he was most careful to include his city gent uniform
within his luggage. Evidently he attracted much attention
in many areas of the States, apparently being regarded as
a quaint, if somewhat eccentric, Englishman. My early
duties occasionally required me to visit the offices of
importers and exporters that supported Furness Withy and
it was suggested by management that I should purchase a
hat, preferably a bowler, to wear when making such calls.
It was pointed out that, if I chose not to wear the thing, at
least I would be seen to be carrying it when paying a visit.
Frankly I failed to see the point of such an exercise and
declined the suggestion.
The term hes something in the City was quite common
at the time and anyone employed within the square mile
could be considered as having achieved something really
worthwhile by some other people. Believe it or not
there were characters who set off from home clad in the

recognized attire of a city gent only to change into their

working clothes on arrival at their place of employment.
One such chap I came across was actually employed as
what we would now call a security officer. Nothing wrong
with that, of course, but he would arrive every morning in a
pinstripe suit, bowler hat, umbrella and all before donning
his official uniform. In the evening he would change back
again before returning home to impress his neighbours.
Those males choosing not to adopt this city gent style were
expected to wear a suit of a suitable sombre colour whilst
female members of staff were required to dress in a modest
fashion although I cannot recall a lady wearing trousers to
work during that time as they had yet to come into fashion.
Most ladies chose to wear skirts and blouses although
reasonably designed dresses were also on display especially
in the summer months. No low-cut necklines were seen
and hemlines were set at around knee-level or lower in spite
of Mary Quant. As tights of any sort, opaque or otherwise,
were not yet available this was possibly just as well. Male
staff were not permitted to remove their jackets whilst
at their desks unless the summer temperatures became
particularly oppressive in which case special dispensation
could be granted.
The bottoms of trouser-legs were
required to measure a minimum of 16 inches although
fashion went far narrower than this level. So much for
The Swinging Sixties! As one who lived through them I
can say they never really happened as some people would
have those that were not around at the time to believe.
In the present day some of these regulations might appear
quite draconian but, conversely, smoking was freely allowed
during working hours and both male and female staff took
advantage of this fact. A good number of males smoked a
pipe rather than cigarettes or cigars which led to one very
amusing incident. Each office worker was provided with a
wicker wastepaper basket alongside his or her desk (fancy
modern, complicated terms such as work station had not
entered the vocabulary) in which to discard rubbish. On
one occasion a gentleman had finished smoking his pipe
and had knocked the remaining ash out of the bowl into
the basket beside his desk. A few moments later he was
alerted to the fact that the tobacco could not have been
completely extinguished as the paper in his basket had
actually caught fire. Without hesitating he immediately
jumped up and attempted to stamp out the flames only
to find his foot caught in the still burning basket as he
proceeded to hop around the office!!! Luckily a nearby
colleague grabbed a vase of flowers standing on her desk
and threw the water onto the flames which, fortunately,
were immediately extinguished and no harm was done
apart from slightly singed legs - one human, one trouser.
I clearly recall first coming across how the other half live
during my early working life and just how little the gentry
Olavian 2014 Old Olavian 143

knew of the average person in the street. It was budget

day and everyone was anxiously waiting to learn what the
chancellor intended to do and how each individual would
be affected. If you were lucky enough to own a private
car it almost certainly had a petrol engine with diesel
units being limited to commercial vehicles. There were
several grades of petrol classified by star ratings which
went from two star up to five star, the higher the grade the
more expensive the cost. Those few people who did own
a car were quite upset to learn the cost of all grades was
to be increased by sixpence per gallon which represented
something like a 12.5% rise. One of the directors of the
company, who came from titled stock, had a radio and was
able to announce details of the budget to his secretary who
then passed points of interest on to general staff members.
Evidently she had remarked to him on the proposed
increase in the price of petrol at which he merely responded
that he would henceforth drop from the top five-star rating
down to four-star in his limousine and thus continue to
pay the same per gallon. Knowing exactly what vehicle
this gentleman drove she pointed out that most people that
owned a car would have small, basic models and would be
using the lowest grade already which would give them no
alternative than to pay up. Seems he the looked at her in
utter astonishment and came out with the classic, Small
basic cars? Ive only got a small Daimler!!!! With his
background, where just about everyone had a Rolls Royce,
this actually made sense to him.
Office procedures were vastly different to the those of the
twenty-first century. There were no computers, wordprocessors or calculators and much of the paperwork was
done by hand. One of my duties was to keep a voyage
record for each of the six ships on the Pacific Coast run
which was quite laborious. A date and the time of 0000
hours was set as the official start of each voyage and, as the
vessel progressed from port to port, a document known as a
Port Log was completed by an officer and airmailed to the
London office. This gave the time of arrival and departure
for that port and various other information such as the
amount of bunkers (fuel oil) on board and the vessels draft
both fore and aft. All the times were recorded by hand
into a large volume and, when the voyage was deemed to
have finished, the total of the individual hours had to tally
exactly with the number of days that voyage had taken.
It was very sad to look back through the details of past
voyages that had been entered into these record books over
the years and see so many that ended lost by enemy action
between 1939 and 1945. Eventually the port logs together
with copies of all other documentation relevant to the
voyage, such as bills of lading and manifests, were boxed up
and, after a year or so, were taken down to the storage area
in the lower basement. I remember quite distinctly the tall
racks of boxes dating back years, all covered in thick layers
of dust, but retained just in case they were ever needed
144 Old Olavian Olavian 2014

for some obscure reason. The space taken up was quite

astounding.
Communications were also very different. There was an
enormous amount of mail exchanged between the Inward
Freight Department and the various offices on the Pacific
Coast and letters were typed up on old-style typewriters
with only the senior secretaries being lucky enough to
have an electric machine. There were, of course, no such
things as emails so when a letter was dispatched a reply
could not be anticipated much before a week had passed
even by airmail. As a result more urgent communications
were sent via the telex department or occasionally by cable.
Copies of individual documents were retained for record
purposes and, without the benefit of computers, these all
had to be filed away manually into the appropriate folder
stored within one of several tall metal filing cabinets. Great
care had to be taken to ensure documents were filed in the
correct place, otherwise it was virtually impossible to find
them if needed at some future date. Although that sounds
quite a simple task I came across more than one junior
staff member who simply could not master the principle.
For instance all the six ships serving the Pacific Coast had
names starting Pacific. Naturally any document referring
to an individual ship should have been placed in the
folder relative to that ship, ie. Pacific Northwest, Pacific
Reliance etc. but, on more than one occasion, I found
that a new folder had been opened entitled Pacific and
everything relating to all six ships had been plonked in it.
Calculations could be done with the aid of a facit machine
which was a mechanical calculator long since replaced by
electronic devices. By todays standards the telephone
system would have appeared very primitive and, although
it was quite simple to dial numbers within the UK, any
calls to the USA or Canada had to be booked in advance
and were only permitted to be made by the most senior
staff members. The telephones themselves were of the
pre-push button variety fitted with a dial and were quite
cumbersome by todays standards. Once a week a lady who
was employed by an outside contractor would appear and
clean every phone throughout the office with a disinfectant.
There was a telephone switchboard in the basement where
three telephonists handled all incoming calls and connected
the caller to the appropriate extension as no direct dialing
system was available. Particular attention had to be made
to refer to these ladies as telephonists rather than callgirls which was quite easy to do if one was not careful!!!
Each staff member was allowed a coffee break of twenty
minutes during the morning and an hour for lunch. There
were no set times for these breaks and the staff members
of individual departments came to an amicable agreement
between themselves to ensure that at least one desk was
manned at all times. Every morning I would make my
way to a branch of a prominent catering chain of the day

situated in Fenchurch Street Station Approach which I

shall not name in view of what follows. Here, together
with a few colleagues, I would enjoy the morning break.
There was but a limited choice of beverages, namely tea,
coffee or a soft drink, with no multiple offerings as are
available today. The coffee was dispensed from a sort of
urn situated a few feet above the counter and this was fitted
with a crude gauge consisting of a long rod which stuck
up through the top cover of the urn and clearly had a float
fitted at the bottom end. When the rod fell to a certain
level the person serving behind the counter would holler
out COFFEE in a voice reminiscent of Diomedes of the
loud war cry. Immediately another member of staff would
appear from behind the scenes carrying a plastic bucket
full of steaming liquid, clamber onto a chair and empty the
contents into the opened top of the urn. It then became
very clear that the inside of the semi-transparent bucket
was heavily stained by previous consignments of brews
that had been delivered to the urn. Just how present-day
hygiene and health and safety regulations would view this
operation I have no idea but it was perfectly acceptable at
that time. One other catering establishment had a dining
area in a basement which was accessed via a stairway and
then along a narrow passageway to the right of which
were the kitchens. It was always necessary to queue down
the stairs and along the passageway which became very
congested as a result. As one entered the dining area the
food was served from what we would now call a carvery
and, having made your choice, you continued on to find
a seat beyond. There were no tables as such but the walls
were fitted all around with a sort of continuous shelf upon
which your meal was placed and then eaten whilst you sat
on a high stool. The centre of the basement was taken up
by a further eating area consisting of a raised oblong surface
which was also surrounded by stools. I would think the
whole place measured no more than 20 x 10 feet and was
extremely popular, always being packed out by workers
of all ages. Had there been a kitchen fire it could have
cut off the escape route to the street outside and I hate to
think what the outcome might have been, but there did not
appear to be any regulations in force to stop this potential
death-trap from operating.
An added bonus to the annual salary came in the form of
Luncheon Vouchers normally issued by a company known
as Luncheon Vouchers Ltd, and these could be exchanged
for meals at a good number of restaurants and pubs that had
signed up to the general scheme. Some employers issued
their own in-house luncheon vouchers which could only be
exchanged at a limited number of catering establishments
that had come to an arrangement with those employers
and were thus less popular. Furness Withy chose to deal
through Luncheon Vouchers Ltd and issued vouchers to
the value of three old shillings per day which equates to
fifteen pence in todays currency. This was the maximum

sum allowed before there was an income tax liability so

most organisations stuck to this level. Fifteen pence may
seem a ridiculously small amount in 2014 but way back
in 1960 that would buy a reasonable basic main course
such as sausages or a portion of meat pie together with
a portion of two separate vegetables followed by a basic
sweet. The main course would set you back around two
shillings and sixpence (12.5 pence) and the sweet would
cost the remaining sixpence (2.5 pence) and, as no change
was given, everyone made sure they used up their full
entitlement. There was nothing to stop you adding a little
more cash to the value of the voucher if you so wished and
purchasing a more expensive meal but few younger people
did. We also enjoyed a mid-afternoon cup of tea which
was delivered to our desks by a tea-lady who would push
her trolley with its crockery and tea-urn down the centre
aisle from one end of the hall to the other and serve the
refreshments in turn to the end of each line of desks. It
was the custom for city offices to be open every Saturday
morning with limited staff members on duty which meant
that every fourth week you had to do your Saturday morning
turn. On such mornings the more formal dress-codes were
relaxed and sports jackets and trousers could be worn by
men but a tie was still essential. Less formal dresses were
allowed for female staff but still no mini-skirts! In order
to compensate for the Saturday working an afternoon off
was granted the following week and, as most people went
straight home, it could mean that you then had a spare
luncheon voucher and could really go to town by splashing
out a whole six shillings (30p) on a meal when you so
wished. If the country were to be treated to a reasonable
spell of fine weather it was possible to exchange luncheon
vouchers for sandwiches or some similar snack after which
you would head for one of the open spaces around Tower
Hill to enjoy the sunshine whilst eating your picnic lunch.
Our favourite venue was opposite the old Port of London
HQ building near to Tower Hill underground station the
entrance to which was then in Eastcheap rather than where
it is today.
Travelling to and from work was either by bus or train
with those people living further afield relying on the latter.
Crowds of people poured through the various London
termini to reach their jobs in the City and Furness Withy
had staff members that travelled to and from London
Bridge, Cannon Street, Fenchurch Street and Liverpool
Street mainline stations with others using London
Underground. As I was living a couple of miles or so
south of London Bridge I usually used the buses as this
was more economical although traffic congestion could be
quite horrendous and there were always lengthy queues of
commuters at the bus stops. I have already mentioned the
attitude to smoking in offices and there was also a much
more relaxed situation in this regard on public transport.
Some limitations were imposed in that smokers were
Olavian 2014 Old Olavian 145

obliged to use the top-deck of a bus, but I have no idea

what happened if the vehicle only had a single deck as
few of such operated in central London and I never came
across one. Trains were provided with both smoking and
non-smoking compartments in which a passenger could
choose to travel. Unlike modern rolling stock many of the
train coaches which were employed on commuter services
in those days had individual compartments with a door
on either side and no aisle leading to other areas of the
train. Many trains employing such stock travelled quite
long distances to places such as Sevenoaks or Gravesend
and could take a fair time to complete the journey so it
was an unwise commuter who imbibed too much in a
city hostelry before catching a train home but I shall
elaborate no further. Even greater caution was necessary
for any passenger taking advantage of a days visit to the
seaside aboard one of the regular weekend excursion
services that were on offer at that time. Such trains were
frequently made up of quite ancient rolling stock of the
single-compartment variety hauled by an equally vintage
locomotive which chugged along at a somewhat modest
speed. The sort of precautions that had to be taken are not
so very hard to imagine especially on the return journey
after a day out by the briny.
I spent a total of nine years in the employment of Furness
Withy but eventually left to join another shipping
company as a Freight Representative in which capacity
I served over the next twenty-five years with a variety of
lines. I remained based in the city for another ten years or
so, but it was during those first nine years that it became
obvious that things were gradually changing and, with the
rapid advances in communications and technology, many
companies decided to de-centralise and moved out of
The Square Mile. By the mid-sixties Saturday morning
working had been phased out and a more general use of
Christian names had crept in. The days of the city gent in
the pin-striped suit with his bowler hat and furled umbrella
were numbered although I do recall a few that lasted into
the late seventies.
Eventually my employer of the day moved away from the
city to take advantage of cheaper accommodation and
I found myself reporting to new offices in the old Royal
Docks in Silvertown. The pace of change had accelerated
through the seventies and a fascinating era came to an
end. Old Edwardian-style offices were demolished to be
replaced by more modern open-plan buildings and dresscodes became somewhat more relaxed. The wearing of
hats, which, as we have seen, had been regarded by some
as being obligatory in the early sixties, all but disappeared
and even mini-skirts were eventually accepted. This
subsequently resulted in a phenomenon hitherto unknown
and, indeed, not previously required, namely, the modesty
board, but that is another story!!!
146 Old Olavian Olavian 2014

Robin A Dadson (1954-59)

WELL, OLAF..WE DID BEAR ALONG
Some reflections on STOGS in 1947 and after
In late July 2014 I met up with a couple of other Old
Olavians, Michael Donovan and Terry Golding. Our
friendship is of such long standing that it seems we have
been mates since Methuselah was a lad. For a long time
we have been meeting up three or so times a year to have
some drinks, then lunch at one or other restaurant in the
environs of Covent Garden. Our partners come along.
We chat and conversation moves round ineluctably to
discussion of our school days. The recollections set out
here result from me having been in my cups on that day
and agreeing, without too much forethought, to write some
words for The Olavian about our experiences at the school
back in the days of yore ... many years ago (Eheu fugaces
...).
Our paths first crossed in 1947 when we were new boys.
Michael (who would later sit next to me) and Terry were
both from Rotherhithe and knew each other from junior
school. I came from Abbey Wood. Six of my classmates
from my junior school in Plumstead were new boys along
with me. I remember them well. They were: John
Spencer: he lasted but one term: his father, an Officer in
the Salvation Army, was transferred to the Medway area.
Spencers departure was a loss to the school. He had an air
of quiet determination about him. He was able and would
have made his mark.
David Moakes: I had known him since infant school in
1942. I last spoke to him in 1998 when he told me that,
as he was living in Bristol, he felt he would be unable to
attend any more Reunion Dinners.
Tom Phelan, who later took Holy Orders.
Brian Monks, whom I last spoke to some time in 2010,
sadly died in 2013 (see the last issue of The Olavian and his
biographical account in the 2005 issue).
Colin Loveridge was another; and finally Derek Wooler:
Derek was a particular friend of mine. He became the only
man I knew to have held, at different times, commissions in
the Army and the Royal Air Force. His mother was very
forceful and regularly made the journey to Tooley Street to
confront and to upbraid Dr Carrington for sanctioning too
much homework and for being too autocratic. Neither
Carrington nor Mrs Wooler would yield and I was sad
when Wooler was taken from the school in 1949. We kept
in touch.
My journey to school took about an hour.

It was

comprised of a short walk, a trolleybus ride, a train journey,

and a walk along Tooley Street. We sought to catch the
8.04am stopping train from Plumstead Station which was
scheduled to arrive at London Bridge at 8.30am. Joining
us at the station were boys of other years and from other
Plumstead schools. From our year I recollect Reg Barnes,
Roy Filkins, Ray Middleton, and Ronnie Chappell. The
Southern Railway rolling stock which carried us was
all very old but the railway staff were dedicated, and
punctuality was surprisingly good. We sat in individual
compartments seating ten or twelve. Usually there were
standing passengers. In those days most people smoked.
Often, in the winter, windows remained closed and
to be seated in a closed compartment when four or five
people were smoking was to experience a nicotine-rich
atmosphere. Passive smoking? We were kippered.
The journey took us through parts of London that had
endured the worst of the Blitz. The damage was still
clearly evident - large tracts of land, where once buildings
had been, becoming colonised by plants such as rosebay
willowherb and ragwort. Of course thousands of houses
still stood and, in winter, from the chimney of each issued
a plume of sulphur-rich coal-smoke. At the time no-one
had directly linked these emissions with the dense choking
fogs we endured each winter and which often brought the
whole city to a near-standstill.
On exiting London Bridge Station we descended a long
flight of stone steps ready to walk the whole length of
Tooley Street. This took about ten minutes allowing us to
get to school for registration at 8.45am. The Tooley Street
of today is much gentrified and is markedly different from
the immediate post-war, grimy place of work, replete with
offices and warehousing. Just to the north lay the western
end of the Pool of London and much cargo was landed
there. On the south side of the street many businesses
were housed underneath the railway arches, locations
which offered cool and capacious storage. Most of these
businesses were specialist importers. A vast variety of
commodities was handled snuff, spirits, dried fruits,
spices, exotic stuff from the east, coffee all of these things
had a characteristic odour whilst along Bermondsey Street
wafted the smell of the tanneries: to this add the smell of
dung, the result of there being large numbers of horsedrawn carts used for local deliveries. Each trip down
Tooley Street was an olfactory experience.
Of course Terry and Michael never joined me on the
Tooley Street walk. Their journeys started near to where
Canada Water Underground Station is now situated, but
in those days there was no Jubilee Line and transportation
was by trams that trundled along Jamaica Road. Terry
and Michael used to board either a 68 or a 70 for a journey
to Tower Bridge Road which took something under a
quarter-of-an-hour. Over the years many Olavians used

those trams. The School Gate was close to the western end
of the school site. The New Building, in which all First
and Second Years were housed was towards the eastern end
of the site, so boys coming from the east were obliged to
walk over twice the length of the Main Building in order
to reach their classrooms. Hence there was a temptation
to take a short cut by scrambling over the low perimeter
wall. Previously decorative Victorian railings had stood on
this wall but in 1940 they had been taken and melted down
for The War Effort. The manoeuvre was ill-advised.
The Heads study had an east-facing window, and he was
eagle-eyed. First time offenders got Saturday morning
detention. Repeat offenders were caned.
On first entering that imposing Victorian building we were
daunted. That said, Im guessing that every subsequent
batch of new boys since then will have been no less daunted
to be joining a school with so much history and so much
tradition. We, however, were a resilient lot. We had lived
through the War and most of us had stayed in London
throughout the Blitz. Moreover we had been threatened
during 1944 by Hitlers terror weapons, the V1 and the V2.
We quickly settled into the totally masculine environment
which prevailed in those days. Roger Carrington had been
in post for ten years and though, at the time, none of us
knew it, in the next two or three years we would see many
changes. I deal with eight such changes below.
I. Staff changes. Early on I saw what seemed to be a lot of
old teachers. I am now full of years and from my current
standpoint I guess I would judge those same men to have
been in their late prime. Without doubt though, the
average age was high. These men had been keepers of the
flame for many years, some having joined the school even
before the Headmastership of Senex (H G Abel, 1922-37).
Things would change, the end of the academic year 19471948 would see the departure of a number of characterful
teachers who had each given long and distinguished service
to the school.
Figuring in the grand exodus were: H Grainger (Chemistry
- 1909-48); Dr EW Shanahan (Geography and Economics
- 1915-48); EL Joseph (History - 1927-48); RG Shackel
(Physics - 1928-48); SC Charlwood (History and
Geography 1928-48)
All of these retired. Additionally RR Pedley (Head of
English) left to become Head of Chislehurst and Sidcup
Grammar School. At that time teaching staff numbered
twenty-six; hence at a stroke almost 25% of them had gone.
The legacy of Shanahan and Shackel was their text books
- A Modern World Geography and A Concise School
Physics: it pleased me that among the text books I would
be using were ones written by teachers at my school.

Olavian 2014 Old Olavian 147

A number of old hands from Abels days remained: they

included; HG Wright (1919-52); AJ Sinclair (1924-51);
AW Walker (1925-55); HO Newmarch (1927-66); J
Middleton (1931-60); EH Davies (1933-66); Dr HC
Stockwell (1936-49). Each of these would teach me in
later years and both Boggy and Stocky would be among my
future form-masters.
Of those departing Charly Charlwood was the only one
to have taught me: he was a small, slight man with slicked
back hair, he wore a dark three-piece suit and a stiff collar.
Many other teachers were similarly attired. He was a kindly
man with a twinkle in his eye; his delivery was brisk, almost
staccato and, after delivering a nugget of information, he
would look us in the eye and say Forget that. It didnt
take long for one of us to ask why we should do that: out
came Charlys practised reply: Ive been doing this for a
long time and I know that you boys always do the opposite
of what I tell you. Using this method he taught us a lot
of Geography.
II. Junior Forms. Among the surprises, when, as new
boys, we arrived at the school, was the discovery that we
were not the smallest minnows in the pond. There were
even smaller fry boys as young as eight. Boys in my firstyear class, Peter Grist and Kevin Gough-Yates, had been in
the Junior Forms.
There was no recruiting of these very young boys after 1947
and just like old soldiers, the Junior Forms just faded away.
III. School Meals. In 1947 Food Rationing was in force:
for economic rather than availability considerations the
Government could not afford to import food, hence rations
were kept at wartime levels. John Strachey (Minister of
Food) then tightened the screw by causing bread and
potatoes to be rationed. Even in wartime that had been
avoided. Unsurprisingly most boys sought to have a school
meal at mid-day, but the school lacked the facilities to
provide such meals. Therefore every day we were obliged
to march, in good order, to Riley Road School where the
good ladies of Bermondsey cooked and served us a school
dinner. Haute cuisine it was not. They did their best but
the quality of the ingredients was poor and the facilities
were inadequate to serve so many people. My memories
of those meals are not good.
There would be change. By the third term of 1948 kitchens
had been installed at the south-east corner of the Great
Hall and henceforth meals were prepared on the premises.
There was a slight improvement in quality. With all of this
came the daily chore that required chairs and tables to be
set out in the morning and for them all to be put away in
the afternoon. A labour of Sisyphus.

148 Old Olavian Olavian 2014

IV. The Olavian Hymnal. Among the books issued to us

in week one was The Olavian Hymnal: clearly this was
our own thing. It had been in use since late Victorian
times and over the years senior boys had added to it. Every
margin contained a piece of original Latin or Greek verse.
It was replaced, circa 1949, by Songs of Praise. We
boys viewed this as a retrograde step: we were told that a)
The Olavian Hymnal was too expensive to produce; b) it
contained insufficient modern hymns to support our twice
daily religious services.
It would have been charitable to let us keep our personal
hymnals but instead they were collected up and I suspect
they were pulped. What else could one do with six hundred
used copies of a Victorian hymnal full of Greek verse? We
were sorry to see it go. Something quite unique had been
taken from us.
V. School Houses. New boys were seemingly arbitrarily
allocated to one of six Houses. I was in Grenville: our
House colour was green. The other Houses were: Drake,
Burleigh, Howard, Sidney and Raleigh. Two years later I
found myself in a new House, Harvard. The Elizabethan
sea-captain regime had been introduced in 1908 and
had therefore survived for forty years. The new Houses
have outlived them and have thus been shown to be more
durable. We were sentimental about the loss of the old
Houses but, on the whole, this change was well received.
Operating with six houses in a three-form entry school was
never particularly sensible.
VI. The Winter Game. In the winter of 1947/8 the whole
school played Association Football. The following winter
we were playing Rugby many of us reluctantly. Many
boys were unhappy with the change, but of course the
change went through.
In that first year I remember playing football against
Michael. He was a star footballer and before coming to
the school had played representative football. I clearly
recall him in his red shirt (which meant he was then in
Drake and would later be in Cure) repeatedly carving his
way through the Grenville defence we had no answer.
In that year, however, Drake did not have the best football
team. Top dogs were Howard (blue shirts) whose team
was formidable. I remember Terry playing alongside
Ted Chuck. They were quite distinctive, for both had
Boris Johnson coloured hair though shorter and tidier
than BoJos. Michael, who became School High Jump
champion when only sixteen, vied with Ted to be the best
athlete of our year. Ted though was the best athlete of
our year: he excelled at football and later would show
exceptional talent in basketball, Rugby (as a fly half ), fives,
and cricket. Over the years we have tried manfully to
track him down. We have accessed some formidable data

bases but Ted has remained elusive. News of him would

be gratefully received.
The official reason given for the change to Rugby was
that it had become increasingly difficult to find fixtures
for the First XI. No doubt that was true, but I suspect
that the resultant efficiency savings also weighed heavily in
the balance. We became a Rugby-playing school and we
got used to it. Two years later Ted, Terry, Michael and I
were playing in the Colts XV with Geoff Chapman as our
mentor. Our membership of that team, even after so many
years, is one of the glues that holds our friendship together.
Forty years on plus quite a lot.
VII. The School Badge. In 1947 the crown and axe badge
was worn on both blazer and cap. The current badge was
introduced about 1950: it was not welcomed. The cross,
the crown, the axe we thought characterised Olaf with
admirable simplicity - saint, king, warrior. The new badge
we saw as being too fussy with an excess of detail and
it lacked the originality and symbolism of that which it
replaced. No-one ever explained the reason for the change
but, like some of the other changes, this one resulted in
something that has the air of permanency about it. Who
today would contemplate changing it?
VIII. Examinations. In 1947, as for many, many years
previously, grammar school pupils tackled School
Certificate at the age of sixteen and Higher School
Certificate at eighteen. In 1952 I sat the GCE O-level
examinations: we were only the second cohort to tackle
this new exam, and we were allowed to take only eight
academic subjects. In those early days the exams were very
taxing - the bar had been set quite high and failure rates
were considerable - even among Olavians.
Of all the changes discussed above, this was the only one to
have been imposed from the outside.
One supposes that the work associated with the introduction
of O and A-levels resulted in a huge burden being placed
on teachers but we were unaware of it.
So much then for all the changes. Changes there were
but so much more remained unchanged and unchanging.
Certain things characterised the school: significant from
the schoolboys perspective were the discipline and the
work ethic. Under Carrington, discipline was strict and
corporal punishment commonplace. It was often used for
quite trivial offences. In my second year I failed to hand
in a routine geography homework, my first such offence.
Carrington gave me six of the best: he laid them on hard so
that more than twenty-four hours later I could still feel the
grooves across my backside. The fact is that punishment
like that concentrates the mind wonderfully, and for the

rest of my school career I never missed another deadline.

Over the years I have witnessed many a discussion on
corporal punishment and often the most vocal of the
protagonists seem to be people who have never been on
the receiving end. How silly, to me that seemed a bit
like virgins being prescriptive about sex. Today there is
no longer any debate; corporal punishment is universally
condemned, but back then we were philosophical. It was a
fact of life and I surmise that most of us would have opted
for the whack and endured the transient pain rather than
be subjected to a detention or an imposition. Detention
after school was given for minor infractions such as fooling
around in class. I once got a Saturday morning detention
for being seen exiting Plumstead Station not wearing my
cap.
It might be thought that such harsh discipline might
sap a boys spirit. I think it had precisely the opposite
effect: we developed a resolute We can take it attitude
as epitomised by Geoghegan (pronounced Gaygun, if
you were wondering) who once got Saturday morning
detention every week for a whole term.
As to the work ethic, it is true we were all required to work
hard all of the time - and many did. Each day was split
into eight forty-minute periods. First years were set three
thirty-minute homeworks each night, but it was rare for
the assigned tasks to be completed within the allotted time.
My friends at other schools got off more lightly and were
tasked with two thirty-minute homeworks each night.
With us a lot of work was set and, to give the teaching staff
their due, it was always returned pretty swiftly. By todays
standards the staff/pupil ratio was high, so marking loads,
with typically thirty-three boys to a class, would have been
heavy.
Whilst talking of working hard, mention must be made of
Miss Cook. She was a graduate and was, by nature, rather
shy and retiring: her job title was Headmasters Secretary
but, given that we had no telephonists, no receptionists,
no clerks, no administrators it was she, all alone, housed in
a small office just to the right of the Main Entrance, who
kept the administrative wheels turning. How she managed
all that Ill never know. It was a most remarkable feat.
There were some things which I am sure would be surprising
to todays Olavians. Fountain pens were prohibited. There
was no need to ban ballpoint pens - nobody in the school
owned one. Back then Laszlo Biros patents were still valid
and his were the only ballpoints available. His companys
marketing strategy was to treat this new pen as a luxury
good, an expensive present for somebody. A biro retailed
for something over 55 shillings (2.75). With that sort of
money one could purchase eleven hard back Biggles books
Olavian 2014 Old Olavian 149

or one could go to the cinema once a week for a year or

more. Biros were beyond our means.
Carrington believed that the springy nature of the simple
steel nib was conducive to good handwriting. It was true
that such pens could produce the thick and thin lines
necessary in calligraphy, but one was obliged to recharge
the pen after every two or three words. Each dip in the
inkwell risked another blot on ones work. Another straw
poll I took of my friends at other South London grammar
schools suggested that STOGS was the only one enforcing
a fountain-pen ban. As pupils we were quick to circumvent
this ruling. In Woolworths for a very few pence one could
buy reservoir nibs: such nibs fitted the simple penholders we
used and they had the writing characteristics of a fountainpen nib. On the underside of each nib was a small metal
arrangement that stored ink. One dip in an inkwell and it
was possible to write one or even two complete sentences
without the need to replenish the ink. In common with
all of my peers I used such a nib until I left school. We all
observed the letter of the law but nonetheless managed to
subvert Carringtons plan.
Current Olavians, I think would smile if they could see
the 1947 intake arriving at school. We were, on average,
smaller and markedly thinner than todays eleven year olds.
About ninety per cent of us wore short trousers and some
boys would continue to do so throughout their third year at
the school. Also people today looking at us in Assembly
would be surprised by the great variety of clothing worn.
Clothes rationing was extant and uniform regulations were
not enforced. We were a motley crew. I never got to wear
a uniform until my second year and John Unsworth, in
my class for five years, never ever wore uniform. An early
memory I have is of Michael Pugh: now he is a prominent
member of The 40s Group, then he was School Captain.
Daily he turned up wearing a well-cut, double-breasted,
grey- pinstripe suit. In my minds eye I can still see him
walking along Tooley Street carrying a leather briefcase,
wearing the suit and with a really ancient school cap perched
on his head. It sent out a rather mixed sartorial message. I
wonder now whether Michael remembers that suit.
In winding up these school reminiscences I turn to the
masters and the teaching. It has already been noted that
they were a conscientious lot and they were for the most
part well-qualified. I suspect none had formal teaching
qualifications: back then graduates were allowed to enter the
teaching profession without being taught how to teach. It
appeared to be a case of them teaching us as they themselves
had been taught. The teaching style tended to be pretty
didactic. No-one sought to try to empathise with us and
no one went in for learning by discovery. We were taught
the facts: Gradgrind would have found nothing to complain
about. How much time they spent worrying about learning
outcomes or lesson plans I really dont know. All I can say is
that a great many lessons began with Open up to Chapter
150 Old Olavian Olavian 20xx

4 of Latin for Today (or Deutsches Leben or Alderton

Pink or whatever) - Pinks book was on English Grammar.
We would work through these books at the rate of about
a chapter per week doing the exercises and learning the
vocabulary when appropriate.
Mainly it was chalk and talk - no language laboratories,
no computers or calculators, no photo-copied notes, no
overhead projectors and a general absence of other visual
aids. There was an ancient epidiascope that was sometimes
put into use but even in a darkened room the pictures were
never clear. I suppose the old saying applies: What youve
never had, you never miss. One way or another we got
there in the end.
Whats gone before is what I have to say about the school
and the changes I saw there. Id like to finish with some
brief comments about what was happening in the outside
world whilst my head was buried in one textbook or another.
May you live in interesting times, a Chinese sage once
said. Few will dispute that the years 1947 to 1952 were
interesting times. The years immediately after the war were
years of high taxation, privation and shortages as, wearied
by war, the country sought to rebuild itself. The Labour
Party was in power and with socialist zeal they began to
nationalise everything in sight. By 1947 already the coal
industry and the Bank of England had come into state
ownership. Next we saw electricity generation, railways,
canals and waterways, road haulage, and finally iron and
steel production become nationalised and controlled from
Whitehall while, in 1948, we saw the birth of the NHS.
By the time Labour left office the pound sterling had been
devalued and some twenty per cent of our economy was in
the hands of the state. Apart from this restructuring of our
economy other things were happening.: we had the Second
London Olympic Games and on the Southbank we had the
Festival of Britain with its Skylon and Dome of Discovery.
In the Summer of 1952 we said goodbye to trams and their
going changed the face of London. To no-ones surprise
Attlee lost an election and Churchill returned to Downing
Street. The king died and we entered a new Elizabethan
age.
Overseas, tensions mounted as the sides in the Cold war
became more polarised and the Berlin Airlift followed. In
the Far East the French got a drubbing in Indo-China and
Britain committed her armed forces to the war in Korea.
The Indian sub-continent emerged from British rule and
Chinas civil war came to an end with a communist victory.
The winds of change (of which Harold MacMillan was later
to speak) had begun to blow through Africa and back home
the first waves of immigrants from the Caribbean were
settling in London.
I left St Olaves to enter this changing world: I passed
an open examination to secure a student apprenticeship

with the Ministry of Defence. This led to me becoming

a chartered engineer and subsequently I worked in that
capacity until my retirement.

I was grateful to the school for what she gave to me. The
knowledge and the good work habits I learned there served
me well over the years. I know my friends Michael and
Terry, although they followed very different career paths,
echo these views.

Dick Haylett (1947-52)

CLUBS AND SOCIETIES
Old Olavians Masonic Lodge No. 5051
The 75th Anniversary of the founding of our Lodge
was celebrated in March 2014 at a special meeting at
Freemasons Hall, Great Queen Street, attended by several
senior members of the Metropolitan Grand Lodge of
London. Over sixty members and guests enjoyed a superb
meal afterwards at the Imperial Hotel, Russell Square.
Why not find out more about us? We meet only four times
a year so we dont take up too much of a busy persons time,
but we like to feel that membership of our organisation is
both satisfying and worthwhile.
We are always ready to
speak to those wanting to learn more about Freemasonry
and, in particular, the work we do to raise money for Charity
(our principal objective). Naturally former pupils, current
or past staff and governors and, of course, parents associated
with our school are particularly welcome.
Anyone interested in learning more can contact the current
secretary - Peter G Hudson OBE, 9 Downs View Close,
Pratts Bottom, Orpington, Kent, BR6 7SU. His telephone
number is 01689 858583. He will be happy to meet you for
a chat and will answer any queries you have.

Peter Hudson
OLD OLAVIAN CRICKET TOUR - SOUTH
DEVON 2014
With hurricane Bertha ravaging most of the country,

thunderstorms forecast pretty much all week, driving rain

battering our windows and a spring in our steps, we set
forth from our homes on the designated Sunday morning in
August with a chirpy whistle on our lips. Sadly we had not
been able to secure a Sunday fixture due to most cricket clubs
in Devon being involved in Sunday leagues and cup games,
so wed decided to play a bit of golf at Starcross instead.
By the time we met in the Anchor Inn for lunch the sky
was mostly blue, the sun was mostly warm and we were
feeling more optimistic about the week ahead. One topic
of conversation was our change of hotel to the Cavendish
this year, and another was that they would be filming the
new season of the Channel 4 TV series The Hotel there
all week, and wondering who of our merry band may find
themselves on the small screen come February when the
show is due out.
At the picture-postcard Sidmouth ground the next day
there were a few threatening masses of grey clouds rolling
around in the heavens as the game got under way, but they
thankfully missed us almost completely throughout the
game. Sidmouth batted first as usual. There was a faint
air of concern about the OO bowling resources, as two of
our scheduled bowling line-up had proved unable to tour at
the last minute. Jay Patel opened and immediately started
hitting the proverbial handkerchief with every delivery.
Wicket-keeper-come-pace-merchant Peter White took the
cherry at the other end and, after a few loosening overs (he
probably hadnt bowled since the last tour), settled down
nicely also. The Sidmouthians weathered the new ball
however, and began to look more comfortable. Captain
Ian Giles took over from Jay (after his excellent spell of five
overs for six runs) to spice things up a little, and struck in
his first over, removing L Bess for 17 courtesy of a good
stretching slip catch from old compadre Chris Swadkin.
Reinvigorated, Pete White took a couple of wickets at the
other end, one bowled and another Swadkin catch. Then
there was a good run-out, and all of a sudden the home
team were in trouble at 48 for four and the Olavians found
themselves in one of those happy trance-like periods of
play where everything you do ends up well. Lance Giles
replaced White and floated a horrendous no-ball full-toss
that was swatted for six by opening bat Mansfield. This was
followed by another rank ball pulled for four. Then Giles
Jnr managed to actually land one that nipped away quite
nicely and took Mansfields off-stump, who was probably
surprised by the contrast from the previous deliveries. The
two Gileses kept things tight for a bit, as did the Swad when
he came on for a twirl. Lance bowled another batsman,
reducing Sidmouth to 81 - 6, and Dave Colloff came on and
hit the spot as well. Tim Drake had come in at number 7
and started a valiant rearguard action. He took a liking to
Prevans off-spin and biffed him on the leg side for a few
fours and a six, and managed to power his side up to 126
before Colloff rattled his stumps as he attempted another
heave (after scoring a vital 42). We then found out that
Sidmouth were a player short so we only had to take one
Olavian 20xx Old Olavian 151

more wicket. We also realised that the last pair who were
at the crease were in fact the two young colts who had
been knocking a ball around in the nets before the game,
oblivious to the fact they were about to be called up to play
in the most important game of the year. Perhaps this,
joined with the euphoria of our rather make-shift bowling
attack running through the vaunted home batting line-up
with such comparative ease, led to a collective foot-off-thegas situation for the tourists, as the two youngsters played
with skill that belied their diminutive stature. They put on
another 25 runs before one fell to a run-out (which looked
the best chance of us getting a wicket, to be honest).
The 151 runs that Sidmouth got in 47 overs look eminently
gettable at tea, and the excellent scones were passed around
with a jaunty panache on the tourists table. Beware the
jaunty scone, I now warn future generations who may
read this and in some way benefit from a warning from
the past. Sidmouth regulars Drake and Claydon opened
the bowling tightly and had the visiting batsmen playing
and missing fairly regularly. James Hubbard, who traded
almost purely in fours in his previous knock here three years
before, ended a watchful innings without troubling the
scorers. Sage Nayanah Rajh and his son Prev consolidated,
and things were beginning to look rosy again at 57 for one.
Then disaster struck. Both were out with the score on 57,
followed immediately by our next star bat Jay for a quacker.
There was a brief lull in the procession of batsmen, and
Sidmouth pulled off the star captaincy move of bringing
on one of their smallish colts to toss a few up. L Giles
quickly succumbed chipping a catch to extra-cover, and
Pete White perished in similar fashion. Colloff, Roots,
Swadkin and Giles Snr all passed swiftly in and out again
(the quickish Murray taking four wickets in total) and the
OOs subsided to a dispiriting 90 all out, the first time this
writer can remember us not reaching 100 in a timed game
unaffected by weather. It was a disappointing result. In
slight mitigation of our performance, the required run-rate
was probably a factor in some of the shot selections, since
we would have faced seven overs less than the home side if
wed survived them all. It was definitely a game that had
been there for the taking, however, and we firmly resolved
to do better the next day.
To end on a sunnier note, the OO supporters had been
entertained during some of the collapse by a memorable
chat between Rhianjali Giles (age 5) and Jay Patel (age 22
1/2). One exchange went like this:
R: Rebecca and I cant find our loom bands.
J: Why dont you look for them together?
R: Why?
J: Because then youll have more chance of finding
them, because youll have four eyes.
152 Old Olavian Olavian 20xx

R (exasperated): But I dont have four eyes!

A short while later, after Rhianji had repeatedly corrected
Jay on a number of topics such as how the remote control
to the scorebox was not magic, it worked by sending signals
by electronics, and how Winnie the Pooh did not actually
exist, Jay sought to change the subject and inquired, Have
you lost any teeth yet?, which probably came out a bit more
Goodfellas-style than he intended.
Sandford had had a bit of rain during the night, and on
Tuesday morning we were quoted a 20 to 40% chance of
being able to play. Free-wheeling mavericks as we Old
Olavians are, we fancied those odds and set off for the
ground, stopping for lunch in the Beer Engine as usual. On
arrival at the ground itself, it did prove to be pretty damp,
but the sun was warm when there werent any clouds in
the way and there was a steady breeze to help dry things
out, so we arranged a 30-over game and hoped the heavens
would behave themselves. Pete White was promoted to
bowl the first over of the innings, which turned out to be
skipper L Giles best decision as he struck with his third
legitimate ball, inducing R Glass to pop it up to Lance at
extra-cover. Jay Patel put in another steady spell at the
other end (4 overs 1 for 7) and after eight overs the OOs
were reasonably satisfied at containing Sandford to 28 runs.
Spin twins Chris Ruddle and Stuart Taylor came on and,
after an over each to settle down, started bowling well on
the still dampish wicket. Both proved hard to get away
and both took a wicket in their third overs; Stuart taking
a stinging catch behind square off Ruddle to dismiss their
overseas pro and then bowling the other batsman himself.
Another batsman was run out rather suicidally, and the
OOs found themselves once again putting in a sterling
effort in the field. Sandford always have plenty of batsmen
though, and Van Wyk (43) and Filor (28) began to set about
the spinners as the innings ticked into the final ten overs.
Ian Jonty Giles was brought on and the evergreen swinger
promptly removed both batsmen to catches from Taylor and
Prev, and Jay Patel returned for his final two overs at the
other end and bowled out one batsman. This happened to
be an especially timely wicket, as he was miked up at the
time and being filmed by the Channel 4 people who had
dropped by for half an hour to record some of the game in
case they found it useful to use in their show. Hopefully Jay
managed to refrain from whooping anything too indelicate
in celebration, or he may have missed his chance to take a
wicket on national TV. Ian caught and bowled the no11
and the OOs were set 152 to win.
OO openers Sage and Prev put on a fine opening stand
of 48 in nine overs before Prev (19) was out caught. Pete
White came in and played the supporting role well as Sage
struck a succession of imperious fours down the ground.
Opening his shoulders for a good four and a massive six
of his own, White became a little too adventurous and
launched another ball into the atmosphere which didnt

quite clear long-off and he departed for 18. Lawrence

Roots replaced him and played assuredly and shrewdly,
collecting ones and twos in a good partnership that almost
put the game safe until Sage was out bowled by Van Wyk
for a classy 80 with nine runs still required. Greg Giles
strode to the crease for his first innings in ten years and his
extended family all looking on. Van Wyk came storming
up to the crease and sent down a big full toss. Greg put a
big stride in and it hit him on the knee. Up went Jasper
Gundry-Whites finger. Up went the howls of derision
from the crowd. Back came Greg. The only solace was that
the camera crew had disappeared by then. Lance replaced
his brother and got a juicy half-volley outside off-stump
which he managed to hit for four which Greg no doubt
looked a little wistfully at, and Lawrence knocked off the
last two runs to finish on 21 and win the game with ten balls
left. The tourists had redeemed themselves from yesterday
and proudly received the Stan Newell trophy for this year
from their most friendly of opponents.
Torquay professed to have assembled an average side to face
us in the Wednesday fixture, but this didnt stop them having
two overseas pros and another first team bat in their line-up.
The home side batted first and Marrow got off to a flyer,
hitting L Giles for 19 in the second over bowled. Figuring
the batsman rather had his number, Lance sagely volunteered
himself for an early blow and skipper Dave Colloff bravely
put himself in the firing-line to dangle the carrot. DC
fared a bit better, but neither he nor White at the other end
could stop the leak of runs as Marrow took advantage of
the short boundary on one side to mow a few balls over the
ropes. Pete took a wicket, but by the twelfth over Torquay
had already reached 107 for one and were making batting
look easy-peasy. The ever-dependable Ian Giles was called
into the attack and he managed to slow the run-rate down,
and Prev came on at the other end. After being hit for a
few in his first over Prev found his length and a bit of shape
and got a wicket in his second, Francis LBW for 35. He
struck again in his third over with an excellent quicker lifter
and a smart stumping from Roots (man out F. Iqbal, who
apparently is on the fringes of a Pakistan A-team in some

in his last over, and Prev finished his eight overs, leaving the
opposition on 166 for seven, but with the dangerous Marrow
still there. Mr Incredible Stuart Taylor came on to bowl his
looping leggies. His first solitary over had been blasted for
14 by Francis, but he found his length nicely now, beating the
bat several times and often totally bemusing the batsmen with
his spinny repertoire (and one quicker one). Lance Giles was
brought back for his second
Torquay Cricket Club
spell too, which Marrow obviously didnt mind at all. He
hit him for a four, then a six, then another four, and then
aimed another one over cow-corner and got bowled, much
to everyones relief. Prev took a good catch off Stuart at the
other end, and the last man was run out. Torquay finished on
195 off 36 overs, which was a lot less than it had looked like
being at one point.
Prev and James Hubbard opened up the second innings.
Prev may well be on the county books for his year group but
he wouldnt have met too many opening bowlers like Terry
King, who has been playing for Torquay for about fifty years
I believe. He snicked Terrys fourth slow drifter to the
keeper to get his first tour duck. With James only improving
on his score from two days before by a factor of two runs,
the OOs were off to a slightly shaky start. New batsmen
Lawrence Roots and Greg Giles would have been forgiven a
period of quiet consolidation, but they did not need it. Both
immediately started striking fours handsomely. Gregs poise
and confidence were visibly improving with each over, and
he began unfurling some of his trademark square-cuts and
kneeling hooks that hadnt been seen on tour (or, indeed,
anywhere) for a decade. Roots at the other end was playing
like a man possessed, as sweetly-struck four after four pinged
off the middle of his bat in a succession of lovely cover-drives.
With the score reaching 125 off 21 overs, Torquay turned
to their fastest bowler Pugh to make a break-through. He
succeeded, trapping Greg LBW for 32 very popular runs.
Chris Ruddle came out to join his good friend Lawrence,
who carried on playing sublimely until Pugh had him caught
ten runs short of a deserved century. Ruddle swiftly joined
him back in the shed, and the OOs were fifty runs shy of
their target with six wickets down and ten overs left. Still

kind of format), and OO heads began to lift again. Gilesy

then came to the party with three wickets in one unplayable
over (one caught by Roots and two bowled) and Torquay
were suddenly 143 for six. Ian bowled another batsman
Olavian 20xx Old Olavian 153

quite gettable, you would assume, but here the tourists

performed their second collapse of the week. Terry was
brought back to lob his gentle in-drifters, and a succession
of OO batsmen went all funny-headed. The wickets
went: LBW, caught mid-off, stumped and bowled to gift
King a five-for. Taylor was left unconquered at the end,
with the OOs all out for 171 with three overs left. Rather
a shame we couldnt have got closer to the total and built
to an exciting climax, but on reflection it was still a better
showing than it had looked like being after the first twelve
overs when Marrow had been making hay. The regular
Wednesday quiz that night back in the hotel governed by
the unparalleled Terry Smith certainly cheered us all up
again anyway.
The sun was beaming down again as we pulled into South
Devons ground in Newton Abbott the next day. The OOs
batted first. Prev and James marched to the crease again,
both with a score to settle from the day before. They both
got off the mark in the first over, and proceeded to put
on a good opening partnership, Prev hitting his stride
immediately and James easing into his as he began to feel
more at home at the wicket. With the score on 60 after
ten overs Prev was out caught. Rob Chapman replaced
him for his first innings in several years. Sadly in the next
over a calamitous yes/no/what/sorry situation saw Rob
trudging back to the pavilion, having been run out without
adding to his career run total and having achieved a score
seemingly obligatory for OO batsmen returning to tour
cricket after a few years absence. Derek Birmingham kept
Hubbard company for a little while before he was out just
as he was finding his touch, and shortly afterwards James
fell for a fine 54. The remaining batsmen all chipped in a
few to bring the OOs to 166 all out with an over left to go.
The bounce of the wicket was just as unpredictable as is
usually the case at Newton Abbott, and the tourists were
optimistic of defending the total, especially considering
the number of young faces in the home team. Skipper
Pete White manfully put himself in for another opening
salvo, this time with Dave Colloff partnering him from
the other end. Both bowled well, and DC soon became
practically unplayable as he zeroed in on a good length
with a bit of varied bounce and swing. Pete got the first
wicket, but Colloff followed that with a spell of four
wickets in three overs, all bowled. Rob Chapman took a
turn from the tennis court end and looked like hed never
been away, taking a wicket in his second over courtesy of
a catch by Rashalen Nayanah Rajh behind the stumps.
With South Devon reeling on 39 for six, Steve Parsons
(relieved of his umpiring coat for the day) was brought
on with his arsenal of mystery balls to show that we were
not just a bunch of seamers. He took a wicket in his first
over. Kittoe (30) was batting well but couldnt find anyone
to stay with him, and the remaining wickets were shared
between Gileses L and I, and finally Kittoe himself was
out caught and bowled by the returning Colloff to give
154 Old Olavian Olavian 20xx

him his five-for. The OOs won by 84 runs and we had time
for a swift pint in the clubhouse before hurrying back for
the annual tour dinner. This was masterfully compered by
Paul Chapman, with Ray Michael taking on Brian Cantles
usual role (as Brian and Penny were sadly not able to tour
this year) and giving us the run-down of the week so far and
distributing memorable novelty items to anyone deserving
of some ribbing through their actions during the week.
Much guffawing ensued.

Dave Colloff and Rob Chapman

bonding with ducks (and Mickey ears)
And so to the last day, with everyone a little wistful that we
wouldnt be staying down in Devon for another week, but
fairly shattered after getting through quite a bit during the
week. Most of the tourists decided to leave for Teignmouth
a little earlier than normal so we could have a mosey around
the town, as it was a nice day and many hadnt really been
back there (apart from visiting the Ship for lunch) since the
tour moved base to Torquay some years before. The whole
place had changed remarkably little; it was still a cosy, pretty
seaside village with good crab sandwiches.
Up at Kenn we were sad to hear that Pete Murfin wouldnt
be joining us that day, as he wasnt feeling very well. Plenty
of other familiar faces took the field against us though, as
new opening partners Rob Chapman and Steve Parsons
took guard. They put on 28 for the first wicket before
Steve was run out valiantly aiming to increase the run-rate.
Greg Giles was next in, but unfortunately got an absolute
snorter of a ball that reared up and had him caught (off
Pete Murfins grandson Jimmy). Rob had remembered by
now what this batting lark was all about and was striking
it handsomely, and Rash came in and carried on in exactly
the same vein. He looked solid and played some gorgeous
cover-drives before he was out for 37 with the score on 89.
Rob carried on stroking fours until eventually falling for 62.
Swaddy came in at number 6 and belted the ball all around
the park and looked in fine fettle for his 58 runs, and Sage
had a brief cameo at number 8, booming 29 runs in four
overs to take the tourists to 224 for 8.
It was a formidable total, made all the more challenging by

accurate opening spells from Dave Colloff and Lance Giles,

who both took a wicket to leave Kenn on 24 for two after
ten overs. Greg Giles came on first change, but his off-spin
took a little longer to return than his batting after his long

Sidmouth 151 all out (47.5 overs)

OOs 90 all out (31.4 overs)
Tues 12th August v Sandford (30 overs)
WON by 6 wickets
Sandford 154 al out (27 overs)
OOs 155 for 4 (28 overs)
Wed 13th August v Torquay (40 overs)
LOST by 24 runs
Torquay 195 all out (36 overs)
OOs 171 all out (37 overs)

lay-off, although he did take a wicket, possibly his first of

the 21st century! Prev and Parsons both put in spells too,
Stephen picking up one wicket LBW, and Rob and Rash
also had a trundle and got a wicket apiece. Swaddy was
once again the star turn, though, and the wily skipper
finished with 3.4 overs 4 wickets for 18 runs. Kenn were all
out with five overs remaining, and the OOs won by 72 runs.
Teignmouth Back Harbour from the Ship Inn
So that was it for another year. Given the weather forecast
at the start of the week we were overjoyed to have got all
five games in. Each player shone at some point during
the week, and hearty back-slaps must go to the players
who ended up playing every game, after a couple of lastminute dropouts from the tour party had reduced our player
rotation options. Many thanks must go to our stoic umpires
Stephen and Jasper, and to everyone who scored during the
week, especially Janet Birmingham (who was another longlost tourist making a very welcome return after a number
of years), and to Dave Colloff who took on the role of Tour
Banker at short notice and did an excellent job. Thanks
also to all the other tourists not mentioned already who
helped make it such a fun and friendly week, namely; Linda
Bolter, Sharon Nayanah Rajh (especially since we deprived
her of her whole family practically every day), Ed Davey
and Rosemary, Jackie Childe, Janet and Amanda Colloff,
all the Hubbards - Clare, Carol, Malcolm, Rebecca and
William, all the other Gileses - Pennie, Nina, Alexandra
and Rhianjali, Geraldene and Bruce Taylor, and Jo Swadkin.
If any reader is interested in finding out more about the
club, please drop me an email or have a look at our facebook
page: https://www.facebook.com/oldolavianscricketclub

Results
Mon 11th Augsut v Sidmouth (timed game)
LOST by 61 runs

Thurs 14th August v South Devon (40 overs)

WON by 83 runs
OOs 166 all out (38 overs)
South Devon 83 all out (30 overs)
Fri 15th August v Kenn (40 overs)
WON by 72 runs
OOs 224 for 8 (40 overs)
Kenn 152 all out (35 overs)

Lance Giles (1988-95) lancegiles@hotmail.com

OLD OLAVIANS ETON FIVES CLUB
Another very enjoyable and successful year for the Fives
club!
The Saturday morning open club sessions saw a good
number of players coming back into the game having
recently left university, as well as enabling occasional
visits from seasoned players such as Darrell Woods, Tom
MacDonald and Dave Eames. One particular highlight
of the Saturday Fives was the visit from Ray Toomey who
was on a brief visit to Europe from Australia where he has
lived for many years. Ray was a member of the 1970 Old
Olavian team which won the Barber Cup for the first time.
It was really fantastic to see Ray and he was invited back
for lunch and a tour of the school later in the week by the
Headmaster.
The school and Old Olavians continued their strong
collaboration by competing in the league teams together,
and by pairing up in both the Turnbull Trophy and the
three-pair Richard Barber Cup. Both of these events were
won by the Olavians! The Old Boys continued to dominate
the sport at the highest level. Three of the four players
Olavian 20xx Old Olavian 155

in the Mens National Championships and the Northern

Championships finals were Olavians. Matthew Wiseman,
James Toop and Sebastian Cooley featured in most finals,
whilst Sebastian won them all in partnership with his
non-Olavian partner.
Fantastic achievements!
Seb
won his fourth successive Mens Open title, as well as the
London, Northerns and Mixed with his sister and fellowOld Olavian, Charlotta! Charlotta also won the National
Ladies Championships.
The most important team event in Fives is the three-pair
knock-out - the Alan Barber Cup. Howard Wiseman, Pauli
Markkanen, Matt Wiseman, Seb Cooley and Peter White
secured the eleventh consecutive win for the Old Olavians.
This was the fourteenth win in the past fifteen years, and the
sixteenth Barber Cup victory in the clubs History.

NEW FIVES COURTS - PLEASE

SUPPORT US!
The school, as well as the Old Boys club, are an enormous
force in the sport of Fives. With well over 130 team players
in the school alone and a combined fixture list between
the old boys and school of some eighty fixtures, there is
considerable need for more courts! As a result, there are
now firm plans to build four more courts, doubling our
facilities in the process! The Headmaster has led the drive
to get this project under way and his vision to use the courts
as a borough-wide facility for girls Fives has attracted the
additional support of the Eton Fives Association who have
already made a generous donation towards the project and
who have promised to fund-raise in order to give further
support. Howard Wiseman will be co-ordinating the
Olavian side of the fund-raising and would be delighted
to hear from any Old Olavians who would be interested in
making a donation of any size. Fives is the oldest sport in
the school, having been a part of Olavian life for over one
hundred years! We are extremely successful at it and the
boys and girls, both present and past, at the school wave the
Olavian flag on a regular basis, all over the country!
If you would like to help, Howard can be contacted on:
hwiseman@aol.com

Howard Wiseman (1980-87)

OLD OLAVIANS NEWS
OLAVIANS 1940-2013
John TIFFNEY, MBE (1953-57) wrote: I read the article
by Robin Dadson with much interest - it jogged lots of
memories as I was at STOGS from 1953 - 1957 and shared
many if not all his reminisences. The Old Olavian who
was a thespian was Roy Mould who changed his name to
Roy Marsden when he went into the Theatre - he played
Inspector Adam Dalgleish in the TV series. The other
well-known Old Olavian musician is Martin Carthy who
is a regular on the BBC Sing Country radio programme.
156 Old Olavian Olavian 20xx

My earliest memory is in Form 1B with AE WIlliams

teaching us Latin and italic handwriting, I believe. I still
write in italic script.
I also remember the Everett brothers who were joint-School
Captains and very good athletes. I was proud to play
cricket, rugby and fives for the school, and I have no regrets
about my school years - indeed I am proud to have been
an Olavian, and delighted that the School is performing so
well at national level.
I now live in Cirencester and am enjoying retirement in the
Cotswolds, still actively involved in various local activities
including U3A and Nadfas, the National Trust and the
GWR heritage railway.
Alan J WRIGHT (1936-42), one of our most loyal and
prolific contributors over many years, sent the following
article quite early in 2013, but it went astray and only
reached the editorial desk in January 2014.

The photo above shows the members of the Classical Sixth

with Mr HO Newmarch and Mr AH Rogers in July 1941.
Most of the members were made prefects. John Henry and
Eric Bamsey went to London University; the others secured
places, although not all went, at Oxbridge.
Eric Bamsey (born 1923) contracted poliomyelitis when
serving in the Royal Navy in the Far East. He became an
architect after the war. The polio had crippled him and left
him in poor health. He died before his fiftieth year.
Peter Tyler (born 1925) was trained for wartime Japanese
intelligence work in England. After the war he did not take
up his place at Oxford, but continued his intelligence work
at Cheltenham. His son became a Cambridge Rugby blue.
Roger Hendrie (born 1925) was School Captain in the
Michaelmas tern, 1942. He had good reasoning powers
and a remarkable memory. He joined the RAF; he studied
and then he became an instructor military Japanese for the
RAF at London University. After the war he returned to
New College, Oxford. Sadly he burned out before his
finals, and died before he was fifty.

John Henry (born 1924) spent his life in educational

administration. He became a Chief Education Officer, and
gave a talk at one of the Old Olavian dinners.
Peter Horsley (born 1925) went to Cambridge after the
war, but I have no news of him thereafter.
Raymond Fenn (born 1923) became the pilot of a two-man
Mosquito plane. His navigator was killed flying with
another pilot. This clearly affected Raymond deeply, and
he died, aged about seventy, on holiday in Scotland. His
funeral, and his memorial service in London, were taken by
David Wright (see below).
Alan Wright (born 1925) joined the RAF, where he learnt
military Japanese. He spent the rest of the war on field
intelligence in India and Burma. He took part in the
reoccupation of Hong Kong. After Oxford he became
Solicitor for the Trades Union Conference, and thereafter
became a High Court Master.

We arrived in Torre station (a mile east of Torquay station)

at about eight oclock in the evening - it was raining heavily.
A list of billets had been prepared and we were taken to
our new homes by Torquay volunteers in their cars. Keith
Hobbs and I were sent to a house in Babbacombe.
There cannot be many survivors of this trip - I am 89, and
the youngest must be at least 82. Keith Hobbs died in
2001, and I went to his funeral. Some of those who were on
that trip lost their lives in the War - I remember especially
Fred Jackson whose plane was lost in the Atlantic; and Eric
Barnsey whose life was shortened by sickness during war
service. Many Olavians, including myself, joined up for
war service from Devon recruiting centres.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Torquay Grammar School
and Mr Harmer, their Head. They used the buildings from
9am until 1pm while StOGS used them before 1.20pm
until 5pm, and on Saturday mornings.

IN MEMORIAM

Norman Murray (born 1923) was School Captain 194142. He volunteered for the Royal Navy, but died of tetanus
shortly after leaving school.

Sydney R FENNING (1935-40) died on 5th February

1914 at the age of 89 after a long spell in hospital where he
had been fighting pneumonia.

John Northam (born 1922) was School Captain 1940-41.

After a year at Clare College, Cambridge, he was sent to
Oxford to learn modern Greek, with a view to liaison with
Greek partisans. He was a wartime Oxford Soccer blue.
After the war he returned to Cambridge, read English,
and became a don at Clare College. After some years he
became a Professor in Australia.

Barry LANGLEY (1956-63) died early in September

2013: we first heard this sad news from a friend. We have
since heard from his wife, Pam Langley, who tells us that
Barry thoroughly enjoyed his time at St Olaves, and it was
interesting to read the article about the Fifties (per Robin
Dadson) - I had heard so much about Dr Carrington,
whom Barry thought was always fair, although strict,
especially when he (Barry) climbed up and put something
unmentionable on the roof of the school, and then had
to retrieve it before the whole school lost a days holiday.
Barry was a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors, and Arbitrator and Expert Witness in building
disputes. He also loved his cars and was an international
rally driver in the seventies; and he loved his Jaguar as well
as his 1931 Austin 7 which he took every year to the Revival
at Goodwood.

Kenneth Leary (born 1922) went to Cambridge, but I have

no news of him after he left university.
David Wright (born 1923) went up to Keble College for
a year (1941-42): he then joined the RAF, was trained as
a pilot, and became a flying instructor. After the war he
finished his degree, and then taught at Aberdeen University
for a couple of years. He then entered the Church, and
spent most of his life as a Minister in Scotland. At the age
of 89, he still takes some services.
At the end of September 2014 Alan Wright wrote again
reminding the School that Monday 13th October would be
the 75th anniversary of the Schools move to Torquay. The
School had been moved to Uckfield under the Government
scheme in early September 1939. There were no educational
facilities in Uckfield so Dr Carrington decided to move to a
site with better facilities: Torquay was chosen since it had a
modern Grammar School.
A special train was obtained which took some three hundred
boys and masters from Uckfield to Torquay via the Sussex
coast, the north of Southampton and Exeter. Parts of the
route have now gone.

In addition Barry was licensed as a Lay Reader in the Church

of England in 1976 and was a committed member of the
College of Readers, Forward in Faith, the Confraternity
of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Society of Our Lady of
Walsingham. He died in September 2013, having been
diagnosed with lung cancer fifteen months earlier. Mrs
Langley writes that she misses him very much, as she is sure
will all his school friends.
John G LUCKING (1934-39) died on Boxing Day 2013.
We are grateful to his son-in-law, Forbes Forrai, for sending
the following tribute: It is with great sadness that we
report the death of John Lucking at the age of exactly 90
years and 1 month. John attended St Olaves until 1940.
Unfortunately, we do not know much about his time at the
Olavian 20xx Old Olavian 157

school, but he always had a soft spot for it and was very
interested in the development of the school, reading the
annual magazine thoroughly.
After school, John joined GRE as an insurance clerk.
However, he was called up in September 1942 and assigned
to the Royal Artillery in October of that year. He was
attached to 152 battery of the 51st (London) Heavy AntiAircraft Regiment. He served as part of the 8th Army, first
in North Africa and then in Italy. He also spent some time
in Vienna, guarding the former Nazi HQ. He was awarded
five medals: the 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Italy Star, Defence
Medal and War Medal
His release papers describe his military conduct as
exemplary and the following testimony speaks volumes
about Johns character: This man is a keen and conscientious
worker, who can be relied on to work well without constant
supervision. He has had a wide experience of administration.
He is loyal to his superiors, and is a good mixer. He is sober
and honest, and is clean in habit and in appearance.
He was de-mobbed in July 1947 and returned to the world
of insurance with GRE. He stayed with GRE until he
took early retirement in 1980. Latterly he worked at the
companys office in Gants Hill, taking the train from his
home in Leigh-on-Sea to Barking and then walking (one of
his favourite pastimes) the two to three miles each morning
and evening to Gants Hill. He fondly remembers spending
many lunchtimes enjoying the nearby Valentines Park.
In 1960, John met his future wife, Pat, at a dance. They
married in 1961 and their first born, Andrew, arrived in
December 1962. Sadly, Andrew died only three months
later. Happily, two daughters, Angela and Fiona, arrived over
the following two years. John felt immense love and pride
for his growing family. He was a very keen photographer
and thankfully recorded his family growing up.
On his retirement, John extended his interests in gardening,
photography, music, especially the sounds of big bands,
Radio 4, reading and recording daily events in his diaries,
bird-watching, stamp-collecting, weather-recording, slide
collections and now with a Cairn terrier called Roger in tow,
long walks all over Leigh. Such was his love of walking that
John was never happier than retracing his childhood haunts
around south London. He was also able to travel to the
USA, touring the east and west coasts.
After his daughters marriages, four grandchildren came
into his life and John spent many an hour singing to his
grandchildren, watching their TV programmes and simply
being around to be called granddad.
With the turn of the millennium both John and Pat began to
suffer increasing health problems and unfortunately by 2010
they decided to move to a nearby care home. They celebrated
158 Old Olavian Olavian 2014

their Golden Wedding Anniversary there. Johns health

began to fail around Easter 2013 and he was confined
to bed until his death on Boxing Day. However, he was
always pleased to welcome you to his room and, being the
gentleman he was, thanked you for coming. Right up
to the end, he was a model patient, always polite. One
incident at the hospital is a prime example: the ward sister
told us that he thanked her for giving him an injection!
Although a quiet man, he was a true gentleman with values
to be looked up to. He had a very wide variety of interests
and was keen to share this knowledge.
Sadly his wife, Pat, died very recently at the end of June
2014. He is survived by his two daughters and four
grandchildren.
Geoffrey Layton SCULLARD (1933-39) died on 15th
March 2014. Jane Wells received the news from Geoff s
daughter, Helen, and she goes on to tell us that he was
in the diplomatic corps and served in many embassies as
something to do with all the arranging of grand dinners
and visits by royalty. He received an OBE. He came to a
few Forties group lunches andOO reunions. A jolly nice
chap and fun to sit next to as he had a wealth of anecdotes.
Helen has written her own tribute, a condensation of the
eulogy spoken at Geoff s funeral in June: Geoff was born
in Lambeth on 5 July 1922, the youngest of three children
of William Scullard (a carpenter) and his wife Eleanor (ne
Tomkin), a nurse. He was proud to be a Cockney.
He attended Peckham Central School until 1935, when he
won a junior county scholarship to St Olaves Grammar
School, where he studied until July 1939. Having been
brought up during the depression, during which his family
had suffered periods of unemployment, he needed to take up
paid employment as soon as possible in order to contribute
to the family finances, so he did not have the opportunity
for 6th form or university education. Later in his career, he
was working as the equal of colleagues whose first question
was: Oxford or Cambridge? The reply of, A grammar
school in Southwark, was sometimes disconcerting.
After an initial job in a furniture shop, he joined the Foreign
Office in December 1939, at the age of 17. He had applied
to the Civil Service expecting to find himself behind a post
office counter, but they recognised his talents and had other
plans for him.
He was called up into the RAF Signals service in June 1942
until September 1946, serving in Sierra Leone, Nigeria,
India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia during the Second World
War.
Before embarking on a troopship to Africa, he met his
future wife, Cathie Pinington, at a dance in the Tower

Ballroom, Blackpool. She was working for the Civil Service

Pensions Service, which had been evacuated from London to
Blackpool. They agreed to write to each other as friends, but
with no love letters.
They married during a short period of leave after the official
end of the war, in August 1945. Their marriage was a long
and very happy one, until Cathies death in 2003, at the age
of 80. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in
1995 with an adventurous trip to Iceland.
Geoff re-joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in
1946, in which he had a long and distinguished career, with
postings to Stockholm, Washington DC (twice) Baghdad,
Los Angeles and Moscow, as well as four home postings.
His specialism was as an administrative officer, but included
working as an archivist, Commercial Consul and Head of
Administration and Consul General in Moscow, then the
same roles in Washington as his final overseas post. He was
then head of the Accommodation and Services Department
in London until his retirement from the FCO in August
1981. He was awarded the OBE in the New Years Honour
list in 1971. As well as his foreign postings, he travelled
widely on trade and inspection visits, during his periods of
working in London.
His career involved a number of amazing experiences,
including surviving the Baghdad revolution of 1957, when
the British Embassy was burnt down by the rebels, being
confirmed into the C of E in Baghdad by the Archbishop
in Jerusalem (his childhood family had been Baptist), being
awarded the freedom of the city of San Juan in Puerto Rico
and being presented with a Pipe of Peace by the chief of
an American Indian nation. He organised royal visits on
three occasions, twice for HM The Queen and Prince Philip,
and once for Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips; he
treasured the signed photographs from each of them. He
served in Moscow during the cold war of the 1970s, living in
a bugged flat and supplied with a compulsory maid who was
actually a colonel in the KGB.
He had a long and active retirement, retaining links with the
FCO and with the Old Olavians, attending several reunion
events. He pursued his interests of fishing and golf, read
avidly, enjoyed the theatre as well as classical and popular
music and completed fiendishly difficult crossword puzzles.
Life with Cathie was blissful until her long final illness,
during which he cared for her devotedly.
Throughout his career and his life he was independentminded, holding strong opinions but always prepared to
re-consider and listen to the views of others. He was
scrupulously honest and truthful, a man of true integrity who
never favoured friends or disfavoured opponents.
In 2006 his own health deteriorated and he chose to move

into a care home. He remained active and independent

almost to the last, using his bus pass to visit Guildford,
organising concerts for other residents, reading the lesson at
church services and regaling visitors, staff and residents with
stories of his career and experiences. He retained a keen
interest in national and international current affairs, offering
astute analysis and commentary on items in the news.
Shortly before his death at the age of 91, he said that he had
been an incredibly lucky person, had had a marvellous life,
and would not have changed a thing, with his only regret
that Cathie had not survived longer. How many of us can
say that?
James W SIMS (1957-64) George Snelgrove had been
a close friend of Jim Sims since schooldays and has sent
us this tribute. Jim was raised in Herne Hill, South East
London, a very convenient location for access to the then
St Olaves sports ground at Green Dale. He made the
journey to school via train from North Dulwich to London
Bridge where, like many others, he straightened his tie and
donned his cap before making the dash along Tooley Street.
Whilst at St Olaves Jim excelled at and represented the
school at cross-country running and swimming. He was
also an aficionado of the pop music scene of the early 1960s
and introduced many of his school contemporaries to the
likes of Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Elvis Presley. In
later years, he regularly attended the annual Old Olavians
Society dinner.
Jims career was in hospital administration and he worked
in the NHS for forty-one years. During this time, he was
based in several major London hospitals and even managed
to wangle a years secondment to the University Hospital of
Chicago. In his early twenties, Jim married Judith and they
had two children - James and Annette. On retiring from
the NHS, Jim had more time to spend on his main hobbies
motor bikes and his love of driving. He got a part-time
job delivering brand-new, expensive cars around Essex and
found it incredibly funny that someone would actually pay
him for doing it.
Privately, Jim was also an entertainer par excellence. Hed
amuse family, friends and even unsuspecting pub customers
with some incredible magic tricks. Part of his act was to
frequently get the tricks horribly wrong and then to fall
about laughing at how apparently inept he was. Hed then
perform the trick perfectly, amazing everyone. Jim was a
great guy and a great mate who will be missed by a lot of
people.
Muriel TAYLOR (ne Hobbs) (St Saviours and St Olaves
Girls School - 1939-46) died in the spring of 2013. Alan J
Wright has written with this sad news, and he tells us that,
she was the sister of the late Keith Hobbs (1936-43).

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