20th January 2023: Game, set and match….. Brentwood School tennis ace, Edie Griffiths, served up a masterclass following selection for the Great Britain team in an international tennis fixture against the USA.

The 13-year-old rising star travelled to Manchester to compete in a fixture which involved a mix of singles and doubles matches contested across three days by some of the best juniors in the world.

Proud Brentwood School Tennis Coach, Mark Simpson-Crick, said: “It was an incredible experience for the GB boys and girls who were able to challenge the best players of their age groups from America in a really exciting contest. Edie performed exceptionally well and managed to win two out of the three singles matches that she played.

“Edie is doing so well on the international stage and we are extremely proud of her achievements.”

An exciting year lies ahead for the Year 9 student as she will join up with the GB Team again next month for the U14 Winter Cup Qualifying Round. Edie and the team will travel to Izmir in Turkey where they aim to progress through the qualifying rounds to secure a spot in the Winter Cup Finals, which are being held in the Czech Republic. 

We wish Edie and the GB Team the best of luck and will be cheering them all on from afar.

HEREFORD, Tuesday 9 February: Rear Admiral Philip Wilcocks, Chair of Governors at Hereford Cathedral School, announced this week that following a thorough selection process, Dr Michael Gray of Harrow School will succeed Paul Smith as Headmaster of the co-educational day and boarding school.

Dr Gray, who is currently Director of Studies at Harrow School, graduated from King’s College London with a First in History, after which he completed a PGCE, followed by a Masters and PhD at the UCL Institute of Education. Michael taught at Halliford School in Shepperton and St Edward’s School, Oxford, before joining Harrow in 2013 as Head of Politics. He subsequently became Academic and Universities Director before taking up his appointment as Director of Studies in 2019 with overall responsibility for all academic matters at Harrow. 

Commenting on his appointment, Dr Gray said “I am both delighted and honoured to be appointed the next Headmaster of Hereford Cathedral School and to build on the fantastic work that Paul Smith has done. It is an extremely exciting time to join HCS and there is an impressive momentum across the School as we look to realise Vision 2030 and ensure that all pupils are equipped to thrive in a changing world. 

“My wife and I are relishing the prospect of moving to the beautiful county of Herefordshire and to join this wonderful community in one of the UK’s leading independent co-educational schools.” 

Alongside his teaching career, Dr Gray has published two books and several articles on Holocaust education. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and Chair of Governors at Elmgrove School, one of the largest state primary schools in London. He is Secretary at his local church where he and his wife Angharad worship. 

Dr Gray will take over when Paul Smith steps down from his role in September 2021 after 16 years at the helm. Mr Smith gave a ringing endorsement of his successor’s appointment: “I am delighted that the Governors have appointed Michael, who is clearly very able and experienced and who seemed to me to be an excellent match for what Hereford Cathedral School needs for the next stage of its development. I have enjoyed meeting Michael and look forward to welcoming him to Hereford in the coming weeks.” Dr Gray was selected from an extremely strong field of over 50 applicants. Chair of Governors, Rear Admiral Philip Wilcocks, who led the interview panel said “We were extremely impressed with Michael’s vision for Hereford Cathedral School and his undoubted commitment to developing yet further the quality of teaching and learning across the whole school. “The Governors wish to also pay tribute to Mr Smith as he continues to provide outstanding leadership to the School, especially in these challenging times. Michael is clearly excited and energised by our future plans and the panel were unanimous in their view that he is the right person to be a worthy successor of Paul.” 

The School looks forward to welcoming Dr Gray and his wife Angharad to the community in a few months’ time. 

Dauntsey’s has recently welcomed journalist, TV presenter and former cabinet minister, Michael Portillo, as part of the School’s Mercers’ Lecture series.  Michael presented his lecture to an audience of 900 pupils, staff and members of the local community, talking about his life in politics and, more recently, in the media.

Born to a Spanish civil war refugee and a Scottish mother, Michael gained fame at an early age as the face of Ribena. After studying history at Cambridge, he entered politics in 1984, serving in Margaret Thatcher’s government.   

Michael held a variety of ministerial positions and was seen by many as the natural successor to Thatcher until a shock result in the 1997 election saw him voted out of office in what is now known as the ‘Portillo Moment’.  Michael gave many entertaining insights to his time in cabinet and enlightening behind-the-scenes tales of the Iron Lady herself. 

Since leaving politics, Michael has reinvented himself as a media presence both in political discussion programmes and documentaries.  The audience was fascinated as he related stories of how chance encounters, along with his passion for steam trains, fuelled his second career in television.

Before the public lecture, Michael spoke to a small group of Sixth Formers about his working life and answered their questions with great enthusiasm.

Megan, a Sixth Former from Dauntsey’s who attended both the lecture and the informal group discussion said:

“From his flamboyant dress sense to his bewitching descriptions, Michael held the audience spellbound both at our Sixth Form discussion and during the evening lecture as he gave us a colourful and very entertaining review of his life. 

“We would like to thank Michael for one of the most charismatic and amusing lectures we have had the pleasure of listening to.”

Bishop’s Stortford College U13 boys’ hockey team have been crowned County Champions.

The Bishop’s Stortford College U13 boys’ hockey team have been crowned County Champions at the U13 County Finals held at Oaklands College, St Albans, for the 8th time in the last 10 years.

Having won all of their group matches against Haileybury, Merchant Taylors’, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School and Hitchin Boys’ School the College team cruised through to the semi-finals at the top of their group.

Facing St Alban’s in the semis, the game ended with a 1-1 draw, despite the College team dominating the match play. This resulted in a set of penalty strokes to decide the winners; the College boys held their nerve with two great saves from goalkeeper Ollie F and advanced to the final.

Up against Hitchin Boys’ School once again, the boys had saved their best until last and gave an outstanding performance on the pitch. Two goals from Finn B and another from Paddy A-L saw the team emerge with a decisive win of 3-0 and being crowned County Champions.

Nick Prowse, the team’s coach, commented, “All the boys should be incredibly proud of themselves for an excellent display of hockey. Special mention must go to Miles L-T who captained the team superbly, was a real driving force in midfield and was awarded Player of the Tournament by the Officials.”

The College would like to extend its congratulations to the whole team, Ollie F, Ethan B, Felix R-D, Miles L-T, Cam W, Finn B, Fred B, Paddy A-L, Jake B and George L on this fantastic achievement and wishes them the best of luck in the East Finals in March.

MORE than forty King’s Ely students have been presented with Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award badges.

A total of thirty King’s Ely Senior students have received their Bronze badges and twelve have achieved their Silver DofE, eleven of whom are now working towards their Gold awards.

King’s Ely’s latest Silver award achievers are: Thomas Biggs, Benjamin Biggs, Oscar Hills, Oliver Johnson, Thomas Kim, Matthew Larmour, Jennifer Liu, Alexander Scarborough, Molly van Poortvliet, Eleanor Wallace, Molly Whymark and Natalie Youssef.

The school’s latest Bronze Award achievers are Amelia Shaw, Eliza Iles, Sam Barber, Joshua Isaacs, Isabella Boutwood, Abhishek Kale, William Buckingham, Alexander Loke-Hassell, Henry Bullivant, Peter Lonsdale, Holly Burke, James Lott, George Collier, Eleanor MacGillivray, Miya Cundy, Sandra Massoud, Molly Egan, Edward Pepper, Charlotte Ellis, Laurence Ray, Joel Ezana, Alexander Scarborough, Harriet Froud, William Senior, Richard Garrard, James Spofforth, Emma Garrett, Alice Wallace, Tessa Hawes and Emily Williams.

Former King’s Ely students (Old Eleans), Ed Chittenden and Rebecca Garrett, also achieved their Gold DofE awards recently.

King’s Ely offers students the chance to undertake their DofE Award at all three levels as part of the school’s outdoor education programme, Ely Scheme. While most independent schools have an outdoor pursuits programme, the Ely Scheme is both unique and central to the whole King’s Ely experience, as young people from Year 9 upwards are given tangible opportunities to push themselves to achieve beyond anything they ever thought possible.

The aim is to develop each individual student through outdoor education and adventurous activity, concentrating on eight major elements: personal skills; self-confidence; teamwork; leadership skills; social and environmental awareness; problem solving; ability to cope with difficult situations and healthy respect for nature and the outdoors.

A cast of 160 pupils, supported by more than 30 technical crew and band members, have delighted sell-out audiences with a challenging, energetic and exciting production of In the Heights.

From the writer of Hamilton and Disney’s Moana, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical tells the story of a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights neighbourhood.

The show received standing ovations from audiences totalling some 3,000 who watched performances over the five-night run. The cast was made up of pupils from years 7 to 13 and, for some, it was their stage debut.

As always, the School’s hi-tech sound and light system brought the musical to life in spectacular fashion, and the band performed the extraordinarily challenging score with great skill, energy and enthusiasm.

Chris Walker, Director of Drama, said;

“In The Heights is a show about community. The fast-paced rap, sharp dialogue and belting songs fused with Latin rhythms and culture make for a show that lives long in the memory.

“Our young cast, dancers, musicians, stage team and technical crew have worked intensely for 10 short weeks to make this a simply extraordinary experience for audiences and pupils.

“Dauntsey’s has once again raised the bar for what is possible for school productions. Taking on this hugely complex show was a mountain to climb and the young people and staff truly scaled the peak. Our show was as close as possible to the West End production.

“We were fortunate to have the wisdom and guidance of Jimmy Norden (who played drums, in the original West End cast) and Cleve September (original West End cast member of In The Heights and Hamilton) to help the pupils achieve excellent results.

“It was a truly special show and an unforgettable experience.”

Audience reviews include:

“Mind-blowingly good by an enormous cast and orchestra!  Such a depth of singing, acting & dancing talent. Spontaneous and fully deserved standing ovation.”

“If In The Heights is a contemporary call for community, the cast, band, crew, and production team showed just how Dauntsey’s is every bit one quite brilliant community!”

The December production has become a musical tradition for Dauntsey’s and In the Heights follows spellbinding shows including Our House, Les Misérables, Mamma Mia and Billy Elliot.

Dauntsey’s School, December 2019

Dauntsey’s School, December 2019

The New College of the Humanities announced the winners of their 2019 NCH London Essay Competition at a special award ceremony in London and Brentwood School Sixth Former Kimberley Shaw was among the winners.

The College received 3,600 entries into this year’s essay competition and 17-year-old Kimberley was awarded Third Prize with her submission centred on the Law question ‘Was the EU Commission correct to fine Google for abuse of a strong market position in online markets?’

Professor A C Grayling, Master of the College, alongside the College’s academic faculty and students, hosted the award ceremony, held in Bedford Square Gardens. One hundred and fiftyhighly commended high school essay writers and their guests enjoyed theVIP event.

 Prizes were awardedin all the seven major subjects taught at undergraduate level at the College. In each category, the First prize was £1,000, the first runner-up was £500, the second runner-up was £250, and a third runner up was awardeda £40 voucher. Everyone who was highly commended received a £20 voucher.

Professor Grayling said:“The College received 3,600 entries into this year’s essay competition, and 150 students were shortlisted and invited to this award ceremony. To be in the top 4% of essayists is exceptional. Every individual who has been shortlisted deserves to be very proud of their academic achievement.”

Now in its third year, the NCH London Essay Competition was foundedto inspire and encourage students from around the world who are in their penultimate year of secondary education and have a passion for the humanities and social sciences, to pursue their interest in these subjects and to further develop their critical thinking and writing skills.

Chaired by Professor Grayling, former Man Booker Prize Chair of Judges, the judging panel comprised academic members of each subject faculty and high-performing third-year undergraduate students.

Kimberley had to juggle her essay research with School coursework and a busy co-curricularprogramme. She explained: “Given that I had no prior subject knowledge, I knew this was going to be a research heavy essay andspent most of my time carrying out research.

“Due to this, I ended up starting to actually write my essay on the Sunday and finished it on the Thursday – the dayit wasdue. In hindsight, I would have spaced it out a little bit more but I guess it ended up fine!”

As well as boosting her CV, the competition gave Kimberley an insight intoacademic study at degree level. “I also wanted to see whether I was good enough to write anessay that would be recognised by not only my teachers but academics from another institution.

“I chose the Law question becauseI had gained an interest in monopolies from my study of Economics. Additionally, I found the international aspect of the question appealing.”