Head's Newsletter 21 October 2022

By December the majority of students will have submitted a UCAS application form for higher education and we wish all of them the best in those applications. In other news, it ’ s been a very busy time in particular for dance. We enjoyed the house dance competition finals on Wednesday, and Year 8 have also been engaged in a Capoeira dance day. In a very exciting opportunity, our dancers are preparing to perform at the rugby league world cup semi - final at the Emirates Stadium! In music it is great to get back to big performances, with the choir singing on Sunday at the Royal Albert Hall. Once again this is an amazing opportunity for the students. The sixth form play was terrific, and you can also read about the very full sports programmes going on, including reports on rugby, netball and badminton. Sadly, we are saying farewell to Mrs Koyun who is moving abroad with her family. We wish her all the best in her new venture and thank her for her work at Tiffin school. In her place I ’ m delighted to announce that Mr Robins is promoted to Head of Geography. I wish all students and their parents a relaxing half term and look forward to seeing students again on November 7.

Dear Parents,

Time seems to have flown by as we come to the end of the first half term. One of the highlights this half term has been the restoration of in - person meetings. I ’ m sure that the parents appreciated the opportunity to see the heads of year and form tutors at the information evenings. It was also fantastic to restore our in - person sixth form open afternoon and open evening. Not only were our own Year 11 pupils and their parents able to hear talks about the sixth form and the subjects, but we had a very large number of interested students from outside of Tiffin coming to see what the Tiffin Sixth Form offers. It was certainly a very popular and busy event, and we look forward to once again receiving very large numbers of applicants. We also completed our stage one 11+ tests this half term, and have now sent out the invites for stage two after half term. Once again, we have very large numbers of applicants and it is quite a significant logistical exercise accommodating everyone. I ’ m also very pleased we are getting back into the trips: we have our first residential trip after half term with the Sixth Form geography field trip. This half term has also been extremely busy for the sixth form team in dealing with Ucas applications. We have a very large number of students who have to meet the earlier deadlines set by UCAS for applications to Oxbridge for medical school, and approximately 120 of those are having to do separate admissions tests at the moment.

Yours,

M D Gascoigne, Headteacher

IMPORTANT DATES 22 October— 5 November Half–term (return Monday 7 November) 14 November

Year 13 Parents Consultation Online (school finishes by 1pm for all years)

15 November

Autumn Ensembles Concert 7pm Main Hall

20 November

Oratorio Concert 7pm Sport

24 November

Stop the Clock Day

1 December

Year 11 Parents consultation Online (school finishes by 1pm for all years)

SIXTH FORM PLAY

Over the past week, the Tiffin Drama Department has put on a sixth - form production of John Donnelly's 'Tartuffe, the Imposter'. The team of twenty - nine Sixth Form students (including actors, stage managers, carpenters and technical designers), and newly appointed Director in Residence, Ali Moodie, entertained over two hundred and fifty audience members across the week, audiences made up of staff, family, friends and the wider Tiffin community. The Sixth Form Production makes a welcome return after three years, and it has been particularly heartening to see the group of Yr. 12s and 13s, made up

of new and old students alike, become such a close unit.

YEAR 10 ART TRIP TO KEW GARDENS

As part of our theme ‘ Natural forms ’, 44 of our students visited Kew Gardens in late September, to carry out a research investigation using their cameras. Photographic techniques taught in class were further explored in the

Gardens and students collected visual evidence for plant structures, patterns and texture. This body of work is currently underpinning the work generated in class,

both 2D and 3D. During our visit at Kew, students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Art Installations by ‘ Pip & Pop ’, which are also being used to inspire the creation of ceramic sculptures. We share below examples of our students ’ work based on their investigations at Kew, work that is being developed currently in the classroom.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY TRIP TO LORD ROWAN WILLIAMS

RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP 2022 HALF TIME DANCE PERFORMANCE

Years 8 and 9 dancers have been learning choreography for the Rugby League World Cup semi - final at the Emirates Stadium on 12 th November. There will be about 200 young dancers performing on the pitch from the London Schools and dance institutions. Watch this space!

The A Level Tiffin philosophers and theologians were recently invited to a public lecture by the past Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Rowan Williams, at the Centre for European Philosophy at the University of Kingston. William's talk was on political philosophy, the importance and justifcation of solidarity, and the humanities. He was very kind and spoke to the Tiffinians at length about about philosophy and theology and studying these subjects at university.

DANCE WORKSHOP

On Monday, the Year 8s were treated to a capoeira dance workshop. Two capoeristas came in from the Senzala London School of Capoeira. We learnt new moves, such as a scissor takedown and the double kick, and refined the ones we had learned such as a dodge and the cartwheel. At the end, we got into a circle, the traditional capoeira formation, and performed our dance. Capoeira is primarily an improvised fight that utilizes dance, so we went along with it as it came. The instruments used were the traditional instrument, a berimbau, and a tambourine to provide the beat. I think the workshop was really good. The instructors were helpful and nice, and the things we did were relevant for what we were doing already in dance. The circle at the end was particularly good, because it showed us some first - hand experience of what capoeira came from, and how it would've been played by the original Portuguese slaves. I also think the use of the berimbau was also helpful, as it showed me how it sounded and how it was played. I think the session was a really strong choice, and I would fully recommend it to anyone.

Benjamin Countryman Year 8 student

TIFFIN HOUSE DANCE

On Wednesday 19th October, the Main Hall was full of students and staff waiting in anticipation for the House Dance finals. House Dance is split into three categories: Set piece - a song is set by Mrs. Brittain for all houses; Free Piece - dances can have any music/be in any style; and Solos. After the Heats, Livingstone (L), Raleigh (R) and Darwin Wilberforce (DW) qualified in the Set Piece Category. With ‘ Old Friend ’ by Elderbrook as the assigned piece of Music for all houses, it was surprising to see the variety and difference in

creative ideas for the choreography. Livingstone were put through with a fan favourite dance with choreography largely based on

Rugby plays with all of the dancers being Sixth formers, many of whom in the Rugby team. This comical dance finished in 3rd place and this was an incredible achievement for Livingstone who look like they could be on their way up under the new leadership of Mr. Edwards. DW ’ s piece contained the most participants from Junior years. Their precise movements in canon and in unison were expertly timed to create a continuous and fluent piece. Their use of musicality and movements linking to the beat of the music was the best of any house and their uniformity on stage (not least marked by their house ties tied around their heads) was exceptional.

The concept for Raleigh ’ s piece revolved around a battle between two teams. Reflected in their costumes, and based on chess, there was a team dressed in white and a team dressed in black. The dancers were led by the two main dancers (Asad and Vik) which was symbolic of two chess players moving pieces but also linked back to the theme of the battle. The variation in movement compared to the recurring themes and motifs that reflected what the music was playing helped to make this a winning dance. Raleigh won Set piece making use of musicality best and by using precise movements and clarity of actions especially when moving in unison, predominantly in the chorus or main section of the music.

TIFFIN HOUSE DANCE

Kingsley Montgomery (KM), Scott (S) and Raleigh (R) all had performances in the Free Piece categories. Scott ’ s piece was tremendous. The opening saw multiple dancers doing contrasting flips and lifts which kept the audience interested and on their toes. This dance had the most participants and was a pleasure to watch. Scott finished third in Free Piece, finishing 5th overall. In second place for Free piece was Raleigh who performed a unique dance, the likes of which had

never been seen in house dance before. To the Adele song ‘ Oh My God ’, Raleigh used props and a set of chairs upstage to represent a cafe. The concept of a group of businessmen starting their days with a routine, shown by freeze frames and then moving on with their day to day lives was very effective. It was also interesting to see the use of chairs as a prop continuously in this dance alongside the intricate recurring choreographic motifs and exciting lifts. Winners of the Free piece were therefore KM and this dance was absolutely sublime. It started with a classical piano track and contemporary movements. The overall image from the audience of one dancer in the middle seemingly controlling the movement of the others in the circle was very creative. The change in tempo of the music once the beat dropped and the variation in choreography reflecting this was excellent. The changing in ideas and motifs throughout painted an incredible picture, making this the best dance of the afternoon by quite some distance. From breakdance to outstanding lifts and unison movements, this dance ’ s excellence was professional, a testament to the discipline of KM and their collaborative choreographing of

this piece with large influence by Pasindu who, despite being injured and unable to dance, helped his house to Free Piece victory. In the Solos Category there were also 3 entries that got through to the final. From KM, was last year ’ s winner Daniel Houghton in Year 8 whose popping and locking style with attitude won him the dance. It was a truly brilliant dance and the audience loved it! Honourable mentions go to Livingston ’ s Perry Wade (Y12) and Scott ’ s Joseph Fox (Y13) who both had excellent solos as well as choreographing their House ’ s group dances. Overall, Raleigh won House Dance, winning set piece and coming second in free piece; a testament to their hard work and collaborative efforts.

Arjan Dhatt Year 12

TIFFIN CHESS Comes First

The Tiffin chess team has enjoyed more success in the National School Online League with the A team winning the 3rd round and for a second time in total. The A team finished with 51 points - 4 points clear of first and so far, the biggest win margin of any rounds. The B team has also maintained their position in division 1 after promotion in week 2. Congratulations to three year 7 newcomers (Farrell Foo, Ayan Singh and Felix New) who were drafted into the team after impressive performances in the year 7 try out tournament.

The Ivan Gromov League started on the 29th of October. Tiffin entered three teams and after two rounds, the A team are currently placed 4th out of 32 teams. Next month, Tiffin chess will see through one of the most important parts of the year. 6 teams will compete at 3 - 4 tournaments to earn qualification for the National School Chess Challenge and 2 junior teams will compete for Junior Team Chess Challenge qualification. In addition to this, Tiffin has been invited to an international online tournament and looks forward to participating for the first time. On an individual note, congratulations to Isaac Lam for his qualification into the Terafinals of the UK Chess Challenge. Isaac achieved this by finishing 3rd out of 8000 U15 participants. We wish Isaac good luck for the Terafinals!

NETBALL WINS

Tiffin netball team have been on fine form this year thanks to the focused coaching from Miss Buckland and Miss Passco, culminating this week with a fantastic win from our C team. A sterling performance from captain Aleena Patel, who held the team together with on target shooting throughout the game. Maya Sharma was voted woman of the match with her excellent performance which resulted in a

19/13 win. A and B teams suffered close defeats but notable performances from Alice Boyre (A) and Elizabeth Pass (B). It has been great to see such high numbers at training and the teams coming together and improving in such a short space of time.

RUNNING

After a great team 5th in the Kings trophy bookended by inspirational Jonny Schafer and a fine second by Connor Foley the team progressed to the quarter final of the English schools cup. Again the leadership of Jonny and Connor laid the foundations of a memorable double victory on Tuesday 11th Oct. The team with the strong middle order of Oscar Luck , Athav Pruthi and a resurgent run by Dhruv Simmonite conquered all the strongest county Surrey, could offer. From the gun Connor engaged in a dual for the lead. The swashbuckling pair led the field over the persistently undulating terrain. It was not until the last metre that Connor finally shaded ahead for a fine individual and collective premiership. The juniors led home by an equally terrific match up saw Thomas Whorton place a great second.

The team position of 5th might sneak them into the semi finals to join the all conquering seniors. The Inters had great cup debuts from Joshua Anstey and Ethan O'Keeffe who helped the team to place handily in the top dozen. To put in perspective well over 100 teams competed on the day so all should be proud of representing their school. The year 7s had a great spin at the mighty Oxted the following day with the A and B teams matched well for 2nd and 3rd against strong opposition.

Wimbledon College (12 - 17) and Gunnersbury (12 - 38) - let ’ s hope they can take inspiration from those wins to gain a bit more consistency in their performances! The 15B ’ s have unfortunately had a couple of fixtures postponed during October, let ’ s hope after half term we return to their scheduled fixtures to get them playing regularly. The 14A ’ s picked up where they left off in September with two impressive victories against Gunnersbury (14 - 12) and London Oratory (5 - 35), but dropped one game against a very strong Wimbledon College side (12 - 33). Having won four games this season, and losing two, the hope is that after half - term their good vein of form can continue. After a disappointing loss against Wimbledon College (5 - 50), the 14B ’ s had a better performance against London Oratory (35 - 26) in an entertaining game, let ’ s hope next time they can be on the right side of their result next time! Despite the 13A ’ s losing their first game of the month against Gunnersbury (25 - 10) in a close, physical game, the 13A ’ s picked up where they left off in September, comprehensively beating Wimbledon College and London Oratory (40 - 0). The 13B ’ s enjoyed an unbeaten month, beating Wimbledon College 20 - 40, Wilson ’ s School 20 - 30 and rounding out the month against London Oratory in an entertaining 35 - 35 draw. Even the 13C ’ s got in on the winning feeling, beating Wimbledon College 35 - 10. The depth of rugby in Year 8 is outstanding, further shown by an extremely competitive house rugby event, where Livingstone ran out winners in a fiercely contested final against Raleigh. The U12 ’ s had their first Saturday fixture at Tiffin on a sunny morning at Grists, running out 30 - 5 winners against Claremont Fan Court School - it ’ s great to see so many numbers keen to become the next generation of Tiffin Rugby and their constant improvement is a testament to their commitment.

RUGBY AT TIFFIN

Rugby at Tiffin has continued in its positive vein to round off a successful half term. We are regularly fielding A - F teams in Year 7, with even a G team fixture coming up against St. George ’ s Weybridge, further showing our commitment to getting as many students playing as possible - the U12F ’ s even pulled out a brilliant result to beat London Oratory U12F ’ s 20 - 0! There is something about a score in the last minute that the 1st XV have become accustomed to this season - after comprehensively beating Gunnersbury 31 - 7, they heartbreakingly lost to a last - minute penalty to Wimbledon College (7 - 8) and also lost to a try on the last play against London Oratory (22 - 27). However, in the National Bowl, Tiffin found themselves on the right side of a last - second play to score a try to win the game against St. Andrew ’ s Catholic School (36 - 29) to progress to the third round, which will be played after half - term against St. George ’ s Weybridge. Good luck to the 1’ s on their Bowl run! The 2nd XV remain unbeaten so far this season with a dominant 38 - 0 win against Gunnersbury, and, perhaps more importantly, a narrow win in a behind - closed - doors grudge match against the 3rd XV who put up a great performance with many places to be fought for. With 5 wins, 0 losses and a points difference of a staggering 129, the 2nd XV are certainly enjoying being the school ’ s most successful team thus far in the season. The 16A ’ s have had a tough couple of fixtures during October, having played against a very good London Oratory side (34 - 0) but will be encouraged by a good performance despite defeat against Wimbledon College (7 - 20). The 16B ’ s progression this season has been immense, after losing to Wimbledon College last season by at least 50 points, this season was a close encounter (5 - 14) where they competed physically and on another day could ’ ve even won the match! The 15A ’ s have been a bit of a mixed bag during October, with their Vase and Bowl run disappointingly coming to an end against Teddington (17 - 24) and Grey Court (24 - 19) respectively. However, there have been a couple of very impressive victories notably against

BADMINTON

YEAR 11 GEOGRAPHY GO CYCLE

Tiffin senior badminton teams faced a very strong side from Isleworth and Syon school on Wednesday afternoon.

Year 11 geographers undertook their GCSE human geography fieldwork in Kingston during September and October. The trips involve collecting data from multiple sites, with the aim to understand if the Kingston ‘ Go Cycle ’ scheme has improved the environment for those travelling on foot and by bicycle. The trip is a crucial aspect of the GCSE course and their experiences are assessed in the Paper 3 exam during 2023.

The match scores though reveal the terrific strength in depth at the top of the school. The A team won by 7 games to 2 with the excellent pairing of Aarya Karthik and Hugo Dulson winning all three of their matches comfortably. The B team won by an astonishing 12 games to 0.

The students were engaged and took part in the data collection methods with interest and maturity. The students were all brilliantly behaved, making the trips fantastic to be a part of.

We all ensured that we got back to the Goethe Institute in time to settle into their impressive and rather spacious cinema to watch the ‘ deutsche Politthriller ’ “ Das Leben der Anderen ”, a thoroughly enjoyable movie that is part of the German A - Level curriculum with a thrilling storyline

GERMAN GOETHE INSTITUTE VISIT

The German department organised an engaging visit to the Goethe Institut in London. On the morning of the 13th October Tiffin Sixth Form Germanists travelled to South Kensington. The day started with Marei, a trainee English teacher from Germany who was completing part of her

and well - cast actors. It was a great opportunity to rewatch this core part of our studies on a large screen . Thanks to

teacher training

in

the team at the Goethe Institute for helping us and for a great German trip out in London!

London, giving us a brief introduction

covering the topics of the day. The morning session started quickly and we were brought into the activity centre where we completed a series of fun quizzes based on topics including “ das Universum ” (universe), “ Anthropozän ” (anthropocene), das Gehirn (the brain) and “ Künstliche Intelligenz ” (AI technology).. We had to race against the other teams to see who could complete the quizzes the fastest and most efficiently, and the best team got tech and sweets for winning! The good weather meant that we were able to enjoy a nice lunch in the centre of South Kensington, spending a little time seeing all the attractions and exploring the shops in the vicinity.

CRICKET FIXTURES

CRICKET FIXTURES

MUSIC PERFORMANCES

Year 7 Inter - form Choir Competition

The Year 7 Inter - form Choir Competition is the first of three performances given by almost every Year 7 pupil in their first year at Tiffin School, the event followed by House Singing in January (for which Years 7, 8 and 9 pupils form their House Unison Choir) and the School Spring Concert in May (during which Year 7 pupils form a massed chorus

accompanied by orchestra to perform songs from musical theatre). For this year ’ s Inter - form Competition we were fortunate to have as our adjudicator Rachel Staunton, Director of the London Youth Choirs (who have performed with the Rolling Stones and at the Queen ’ s Jubilee celebrations) and an assistant director of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. The performance opened with an uplifting performance of the Turtles ’ Happy Together given by 7ASA/PT, followed by 7HB ’ s whirlwind tour of the Sherman brothers ’ Mar y Poppins in their medley of songs from the musical. 7KH followed with another medley of songs on the theme of friendship, from Carole King ’ s You ’ ve Got A Friend to The Rembrandts ’ I ’ ll be There For You which preceded 7MJG ’ s striking traditional New Zealand song: : The Wellerman, unaccompanied but for a steady cajon beat. 7PD then impressed with both their singing and acting in their rendition of ‘ We Don ’ t Talk About Bruno ’ from the hit musical Hamilton, before the finale: 7RXH ’ s We Go Together from the musical Grease. Between each choral performance each class was represented by one pupil selected to perform an instrumental solo. Following Rachel Staunton ’ s enthusiastic and encouraging feedback, from these impressive solos, the performers selected to win the prizes for best solo piano performance and best solo performance on an orchestral instrument were Joseph (7RXH) and Struan (7KH) respectively. Faced with an even more difficult decision, Rachel went on to choose the choirs of 7HB, 7PD and 7RXH respectively to win the 3 rd , 2 nd and 1 st choral prizes of the evening. Thanks go to the many people involved in preparing the choirs to perform, accompanying them, and supporting them on the evening of their performance.

YEAR 9 BATH TRIP

Despite a very delayed journey on the M4, 125 Latinists enjoyed a trip to the Roman Baths and Museum on Thursday 20th October. During the course of the day, the boys enjoyed a talk and handling session with archaeologists and visited the extensive remains. They carried out research in preparation for an upcoming collaborative project and a great day was had by all. My thanks go to the students for their forbearance and participation, and to the accompanying staff who made the trip possible.