Cranleigh Matters The Cranleigh School Newsletter Issue No 28 Summer 2007 www.cranleigh.org
Cranleigh School, Cranleigh Surrey GU6 8QQ Telephone 01483 273666
20 Mile Charity Walk On Sunday 22nd April over 250 pupils, teachers and parents from the School volunteered to walk 20 miles for the charity ‘Hopes and Homes for Children’. Some even chose to run the route! With many more staff also involved in the administration, the walk, organised by Dr Simon Young and Chaplain, Phil Parker, was a mammoth undertaking and, as the final sponsorship money comes in, as we go to press, we hope to reach the target of £25,000 for the charity. ‘Hopes and Homes for Children’ was founded by Col. Mark Cook, OBE in 1993 as a result of what he saw in Croatia when commanding the British Contingent of the UN protection force. Whilst in Lipik, he discovered the town’s bombed-out orphanage and its children, who had been sheltering in a cellar for three weeks. He made a promise to re-build it and one year later had raised £1 million pounds to do so; the charity now works in over 20 countries in Africa and Eastern Europe, wherever children have been orphaned by war or disaster. Headmaster, Guy Waller, adds: “As well as being proud of all those who gave up their Sunday to raise money for this extraordinary charity, I was especially pleased that the impetus for the walk came from the pupils themselves. Mark Cook was the preacher in one of our Sunday Chapel services last term and the pupils were so moved by his words that they wanted to raise a really significant sum of money.” More details of ‘Hopes and Homes for Children’ can be found on their web-site: www.hopesandhomes.org The accompanying article is from one of the younger walkers; on the day many were inspired also by the exploits of some of the less young walkers: the energy of the evergreen Jan Goldsmith (the legendary Mrs G, Cubitt Matron) and teacher Ray Dunnett, who retires this term and who fought through the pain to reach the finishing line.
Hope and Homes sponsored 20 mile Charity Walk There are probably many of you who walked, or even ran, in this fantastic charity event, who not only raised some smiles for us but have given many children in poverty-stricken countries something to smile about. To know that someone does care for you can make your life a better place to live, because, in the end, to be happy is priceless. ‘Hope and Homes’ is there for the people who need that extra support and comfort of knowing someone cares for you.. The charity helps the children all over the world who live in appalling conditions, such as living in a war-zone, having no parents, having no home, or living in overcrowded orphanages. So now we know where the money we have raised will go, how about the walk? It happened on the 22nd April, it was 20 miles (obviously); it started and finished at Speech Hall. There was a very nice lunch provided just after the half-way point and many water points to refill our bottles. Well, for those of you who participated, I’m sure you all felt as I did. Knackered. My legs were aching for days, let alone my feet. But our pain was for someone else’s gain, who is less fortunate than us. There was one thing I noticed about everyone I passed on the walk: they were all smiling, and to me the most important thing was that everyone was happy and enjoying the stunning views that surrounded us. James Bowey (LVth) WEB-SITE Some articles in this newsletter appear in a fuller version on the web-site. For the latest news go to www.cranleigh.org
Lucy sings her way to Top Prize
Dan tops Strings Competition
This year’s Helen Wareham Music Competition, held on May 18th, was won by Lucy Cronin for her singing of Fauré’s ‘Après un Rêve’ and Adele’s ‘Laughing Song’ from Strauss’s ‘Die Fledermaus.’ The adjudicator, former Professor of the Royal Academy of Music, Ruth Harte, MBE, spoke of Lucy’s “extraordinary poise, spontaneity of interpretation and evocative mood painting”. The audience were deeply moved by the aching sadness of the French song and delighted by the actorly communication of the teasing Strauss aria with its dazzling technical demands.
Daniel Sheppard won first prize in this year’s Cranleigh School Strings Competition, held on 27th April and adjudicated by John Parsons, Head of Strings at Charterhouse. Daniel played the phenomenally difficult Rhapsody no.1 by Bartok, mastering its technical demands imperiously, yet keeping the raw energy of the piece. Dan fulfilled Mr Parsons’s requirement that a performer “should have his head on ice but his heart on fire”.
Second Prize went to Daniel Sheppard for his astonishingly exciting performance of the finale of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto: Ruth Harte spoke of his “verve, panache and flair”. It was clearly not easy to separate the top three of the eight elite competitors, many of whom had already won competitions in their own discipline. Third Prize went to pianist Jocelyn Waller, who played ‘Automne’ by Chaminade and was praised by Ruth Harte for “conveying the architecture of the piece and playing with stylish elasticity while avoiding the temptation to wallow sentimentally”.
Second prize went to another violinist, Tory Sawyer, for her Tchaikovsky and the audience prize, voted for by the packed crowd in the Clive Stevens Recital Hall, went to ’cellist Alice Wait who played her own composition ‘Tango Sensation’. There was also an Intermediate section, in which first prize went to young violinist Sam McCagherty, who played Handel, and second prize to Katherine Chevis in a Vivaldi ’cello sonata. John Parsons praised the enormous strength in depth seen in the playing of all 17 competitors and added, “How lucky you are at Cranleigh to have string teachers of the calibre of Sophie Langdon, your Head of Strings!”
Ruth Harte added that she had heard of the School’s “formidable reputation for music” but the “sheer quality of the music making” was beyond even her expectations. Many in the audience shared the response in the opening words of her adjudication: “What an evening!”
Cranleigh Choral Society in Marathon Sing
Chapel Choir return to St Paul’s
‘Ein Deutsches Requiem’ by Brahms is a marathon sing for a choir; Cranleigh Choral Society and Cranleigh School Chapel Choir were on their feet for 75 minutes on Sunday 18th March in Speech Hall. The stunning soprano soloist in the very moving fifth movement was Julia Doyle, one of the country’s most talented young sopranos; the authoritative bass soloist was Michael Pearce, who earned a very warm ovation as he is one of the School’s singing teachers.
Cranleigh’s Chapel Choir’s reputation is such that it is annually invited to sing Evensong in one of the great cathedrals. This year they returned to St Paul’s with a full sung service, including the anthem for double choir ‘Faire Is the Heaven’ by William Harris. This will also feature on a CD the choir has been recording this year using the Music Department’s in-house music technology expertise and facilities. At the start of the summer holidays the singers embark on a six-day tour to Barcelona.
This annual concert brings together the young voices from the School (as well as some teachers, including Headmaster, Guy Waller) with the more experienced singers of the Village Choral Society. On this occasion each provided 70 singers so that the combined chorus made a stunning impact in such moments as ‘Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras’. Director of Music Marcus Pashley added the 20 minute ‘Te Deum’ by Dvorak to make it even more of a marathon for the chorus and the concert began with the ‘Coriolan’ overture by Beethoven which gave centre-stage to the Merriman Concert Orchestra, made up of local professional musicians and music teachers and led by Head of Strings, Sophie Langdon.
Summer Concert Although Director of Music Marcus Pashley described this varied feast as ‘music on the lighter side’, there was plenty to appeal to all tastes and we started with one of the finest pieces of Scandinavian music for strings, three movements from the ‘Holberg Suite’ by Grieg played by the String Orchestra under Sophie Langdon. It was a wonderful idea, given that we have in Angus Meryon one of the finest clarinet players in England as our Head of Woodwind, to programme the famous ‘Shepherd on the Rock’ by Schubert in Lucy Cronin’s final term. The melting clarinet opening was magically subtle, enticing the ears of a spell-bound audience and Lucy’s singing was pure charm. There followed the Nocturne from Mendelssohn’s music to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ which paved the way nicely for the popular ‘Adagio’ from Khachaturian’s ballet ‘Spartacus’ in which the strings rose to the occasion magnificently and the brass entry was imposingly impressive. As an encore we had the other really popular piece by this composer, the ‘Sabre Dance’ from ‘Gayaneh’: absolutely terrific. After the interval the Concert Band under Bob Wilson gave us a smoothly played selection from the film scores to ‘Forest Gump’ and ‘Chariots of Fire’. Angus Meryon coaxed some very sophisticated playing (in themes from the musical ‘Chicago’) from the Symphonic Winds, a remarkably classy sound. The Chapel Choir began with a lovely choral arrangement of Canteloube, and a song from ‘Chess’ gave the group further contrast to the repertoire they had recently sung in St Paul’s Cathedral. As well as recording a CD of anthems this year, the choir embarks on a tour to Barcelona in July. The third item was a jazzy Shakespeare setting by Rutter. The finale was in the hands of Bob’s Big Band and began with ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’, a real crowd-rouser. Fred Hickman played ‘Misty’ and in ‘Stompin’ at the Savoy’ it was the electrifying drum solo by Nathan Pigott that stole the show. The final number had to be encored with instructions that those doing the actions should stand. It was, of course, ‘YMCA.’ The song says, ‘You can do whatever you feel’ and the audience at this concert felt like having a good time and, thanks to some extrovert, as well as accomplished, music-making, we all did.
Cubitts at Cranleigh On Friday 11th May Sir Hugh Cubitt CBE JP DL returned to open the extension to Cubitt House. Sir Hugh was Chairman of the School’s Governing Body in the 1980s and 1990s and his great-grandfather, George Cubitt, 1st Lord Ashcombe and MP for SW Surrey, was one of the founders of Cranleigh School. When Cubitt was first opened in 1961, the building being converted form the School’s sanatorium, it was named after Sir George. In his speech Sir Hugh spoke of his pride that the new plaque now commemorates “two generations of Cubitt involvement with the governance of Cranleigh School” and saw this example of the School’s current extensive building programme as showing Cranleigh’s “ability to meet and adapt to change, which is why its popularity has never been greater nor its reputation higher.” The extension, according to Cubitt Housemaster Andrew Griffiths, “means we can now house and integrate all 101 pupils whereas previously the day boys were in a separate residence across from the boarders.” He added, “the extra space also means that we have a new social room and an expanded Matrons’ area, as well as the delightful new quadrangle full of shrubs.” The first part of the extension, a new Housemaster’s house, was begun in November 2005 and completed the following June; the other refurbishments were done without any boys having to move out, and the work was finished by November. The whole project was overseen by the School’s Clerk of Works, Ron Smith, and foreman, Dave Wells. Headmaster, Guy Waller, thanked all involved with the project and praised the builders for completing the work on time and under budget; he added, “It is to the credit of all involved that the project is such a success, and bodes well for our major Academic teaching block construction which starts this summer.”
Young Actors shine in Junior Play Double-Bill Cranleigh is proud of its theatrical tradition: household names such as Michael Redgrave and Patrick Marber have been joined more recently by James Walters (‘Harry Potter’) and Georgina Moffatt, who will record the second series of ‘Skins’ this summer. The annual summer Junior Plays give a chance for Cranleigh School audiences (in the Vivian Cox Theatre from May 21st to 24th) to spot stars of the future. It was perhaps in the smaller cast of ‘Liar’ that potential stars could shine more brightly and no one impressed more than Morgan Fletcher, the male lead in Gregory Burke’s play about dedicated fibber Ronnie. Morgan has the stage presence, the looks and the theatrical technique to make a name for himself. Another show-stopping performance came from Mike Mockford (and his hair), whose gift for comedy and timing also marked him out as one to watch. Maddie Coe was well-cast as the female lead and helped ensure that the ending, where the boy finally gets the girl, was sweet rather than sentimental. Head of English, Paul Leggitt who directed with special flair, commented, “Theses actors were great fun to work with and the production was really lifted by the use of projected video scenes which the pupils themselves filmed.” The other play ‘The Shoemaker’s Incredible Wife’ by Lorca was dominated by two excellent performances in the main roles by Vicky Hill and Nick Roberts. Vicky was terrifying at the start and paced her change to vulnerability with touching sincerity. Nick was perfect for the old hen-pecked shoemaker, as he gave genuine pathos to the role and yet was able to carry off the comic disguise with panache. Another star talent was seen in the cameo role of the old man Don Mirlo, played with scenestealing comedy by Sam Durant. On the first night, History teacher and keen actor David Reffell noted that, “Perhaps the most potential was seen in the opening Prologue, a monologue by ‘The Writer’ played by JJ Bee. Like a circus ring-master he lifted the performance from the first line”. This play was impressively directed by Sixth Formers Nick Pearce and Jerome Thompson with meticulous attention to detail.
Old Boy’s Space Play lands at Cranleigh Former Cranleigh School pupil Al Smith landed at the School’s Vivian Cox Theatre on March 8th for the third and final night of South House’s production of his 2006 play ‘The Astronaut Wives’ Club’. It was the perfect choice for one of our girls’ Houses as it was conceived for an all-female cast. The desperate astronaut housewives bitch at each other nervously as they wait to see if radio contact will be re-established. Alexandra Reynolds conveyed the shock when contact was lost with the Endeavour to devastating effect. At the other end of the age spectrum Vicky Llewellyn played Sandra Wilder, the new young wife of the command pilot, with touching sweetness as the older wives, led by the poisonous Mary Engle (Gayle Telford), take out their anger at the new ways of the swinging sixties which are threatening their old familial and patriotic values. It was striking how quickly all the actresses established their varied characters: Holly Simpson as the bitchy side-kick to Gayle; Polly Methley as the tragic alcoholic; Hannah Coleridge as the Bible-basher and Anna Pearson-Freeland as the glamorous Lurton Scott. The play was skilfully directed by LVIth Former Hannah Smoker.
By coincidence the other play in this double bill was by Ali Smith: ‘Just’. On the first night there were echoes of ‘Houston we have a problem’ when actor Will Merrett went off for an x-ray on an ankle injury an hour or so before curtain-up. Acting Head of Theatre Studies, Ben Tait (who codirected with Fi Brookes) commented: “Within ten minutes the cast had reallocated his lines and re-blocked the moves with total professionalism; even in the theatre such team work is rare.” Leading actresses Ros ClarenceSmith and Lucy Gilligan-Court were supported by boys from the twinned East and Cubitt Houses as well as fellow South girls. Christopher Williams was ideal as the tall policeman and the jury of Georgia Lubbock, Freddie Kenyon Shutes and Pip Mansergh emerged from the audience in one of the play’s many self-conscious references. The Townspeople formed a colourful chorus and their glib phrases about their idealised little ‘pot-plant and Waitrose’ town had become familiar to us in the poster campaign and the programme: ‘Weather Said Thunder’, ‘Our Perfect World’ etc. The lime-green and orange costumes and the cheesy grins (Tristan Abbott’s perhaps the widest) were strikingly effective. As always, the technical crew led by Chris Wilson made a major contribution and were rightly acknowledged in the curtain call.
Kenya Cricket Tour 2007 At the start of the Easter holidays, 15 Cranleighans led by Peter Kemp, Stuart Welch and Graham Cooper embarked on a two-week cricket tour of Kenya. Based in Nairobi for the first few days, we practised and trained at the Nairobi club in preparation for our first match against the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association. With several Kenyan U19 players in their ranks, this presented a tough challenge and we comfortably lost this opening fixture. Seren Waters made a battling 50 and the boys will always remember playing at the impressive Nairobi Gymkhana ground. From here we travelled north to Nakuru for our second match against the Rift Valley Sports Club, which saw a much-improved bowling performance but which we also lost after a poor batting display. After a day of safari around Lake Nakuru national park, and a night in the beautiful Lake Nakuru Lodge, we drove down to the famous Massai Mara where we enjoyed two incredible days of game drives, seeing all the big five as well as giraffe, cheetah and a host of other animals in the wild. Perhaps the highlight was seeing a pride of lions devouring a kill, and a black rhino on the final afternoon.
Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Training Trip to the Black Mountains Eighteen aspirant Gold candidates set off for South Wales in unseasonably and atypically dry weather. The aim of the trip was to fine-tune navigational and camping skills in preparation for their assessed expedition at the end of the Summer term. Training started with a gentle walk round the first camp-site, refreshing knowledge of bearings, pacings and estimating distance from timings. These skills were then put into practice with a night navigation exercise in the valley base that evening. The next day saw the three groups set off for the South of the Black Mountains to be dropped off and find their own back over the tops to our base at Capel y Ffin. A campfire, route-planning and marsh-mallows rounded off the day. An early (well nearly) start saw the groups off on their biggest challenge for the final walk up to Twmpa, over to Hay Bluff and down Offa’s Dyke to their final camp at Llanthony Priory. All participants got a huge amount out of the trip, if only sore feet and a knowledge of how to prevent one’s tent-mate from snoring. I am sure that, come the summer, all will go well. Simon Young
Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race For its second year of team entry the School entered four double kayaks among the 65 entries from schools. The four-day race covers 125 miles and the inexperienced crews (16 paddlers) all had support teams (mainly parents) to feed, water and encourage: these helpers numbered over 40. All pairs beat last year’s fastest time with Alex James and Charlie Hunt being awarded the HaytonGeorge cup, donated by the parents of Simon and Edward who were our first canoeists in the 2005 race. Full details are on the web-site.
Back in Nairobi, our third game was unfortunately rained off half-way through. By now, the boys had settled into their stride and our bowling and fielding against another strong NPCA XI was much improved. Paddy Harman led the attack with an accurate spell with the new ball. That evening, we took the overnight train to Mombassa, where in the stifling heat we played two more games at the beautiful Mombassa Sports Club. Here we were joined by some mums and dads and we recorded our first and only win of the tour against Giggleswick. In between games, the boys relaxed with some aquarobics and a spot of revision beside the hotel pool! We then endured a delayed 18-hour train ride back to Nairobi - an experience none of us will ever forget - for our final game at the Nairobi Club. David Waters, who had organised the Kenya end of our tour, led the ‘Kenya Kongonis’ and opened the batting for them. Ironically, he lost his wicket to the bowling of his son Seren! A fantastic two weeks for everyone had succeeded in raising standards and cricketing expectations for the coming season; provided an unforgettable experience in a truly beautiful country; and produced lots of laughs and many happy memories. Peter Kemp
CCF Easter Camp This year the School contingent went to Harlech in North Wales for their annual Adventure Training camp. We were based, as usual, at Fridd Farm in bunk-house-style accommodation. We were blessed with excellent weather and were able to enjoy a mixed programme of training, including a walk up Tryfan and the Glyders, climbing and abseiling at Tremadog, mountain biking, a two-day expedition in the Rhinnogs, go-karting, quad biking and a visit to Harlech castle to study the military architecture. A great time was had by all participants. New skills were learnt and old ones were put into practice. Some hard training was done, providing challenges for everyone involved. Simon Young (Capt.), Contingent Command
Classics Trip to Greece 2007 After an early morning flight on the final day of the Lent term, our group of 39 LVth Classical Civilisation and Latin students and five members of staff arrived in Athens to blue skies and took the funicular to the top of Lykavittos Hill, the highest point in the city. From there we enjoyed the spectacular panorama, including the Acropolis, the 1896 Olympic stadium, and the Aegean sea in the distance, where the course of European history was changed forever after the Athenian-led victory at the battle of Salamis! Other highlights of the trip included: the Acropolis, both the glory of its buildings and views, and the sculptural treasures in its museum; the theatre of Dionysus, the birthplace of western drama; the beautiful Hosios Loukas monastery, dramatically perched on the mountainside; the site of the oracle at Delphi; Olympia,; the spectacular theatre in the hillside at Epidauros with its extraordinary acoustics; and the dramatic hilltop site of Mycenae, the ruined palace of Agamemnon who led the Greeks to Troy over three millennia ago. On our way north towards the airport we also stopped to admire the impressive Corinth canal before our final stop, the wonderful cliff-top temple of Poseidon at Sounion with its fabulous views out to sea and along the rugged coastline. The pupils were excellent company throughout and proved to be a very friendly and good-humoured group indeed. All in all this was a very enjoyable trip which we hope brought vividly to life the history and culture of the ancient Greeks and provided a memorable, educational experience to all who came. My thanks go to my four colleagues who joined me to lead this Easter holiday trip. Harry Ingham Editor: PETER LONGSHAW - Photography: STEPHEN OWEN - Design and Typesetting: JOHN SANDFORD