CH NEWS
SUMMER 2016
SPEECH DAY
Christ’s Hospital was delighted to
welcome the Lord Mayor of the City of
London, Lord Mountevans, to Speech
Day on Saturday 28 May.
Over 800 guests attended Chapel and
watched the march past which followed.
Head Master, John Franklin said: “The
pupils took an obvious pride in
marching for their boarding houses and
once again, the CH band was
outstanding.”
The highlight of the prize giving
ceremony was the oration by this year’s
Senior Grecian, Isobel Pelling and the
response which followed by Lord
Mountevans.
During prize giving, senior pupils were
presented with awards recognising
academic achievement, leadership,
international relations, outward bound
activities and creative writing.
The day finished with lunch and an
opportunity for visitors to see the
Grecians’ Art Exhibition.
THE BAND ROCKS FOR HER MAJESTY
Sunday June 12 saw The Patron’s Lunch,
a celebration of Her Majesty The
Queen’s lifelong dedication to the
service and patronage of more than 600
charities and organisations across the
UK and Commonwealth. The event also
marked the occasion of Her Majesty’s
90th birthday.
The Mall in St. James’s Park in London
was transformed for its largest ever
street party with 10,000 guests. The
majority attending were from the
charities and organisations of which Her
Majesty is patron.
The famous Christ's Hospital band
moved to the beat of the 90s, one of the
seven decades of the Queen’s reign
represented during the parade. The CH
band was thrilled to be the only school
band to be taking part in what was a
very special carnival style event.
Guy Perricone, Treasurer of CH, said:
“Even the rain could not dampen my
pride when I watched the CH band
march down The Mall in the parade
twice (once in the pouring rain, and
once, mercifully, in the dry). They were
resplendent and absolutely magnificent.
Everybody I was with agreed, and those
who were not familiar with the School
immediately wanted to know who these
brilliant children were. As ever, they were
wonderful and were undoubtedly one of
the highlights of what was a very special
day indeed.”
CHRIST’S HOSPITAL
FORMER PUPIL RECEIVES FREEDOM
OF THE CITY OF LONDON
Cpl Leakey was nominated for his
Freedom by Alderman Sir Alan Yarrow,
the former Lord Mayor, and Billy Dove,
the former Chief Commoner.
Sir Alan commented that Cpl Leakey was
a remarkable young man who had
displayed the highest courage in serving
his country and is an inspiration to all as
well as being a role model for young
people especially those who wanted to
pursue a military career.
Cpl Leakey said: “This is an amazing
honour, to be recognised by the City of
London Corporation. It’s an honour for
me, the Parachute Regiment and the
Army.”
In an historic ceremony at the Guildhall in
London Corporal Josh Leakey VC
received the City of London’s highest
honour when he became a Freeman of
the City.
Leakey responded that, whilst he was the
one who was recognised, you don’t join
the army to be an individual but to
become part of a team . He emphasised
that on that day, during the action, he was
simply part of a well-oiled machine.
CH pupil Elliot Riley said: “Josh seemed
like the perfect example of what a CH
pupil can achieve. It was clear that he
benefited from CH, and he seemed to
hold the values taught to him very dearly.
It was a privilege to meet him.”
Cpl Leakey attended CH before joining
the Parachute Regiment. He is the only
living recipient of a Victoria Cross for
action during the conflict in Afghanistan.
Before the ceremony, Cpl Leakey and Sir
Alan Yarrow took part in a Q&A session.
When asked about the actions for which
he was awarded the Victoria Cross, Cpl
BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD GOLD AWARD
Samson Charles, Year 13 pupil at Christ’s
Hospital, has been awarded a gold medal
in the British Biology Olympiad. The
award has placed Samson in the top 6.6%
of the 7200 students who took part.
Samson, who has won the academic prize
for Biology for the past two years at CH,
said: “I have always enjoyed and been
fascinated by Biology. I work hard and try
to learn as much as I can. It was such a
surprise to find out that I had been
awarded the gold medal as the paper was
so hard. It was an honour to be the first
person from CH to achieve this accolade.
Knowing that I had got the prize was a
brilliant affirmation that all of my hard
work has paid off, and I am now totally
sure that this is a subject that I want to
continue studying when I go to
university.”
The British Biology Olympiad is a national
competition for A level and IB pupils run
by the Royal Society of Biology. Pupils
from CH were put forward for the
2
NEWS
competition and performed brilliantly. A
Silver Medal went to Marc Thomas,
Bronze Medals to Daniel Storer, Olivia
Crossman, Max Day, Lucy Bridges,
Phoebe Thornhill, Katrina Troth, Jacob
Plowman and Daniella Asogbon and a
further 14 pupils were commended or
highly commended.
A SCHOOL LIKE NO OTHER
SPORTING SUCCESS
The U16 boys’ team has had an
exceptional season and have won nearly
every competition it has participated in
this term.
bodes well for when they step up to
senior tennis next season. The seniors
have trained and played with great
enthusiasm and energy under captain
Leonie von Loeper and have made it a
most enjoyable term.
ROUNDERS
ATHLETICS
The rounders squads have faced some
tough opposition but achieved some
great results. The U14 and U13 teams
have demonstrated great tactical
awareness and have enjoyed exciting
and competitive matches against
Cranleigh School, Roedean School,
Burgess Hill Girls, Millais School and
Hurstpierpoint College.
There has been a great deal of
individual success for the athletes this
term. Josh Persad (100m and 200m) and
Elliot Bayley (javelin) both won gold
medals at the Surrey Championships.
SWIMMING
In the English Schools Track and Field
Cup the junior girls, intermediate girls
and intermediate boys qualified for the
regional finals, in which there were
Buckinghamshire. There have also been
a number of outstanding bowling
performances. Sam Hannon taking five
wickets in an innings for the 1st XI,
Maxwell Singh-Kingdom who took six
wickets for the Under 13A team against
Reigate College and one from Stephen
Marsh who took seven wickets against
the Old Blues. The last player to take
seven wickets for CH at 1st team level is
Stuart Whittingham, who is now playing
professional cricket for Sussex. The 1st
XI had a very good season and were
expertly led by captain Alex Walker.
CH was the 2016 overall winner of the
combined Martin Berrill Sports League
with a record tally of 33 points.
BOYS’ TENNIS
It has been a promising season for boys
tennis with almost every match and
competition being very close. In the U18
Sussex League, CH missed out on
second place by a tie-break against
Brighton College. Against Charterhouse
School, the 1st VI were easily beaten,
however the 2nd VI won convincingly,
with strong performances from Jed
Davies, Algernon Aoki-Seymour, Jacob
Nomafo and Emmanuel Berhane. The
U15s lost to Eastbourne College in a tiebreak with Oliver Page winning all three
of his matches. The team finished third
in its Sussex League competition with
Gus Dempsey, Lucca Green, Emmanuel
Berhane and Chris Luala all playing well.
GIRLS’ TENNIS
impressive performances from Lennox
Anyanwu, Sam Odu, Matthew Attalah,
Tunmise Abbas, Liza Thwaites and AJ
Brako.
In the mid Sussex trials 32 pupils
qualified, the following 11 athletes
qualified for Sussex in the Inter Counties
Championship: Conor Stewart, James
North, Sam Odu, Jesse Agwae, Sefa
Asumani, Jordanna Joseph, Melina
Irawo, Josh Persad, Elliot Bailey,
Matthew Attalah and Arron Shaw.
At these Championships Jesse Agwae,
Sam Odu, Josh Persad, Jordanna
Joseph and Melina Irawo performed
superbly and have now qualified for the
English Schools finals in Gateshead. This
is the first time that five CH athletes
have qualified for these finals in the
same year.
CRICKET
The Under 14 girls’ tennis squad has
worked extremely hard this term and as
a result have made great progress. The
U15 girls have had some tough matches
and some encouraging results which
There have been four CH centuries this
term, one from Tom Carter, two from
Solly Woodall and one from Gus
Freeman. Gus Freeman has represented
Kent and Solly Woodall and Lottie
Woodall have both played for
SUMMER 2016
3
CHRIST’S HOSPITAL
SPORT SCIENCE
FIELD TRIP
A group of A level Sport Science pupils
from Christ’s Hospital had an extremely
valuable experience recently, when they
had the opportunity of spending a day at
Brighton University, in the Sport Science
laboratories.
WHICH UNIVERSITY?
WHERE TO STUDY AND
HOW TO GET THERE ...
CH was delighted to welcome key note
speakers for the day and the pupils were
able to attend a variety of presentations
and workshops. Tim Miller from the
Careers Hub and James Ringer, Deputy of
Recruitment for Goldsmiths University, led
the day with two brilliant and very
informative talks.
The day started with some physical tests
where the pupils had the opportunity to
take part in an experiment measuring the
levels of lactic acid in their bodies. They
were then able to calculate and predict
their marathon and 10 kilometre running
times.
The pupils thoroughly enjoyed testing
their VO2 which gave them an indication
of how efficient their cardio-vascular
systems were compared to Mo Farah’s.
Finally, the pupils got to explore the
benefits of pre and post cooling methods
and how this can be beneficial when
exercising in hotter climates. The pupils
wore ice jackets and plunged into an ice
pool and then watched as their core body
temperature started to rise to 36 degrees
when they began cycling in the climate
chamber.
The pupils had a very constructive day,
using modern physiological testing, which
is a useful link to their A level theory.
SHAMI CHAKRABARTI
Christ’s Hospital was delighted to welcome
the most charming, witty and inspirational
guest speaker I can remember meeting. It
was immediately apparent to us that,
Shami Chakrabarti, did not live up to the
name recently given to her by the Sun
newspaper, “the most dangerous woman
in Britain”. Shami was instead an
intelligent and impassioned
conversationalist.
“Her engaging talk, entitled ‘On Liberty,’
battled with the social injustices facing
modern Britain. She encouraged us to
realise that our generation has the
potential to translate social ideals into
reality.”Iona Grace Popat, Year 13 pupil.
4
NEWS
On Monday 20 June, Year 12 pupils at
Christ’s Hospital had the opportunity to
take part in an excellent event at School.
The aim was to give them as much
information, support and inspiration as
possible; to help guide them through the
UCAS system and with their university
selections.
The workshops included sessions on
composing a personal statement, how to
apply through UCAS online and Higher
Apprenticeships which was led by
Adrienne Briggs, from Unifrog.
At the end of the day pupils had the
opportunity to ask the visitors a range of
questions to further help them with their
applications and future choices.
CAREERS SPEED DATING
INSPIRES CH PUPILS
On Monday 27 June, Christ’s Hospital Year
10 pupils enjoyed insights into the worlds
of finance, public affairs, medicine, the arts
and a host of other professions from a
group of successful Old Blues (former
pupils).
The pupils were able to quiz the experts
about their careers, giving them unique
insights into a vast range of potential
future career paths.
One unifying theme amongst the different
career paths explored was that whilst the
world of work today presented more
opportunities, an ability to be flexible and
to adapt to quickly changing situations
was essential.
Pupils were told to identify what drives
and motivates them before choosing their
career, with speakers stressing the
importance of choosing a job that is
interesting and enjoyable, in addition to
paying well. The speakers also touched on
the need to differentiate oneself from
others in an increasingly competitive job
market, pointing out that in our newly
globalised world students are no longer
competing for jobs on a national level, but
also with people from Hong Kong,
Mumbai and New York. The importance of
building up an impressive CV consisting of
more than just academic achievements
was stressed.
The day was greatly appreciated by all the
pupils and they were very grateful to
everyone who came and gave up their
time.
A SCHOOL LIKE NO OTHER
FIRST PRIZE IN
MUSIC AWARDS
OLIVER!
Jeremy Chan, Year 12 pupil at Christ's
Hospital, has been awarded first prize
in the final round of the West Sussex
Youth Music Awards 2016.
One of only four finalists to perform,
playing to an extremely high standard,
Jeremy received the winner’s trophy
along with a cheque for £400, which he
will use to further his musical studies.
The theatre was full for each of the four
outstanding performances of Oliver,
performed by the pupils, in the Christ’s
Hospital theatre in the lead up to summer
half-term.
Oliver, played by Adam Beddall and
Elliott Hollingsbee, escapes the harsh
conditions of Bumble’s Orphanage to the
streets of Victorian London where he
meets the Artful Dodger, played by
Emmanual Odujebe and Jacob Pearson,
and learns the tricks of the trade of
‘Picking a Pocket or Two’. From this day
life is never the same for Oliver. In the
underworld of London, expertly cast
Freddie Norris as Fagin, with Danielle
Carbon-Wilson as Nancy and Harry
Omosele as the convincingly villainous Bill
Sykes, try and persuade him that this new
world is a ‘Fine Life’. Music by the CH
Band added to the professionalism of the
show.
Headteacher of Pakeman Primary School,
who came to a performance with a group
of her pupils, said: “The Christ’s Hospital
pupils were absolutely amazing. They
gave such a professional performance
and our pupils were completely
spellbound. It was like being in the West
End!”
Director, Caroline Kelly, said: “This is the
first time that we have cast the junior and
the senior pupils together in a
production. I was keen to stage a
production that had opportunities for
pupils from all year groups. I also wanted
to direct something I loved and Oliver
works on many levels. It is sentimental but
gritty; comic but also deadly serious and
the songs are sweet and full of life, yet the
landscape is bleak. And of course, the
characters are some of the most wellknown and well-loved. Huge
congratulations and thanks to the pupils
for working so hard and for the fantastic
support of Zoe Munday, Andrew Cleary
and Charlotte Saville.”
On receiving his award, Jeremy said:
“It felt great to receive recognition for
the hard work I have put into practising
the pieces, and it was also exciting to
be chosen from so many talented
candidates.”
A CENTURY OF
ENGLISH SONG
On 13 May, Christ’s Hospital hosted a
Court Room Classic and was delighted
to welcome Old Blue, Francis Warner.
Francis is an internationally acclaimed
poet and playwright and was invited to
the concert as his Sonnets were being
performed.
Following the concert, Dr Warner said:
“The beauty of such intimate concerts
is that pupils can be right up close to
musicians of international standing.
Moments such as these remain in the
memory a lifetime, and are one of
those jewels that make CH such a
special place.”
SUMMER 2016
5
CHRIST’S HOSPITAL
DRAMATIC DRUM ENTRANCE
During May, Year 12 pupils James Sibley,
Joe Morrow and Alex Bell, were invited to
St. Nazaire on the west coast of France.
They had been asked to take part in the
opening ceremony of the summer 2016
exhibition by world renowned artist
Christian Hidaka.
Christian Hidaka was educated at Christ's
Hospital during the 1990s. He went on to
study Fine Art at Winchester School of
Art, Parsons School of Art and Design
(New York) and the Royal Academy
Schools, London. He has had enormous
success and his works exhibited across
the globe. His paintings are puzzles with
solitary figures set in Mediterranean
courtyards; clues about art history and his
memories are immersed within the
paintings which include CH drummers.
At the opening of his exhibition, the CH
musicians made a dramatic entrance,
beating their drums as they walked in
from the street. After playing in close coordination, they dispersed to the different
galleries within the exhibition where they
played solos and responses.
When they reconvened, they improvised
with the French sound artist, Tomoko
Sauvage, who makes compositions using
water, distorting the sounds with a mixing
desk. The boys were encouraged to ‘play
loud’ and the piercing noise and echoes
of their drumming filled the gallery space.
They ended their piece by exiting the
gallery and marching off into the
distance. It was a unique experience for
the boys and their playing
complemented the exhibition perfectly.
MEMORABLE DAY WITH JUDGE
BEVAN
A group of Year 12 pupils from Christ’s
Hospital had a memorable experience
recently when they were invited to the
Old Bailey to observe a murder trial. This
was followed by tea with Judge Bevan
and before leaving they had a tour which
included the famous Court Room 1. The
visit has stimulated many of the pupils to
consider pursuing a career in law.
Year 13 pupil, Onyinye Udokporo, who
helped to arrange the visit, said: "We all
had the most wonderful time at the Old
Bailey. It was an incredible experience
and we were very fortunate to see such a
lively case. Following our sitting in Court
we were taken into the Judge's dining
room where we were able to ask the
judge questions about law, university
prospects and life as a Judge. Following
this the judge kindly gave us a tour of the
Old Bailey which was very enriching as he
had so much knowledge to impart and
spoke about his personal experiences.
On behalf of everyone from Christ’s
Hospital who took part, I would like to say
a huge thank you to Judge Bevan for
giving us the opportunity to visit the Old
Bailey. It is an experience I am sure none
of us will forget."
A SCHOOL LIKE NO OTHER
SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
Uzorma Owete, Year 13 pupil at Christ’s
Hospital has been awarded the
prestigious Morehead-Cain scholarship.
The scholarship will enable Uzorma to
study at North Carolina University USA
from this September. He is one of only
three students from the UK who has been
selected for the Morehead-Cain’s ‘Class
of 2020’ this autumn.
For nearly 20 years boys from the
Peele boarding house at Christ’s
Hospital have been involved with
fundraising for the Pageant charity.
Pageant is a small UK based charity
which supports pupils, schools and
other educational establishments in
the Gambia.
Throughout the four year course, scholars
have the opportunity to complete an
outdoor leadership course, commit
themselves to public service in the US or
abroad, conduct research at sites around
the world and gain experience in private
enterprise.
A WEEK IN THE CITY
WITH ONYINYE
UDOKPORO
It was a great privilege to be able to
shadow the Town Clerk and CEO of the
City of London Corporation. During my
time at the Guildhall I was able to see
how the City of London is `run. It became
clear to me how much hard work goes
into keeping the City a safe and friendly
work and living space. It was wonderful to
work in a space that has such enriching
history that has not been lost till this day.
What I found most interesting during my
time there was being able to see the work
the Town Clerk does to improve equality
and inclusion in the City and this has
motivated me to work hard so that one
day I might be in his position. The
experience has given me further insight
into what it takes to work in, as well as
expanding my knowledge of, local
government. All in all, I had a fantastic
time.
MATTERS
Year12 pupils Isaac Hayden, Robbie
Anand, Sean Thomson, Crispin Leung
and Tom Walker have been fundraising
all year in readiness for a 10 day charity
mission to the Gambia during February
2017.
Uzorma said: “I am very grateful to
Christ’s Hospital for making this
opportunity possible. It is the first time in
10 years a CH pupil has been awarded
this scholarship and I am really excited
about studying in the US.”
The Morehead-Cain Scholarship covers all
expenses for four years of undergraduate
study at The University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, United States. It features a
distinctive programme of summer
enrichment experiences designed to
support students as they learn and grow.
CHARITY
I would like to express my thanks to all
those who made my experiences
possible. They have helped me to create
memories I will never forget and ones that
I know will help shape my future. I have
been given the opportunity to meet the
most inspirational people and I can only
hope that one day I will be able to inspire
others in the way that they have inspired
me.
During their trip in February the boys
will be working alongside the Pageant
charity in the Gambian schools as well
as visiting the two children that their
boarding house Peele is currently
sponsoring.
The boys are aiming to raise £3900
before February and since the
beginning of the year their efforts
have raised over £2000 towards their
target. If you would like to support
them please visit their justgiving page,
https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/F
PTTG, to make a donation.
FUNDRAISING
EVENT
The boys from the Maine B boarding
house staged a charity event at
Bluecoat Sports to raise money for the
British Heart Foundation and for
Nalango Secondary School (Robert
Gauntlett's Memorial School) in
Uganda.
The 48 boys managed to raise in
excess of £1100 through sponsorship
and through their ‘JustGiving’ page
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising
/MaineB. They did amazingly well and
broke their original target.
The Housemaster of Maine B, Mr
David Mulae, said: “The unity and
drive shown by the entire house
towards this fundraising effort was
admirable and I am hugely impressed
with and offer my congratulations to all
the boys involved.”
SPRING 2016
7
CHRIST’S HOSPITAL
CELEBRATING THE END
OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
COUNTY CRICKET
DEBUT FOR OB
STUART
WHITTINGHAM
On the last night of the School year and
to mark the end of the exam season at
Christ’s Hospital, the leaving Grecians
(Year 13 pupils) celebrated in style with
the customary CH leavers’ ball. The
theme this year was Arabian Nights.
CH was delighted when Old Blue
Stuart Whittingham made his debut in
the County Cricket Championship for
Sussex against Derbyshire in Derby on
Sunday 8 May.
His debut for the first team came on
the back of some recent excellent
performances in the 2nd XI
championship where he took 14
wickets in the last two matches against
Worcestershire and Somerset. He had
a successful day as he ended with
figures of 11-1-38-2. He might have
had a third wicket but for a simple
chance being spilled. He was very
pleased with his efforts and was keen
to add to his haul in the second
innings.
The traditional end-of-year Beating
Retreat ceremony in the Quad at CH took
place on Saturday 2 July as a final farewell
to leaving pupils and staff as well as
marking the end of the School year.
Two interesting facts: he is the first Old
Blue to play in the County
Championship since John Snow in the
70s; he was the only player on either
side to be born within the boundaries
of Derbyshire … and he was playing
for Sussex.
We are very proud of him and wish him
well.
Christ’s Hospital
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 0LJ
T 01403 246555
F 01403 211580
E [email protected]
www.christs-hospital.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 1120090