Dear Parents
Last week’s Winter Concert in the senior school was a wonderful occasion, featuring a wide variety of music performed by pupils of all ages. Christmas is always a busy time of year for musicians and we are now looking forward to the annual Carol Service in St Mary’s Church, Lewisham, which takes place next Wednesday. Choirs from the prep and pre-prep will feature on the programme which will follow a traditional format of carols and readings. We recalled the life and times of erstwhile Vicar of St Mary’s, Abraham Colfe, at an event on Thursday evening in the school library whose purpose was to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Act of Parliament which Colfe sponsored, and which was eventually made law in 1664, to consolidate the relationship between the school and the Leathersellers’ Company. The Second Warden and the Archivist of the Leathersellers’ Company addressed an audience of staff and Old Colfeians on a subject of considerable fascination.
This term’s major production in the theatre, George Feydeau’s farce, ‘A Flea in her Ear,’ marked a new departure for the Drama department. A cast of pupils in Year 10 and above made light work of a complex plot, expertly directed by Director of Drama, Lucy Atkinson. The result was sophisticated and impressive, as was the stage set, for which many thanks to our lead technician, Richard Gregg. Prep and Pre-prep productions will follow next week in the run-up to Christmas.
The UCAS season is almost complete and attractive offers are coming through already, including unconditional offers from universities as prestigious as Nottingham. Eight Colfeians will be attending interviews at either Oxford or Cambridge in the course of the next two weeks and we wish them well. Others will have interviews with top medical schools in the near future and we hope to match last year’s success rate when 65% of our U6th won places at Russell Group universities. Support for this year’s cohort has been wide-ranging, including interview practice with Old Colfeians, expertly co-ordinated by Andrew Corstorphine.
On a related point, I would like to take this opportunity to once again invite parents to join our list of contacts offering students a work placement, as part of our successful Year 12 Internship Programme. Last year’s range of options was stronger than ever and we are always looking for new options. Anyone able to offer a placement for up to two weeks, please contact Mrs Burton, jburton@colfes.com or Mrs Cardnell jcardnell@colfes.com, either of whom will be delighted to hear from you.
Our Debaters have had great success in the prestigious Cambridge Schools Debating Competition, with our teams beating Eltham College and St Dunstan’s to go through to the second round. This is the first year that the school has had two teams go through at once, taking up two of only three spaces available, with sterling performances from 6th formers, Shannon Burke, Kal Sevenzo, Joe Andrew, and Year 11s Daisy Battersby. We look forward to stiffer competition in the next round.
The official opening of the new Pre-prep and Nursery Building last Monday enabled parents and grandparents to enjoy a tour of the new facilities and a glass of wine with senior members of the Leathersellers’ Company. We were particularly grateful to the Master, Dr Anthony Watson, for his kind words about the recent successes of the school as he officially declared the building open. Work on the Sixth Form centre is ongoing, on budget and on schedule. I am delighted to report that our official School Visitor, Prince Michael of Kent, will perform the opening ceremony in September when he presides at the senior prizegiving.
The Old Colfeians’ Society Dinner took place at the Waldorf in London last Friday, attended by more than 80 ex-pupils of varying vintage who professed themselves delighted with the progress of the school over the last 12 months. They were less happy to note that neither I nor my distinguished predecessor, Dr Vivian Anthony, could remember the words of the second verse of the School Song. It was asserted by the president, Gregory Jones QC., that the reintroduction of the Song in the school itself is overdue. I look forward to discussing how best this might be achieved with Mrs Collin in due course.
The Senior Mathematics Challenge brought out the best in our top mathematicians, with Josh Guyadeen (Best in School) and several other candidates winning gold awards. Meanwhile Computer Scientists, Harry Calder and Tom Whittaker, have just embarked on an ambitious science-based project to launch a hot air weather balloon into space with a small computer on board, to take photos from the higher atmosphere. They hope their venture will promote and encourage membership of our senior school Computer Club. Thanks to our Parents and Friends Association (PAFA) for helping to fund the project.
In English a record number of Prep School pupils took part in our second Poetry competition, this year on the theme of Remember. Well done to all those who won especially Polly Chamberlain in year 4 who was judged the overall winner.
In Sport, our senior swimmers did well in a friendly gala against Farringtons, Bullers Wood and Bromley High. All competitors put in strong performances, particularly our Year 7 and 8 boys who won the Gala despite swimming against Farrington’s boys from Year 9. The rugby teams won most of the games in the annual fixture against Latymer Upper with wins for our 1st XV, U15 A and U14 A teams. This was the first fixture where we fielded U12 and U13 C teams, a chance for many of these boys to take part in their first competitive rugby game. In girls’ sport, U14 Hockey players won 5-0 against Blackheath High and our netballers stayed on top form with wins for the U16As against Priory, U12As against Alleyns, and U14As who performed extremely well in the prestigious Kent Schools Tournament, not forgetting our Year 6 team who beat West Lodge 10-8.
Recent individual achievements have included:
· Sophia Kirkman in Year 6 who received a trophy for Girls Tristar 1 , Club Champion at the Junior Greenwich Tritons Triathalon Club.
· Eddy Miles in Year 9 who performed at the School Proms at the Albert Hall.
· Francesca Rameaux, (Year 8) one of just 40 children in London out of hundreds, to make it into the Charity, Help For Heroes Kids’ Choir.
· Graham Renfrew and some of the catering team, as well as family and friends, who are close to reaching their fundraising target of £1,500 after walking the roof of the O2
· Sam Chatterley in Year 13 has been selected to represent GB at the World Scout Jamboree next year. ,
· Roz Burton, Year 13 and Daisy Jones, Year 12, who have had their work published online for the Newshopper, as part of the Young Reporter Competition.
· Leathersellers’ Poster Competition winners, Peter Higgs,(1st) Emma Minett (2nd) and Antonia Sholaja (3rd). The winning Poster will be displayed in the Leathersellers’ Court Room.
Richard Russell
Headmaster