Head's Newsletter 23 November 2017

Dear Parents It's been an incredibly busy two weeks and there are many things packed into this newsletter. This year we celebrate the 60 th anniversary of the Tiffin Choir. At Tiffin it is great to be able to build upon the fantastic heritage of the School, and this is certainly true of our Music. Our superb choir has been built up over many years; now conducted by James Day, it was very good to be at the Old Tiffinians’ Dinner last week celebrating the Choir with guests Simon Toyne and David Nield, previous Directors of the Choir. Many old boys who had previously sung in the choir also attended, maintaining their links with the School, and they were treated to a performance from the current choir. As I often remind the boys, they are fortunate to be not only part of a wonderful School community, but it is a community which also stretches back into its heritage, as well as forward to the future. The Tiffin community was also celebrated at the wonderful Oratorio concert, with a huge choir of approximately 200 singers, consisting not only of current students but also younger children from the Tiffin Children's Chorus, and other members of the Tiffin community, whether they be

parents, ex-parents, staff, ex-staff, or just friends of Tiffin. Alongside Music it's great to report more sporting success within this newsletter. Particular mention needs to go to the Cross Country teams for their success at Charterhouse. Our Rugby teams are also improving their results, which is very pleasing to see, and there is an individual success in gymnastics that you can read about. There have been many trips taking place recently. Year 7 they did their first whole year trip, to London Zoo, and Year 9 visited the Natural History Museum. You can also read about the Classics trip, and Cambridge visit. The School has also been engaged in a number of other competitions including Maths, Chess and Debating (even debating in German!). We now have two Inset days spread over this weekend, which break up this half term. On Tuesday, Year 11 will start their mock exams and I hope that they are currently revising hard for what is the last major exam practice prior to the real thing.

Yours,

M D Gascoigne, Headteacher

IMPORTANT DATES

Professional Development days; no boys in school

24 and 27 November Thursday 30 November Tuesday 12 December Tuesday 19 December Wednesday 20 December

House Public Speaking Final, JLT, at 7 pm

Y12 Parents’ Consultations; school finishes at 2.40 pm

Evening Carol Service, All Saints Kingston, 7.00 pm

School Carol Service, 2.30 pm

End of Term

Thursday 21 December

Start of term

Monday 8 January

opportunity to show the links between the two theories and how each supports the other. The day was spent collecting and organising evidence from the different exhibitions on continental drift and Evolution by Natural Selection and the period in which this occurred. By the end of the visit, the students came away with a much deeper understanding of how biological evidence can be used to explain the movement of landmasses by plate tectonic forces and some comprehension of the vastness of deep time. We finished our day back in the lunchroom and were joined by the Director of the museum and ex-Tiffinian, Sir Michael Dixon. He spoke to the students about his experience of Tiffin, and where his career has taken him since he left. The students asked some brilliant questions about Sir Michael’s career, and about exhibits and specimens at the museum. It was another fantastic day, and our students did the school proud. I would like to thank all the staff who accompanied us, and special thanks go to the parents who helped chaperone the trip.

Year 7 undertook their first major expedition last week with our annual visit to London Zoo. Concerns about the weather proved unfounded as we were blessed with a fine day allowing us to fully enjoy the experience. We were able to explore the whole zoo and it was wonderful to see the boys so excited yet so well behaved. They loved the gorillas and penguins but the favourite experience was the feeding of the tigers. In addition to the simple fun of meeting the animals, the boys were able to take notes and speak to zoo staff to help them with their task of evaluating the role of zoos in conservation.

On Wednesday 22 nd November, all 180 students of Year 9, accompanied by the Biology and Geography departments, along with other willing volunteers, visited the Natural History Museum with the aim of investigating BioGeography as a unifying theory of life and Earth. The Year 9s are currently studying Plate Tectonics in Geography and Evolution in Biology, so this trip is the perfect

NATIONAL SCHOOLS’ CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Vladimir Kalashnikov ran riot with his knights during his fixture to secure an early lead for Tiffin and the rest of the boards were looking promising. After another victory by Humza Qadir and Shiv‘s ruthless victory sending his opponent into tears, Alexander Wang played out a nail-biting draw to keep Tiffin’s hopes alive. Regardless of their qualified status, Tiffin A team wanted to go out with a bang and boy was it close. Special commendation to Darshan Kumaresan and Vincent Trieu for winning all 3 of their respective fixtures. Unfortunately, a terrifyingly strong KCS team meant we came up short with a theatrical resignation from James Smith. Was there to be a fairytale ending for the B -team? Unfortunately not. Coming up against 3 national age-group players and a 2x national champion for his age, the Tiffin B’s were up against it. Siddarth Ramaraju fought a compelling battle against the national champion, only to just come up short in the endgame. With a win overall necessary to qualify, Tiffin’s hopes were shattered after we had lost 3 of the 6 fixtures in the match. Massive congratulations to all involved and some phenomenal chess played throughout. Special commendation to the A-team for qualifying for the next round and condolences to the B-team for just coming up short. A-team : Haotian Wu, Darshan Kumaresan, Ben Hammond, Vincent Trieu, Sagnik Chatterjee and James Smith B-team: Siddarth Ramaraju, Alexander Wang, Shiv Kapila, Vladimir Kalashnikov, Emir Alhussni and Humza Qadir.

Two Tiffin teams competed in a tough regional qualifier, consisting of four schools including Westminster Under and both the senior and junior Kings College Schools. Upon our arrival, we were informed that food and refreshments would be provided, which put the Tiffin cohort in a jovial mood and ready to play some thrilling chess. In the A-team’s first match against Westminster Under B’s, Ben Hammond set the precedent by winning his match in record time and leading Tiffin to a thrilling 6-0 first round victory. Unfortunately, for the B-team, a few miscalculated blunders against Westminster Under A’s led them to a narrow 4-2 defeat, with Shiv Kapila securing the only victory for Tiffin B’s . With the A’s in the driving seat and the B’s having to make up for lost ground, this second match was always going to be interesting. Irrespective of other results, 2 wins were a necessity to progress to the next round. After Tiffin A’s narrowly defeated KCJS A team by 3.5-2.5 points, they had secured qualification into the next round of the national tournament! Now the pressure was on the B’s, which they mopped up with glee.

SENIOR TEAM MATHS CHALLENGE On 2nd November, Tiffin took part in the heats of the UKMT's Senior Team Maths Challenge, against 18 other schools. With Maxi Purewal the only remaining member of last year's group, the team, consisting also of Vincent Trieu (Yr12), Dipayan Chowdhury (Yr12) and Ojas Gulati (Yr8), took nothing for granted, meeting before school regularly in the run up to the competition.

183/186 means the team are effectively guaranteed a place in the national final as 'best runners up' from the various regional competitions around the country. Congratulations to the team, whose dedication to the competition should be applauded. The Tiffin Alumni Dinner, celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Tiffin Boys' Choir 120 guests, 30 Tiffin choirboys and 8 'Tiffinians' gathered for the Dinner at the Antoinette Hotel, Kingston to celebrate the formation of the Tiffin Boys' Choir in 1957 by former Tiffin School teacher, John Walker. We were delighted that a number of former Tiffin Choir Directors , including Simon Toyne and David Neild, were able to join us, along with many other former Tiffin staff and even some alumni who had been members of John Walker's original Tiffin Choir. The School Choir (below) began the evening by singing Britten's ''Rejoice in the Lamb', the Spanish song 'Riu Riu Chiu' and the Tiffin School Song ‘In Days of Old’, written in 1929. The School’s a-cappella group 'The Tiffinians' closed the evening by singing a selection of songs, including Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Call Me Maybe'.

After the first round, it was a three way tie between Tiffin, Hampton and St Paul's Girls school, all on full marks. St Paul's Girls dropped a mark in the second round, leaving all to play for in the remaining 'relay' round.

Astonishly, up to the very last question, Tiffin and Hampton were still on full marks, with the tension mounting. The Tiffin team got their relay fully correct, but lost the time bonus, leading to an eventual 2nd place. However, our incredible score of

On the 14 th of November six Tiffin pupils took part in a mock Question Time Debate at Marymount International School, following the recent appearance of Nathan Langford, Head Boy, on the real BBC Question Time (below).

The Tiffin Oratorio Choir has been one of the defining features of Tiffin School since the early 1960s. The aims of the choir are many: to give new Year 7 students an immersive initiation into the world of choral singing and orchestral music; to develop a sense of community engaging young and old, students, parents, teachers and friends alike; to enable the largest number of people to sing with a professional orchestra and soloists; and, most of all, to share a love of great music with our local community. The performance on Sunday evening in the Sports Hall of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms , Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb and Duruflé’s Requiem under James Day, Director of Choral Music at Tiffin School, was attended by a hugely appreciative audience. Joining the choir to perform this remarkable work was Tiffinian, Gareth John, alongside other professional soloists and accompanied by players from the Brandenburg Sinfonia.

The panel compromised Tiffin student, Ujjaval Dhingra, and students from other local schools, who discussed a variety of topics presented by the audience. There were engaging discussions ranging from gun control in America, to “who would make the better Prime Minister, Corbyn or May?”.

ARKWRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS The Arkwright Scholarships Trust has conducted its annual award of prestigious Scholarships, which are highly regarded by university admission tutors and industry recruiters, and are one of the most prestigious accolades that a talented sixth form student can receive. Two Boys, Tanveer Bhandari (below left) and Hemanth Veluru (below right), were awarded scholarships.

Physics Experience. The boys had a thoroughly enjoyable day, starting off with a morning touring the city and Magdalene College, as well as a talk on Cambridge University and applying to top universities. In the afternoon they walked to the world- famous Cavendish Laboratory where they took part in a range of fun and challenging practical activities from crane building to investigating a ‘weight problem’.

Arkwright Engineering Scholarships act as a beacon to the most talented STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) students in UK schools. Scholars are selected for their potential as future engineering leaders by assessing their academic, practical and leadership skills in STEM. These are gauged through a rigorous selection process comprising: an assessed application form including a teacher’s reference; a two-hour, problem- solving aptitude exam; and a university- based interview. The Scholarships support students through their sixth form studies and encourage them into top universities. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY VISIT Very early on Friday 10th November, following a rigorous selection process, 10 year 9 boys travelled with Mr Costello and Mr Harmer to Cambridge University to take part in the Cambridge Colleges’

The boys enjoyed the day and it encouraged them to think about Physics and Engineering as future career paths at top universities.

CROSS COUNTRY NEWS

RUGBY NEWS The 1 st XV have had a change in fortunes recently after establishing a consistent side who have committed to training and have seen three winning performances in a row against Christ’s Hospital, London Oratory and Windsor. This has largely been down to an improvement in squad attitude and inspirational performances from Captain Gavin Griffiths and, most notably, back row forward Jake Fawsett who has now scored a more than respectable 16 tries in 11 games. Special mention must also go to Rory Coats who, after playing most positions across the backline this season due to his versatility, has now established himself at fly-half. The 1 st XV are now looking to continue this fine run of form against Caterham on Saturday, a team which they beat well last season. Elsewhere there have been other notable successes. The U12ABC teams recorded record wins over Kings Wimbledon, 75 – 0, 75 – 5 and 65 – 5 respectably, whilst most teams recorded wins against Windsor. Tiffin rugby is on the up! Are you a TIPRA supporter yet: Tiffin parents supporting Tiffin school rugby? To find out who your TIPRA parent representative is please email ablackburn@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk. Follow us on Twitter @tiffinrugby for updates on school rugby!

The senior race at Charterhouse was an impressive team performance on one of the most fearsome and challenging courses of the year. Kieran Desmond was first over the line in 8 th closely followed by Humphrey Allen in 13 th , with Kai Pischke and Jamie Krammer completing the team to land firmly in the top half of the field. It is, in particular, heartening to see a relatively new athlete such as Kai taking to the field with such enthusiasm and success. The teams final position represents a great step up from previous good performances at the event. Eric Williams eventually managed to arrive at the minibus to Charterhouse. An indication of his strong and fast improving abilities had been given with his winning of both intermediate and senior categories at the Borough championships, and hopes were high for a repetition of his glorious silver medal race as a Junior two years ago. Eric certainly did not disappoint. The mammoth hill under the Hogwartesque towers was majestically conquered twice on this most trying of pre-Christmas courses, and despite having to chase after the Junior team (who did not have time to reconnoitre the course), he crossed the line first and with a truly superlative effort. This was surely the moment he crossed from a very promising young athlete into a seasoned and now fully confident performer. We eagerly look forward to further

Fawsett powers his way to another try

improvements, both in his running and in his time keeping!

preliminary process, including Lady Eleanor Holles, Kingston Grammar School, Highgate, Ibstock Place and Hampton. The Tiffin German Debating Team won 6, drew 1 and lost 2 of their 9 debates, which is the school's best performance of all time. Euan O'Connor (in Year 11, but debating in the Year 12 category) and Laurie Kenney secured the 1st place trophy for the Year 12 debates, while the Year 13 team of Sebastian Tyrrall and Ben Gibson finished 2nd in their section. The Year 11 pair of Abiram Uthayakumar and Apratim Shastri came second in the year 11 category, and Abiram was even keen to debate the result of the competition in the minibus all the way home! The competition highlights the wonderful adaptability, fluency and dedication that our students of German show. Well done to all involved! CLASSICS LECTURE Eighteen Classicists from Years 10-13 were fortunate enough to attend the Rosewell Lecture at Wimbledon High on 7 th November. They were treated to a very engaging and thought-provoking talk on perceptions of Cleopatra in antiquity and since. The talk was given by Professor Chris Pelling, Regius Professor of Greek at Christ Church, Oxford, whose research interests range over Greek and Latin historiography and biography, and also over other areas of Greek literature, especially tragedy. This was an excellent opportunity for the boys to experience academic scholarship and lecturing first-hand and to ask questions of a leading expert. The evening was much enjoyed by all.

4th Annual German Debating Competition The Debating Competition for boys in Years 11, 12 and 13 is a voluntary supplement to their studies in German. Only two pupils per year are selected from Tiffin. On Wednesday 15 th November, the Tiffin German Debating team headed for the event hosted by Ibstock Place School. The competitors engage in very formal debates against students of the same age from other schools on a number of contentious issues. All the debates are held entirely in the German language, and are scored by independent umpires. The motions for these debates were sufficiently detailed to require a good amount of preparation. The boys were only told whether they would argue for, or against, each motion when they entered the debating room. L -R Sebastian Tyrrall, Ben Gibson, Euan O'Connor, Laurie Kenney, Apratim Shastri, Abiram Uthyakumar

This year’s motions included: 1. Technology has more disadvantages than advantages. 2. Celebrity culture is out of control. 3. Young people should be allowed to vote at age 16. The competition was fierce, and a number of prestigious schools were involved in the

outstanding performances and were well rewarded, gaining silver medals in three routines and coming second overall. Well done on such an outstanding achievement!

Tiffinian Represents Great Britain Tiffin Sixth Former, Bertie Cardillo-Zallo, represented Great Britain in the European Junior Acrobatic Gymnastics Championship, held over four days in October in Rzeszow, Poland, and which attracted teams from twelve countries.

Participating in the Men’s 4 Bertie had to demonstrate three acrobatic gymnastic skills: dynamic, balance and combined. Each individual’s skills help the team perform its acrobatic feats such as building human pyramids, somersaulting and aerial displays. Bertie and his fellow team members gave a series of