A group of young Pangbourne College Music Scholars took part in an Orchestral Fun Day with over 75 prep and primary school pupils from around the South East.  String, brass and woodwind players had the opportunity to ‘learn from scratch’ arrangements of ‘Rule Britannia’ by Thomas Arne, ‘Danse Macabre’ by Camille Saint-Saëns, and ‘James Bond Theme’, the main signature theme of the James Bond films.  Together they gave a magnificent concert to parents in the Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel at the end of the day.

Thirteen 12- to 14-year-old pupils from the College stayed with German families from the area of Bad Segeberg, near Hamburg as part of the German Exchange programme organized by modern language teacher, Mr Bates.   

 

From guided tours of picturesque harbour towns, such as Lübeck and Hamburg, to a day in a German school, which began at 07:45 hrs.  From a visit to a nature reserve on the former East/West German border, with relics from the World War II,  to a visit to an ‘avant-garde’ parliamentary building in Kiel, where they met a well-known local politician.  From a canoe competition to a 5-mile cycle ride.  The week provided pupils with many insights into German culture, history, language and life.  ‘It has benefitted everyone.  Not just with their spoken German, but with broadening their horizons too,’ said Mr Bates.

Three College trombonists performed alongside the University of Salford Brass Band at a concert in Regent Hall, Oxford Street, London.  Renowned in musical circles as a busy lunchtime concert venue, Regent Hall sits within London’s busiest shopping district and provides free concerts every Friday afternoon.

 

Jonathan Corry said, ‘The College students were thrilled to hear such exciting sounds from the University Brass Band and are eagerly hoping for another invitation for this event!’

Nine pupils joined Colin Hearn, Contingent Commander of the Pangbourne College CCF, and Tom Cheney on a thrilling 4-day mountain biking and culture trip to the Snowdonia National Park.  With a mixed ability range, every type of weather condition, and an area in which there are centres with purpose-built trails for all skill levels, the group had a fun time.  In true Welsh style, the weather conditions on the first day were so poor that the group were forced to divert their attentions to Welsh culture.  They visited the Mining Museum of Llanberris, sampled some of the best Welsh coffee and cakes at Pete Eats’ Café, and watched ‘Wrath of the Titans’ in the cinema at Llandudno.

Joseph Blamey, who is in his final year at the College, gave a joint piano, flute and cello recital with two other local young musicians, Katherine and Alexander Pound, at St Thomas of the Canterbury Church, Goring on Sunday.  He also raised over £850 towards his World Challenge Trip in the summer. 

 

Joe, who gained a Grade 8 distinction on the piano 2 years ago, performed Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in F Minor, Liszt’s Consolation No 3 in D Flat Major, Rachmaninov’s Prelude in G minor Op 25, and pieces by Debussy including Dr Gradus and Parnassum and The Little Shepherd.

 

Olivia Canolle, who has taught Joe the piano since he arrived at the College from Christ Church Cathedral School in 2005, was very pleased with his performance.  She said she is looking forward to hearing him play one of these pieces on the new Steinway Concert Grand Piano in the Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel this Sunday evening at the Spring and Senior Scholars’ Concert.

 

Over 25 companies were represented at this year’s Careers’ Fair.  Parents of current pupils and Old Pangbournians were among those who set up stands and talked to 5th and 6th Form pupils about their aspirations regarding future careers.  The whole initiative was organized by Head of Careers, Martin Hart.  From careers in Surveying, Dentistry, the Law, and Engineering, to gap years with Projects Abroad and courses at Cardiff University, there were ideas for everyone. 

Third Form Religious Studies pupils visited the church of St James the Less in Pangbourne to discover more about the Christian faith and its significance to the local village community.  While there, the College Chaplain, The Reverend Neil Jeffers, explained the significance of some parts of the church, such as the font. 

 

In the graveyard, pupils made their first discovery of the grave of Sir Philip Devitt, one of the co-founders of the College, who died at Pangbourne in 1947.  They also found the grave of the first ‘Headmaster’ of the College, who died tragically of Spanish ‘flu in 1918, only a year after the College had opened. 

 

Portraits of Sir Philip Devitt and Captain Montanaro hang in Devitt Hall and the Old Library respectively.

In the Bruges Boat Races on Saturday the Pangbourne College Boys’ 1st VIII avenged last year’s defeat by Sport Gent Rowing Club to win the Junior VIIIs’ trophy by over 20 seconds.  On Sunday the squad split into a quad, coxless four and single scull, with Nicolo Forcellini taking the honours in winning his event by 46 seconds. Unfortunately the coxless four’s opposition withdrew but the quad was placed second overall of all the crews racing.

The Pangbourne College Girls’ 1st VIII competed in the Women’s Head of the River Race in London on Saturday.  They finished 8th out of the single-school crews entered, 72nd out of almost 300 crews in total.  This was a most encouraging start and despite the fact that they began with a low starting position as a new entry, which deprived them of much of the tide. This augurs well for the Schools’ Head later this month.

On Sunday Caroline Bond and Darren Ledson led a cultural Boarders’ trip to the city of Bath.  In just three hours pupils had the opportunity to see the historical side of the city, with its famous Roman Baths, stunning Victorian architecture, and examples of Georgian art.  Some chose to focus on the Jane Austen Centre, where they were immediately welcomed by an usher in historical costume.

 

The exhibition at the Jane Austen Centre presented pupils with details of her life and gave them an idea of what life in Georgian England was like, such as the customs, clothes and ways of spending evenings.  It offered them the opportunity to try on hats and to read letters Jane Austen wrote to her beloved sister. The pupils were able to glimpse a period of English history where politeness and social evenings, with playing cards and drinking tea were a matter of course. 

 

Jana Malinovska said, ‘I can thoroughly recommend this lovely city, with its historical atmosphere of Georgian Britain and with a Centre which focuses on the life of Jane Austen.’

This year’s 15-strong Pangbourne College Boys’ Judo Team, aged 11 to 18, came second at the National HMC School Judo Tournament on Saturday.  In the Junior (11 to 14 years) section, James Costin-Pratt won a silver medal, and Josh Adey and Charlie Girdler-Maslen won bronze medals.  In the Intermediate (14 to 16 years) section, William McGregor won a silver medal and George Burton, Callum Hughes, and Jordyn Ramos won bronze medals.  In the Senior section (16+), Haydn Evans won a silver medal. 

The Pangbourne College Girls’ 7s' team won the Plate at this year’s Reigate 7s’ Tournament.

 

In the final, in difficult weather conditions, they beat Hurstpierpoint College by 5-0.  In the semi-final they beat Monks Walk School, 19-0.  But earlier in the day they were beaten 7-10 by Epsom College, the overall winners of the tournament.  The College ‘Player of the Tournament’ was Chloe Major, who scored 5 tries.

At the Windsor 7s’ Tournament this year, the Pangbourne College Boys’ 7s’ team beat Haileybury (24-10), St Edward’s (19-7), and Abingdon (45-7).  Sadly, these successes could not be ‘converted’ into further successes, because the tournament was abandoned due to deteriorating weather conditions.  Each member of the squad played an active part in the successes they had.  In true Pangbourne style, their enthusiasm, spirit and dedication was not marred by the atrocious weather!

The French trip this year appealed to a varied age group, from 1st Form to 5th Form.  Jane Davies and Stephanie Robert, both Modern Language teachers at the College, accompanied 17 pupils in their discovery of ‘the most romantic city in the world’.

 

The whole group spent a day visiting the most famous attractions of Paris, such as, the unique Tour Eiffel, l’Arc de Triomphe, Les Champs Elysées, La Place de la Concorde, and L’Opéra de Paris,  but also Montmartre and its unforgettable Sacré Cœur. Pupils were also extremely delighted to have the opportunity to spend some time shopping in the very spectacular Galeries Lafayette in the afternoon.

 

The day after, pupils spent their Sunday in the very popular ‘Disneyland Paris’ where most of them had some breath-taking experiences, especially on the rollercoasters!

 

Each evening pupils stayed with their French host families where they were given the opportunity to learn about the French culture and to practise speaking the language.

 

‘At the end of the trip, all of the pupils acknowledged that they were feeling a lot more confident when expressing themselves in French,’ said Stephanie Robert.  ‘It was a very successful trip.’

Just before half-term, our 1st and 2nd Form pupils enjoyed a visit from Alex Scarrow, an author who has written for both adults and children.  A good number of our students had taken up the challenge of reading one of his books beforehand and so there was great excitement as they gathered in the library to hear from the man himself. 

 

The talk was dynamic and included audience interaction.  The students showed the depth of their curiosity and imagination through the questions they asked, some of which, Alex had to think about for some time before answering! 

 

One pupil commented that meeting a real author made her think about the process of writing stories.  Their appreciation of his visit was most markedly seen in their enthusiasm to buy one of his books at the end. 

 

In an English lesson the next day the pupils unanimously agreed that the visit had made them excited about reading and story-telling.

Joshua Rogers, who is in his final year at the College, has been awarded a Distinction for his Acting (Solo) Grade 8 LAMDA exam.  He has therefore also been awarded 65 UCAS points, the equivalent to an ‘A’ at AS Level.

 

Joshua performed 3 contrasting pieces taken from a variety of theatrical genres.  These included ‘King Lear’ by William Shakespeare, ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’ by Oscar Wilde and ‘New Boy’ by William Sutcliffe.

 

The examiner praised Joshua’s ‘positive tension and control . . . revealing the journey of the character’.

 

Joshua has been committed to acting throughout his time at the College, achieving an ‘A’ at GCSE and taking part in a variety of productions. Most notably, he played Kenickie in ‘Grease’ and Creon, the principal male role in ‘Antigone’.  He was awarded a College Exhibition for Drama in the 6th Form.  

 

Ruth Richards, Head of Drama, said, ‘Joshua is interested in pursuing a career in Acting and has been auditioning for places at Drama Schools and Universities.  In a highly competitive field, he has been offered places at the London School of Film, Media and Performance, and Manchester Metropolitan University.  He still has auditions to attend and we wait eagerly to see what the future holds.’

With the support of local florist ‘Ruby and Grace’, pupils at Pangbourne College, led by 6th Formers, Hannah Tooze and Bryony Short, raised over £300 in a special Valentine Flowers for Friends initiative in support of the West Berkshire branch of the Alzheimer’s Society.

 

The girls in the boarding house, Illawarra, collectively chose this charity because they have friends whose close family has been directly affected by this form of dementia.

 

Mrs Nicky John, the girls’ housemistress, said, ‘I am absolutely delighted with the response from all the pupils to the girls’ efforts, which involved selling dozens of blooms, to raise money for this very worthwhile, but often overlooked, cause.’

The first meeting this term of The Euler Society, a group of L6th Further Mathematicians, was held this week. 

 

Focusing on the demands of ‘STEP’ paper questions, which are used for selection by the Universities of Cambridge, Warwick, and now by Oxford too, the students tackled two questions, one on the Mechanics branch and the other on the Pure branch.

 

The group split into small groups and bounced ideas off each other, finally solving both questions correctly, albeit with a few nudges en route!

 

The purpose of the Euler Society is to create an environment within which A-level Further Mathematicians can tackle advanced problem solving scenarios, consider the application of mathematics to everyday situations, and explore the beauty of the subject in its own right.  The society is named after Leonard Euler who was a famous 18th century Swiss mathematician to whom the most beautiful mathematics’ equation is attributed, namely  e^iπ  + 1 = 0. This equation connects arguably the five most important mathematical constants.

With the support and guidance of David Coulson and James Burnett, a former College parent and expert in the field of accountancy, this year Karina Tomson, James Evans and Freddie Cragie, three members of the College L6th, have joined forces to create a Pangbourne College Young Enterprise Team.  Together they are taking part in the Young Enterprise ‘Company Programme’ scheme, which gives pupils aged between 15 and 19 the opportunity to set up a business for one academic year, as well as compete against other Young Enterprise businesses running under the same scheme. 

 

Last week the team attended a training seminar at which they learned how to ‘wind up’ the company at the end of the financial year and how to produce a company report.  The latter they will have the opportunity to present to local business dignitaries at a Regional Final in May.  On Saturday the team attended a Young Enterprise

 

Trade Fair with their current product, Susie’s Preserves, at the Kennet Centre in Newbury.  Here they learned the challenges of selling to a cash-pressed general public, but were pleasantly surprised to gain the second highest revenue of the 7 teams there.

With the Queen celebrating 60 years since she ascended to the throne, it was entirely appropriate for the first Pangbourne Choral Society concert of the year, which was held on Saturday 4th February at the Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel at Pangbourne College, to be on the theme of Royal Celebration Music. 

 

Members of the Pangbourne College Choir joined the Choral Society for the latter half of the programme, which included William Walton’s majestic ‘Coronation Te Deum’ and  Hubert Parry’s splendid choral work ‘I was Glad’,  which was also sung at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding last year.  The conductor for the evening was Jonathan Brown, Choral Director of the Pangbourne Choral Society and also Director of Music at Pangbourne College.

The most recent General Studies Lecture entitled, ‘Avoid the Knock on the Door’, given by Bill Pirie, a retired Chief Inspector and former Head of Essex Police Driving School, gave the Upper 6th plenty of food for thought.  The over-arching theme of the lecture was how to stay safe on the roads, both as a driver and as a passenger, and how to avoid becoming a road traffic statistic.

 

There were four main thrusts to his presentation.  These were: ensuring that you are fit to drive, that the vehicle is legal and roadworthy, methods of anticipating the actions of other road users, and how to minimise the effects of accidents should these occur.

 

Peter Barnett, Head of the General Studies Lectures, said, ‘The majority of the students I spoke to after the lecture said how pertinent it was.  I am certain that new drivers, especially, gained a great deal.  We have invited Mr Pirie to come back to repeat the presentation for the Lower 6th later this year.’

Lieutenant Commander Fiona Shepherd, RN, MBE, was the speaker at the 5th Form Dinner, which was held  in the Mess Hall.  As someone who has travelled to over 30 countries with the Royal Navy and worked for the First Sea Lord and HRH The Princess Royal, she encouraged and challenged pupils to make the most of their lives, to grasp the opportunities given to them and to be resilient in the face of adversities along the way.

 

‘At a significant time in their school career, the purpose of this dinner is to encourage students to take stock of their successes and lessons learned thus far,’ said Rachel Coward, Head of Middle School.  ‘The atmosphere this evening has been tremendous and very encouraging.’ 

 

Students showed themselves to have been inspired by Commander Shepherd, asking pertinent and interesting questions.  For her part, Commander Shepherd was very impressed with the enthusiasm, inquisitive nature and manners of all those she met.

With the perfect amount of snowfall at the beginning of this year’s ski season at Tignes, the joint 6th Form and Lower School ski trip had a very promising start.  Over 20 pupils and parents joined James Bamforth, Head of 6th Form, and Will Ogilvie-Jones, Head of Dunbar, for a pre-Christmas holiday in the mountains. 

 

From elegant sun-kissed parallel turns to complete white-out survival skiing, this holiday had all the characteristics of a normal ski holiday in the month of December.  In the latter half of the week, while younger pupils continued to hone their ski skills, built forts and bum-boarded down the slopes, 6th formers took up the joys of snowboarding.

 

Highlights of the week included James Rubin’s ‘furry dice’ helmet, which he proudly wore on his 17th birthday;  a crêpe-making evening with lots of ‘squirty’ cream, marshmallows and chocolate sauce; and a trip to the local warm swimming pool to unwind.

Excited GCSE and A Level Drama students travelled to the Royal Albert Hall, London, to see Totem performed by world-famous Cirque du Soleil this week.  Created by Guy Laliberté and Robert Lepage, the show traces humankind’s history through evolutionary eyes and with reference to ancient myths and legends.

 

The majority of pupils were enthralled by a production which combined successfully a range of dramatic forms, including physical theatre, dance, comedy, acrobatics, circus and representational theatre.  The visual, spatial and aural aspects of the show were stunning.  These included live music, complicated lighting, dry ice, stage hydraulics and data projections.

 

Ruth Richards, Head of Drama, said, ‘I have no doubt that those students who are writing their Live Performance Review coursework, will have plenty of academic debate over the show’s style, content, explorative strategies and dramatic media for many weeks to come.’

‘This house opposes the motion!’  ‘The London Olympics are worth every penny.’  ‘Taxation isn’t fair.’  ‘Comedy used to be funnier.’  These are just a few snippets from the 3rd Form Debating group in which individuals lock minds and wits every Friday afternoon and learn to argue convincingly. 

 

The 3rd Form are showing great debating promise, as they learn to structure arguments coherently and deliver their thoughts with a healthy dose of passion. From debates about the value of education to world affairs, they are learning how to present and evaluate ideas whether they initially agree with them or not.

 

‘Ideas are grappled with, assumptions questioned and hopefully minds broadened’, said Jemima Kettle, who grew up with a love of debating.

As a reward for winning the Division [House] Song class of the last two Inter-House Music Competitions at the College, the Housemistress of St George, Bettina Vetter, took her girls on a visit to see a matinee performance of Disney’s multi award-winning musical The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre, London on the first Sunday of term. 

 

Over 40 girls experienced the rhythms of Africa and witnessed the majesty of the Serengeti Plains on stage.  Natalie Steljes said, 'The choreography was magnificent and the music amazing.  I would recommend this production to anyone!'

Jonathan Corry, Head of Brass and Bandmaster at the College, was one of two guest conductors at the annual New Year course for the Swiss Association of Christian Musicians held in the picturesque setting of Rickenbach, close to Basel.  The residential course, which is managed by Christoph Liechti, Salome Messmer and Jürg Messmer, creates the opportunity for like-minded musicians from around Switzerland to take part in two full-size brass bands under two inspiring conductors.  

 

Jonathan Corry is well-known within the brass band world for his work with the reputable Enfield Citadel Band, which is based in London.  At the end of the course the bands gave two concerts to capacity audiences, one in Flaach and the other in Madiswil. 

‘‘The worst weather for a decade was hardly the outlook we wanted for the first experience of wild camping on Dartmoor’, said Geoffrey Stanford, who organized two days’ training for a group of 3rd and 4th Form volunteers who are keen to participate in the Ten Tors Challenge next May. 

 

Despite the weather forecast, 11 pupils bravely set off for Devon.  They were also accompanied by Colin Hearn and Nicky John.

 

While out on the moor the group experienced every type of weather imaginable, which provided practical experience and highlighted the importance of appropriate equipment.

 

Miles Brown was so keen to put his waterproofs properly to the test that he fell in while crossing a river. Joe Klymow, meanwhile, was seen gallantly carrying one of the girl's rucksacks as well as his own. The whole team also learnt some useful navigation lessons, particularly from when the cloud came down reducing visibility to less than 100m.

 

By next May, a team of six will need to be self-sufficient to cover the distance of 35 miles unsupervised across some of the toughest navigation in the country. The event starts at 0700 hrs on a Saturday morning and finishes by 1700 hrs the following afternoon, during which time they have to visit 10 manned checkpoints on rocky outcrops known as ‘Tors’ and camp overnight.

Five musicians and their teacher from Pangbourne College took part in a Cancer Charity Concert at St Nicholas Church, Newbury in early December.  Joseph Blamey, Tyler Spicer, Jonathan Corry (Head of Brass at Pangbourne College), Ben Waugh, Micaela Adams and  Cara Adams played a brilliant Brass Fanfare composed by Jonathan Corry to open the 10th Anniversary Charity Christmas Concert in aid of the Newbury and District Cancer Care Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support.  The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, introduced the concert and Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford, directed by Dr Stephen Darlington, led the singing during the concert.  Readings were given by well-known figures including Sebastian Faulks, author and writer, and Jean Marsh, actress and co-creator of ‘Upstairs Downstairs’.  It was a sell-out concert and there were 600 people involved.

Six members of the Senior Boys’ Squad signed up to take on the annual challenge on the Thames of sculling the famous Boat Race course in reverse from Mortlake to Putney.  With over 500 single scullers taking part, it is the largest sculling race in the world and quite a spectacle as they head up the river to marshal for the start.

 

As new entries our intrepid six had low start positions, a big disadvantage on a falling tide, but which led to them overtaking over 25 other scullers between them, rising a total of 1,627 places, an average of 271 places per sculler!

 

Top placing went to Nicolo Forcellini in 52nd place [photograph attached], who was 3rd in the Junior Under 18 age group.  Next was Ben Maxwell [photograph attached] in 68th place to be placed 2nd in Intermediate 3 (a sculling or rowing category independent of age for those who are no longer novice), having risen 403 places from his start position. The other four of Will Anslow-Wilson, Lars Koenig, Josh Rogers and Chris Ash all had good sculls to be placed well inside the top half of the field.

 

All had their tales to tell, not least Josh who failed to make the weight as a lightweight, blaming a large slice of Lars’ 16th birthday cake that he had eaten the previous day!

One late November evening, Dunbar put on a rip-roaring production of ‘Grimm Fairy Tales’ for an audience of parents, teachers and friends. The cast featured the whole of the Junior House and we were treated to four traditional tales which had been given a sinister slant and a grim ending!  The four tales were brought together with a whole cast start and finale and tied together by Miles Jones as the boy who was fed-up with ‘nice’ stories so decided to write his own grim versions.

 

Based on the original Grimm’s fairy tales we had a presentation of  ‘Ashputtal’ (Cinderella), ‘Little Red Cap’, ‘Snow White’ and ‘Hansel and Gretel’, all ably produced by Hayley Chapman, Actor-in-Residence, with a supporting stage crew drawn from the AS and A2 drama classes.  Audience appreciation was shown with much laughter and applause  and such has been the enthusiasm for the production in Dunbar that there cannot now be a 1st or 2nd Form pupil who cannot give us all the creepiest of evil laughs.  Mwah, Hah, Hah! 

Two musicians at the College, including Ben Waugh, and the Headmaster, Thomas Garnier, took their Grade 8 ABRSM exams in voice and flute respectively this term. 

 

Ben, who is in his final year at the College, sings in the Chamber Choir and College Choir, and enjoys a broad range of choral music.  He also plays the trumpet and is principal trumpeter in the Jazz Band, Concert Band, Marching Band and Orchestra. 

 

The Headmaster, who took up the flute again 3 years ago after a 25-year break, has found practising on a daily basis and taking part on an occasional basis in the Orchestra an enriching and therapeutic experience.  He said, ‘Ben has immersed himself in the musical life of the College and seized the opportunity to complete his grades whilst at school.  I wish I had!  The technical aspects of mastering one’s instrument become more difficult the older one gets.  Despite this, I believe in lifelong learning and would encourage any parent to dust off their school instruments.  The experience though challenging is very rewarding.’ 

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme continues to be very popular at the College.  This year well over half of the school are participating in the scheme which begins with Bronze in the 3rd and 4th Forms, Silver in the 5th and 6th Forms, and Gold in the 6th Form.  Pupils participating learn a variety of new skills, have lots of fun, and grow in confidence in areas they might not have even considered had they not grasped the opportunity.

 

From learning about and participating in Ceremonial Drill, to taking part in a sustainability programme of on-site recycling and woodland management, those taking the Bronze Award have had new life experiences this term.  

 

As well as improving their camp-craft and navigation skills, participants in the Silver Award have carried out a circular day walk of over 16 kilometres.  One pupil has volunteered to help the homeless, through a local charity called Loose Ends, and another is helping run a Beaver pack. 

 

Thirty-one Gold Award participants have formed groups for their expeditions in the Lake District in the Summer Term and begun their ‘Route Cards’.  Among them, some have volunteered to run sections of the CCF.

 

Andy Crossley, Head of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme at Pangbourne College, said, ‘The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme brilliantly complements the flag values of the College.  Resilience, integrity, selflessness, industry and initiative are all essential attributes for participants to navigate their way successfully through the programme.’

Joseph Blamey, this year’s Drum Major of the College Marching Band, met Lieutenant Colonel Dr Graham Jones MBE when he inspected the College’s Marching Band on Advent Sunday.  Dr Jones is very familiar with making music on the march, having been involved in military band music for over 30 years.  In May 2008 he was appointed Senior Director of Music of the Household Division and from 2001 he was Director of Music of Her Majesty’s Coldstream Guards, a position unequalled in British Military Music.  He has retired very recently from both positions.

 

Joe, who is in his final year at the College, introduced Dr Jones to this year’s 33 members of the band.  

 

Jonathan Corry, Bandmaster and Head of Brass at Pangbourne College, said, ‘I am very pleased that Dr Jones chose to visit Pangbourne College as one of his first engagements since his retirement from the army.  As a popular conductor, lecturer and adjudicator in Europe and the USA, he has much knowledge and experience to pass on to the younger generation.'

Eight members of the College Boat Club are competing for places in either the GB World Championship or Coupe de la Jeunesse teams next summer: Georgia Francis, Emily Howard, Arabella James and Georgia Misson for the girls, and Will Anslow-Wilson, Will Broom, Ben Maxwell and Ed Vickers for the boys.

 

The first long distance trial in Boston last weekend saw Georgia Francis achieve a most impressive sixth place and Georgia Misson nineteenth place in a field of 85 scullers, putting both scullers firmly on the GB radar at this early stage.

 

For the boys, the trial of 152 scullers became something of a lottery when a strong headwind at the start of the division subsided to nothing by the end of it. Ben Maxwell suffered from this but was the second fastest J16 and an impressive thirty-second overall, despite suffering from his high start position.

Pangbourne College is through to the third round of the Daily Mail Schools Cup, a prestigious national competition.

 

The College beat Forest School, Reading Blue Coat School and Windsor Boys School to clear the first three rounds of the competition and will face the strength of Abingdon in the fourth round.

 

The victor of the fourth round will play the area-semi final against Aylesbury Grammar or RGS, High Wycombe. 

 

The College last reached the semi-finals of this competition in 2001 but lost out on the away team rule. A certain Mr Chris Sutton lead the 2001 team as Captain.

 

Over 350 crews took part in the Pangbourne Junior Sculls event, one of the biggest of its kind.

 

Conditions were good with little stream and a following wind which resulted in exciting racing, (only one crew capsized and that was en route to the start).

 

The Pangbourne crews were able to capitalise on their excellent results at both Wallingford and Reading, to secure five class wins.

 

The morning division saw the girls take the honours with first place in J18 and J16 quads.  Eton pipped our boys by just over a second.

 

The boys' J18 double, took an unexpected victory against a large field and the boys' J16 double, also finished top.

During the afternoon division, Nicolo Forcellini took the title in the single sculls and Ben Maxwell produced the performance of the day winning his J16 category ahead of all the J17 and other J18 scullers.

 

Georgia Misson took bronze in WJ18 singles.

The College Boat Club retained the Victor Ludorum Trophy for securing the fastest aggregate time in four different sculling categories.

 

Mark Woodcock, Director of Rowing at the College, commented, 'not only are we delighted with the success of our own students, it was hugely encouraging to see so many young scullers taking advantage of the Pangbourne reach of the Thames.'

Twenty-four girls from across the College age range (11-18 years) took part in the inaugural hockey tour to the Netherlands.

 

Six matches were played over three days into which training sessions with professional Dutch coaches were also squeezed.  The packed evening schedule was equally intense.

 

The senior girls played against Bloemendaal Hockey Club, the oldest club in Holland - and the best in Europe - and held them to an impressive 1-1 draw.  Claire Poynton scored the goal.

 

The junior girls had an outstanding 4-0 victory against De Kievitin Hockey Club in which Kara Sykes scored two goals and Katherine Horn and Bethan Girdler-Maslen scored one each.

 

The girls had a fantastic time and very much enjoyed their stay in the 13th Century castle in Heemskerk.

The National Schools Equestrian Association Championships were held at Addington Manor Equestrian Centre in Buckinghamshire.

 

Natalie Steljes, Libby Bamforth and Sarah Illsley qualified for the Open Jumping with Style round and the team included  Alicia Smallman as a wild card entry. The riders were tested on a course designed to challenge their show jumping and cross country skills. Sarah Illsley performed admirably to achieve one of only two clear rounds seen at the Championships. Unfortunately, the team missed out on ribbons this year but thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

 

Natalie Steljes also qualified for the Open Show Jumping as an individual, and Alicia Smallman qualified for the Advanced 1.15m Show Jumping Class. Both were a credit to the College.

 

Our minis were represented by Alex Rimmer, Niamh Smith, Flora Quesnel and Lily Pearce in the Mini Show Jumping. All performed well.

 

Barney Symons put in an exceptional performance coming 2nd in the Mini Class and 3rd in the Novice class.  

The 1st XV have enjoyed a tremendous start to the season that sees them unbeaten to date.

 

The College conquered all before them on a Pre-season Tour to South Africa, where the side won all five of their games against clubs and schools.  Their best result was against a strong and physical side, Fisantekraal Development U18 XV (19-14).

 

Pangbourne also had a successful Pre-season Tournament at Reigate, with three successive victories over St. George’s Weybridge (3-0), Wimbledon College (14-0), and Reigate Grammar School (7-5).  The latter provided a strong organized team, but the College emerged victors in the last few minutes of the game.  That victory was won with a try from the ubiquitous Jordan Ethelston (Open-side Flanker), who has been the find of the season.  Having previously played at Centre, he has shown his ability to find space when he has the ball and strength in the tackle.  To date he has scored 14 tries in the regular season.

 

The Tour provided a key opportunity for the team to build solid foundations as a competitive unit.  This has been evident in their play this season, with strong defence being a cornerstone of the side and efficient second-phase play.

 

Quick counter-attacking, strong technique in the loose, and speed of thought to exploit space, have all been other key factors in Pangbourne College 1st XV’s success to date.  With a combination of a mobile Pack and quick and elusive Backs, the Pangbourne side have put together a string of 15 successive wins.

 

The team is captained by Adam Peters, who has played for the England U16 Second Row and leads excellently by example.  He is a pivotal player at Number 8.  He has been supported well by two other important figures in the side, Centres Matt Hardcastle and Jack Rossiter, with their direct and elusive running when needed.  Jack’s running capabilities were recognized last April when he was named in the Rosslyn Park Sevens’ ‘Dream Team’.

 

With Outside-half Dan Shaughnessy, Full Back James Evans has had an excellent start to the season, creating opportunities on the counter attack.  Loose-head Sam Rawsthorne and Tight-head Tom Yeulet have been solid in the scrum.  This has allowed quality first-phase possession ball for the Backs to utilize.

 

Pangbourne College 1st XV’s successful victories in the regular season have been against Lord Wandsworth College (29-15), Canford School (24-15), Forest School (56-5, Daily Mail 1st round), Bloxham School (62-3), Dean Close School (61-3), and Shiplake College (31-14).

 

Team results  of the regular season (i.e. during term time) of  Pangbourne College 1st XV

 

Pangbourne College has played: 6

Pangbourne College has won: 6

Points For: 263

Points Against:  53

 

Top Try Scorers are:

Ø  Jordan Ethelston: 14

Ø  Jack Rossiter: 6

Ø  Matt Hardcastle: 6

The College secured eight wins at the Reading Small Boats Head, better than any Boat Club attending.

 

The wins were achieved;

Equally impressive were Georgia Misson’s and Georgia Francis’s second and third places respectively in the Girls’ J18 singles. Georgia Francis took third place in the Women’s Im1 singles. These performances augur well for the two girls' prospects in the GB trials.

 

 

 

Over 40 students from the 6th Form attended a lecture given by Peter Dawson, the Finance and Operations Director for Sony in the UK and also a Pangbourne parent.  The lecture was organized by the Business and Economics Department which each year invites speakers both from big businesses and from start-ups to come and speak at the College. 

 

Peter gave a visual presentation based on his experiences over a career of 26 years at Sony with a number of anecdotes including moving a Call Centre to Egypt, dealing with a flooded warehouse and the impact of the Woolworth’s collapse. 

 

On a personal level, Peter spoke about the challenges of being very dyslexic and of maintaining a work life balance.  He also discussed what things he did not know when at school that he had learned in business.  These included that maths and numbers are different and the importance of keeping things simple.

Pangbourne College’s 2011-12 rowing season began in winning form at the first Long Distance event of the year on the River Thames at Wallingford.  With two gold, one silver, and one bronze medal male crews, as well as the fastest female Junior sculler of this event the College’s Boat Club was in very positive mood at the end of the day.

 

In the morning division, the College’s silver medal (at the British Rowing Championships) Junior 16 Double crew, Lars Koenig and Ben Maxwell, went one better winning not only the Junior 16 class, but beating the Junior 18 crews too, finishing an astonishing 3rd overall. 

 

Nicolo Forcellini won Novice sculls by a handsome margin too, giving Pangbourne College 2 unexpected wins at this prestigious event.

 

In the afternoon division, the Junior 16 Double joined Nicolo and Josh Rogers to race a Junior 18 Quad against 5 other top school crews. Agonisingly, they finished second by 0.1 second (race time of 15 minutes and 27 seconds) to the St Paul’s School crew, beating Shiplake, Abingdon, St George’s and Windsor Boys crews in the process.

 

The highlight of the day was the very unexpected success for the 2 girl scullers. In the morning division, Georgia Misson came 5th in the Senior event she raced in, but her time of 20.01 minutes turned out to be the fastest Junior girls’ time of the day, beating 130 other girl scullers. 

 

 

This year’s Divisional [House] Music Competition was arguably the best the College has witnessed in many years.  The event took place in the Drake Hall to a packed audience of parents, staff and pupils. 

 

The evening started with the Instrumental category, with some tight and inspired performances from all four combined Divisions. Of particular note were the performances by Hesperus and Port Jackson Divisions. The category was won by Port Jackson Division, with their performance of Feeling Good by Simone and Bouble arranged by Joe Blamey.

 

Divisional Vocal was suitably varied with items ranging from Your Song by Elton John and Hakuna Matata from the Lion King.  This was a keenly fought contest, with the overall winners being Port Jackson Division for their heartfelt and well-organised arrangement of Turning Tables by Adele, arranged by Joe Blamey and Jess Brown.

 

Divisional Song was as keenly anticipated as always and the Divisions did not disappoint. Once again, a wide variety of styles was on offer with the girls’ houses both producing items of a lyrical and reflective mood, whilst the boys’ houses chose to be more visual and energetic. It will be a long time before the College Community forgets Mr Rendle’s cameo appearance in YMCA!

 

In the end, it became clear, despite the boys’ best efforts that the crown was to fall to Illawarra or St. George.  With half a point in it, the decision came in St. George’s favour with their beautiful rendition of Elton John’s Your Song, accompanied and rehearsed by Thea Swan.

 

One unusually hot October Saturday evening, a group of twenty-five 5th and 6th Form boarders were taken by the English Department to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London to see a performance of his exhilarating comedy Much Ado About Nothing.   Directed by Jeremy Herrin and performed by a cast full of intelligence and wit, the performance was enjoyed by all.

 

With autumnal coloured costumes and orange trees draped along the top of the set, the audience was transported to Seville.  By attending as groundlings, the pupils were able to appreciate the intimacy of the performance and have an idea of what it would have been like to see the play in Shakespeare’s day.

 

‘The atmosphere at the Globe is unique,’ said Jemima Kettle.  ‘The audience participate with unabashed eagerness and several of the Pangbourne contingent were heard ‘aahing’ at a romantic moment and laughing raucously as the performance gave Shakespeare’s humour a modern twist.’

Having completed 3 weeks studying ‘Coastal Environments’ in the classroom, it was time for 31 L6th Geography students to pack their bags and travel down to the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset with their teachers for a 2-day field trip.  The purpose of the visit was to examine first hand the landform of that stunning area of British landscape and coastline, and also to reflect on the management issues created as a result of holiday makers frequenting places such as Swanage and Lulworth Cove.

 

‘As well as being a very helpful academic experience, the students also enjoyed unseasonal heat and sunshine on both days.  The ‘Pangbourne Run’ from Stair Hole up over the chalk to Durdle Door was another highlight for some.  But, perhaps most pleasing of all, was the fact that those who have recently joined the College in the Sixth Form found the field trip a good opportunity to get to know their classmates better,’ said Fred Tao, Head of Geography.

The annual Pangbourne golf match versus the Old Pangbournians (OPs) took place in October.  Held at the prestigious Berkshire Golf Club near Ascot, it represents a real opportunity for any aspiring player.  It is a superb venue.

Generations mingle in this competition. This year the leavers of the 1990s, 1980s and earlier had some interesting snippets to share as they socialised with the current pupils on the course. Players competed for the now prestigious OP Trophy (yet again back in the hands of the OPs, thanks to a closely fought  4-3 victory).

 

After the tight finish and a round of sandwiches, players bade farewell as friends with a vow to renew friendship at the next OP occasion.  This was a magnificent sporting occasion, played with real warmth and a sense of camaraderie.  Pangbourne life past and present is alive and kicking! 

In one of their GCSE Physics lessons, students from the College measured their rate of acceleration across a 50-metre length of the Parade Ground.  By using Newton’s Second Law of Motion, they were then able to calculate who was the most powerful member of the class.  The exercise involved not simply recording who rode the fastest, but also the mass of each individual.  At an average of 450 watts, most were delighted to be brighter than your average light bulb!

 

The vintage bicycle used by the students, which also features a dynamo, made a further guest appearance in the 3rd Form’s physics lesson of the study of energy transfer and conservation.  There they learned how chemical energy, from food, goes through ‘transfer’ and ‘transformation’ via kinetic and electrical energies to light and heat.

Nine cadets from the Pangbourne College CCF Royal Marine section took part in the ‘Sir Steuart Pringle Trophy Competition’, the most challenging competition in the CCF Calendar which is held each year at Lympstone.  Against 17 other top independent schools, such as Winchester College, Wellington College and Shrewsbury School, the College unit of two teams of four, with one person for extra support, came 2nd in the Observation section, 3rd in the Camouflage and Concealment section, and 3rd in the leadership section.  Colin Hearn, Head of the CCF, said, ‘The Pringle Competition, as it is most commonly known, is an arduous 2-day event.  This was the first time that the majority of the cadets had taken part in this event and I am very pleased with these results.’

Four girls from Pangbourne College became Berkshire Champions in the ‘Mini’ show jumping class at the County Championships hosted by Pangbourne College and held at Berkshire College of Agriculture in Maidenhead in October.  They also qualified for the National Schools Equestrian Association Championships.  Lily Pearce, Niamh Smith, Alex Rimmer and Flora Quesnel each completed the fastest clear rounds in the 70cm class for 13 year olds and under,  and together they beat teams from schools such as Cranleigh, Pinewood, Guildford High and Queen Anne’s, Wellington and Bradfield.

 

Natalie Steljes also came second in the 100cm class at the same event, and qualified for the Championships as an individual.

 

Twelve disabled athletes from the Men’s GB Sitting Volleyball Team and their support staff visited Pangbourne College in preparation for the European Championships in October.  The College had been asked to provide the athletes with a team building day on their Low and High Ropes courses to help them improve their communication and support skills prior to the Championships and in preparation for the Paralympics next summer.

 

Three members of the Pangbourne College 1st VIII crew, Sarah Hopkin (cox), Hamish Miller and Charles Waite-Roberts, were selected for the Welsh Home Countries rowing team, following  the two-day Junior Men’s Welsh Trials held at Monmouth in July. The Home Countries consists of teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

 

They then competed at the British Rowing Championships, as part of the Welsh Team, which was the week before the Home Countries regatta. In the Open Junior Coxed Four event, Hamish won gold, the first student at Pangbourne College to win a gold medal at these Championships for over 10 years. Charles won a silver medal in the Open Junior Coxless Four final.

 

Sarah joined Hamish and Charles in the Welsh VIII as cox at the Home Countries regatta, held this year at Strathclyde Park in Scotland, and together they won silver.  Hamish won a further bronze medal in the Coxed Four event and Charles won a further silver medal in the Coxless Four event.

 

Mark Woodcock, Director of Rowing at Pangbourne College, said, ‘Sarah, Hamish and Charles have trained hard this year and I am very pleased that they have been able to represent the country from which they originate. It is a tremendous achievement.’

Pangbourne College student, Charlie Pidgley, aged 14, qualified for the Hipwood at this year's Pony Club National Championships at Cowdray Park Polo Club.  The Hipwood is overseen by the Hurlingham Polo Association, the national governing body of polo in England.  With three other boys, his team, known as 'The Guards', won each heat and in the final beat Old Surrey and Burstow.

 

Charlie said, 'I played my favourite position, Number 1, and we played well together.'

 

Following his success there, Charlie was selected from about 300 young English polo players to play in the HPA Junior England Select Blue Team at Ham Polo Club.  In the Stagshead Trophy, in which players are aged 11 to 14 years old, his team beat the Young England Select Red team by 5 to 4 goals.

 

‘It was a very intense game,’ said Charlie.

 

Charlie's summer polo matches peaked with a 5-day trip to Hungary to play for an England side on behalf of the Schools and Universities Polo Association (SUPA).  In a mixed team of 14- to 16-year-olds, he played against both Hungarian and Polish teams and in the final won. 

 

Charlie said, 'I thoroughly enjoyed the tournament and made some good friends.  It was fantastic!'

Two Pangbourne College students, Josh Abrahams and Freddie Mills, cycled over 900 miles in eleven days in order to raise over £1,600 each for their World Challenge Expedition to Ecuador next summer.  There they will be involved in a community-based project to help repaint buildings and carry out basic construction tasks.  Cycling at an average speed of 13.9 miles per hour and carrying all of their clothes and equipment, Josh and Freddie found that the experience prepared them well for next year’s Challenge.

 

Freddie said, ‘At the end of the bike ride we felt on top of the world.  The trip had pushed our friendship, teamwork and integrity to the limit and we were ecstatic with pride and excitement.’

 

Josh added, ‘We would recommend the experience of attempting a challenge like this to anyone.’

Six students from Pangbourne College visited Switzerland on a climbing expedition in the summer. Five of the team were from one boarding house, having been inspired by their housemaster, Geoffrey Stanford, who has summitted Everest and had organised the trip. The team included Rohan Batra (18); Josh Montgomery, William Warham and Brendan Palmer (all 17); and Jake Leach and Zach Baxter-Hill (both 14). They were also accompanied by Colin Hearn, another member of staff and former Mountain Leader from the Royal Marines.

 

The expedition included an opportunity to scale the Tour d’Ai using a via ferrata, rock climbing at St Tryphon, and several days on Moiry Glacier, including climbing Pigne de la Lé (3,396m), where the group learned more about Alpine mountaineering.   On route to Switzerland, the team spent two nights camping in the forest of Fontainebleau, the home of the sport of bouldering.  There Josh rapidly earned the nickname ‘monkey boy’ for his agility on the rocks.  The team heard the Last Post at the Menin gate when they camped at Ypres and visited Tyne Cot on their way home.

 

At Tour d’Ai, having done the 600-feet vertical cliff face ascent, on the way down the far side, at an overhanging abseil, the boys found themselves in a genuine rescue of a Canadian girl from another group.  She had managed to catch her hair in her abseil device which had then jammed.  Having been hanging there for 45 minutes she was relieved when Team Pangbourne came to her rescue; the group set up a hoist system to lift her out, with the boys hauling on the rope to bring her up.

 

With a clear blue sky and little wind the group were able to admire views to Grand Cornier and the Matterhorn beyond when they had lunch at the top of Pigne de la Lé.  On their descent they practised ice-axe arrests and crevasse rescues as they came down a snow field.  Despite knowing the drills, while crossing a number of crevasses using snow bridges on the way down, a line of old footprints was observed leading over a collapsed snow bridge into a large chasm.  Brendan was heard to say, ‘This is proper scary!’.

 

All six students were exhilarated by their experiences and their mothers were thankful for their safe return!