THE LATYMERIAN
2019/20
In September, as I embarked upon my 25th year in teaching, I anticipated three key challenges for the school...
FOREWORD DAVID GOODHEW, HEAD
W
e were due a visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate, which we passed with flying colours. We needed to finalise plans for a new school badge and uniform, which we did successfully thanks to the excellent feedback from focus groups of colleagues, students and parents. Finally, we faced the threat of Labour Against Private Schools, about which the electorate delivered a decisive (and damning) verdict. However, little did I know that a fourth, and far greater, challenge was looming in the form of a global pandemic. It is a cliché to say that this year has been ‘a year like no other’, but I have been so proud of the way that everyone in the Latymer community has responded with great resilience and tremendous mutual support.
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Despite the (admittedly seismic) events of the past few months, this edition of The Latymerian reminds us that there is so much more to this year than coronavirus. In the Arts, alongside the usual incredible performances in music and drama, I have been delighted to see our film programme take off: our new cinema screen has been regularly used by film club, ‘Century of Cinema’ has quickly become the most popular elective in the Sixth Form and ‘Latymer Shorts’, our inaugural short film competition, was a triumph. In Sport, our First VII netball team went out in style in the top ten of the National Finals, another first for Latymer.
despite the (admittedly seismic) events of the past few months, this edition of the latymerian reminds us that there is so much more to this year than coronavirus.”
However, it is our work in and for the community that has shone through this year. Our chosen theme was the environment and sustainability (with hindsight, never more appropriate) and the Prep and Upper Schools came together to plant 7,000 trees in local parks, setting a new record. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, staff volunteered to run a hub for vulnerable children and children of keyworkers from local schools; a team of alumni, working in shifts round the clock, used our 3D printers (and later injection moulding) to produce over 100,000 protective visors for the NHS. Upper Sixth students, who have had so much taken away from them this year, responded by producing over 5,000 visors on our 3D printers, as well as completing a virtual run to the tip of Scotland to raise funds to support the NHS. The School donated over 300 wifi dongles to allow pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to access online teaching materials during lockdown, and will be running summer camps to improve children’s wellbeing. Nina Andersen in Year 11 set up ‘Community Senior Letters’ which matched children in 110 schools with elderly residents of 90 care homes across 18 different boroughs. This had the dual effect of alleviating the children’s boredom and preventing the elderly from sinking into loneliness and depression through isolation. I have, on a number of occasions, observed that it is often in dark times that people’s lights shine brightest. All members of the Latymer community deserve my thanks for making a difference to others in their hour of need. I have never been prouder of you and what our School stands for. n
FO R E W O R D | 03
CONTENTS Edited by Sharon Whyte and Eleanor Chapman Cover artwork by Thea Metreweli, Middle School Designed by Haime & Butler haime-butler.com Printed by Lavenham Press lavenhampress.com
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INSPIRING MINDS R AIS£ CHARITIES PA R T N E R S H I P S I S A A C H A R A R I : Y O U N G MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR — NEW UNIFORM — S TA R T E R S
P08 P12 P13 P16 P18 P20 P21
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PPE: VISOR L AND P HOTOGR APHY COMPETITION L AT Y M E R L I K E S R E F L EC T I O N S O N V E D AY
P4 8 P50 P52 P53
SCHOOL NEWS 06
LATYMER IN LOCKDOWN 46
A YEAR IN THE LIFE 22
IN FOCUS 54
— S TA F F PA N T O — A N O T H E R Y E A R , A N O T H E R ELECTION — TREE PL ANTING — AUTHOR VISITS — A N I M A L FA R M B O O K B E N C H — T R I N I T Y S C H O O L S B O O K A W A R D CEREMONY — S T R I C T LY C O M E L A T Y M E R — BOUNCE WEEK — LE MASTER’CHOCO
P24 P28 P29 P32 P34 P36 P38 P4 0 P4 2
— A CENTURY OF CINEMA — L AT Y M E R S H O R T S — F ILM CLUB
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MUSIC DR AMA ART PHOTOGR APHY DESIGN
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— SOUTH AFRICAN TOUR — ROUND SQUARE: MARR AKECH — R OUND SQUARE: AUSTR ALIAN E XCHANGE — ROU N D SQUARE: BORN EO — R OUND SQUARE: I N T E R N AT I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E TO INDIA — I N D I A : C U LT U R E & C O N S E R VAT I O N — SKI TRIP — A R T H I S TO RY PA R I S — TA I W A N — CAL AIS
P146 P150 P154 P156 P16 0
P16 4 P166 P16 8 P 17 0 P 17 2
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YE AR 7 PRIZES YE AR 8 PRIZES YE AR 9 PRIZES YE AR 10 PRIZES Y E A R 11 P R I Z E S LOWER SIX TH PRIZES UPPER SIXTH PRIZES
P186 P186 P186 P187 P187 P188 P189
THE ARTS 64
TRIPS 144
AWARD WINNERS 184
SPORT 112
STAFF LEAVERS 174
LEAVERS’ DESTINATIONS 190
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HOCKEY U13 HOCKEY REGIONAL FINAL S RUGBY NETBALL N E T B A L L N AT I O N A L F I N A L S FOOTBALL CRICKET ROWING SWIMMING
P 114 P120 P122 P126 P132 P134 P138 P14 0 P142
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SIMON WARE C AT S U T H E R L A N D - H A W E S DANIEL GYSIN TA L L A N G I L L DAV I D BOY D MARK ALDHAM JACK SEYMOUR ELLIE CHAPMAN SAM O’LE ARY MONIK A WALKER KIRST Y MAIN TOM UDALE GEORGI E BEE VOR F I O N A R AT N A R A J ESZTER BACKHAUSZ A L B E R T O R O D R I G U E Z- M I N G U I T O THAIS LOPEZ SAR AH DELHOMME
P 176 P 176 P 17 7 P 178 P 17 9 P 17 9 P 17 9 P180 P180 P181 P181 P181 P182 P182 P182 P183 P183 P183
— COURSES AND UNIVERSITIES
P192
C O N T E N T S | 05
KIT T Y DIMOND-BROWN, GCSE
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P08
— R AIS£
P12
— CHARITIES
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— PA R T N E R S H I P S
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— I S A AC H A R A R I : YO U N G
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MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR — N E W U N I FO R M
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— S TA R T E R S
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SCHOOL NEWS
— INSPIRING MINDS
Inspiring Minds is the most ambitious fundraising campaign in Latymer’s history; we want to be able to offer a life-changing education to children regardless of their financial background. Given the unprecedented situation we are living through, it seems a good time to reflect on Inspiring Minds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
INSPIRING MINDS LAT YMER FOUNDATION
Top: Inspiring Conversations Middle: Great Latymer Drinks Party Bottom: Build our Bursaries Appeal
The Latymer Foundation at Hammersmith, a registered charity since 1878, was established in Edward Latymer’s will of 1624 ‘to clothe and educate eight poore boyes’ in Hammersmith. Today we remain true to the vision of our founder by providing bursaries at Latymer Upper School and Latymer Prep for those who qualify for a place, but cannot afford our fees. At the start of this academic year, 200 bursary students took up their place at Latymer, an increase from the 176 students receiving bursaries in 2018/19. This is testament to the incredible generosity of our school community, who have already helped us to raise over three quarters of our £40 million target, which we aim to reach by the 400th anniversary of The Latymer Foundation in 2024. This year, one in five Year 7 students were welcomed to Latymer on a bursary, and we hope to maintain the current fundraising momentum to meet our ambitious goal to be able to fund bursaries for one in four of our students by 2024.
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In September we kicked off another academic year of fundraising with the annual Inspiring Minds reception. Mr Goodhew and Gay Search, parent of alumni Dan (2004) and Nathan (2008), continued our successful speaker series, Inspiring Conversations, with talks in October and November. We welcomed over 100 Year 7 parents at a ‘Great Latymer Drinks Party’ on Thursday 14 November, which led onto a weekend of fundraising – members of the school community held ‘Great Latymer Dinner Parties’ in their homes and raised more than £6,500 for Inspiring Minds. Over 740 people attended the Staff Panto in January, which raised an incredible £8,066 over four nights. All of these events, and many more, helped raise funds for Latymer bursaries – including a ‘Build our Bursaries Appeal’, where members of the school community donated funds to have their name inscribed on a brick in the piazza, raising over £24,000. All these events, plus individual gifts from some 1,200 donors, meant that our Bursaries Appeal 2019/20 was able to fund five new bursaries for young people joining Latymer in September 2020. These awards are in addition to those funded by individual donors and by The Latymer Foundation’s endowment. ››
2 Bridges Run
Inspiring Minds launch
Edinburgh alumni coffee morning
Edinburgh drinks
Inspiring Minds launch Media Networking event
Edinburgh on the road
Winter wine tasting
Stephen Hodges and the Head
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Recent Leavers’ event
PPE production in response to the pandemic
As the global health crisis took hold, The Latymer Foundation shifted focus to help with immediate concerns in the local community – a Community Response Fund was set up to help provide support targeting local students in digital poverty, and we provided 300 dongles to local schools. This fund also supported the Latymer Hub which, every weekday since lockdown began, has hosted vulnerable children and children of key workers from Latymer and the local community. We also launched an Emergency Bursaries Fund to help provide bursarial support for Latymer families most acutely impacted by the economic repercussions of the pandemic. When Latymerian George Dzavaryan (Class of 2016) got in touch to ask if the school could help fundraise for the PPE that he and eleven fellow Latymerians had started manufacturing from the Latymer Design Labs, parents, alumni and students stepped up to the challenge and raised funds to produce 100,000 face shields for frontline healthcare staff.
Since the launch of the Inspiring Minds campaign in 2014, Latymer’s endowed bursary funds have increased significantly thanks to the collective generosity of our school community. This has put Latymer on a firmer financial footing than ever before, enabling us to quickly reassure our bursary holders – including those due to join in September 2020 – that their place at our School was secure, despite the uncertainties caused by the pandemic. This year has been like no other in the School’s history, and has highlighted the inspirational philanthropic spirit of the Latymer community. We are so grateful to those who have continued or started to give to our Inspiring Minds campaign during these uncertain times. Thanks to you, Latymer will continue to stay true to Edward Latymer’s original vision for his Foundation, and will inspire future generations of Latymerians through the provision of a life changing education. n Recent Leavers’ reception
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Cambridge Dinner
Milestone lunch
Latymer Entrepreneurs Nicol Morrow (1949)
Oxford on the road
Finance and Legal event
To find out more and donate,
visitlatymerfoundation.org
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RAIS£ STUDENT-LED FUNDRAISING CLUB
£1,561.49
CLODAGH, SIXTH FORM
This year’s grand total
With two new RAIS£ Senior Ambassadors, Jess and Evie (Sixth Form), joining Sophie and I, September kicked off with a bang at the Activities Fair as we gathered a record 173 email addresses of students keen to join RAIS£ club. At the start of the year, RAIS£ hopped on board Latymer’s modernising movement, creating a Google Classroom for the club and migrating from the Science Lecture Theatre to the CLC. Our first meeting saw the CLC packed with students from all years scribbling ideas on the walls and pitching ‘LatyMerch’ proposals, which varied from branded towels to pop sockets. When the end of the first half term rolled in, we began selling Founder’s Day wristbands, which soon became as much of a staple on the wrists of Latymerians as Reading festival bands are on Lower Sixth. Pleasing for the environmentalists among us, this year’s ‘LatyMerch’ range included not one, but two styles of reusable coffee cups, both of which increased in popularity as the café began charging for single use cups. Our collapsible coffee cups were
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launched at our first event of the year, the Christmas Fair, where more were often filled with mulled wine than coffee as children decorated gingerbread and bought our very popular reindeer hot chocolate jars. Our second design, kindly donated by Latymer alumnus Robert Myers (Class of 1967) proved just as popular, and in March, four students from Year 7 and 4 from the Sixth Form were invited to visit Robert Myers’ branded goods warehouse, Heathside Trading, to hear his tips and tricks for selling merchandise! Alongside the new cups we also sold 60 RAIS£ sweatshirts, which were probably responsible for the majority of Middle School detentions, as well as Leavers’ hoodies for the Upper Sixth. At our bake sales, Sophie’s lemon drizzle was demolished in seconds by the voracious appetites of hungry students and staff. As Easter approached, RAIS£ directed attention towards the first ever Latymer Talent Show. Boris Johnson must have been listening because we managed to sneak it in on March 13th, just 10 days before lockdown, allowing Quentin from Lower School to claim the crown after performing a stunning self-accompanied ballad on the piano.
Despite the COVID-19 cancellation of some key events – sadly including my personal favourite #RAIS£THEROOF Year 7 Disco – this year’s grand total came to £1,561.49. As Sophie and I leave school, our coffee cups, RAISE Sweatshirts, and leavers hoodies will be reminders of many fun memories of RAIS£. With 4 years left of the Inspiring Minds campaign, the work RAIS£ does is more important than ever – and not just the money. Whether you are a coffeecup user, disco dancer, sweatshirt wearer or committed volunteer, your support for RAIS£ is key to turning abstract words on the Latymer website like “inclusivity” into something real and tangible for everyone. n
This year has been a wonderful year for Charities at Latymer Upper School. The school wide theme for the year was voted in as ‘Environmentalism and Sustainability’ and our charities were the Rainforest Alliance and the Woodland Trust. Our fundraising, however, was not restricted to these two, and we continued to support the Latymer Uganda Project, as well as many other great causes.
CHARITIES THE CHARITIES COMMITTEE
In November we held the whole school tree planting day. Nearly 7,000 trees were planted in a day by pupils in years 7-13 and the Prep School organised their own day the same week. Over £6,000 was raised for TCV, ‘The Community Volunteers’ charity. Towards Christmas, we held the annual Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day and in the Spring Term £4,195 was raised for The Rainbow Trust through a Curry Night, organised by Theresa, a valued member of our catering department. The Rainbow Trust offers emotional and practical support to families who have a child with life-threatening or terminal illness. The staff held a Macmillan Coffee morning in September, also organised every year by Theresa. We raised over £620 for this excellent cause which touches the lives of many in our community. At school, our fundraising for Rainforest Alliance and Woodland Trust came to £1,190 and during the Australian forest fires we held a bake sale and raised £253 for the Australian WWF. ››
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We have continued to fundraise for the Latymer Uganda project and our fundraising has ensured that 8 children from M-Lisada organisation in Kampala have attended school this year. This follows the spirit of our School’s founder Edward Latymer, who started our school nearly 400 years ago ‘to clothe and educate eight poore boyes’. Sadly, various fundraising events and the forthcoming Uganda trip have had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we remain in regular contact with our partners in Uganda, and we will continue to fundraise for them when ‘normal’ Latymer life resumes. In the Summer Term, our main fundraising events were for the Imperial Health Trust, Emergency Appeal for COVID-19, which raised £11,800. During Refugee Week we organised a Google Meet with the founder of Care4Calais and a live broadcast from the warehouse in Calais. Four school trips have gone to Calais throughout the year to volunteer with Care4Calais, working to bring essential aid and support to the refugees sleeping outside there. With them they took 900 sleeping bags and thousands of items of clothing. The students involved in the trip raised £13,825. During lockdown, Mrs Kendall made over 80 facemasks and sold them to raise an additional £912 for Care4Calais! Ms Donkin ran every day for 50 days in lockdown, and raised £1,700 for The Trussell Trust, a foodbank charity with the aim of eradicating the need for food banks, and Refuge, which helps victims of domestic abuse escape their abusers. Thank you to everyone for all the generous support and donations. We look forward to next academic year and lots of new ideas and fundraisers! n
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Charities supported by Latymer:
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LATYMER PARTNERSHIPS JENNIFER MAINWARING
Latymer Upper School has always strived to be a good neighbour. Our founder, Edward Latymer, set the tone back in 1624 with his act of philanthropy and a strong social conscience remains part of the School’s DNA. Latymer staff and students thrive on building and strengthening mutually beneficial relationships with organisations, charities and state schools in the local community and beyond. Here are some highlights from the year! Primary Debating: this lively project has been running since 2009, involving 44 pupils in Year 6 from 10 local primary schools. Primary Debating commences annually after October half term and runs until the Easter holidays. The course is taught by Lower Sixth students as part of their Service in the Community programme, ably overseen by Mr White, Head of History. Maths Teams: this is an exciting new partnership which started in 2018/19. Maths Teams is a start-up, not-for-profit organisation who have a vision to see as many maths teams as football teams. 40 Year 5 and 6 students from 10 local primary schools are coached by Lower Sixth student volunteers to solve math and logic problems. Each coaching session prepares the teams for a 3 week competition where teams go head-to-head to be crowned the winners! Mr Devenport is the staff lead for this initiative and Mr Jordan and Mr O’Hara alternate as coaches each week. 16 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
Saturday School: this programme started in 1995 and runs annually throughout the Spring Term for 125 pupils in Year 6 from up to 26 local primary schools, organised and overseen by Ms Selby. Lessons are taught by staff from Latymer Upper and assisted by volunteers from the Lower Sixth as part of their Service in the Community programme. The Head at Queen’s Manor Primary School wrote: “the children who are participating are all showing greater confidence and self-esteem, as are the children taking part in the debating. We are keen to put children forward for these projects who would otherwise not have such an opportunity; the children are very positive and have a sense of ownership of what they are doing.”
STEM Academy: running for 5 sessions on Saturday mornings in the Spring Term, this year’s academy hosted 38 pupils in Year 7 and Year 8 from 8 local state secondary schools. Through engaging and interactive lessons, the course mimics the design and engineering process used by scientists and engineers in industry today. Over the 5 lessons (but this year 4 due to the COVID-19 crisis), pupils worked on a project that enabled them to apply their STEM skills to a project to take away and keep. It was fantastic to see 5 of our Year 8 students supporting Dr Drumm, Mrs Glencross, Mr Whitfield and Mr Creak this year. Phoenix Twilight sessions: around 15 Year 11 students from Phoenix Academy attend weekly lessons on Maths, English, Chemistry and Biology. Lessons are intended to complement students’ main curriculum learning and better prepare them for their final GCSEs. After a few sessions this year, one student said: “I felt more encouraged and inspired to learn more and to better myself. So, thank you.”
Tri-borough Music Hub: Latymer Upper School has hosted the Tri-borough Music Hub most Saturdays during term time for many years. Up to 250 local children attend, using 33 main classrooms, all of the music practise rooms and 4 key large spaces. A huge variety of music groups and lessons are on offer, and these are sometimes assisted by student volunteers from Latymer Upper. The Music Hub presents 3 end of term concerts in our Main Hall, to which the performers’ family and friends are invited.
Community Christmas Meal: this annual event in the calendar is always a hit. Run by Mr Chataway, Head of Middle School, and volunteers from Year 9-11, a delicious Christmas meal is provided in the dining hall for 100 elderly residents in the local community. n
Brightsparks: this programme is funded through a generous donor. Brightsparks offers English, Maths and Science lessons to bright children in Year 5 from local state schools and is delivered in partnership with Generating Genius. Although it couldn’t go ahead this Summer Term, it will be back in 2021!
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BBC Young Musician is a competition that many young musicians enter with low expectations. I was no exception, and was actually quite certain after my first round audition that I wouldn’t be coming back for more. The news that I had gone through to the percussion category finals came out of the blue a month later, and felt a bit too good to be true.
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KNOCK ON WOOD MY EXPERIENCE IN THE BBC YOUNG MUSICIAN 2020 PERCUSSION FINAL
ISA AC, SIXTH FORM
The first thing to hit me after I had accepted this bit of news was that I only had three months to prepare. When you have to learn three challenging solos as well as you can, this time feels even shorter than it sounds, so I knew that the time had come to put in as much work as I could if I wanted to come away happy with how I played. The programme I chose was more varied than you’d find in most percussion competitions, with a bit of snare drum, marimba and multi-percussion. This added another layer of complexity to the preparation, and I relished the opportunity to focus heavily on polishing up my solos on the different instruments until I felt that I was as ready as I could be. I received great help and support in the run up to the competition, both from my teacher and my parents, who gave up whole days to drive gear around and film my run-throughs. Arriving at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama I found myself alongside four other percussionists, who turned out to be both incredibly talented and incredibly friendly, helped along by an equally friendly staff and crew. Appearing on TV was going to be a first for me (unless a couple of seconds of me running the Sports Relief mile in 2012 counts!), so it’s safe to say the whole thing seemed a little daunting. Having to wear
make-up and spend most of the day doing interviews certainly didn’t help me feel any more at ease. But all that pressure did help me put more energy into my performance. I was given a whole run through on stage so that the cameras could pinpoint exactly where I’d be at each stage of my programme, and work out just how close they could get without me hitting one right on the lens! In the end I felt calmer walking out on stage than I had the whole week. I think I’d finally accepted that all I could do was play my best, and put the judges and the audience out of my mind. I knew that I had done something right from the applause straight after I’d finished, which was warmer than I could have ever hoped for. I had an extra reason to be grateful, that the category finals managed to slip themselves in just in time before the COVID-19 lockdown started. It was clear to me from chatting with the other contestants afterwards that everybody had enjoyed taking part, which isn’t something that can be said for most music competitions. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend entering BBC Young Musician to any young classical musicians looking to set themselves a challenge. It’s been the most memorable part of my music-making thus far. My performance is available to watch in full on the BBC Young Musician website. n
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LATYMER UPPER AND PREP SCHOOLS’ NEW UNIFORMS AND BADGE The decision to review our uniform was made after discussions with groups of our students, staff and parents, from which we gathered impressions of the current uniform and what we might potentially change to improve it. As part of those discussions we also asked the question, ‘do we need a uniform?’ and the answer from all of those groups mentioned was a clear ‘yes’. The new uniform will be phased in over 4 years so that by the 400th anniversary of the Latymer Foundation in 2024 all pupils from ages 7-16 will be wearing it. The new uniform is better quality at a lower cost, better for the environment, and is flexible, offering pupils a choice of skirt or trousers and cut of blazer. Upgrading our uniform gave us the opportunity to review the School badge, and the result is a new badge that is an evolution of current and past badges. It offers a contemporary version of an element from the original Latymer Foundation crest, which already has a strong presence around the School and is very familiar to our pupils and alumni. As we head towards our 400th anniversary, the new badge is a wonderful reflection of both our long heritage and of our School as a modern, forward-looking organisation. We are very fortunate to have had leading London design agency, SomeOne, who worked with us pro bono on the designs for the Inspiring Minds campaign, working on this project at no cost to us. As with the new uniform, the badge will be launched in School from September 2020, and will be phased in gradually as school stocks are renewed or replaced through wear and tear, during the run up to 2024. We are very grateful to our pupil, parent and alumni focus groups for their input in the development process of both uniform and school badge. n 20 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
STARTERS We welcomed a new generation of Latymerians… … and we are excited to properly send off the leavers at their prom in due course!
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— A N OT H E R Y E A R , A N OT H E R E L EC T I O N
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— T R E E P L A N T I N G
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— AU T H O R V I S I T S
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— A N I M A L FA R M B O O K B E N C H
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— T R I N I T Y S C H O O L S B O O K AWA R D
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CEREMONY — S T R I C T LY C O M E L AT Y M E R
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— B O U N C E W E E K
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— L E M A S T E R ’ C H O C O
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E L L A C H I T T E N D E N , S I X T H FO R M
— S TA F F PA N TO
A YEAR IN THE LIFE
A N O U S H K A T H A K E R , S I X T H FO R M
Latymer staff, students and friends of the school were treated to something very special in January 2020: The Staff Panto! Written by Mr Haines and Mr Ben-Nathan, and directed by Mr Joseph, the panto was quite possibly the best thing that happened in 2020! With a good dose of nostalgia, staff reflected on their experiences...
OH NO THEY DIDN’T...
STAFF PANTO AMATEUR ACTORS, A .K.A LATYMER STAFF
Despite no previous writing experience, I’ve always loved the idea of writing a Panto. So when the opportunity arose, I really couldn’t say no! In fact, it turned out to be a really organic writing process between myself and Mr Ben-Nathan during the summer break. Bringing together so many different ideas definitely had its problems to overcome. For example, I suddenly realised in the dress rehearsal that I was supposed to be playing guitar for ‘Wipeout’ in the band pit on the balcony, but then immediately on stage when the song ended. Solution: a somewhat impromptu wireless guitar that I carried on playing whilst running through various doors and down the stairs, which was then hastily thrown into the hands of stage management as I ran on stage. The real joy of it all though was bringing so many members of staff together with a whole host of experiences. I loved seeing the ‘theatre bug’ (that I’ve been infected with for so many years) replicated in the faces of colleagues. Priceless.” Mr Haines
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The most exhausting yet memorable week in my 6 years at Latymer! It was great to get back on the stage which I hadn’t braved since my Upper Sixth year. I remember the first rehearsal very well. Mr Joseph reassured me from go it was all just a bit of fun, but I remember being amazed at my incredibly talented colleagues even when just doing a read through of the script. I knew at that point that I needed to up my game! We had the best time putting it together and it was certainly worth dedicating a large proportion of the Christmas holidays to learning lines and how to sing remotely in tune. What a week!” Mrs Burns
Ah, the staff panto – what a distant memory that is now! A parallel universe where we danced up close, squeezed like excitable Year 7s into communal dressing rooms, winched each other into costumes and shared hairspray, foundation, even lipsticks(!) without a thought. For me, being a shameless show-off, the whole experience was a reminder of why I decided to retrain as a teacher 24 years ago: I wanted to do again all the things I’d so loved about school and university, and not on the side, but as part of the day job. Drama, dance, music, creativity: these are the things that give life to a school and the people in it.” Mrs Collier
A Y E A R I N T H E L I F E | 25
Not having done any acting since Year 4 it was a bit of a leap in the dark, but in the end so much fun. More fun, even, than doing spreadsheets! Not being able to play team sport properly since injuring my leg it was great to be involved in a different kind of team sport, and the camaraderie was as great as anything I’ve experienced on the Frisbee pitch.” Mr Ben-Nathan
Nope, I didn’t know I could rap either.” Mr Goldsmith
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I genuinely thought that I would never get the opportunity to perform again! I used to love it at school, but like many of childhood’s hobbies and passions, the lid seemed to have closed on it a long time ago. Getting together with a cast with a shared vision, helping each other out, and enjoying every minute was a real pleasure. I also felt it was a great bonding experience. I got to work with colleagues I had never really spoken to, and it broke down lots of formal working relationships. A truly memorable experience. Again, please!� Mr Edwards
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ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER ELECTION MEANING CHAOS, CANVASSING, CORRUPTION AND OF COURSE COVERAGE FREDERICK, LOWER SCHOOL
When the election was announced, everybody knew that this would be the most important election since the end of the Second World War. With the Brexit deadline of the 31st of January looming, we knew that whether Brexit would happen or not would depend on the result of this election. Of course, with all of these elections, it was only right that we held our own one here at Latymer.
T
hanks to Mr Gilbert, we had a full election, with campaigning, debates and our own polling station. From the first opinion poll, anyone would be able to see the trend that was on show. The lower years were unanimously voting for the Liberal Democrats, with that trend continuing all the way through the election campaign, even after the debates. Other parties would have hoped to win support in Years 10 and 11, but the turnout appeared to be very low, and so the only way any parties would gain more support was by trying to get Sixth Form and as many of the younger years as possible. On the 27th of November 2019, the official candidates were announced. These came as no surprise to us to see Erwin, Oscar, Francesca, Gabriel and Christian representing the Conservatives, the Lib Dems, Labour, Green and Brexit Party respectively. We then had 3 fascinating debates in the Sixth Form, Lower School and the Middle School. All the debates went well, and there was an opinion poll following on from them. The Lib Dems kept hold of their early lead. Interestingly, it also showed that the turnout to the debates was very low, with only Ÿ of those taking part in the poll having attended at least one debate, and it also showed that an even smaller percentage of people had their voting intentions changed due to it. The exit poll then followed an excellent Question Time Election Special. The Lib Dems kept hold of their lead at that time, and when Mr Gilbert announced the results in the whole school assembly, it was no surprise to see the Liberal Democrats’ leader, Oscar, well at the top with 450 votes. Overall, it was a fantastic election campaign, and an incredible result for the Liberal Democrats. n
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TREE PLANTING
KITTY, SIXTH FORM
On November 25th 2019 during National Tree Week, Latymer undertook a record breaking project that saw over 1,200 Latymerians plant more than 6,000 trees and hedgerows across West London. »
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his feat is believed to be the largest number of trees planted in London by a single school in the space of one day. It was perhaps one of the more hectic events to organise; ensuring Year 7s and 8s travel on a tube altogether to sites including Acton Park, Southfield Playing Fields, Elthorne Park, Twyford Crescent and Blondin Park was not easy; however, it was fabulously executed and the outcome was nothing short of amazing, not just for the environment but also for the surrounding community. The planting would not have been able to happen without the help from the TCV charity who helped to organise the day as well as the Mayor of London who donated many of the trees as part of his tree giveaway scheme. The activities that we completed either before the planting or after included calculating our carbon footprints, researching relevant news articles about the environment and talks from various speakers. These activities meant that all students had the chance to properly learn about the benefits of tree planting which include improving air quality, reducing global temperatures and improving habitats. As I’m sure all Latymerians will agree, not only was the day very rewarding but it was highly enjoyable, with Year 13s all the way to Year 7s very eager to get involved. During the day I came across pupils who had named their trees as well as ones who had promised to come back to the site and see how their tree was doing in years to come. Furthermore, the general consensus of the students after the day was that many of them would readily get involved with projects such as this one in the future.
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The idea of tree planting corresponds directly with this year’s charity theme of ‘Environmentalism and Sustainability’ which was chosen by Latymerians themselves as well as the two ideals ‘Environment’ and ‘Service’ which come under Round Square’s main themes. Projects to improve the environment and offset carbon emissions are becoming more and more relevant, so it was the perfect time to carry out this mass planting and I hope that it will encourage other schools to organise similar projects in the future. n
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AUTHOR VISITS MS MCCARGAR, LIBRARIAN
Students were treated to visits from 3 authors, each of whom had a book featured on the Latymer Book Challenge/TSBA.
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Holly Jackson and Muhammad Khan on their visits to the school
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olly Jackson, author of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, spoke to all Year 8 pupils on 19th November. A debut novelist, Holly shared her essential toolkit for aspiring writers: pyjamas, the messy bun, coffee and procrastination aids (Nutella, Netflix and stacks of smart-looking books and notebooks). She then read from the beginning of her mystery thriller, challenging students to pronounce the 14-syllable word she now regretted including! Finally she described a crime scene where the popular head teacher is found murdered in his study. She challenged students to hypothesize ‘whodunnit’, the motive and why they reached this conclusion. Muhammad Khan addressed Year 9 students on 26th November. After becoming an engineer to please his parents, he retrained as a Maths teacher. Inspired by his students but frustrated not to see any teen books that featured their stories, he decided to
write his own. His first novel, I Am Thunder, was an attempt to understand how a British Muslim girl growing up in London could be radicalised. Kick the Moon deals with the pressures of being a teenager, including bullying and toxic masculinity, and comic book art. Both books are gritty, authentic and very current – filled with humour and slang. Muhammad’s short book Split was published as a World Book Day book in March; all of his books are loosely related with minor characters from one novel featured in another. On Friday, 31st January, the award-winning novelist Tanya Landman was in conversation with Ms McCargar in front of a Year 7 audience and a group from Ibstock Place School. Many students read Beyond the Wall this year for the Latymer Book Challenge. Set in Roman Britain, it tells of Cassia, a slave to a Roman man, who escapes to Londinium, and then journeys around the Roman Empire before
returning to lead a rebellion. While many of Tanya’s novels are based on historical figures, she says there are bits of herself that make their way into the story, such as Caleb’s Punch & Judy show in Hell & High Water, which was based on her late husband’s work as a puppeteer. Her fiction tends to shine a light on the stories and struggles of real people who tend to be neglected by history textbooks, such as Siki, an Apache girl who wants to become a warrior (Apache), runaway slaves (Passing for White) and the imagined childhood of Annie Oakley, the greatest markswoman of the American West (One Shot). Tanya talked about the need to understand history and how fiction can help us learn about our past. She spent five years researching Buffalo Soldier; as a white British author writing about an African American, she felt an enormous responsibility to get the story right. Her latest book is a retelling of Charlotte Bronte’s classic, Jane Eyre, in a super-readable edition. n
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ANIMAL FARM
BOOK BENCH BY IAN BECK MS MCCARGAR, LIBRARIAN
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atymer’s own Animal Farm book bench was finally unveiled by artist Ian Beck on Friday, 20 September 2019. The blank fibreglass bench was supplied by Wild in Art and is the same design as those used for the 50 illustrated book benches in the National Literacy Trust’s “Books About Town” literary trails in London in 2014. Students in the previous academic year chose Animal Farm by George Orwell from a shortlist, in part because it is the first novel many Latymerians read in their English class in Year 7. The artist and author Ian Beck, who visited Latymer for World Book Day 2017, was commissioned to illustrate the bench. Ian Beck is an acclaimed illustrator, best known for his many picture books and for designing Elton John’s album cover for Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Ian visited school 9 times over the summer and painted the bench in situ in the Big Studio, using acrylic paints and marker pens. There are many details for the careful observer: the front of the bench shows the sunny, rose-tinted world of the some-moreequal-than-other pigs, while the back depicts the loyal efforts of Boxer, slaving away to rebuild the ruined windmill, through
thorny brambles and a storm. The recesses on each side hint at the ending to come: the brambles are in fact encroaching round to the pigs’ world on one side; the skull of Old Major is tucked into the other. (There’s even a yellow brick road!) After a final top coat of clear varnish was applied at half-term, the bench is now available for all to enjoy – and perch on – in the Library for many years to come. Ms McCargar thanks the many staff who helped with this project, including:
• Mr Chalkley – for filling a small area of
damage, painting the blue binding, varnishing and keeping Ms McCargar calm during the varnish incident • Mr Bohane – for help with projecting the rough artworks and photographing work in progress • Mr Mumby – for the use of the studio and supplies • The Facilities team (Jarek, Victor, Manley, Gerry, Ian) – for moving the bench to the art studio and back, adjusting the bench height for painting • The IT team – for the odd bit of heavy lifting • Mr Reynolds – for the loan of the Theatre blocks to rest the bench on. n
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TRINITY SCHOOLS BOOK AWARD CEREMONY MS MCCARGAR, LIBRARIAN
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The 2020 Trinity Schools Book Award (TSBA) was awarded on Thursday 12 March to Penny Joelson for her debut novel I Have No Secrets, before an audience of around 200 pupils from schools across London and the South East. The audience included a group of 11 Lower School pupils from Latymer Upper, along with the Librarians, Ms McCargar and Miss Costelloe, in one of the last school trips before the coronavirus lockdown was announced. As it was also Aashna’s birthday, the girls were encouraged to sing “Happy Birthday” to her twice whilst washing their hands on arrival at City of London School!
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tudents from 30 schools took part in the TSBA (known at school as the Six Book Challenge) this year, voting for their favourite book from a shortlist of six with the theme Stand Up, Speak Out. The Ceremony included an exhibition of the best student book reviews and creative responses to the books. The formal programme began with a Q&A discussion panel with three of the shortlisted authors: Tanya Landman, Nicky Singer and Andrew Norriss. Publishing legend David Fickling then presented the student competition winners with their prizes, giving each an elbow bump instead of the usual handshake. Sadly, no Latymerians came away as overall winners this year, although a number of their entries were showcased at the Ceremony, including
Mr Tidey’s form’s film trailer and Amelie’s “secret” poem in response to Mike, which was overtyped in red and blue ink and could only be read by donning first one pair of coloured glasses, and then by a second pair. The standard of creative responses received this year – ranging from 3D models, poetry, paintings, cakes and songs to both computer and board games, puppets and films – demonstrated incredible imagination and inventiveness. Head of English Richard Riggs (a former teacher at Latymer) then announced the winner of the TSBA 2020. Penny Joelson herself was not able to attend the Ceremony at the last minute due to illness, but the Award was accepted on her behalf by her editors. Students then had the opportunity to meet the authors and have books signed. n
THE COMPLETE TSBA 2020 SHORTLIST: The Ones that Disappeared by Zana Fraillon (Orion Children’s) I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson (Electric Monkey) Beyond the Wall by Tanya Landman (Walker) Mike by Andrew Norriss (David Fickling) Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Orion Children’s) The Survival Game by Nicky Singer (Hodder Children’s)
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STRICTLY COME LATYMER THE CAST AND CREW, SIXTH FORM
Taking part in Strictly Come Latymer has been one of our most memorable and enjoyable experiences at Latymer so far. Putting in all the rehearsal hours, after school and on weekends, really paid off in the final week as we put on two amazing shows! The audience seemed to love it.
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rom the judges’ clever and witty comments, to the amusing videos each couple made in advance of the show, displaying their personal rehearsals and funny clips, we were really able to capture the Strictly style! Every couple went from being amateur dancers to confident and slick duos, performing complicated and tiring routines, but making it seem so easy! Each number was unique and entertaining and all the couples became such good friends. It was a fantastic bonding experience and we would really recommend to tentative dancers to sign up in the future! n
First night winners
Second night winners
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O UNCE B WEEK ANDREW EDWARDS, HEAD OF BOUNCE
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hroughout the year the school runs regular BOUNCE sessions during form time, as part of the school’s wellbeing strategy. BOUNCE stands for Brain, Optimism, Unwind, Nutrition, Connection and Exercise. These are areas that research has identified as huge contributors to student wellbeing. The flagship event in the wellbeing calendar is the annual BOUNCE week which launched this year on the 7th October 2019. Throughout the week the school runs events that give students the opportunity to focus on their wellbeing. The activities included: quizzes, a silent disco, walks, meditation, a smoothie bike, live music, theatre performances and visits from our therapy dog, Norman. The school also used this opportunity to launch our new exercise classes. These are run by personal trainers from Nuffield Health and include Yoga, Spin & Boxercise. We hope the students continue to use these opportunities. The activities laid on will hopefully educate and inspire the students to take up new habits which will help them maintain their wellbeing throughout school and beyond. n
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LE MASTER’CHOCO 2020 ANNA-CLARE HETHERINGTON, TEACHER OF SPANISH AND FRENCH
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ward-winning French Chocolatier, Monsieur Bernard Manguin, formed a dramatic duo with Chef Philippe Ribera to run this year’s unique ‘Le Master’Choco’. An event never seen before at Latymer, the pair flew in from Montpellier and in just one week delivered a chocolate-making competition to over 100 students, a signature dish and dessert every day to 500 students and staff, an Assembly to the whole Prep School and even a chocolate and wine tasting evening for parents, replete with a three course dinner and a French vineyard owner presenting her wine.
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le master’choco was a really fun event that I got to experience with my friends. i now have a greater appreciation for chocolatiers!” Artemis
Sunday 9th February, COVID-19 pandemic looming, ‘Le Master’Choco’ a year in the planning, Storm Chiara hits, and on their flight Chocolatier Manguin and Chef Ribera are tossed about and find themselves praying together with the quivering rugby team on board. Shaken but not deterred they just about make it to SW19 with their suitcases of cocoa and ingredients intact. Tuesday 11th February – ‘crème-fraîchegate’ – it simply isn’t the same consistency as in France – THE DESSERTS WILL FLOP,
“Au secours!”, yells Bernard. Pâtisserie Sainte-Anne to the rescue, agreeing to sell ALL their crème-fraîche to Bernard. Lunch successfully delivered to 1,000 – phew! Later that afternoon, 24 students converge on the Dining Hall. Working in teams of 3 – their mission (should they choose to accept it!) is to create a triptych of chocolate bars, all beautifully designed using dark, rose and caramel chocolate. A creative flair is required, a steady hand and any writing needs to be back to front. »
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Chocolatier Bernard guides the group in French with his calm professionalism, ensuring that the melted dark chocolate is raised and then lowered to exactly the correct temperature so it will set. Meanwhile, with piping in hand, the trios proceed to decorate their triptych moulds delicately using the coloured chocolate. Once complete, the dark chocolate is poured on top and the moulds are refrigerated. We all pause for a moment… Bernard provides us with a thin, square of chocolate which we slowly unwrap. Absorbing the aroma we snap the chocolate in half and listen to a clean cracking sound. Placing the chocolate in our mouths we allow it to melt (exactly 30 degrees) we savour the flavour and with all senses now fully activated. We have just learnt the French art of ‘gourmandise’... Once set, our chocolatier ‘de-moulds’ the chocolate – the students gasp, 3 perfectly formed, beautifully decorated chocolate bars! Now for the judging... three workshops later the panel select Artemis, Esme and Jackie (Middle School) as the ultimate winners for their African-themed triptych
consisting of leopard prints, zebra stripes and a burning sun; cohesive and novel, some of their ideas may well be incorporated into Bernard’s next artisan collection! This was an event that touched the whole school community and I would like to say an enormous ‘thank you’ to Martin James and his wonderful catering team, David CurtisDonnelly and his awesome facilities’ team, and Cameron Parker and his fantastique MFL team. But the biggest shout out of all of goes to Bernard Manguin, and of course Philippe Ribera who managed to persuade an artisan chocolatier to leave his calm, provincial boutique atelier and dedicate a week of his life to help Latymerians appreciate the art of chocolate making! Bernard’s crowning moment was, I believe, when the prep school children asked for his autograph following his fascinating assembly on the process of chocolate making. Sunday 17th February: Storm Dennis hits. Suitcases somewhat lighter, sense of relief and exhaustion as the fantastic duo depart en route to Gatwick. 15 minutes later, stuck at Clapham Junction, no trains, roads flooded, they don’t speak English… “Au secours!” n
Overall the students loved this unique event
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i really enjoyed the chocolatier’s workshop and it has inspired me to experiment more with my own chocolate creations, it was such a great learning experience!� Esme
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— P P E : V I S O R L A N D
P4 8
— P H OTO G R A P H Y C O M P E T I T I O N
P5 0
— L AT Y M E R L I K E S
P52
— R E F L EC T I O N S O N V E DAY
P53
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LATYMER IN LOCKDOWN
LO U I S P H I L P OT T, M I D D L E S C H O O L
VISOR LAND MARGAUX, SIXTH FORM
On the 23rd of March 2020 everything stopped – life, the tube, the pubs and even school… abruptly. But not everyone stopped, and those that carried on, our key workers, became heroes.
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t Latymer life was very different too. Instead of rowdy Year 7s in DT there was George Dzavaryan (Latymer alumni) and his company Augment Bionics. They transformed the DT department into a 3D printing factory, producing and packaging PPE visors. Throughout the early weeks of lockdown their project grew and in April, thanks to donations, Augment began outsourcing their production to factories. At this point (on the 4th of May) they handed Latymer visor land over to us – Jago, Hudson, Sam, Jemma, Inigo and Margaux. We had been at home since March, hearing repeatedly the press reports of front line staff (across care homes and hospitals)
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putting themselves at risk with little to no PPE supply. This, as for all of us, was painful to hear – so we jumped at the invitation from Miss Green to come in and begin our own line of PPE visor production and donation. The first day was marked mostly by the excitement of leaving the house and seeing friends! Not that we don’t love our families but lockdown was something else. We then got to know our 3D printers, who we spent so much time with they became people, namely Dan, Ella and Fiona (reliable), Leroy and Harry (crazy unreliable and honestly nightmares – we ended on bad terms with Harry and took him to pieces), Issy, Clara and Prusa (beautiful people) and Jamie (a beast! printing a total of 846 visors himself).
We then set up the visor farm into three stations : 1. The printers – after playing with the design and G code settings these 9 printers would print a visor headband in 15 minutes (we would produce 150-180 visors a day). Each headband would then be scraped with a scalpel until smooth and stacked in piles of 10 – they would then be sent down a crazy overhead wire (kind of like a washing line) across the workshop to packaging. We definitely made the workshop our home, complete with sofas from our beloved common room and a repurposed interactive whiteboard to watch Silent Witness all day (we went through many seasons). 2. At the packaging station 10 visor headbands and clear screens would be sealed in a pouch together and placed in boxes of 100.
3. Distribution. In total we donated just under 5000 PPE visors between the 4th of May and the 26th of June. The visors went to many different locations. Firstly we wanted to help our local community. Each day we scoured Google maps to email and call all our local GPs, care homes and dentists in West London. We then delivered to them ourselves, it was lovely to meet and thank those on the front line and create a relationship with them – often resulting in repeat orders of visors throughout the crisis. We then found a facebook group run by Visor Army – this was an amazing initiative that connected those making visors with small groups of key workers in need and a network of volunteers acting as couriers between the two. With this service we expanded our donations across London and even to Devon – it was great to feel as though we were part
of a larger community. Lastly, as local demand for visors dropped we were contacted by a charity running PPE shipments to Ghana. These were some of our final donations, the last order leaving Latymer on the 25th of June. This initiative was a great experience, we all learnt so much about working as a team, 3D printing, communicating with those in need and providing a reliable product. We also want to say a huge thank you to the DT teachers that gave up their time to make it possible and created such a fun atmosphere, Miss Green, Ms Snooks, Mr Whitfield, Ms Selby and Mr Creak. n
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ANGELINA SEVERINA, LOWER SCHOOL VA LER I A SH E V ELE VA , SIX TH FORM
INDIRA OGUNBIYI, MIDDLE SCHOOL
LOCKDOWN
AMARYLLIS POVLSEN, LOWER SCHOOL
PA RSA M I R R A Z AV I , LOWER SCHOOL
LUC GABRI EL , LOWER SCHOOL
ALF BROUGHTON, SIXTH FORM
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B E L L A B R AY, S I X T H FO R M
ISABELLA MAZZI, LOWER SCHOOL
J E SS CR AV EN , SIX TH FORM
PHOTOGRAPHY During lockdown, a photography competition was set up to inspire students to get creative with the (local!) world around them. We were seriously impressed with the fantastic photographs that were entered! Here are some of the highlights...
IHSAN MITHANI, MIDDLE SCHOOL
CARTER HOPKI NS, LOWER SCHOOL MAXIMILIAN JEN, LOWER SCHOOL
ROMAN STRONG, LOWER SCHOOL
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During lockdown, four Sixth Form students, Amelia, Raphe, Takumi and Emma, took the initiative to create something new and exciting: a newspaper designed to spread good news, but also highlight volunteer work students are doing and opportunities for others to get involved. The 4 issues were incredibly comprehensive, bringing a lot of joy to students and staff during a potentially anxious and isolating time. Here is one of the highlights:
A HAPPY NEWSLETTER BORN OUT OF LATYMER’S SERVICE IN THE COMMUNITY
CLEM’S BUTTERFLIES AND CALL TO ARMS My time in lockdown has consisted of caterpillars, butterflies and unusual panic about a plant called milkweed. Deciding to relive one of my favourite activities when I was younger, I bought some painted-lady caterpillars and watched them grow, form chrysalises and emerge into butterflies. As butterflies, I only kept them for a couple days in their net for them to dry and drain their wings of the fluid they formed in, as well as giving them flowers and fruits to feed on, before I released them into some communal gardens by my home. Of my three caterpillars, one of them was delighted to fly off and experience the world with fewer humans, while the other two definitely took a lot more persuasion! After this butterfly adventure ended, I was unable to let go of how much fun it was, so began my next caterpillar order. Thus my 10 comma caterpillars arrived in the mail around a week later. This time, with only food for their travelling and without a caterpillar
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environment for them to live in, I had to quickly improvise. Later that day I ran out to Hyde Park to cut some stinging nettles (their preferred food) and located a large jar with a hole in the lid. I’m very proud of the finished product of what, to me, looks like a very stylish home! Uncovering my interest in butterflies has led me to research butterflies in London and how this has been changing more recently. I found out that Monarch butterflies, which have been present in London for years, are pretty much non-existent now, and this is all due to the removal of a plant called milkweed. Unfortunately for butterflies, each species relies on very specific plants as they are very fussy eaters. Monarchs only eat milkweed, and milkweed has been removed from parks all over London as recreation spaces like sports pitches have been built. So I have taken it upon myself to begin growing milkweed on my balcony and I urge others to as well, so that we can attract Monarch butterflies back to London. n
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his year, the world marked VE day during a time of lockdown and so it seemed poignant to share this beautiful image of the stained glass window that sits high in the School Chapel, whose meaning remains apt in these moments. It was designed by Pilgrim Wetton, a Latymerian who also did the stained glass windows in the Hall in the 1940-50s. Malcolm Smith, a Classics teacher, Chaplain and Archivist at Latymer for many years, summed it up perfectly in his history of the Chapel: Of the windows in the Chapel itself, the round one over the original altar shows the Resurrection of Jesus and also the Latymer arms and the arms of Slough, where the School was evacuated during the Second World War, suggesting thanksgiving for the survival of the School, the sacrifices of its members and its rebirth after the war.
This chimes well with the wisdom of Franciscan sister and scientist Ilia Delio, who wrote this in March and was quoted in Richard Rohr’s Easter reflection: Death and resurrection are part of the evolutionary path toward wholeness; letting go of isolated existence for the sake of deeper union. Something dies but something new is born – which is why the chaos of our times is, in a strange way, a sign of hope; something new is being born within. Out of chaos, a star is born. Breakdown can be break through if we recognize a new pattern of life struggling to emerge. This beautiful piece of art helps us simultaneously to give thanks for past deliverance from war and in our present look forward to a moment of our return and rebirth as a school family. n
This reflection reminds us that after the victory in war, life continued with thanksgiving, some mourning, but ultimately hope for the future, a message which seems poignant during the COVID-19 virus.
VE DAY 2020: RETURN AND REBIRTH GREG COOK, LUS CHAPLAIN
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J U D E P U R C E L L , S I X T H FO R M
— A C E N T U RY O F C I N E M A
P5 6
— L AT Y M E R S H O R T S
P5 8
— F I L M C LU B
P62
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IN FOCUS
ROSA WILLIAMS, GCSE
A CENTURY LUKE MA XTED, TEACHER OF ENGLISH
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The cinema went on to become the dominant art form of the twentieth century. Hollywood became a ‘dream factory,’ its glamorous stars the most famous people on the planet, and the grammar of filmmaking a fresh way of telling stories.
Like good cinematographers, they did so from many angles. They studied major historical changes, such as the rise and fall of the Hollywood studio system, the Hays code of censorship and the digital revolution. They studied central genres, such as the western, through John Ford’s ‘The Searchers,’ film noir, through Billy Wilder’s ‘Double Indemnity’ and the screwball comedy, from George Cukor to Woody Allen. They spent plenty of time overseas – in a lesson on ‘La Nouvelle Vague,’ they considered Astruc’s “camérastylo,” Godard’s jump cuts and Belmondo’s “Bogey” – and behind the camera – the tracking shots of Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese and Alexander Sokurov, the editing of Sergei Eisenstein and Jean Renoir, the screenplays of ‘Casablanca’ and ‘Chinatown.’
New to Latymer’s elective offering this year was the ‘Century of Cinema’ course, in which Sixth Formers explored this phenomenon.
Two prominent books on cinema, John Alton’s Painting with Light and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Sculpting in Time, invite the
n 28th January 1896, the Lumière brothers, inventors of the motionpicture camera, screened a fifty-second silent film that showed the entry of a steam train into a station on the French coast. The train moved directly towards the camera, and the audience shrieked in terror. The Russian novelist Maxim Gorky attended a Lumière screening. “Last night,” he began his piece, “I was in the Kingdom of Shadows.”
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OF CINEMA reader to see the movies as an animation of classical art. The Lower Sixth watched much original and arresting cinema during the course, contemplating all the while to what extent cinema greets us as entertainment, and to what extent as something higher. The new technology which Latymer has made available for enthusiasts of film, such as lighting, cameras and the cinema screen in the Recital Hall, made ‘A Century of Cinema’ a practical as well as an academic introduction to film. Next year, the Summer Term trip to the BFI Southbank will proceed as planned, for those incoming crews of cinephiles who have elected to spend a term “In the Kingdom of the Shadows.” n I N FO C U S | 57
I was heavily inspired by the streets to make my film, and always enjoyed a day out in a car. I remember making my film vividly; I recorded around an hour of footage on my camera whilst driving; and took some pictures. I did this on the way there and back (I was going to a small remote location in the mountains of India). I then approached editing a little bit later as I wanted to do it with a fresh mind. Then I sat down at night for an hour or so for two days every fortnight for a month. I would edit, and get rid of the useless stuff, and add some pictures that I had taken. I really enjoyed seeing my film slowly coming together, and thinking of it during the week. Overall, I was surprised when I won as I only wanted to do it for fun! “ Jaisal, Lower School
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LATYMER SHORTS JAISAL, EMILY, CLAIRE & SHARUJAN
Last August I was on holiday in Kandy, Sri Lanka during the Esala Perahera which is the largest Buddhist festival in Asia. Elephants take pride of place in the nightly processions. By day, more and more elephants arrived transported on the back of trucks; many were kept in small muddy areas, on short chains, standing in their own waste and swaying perhaps in distress. By night, they were covered in lights, legs chained to limit their stride, carrying heavy ornate statues and enduring loud bangs from firecrackers and whips as they walked around the procession circuit. I was struck by the contrast of the elephants daytime and nighttime routines and at the same time how at odds this was with the life of an elephant living in a natural habitat. I wondered how aware the elephants were of this too. I knew that the country was divided on whether the treatment of the elephants was inhumane and I thought “why not see what others think?”. This inspired me to create a film, a film where there is no text but just images and sound, a film that will make people think. I never thought I’d actually win!” Emily, Lower School
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I was inspired by an animation with the same audio on YouTube. I felt tired of seeing straight relationships in animated series as I would only see same-sex pairings. So I decided to animate my own film with a lesbian pairing. I drew the frames and animation on Firealpaca, and transported them to my iPad, where I edited them with Movie Star. I later realized there is much better editing software on the computers in A7. I loved creating the characters and the storyline, and seeing it all play out on screen, and I enjoyed the reactions I got from other people. To hear that your animation really touched someone makes you feel really happy!” Claire, Middle School
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I have always enjoyed making short skits, even if it was just to send to friends. I’ve always aimed to make something that would not only make me laugh, but also make others laugh, and found discovering that I could use film to entertain and amuse delightful. The main difficulty with the submission to the film competition was trying to get a story across in one minute, something which relied on the audience getting to know the characters, the context of the situation, experience some drama and some conflict, and be left with a satisfying conclusion – all in less time than it takes to make toast! Editing is really what enables this, and it is the most underappreciated element of filmmaking; it can make or break an entire film, and it was a real joy to me as you can see everything coming together in the way you visualised it. Taking part in the competition was one of the highlights of Year 13, and overall an amazing experience. What I enjoyed more than winning was being able to make so many people laugh, and it was great to have people in other years who I’d never met before coming up to me and telling me how funny their form found the film and how much they’d laughed. I will definitely be making more skits and short films in the future.” Sharujan, Sixth Form
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FILM CLUB
REYEB: ‘THE IDEA IS TO LEAVE HERE A LITTLE SMARTER’ CHARLIE AND GEORGE, SIXTH FORM
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The original Film Club at Latymer entered its third and most successful year in 2019/2020. The club reached new heights with the introduction of a beautiful cinematic projector and sound system in the Recital Hall. We were able to watch films in their optimum form.
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udiard’s ‘Un Prophete’ and Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ were notable examples that flourished on the big screen. The programme of the club was formed through double-bills of a certain director or actor’s work. These included Sofia Coppolla (Virgin Suicides/Lost in Translation), David Lynch (Eraserhead/The Elephant Man) and Bill Forysth (Gregory’s Girl/Local Hero). The double bill format enabled us to really gain a sense of the director’s style and it was incredibly interesting to observe what aspects they retained or discarded from film to film.
Director Edgar Wright, gave a Q&A on his influences and career, while documentary maker Adam Curtis spoke on his belief regarding the Self and Collective thinking; two interesting talks from separate ends of the film spectrum.
We also maintained a commitment to regularly show a foreign film: Fellini’s ‘La Strada’ and Koreeda’s ‘Maborosi’ were favourites. Individual films were also shown: Hitchcock’s ‘Rear Window’, John Singleton’s ‘Boyz n the Hood’ and James’s documentary ‘Hoop Dreams’ were all popular choices. Sean Baker’s raucous directorial debut ‘Tangerine’, which we featured during LGBTQ month, was also a fantastic viewing experience. Though our final term’s programme was cut short, Film Club ended on a strong viewing of Sidney Lumet’s ‘Serpico’, received with both credit and confusion.
We would both like to thank Mrs Adams, Mr White and Mr Cook for their continued support over the course of the club’s duration. We would also like to thank everyone who attended the club. We both loved running the club and there was no better feeling than coming out of school on Friday at six and having a chat about what we loved and disliked about the film we had just watched.
The club progressed not only in terms of viewing experience but also what it offered.
Both of us will be departing this year, but the club remains in safe hands with Tait. We also have plans to announce a programme that will allow local primary school children to come and watch a film every half-term, beginning with Studio Ghibli’s ‘My Neighbour Totoro’.
Throughout its years, Film Club faced both challenges and room changes alike. But the films always prevailed as the screens and TVs of Latymer witnessed everything from Bob Hoskins’ arrival at the airport in ‘The Long Good Friday’ to the final bike race of ‘Breaking Away’. n I N FO C U S | 63
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— W H O L E S C H O O L P L AY
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— DESIGN — G C S E
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S O F I A H U N T- DAV I S , S I X T H FO R M
— MUSIC:
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THE ARTS
ANNA BETTELHEIM, GCSE
MUSIC
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MUSIC CALENDAR TONY HENWOOD, HEAD OF MUSIC
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MUSIC SCHOLARS’ CONCERT
ACT OF REMEMBRANCE
The musical term got off to an excellent start with our Music Scholars’ Concert. The playing was of the customary high standard and we enjoyed hearing our new Lower School music scholar, Arabella, give a very lyrical performance of Finzi’s Prelude on the clarinet. There were also notable performances from Alex (Middle School) who played the first movement from Poulenc’s Sonata for clarinet and piano, Alina (Middle School, cello) who played the first movement from Elgar’s magisterial Cello Concerto and Tianrun (Sixth Form, piano) who played Liszt’s fiendishly difficult Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6. Other highlights included a performance of the second movement from Albinoni’s Oboe Concerto in D minor by James (Middle School) , Madeline (Lower School) who played Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, Op 20 (violin), and a haunting vocal duet, Purcell’s Ode on the death of Queen Mary, O dive custos, sung by Lilly and Alexandra (Sixth Form).
It has become an annual tradition at Latymer for an Act of Remembrance to take place in the Piazza and Oscar (Sixth Form) gave a moving rendition of the Last Post and Reveille as many of the school community gathered to pay their respects and observe the two minutes’ silence. This is an extremely nerve-wracking gig for the trumpeter but Oscar gave a flawless rendition.
LATYMER UPPER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERT The Latymer Upper Symphony Orchestra Concert maintained its musically high standards in the autumn, with a concert of wide ranging repertoire that included Arnold’s Five Cornish Dances, Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, Peter Maxwell Davies’ Five Klee Pictures and we ended in style with a medley of songs from Lowe’s My Fair Lady. In the spring term, we were visited by musicians from the Johanneum in Hamburg, and enjoyed another very successful exchange, culminating in an excellent
concert in the Bishop Centre at Godolphin. Astonishingly, we were celebrating the 39th anniversary of the orchestral exchange which started in 1982. Our concert included items by Dvorak, Sibelius and Vivaldi, and there were two solos from Latymerians: Alexandra (Sixth Form) gave an extremely accomplished performance of the first movement from Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, and Ozan (Sixth Form) gave a lively account of Dittersdorf’s little-known Concerto for Double Bass.
ORCHESTRAL, JAZZ AND CHORAL CONCERT This included items from the Latymer Orchestra (Overture to Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Chamber Orchestra (Suk’s Serenade for Strings, Op 6), Wind Band and Concert Band, together with performances by two jazz ensembles. At the Choral Concert a week later, the combined Chamber Choir and Schola Cantorum joined forces to perform Handel’s Messiah with all of the solos taken by pupils at the school: » M U S I C | 67
Edward, Jago, Alexandra, Ozan, Amy, Grace and Thalia (Sixth Form). In the same concert, the Latymer Consort performed a selection of music written for double choir and there were also spirited items from the Lower School Choirs.
EVENSONG AT ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL Latymer Consort sang Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral at the beginning of the spring term. A number of parents and staff joined us in the congregation for the service and the choir gave extremely impressive performances of music by Stanford and Wood. This has become an annual fixture in the music calendar and it is always a privilege to sing in such an extraordinary building.
SINGING COMPETITIONS Singing at Latymer goes from strength to strength and in January we held our senior singing competition, adjudicated by Lyn Alcántara, a very experienced choir trainer and vocal coach. Lyn worked with some of our senior singers during an afternoon masterclass and the evening went on to feature a highly impressive array of songs from a diverse range of periods, genres and styles. After much deliberation, she chose the following Sixth Form prize winners: – 3rd: Niko and Maddie – 2nd: Liam – 1st: Emma who gave a superb performance of Schonberg’s I’d give my life for you from Miss Saigon.
MUSIC COMPETITIONS There were also extremely impressive performances from our young musicians at the Junior Music Competition which took place in March. We were pleased to welcome Elisabetta Bell, currently on the staff at Westminster Under School and former Director of Music at Latymer Prep School, as our adjudicator, and she awarded the following Lower School prizes: 68 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
Beginner – 1st: Rory (guitar) – 2nd: Kira (saxophone) – 3rd: Dylan (piano) Intermediate – 1st: Alfonso (cello) – 2nd: Chloe (piano) – 3rd: Rebecca (viola). At our recent Senior Competition, our adjudicator, Lisa McAdam, Director of Music at The Godolphin & Latymer School, chose the following winners: – 1st: Nikolas (Sixth Form, piano) – 2nd: Alex (Middle School, violin) – 3rd: Stella (Middle School, cello). The Sally Rose Memorial Cup for the most memorable piano playing of the evening also went to Lilly (Sixth Form). There was much to look forward to which sadly had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We were particularly looking forward to our annual concert at St John’s, Smith Square in which we had planned three concerto items from Sixth Formers: Isaac was due to play a marimba concerto by Ney Rosauro, Lilly had prepared Finzi’s haunting Eclogue for piano and strings, and 6 pianists (Isaac, Gabriel, Alexandra, Nikolas, Ozan and Tianru) were to take on Bach’s Double Keyboard Concerto. Meanwhile, Madeline (Middle School) won first prize in the Golden Classical Music International Competition – an extraordinary achievement – and her prize was to give a solo recital in the Carnegie Hall in New York. And last, but certainly not least, Isaac (Sixth Form) got through to the Percussion Final of the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year (the first time a Latymerian has ever achieved this accolade) with the concert from the Royal Welsh College of Music being broadcast on BBC4 on 24 May. n
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ORCHESTRA EXCHANGE WITH THE JOHANNEUM, HAMBURG
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LATYMER CONSORT AT ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL EDWARD, SIXTH FORM
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his year, the Latymer Consort directed by Mr Geoghegan had the rare opportunity to sing Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral, and on Monday 20th January the choir was invited to lead the service with the clergy. I’ve been a member of Latymer Consort since Year 10 and have been lucky enough to be a part of this service three times. The occasion is always a highlight of my year as we sing some fantastic music in such a grand and historic building. The music we sang included, the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in C by Stanford and the anthem was Hail, gladdening light by Charles Wood – a particular favourite of mine. Singing to the worshippers and tourists is a unique experience I’m very glad to have had as it’s completely different to any school concert. I would strongly suggest if you like singing and are interested in participating in a once-in-a-lifetime experience like this, you should talk to a member of the music department for more information, as you will certainly not regret it. n
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THE MUSIC THAT GREW WITH ME OZAN, SIXTH FORM
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ne evening sometime in October of 2013, I rose from my seat in the Recital Hall, picked up my half-size double bass, and made my way to the stool at the centre of the stage. I was about to perform Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in A minor in my first Music Scholars’ Concert, but amongst the anticipation and slight apprehension that I felt before playing, I had no idea of what was to come. “So you’re the guy who plays the bass!” is a phrase that I’ve heard many times throughout my years at Latymer. Since joining Latymer Prep back in 2009, music has remained a central element of my life, even while much was changing as I grew older. I play the double bass and piano, and sing, and I joined the Upper School as a music scholar. Since then, I’ve been at some kind of musically involved event almost every day, whether that’s going to an instrumental lesson, orchestra, choir, jazz group or heading to the music office to see Mr Henwood. I remember sitting in my first Chamber Orchestra rehearsal staring in bemusement at the music in front of me, which was harder than anything I had played in an orchestra before, and flicking frantically through songs in my first Lower School Choir rehearsal. Yet just a few years later I would be playing bass in a performance of Mahler’s 5th Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall and take part in the school’s performance of Made in Dagenham at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018 as the bass player in the band. Even though I decided at the end of Year 10 that I didn’t want to pursue music as a career, it’s still something I enjoy immensely, and I’m grateful to have been given so many opportunities during my time at Latymer. I didn’t know much about jazz when I joined, and gained my first glimpse into what it was like at Latymer when my brother, in all his wisdom, insisted we stay to watch the second half of the end of term concert. I was captivated from the moment Big Band started playing, and thought it might be something I would enjoy joining. It was a spring afternoon in Year 8 when I was first introduced to playing jazz, having walked into P21 after school to meet with David Gordon, the jazz piano teacher at Latymer, who wanted to form a small group of various students who were interested in learning jazz. Although I had joined Big Band some months earlier, I knew little about coming up with bass lines and improvising. As with many other musical activities I had no idea how far I would go. Over the next few years, I formed a jazz trio with Isaac and Gabriel, who are now two of my closest friends, and we eventually expanded into the Latymer Jazz Collective. Around the same time Mr Wallace asked if I would like to join a jazz group he led as well, and I agreed instantly. I went on to perform in countless end of term concerts, at the 606 Club and various other events at school including the Music and Singing Competitions, Jazz Nights, Lunchtime Recitals, Piano Days, and several Latymer Development events.
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Every two years Latymer takes part in the Duet Orchestral Project, where schools from across the country come together for a week-
long residential course, which culminates in a performance at the Royal Festival Hall. I have taken part in three of these over the years, and each one has been memorable and enjoyable in its own way. The first one was back in Year 6, when I was still at Latymer Prep, in which the Prep choir took part in the performance of Mahler’s 8th Symphony. The music was hard, and the rehearsals were tiring, but the concert itself, with a choir and full symphony orchestra, is something I will never forget, even if some of my German pronunciation was questionable, to put it mildly! In 2017 I took part in the full residential course, this time on double bass, in a performance of Mahler’s 5th Symphony and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Once again, the music was challenging, but my playing improved quickly over just a few days and I gained valuable insights on orchestral playing and working together with others in my section – all of which has been useful since. My third and final Duet experience was in 2016, where we performed Mahler’s 6th Symphony, and is the one I found the most enjoyable and rewarding – I was the lead bassist, more confident both in my skills as a musician and in meeting new people, and had a fantastic week.
eight-day run that was both exciting and exhausting when combined with everything else the Fringe has to offer – as illustrated by Gabriel having to nudge me awake towards the end of our second to last show! Getting my GCSE results on time in Edinburgh, even though I couldn’t be at school in person, from Mr Henwood as I headed down to breakfast was a bonus. Everything was scaled up for Crazy for You, and instead of a small band I was part of a full orchestra, which presented new challenges for everyone. All three events were very different but no less enjoyable, and I’m so glad I was able to experience the energy that accompanies a musical theatre production.
Some of the best memories at Latymer are from the three musicals I took part in, starting with the Middle School production of 13 in Year 11. I had recently picked up the electric bass and agreed to be a part of the band, having both seen and heard about how much fun others had performing in the main school play, Grease, the year before. The music wasn’t easy, as I wasn’t very experienced on electric bass yet, and it incorporated a wide variety of styles and a great deal of effort was required to stay in time with the rest of the band as well as the actors on stage. Despite this, the final performances went very well, and I enjoyed myself a great deal. In the summer of that year I travelled to Edinburgh as part of the Latymer Theatre band for Made in Dagenham along with Gabriel, Isaac, and Charlie, which was a very different experience. We had an
In March I performed a movement from Bach’s Concerto for Two Keyboards in C minor together with Nick (Sixth Form) at St John’s Smith Square, and bowed out of the Latymer jazz scene at the Hideaway in early May, where I performed with the Big Band and Latymer Jazz Collective for the last time. There is only one slight problem, which you may well have noticed – nothing in this paragraph actually happened. There were no last rehearsals and emotional last concerts, no walking off stage for the last time and everything else that one might expect – and which I was anticipating – because COVID-19 had other plans. My musical life at Latymer came to an abrupt end when I checked my emails at break on the 16th of March to find that the St John’s Smith Square concert – for which I had been eagerly preparing for several months – had been cancelled.
Although 2020 was my last year at Latymer it was still very eventful in terms of music – I had the chance to perform a vocal solo in our performance of Handel’s Messiah in the Autumn term and performed a concerto movement on double bass with a full orchestra at the Joint Concert with Godolphin & Latymer and the Johanneum School from Hamburg, something I had been looking forward to for a long time, having seen other students’ performances in their last year at the school.
A few turbulent days later, the Government announced that schools would shut, and that marked the end of my school music career. There are many more aspects of music at Latymer that I have not been able to go into detail of here, but I can say that the opportunities I’ve been given have far surpassed anything I might have imagined when I joined in Year 7. Through music at Latymer I’ve met great music teachers, musicians, and people who are now some of my closest friends. I have improved greatly in every instrument that I play and have made memories that I will not be forgetting any time soon. I’m grateful to Mr Henwood and Mr Geoghegan, as well as my instrumental teachers – Mrs Bradley, Mr Gordon and Mrs Roberts – and everyone else in the music department who has helped me during my time at Latymer and made everything I’ve written about here possible; and also to my parents and brother who have put up with endless requests to drop my bass and equipment off at school, and sat through many late night concerts to watch me. n
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DRAMA A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH SIXTH FORM PLAY FREYA, SIXTH FORM
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A Matter of Life and Death, an original screenplay released in 1946 is regarded as a much loved classic in British cinema with the equally beloved actors David Niven and Kim Hunter in the leading roles as Peter and June. It was recently adapted by the Creative Director of Kneehigh Theatre, Emma Rice, for stage and thus we had the shell of our production. Âť
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et during WW2, the plot follows Peter Carter, an RAF pilot who has resigned himself to death as his flaming plane begins to nosedive over the English Channel, sends a radio message to RAF operator June. With only the sound of each other’s voices, they begin to fall in love, exasperated by the notion that they will never meet each other. As you may have guessed Peter does not in fact die, by way of some miracle he survives, or rather by way of the negligence of the hapless and eccentric Conductor 71 (who, in our production played by the delightful Emily (Sixth Form) was as
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though Agnetha of Abba and Willy Wonka had a secret love child) was intended to take Peter to the afterlife. The Chief Recorder of ‘The Place you go When You Die’ is furious with the blunder and Conductor 71 has to set about collecting Peter once again from earth. However, having fallen in love with June in the days following his near-death experience, Peter is in no mind to appease the Conductor in a hurry. The process of creating our production was set apart for me from other rehearsals experiences because of its highly collaborative
element. The incredible creative vision for our production was down to Director, Ms Bruton-Andrews; however, she was always open to the cast’s creative input, which ultimately served to bring us together as a cast and create a production we were immensely proud. In rehearsals a strong emphasis was placed on exaggeration of our characterizations in order to bring out the playful element of the play. This was a skill we as a cast honed through a Mie exercise in which we each came up with a gesture and corresponding adjective to describe all 23 characters – boisterous boy and angry Agatha to name but a few! Rehearsals over half-term were of course marked by the legendary Halloween rehearsal which saw us all dressed to the nines as a foray of different characters from movies and pop culture. Though there were many impressive costumes, not to be outdone Ms Bruton-Andrews trumped us all with her rather ostentatious flamingo costume. The play wouldn’t have been as it was if it weren’t for the talent of the tech team (dynamic duo Neil and James) who brought to life the incredible projections Ms BrutonAndrews had envisaged for the set to life. Neither would the etherealness of the play have been so evocative if it weren’t for the otherworldly music of the immensely talented Gabriel. On the final night of rehearsals, though the prospect of performing the play to our largest audience was exciting, it had an immensely bittersweet feeling. I genuinely couldn’t have asked for a better play to round off my experience of plays at Latymer, though my final experience was sufficiently lacking in games of Samurai. n
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WHOLE SCHOOL PLAY
RICHARD III MATT, SIXTH FORM
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hen most people think of Shakespeare, they think of dusty leather bound volumes, they think of old, hammy actors performing monotone monologues. However, with our production of Richard III, we attempted to bring the tragedy into the 21st century. Unfortunately, Richard III has two layers of complexity: the usual issue that the language presents and the added issue of the huge family tree around which the play revolves. We had our work cut out for us. Without changing the language, making Shakespeare accessible relies on the actors having a complete understanding of each and every line they speak. To help us with this, we would start every rehearsal of a new scene by sitting down, reading the scene and almost translating the language. With a clear intention, we would then stand up and perform the scene, adding in movement wherever it seemed natural. Another challenge presented to us was the transverse seating banks. For the performance, another set of seats was installed opposite the permanent ones, creating a space very few of us were familiar with. However, the transverse stage allowed for Richard to have a closer relationship with the audience and also placed the focus on the characters and emotions rather than any sort of set. I played the part of Margaret, the old queen of England. Richard kills her husband and son and she is full of spite and hatred. Playing a woman seemed daunting at first, but we decided that we wanted her to have a certain androgyny and an ethereal quality. I also wanted to focus on the power Margaret has, rather than her self pity and grief. Whenever Margaret is speaking she commands the attention of others, whether they like it or not. Ultimately, the Margaret we created was a vengeful sorceress who didn’t skulk in the shadows, but filled the space. Our cast was unusually young for a main school play, with only a handful of Sixth Form students. This allowed the younger students to take on larger roles than they usually would; roles in which they all excelled and gave astonishing performances. Every single member of our cast showed incredible talent, particularly Greg who took on the most difficult theatrical role I’ve ever seen at Latymer as Richard III. It was a pleasure to work with everyone on such a challenging show. n
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Anyone who came to see Our House will have left buzzing. Classic numbers including Baggy Trousers and Driving in my Car raised the roof of the Edward Latymer Theatre from the 26th to the 28th of February.
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ut while the audience revelled in the action onstage, what they won’t have known is that it’s a show where a missing shoehorn, or any other element of the intricate and numerous costume changes, could have derailed the entire plot. A misplaced umbrella would have been even more catastrophic. The unbelievable amount of set and costume changes as we travelled from Camden to Las Vegas and back again was a challenge for us performers but heightened the electric atmosphere of the show.
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Backtrack 4 months and the production began with auditions as we sang and boxstepped our way through music and dance calls with the invaluable Gabriel (Sixth Form) and our brilliant choreographer Emily. After casting, a table readthrough revealed a few things. First, Mr Haines had worked on Our House several times before and had wanted to bring it to Latymer for a long time – this gave us an inkling that it was going to be a very special show. Second, Mr Haines either genuinely believed in magic, or wanted to save an explanation of how the seemingly »
MIDDLE SCHOOL PLAY
OUR HOUSE BRONWEN, MIDDLE SCHOOL
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impossible feats – e.g. costume changes on stage in under 4 seconds – would be accomplished for later. (In hindsight, I believe it may have been the second one.) As moves and lines started to stick in our heads and we progressed to begin working through the scenes, we eventually approached the intensive week of half term rehearsals (fondly known as bootcamp) and were joined by an invaluable team of tech, crew and band. This week was a show highlight for me as we were finally given a tour of the stunning set and heard the band play for the first time. Now, anyone who’s been involved in shows knows teching is a gruelling process where we meticulously work through the show scene by scene to position lights and sound, with single scenes often taking hours at a time. At Latymer, we mark this with snacks, card games, blankets and (this time) a pyjama day. Traditionally, teching is followed by a full dress rehearsal. But who needs a dress rehearsal when your lead has 29 costume changes and the ensemble plays upwards of 30 characters between them, right? In the end, we managed to finish a run around 20 minutes before opening night. The audience, presented with a slick whirl of music, colour and occasionally heartbreaking hilarity onstage, would never have guessed. Come closing night, I hid in the wings and peeked out at the seating bank, closely monitoring the audience’s faces. Catching a gasp as the magic unfolded onstage created its own magic for me backstage. But don’t ask anyone involved about those costume changes: it’s a closely guarded secret. n
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YEAR 7 PLAY FESTIVAL I have taken part in many of the theatre productions during my 6 years at Latymer, and have always wondered what it would be like to be in charge of casting, directing and managing a play. So I found myself signing up to be a director for the Year 7 play festival, and I can definitively say that I have a newfound respect for every teacher who has taken on the challenge of producing one of the many productions that are put on each year! Meeting every Monday lunchtime, 13 Year 12 pupils set about bringing 8 different scripts to life, with plays ranging from a performance inspired by the West End production the Play That Goes Wrong to a murder mystery. When the night of the performance all too quickly swung around, my co-director Nell and I sat nervously in the front row of the theatre; however, we need not have worried. Our actors pulled through, performing a brilliant rendition of The Breakfast Club to their friends and family. Directing for the festival has not been without its stressful and challenging moments, but it highlighted fantastic acting talent in the Lower School; and most importantly of all: we all had fun!“ Ella, Sixth Form
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I’ve always liked drama and plays so I seized the opportunity to take part in the Year 7 Play Festival when it came up (also all the older students and teachers said it was an opportunity that you couldn’t miss!). My first impression was that it was going to be relaxed and it was all about enjoying yourself and having a great time. The first few weeks we spent playing fun drama games and activities! This helped to break the ice and mix with new people. After that, we were sorted into groups with 2 Sixth Form students in each. There were only 1 or 2 people who I knew in my group so I made a few new friends. The Sixth Formers were really nice and supportive and we all learnt a lot from them! We then decided that we were going to make up a comical murder mystery play. Our first step was to design our own characters (I was Elizabeth Poshington which ended up being a really fun role to play although I did get a little tired of being so posh!). Then we came up with a rough idea of what was going to happen. Charlotte (one of the Sixth Formers) made a draft and then we all added onto it afterwards. On the night, we were all so nervous, waiting behind the curtains. We were also the first group to go on which was also very nerve-wracking. But when we went onto stage all our nerves were forgotten and it was really fun! I will never forget the fun experience I had!” Elena, Lower School
In my old school I did a lot of drama and I was excited to see what Latymer could offer me. When we started I was in a room with everyone taking part and we started with games to ease us in, and the week after we got put into groups. In mine there was nobody I knew so I had to get to know them; we then did improv with our directors. After that we devoted every week to building a performance. In some way, the Sixth Formers were better to work with than teachers as they were only in our position a few years ago so they knew how we were feeling! Our directors chose The Breakfast Club but they altered the script to be more appropriate. As we did our first performance, I looked back on the previous weeks and was impressed by how much of a bonding exercise it all was. I think the performance was one of the best feelings I’ve had, and I’m really thankful for how well I got to know my group. Overall I really enjoyed the play festival, and I’m very glad that I did it!” William, Lower School
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IMMERSIVE THEATRE PROJECT ROSE, MIDDLE SCHOOL
I
n the first term of Year 9, we did an immersive theatre project for a Year 4 group at the Prep School. It was inspired by the spooky tale of The Canterville Ghost, which they were studying in English at the time with Mr Cooley. It was a very interesting project to work on in that we weren’t performing on a stage far away – we were up close and personal, guiding them around the haunted manor, and had to do a lot of improvising as the Year 4s kept trying to make us break character. Who knew that an audience of nine-year-olds would be so hard to please? I certainly didn’t help myself in doing a terribly executed accent, but it was all in good fun. Overall, I really enjoyed doing something different, and I think the performance actually went quite well. I would definitely take the opportunity to do more immersive theatre performances in the future. n
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ART
A R T | 87
M AY I Q B A , LO W E R S C H O O L
ART_LOWER SCHOOL
PA D DY PE T ERS
HA-ANH LE
R I YA N A M I T TA L
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S Y LV I E S T E V E N S
ISHANA KOTECHA
MIA RIZK
SOPHIE CARRELL
NOAH ROBERTSON EDWARD SHELSTON
M O N TA N A V O N O P E L
JOSS HARDING
A R T | 89
ART_MIDDLE SCHOOL
ROBBIE HARTLEY
CONNIE ROPNER
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ALAM LAURENT
I Z Z Y B E N - N AT H A N
ANNA RHYS
EMMA BILLINGSLEY
ISOBEL EDMEAD
HANNAH SIAMI
HARI LOCHAB
ROSE GRIFFIN
K AT I E G L E N C R O S S
M A R I A N N A PA S I N I
LEONIE MARRET
MIA RADJENOVIC
ARABELLA WEISS
ELENA GRACE PESCIARELLI
A R T | 91
ART_MIDDLE SCHOOL
HELENA RING
AMBER HORLEY
BEN DODWELL
P O L LY R O W L A N D
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KITTY DIMOND-BROWN
XANNY COWELL
J A M E S K E L LY
ROSA WILLIAMS
E M I LY W I N C H E S T E R
EUGENIE LECHARTIER
MADELEINE GRANTHAM
A R T | 93
ART_MIDDLE SCHOOL
N AT J A K O B I
ZOE ZOURIDAKI
ZARA BURGESS
HELEN HUANG
CLARA VON OPEL
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MADDIE CLARK
SHIREEN KARBASSI
VA LENTI N A CERV E SI
MARTHA SAINTY
M AT I L D A V I E Z ZO L I
LO U IS DAV IS
A R T | 95
ART_MIDDLE SCHOOL Art produced during lockdown
GIACOMO FOGLIA
ALICE WILSON
L A R A KO LU PA E VA
Z A R I A VA N O R A N J E
MARIA ANTONIADES
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AMAANA MEERAN
M I L L I E M O R R I S -T H O M A S
M AYA PA R RY
LEONIE MARRET
I N E S R O D R I G U E S D A S I LVA L O P E Z
ALEXANDRA BUTTERWICK
EMMA BILLINGSLEY
AREZ HUSSAIN
T ER E SA PA PAG EO RG I O U
S O P H I A S TAV E L E Y
HANA AHMOVIC
A R T | 97
ART_SIXTH FORM
TA L I A N G E L
EMMA WITTIG
MARGAUX COOPER
ELLA CHITTENDEN
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EDIE WHITEHEAD
ARRAN SHEIKH
FLOSS MORRIS
FELIX POWELL
STELLA GREEN
BEA CURWIN
JORDAN WILLIAMS
A R T | 99
ART_SIXTH FORM
LAMA AHMED
JAGO CAMPBELL
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VITTORIA DRAGHI
JUDE PURCELL
GIULIA PESCIARELLI
SOFIA FORNI
K AT E FA S S O N E
N E L LY L AYC O C K
INA QUADRIO CURZIO
F R E YA DAV I E S
STELLA GREEN
A R T | 101
PHOTOGRAPHY
CLARA VON OPEL, MIDDLE SCHOOL
DAISY SMITH, SIXTH FORM
GEORGIE WILLIAMS, MIDDLE SCHOOL
CLARA VON OPEL, MIDDLE SCHOOL
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FL AV I A D EL B RO LLO, SIX TH FORM
TA R A L U M L E Y-S AV I L E , S I X T H F O R M
S O F I A H U N T- D A V I S , S I X T H F O R M
S O F I A H U N T- D A V I S , S I X T H F O R M
ZEENIA MUNCHOW, SIXTH FORM
P H OTO G R A P H Y | 103
DESIGN_GCSE TEYMOUR
SOPHIA
K AT H E R I N E
A VR headset which allows people with a mobility impairment to explore the countryside
Directional handlebar bike light
Quick release twist-seal compost bin
GIULIA Up-cycles old devices to transform them into a security camera
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SAM
VINCENT
JULIETTE
App controlled garden moisture sensor and light
Foldable e-scooter helmet that can be unlocked at scooter pick up points via app
Modular tessellating bike shed solution
KITTY Green Cloth Anti-Fast Fashion skirt & display
D E S I G N | 105
DESIGN_GCSE MAX
RENE
Bike-specific multi-tool with pump and puncture kit
Bluetooth bike turning and braking indicators
RANEN
M A R TA
Portable, lightweight carrier for edible water balls
Collapsible lunch box made with sustainable materials
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FINN
JAV I ER
Fold out, adjustable lantern that can be held and used in 2 different modes, ‘beam’ and ‘lantern’
No-pump outdoor inflatable chair with storage backpack and protective ground layer
TOM
SANTIAGO
Personal laser ‘cycle-lane’ indicator and carbon fibre mudguard
Bicycle handlebar with embedded LED indicators
D E S I G N | 107
DESIGN_A LEVEL SADIE
HUDSON
An outdoor water collection system with a natural built in filter system
Modular drone that can carry a payload of medical supplies to remote areas
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CHLOE
SUSANNA
Solar powered, modular light with magnetic joints for disassembly
A wall mounted mood lamp that encourages user interaction for a calming atmosphere during pregnancy
D E S I G N | 109
DESIGN_A LEVEL SAM
CAMERON
A collapsible scooter which can fold up and fit inside a small space such as a backpack
A foldable vertical axis wind turbine with a three part case that folds out into a tripod
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JAGO A mechanical gimbal which stabilizes video footage whilst skiing or for use in any other situation
D E S I G N | 111
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A M E L I A J O N E S , LO W E R S C H O O L
P114
— U1 3 H O C K E Y R EG I O N A L F I N A L S
P12 0
— R U G BY
P122
— N E T B A L L
P126
— N E T B A L L N AT I O N A L F I N A L S
P1 32
— FO OT B A L L
P1 3 4
— C R I C K E T
P1 3 8
— ROWING
P14 0
— SWIMMING
P14 2
SPORT
— HOCKEY
HOCKEY OLIVIA HARVEY, HEAD OF HOCKEY
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U12s
U13s
U12A: Coaching the U12A Latymer Hockey
U12C: The U12C team had a successful
U13A: The U13A team had a very impressive
team has been an absolute pleasure. They are a great bunch of girls with so much potential. Their enthusiasm every time they got to the pitch was something to behold. They have improved so much from when I first met them and it all came down to their desire to better themselves as hockey players. We unfortunately did not get as many wins as we would’ve liked, but the fact that we improved as the term went on and that they enjoyed every second of it is all that matters.
season with several players promoted through the ranks into higher squads – a good sign for Latymer hockey in the coming years and an indication of the depth of talent that will make future senior sides serious contenders. The girls trained hard, listened well, played with enthusiasm and learned quickly. Most importantly, they did all of that with a smile on their faces and were a pleasure to work with.
season: winning 6 games, drawing 1 and losing just 3. The girls worked hard to improve the press, increase tactical awareness and found the confidence to transfer the ball around the back. Defensively, the mighty Idil in goal made some awe-inspiring saves alongside the heroic Sabina and Antonia who worked in perfect tandem together at the back. The midfield also grew in confidence with Phoebe controlling the centre with the brilliant support of Molly, Leila, Bea and Tirion; goals from Malena and Kira were also brilliant to watch!
Player of the Season Tiger Fellner
Player of the Season Emily Pegler Most Improved Player Charlotte Covington
Player of the Season Molly Barbour-Smith
Most Improved Player Marina Draghi
U12D: This has been an amazing first U12B: What a fantastic season this group of students have had. Playing over 13 matches and being involved in tournament hockey, this team has gone from strength to strength. With some girls being new to the sport, it has been wonderful to see them develop as young hockey players, with many girls recently joining local club sides. A season highlight was beating top hockey school KGS 4-1, where our goal scoring and positional play really paid off. Our girls now have the courage to apply pressure effectively, often gaining possession, using the counter attack to score some impressive goals! Player of the Season Marion Bourrier Most Improved Player Ione Holden
season of hockey for my lovely Year 7s. We have had some wins, some losses, and some challenging play that really pushed the girls to improve their skills and teamwork. I am proud of everyone who has worked hard, especially to those who left us for other pitches. With some solid defence from Mina, Ha-Anh, Iona and Ellie, we were able to get the midfielders sprinting towards the opposing goal. Cap it off with a ruthless attack from Riyana, Abi and Ella (supported by Isabella, Bea and Elena, my trusty trio), and there you have a well-deserved goal. My highlight match was against City, where everyone came together for a 6:1 win. Well done girls. Player of the Season Abigail Wari Most Improved Player Ha-Anh Le
Most Improved Player Antonia WoodhatchStuart
U13B: An unbeaten season for the U13B team speaks for itself. Their focus was faultless and their desire to stretch and challenge themselves was evident. Each week the girls put their training practice into competitive matches, displaying a clear understanding of how hockey should be played. The U13B team racked up an impressive 23 goals over the season, conceding only 2, highlighting the strength and depth in the squad. I am excited to see this group of hockey players move into 11 aside next year with the same desire and enthusiasm. Player of the Season Nathalie Gregg Most Improved Player Chloe Dubreuil
S P O R T: H O C K E Y | 115
U13s U13C: The U13Cs won 4 of their matches, lost 3 and drew 1. Their most impressive performances were against the better teams, and their distinctive strength was the ability to pass the ball at speed. Alexia scored the majority of our goals – many in one-to-one situations from the back. Tamila and Lucia were very solid defenders who are learning to distribute from the back. I think that this side will form the core of a very good ‘B’ side in the U14s. Player of the Season Alexia Boutonnat Most Improved Player Tamila Marandi
U12s
U13D: The U13D team have had a really positive season losing only 1 game out of 6 played. Each member of the team has been extremely enthusiastic throughout the term, being keen to improve as individuals and as a team. The team scored a total of 21 goals and only conceded 10. Our highlight of the season was certainly our match against KGS who are known to be a tough opposition to play. The girls played some of their best hockey to achieve a 4-3 win against them. I am very proud of the team’s ability to put into practice the drills that we do in training. This is something that will prove very useful for their future hockey at Latymer; especially as they move into eleven-a-side hockey next year.
U12s
Player of the Season Sophia Gerhardt Most Improved Player Miriam Stoianov
U12s 116 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
U14s U14A: We started off the season with 3 very
U12s
convincing wins, collectively scoring 8 goals, which made it clear that we aimed to develop and embrace the season ahead. All the girls agreed that they really wanted to challenge themselves at trainings, and bought into what we wanted to stand for as a team. This attitude helped us immensely when we bumped into obstacles along the way, but quickly our systems and structures really sunk in, making us the clear dominant team in all our remaining fixtures. Our biggest highlight was our phenomenal result against our long standing friends down the road (1-1). After this game, the girls faces lit up as if they had just won the World Cup final; to me as a coach you live for those moments of pure joy and belief from the players, knowing they are capable of achieving so much. Player of the Season Nellie Weston Most Improved Player Sasha Butterwick Players’ Player Nona Jolly Jones
U14B: In my second season as the U14B
U13s
coach, I was blessed with another group of tenacious, committed girls who played their hearts out in every training session and gave everything to the cause on match days. The team was built on solid defence with Amber in goal and Marianna as sweeper. Ophelia, Lottie, Amaala and Issy formed the rest of our ‘iron curtain’, making crunching tackles and linking well with the midfield. In the middle, Anna and Tilda left opposition defenders playing at shadows while Lily and Justine showed pace and power out wide. Up front the two Laras and Millie were a constant threat, dribbling and shooting with aplomb. They won some and they lost some, but they always enjoyed themselves and it was great to finish on a high with a 4-0 win against Mill Hill. Player of the Season Anna Sridara Most Improved Player Issy Maher Players’ Player Lily Fuji-Anderson
U14s S P O R T: H O C K E Y | 117
U15s U15A: We played 9, won 5, drew 1, lost 4.
U15B: The U15B team have worked hard
Such improvement on last year’s 2 wins! The squad was chopped and changed, with hard-working, improving players providing the foundation for our success. Sofia progressed impressively in goal, whilst Saskia and Abbie had excellent consistency. We regularly played teams with a couple of awesome opponents, but our victories came as we had the better team of 11. NHEHS were dispatched 3-1, St Mary’s were swotted aside 7-1, Queenswood 3-0 and St Benedict’s 4-3 in a tightly-fought match. Celeste mopped up any attacking threats, whilst Julia increasingly become a defensive wall. Olivia and Nikki were tireless work horses going forward, earning 5 goals each (joint top scorers). The winning season was secured against Mill Hill, coming from 1-2 down to win 3-2 in the dying minutes. An excellent note to end on, demonstrating real tenacity and development from so many committed players.
across the season, developing their technical and tactical play. The girls have had a wonderful term of hockey, displaying a positive attitude at training and a hunger to succeed. Four wins and two losses. Beating the likes of St Benedict’s, City of London Freemen’s and St Mary’s Ascot School. Kiara is new to GK, stepping up to the challenge, developing her footwork and agility. The defence have been solid working together to turnover possession. Our midfield were a crucial part of the team, linking up well on the pitch. Our forwards are dynamic and quick, using this to create height in game play creating opportunities from the counter attack. Player of the Season Juliette Gregg Most Improved Player Kiara Elliot Players’ Player Jemima Choi
Player of the Season Abbie White Most Improved Player Celeste Hoberman Players’ Player Saskia Ansley
U15s
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U15s
1st XI It has been such a fantastic season for the 1XI. I am proud to say that it has been the best ever Latymer hockey season, surpassing that of last year’s successes. After a brilliant trip to the Netherlands we were quickly brought back down to earth as we drew St George’s (one of the best Hockey schools in the UK) in the Independent Schools Cup. This loss gave us the drive and determination to work tirelessly to improve. Each session we have built on our tactical awareness, pace of play and individual skills. This allowed us to secure an impressive win ratio of 82% with a huge goal difference of +79. We have also had some exciting tournament success this season. We became Middlesex champions, made it to the semi-finals of the Independent Schools Plate and the quarterfinals of the National cup east region which puts us in the top 8 schools in the East of England. We are very proud of these achievements and I hope that the girls can learn from them in order to progress further next year. A huge thank you to our Year 13 players: Anna, Zoe and Clementine who have been excellent leaders this year.
2nd XI It has been such a fantastic season for the The 2nd XI have had an amazingly positive season. A large squad of very versatile players have shown amazing camaraderie throughout, with a complete mix of girls from all three year groups enjoying some great hockey and a goal difference of +18. The start of the season saw comprehensive wins against Gordon’s, St Georges and Alleyns, and 2 wins against Godolphin in the spring term were highlights for all. Our gameplay has developed significantly throughout the season, with focus on finding different ways to score goals and transferring the ball effectively around the pitch. The leavers will be sorely missed; particular thanks to Captain Kitty and Vice Captain Georgia for helping to create such a fun and supportive atmosphere. I’m looking forward to seeing how the remaining players can develop next season with the addition of some fresh blood! Player of the Season Kitty Kershaw Most Improved Player Millie Rushing Players’ Player Liza Smirnova
Player of the Season Anna Padt Most Improved Player Anna Whelan Players’ Player Bella Bray
3rd XI The continuing growth of the Latymer Hockey programme was amply demonstrated by fielding another strong 3rd XI for the 2019/20 Season. The Team enjoyed regular competitive matches throughout the Season, registering 4 Wins and 3 Draws. The Season was closed on a resounding 6-0 win v Radnor House School. Several players who started the 2019/20 season in the 3s, gained well earned promotion to the 2nd XI where they continued to put in strong performances. Well done, girls! Player of the Season Amber Shafi Most Improved Player Elodie America Players’ Player Hazel TicehurstJames S P O R T: H O C K E Y | 119
U13 HOCKEY REGIONAL FINALS BY MOLLY AND ANTONIA , LOWER SCHOOL
On Wednesday 4th March, the U13 hockey team won the Middlesex County tournament, becoming the 2020 Middlesex Champions. In turn, the team progressed through to the South of England Schools Regional Finals on Friday 13th March, held at Woking Hockey Club.
There were 18 teams at the Regional Finals, and in our pool we were up against St. Georges Weybridge, Alleyn’s, Lambrook, Claremont and West Hill. In a thrilling first match we took on Lambrook School and came out victorious with a 1-0 win, with the winning goal scored by Malena from a short corner pass from Molly. We strategically approached the second match against West Hill School. The game was incredibly close throughout the 13 minutes of play, however, we lost in the final minutes of the game, 1-2. We held our heads high and listened to some key coaching points to bring into our next game against Claremont School. The team fought hard for a 1-0 win. This win gave us more confidence for the next match against St. George’s Weybridge School, one of the best hockey schools in the country. This was no doubt going to be the toughest match of the day. From the first whistle of the game, we played with intensity and a hunger to win. The support
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from not only the team and coaches, but also from our parents on the sideline encouraged us to give it our all. Unfortunately, although it was a very competitive game, the team lost 2-0. After all 5 games had been played, we waited nervously to see whether we would have another game in the competition. Miss Snooks announced that Latymer had made it through to the Plate competition. The Quarter final was against Claremont School and it was a nail biting match, with the full time score being 0-0, meaning it was to go to penalty flicks! Idil (our truly incredible goalkeeper) stepped up to the goal line and prepared herself to defend anything and everything that came her way. The first flick was taken and she saved it! You could have cut the tension with a knife; the teachers had to turn away and couldn’t watch! After a matter of minutes, Latymer were through to the semi finals of the Plate, with Molly and Antionia scoring two mighty flicks and Idil saving two goals. The excitement and relief was tremendous!
Next, we faced Great Marlow School. Malena scored a superb goal, with her ball carrying skills and confidence to take on her opponent, taking her up the pitch at such speed and into the D to score. The teamwork and tactical play resulted in a 1-0 win and Latymer going through to the final of the Plate. In the final we went up against Cheam School (the team who made it through to Nationals last year!). Although the team worked incredibly hard to put up a good fight, Cheam School was the better side on the day. Latymer received silver medals for coming runners up in the Plate competition and we all left proud of our performance. It was an amazing experience and everyone learned so much. We would like to thank the parents who were able to support the team, and of course we have to give a huge thanks to the amazing coaches Miss Harvey, Miss Snooks and Miss Chapman for coaching and teaching us across the year, giving us the opportunities to go on and compete for Latymer Upper School. n S P O R T: H O C K E Y | 121
RUGBY ROSS DONEGHAN, HEAD OF RUGBY
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U12s U12A: Rugby is a simple game and all Y7
U12C: It is fair to say that most of the U12C
boys will remember this mantra throughout their rugby careers. It has been another excellent season for the U12 with over 50 boys regularly attending training, learning how to win the ruck and tackle legs. The A Team played 15 games, won 9, drew 1 and only lost 5 and genuinely made huge progress throughout the term.
players did not know what a ruck was in September, let alone how to win one. However, their appetite for a battle and receptiveness to coaching allowed them to make rapid and substantial progress. The boys worked out quickly that they only need remember key things, which involves having a run and working hard to recycle the ball on attack alongside getting stuck in and tackling the legs on defence. The U12C were regularly praised by opposition coaches for being a well drilled and cohesive unit. Sensational performances against strong Gunnersbury, Colfe’s and Emanuel sides allowed the boys to finish the season with a 100% winning record: the only team in Latymer sport to do so in 2019. Outstanding!
Player of the Season Oliver Begley Most Improved Player Rafi Mitani
U12B: Most of the players in the U12B team had never played rugby before joining Latymer, but in the first half of the term had won 3 games and drawn 1. They were focused during training and capable of picking up new skills quickly, in addition to refining their basic skills over the course of the term. They all know the essentials, tackling legs and winning rucks, both of which were performed admirably this year. Player of the Season Gabriel Gorin Delmas Most Improved Player Antonio Pasini
Player of the Season Aiden Gilmour Most Improved Player Volkan Erdinar
U12D: The U12D team had a very successful season. For many, it was their first experience playing rugby competitively. The team improved immensely during each fixture, including a stunning victory against Cardinal Vaughan. The team played an expansive game and produced a few contenders for Latymer’s try of the season. Well done, boys! Player of the Season Daler Abdulhamidov Most Improved Player Will Rodgers
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U13s
U14s
U15s
U13A: An impressive season for the U13,
U14A: The team was guided by the
U15A: The A team had some positive
notching up 9 wins, 4 draws and only 2 losses (including the Middlesex Festival). A physical side with plenty of size, the players were able to make the opposition work very hard to stop any momentum built. The season closed with a nail-biting win over QE Barnet, followed by an emphatic win over St Columba’s. This team has plenty of potential and the senior coaches will be excited about the prospects ahead.
experienced coach Mr ‘hoppy’ Hopkins, and from day one it was clear that the team had some excellent back play to call upon. Over the course of the season they scored some incredible tries to excite the spectators. The whole team developed their decision making skills and execution of set plays in particular the structure and commitment to tackle was massively improved over the course of the season against often, some much larger opposition.
results in the first half of the season, with wins vs Colfe’s, Windsor and a hard-fought draw vs Gordon’s. The squad size was small so this really told against some stronger opposition when key players were missing. However, the boys always gave their all in every single game. Attendance and attitude at training, and strength and conditioning, was encouraging, and the boys made great progress during the season. The team spirit and camaraderie was also excellent. I hope lots of these boys continue to enjoy their rugby in the seniors and beyond.
Player of the Season Kon Hulsenbeck Most Improved Player Theo Sala Budgen
Player of the Season Daniel Rushby Most Improved Player Samuel RussellMarguiles
U13B: The U13B team had a very successful season. Played 8 Won 5 Lost 3. The boys played some superb rugby at times. They were a great group to work with. Lots of progress was made throughout the season. I must mention their attitude and commitment to training and games was fantastic. I wish them well for next year. Player of the Season Larry Cockle Most Improved Player Mihael Marinovic
U13C: The U13 C team played out a fantastic season. Many Year 8 students were given the opportunity to play and showed excellent team spirit and attitude throughout. There were some outstanding performances throughout the season, highlighted with a victory against Emanuel. Well done boys! Player of the Season Connor Walters Most Improved Player Alex Levtchencko
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Players’ Player
Guy McAleer
Player of the Season Christain Davies Most Improved Player Alique Quinn Players’ Player
U14B: During my time coaching rugby at Latymer I can honestly say that I have never had a more focused and respective group as the current U14 B team. As a result, the progress the students have made has been exceptional. In particular, the effectiveness and commitment to tackling in defence and the retention of the ball when attacking have seen dramatic improvements. Many of the stand out fixtures came in the second half of the season with the B team recording an outstanding victory against Emanuel. Player of the Season David Lax Ibanez Most Improved Player Peter Saba Players’ Player
Arez Hussain
Joe Fenwick
U15B: With a small squad this year the B team often merged with A team, however; in the games the B’s did get they put together a spirited performance, ensuring they gave metres sparingly and attacked with energy and vigour. The efforts of this team was shown by there consistent and admirable commitment to strength and conditioning and after school training sessions, often out playing the A team during Games sessions to the cheering of some and the dismay of others. Player of the Season Charles Barry Lynch
1st XV
2nd XV
The 1st XV has had a season to remember. Coming off a very successful tour to Canada, the 1st XV played 14, won 8 and lost 6. Our most memorable performances came against St Columba’s and Isleworth and Syon, respectively. Having lost against St Columba’s last year, this was very much a result the team relished. The side played a very expansive game of rugby. Employing superior tactical prowess against a very physical side, and executing high quality decisions under pressure, gave way to a 27-7 victory. This season the 1st XV have trained in playing a high tempo brand of rugby, utilising passing speed, as well as the safe and secure chop tackle. This particular brand of rugby will be the backbone to Latymer Upper rugby, going forward. With University College School and Tiffin, respectively coming onto our fixture list next year, 2020/21 is set to be just as exciting as this year.
The 2nd XV had a great first half of their season, playing 9, winning 5, and 1 frustrating draw in the Calm Cup. The team has shown fantastic development with the Year 11s making a huge contribution to senior Rugby. Since their slightly shaky opening games, the 2nd XV have shown massive improvement, winning 4 of their last 5 games including a narrow loss to a strong Emanuel team. Their game against Gunnersbury Catholic School was a testament to their improvement, earning 6 penalties at breakdown through their hard work and jackalling. This game also included the 2nd VX try of the season, as Jason created a superb opening through which Felix finished in the corner. Player of the Season Mauricio Alencar Most Improved Player Will Mowthorpe
Player of the Season Jago Wilkes Most Improved Player Jason Granger Players’ Player
Jack Gregson
S P O R T: R U G BY | 125
NETBALL ELLA HARVEY, HEAD OF NETBALL
126 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
U12s U12A: Despite the season ending
U12D: A successful and positive term of
unexpectedly, I am still incredibly proud of how the girls performed this term. Their training ethic and drive to be the best they can be is outstanding. Each week the decision for the A team places was very difficult as we have a plethora of talented girls in the U12s. We had some unlucky losses and faced some tough opposition but the pure determination and grit displayed by the girls in the face of adversity always made me a proud coach. I am so honoured to have witnessed the growth in both of the teams this year and I cannot wait to see what netball futures they all have in store!
netball for the U12D team, who have worked hard in training and in matches. With an enthusiastic team spirit, they have developed and reflected on their matches and improved both as a team and individually. They scored an impressive total of 70 goals in matches across the season. Their passing and interceptions have gone from strength to strength throughout the term.
Coach’s Player
Marina Draghi
Most Improved Player Lydia Boyle
U12B: The U12 B team had a fantastic season, winning 8 of their 10 matches. They worked really well together as a group and were competitive in every match. In addition, they would always sprint into space and fight for every ball. I have no doubt that they will continue to get better and better every year.
Coach’s Player
Most Improved Player Kitty-Mae Wheeler
U12E: What a good season for the U12E team! Despite the slight team and positional shuffling, everyone really put their all into each match, bringing their game faces on court and high spirits from the sidelines. I was most impressed by how well the girls worked together, especially in the final few matches, where they barely gave the opposition time to breathe. What an improvement! Captained by either Alya, Sara or Amelie, this fierce bunch did some A1 work. Coach’s Player
Coach’s Player
Lois Astor
Elena Gilberti
Sara Frigo
Most Improved Player Arian Mitsou
Most Improved Player Emilia Roast
U12C: Cheerful and good-humoured, the U12C team have played with a strong team spirit and determined attitude. Improvements in both shooting accuracy (a total of 83 goals across the season) and defensive positioning have ensured many wins. They have worked hard on varying centre passes and effective movement into the circle. Coach’s Player
Danni Sullivan
Most Improved Player Ione Holden
U12F: Amazing work from the U12F team this season! Stellar shooting from the fantastic attackers and a supportive and constantly improving midcourt kept the girls competitive and excited. A personal favourite achievement was beating St Paul’s on a drizzly Tuesday, all with smiles and accurate passing. Great work, girls. You should all be proud! Coach’s Player
Ellie Keegan
Most Improved Player Myriam Grant
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U13s U13A: The U13A team has been a delight to
U13D: This was a highly impressive season
coach! The sharp shooters have worked hard at accuracy, movement, holding and balancing the circle. The dominant defenders have developed all 3 stages of defence, rebounds and interceptions. The mighty mid-courters worked on centre pass attack, driving on to the ball and being ball side on every attacking play. The whole squad have worked hard together at personal positivity, whole court defence, through court attack and most of all team work!
for the U13D team, winning all but one of their matches, the team scored 111 goals and conceded only 32: what a fantastic achievement! Always enthusiastic, supportive of one another, and sporting in their conduct, these girls should be very proud of themselves.
Coach’s Player
U13B: The U13Bs have gone from strength to strength this season. The team has really matured as individuals after numerous incredibly close matches. Though early on in the season we may have been intimidated by the physical style of a team from Alleyn’s, over the course of the term the girls learnt to stand their ground and outwit the opposition. Winning the last three matches in a row ended the season on a high with incredible enthusiasm for next year. Natalie Gregg
Most Improved Player Zara McLeod
U13C: This was a brilliant season for the U13C team. The team won 6 out of 9 games and scored a grand total of 95 goals which is an amazing achievement! I have been consistently impressed with their support for each other (on and off court), infectious enthusiasm, humour and consistent efforts to improve. I saw a huge improvement in their ability to defend and keep possession of the ball. They all should be extremely proud of themselves. Well done girls! Coach’s Player
Agnes Byun
Most Improved Player Arina Koffler Pandhare
Beatrice Nicholson
Most Improved Player Jimena Herrero
Coach’s Player
Coach’s Player
Ella Brown
Most Improved Player Alice Fitzmaurice 128 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
U13E: Our U13E girls left this great season with a striking goal difference of 31, which is a fantastic achievement at this level! The team worked really well together, and there was a strong supportive attitude both on court and off. I saw huge improvements throughout this season, particularly in the girls’ abilities to strategise their play and get away from their defenders. Coach’s Player
Alexia Boutonnat
Most Improved Player Miku Ikeda MacDermott
U13F: The U13F team has played really well this season. Despite having a lot of matches cancelled, they maintained a really positive attitude and desire to do well in the matches they did play. They played three games, achieving one win, one loss and one draw. Throughout the term all the girls worked really well together as a team. Their shooting improved massively and they all became far more confident driving towards the ball and using different types of passes. Coach’s Player Malena Schmolck Redondo Most Improved Player Katherine Voeten
U14s U14A: The U14A team has been such a
U14C: A brilliant season for a positive
wonderful team to coach. Their tenacity, teamwork and sheer hunger for the game has taken this team from strength to strength. Every single player has contributed to the successes over the season, with their ability to work as a unit to turn over the ball, time and time again, which has resulted in many fantastic wins. Highlights include beating Alleyn’s 25-12 and a nail biting game against St Paul’s Girls School.
and committed group of players. Their determination and resilience was brilliantly highlighted in one of their most exciting matches of the season, a fixture against Putney High school, where the team came from behind in the final quarter to draw the game. The shouts of encouragement from the sidelines was just one example of their season long team spirit and positive attitude. The girls have always brought focus, enthusiasm and fun to training. Their improvement from the start of the season was phenomenal.
Coach’s Player
Ella Farrington
Most Improved Player Sofia Capelli Players’ Player
Karolina Lorendahl
Coach’s Player
Clara Pounder
Most Improved Player Agatha Crowther
U14B: The U14B team have had a fantastic season, displaying excellent motivation, resilience and skill throughout each training session and match. The team won or drew 7 out of their 8 matches, and scored a fantastic 219 goals in total. As well as achieving brilliant results, the team conducted themselves honorably in each game; their sense of professionalism and humour made them a pleasure to work with. They should be very proud of their achievements, and we cannot wait to see what they do next! Coach’s Player
Julie Gallichan-Todd
Most Improved Player Eloise Smyth Players’ Player
U14D: The U14D team worked incredibly hard this season to develop their ball skills and positional play with some excellent matches including a 21-2 victory over Gordon’s School. The girls were a fierce, formidable team, chasing every ball and cheering every goal with huge enthusiasm. With squads like this coming through the school, the future of Latymer netball looks bright: well done girls! Coach’s Player
Bella Clayton
Most Improved Player Maya Parry
Aysha McGregor
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U15s U15A: My U15A girls – what a joy! Over the
U15B: It has been an absolute pleasure
U15C: The U15C have gone from strength
season, the team have stepped up their level of technical netball and have been dominating the court. Their attacking play is smooth with Olivia, Cara, Celeste and Flossy timing dodges perfectly in the centre. Abi and Gigi have strengthened their circle attacking relationship, with Abi’s ability to hold her defender being a huge asset. Defensively, Indira, Athina and Helena have left everything on the court and never given up on a chased ball or interception. Bouncing off each other seamlessly, they really have been the backbone of our success. My player of the season has be Zoe who has played nearly every position on court; she has in-depth understanding and executes the responsibilities of whichever bib she may be wearing so perfectly.
to coach this team and what a team they have become. The team has nearly an unblemished record of 6 wins from 7 games and this season has seen the girls ball skills and cohesion as a team go from strength to strength. In defence, Jess’s goalkeeping and the winning combination of Renata or Iris has seen off some tough shooting opponents. In centre court, Abbie, Emily, Grace and Mia have dominated the opposition and commanded possession. They consistently chase down the ball and their ability to use a turnover ball has often carried the team to victory. Our shooters Stella, Nikki, Michaela and Liza never fail to impress with over 179 goals in 7 matches scored between them! We cannot wait to see what they do next!
to strength this season and have really honed their skills. Determined work in training sessions focusing on accurate passing, marking and using space has really paid off and I am proud of the progress they have made. Highlights of the season are an amazing goal difference of 118 and a fantastic win of 40-3 against Mill Hill and Belmont. Their upbeat attitude has been a joy to behold. Well done girls!
Coach’s Player
Zoe Zouridaki
Most Improved Player Cara Anderson Players’ Player
Athina Radicopoulos
Coach’s Player
Abbie White
Most Improved Player Emily Cruz Players’ Player
Nikki Kani
Coach’s Player
Sasha Ranawake
Most Improved Player Olga Devine Players’ Player
Nina Dolenec
U15D: The U15D team have made great strides this season, particularly in accurate passing and set plays. They have played with enthusiasm and resilience including an excellent 16-5 win against Wimbledon Girls’ School. I have been impressed with their determination and sportsmanship; the joy and camaraderie they bring to training and matches has been fantastic. Well done girls! Coach’s Player
Esme Brebbia-Yee
Most Improved Player Leyla Robertson Players’ Player
The U12s team
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Artemis Bridgeman
1st VII
2nd VII
2020: a year history was made! The 1st VII have had the most outstanding season to date and deserve a proud mention as the School’s most successful ever netball team. The team have worked tirelessly to achieve such fantastic results this season showing the rewards of their hard work. Winning the Ibstock, Highgate, Middlesex and the South East regional tournaments was a fine record of tournament success. This team’s hard work, dedication and enormous talent was showcased at the National Schools’ final where they impressively finished 7th in the country. Led by Angiolina Quadrio-Curzio, this team will go down in Latymer’s history books. Thank you for everything you have done for school netball and to Clodagh, Angiolina, Inara and Ellen you will be simply irreplaceable. To Dora, Olive, Ella and Jess we look forward to next year.
3rd VII
The mighty 2nd VII had an outstanding season and the results say it all: 21 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw. The girls worked extremely hard in training, giving the 1st VII team some great competition. Our defenders were strong all season, gaining extra possession for the team to convert; we could always rely on Grace and Gemma to come up with the ball at crucial times. Our solid midcourt lead by Stella in at Centre linked well with our speedy GA’s Evie and Jess. Rudy at the back held beautifully this season and had phenomenal stats to help secure some close wins. The Seconds were a pleasure to coach, so supportive of each other and always gave 110%. Coach’s Player Rudy Barrington Most Improved Player Evie Milward Players’ Player
A strong season for the senior 3rd VII team; they hugely improved throughout the season, winning nearly all of their matches in the Spring Term. Throughout the season, the twins worked brilliantly together in centre court, linking up extremely strong attacking and defending units. The team’s versatility and resilience was tested in a fixture where poor availability and injuries left them with only one circle defender. Nearly all players put themselves forward to fill the defensive space to give the team options, which was a brilliant show of team spirit and determination. Coach’s Player
Natalie Stott
Most Improved Player Amelia Sargeant Players’ Player
Amie Stott
Jemma Harrison
Coach’s Player Angiolina QuadrioCurzio Most Improved Player Jessica Craven Players’ Player
Clodagh Bottomley
4th VII
5th VII
The senior 4th VII had great team spirit this year, always bringing a positive attitude to their games. They have lost only 4 fixtures this season, all of which were at the start of the school year, showing their growth and improvement throughout. A huge improvement has been seen in attack this season, with all shooters becoming more confident and consistent. A fantastic season for the 4th VII. Coach’s Player
Malika Lewis
Most Improved Player Kitty Dimon-Brown Players’ Player
The 5th VII’s commitment, motivation and enthusiasm has been highlighted throughout their wonderful season. A versatile and talented team saw many play up to the 4th VII team on several occasions. With notable wins over Highgate, Forest and Emanuel the team showcased fast play and lightning interceptions alongside accurate shooting. Well done to everyone in this team for a top season and admiration for your dedication to training.
Sole Stewen
Coach’s Player
Livia Chatfield
Most Improved Player Katie Carter Players’ Player Marcy Goldfischer
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NATIONAL NETBALL FINALS INA , SIXTH FORM
It’s not every day you find yourself on the way to a National sports final. In fact, in my eyes, that never seemed a possibility. To me, Nationals were for the athletes from ‘Cheer’, or sports academies, or any other team which you began to shake with fear at the sight of. But having won Regionals in February, here we were; a team of 9 rather lanky Latymer sixth formers, on our way to Nationals for the first time in Latymer history. We headed out to Welwyn Garden City the day before Nationals, and had a lovely team dinner to calm our nerves, celebrate this amazing opportunity, and bond further as a team. We knew the next day was going to be tough, but the fact we were there was already a huge accomplishment. After a good night’s sleep, we woke up early for a hearty breakfast and then headed to the courts. As we got there, there was music blaring as teams warmed up, and announcements introducing the day. We all felt like Olympians. We were ready to smash it. Our first match was against Sedbergh. It was a tough match. These girls were athletic and fast. But we went out strong from the very beginning, pushing ourselves to intercept their balls and keep possession. We won that first game 10-8, which was an incredible way to start the day.
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Our second match was against Worthing. We knew that this team was going to be one of our tougher matches, but we were determined to give it our best shot. In this match, we played with fire and spirit for the entire 14 minutes, not letting them scare us away. Ella and Olive communicated flawlessly in the circle, preventing countless goals. It was a tight match throughout, but we ended up losing 8-10. Worthing ended up winning the National title, so to have only lost to the National Champions by 2 goals is incredible, and we were very pleased with our performance. We were told that our next match against Hartpury was also going to be one of our toughest. We knew this match was important to win in order to get into the Semi-finals, but unfortunately we lost by 4. We also lost our next match against Woodhouse grove. We began to lose our confidence, realising that there would be no ‘rest’ games, or easier opposition. At this tournament, every single team was so strong, most teams were even netball academies, and it took stamina to maintain such vigour over the 7 hour long day.
But Miss Harvey gave us a pep-talk, filled us back with confidence and fire, and we went into our next game against RGS Newcastle with more spirit than ever. We smashed that match, winning 15-8. It was an incredible game, with Dora and Inara putting up unstoppable defensive centres, and Ellen and Raphy, sprinting down the court with stamina and energy throughout the game.
season and the team that now stands is of an unparalleled standard. This team has become a family to me; I am so proud of how hard we have worked, and how much it paid off. I will miss it all so much but what a wonderful way to mark the end! n
Our last game was against Werkin, who we needed to beat to place in the top 7. They were an athletic team, a style we were not as used to, but we definitely delivered. Jess and Raphy made countless interceptions, and Clodagh shot every goal with impeccable accuracy. And me, well, I got sent off court 3 times for bleeding. So the Latymer Netball First team ended the day 7th in England! It is an achievement that we would not have reached without our constant motivation, teamwork, passion and spirit. And we certainly wouldn’t have accomplished this without the dedication and passion of our coach, Miss Harvey, who has believed in us from the beginning, and pushed us to be the best we can be. We have improved dramatically throughout the S P O R T: N E T B A L L | 133
U12s
FOOTBALL PAUL GIBSON, HEAD OF FOOTBALL
U12A: The U12s have been an absolute pleasure to coach for the past 3 months. Their attitude and enthusiasm has been excellent throughout and this has transferred to the pitch, where they have excelled both individually and collectively. We adopted a player centered approach, where the players were empowered to design their own football specific warm up and practices. In addition, they also helped decide on team shape both in and out of possession. This gave them the freedom to experiment and more importantly make their own decisions on and off the pitch, which I believe helped them learn and enhanced their self-esteem. This was evident as the season developed and the players began to become much more confident and expressive during matches. Player of the Season Oscar Purvis Most Improved Player Marmaduke Wootton
U12B: This season for me as a coach was a very memorable one; to be able to coach a group of players that were so responsive and respectful made my term of football very easy. From a tactical point they were challenged in every game. During matches they had to fight hard for their victories and learnt to be very humble in defeat. Watching the group of players devoted to the game develop so quickly has been a joy to the eye. We came up against some fair and strong opposition who ran us through our paces and understanding of the game. I have been very impressed at the consistent level of performance the group showed throughout the season from a very knowledgeable group of players. Player of the Season Alp Dundar Most Improved Player Rory MacMahon
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U12s
U13s
U12C: The U12Cs played out an exciting
U13A: I don’t think the results give a clear
U13C: Having only lost one game all
season, full of some fantastic football on display. The players set an impeccable example when representing the school in fixtures and the team made huge improvements both individually and collectively. One highlight includes a 3-0 win against St John’s though there were numerous examples across the season. It was unfortunate to end on a premature note, but the season was only full of positives with fun and entertaining football being played. Well done team on a great season!
reflection of the U13A season as there was some very attractive and confident football played by what is a talented and enthusiastic group of players. The boys were very committed, trained well and had a very good attitude along with some exceptional technical ability. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side and every error seemed to be punished in various ways. Having said that, it was a pleasure to watch them play at times and they had good victories against Halliford and St Columba’s schools. If they can learn to concentrate throughout a whole performance then I’m sure more wins will come.
season, the U13C team showed great team chemistry, with their performances matching the results. Their positive energy and love for the game shone through in both training and matches, with a clear desire to develop. The U13C team were a pleasure to coach and I have been pleased to see them strengthen, both as individual players and as a squad.
Player of the Season Frank Ogden Most Improved Player Nathan Edlington
Player of the Season Wilbur Anderson Most Improved Player Sebastian Sellars
Player of the Season Luca Bailey
U12D: The U12D team had a positive first season of Latymer football with big wins over Epsom College and St John’s. The boys were eager to learn and their focused approach in training paid dividends in matches. I look forward to seeing them grow as individuals and as a team, looking to add to their tactical knowledge of the game. Player of the Season Lucas Holmes Most Improved Player Paulo Kremer
Most Improved Player Jacob Frankel
U13B: The U13B side have had a very promising season, remaining unbeaten until the final fixture of the season. The group attained a number of convincing wins against Epsom, Halliford and St Columba’s whilst St John’s, KCS and Grey Court provided stern opposition. The boys made great progress during the term, often battling adverse weather conditions but overall had a worthwhile developmental experience with lots of movement between the A, B and C sides ensuring all players were challenged over the course of the season. Player of the Season Milo Aspden Davis Most Improved Player Zachary Holden
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U14s
U15s
U14A: The U14A have been an absolute
U15A: It is fair to say that, results wise, the
U15B: The 15B team had a frustrating
pleasure to work with this season. A fantastic attitude, never needing to be nudged to show better discipline and a season of really close games on the whole with some standout performances. After settling on playing 3-5-2, it allowed the group to have the protection at the back in central areas, 3 in the middle of the park where we always demanded energy and a forward pass and 2 front runners who would always be able to put the opposition under pressure. Some amazing saves from Atticus in goal and some superb defensive displays particularly from Arthur, Hick and Henry who were the mainstay of the back 3. Jody and Oscar switched play from full back roles and energy in the middle was supplied by Milo and Alex. The hard working Harri, Freddie and Eshan shared the wing back roles and a combination of Sam, Aaron and Josh up front really made the group a pleasure to coach.
boys will be disappointed with their season. I must say effort in matches was good, although lapses in concentration at crucial times need attention. We have some good technical players and good disciplined players within their roles on the pitch. Unfortunately when it came to defending corners or free-kicks in the final third we seemed to lose concentration. I saw sparks of brilliance within the team play though, with some really good team goals. Long periods without matches unfortunately didn’t allow us to gain momentum that I feel we needed to gain consistency in our play. Our goalkeeper had a good season with distribution improving with every game and important saves made in vital periods of games. With a more positive attitude in training, and taking pride in what they do on the training pitch, I feel that all players could improve their overall game and become better players.
season, with little chance to gain any momentum. They started the season well against two large all boys schools, with two narrow losses vs KGS Wimbledon and City of London. At times, the U15B played some aesthetically pleasing football, seeing their early performances come together in a 10-0 win vs St Columba’s College. Unfortunately, from this performance onwards, there were very few games to talk about with cancellations absorbing most of the season. With a little more of a consistent application from this group of players, I have no doubt they will do well as they move into the senior football section. I must commend the boys who stepped up to the U15A team with the right ‘can do’ attitude and more often than not, shone in a strong field of players.
Player of the Season Josh Hunter Most Improved Player Harry Locab
U14B: I have been very pleased with the positive and receptive attitude that the boys have shown throughout the season. They have always been focused both on and off the pitch and as a result it has been no surprise to see them perform so well. We had some good wins through the season with back-to-back wins against Westminster and Grey Court being the highlight. We have played some really tough matches against strong schools though and it has been really good to see that, even in the games we lost, we were always well in the game. In fact each of the games that we did lose were all by a single goal. The boys should all be really pleased with their own contribution towards the team’s success and I look forward to seeing them back on the pitch again soon. Player of the Season Daniel Rushby Most Improved Player Tristan Smulders 136 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
Player of the Season William Wray Most Improved Player Christian DenhamDavis
Player of the Season Oliver Caron-Delion Most Improved Player Leo Spateri
1st XI
2nd XI
After such a large cohort of U6 leave it can often be the case that the 1st XI can find things difficult. And, after a super start to the season coming from 3-1 down away to Highgate to beat them 4-3, the team found it difficult to compete within a very competitive fixture list. At times we played some excellent football but struggled to make our periods of domination count. As can be with football though you can be punished for your mistakes and this was a lesson that the team worked hard to correct, increasing their concentration and reducing unnecessary errors. I was really pleased with the positive attitude the team continued to display throughout the season. There were a number of inexperienced players who had to step up and perform and they did this admirably without complaint. A special mention goes out to all the U6 leavers, especially Zach who, as Football Captain, finishes his Latymer career as part of a small cohort of students to have ever made 100 appearances for the 1st XI. Player of the Season Zach Bosky Most Improved Player Marcus Gui Players’ Player
Samuel Linneker
3rd XI
In terms of results it has been a mixed season for the 2nd XI. We endured a tough period either side of Christmas where we played in some really close games that were decided by the odd goal, unfortunately we found ourselves on the wrong side of the result more often than not. This being said I can’t fault the efforts and determination of all the boys as we competed well in each and every match and put in some positive performances despite the results. In more recent weeks it has come as no surprise to me that we’ve managed to turn our luck around and achieve 3 wins out of the last 4 games. Some of the football the boys played towards the end of the season was refreshing and it was pleasing to see players expressing themselves and really enjoying going out to play with one another. It has been a pleasure to work with the 2nd XI again this season, I hope they have enjoyed it as much as I have and look back on the season fondly. I wish the U6 all the best at University and in whatever they chose to do next, and I look forward to seeing those who will be coming back again in September.
The senior 3rds have had a solid season with 5 wins and 2 draws out 11 games. They have played some excellent football at times and shown a great team spirit especially when going behind first. Highlight of the season was being 2-0 down with 5 minutes to go against Alleyn’s to then come back and equalise in the last minute sparking pandemonium on and off the pitch. I have been impressed at their ability to take on new pieces of information and develop their understanding of the game. Lots of players have had to play out of position many times this year as we had a surplus of central midfielders. This didn’t stop them giving 100% every game and enjoying their football. Player of the Season Oliver Culling Most Improved Player Vansh Malik Players’ Player
Maya Baddour
Player of the Season Alekos Jackson Most Improved Player Andreas Antoniades Players’ Player
Otis Delion
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CRICKET GEORGE TIDEY, HEAD OF CRICKET
LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR The 2020 Cricket Season will be remembered as the one that never was. From year 7 through to the 1st XI, we were unable to fulfil any of our scheduled fixtures, whilst the highly anticipated Senior Tour to India was also cancelled.
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There was, nonetheless, a full winter of indoor training. This resulted in cricketers regularly taking to the Sports Hall, for a combination of nets, fielding drills, one-onone coaching and indoor games across the week. Unfortunately we were unable to see the results of this dedication and hard work, but it would have certainly served us well when the season began and led to big performances on the field. Of particular note is the success of girl’s cricket at Latymer. Over the course of the Spring Term, both the U13 and U15 teams finished 2nd in the Middlesex indoor tournament. While this is an excellent achievement in itself, it also bodes well for the future of girls cricket, with ever increasing numbers becoming involved. The highlight of our season is always Cricket Week in which four days of fun-filled and competitive cricket fill Wood Lane, against, notably, the MCC and Head’s XI. Following on from a positive 2019 season, we were optimistic this year would have heralded even more positive results and participation.
Family Day was also sadly lost this year; a fantastic day in which teams of parents and students from all year groups across the school take part in small-sided games on the fabulous Wood Lane pitches. With a post-match BBQ in the sunshine it is a day that will be missed, but will return stronger than ever in 2021. The First XI were scheduled to go on tour this summer, visiting the Indian cities of New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. This promised to be an unmatched experience for the Senior Squad, with the chance to play a number of local teams as well as volunteering at community projects and meeting members of local Round Square schools. For those of our students in the Upper Sixth, this would have been their final year involved with Latymer Cricket. They have all enjoyed the last seven years enormously, from an unbeaten season culminating in victory in the London Cup Final in Year 7, to representing and ultimately leading the 1st XI over the past few years. We look forward to the 2021 season, creating more memories like those in the pictures. n S P O R T: C R I C K E T | 139
ROWING PHIL MCGEE, HEAD OF BOATS NICK LAWS, ASSISTANT HEAD OF BOATS
This season had its challenges before COVID-19. One day in September the school pontoon had an ominous list, enough for water to wash over the deck. By November the issue prevented access to the water until January – needless to say, also a period of picture-perfect river conditions, dazzling pupils running the towpath or glancing en route to the basement gym, day after day.
ROWING ROUND UP Relieved to finally be back on the water in the new year, the feeling was short lived as one of the foulest late winter seasons howled and pummelled the Thames Valley into river conditions deemed unsafe to row. With all events cancelled, once again squads reverted to land training, their only way to prepare for nationals in March. This time, at least, folk took comfort in the fact it was the same for the whole country.
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Despite the setbacks, things were looking not bad at all. More pupils than ever were loving rowing (90+ pupils from Y10-U6 were on Easter training camp in Spain), record entries at Schools’ Head and the Junior Sculling Head would see 181 pupils compete nationally, and for the first time in Latymer history this included nine Y9 octuplets and two Y11 boys’ eights. As the skies cleared and squads saw a two-week window to get a feel for the water again, there was a sense of hunger and anticipation for events ahead.
Then things imploded with COVID-19. As the building tide of the sporting calendar turned from ‘buy, buy, buy’ to ‘sell, sell, sell’ – with fixtures, flights and trips cancelling by the minute – the boatclub initiated a fallback plan issuing 60 ergos to senior pupils overnight. As school closed, all training and communications moved to remote platforms via Google classrooms, meets, Strava clubs and video messaging. Focus shifted to keeping pupils active for health and sanity in lockdown. Training had to be fun and accessible without equipment and work round everyone’s remote academic schedule. Ergo/bike/run – the all too familiar substitutes for water – became staple cardio. Meanwhile a country-wide shortage of gym equipment sparked several DIY efforts: There was a dire need to maintain engagement. Feedback and contact time were essential. Whilst programs stuck close to normality, they were tweaked for variety and morale. S&C was adapted for individual access to equipment with 3 variations per session plan and personalised, videomessage demos to accompany briefs. Programs were tailored for pupils in self-isolation or injury. Maintaining bonds became a key aspect in isolation, so teams and buddy systems were created across year groups, alongside platforms for pupils to share activities, experiences and give each other kudos. Every few weeks seniors led a quiz to keep up morale. Each week the whole club, pupils and coaches, completed a WOD (workout of the day) live via Google meets. A regular Q&A clinic allowed pupils to throw questions on their minds to a panel of captains and Team GB’s double U23 World Champion Charlotte Hodgkins Byrne. The panel’s video responses were insightful and inspirational. A series of live webchats with top rowers and coxes from the US & GB Olympic teams offered further advice and experience; Charlotte donated national team kit to some Y10s in recognition of their
approach to training. It helped many deal with the times and inevitably daunting moments. It was humbling for coaches to see seniors, inspired by team talks from captains, approach live 2km ergo tests in their bedrooms or hallways – with outstanding performances led by captain Farley Dimond-Brown and his succession of personal bests: Throughout lockdown the club had an overriding challenge to travel the distance round the world in meters by bike, foot or ergo. This formed an umbrella for smaller challenges, wherein squads created their own training from a brief – a memorable example being Strava Art over Easter weekend: There was also collaboration with virtual teams and family members. This was the premise for an adapted National Schools Regatta, in which pupils split into teams to complete 1624 minutes of activity over the weekend – a caveat being to enlist the help of parents and siblings. This saw 12 teams surpass the target. In total, 49448 minutes (34 days) of activity were recorded, with over 180 parents and siblings contributing. Prizes were awarded to the first team to complete the task, team to complete the most activity, and team to enlist most participants (37 pupils, parents and siblings). At the time of writing, there’s hope to be back on the water very soon. The coaching team has nothing but admiration for the support, application and positivity of the squads and parents at home. While it hasn’t been the season we would have hoped for, it has certainly been one that will last long in the memory of pupils, parents and coaches. n
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SWIMMING WILL ROWLEY, HEAD OF SWIMMING
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Latymer swimming has had another good year with some strong individual results as well as very accomplished team results. We saw the largest number of Year 7s at swimming trials; 52 swimmers attended with some of the best depth we had seen in years.
The enforced shutdown of schools and our facilities naturally brought an abrupt end to the year. Before we were all stuck on Zoom, the Latymer Girls’ team was able to secure a bronze medal and a 5th place finish in the prestigious Bath Cup competition. The team was led well by Kaylee with a number of Year 11 girls, including Hebe, Clara, and Priya, also all contributing to the great team effort.
the 2020 Junior Para National Champs, winning a Silver medal in the 400m Freestyle and placing in the top 10 in 4 other races despite competing against swimmers 2-3 years his senior. Based on his performances, Balthazar was selected to compete in the British Summer Nationals for the first time where he would have been racing against some of the top para-swimmers in the world.
The Latymer swimmers competed in 7 galas throughout the year against various schools from around London, winning all galas. The Year 7 and 8 teams won their respective prelim heats and then the North of the River Final in the 2020 London Swim League. Latymer also competed in a quadrangle event against three other schools.
There were also an extraordinary number of Latymer swimmers competing for their respective swimming clubs at their county competitions (the only big competition that was able to take place in 2020). We had a total of 11 swimmers competing in 65 events, 12 finals and 6 medals in both the Middlesex and Surrey County Championships respectively. Katie, Dylan, Montana, Alastair, Priya, Hebe, Greg and Amir competed for their clubs and managed to qualify for the championship finals in a number of their events, while both Matilda and Kaylee secured medals in the butterfly events in their respective age groups. n
Latymer swimmers also excelled while competing for their club teams who have taken advantage of our amazing facilities here at the school. Balthazar continued to show promise in the para-swimming world winning 6 Gold Medals at the 2020 Middlesex County Champs, while also impressing at
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— S O U T H A F R I C A N TO U R
P14 6
— R O U N D S Q UA R E : M A R R A K EC H
P1 5 0
— R O U N D S Q UA R E : AU S T R A L I A N E XC H A N G E
P1 5 4
— R O U N D S Q UA R E : B O R N EO
P1 5 6
— R O U N D S Q UA R E : I N T E R N AT I O N A L
P16 0
C O N F E R E N C E TO I N D I A — I N D I A : C U LT U R E & C O N S E R VAT I O N
P16 4
— S K I T R I P
P16 6
— A R T H I S TO RY PA R I S
P16 8
— TA I WA N
P170
— C A L A I S
P17 2
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TRIPS
THEA METREWELI, MIDDLE SCHOOL
SOUTH AFRICA NETBALL TOUR DORA , SIXTH FORM
On the 16th October at 2.30pm, 35 of us slipped out of lessons and, speakers blasting, we hurried to Heathrow. Although the flight was delayed, to most it just meant more browsing duty free, and later that evening we were finally on our way to Cape Town.
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resh from our 13 hours of flying (still with speakers blasting) we arrived at the beach and waddled across the sand in our wetsuits, ready for the first activity: surfing. Crashing into the year below proved a great bonding experience, and I’m sure they felt the same. When we left that beach for dinner, it was clear that this group was going to get along. Our first full day was spent travelling up Table Mountain, with an intense pro coaching session and a competitive match – but only after we’d exhausted the complimentary breakfast buffet. When we arrived at the top
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the view was unlike any of us imagined (a few selfies were taken) and suddenly many decided that this was a place where they wanted to live one day. A training session was next on the itinerary, preparing us well for our first match against Wynberg Girls School. Although Latymer won overall, the scores didn’t matter, and after the game, as with all of our matches, we socialised with the opposing teams, hearing all about their schools and their lives. At this match, after an insane rendition of ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ by ‘Bisexual Bernie’ (as she called herself), we traded hoodies with some and instagrams with others in the hope of keeping in touch.
The next day we experienced Langa Township. Small children gazed at, or ran alongside, our coach, that suddenly felt very big and expensive, as we passed through the township. Just a few steps off the bus and already a young girl, dressed all in pink, clasped onto someone’s shoulders, smiling, pointing and somehow putting tears in most of our eyes. She ran round the group picking who she’d jump on next, and steadily more children gathered until we were walking along, each one of us with a friend on our shoulders and a laughing child swinging our hands. After we were shown their township we experienced the most memorable lunch of the trip at ›› T R I P S | 147
Lindsey’s Cafe. After a speech by Lindsey herself (that we agreed should have been a TED talk) and a dance with the local band, we played our next fixture against girls from the township, and left with the day on replay in our heads. On Sunday, after a quick Cape Peninsula tour from Boulder’s beach to Chapman’s Peak, and after the purchase of several bucket hats, we had officially completed our tourist duties. We were now ready for our next adventure at the Goedgedacht Trust. Early the next day we arrived at their farm a few hours away from Cape Town. The team told us of their work with rural communities, and their programmes to help children out of poverty and onto the “path to prosperity”. A visit to the preschool allowed us to meet the children whom our donations were hopefully making a difference to, and later through netball fixtures we met some of the teenagers and adults whom they had helped. The mountainous view from the side of the court was a refreshing contrast to the walls of the sports hall and the A4 that we were used to. We bonded with them through ‘attempted’ obstacle courses and dances that they had taught us (it was the consensus that we should stick to netball). In return we taught them some of our ‘typical’ songs and dances (although the mosh pit to ‘Ladbroke Grove’ confused some of them). We woke early the next morning, said goodbye to our new friends and set off to Stellenbosch University for our next pro-coaching session. After 2 hours of intense training, some sweat (and some tears), our play was significantly improved and team members seemed closer than ever before. This was made clear at our next fixtures against Paulus Joubert School and again the next day against Rhenish Girls School. The day was heightened with a tour around Robben Island, and, guided by an ex prisoner, we were shown Nelson Mandela’s cell and the prison where they had been held. Over the next few days there was vertigotinged excitement as we completed zip lines over waterfalls, spotted whales and dolphins 148 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
from the beach and saw 4 of the ‘Big 5’ on our safari at Aquila Game Reserve. Our final match was against Paarl Girls School – the pressure was on after we realised our match would be live-streamed, with commentary and even retweeted by Mr Goodhew. Although it was the 1st team’s only loss, the fact that there was only a few goals difference when playing national champions was seen as a victory. Each team left the fixture emotional but fulfilled, with the realisation of how far everyone had come since the start of the tour, and how much each team has bonded. After speeches and prizes on the final night, and a last attempt to get the Harveys to rap, it dawned on the group that our South Africa netball tour was almost over. Who knows how it compared to Rugby’s trip to Canada or Hockey’s to Amsterdam, but we knew that this was a special tour that could not have been missed. On the 28th October we arrived back at Heathrow, exhausted, but with more experiences, new friends, new bucket hats and just a bit more of a tan (or sunburn) than we had had before. n
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MARRAKECH ELARAKI SCHOOL
Round Square Regional conference Elaraki School Marrakech 2020
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JULIA SELBY, TEACHER OF DESIGN
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wo Sixth Form students, Oyin and Sam, attended the conference and were exceptional ambassadors for the school during the entire trip. We arrived in Marrakech on Wednesday morning and were met by students from The Elaraki school and shuttled to the hotel where students were placed in groups with 4 or 5 student delegates from participating schools and accommodation was at the Wazo ‘apartment’ Hotel a few minutes walk from the school itself. Each group was headed by an Elaraki student who was involved in co-ordinating their group members. On arrival, students were given a short period of time to meet their roommates followed by lunch and the preparations for the opening ceremony.
The conference schedule was full, and Latymer students were able to socialise with a range of students from a wide variety of schools. After the introduction and flag bearing preparations, students and staff were transported a short distance by minibus for icebreaking activities such as Laser Tag. Supper was a packed lunch at the location and everyone was ready for lights out on return to the accommodation after a jam-packed first day. The first full day of the conference involved an introduction and tour of the school followed by Keynote speakers – Karima Ghanem and Chaimae Bourjij who focused their talks on the theme of the conference – The Future is Now. The flag bearing ceremony and Elaraki school performances culminated in an inspirational speech by the headmaster. Students and staff were then shuttled to the Medina and given a guided tour of the Souk area before having supper at a restaurant overlooking the main square. This was a very memorable experience which the students thoroughly enjoyed, especially as the Elaraki students started an impromptu chanting performance in which we all participated. Day two involved travelling by minibus to different venues in the Houz Region for a day of service activities. Here students took part in engaging pupils from the local schools in classroom activities – through nursery rhymes and other language learning activities. Other activities involved tree planting, painting the outside of the school and outdoor furniture and generally communicating and socialising with the local children. Students and staff were transported to a local restaurant overlooking the fabulous landscape of the Houz area and had a communal lunch of traditional Moroccan fare before being returned to the hotel. Day three was an ‘environment’ day, the whole group travelled to Izdihar Campus. Upon arriving at the school, there was a
welcoming performance, and our students took part in the dance and enjoyed the culture fest. Following the performance, students were taken to experience different recycling workshops. Each interactive workshop was designed by using recycled materials, ranging from games like fishing in the pond to knit the sweater. After an hour of tasters, the school opened to the community and local students and parents came to join the workshops which were directed jointly by Elaraki and our students. The school embodies how well the recycled materials can be used in different ways. After lunch, Latymer students engaged well in the daily Baraza feedback sessions relating to the environmental events. Sam gave a very insightful speech by arguing that different schools traveling this long distance to Morocco might pose pressure to the environment. On day four in the morning we visited a local water museum and were given a tour. Afterward we headed back to Elaraki school for the closing ceremony. The rest of the day involved a journey to the desert – camel rides, a 5K hike through the canyons followed by a sumptuous feast in the nomadic tent set up under the stars. The closing ceremony was a spectacular show of fire juggling and fire display. We arrived back at the hotel exhausted and exhilarated after a truly incredible action-packed finale. Sam and Oyin made numerous friends during the four days away and spoke at length on the journey home about what an amazing experience it had been – over and above their expectations. They also mentioned how grateful they were to have been given this opportunity and reflected on their experience compared to others they had met. They came away feeling very humbled. It was an eye-opening trip in many ways. All in all an extremely enjoyable experience and an invaluable initiative that Latymer engages with. »
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SAM, SIXTH FORM
Why I applied and what I loved about it I have been to two Round Square conferences before, in Denmark and Ottawa, and I really enjoyed them. I love the idea of meeting lots of new people my age from all around the world, and I believe that opportunities such as this are very hard to come by, so when such an opportunity presented itself, I was reluctant to decline. I also love visiting a different country and observing a culture that is different from my own. I believe that any time you visit a new country, you learn something new, so I think you will always gain something from such an experience. For these two reasons, when I saw that there was an opportunity to take part in this conference, I simply could not help but apply.
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I really enjoyed having the opportunity to interact and mingle with people from all around the world. It was really interesting to hear their ideas about the future, and hear about how they think their country is progressing as a whole. I learnt a lot of interesting things from a lot of interesting people. Another thing that I loved was that despite our differences of nationality, there is a lot that connects young people around the world, and that a lot of us have similar ambitions for the future, which made me think that as a whole, there is far more that connects the world than what divides it. I also loved the range of activities that Elaraki School arranged for us. From playing laser tag and pool with people you hardly knew to painting schools and interacting with young Moroccan school children, I really felt involved with so many different kinds of fun activities which meant that not only was I able to spread my ideas and learn from others, but I really felt able to get the most out of my 5 days in Marrakech. n
OYIN, SIXTH FORM
First impressions and why you should go Upon arriving in Marrakech, I was immediately struck by just how different it was to the UK, even in just the airport. It was much larger than the small North Terminal of Gatwick, and was far more ornate, with all sorts of complex architecture that I had never seen before. After going through a slightly lengthy security process, we stepped out into the sun. It wasn’t as hot as I expected it to be; balmy rather than soaring. The surroundings were beautiful, and on the drive to the hotel, we could see a myriad of pink buildings standing tall in the sun. The hotel staff were particularly welcoming, and, after a short lunch and a hasty unpacking, we were on our way to the school (about a 5-minute walk) for a brief introduction and flag ceremony rehearsal. Soon after, the rest of us who were not involved in the ceremony sat by the pool, exchanging social media and comparing lives across nations and continents. Many trips abroad offer opportunities to explore different cultures, but none of the trips I have been on so far has had the same level of social awareness as the Round Square conference. The main focus of the conference was to discuss our impact on the planet and what we can do moving forward to change the world we live in for the better, resonating heavily with its theme, ‘The Future is Now’. The regular ‘barazas’ (small discussion groups) we held gave a unique chance to hear other perspectives on topical issues and to give your own opinion without feeling overshadowed by others. It really is a wonderful way to interact with people of different nationalities and make friends all across the globe. n
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AUSTRALIA ROUND SQUARE STUDENT EXCHANGE CHARLOTTE, STUDENT FROM WOODLEIGH SCHOOL IN MELBOURNE
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eciding to go on the London Exchange has to be one of the best decisions I’ve made. I met so many people that I can now call friends and have a huge appreciation for the city of London. The reason I signed up was that I thought it would be such an amazing opportunity to discover somewhere new and see it through a local’s eyes. Latymer caught my attention from all the other schools because it seemed to offer a mix of sports, arts and academics. Living with Iris’s family in London made me see a whole new side that I would never have seen, had I been travelling with my family. I got to see how daily life was, rather than being a tourist; for example, I would never have experienced the outdoor cinema that we went to with Iris and her friend, without someone from London showing me. Having 154 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
said that, I still loved seeing the beautiful sights of London including Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden, the London Eye and Trafalgar Square. Another highlight was going to Paris for the weekend with Iris’s family. Michelle, Iris’s mum, spoke French, which made me feel more immersed in French culture. I loved seeing a different country with amazing culture and sights that were only a train ride away. The school itself was incredible and very different from Woodleigh. It has historic buildings, mixed with new ones, and is located in Central London. I have never climbed so many stairs in my life! Our school location is completely different as we are located on plenty of land with wildlife, farm animals, fewer students and more open space. Furthermore, the class settings were different from the ones I normally take and
were focussed heavily on the GCSEs. Before going to Latymer I had only taken Geography for a term each year, so it was really interesting to learn more about this subject. Also, the range of languages that the school offers is amazing. I felt so welcomed into Latymer and Iris’ home, and I made so many friends during the exchange. Iris’s family was so nice, and I loved hanging out with her sister. The three of us would enjoy cooking and going on walks together. I feel as if I have made a best friend that I will have for the rest of my life, and I can’t wait for Iris to come to Australia so I can show her my country just like she did. If you have the opportunity to apply for a RoundSquare exchange, I would absolutely recommend it as, although a little daunting, it is an amazing experience that you will never forget! n
SASHA , MIDDLE SCHOOL
O
ne of the most nerve wracking experiences of my life was probably the half an hour I spent standing in Heathrow’s Terminal Two, waiting to meet Harper, my Australian exchange/housemate for the next five weeks. We weren’t total strangers; we had talked a few times on Facetime, but considering that Melbourne is 9 hours ahead of London, most of our conversations were spaced far apart. I was expecting the most awkward car journey of my life, with my dad initiating most of the conversation with his bogus ‘G’day mate’, but amazingly, we instantly clicked: no Aussie accents necessary. We had less than one week left of the Christmas holidays, in which I tried to cram in a visit to every single place in London that I deemed worthy. In the space of six days we tried out all the testers in Glossier, visited the National History Museum (well, its ice rink), explored Camden and Portobello market, as well as Brick Lane (mainly for the beigels). We shopped in Soho, went to Winter Wonderland and took a trip to Harry Potter world, and finally, for a splash of culture took a (short) trip to the Southbank and the Tate Modern. I know it sounds like I didn’t take her to the most traditional tourist spots, but Harper had already visited London and ticked off most of the cultural list.
The twenty or so days of school passed by really quickly. Everyone in my year welcomed her, and several lunch breaks were spent comparing the Aussie slang to the English! I like to think that I gave Harper the full British experience. I forced her to try some of our national delicacies, including: Percy Pigs, Marmite, a proper English-breakfast cuppa tea, Pret just in general and of course, Jammie Dodgers. And so, when the time came to say goodbye, I was satisfied that she had soaked up every inch of British culture, but I was also proud of myself, for stepping so far out of my comfort zone and taking on this experience. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, my trip to Australia has been delayed/cancelled, but I am sure if I ever go to Australia on my own accord, I will visit Harper again. My advice is if you ever get the opportunity to apply for a RoundSquare exchange, do it! Don’t overthink the little things because the chances are you will make a lifelong friendship. n
But the point of her stay wasn’t to shop, it was a school exchange, so inevitably the time came for us to set our alarms for 7.00am and prepare for the fun to end. The classes offered at Harper’s school, Woodleigh include: Business Management, Legal Studies and Psychology, as well as the option to give up science and languages in year 10, additionally, under special circumstances Harper has been allowed to give up Maths. Therefore, I think the traditional subjects we do at Latymer were a bit of culture shock to her, but for me, it was pretty amusing watching her horrified expressions when I told her what lessons we had today (what’s wrong with Maths, Mandarin and double Biology?). T R I P S | 155
BIG BUILD
BORNEO SORAYA , YASMIN, ELENI, EVIE, SIXTH FORM
SORAYA
Why I applied Having been on two RoundSquare conferences before this trip, I knew that applying would mean a chance to go on another great trip and meet a lot of wonderful people from around the world. But in no way was I expecting as amazing an experience as we actually got. I was also excited to step out of my comfort zone – as the very definition of a city-loving Londoner, going so far away to Malaysia and spending two weeks doing proper, hands-on construction work was a whole new experience for me and it gave me the opportunity to build a whole new skill set.
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YASMIN
What we did This RoundSquare trip is one that I will never forget; there was so much to do and so many people to interact with. On the first day we got to meet the other people who came from different places around the world and played a few games as a group in order for everyone to get used to the new atmosphere. We moved onto building the next day, moving bricks along a chain in order to move them to the main building site, like a really long pass-theparcel game. It wasn’t just working at the site all day either, they did give us breaks throughout the day to cool off in the shade and some time to chat and play games at the end of the day. Although I was really nervous beforehand, having never done something like this before, and that volunteering on a building site with heavy loads was hard work, I can confidently say that the other people on the trip made it a whole lot better. It got to the point where we were still chatting to each other from our bunk beds at night, so it didn’t feel like work. And going on a trip and coming home knowing people who you can connect with across the planet is so much fun to think about. So I think the rewards from going on a trip like this (which was two weeks, but now feels like less) surpass the actual trip itself. ››
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ELENI
What I loved about it Admittedly, before going to Borneo, I was concerned that we would be merely partaking in another round of ‘voluntourism’. I was anxious that I would be contributing to a privileged expedition to an orphanage only to paint a few walls and take plenty of pictures, demonstrating how philanthropic we could be. However, when we all arrived at the work-site on the first day, I found the complete opposite. We were assisting six constructors (two Bornean locals and four Filipino men) in building a house for the orphanage to rent out, so they could start creating an independent income instead of relying on the nearby Catholic Church to run. I was surprised at the mental and physical drain that the work had on me (carrying bags of cement on my back that were heavier than me was no easy feat!), but was extremely glad that I had taken the opportunity to do it. I, and I’m sure I speak for all the girls, learned a new form of work. To continue working even when my (unfortunately timed diagnosis) of bronchitis flared up, when our arms bled from barbed wire that we had to navigate ourselves through with bags of aggregate carefully, when we thought we couldn’t mix any more cement, and when we spent days tediously carrying bricks in a very
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ill-organized brick chain, certainly drained us all rather quickly. Nevertheless, I learned the real importance of teamwork, leadership, communication, service, endurance and an increased work-ethic, to name a few of the many things that I was able to take from the Borneo trip. Aside from these various things I gained from the work we did, the people from all over the globe (namely India, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa, Australia and Canada) that I met, really made the trip one of the best experiences I have ever had. I am confident that I will be in contact with many of the boys and girls that I made friends with during the fortnight for a long time, and I know that I have homes open to me all around the globe – one of the people I met has even promised to show me all the best Indonesian-food hotspots in London when he visits the UK! Overall, the whole trip was an incredibly new experience for me, and I was able to step out of my comfort zone in so many ways, more than usual. I think this is what I loved most about going to Borneo – I was able to do something and go somewhere that I wasn’t at all used to. And I had the most amazing time. I just wish that I had taken the opportunity to go on a Round Square trip sooner.
EVIE
What I learnt I was not expecting this trip to Borneo to teach me as much as it did, both about myself and the world around me. Never before have I felt such a spirit of teamwork, general positivity and enthusiasm, and throughout the two weeks I was continuously astounded by how similar I was to many of the people, with all of us being there for the same reason. I learnt so much more about other cultures and ways of life without even meaning to from all the wonderful people I met. Whether these conversations occurred across the focused frowns of bracelet making, or the respite of morning tea, my knowledge now ranges from wider discussions of aboriginal land rights in Alice Springs, or misconceptions about inequality in India, to South African slang and the best Australian snacks. I learned even more about the connections
you can make with people across such an intense experience over such a short amount of time, with the friends I made in Borneo being, I’m sure, friends for life. For someone with absolutely no experience in construction, who’d have thought I could now tell you how to mix concrete and mortar with shovels, level ground, take out form work, lay bricks, and in total build the foundations of a house from nothing! Finally, I think this trip taught me above all things perseverance, strength and belief in myself as well as my limits. Amongst the brick chains, cement mixing, levelling and digging, and with an increased sense of responsibility, I unlocked skills of untold perseverance and determination, the desire to do just one more mix of cement, a few more wheelbarrows, a couple more shovels so that the next person might have a lighter load. n
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INDIA
ROUND SQUARE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2019
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ANTON, SIXTH FORM
EUGENIE, MIDDLE SCHOOL
I applied, because I had heard so many good things about the conference from friends, how it was one of the best weeks of their lives and because I saw this as an amazing opportunity to meet people my age coming from over 50 countries, who were all interested in making the world a better place. I was so happy that I decided to apply to go on the RSIC in India and was lucky enough to be able to go. It was truly amazing! I had such fun and met so many like minded people who I’m still in regular contact with. For me this trip truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity where I learnt so much from extremely talented and inspiring keynote speakers while also having a lot of fun.
We arrived at Emerald Heights late on Monday evening, and were welcomed by a group of students at the campus. I was immediately struck by the sheer scale of the school, stretching over 100 acres. The next day, after a good night’s sleep all of the delegates met in their respective uniforms in the main hall for the official opening ceremony and picture. It was an impressive sight, with over 700 students and a multitude of languages being spoken. Throughout the conference, we participated in many activities and every night there would be a talent show where schools did a small performance to represent their culture. In the daytime, we went out into Indore (the nearby city) to perform charity work, helping in schools, cancer hospitals and much more. On another day, we travelled to Mandu, an ancient palace dating back to the eleventh century, it was wonderful to get to see a piece of Indian heritage. On the last day we all woke early to participate in a charity run at sunrise, before attending the closing ceremony, a bittersweet event, and finishing with a huge disco night. ››
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PRIYA , MIDDLE SCHOOL
For me, the pre-conference tour was one of the highlights of the trip. Not only did we visit India’s most renowned wonders, we also had the opportunity to get to know international students prior to the conference (which definitely helped as there was such a large number of delegates there!). After a long flight to Delhi, we spent a half day exploring monuments such as the President’s house and the Raj Ghat memorial for Mahatma Gandhi, returning to the city the next day to experience the beauty of the Taj Mahal at sunset and the Red fort. A rickshaw ride through the Keoladeo national park was a pleasant surprise on route to Jaipur, where we visited the Amber fort,
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City Palace and spent the afternoon wandering through the marketplace. In between these visits we enjoyed buffet style meals with typical Indian cuisine, and sometimes even a cultural performance at the hotels, which were elegant and a great place to relax after a long day. Whilst these activities took place we were able to spend time with other schools going to the conference; not only did this help us form new friendships but genuinely made the tour more enjoyable as we could appreciate multiple cultures at once! I am really glad I was able to see so much of India’s history in just a few days, and would love to go back and explore further.
NAOMI, MIDDLE SCHOOL
ANDRE, SIXTH FORM
The theme for the conference was “The World We Wish to See”, which was fitting due to growing global issues of political and environmental animosity. The conference included numerous inspirational keynote speakers including Kailash Satyarthi (a child’s rights activist awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2014) and Major D.P. Singh (a retired officer of the Indian Army). Personally, the speech centred around female empowerment by musician Kiran Gandhi, and was particularly inspiring due to her relatability. She combined her music with personal anecdotes, to describe how she became such a successful, motivated woman in society despite obstacles she had to overcome. Although some of these sensitive topics are often openly discussed and understood at Latymer, making them therefore seem less significant, attention was brought to the fact that gender equality and female stereotypes in business continue to be a major issue worldwide. Throughout the entirety of the conference, there was a consistent focus on the importance of educating future generations. This emphasis ensures that in following years, as our generation rises to positions of power, we have the ability to implement positive change in society.
Overall, it was a huge privilege to go to this conference because I learned many useful skills that I will carry forward with me, not only for school, but also the rest of my life! What was amazing about this conference was that we were out of our comfort zone as we were accompanied by students from around the whole world. I valued this experience a lot because it made me realise how connected we all are in our values and in the changes we want to see in the world. I also found it enlightening to hear international perspectives on topics such as Global Warming and Artificial Intelligence. We were all able to share our thoughts afterwards during thoroughly interesting discussions, giving us all a better understanding of other people’s perspectives. Aside from that, Round Square is incredible because it facilitates this collaboration on a global scale, and I have managed to keep in contact with so many people I met. Despite the fact that we were not together for long, you would be surprised at how many great friendships you can make over a short period of time, and I would not trade them for anything! In my view, we are greatly privileged to have the opportunity to host a Round Square Conference at Latymer Upper School, because this is a truly unforgettable experience that you will not regret, so get involved! n
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INDIA: CULTURE & CONSERVATION ELLIE, SIXTH FORM
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uring October half-term, a 31-strong group of motley Latymer students, wrangled into cohesion by Miss Harris, Mr Maxted and Ms Kendall, accompanied by Flooglebinder’s Brad and Bonnie, embarked on a 12-day adventure along India’s golden triangle. Post-nine hour flight sustained with free mini magnums, we arrived tired yet full of excitement at our hotel in New Delhi at 2.45am. Our first day was jam packed with the culture of India, featuring bumpy rickshaw rides, aromatic spice markets and the beautiful architecture of the Qutub Minar Complex. Tired, but amazed by all the new sights and wonders we’d seen, we returned to the hotel for a lovely evening swim lit up by fairy lights. The next day, after some relaxing 6.30am yoga we set off towards Jaipur, where we would spend the next few days working with
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students at the I-India school. Jaipur is known as the ‘Pink City’ named fittingly for its pink-red sandstone buildings. Much to Mr Maxted’s delight, we learnt it is also the host of the world’s largest Literature festival. Our first morning in Jaipur featured a visit to the gorgeous Amer Palace, with stunning views over the hills of Jaipur. That evening we visited an I-India project called the Ladli project, where we fawned over necklaces and clothing handmade by the women of the charity, and failed miserably in hula hoop competitions with the children. The next three days were encompassing by teaching, dancing, block-printing, and painting as we spent time at the I-India School. Highlights included a particularly impressive rendition of the Cha cha slide, fortune-teller origami and the whole trip team (including Miss Harris and Miss Kendall at the forefront!) performing a dance to ‘Uptown Funk.’
At the school we were welcomed with an overwhelming warmth and openness. The I-India campaign has spent twenty-seven years working tirelessly to give these children the education they deserve. It was an honour to be able to spend time with the children and teachers, and certainly an experience we will never forget. One of the main ambassadors of the I-India company, bestowed on us these words “The hardest thing to do in this world is to love. To love openly and with the whole of your heart. But once you can do that, that is the most important thing.”
sleepiness. On the course of one day we were lucky enough to take two safaris, admiring the amazing nature of the National park from open-top jeeps. We may not have glimpsed a tiger that day, but we did manage to visit a centre working with Save the Tigers, and the home of DhonkCraft. Here, they explained the issue of the poachers and the dangers that communities take into their own hands. Through working with these locals, educating them and offering jobs to help fund their livelihoods, locals are realising that they should not be killing these incredible animals.
Once we had left the school, an exciting adventure lay ahead of us. The next two days would be spent in Ranthambore National Park, where our hotel was a literal palace, adorned with lights and white marble corridors. The call to get ready for Safari was at 5.30am, but anticipation overtook our
From here we ventured to Agra and spent the morning’s sunrise in the company of the Taj Mahal. Having explored the majestic temple and Mosques that were built for Mumtaz Mahal, the Mughal emperor’s Shah Jahan’s favourite wife, we headed to the Wildlife SOS Sloth Bear and Elephant
Sanctuaries. Here we learnt of the terrible torture endured by these animals for entertainment purposes, but also the wonderful things the charity is doing to help save them and work towards eradicating their use within the Indian tourism industry. Finally we had one last journey back to Delhi where we celebrated Diwali and our last evening together. n
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SKI TRIP JASMINE, MIDDLE SCHOOL
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he ski trip got off to an extremely early start with 60 students stumbling half-asleep through Heathrow. On arriving in France, however, and beginning the steep coach ride up the mountain, my tiredness was quickly replaced with excitement. For some of us, this was our first time not only skiing but also seeing proper snow. The beautiful Alpe D’Huez was perfect for this first time experience with its wooden chalets and cosy atmosphere. Waking up to the most incredible sunrise from our balcony, we all trudged downstairs, sleepy but excited for our first day on the slopes. There were six groups sorted into ability, (which was nice because we all became closer with other years) and we would ski for five hours a day. Contrary to the stereotype of terrifying ski teachers, our instructors were hilarious and lovely, and we were all genuinely sad to say goodbye. I think all members of the beginner group can vouch for me when I say that Martin, our instructor, was definitely the best. After a full day of skiing, we had a few hours of well-earned relaxation before dinner. Many of us would usually go to our favourite hangout, Carrefour, to restock our essential supply of French biscuits. This love for French supermarket cuisine did backfire one afternoon, when a certain someone left Camembert cheese on the balcony, stinking up all the rooms around it.
The aprés-ski was also what made the trip so much fun, with activities ranging from movie nights to bouncing on massive nets, Nutella crepes, and chaotic winter Olympics. The teachers also got involved, partaking in intense games of ping pong and forming their own quiz team, only to be beaten by Year 10s (tut tut). We were extremely lucky with the weather, with most days being bright with clear blue sky, resulting in a few faint goggle sunburns. With such a range of abilities within the trip, the groups all did different things. The top group would bomb down blacks, and there I would be, struggling to master basic chair lifts. However, the progress we made was insane, and in only six days, some of us beginners were skiing down a red slope. This was probably my favourite aspect of the trip, seeing how far I came. My group went from snow ploughing down a green (and usually ending in a heap at the bottom) to parallel skiing down blues. On Thursday afternoon, we did slalom competitions between all 60 of us, and it was amazing to see how good everyone was. Most of that afternoon for me was spent watching in awe at the other Latymer students effortlessly whizzing down the slope. There was also a snow park with massive jumps that the higher groups loved, resulting in inevitable crashes and wipeouts. I can definitely speak for the rest of the group when I say that the ski trip was honestly the best experience and so much fun, and we are all missing it already. n
my group went from snow ploughing down a green to parallel skiing down blues.” T R I P S | 167
ART HISTORY IN
PARIS MALIK A AND MEGAN, SIXTH FORM
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n a quiet Thursday afternoon in January, we set off along with 18 other students from Year 12 & 13 studying History of Art, accompanied by Mrs Taylor-Bell, Ms Temple and Ms Lopez, to the Eurostar. We left from St Pancras International and promptly arrived at the Gare du Nord by nightfall. For the next 3 days, we explored as much of Paris as possible, taking in the rich culture and art it has to offer.
We saw the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, Napoleon’s Tomb, the Francis Bacon exhibition at the Pompidou, and even had time to do some light shopping accompanied by eating macaroons at the Champs Elysées. We took on the role of the locals; commuting by metro at rush hour and spending lunch breaks in corner cafés eating baguettes, embracing the Parisian lifestyle. Paris has a huge significance in our History of Art A-Level learning, not only because of its profound centrality to art through the ages, such as the Romantic Era, but also because it possesses such a large number of some of the most famous pieces of art in the world – many of which we are studying in class! Ranging from the globally known Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, to some of our lesser-known set pieces such as Édouard Manet’s painting Olympia, and Ingres’ Napoleon on the Throne, Paris retains profound pieces of art. We even caught a glimpse of Paris Fashion week while exploring the Musée Rodin.
Despite being action-packed, the trip wasn’t all smooth sailing. Our weekend was interrupted by the city strikes, compromising the carefully thought-out itinerary Mrs Taylor-Bell had made for the trip. Upon finding out that nearly half of the metro stations had been closed, we were forced to continue our expeditions on foot, which turned out to be an enchanting way of exploring the small side streets of Paris, as well as a great way to encounter the French sun along the River Seine. We were luckily able to rearrange our plans for the Louvre but were devastated upon realizing we would not make it to the Eiffel Tower, so have promised to return again! Overall, it was an amazing trip and such a great experience in aiding our A-Level learning and exploring the beautiful city of Paris, which would not have been possible without Mrs Taylor-Bell’s organisation and great knowledge of the city and its culture. n
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TAIWAN TOM, MIDDLE SCHOOL
A
fter arriving at Gatwick on the last day of school, our group of 24 set off on our Taiwanese trip, beginning with a somewhat gruelling 14 hour flight. Upon landing and getting onto the bus to our first hotel – Château de Chine Xinzhuang – we were all greeted with our first meal, consisting of rice burgers, fried chicken and potato fries. After the first few days of exploring Taipei’s main attractions, such as the Chiang Kai Shek memorial and the bustling Ximending district, in which we had hours to explore the mass of stalls, shops and arcades, we went to Zhong Zheng Senior High School. Here we stayed four days with our Taiwanese buddies, whose houses we stayed at for this
period of the trip. After we met them in the schools’ conference room, we all gradually grew more and more comfortable, despite the language barrier, and many of us left the school with strong friendships and great memories. We participated in Taiwanese lessons, a football match against the school’s team, an environmental art workshop with a Japanese school, a Chinese opera workshop and many other activities, as well as our own activities with our partners in the evenings, such as visiting Taipei’s famous night markets. One sad goodbye later (and many selfies), we were on our way to Nantou County, where we spent the remaining time of the trip. Over the next few days, we visited various sites, such as the Sun Moon lake and
its Aboriginal Cultural Village theme park; a paper factory, a marble soda factory and a three hour hike on the penultimate day. Karaoke with Miss Wu, featuring Mr Palmer’s rendition of Wannabe by the Spice Girls, and other activities, such as exploring the Monster Village occupied the last few days’ evening activities. After a sad goodbye at the airport to our tour guide Pao Pao, we were on our way back almost as soon as we had arrived. We all had a great experience and it was a highly useful experience for the majority of us studying Mandarin. Thank you Miss Wu for organising all of this! n
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The state of the weather during a Latymerian’s February half-term would usually determine whether or not skiing that day would be an enjoyable activity. On the northern coast of France, inside the desolate ‘unauthorised settlements’ that are subject to police raids, tear gas attacks, and constant fear of displacement, the state of the weather is a much more pressing discussion.
CARE4CALAIS SIXTH FORM TRIP SASKIA , SIXTH FORM
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or the entire four day trip, wind and rain relentlessly threw itself against the region of Calais. The storm kept the already low numbers of female and young refugees out of sight of the Latymer volunteers; instead, we came face to face with an almost entirely male population of refugees, heralding from Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iran, and Ethiopia. On the first day of ‘distribution’, we met a boy the same age as us, who had been running from war in his homeland of South Sudan since he was 14, having left behind his mother and sister, and having seen his cousin shot in front of him in Libya. We met a father, who had been an English teacher for over ten years in Iran before being forced to leave with his wife and daughter. We met a man who could recall with clarity his home in London, where he had lived for three years before being deported. We met all of these people, made brief conversation about lives that none of us could understand, standing speechless in front of a group who had been let down by every government that has refused them a safe place to exist, and who still smile with bright, genuine kindness. The feeling of leaving every day, back to a hostel with beds, and showers, and bags full of our own lives from the land that all of these men were suffering to reach, felt instantly, intrinsically wrong. The ease with which we clambered into two minibuses, wandered through passport control, and sat silently in the tunnel back home was a muffled kind of sickening, a sudden awareness that your normality is something that the people living in Calais are starving, aching, freezing for. Reader, go to Calais. If there is one trip in your life you have to go on, it’s not Ibizia, it’s this one. Revel in the feeling of being utterly helpless, in the shock and despair, in the feeling of having absolutely no response other than hurt at the sight of the lives you are being presented with, and turn that anguish into activism. The only appropriate response to the sight of Calais is to get angry enough that you insist on change. n
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— C AT S U T H E R L A N D - H AW E S
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— DA N I E L GYS I N
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— TA L L A N G I L L
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— DAV I D B OY D
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— MARK ALDHAM
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— J AC K S E Y M O U R
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— E L L I E C H A PM A N
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— S A M O ’ L E A RY
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— M O N I K A WA L K E R
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— KIRST Y MAIN
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— TO M U DA L E
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— G EO R G I E B E E VO R
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— F I O N A R AT N A R A J
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— E S Z T E R B AC K H AU S Z
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— A L B E R TO R O D R I G U E Z- M I N G U I TO
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— T H A I S LO P E Z
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— SAR AH DELHOMME
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STAFF LEAVERS
G R AC E L E A , M I D D L E S C H O O L
— S I M O N WA R E
SIMON WARE
CATRIONA SUTHERLAND-HAWES
True to the tradition established by longserving members of Latymer staff, Simon is retiring this year for a second time. Three years ago, we said goodbye to him as teacher of French and German, a role in which he had accrued an extraordinary 28 years of service at Latymer. During that time, Simon had also earned an MBA, served as Head of Careers and had for many years run our European Work Experience trips to Berlin and Versailles. His wealth of experience advising students about their progression beyond Latymer, coupled with his international perspective, made Simon uniquely placed to take overall responsibility for our International University Applications and it is in this capacity that he continued with us after retiring from teaching.
Described as the heart and soul of Latymer, Cat is often the first member of staff prospective pupils and parents get to meet. She sees the full gamut of human emotion – apprehension, nerves and trepidation on 11+ day followed by the pride, joy and excitement of future Latymerians who have gained entry to the School. The ultimate ‘people person’, Cat makes it her business to know something about every pupil in Latymer – which school they came from, who their Head teachers were and even the names of siblings, parents and pets!
For the past three years Simon has officially been a part-time member of our support staff. ‘Part-time’ is perhaps a euphemistic description of a role which at certain pinch points (including New Year’s Eve) can be all-consuming. Simon has done the job brilliantly and his will be a daunting act to follow: his specialist knowledge is unrivalled, he has forged strong relationships with deans of admissions at leading US colleges, and he is highly respected, in London and beyond, on the international university counsellors’ circuit (yes, there is such a thing). Most importantly, he has guided our students and their parents sympathetically through competitive, often arcane, international application processes. Our stunning record of overseas admissions is a major draw for prospective parents and should be attributed in no small part to Simon’s patience, expertise and industry. We hope, in due course, to give him a proper send-off to mark his second retirement.
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Cat was appointed Registrar in 2006, having previously experienced the entry process as a parent herself (her daughter Charlotte had been in the first fully mixed cohort to join Year 7 in 2004). The role has grown considerably since then and Cat was made Director of Admissions as her remit expanded. When she started, around 500 children applied to Latymer each year. These days, Cat and her team rise to the annual logistical challenge of organising Open Days for up to 2,000 people, and entrance exams for 1,300 each year. How Cat retains her sanity is a mystery, but rumour has it that large amounts of chocolate and sausage rolls from the Atrium Café help. Staying calm in a crisis is key to Cat’s role and she deals with the challenges that are thrown her way with great aplomb – whether it’s finding a spare pair of trousers for the former Deputy Head who is about to welcome visitors to an 11+ Open Day, oblivious to the large tear in the seat of his trousers, or watching the flood waters rise in King Street the evening before 11+ interviews, Cat remains seemingly unruffled. Her previous
experiences working at the House of Commons, and St James’s Palace in the office of the Prince of Wales will no doubt have trained her in this outward appearance of calm! If asked what she would like to be remembered for, Cat is likely to point to her involvement in the bursary programme. She creates strong bonds with families, following home visits to potential bursary pupils, who know that they can knock on her door at any time if they need help or advice and she will always be a source of comfort and reassurance. It’s telling that she is often the first person they want to see on results day or when they come back to visit the school. Cat is enthusiastically involved in every aspect of Latymer life – she is a member of SMT, sings in Consort, works closely with the Chair of the Parents Gild, gives talks about her time at the House of Commons to our Politics students and attends almost every concert and play. Outside Latymer, she has chaired the Board of Trustees of W11 Opera, sings in St Paul’s Cathedral Chorus, is an Elder at St. Columba’s, Church of Scotland and has been a Governor at both Notting Hill Prep and St Peter’s Primary School, Hammersmith. There is no chance that Cat will slow down her pace of life once she leaves Latymer, but perhaps she’ll have more time to go cycling round Norfolk with her husband Harry, or join another choir – or perhaps just sit back with a G&T and listen to some Bach. Tatler Schools Guide said “We’d like to clone Latymer’s legendary registrar, Catriona Sutherland-Hawes, and put her in every school in the country”. We are just grateful that Cat chose to join Latymer some 14 years ago as our Registrar – we’ll miss her hugely.
DANIEL GYSIN Mr Gysin, father of the Common Room, DG, Dan, Dad, Ojīsan, 35 years of service. Dan began teaching French and German in September 1985. Latymer will have looked very different: different buildings, colleagues, and it would have been still single sex. Dan has seen a raft of changes here at the school: no fewer than 6 Headmasters and 3 Heads of Department. Colleagues both in and outside of MFL know Dan to be quietly enthusiastic, direct, frank, supportive, honest, caring, respectful, modest and unassuming. Also, kind, sensitive, but can be a miserable so and so (in jest from Marc S!). In French and German, he has taught a range of texts over the years and a good number of current Latymer parents (who were Latymerians themselves) remember him and some of the lessons he used to give on French literature such as Candide. His knowledge of both French grammar is the best, as is his German (originally from Biel in Switzerland).
In addition to languages and sport, Dan has had a great interest in the arts with a range of artists from Leonard Cohen to Serge Gainsbourg. He also is very interested in Japanese print, and has given a number of talks to the History of Art society. Rather than having a summer term of “winding down” Dan has had a summer term of winding up, having to get to grips with a whole additional raft of new IT applications to ensure remote learning has been successful. His students have appreciated the Google Meets delivered, and the care and detail gone into marking work remotely. Dan retires this term, giving him a chance to enjoy the fruits of a full career teaching and spend more time with his family. We are sure his granddaughter will be keeping him on his toes! On behalf of the Latymer Community past and present, thank you for your teaching, wisdom, advice, good nature, and companionship over the past 35 years. We wish you a long, healthy, and fulfilling retirement, and remember Latymer (literally!) is never too far away.
It is important to note Dan’s contributions to the Sixth Form. He has worked tirelessly as a Sixth Form tutor, ensuring that even the most work-shy of characters still got a good school reference. For Games, Dan has run recreational football for a number of years. Many a new colleague have valued his wisdom in talking about Latymer’s journey to become the school it is now. In talking about sport, Dan is a big fan of American Football, and the Pittsburg Steelers in particular. Mr Winter (previous Head of LUS) remembers he would wear their team tie which used to be a “gaudy black and yellow job as I recall” which was as flamboyant as he got.
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TALLAN GILL Tallan came to Latymer 9 years ago and settled into the Department immediately (though pronunciation of his name is still an issue!). It is fair to say that during this time he has overseen a huge amount of positive change for sport. The new Sports Centre was one of the biggest and most difficult builds in the School’s history and Tallan was involved in all aspects of its development including planning and fundraising (he even managed to complete a Triathlon whilst fundraising!). There has been a huge development of Saturday sport for girls as well as a large increase in participation across all sports and the number of teams that regularly compete. There are also a number of excellent sporting achievements that have happened under Tallan’s guidance. The girls won Henley Royal Regatta twice and there has been County success in Hockey, Rugby, Netball, Cricket and Football. Tallan has also been heavily involved in the Outreach programme and he has always been proactive in putting the School forward with regards to Sport in the Community. The school is heavily involved in promoting Hammersmith & Fulham athletics teams as well as running various Borough basketball programmes. The school is also used as an MCC Cricket Hub, encouraging local schools and clubs to use our facilities for matches and tournaments. He has also guided staff towards introducing sporting events such as Latymer Hockey Festivals and Middlesex Rugby Tournaments. Tallan’s sporting love is for Rugby and debate was always lively in the department whenever there was defeat for his
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beloved Welsh team (which seemed to happen a lot!). Tallan also seems to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of every other school in the country. If ever a school name was mentioned, his chair would immediately swivel round, and a breakdown of the school would ensue normally culminating in its GPS coordinates. Above all though Tallan cares for his staff. He thinks about the wellbeing of everyone in the department and would always do everything possible to help them through troubled times. He is a people person in the truest sense of the word and that is a quality that he will take on to his new school. We all wish his whole family well as he moves on to pastures new.
DAVID BOYD
MARK ALDHAM
JACK SEYMOUR
David joined Latymer in 2016, at a time that was (to put it mildly) ‘challenging’. We were temporarily without a Head of Middle School and due a compliance inspection that was likely to test our previous arrangements to destruction. His experience as a Housemaster and Director of E-Learning at Abingdon, coupled with his time as Head of Pastoral Care (+ timetabler + MIS + E-Learning) at Nord Anglia International School in Hong Kong, proved invaluable as he set about rising to those twin challenges. It is a testament to his work ethic, insight, intelligence and compassion that he far surpassed those hurdles, and it is hard to overstate his impact on pastoral care at Latymer. He has not only overhauled/created systems for every aspect of safeguarding and wellbeing, but has led a galvanised and expanded pastoral team to turn what was once perceived a comparative weakness into one of the School’s towering strengths. Colleagues have appreciated his advice on the trickiest of scenarios (“What’s the answer to a difficult question?” – “David Boyd”) and families have valued his support, often late at night and over weekends, at times of greatest danger and vulnerability. David played a crucial role at two moments of crisis in recent years, making it possible for the evacuated Sixth Form from KAA to join our school after the Grenfell Tower fire, and this year leading and organising the Hub for children of keyworkers.
Mark leaves us after 10 years in the Maths Department at Latymer. Throughout his time here he has been a dedicated, reliable and passionate colleague, teaching throughout the school, from Year 7 to Upper Sixth Further Mathematicians. His excitement for the subject is evident both in his classroom style and in the conversations we have in the maths office. Mark leaves us to train for the priesthood, a long-held ambition of his. We are very excited for him as he enters this next stage in his life, and know that he will make a great success of it. We wish him, Rhiannon and their three children all the very best for the future.
A Teach First graduate, Jack Seymour joined Latymer in 2014. His similarity to Nigel Havers is not in appearance alone, as he brought a boyish charm and enthusiasm to all his endeavours, both in the classroom, on the sports field and in his able stewarding of the Latymer Society. Most importantly, Jack imbues his teaching with a sense of fun. This quality made him highly regarded by his classes, in the English Department and across the Common Room as a whole. For the last two years Jack has been teaching part-time whilst studying for a Masters in Illustration. Friends, colleagues, students and the very classroom walls of Latymer have benefitted from Jack’s considerable artistic skills. It has been a pleasure seeing him flourish during his time at Latymer. The many fond friends he has made here will be sad to see him go, though we are excited for the future ahead as Jack pursues his career in illustration full-time.
On a personal note, I have hugely appreciated his support and friendship – no Head could have asked for a finer Deputy, and it was only a matter of time before his own Headship beckoned. Under his leadership, I feel sure that Tormead will go from strength to strength and I wish him, Chris and Rosie all good things for their future. S TA F F L E AV E R S | 179
ELLIE CHAPMAN
SAM O’LEARY
Operating at a frenetic pace, the brilliant Ellie Chapman has achieved a great deal since joining the English Department in 2014. An NQT year, a two-year MA in English & Education and two years as Second in English following a well-deserved promotion (she has also found time to edit the lovely magazine you are reading!). She is utterly professional, extremely hard working and a friend to many. As such, she has earned the respect and admiration of countless Latymerians, not only in English classrooms, but with hockey, netball, rounders, creative writing club, trips and particularly her tutees, where she has been a formidably dedicated Sixth Form tutor all through her time at Latymer.
In January 2016 Sam joined the Geography Department at Latymer Upper to take up a maternity cover post for five months. We were delighted that he stayed for five years!
She brought the same skills to bear as Second in English, and it is no surprise that the Department has achieved record A-Level results under her aegis. Meticulously attentive to detail (she enjoys spreadsheets perhaps a little bit more than an English teacher should), Ellie has nevertheless always balanced efficient rigour with a profound sense of care and enjoyment. Following a richly deserved appointment, she leaves us to become Head of English at Francis Holland School, Regent’s Park. She will be sorely missed!
Sam had recently graduated with a Masters in Teaching at the University of Sydney where he completed his Bachelor’s degree. He was a mentor to high school students for the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience. He also worked for an MP and in finance. In Sam’s classroom, there was always a buzz, and it quickly became apparent how much the students really enjoyed his lessons which were enhanced by his travel experiences. During his time with us, Sam was promoted to Second in the Geography Department. He brought a wide range of initiatives to his teaching, fieldwork and the Geography Department. He was also instrumental in other areas of the school including Global Goals and his Socio-Legal Elective in the Sixth Form. He qualified as a Google Educator and trained colleagues in the use of ICT. He was able to put his time spent in the outback to good use as leader for Bushcraft in Activities Week. The Pupils in his Lower School form really enjoyed having him as their form tutor, especially his ‘fun Fridays’. We wish Sam all the best with his move back to Australia. Sam will be greatly missed by all his colleagues and the pupils alike.
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MONIKA WALKER
KIRSTY MAIN
TOM UDALE
Monika joined the Religion and Philosophy department in 2016 after time spent living in France. She is an outstanding philosopher and combined academic rigour with kindness and positivity in her teaching. She brought the classroom to life by incorporating relevant and topical content and she made a significant contribution to the World Perspectives course. Monika also ran a departmental tour of Jordan and Israel which offered students a memorable insight into the theology of the area. Monika has a great social conscience and made a meaningful contribution to school life during her time at Latymer. As Charities Coordinator, and when running FemSoc, Monika was a source of inspiration to students and staff alike. Her commitment to these causes was clear, as was her ability to facilitate thoughtful student discussion about social issues. During her time at Latymer, Monika also ran staff yoga for several years which proved to be extremely popular! Monika celebrated the birth of her daughter whilst at Latymer and now leaves the school to pursue opportunities outside of teaching. Monika will be missed, not only as an admirable colleague, but for her perceptive wit, good humour and thoughtful kindness.
Kirsty first joined Latymer in 2014 as a rowing coach. At school social occasions it soon became apparent to her that the dynamic heart of the school lay not in the boathouse, but in Room 23 on the main corridor, and so she started making plans to join the Department. The following year she split her time between rowing and Maths, and we were delighted that she then came to join us on a full time basis from 2016. Throughout her time she has been a fantastic colleague; hard-working and always keen to get the very best from herself and her classes. She has moved out of London with her young family, and the idea of a long commute was too much. We wish her, David and Axel all the best in the years to come.
Tom Joined Latymer in 2017, straight from finishing his degree the summer before. He was thrown in at the deep end as a brand new teacher, with a full timetable of classes. To his enormous credit he made a fantastic job of it, always working hard to improve as a teacher himself and to provide the very best instruction to his pupils. In his second year he embarked on a teacher training programme and has now completed his NQT year. Looking at him progress, it’s become clear that he has the makings of an outstanding Maths teacher. But Tom’s talents don’t end there, and he leaves us to enter the world of data science. We wish him all the very best, and hope that he will come back to teaching later on in his career.
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GEORGIE BEEVOR
FIONA RATNARAJ
ESZTER BACKHAUSZ
Georgie joined Latymer in 2017, moving from Cambridge as a Newly Qualified Teacher. Her infectious enthusiasm for theology has been inspirational for her students, who she teaches with kindness, patience and a good measure of fun. Georgie’s classroom is one where it is particularly easy to see true joy of learning. In addition to having real academic enthusiasm, Georgie is a committed professional. She is currently completing a Masters in Education at Cambridge University and is always keen to incorporate new pedagogical initiatives into her practice. Georgie takes particular interest in the pastoral aspect of teaching. As well as being a fondly regarded tutor, Georgie is Head of Peer Mentoring. Georgie has contributed to the wellbeing of students at Latymer in numerous ways, organising a variety of wellbeing events. For many students, Georgie will leave a significant legacy in the form of Norman the therapy dog. His weekly visits to Latymer, roaming the Piazza on Friday lunchtimes, are hugely enjoyed by students. Georgie leaves Latymer to return to Cambridge, working at the Stephen Perse Foundation. She will be hugely missed by students and staff alike.
Fiona joined us from Godolphin & Latymer in September 2018. She very quickly settled into life in the Biology department, proving to be an excellent classroom teacher with a particular penchant for Kahoot (much to the delight of her students, who still make regular reference to, and use of, them). She approached the classroom with a sense of calm and purpose, and worked hard to get the best out of her students with her high standards, honest feedback and her sense of humour. She left us in January 2020 to return to Godolphin & Latymer, and we wish her every success there. She is just down the road, and we have a good link with the Biology department there, so we know she will stay in touch with us and our students.
Eszter joined Latymer from Winchester College at the start of the academic year. She is a passionate mathematician, and it was obvious from the start that she was keen to promote competition mathematics to our pupils, and in particular to girls. She herself works closely with the British Mathematical Olympiad and also mentors pupils for the UKMT. She has decided to leave classroom teaching, but I know she will continue to be involved in maths education. We wish her and Tibi all the very best for the future.
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ALBERTO RODRIGUEZMINGUITO
THAIS LOPEZ
SARAH DELHOMME
Alberto joined Latymer after having taught Spanish in London, Hong Kong, and Toronto. A popular teacher, especially amongst the Year 8 classes (he taught 3!) he threw himself into Latymer life and has become a popular member of the MFL Department. He could always be seen around school in impeccable attire, tie or no tie, blazer and/or pullover, Mr Rodriguez picked his outfits with precision! He has a cheeky sense of humour, enjoys a laugh and has brought a fun ambiance to the department and sense of collaboration – impeccable eyebrows too!
Thais joined Latymer (a big London day school) having previously taught at Oakham (a large boarding school). Nothing phases Miss Lopez, particularly re: IT where her skills are second to none. Miss Lopez’s lessons this year have been exciting, challenging, and fun! Students value the interactive and fast paced lessons provided, and colleagues have valued the IT support and new opportunities presented. Miss Lopez has equally been involved with all general areas of Latymer life including taking students to see Spanish productions in London. She has also taken the lead on Languages Awareness Week, run Basque taster lessons for students, run Spanish lessons for non-MFL teachers, and most recently chaired the virtual tortilla competition! Whether it be sharing resources with teachers in the Spanish Department, or giving detailed feedback in marking, both teachers and students have valued Thais’ creativity, dedication, and all round pleasant disposition. We are sorry to see her leave, but delighted in her appointment to Head of Spanish at Francis Holland, Sloane Square. Thank you for everything you have offered to us this year, Thais.
Sarah joined the MFL Department as French Assistante in 2014. In her six years, she has worked tirelessly to ensure French students reach their potential. Most of the current Years 10-13 will have known Sarah well, being regularly put through their paces with the GCSE French conversation, and for A level students, their topic areas. As a colleague, Sarah has been delight to work with; and helping A-Level teachers decipher some very nuanced grammatical questions that A-Level Oxbridge candidates might pose. Sarah and her family are leaving London to work as teachers in The International School of Ferrara. We will miss Sarah, but we wish her and her family much success for their next chapter in Italy.
Whilst Alberto is a Spanish teacher, he has actively taken part in school-wide language events by adjudicating in the Spanish Schools Debating Competition, running the Tapas sessions for Languages Awareness Week, and assisting at the Le Master’Choco competition. Mr Rodriguez knows his students well, and always would go the extra mile (including catch up lessons during detention!) to ensure everyone would reach their potential. We are losing another great teacher to Highgate School; where his next challenge lies and we thank Mr R for his contributions to Latymer life this year.
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P18 6
— Y E A R 8 P R I Z E S
P18 6
— Y E A R 9 P R I Z E S
P18 6
— Y E A R 10 P R I Z E S
P187
— Y E A R 11 P R I Z E S
P187
— LO W E R S I X T H P R I Z E S
P18 8
— U P P E R S I X T H P R I Z E S
P18 9
184 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
J O R DA N W I L L I A M S , S I X T H FO R M
— Y E A R 7 P R I Z E S
AWARD WINNERS
M A R I A A N TO N I A D E S , LO W E R S C H O O L
Year 7 Prizes
Year 8 Prizes continued
Prize for Art Prize for Biology Prize for Chemistry Prize for Computing Prize for Design Prize for Drama Prize for English Prize for Geography Gurton Prize for History Prize for Latin Prize for Mandarin Prize for Mathematics Prize for Music Prize for Physics Prize for Religion and Philosophy Prize for Spanish Prize for Contribution to Sport Head of Year Prize Head of Year Prize
Louise Richard Ted Temple-Bowles Archie Douglas Dylan Price Natasha Manley Celeste Langdon Alexandra Cromby Riyana Mittal Lochie Cowen Cass Khorsandi-Reilly Alexandra Melnikova Devansh Shah Quentin Ballard Reya Khan Sascha Quinn Cecilia Webster Marina Draghi Marina Creasey Maximilian Jen
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Rohan Mehta
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Amelie Payne
Year 8 Prizes Prize for Art Prize for Biology Prize for Chemistry Prize for Computing Prize for Design Prize for Drama Prize for English Prize for Geography Prize for History Prize for Latin Prize for Mandarin Prize for Mathematics Prize for Music Prize for Physics Prize for Religion and Philosophy Prize for Spanish Prize for Contribution to Sport
186 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
Sophie Allwright Natasha Clyne Chloe Dubreuil Jolnar Moussa Jackson Manners Jimena Herrero Noah Robertson Amelia Jones Luke Gutman Joseph Laurencin Clara Gaveau Rebecca Alishaw Madeline Grambow Yazhou Jiang Joshua Miller Sophia Fredericks-McKee John Cooper
Head of Year Prize Head of Year Prize
Marcus Budd Agnes Byun
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Sophie Carrell
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Archie Gulati Walters
The John Butterworth Prize for Contribution to Lower School Life
Phoebe Lowe
Year 9 Prizes Prize for Art Prize for Biology Prize for Chemistry Prize for Computing Prize for Design Prize for Drama Prize for English Prize for French Prize for Geography Prize for German Prize for History Brooke Prize for Latin Prize for Mandarin Prize for Mathematics Prize for Music Prize for Physics Prize for Religion and Philosophy Prize for Spanish
Sophia Staveley Gunes Kavukcuoglu Jody Bardell Piyush Garodia Rory Woodhatch-Stuart Gaby Timmons Bella Clayton Marianna Pasini Lili Fujii-Anderson Katie Glencross Sumi Iwamura Amaana Meeran Aysha McGregor Adam Pavlakovic Arielle LaRouche Desh Saxena Hannah Lynch Sam Schoonhoven
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Rhea Mehta
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Ishaan Arora
Head of Year Prize Head of Year Prize Head of Year Prize Head of Year Prize Prize for Contribution to Sport The William C Smith Prize for Poetry The Latymerian Prize for Journalism
Oscar Baily Adam Ballman Grace Lea Clara Pounder Charlotte Stubbs Rachel Byrne Freiderikos Vassos
Year 10 Prizes
Year 11 Prizes
Prize for Art Prize for Biology Prize for Chemistry Prize for Computing Prize for Design Prize for Drama Prize for English Prize for French Prize for Geography Prize for German Prize for Greek Prize for History Prize for Latin Prize for Mandarin The Oliver Rose Prize for Mathematics Prize for Music Prize for Physics Prize for Religion and Philosophy Prize for Spanish Prize for World Perspectives Prize for Contribution to Sport Head of Year Prize Head of Year Prize Head of Year Prize Head of Year Prize
Angelika Woodruff Sofia Monarchi Juliette Gregg Ellie O’Connor Jaime Chueca Pearl D’souza Zoe Zouridaki Agnes Van Lanschot Caitlin Walters Liza Poliakova Bee Mannion Olga Devine Camille Nyman McKnight Pietro Ferraresi Leo Kremer Freya Sutaria Samuel Strong Tess Rodger Matilda Littlemore Abigail Kirkwood Christian Denham-Davis Michael Free Abbie White Alex Tolokonnikov Mollie Sampson-Regal
Prize for Art Prize for Biology Prize for Chemistry Prize for Computing Prize for Design Prize for Drama Prize for English Prize for French Prize for Geography Prize for German Prize for Greek Offiler Prize for History Prize for Latin Prize for Mandarin The Burton Prize for Mathematics Prize for Music Prize for Physics Prize for Religious Studies Prize for Spanish
Clara Von Opel Alice Savasta Naomi Toft Teymour Aldridge Max Klein Sophie Morland Emily Winchester Hazel Ticehurst-James Martha Sainty Mariasole Stewen Sabrina Tadjerout Molly Mallaby Kitty White Sam Harwood Sasha Korovkina Alexia Argyropoulou Von Wiese Lucy Reeve Kyrian Bain Delara Marchant
The Nick Sennett Prize for World Perspectives
Bronwen Pailthorpe
Head of Year's Prize Head of Year's Prize Head of Year's Prize Head of Year's Prize
Priya Caswell Sophie Darke Enrico Mariotti Javier Zurita
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Alexandra Isman
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Marko Trandafilovski
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Daniel Orton
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Tom Scott
The Fred Mayo Prize The Nigel Woolner Drawing Prize Essay Prize – Chair of Governor’s Prize Essay Prize – Head’s Prize
Scarlett Knowles Anna Bettelheim Taylor Williams Kitty White
Essay Prize – Deputy Head Academic’s Prize
Marko Trandafilovski
AWA R D W I N N E R S | 187
L6 Prizes The Howard Prize for Mathematics
Oyin Adeyemi
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Sara Ali
The Howard Prize for Mathematics Prize for Art Prize for Drama Prize for Economics Prize for Geography Prize for History of Art Prize for Physics The Howard Prize for Mathematics Prize for Art Prize for Economics Prize for Extended Project Prize for Geography The Howard Prize for Mathematics Prize for Spanish The Howard Prize for Mathematics Prize for Chemistry Prize for Chemistry Prize for Physics Prize for Extended Project Prize for Chemistry The BASF Prize for Design Prize for Politics
Rosaline Althaus Tali Angel Maddie Atkinson Michael Baddour Maddie Barron Millie Beddington Bella Bray Nikolas Brown Ella Chittenden Nikhita Claerhout Noah Colton Valentina Dima Melina Duer Eliza Earle Gregory Finn Laura Flenley Katie Fung Claire Gooch Rosella Gostelow Iris Gray Callum Hargrove David Helmy
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Dylan John
Prize for Biology Prize for Photography
Alexandra Kolobov Joey Lawson
The Aldridge Cup for Service working with Partner Schools
Phoebe Luxford
Prize for Politics Prize for Mandarin The Heather Palmer Prize for Music
Oliver Mace Lila Mahdi Gabriel Margolis
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Madina Masoud
The Myers Prize for History Prize for Economics Prize for German
Benoit Mes Evie Milward Ariana Moghadam
Prize for Religious Studies and Philosophy
Poppy Morris
188 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
Prize for Latin Prize for English Prize for Biology Prize for Biology Prize for Physics The Jefferson Book Award Prize for Chemistry Prize for RS and Philosophy Prize for Extended Project The Myers Prize for History Prize for Greek
Charlie O’Donoghue Charlie Orton Elizabeth Osmond Dora Pascoe Amelia Pilot Amelia Pilot Mateus Porfirio Felix Powell Charlotte Rabiei Ralph Reay Caroline Rijkse
The Mayor’s Cup for Services to the Community
Takumi Sakatsume
Prize for English Prize for Physics Prize for Biology The Myers Prize for History Prize for French Prize for Extended Project
Amelia Sargent Amelia Shaulko Emily Steer Natalie Stott Zoe Sullivan Jeffery Ewan White
George Terry Prize for Contribution to Social Mobility
Emma Wittig
Prize for English The Howard Prize for Mathematics
Saskia Wraith Tianrun Xu
U6 Prizes The Janau Prize for Geography The Parents Gild Prize
Sophie Arnold Sophie Arnold
The Sir Howard Spencer Jones Prize for Further Mathematics
Emma Keaveney
Prize for Religious Studies and Philosophy
Inara Asaria
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Rachel Keaveney
The Nigel Orton Prize for Biology Sportsperson of the Year
Clodagh Bottomley Clodagh Bottomley
The Chairman of Governors’ Prize for Services as a Prefect
Clodagh Bottomley
The Wiggins Prize for Economics The Round Square Prize The Newling Prize for History The Graham Prize for Biology
Kitty Kershaw Kitty Kershaw Luke Kerton-Johnson Tara Kulczykowska
The Robert C Davies Prize for English The White Prize for Chemistry The Burton Prize for Mathematics Prize for Extended Project The Robert C Davies Prize for English
Amelia Carney Robert Carr Alexander Chan Esther Coomber Margaux Cooper
Head’s Special 2020 Prize for Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Jemma Leighton
The Head’s Special 2020 Prize for Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Margaux Cooper
Prize for Photography The U6 Rooff Prize for Design
Flavia Dal Brollo Hudson Dichtl
Prize for Extended Project The Mikdadi Prize for Politics The Martin Prize for Drama Prize for Politics The Public Speaking and Debating Prize The Abbott Prize for Physics
Grace Lloyd Erwin Luzac Grace Marshall-Collins Alexander Miller Alexander Miller Susanna Pahl
Hudson Dichtl
The Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Prize for Chemistry
Tulsi Patel
The Head’s Special 2020 Prize for Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic The Sir Howard Spencer Jones Prize for Further Mathematics
Alec Durgheu
The Newling Prize for History The NatWest Prize for Economics The Gregory Prize for Modern Languages Prize for Latin The Bone Prize for Economics Prize for Extended Project
Thomas Dyer Ozan Erder Alexandra Evzona Alexandra Evzona Bailey Fackney Inigo Fox Cockett
The McIntyre Prize for Art The Swayne Prize for History of Art The Eric Chandler Prize for German The Graham Prize for Biology
Giulia Pesciarelli Cissie Phelps Max Priestley Ina Quadrio Curzio
The Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Prize for Chemistry
Maxwell Reinstein
The Newling Prize for History
Isabela Rubio
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Ariana Rubio
The Head’s Special 2020 Prize for Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Inigo Fox Cockett
Prize for Religious Studies and Philosophy
Flora Rugman
Prize for Spanish
Ella Goldstein
Prize for Latin
Amelia Rushing
The Sir Howard Spencer Jones Prize for Further Mathematics
Ben Gorrie
The Sir Howard Spencer Jones Prize for Further Mathematics
Tamsin Sandhu
The McIntyre Prize for Art Prize for Extended Project The Charles Walter Fox Cup for Sport
Stella Green Josh Griffith Josh Griffith
Prize for Drama
Georgia Small
Head's Special 2020 Prize for Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Sam Snudden
The Chairman of Governors’ Prize for Services as a Prefect
Ali Hadji-Heshmati
The Robert C Davies Prize for English The Colin Turner Prize for Drama
Flynn Thomas Marc Wadhwani
The Waddams Prize for Music Prize for Mandarin
Isaac Harari Calum Harri
Head’s Special 2020 Prize for Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Jago Wilkes
Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Jemma Harrison
Prize for Greek The Janau Prize for Geography The Maggie Bell for Spanish
Hipolit Hodges Henry Jones Elizabeth Kasperovitch
The Abbott Prize for Physics The Spong Prize for French The Abbott Prize for Physics
Archie Williams Ben Wilson Adam Young
AWA R D W I N N E R S | 189
BEN DODWELL , MIDDLE SCHOOL
190 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
LEAVERS’ DESTINATIONS
Surname
Destination
Course
Year of entry
Morgan Adams
Northeastern University (Honors Program with Scholarship)
Overseas
2020
Charlotte Aglionby Deen Ahmovic Ghaith Al Najjar Sadie Aldridge Mauricio Alencar Abir Ali Beatriz Altern Sophie Arnold
University of Birmingham Post A Level application Brighton and Sussex Medical School University of Manchester University of Oxford King's College London, University of London UCL (University College London) Post A Level application
Law with Criminology
2020
Medicine Civil Engineering (BEng) English Language and Literature Biomedical Science Natural Sciences
2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
Inara Asaria
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
2020
Ellen Ashley Alexander Bardakjian Rudi Barrington Jakob Barton
University of Cambridge Post A Level application University of Bristol University of Liverpool
English
2020
Criminology with Study Abroad Popular Music with Spanish
2020 2020
Emre Bayatli
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Philosophy and Economics
2020
Freya Beard Guy Bird Oscar Bools Zachariah Bosky Clodagh Bottomley Felix Bridgeman Toby Brisley George Browne Georgia Buck Jago Campbell Amelia Carney Robert Carr Calum Caspersonn Alexander Chan Alexander Chuter Joey Clayton Rafe Coleman Edward Collado Charlotte Conder Esther Coomber Margaux Cooper Madlen Corsellis Gwenaelle Cound-Willey Oliver Culling Charlie Curtis Beatrice Curwin Maggie Curwin Flavia Dal Brollo Milian Dana
University of Cambridge University of Exeter University of Surrey University of Manchester University of Cambridge Yale University University of Exeter University of Glasgow Post A Level application University of Manchester New York University Durham University University of Exeter University of Oxford University of Birmingham University of Exeter University of Plymouth Post A Level application Durham University University of Oxford Royal Drawing School University of Bristol Post A Level application University of Bath University of Glasgow University of Glasgow University of Manchester UCL (University College London) University of Cambridge
English Economics Physics History and Spanish Natural Sciences Overseas History English Literature
2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
Architecture Overseas Chemistry (4 years) Engineering History and Beginners' Czech (with Slovak) Economics English with Study in North America Medicine
2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
Geography History Art Foundation Classics
2020 2020 2020 2020
Mathematics (with Study Year Abroad) Music English Literature Art History and English Literature History of Art Medicine
2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
Shivani Dave
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Geography with Economics
2020
Kaylee Dekker Jessica Dell Uma Dhar
UCL (University College London) The University of Edinburgh Post A Level application
Management Science Biomedical Sciences
2020 2020
192 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
Surname Conrad Dichtl Farley Dimond-Brown Ranya Dizayee Grace Dodwell Jo Dunsbier Alec Durgheu Thomas Dyer John Ellison Tate England Ozan Erder
Destination Imperial College London Post A Level application Queen Mary University of London University of Cambridge University of East Anglia University of Warwick University of Exeter University of Nottingham The University of Edinburgh University of Oxford
Course Mechanical Engineering
Year of entry 2020
Biomedical Science History Politics with a Foundation Year Mathematics History History Economics Philosophy, Politics and Economics
2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
Alexandra Evzona
Durham University
Modern Languages and Cultures (with Year Abroad)
2020
Bailey Fackney
University of Bath
Economics with Professional Placement and Study Year Abroad
2020
Graham Faiola Kate Fassone Zoe Fassone Francesco Foglia Sofia Forni Inigo Fox Cockett Jeremy Free Isaac Gabriel Nathaniel Galway
University of Exeter Post A Level application University of Bath Bocconi University UCL (University College London) Durham University Imperial College London Post A Level application University of Leeds
Computer Science
2020
Biomedical Sciences (with placement) Overseas Architecture General Engineering Medicine
2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
Economics
2020
Joseph Garry
University of Manchester
International Business, Finance & Economics w IE
2020
Ella Goldstein Benjamin Gorrie Clementine Gray Stella Green Josh Griffith Chloe Groff Ali Hadji-Heshmati Isaac Harari Benjamin Harri Calum Harri Jemma Harrison Fraser Higgins Hipolit Hodges Lara Hookway-Becares Jess Hopkins Jasper Hunt Sofia Hunt-Davis Noah Inglis Lily Isaacs Jade Jacomb Liam James Phillip Jiang Henry Jones Christian Jouhar Elizabeth Kasperovitch Emma Keaveney Rachel Keaveney
Bocconi University The University of Edinburgh Durham University City and Guilds Art School University of Oxford Imperial College London University of Bristol Royal School of Music Aberystwyth University University of Cambridge University of Bristol Erasmus University College, Rotterdam Post A Level application Imperial College London Post A Level application University of Manchester Post A Level application Manchester Metropolitan University University of Cambridge UCL (University College London) Claremont McKenna College University of Cambridge Post A Level application University of Liverpool University of Cambridge Durham University University of Oxford
Overseas Mathematics Natural Sciences Art Foundation Law Design Engineering English Percussion International Politics Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Medicine – MBChB Standard entry (5 years) Overseas
2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
Medicine
2020
Mechatronic Engineering
2020
Business and Marketing English French and Portuguese Overseas Chemical Engineering (via Engineering)
2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
Business Economics Modern and Medieval Languages Physics Philosophy and Theology
2020 2020 2020 2020
L E AV E R S ’ D E S T I N AT I O N S | 193
Surname Kitty Kershaw Luke Kerton-Johnson Shi-Whu Kim Tara Kulczykowska Ben Kushnir Sophie Laumet Joseph Laurie Eleanor Laycock Jemma Leighton Emily Lloyd Grace Lloyd Jorgen Lollesgaard Tara Lumley-Savile Erwin Luzac Callum Mackay Grace Marshall-Collins Ethan McMain Ruben McPherson Sydney Mead Mikayel Melkonyan Alexander Miller Jamie Miller Elizabeth Mitchell Florence Morris Tom Morris Zeenia Munchow Emilio Nelson Oscar Newman Dominic Newton Olivia Nicholls Kassim Nurmohamed Christian Oestergaard Hannah Osei-Kuffour Elsie Oulton Anna Padt Susanna Pahl Rowan Palmer Tatyana Park Tulsi Patel Luke Paterson Giulia Pesciarelli
Destination Durham University The University of Edinburgh University of Bristol University of Cambridge University of Manchester UCL (University College London) University of Birmingham The University of Edinburgh Cardiff University University of Exeter University of Oxford University of Manchester University of Manchester University of Bath University of Bristol University of Sussex University of Waterloo, Canada University of Leeds Loughborough University Post A Level application University of Oxford Post A Level application University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Royal Drawing School Post A Level application University of the Arts London University of Manchester The University of Edinburgh Post A Level application University of Bristol Post A Level application Yale University University of Leeds University of Leeds University of Bath University of Oxford Post A Level application Post A Level application Imperial College London Loughborough University City and Guilds Art School
Course Geography English Literature Chemistry Veterinary Medicine Psychology Biomedical Sciences Physics (4 years) Architecture Medicine Liberal Arts with Study Abroad Geography Film Studies and Japanese Arabic and a Modern European Language Politics and International Relations. Biology Drama and Film Studies Pharmaceutical Chemistry Chemical Engineering Psychology with Criminology
Year of entry 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
Philosophy and Theology
2020
Overseas Art Foundation
2020 2020
Photography History of Art Politics
2020 2020 2020
English
2020
Overseas Liberal Arts History of Art Economics Engineering
2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
Physics Aeronautical Engineering Art Foundation
2020 2020 2020
Jennifer Pham
University of Birmingham
Computer Science with Digital Technology Partnership (Vodafone)
2020
Cecilia Phelps Elizaveta Pisareva Francesca Poconi Sofia Polleri Domingo Powell Max Priestley Sophia Clare Proffer Garcia Angiolina Quadrio Curzio Maxwell Reinstein
The University of Edinburgh New York University The University of Edinburgh Post A Level application Post A Level application The University of Edinburgh Kensington and Chelsea Georgetown University UCL (University College London)
History and History of Art Liberal Arts Biological Sciences
2020 2020 2020
German Art Foundation Overseas Medicine (6 years)
2020 2020 2020 2020
194 | T H E L AT Y M E R I A N
Surname Adam Rezzag Salem Cristina Richards Adam Roberts Scotia Rollins Emily Rubin Ariana Rubio Isabela Rubio Flora Rugman Amelia Rushing Lola Rushton George Saba Thalia Sandelson Tamsin Sandhu Ines Sawiris Marco Saywell Bella Scavazza-Murphy Thomas Schofield Apollonia Sershi Ludovic Shales Lola Skeet Georgia Small Daisy Smith
Destination Imperial College London University of Bristol UCL (University College London) Pitzer College University of Manchester University of Oxford Post A Level application University of Oxford Post A Level application University of Leeds UCL (University College London) Post A Level application University of Cambridge Brown University Post A Level application The University of Edinburgh University of Bath University of St Andrews University of Sussex Kingston Post A Level application University of St Andrews
Course Physics with Theoretical Physics History Medicine (6 years) Overseas Chemistry English Language and Literature
Year of entry 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
English Language and Literature
2020
History of Art Astrophysics
2020 2020
Mathematics Overseas
2020 2020
Geography Physics (with Year Abroad) Art History Psychology Art Foundation
2020 2020 2020 2020 2020
Chemistry
2020
Jasper Smith
Durham University
Modern Languages and Cultures (with Year Abroad)
2020
Sam Snudden
University of Bath
Mechanical with Automotive Engineering (with placement)
2020
Sharujan Sriharan Joanna Stoianov Daniel Supple Yoshua Taieb Benjamin Thellusson Flynn Thomas Lilly Vadaneaux Ria Villait Ellen Vince Marc Wadhwani
Loughborough University Post A Level application University of Leeds University of Warwick Post A Level application Post A Level application Post A Level application University of St Andrews UCL (University College London) University of Exeter
Aeronautical Engineering
2020
English and Film Studies Physics
2020 2020
Medicine French (4 years) Drama
2020 2020 2020
Cameron Walton
University of Bath
Integrated Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
2020
Francesca Warham Sukey White Edie Whitehead John Whitehouse Jago Wilkes Archie Williams Jordan Williams Ben Wilson Morgane Winter
Oxford Brookes University University of the Arts London University of Sussex The University of Edinburgh Post A Level application Durham University UCL (University College London) University of Exeter University of Exeter
Sport and Exercise Science Fashion Management Drama, Theatre and Performance Philosophy
2020 2020 2020 2020
Mathematics (3 years) Comparative Literature History Politics, Philosophy and Economics with Study Abroad (4 years)
2020 2020 2020 2020
Matthew Wood
University of Exeter
Business and Management with Industrial Experience
2020
Shemaiah Wood
University of Manchester
2020
Adam Young
University of Oxford
Materials Science with integrated foundation year - revised offer Engineering
2020
L E AV E R S ’ D E S T I N AT I O N S | 195
Latymer Upper School King Street Hammersmith London W6 9LR 020 8629 2024
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