Head's Newsletter 15 January 2016

Dear Parents, May I start by wishing you a very happy New Year, and hope that your sons will have a very productive new term. This term promises to go past very quickly as Easter is early this year; in fact there are only four weeks left until half term, and after half term there are just under five weeks until the Easter holiday. For those students doing exams it is particularly important that they start to knuckle down and understand how quickly those exams will be upon them. It is also the time of year when choices are being made: Year 9 are choosing their GCSE subjects, and Year 11 are finalising their A level choices; both important moments on the boys’ journey through School. There are many exciting events coming up this term. Most importantly our big school production of Les Misérables , which will be fantastic, judging from the rehearsals that I am fortunate enough to be able to hear from my office each night! Please do make sure you buy your tickets as they are already selling fast! I'm delighted that the TPA have also been able to contribute to upgrading our facilities in the hall in time for this new production; the events and activities they organise, such as Burns Night, help to raise funds to improve the school, as well as being great social occasions in their own right.

This term has also seen a tremendous opportunity for the choir as they perform at the Royal Opera House in the production of Tosca. Congratulations to all the boys involved in a performance they will remember for years to come, and special congratulations to those boys who were selected as soloists. It is also a time when the House competition is beginning to hot up. We have recently seen the culmination of the Chess competition, and we are currently engaged in some of the winter contests in Cross Country, Rugby and Football. House Singing will also take place this term. I do hope your sons are engaging with what is on offer. Unfortunately the weather has disrupted the recent rugby fixtures and games afternoons. Please remain alerted to the fact that boys may not be going to Grists whilst the weather is making the pictures unplayable. One match that did go ahead was the annual fixture of the 1stXV versus the Old Tiffinians Under 21 XV, which I am pleased to say the 1stXV won. I wish you and your sons all the best for this term. Please note the important dates below:

Yours, Mr M D Gascoigne

IMPORTANT DATES

Year 9 Parents’ Consultations: School finishes at 2.00 Afternoon staff INSET: School finishes at 2.00 (or earlier for sixth formers depending on their timeta- bles)

Tuesday 26 January

Tuesday 2 February

Friday 12 February

Break up for half term; normal 3.30 finish

Monday 15 – Friday 19 February Monday 22 February Tuesday 23 February

Half Term holiday

Staff Inset Day; no boys in School

Boys start back after Half Term, at normal 8.30 start

BRITISH MATHS OLYMPIAD

This was the last of the house chess competitions to be completed and was enough to give KM victory overall in house chess. So far this year The Number Brain was won by Drake and both the Drama and the Public Speaking were won by Raleigh. The overall house competition remains very tight. Many congratulations to our students who raised £2,011.30 towards the Kingston Hospital Dementia Appeal at our Mufti day in November last year. The Kingston Hospital Charity aims to raise £750,000 to transform ten elderly care wards that are in desperate need of updating and improvement for patients with dementia. If you would like to support their aim, then do contact Michelle Bartsch by email at michelle.bartsch@kingstonhospital.nhs.uk or call her on 079 3090 9029. Michelle was full of praise for Ahmed Alhussni, a Deputy Head Boy in our Sixth Form, who organised the collection. He is pictured with Michelle and we thank him too for all his efforts. FUNDRAISING

It is a privilege to be invited to take part in the British Maths Olympiad (BMO). Only 1000 students across the country are invited to take part, having been selected on the basis of performances in the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge, from more than 100,000 entrants in more than 2,000 schools. Ten Tiffin boys qualified to sit the BMO. Six of those ten achieved certificates of distinction – placing them in the top 250 nationally. They were Bemin Sheen, Navonil Neogi, Lorenzo Honegger, Jim Tse, Maxi Purewal and Vincent Trieu. Bemin was also awarded a medal and a book prize. Three boys, Bemin (Upper Sixth), Navonil and Vincent (both Year 10) have subsequently been invited to sit BMO round 2; only 100 students are invited to sit this paper which will be used to select the UK team for the 57th International Mathematical Olympiad in Hong Kong later this year. We are very proud of the boys’ achievements! The Senior House Chess competition was won jointly by Scott and Kingsley Montgomery. Ragul Sudhakar of Scott house played some excellent chess to finish undefeated on board 1. Senior House Chess

MAJOR SPORTING SUCCESSES

Luca Plastow in Year 9 has been selected to represent England in the forthcoming U15 international fencing competitions in France and Poland. Luca has been fencing since the age of seven and is a member of the Cobham Fencing Club. At the end of 2015 Luca was ranked 9th for his age group. He was part of the South-East team that recently won gold at the Winton Cup, the U17 national team championship.

Jeong Sim (Year 13) was the runner up in the European Junior Open Championship held at the Alcaidesa Links Golf Resort in Spain in early December. This is an amazing achievement!

Many congratulations to Tristan McElderry (L6) who has been selected for the National Youth Training Choir of Great Britain.

Two Year 10 boys have successfully auditioned for solo roles at the Royal Opera House. Duncan Tarboton (below right) has successfully auditioned for the role of shepherd boy in Tosca (in which the Boys' Choir are singing the children's chorus part), and Ben Knight (below left) has successfully auditioned for the role of Fyodor in Boris Godunov, which not only is a substantial role, but will also involve a solo performance at the BBC Proms this summer.

Bedelsford Carol Service A very special annual event with which Tiffin School is proud to be associated is the Bedelsford School Carol Service. The school caters for children from 2 ½ to 19 with profound physical difficulties and complex health needs. At Christmas the entire School Orchestra joined the children from Bedelsford at St John the Evangelist Church, Kingston, to supplement the readings and carols. It was a very joyous affair. We also support the school throughout the year: currently we have three sixth former volunteers who go in to the school on a weekly basis to give support in the classroom.

Both sets of auditions were extremely competitive, so it is a complete testament to their huge talent!

UPCOMING EVENTS

9 January – 2 February

20 Trebles, Performance of Tosca , Royal Opera House

Thursday 3 February

House Singing, Main Hall, 7 pm

8 – 11 February

Tiffin Boys’ Choir, Performance of Mahler 3 with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall Production of Les Misérables in conjunction with the Drama Department, School Hall, 7 pm

8-11 February

Thursday 25 February

Tiffin Boys’ Choir, Evensong, St Luke’s Church, 5.30 pm

Tuesday 8 March

Chamber Music Concert, School Hall, 7 pm

Thursday 17 March

Tiffin Boys’ Choir Concert, Kingston Parish Church, 7 pm

Thursday 24 March

Tiffin Boys’ Choir, Performance of Mahler 3 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Barbican, 7.30 pm

TIFFIN 1XV V OLD TIFFS U21

Hopefully we can build on the attendance again next year. This fixture was an important one for a number of players. One reason being that it gave them bragging rights for the next twelve months, but secondly, for a number of pupils it was a tie-winning performance. This week red 10 win ties were presented to Ira Shokar, Ali Fouladiasl, George Griffiths and Hugo Whitaker. George Price and Shane Jayakrishna collected Gold ties for accumulating 25 1XV wins over the last 2 seasons. Unfortunately Grist’s is currently under water and we have had to cancel our first Saturday fixture of 2016, however we are hopeful that the rain will soon subside so that we can finish the season strongly. As always, your support is most welcome down at Grist’s and our fixture list can be found on the school website.

On Wednesday 6 January 25 Old Tiffinian U21s played the annual fixture v Tiffin’s current 1st XV. A new twist for this year was that the match was played under lights at Imber Court. Fortunately the wind and rain took a night off and a mild evening allowed for some expansive rugby. The match itself was very much the physicality of the Under 21s versus the organisation and fitness of the current 1XV. In the end it was youthful exuberance that won out, and the 1XV won 25 – 7. Max Talman, Hugo Khan, Huw Child and Conor Fulton scored a try a piece while Will Sharp kicked 1 conversion and 1 penalty goal. I would like to extend my thanks to a certain Mr D. Morris for coming along and managing the U21s, and I would also like to thank all the past pupils and parents who turned out to enjoy the spectacle.

economics news

Royal Economic Society Public Lecture A group of ten Year 12 and 13 Economists attended the early evening talk at the Royal Institution on Tuesday 23 November. This year’s lecture was delivered by Rachel Griffith CBE, Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester. Professor Griffith specialises in the area of taxation and household behaviour and her lecture addressed the question “Does Starbucks Pay Enough Tax?” Frequently in the news, the taxation of multinational companies is an emotive topic but Professor Griffith elegantly showed how basic economic principles can cast light on this politically charged area of economic policy. Oxbridge Candidates Throughout the Autumn term staff in Economics department have been working with our Oxbridge candidates to support them in their applications and to help prepare them for their interviews. On Thursday 3 December, Mr Thomas accompanied some of Tiffin’s Oxbridge Economics, PPE and Economics and Management candidates on a visit to Sutton Grammar School for a mock interview. There, the boys met the Oxbridge candidates from Sutton Grammar, Wallington County Grammar and Whitgift. To help the students prepare for their interview, each student had the opportunity to discuss the subject individually with someone they did not know, namely, an economics teacher from a neighbouring school. Each student then received feedback on their responses. We wish all candidates well in their applications.

December was a busy month for drama. Alongside the house competition, the Sixth Form students went to see three different productions in the last two weeks. Firstly the RSC's excellent production of Henry V at the Barbican was a real eye opener in the way they interpreted character.

The following week we saw 'The Dead Dog in the Suitcase' at Shoreditch Town Hall. This adaptation of 'The Beggars Opera' by The highly accomplished 'Kneehigh

Theatre' was a visual treat with outstanding musical support and innovative use of staging.

Finally on 16th December we saw the Young Vic's production of the Olivier winning 'Bull', a taut four-hander that takes place in the cut-

throat world of business. The excellent use of stage space and

the brief running time meant this was a hugely funny and, at the same time, tense theatrical experience.