Head's Newsletter 29 September 2017

One of the most impressive things about Tiffin is that some of those same boys singing on Sunday, were playing rugby on Saturday for the School against Wallington. It was a pleasure to be at the away ground to watch the teams on this occasion, although we are hoping for some more wins as the season progresses. Other boys have been involved in the cross country fixtures and you can also read about these in this edition of the newsletter. Early this morning a large group of Year 8 students set off on the Classics trip to Pompeii. We hope they have an excellent journey and look forward to hearing all about the trip when they return. The boys seem to be settling very well into the new term and I hope that parents have appreciated the opportunity to meet with their son’s Form Tutor and Head of Year at the Open Forums held so far. Next week is a very different week with the boys having a short break: Monday is an Inset Day and Tuesday is 11+ day, so the boys are not required in School on either day, except for those sixth formers who are helping on Tuesday. Thursday is also a shortened day for all years except Year 11, as this is our Sixth Form Open Evening for new students to Tiffin, preceded by the Open Afternoon for our Year 11. We look forward to seeing all Year 11 parents with their sons on Thursday afternoon, for what is a most important event as they consider their transition beyond GCSE.

Dear Parents It was certainly a magical moment to be at the Barbican on Sunday 17 th September to witness our choir being conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. In front of a packed concert hall, the boys, joined by the Tiffin Girls’ choir and the Tiffin Children's Chorus, performed magnificently. Sir Simon Rattle's return to the UK as the musical director of the LSO was very well publicised and it was certainly a great privilege for the boys to appear alongside the London Symphony Orchestra in the ‘This is Rattle’ inaugural concert. At the end of the concert, Tiffin’s Director of the Choir, James Day, (2 nd from left below), was invited onto the stage to take the bow with Sir Simon.

What is remarkable is that a number of the members of the choir were unable to sing with Sir Simon Rattle as they were already engaged singing at the Royal Opera House in a superb performance of La bohème . Both occasions received excellent write- ups in the British and European press!

IMPORTANT DATES

Monday 2 October Tuesday 3 October Thursday 5 October

Professional Development Day; no boys in school

11+; no boys in school, except prefects

Sixth Form Open Afternoon and Evening; school closes 1 pm

23—27 October

Half –term

Monday 6 November

Y13 Parents’ Consultation; school finishes at 2.40 pm

“La bohème—a rigorous, uplifting kick-off”. ( Guardian review )

We were incredibly proud to have the Tiffin Boys’ choir sing in La bohème at the Royal Opera House, alongside the Childrens’ Chorus (a group of primary school children who rehearse weekly at school under our direction). The children worked incredibly hard and the Royal Opera House were very pleased with them all. The photo above ‘Parpignol Singing’ (which is the iconic section for the children in the opera) has been posted in numerous reviews. We even made a Spanish newspaper (see right)! La bohème is in rep at the Royal Opera House, London, until 10 October, and screened live in cinemas (and repeats around the world at a later date) on Tuesday 3 October.

Last Curtain Call

The Damnation of Faust at the Barbican featuring Tiffin Boys’ and Girls’ Choirs and the Tiffin Children’s Chorus

The Damnation of Faust at the Barbican, Simon Rattle’s second outing with the LSO, was given a 5 star review in The Times—”As the harps cast their golden glow and a duo of violins soared in sweet song, choirs of children slipped into the hall’s aisles to add their celestial spirit voices to the heavenly music. When Rattle turned round to conduct the Tiffin Children’s Chorus and Tiffin Boys’ and Girls’ choirs, it felt like a gesture of welcome to everyone in the hall.” You can listen to the whole performance or scroll to 2:32:31. Additionally, Simon Rattle, James Day and boys from Tiffin Choir were interviewed here (scroll to 7:56 to see the boys).

arrives at the station to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting officers to expose the truth behind the death of the Anarchist. The production is made up of a small group of dedicated students from year 12 and 13, who are a mix of drama and non- drama students, ably supported by a very talented group of performers from Tiffin Girls School.

TOP 100 STEM SCHOOL

Tiffin School has been named one of the top STEM schools in the country, ranked 23 rd according to data produced by Government backed education campaign Your Life . Your Life which aims to boost uptake of A Level Maths and Physics has worked with data science company Starcount to analyse School Performance Table Data from the Department for Education on England’s 2500 secondary schools. In doing so it has provided the first in-depth analysis of schools’ performance in terms of both STEM subject and grade performance. According to the Science Council a predicted 7.1 million UK jobs will rely on science skills by 2030 – a 1.3m increase on today’s number. As a top ranked STEM school, we are already helping our students prepare for this future. SIXTH FORM DRAMA PRODUCTIION The Tiffin Drama department are putting on their annual Sixth Form production from 16 th - 19 th October. This year’s production is the 60’s classic Italian farce, Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo, adapted by Simon Nye. The play is set in a police station in modern London and focuses on the mysterious death of an Anarchist at the police headquarters. A character known only as ‘The Maniac’

Boys in rehearsal

The production starts at 7.00 pm in the drama studio and costs £8.00 for adults and £5.00 for concessions. Tickets are available through the following ticket source link , or from the Drama Office.

of that success was a third place by the B team again against first rate opposition. The next fixture is at John Fisher on Saturday 30th September. The 7 th October fixture is a home one and Miss Nava would welcome help with teas, marshalling and results. If you can help please email her at anava@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk .

CROSS COUNTRY

The School cross country team arrived at Oxted with several debutantes. The Year 7 surprised with great finds in the B team with Amadeus Lang, Dominic Virley, Thomas Latimer and Tom White competing well against Year 8s and finishing fourth.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY ESSAY PRIZE

The old guard of Jonny Schafer and Alex Duffy were joined by Kavin Ravishankar to ensure a great team performance. The inters and seniors combined and judicial juggling of teams by the Captain produced a phenomenal performance by all the athletes. Super-sub Eyoel Abebaw-Mesfin joined the A team to produce the season’s first sparkling highlight. A blistering 5min and 5 second leg obliterated a course record of 5.min 23 seconds set by international medal winner Martin Rooney (a star of many 4 x 400m GB relay team). The second highlight was shortly after when the team romped home against stellar Surrey opposition. Hot on the heels At Oxted, from left to right: Euan Sinclair, Kieran Desmond , Eric Williams, Eyoel Abebaw-Mesfin, George Neville White, Humphrey Allen, Jamie Krammer, Alex Duffy, Tom White, Jack Hartrey

Aden Biles in Year 13 was one of six winners in Corpus Christi College Oxford’s competitive Philosophy Essay Prize this year. The title of the essay, set by Oxford Philosophy tutors, was: “Philosophy is dead. Philosophy has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics. Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge” Stephen Hawking (2010). Discuss. Very well done, Aden!