Issuu

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DECEMBER 2019

The Old Felstedian

The GLOBAL Issue

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2019-20 President Brian Lott OBE (a56-62) Chairman Michael Yeatts (e76-81) Hon Secretary Julian Scofield (d88-93) Hon Treasurer James Willington (fb82-92) For full details please visit felsted.org/OldFelstedianSociety1

Please send your articles and OF News to: Felstedian Liaison Manager Selina Joslin ofs@felsted.org

9 CONTENTS

4 6 7 8 9 10 12 14 16

18 Front cover The Global Issue is devoted to Felsted's internationalism, featuring stories of those living and working overseas, as well as those in the UK.

18 20 21 22 24 26 28

Noted & Quoted OF News and Events Births, Graduations and Weddings Plastic pollution warriors Three OFs’ World Run challenge Headmaster’s Interview Inside Instagram with Sian Townsend Vegan evangelist Lynn Ahn on her mission BBC summer ﬁlming project at Felsted Summer school success New advice service at the Ascension church Felsted Network and Development Ofﬁce news Faces and Places Obituaries Sport news OF shoots his way to Olympics

100% Compostable wrapper! The OF Society has moved away from polythene wrapping to a more environmentally-friendly potato starch film which is compostable.

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FROM THE EDITOR

Felsted’s growing international appeal prompts ﬁrst Global Issue Things have been changing at Felsted over the last 10 years or so. Some of you who regularly read the annual edition of The Old Felstedian will almost certainly have noticed regular references to the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) or the association called the Round Square, designed for international schools. Felsted over the past decade has become more outwardly international. It has always had international appeal, but the introduction of the IB and the drive to network and participate with other international schools through the Round Square, has certainly enhanced that. When I interviewed headmaster Chris Townsend, he said that a global outlook was an integral part of the school’s culture and approach now, and that wasn’t just about appealing to international students, but inculcating a global philosophy and outlook throughout the student body, including its domestic pupils. And so, with this change in mind, we have devoted an issue to Felsted’s internationalism, calling it the “Global Issue”. In some ways it is ironic to be doing this now when the world seems to be taking a step back from its drive towards global integration. However, we should be wary of being trapped into generational thinking. When I put that same question to the headmaster, he responded that he had asked his senior prefects and received a most insightful response. Please read the interview on page 10 to find out more. I feel now is not the time to turn our back on the younger generation, even if we may or may not be in the EU by the time we write next year’s magazine. The youth of today want an outward looking country that works towards and fully participates in global solutions. If you want evidence of this then look no further than page 8 where OF Sophie Dorothe

Editor: Joel Garner email: jamespetergarner@gmail.com Contributing Editor: Selina Joslin OF Office, Felsted School, Felsted, Essex CM6 3LL Telephone: 01371 822645 email: ofs@felsted.org Design: Roberta Rees Telephone: 01842 814083 Print Production: Kingfisher Press, 6 Olding Road, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds IP33 3TA Telephone: 01284 748210 • kingfisher-press.com Visit the Old Felstedian website at felsted.org/ofs

Lieke is midway through a global mission to discover and create a network of local solutions to the global plastic pollution problem that is having a serious impact on the world’s oceans. Lieke and her friend are blogging and vlogging their way around 14 countries to educate, highlight and create a network of local solutions that could be applied on a wider scale. Undaunted by the scale of the problem, I admire her breadth of vision, goals and unrestrained ambition. I hope our news feature enlightens OFs to her quest and in some way helps her plans to combat this global tragedy. As it’s a global issue, we have also tried to focus our features on OFs working and living overseas. I was touched to write that the wonderful teaching and wit of Henry Maitland had inspired Sian Townsend’s wanderlust and to discover where that had taken her. On page 12 she tells us all about her life and career on the amazing west coast of the United States where she is research manager for social media mega platform Instagram. It’s a great tale in following your dreams and you never know where they may take you. As is the feature that follows on page 14, when Lynn Ahn’s devotion to veganism and plant-based cuisine is trying to change South Korea’s attitudes towards its food. With her fabulous restaurant Soseek and her appearances in South Korea’s national media, she hopes to do so, and in her article we discover more about the philosophy behind her food and what that means. Keeping up the international theme is this year’s staff profile, where Selina Joslin speaks with the man behind Felsted’s phenomenally successful international summer school. It is wonderful to learn more about Daniel Emmerson and his role. Finally, we should all be proud that Matt Coward-Holley will be shooting for Great Britain in the Olympic Games in Tokyo next summer. Good luck Matt, I am sure that all OFs are fully behind you and will be eagerly following your progress.

It was with sadness as I started writing and editing this year’s issue that my father passed away. When giving his eulogy I was minded to mention the many fabulous times we shared around cricket, no more so than my first ever international tour to Australia with Felsted in 1989/1990. I know he had many, many happy memories of that tour on which he became an integral part of a terrible trio of solo travellers, including Gordon Barker and Peter Rawlinson, both of whom are sadly no longer with us. It’s relevance in noting it, is I feel, due to Felsted’s global ambitions. I believe ours was only the school’s second cricket tour to Australia and in those days these were bold and expensive trips to run, but thankfully the school had the desire to do it. I will always remain thankful of Felsted’s wish to encourage these opportunities and for that tour, which I shared with my father and many other Felsted friends. On that note, I hope I get to catch up with some of these friends in 2020 at the biennial OF dinner in London, which will be celebrating 50 years of co-education at Felsted. More details can be found on page 6, but the dinner is a wonderful opportunity for OFs to keep in touch with their friends and the school. To close, I’d like to wish you happy reading, best wishes for the festive period and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Joel Garner (b85-90), Editor 3

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“noted – a round up of OFs in the news &quoted” Rix breaks Atlantic rowing record OF Jemma Rix (g02-07) and her rowing partner Lauren Woodwiss broke the world record for the fastest female pair to row the Atlantic. Starting in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in December 2018, the pair completed the crossing in early February 2019 in just 50 days, five hours and 53 minutes, beating the previous record by one hour. The team, named Whale of a Time, was coached both on and off the water by Rannoch Adventure, which is co-founded by OFs Charlie Pitcher and Angus Collins. Her boat was also designed and built by Rannoch Adventure. Rix is the fourth OF to have rowed the Atlantic in recent years, the others being Pitcher, Collins and Bella Collins.

Humanitarian overseas service medal for Ebola volunteer Tim Hely (g79-84) has been awarded the Australian Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal in recognition of his voluntary service in 2015 helping victims of the Ebola epidemic in Liberia. Hely spent three months volunteering and oversaw an Ebola Treatment Unit, with the aim to keep victims alive and comfortable until the patient’s immune system was able to defeat the disease. By the end of the three months the outbreak of the disease, which had been the worst for 70 years, was under control.

The Ivors composer awards nominee Jeremy Holland-Smith (d90-95) was nominated for The Ivors Composer Awards 2018 for his work, The Caretaker’s Guide to the Orchestra. The piece was commissioned by the Docklands Sinfonia and leads the audience through an exploration of each family of instruments, culminating in a riproaring, roller-coaster overture – a celebration of all things orchestral. The award ceremony took place at the British Museum, London in December last year.

OF celebrates seventy years of marriage Tony Fasey (fb33-42) and his wife Hazel celebrated an incredible 70 years of marriage on 27 September. The school was privileged to welcome the couple back to Felsted as part of their special day celebrating their platinum wedding anniversary.

Whipsnade Zoo vet publishes autobiography Adrian Arnold (fe48-58) has released his autobiography A Veterinary Life which looks back at veterinary practice from the 1960s to the 21st century. Arnold qualified as a vet from Clare College, University of Cambridge, as one of the first two veterinary students the college had accepted. He was a vet for more than

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55 years during which he treated many exotic animals at Whipsnade Zoo, removed a tumour from a dog that was bigger than the patient and was one of the first vets to fully computerise his practice records. During his career he established two veterinary practices, worked with farm livestock and delivered lectures at veterinary conferences. Arnold is now retired and lives in Somerset with his wife Jen.

Finalist at international film music competition Composer Gus Nicholson (fcd06-12), pictured far right with film director Robert Rugan, celebrated success at the International Film Music Competition held at the Zurich Film Festival, making it to the final five out of 321 composers who entered. “Each applicant had to write their own score to the same film, Robert Rugan’s Danny and the Wild Bunch, and the TonhalleOrchester Zurich played each piece from the five finalists (pictured) on the night in sync with the film, which was projected onto a big screen in the concert hall. It was wonderful to hear my music performed by a world class orchestra at such a prestigious event,” he said. A group of international experts selected a winner on the night from the performances.

John Allen’s D-Day sacrifice Felsted commemorated 75 years since D-Day on 6 June, the largest combined land, air and naval operation in history. The anniversary was a chance for Felsted to remember its fallen from that battle. OF Lt John Allen (b37-40) commanded a flail tank in the assault of Sword beach and was killed along with three others when his tank was bombed at the Normandy landing at the tender age of 21. Whilst at Felsted in 1937, aged 13, he wrote a heart-warming letter home to his parents, which now resides in the school archives.

Artist selected for Royal Academy competition George Stewart's (fac13-19) artwork ‘Cliff Haven' was selected for the Royal Academy Young Artist's online exhibition, following a competition entered by thousands of students from around the country.

BAFTA win for documentary Janine Melton (n92-94) won a BAFTA award with her production team for Best Single Documentary for Gun No. 6 in May. “The process of making documentaries can be extremely difficult across many months, but we were a team of people, including our incredible contributors, who felt passionate about raising awareness of gun crime and some of the stories behind it. To then be rewarded with a BAFTA for all that hard work was amazing!"

Rory Hutchinson makes international debut for Scotland OF Rory Hutchinson (fh07-12) made his international debut for Scotland this summer against France following an impressive season with English Premiership Rugby side Northampton Saints. However, he just missed out on a spot in the Scottish squad that went to Japan for the Rugby World Cup this autumn.

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OF SOCIETY NEWS

OF DINNER TO CELEBRATE HALF CENTURY OF CO-ED LIFE AT FELSTED by Joel Garner

OF EVENTS CALENDAR 2020 FEBRUARY

JUNE

OF Golf – Summer meeting at West Sussex Golf Club. Match manager: Oliver Stocken

Annual OF Lodge meeting and lunch, Felsted School

OF Lodge meeting, Freemasons Hall, Great Queen Street, London

MARCH 7

OF Golf – Spring meeting at Aldeburgh Golf Club, Suffolk. Match manager: Tim Hedin

13 Old Felstedian Society Dinner, Grand Connaught Rooms, London, 7pm-midnight 22 Hockey – Felsted Boys 1st XI v Old Felstedians, Felsted, 11.30am

APRIL 1

The Old Felstedian Society’s biennial dinner will be held in London next spring on 13 March at the grade II* listed Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden. The event will mark Felsted’s 50th anniversary of the introduction of girls in 1970. The move to co-education, and subsequently full co-education throughout the whole school, is widely regarded as one of the most influential changes made in the school’s history. President of the OF Society Brian Lott (a56-62) said: “We are looking forward to a bumper attendance this year and it’s a great opportunity for ladies who joined in the sixth form during the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s to reconnect with each other along with those who left Felsted more recently. “Please encourage your friends to make up a table for your year. The event has been organised on a Friday evening to make it easier for people to attend after work and for those travelling from out of town to arrange a weekend in London if they wish.” The venue dates to 1775 and was the original Freemasons’ Tavern before becoming a hotel in 1909 and is handily located a short walk from both Covent Garden and Holborn underground stations.

Tickets are priced at £85/head and £75 for under 30s. Dress is Black Tie and partners are welcome to attend. To book your tickets visit felsted.org/ofdinner20

For more on OF Events see felsted.org/ofs/events

OF Lodge meeting, Freemasons Hall, Great Queen Street, London

14 Cricketer Cup 1st Round, Felsted Robins v Shrewsbury Saracens (A) 19-20 OF Golf – Match v Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club. Match manager: William Doe 20 50th Anniversary Co-Education Festival, Felsted School

JULY

2-5 OF Golf – Halford Hewitt, Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club. Match managers: Phil Graham & Charlie Wilcox

23 Cambridge Network Spring Lunch, The Park Brasserie, Cambridge Regional College, 12pm

9-11

MAY 3

Courtauld Polo Trophy, Silver Leys Polo Club, Little Hadham, Ware,11am

15 OF Concert, BKA, Felsted, 7pm 17 OF Golf – Grafton Morrish qualifier at Gog Magog Golf Club. Match manager: Phil Graham

Cambridge Network Summer Drinks Party, The Fellows’ Garden, Jesus College, University of Cambridge, 5.30pm OF Golf – Mellin, Burles and Millard Trophies at West Hill Golf Club. Match manger: Tim Chetwood

SEPTEMBER 27 OF Golf – Matthews Cup Foursomes Scratch Competition at Thorndon Park Golf Club. Match manager: Phil Graham

OCTOBER 21 OF Lodge meeting, Freemasons Hall, Great Queen Street, London

Further event details will be published nearer to each event and you can visit felsted.org/ofs/events for up-to-date information throughout the year.

Save the date!

50th Anniversary Co-Education Festival Saturday, 20 June 2020 – Felsted School

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OF Announcements Graduations Oliver Balch (h89-94), freelance writer and journalist, celebrated the completion of his PhD in Latin American Studies at the University of Cambridge this summer.

OF NEWS

Sophie Dorothe Lieke (tn13-15) graduated from the University of St Andrews with a first class (hons) degree in Biology and Geography.

Olivia Coote (bn12-14) completed her PGCE at the Institute of Education (UCL) and is now a Psychology teacher at New Hall school in Chelmsford.

Births Alex (fd97-07) and Sarah Wareham are pleased to announce the birth of their son Felix Sebastian, brother to Penelope, on 13 April.

Pedro Scalamandre (ec14-16) graduated from the University of Exeter with first class (hons) in Business and Management and is now studying a graduate degree in Management at University College London. Anastasia May (gn11-16) graduated with a first class (hons) in History of Art at York University this summer. She will be starting an MA Law course at the University of Law in January 2020.

Lauren (b01-03) and James Burrett are delighted to announce the arrival of their daughter Clarice, born on 20 May.

Raffael (h99-01) and Lina Koch, celebrated the birth of their son Tom on 28 July.

Luke (d02-07) and Kate Jones welcomed their daughter Tabitha, sister to Felicity and Jasper on 10 September.

Weddings Alexandra Butler (m09-10) married Robert Mackie on the beach at Layan National Park, Phuket in Thailand on 11 April. Sister Emily and brother Oliver, the current head boy at Felsted, were present to celebrate the occasion.

James Inskip (e00-05) married Jessica Reid on 20 July at St Peter ad Vincula church in Coggeshall followed by a reception at Hedingham Castle. Over 25 OFs attended the day, including best men Stuart Inskip and Henry Cullen. Tori Menhinick (fb97-06) married Andy Menhinick (né Megarry) on 6 April at Felsted School chapel, followed by a reception in Lindsell. Many OFs were present including bridesmaids Stevie Platts (née Menhinick) and Torty Lee. The wedding party included Emmeline Platts (bridesmaid) and Edward Platts (page boy), both pupils at the prep school, along with Tim Platts, brother-in-law to the bride.

Lucy Hilton (fn00-07) married Stuart Coombs on 3 August at St Peter and St Paul church in Bardfield Saling with the reception afterwards held in the village. Felsted friends Francesca Evans (née Seal), Chloe Southey (née Bradbury), Hannah Marsden (née Evans), Sophie Avent, Laura Abbott (née Feldman), Sophie Higgins, Holly Buttleman and Jemma Rix (left to right) attended.

Alexandra (m09-10) and Robert Mackie welcomed their son, Albert on 11 September.

Corin (b85-90) and Holly Greenhow celebrated the birth of their fourth child Montague Ernest Christopher Holmes on 30 July. Montague is a brother for Greta, Margot and Bertie.

Guy Warry (fac05-10) married Katharine Thomas on 6 April at the Royal Navy Training College in Dartmouth. Guy is a Royal Navy officer and the reception was held in the Senior Gun Room. OFs Will Allen, John Mitchell, Lloyd Patternot and Boris White, all from the class of 2010, helped celebrate their special day. Henrike Steffen (b06-11) married Paul Macnamara on 3 August in Leyland. The ceremony was at St Ambrose church followed by a reception at Farington Lodge. Frances Marshall, Henrike’s former housemistress in Stocks’s said grace at the wedding breakfast.

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OF NEWS

PLASTIC POLLUTION WARRIORS EMBARK ON WORLDWIDE TOUR by Joel Garner Old Felstedian Sophie Dorothe Lieke (tn13-15) is midway through a worldwide project showcasing individuals trying to solve plastic pollution across the globe. Lieke, alongside her friend Milly Clover, received a scholarship from the University of St Andrews and a travel scholarship from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, to undertake a nine-month intercontinental project showcasing individuals acting against plastic pollution. The project PLASTIC: Unwrapped aims to find people battling plastic pollution across the world, featuring each initiative in a short documentary-style video on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Aside from producing mini-documentary videos on each of the initiatives they collaborate with, they are hoping that an additional outcome of their project will be to create a network, which others in different countries can learn from. “Plastic bottles for example, are a problem in many different countries,” said Lieke. “Seeing the creative solutions people have come up with will hopefully inspire others to do the same. We hope that PLASTIC:Unwrapped’s legacy will live on through more individuals taking action, assuming global responsibility and doing their part to make a difference.” The two eco-warriors are trekking through 14 countries across the globe. “We have already completed three countries and have 11 more to go. From South America we move onto the African continent before Christmas, followed by Australia and Asia starting in January 2020. We finish in May, back in the UK. “Part of the rationale behind finishing in the UK is that while focusing on internationalism is important and gaining an appreciation for each country’s uniqueness is vital, looking at solutions and individuals close to home is equally crucial. Hence, we also want to emphasise the local too, and not just the global.” Lieke and Clover hope that their project can lead to change. “Essentially, we are trying to build a network where plastic solutions are shared and explored together. The true power of connections, networking and sharing ideas is slowly beginning to unwrap itself to us,” Lieke explains.

So far they have experienced a whole host of emotions. “One thing that we have really found is that yes, one individual cannot just solve the global plastic problem, but what one individual can do, is share their passion and inspire others to act likewise. So yes, despite seeing the remote beaches in the Galápagos covered by micro plastic, we are positive that there are individuals all around the world who are doing their best.”

“The scale of the problem cannot be underestimated… its impact on the planet’s wildlife is devastating…” The pair started their global project in September and are aware that a project of this scale, is not exempt from causing pollution itself, particularly carbon emissions from their flights. “In order to counteract this, we are carbon offsetting all our international travel. While travelling, we are trying to do as much of it as we can plastic-free. We never go anywhere without our travel mug, reusable water bottle, our own containers and we even bring our own cutlery, so we don’t have to use single-use ones. We know that we are not perfect, but we are trying our best and are hoping that our output will inspire others to even just consider a few ways they could make their life contain less plastic or get creative in finding solutions to their local problems.” The world woke up to the immense challenge of plastic pollution following Sir David Attenborough’s series ‘Blue Planet II’, which aired in 2017/2018 on the BBC.

The scale of the problem cannot be underestimated; statistics from Surfers against Sewage shows that in 1950, the world’s population of 2.5bn produced 1.5m tons of plastic. By 2016, a global population of over 7bn produced over 320m tons of plastic. Frighteningly, this figure is set to double by 2034. And its impact on the planet’s wildlife is devastating. The same source estimates that 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and 1m sea birds are killed by marine plastic pollution annually. Lieke said her environmental conscientiousness had been nursed from an early age and having the privilege to study biology and geography at Felsted continued to nurture that passion. She added that taking the International Baccalaureate (IB) at Felsted also helped. “The global plastic problem is undoubtedly an interdisciplinary issue, and that is one aspect that the IB really values and emphasises. That is also the reason why we are looking at how many different people recycle or reuse plastic in different contexts, because there is no one blanket solution, but instead the solutions that people come up with need to be contextually-dependent and appropriate.” Lieke explained that although they have received some funding, they want to spend as little of their sponsorship money on their own lodging but on making more collaborations happen. She explained it would be great if people could support them by hosting them for a night or two or sharing local recommendations. “Having in-country contacts has been so valuable and we truly appreciate it. It would help us if people could follow us and share our story, whether that may be through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or through our website, plasticunwrapped.co.uk or word of mouth. We have been so blessed to have connections and contacts bring us this far, and we would love to see how PLASTIC:Unwrapped can continue to grow, connect and inspire,” said Lieke.

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OF NEWS

OFs to attempt World Run challenge to raise money for mental health by Selina Joslin Four Old Felstedians will attempt to run six marathons in six days on six continents, a challenge known as The World Run in 2020. Chris Balfour (fec05-10), Henry Holme (ec0510), Andrew Ross (fec00-10) and Conor Turner (fec05-10) will attempt the challenge next April. The ultramarathon challenge aims to raise £157,200, that’s £1,000 for every mile they run to help support mental health charity James’ Place, a non-clinical centre for men experiencing suicidal crisis in Liverpool. Balfour, Holme, Ross and Turner have remained friends since their time in Elwyn’s and Windsor’s at Felsted. Turner, who was head of school and is now a doctor in the British Army, explained: “We all had a fantastic time at school and much of our inspiration and drive to undertake physical challenges stems back to experiences we had at Felsted either on field trips, from the teachers or some invited speakers. I particularly remember a talk from the man who cycled around the world unsupported for four years and when the school hosted Sir Ranulph Fiennes.” The World Run is a logistical challenge, which adds significant pressure to the physical demands of each marathon. The team will be attempting to complete 157.2 miles in 144 hours with the help of local running clubs and a specially designed route and flight plan that has little margin for delays. The first marathon kicks off in Sydney, followed by a 15-hour flight to Dubai for the second race where the team will face temperatures exceeding 30 degrees centigrade. The third

Turner and Holme visit Elwyn’s.

One of the biggest challenges will be

recovering from the physical exhaustion of running in hot weather… marathon will be in the dry heat of Cairo, starting just over 10 hours from the finish line in Dubai, then it’s another flight to Rio De Janeiro for race four before heading to Miami for the fifth run. This will then be followed by an overnight flight to London where the team will run the London Marathon on 26 April, when they are encouraging all their friends and OFs to help get them over the final finish line. “One of the biggest challenges will be recovering from the physical exhaustion of running a marathon in hot weather combined with the impact of jet lag,” Turner said.“To help prepare we will build up slowly with long backto-back runs at weekends to help try and stimulate the feeling of being extremely fatigued with the aim of running up to 40 miles a week before the challenge begins.” The group decided to attempt the challenge and raise money for James’ Place, due to the crisis in mental health care in the UK. Turner pointed to the pressures on the National Health Service and added: “In simple terms there is not enough funding in the NHS to support crisis mental health care and you can be on a waiting list to speak to someone for up to six months. Crisis helplines offer vital support, but they cannot give the same level of care as face-to-face therapists within a friendly environment such as James’ Place.”

REPRODUCED COURTESY OF COUNTRY LIFE

“There’s simply not enough funding in the NHS to support crisis mental health care…” combats his depression and improves his mental wellbeing. “It was a huge shock when my father passed away and talking about my feelings became difficult as I didn’t address the topic at the time,” Holme said. “I saw a counsellor and was prescribed antidepressants and it’s been a long journey of personal development since then. Gradually, I found that exercise really helped lift my mood, which started when I joined a cycle-to-work scheme. I now fit exercise into my daily routine and cycle or run to work every day. I enjoy the training, preparation and challenge of endurance events, most recently completing a 100km run along Hadrian’s Wall.” Holme said his personal experience highlighted the need families have for crisis centres like James’ Place.

The group have first-hand knowledge of mental health illnesses. Holme’s father tragically took his own life in 2012 after an ongoing battle with depression and in 2017 Ross’s university friend and mentor ended his life.

“Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people in the UK with a person taking their own life every two hours. We have to be more confident to open up about our mental health by talking to our friends and family about how we really feel,” he added.

Holme has experienced his own mental health journey discovering that exercise

For more information about The World Run visit theworldrun2020.com

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HEADMASTER’S INTERVIEW

Global Felsted is not for turning inward says outward looking headmaster International students are much more commonplace at Felsted these days as is a global outlook. Chris Townsend explains the school’s ethos and desire to maintain its international dimension. Joel Garner reports Felsted is almost certainly a more internationally focused school than it used to be 20 or 30 years ago. The world is shrinking, in the time it takes to communicate and travel, and it has never been easier to study or work abroad. Headmaster Chris Townsend thinks the change is good for the school and he is keen to enhance and protect its international appeal. “I prefer to use the word global,” he adds. “One of the dangers of the word international is that it can be seen to belong to somebody else. One of the key things at Felsted is that everyone in the school is engaging in the world, not just students who happen to live overseas. We aim to get UK domestic students to think globally and engage with different cultures, think about different ways of life and prepare themselves for life after school which will almost certainly be a more global experience than it was for previous generations.” He says that when he joined the school just over nine years ago there was a “good global feel” but he has seen that grow further. The big shift came before Townsend’s time with the introduction of the International Baccalaureate (IB) 12 years ago. This has really opened the school up to international students seeking a globally recognised qualification and senior education in a recognised and respected English private school.

He says that there are tremendous cultural benefits from the dual sixth form curriculum and there would have to be “very, very strong reasons for not offering it”. “If it was in danger we would fight as hard as we could to retain it because it provides so much value to the students,” he adds. “It is a properly global qualification and exists outside any government. That means there’s greater stability in terms of what it looks like and the IB is highly respected by universities around the world. Different countries seek to favour their own domestic qualifications, but if you are looking at studying in the US or Canada, Europe or elsewhere, it carries great weight. It is probably not as well-known as it should be by employers in the UK, but most universities are fully aware of its benefits,” he adds. The IB with its wider international appeal has led to more OFs continuing their studies after Felsted overseas. Townsend says those studying in the US increases every year, but it’s still no more than 5 to 10 percent of leavers.

“Certainly, we feel that the IB gives those students who are – and even those who are not taking it – the benefit of the global aspect of the education.”

Townsend says a new trend has developed in the last few years with students opting to sit degree courses in Europe that are taught in English. He cites the example of the Netherlands where the courses are cheaper, standards are improving and in terms of location, it can be as quick to get to from the east of England as it can be to get to Newcastle or Leeds.

There are plusses and minuses to offering both the IB and the English A Level curriculum. “Yes, it is financially beneficial to have full boarding school fees from international students taking the IB, but we have to run a separate IB programme and that isn’t cheap at

“The added benefit is that you can run a submission alongside applying for UK universities without it impacting on your UK application.”

“It has definitely made Felsted more appealing to international students and it is a sign that we are outward looking and globally minded.” He adds that when it was introduced at Felsted there were a few other IB programmes popping up at various schools around the region, but some of these have since fallen by the wayside.

all. It is like running a dual economy and the governors keep a keen eye on that, especially in the current economic climate.”

“It’s now even more important to develop young people who are outward looking and globally focused…” A global school is not built just around the curriculum and the IB though, it is also about the culture and this is where the school has really changed. “Education is one way of delivering a more outward looking approach, but it’s also living and breathing with people from different backgrounds and life experiences; making friends with people from other countries; and welcoming in students from overseas or pupils on exchanges. All of this gives a richness to life at school,” Townsend adds. But isn’t this outward looking approach suddenly out of step with the new world order? Donald Trump’s America first policy, the UK’s decision to leave the European Union and the rise of nationalism and populism, all signal a more insular inward-looking world. “It is a really interesting area,” says Townsend. “I asked the prefects this question and got a far better answer than I could give.” One international student from Singapore, who has studied in international schools all her life, said that although politicians are becoming more inward looking, young people aren’t. “I couldn’t have put it better and my answer is that it’s now even more important to

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OF NEWS develop young people who are outward looking and globally focused. Whether we are in the EU or not we will have to work with global partners. I think it is counter-intuitive to become more inward looking. It is imperative for the school to be outward looking when facing a world that, for the time being, is in danger of becoming more insular,” he says. What has grown with the school’s membership of the global Round Square organisation is the networking opportunities it gives around the world. It offers students individual opportunities in the form of exchanges, conferences and community service projects. Townsend says it also gives us reach into other communities, cultures and credibility on the global stage. “It’s a statement that we are looking across the world and not just inwardly at ourselves.” Yes, the school has many more trips and tours abroad now than before, but Townsend adds these aren’t without scrutiny. “We had a discussion with parents about whether we are travelling too far and too frequently and that the trips may be conflicting with our environmental commitments. “So we are putting in place checks and measures, so if we are travelling a long way the value of the trip must outweigh the potential downside and environmental impact.” Felsted’s international nature has not gone unrecognised with the school being reaccredited with The British Council’s International School Award, which encourages and supports schools to develop an international ethos, which is embedded throughout the school. The award praised Felsted’s early years programme including an ‘are we nearly there yet’ immersive travel experience where young children ‘fly’ to another country, designing their boarding passes, learning about the history and culture of the country and sampling their food.

OF THESPIANS ENCOURAGED TO GET ON BOARD WITH THRIVING SOCIETY Another alumni network is reporting good health according to its organiser, former Felsted teacher Charles Lee. Joel Garner reports The Old Felstedian Thespian network group is thriving, giving OFs who took part in school drama productions the opportunity to reconnect with friends and join a range of social events and other activities organised throughout the year. The events are deliberately wide ranging, said former head of drama Charles Lee. “We recently got together in London to take part in an Escape Room challenge which proved extremely popular and we also went to see Britney Spears in concert at the O2 arena.” Lee said that there were more cerebral outings as well, including a day trip to Ypres to visit the First World War battlefields. “Rather than simply follow the WW1 tourist trail beloved of so many school groups, we decided instead to try to get away from the numerous school parties and to seek out more remote and seldom visited locations and private museums,” he added. “Traipsing across the recently ploughed fields, we even came across several unexploded shells and found numerous bullet cases and shrapnel balls.” More recently the group shared a weekend in Amsterdam. “This included a wonderful bike ride around the city to visit the many sites associated with Anne Frank,” Lee said.

The British Council also recognised Felsted’s Model United Nations conference hosted annually for senior students and the opportunities for older pupils to travel abroad and the option of studying the IB instead of A levels. “The younger ones are much less likely to travel abroad,” says Townsend. “But they can start to understand the world and different cultures by using things like Skype to interact with global schools and the early introduction of language learning. So, there are lots of things that young children can be engaged with and this can normalise a global outlook on the world.”

“Felsted School ran a production of ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ in 1998 and we were delighted to be able to meet up again with Jacqueline Sanders van Maarsen and her husband Ruud,” added Lee. Jacqueline, called Jopie by Anne in ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’, was Anne’s best friend at school and had flown to the UK in 1998 to attend the Felsted production, said Lee.

As they grow up, there are more opportunities, such as junior conferences abroad right up to the Model United Nations hosted at Felsted every year to think about global, political and environmental issues. “I think it is really important that when we take children overseas that it’s broader than the central aim,” adds Townsend. “It’s not just about sport, history or charity, but also about the culture and meeting people so the students can grasp themselves how things are different.”

Joel Caplin (fc91-99), Jacqueline Sanders van Maarsen, Ruud Sanders, Emma King (née Bradley, b96-01).

OFs who would like to receive information about forthcoming activities are invited to join its WhatsApp group. To do so please contact the OF Office – ofs@felsted.org.

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FEATURE

Maitland’s legacy inspired OF’s wanderlust and global outlook OF Sian Townsend (n92-94) has a wonderful job at one of the biggest tech companies in the world. Joel Garner talks to her about her job, living abroad and her inspiration If you asked anyone working in information technology what their dream job is then working at Facebook or Instagram would probably be right up there. Both are still relatively new kids on the technology block. Instagram will celebrate its 10th birthday next October and Facebook is already 15 years old but compared with the likes of Microsoft and Apple (both over 40), they are just teenagers.

She joined Instagram in March 2018 to build a new team of researchers that is focused on the platform’s core features of ‘stories’, ‘feed’, ‘camera’, ‘profile’ and augmented reality camera filters.

I was curious about the world and wanted to travel. I credit a lot of that curiosity to Henry Maitland… what to build next and how best to design them,” she adds.

She explains that it is the role of research to shine a light on future strategic opportunities, based on the human needs they uncover in their research.

A typical day involves product review meetings with the leadership team to review strategy or new product features in development and give the teams feedback on their plans or product design. Townsend may then have some one-to-one meetings with some of her team members to understand their latest research insights and help them solve problems, as well as meetings about projects that span all the products in the Facebook Inc family, such as Messenger, WhatsApp and Facebook.

“We work to ensure teams have the research insights they need to make decisions about

“A big part of my job is helping my team be as successful as possible and connecting the

“It’s been incredibly fun to build a team of world class researchers and help design the future of Instagram,” she says.

She says she was inspired, like so many of us, by the wonderful geography teaching of the late Henry Maitland. “I took a gap year as I was curious about the world and wanted to travel. I credit a lot of that curiosity to Henry,” says Townsend.

Her curiosity in the world was also sparked by her parents. Before Felsted, Townsend grew up in Hampshire with her younger sister Anna and each year the family would go on an adventure. “We never went on beach holidays, instead we went white water rafting in the Austrian alps, visited hilltop towns in Tuscany, and conger eel fishing at night in Cornwall. Looking back, that also played a big role in my appetite for travel,” she adds.

Felsted can be proud that it is an OF, Sian Townsend, who is on top of this in her role as research manager at Instagram.

“As you can imagine, that’s a challenging task but it’s also what makes our work so interesting,” Townsend adds.

To have both Google and Instagram on her resumé already must be a great fillip, although Townsend’s route to Silicon Valley’s finest wasn’t a direct path after leaving Felsted in 1994.

She spent her gap year working in Germany improving her language skills and then taught English in Nanjing, China. “I had around 1,300 students across two schools and I had no translator, no photocopier, or any books. That experience taught me a great deal about being self-reliant, creative and scrappy. These skills that helped me be successful at various tech start-ups later in life. It also gave me an appetite for living abroad.”

In the fast-moving world of technology, it is often a big advantage to be young and nimble, but Instagram’s phenomenal growth to over a billion users worldwide is rapid and keeping on top of what its users’ needs and demands are must be an incredibly challenging task.

“Our billion users have different needs, languages, cultures and expectations when it comes to the content they want to see on Instagram and what they feel comfortable sharing about their life with others. The user research team at Instagram is responsible for understanding their needs via international research, and then working with the product team to identify new opportunities or ways to evolve our products so they meet people’s needs.

dots between a huge amount of fast-moving information. Tech companies pride themselves on moving very fast and Instagram is by far the fastest moving I’ve worked at.” she adds.

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FEATURE Fast forward a few years and Townsend was living in London and had developed an interest in the intersection of technology and human psychology. “I studied for an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction at University College London, which led to a career as a user researcher, specialising in mobile phones. I was fascinated by how rapidly mobile phones were changing in the early 2000s, and the design challenge of how to make them user friendly." In 2007, Townsend was appointed Google’s first user researcher dedicated to mobile search, based at Google’s office in London. In 2010, she took a transfer to Google HQ in California, USA. “Since then, nine years have passed and I’m now working at Instagram. I married an American, have two step-children and now California feels like home,” she adds. However, she didn’t find the move to the States as easy as she expected. “I spent at least six months feeling confused, particularly about American healthcare and the immigration system which is full of acronyms and unclear processes. I missed the UK a lot, particularly family and friends, but after about six months it started to get a lot easier,” she says. “Having an American boyfriend (now my husband) helped me understand cultural differences and American English faster than if I’d been on my own.”

Focus on the things you like about the new place rather than obsessing on what you miss… The pair have spent much time discussing the differences in British/American English and how things get lost in translation. British English, she says is much more precise and has words for everything. Despite the differences between American and British English, Townsend is lucky to have moved to such as beautiful part of the world, something she says she was unaware of until she had moved there and started to explore. “Highlights for me have been Yosemite National Park, the dramatic coastline of Big Sur, the redwood forests of Mendocino and Lake Tahoe.” Currently, she is enjoying sailing on San Francisco bay. “It’s a challenging place to sail with strong currents, rapidly changing conditions and a lot of obstacles like shipping tankers to avoid but the view of the city and the Golden Gate bridge from the water is spectacular.”

When it comes to having an international outlook and the opportunities of working and living abroad, Townsend has some good advice for any OFs thinking about taking the plunge. “Expect the first few months to feel a bit strange. After that, it’ll get easier! Be open minded, try to meet people, try things you wouldn’t have done at home, focus on what you like about the new place rather than obsessing on what you miss. I’d also encourage current students at Felsted to spend time talking to their classmates from other countries to understand what their experience was like when they first moved to the UK. I imagine those conversations will help them prepare for their own overseas adventure.” She says there’s a consensus amongst her fellow immigrant friends in San Francisco that the hardest part is being so far away from friends and family in your home country. And the key to having a fun and successful time abroad is appreciating what you have in your current country and not constantly comparing that with your home country. “I also think it’s essential to find local friends and not live in a bubble with other foreigners. What’s the point of moving halfway around the world and not getting to know local people?” It probably also helps to have a challenging and rewarding job at such a fast-moving tech company. I ask Townsend what the Instagram office in San Francisco is like? “It is beautifully designed with a 360-degree view of the city and the bay,” she says. “It’s very Instagrammable as you would expect. There are multiple cafés with free restaurant

quality food and the office is decorated with a collection of books on photography and design. We have an amazing art program that aims to bring the work of local artists into the office. There’s even an art studio called the “analogue research lab” where you can make your own art and take classes. It’s definitely a nice place to work.” Casting her mind back to the 1990s, she remembers her time in Garnetts fondly. She was a prefect, scholar and played first team hockey. “We were encouraged to do a huge amount: academic work, sports, extracurricular activities and socialising,” she said. “I learned a lot about how to structure my own time so you can squeeze all these things in, which set me up for success at University and in my career. I’m also grateful for the sense of independence that I developed at Felsted. That gave me the confidence necessary to live and work in multiple countries around the world.” Her strongest memories are of the many friendships she created at Felsted and walking around the school in “all weathers carrying giant folders” and “eating huge amounts of toast in the house kitchens at breaktime” and hanging out in the beautiful old Bury farmhouse. As for her inspiration to explore beyond the UK, she again refers to the huge impact that Henry Maitland had on her. “I have backpacked all over the world and I am so grateful to him for inspiring me to do that with his stories of the lost city of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and lions sniffing around his tent at night in the Maasai Mara.”

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FEATURE

Vegan evangelist seeks to change eating habits in South Korea Talented chef OF Lynn Ahn (bn10-12) opens her ﬁrst plant-based restaurant in South Korea as she aims to change attitudes to veganism in her homeland. Joel Garner reports

Ahn is fast becoming a household name in South Korea with her mission to spread awareness of veganism in her home country, which is less known than it is in the west.

“A common stereotype is that vegan food is all about salad and is not delicious,” Ahn says. “I want to make vegan cuisine more accessible and get people to know how tasty vegan food can be.” Ahn is head chef at her restaurant and is often invited onto TV shows and seminars to talk about her vegan life. Recently, she started a food business making vegan cheese and butter and expects a prototype to be available this December. It seems a far cry from her career path that was heading towards medicine when she left Felsted in 2012, although her strong Buddhist beliefs meant she has always seen a strong connection between food, mental and physical health and wellbeing. Her degree at the University of Edinburgh was in biomedical sciences, which she followed up with a MSc in spirituality, theology and health at Durham University. During her MSc she undertook research into how consumption of certain food stimulates your gut/brain axis and in turn, affects your mental health. “My initial interest in food came from my own dietary needs,” Ahn explains. “Since I was young, I had lactose intolerance and skin troubles whenever I ate meat.”

“I learnt many culinary techniques and the art of plating,” she adds. “I really enjoyed working in Joia. The work itself wasn’t particularly difficult but the hours were long, beginning in the morning with preps and ending late in the evening.” She adds that as it was a vegan restaurant she did not have to touch any non-vegan ingredients, something she appreciated. This was not the case at the three-starred Pavillon Ledoyen. “Although I had told them I was vegan, it did not stop them from making me peel off chicken skin or kill lobsters. After all, I was there to do such chores,” she concedes. Hours upon hours of handling meat and fish often made her question whether she was doing the right thing. But she said it was worth it in the end as she learnt so much by observing and hearing how such a recognised kitchen works.

Secular temptation, rabbits’ temple, insider’s noodles and temple intoxication. Intriguing names that give little away, particularly when you learn that they are the names of some of the best-selling dishes at Ahn’s vegan restaurant in Seoul, South Korea called Soseek.

“Unlike the west, vegan options are not readily available in South Korea and naturally, people know little about vegans’ dietary requirements.” This means there are many stereotypes and preconceptions that need to be challenged and changed, she adds.

three-Michelin-star Pavillon Ledoyen, both in Paris.

Following her training and then fast forward to August last year, suddenly Ahn is opening her first vegan restaurant ‘Soseek’, with the help of some like-minded friends. This meant she preferred a plant-based diet and while undertaking her studies she learnt more about how the food we consume affects our body and mind.

“A friend of mine suggested that I open a popup restaurant in Seoul for a month, which is the current location of Soseek. It seemed a fun idea, becoming a head chef and running my own restaurant.”

Often we choose our food because it’s cheap, fast and tasty… we must be more discerning…

But she was just about to embark on a working holiday to Melbourne and had got her visa and tickets ready. However, when the pop-up restaurant was so well received she decided to stay and set up Soseek. “I always hoped to open my own place, but honestly didn’t think it would be this fast,” she adds.

“One day I watched a documentary about how farm animals are bred and processed before coming to our table. This was a turning point for me becoming a vegan. I came back to South Korea after completing my masters and became a vegan activist and later a vegan cook inspired to make veganism easier for people in South Korea.” On the way to becoming head chef in her own restaurant she has undertaken professional training in plant-based food at Los Angeles culinary institution Plantlab, which specializes in plant-based raw food. After this training, she travelled to Europe to work in Michelin-starred restaurants to hone her skills. “After knocking on about a hundred backdoors to the kitchens, I got opportunities to work in three of them. The one-Michelinstar vegan restaurant Joia in Milan, and the one-Michelin-star restaurant Nomicos and

Soseek comes from a term used in the Chosun dynasty in Korea meaning vegetarian diet. “It’s also a homonym for ‘small meal’ and ‘happy meal’ which beautifully explains how I think we should consume food.” The restaurant reinterprets the time-honoured tradition of Korean temple food, which focuses on the appreciation of what we eat and preserving life. Relying heavily on the wild greens of the Korean peninsula, it continues the spirit of Zen Buddhist cuisine while giving a modern touch from the western-style techniques and plating Ahn learnt whilst abroad. It’s a fairly new style of cuisine in South Korea with only one in 10 restaurants having vegan options, with even fewer specialising in plant-based food. Ironically, traditional Korean cuisine has lots of vegetarian dishes, but most people think that meat and seafood is better value for money.

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FEATURE “Often, we choose our food because it is cheap, fast and tasty. But as a person who learnt how the consumption of food affects our body and mind, I know we must be more discerning and can only do so when we pay attention to how our food arrives at our table.” Happiness and spirituality are intrinsically entwined with food, she says and how it is grown and prepared, as well as how it tastes. “I believe emotions can be passed onto the food we eat,” Ahn explains. “Unhappy animals, unhappy farmers, unhappy cooks are more bound to make food that makes us unhappy. For us to be really happy in our life, we need to live in accordance with our beliefs and virtues.” She says she felt uncomfortable about how farm animals were reared and some mass farming techniques, which meant she could only achieve true happiness if she chose to be a vegan.

There’s no doubt that Ahn’s restaurant combines east and west, that her broad western education combined with her deep eastern spiritualism and Buddist philosophy have produced this wonderful harmony that is embodied in Soseek. Her time at Felsted was her first step at balancing some of those elements. “I wanted to have a more holistic learning experience and South Korean schools tend to focus on academic results and are very competitive,” she says. “I did not like this, so my brother and I decided to move to the UK and in search of the right school we found Felsted and thought it was a good fit for us.”

approach to food gives different experiences. Some people think it makes them happier, others that it gives them a better dining experience, but for Ahn it’s a basic courtesy to show appreciation for what we eat and the people who have prepared that food for us. Soseek has a range of plant-based dishes that honour Korean Temple food. Ahn’s favourite is secular temptation, which is a plant-based steak dish in Korean BBQ style. The name was given to the dish because it contains onions, garlic, chives and leek, which are the pungent vegetables avoided in traditional Korean temple food. For Ahn this dish strikes at the very essence of what she is trying to achieve in her restaurant. “Eating temple or vegan food should not be difficult. It’s not about living an abstemious life but discovering a point where you can live your faith and sustain the many temptations in life. Our restaurant tries to make this easier,” she adds.

She says she had a good time at the school, studied hard and can now reap the benefits of having an international education. “We live in a world where borders are no longer that much of an issue and people are free to travel to most parts of it. It’s important for people to have a global outlook. It is not only about knowledge but also about our way of thinking and views of the world. You can only achieve this by experience and mingling and mixing. I think it is important to do this as students because once you grow older, it is far harder to change your belief system.” And there you have it. That is the importance of globalism in a nutshell. The ability to absorb, experience, be deferential to another culture, religion, cuisine and society. This allows us as human beings to be better people, more tolerant, more accepting, respectful and less judgmental. Values that are surely worth striving for.

“Happiness and spirituality are intrinsically entwined with food…”

She explains the theology and philosophy behind her cuisine: “Buddhism prohibits killing, both humans and animals.” Hence, the cuisine is always vegan and has that short supply chain of farm to table, because temples are usually in the mountains and they have a small farm of their own. Buddhism, she explains is also about the cycle of life, birth, death and rebirth. “Eating should come with an appreciation and celebration of life and be considered a spiritual practice. That is basically another description of mindful eating.” She says this

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FEATURE © OUR SCHOOL SUMMER CAMP, BBC

Filming at Felsted brings back memories for OF Marson Richard Marson (d79-82) headed back to Felsted this summer as executive producer for a new BBC series. In this article he recounts the experience of returning to his old school and what this meant to him There are those who advise that in life it is rarely a good idea to go back. Then again, received wisdom has it that you should also never work with children or animals and during the long course of my television career, I’ve broken that rule many times and never regretted it. So, having left Felsted long ago in the summer of 1982, how did I find myself back there, boarding once more?

to all the various activities and challenges planned. Naturally, we considered other schools too, and it was a competitive field. But in the end, the list was narrowed to a choice between Felsted and one other. It was Felsted’s superior accommodation which won the day. As well as the students, most of the production team would be staying on site for the two-week shoot, and they had to be comfortable. Everyone was housed in Follyfield and this turned out to be a great success, practical but also allowing everyone to bond quickly. Almost all the children had never been away from home before. We were also taking away their phones and Internet access, not to be mean, but because we wanted them to fully engage with the activities and with each other. Inevitably, there were grumbles and one student couldn’t overcome his homesickness, leaving after three days, but overall it worked.

I’ve been in TV since I left Durham University in the summer of 1987. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to work on such diverse and interesting programmes as Top of the Pops, The Paul Daniels Magic Show, Wogan and Record Breakers. I spent a decade on Blue Peter, with four years as the show’s editor. More recently, as executive producer I’ve overseen CBBC’s highly popular fly-on-thewall documentary series, Our School. Every year since 2013, we’ve based ourselves at a different comprehensive school somewhere in the UK and followed students in years seven and eight as they navigate life in secondary school.

“It’s like Hogwarts!” …some were incredulous that this was a real school and not a special ﬁlm location

Last year the BBC decided that as Our School was such a success, they wanted a spin-off. The result is Our School Summer Camp, in which we returned to three of the previous schools we filmed and selected 24 students, aged between 11 and 17, to attend a special summer camp in a boarding school in the heart of the English countryside. And that is where Felsted came in. As soon as we decided on a boarding school setting, I thought Felsted could be perfect and not just because I went there. We needed a school which had an imposing aspect and would look good ‘on camera’ but which had also evolved to include state-of-theart facilities and the range of different spaces, indoor and out, which we needed as backdrop

As well as conventional filming methods, we also make use of the same ‘rig’ technology used to shoot shows like 24 Hours in A&E and One Born Every Minute, dotting remotecontrolled cameras all over the school and capturing life exactly as it unfolds. Frequently eye-opening, sometimes eye-watering. We shoot for six months, generating hundreds of hours of footage, which is painstakingly edited down into 22 programmes.

It was fascinating to watch initially reluctant urban streetwise kids relax and surrender to the delights of finding out how to camp outdoors or undergoing a rigorous boot camp. One boy learnt to swim and his struggle and sudden success were very moving. The winner of the most recent Apprentice came in to coach the older students on how to present themselves in the competitive job market which looms once they leave school. There were encounters with exotic animals, opportunities to face fears, to express their creativity (including drawing, pottery and make-overs) and lots of fun physical activities and games, including a treasure hunt which took them all over the site and a tense ‘Escape Room’ challenge. None of the children had ever been anywhere remotely like Felsted and at first some were frankly incredulous that this was a real school and not a special film location. “It’s like Hogwarts!” said one Sheffield lad on arriving in front of School House. Another took in the cricket being played on the lawn and asked: “Is that a special posh kind of sport, then?” Once the campers found out that I was an old boy, they bombarded me with questions. “What was it like then? Is it the same? Did the teachers hit you?” I regaled them with my tales of being a NIP (non-important person) in my first term and having to pass the infamous NIPs’ test, which meant knowing all the masters’ nicknames, the

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FEATURE Our final day was one of hard blue skies and bright sunshine, the weather of happy memories. During my drive home I was lost in thought, reflecting on what had been a sometimes poignant, but none the less enormously satisfying and evocative experience.

n Our School Summer Camp has been recommissioned by the BBC for a second series in 2020.

Richard Marson with fellow members of Mont’s House, 1979.

names of all the classrooms and the fastest routes around the school. Stories of sleeping in the ‘long dorm’, the rows of cast iron beds with lumpy mattresses either side of the room, of being ‘junior man’ and doing jobs for the prefects. If you got on the wrong side of the prefects – I was what was called a bucky NIP so this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence – then they might punish you with ‘sides of green’ to write, or condemn you to a cold shower first thing in the morning. Character forming stuff. They lapped all this up. But I also told them about the spirit of independence, which was nurtured, the ability to find your own place and people, and the privilege of being schooled in such a beautiful location, not to mention the distinctive and memorable character of some of the masters. There was unforgettable English teaching from Mark Floyer and Alastair Grierson Rickford, who encouraged us to articulate our thoughts, feelings and imagination. And I recall the thrill of history brought alive by the ever-witty Ronnie Osborne. “Gentleman,” he might open a lesson in his characteristically languid fashion, “Bismark’s foreign policy was a load of old Balkans. Discuss”. It was at Felsted that I discovered and nurtured my vocation to work in television. Pre-Internet and mobile phone, it was a much more immersive place than it is today, because for much of the time you were truly cut off from the rest of the world. It was undeniably strange to be back, to see what has changed and what has remained uncannily similar. During one break in filming I managed to wander the corridors of School House and was surprised to see how much of the layout was still recognisable. The JR, our Junior Room, looked almost as I remembered it and I felt the echo of all those nightly hours of prep. The dining hall is now the Sixth Form Centre, and the Shanks (a dismal row of

unprepossessing toilets) has been transformed into the Wellness Centre, where students can access counselling services or try Pilates. Now that’s got to be the definition of karma, right? The ghost of my 14-year-old self is frankly jealous of the coffee shop and the whole site is peppered with other signs of change and progress. But what struck me most was the unchanging beauty of Felsted, especially early in the morning and as the sun was setting at night. A stark contrast to the usual surroundings of the children we had brought here from Middlesbrough, Birmingham and Sheffield. By the time the shoot finished, many new friendships had been made, and there were tears and fierce hugs as the students from the three different schools bade their farewells. For them, the experience was at an end. For the production team, there was now the daunting prospect of transforming all the hundreds of hours of footage we shot into 10 finished programmes. Such is the strange alchemy of television that it is almost impossible to predict whether or not you have a hit on your hands but if we do, perhaps another lucky and diverse group of children will get the chance to sample a slice of a special life at Felsted. With the passing of time, it is all too easy to forget how intense everything can be as a teenager. For me, filming Our School Summer Camp was a strange marriage of past and present. Day after day, as we shot everywhere from the Grignon Hall to the Hunt Theatre, my time here came flooding back. I spent hours trying to get my head around ‘O’ level maths and avoid the wrath of John Cockett in the same classroom that we were now using as the office for our fictional head teacher (played by Shirley Ballas, of Strictly Come Dancing fame). Back then, it hadn’t seemed quite so small.

“It was undeniably strange to be back, to see what has changed, and what has remained uncannily similar…”

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STAFF PROFILE

Felsted summer school showcases school’s international appeal Daniel Emmerson is Felsted’s director of global education and runs Felsted’s International Summer School. Here he discusses his global role with Selina Joslin The Felsted International Summer School has shown tremendous growth in popularity since it began under Daniel Emmerson’s leadership in 2014. Starting with just 17 students from five different countries five years ago, this year it welcomed 543 students aged between eight and 17 across 28 different nationalities. The programme offers international students the opportunity to learn, share cultural experiences and make new friends during a six-week period. “The aim during the first year was to generate a small surplus income and set the foundations for expanding the programme in the future,” said Emmerson. “Every year we start in September with zero students and staff which is a massive challenge and a global recruitment drive is vital to our success.” The school has had to establish good relationships with partner institutions and welcomes children from cities around the world, which has helped put Felsted on the map internationally. Emmerson explains what it is that makes Felsted unique compared with the well-established language schools in London and seaside towns such as Bournemouth and Brighton. “The Felsted brand is the number one factor that makes us stand out,” he added. “It’s so important that the school is running its own immersive, academic programme. We also work with several British schools to ensure we have the most committed and motivated local students, offering 10 free places a week as part of our charitable ethos. “These students take part in all lessons, academies, clubs and excursions and reside in our boarding houses with students from every other country. It really helps our international students develop their English skills in a relaxed social environment.” Emmerson reflected that today’s young people need to have a good variety of skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to succeed in an interconnected world. “Our Global Studies Pathway is designed in partnership with Erasmus Universities for students who already have a good grasp of English and wish to explore how the world works.”

He explained that at the core of the pathway is global citizenship, political leadership and international issues, with the course material being adapted from a master’s degree in international relations. A good example of how impactful the summer school can be is OF Ugo Eze (ec15-17), who attended the first ever summer school and enjoyed it so much that he enrolled to join the sixth form the following year. After finishing his A Levels he was employed by the summer school as an assistant houseparent and is currently in his second year at Exeter University studying mathematics. “Felsted has a globally renowned reputation for being academically excellent,” said Eze. “As a student, the summer school gave me the ideal opportunity to get ahead in my classes as well as play lots of sports. The trips I undertook were fun and I got to see parts of England I’d never been to before. “Being employed as an assistant houseparent was a great opportunity to return to where I had such fond memories. I really enjoyed coordinating activities for the kids, seeing old friends and talking to students about what I enjoyed most about Felsted. The role allowed me to improve my leadership skills as well as time management and organisation. Although managing all these tasks proved difficult at times, in hindsight it was worth it and I really enjoyed it,” he added.

A welcome by-product of the summer school is the number of recent leavers who take up summer work at the school. “We employed 102 staff in total this year and 26 of those were OFs, who are really passionate about the school and enjoy sharing their positive experiences with our students,” said Emmerson. “It’s been great to see these OFs develop their own employment skills and take on responsible roles.” For Emmerson his role is very much “a way of life” which sees him living on-site at the school for nine weeks over the summer and working long twelve-hour-plus days. Despite this commitment, he’s keen to praise his team: “I couldn’t do this job without the support of my colleagues, particularly Deborah Butler, Kirsty Fraser and Rebecca Wright – they are absolutely integral to our success. “They work long weekends and do so much behind the scenes to make it all run smoothly; managing student admissions, job applications, visa applications, subject choices and much more,” he added.

OFs working at the summer school in 2019.

As well as running the summer school, Emmerson is the Round Square representative for Europe and the Mediterranean, which sees him chairing European meetings and organising student exchanges. In a recent interview for The Felstedian magazine he reflected on the Round Square ideals of internationalism, democracy, environmentalism, adventure, leadership and service. “The key is to connect our pupils so they are able to work productively alongside each other, regardless of where they might be from,” he said. “This often amounts to an experience that they relish and it is my deepest hope that their memories of each opportunity will last a lifetime.” It is interesting to learn from Emmerson that his first big experience of being “totally immersed in a new culture” has remained with him ever since. It was during his film production degree at Plymouth University that he embarked on a three-month Erasmus exchange visit to Poland to support his documentary work.

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STAFF PROFILE “I completely fell in love with Poland and moved there after graduating to set up my own production company. My filming projects naturally focused on learning languages, teaching overseas and school partnerships and this was what really drew me into the education sector and had a huge impact on my future.” In 2007 he completed his Teaching English as a Foreign Language qualification and moved back to the UK to join Millfield School as a film and languages teacher, where he was responsible for leading film production initiatives, before taking on a role as centre manager for the school’s summer programme. He went on to complete an MA in international relations at the University of Wroclaw in Poland before joining testing and assessment solution provider Prometric in London in 2012. However, he missed working in education and as soon as he saw the job advertised at Felsted a couple of years later, he was keen to apply. His role sees him working with many different educational institutions across the globe, which means lots of travel and time away from home, but at least he gets to use his many languages. He is multilingual, speaking five languages; Mandarin, Polish (fluently), and varying degrees of Russian, Spanish and Thai. An example of his globe-trotting regime is a forthcoming trip that will see him visit Kazakhstan, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Panama over a few weeks. As well as visiting so many and so varied places in the world, Emmerson admitted that it isn’t always plainsailing and he has ended up in some peculiar situations. “It was my first trip to India and I was invited to dinner by the chief executive of a large educational recruiter. I was picked up in a car and driven through the backstreets of Delhi and remember looking out the window and seeing these huge towering walls with barbed wire fences as we approached his home.” He said on arrival they were met by armed guards and dogs at the entrance. “I wondered what I’d let myself in for, but knew I just had to go with it.”

his “number one malt whiskey” as he believed he’d have it. “I told him the name of a wellknown whiskey and off he disappeared for a while, before eventually coming back with an unopened bottle and we enjoy a few drinks whilst discussing Trump. “At the end of the night we went outside and he took a shotgun from one of the armed guards and started shooting randomly into the air,” said Emmerson. “I’m standing right beside him and the sound is deafening. He said to me ‘Daniel, you’ll never forget this meeting’ and you know what, I haven’t. We still work closely together and that night certainly helped to cement our relationship.” As well as the busy summer school and the Round Square representative role he’s also just started studying for an MBA at Anglia Ruskin University. With such a busy schedule, it’s amazing that he can fit this in, keep motivated and find time to relax. “The positive experiences students enjoy during the summer school and global Round Square opportunities is a vital part of the learning cycle and brilliant to see,” he added. “It just makes you want to do it all over again.”

DEREK CHARMAN RETIRES Derek Charman retired in March after serving an incredible 23 years in the school’s catering department. “I was working as the head chef at Chelmsford County Hall when I joined Felsted in 1996 to take on the role of catering manager,” said Charman. “I have attended a total of 22 Speech Days and 22 Leavers’ Balls during my career which is probably some kind of record. “It’s been brilliant to see OFs come back to the school for reunion events as I’ve been able to meet their families, some with their own children now, and enjoy reminiscing about their school days. “I have even been invited to OF weddings over the years which has been lovely and I enjoy staying in touch with friends via social media,” he added.

He also loves spending time with his daughter, aged 6. “She had her first taste of summer school this year when she came to visit me at work,” he added. He is also a keen runner and recently ran the Thetford Marathon for charity. “I also make sure I prioritise sleep wherever possible – it helps beat jet lag.” Something he is only too familiar with clocking up so many air miles every year. However, the growth of the international summer school is a testament to Emmerson’s drive and ambition, but also in his ability to forge relationships across boundaries, borders and cultures.

“The key is to connect our pupils…to work productively alongside each other, regardless of where they might be from”

The host welcomed Emmerson into his dining room where a huge banquet had been prepared directly in front of the TV because it was Donald Trump’s Presidential inauguration. During the night he remembers his host asking him to name

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FELSTED MISSION

MISSION’S ASCENSION CHURCH LAUNCHES NEW ADVICE SERVICE IN EAST LONDON by Selina Joslin The Ascension Church in Custom House, East London, the home of the Felsted Mission, has launched a new advice and advocacy service this year following a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund. Research undertaken by the Ascension Community Trust found that the local population has a higher than average rate of people accessing benefits and that existing local advice services are hugely oversubscribed with working people struggling to access them. According to the index of multiple deprivation, all areas of Custom House are in the 20% most deprived in the country, with some areas in the 4% most deprived. The advice and advocacy service opened on 15 July at the Garden Community Cafe in Custom House and runs on Mondays between 1pm and 6pm. It’s a drop-in service with trained advisors offering advice that focuses on benefits and universal credit, housing, employment, money management and assistance with form filling. The rollout of universal credit has seen an increase in the number of working people who are struggling to make ends meet with many waiting between six to eight weeks for a payment to be made into their accounts. Housing benefit is the most popular issue raised with advisors, along with challenges to access support via automated telephone lines and online forms, particularly for those where English is an additional language. Custom House is a diverse society with a population made up of many different nationalities and it is daunting for those who do not speak fluent English and have worked in the area for many years, to navigate the process of accessing benefits and advice services.

“The church has seen people end up in fairly desperate circumstances because they haven’t been able to speak to a professional about their finances and we needed to help fill the gap,” said Chesney. The Garden Community Cafe has served the 13,500 people living in the Custom House area for many years and the advice service is making a difference by offering free, confidential and impartial advice on issues that impact day-to-day life and really matter to the local population. “The cafe is somewhere people trust which is hugely beneficial and it’s open until 6pm, making it much more practical and less stressful for those who are working. “Our experienced advisors offer discreet support and have the added benefit of being able to direct people to other services. For example, someone may come in for an issue related to housing resulting in them having little funds and can be passed on to the food bank or another charity,” said Chesney. The National Lottery Funding for the project lasts up until April 2020 and it is hoped that with additional funding the service will continue to provide a vital support network to such a wonderfully diverse and vibrant community.

n Since the time of writing, the advice and advocacy service has moved to the Ascension church.

Although an official translation service exists, which businesses can subscribe to, this is expensive and incurs extra costs for the charity. This means the advisors rely upon volunteers, usually friends and family of those seeking support, to translate. Reverend Dave Chesney explains why the new service is needed: “Money and finance is probably the last subject people want to talk about and trust is a big issue.” “Our local Citizen’s Advice and Advice UK services are overstretched and in some cases residents could be faced with the prospect of waiting up to three months to see a professional advisor. “We’ve been told that it’s almost impossible to get through on the phone and many people just don’t get an answer.

The Garden Community Cafe.

Advice service in action A hard-working volunteer for the Ascension Community Trust approached staff at the advice centre about an issue she was encountering with her social housing landlord. The management company for her block of flats changed energy suppliers but didn’t inform the tenants in advance, which was problematic as she was £830 in credit with the previous supplier. A refund for the full amount was automatically made to the management company and left the resident in a great deal of distress as no-one was available to answer questions about the refund. The advice centre offered her time to talk through the situation, a free cup of tea and a listening ear. Once it was clear that steps needed to be taken with the management company, an advisor sat patiently on the phone for over an hour during the first phone call and after much persistence the company got back in touch with the resident. “Knowing I am being listened to by someone and that they are there to support me has given me the boost I needed to not give up on this issue.” Please note: Due to certain sensitivities it has been necessary to not reveal the identity of the volunteer.

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FELSTED NETWORK AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE NEWS

FELSTED NETWORK 2019 Garden party at Jesus College The Cambridgeshire network group enjoyed a successful summer drinks party in the Master's Garden at Jesus College University of Cambridge on 11 July. It is thanks to Nicholas Ray (g60-65), emeritus fellow of Jesus College, that over 30 guests were able to enjoy such a beautiful setting as the Master's Garden is not usually open to the public.

A gift that keeps on giving… by Richard Salmon, head of development & alumni relations The greatest acts of giving are those that bring immediate benefit to an individual or institution and make a positive difference for future generations. Education is, at its best, a vehicle that brings life-changing opportunity for a person and through that individual, or indeed group of people, to others. We see that in the work of OFs Matthew Spacie (d83-85) and Sarah Brook (gn06-08) in their respective charities Magic Bus and Sparkle Malawi. Old Felstedians who see the hope and opportunity that education can bring to the lives of thousands of young people in India and Africa.

Craft entrepreneur attracts the attention of a Dragon A tweet to Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis resulted in an unexpected boost for Aimie Bowles (fg97-03). Bowles, from Woodbridge, is keen to make her craft party business Crafty Bear Studios a big success. “It’s so great to have Theo’s support – he has really helped to spread the word,” said Bowles. Crafty Bear Studios hosts creative craft workshops, corporate events and hen parties in Suffolk and neighbouring counties either at customers’ homes or venues, using the company’s own pop-up studios.

Paralegal apprenticeship for Elle King Recent leaver Elle King (fbn11-19) has landed a paralegal apprenticeship with global law firm Kennedy's Law. “I really wanted to be able to learn whilst earning as I am more suited to a practical learning environment. I am really enjoying it so far and have met so many new people,” King said. Last summer, she undertook work experience in Hong Kong in the property sector and stayed with OFs Jimmy (fbc84-93) and Fiona Priest (née Main, m9193), who kindly offered the opportunity. “I was able to gain valuable work experience whilst sightseeing around Hong Kong, an experience I will never forget,” King added.

Open bursary beneficiary Imogen Gander (fmn11-18) is currently reading Classics at Cambridge. “I spent seven years being incredibly grateful for the opportunity that I had to attend Felsted as a bursary recipient, and am sure that the impact of this generosity will be seen throughout my life as I work to put into practise all that Felsted taught me.”

Within the school, we see the provision of means-tested bursaries, currently benefiting 70 pupils at Felsted, as creating a great foundation for life. Past beneficiaries are pursuing careers in academia, creative industries, finance, law, medicine and a host of other professions. Alongside the impact of giving to bursary support, Frederick Marshall’s (c43-47) extraordinary legacy to the school is helping us to create The Marshall Centre (pictured right), a new teaching and learning facility at the heart of the senior school.

Giving a gift to Felsted, whether that be through a legacy, regular donation or a one-off gift, however big or small, helps us educate young people. It brings extraordinary opportunities and hope and expectation for their future. For further details visit felsted.org/future.

His gift will bring benefit to current pupils and will also facilitate the education of countless Felstedians into the future, much the same as Courtauld has with the Science Centre in the 1930s and more recently Roed and Stewart with the Roed Sports Hall and Stewart House at the Prep School.

OFs support careers conference Harry Kingham (fac06-11), Matt Morley-Jacob (fac10-17) and Madeline Witcomb (fmn03-17) delivered seminars at Felsted’s Futures Day Conference in June. Morley-Jacob is currently reading Geography at Exeter University and gave an honest insight into the course and university life. Witcomb is reading Medicine at St George's, University of London and offered some helpful tips about the profession and application process. Kingham works for a creative design agency for real estate, and shared his experiences of working in the creative sector.

Felsted School in Singapore Director of marketing Sophy Walker hosted a networking evening in Singapore alongside current parent Will Hendricks on 23 November at the Tanglin Club. The event offered a chance for OFs to meet with current and prospective parents who live and work in Singapore. Among those who attended were Charles Allan (g76-80), Tim Barkham (c77-82), Fiona Priest (née Main, m91-93), Jimmy Priest (fbc84-93) and Marcus Yeatts (fe01-07).

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FACES AND PLACES FORMER US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE INSPIRES STUDENTS Former governor of Vermont and 2004 US presidential candidate OF Howard Dean (g66-67) hosted an inspiring question and answer seminar session with history and politics students on 25 January. Howard was an English Speaking Union scholar for one year at Felsted and went onto study political science at Yale University. After finishing university, he worked in finance on Wall Street before deciding to head back to medical school where he graduated as a medic from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Howard’s political career started within local community politics and quickly progressed when he became the 79th governor of Vermont in 1991.

HMC SCHOLAR RETURNS FOR INTERNATIONAL DINNER OF Patricia Durdikova (n08-10) attended the international dinner at Felsted on 19 January. Durdikova, a former Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference Scholar, spoke about her experience of being an international student and having to adjust to a different language and culture. She encouraged students to make the most of every opportunity during their time at the school. After Felsted, Durdikova (pictured above left with Sarah Barrett, HM of Garnetts) gained an MA in Art History and French at the University of St Andrews and now works in the Fine Art department for auctioneers Cheffins in Cambridge.

THE MAITLAND TERRACE OPENS Parents and Old Felstedians enjoyed a new view over the Philipps hockey pitch and netball and tennis courts at the opening of The Maitland Terrace on 2 February. The terrace is named in honour of former Felsted common room stalwarts Henry and Marian Maitland and was opened by their children Chris Maitland (f8287) and Justine Spasojevic (née Maitland, m88-90). This new facility was made possible thanks to donations from parents, OFs and staff to the school’s Annual Fund.

OLIVER EVERETT HOSTS EXHIBITION AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE

25 ANNIVERSARY REUNION FOR 1994 LEAVERS A special 25th anniversary reunion for the ‘Class of 1994’ took place on 13 July at Felsted with a BBQ for friends and family in the Bury gardens. Oliver Balch (h89-94) and Henny Smith (née Pattinson, n92-94) helped to organise the reunion and gather friends together. Balch noted that “it was a super memorable day”. Smith said: “There was a continuous sound of laughter and chatter throughout the afternoon. There have been many comments made on Facebook since and all of us being back in touch has strengthened the OF bond.”

Librarian Emeritus of the Royal Library Oliver Everett (b5661) hosted a fascinating private talk and viewing of the “Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing” exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace on 19 June for Old Felstedians. The exclusive sold-out event provided guests with a rare opportunity to view the largest exhibition of da Vinci’s work in over 65 years.

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CAYMAN ISLANDS

charlesleephotography.co.uk

Sophy Walker, director of marketing at Felsted School, met-up with Carol Ann Balls (m83-85) and Mark Macfee (fc67-75) whilst on a recruitment trip to the Cayman Islands. They were delighted to reconnect with Felsted and with each other as they had no idea that there were other OFs living on the island.

SPARKLE SEVENS RAISES £8K FOR CHARITY

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SPEECH DAY 2019 Legendary Essex and England test cricketer and sport journalist Derek Pringle (e74-77), returned to Felsted as speech day guest of honour. He spoke about his life in Elwyn’s in the 1970s, the value of sports and important lifelong friendships formed at school. Sarah Brook (gn06-08) spoke at the Prep School speech day and her message of never giving up in the face of adversity and of being true to yourself and your beliefs was awe inspiring. Interestingly, both Pringle and Brook told the audience that they went through their school years without ever receiving a prize. A positive thought for all non-prize winners at speech days as both have gone on to have hugely successful careers.

This year’s Sparkle Sevens rugby tournament raised an amazing £8,000 for The Sparkle Foundation, a charity founded by Sarah Brook (gn06-08) to create brighter futures for children in need around the world. Three OF teams took part in the competition, with the Hawaii Try-Os losing in the final to CWF Lambs in a close match. Leavers from 2018 also enjoyed a special ‘one year out’ reunion at the tournament, with over a third of the year group coming back to support the day.

100 YEARS OF RUGBY AT FELSTED Felsted celebrated 100 years of rugby on 5 December 2018 with a centenary match at Allianz Park against Bishop’s Stortford College. It was an evening to remember with 34 boys playing and a great support network from pupils, parents and OFs, ending in a 42-7 win by Felsted.

LEAVERS’ BALL 2019 The Leavers’ Ball for the Class of 2019 took place on 29 June with over 400 guests enjoying a jungle-themed dinner in a marquee overlooking The Front.

COURTAULD POLO TROPHY Two talented OF teams provided some thrilling action at the Courtauld Polo Trophy on 19 May at Silver Leys Polo Club. The Felsted Storm team of Emil Benz, Miles Dennert, Olivia Houlder, Grant Polkinghorne and Claudia Seers enjoyed a brilliant win against Silver Leys. Felsted Thunder, comprising of Will Almond, Emil Benz, Will Hopkins, Grant Polkinghorne and current parent Alex Rayner played a nail-biting game against Old Stortfordians which resulted in the team losing by 5.5 to 5. Sam Wisbey celebrated success in the school’s match captaining the Felsted team who won the coveted Courtauld Trophy. Felsted team with the Courtauld Polo Trophy.

Felsted Thunder with Chris Townsend.

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OBITUARIES

Old school boxing and Olympics sports journalist dies Neil Allen (b46-51) has died following a long progressive illness on 13 September, 2019, aged 86. James Neil Allen was born in Upminster on November 14, 1932. After attending school near Bath as a war evacuee, he joined Felsted. After leaving, Allen went into local journalism, graduating later to The Times, where he spent much of his working life covering many of the biggest names in sport as boxing and athletics correspondent. In all, he reported on 11 summer and three winter Olympic Games for The Times, the Evening Standard and The New York Times. He also wrote the occasional piece for The Old Felstedian, the last piece being about Felsted legend Johnny Douglas in 2003, who Allen believed to be Felsted’s best sportsman. In his role as boxing correspondent, he covered many of Muhammad Ali’s fights including the infamous Rumble in the Jungle in 1974 between

Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire.

He began his career as an apprentice on the Stratford Express, a local paper in east London, initially as a crime reporter.

As a correspondent he rubbed shoulders with Ali many times, most memorably in a Malaysian jungle before Ali’s clash with Joe Bugner in Kuala Lumpur in 1975. Allen, unable to sleep, went out for a jog and bumped into Ali. They ran together in the dead of night that turned into a sprint back to their hotel when they were chased by a pair of rabid dogs.

As an enthusiastic amateur middle-distance runner in his youth, he joined Athletics World as an editorial assistant in 1952. Two years later he covered Roger Bannister’s sub-four-minute mile at the Iffley Road track in Oxford.

Safely back in the hotel lobby, Allen wrote, they chatted “towards the dawn about family life, with the night porter’s little daughter perched upon his knee. At the following day’s daily press conference, Ali loudly declared, ‘While you was all sleeping last night I was out running six hard miles.’ Seeing me crouched by his feet, notebook and pen raised, he gave a slow, deliberate wink.”

He married Sally Jackson, a secretary for the Daily Mail, in 1956. She died in 1975 and in 1990 he married Helen Bristow, a NHS physiotherapist who also did honorary work in sport. She survives him with two sons from his first marriage, Matthew, a sports journalist, and James, who works in the media making factual programmes, and one from his second marriage, Christopher, a mature student studying for a degree in illustration and animation.

JOHN LESLIE BIRD OBE by John Banner (fd53-59)

John Bird (fd40-45) sadly died on 1 January 2019 at the age of 90. He was a former secretary, auditor, chairman and president of The Old Felstedian Society and a trustee of the Philipps Old Felstedian Fund, during 50 years of committed service to the school. Bird joined Felsted in 1940, at the age of 11 and spent most of his time at Canon Ffrome in Herefordshire where the school had been relocated to in the war. He left Felsted in 1945 and enrolled into national service with John Bird at the OF Dinner in 2016. the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. He qualified as a chartered accountant in 1953 and spent much of his business life with the eponymous family firm of Bird Luckin until he retired in the early 1990s.

Allen wrote of the boxer born Cassius Clay after his death in 2016: “The No 1 man of all my years in writing about sport, whose bubbling, mischievous, occasionally spiteful mind could transform a press conference or a one-on-one chat just as, in his prime, he could turn the hardest game into a balletic demonstration of speed and skill through dancing feet, flying fists and utter fearlessness.”

He later wrote in 2004 that he was able to stand on the inside of the track. “So close to the rolled cinders surface that, on the first half lap, I clearly heard Bannister shout ‘Faster, Chris’ to pace-maker Chris Brasher.” It was an instruction that Brasher, who was on schedule, wisely ignored, Allen added.

continued…

Although not a City accountant, Bird had many interests within the square mile, becoming a City Corporation Common Councilman in 1977, only relinquishing this in 2013. He achieved the position of Chief Commoner of the City of London, which is effectively the Lord Mayor’s righthand man, in 1995 for which he was appointed an OBE. He was also an active member of The Honourable Artillery Company, where he became chairman and later president of the Mess Club. Other appointments included being a governor of Christ’s Hospital and treasurer of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, for 17 years. He was a commander of the Order of Independence United Arab Emirates and of the Order of the White Rose of Finland. John Banner (left) pictured with John Bird in 2010. He was also a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club. His other great love was opera, in pursuit of which he travelled far and wide.

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OBITUARIES An old-fashioned, typewriter-banging journalist, Allen found his reporting skills occasionally deployed on stories that became front-page news, notably when he covered the murders of Israeli team members by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. After retirement from full-time work, Allen wrote pieces for Boxing News. Learning that Ali, long

retired, was staying at a London hotel, Allen left him a message. The phone rang later that day, he wrote, and a familiar voice asked: “‘How you bin, my man?’ Fine, I replied, but it sounds as if you’ve got a cold. ‘Sounds to me,’ he replied, ‘as if you were one of the few who used to listen.’ Maybe I wasn’t quite as dumb as I looked, I replied, and he started chuckling huskily.”

n This is an edited version of an online obituary which appeared in ‘The Times’.

Professor who discovered the mad cow disease link dies Richard Lacey, the controversial professor who discovered the link between the cattle disease Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) has died this year aged 78. Prof Richard Westgarth Lacey (a54-58), was born on 11 October 1940, died on 3 February.

Lacey, who was educated at Felsted, where, hating cold baths and games, he hid in the biology labs, was reportedly told by his Housemaster that he had a “bad attitude”. He read medicine at Cambridge, then clinical medicine in London and microbiology at Bristol, where he took a PhD in 1974. After junior doctor posts, in 1968 he was appointed lecturer, later reader, in clinical microbiology at the University of Bristol. After a long stint as a consultant in microbiology and chemical pathology at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn, he was appointed professor of medical microbiology at Leeds in 1983. It was in 1990 that he first alerted the British public to the link between the BSE and CJD. Warning of a future of hospital wards full of “thousands of people going slowly and painfully mad before dying”, he called in a Sunday Times interview for the slaughter of all BSE-infected herds. The article famously provoked the then Secretary of State for Agriculture John Gummer, to feed his daughter Cordelia a hamburger before a mob of TV cameras, while insisting that British beef was safe. Hauled before the relevant select committee, Lacey was accused of “a tendency to extrapolate sensational conclusions from incomplete evidence”, of peddling “a mixture of science and science fiction”, and of showing a complete loss of touch with the real world. Subsequently his research work was effectively curtailed by

the Department of Health and he lost his job. But Lacey refused to be silenced and became a familiar fixture on the airways, discussing the disease’s origins, its scale, its transmission, its risk to humans and its eradication. He was vindicated in March 1996 when the then Health Secretary Stephen Dorrell announced that there might indeed be a link between BSE and new variant CJD, for which the most likely explanation was the consumption of contaminated beef. The government’s response was that thanks to a 1989 ban on brain, spinal and other high-risk beef offal being used in human food, the risk of eating beef was minimal and only minor measures were initially proposed. The public and press, however, were far from reassured. As countries around the world banned British beef, Lacey added to the atmosphere of public concern by describing Mad Cow disease as “the time bomb of the 20th century”. The public reaction was so strong that the government swiftly concluded that the only way to restore public confidence was a wholesale cull of some 4.4m cattle at a huge cost to the taxpayer and the British beef farmer. As of 31 December 2017, 178 cases of “definite or probable” new variant CJD had been officially identified in the UK. Between 1991 and 1994 Lacey published several polemical works of scientific populism including, Unfit For Human Consumption, Hard To Swallow and Mad Cow Disease. In 1992 he advised the BBC on a BSE thriller called Natural Lies, in which he appeared as one of the characters. Meanwhile, he claimed that he had earned the unwelcome attention of MI5: “My phone was tapped and they gave me some real nastiness, a lot of it of a very personal nature.”

We sadly report the following deaths notified to us in 2019 ALLEN, James Neil (b46-51) ANDREWS, Graham Thomas (g45-47) BARFORD, John Cowper (b46-50) BELLAMY, William (g53-57) BERNARD, Thomas Mackenzie Firth RD, JP (fe38-44) BIRD, John Leslie OBE (fd40-45) BROATCH, Robert David (a52-57) CAPSTICK, Anthony John (g45-49) CLARKE, Raymond Walter (c38-42) COOPER, Gyles Penry (fc52-60) CUBITT, Michael Stannard (fb45-54) DUNSTAN, Michael Kingsley (b47-51) FREEBORN, Prof Richard Harry (b41-44) GREEN, Henry James Michael (d45-49) HARVEY, Clive Denis (f54-57) JAMES, David Reginald Liston (b44-49) LACEY, Prof Richard Westgarth (a54-58) LAMARQUE, William Gilfillan (c67-72) LATHAM, William John (fe39-47) LINGARD, George Daniel (fd76-81) LINGARD, Jonathan Peter (fd76-80) NICKOL, David Arthur MBE (fb31-36) PARKER, Timothy John Nelson (h63-67) PATERSON, Mark Philip (h72-74) PEPPERCORN, John Simon Grieves (d45-46) PRICKETT, William Cedric Evelyn Chater (g46-49) STANTON, Anthony Philip (d52-57) SYKES, Dr Richard John FRSA (e60-64) VENNER, Desmond Anthony (f33-35) THOMPSON, Peter Michael (fg49-57)

Former common room McLEOD, Patricia (1996-2018) McNEVIN, Michael (1950-1955) Please visit felsted.org/ofs/obituaries for more information. After retirement, Lacey published an autobiography, Poison on a Plate (1998), and settled down to enjoy his hobbies of gardening, painting and collecting antiques and cacti. He won several awards for his campaigning, including the Evian Health Award (1989), the Caroline Walker Award (1989) and the Freedom of Information Award (1990). In 1972 he married Fionna Stone, with whom he had two daughters.

n This is an edited version of an online obituary which appeared in ‘The Telegraph’.

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OF SPORT NEWS

GOLF SOCIETY REVIEW by Stuart Mott (h69-74), president of the Old Felstedian Golf Society

English women’s amateur open golf champion

I am delighted to report that the society has had a most successful and enjoyable year. In the Halford Hewitt we drew Downside in the first round. Although not one of the top 10 schools, they have a higher ranking than us. Our team, superbly led by Charlie Wilcox defeated them by a margin of 31/2–11/2. This was an excellent effort with all five pairs playing some great golf. Our reward was a second round match against Charterhouse, a top 10 side – so the draw reverted to normal service! For much of the match all five pairs were neck and neck with their opponents. However, ultimately, Charterhouse prevailed as the form table suggested that they might. This match was notable for being David Robson’s 50th match for Felsted in the Hewitt, a rare achievement in our golfing history. Adding to this success, in May we qualified easily for the Grafton Morrish, with what was the best team stableford score we have ever registered. This enabled us to play in the finals at Royal West Norfolk Golf Club in early October. And I am delighted to report that we won our first round match against Brighton by 21/2 –1/2. Alas, we drew perennial favourites Solihull in the second round. It was a good contest but we came up short, with fate not dealing us a fair hand at a couple of key moments.

OFGS members at the Halford Hewitt Above: (from left to right) – Phil Graham, Henry Hichens, Tom Copnell, Charlie Duke, David Robson, Jamie Stammers, Chris Olley, Charlie Wilcox, Billy Holmes and Stuart Mott. Right: Drinks in the King’s Head after the match.

Earl is currently studying and has just started her second year at Wofford College, South Carolina in the United States. “We usually have workouts two or three times a week and plan our schedules so that we finish class by 12pm so we can practice in the afternoon. Most of our tournaments are on Mondays and Tuesdays, so we miss quite a bit of studying time and have to work hard to catch up,” she added.

Staff win triangular match

The Burles Salver winners (from left to right) – Stuart Mott, Sandy Dunlop, Tim Chetwood, Tim Hedin, David Robson and Ken McCrea (4th from right) with Oundle players.

For the first time in living memory, we reached the final stage of the Wimbledon putting event in June. Many thanks go to Phil Graham for leading the side so wonderfully here and at RWNGC – and indeed for everything he does for the society.

In July at West Hill, Tim Chetwood masterminded our campaign in the two senior events. The Mellin (over 55s) side reached the semi-final before suffering an agonising defeat to Shrewsbury in extra time. However, in the Burles Salver (over 65s) Felsted defeated Oundle in the final. This capped what was a fantastic year for our golf sides and congratulations go to Burles champions – Tim Chetwood, Sandy Dunlop, David Robson and Ken McCrea on a great achievement.

Rebecca Earl (fbn09-18) celebrated a brilliant win and claimed her first international title at the English Women’s Open amateur stroke play championship. Earl won the competition at Ipswich Golf Club by one stroke with a score of 286 (-2) over 72 holes. “It was such a surreal feeling and took a while to sink in, but I feel like I’ve been working really hard over the last year, so it was nice to see some good results this summer.”

The annual triangular OF golf match against the students and staff took place at Colne Valley Golf Club on 12 May. The OF side featured Tim Phillips, Gus Kerr and Tim Platts. For the first time in the event’s history the staff ended the day on top with both OFs and students sharing second place. Tim Platts said it was great to see some genuine golfing talent at the school across the year groups. “It bodes well for the pupils’ team going forwards. Hopefully, we will bring a strong OF team in 2020 that can win the trophy back."

The society’s meetings were kindly organised by Messrs Hedin, Simpson, Stocken and Machin. The victors were Phil Graham and Kevin Palmer (Aldeburgh), Peter Burleigh (Braintree) and Tom Simpson (both Pulborough and Beaconsfield). As ever, we owe a lot to Dudley Simpson who continues to do so much for the society and plays a huge part in its activities. All of our fixtures are extremely enjoyable and we are fortunate to have access to some great golf courses. If you play golf and would like to get involved please get in touch via ofs@felsted.org.

Tim Platts (right) handing over the trophy to Charlie Knightley, director of sport.

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OF SPORT NEWS

Felsted hosts Bunbury Festival

Hockey players return to Felsted

Felsted hosted the 33rd annual ECB David English Bunbury Festival in July welcoming 56 of the best U15 cricket players across the country. This included Felstedian Harry Gallian, who was given his London and South East U15 cap from former Bunbarian and England captain Sir Alastair Cook. Gallian follows in the footsteps of several other OFs to have taken part in the Bunbury Festival, including England cricketers Derek Pringle, John Stephenson and Nick Knight, as well as more recent OFs Will Buttleman and Jordan Cox.

Ellie Lennon scores a try for England Ellie Lennon (bn1419) made her debut for England U18 rugby against Wales at the end of April. “I had to wait a week-and-a-half to get the team sheet for the game against Wales. I was constantly checking my emails every minute of the day before I finally found out that I was in the starting 12. I was over the moon and in shock.” England’s U18’s went into the second half losing, but Lennon persevered and scored a try in the second half of the game. “I never thought I would be playing for England let alone score a try too. I’m extremely honoured for the opportunity and have learnt a lot from the experience.”

Ehren Painter selected for England XV rugby This summer, Northampton Saints tighthead prop Ehren Painter (dc12-16) made the starting line-up for the England XV against the Barbarians. The England team celebrated a thrilling 51-43 win to lift the Quilter Cup at Twickenham Stadium.

OF hockey players were welcomed back to Felsted on 24 March for the annual boys’ hockey match against the school’s 1st XI. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, which seemed a good result all round.

OF team (white shirts) and 1st XI team (red shirts).

Georgie wins at international rowing Regatta Georgie Plunkett (fb03-08) won the Lightweight Women’s 1x at the Metropolitan (MET) Regatta at Dorney Lake near Eton in July. A quick start saw Plunkett confidently launch out to a lead of nearly four seconds by the 500m marker. She continued to push against a cross-head wind to win the race from the front. Plunkett is a member of the Cantabrigian Rowing Club in Cambridge and was delighted with her strong performance. “I am over the moon about winning at MET, it’s one of the top regattas in the season and I didn’t think I’d ever win at it. One of my biggest wins I think.”

Felsted Robins Robins Secretary Ed Hutley (fd97-06) reports The Felsted Robins sadly lost away from home to Uppingham Rovers in the 1st round of the Cricketer Cup, losing by 60 runs in a hard fought fixture, shortened due to a rain delay prior to the start of play. The Robins elected to field having won the toss, wickets fell in steady intervals and the Robins restricted the Rovers to 213/6 in 35 overs. In reply the Robins made a fast start, but a few loose strokes saw Uppingham take a grip on the game. With runs needed quickly the Robins were bowled out for 153. In the fixture against the School, the Robins batted first and scored 261-6 declared. Lloyd Paternott scored a fine hundred (133*) including five sixes as the OFs built an imposing total. In reply the school made 263/4, winning the game by six wickets. The Robins bowling attack was brilliantly repelled by captain Joe Burslem who scored 138 not out. This year saw the first Friday 20/20 fixture for the Robins who played the Ploughboys. The Robins ran out victorious setting 188 to win, Ploughboys could only muster 160/6. The match was played in the right spirit and was great fun for those involved. Special mentions for Luke Chapman who scored 54 and Max Boyce for his run out from a direct hit. The Robins will start their Cricketer Cup 2020 campaign away at Shrewsbury Saracens on Sunday 14 June.

OF runners tackle the steeps OFs Charlie Henderson (g85-90), James Tyrie (c85-90), Lucy Beaufrère (n85-87) and Kieran Ball (e07-09) (pictured below) returned to Felsted to run the steeps cross country race in December 2018. The team raced around the course in record time and enjoyed a celebratory drink and a few mince pies in the Chequers afterwards.

Felsted OFFC welcomes new players This year was another successful one for the Old Felstedian Football Club (OFFC), led by manager Joe King (fhc08-15) with the club winning matches and welcoming new players. In March, the team played against Felsted School 1st XI and delivered an impressive 8-0 win. The man of the match was awarded to Rory Burns who scored a hat-trick. In August, six OFs made their debuts against a newly formed Total Football FC. Thomas Kingham, making his 11-a-side debut, scored the winner for OFFC in the second-half in a 2-1 victory.

Felsted OF Magazine 2018-19.qxp_Layout 1 09/12/2019 13:04 Page 28

OF SPORT PROFILE

OF shoots his way to Tokyo next summer for his ﬁrst Olympic Games Matt Coward-Holley (dc08-13) secured his place in Tokyo 2020 with some ﬁne performances this year. Joel Garner asks him about his chances at next year’s Olympic Games Hi Matt. Last time we spoke you had your sights set on representing Great Britain at Tokyo 2020. Well congratulations you've made it. Tell us how you qualified?

Have you visited the Olympic site yet and are you allowed to train at the facilities where the event will be taking place before the games start?

I won my place for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in May at the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) World Cup in South Korea. I had been close to making the final at the two events running up to this one but unfortunately lost the shoot off to make the final on both occasions.

We have yet to see photos or anything of the venue. We will have a pre-Olympic test event in May, which I will be attending and this will be our first real opportunity to see the venue and the surrounding areas.

South Korea however was different. I shot a qualification score of 124/125 to make the final in first place and I had to finish in the top two at the end of the final to secure my quota place. Thankfully, I came away with the silver medal and won the World Cup.

Tokyo 2020 is going to be a massive occasion for you. I bet you can't wait to get there. What are your plans between now and 24 July when the games kick off next summer? My season has just finished, so I will take some time off and relax until December then I will start training again, before I have a group of international grand prix early in the year, which are a crucial part of my training plan and lead to the World Cups in 2020. I will choose which ones I attend according to my training schedule, then of course it’s off to the Olympics itself.

Do you know much about the conditions you'll be shooting in? From what I understand temperatures could be very warm in Tokyo? Yes, we have been told that we should expect it to be humid although the temperatures will not be as hot as they will be for the test event in May.

What about the Olympic village? I guess you'll be staying there for the duration of the Games? Are you looking forward to that? Yes, I will be staying in the village during my time at the games. I competed at the European Games earlier in the year and this had a similar structure to the games, so I have experienced the athletes’ village environment before, but

even so it is a different environment from any other competition.

This year has been a big season for you. Gold in the World Championships in July and silver in the ISSF's World Cup in Changwon, South Korea in May. You must be going into the Olympics full of confidence? How are you going to maintain your momentum going into the games? Yes, I am happy with how the 2019 season has turned out and I hope to maintain my form into the games by having a good, strong training and competition plan in place with my coach. By doing this nothing will be left unspoken about, so I will be going into the games having done everything possible to bring myself into the best form at the correct time.

When we last spoke with you back in 2015 you were trying to raise sponsorship to keep your career going so you could get to Tokyo. Tell us how that has gone? You obviously found some backers to help you pay for your training? Unfortunately, I have still yet to obtain any financial sponsors to help with my Olympic journey. I am lucky enough to have the support of UK Sport, which allows me to train, but this doesn’t cover all the costs of trying to qualify for an Olympic Games. I do have the backing of companies in and outside of the sport, such as Perazzi who provides me with my gun, Clever Cartridges, who sponsors my ammunition and finally Fairfax and Favor supplies me with product and helps promote my shooting.

Do you know when and where your events will take place and what disciplines you will be competing in? The events will take place at the Asaka Shooting Range. I will arrive in Tokyo around 18 July, where we will be in a holding camp for a few days before heading into the village on 20 July. I will then have official training on 28 July with the individual competition the following two days. We then have one day off, with the mixed team event the following day.

What are your chances of emulating Peter Wilson's feats in trap shooting at London 2012 and grabbing a gold medal? Of course, I would love to emulate the success of Peter Wilson from London 2012, but as much as this is my main goal and focus, this is only my first Olympic Games.

Thank you to all those who have contributed pictures to this edition of The Old Felstedian