Head's Newsletter 21 October 2016

Dear Parents We now go off for the holiday after a very busy first half-term. I do hope that the new boys and parents in particular have had an excellent start to their time at Tiffin. It was great to last night see so many of the new Year 7 parents who had come to listen to their sons perform in the inter-form singing competition. This is always an excellent occasion and lived up to expectations with all the Year 7 pupils singing enthusiastically. There have also been a number of other important events occurring this week. The Sixth Form play has been performed in the Drama Studio every night, we had the Piano Recitals on Tuesday evening, and today sees the final of the inter-house Dance competition. It has been very good to be at Grist’s the last couple of Saturdays seeing the fixtures against Gunnersbury and Wimbledon College. There were some very good matches across the years, but I especially enjoyed watching the Year 11 (U16) Rugby and there is a report on this further in the newsletter. We have also had some fantastic trips taking place recently. A large number of Year 8s spent an excellent and very busy long weekend on the Classics trip to Pompeii. The Sixth Form German students had an excellent time in Berlin, and the A Level Geography students had an incredibly busy week doing fieldwork in Devon and Dorset. We thank all the staff who give up their time for such events. You can read about these trips in this newsletter.

There is much in the news at the moment about grammar schools following the release of the Education Green Paper. It was therefore a special privilege and pleasure for me to be able to meet and talk to the Prime Minister at the annual House of Commons gathering of grammar school heads with Parliamentary friends and supporters of grammar schools. It was also fantastic to catch up with Chris Heaton-Harris, an ex- Tiffin pupil who is the MP for Daventry and now a whip in the government. We look forward to seeing what opportunities and challenges are presented by any legislation that may come from the Green Paper.

After half term we will be starting our first parents’ consultation with Year 13 parents. It

has been a very busy time for Year 13 pupils as they prepare and

Phil Phillips, Chair of Governors, with Chris Heaton-Harris and me

submit their UCAS forms for university entry, and we look forward to seeing the positive responses to this as we progress through the year. I do wish all the boys and parents a relaxing half term holiday and look forward to seeing the boys again on Monday 31st October. Yours, M D Gascoigne, Headteacher

IMPORTANT DATES

All students return after half term; 8.30 am start

Monday 31 October

Y13 Parents’ Consultations; school finishes 2.40 pm

Monday 7 November

Y7 Settling In Evening Main Hall Oratorio Concert 7 pm Sports Hall

Thursday 17 November Sunday 20 November Monday 21 November

Year 11 Mock exams start

Twilight PD—school finishes 2 pm

Friday 2 December

GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP

The geography department spent last week on our annual A-Level fieldtrip to Dartmoor and the Isle of Purbeck. Despite 12 hour working days accruing geographical knowledge it seems the students survived with humour intact as can be seen by Sam Penny’s review of the trip below. Well done to all staff and students concerned.

the faster than light professional walker that is your geography teacher! It is fair to say there is some difference between the accommodation we had. Even though there was heating and a football pitch at Swanage, the food and showers at Dartmoor made the stay even more pleasant. Swanage did have its perks:

being allowed out to buy food on multiple occasions was a luxury, we enjoyed the hunt to find something more edible then the food being served to us at the field centre. One or two of us did struggle to find anything other than fish and chips for lunch (and sometimes dinner) on every single day

“As Geographers, we are told to be observant, vigilant and always be prepared for the unexpected. This meant reading every sign that Mr Horwood or Mr Brittain told us about after everyone had walked past it without a single notion of its existence. It was difficult however to concentrate on the surroundings when you practically had to sprint to keep up with

for six days, but there was plenty to choose from if you knew your way around. The nights were filled with mind-boggling lectures and football matches. Overhearing other students holding very odd discussions through paper-thin Youth Hostel walls will be something I ought to,

Piano competition Tuesday, 18 October saw the return of the Piano Competition, adjudicated by Gareth Owen, Head of Piano at Eton College. The preliminary heats took place the previous week with a record number of entries, particularly in the junior category. The competition itself included 6 competitors in each of the junior and senior categories with Chopin proving to be the composer of choice by both of the winners, whose photo is below: Junior category: Daniel Lim (11KO) Waltz in A Minor Chopin Senior category: Maxi Purewal (12MH) Etude in E Op.10 No.3 Chopin

GEOGRAPHY TRIP cont.

but probably won’t be able to forget. If you are keen on geography be prepared to be mentally challenged on this trip because the quizzical questions come thick -and-fast as the evidence of different sea levels and the note taking is more intense than the view. When asked a question, it wasn’t difficult to answer as we had the knowledge and would never be asked to do something we couldn’t (if in doubt, say dynamic equilibrium and at least look smart even if wrong).

Challenge was a key element of the trip, Lydford Gorge and Old Harrys Rock were pretty inaccessible but if you’re lucky you’ll get a pretty good picture from it. Waking on Dartmoor at night was also a bit of a thrill. The decent weather and good company made the whole experience enjoyable as well as educational. As always, we as students want to offer a big thank you to all the staff for their help. We could not do so well in the subject without their support in making the trip happen, and we appreciate that greatly.”

All the pianists were highly commended on their performances and received invaluable feedback from Gareth Owen. Special thanks go to James Dalgleish (Head of Piano at Tiffin School) for helping the Music Department organise the competition and to Tiffin Music staff, Matthew O’Malley and Simon Ferris, for auditioning all the applicants. Hopefully, the competition is firmly back on the calendar as an annual event.

Fencer Luca Plastow

BERLIN TRIP

The Year 13 German set have just returned from three fabulous days in Berlin. Despite very British weather, the A2 German class enjoyed a guided tour of the Reichstag building (below), the DDR Museum, the remnants of the Berlin wall, a trip up the TV tower, a guided tour of the Stasimuseum and the former Stasi prison to help with their studies of 20th Century German history.

Luca Plastow in Year 10 has achieved quite some success in 2016. He has consistently finished in the top 3 when he has competed in the national Leon Paul Junior Series U16 competitions as well as performing very highly in ranking competitions at U17 Cadet level. At the beginning of the year he was selected to represented England at U15 in competition in Paris and in September was one of only two boys in his age group who has been selected to fence for the Great Britain Cadet team at International competitions in Hungary and Austria.

As well as interviewing local people about life in the time of a divided Germany, the Year 13s also got to sample Currywurst, Berliner Eisbein and a whole host of other local delicacies. Not one person mentioned Brexit …

The photo to the right shows Luca at the competition in Budapest when he first represented GB. He did very well beating boys from Poland, Germany and Italy before losing out to another Italian.

CARL REED TRYING OUT A TRABANT!

On Friday 7 October 47 Year 8s assembled at School at 3.45 am for a long weekend in the Bay of Naples. The early starts and occasional downpours couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of students and staff alike as we toured the area taking in the classical remains of Pompeii, Pozzuoil, Herculaenum and Oplontis. The volcanic crater of Solfatara proved a big hit with the boys and the hike up Vesuvius was much enjoyed.

My thanks as always go to the staff who accompanied us and the boys themselves who were great company. ~~~~~~~ 11 Sixth Form Classicists were treated to a Greek drama double-bill at the Cambridge Arts Theatre on Thursday 13 October. This was an unique opportunity for the students to watch a Greek Tragedy and Comedy in the Sophocles’ Antigone was extraordinarily moving and really helped to bring to life the A Level text for the students. Conversely, the Lysistrata was a raucous and bawdy affair including memorable musical numbers, some rather risqué dialogue, and guest appearances from Boris Johnson and Donald Trump – typical original Ancient Greek.

Other highlights of the weekend included copious pizza and ice cream, and even a brief trip to a karaoke bar during which the boys impressed the locals with their rendition of the Frozen theme tune, ‘ Let It Go !’

Aristophanes! Ex-Tiffinian Jack Hawkins’ starring role in both performances contributed to a marvellous day out.

By Chris O’Connell

So far this season, the U16s have excited their followers with attempts to play expansive, running rugby. Having identified their strength in the three-quarters, the forward have worked hard in training to provide a decent platform from which fly- half Huw Morris and centres Hayden Hyde and Sam Gunman have enjoyed capitalising. The back three of Josh Bennett, Dillon Goss and David Mason have also enjoyed plenty

Awsaf Mohammad stealing Gunnersbury lineout ball

Huw Morris off-loads inside to captain Sam Gunman

praise was given in the direction of the forwards and special mention must go to man-of-the match Tejbir Deol for his tireless and effective tackling and rucking throughout. There is a tangible energy and cohesion within the squad. There is a good

balance of leadership and a decent depth to the squad too. With half the squad on Duke of Edinburgh last weekend, our next fixture is not now until after the half-term. I hope that the momentum and confidence gathered so far is unaffected and we look forward to getting back into action. Hayden Hyde breaking the line again and on route to complete his hat-trick of tries

of attacking opportunities and ball in space. Decent wins came against University College School and away to Haberdashers’ Aske’s and positives were taken from progressive performances against King’s College Wimbledon and St Paul’s, despite being out- muscled on both occasions. Our most impressive performance, however, came last Saturday against Gunnersbury. Our forwards dominated the opening exchanges, winning the desired quick ruck ball for the backs, who ran in 5 unanswered tries in the first half. More tries followed after the half-time break and the final score of 45 – 12 reflected Tiffin dominance. High