Heads Newsletter 11 March 2022

Dear Parents It has of course been a busy few weeks since half term. It ’ s very good to get back into the normality of visiting speakers. We are very grateful to those speakers who have recently attended Tiffin to talk to students in the run - up to Science Week. You can read about their visits in this newsletter. Also in association with Science Week a number of our students were able to visit a science lecture given by the Royal Institute at Surbiton High School. Again in return to normality, it ’ s been great that the majority of our Year 12 students were able to go out on a day ’ s work experience as part of the careers programme, visiting a variety of workplaces. I ’ m sure that those students will have benefited enormously from their engagement with this. You can also read about some incredible successes in this newsletter. Mention must be made of our debating team who for the first time ever have succeeded in reaching the finals of the Oxford Union schools debating competition. In another success more students than ever before sat the Intermediate Maths Challenge and the School achieved the highest number of Golds ever achieved. Likewise, we also saw great successes in the British Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad. The sporting calendar continues apace but has been marked this half term by a new development for Tiffin school. Our first

competitive football matches against other schools took place last Saturday; indeed, they were the first inter - school competitive fixtures in football that the School has competed in since the war! In a thrilling match, the Under 16 side managed to just beat local rivals Kingston Grammar School. We look forward to seeing more matches, and seeing how this increase in our sporting provision will further develop. In Rugby it is now the Sevens season and our teams have been having great success. We look forward in particular to the most prestigious rugby event of the season, the Rosslyn Park Sevens, taking place shortly. Also delighted that we had some netball successes recently in particular in the Kingston Borough Netball Competition which took place this week. You can also read about successes in badminton and cross country over the last couple of weeks. As the weather begins to pick up, it won ’ t be long before we are looking forward to the start of the summer season. With the terrible events being played out in the Ukraine, I ’ m pleased that the School Council have decided that our next mufti day will raise money for refugees from that conflict. Yours, MD Gascoigne, Headteacher

IMPORTANT DATES

Tuesday 22 March

MUFTI DAY

Friday 1 April

Break up for Easter holiday: School finishes by 12.30 pm for Years 7 – 9 and 1.20pm for Years 10 - 13. Summer term starts : normal return 8.30am Years 7 - 9 and 9.20 for Years 10 - 13.

Tuesday 19 April

YEAR 12 BUILDING EXPERIENCE OF WORK

Year 12 had a day off timetable this week to spend time in a workplace, as part of our careers programme. Over 150 Year 12s found themselves a workplace to visit, either through people they knew or by making their own enquiries. These workplace visits are a valuable opportunity for students to find out about an employer, see people at work, learn about the skills and qualities people use in their roles, consider the pros and cons of different working environments and consider their own ideas for the future. Those who were not able to visit a workplace that day were supported through additional sessions to help them find a workplace to visit during the next off - timetable period, in the summer term. Sammy El - Masri

corporate setting, what legal work looks like for a top company and an overview of the banking sector and how the legal side ties into its overall structure Adi Virakthi

Hi, my name is Adi and I had a great day with SSS gears, the biggest

manufacturer and designer of high output clutches in the world. I got in touch with the managing director of this firm and was able to secure a work experience. In this work experience, my day was split into segments. The first segment was a talk with the managing director about the working of SSS and what they do, as well as how their products work. Then I had a talk with 3 different mechanical designers (the job I would love to do in the future) about their job, as well as tips to get the job Then, I went over to the manufacturing section of the company where they make the clutches and after touring the facility with the head of manufacturing, I manufactured my own clutch, which would

I was lucky enough to spend my work experience day predominantly with the Barclays Legal Team in their breath - taking offices in Canary Wharf. I met with a range of different people from the team, including their Head of Corporate Legal. I was given an excellent insight into the working environment, especially in a

YEAR 12 BUILDING EXPERIENCE OF WORK

stores being closed. I observed their business acumen with them also catering to major events, allowing them to serve up to 90,000 customers a day, like in their 50 stands at Wembley Stadium. Overall, it was

traditionally be used in applications like wind turbines. I finished the day by looking at the projects they are working on now, e.g clutches for nuclear power plants and talking to the managing director again. Overall, this experience was incredible and very useful to me, as it gave me an example of every aspect of engineering from 1to1 talks with people from each sector of engineering. It has really invigorated my passion for engineering and therefore, the work experience day was a great opportunity to gather first hand insights.

a fantastic experience in the world of business and finance.

Mic hael at causaLens

Parin Shah On the 8th March, I spent my work experience shadowing the finance department of Kingdom of Sweets. As well as learning what it takes to manage the finance and accounts of a large company with over 20 stores and more than 500 staff across Europe, I also learnt how they have managed to adapt to the difficulties of the pandemic especially with their

Surplus to Supper volunteer Katy and Saahil dropping much needed donations to a local foodbank.

SCIENCE

The science department have had a great two weeks, with lots of activities in the run up to science week! The Royal Institute Science Show at Surbiton High School

On Monday 28th February, participants of STEM club had the privilege of walking to Surbiton High School to watch a science lecture by the Royal Institute. We got there extremely early whilst the hall was empty, meaning that we got to sit on the front row! Eventually, the other schools streamed in and the show began. The presenter walked on to the stage and introduced the topic: Energy. There were three tables that each had demonstrations on; one showing inefficiency/the past, one showing the present and one showing the future (of energy) The lecturer talked about energy and its history. She then went on to talk about the different ways of creating energy. In this part, she included many volunteers and did a fun demonstration of solar panels with Mrs Davis. Mrs Davis became the sun, and the students became solar panels. The sun shone its light (using balls) at the solar panels which moved their blue balls to the other chamber (more students), showing how the electricity was created by the flow through the solar panel (back and forth). It was very interesting; it was sad when the show ended. I would like to see another one!

SCIENCE

Colourful chemistry and spectroscopy in a suitcase Leading up to British Science Week (11 - 20 March), on Monday 7 th March, students across Years 7 to 12 were treated to a series of talks by guest speaker Dr Peter Hoare, Chemistry Outreach Officer at Newcastle University. The day started with all of our Year 12 chemists being introduced to the principles of spectroscopy, building on previous content they had covered at the start of the year on mass spectrometry. Several brave volunteers then had a chance to carry out some spectroscopy themselves – all thanks to the state - of - the - art portable equipment provided by Dr Hoare and Newcastle University. Our Year 12 chemists left the lecture with a new insight into analytical chemistry, which they will build on later in the course as they practise the same skills they used with Dr Hoare.

Later in the day, Dr Hoare delivered two talks on ‘ Colourful Chemistry ’ to our lower school students across Years 7 to 10. In a series of exciting – and sometimes explosive! – demonstrations, Dr Hoare discussed all things colourful in the world of chemistry. Students were treated to every colour in the spectrum in a series of experiments that introduced pupils to chemicals that change colour when they are shaken, compounds that burn with a characteristically coloured flame, vigorous effervescence, and even a chemical sunset!

Vampirology - the latest topic of study for Year 13 Chemists

In their first lecture since their mock exams, our Year 13 Chemistry students were treated to a lecture on Vampirology by Dr Kathryn Harkup, a well - respected science communicator and author. It was wonderful to be back to some sense of normality, and have Kathryn deliver her talk in person; it was the first time our current Year 13 students experienced an external speaker outside of Google Meet. The chemistry of the body, and critical analysis of cinematic works were used to bust some of the most common vampire myths, such as the avoidance of sunlight, the lack of reflections, and of course the thirst for blood. The Vampire Diaries , Twilight , and Bram Stoker ’ s Dracula will never be quite the same again …!

FOOTBALL

arrived, Vrignaud scoring with a diving header after a pinpoint corner from Kristian Chokphattharaphong. The Tiffin players and crowd celebrated, but this was only the beginning as just minutes later, Vrignaud burst through again after a beautiful through - ball split the KGS centre - backs. Tiffin's No. 11 raced into the box and coolly slid his shot across the keeper for 3 - 2. Game on! KGS rallied, growing back into a game of which they appeared momentarily to have lost control. But the hammer blow came in the shape of a low drive from Chokphattharaphong from outside the box, which hit the inside of the post before finding the back of the net. Tiffin were back and were pushing for the winner with 20 minutes still to play. Queen Elizabeth Road's finest continued to press and eventually found their reward, Vrignaud rounding off his hat - trick with another one - on - one against the keeper that he smashed in at the near post. Nothing could stop us now … could it?. In the last few minutes of the game a KGS attack led to a shot from their right - winger who had come infield. Happily though, it turns out Kai Smith makes a decent substitute keeper when not directing operations from fly - half for the rugby team: he sprung to his left and made a last - gasp save, having had little to do in the whole second half. He quickly reclaimed the ball and sent Tiffin into another attack. We then kept possession in the KGS half for another minute before the final whistle blew. Well played by everyone involved, especially player of the match and hat - trick hero Teoman Vrignaud.

A surprisingly sunny Saturday morning marked the first inter - school football match for a Tiffin U16 side in over three - quarters of a century. It was quite fitting that the match was against the school's biggest rivals, Kingston Grammar School. KGS began brightly, Saketh Masanipally making an outstanding double save ahead of a busy start for the defence. Eventually Tiffin were three goals down, but the team did well to keep it at three with KGS attacking for almost the entire half. Towards half - time, Tiffin got a better grasp of the game and seemed for the first time to take control. With Ben Coats bossing midfield and opening the play wide, Teoman Vrignaud and Ismail Safouane had a handful of good chances that gave hope for a second half in which the twelfth man – the wind – would be playing for us, not against us. A raft of half - time substitutions brought a newfound confidence, stability and attacking threat to the team. Tiffin were quickly in the ascendancy, setting up camp some 20 yards higher up the pitch than where they had spent most of the first half, thanks to the communication skills of Alex Brown at the heart of the new defensive unit. As well as this, the change in tactics and formation from Mr. Atkinson resulted in most of the game being played in the KGS half: they were trapped. The Germans call it an Anschlusstreffer – the goal from a team losing a match that just might give them the impetus they need to haul back the rest of the scoreline – and it wasn't long before it

RUGBY SEVENS

DANCE AT THE

ASSEMBLY

SEASON UPDATE

ROOMS

As the 15 aside Sevens rugby season came to a close so the Sevens season started. Over the past two weeks Tiffin has sent 7s sides from each year group to compete in the following regional tournaments; Middlesex 7s, Surrey 7s and Ibstock Place School 7s. There has been some fantastic rugby on show despite the not so fantastic weather conditions, with Tiffin playing a fast paced free flowing game, a style of play which has been ingrained into the culture of Tiffin rugby over the past five years by Mr Blackburn and Mr Balasubramaniam The 7s season comes to an exciting conclusion next week at the internationally respected Rosslyn Park 7s tournament. The tournament is the crown jewel of the 7s season and will see the very best school rugby teams from across the country come to compete in an exciting two day tournament starting next wednesday. Tiffin senior 7s team will be looking to carry on their great form when they come up against Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, Harris City Academy and Eastbourne College in their group.

On Thursday 24th February Tiffin Dance Company performed their piece 'Repel' at Surbiton Assembly Rooms as part of 'Evolve' dance evening. Another fantastic performance and an opportunity to perform in front of a live audience

NETBALL

SPORTING SUCCESSES

Since January the Tiffin Netball team have played in numerous matches and in their first tournament : The Kingston Borough. On Thursday 10th March, 13 students competed against 8 schools. Their energy, commitment and play was outstanding, enabling them to win against Kingston Grammar School Bs, Holyfield, Surbiton and draw against Coombe School. When playing Tiffin Girls (hosts), the match was fiercely competitive resulting in Tiffin only losing by 1 point (7 - 6). Overall, the team came 5th in the tournament and played 7 fantastic matches. On Wednesday 9th March, Tiffin hosted Ibstock School for two matches. Unfortunately, the A team lost (28 - 11) but our B team won (16 - 11). The girl ’ s commitment and energy levels during play is illustrated in their success. We continue to train and practise for the rest of the academic year.

The successful Judge cup squad at Grists where the team placed third against top quality South of England opposition.

The Senior Badminton teams had a highly successful tournament at King ’ s Wimbledon on Wednesday. In a tournament lasting 3 hours, both Tiffin teams won their group and finished up playing each other in the final. Tiffin A, consisting of Ashrith Behara and Aarya Karthik duly lost in 2 straight sets to Tiffin B represented by Leo Fernandes and Harshil Shah.

A 7 YEAR DRAMA EXPERIENCE BY JOSHUA CRUICE YEAR 13

returning ex - student technicians and the assistant direction of Mrs Karska or Mr Emerson. An elegant combination of exasperation and optimism tends to provide the impetus for us to pull ourselves together as a cast and end up producing a passable final product. All in all, Drama at Tiffin has been an unforgettable experience and one which I sincerely hope will continue to impress and be enjoyed by all long after the curtain

As the Orchestra wrapped up for the final time on the last night of Guys and Dolls, I found myself at the end of what can only be described as a wild, 7 - year ride through Tiffin Drama. When I first auditioned for Les Misérables in 2015, I didn ’ t really have a full understanding of the journey I was about to embark on, starting with Gavroche and ending with Nathan Detroit. It had its ups and downs, great end products which were the result of a great deal of scrambling behind the scenes to pull something vaguely polished out of the chaos of the Friday dress rehearsals. Despite the chaos that always seems to come with the final weekend of the rehearsal process before the show and sometimes during the show, we always seem to create something that ends up feeling like a well - made product come the final close of the curtains and that has always largely been down to the tireless work of the Drama department. Headed by Miss Hughes and supported by the valiant efforts of several student volunteers,

HOUSE UPDATE

MATHS CHALLENGE

SUCCESS

2022 has seen the House calendar march on relentless with a broad spread of events and a number of students across the school working hard to compete for their House. On the Basketball court, Darwin - Wilberforce have taken an early lead in what is normally a favoured event of theirs. Darwin - Wilberforce also secured the win in the set - piece event of the spring term, House Signing, fending off tough competition from Drake. Badminton also had its finale with Livingstone's Yr8s just doing enough to edge out Churchill - Gordon to take the overall win. And lastly Public Speaking saw the tireless work of head judge Mr. McCann, working over several weeks and hearing speakers from across the age spectrum, resulting in a dominant win for Kingsley - Montgomery with Raleigh edging into 2nd just half a point ahead of the chasing pack. With a number of events taking place before Easter including Debating, Number Brain and Bridge, the House Competition remains anyones to win, though reigning champions, Darwin - Wilberforce, will take some beating having already secured two wins and a strong lead in the table.

Congratulations to students in Years 8 to 11 who achieved fantastic results in the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge last month. They are the best results for Tiffin by a huge margin. Nationally, only 50% of participants receive a certificate but a whopping 89% of Tiffin students did. This includes 194 Golds, almost double the number achieved in 2020. A staggering 255 students have qualified to compete in the follow - on rounds on 17 th March including 20 for the prestigious Olympiads. We wish them the best of luck.

TIFFIN DEBATING SOCIETY

The Tiffin Debating Society has had an exceptional few months, with remarkable performance across the age ranges. In the lower school, Years 7 and 8 have been taking part in the Debating For Everyone Junior Debating Shield. They've most recently debated at Latymer Upper winning one of their two debates that evening. Further up, Pranav Sharma and Yaseen Al - Derzi, year 10, secured 3 rd in the Online Middle School Debating Shield, followed closely by Musab Buoyardan and Xavier Flambert, 9SPM, at 4 th place. This was a particularly busy time for the seniors as well. The Cambridge Schools competition took place, with Ibrahim Ejaz and Bulcsu Diossi, Year 13, taking 6 th place (a mere 3 points from getting to the finals) and Sammy El - Masri and Elvis Addai, Year 12, coming 10 th of 40 teams competing. The ESU School's Mace competition also occurred with Ibrahim Ejaz, Janindu Weersainge 12JAF and James Maloney 12MB successfully making their way through the first round, but unfortunately not past the second. On 22 nd February, a group of Y12 students including Team 1: James Maloney, Janindu Weerasinghe, Yva Baker, Brianna Murphy, Evie Casemore, Emma Blackburn and Barney Cowles took part in a regional heat of the Oxford Schools debating competition. Competition was stiff from other schools from South London, including many independent schools. However, our students, coached by our very own Ibrahim Ejaz, managed to prove themselves more than a match. Every student gave their utmost in each debate and are to be congratulated for their efforts. Most impressively, the team comprising James Maloney and Janindu Weerasinghe managed to best the competition and make it through to the finals. The participants in the finals are the winners from each local debate,

and so to get this far the Oxford Schools ’ competition is itself remarkable achievement and a Tiffin first . At the final, our team will be up against entries from the UK ’ s most prestigious schools

in

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such as Harrow, Eton and St. Paul ’ s. We will be in fact the only state - maintained school in attendance, something of which we are incredibly proud. The final will be taking place at the famous Oxford Union this Saturday 12 th March. I ’ m sure everyone will join me in wishing the very best of luck to James, Janindu and their coach Ibrahim whose diligent efforts has been instrumental to this success.

ASTRONOMY

Congratulations to Jack Yu and Ojas Gulati for their stunning performances in the British Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad - both obtained Bronze Awards putting them in the top 70 students nationally. Also in the British Physics Olympiad, Jack took another Bronze and Ojas took a Gold which means he will now be invited to a training camp for students to represent the country in the forthcoming International Physics Olympiad! Well done both!

OUTDOOR TABLE TENNIS TABLES

Due to a generous donation from the Parents ’ s association the school has been able to purchase 2 more outdoor table tennis tables. They are already being much enjoyed by our students

DONATIONS

A car full of donations went to Goods for Good in Watford. They distribute to charities who will bring clothes to Refugees in the UK, all over Europe and in the UK. What is not brought to refugees will be given to people in need.