The Reptonian 2020-21 by Repton School

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EDI TORI AL 0 4 SALVETE

REPTON ROUND

FEATURES 41 MUSI C

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SPORT

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TH E ED ITO R IA L TEA M EDITOR

Mary B (L6M)

SUB-EDITORS

Daisy D (L6G), Sanchia O (L6G),

Reims W (L6C), Eleonora C (L6F),

Isabel A (L6M), Charlotte T (L6M),

Ella A (L6M), RER, JDS, BCM

A C K N O W LED G EM EN TS PHOTOGR APHY

(unless otherwise credited)

M. Wolford, JMJH, RER, AFP, SCP,

GLH, JCMR, The Housemasters

FRONT COVER RER BACK COVER AFP DESIGN

Optima Graphic Design Consultants Ltd.

www.repton.org.uk

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ED I TO R I A L

T H E R EP TON I A N:

EDI TOR I A L The first (and hopefully last) full year of the ‘new normal’ at Repton has finally passed.

nitially, I was loath to write about the dreaded C-word because I didn’t think it was possible to write anything original about it. But, after a brief reconsideration, to write as though this is a normal year would have been simply ridiculous and a disservice to this magazine. During the past twelve months of press coverage, there have been numerous clichés about this Covid but the one that always irritated me the most was the relentless comparison between this pandemic and WWII. Of course, there are significant parallels: the economic and social upheaval, the suspension of liberties, the sense of national grief, to name a few… Yet I also felt that we were, in general, luckier than that generation. Now it goes without saying that this pandemic has been horrendous – the destruction of people’s livelihoods and the deaths of so many have been acutely heart-rending. But I couldn’t get it out of my head that boys scarcely older than myself fought in truly horrific conditions and were slaughtered in a foreign land. They were never to see their loved ones again, never to be laid to rest in their home country, never to grow up. What was I doing in the first lockdown? Being educated from the comfort of my own home and incessantly complaining about being burnt by some rare British sunshine. This embarrassing comparison is one of the reasons that equating our experiences of the past year, particularly as Reptonians, with a world war felt jarring.

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Then, in my research for this editorial, I decided to consult earlier editions of this magazine. Out of interest, I looked at the years 1939 – 1945 first and what I found absolutely shocked me. The author of the first piece I read (from October 1939) was both wary of trying to predict any potential future and mentioned ‘the embarrassing presence (or even more embarrassing absence) of our gas-masks’. How topical! Subsequent wartime editorials humourously addressed ‘Adolf’, mentioned a collection of “Molotov Cocktails” at the Armoury and one, somewhat predictably for the Summer Term, was exclusively about the incredibly great value of cricket. Seeing these teenagers find the joy and fun in such a terrifying time, a time during which the UK was facing an existential threat of the highest order, was a poignant experience for me, despite the space and time that separated us. Descriptions of changes to school routine, personal sacrifices and the absences of pupils were uncannily similar to the past year at Repton. Yet despite the terror and uncertainty (one editor mused quite seriously about an invasion of Repton), these boys found hope in their situation. They talked about greatly enjoying parades and farming a Mr. Protheroe’s fields and many other of the changes they were confronted with. This brings me to the theme of this year’s Reptonian: flourishing, despite it all. After all, as these boys showed, adversity and unwanted change ought to be embraced and taken in our stride.

This year saw the introduction of yeargroup house bubbles consisting of the only people you were allowed to socialise with properly. Naturally, this was not received with much joy from pupils, given that it made both romantic and platonic interhouse relationships incredibly difficult to maintain. Yet Reptonians embraced this. Joining Mitre Lower Sixth this year were five new girls; I can only imagine how daunting it must have been for them, and all other new Lower Sixths, to make such a big change in such unprecedented times. And they haven’t merely adapted to the school or ‘gotten by’ but they have flourished: their humour, personalities, talents and kindness quickly endearing them to us and making them truly indispensable to our year group. This is just one example of how important it is to embrace difficult changes and make the most of the opportunities given to us. And this does not only apply to the Lower Sixth. B Block pupils have, at such a young age, been forced to take a great leap into the unknown, with much of their first year changed in a way that makes it unrecognisable to older Reptonians. No away matches, no socials, no arbitrary seating plan in a science lesson that puts you between two boys you have never met – all places and events that traditionally would have been conducive to bonding within their year group. And yet, by all accounts, they seem to have taken this in their stride. On the fleeting occasions I have seen their year-group, they seem like any other: it is impossible to tell that they have never been able to socialise in the

ED I TO R I A L

‘normal’ way and I can’t help but think what a brilliant year-group they are showing themselves to be. In this pandemic, it is easy to feel that life has been put on pause. Yet where certain activities have temporarily ceased, others have flourished in their place. Individual Reptonians have, throughout this year, continued to excel in every field from academics to sport to music to drama – achieving recognition and receiving accolades too numerous to list in this editorial. In a time in which it is so easy to make excuses for lethargy and inertia, Reptonians have still decided to make the most of their time here to achieve truly great things.

To finish, I would like to congratulate all Reptonians. This year has been taxing and difficult for all of us, in varying degrees. Restrictions, the unpredictable development of said restrictions and the cloud of uncertainty surrounding examinations have impacted every facet of life here and I can’t help but feel for our Upper Sixth, whose final year at school has been marred by this virus. And yet, school life has still continued, and I truly think we’ve made the most of a bad hand these past twelve months. From the establishment of two Literary Societies to the continuation of the success of elite sport to the numerous music and drama competitions, Repton has not hibernated but, instead, has bloomed.

To quote that cricket loving Reptonian from 1944: ‘The spirit has not changed: it is here now, brooding over the Square, filling the sweet evening air with exciting memories’. As we look forward to resuming, that unchanged Repton spirit will undoubtably manifest itself in every part of our lives and we will once again be able to live as ten houses and one community. And I, for one, can’t wait. Mary B, L6M

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S A LV E T E

OLI V ER BA I LEY

EM M A BY WAT ER

BET H EA DES

Sports Science graduate, Oliver Bailey arrived at Repton this year as a further recruit to the growing Graduate Assistant team whilst also offering his skills as a tutor in New House. While at the University of Exeter, Oliver played and coached a range of sports including football and cricket as well as taking a year out from his studies to coach sport to primary school pupils. As a passionate advocate for anything sport related, it comes as no surprise that his enjoyment of these helped influence his decisions for his career and he hopes to complete a PGCE in the near future. Prior to coming to Repton, Oliver worked at Winchester School, but was keen to move to this area to allow him to explore areas of the Peak District that he was previously unfamiliar with. A board game enthusiast, Oliver can often be found playing the likes of Perudo, Sushi Go, or Catan (‘I’m not expecting you to know any of them!’).

Emma Bywater joined the Maths Department in January 2021 and immediately found herself teaching remotely- not quite the start she had imagined! After studying for a degree in Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Reading, Emma went on to complete her teacher training at the University of Birmingham, before teaching in schools in London, Coventry and Tamworth. Repton is her first venture into the independent sector and she is excited about the opportunities that this will offer her. As a tutor in The Garden, Emma is fast becoming acquainted with boarding life and has enjoyed getting to know the girls in the house. The move to a more rural school has allowed Emma the opportunity to involve herself with the D of E programme, as well as giving her more opportunities for walking and running. An experienced traveller (whose favourite destination is Singapore) Emma is keen to use the long summer breaks to escape andwhen not being distracted by ‘Call of Duty’is already planning her next trip.

Local girl Beth Eades returns to Derbyshire to teach Religious Studies, having previously taught in a large comprehensive school in North London. Making herself at home in the Resident Tutor’s flat in Field House, Beth (and her ‘sprollie’, Ollie!) are loving having some more space and easy access to the many walks around the village. Having originally graduated from the University of Kent, Beth completed her teacher training in Glasgow, before returning to university to study for a part time Masters degree in Gender and Sexuality. A greatly valued addition to the school’s Debating Society and one of the driving forces behind the newly established Feminists Society, Beth’s impacts are notable, even after such a short time. When escaping the classroom, Beth can often be found throwing balls (endlessly!) for Ollie, watching ‘Drag Race’ or playing Dungeons and Dragons. With the departure of the Chaplain, Beth is delighted to be taking on the leadership of the RS department from the start of the next academic year.

What is your guilty pleasure? Board games.

What was your dream job as a child? At first it was the Tooth Fairy, and then later a pathologist.

What was your dream job as a child? Radio 1 Breakfast Presenter.

If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Ability to see into the future or go back and change the past.

If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Breathing underwater.

What would be your dream job? Something where I can play football forever.

What is your most controversial opinion? I don’t like tea! I think it’s disgusting! Why would so many people drink something the colour of mud. Do you have any hidden talents? I can balance things on my chin, like chairs, poles and cricket bats.

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What is your most controversial opinion? I hate musicals!

If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Incredible mediocrity. Do you have any hidden talents? I make the best chocolate chip cookies ever.

What is something we wouldn’t expect to know about you? I once met the Chinese president’s wife.

What advice would you give your younger self? Take yourself less seriously; not everything is that deep.

What is your dream holiday? Anywhere where I can go and have an adventure!

What is something surprising about you? I have very double jointed fingers! (She then demonstrated and she really does!)

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K AT I E GU EST

BE N M I LLER

GR ACE POW ELL

Old Reptonian Katie Guest, returns to us as a Graduate Assistant and Resident Tutor in the Mitre, having completed her degree in Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge. During her time at university, she spent a year abroad, visiting France, Germany, Italy and Austria, where she gained experience in broadcast journalism, translation, film production and education. After graduating, Katie moved to London where she worked as an artist manager in the Opera and Vocal department of an international music agency. As a choral scholar during her time at Repton, Katie has been a welcome addition to the various school choirs that she helps out with, as well as contributing to the coaching of netball and tennis, and being part of the CCF programme. Katie has loved her return to Repton and is looking forward to completing her PGCE here next year.

Ben Miller joins Repton as the new Head of English and is a sixth form tutor in New House. He studied English Literature at St Ann’s College, Oxford, before returning to teach at his alma mater, Henley College. After a stint at Bradfield and seven years in various roles at Whitgift, Ben (accompanied by his retired racing greyhound, Macca) finds himself teaching- and living- in the Old Mitre, where he thoroughly enjoys running the English Department and contributing to various literature-related societies. Ably contributing to the boys’ football programme and taking charge of squash, Ben has fully immersed himself into the daily workings of a full boarding school. When he isn’t teaching, Ben can be found playing one of his many bass guitars, setting a new personal best on one of Repton’s running routes, or planning his next trip to Portugal.

Grace Powell is the third of our Graduate Assistant cohort, as well as being a valuable addition to the tutor team in The Mitre. After growing up on her family’s sheep farm in rural Wales, Grace maintains a passion for all things farming, but jumped at the chance to experience a few years of urban living as she completed her degree. A Sports Science graduate from the University of Birmingham, Grace’s passion lies with hockey, both in school and at club level. A well-regarded coach, Grace has added significant value to the school-based programmes, as well as continuing to coach at her old university and as part of the Welsh Performance Centre. Keen to immerse herself in the academic side of Repton life, Grace has also furthered her understanding of classroom life by offering some teaching in the P.E. department and this has galvanised her aspirations to qualify as a teacher.

What would be your dream job? Film composer. What is your guilty pleasure? Singing along to musical theatre songs for hours on end. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Empathy. Do you have any hidden talents? Moon walking and the worm. What kind of pupil were you at school? Enthusiastic and conscientious.

What was your dream job as a child? Rockstar. What is your guilty pleasure? McDonald’s. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Invisibility. Do you have any hidden talents? Cooking Portuguese rabbit stew. Tell us something we wouldn’t expect about you? I am a closet petrol head.

What was your dream job as a child? Professional hockey player. What is your guilty pleasure? Made in Chelsea. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? The ability to fly. What is something surprising about you? I don’t have my ears pierced. What type of pupil were you at school? Sporty and friendly.

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CH R IS SI MONS

ASH LEY SU DDES

SCOT T TA LBOT

The final addition to our Graduate Assistant team, Chris Simons, has been a valuable asset across the board, helping out in drama and maths as well as contributing to many of the sporting activities. A Sport Science and Analysis graduate from Nottingham Trent University, Chris is a keen sportsman (although his passion lies with cricket having both coached and played for Northampton). Chris has utilised his cricketing expertise when helping with the first team, proving valuable analysis as they prepared for the Summer Term matches. As well as involving himself with sporting life of the school, Chris has been the A Block tutor in Orchard and is delighted to be moving into The Cross as their Resident Tutor from September 2021. With aspirations to become a teacher himself, Chris hopes to complete his formal training in the near future, whilst looking to develop his sports coaching in the years ahead.

Ash Suddes is a new addition to the PE department this year, whilst also taking on the role of Resident and B Block Tutor in School House. Ash grew up in Doncaster and has remained relatively ‘north’ his whole life, gaining a degree in Sport and Exercise Science from Leeds Beckett University before completing a PGCE as part of his teacher training at his previous school, Sedbergh. A consummate sportsman, Ash’s passion is cricket, and prior to teaching, he spent a year playing for a team in Melbourne which he thoroughly enjoyed. Ash loves anything sport related (no surprise given that he is a PE teacher!) and enjoys cooking- he would describe himself as a ‘masterchef’, but we weren’t able to find anyone to confirm this! He is looking forward to life returning to normal so that he can use the holidays to travel to new places and explore different cultures.

Scott Talbot relocated from Melbourne, Australia to Repton along with his wife and daughter to take up the role of Director of Swimming. Since arriving in the village, Scott has loved the opportunity to get to know the local area whilst find out what it is like to work at a school with such a long and well-known history. A former Olympian (competing in the backstroke events at both Sydney and Athens, as well as coaching swimmers for the Beijing and London games). Scott is now thoroughly enjoying the challenge of developing the rapidly expanding swimming programme here at Repton. With his sights set on creating the top club in the country, Scott can be found down at the pool in the early hours of most mornings, as well as afternoons and evenings… When not pool-side, Scott and his family have enjoyed exploring the Peak District and are looking forward to planning some trips for the coming summer.

What would be your dream job? To be a cricketer. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Invisibility. Do you have any hidden talents? I can juggle. What is your most controversial opinion? Mamma Mia is the worst film of all time. What would be your dream holiday? I would love to go to the Caribbean or New Zealand.

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What is a guilty pleasure of yours? Ben and Jerry’s ice cream: Baked Alaska or Caramel Sutra. What is a hidden talent of yours? Card tricks. What would be your dream holiday destination? India, to see the cricket and explore the culture further. What kind of pupil were you at school? A lively character – in a good way. What’s something we wouldn’t know about you? I can recite all the lines in the Star Wars franchise.

What was your dream job as a child? I wanted to be a policeman. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Mind control. Do you have any hidden talents? I can surf. What is something we wouldn’t know about you? My babysitter was Canadian pop star, Alanis Morrisette.

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HOUSE ROU N D U P F I ELD

T H E A BBEY Best Junior? Raga for always being kind to others and being a role model to the O Block Abbey tennis players. Describe the house in 3 words: Unbelievably delicious desserts. Best house event of the year: The House Talent Show, where a variety of performances displayed the wide range of skills across all of the year groups (as well as the staff!) Polly R

Best senior? Sophie H What has changed most in the house since you joined? Having the first well-being room in Repton. What sets your house apart from the others? The Link, which brings the whole house together. Evie L

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Best Junior? Jess L - for her kindness and positive attitude that always puts a smile on your face.

Best senior? Lijana C - She is always there for everyone when needed and gets involved in house events.

Describe the house in 3

What has changed most in

words: Supportive, friendly, and energetic!

the house since you joined? The house tutors: in our five years we’ve had 4 resident tutors and there are only 2 house tutors and our matron that were here in B Block! But all our new tutors are extremely fun and great additions to the house.

Best house event of the year: The Barnes Squad as house event: a triumph for our A Block. Jenna D

What sets your house apart from the others? Our house spirit and sense of community within the house is unique to Field. We are always very enthusiastic and free time in Field is guaranteed fun. Hattie N

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LAT H A M Best Junior? Sam C

Best senior? Harry B

Describe the house

What has changed most in the house since

in 3 words: Full of life.

you joined? Having joined in lower sixth, the biggest change for me personally in the house has been becoming head of house. Becoming a senior member of the house has changed my time in the house as I now have many more responsibilities and I need to set an example to the younger boys but it’s something I very much enjoy.

Best house event of the year: House league. Ed P

What sets your house apart from the others? The thing that sets Latham apart from the other houses in my opinion has to be the unity amongst the boys. It is truly a family in Latham and no matter what year group you are in all the boys get on and treat each other as equals. Anye F

MITRE Best Junior Impossible to pick one! Everyone’s so lovely! Describe the house in 3 words: Home, Happiness, Family. Best house event of the year: Lockdown pizza oven nights in the garden (and Grace and Amelia’s wedding). Sophie D

Best senior? For her bravery, courage and example, Hannah L. What has changed most in the house since you joined? I have had the benefit of two great Housemistresses in Mrs Parish and Mrs Jenkinson during my five years in the House. They have both brought so many valuable qualities to the House and have instilled them in us all - qualities that will stay with us forever. In my final two years the family atmosphere within the House has been accentuated. Even during the global pandemic, the House has demonstrated it’s sense of community and friendly nature, even from afar!

PR IORY Best Junior? Sergei because he brings a vibrant atmosphere to the common room. Describe the house in 3 words: Unity, Warming, and Unique. Best house event of the year: Kew night. Ryan T

Best senior? Henry W What has changed most in the house since you joined? The Curtains - goodbye ghastly yellow! What sets your house apart from the others? The ‘Theatre of Dreams’ in the garden. Freddie D

What sets your house apart from the others? Mitre’s unique position at the end of Mitre Drive gives a feeling of separation from day-to-day school life. There is a sense that you come home at the end of the day, even though school is still very close. The array of talent across the year groups from sport to music to academia, drama, art and school life in general has been amazing to witness throughout my five years. There have been so many outstanding achievements. But the thing that has truly stood out for me is the genuine friendliness and kindness of the girls, across all the year groups. Sophie H

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T H E CROSS Best Junior? Olly F – for making his 1st team debut before the biggest badger in house. Describe the house in 3 words: Never dull moments. Best house event of the year: B Block winning the house football final vs Latham after losing to them 11-2 in the prior round. Sam R

Best senior?

What has changed most in the house

What sets your house apart from the

Joern – for being consistent.

since you joined? The Housemaster. The Years. The Gym. The Atmosphere. Cross has seen a fair amount of change over the last five years, mostly for the better.

others? The people – they make the house.

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William O

N EW

Best Junior? Bella C

Best senior? Sanchia O

Describe the house in 3

What has changed most in the house since you

words: Friendly, inclusive, smiley.

joined? The chefs.

Describe the house in 3 words: Home from home.

What sets your house apart from the others? Our positivity and enthusiasm - we might not always win prizes but we approach everything with effort and dedication, in true House spirit. Also, I must give our variety of talent a special mention - from swimming, to Muay Thai, to horse riding, to graphic design - the list goes on.

Best house event of the year: B Block house cricket, where great New House spirit and enjoyment was shown which helped guide them to victory.

Best house event of the year: House football. Hera C

Poppy K

Best Junior? Harry A for his energetic personality and willingness to help others.

Harry S

Best senior? Tristan H What has changed most in the house since you joined? We play to the house’s strengths but always give our utmost effort in everything we do…even if the odds aren’t in our favour. What sets your house apart from the others? The relations between that of the younger years and the upper years, acting more as a community than ever in an environment where openness and communication is prioritised throughout the house. James T-C

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ORCH A R D

Best senior?

Best Junior? Kabba N

What has changed most in

Describe the house in 3 words: Happy, Welcoming, Energetic. Best house event of the year: O Block football house final vs New House. Nathan M

Hugo W. the house since you joined? Nothing at all - we still get a great turnout in the yard on any occasion. What sets your house apart from the others? The sense of unity between year groups is unrivalled by any other house. Owen R

SCHOOL Best Junior? Joe S - Joe is diligent, sociable, and humorous. An all-round great guy who epitomises what it means to be a School Housian. Describe the house in 3 words: Loud, hilarious, and thoughtful. Best house event of the year: Even though it hasn’t been the best year for football, or any other sport for that matter, the little we got to play was very enjoyable. It is fair to say that the quality of football played was mediocre at best, but there was not a moment where we weren’t all laughing. Charlie B

Best senior? Sandor A. Although he has not spent that much of his first year at Repton, at school, Sandor has not struggled to settle in. In such a short space of time Sandor has bonded very well with all his peers, is incredibly polite - a true gentleman, and never fails to charm the domestic staff. What has changed most in the house since you joined? When I asked the boys in-house what they thought, with regard to what has changed most in house since B Block, the best answer I could find was that the ‘doors have been painted’. Largely, this response is symptomatic of the fact that there has been no radical change in School House. Since my days in B Block, right up until now, School House has always maintained good principles and morals. The position we find ourselves in now, I would like to think that the only change in School House is that these principles and morals have been further and more deeply embedded into the house and the boys within. Namely that School House produces respectful, responsible, and reliable young men. What sets your house apart from the others? Above all else School House is a united house. That is just one thing which sets us apart from the rest. Not only do pupils get on well within their year groups but there are also close bonds across the

year groups. School House has a homely atmosphere about it, where everyone within, staff and pupils, are friendly, almost like a 60+ strong family. School House is not confined to being a ‘sporty house’ or an ‘academic house’, instead it is very much the case that there is a wide array of talent across many different areas. This means that every pupil has the ability to be individual and unique whilst also being part of the wider School House family. Although I say School House is not confined to a title, one title we are proud to hold is for the best food. Mark in the kitchen consistently produces the best food in the school, an incontestable fact, and anyone who denies it would be lying to themselves. And finally, what further differentiates School House from all the other houses is our location. Not only do School Housians get the privilege to walk through the iconic arch every day, we also have the best views on the entire site. The top floor view over the old Trent, out across the fields to Willington provides awesome sunsets and night-time skylines, as well as a great view of the river and all that live on it below. The old Trent provides entertainment in the Summer as the boys go fishing (as well as being home for the School House Mascot, Susan the Swan!). Zack B

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Dof E

I N T H E T I M E OF CORONAV I RUS A staple of life for many Reptonians, DofE found a way to continue this year despite obvious challenges. Master in Charge Clifford Dammers reflects on a year like no other.

n March 18th, 2020, a former Brackenbury Scholar of that socialist hotbed, Balliol College, Oxford, took to social media to make an unusual announcement. Despite the fact that the Scholar was a Classicist, and a former member of the Bullingdon Club, the announcement was not to be taken lightly, since he was also the Prime Minister. In DE65 that afternoon, the last Reptonian DofE session of the 2019-20 was taking place, but lockdown did not shut down Repton DofE. The Silver groups had been finalising the paperwork for that summer’s Assessed Expeditions, and the Golds had, the night before, collected the kit for their Practice. The Silvers’ Expeditions were delayed till October, while the Golds would have to wait a full 15 months to pitch the tents they had packed into rucksacks that Tuesday evening. Even more jarring, perhaps, was the interruption to plans for community action for DofE Volunteers that had been forming: Reptonians had been working to support both the village’s new Community

Café, and the projected introduction of beavers to the Willington Wetlands Nature Reserve. Opportunities for volunteering that had never been so varied or exciting had to be put on hold, but participants showed their inventiveness by completing this section by keeping shielding relatives and neighbours company on Zoom, and the loss of team-sports only meant that even more pavements were pounded in the physical section. We were able to make the most of School grounds, cooking meals on Trangias on Chapel Hall, engaging in team-building exercises in emergency procedures, and exploring the School’s own orienteering course. Despite the restrictions, DofE returned with something of a bang in September 2020 – 80 O Blockers opted for the Award, a 10-year high at Repton, and it was very rewarding to be able to offer Expeditions for those Silvers whose plans had been interrupted by the pandemic the term before. Some lateral thinking, and the flexibilities accorded by the DofE, saw groups bathing in the glories of Herb Robert, Devil’s Bit Scabious and the

oystercatchers and mergansers of Winshill, Bretby and Hartshorne, with the hardier groups even venturing into the Badlands of Ticknall (© M.K. Court, 2020). Summer 2021 will see the Trent Valley playing host to post-TAG Expeditions for O Block - no fewer than 15 groups, the most we have ever had out on Expedition. I was delighted, too, that the Upper Sixth Golds, surely the strongest poundfor-pound team since Lapworth and Callaway discovered the Moine Thrust at Knochan Crag in Assynt and gave birth the theory of Plate Tectonics in 1883, will be able to carry out their Expeditions in the Dark Peak and Yorkshire Dales. As they slog over the peat hags of Bleaklow, Gunnerside Moor and Buckden Pike, a river, truly, will have found its deliverance in the sea. Never will blisters, sphagnum moss, midges and blanket bog have seemed so inexpressibly beautiful. CSD

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SU PR ACU R R ICU LA R ACA DEM I A Mary B (L6M) would rather eat her own eyeballs than allow a moment to pass in which she is not stretching herself, and this year has seen her cast her net over an enviable range of subjects. Her essay (commended in St. John’s College, Oxford’s Classics and Ancient History Competition) argued that Nice Guys Finish Last. She proved the point with an exploration of the tragic Vergilian figures of Nisus and Palinurus, as well as the biblical Uriah the Hittite, while staring unflinchingly into the dark heart of the human condition through the lens of solipsistic “winners” such as Odysseus.

mong the many endeavours to which Reptonians commit without great fanfare, but nonetheless earnestly and admirably, are entries to the competitions run by universities and other august institutions. This year, despite the exhaustion induced by the (necessarily-excessive) amounts of time spent staring at screens, Reptonians produced some of the most accomplished and original projects for many years.

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Displaying the full breadth of her scholarship, Mary has also written an essay for the Anglo-Omani Society, setting out solutions to the challenges to Gulf states such as Oman as they face into the realities both of the Green Economy and of Oman’s diminishing oil reserves. Mary’s answer? Reliable and renewable energy in the form of solar power, harnessing it to separate hydrogen and oxygen in water, and then producing liquid hydrocarbon fuels, which can be shipped around the world. To read one of Mary’s essays is an education in itself, not only in the depth of its learning but in the clarity of thought and the gently convincing lucidity of her prose.

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Georgia K (also L6M), was not to be outdone, and, for Sheffield University’s History Essay Competition, she produced a superb comparative-analysis of the regimes of Joseph Stalin and the Romanovs, whose tyrannies the Bolsheviks had purported to oppose. Her thesis was masterfully agile in shining a light on the supplanting of Orthodox religion by Stalin’s cult of personality, the parallels between the subjugation and marginalisation of the peasantry through the Pauline Laws of 1797 and the brutal “second serfdom” of Collectivisation in the 1930s. Georgia brilliantly articulated Michel’s Iron Law of Oligarchy through her examination of the centralisation of political power, and the extractive nature of economic structures in both tsarist Russia and the USSR. Rarely can the Horseshoe Theory have been so graphically and incontrovertibly substantiated. Isabel A (L6M) (never one to let global trends turn her head) forcefully advocated the importance of Internationalism in the 21st Century, citing the bankruptcy of modern demagogues’ my-country-first populism in the face of global-warming and the spread of variants of Coronavirus.

Sorry – did I mention that her entry for lancaster university’s competition was entirely in french? Izzy also dared to question the effectiveness of the 2010 Equality Act in her submission for the Supreme Court Pupil Writing Competition; in a very nuanced and sophisticated critique, she demonstrated that not only does the Act fail to protect certain groups within society, but it also actually provides loopholes for discrimination. Izzy’s excellent research and cogent, lucid exegesis showed that the Act’s exemptions actively make it harder for the elderly to apply for loans and insurance and argued vigorously for a review of its inability of claimants to sue for dual discrimination where employees are intersectionally disadvantaged, for example as both a woman and an elderly person.

Flying the Engineering flag for B Block, Seb R (9P) and Jacob I-O (9S) designed the Reptile, a floor-covering that could solve the problem of Climate Change, for the Big Bang Competition in STEM subjects (this project is written up in the ‘Art and Design’ section). Their invention uses the pressure of footsteps to power a dynamo through a gearing-system, potentially revolutionising the renewable-energy industry, offering a more reliable, cheaper, and more versatile alternative to wind-turbines. What is more, they kept to the target they had set themselves of saving the world in only six weeks... One of the highlights of any year for the Gifted and Talented cohorts is the UK Linguistics Olympiad, where competitors are shown examples of languages they have never previously encountered, such as Latvian, Maori or Longgu – the last spoken by only 3,000 people in parts of Guadalcanal – and then translate to and from these languages. This year Repton gave a very good showing, with Emma D (9A) and Alex M (U6P) securing Bronze Medals in their respective age-categories; Manav C (11O), Gonzalo M (11L), Freya W (11A), Jenna D, Leila C (both 11F), Ottilie S (11M) and Harry S (11N) all gained Silver; while Zak W, William M, Jacob I-O (all 9S) and Seb R (9P) won Gold. Most impressive of all was Mary B, whose Senior Gold placed her in the top 5% of all participants in the country and was asked to try out for the UK’s national team, only the second Reptonian ever to be accorded this honour. Eleonora C (L6F), a young woman of so much intellectual rapacity, rigour and integrity that they can be seen with the naked eye from the surface of the moon, produced one of the most original essays of the year. Entering Newnham College, Cambridge’s Classics Essay Prize, Eleonora posited that Ancient myths have subversive power precisely because they can be told – and read – in different ways, focusing on the interpretation of the myth of Medea – a woman betrayed, humiliated and marginalised by her husband. A cocktail of pride, anger and self-deception leads Medea

to conclude that she must kill her own children to punish her husband. Eleonora showed that, just as Euripides’ original play questioned Classical-heroic ideals and the valorising of rhetoric in C. 5th Athens, so modern retellings question societal preconceptions. Eleonora drew on Christia Wolff’s 1996 play of the same name, and José Triana’s Medea in the Mirror to explore the ability of myth to expose prejudice – respectively fear and mistrust of powerful women, and racism and colonialism. One of the most interesting entries this year came from Charlie T (L6O), who designed a new social- and study-centre for Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge’s Architecture Design Competition. Taking inspiration from the College’s Chapel, Charlie’s daring cylindrical conception draws visitors entering the College into a café flooded with sunlight, on an East-West axis, while at the same time inviting them to take in the different buildings in the College’s Gatehouse Court as they ascend the external staircase. The building blends social areas with smaller rooms for seminars and supervisions, with each floor of the building designed for a distinct purpose. Charlie and Lola T (L6M) have written about their entries to this competition in the ‘Art and Design’ section of this magazine. Not the least of the lustre of these endeavours derives from the fact that they are almost entirely driven by the pupils themselves – there are no scheduled lessons or prep-slots for these projects, no teammates to chivvy one along to a trainingsession when Love Island’s attractions might be more immediately appealing. To enter these competitions takes great commitment, ingenuous love of learning for its own sake, a resilience in the face of intellectual dead-ends, a desire to choose the road less travelled, and a willingness to strive for goals that will not always will the acclaim of one’s peers. Repton’s intellectual life is as vibrant as it ever has been, and it is a great privilege to work with so many gifted minds – but also with such remarkable characters. CSD

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Photography credits: Tim Peake/ESA/NASA

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T I M PEA K E SPEECH Reptonians were lucky enough to participate in an online talk by astronaut Tim Peake focusing on, among other things, his time on ISS.

im Peake needs no introduction. He became famous for his 186-day venture to the International Space Station and was the First British ESA astronaut on the ISS. His launch took place on the December 15th, 2015 and he came back on the June 18th, 2016. It was because of this incredible feat that he quickly became an inspiration to many people, young and old, and not just those with interests in engineering and physics. We at Repton School were lucky enough to attend an online lecture he gave about his time on the ISS, the work he did there and what opportunities he had. This lecture was a great opportunity for those with an interest in engineering and physics to learn about some of the real-world applications that there are in the subjects, rather than just the theory learned in the classroom, and it did not disappoint. The breath-taking stories and awe-inspiring photos that Tim Peake showed throughout the presentation illustrated his passion for the work he did. Among these was a gripping tale about a dangerous spacewalk to repair the ISS power supply. We were shocked to learn about the thousands of potential problems he faced, such as if he were to lose his grip or become unattached from the shuttle, he would have no way of getting to the station and would be lost to the vacuum of space. Although we were terrified to hear about this, we were relieved to find out

that luckily this was a problem he did not have to face. During the walk, one of his associates who was out with him felt water in their helmet, the water was also very cold which implied there was a leak in the suit or possibly an issue with the cooling system. This type of fault could have been life-threatening for the astronaut, so the walk was stopped early. His work was to carry out experiments that required specific conditions that could not be achieved on earth. While in space he carried out over 250 experiments showing just how important the job was and just how vital it is for young engineers to keep creating new solution to problems and improve our understanding of the universe in which we reside. He explained that while on his long mission he grew fond of photography and over the 186 days aboard the station he acquired a vast portfolio of photos that really showed the scale of the world around us. These photos, along with the stories of the work he did and experiments he carried out, were so much more than just inspirational: they communicated the bravery and how important the area of engineering is, the development of new technology and new ways of solving problems that we face. Seeing the space station and all the equipment they use really drove this point to the forefront of everyone’s mind.

To prepare for the mission into space, Tim and the rest of the team had to go through rigorous training, these exercises included camping in deep wet caves, g-force exposure, intense physical training, preparing for the equipment used in the station, social exercises and therapy as well as many more trying tasks that were very difficult to persevere through. These stories connected the hard work required to reach your goal and the level of mental and emotional commitment you have to dedicate to get where you want to be – this is incredible true in the case of engineering, a difficult but rewarding field. Projects such as the International Space Station have so much incredible engineering in them all the way from their shape and structure to the transportation of resources to the technology used for generating energy and living there. Feats of engineering such as the ISS arguably show humanity at its absolute apex. This opportunity to hear from Tim Peake about his time on the International Space Station was an incredible one, one that none of the listeners will forget any time soon. It was a great inspiration to hear first-hand about the cutting-edge of so many areas of engineering. Matthew F, L6O

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R EPTON I NTER NATIONAL

An Update A

s many of you will know, Repton has a flourishing family of six international schools. The original purpose in establishing these schools was to provide income to fund bursaries for pupils less able to afford a Repton education, as well as for development projects. Since opening its first school, in Dubai, Repton International has contributed over £5 million to the School and this figure is growing every day. Not only do these schools provide income but they also offer a wealth of opportunities for collaboration and cultural interchange, raising our pupils’ horizons and also providing opportunities for our staff to share ideas and good practice.

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UAE

Repton Dubai opened in 2007 and now has over 1700 pupils. It is consistently rated ‘Outstanding’ by KHDA, the Dubai local education authority, and is well-known for its excellent GCSE and IB Diploma results, as well as its sporting success. From this September, it will offer A Levels for the first time, alongside the IB Diploma and IB Career-related Programmes. In 2013 Foremarke Dubai opened, and has recently changed its name to Repton Al Barsha to reflect the change in name of the UK Prep (Al Barsha is the area of Dubai in which it is situated). Repton Al Barsha was originally established as a Prep school for pupils aged 3-13 but has recently changed its structure to allow pupils to stay on into the Senior School years and will eventually offer GCSEs and A Levels. It has close

to 700 pupils, is rated as ‘Very Good’ by the local authorities and is particularly well-known in Dubai for its high academic standards and excellent performance in local sports tournaments. Repton Abu Dhabi (Rose Campus) opened in 2013 and Repton Abu Dhabi (Fry Campus) followed in 2017. Both these campuses are located on Reem Island in Abu Dhabi and between them educate over 1500 pupils, from age 13 to age 16. Repton Abu Dhabi is rated ‘Very Good’ by the local authorities. Pupils here at the UK school might be surprised to know that they have nearly 4000 fellow Reptonians in the UAE alone! Whilst 2020-21 has been a challenging year for schools around the world due to the Covid pandemic, the pupils in the

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UAE have generally been able to attend more ‘in person’ lessons and school life has continued with many of the same activities, performances and competitions that mark a well-rounded Repton education. The schools in the UAE are thriving, and, despite a general down-turn in the UAE economy due to Covid, are seeing significant increases in pupil numbers for the start of the 2021-22 academic year.

New Schools

This year has been a busy one for Repton International, with the opening of two further Repton schools: one in Malaysia and one in China. Repton International School (Malaysia) is located in the Johor Bahru province, in the south of Malaysia and close to the causeway which connects Malaysia with Singapore. Repton’s partners in the project took the school over from another operator and wanted to work with Repton to re-brand the School and significantly improve its fortunes. Repton Malaysia has very impressive facilities and offers GCSEs, leading to A Levels or the IB Diploma. It is fair to say that the School has bags of potential. With just under 400 pupils at present, a new Principal and Head of Senior School have recently been appointed (for September) and we look forward to sharing lots of interesting news and success-stories from Repton Malaysia over the coming months and years as the number of pupils grows.

Chiway-Repton School, Xiamen has been established in partnership with a well-known education provider in China, Chiway, which is based out of Shanghai. Xiamen itself is a beautiful city, located right on the coast, and is the main city of Fujian province. The school is on the Chinese bi-lingual model, with pupils educated from Kindergarten up to Grade 10 (the equivalent of Year 11) in both Mandarin and English: they can then go on to study for A Levels in their final two years. This latest addition to the Repton family currently has just under 300 pupils and is growing all the time.

And next year

Repton Cairo opens in September 2021. It is located in the prestigious Mivida development in New Cairo and will boast excellent facilities in a beautiful purposebuilt campus. The School will initially cater only to Primary-aged children but will quickly grow to include Secondary pupils and will eventually educate 1200 pupils, across the age-range.

And so our family grows

With a school in Doha on the horizon and another in Bulgaria, there is much to look forward to and we hope to increase the opportunities available to our pupils and staff in the coming years. Daniel Lewis, Managing Director Repton International T H E R EP TO N I A N 2 0 2 1

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CCF

nfortunately, CCF this year couldn’t take place in its normal format due to social distancing and bubbles. This said, we still managed to have a lot of fun with it in a different format. We have taken part in activies by year group, with the O Block, completing their weapon handling and the Lower Sixth developing their teaching and leadership skills. The Upper Sixth took part in a range of activities including climbing and mountain biking. We also managed to incorporate a reduced version of Barnes squad for the A Block. There were a series of tasks they had to complete including the obstacle course, pool task, navigation, archery, shooting, cycling and superstars. Each of these stalls were manned by the senior NCOs to ensure a smooth running of the event. It was an exciting afternoon with Field House taking first position overall and Cross House in second.

Hattie N, U6F

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POLIT ICS Heather Wheeler Talk

to settle for a virtual meeting due to Lockdown 3.0. Fortunately, this did not affect engagement: turnout was high and input widespread among the group.

On the 19th of January, we were fortunate enough to (virtually) meet Mrs Wheeler to get her view on a wide range of issues and to learn first-hand how parliament functions. Mrs Wheeler is able to provide such information with ease: she holds extensive backbench experience and has served her constituency since 2010 when she managed to prise the seat from Labour’s grasp. Interestingly enough, she has a strong link to the village of Repton: in 1995, her first political position came in the form of the South Derbyshire District Council seat of Repton. Although such an opportunity would normally be one experienced physically, we were forced

The evening began with Dr Lakin introducing us to Mrs Wheeler by providing a brief background on her political career, followed by a couple of starter questions. Following this, Mrs Wheeler was questioned (some would argue grilled) by us pupils on a plethora of topics ranging from the handling by social media sites of world leaders to the economic recovery from coronavirus. The evidently meticulous consideration of all asked questions, accompanied by concise articulation, greatly improved the levels of enjoyment and quality of the evening – all involved deserve to be commended. Such well-constructed questions forced Mrs Wheeler to fully consider her answers and this resulted in relatively insightful answers in most cases. Most importantly, they occasionally caused Mrs Wheeler to

o optimally excel at A Level Politics, it is important to occasionally step away from the syllabus and experience alternative mediums of learning. Therefore, the Q and A session with South Derbyshire Conservative MP Heather Wheeler provided a perfect opportunity to do just that.

slip out of the typical manner with which politicians normally answer questions (unsurprisingly, it was at these moments where the most valuable answers came). A particular highlight was the countless anecdotes and insider information provided by Mrs Wheeler; watch out for the next cabinet reshuffle! Although made harder by Teams, debate was encouraged in a healthy, well-spirited manner and it certainly flowed well. Such lively debate can only be viewed as beneficial and was undoubtedly the highlight of the night, with clashes of ideals and opinions causing great amusement, admittedly perhaps not always for the involved parties. It was great that the event was still able to occur despite the lockdown and it was undeniably a beneficial experience for all attendees, regardless of one’s personal political stance. Hopefully, it is an event that will continue to occur for many years to come. Adam M, L6O T H E R EP TO N I A N 2 0 2 1

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H EROI N ES

The past two years have been a strange time for the world.

o one has been able to enjoy the thrilling experience of going to live theatre in what seems like forever; however, in November of this school year, some members of the Lower Sixth were given the incredible opportunity to assemble in the Science Priory Lecture Theatre and watch a modern interpretation of Ovid’s Heroides put on digitally by Jermyn Street Theatre Online. The Heroides was written over two thousand years ago and is a retelling of the Greek and Roman myths in the form of letters written by women to their heroic, glorified husbands (and ex-husbands). The women discuss how race, religion, gender, identity and ethnicity impacted their lives and stories. Their monologues remained so poignant and relevant that, even though we were not alive 2,000 years ago, we were able to have an insight into the women’s perspectives. Although Ovid wrote the Heroides to be performed as monologues, women weren’t permitted to perform at that time so they were often recited by men. The fact that each monologue was written by a woman for a woman gives it a sense of power as the women reclaim their stories as their own and finally set the record straight.

In this production, retitled The 15 Heroines, we follow the stories of fifteen women of myth, including queens, sorcerers and nymphs, all abandoned on the trail left behind by their male counterparts. Each woman had their own monologue, their own voice, to present their struggles and their plight in their own way as never before. Some of the women are famous, and aided great heroes on their quests (such as Medea and Ariadne); others are less well-known, their stories have been cast aside and forgotten (such as Canace

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and Phyllis). The work was split up into three parts across three consecutive evenings: The War, The Labyrinth, and The Desert. The War included stories of the Trojan War, The Labyrinth was about women who encountered Theseus and Jason, and The Desert featured women concerned with determining their own fates. One of the aspects I found particularly striking about the production was the creativity and execution. All of the outfits, props and scenery had a modern twist; for example, Penelope, the wife of Odysseus spent twenty years in agony and distress waiting for him to return from his journey. During that time, Odysseus had affairs with nymphs and witches, while Penelope patiently awaited his arrival while staying completely faithful to him (even though suitors lined up left and right for her hand in marriage). To pass the time, Penelope wove a tapestry to postpone facing the suitors, and proclaimed that she would address the suitors when her tapestry was completed. Rather cunningly, she unravelled part of the tapestry every night to avoid getting closer to having to address the suitors. In The 15 Heroines, Penelope is seen sewing a dress on an ironing board and looking at her Facebook page in order to check if she was any closer to seeing her husband again; as the monologue progressed she became increasingly distressed and we got an insight into the pain she was feeling as she had spent a quarter of a life-time suffering and worrying due to the absence of her husband. The production really captured how the story resonates in the modern day. Another performance which I particularly found very powerful was the story of Hermione, the daughter of Helen of Sparta, well-known for being the most

beautiful woman in the world. Now, while you may assume that the daughter of a woman whose looks were envied by even the gods would have a perfect life and be as famous as her mother, but this is not true at all. Hermione was nine years old when her mother was taken away by Paris and her father was away for a decade fighting in the Trojan war, so throughout her life she had no mother or father figure. She was then promised, against her will (and her heart) by her father Menelaus to the son of Achilles, Pyrrhus. She was mistreated by Pyrrhus (and, indeed, was actually in love with her cousin, Orestes). Hermione’s representation in The 15 Heroines was nothing short of genius; she was shown in a prison cell being interviewed by the authorities. She is seen with a cigarette, her legs on the table, a strip of black war paint on her face and wearing old and grey clothes. As the performance progressed, Hermione became increasingly angry at the authorities for interrogating her and described how she was raped and mistreated by Pyrrhus and how she resented her parents for leaving her behind. She spoke out against unjust systems and violence towards women in a really powerful manner. Not only did this production succeed in retelling the myths in a powerful and relevant way, but it gave us the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the world of the fifteen heroines. Sophia D, L6A

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M EN TA L H EA LT H PODCAST

s my New Years’ resolution for 2021, I decided that I would finally create my own mental health podcast, an ambition I have had for years. My own experiences prompted me record my own podcast: losing my brother Harry during 2019 ignited my interest in mental health as he wished to study for a masters exploring the links between genetics and mental health. Later that year I attended a 2-day MHFA (Mental Health First Aid) England youth course, enabling me to help support my peers and share mental health information to help remove the stigma associated with the topic. Following this I created Repton’s first Mental Health Room and started presenting mental health talks to all year groups to contribute to the school’s mental health support. As I approached the end of my time at Repton, I wished to create something I could continue through university. The effect of coronavirus and subsequent lockdowns on mental

health has been immeasurable, which further catalysed my motivation to create a platform to support others while people were isolated in their own homes. Therefore ‘How are you? (Really)’ was born, a question which should be asked much more frequently. My podcast shares tips to maintain mental health in the form of self-care, discussions of topics that affect mental health and information about mental illness to reduce stigma. Topics I have now covered include eating disorders, stress, bereavement, body dysphoria and dysmorphia. Speaking about such topics helps educate others and remove the stigma towards mental health. This in turn helps individuals feel supported more by society as a whole. Inviting others to speak on my podcast allows personal experiences to be celebrated and cherished, and, despite the struggle often experienced with mental ill health, it helps show others that there is hope and that they are not alone.

Other pupils who have spoken on my podcast include Lily M (U6A) and James T-C (U6N), who helped me create an amazing and deeply personal episode addressing anorexia. My goal with this podcast is to show others that seeking help is the first step in recovery, and in each episode description I provide tailored helplines and information specific to the topic explored. I hope to invite more individuals in the future to share their stories and show that mental health affects everyone. My dream guest would definitely be Matt Haig, author of ‘The Midnight Library’; he is an incredible mental health advocate and has helped many people with his novel concerning the choices someone makes to have the happiest life. I hope to continue my podcast long into the future, and help as many people as I can through my platform. Evie L, U6A

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CLU BS SOCI ETI ES M A R R IOT SOCI ET Y Repton’s History and Politics Society, the Marriot Society, has had another lively and fruitful year, despite the adversity of the time in which we live. In October, whilst President Trump and Joe Biden were campaigning across the U.S, debates between Reptonians were heating up. With Diletta D (U6G) eloquently presenting and defending the Democrat Party platform it was expected to be a challenging debate for Zack B (U6S), Trump’s confident spokesman. Initially (with the event being hosted on Teams) we were apprehensive of a passive debate – it was anything but. As we cycled through seminal topics of debate – Covid-19, the economy and race and violence in the U.S it was clear we had two skilled and knowledgeable orators keen on winning. The diligent analysis and evaluation of each other’s arguments kept the debate lively and entertaining. Both sides surprisingly counteracted each other. Given the Republican Party hadn’t updated their platform from 2016, Brough kept pace with Davolio’s innovative ideas and responses. To conclude the debate, we accepted questions from the audience with Ben B-M (L6P) notably scrutinising the validity of the candidates’ strong chains of reasoning.

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It was a night of intellectual challenge and exploration of the political wilderness of U.S politics that left the audience informed and inspired. It’s safe to say, if Zack B (U6S) had stood for the Republicans, they may have had a chance. December’s meeting saw Owen R (U6O) and Adam M (L6O) produce presentations on Colonel Gaddafi and Pol Pot respectively, suggesting that these figures needed more exposure within the pupil body. Whilst Owen focussed on the idea that Gaddafi was misunderstood by and threatened the West as a result of his Pan-African intentions, Adam argued that Pol Pot’s infamous resume of human rights abuse made him worthy of a place amongst history’s more prevalent inhumane dictatorial figures. These presentations set out to make the audience reevaluate their preconceptions and certainly achieved that, with insightful points made from meticulous research which extended further than what the audience was familiar with.

When under scrutiny, Owen and Adam excelled, demonstrating their interest in these figures which culminated in their judgement and providing the audience with a memorable meeting. Keeping with the theme of historical figures, in March the floor welcomed Mary B (L6M) to produce a highbrow presentation on the life and career of Saladin, arguably one of the Middle East’s most successful leaders, establishing the Ayubbid dynasty throughout Egypt and much of the Levant. Despite Saladin’s life being in the 12th Century, Mary’s presentation encouraged the idea that Saladin is still a hugely relevant figure in society, not only when discussing tension in the Middle East but also the overly positive scholarly analysis in which Saladin’s generosity is highlighted. It was another memorable meeting which provided the audience with a different angle of education in a topic which would usually be unfamiliar. Sam C,U6O & Freddie D, U6P

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M FL

‘Language holds the key to our knowledge, our understanding, our memory, our culture and our identity’. Bernadette Homes, Director of Speak to the Future

s our world becomes increasingly globalised, we must consider the value that foreign language skills bring, not only with regards to business and trade, but also to the cultural appreciation that can be hindered due to barriers of understanding. There has been a significant decline – by 30% in the past decade – in pupils committing to learning a language, evident through recent studies of UCAS applications. Indeed, we cannot pinpoint the reason for this; however, one might speculate that it is due to the complacent mindset of younger people presuming they will ‘get by’ with English in many popular European tourist destinations, such as Madrid, Paris, or Rome. Yet how can we become global citizens in a multilingual society if there simply is not enough ability to communicate effectively with other countries in order to forge successful partnerships? To gain an enriching experience upon visiting a foreign country, whether for business or simply for enjoyment, the desire to embrace unfamiliar concepts is essential. Would it not be one of the most considerate ways to express not only respect

ENGLISH S P E A K I N G U N IO N

COMPETITION Although Covid restrictions over the past year have caused the cancellation of many events, the English Speaking Union Competition was still able to go ahead, albeit over zoom. This led to our team – Ali H (11M), Florence T (11F), and myself – calling in from our homes, performing the roles of Speaker, Chair and Questioner respectively. In the first heat, faced with the additional challenges of opening the evening and having no live audience, Florence excelled, creating a warm atmosphere which allowed the speaker from Concord College, Ilona Joline, to discuss the damaging impact discrimination in America is having on the Asian-American

but also interest and passion for the culture of a country to converse with the natives in their own language? Many British tourists today embark on holiday with the mindset that everyone whom they encounter will understand them, and if not, then merely amplifying their voice and prolonging their words should help. However, intercultural awareness is essentially the foundation upon which successful communication is built, and this requires an awareness of someone else’s culture, as well as one’s own. Apart from just establishing a connection between natives and foreigners, language skills significantly expand our cultural horizons. For example, consider the wonders we can access through the ability to understand a foreign tongue. Literature of a different language stimulates different ways of thinking that might be superior to our own. Gabriel Gárcia Márquez, possibly the greatest contemporary Spanish author of his time, wrote various wonderous novels, including ‘Crónica de una muerte anunciada’, in his native language: Spanish. There is a certain lyrical beauty within

community. While thought provoking, Ali H’s later performance exceeded the high bar set by previous speeches, as she delivered a speech discussing how ‘Conspiracy theories are the new religion’. This was so well written and executed that Ali was awarded the ‘Best Speaker’ award for the evening; considering seven other speeches had been made, this was an incredible achievement. The high standard from all our team across the evening meant that we advanced into the next round, the Regional Finals. Following helpful advice from Mr Swanston, we went into the next round feeling well-prepared and excited. Ali did incredibly once again, having researched and written another equally engaging speech inspired by a quote from French philosopher Rousseau: ‘Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains.’ Similarly,

Márquez’s writing, explored through the alternative and exotic reality of magical realism, and this rich poetic narrative would have little effect on an Englishspeaking reader, as the stylistic nuances would be lost in translation. It is critical that we understand the colossal value in learning a language; without the ability to converse with foreign citizens, humans are denying themselves the vast opportunities and ‘wonders’ that this skill can provide. There is an unavoidable challenge involved in taking on a language; it requires perseverance and tenacity, which many are afraid of due to our instinctive aspiration to be perfect. Therefore, without the essential motivation that determines human behaviour, one can submit to the ‘easy option’ of relying on the widespread understanding of English. However, just because of the dominance of our language as a worldwide tongue for communication, why should we be denied the beauty of others? Poppy K, U6G

another speech delivered by the speaker from Whitley academy, Callum Adams, introduced by Florence, gave me the opportunity to question him about his speech, resulting in Repton winning a ‘Best Questioner’ award. To have won two awards in as many competitions is a great achievement, revealing how well our team had been prepared by Mr Swanston. And after the judges conferred, we learnt that Repton had come runners-up in the Regional Final, and, while this did not mean we advanced to the next round, we were all proud of our performance, and thoughtful feedback from the judges made the experience as useful as it was fun. Huge thanks to Mr Swanston for his expert guidance and for organising the event – we all really enjoyed it! Sophie D, 11M T H E R EP TO N I A N 2 0 2 1

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FEM I N IST SOC

Monday March 22nd, 2021 marked an important moment in Repton’s illustrious history; the very first meeting of the Repton Feminist Society.

hat initially prompted us to ask Ms Eades to help create this society in October of last year was a discussion we had been part of during a lesson the previous month. The topic of feminism had been brought up, and immediately people began vocalising exactly what came to mind when they heard that word: ‘radical, far-left women who are always shouting, and hate men.’ Then there were people mockingly asking one another if they were a feminist, to which the response was something along the lines of ‘What? No, of course not’. It shocked us that so many people unanimously agreed that this was what a ‘feminist’ was, and we realised there would likely be many more people outside of that particular lesson who had the same impression of feminism. After bringing up this topic to others in our year group, it was incredibly surprising to learn just how many people did not realise the significance of blatantly sexist and offensive comments, nor knew that they were derogatory at all. Some insinuated that catcalling was in fact a form of ‘complimenting a girl’, as others shared stories of how uncomfortable and frightened they had felt when being catcalled. After voicing these concerns with friends, we were each able to share a multitude of instances when we had felt uncomfortable or frightened: walking alone in the dark, feeling the constant sense of dread that someone is following you, going on a run and being harassed by honking vans. Vocalising these experiences really brought to light the injustice of it all – why did we all have to go through this? Why did this happen to so many of us? Why is this still so normalised in today’s society? Having

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these long over-due conversations helped us realise that there was certainly a community present within Repton who strongly encouraged the advocacy of gender equality and wished to explore the topic and nature of feminism further. And this same, evidently large, community was abundantly present at the first Feminist Society meeting, with nearly 50 pupils and staff members attending online with open minds and attentive ears. Never in our three years at Repton have we ever heard so much conversation about women’s issues than in the week following the tragic death of Sarah Everard. We saw so many individuals share resources and information online, educating one another when difficult questions were asked, and dispelling misconceptions about what it means to be a ‘feminist.’ What had been circling in the media became a prominent topic of conversation within the school, sparking important discussions in every lesson, across all subjects, as the first meeting of the Repton Feminist Society took place. Seeing so many pupils and teachers attending filled us with great confidence in the passion and drive the school has to begin conversations many people are yet to have about gender inequality and feminism. An investigation led by UN Women UK found that 97% of women in the UK aged 18-24 have been sexually harassed, with 96% not reporting those situations because they believed that nothing would be done to help them. Another 28 girls become child brides somewhere in the world every minute and there are over 150 countries that have at least one actively sexist law still in practice: from ‘legitimate’ rape in India to

unfair inheritance laws in the UK, the majority of countries still harbour laws that make life more difficult – or more dangerous – for women and girls. But regardless of the fact that revolutions are made up of individuals, led by individuals, and powered by thousands of individual revolutions, these shocking facts highlight the dramatic shift in perspective and action our society must undergo. This shift was at the forefront of our minds when creating this society in Repton we wanted to spark these conversations within our community. The Repton Feminist Society has numerous aims for the school – providing an educational insight into the history of feminism and its relevance today, providing information and resources on women’s issues and how to be an ally to all women. We also hope to be a safe space in which pupils can share their personal views and experiences about ongoing issues within and outside of the school. It is our intention that the Feminist Society will continue to meet regularly throughout the next academic year to discuss the importance of learning about women’s issues and intersectionality, while also identifying what can be done within our community to ensure Repton is a welcoming and safe environment for all pupils. Ali H, 11M & Florence T, 11F

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PHYSICS OLYMPIAD The British Physics Olympiad. As one of the most cut-throat competitions A Level Physics has to offer, thousands of pupils compete every year to see where they’ll come amongst their peers. Repton is unlike no-other school and enters every pupil possible. Yet this year it was very different – lockdown! Despite the complications of coronavirus, every young physicist was keen for the competition to go ahead, giving the organisers the fuel to move the Olympiad online. With thirteen from Repton participating, we were given the green light to start our two papers and between us managed to obtain seven Bronze certificates, two Silvers, and even had three pupils – Matthew F (L6O), Samuel N (L6C) and Tadd P (L6P) – achieve Gold awards, placing us in the top 15% of participants.

The Sixth Form weren’t the only year groups to get involved; a few keen O Block pupils managed to put time aside from their GCSE studies to participate in the Intermediate Challenge. The 26 competitors managed to bring home two Bronze awards, 21 Silver and another three Golds: Gonzalo M (11L), Manav C (11O) and Luke R (11S). Overall, this year’s Physics Olympiad managed to demonstrate how Repton’s Science department consistently goes above and beyond by not only teaching the curriculum, but also teaching us about the wider purpose of science and equipping us to excel on a national level. This creates adaptable pupils that will be ready for all the challenges of university and careers in STEM. Samual N, L6C

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T H E E NGI N EER I NG SOCI ET Y 2020-2021

he Engineering Society has had a surprisingly busy year, despite the obvious limitations. Activities were restricted to online-only for much of the year or project work in year-group bubbles. Nonetheless, Repton’s engineers were as industrious as ever. Co-Presidents Phoebe P (U6M) and Henry D (U6P) led by example, undertaking a project to outline the physics and electrical engineering behind drone design. Their plan explored two of engineering’s most challenging disciplines - circuitry and aerodynamics – as well as the more pragmatic project management skills that they have developed through their studies in A Level Design.

Newcomers to the Engineering Society, B Blockers Sebastian R (9P) and Jacob I-O (9S) have also thrown themselves into group project work, producing an entry to Shell’s Bright Ideas Challenge, which centres on the creative application of scientific principles to mitigate climate change. Their idea aimed to use small turbines to harness some of the energy wasted as gusts of wind generated by the London

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Underground – and they designed a system to store this energy by raising weights in subterranean lift shafts. Upper Sixths Dan R (U6S) and Henry D (U6P) both completed EPQ projects with engineering at their hearts. Dan, who is aiming to study Mechanical Engineering at university, explored the technological advances that originated in Formula 1 and have since been adopted by the consumer car industry. Dan developed research and evaluative skills which will be valuable in his future as an engineer. Henry’s project involved restoring a decades-old sportscar to a road-legal status, which posed challenges ranging from rewiring the internal circuitry to replacing the soft-top roof. Henry remarked that the most valuable skill he learned throughout his project was the ability to problem-solve – a vital skill for any budding engineer. A year dominated by Zoom calls and Teams meetings is not without its opportunities – one particular highlight was the opportunity for our Lower Sixth formers to attend a Webinar with British Astronaut Tim Peake. Tim regaled us with amazing

stories of his time on the International Space Station, including a spacewalk to repair the cooling system – during which a colleague’s suit developed a life-threatening leak. Tim answered questions from the viewers, including a question from Repton asking his advice for aspiring astronauts – his answer was perhaps surprising: focus on your passion, build your interpersonal skills and learn a language (Tim was, after all, an astronaut with the European Space Agency). The Engineering Society also welcomed back – virtually – Old Reptonian Bekah Walton (Field House, 2018) to talk about getting started in the world of engineering. Bekah is now in her third year of an engineering degree at Loughborough University and she gave useful insight into how a Reptonian can best prepare themself for a career as an engineer, with advice on applications and experience as well as what to expect from an engineering degree. Bekah is an excellent role model for young engineers and it is wonderful to see her flourishing in her post-Repton years. TML

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LI T ER AT U R E SOCI ET Y RER’s reading group has been going on for nearly a year now on Wednesday evenings, and we are on the way to finishing three books as a group. Even throughout lockdown, there have been opportunities to find new books through the weekly book pitches. A theme is provided the previous week and members volunteer to give a brief advertisement of their book and talk about anything to do with it: their favourite parts, various adaptations in other media, and their authors. Alongside the pitches, we discuss the books we are reading together as a group. Last Summer Term, we began with ‘Six of Crows’, a fantasy novel that had mixed reviews at first, but it was not long before everyone was soon discussing favourite characters and the brilliant plot. Now we have moved on to two books at once: ‘Where The Crawdads Sing’ and ‘Rebecca’, two mysteries set in different eras and countries. This Literary Society has no fixed theme of books we read but it has covered (and is likely to continue to do so) many genres of books from a more modern era than the other Literary Society.

Differing from RER’s, BCM’s own Literary Society (on Tuesday evenings) started up more recently, and this society is focused more on lectures following a timeline of literature as opposed to discussing modern literature. We began with the likes of Beowulf and travelled through time each week to the more recent Shakespeare so far. Each week, we would be introduced to a new author or text and learn about the different facets of their life and work, sometimes analysing or interpreting texts themselves. This Literary Society focuses on the evolution of literature throughout history and has made swift progress in doing so. While both societies are different, it is great fun to be part of both of them and I look forward to seeing Repton’s literary scene continue to go from strength to strength. Harry W, 11S

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DEBAT I NG SOCI ET Y In debating, confidence is key. This is definitely something we have all learnt and taken on board this year.

hen B Block Debating Society started at the beginning of the year, most people had no clue about what debating involved: people were just keen to have a go at something completely new. Debating has been on a Monday or a Wednesday and has run most weeks of the year. There have been a different group of people at every session, which makes it even more motivating, debating with and against new people every week. Debating society kicked off the year with a B Block showcase debate, which was an opportunity for us to demonstrate to our classmates what we had done so far, and also encourage more people to get involved with the society. It was a great success! So many people were eager to get involved, so much so names had to be drawn out of a hat to decide who the 4 members of each team would be! Even those whose names were not picked were needed: they formed the research teams for the proposition and opposition. And of course, there was the all-important role of chair, which was filled by Jonny I (9L). The motion we were debating was “This house would ban “boys aisles” and “girls aisles” in shops”. The proposition team was Bella C, Beth P, (9G) Ophelia W, and Charlie C-S (9S). The opposition team was Michael C (9L), Zak W (9S), and Henry W (9S) (the fourth team member was unable to attended, and it was too late notice for a

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replacement to stand in). The proposition’s main argument was that having these aisles in shops entrenches stereotypes. They also argued that they build a sexist society, and it encourages discrimination, along with the fact that the pressure of having to conform to expectations can cause children to be something they are not. The opposition’s main arguments were that the aisles are convenient for shoppers; that the aisles are not sexist as they are not enforced, and; that it is not the shop’s fault if people judge children who go to the isle intended for the opposite gender. After the debate, it was up to the pupils who watched the debate to decide the winner. All the votes were counted, and the opposition team emerged victorious. However, both teams did extremely well. In the Lent Term, 4 members of the society were chosen to represent the school in the International Competition for Young Debaters (ICYD), which was hosted online for the first time due to the Covid restrictions. The two teams were Beth P and Michael C, and Bella C and Zak W. The competition was a great learning experience for all as this was the first external debating competition any of us had ever taken part in. Bella and Zak achieved a 3rd place in the first debate, a 4th in the second, a 2nd in the third and another 3rd in the final debate. They scored a total of 8 points at the end of the day. Beth and Michael achieved a 2nd in the first debate, a 2nd in the

second, a 3rd in the third and another 3rd place in the final debate. At the end of the day, Beth and Michael had 10 points and just missed out on moving forward to the next round of the competition. It was great to see some more experienced teams from other schools, which we all found extremely beneficial. Throughout the day, we all became more confident and comfortable with the roles in the debate format. Overall, the competition was a brilliant opportunity to learn and develop our skills, and we were all thankful to the organisers who worked so hard to ensure it ran as smoothly as possible given the difficult circumstances. We have even more motions to discuss and debates to win next year! I think all of the members can agree that debating society has been extremely beneficial, teaching us a new skill and providing an interesting activity to keep us busy, something that has been particularly important this year, due to coronavirus preventing many of the activities we would have been able to take part in. Of course, the society would not have been able to run without Ms. Eades and Mr. Swanston, to whom we are all extremely grateful. Beth P & Bella C, 9G

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National

MACE COMPETITION

he debating team took part in the national MACE competition in which we were faced with some particularly fascinating motions. One of which, as a politics pupil, I found especially interesting. Is democracy failing the youth of today? This is the bigger question I was left with following a debating competition where the motion was, “should voting be made compulsory?” Compulsory voting is currently in place in only 22 nation states worldwide. In 2016, Australia had a 91% voter turnout and in the US it was 56%. My question was this: did these figures actually enhance the legitimacy of the Australian outcome? I find it frustrating that, historically, voting has decreased in democracies without compulsory voting. In the UK, turnout has decreased from a post-war average of 75% to around 65% in the last 15 years. Do major national or international events such as war or fear of authoritarian regimes influence voter turnout and drive us away from the ballot box? I do not think that this is the case. People simply do not want to feel like they have no choice.

But are we ever truly without choices when it comes to voting, even if it is compulsory? My current belief is that there is always an option – even spoiling the ballot paper shows an engagement with the voting system. An informed political decision has been made. We live in very turbulent political times. Governments need to engage with society and in particular empower their youth or risk a generation of disenfranchised voters and run the risk of inappropriate leaders. Unfortunately in this particular competition we did not progress past the second round, however, it was still a valuable experience especially given the circumstances. Due to Covid, all debates took place on Zoom. This posed a new set of challenges, but the team performed very well considering and enjoyed themselves none the less! Ellie B, U6G

Ladies, gentlemen, chair.

s the Upper Sixth end an illustrious 5-year stint with the Debating Society, it is an excellent opportunity to lookback on one of the strangest years the society has faced – that’s not just because of the pandemic! We’ve seen countless numbers of debaters stuck on mute, a few competitions, and endless unexplainable calls. Despite all of this, 2020-2021 was an amusing, successful and entertaining year. Taking part in British Parliamentary competitions such as Oxford and Cambridge debating competitions, the society kept itself busy. These competitions allowed both novices and experienced debaters to keep competing and keep their skills refined over an arduous lockdown. Moving away from British Parliamentary, the society was able to succeed in the ESU Schools’ Mace as we made it to the regional finals once again. This prepared debating competition using a different format to our usual scene allowed Ellie, Alex and I the opportunity to work on both our content and delivery. Whilst we were pipped at the post, for a second year running at the regional finals, at least thankfully to Newcastle-under-Lyme School, democracy will stand another day. I’m sure I speak for everyone in the society, and certainly personally, when I say that we are extremely thankful for effort and dedication that Mr Swanston and the new addition Ms Eades have put into the Repton Debating society. Despite multiple awful judges, militarily trained London-schools, equity violations, both Mr Swanston and Ms Eades have persisted in training and guiding all members of the society, and for that I’m very thankful, and looking forward to seeing the society’s future successes. Never been prouder to propose. Freddie D, U6 T H E R EP TO N I A N 2 0 2 1

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LGBTQ + SOCI ET Y

Repton Pride, then called ‘the book club’, was born out of

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From its very first informal meeting, there was a special sense of community that has fuelled its success; we first met as a support group, to lend a hand to pupils who may have been struggling, to answer the questions of allies, and to create friendship.

ESS

Years later, this same kindness still characterises our society. From the kindness of our eager members of staff who donate much of their time to help our aims, to the kindness of the allies that come to learn new things in order to understand people different from them, Pride continues to showcase key personal values of Reptonians. Now, in my last year at Repton, I ponder on how the growth of the LGBTQ+ society and my own personal growth are interlinked. Tears from shared hardships have transformed in smiles and laughter following each change Repton Pride is now able to install in school. Secret meetings have become an official society, supported by members of staff, which is able to mobilise change. This year, we have focused on education on the use of appropriate language, especially during our celebration of Pride History Month in February. As I write this, we are organising ideas for celebrating Pride month in June, and hopefully introducing gender-neutral toilets before the new year. On a wider scale, I think that Repton Pride represents the school’s willingness to change for the better. In this society, pupils’ voices are not only heard, but listened to and amplified in order to create a more welcoming environment, which values and embraces a diverse pupil body. Repton Pride has the dualistic function of providing a safe, non-judgemental space for LGBTQ+ pupils and allies, and also donating something to the wider school community, by helping to spread one of Repton School’s values: ‘Respect founded on a deep regard for common humanity in each other’. Diletta D, U6G

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B BLOCK

T EM PLE SOCI ET Y A national lockdown, Covid-19 restrictions and technology issues. Despite these obstacles, the B Block Temple Society has continued as usual, encouraging insight and wisdom.

he Society has aimed to meet once every fortnight, to ensure its members are happy and content in the school environment and to discuss topics and ideas that stretch our understanding. Temple Society has thrived this year despite the incredibly unusual circumstances we have found ourselves in. The Society’s members have all made interesting and memorable contributions to every topic considered. In the Michaelmas Term, Temple Society members were tasked with answering the question “What is the world’s greatest invention?” and creating a talk to present to the rest of the group. There was a range of answers, from vaccines to the discovery of cooking, from Alan Turing’s Bombe to the invention of writing. Every single presentation was different and unique, and sparked riveting conversation. Robbie B (9P) talked to the Society about money. His presentation was highly engaging and led to an insightful conversation. We discussed how money facilitated trade: now, rather than only being able to trade in one’s own services, money is universally transferrable. An example to illustrate this is a housebuilder. If you are a housebuilder, how can you buy sheep from a farmer who already has a house? Without money, you have nothing he needs, but the invention of money created something that everybody could benefit from. It also standardised currency: now, your currency is worth

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the same, whatever the circumstances. Going back to the example used to illustrate the previous point, the housebuilder’s houses are worth a lot less in a society where everyone has a house than where no-one does and money solves this conundrum. The final point we considered was how money made the expansion of trade much easier - it is easier to carry money great distances than it is to build houses in a distant village. Izzy T (9A) talked to the Society about the steam engine. After her brilliant talk, we thought of the ways in which the steam engine changed life. We talked about how it democratised travel, making it far cheaper and quicker. The steam train also led to the invention of the suburb – people could work in a city and travel home every night to suburbs where there was more space and larger houses and gardens. It enabled empires to dominate – moving goods and troops vast distances at great speed and changed the concept and perceptions of distance itself. Suddenly, it made sense to work away from where you lived, or to go on a daytrip or short holiday. We even discussed how the steam train changed food! One could now enjoy fresh produce, such as milk and fruit, from much further afield. Time, too, changed, as time had to be standardised, to ensure that trains did not collide by working on different timetables, for example Bristol-time vs. London-time. In a sense, life became more rushed: if it

takes four days to walk from Derby to London, 15 minutes is neither here nor there, whereas now, it makes a huge difference – missing a train or not! The final consequence of the invention of the steam train was that disease could spread more easily. The progress of the Spanish ‘flu can be traced along the railway-lines in South Africa, as the troops returned from WWI. In the Lent Term and the Summer Term, our topic was Art and Poetry, and the Society was tasked with presenting our thoughts and views on our favourite poem or piece of artwork, individually or in a pair or group. The chosen pieces were all extremely interesting, some already well-known and others less so, making it a great learning experience as we discussed lesser-known features of famous pieces and new, fresh works that most of the group had not heard of before. Personally, I particularly enjoyed this challenge, as I did not have a wide knowledge of art or poetry beforehand, and I therefore found the research carried out for my own presentation, as well as the presentations of my peers, extremely enlightening. Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper was the piece Bella C (9G) presented to the Society. An image of the painting is shown on the right. Bella offered stimulus questions to provoke a discussion of the symbolism in art, using Da Vinci’s masterpiece as a starting-point: the painting manages to unify a very broad scene of a long

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The Last Supper, 1495–1498 by Leonardo Da Vinci at Santa Maria delle Grazie church Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Blue Poles, 1952 by Jackson Pollock Image courtesy of www.Jackson-Pollock.org

table with 12 Apostles by putting the vanishing-point just behind Christ’s head. Different reactions of the Apostles can be seen as Christ (centre) tells them that he will be betrayed and killed: each of the groups of three Apostles has distinct reactions to the news (with different reactions within individual groups), but no single group dominates our attention. Thomas, to the right of Christ, is stunned in disbelief, shown by his raised finger. James, to Christ’s left, throws his hand up in shock. Philip seems not to understand, and to be asking for an explanation. Peter is angry, holding a knife. “Trinities” can be seen throughout this piece: the groups of three individuals, Christ’s arms which seem to be making a triangle as he gesticulates towards the table, and the three windows behind him. A femininelooking figure can be seen to the left of Christ. This leads us to wonder who this is: Mary Magdalene? The Apostle John? Judas is portrayed in shadow in the picture, clutching a small bag of what appears to be coins. His head is lowest of all the Apostles’, and he has tipped over a saltcellar, a symbol of betrayal, foreshadowing his betrayal of Jesus.

Izzy T presented Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles, a painting that came close to bringing down a government (due to the controversy caused when the National Gallery of Australia bought it, with the approval of the then-PM). It was yet another outstanding presentation, which led us to question what art really is. Is it a question of technical skill? Can it be a subconscious act, such as Jackson Pollock flicking paint at a canvas? Does its essence lie in the fact that it is presented as art, in a gallery? Does it matter that we cannot always know the artist’s intentions? Does it matter if the artist themself cannot tell you what their intentions were? Does it matter if each viewer has a different reaction to the painting (both from other viewers’ reactions, and from that (if any) intended by the artist)? The abundance of questions inspired by this painting certainly explain the chosen title of the talk, and made you see how it really could have brought down a government. All the members of the Society contributed to this discussion, leading to a variety of opinions and outlooks on art, all of which were illuminating. Everyone was able to

learn something from the discussion of this painting, arguably the most insightful and memorable conversation we have had this year. We have even more exciting topics to look forward to discussing next academic year: the impact of technology on communication, medicine, warfare, memory, political freedoms, the liberation of women, privacy and so on. Personally, I cannot wait. Temple Society has been so beneficial for me, and I am sure many other members feel the same. It has provided me a place to improve my understanding on a variety of topics in a supportive environment. It has shown me that there isn’t always a correct or certain answer to a question: it is up to you to decide what the message of a poem or painting is, as there is no right or wrong answer and any opinion or interpretation is valid. Some questions just can’t be answered, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying. Beth P, 9G

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R A MSEY SOCI ET Y Ramsey Society, for Sixth Form scholars, is held around once a month, and it is an opportunity to discuss fascinating topics, such as AI and whether abortion or euthanasia are morally ethical. Ramsey Society offers an opportunity to discuss these topics that we might otherwise not have the opportunity to do so in school. I have found that certain topics seem to be recurring in our conversations, such as freedom of speech and the impact of echo chambers on modern politics. The breadth of topics to explore has been shown in the papers delivered this year. We have discussed AI and its implications, as well as what is necessary to give AI personhood. As well as pressing real-life and moral issues such as euthanasia and censorship, the members also covered abstract philosophical questions, such as Wittgenstein’s ‘beetle in a box’. The Society started in earnest on Teams, which made it harder for discussion to flow, but perhaps this was easier for those presenting. Anyhow, it seemed to work and the conversations didn’t appear to be stifled by the challenges of online calls and poor connections.

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What I personally love about Ramsey Society is the sharing and exchanging of different ideas and the openness of the conversation. Nothing is off the table, as long as we are respectful of one another’s opinions and this is an intellectually enriching exercise. Each member of Ramsey Society produces a paper in Upper or Lower Sixth on something that can be discussed and that they find personally interesting. This entails a lot of research, but it is broadly enjoyable and lends to the progression of many skills like public speaking, diligent research and debate. We have had some really engaging discussions and I hope that it continues next year, in the same vein but ideally in person, rather than on Teams. Ramsey Society presents pupils with an opportunity to speak and explain their views as long as they can back them up and as the discussions are mainly pupil led it creates an easy, open, and friendly atmosphere which allows everyone to be comfortable enough to have and voice an opinion. Ella A, L6M

DRAMA

F E AT U R E S

T ELL M E , W H AT IS IT YOU PLA N TO DO W IT H YOU R ON E W I LD A N D PR ECIOUS LI FE? M A RY OLI V ER 41

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FE AT U R E S

This year has been a challenging one for a variety of reasons: Reptonians have been consistently called upon to be their best selves, making use of the virtues which the school seeks to instill in them. Here, several members of the Lower Sixth reflect on some of the values that are integral to Reptonians, both those currently with us and those at very stages of life on the other side of the Arch.

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ASPIRATION

he dictionary definition of aspiration is ‘a hope or ambition of achieving something in the future’, but how do we define it individually, on a more personal level? Covid-19 has meant that pupils at Repton have been required to change their aspirations, whether it be short term ones, for example not being able to play in the 1st team for netball competitively, or long-term goals like university applications. Whether we like it or not, our lives have been impacted. The past year has shone a strong light on how the society we currently live in is severely flawed in many ways; the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests in response to the devastating, and brutal death of George Floyd, on May 25th, 2020, emphasised to us that, above all, our aspirations for the future are crucial in determining what will ultimately become of generations to come. If we are optimistic for the feature, then we can hope for equality between all races and religions and many other groups previously discriminated against, which must be spread to people of all ages, to show how ultimately, we’re all the same inside. This is something that we must aspire to. Historically, certain groups of people (with diverse

characteristics such as race, disability, sex, and sexual orientation) have experienced discrimination, and as we create our own optimistic aspirations for the future, we must overcome these discriminative behaviours. Since the beginning of Covid-19, hate crimes toward Asian people and Asian Americans have significantly increased in media attention as they have received significantly more threats and harassments. As the virus is connected to the cluster of acute respiratory illness cases in Wuhan, China, Covid-19 has enabled the spread of this racism towards people of Asian heritage and created general xenophobia. It is so important that every individual has an equal opportunity to make the most of their lives and talents, and as young people of this generation, we have the power to ensure this is possible.

We must aspire to be better. Another recent story we are all reflecting on is that of Sarah Everard, who tragically never made it home from visiting a friend on Saturday 6th March 2021. Sarah was a young woman with aspirations just like anyone else, and her murder has sparked such fury in Britain over violence

against women. An increased motivation has come, an aspiration for everyone to be able to walk the streets without anxiety in a world without fear. Repton have begun their fight against sexism and demonstrating their aspirations for this kind of future by introducing their ‘Feminist Society’, aiming to help boys and girls of all year groups to understand the positive concept of feminism, and its major part of the Repton community. Mr Semmence recently sent out a whole school email, titled ‘Repton’s commitment to safety, respect, and trust’ (all qualities Repton represents, and that we should all aspire to have), to reiterate how as a school, we condemn the behaviour that led to Sarah Everard’s death. During the pandemic, it is sometimes easy to ‘isolate’ ourselves and forget what aspirations we really had, before having to adapt to our new lifestyles behind a mask. Being back at Repton for the remainder of Lent term and for Summer term has been a positive reminder for the school of how much we value support from each other, and reminding us that we will have normality once again. We can begin to aspire again. Daisy D, L6G

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FE AT U R E S

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CURIOSITY

epton`s diverse branches of activities; sport, creative arts, music, and academic societies offer a variety of opportunities for Reptonians who wish to discover something new about themselves or the world beyond the Arch. Curiosity at Repton is seen throughout the school in many different ways, such as questions being asked in the classroom, or pupils wanting to go along to a society that perhaps, in past times, has been something slightly out of their comfort zone. Being intellectually curious is something that Repton takes pride in and encourages its pupils to embrace as a part of their academic life, but, for the vast majority of Reptonians, curiosity does not solely extend to academic achievements. Curiosity about new sports and recreational activities is a constant motivator for Reptonians and experiments are carried out with good humour. For example, Mr Exley`s Fives sessions have become a source of chatter in House dining rooms across the school as the popularity for the

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sport has risen. Recently, rumours have abounded that several cricketers might be considering leaving the 1st XI to pursue their interests in fives. The Creative Arts offer a clear canvas to create, devise and design, showing Reptonians that everything can be seen and visualised from different perspectives. With this, comes a natural curiosity and broadening of the mindset, with pupils developing the urge to ask their teachers; ‘why?’ and ‘what is the reason behind it all?’. The ability to be artistic in any form requires a level of motivation and interest, as well as curiosity; what sets Repton apart is that the encouragement and invitation to be curious is always on offer, both in and out the classroom. Repton does not only encourage the curiosity of pupils within the school community; Reptonians are encouraged to think curiously about the years that will follow their time at the school. A lot of this curiosity is fielded by the Higher Education team, who are

incredibly devoted, giving their time to questions and queries from pupils. In my opinion, Repton consistently inspires its pupils, motivating us to stay curious and achieve our goals. It’s more than that, though. The Common Room are also focused on helping us to become more rounded adults by the time we walk through the arch for the final time. When that does happen, it is our curiosity, our desire to discover, that will take us to all of the fantastic places we dream of going. Repton has persevered throughout the past year and it is important to acknowledge the resilience and strength shown by each individual who wears the Repton crest. Reptonians have proven that they are not set in their ways; the curiosity that the school instils in each one of us is something that will be the key to success when we finally step beyond the Arch. Ella A, L6M

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INDEPENDENCE Many Reptonians have sorely missed their independence over the last year as we have all been cooped up at home like so many others around the country and the world; the ‘bubble’ has been popped and we have been forced to face the issues of the real world. Our freedoms and independence have been stripped away… We have done two lockdowns this academic year, both strikingly different. The first one was in Repton in November and lasted for the entire second half of term; school rules were hardened as our lives became more structured and limited – for our safety and the safety of the community. We could no longer meet friends outside of house, go to Spar, or pop down to Grubber whenever; our independence to choose what to do was stunted. Life within the house became harder and, with year group bubbles, common rooms and seating plans in lessons, there have been fewer places to escape to. This has forged closer bonds within house year group bubbles, and we have become more dependant on these bonds and our house. However, while our dependency on our friends and house has grown through lockdown, mirroring the lives of so many outside our community, we have also grown more independent. This may seem strange considering what I have just said but we have. As we have been forced to spend all our time together, we have had to make time for ourselves: do something that was solely our own, something independent as we have craved more freedom. For some this was sport, for others schoolwork or ‘completing Netflix’ – for some, frustration definitely turned into obsession.

Still, we were luckier than most. While being cooped up in school didn’t sound fun, we had greater liberty than most our age and older and, more than that, we were not alone. While we all know the challenges of living in close quarters with others, I think that we were all thankful for the human interaction and the ability to be at school (especially after the extended lockdown at the end of the last school year). While I am no fan of ‘forced fun’, I actually really enjoyed lots of the activities that were put on for us at the weekend; it created a diversion from the monotony of the school week and tried to dissipate the frustration many were feeling. We have had music nights, house quizzes, and other great activities and, while these don’t make up for what we missed (Unison, proper House suppers, matches, etc…), I do think that the best was made of a bad situation. There were some benefits of having our independence taken away: if it was possible, laundry became easier and, in Lower Sixth and B Block, we were able to get to know the new girls really well!

Online school has increased our independence at home along with a lot of the country who have been working at home. We have gained the ability to multitask. Online school was much less structured with longer breaks. We had the independence to wear whatever, sit wherever, and even eat food in lessons. Our pets grew dependant on us and our parents to when we would emerge back into the world from online school. We have been very fortunate to have had online school as not all children have had that opportunity or support.

I think we were all relieved to be back, though. The last year has been trying for all and the loss of our independence has been hard for so many. But, while being forced to become dependent and to rely on other members of our communities has been a bitter pill for some, these dependencies may have been a blessing in disguise as they have brought our community together. Reims W, L6C

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REFLECTION R eflection is something we have all been doing a lot of throughout the past year. Mostly, reflecting on ‘simpler times’ without Covid – when we could go to restaurants, see as many friends and family as we wanted to, and travel spontaneously. As a school community, we have experienced something unprecedented and, as a result, we have had to adjust to a significant number of changes, from beginning online lessons with a few days’ notice, to creating a virtual Parker 100 and beyond. We have also endured a very different boarding house experience, and unusual personal times due to restricted freedom. Though it is sometimes (understandably) trying to see the good in such tough times, I want to reflect on the positive outcomes, as I believe that everyone has something positive to take away from the past year…

Repton has always had a flourishing school community within the village, but in December when we all went on holiday and the next lockdown was looming, we all definitely brought the Repton community home with us. This meant that Repton was not only brought across the country, but also around the world. Participation in whole school events such as ‘the Lent art competition’, the ‘Let there be Light’ drama competition, and the Parker 100 (among many others) proved how we could maintain the Repton spirit online. Additionally, engaging in online learning has enabled us to continue our education, and it made us value our our teachers and our time at school so much more. These activities that we could partake in also showed how determined we were to get through this time, and to make the most of it! Our boarding houses have always been a ‘home away from home’, where we are surrounded by friends and teachers who have become family. However, lockdown meant that we had to maintain these relationships in other ways. Weekly calls with in-house tutors, and housemates really created a sense of our boarding house communities, virtually.

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House activities organised by House Parents and Tutors such as Kahoot quizzes, Bake Off, dough club, book reviews, and creating lockdown ‘watch lists’ kept us busy – as if we were in house together. Similarly, events such as the House Music Competition which took place over FlipGrid, societies such as Lit Soc, and extra-curriculars like choir and Strength and Conditioning training enabled us to maintain a sense of normality and fun. The community within boarding houses that was maintained virtually, creating a safety net for everyone and making us extremely thankful for our House Parents, tutors, Matrons, and all of our staff in house who enabled us to feel safe online, and when returning to school. On an individual level, online school and a pause of our normality has given us time to adapt to the sudden changes we were faced with. It also gave us time to better ourselves by learning to deal with new circumstances. Being at home has enabled us to focus on our time spent with families and loved ones – people who, when at boarding school we might take for granted as we don’t spend much time together. Online school has also proved how versatile we are, and how much we value having a ‘normal’ education surrounded by friends. This has helped us realise what is important. The Wellbeing Weekly provided us with information to make sure that we took care of ourselves mentally, alongside emails suggesting fun activities and recipes to try out. It is impossible to sum up the year we have had in limited words, but the way that we have delt with this uncertain year is something that everyone should be proud of. Today, we can reflect on the fact that Repton is a place that we are much more thankful for than we were , full of friendships that we have learnt to maintain and holding a greater sense of community and togetherness than ever before. Lola T, L6M

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RESILIENCE

As members of the school community, whether pupils, staff or even parents, we all have our different feelings towards Repton. Mostly good, I hope. Personally though, I must admit that sometimes the prospect of school absolutely terrifies me – or rather, the train journey to and from school. Countless times I have found myself lost amidst bustling train stations’ or having just missed my designated train, my hefty luggage at hand and feeling like it was end of the world. In retrospect, had I known that the train journeys would get easier, I definitely would have been less dramatic. Nonetheless, while at the time I would have loved an effortless journey, it is these undesirable situations that force us to be better and improve, and I think it is safe to say that as I have continued to use the train routinely, the trips have become more and more bearable, and even with the occasional mishap it is easier to bounce back and navigate my way to my rightful destination.

Flexibility, adaptability, toughness – whatever you would like to call it – we all have resilience in one form or another. In all honesty, I hate to be the one to remind us about the grief-bringing, economy-wrecking, life-ruining virus that has dominated our lives for the past year, but it is indeed a testament to the resilience of so many in the world- like here for instance. Despite the inability to physically attend school, not only did Repton manage to recuperate and resume lessons online but also continue dozens of extra-curriculars, ones that were not only limited to academic societies. As a result of this, the lockdowns saw pupils take part in the Parker 100, Strength and Conditioning sessions, as well as Christian Union meetings and the opportunity to gather with our houses virtually for activities like quizzes or baking contests. As for exam candidates, maintaining that exam (or ‘assessment’-spirit) despite the uncertainty many of you faced and will still be facing is truly inspiring and I hope it will not go unrewarded. As tough as it sounds, it is these unfavourable times that compel us to test our limits, which as this very magazine proves, is indeed possible. Life can go on. A misconception about resilience is that is an impractical or unique trait. But the truth is, although people with attributes

such as optimism are naturally more suited to recover from adverse scenarios, it only takes the simplest shift of a mindset towards being more positive to build up your resilience. Something anyone and everyone can do! So yes, you can still view inherently negative situations realistically but in a way that the hardship should not be perceived as impossible to overcome. More importantly: it is okay to ask for help. You see, resilience has been defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Unfortunately, what numerous people forget is that help can be a part of the recovery. Talking about difficulties you are facing does not automatically get rid of them, but it can make you feel supported, plus an outside perspective could even present you some with insight that may help you manage your challenges better. Asking for help does not make you any less resilient; rather, the faster you can get help, the more immediate the recovery. Had I known this sooner, I would have saved myself the anguish of being lost in the stations and phoned my parents a little quicker. Obviously, there are far greater hardships in life than getting lost in a train station, and that is the beauty of resilience; it does not discriminate on the nature of your adversity. Sanchia O, L6G

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When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge. Tuli Kupferberg 48

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A N D T H E Y EA R Never did I believe that my final year at

aving reflected upon this whirlwind, I have realised how much I had underestimated the ability to adapt to change, and how this year has challenged every one of us in some way. It makes me incredibly proud, however, to reflect and reminisce on all the wonderful memories that have been made during this year, and how the restrictions imposed have not succeeded in entirely dampening our spirits. The uncertainty surrounding A Level arrangements has certainly not been easy to manage, however it did mean that a conscientious attitude was maintained throughout the whole year, with little knowledge of which pieces of work might be particularly valuable. The sudden plunge into lockdown shortly after Christmas resulted in most of the Lent term being completed online; however, I feel that, thanks to the efficient and fluent transition, it did not hinder our progress in any way. With Teams ‘Kahoot’ nights, and BakeOff competitions, we still managed to fulfil our Upper Sixth role as leaders and role models for the House. One thing I have found myself missing throughout this final year, however, is Chapel, which, of course, has been impossible given the imposed restrictions. The Upper Sixth in previous years have played such a fundamental role in Chapel, and, having looked forward to this for a while, it seems incredibly unfortunate not to have had these peaceful and reflective periods of time built into our week. The sense of community achieved whilst collectively singing hymns should not be underestimated, and it has formed such an integral part of my Repton experience. The Upper Sixth have also been significantly hindered in their influential role in the House, and this has impacted our formation of friendships and connections with the younger pupils. As a Lower School member, I remember becoming particularly close with the Upper Sixth, as they would come round and have a chat before lights out, giving invaluable

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T H E Y EA R T H AT N EV ER WAS Just what we had all been anticipating. The fun and freedom of the Upper Sixth. And what a year it was!

T H AT WAS… Repton would look quite like this. advice, and providing an insight into the fascinating life of a Repton Sixth Former. I have missed having the opportunity this year. I think we all have. Nevertheless, I think it is particularly important to highlight the myriad positive experiences we have had the privilege of enjoying during our final months at Repton, despite the inevitable differences, and how the circumstances have stimulated an alternative way of thinking. The recent return of the ‘outdoor event’ has resulted in immense success for Repton Socials; the September Hog Roast on the Paddock, involving impressive multicoloured lighting illuminating the Furneaux building seemed almost too good to be true. The school also succeeded in relocating the iconic ‘Rock-it’ outside, alongside a BBQ and gorgeous hot drinks van. Whilst the nation has been limited under tight restrictions, we’ve managed to securely keep our Covid bubbles, and host some unforgettable social events. In the words of a fellow Upper Sixth member, the adapted Rock-it evening was ...

“the best night [he’d] ever experienced in [his] five years at Repton.” Of course, this final year at Repton has been far from the ordinary and expected, but rather than lamenting the lost luxuries, I have found it far more rewarding to reflect on the tailored experience we have managed to enjoy. It has been just as unforgettable. Poppy K, U6G

Every year, the House system plays an integral part of the school and this year was no exception; we experienced all of its wonders, in several different arenas. Senior House Football was won with flying colours (namely blue and black), with Priory beating Orchard in the final in front of packed crowds. A thrill, yes, but there struggles to be a better night than House Unison in Pears School. In a very competitive year, we did not win, but thoroughly enjoyed listening to all the other houses that can actually sing. Well done, Abbey…again! However, I think one of the best things about being in the Upper Sixth are the end of year black-tie house suppers. We all sat across the long table, each one of us leading in a guest, as we enjoyed a candlelit meal with cracking speeches from both Freddie D (U6P) and NFP. Those speeches comprised a compendium of great stories (occasionally exposed the odd B Blocker with a particularly embarrassing detail). We have been lucky enough to have gotten to know that year especially well, fulfilling all the Prefect duties in house such as dining room prep, bedders and directing all the house competitions. As these senior members of the school, we were also given fantastic rewards after long weeks of lessons in the form of Socials and Invitation Dinners, again all in black-tie, making us feel like the almost-adults that we now are. As we embarked on the final couple of terms at Repton, the great experiences continued, with evenings in the Theatre watching the Lent-term musical – an incredible performance from that one O Blocker, ostensibly coping very well with the pressures of GCSEs by giving herself some distraction from work. The 1st XI football team had close-fought victories against Shrewsbury, Bradfield and Millfield, all in front of hundreds on The Square, and in the final Lists of the year, captain Tom W (U6P) carried a record six trophies back to his seat. By the end of it all, the everlasting summer nights returned, and I shall never forget the evenings spent in the Priory Garden with all five years, or out on the Paddock hearing the sound of leather on willow… However, I will never have the opportunity to forget the year that I just described, because it was the year that never was. It was the year which we had seen the leavers before us have as we moved up the school, the one that all other future Reptonians shall experience in years to come. For us however, there is the uniqueness of not having that. Of course, we have forged great memories in different ways, and, at least, when we think of what might have been, we do not need to reflect upon the exams; the colossal build-up and climax of one final A Level. We avoided that, and we need only think about the good bits. Alexander M, U6P

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M Y FI R ST Y EA R AT R EP TON

n a year where school trips, theatre productions, and competitive matches were a rarity, I have still felt privileged to be able to call myself a Reptonian. I came to Repton with high expectations of days filled with lessons, sports, and extracurricular commitments. I was looking forward to losing myself for a few hours in a good book in the grand library on a particularly frosty day, spending quality time with friends before its time to go back into house or playing the vast variety of sports this school has to offer, including hockey, fives, tennis, or cricket.

But unfortunately this year really threw a spanner in the works. A positive thing about the current situation we are being faced with concerning Covid-19 was that with the amount of free time I currently have, I have been able to build on friendships within my house and learn to try to find common ground with everyone, doing my bit in creating a harmonious atmosphere that’s comfortable for all. I have especially enjoyed all the activities that were available to us to keep us entertained, including birthday pizzas, cereal nights, and duvet days. The house tournaments on Sundays always provided a range of different challenges, leading us to find out, and appreciate, each other’s’ strengths, sometimes at the cost of winning. Lastly, with new experiences comes new freedoms. The transition from a prep school to a senior school came as a bit of a shock to the system. From having to be in house at 4pm to suddenly being allowed out of house until 9pm on weekends definitely comes with its perks. Being trusted with the responsibility to make our own decisions and mistakes makes freedom so much sweeter.

been challenging and frustrating at times, it has helped me grow into a better person. Having dealt with my fair share of arguments in the house (most of which were resolved very quickly), I would say I am more tolerant and more patient. This also became apparent when it came to sharing rooms. I had never shared a room with someone for longer than four days, and so to be thrust into sharing a room with three other people was a hard adjustment. I have definitely enjoyed lessons at Repton - remote learning, not so much. I have learnt that with home learning, focus is a virtue, and very hard to maintain. With a plethora of distractions (including a TV, a phone, and the very laptop I’m working on), it was a constant uphill battle to maintain concentration. Even answering a question was a battlefield; you had to try and time it perfectly so that you wouldn’t speak over your classmate, who would be trying to do the exact same thing. Wi-Fi was also a prevalent issue that I’m certain everyone experienced. And I am also sure that all of us have been in a lesson with that one person who accidentally unmuted at an inopportune time. I am also regretful that I missed doing DT in the classroom as it is one subject that I haven’t experienced at Repton and wouldn’t mind getting my

“I have been able to build on friendships within my house and learn to try to find common ground with everyone...”

As someone who started boarding for the first time this year, I would actually recommend it. Although, it has definitely

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hands dirty in. On a positive note, I was swiftly educated on how to use OneNote, Excel, and Teams. However, coming back into the classroom was a huge relief. Even though I became more tech-savvy, I have definitely reaped the rewards of a more personal approach to learning. My grades instantly skyrocketed; I immediately felt more confident and was contributing in class more as well. There were many positives of being back in the classroom; it meant that teachers could focus on pupils more personally without having to worry if they had actually shared their screen or if they were unmuted. As well as this, we could get immediate feedback. This was especially important to me as I can be a bit of a perfectionist. Lessons also moved much more quickly. We could cover more content, which, in turn, gave us more time to recap things that I didn’t fully understand. I feel like I did find learning hard this year at Repton because of having to switch back and forth between remote learning and working in the classroom, but overall, I feel that it has been rewarding. As a keen hockey player, this year has been understandably disappointing for everyone, though I will admit, I have been luckier than most. As a boarder, I have been able to make the most of Repton’s amazing sports facilities and keep my skills up to scratch. However, the lack of competitive matches has been particularly hard. Staying motivated in training was

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CH ESS They tell us, “Do not riot, do not force change. Do not throw the fire and burn the buildings. a challenge at times, especially as during the girls’ hockey term when there really was no end in sight to this pandemic. Without any tournaments or matches to train for, trying to give 110% at every training session was especially difficult. Despite this, I am glad I was able to train, even remotely. During remote learning, I felt my fitness levels decrease but not by too much; this was largely due to the multiple Strength and Conditioning sessions that were put in place to keep athletes as fit as possible, from which I benefitted greatly. I found that I have rediscovered my love for netball through enjoying training. When training for matches or tournaments, there is a certain pressure that had lessened my love for netball; however, with the lack of these competition, I was able to remember why I enjoyed playing netball and what made me love the sport in the first place.

Buildings that signal black oppression.”

Even though B Block as a collective have never experienced the ‘real Repton’ and everything it has to offer, I am happy and grateful that we have next year to do all the things we couldn’t do this year and the opportunity to fully immerse ourselves into life as a Reptonian.

Remind them of their history, they’re barely ashamed of it.

Bella C, 9G

But my question for them remains the same. With what hands can I throw this fire? The ones suspended limply in the air, attached to a lifeless body hanging from a tree? Or the ones locked in the steel chains, symbolising the indestructible systemic segregation? Or the ones clenched into fists as the leather whip cracks against the bloodied back again and again? Everyone can see the pride present on pale faces, as they carry that flag, stained with the blood of generations. They boast about their country, ‘The Land of the Free’, while the only free are those with white privilege. They love the black culture, yet refuse to acknowledge it.

Obsessed with our features, but still mock and demean. They erase our rich history, our civilisation and queens. Pretending we’re barbaric, smothering our dreams. They march as if THEIR lives depend on it, but do they? They are giving the performance of a lifetime, meekly confronting centuries of abuse with a shout and a wooden banner.

LOOK I NG I N Her hands were soft – still delicate Despite years of hardships. Childhood memories lived vicariously Through every ridge, dip, bruise and scar. Her hands carried the weight of the world, Yet still burdened it with gentle grace. Blisters plagued her hands like burns. Swiftly ignored with a dismissive glance. Her hands lay limp beside her, like rag dolls, as Her lungs threatened to expose themselves to the world. With hands folded across her chest like a solemn secret,

They point their loaded pistols at us and shoot. But we are the aggressors. We fight fire with fire, Then we are the oppressors. Legalised genocide seems to rise, As the media hits us with lie after lie. Or character assassination, as if they deserved to die. At the end of all this, my question remains the same. With what hands can I throw this fire? If the pigment of my skin is “ justified” cause for discrimination, Then the plain and simple answer is, I cannot! Bella C, 9G

She furnished the elegant oak. Her hands saw everything. In life, they were something to be admired. And even in death, Her hands were soft and forever delicate. Bella C, 9G

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POSTMO DERNISM

WHAT IS IT?

Postmodernism is one of the most well-known and controversial design movements to ever occur.

t began in the form of architecture in the 1960s, which emerged due to The Modern Movement. The style of Postmodernist architecture is unique, eclectic and bold – often incorporating bright colours; a range of shapes and materials; modern aspects, and classical motifs with a modern twist. Postmodern architects created links with an established past, with understanding, knowledge, history and comfort rather than an undefined, and uncertain future. However, Postmodernism’s prime was during 1970 and 1990 - emerging as an interior style with similar characteristics of the architecture, bringing a new self-awareness about style to life. It was a huge difference to the previous Utopian visions of Modernism where the art was simplistic; Postmodernism was contradictory, complex and unusual. The design style is elusive and multifaceted: an uneven mix of theocratical and theatrical aspects and completed it can appear to be luxurious or ridiculous – depending on your perspective. During the 1980s (often referred to as the ‘Designer Decade’) the intense colour and overstatement of Postmodernism was extremely popular as everything and anything was a style statement. Glossy, or distressed, the finish reflected the combination of subversive statements with saleable request, it embraces different approaches to making art. This excitement was hugely influential during the 1980s as the designer decade continued and the economy boomed, it become the preferred style of consumerism and shared culture.

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The design style was an attempt to break free from muted, impersonal and common types of modern design; celebrating the unusual, and flashy side of art. Questioning the set ‘form follows function’ concept of The International Typographic style, Postmodernism challenged expectations, broke the ordinary and created eccentric pieces. Mismatched elements are set together creating extravagantly lively artworks, adjusting the definition of an item’s function to become more flexible, and commenting on a variety of styles from the past. This contrasts with modern design, where the functionality of a product sacrificed aesthetic appeal – style failed to communicate with the public. As Postmodernism doesn’t follow the rules, it mirrored the emerging social outlook of the time which celebrated social advancement, defined by Fredric Jameson as ‘the cultural logic of late capitalism.’ Modernist objects implied utopia and perfection whereas the Postmodern artworks were based on the concept of dystopia and an imperfect future, distressing materials and creating an aesthetic of urban apocalypse. Based upon religion, or science, the artworks were on how universal principles made sense of the world by emphasising form, technique and process over the subjects of the art. Many designers have criticised the movement for its orientation to the consumer, how it challenges the boundaries of taste and for its outward commerciality – however many others admire the ‘anything goes’ concept of incorporating bold ideas, and the chance to wander from normality and break the

‘rules’. An example of this can be seen by April Geriman’s collaboration with Jayme Odgers for the WET magazine cover (pictured right), whereby they created collages with textured paper and airbrushed colour. Mendini is also a well-known editor, architect and designer who created the Proust chair of 1978 which mixes mismatched features of decorative parts, and dots from a Paul Signac painting together... Postmodernist artists encouraged complex individual experience and interpretation over the simple idealism and abstract principles, resulting in an aesthetic becoming contradictory, controversial and multi-layered. It had also been accused of every form of fraud; been called superficial and unoriginal. The style of art embraces experimentation, and uniqueness from interesting combinations of colour, materials, lines and texture – making it a perennially popular style of art. Music, magazines ceramics and graphics were also significant forms of medium which displayed the style. Colours: At the beginning of the movement, Pablo Solomon (award winning designer and artist) distinguished how bold, primary colours were popular in Postmodern design. However, over time. this became less significant as artists played with form and function more to increase emphasis of their artworks purpose. Now, Postmodern artwork includes a range of retro shades from across the colour palette; such as mustard, turquoise and metallics.

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Image credit: WET magazine cover by April Geriman with Jayme Odgers

Textures and materials: Commonly a wide range of materials and textures are used in Postmodern design, creating many unorthodox combinations. Nicola Croughan, an interior designer, stated that glass, plastic, leather, and laminates model this look. In the 1980s, designers used distressed materials to create visions of an urban apocalypse - which is still very popular today. Despite this, natural wood grains, heavy knits, velvet and fur are also used, adding depth and warmth. The main feature of texture and materials in this style of art is layering. Shape and line: The Postmodern period built upon Pop Art by welcoming Pop culture references. Aspects of asymmetry became increasingly popular, with straight lines creating strange angles and indefinite shapes. This ambiguity produced incredible interior design – from eye catching light fixtures to unique and bold wall art. However, since the late 1990s, the popularity of Postmodernism has decreased. Despite a subversive ‘anti-design’ aesthetic becoming popular amongst music (especially with Indie artists), efforts to define the period have not been as successful (such as Transpostmodernism, and Pseudo-modernism). However now the style is beginning to ‘recycle’ itself as it returns alongside other 1980s fashions in the form of vintage designs and new ones inspired by the originals -- a revival through the return of hand-made items, unique décor, and bold patterns and colours. This is particularly visible in Dubai, considered to be one of the most Postmodern places in the world. Postmodernism still embraces personal style but will never be able to replace the legacy from the period during the 1970s and 1980s. Now, architects also see the results of Postmodernism through the ability to propose a new building, without focusing on local conditions; this state of affairs is due to the contradictions and complexities of the design movement. Overall, to this day we are still experiencing the effects of Postmodernism that it left behind as it provided us with a new outlook on the world. Lola T, L6M

Image credit: Proust chair, 1978 by Mendini

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R EP TON

GAT EWAY TO THE WORLD Porta Vacat Culpa (loosely translated as ‘the gate is free from blame’)

udging by the scholarly work of archaeologist and academic Professor Martin Biddle in the 1970s and, more recently, that of Professor Cat Jarman and TV historian Dan Snow, the Vikings would have considered gates to be a key part of their defensive strategy when they overwintered in Repton in 873 –874 AD. I imagine that, shortly after November 1364, Bishop Stretton would have enthusiastically supported any bid to reinforce the medieval gatehouse to the Augustinian Priory - which was either a large wooden gate or a metal portcullis type, as “...while he was sitting in solemn conclave with the brethren in the Chapter House the whole population of the town collected and raised a violent demonstration against the Priory. Armed with weapons of every description, they besieged the Gatehouse, attacked a member of the episcopal retinue who was standing by it, and overran the whole place, shooting arrows through the Chapter House windows...”.

(Source: Macdonald’s A Short History of Repton 1929).

Even the Thacker family, who had sold the Old Priory to the executors of Sir John Port’s estate for the foundation of a school in 1557, then built the Pillars of Hercules in 1664 and hung a handsome ironwork gate between them – erected as the direct result of an acrimonious legal tussle between the school and the Thackers, who still lived in The Hall.

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The school adopted the motto Porta Vacat Culpa sometime in the 1870s and it first appeared on the cover of this magazine in 1882, perhaps around the time it knocked a hole in the wall by The Grubber, which became imaginatively known as The Hole in the Wall. Even there, originally, there was no door. In 1957, when Her Majesty the Queen opened the Precinct in commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of the school’s foundation, she cut a ribbon in the place known to many as the Kindersley Gates, but again, no actual gates. In fact, it is quite possible for a pupil today to walk around almost all of the school’s vast and beautiful estate – from Sale Flats to the Old Trent – without encountering an actual gate to blame for anything. It seems to me (after more than fifty years association with Repton) that, despite the requirements of the Vikings, Bishop Stretton and the Thacker family, the school has always wished to provide gateways rather than gates - access rather than barriers - and now, locally, nationally and internationally, this is more welcome than ever before. JMGL - with thanks to PJS.

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SPACE X SpaceX is an institution operating at the forefront of engineering.

rom fully independent Artificial Intelligence to sustaining human life in uninhabitable environments, SpaceX pushes the boundaries of our current capabilities as a species and goes one step beyond, thinking outside the box to reach new limits of technology.

One of the recent challenges which SpaceX has been trying to tackle is setting up long-term habitation on Mars. Their plan is for a team of astronauts to live on Mars indefinitely, and self-sufficiently. To manage this, they have begun to create artificially intelligent robots capable of finding suitable land formations for setting up habitats, terraforming the ground, breaking up the rocks and collecting the granules. Once the terrain is formed, the robots use mobile 3D printing units to create a habitat shell out of the collected granules, providing humans with a space to thrive. This might sound simple but there are significant challenges - the material needs to be strong and provide shielding from solar radiation; the larger the construction is, the stronger it needs to be to resist the pressure difference between the inside and the outside atmospheres. Their solution has been to create self-constructing bubbles, curved to better withstand pressure and customised on the interior with mobile shelves for large storage capacity without reducing space. Testing these habitats has been an incredible challenge as we know very little about the planet, and it raises as many questions as it answers – how can we simulate extra-terrestrial climates with different atmospheres, pressure and solar conditions? How can we design robots capable of dealing with unknown terrains? The answer to the latter, at least in part, is mapping software and large and treaded tires.

Another impressive demonstration of SpaceX’s exploits is their SN15 launch that recently took place. It is a rocket that executes high speed, high altitude flights that then land rather than crash into the ocean. They do this by having their engines flip the rocket using a gyroscope to reduce waste parts and pollution of the medium earth orbit. These missions will help us understand and develop a fully reusable transportation through space in order to one day make space travel a more common and affordable event. Its control and use of aerodynamics and projection are unlike anything we have yet produced, and it uses energy efficient and clean fuel engines. These rockets could be the future of space exploration, which is vital for human advancement into, and perhaps one day beyond, the solar system. It is made up of three parts: × The Starship, which is a fully reusable second stage of a ship. It can carry both a payload cargo and passengers into earth’s orbit. × The Super Heavy is the first stage booster of the rocket. It contains three raptor engines and they are completely reusable and incredibly powerful. They use methane gas and liquid oxygen as their fuel source. The booster detaches from the starship and then lands again on the launch pad on its six legs. × The payload is the final part that goes within the starship. It has various sections and can carry a satellite that can be released. It has the largest cargo volume of any launcher to date.

This is the rocket being developed for the mission to Mars and is simulated to descend at 7.5 km per second requiring very intricate landing equipment and carefully calculated manoeuvres.

One has to ask the question, why spend so much money on a mission to spend six months on Mars instead of finding a way to save the planet we are on now? Whilst the future of engineering with SpaceX is primarily focused on further venture into space, it pushes the bounds of many different aspects of engineering and technology – chemical engineering in the rocket fuel, civil engineering in the design of habitats, medical and biological engineering in sustaining life on another planet, electrical and software engineering of robots used to build habitats, mechanical engineering in the rockets’ engines. Many of these “space” developments could fail, but many, even if unsuitable for space use, will have more earthly applications. As Elon Musk has said it is vital to travel to Mars to ensure

“the continuance of consciousness as we know it”. Mars may have been habitable once - we have seen signs of water such as valleys and river courses. Further investigation of Mars may lead to discoveries about our own planet, how planets grow and die, and how the inhabitable might once again become habitable. We have no idea what the future holds for us as a species, or whether our planet will remain habitable. However, creative engineers, working through problems and pushing the boundaries of what is possible, provide inspiration and a message of hope for the human race. Matthew F, L60 & Caitlin G-S, L6A

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W H E N I FORG OT There were times when I forgot he existed, when my head was empty of emotion; a black cloud smeared across my mind, blurring images, a blank canvas on which I might start again. There were times when the world spun around me; noises crashing through my ears, and yet my head was silent. When my life flickered in front of my eyes and yet I saw nothing. When the emptiness crawled ever closer. The memories of his laugh twinkling through my ears were silent, his gaze no longer searing through mine own; when my hand reached out into free space, to catch that of my best friend; when I no longer felt his arms clasped around my body, a protective layer I had worn begrudgingly. The tears and angry glimpses of the past, reminiscent of a time when I wore my anxiety like a pro, my make-up a mask for the pain – painted on so carefully every morning I no longer knew who I was. There were times when I looked out the window, a smile stretched wide across my face, and laughed at the happiness of the world, a swirl of yellows and greens and the occasional purple. The simplicity of it astounded me. There were times when I flung myself into the arms of my brother, clinging on with a grip that was almost military. When my best friend and I sat around a fire and gossiped for hours about anything and everything. When I heard his voice in my head … no when I screamed back. My voice roaring into the quiet, drowning out any image

of anyone but me and her. When we gushed over our mate’s new girl, and the whole world was our own, arms open wide to embrace us. When we could do whatever we wanted, wherever we wanted. When we could cheat and steal and live our lives. When we could leave the house wearing short shorts and crop tops, or sweats and no makeup; faces alive with joy. When we didn’t need a mask to hide our emotions. When our lives were our own to control. To live. There were times when he was no longer encroaching on my every thought and feeling. When I could say what I wanted, free from the knowledge that no one would care. I could be selfdeprecating, self-effacing, self-critical. When tears fell down my face, swearing at the world one moment, laughing seconds later. Times when my friends and I would party, get blindingly drunk and stagger home, arms entwined, kicking our feet out from side to side, oblivious to the people around us. When we called up every fast-food place in existence and ordered a feast, with little care for the consequences. When I opened my heart to those around me; anecdotes about lives I wished I had lived, people I wished I’d met. When my dreams became reality, and my reality became a dream. There were times when I forgot, and I was happy. Jenna D, 11F

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PROM ISI NG YOU NG WOM A N: R EV I EW Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut, Promising Young Woman, tells the story of Cassie (a woman haunted by a traumatic event) who seeks revenge against those she perceives as complicit in the crime. Impossible to classify as belonging to a single genre, it is partdrama, part-thriller, part-romcom, partblack comedy. This strange combination makes it feel incredibly authentic; by presenting life in all its forms, from the funny to the tragic, the characters and stories feel more realistic and the tragedy even more heart-wrenching. I won’t discuss the plot in massive detail because I would hate to ruin what is a truly original and enjoyable film, but instead I will look at the ways in which Promising Young Woman firmly establishes itself as both brilliant and trailblazing (and why I enjoyed it so much). Fennell’s presentation of female rage is an integral part of this film. The idea of female anger being shown on screen is not in itself particularly revolutionary – films such as Gone Girl (2014) have explored this previously. However, where Promising Young Woman feels refreshing is how normal this emotion is shown to be. There is no glorification of the anger that grips Cassie – it is recognised that this deep and potent feeling has destroyed her life, and there is nothing glamourous about a 30-year-old med-school dropout living with her parents. Cassie is a remarkably ordinary woman; she, of course, has talents and flaws and her own character, but she is very much an everywoman – far more so than other female protagonists in recent cinema, many of whom are put on pedestals that make them unrealistic and unrelatable. While the two women are very different, I couldn’t help but think of Mildred Hayes in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) as a good comparison to Cassie. Another woman seeking revenge for an act of sexual violence, Mildred is foulmouthed, violent and bitter. Once again, this rage is not glamourised: she is not made palatable and it is this ‘unwomanly’

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display of behaviour that makes both Mildred and Cassie fascinating characters. They have dimensions and layers in ways that the vapid villainesses and femmes fatales (the women most likely to exhibit rage) of earlier cinema simply didn’t. Male rage is very often portrayed brilliantly – Falling Down (1993) and Fight Club (1999) are two such examples and personal favourites of mine – but there has been a dearth of its feminine counterpart that has only begun to be filled in recent years. The cunning, tenacity, bravery and anger that Cassie displays make her and her campaign of revenge engrossing viewing. Another brilliant aspect of this film is how it presents the aftermath of serious events. I maintain that Promising Young Woman would have been a very different, and worse, movie if it took place in the immediate aftermath of the assault. By being set years later, the audience sees how easy it has been for all involved to forget about it and move on (most of them hardly remember her name). The indifference and flippant reaction of so many is a haunting reminder of the lack of responsibility and compassion people show one another. Of course, this is particularly relevant to stories of sexual assault, but I would argue that the film acts as an allegory for the importance of looking out for others and recognising that, in our society, we all share a responsibility to do right by and protect each other (especially when it is not the easy thing to do) and that we often fail to do so. Despite this and the fact that Cassie is our protagonist, I also came away from this film questioning the value of holding a grudge and revenge. It goes without saying that seeing people pay the price for their wrongs is cathartic and it is enjoyable to see Cassie embark on this journey with zeal and passion. However, as I briefly mentioned earlier, this quest has ruined her life. Once a talented medical student, she now works in a café and has no ambition for her future. Her life lacks meaning, purpose,

companionship and true happiness – illustrating how the potent desire for revenge, no matter how noble its cause, can destroy the one who harbours it as it evolves into an indomitable monster. Finally, one of the strange things that I love about this film is the wide range of reactions people have to it. As I may have made clear, I think it is truly brilliant and I have been waxing lyrical about it ever since I saw it. Others are not so glowing: ‘complete con job’, ‘irresponsible movie’, ‘deranged’ and ‘glitzy mess’ are all ways viewers have chosen to describe it. Many of the reasons people took issue with this movie are the way it portrayed sexual assault and its aftermath (I’ll take this opportunity to say that the assault is not shown on the screen, in fact the word ‘rape’ is never even used). It goes without saying that sexual assault is one of those sensitive topics that must be taken very seriously when it is portrayed in a fictitious manner. However, writers and directors must be given the freedom to choose the way it is shown – to demand to see a certain message with a certain ending is simply petulant and immature, especially in the context of the #MeToo movement. Fennell explores sexual assault in a meaningful, incisive and original way that poses serious and difficult questions to the audience, and therefore society. It would have been easy for Emerald Fennell to make a film with the sole message ‘sexual assault is bad’, and everyone to accept it, because that is a given. Yet, this is a complex movie and does not deal in binary oppositions. While I would classify this as a ‘feminist’ film due to its exploration of women’s issues, many feminists absolutely loathed it and took great issue with it. I found this to be very interesting and evidence that Fennell boldly chose to make a film that makes people uncomfortable. The polarising effect of this movie and the discussions it encourages are ultimately the reasons I believe it will (or ought to) endure. Mary B, L6M

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M USIC EX PR ESSES T H AT W H ICH CA N NOT BE SA I D A N D ON W H ICH IT IS I M POSSI BLE TO BE SI LEN T. V ICTOR H UG O 59

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M USIC DU R I NG LOCK DOW N

t is clear that this academic year has turned out to be truly unique, with cancelled concerts, remote Carol services and the temporary postponement of mid-week Chapel (for which I’m sure some may have had quiet celebrations...); yet music at Repton has never quite been silenced, whatever the circumstances. During lockdown, our lessons were brought into the realm of online teaching, with sonatas and E flat major scales withstanding dodgy microphones and faulty connections. Teams has a been a true saviour to music at Repton, allowing pupils to continue to improve and receive the same, high level feedback from our amazing music teachers.

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However, one important feature we might have missed during lockdown and the disruptions caused is the sound the mighty organ; whether it be at the end of services, accompanying our hymns or introducing Fr Roberts, the organ has always been an important background of music for our Repton community, and, again, it has continued to produce music, even during lockdown. One of the biggest contributions to the continuance of organ music has been thanks to help of the community of St Wystan’s Church, who generously allowed me to practice on their mechanical organ, which, as other organists will know, is very, very, different to the electrical one in the school chapel. Despite this, I was thankfully able to continue my studies, learning some toccatas from Gigout and Widor, and, of course some Bach, helping me steadily progress during these trying times.

Which is probably all any of us can hope for… The events of the past few months have allowed us to consider and reflect, from those whose families were affected through lockdown and the toll Covid has had on many people across Britain. Music is a excellent way to reflect these past experiences, and was used through the Chapel organ during the National Day of Reflection in March, marking the 12 months of lockdown. Pupils lit candles for their loved ones, with the calm, mellow organ melody in the background. I think it is fair to say that to many of us, music has helped us through some tougher times recently, and I’m sure will help to guide us greatly in the near future... Louis A, 11O

B BLOCK M USIC SHOWCASE In Michaelmas 2020, it was a joy to be able to attend a (socially distanced) performance by the B Block musicians. Here, some of the B Block pupils reflect on their first chance to perform at repton. The music went nicely (even though I couldn’t find my page at the start!). But once I found it, I managed to play the tune almost smoothly – I’ll blame any mistakes on my cold! Pears’ School really was the perfect venue for Hedwig’s Theme – you could almost imagine that you were at Hogwarts! Choir’s performance went well as we had learned the song excellently and practiced diligently enough (as well as being ably led by Mr Walker!), so I was quite pleased with it. Despite my hesitation, I found the show really fun to do and I hope that I’ll be able to be involved in future performances at Repton some point. Scarlett B, 9A

Hours of work. Mind blank very, very possible. An unknown crowd. How on earth am I going to do this when half of the crowd are people I do not know? Breathe. If I just sing through the song get it in my head before I go up. Which verse first - this one then this one - no that’s not it, oh come on brain ‘work’! Okay, hopefully when I get up there the flow of the piece will help me. Oh, God - their piece is over! Just keep with the rhythm, remember the words, and you’ll be fine.

We had been preparing for the showcase for weeks; however, we only became fully aware how soon it was when the bomb was dropped on us that next week was our last choir practice. We ran our pieces through and knew we were ready. As our alarms blared, waking us in the morning, the anxiety hit us. Today was the day of our first concert at Repton. The excitement gradually increased throughout the day as we got closer and closer to the performance. The sheer size of Pears School began to dawn on us as we sat and watched the other musicians. They all played amazingly (which only added the pressure for us to do well). When it was our time to step up and perform, we had butterflies in our stomachs as we were counted in and the piano started playing. As a choir our voices filled the hall… Rosie B & Ellen C, 9M

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LESSONS AND

CA ROLS This year, due to Covid, many different aspects of school life have been affected; we have had to adapt and overcome and find solutions so that we can carry on with the activities that we enjoy. As I only joined Repton this year, choir has been an amazing opportunity to meet different people I otherwise would not have during the current climate (as we are not allowed to socialise therefore prohibiting me from meeting other pupils who are not in any of my lessons). Singing in the choir has not been the same as chapel has not been held and year groups are not allowed to mix; however, Mr Walker and the other music staff have managed to overcome this challenge. The once large Chapel Choir, comprised of many different pupils from across the year groups has been separated into multiple, smaller year group choirs. Thankfully, this has not stopped significant events in the choral calendar from going ahead. Towards the End of Michaelmas term, when the annual Nine Lessons and Carols service would have taken place, Covid restrictions meant that all year groups had to be separated. Each choir recorded their performances, and they were compiled together in an effort to present a spectacular online carol concert event that everyone could enjoy over the Christmas period. It was a very moving event that really exemplified the ways in which the Repton community has flourished during this very difficult year. Poppy M, L6G

Three, two, one… Henry W, 9S

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M ICH A ELM AS O

n the 10th of October, Saturday night, Mr Fairbrother put on the Michaelmas term Rock-It event and invited the O Block band to perform. We did quite a few rehearsals in the lead up to it and on the day we all had butterflies in our stomachs as this was the first time we’d played together. The band, consisting of Esther A (11F) and Phoebe L (11F) singing, Ed R (11P) and Jessica L (11F) on acoustic guitars and Boris C (11L) on the drum kit, played 5 songs. Esther opened the evening with a lovely rendition of Ed Sheeran’s’, ‘The A Team,’ which got the night off to a great start, and this was quickly followed by Phoebe’s beautiful-ly sung ’One Day’ by Tate McRae as a solo number with Esther on the piano. It was great when the audience turned their phone flashlights on and swung their bodies steadily from side to side in time with the music. The final three songs, ‘Heather’ by Conan Gray, ‘All of Me’ by John Legend, and ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis were all sung by Esther who led the band superbly, and everyone there was singing loudly with us: how cool! It was a really enjoyable night and thank you very much to Mr Fairbrother and to Mr Gatford who both played with the band and who put in so much effort in every rehearsal. Obviously, we all enjoyed Mr Fairbrother’s jokes; honestly, we only laugh because they are so bad! O Block Jess L, 11F & Ed R, 11P

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ROCK-IT 2020 H

aving been disheartened a few weeks ago with the thought of the infamous ‘Rock-It’ being impossible due to Covid restrictions, everyone was delighted at the thought of being able to perform our yearly live music event, outdoors, alongside a BBQ and gorgeous hot drinks van. Whilst the nation was limited under tight restrictions, we managed to securely keep our Covid bubbles whilst putting on what was a sensational show, and the ‘Rock-It’ most certainly did take off! To kick off the night, we had a fabulous performance of ‘I Shot the Sheriff’ from the band, showcasing their impressive musical ability and most certainly setting the mood for what followed. There was a musical collaboration of inspirational solos from Jolyon L (U6N) on the tenor sax, Harry S (U6N) on the keyboard, and a special mention must go to Joe R (U6P) on the drums – Freddie and I were n awe to realise he was purely playing from memory and had no guidance whatsoever! Aman A-K (U6P) was up next with his heartfelt rendition of Passenger’s ‘Let Her Go’. He sang so wonderfully and was surrounded by phone torches held in the air, truly capturing the meaning of the sentimental lyrics. Ollie F (U6N) smashed the starting riff on his guitar, paired with Jolyon’s impressive accompaniment on the piano. Didi D (U6G) and I sang ‘Tongue Tied’ by Grouplove, and, whilst very upsetting as it was our last Rock-It at Repton, by the sounds of things, everyone was thoroughly enjoying the upbeat and crowd-pleasing tune. Harry Scutt, as always, did an excellent job on the piano to accompany.

Kristia G (U6G) showcased her flawless vocals in Amy Winehouse’s ‘Valerie’. She truly commanded the stage and gave a fabulous performance, with the bass guitar introduction executed brilliantly by Mr Gatford. Then came onto the stage Duffy - no, sorry - Lollie G (U6G), with what can only be described as an all-powerful, compelling cover of ‘Mercy’. Accompanied by Mrs Court’s riff on the bari saxophone and James P (U6P) on the trombone, Lollie had a fabulous band behind her, and really did get the crowd dancing. Closing the show was the one and only Freddie D (U6P), giving Bruno Mars a run for his money with ‘Locked Out of Heaven’, and whilst it was pouring with rain, this only added to the Glastonbury Festival atmosphere provided so successfully by Freddie and the band. The encore, of course, had to be The Killers’ ‘Mr Brightside’, and I really must give a huge thank you to Mr Fairbrother for composing an accompaniment to Mr Brightside in such short notice – i.e, the very same afternoon of the event – having already spent the whole of the previous evening writing up Toploader’s ‘Dancing in The Moonlight’! Mr Fairbrother was also the fundamental organiser, arranging every number and ensuring the night was executed so incredibly successfully. A quote from a member of the audience to sum up the evening in a few words would be: ‘the best night I’ve ever experienced in my five years at Repton.’ Poppy K, U6G

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ith the O Block finishing their set right on time, the Lower Sixth began filing through the Arch at 7:30pm to watch their peers: Lucy W (L6A) and Reims W (L6C) on vo-cals with Archie W (L6O) playing the drum kit and James S (L6O) on keyboard with the string duo known as Max E-W (L6N) on bass guitar playing with fellow housemate Tom W (L6N) on electric guitar, switching parts between Mr Fair-brother who was to play lead guitar in each song throughout the night. The evening kicked off with two of Lucy’s own compositions supported by her accompani-ment on keyboard - `Butterflies’ and `Uneasy’ feeling were the two tone-setters, and these went down well with the audience. As Lucy`s final note died out into the night it was time for Reims to take centre stage, singing ‘Let Her Go’ by Passenger, along with the band play-ing some rather mellow backing music. The crowd seemed to know the words well enough to sing along confidently and enthusiastically. After the mellow mood, it was time to change the atmosphere to something more upbeat, and what some in the crowd might have called ‘retro’ and this time it was the teachers who were doing the singing, but just as confidently, if not more. The Guns and Roses Classic `Sweet Child O’ Mine` and Brian Adams’ `Summer of 69` sung by Lucy and Reims had the band really unleashing their talent and both songs hit a high note with everyone. With `Summer of 69` slowly dying out into the night sky, the performance was met by a roaring Lower Sixth crowd, and the line for the hot dogs and burgers quickly followed.

Reims W, L6C

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BEET HOV EN CONCERT R EV I EW As the Michaelmas term came to a close, a select number of music staff and pupils were able to enjoy a masterclass of performance from our very own Mr Roger Owens, celebrating Beethoven’s 250th birthday anniversary. The concert began with the Sonata No. 13 in E flat major (Op. 27, No.1), showcasing the wide range of tempo, dynamics and expression, which was revolutionary at that time. 32 Variations in C minor followed (to those who don’t know, a variation is a main melody played in a different manner, be it in note length, rhythm or tone; for example, in this case, Beethoven impressively found thirty-two ways to play the same thing!), and the first-half ended with the soft but dramatic Sonata No.31 in A flat major, Op, 110. During the interval, the audience were treated to delicious cakes, preparing us for a theatrical secondhalf, beginning with a beautiful, shorter piece, Andante Favori, WoO 57. This bridged us to a sensational conclusion, where Mr Owens brought to a close a night of wonderful explorations into Beethoven’s unique styles with the world-renowned ‘Appassionata Sonata’ (Sonata No.23 in F minor, Op. 57). There are few pieces which can end so impressively, leading me and I’m sure the rest of the audience wanting more! There aren’t many words to describe Mr Owen’s expertise, although I think a fact might help: Throughout the two hours of playing, no mistake was made! Every single note was played with poise and affection, giving justice to Beethoven and, more importantly, proving Mr Owen as a superstar in front of the keyboard. It was, undoubtedly, a privilege to hear live music during such an unusual term. Louis A, 11O

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HOUSE M USIC COM PET I T ION

he House Music Competition was adapted this year to allow for both online preliminary rounds as well as socially distanced but ‘live’ Finals at the start of the Summer Term. We were thrilled with the level of engagement from our instrumentalists during the online learning weeks of the Lent Term, with over 100 pupils using FlipGrid to record themselves performing unaccompanied extracts from home. Many pupils enjoyed the opportunity to hear themselves playing, before listening critically and re-recording in order to submit their very best performances. Music staff then had the unenviable tasks of selecting finalists for the Finals in May, which took place across a long but adrenalinefueled day of high-quality music-making. Congratulations to the winners, but also to the many pupils who participated. OMW

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JUNIOR WINNERS: Junior Brass: Sophie H, 9M Junior Strings: Effie B, 11F Junior Wind: Ellen C, 9M Junior Piano: Louis A, 11O Junior Contemporary: Rubens D, 10S Junior Jazz: Charlie H, 11N Junior Orchestral / Percussion: Phoebe L, 11F Junior Musical Theatre Girls: Hatti H, 10M Junior Classical Singing Girls: Emily R, 11G Junior Music Theatre Boys: Lemuel M, 10S HC: Henry W, 9S Junior Classical Boys: Charlie H, 11N HC: Lemuel M, 10S / Rubens D, 10S

SENIOR WINNERS: Senior Piano: Harry S, U6N Senior Strings: Sophie L, U6A Senior Woodwind: Amelia W, L6M Senior Brass: Matthew F, L6O Senior Jazz: Jolyon L, U6N Senior Contemporary: Joe R, U6P Senior Boys Classical Song: Fraser D, U6O Senior Boys Musical Theatre: Piers D, L6S Senior Girls Classical Song: Lollie G, U6G HC: Lucy W, L6A Senior Girls Musical Theatre: Kristia G, U6G

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I R EGA R D T H E T H EAT R E AS T H E GR EAT EST OF A LL A RT FOR MS, T H E MOST I M M EDI AT E WAY I N W H ICH A H U M A N BEI NG CA N SH A R E W I T H A NOT H ER T H E SENSE OF W H AT I T IS TO BE A H U M A N BEI NG. OSCA R W I LDE 69

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B BLOCK

DR A M A SHOWCASE It was honestly a little nerve-wracking getting ready to perform; I wasn’t exactly sure how many people would be watching me or what they might think about my performance. It’s a little bit awkward being stared at, to be honest, but I was ready… wasn’t I? I had been practising for weeks, but I still sat backstage with a mind-blank about what I was going to do. I felt a pang of nervousness, but I eventually managed to calm myself down. Once on the stage, I remembered my lines somehow. It felt natural and I was calm once I was out there (except for my bright red nose!). Scarlet B, 9A

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12 DAYS OF CH R IST M AS

The B Block showcase was my first performance at Repton. As a Day Pupil, I remember having to stay after tea for the twice-weekly rehearsals at 7pm. Mr Cooper-Richards chose Peter Whittingham and I to perform as a pair, we rehearsed our piece for many weeks, learning our lines so well that we could speak them in our sleep. Peter and I worked well together, with Mr Cooper-Richards giving us expert theatrical advice. Rehearsing at the theatre at Repton was very different; it was incredibly modern, up-to-date, and just amazing. After weeks of rehearsals, we were ready for our performance. After waiting for what seemed like an age, it was our turn to perform. Peter and I crept onto the stage while the lights were out, waiting for them to turn back on and for the music to start. They did. For a split second, I froze, not knowing what to do just standing there motionlessly, then it all came cascading back to me and we started our performance. Thanks to our previous rehearsals, our lines rolled off the tongue, connecting seamlessly with the actions and movement to create a spotless performance. After we had finished we waited for the curtain call, and then we filed off stage with huge grins on our faces.

joined Repton School as a Drama Scholar and an A Level Drama and Theatre pupil this year, but due to the social distancing restrictions it has not been possible to create and perform theatre to a live audience. Therefore, it was a great thrill to be given the opportunity by the Drama department to perform a filmed monologue which was an alternative take on the ‘12 Days of Christmas’. The sketch followed the increasing frustrations of Emily, the recipient of the twelve gifts, who writes to her beloved Edward, at first to give grateful thanks for turtle doves and five gold rings but is soon pleading with him to stop, as the milk maids and their cows are destroying her lawn, along with the other menagerie of animals. It was great to be back in the rehearsal room, with direction from Mrs Whitfield in the creation of character, prior to shooting the performance on location, down in the Hall. With a roaring fireplace and a decorated Christmas tree, the location created a real sense of setting, and in combination with Victorian costume, I felt that I was able to create an authentic re-telling of the story, filmed beautifully by Mr Cooper-Richards. The filming was a new experience to me, having performed mostly on stage previously, and it was a luxury to be able to re-take moments where I was unhappy with the delivery of a line. Whereas the difference with filming a performance did make me feel more relaxed, I do look forward to the adrenaline rush of performing live on stage again. In addition to my filmed performance, three further Christmas monologues were created, including Reims W (L6C) performance as ‘The Elf on the Shelf’, Zoe A (L6M) confessions as ‘Rudolph’, and the festive children’s favourite story of ‘The Night Before Christmas’ narrated by Sophie D (11M).

Lucy W, L6A

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DRAMA

U PPER SI XTH DA NCE Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 400 Hall was forced to close its doors to its various audiences at the beginning of March 2020, as were many theatres all over the country. After months of being locked indoors over the summer holidays, I returned to Repton in September. I was desperate to perform again, only to be told that it would not be feasible or safe to mix outside our house year group bubbles.

owever, Mr CooperRichards had a plan to make sure that I, and many other Garden Upper Sixth pupils, could have a final opportunity to perform on the 400 Hall stage, but not in the way we had orginally thought. After the success of ‘The Hanging Tree’ in the Repton Variety Show, we wanted to engage with a similar type of piece to express the frustration of theatres being closed over lockdown, through dancing. Mr Cooper-Richards had selected the song ‘The Show Must Go On’ by Queen, which had been adapted into a piano balled, and this felt appropriate to the type of dance that we were aiming to do. We were thrilled that Carla (who had choreographed ‘The Hanging Tree’, ‘Cell Block Tango’ and ‘All That Jazz’) was joining us again to choreograph this piece, as we already knew her extremely well and loved her enthusiasm when she taught us. Even though very few of us had danced professionally, Carla never failed to encourage us to be the best versions of ourselves, developing our confidence towards dancing in general.

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We began learning the dance after Michaelmas half-term and rehearsed most Sundays for a couple of hours (it is safe to say that we wanted the dance to be perfect). After all of our hard work we wanted to be able to show all of our friends and family how proud we were of the result, but it was still not safe to allow audiences into the 400 Hall. Therefore, we felt extremely grateful when Gleb (U6P) agreed to film the dance, so that we were able to share our achievements. When it came to the day of filming, it was not going to be a walk in the park. We started filming in hair and makeup from around 13:00 to 17:00, as it was necessary to repeat sections of the dance for Gleb to be able to catch the performance from many different angles. However, whilst it felt absolutely exhausting, our hard work, especially Gleb’s, had definitely paid off. The result was amazing. The way Gleb had filmed and edited our performance was exactly what we were hoping for, and it’s safe to say we were extremely proud of what we had achieved. I feel very grateful that I was able to perform on stage one last time at Repton, although not in the usual way. However, this alternative was just as good as performing to an audience. I feel extremely lucky that I was able to take part in this project and I am so proud of the final video.

DRAMA

FI LM I NG

T H E U PPER SI XT H DA NCE I was really excited when Mr Cooper-Richards approached me with the idea of filming a dance video for the school. Knowing that it would be a challenging task, research and preparation was key. I had around two weeks to plan the video and a few recordings of the dance on my phone to familiarise myself with the moves and choreography. Before planning any project, I like to search for inspiration from existing content. And so, I spent the first week looking through movies, documentaries, and music videos where dancing was central to the plot or piece. Once I had finished the preparation stage, it occurred to me that I had managed to get through two series, a film, a documentary and dozens of music videos in one week! With the fun bit out of the way, I dedicated the second week to planning the cinematography and storyboarding the shots I wanted to film. Having watched the recording of the dance an endless number of times, the plan was to use slow and steady shots to film most of the group dances and contrast them with the handheld, motion-heavy footage of the solos. These would be accompanied by the most dramatic parts of the song, contributing to this effect. I decided that I would include at least one ‘safety shot’ at the end of each part of the dance. This is a simple, wideangle shot depicting the whole stage and all dancers and it could be substituted for any shot which I would not manage to film. On the day of the filming, the planning proved to be extremely useful when it came to filming the solos. Nearly every solo performance was filmed in no more than four takes as everything went exactly according to the storyboards. I learnt that some of the most cinematic shots, especially in ballet, are those filmed from behind the dancer with the auditorium in the background and the bright light rays creating lens flares and adding to the professional effect. A lot of people refer to editing as the most timeconsuming and painful part of filmmaking, and while I do agree with the first bit, I do not dislike the editing process as much as others seem to. I think of it as the part where ‘the magic happens’ as the different pieces of the puzzle combine to form one beautiful picture. A couple of days, numerous drafts and dozens of cups of coffee later, the project was finally completed! It was important for me to not let any small errors slip by, therefore, a couple drafts were required before producing the final, best-looking version of the film. Overall, this was a great experience, and I am thankful to the Drama Department for putting their trust in me with this responsibility. Gleb T, U6P T H E R EP TO N I A N 2 0 2 1

DRAMA

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DRAMA

ART & DESIGN

T H E WOR LD A LWAYS SEEMS BR IGHT ER W H EN YOU’V E J UST M A DE SOM ET H I NG T H AT WASN’T T H ER E BEFOR E. N EI L GA I M A N 75

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The Cambridge Architecture Competition

ART & DESIGN

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he aim for this architecture competition was to design a building to become a place of interaction between teaching Fellows and pupils on the Fitzwilliam College site, Cambridge. The design criteria included incorporating an interesting relationship between exterior and interior spaces within the building, to write a design narrative, to create a project title, and to submit five different types of architectural drawings (floor plans, an elevation and section drawing, a perspective drawing, and a site plan).

My next step was to prepare the sketches and drawings that I was required to submit, which I found to be a relatively time consuming and challenging process as I didn’t know how to draw some of them professionally. This meant that I had to learn these skills by research, discussions with teachers, and limited previous knowledge. Likewise, it took me time to discover my style of architectural drawing; making my sketches unique and individual to me - of which I am still developing.

I began my project by researching into Fitzwilliam College – the existing buildings onsite, the atmosphere created there, and visual patterns between the architecture. It soon came to my attention that the use of pale yellow and brown bricks are frequently used, and that each building is aesthetically unusual whilst complementing the surrounding college architecture. Patterns such as the use of lines, and circular features like turrets contrasted each other, but were brought around the college site creating a sense of togetherness. Likewise, the lawns, and plentiful outdoor space complimented the many indoor areas available, and the combination of traditional buildings and modern buildings created an environment of history and community.

I was relieved and keen to submit my portfolio of final sketches, and it felt rewarding knowing that I had completed this challenge independently and that I was pleased with the final outcome. Overall, I found this competition not only a rewarding experience, but also an opportunity to learn. Despite the architectural drawings being challenging at times – especially trying to create my complex building shape on CAD (computer aided design), I managed to face these difficulties and overcome them. I would definitely encourage everyone to participate in a competition that interests them; this makes the process enjoyable and rewarding as well as an educational experience. Alongside this, it will improve your knowledge on a specific area which you may not cover in school, and it will become an experience that may inspire your future studies and education. Finally, as these tend to be very independent tasks, you will learn to teach yourself the skills required of you for the project and how to overcome the challenges that you are faced with; a side of learning which is quite different to teacher led lessons that we experience on a daily basis.

I wanted my building to be unique yet to fit into the college site aesthetically, seamlessly, and peacefully. After I conducted my research, I began exploring initial concepts; sketching various building ideas. From evaluating the benefits and disadvantages of each design, I was able to systematically narrow down which features I sought to keep, and which were unnecessary. I eventually came up with a design idea that suited the brief well and I developed it further until there was nothing else that I wanted to improve. Subsequently I wrote my design narrative – stating my inspiration, design objective, and final design strategy developed to meet my design objective, and I came up with a suitable project title which describes my design intention and final design solution.

Lola T, L6M

ART & DESIGN

Above: Charlie T Left and Top: Lola T

efore the Easter break, I was asked by Mr Dammers if I was still looking to do an architecture course at university. I answered quickly with a ‘yes’ and within 5 minutes I was emailed the ‘Fitzwilliam College Cambridge Architecture Design Competition 2021’. The competition asked Lower Sixth pupils to design a building within the Fitzwilliam College site for interaction between pupils and teachers with a to-scale floor plan and a 500-word design narrative evaluating their design. It was my first time properly designing an architectural model with a brief given to me, so I had no clue whatsoever of how to write the 500-word design narrative. The first thing I did was design some buildings and I had three solid options overall, so I asked around to see what designs were

more appealing and received a lot of varied answers. I finally settled on the design I thought was fitting and then started to make improvements, so by the time the project was due in, I had made over 20 different designs of the same model. Next, I had to put together to-scale floor plans which took a whole lot longer than I had anticipated, especially as I had to put together three floors’ worth. The scale was 1:200 so every centimetre was 2 meters and I had never done anything like this, so it took a lot of time and pieces of paper to finally get it right. Finally, there was writing the design narrative which, in my eyes, was going to be that hardest part as an imaginary building is not the easiest thing to write 500 words about. Nevertheless, I continued to write it and, in no time, I

was miles past the assigned 500 words. This became a problem as I could be disqualified from the competition if I were even one word over the limit. I spent a few hours trying to whittle down the word count from over 800 words to 500, so I got some help and eventually managed to get the essay to be exactly 500 words that concisely explained my design, inspiration, location and floor plans. Overall, I learnt a lot about what I should be expecting at university and how much an architect has to do on a daily basis as this was only a fraction of the whole job. However, this has definitely increased my interest in architecture even more and I am extremely happy I went through with the competition as it has given me something important to include in my university application and valuable experience. Charlie T, L6O

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ART & DESIGN

TEXTILES

Having

taken textiles as a subject for the last four years, its safe to say that I have spent many hours in the wonderful textiles block (although taking for it A Level has meant having the added bonus of it being on timetable!). The Textiles Department never fails to be a welcoming and friendly place where I can experiment with new ideas and continue with ongoing work. I have completed a number of textiles projects over these two years, including “Fold”, “Freedom” and “Nostalgia”, as well as making a number of garments for the Fashion Show in Lent 2020 (and helping backstage) which was lots of fun.

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ART & DESIGN

Furthest left: Tabitha J/ T-Shirt outcome inspired by Tabitha’s theme of ‘Inside Outside’ exploring the external and internal aspects of human anatomy. Image left: Amelie N / Guts and gore created by Amelie in response to artist Fiona Campbell as part of her project based on the Human Anatomy.

Online learning certainly created challenges for Textiles as a subject but this only led to more creative and abstract thinking about what you could use at home. I was working on both my “Freedom” and “Nostalgia” projects during the period of online learning, but I found that the challenge allowed me to be more resourceful at home. For example, whilst working on my “Nostalgia” project I was able to look though endless old photo albums in order to find portraits for my project; I also experimented with melting wax in a jam jar and painting with coffee.

Textiles has been a fantastic and very enjoyable subject for the past four years and being able to go into textiles after sport on a Thursday and Tuesday has been an unwavering comfort during this most challenging of years. Jessie MM, U6F

Main image left: Harriet H and Claudia C / Futuristic outcome piece in response to the theme Geometric, inspired by the designer Issey Miyake using reflective paper to create a spacelike corset.

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DR TA M A &A DESIGN

Eleanor C / Eleanor has been working on her Woodland themed project and has created this triptych of pieces inspired by the artist Amanda Cobbett using felt, marbling and moss.

Evelyn B/ In response to Evelyn’s theme Natural Forms Evelyn has created a woodland inspired corset that has been hand painted and embellished with striking details.

Jessie MM / A section of Jessie’s final outcome piece based on her theme Nostalgia. For this piece Jessie has been inspired by the military career of her grandfather.

Image left: Alannah E / Greek Mythology inspired piece using photography and stitch.

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Mia P / Portrait embellished with hand stitching to conceal the identity of the person as part of Mia’s Identity project.

ART & DESIGN

V I RT UA L V ISI T

DESIGN M USEU M The pandemic has changed the way we do many things, including visits to galleries and museums.

ast year, in the Reptonian for the 2020 school year, I recall writing that I was looking forward to 2021, when life would have returned to normal and we would be able to enjoy these spaces again. These visits are an integral part of the way designers and creatives operate and gather ideas, as well as allowing us all to spend a memorable afternoon looking at wonderful and interesting products, artwork and artefacts.

After experiencing the Design Museum’s virtual tour, I was really impressed with the layout and interaction of the exhibition; it really allowed me to feel like I was ‘visiting’ a museum, even though that was not possible in a physical space.

In particular, I was fascinated by ‘The Lego Brail Bricks’. Designed in 2011, they were produced to aid children to learn braille through playing with Lego, and they made an impression on Unfortunately, normality was not so me due to their link to “making design quick to return and, during National accessible for all”. These Lego bricks are Lockdowns 2 & 3, these world and distributed freely/voluntarily, as a method nationally renowned hubs of culture sadly of communication to help aid education, had to close their doors once again. This while not sacrificing the element of did not mean, however, that they had to fun. Each brick contains a different close their exhibitions. Technology (and arrangement or pattern of studs which is how it has enabled us to interact online) equivalent to letters and numbers. This has possibly been one design is amazing “Technology ... has of the biggest cultural because it could shifts in the last twelve possibly been one of the transform a child’s life months. This allowed with allowing them the Design Museum to biggest cultural shifts in to communicate with open its virtual doors the last twelve months.” friends as each brick to us instead. Amelie, contains a printed letter one of our Upper Sixth designers (who or number to signify what braille letter plans to move on to study Product Design or number it is showing, all through the at university after Repton), discusses her medium of play. experience of the Virtual Beazley Designs After venturing further into the Design of the Year 2021 below. Museum, the ‘Judy Emergency Kits’ caught my eye. Designed by Simon Huck, GLH Red Antler and Josh Udaskin, these kits are made for individuals stuck in a sudden natural disaster. They contain supplies ranging from a torch to first aid kits and other equipment to help you survive.

This design is a perfect emergency pack because it is eye catching with the bright orange colour but also compact to add to the ease of carrying or escaping in a hurry. Overall, this product could aid the recorded 60% of Americans who don’t have a plan once a natural disaster hits. The final design that inspired me is called ‘The Station of Being’, produced by Rombout Frieling Lab in Sweden. It intends to provide a comfortable, partially reclined space where people can relax. As the name suggests this bus stop is designed to let individuals just stop, relax, and think about themselves, with lights and sounds that communicate with the users to tell them when a bus is approaching. The attractive design with the lights and the semi cylinder formed from wooden develops a unique and aesthetically pleasing design. The opportunity to access the Design Museum’s resources and view the products in the Beazley exhibition made me thankful that design pupils can continue to be inspired by innovations and ideas created by professional designers, regardless of circumstance or restrictions. The Design Museum did an excellent job of providing an immersive experience, but I hope I can visit in person again very soon, free of restrictions and make the most of this wonderful building. Amelie N, U6M

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ART & DESIGN

Designing a “Shoffice” To put it bluntly, a Shoffice is a shed-office.

was quite happy to find out that Lower Sixth DT pupils were going to take part in an architecture-based project as it would be the first that I and many pupils who had taken GCSE DT at Repton will have done. As someone who has been looking to do an architecture course at university, I thought that this project presented a great opportunity to have a go at designing a building. There were about 10 different client options to choose from for this project, ranging from a middle-aged engineer who wanted a place to work to a teenage boy who wanted a place to hang out with friends. For my design, I thought it would be irresponsible not to choose the client that was most like me, so I felt obligated to choose the teenage boy. This gave me a lot of room to work with as I could make pretty much anything I would want in my garden. This meant I could have made a completely outrageous design that would be any teenager’s dream to have, however I decided

Charlie T, L6O

The Big Bang Competition

acob and I found out about the Big Bang Competition towards the end of the Lent Term. As a pair, we have always been intrigued by engineering and STEM, and so we decided to enter the competition. We started off by thinking about what current problem the world was facing, and how we could tackle it. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic came to mind, but we weren’t sure how we could link engineering to this problem, so we settled for another, more long-term problem: climate change. There were many areas of climate change that we could have focused on, however we thought that the most pressing matter was energy production. At the minute, nearly 84% of the world’s energy comes from non-renewable sources such as coal, oil and gas and these fossil fuels produce atmospheric pollutants which harm the environment.

to go with a more simplistic design. A lot of the design was an ‘on the spot’ decision and was then improvised from my original cardboard models a fair amount, however I did make sure to include something I liked from each of my models. My final project included nearly everything that I would want in a Shoffice of my own, apart from the one or two things that would have taken a long time to make and would be particularly difficult to construct, such as a pool. This has by far been (in my opinion) the best project I have done at Repton, even though it was up against some great past projects. It also allowed me to express a lot of my own ideas into a design, which is not something you often get to do with a normal client. To anyone looking to do A Level DT, I would highly recommend taking it as it had been one of my favourite subjects so far and I have had a great experience this past year.

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Jacob and I thought it would be interesting, as well as useful, to design and prototype a renewable source of energy. We began by thinking where energy was being wasted in everyday human activities. We came to the conclusion that walking was a very energy-inefficient procedure and if we could produce a floor tile to harness this energy, it would help produce clean electricity for the world. We worked through the last weeks of the remote learning period, creating 3D computer models of our energy generating floor tile which we dubbed the “Reptile”. We learnt about gearing systems, which were an integral part of our tile, and how to design them with formulae and measurements. We also learnt about springs and the formulae that went with them. At the start of the Summer Term, we got straight to work physically prototyping our tile. We went into the DT Department at Repton where Miss Hill helped us along

with our project. We also used the tools that Repton had to offer, such as the lasercutter which allowed us to transfer our 2D computer designs from digital to physical. The competition itself has three age group categories and was nationwide. Our hope would be to take our project to the finals, and maybe even further. I would really recommend the Big Bang Competition to anyone interested in STEM or engineering because it was such an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Seb R, 9P

ART & D DE RSAIM GN A

Photography Competition

7. 1. Hugo H (11N) - C / 2. Jenna D (11F) - C 3. Alice C (L6M) - Joint 2nd Place 4. Alice M (10M) - 3rd Place 5. Patrick Griffiths - PJG - 1st Place 6. Katharina H (OR) - C 7. Sophie D (11M) - C 8. Claire Jenkinson - CJJ - Joint 2nd Place

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Enduring Creativity:

ART & DESIGN

Art Flourishes in

This has been a year in which Reptonian pupils and teachers have adapted to, and ultimately seized the opportunity to make the most of, ‘remote learning’, a concept new to most of us, but one which we have all needed to embrace throuhgout this academic year. We have all become familiar with the new phenomenon of simultaneous group experience through a screen. Each pupil has adjusted their habits and learning methods to fit their own particular context, location and even time-zone, to be able to proceed with their studies; every teacher has modified their delivery to compensate and capitalize on this new medium. In this way it has been an exceptionally creative year for everyone, with every member of the school community calling up all their creative resources to be able to adapt so swiftly and decisively.

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Top: Grace N (9G) / Michaelmas Competition Bottom: Harriet H (10M) / Michaelmas Competition

ART & DESIGN

a Peculiar Year Creativity in its more obviously recognisable form – the Fine Art, Photography and Textiles artworks of Repton’s pupils of art and scholars of all year-groups, has also continued apace, but necessarily beyond the studios and away from the equipment, materials and inspirational environment of the Artschool, and instead on the bedroom desks, kitchen tables, gardens and even hotel sideboards of our confinement. The resourcefulness and adaptability of Repton’s creatives has been astounding, with people using ketchup in lieu of paint, amazon packaging in the absence of canvas, sticks and stones in place of sculpture materials and old curtains instead of bespoke fabrics. What is clear is this: learning has continued – and we have all had to learn in ways we never expected, but will always remember. IJW

Top Left: Alice M (10M) / Michaelmas Competition Top Right: Sophie D (11M) Above Left: Alice Marriot Above Right:Lola P - C (OR) Right: Harriet C (L6A) T H E R EP TO N I A N 2 0 2 1

ART & DESIGN

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DRAMA

SPORT

NOW I N M AY T I M E TO T H E W ICK ET OU T I M A RCH W IT H BAT A N D PA D. A E HOUSM A N 87

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SPORT

Cricket T

he summer term sees the return of cricket, with the practice nets full, and the sun providing perfect training conditions (at least in theory). With the loss of a season last year (and the greater loss of players who never got a send-off), the team approached the season with some trepidation. Several new scholars joined the 1st XI cricket team this year, with special mentions to Nafis S (L6L) and Archie H (L6L) for their contributions to Derbyshire CC. Without a doubt, there must be a mention of how this new team continued to remain motivated and resilient, looking forward to a season full of matches. With new flare in the team, their success was well earnt and moreover, well deserved. The pre-season Five sessions lead to many successes throughout the school as new athletes were discovered through the sport, and even more surprisingly there were plenty of natural Fives players within the 1st XI cricket squad... …CMWR quickly opened up the practice nets early so he didn`t lose his players to DAE and his Fives. Reims W, L6C

Squad Captain: A. Haleem (P) 1st XI Squad: B. Cann (O), E. Catton (O), O. Flindall (C), A. Haleem (P), A. Harrison (L), E. Heiskanen (P), A. Hidderley (C), T. Jones (S), A. Mair (P), W. Orpin (C), O. Randall (O), O. Reddy (C), N. Shaikh (L), J. Smith (O), Z. Wenham (S)

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SPORT

U18 Girls Match Report

Repton vs Rugby After over a year of indoor practice and Teams calls with the coaches, it was a really great feeling to be able to run out onto the pitch with the rest of the U18 Girls’ Squad to finally play a game of cricket. Our first match saw us take on Rugby School in an away fixture and was the first time that the current Repton Girls 1st XI have played at this level together. Rugby won the toss and put us in to bat. Ella P (51*) and Captain Scout B (50*) immediately got our innings off to a tremendous start with an opening partnership of 110 before they both retired on reaching their maiden half centuries. At the end of the 20 overs, we had a score of 133-6. None of us were quite sure at the turnaround whether this total would be good enough for the win. However, we could hardly believe our luck when Tilly B clean bowled their opening batter on the first ball of their innings for a ‘Golden Duck’. Our confidence soared, but Rugby soon began to battle back, scoring 81-4 before a regular stream of wickets then started to fall. Each of us were given the chance to bowl and most managed to add a wicket to the Repton 9-wicket haul. Despite a valiant effort by the opposition’s lower order, the required run rate proved just too much. Rugby finished the day with a final score of

109-9 in the 20 overs allowed. This resulted in us winning the game by 24 runs. It was a great all-round effort from every member of the team and Tilly was named player of the match for her outstanding bowling performance. We are all now looking forward to the next match against Malvern College and will be hoping to secure another victory! EWCW’s comment: “Scout’s decisions as Captain were thoughtful and the commitment from the team in the field was unquestionable, though Jessie M-M (U6F) has yet to learn that using a “long barrier” to stop a ball traveling at pace is a useful technique! Instead, Jessie improvised using her kneecap which was a painful experience”. CMWR (Director of Cricket) says: “The development of girl’s cricket is gaining pace and throughout the winter months, girls house indoor cricket was a regular fixture on the Saturday afternoon sporting programme. There are now teams at U15 and U18 age groups and enter national competitions both outdoors and indoors with a number of our most talented girls playing at county and regional level and undoubtedly bolstering the boys XI’s”. Ottilie S, 11M

Images left: 1st XI, Top: U15A, Bottom: U14A

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SPORT

The 150-year rivalry This year marked the 150th anniversary of Repton vs Malvern 1st XIs match.

he first game in 1871 resulted in a two-day fixture where the end result was a draw between the schools. The battle has been contested each year, Repton have had their winning years, to which Malvern has then countered, the Repton vs Malvern cricket conflict is a sporting event that will undoubtedly continue to be a rivalry that will never have an outstanding winner. An extract from Chapter III (1871-1875) of Alfred Cochrane’s ‘Repton Cricket 1865-1905’ “The season of 1871 opens a new period in Repton cricket. The last star in that galaxy of experts who had helped for several seasons to make us strong, had passed away, and his place was hard to fill. it was not for several years that we produced a player worthy to rank with Tillard or Wilson, and the balance in the school matches was distinctly against us. I speak of these matches in the plural, for Malvern became our rivals for the first time in 1871, and henceforth our contests with Uppingham and Malvern ranked together as the leading athletic events of the season. D.R. Hunter became captain in 1871. He was a cricketer of the type which is known as painstaking. The only choices remaining from 1870 were Ford, Emeris and Ratliff. Ford improved greatly, and made more runs than anybody else, though this is not saying very much. Emeris several times defended his wicket well, and fielded capitally at cover point: but Ratliff, owing to illness, was seldom able to play. The eleven, taking it all round, was a weak one, and an unlucky one as well. Moreover it seems to have been very oddly chosen, and the singular circumstance occurs that quite the best performance of the term was done by an aspirant who failed to get his colours.

This was in the Uppingham match, which was played at Uppingham on May the 24th and 25th. Our prospects, which were never very rosy, were not improved by the fact that neither Spencer nor Ratliff, two of our regular bowlers, was able to play. One of the substitutes chosen was C.S. Lyon, a small Hallite, and his bowling formed one of the few happy features, from our point of view, of the game. Lyon took nine wickets for 63 runs, yet for some reason he never played again for the XI. It was about this time that Uppingham started to produce that long series of eminent batsman bowlers, which made the fame of the School as a cricket nursery, and the fame of H.H Stephenson as a coach. Patterson, Lucas, Steel, Schutz, Aykroyd and Rotherham all in turn played havoc with our chances, and, except for one success in 1876, we did not win again until 1883. In 1871 we lost by 100 runs, but, though Uppingham had always the game in hand and the difference in strength between the two sides was very apparent, we did not do so badly thanks to Lyon’s bowling and a well hit 58 from W.J. Ford. The Malvern match was sparked by miserable weather and it ended in a draw, though violent efforts were made by the Repton batsman to finish it, the last phases of the game being conducted on a quagmire under incessant rain. The draw was rather in our favour, for we only wanted 36 runs and had six wickets in hand. But the scoring had been very small, and there was no certainty that we should have got the runs. No batting feet of any merit was effected, but Hunter bowled steadily for us, and accounted for 12 wickets at a cost of 75 runs.” Reims W, L6C

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Cricket Captain’s Perspective At the beginning of the summer term, the team were finally given the news we could recommence cricket after what felt like a very long wait. We had trained hard throughout the winter period as a team by netting several times a week and completing a weekly fitness session in the S&C suite. The team’s spirits were high and all was going well up until the post-Christmas lockdown, when we realised we wouldn’t be returning to Repton for the Lent Term. However, the squad kept working hard over this time with the huge encouragement of our coach, CMWR. We attended weekly Teams meetings to discuss the England tour of India as well as general cricket chat. On top of this, we kept up with our fitness and completed a gruelling hour-long workout at 7am on a Monday morning. Soon, though, the lockdown was over and we were raring to go, starting with our first outdoor training sessions. After a shaky start to the season with two losses to Malvern and the MCC, we were eager to get some wins under our belt. Our first win was a brilliant victory away at Shrewsbury due to some match-winning performances by O’Shay R (L6C) and Eemeli H (U6P), carrying us home to victory. This was then followed up by another great win which came right down to the wire against Trent College in the National Cup. We have a packed fixture list this year and we hope to carry this winning form onwards and have a successful season. Alex H, U6P

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Fives

Before coming to Repton this year, I had never heard of Fives

o, you can imagine my shock (and angst) when I found myself representing Garden House in the first inter-house Fives competition of the academic year. On my way to the Fives’ courts for the friendly competition, myself and other first-time players frantically searched the internet and YouTube for quick tutorials on how to play the game. However, none of the abundant resources of the internet could prepare us for the spatial awareness, team co-ordination and self-management that we would require that afternoon. Rather, it was my opponents who would prepare us. What immediately struck me about Fives was the genuine sportsmanship from our fellow competitors. Unlike other sports that require a team to serve the ball to their opponent, in Fives the aim of the serve is actually to set your opponent for their next shot. So, if the receiver finds the opponents serve difficult to return, they can request to be served to again, and again. It was great to know that there could be such healthy, and to realise that competitors don’t have to be unfriendly with each other. Despite being a first-time Fives’ player, thanks to the support from our first opponents (shout-out to Izzy A and Bronte B) my teammate and I were able to quickly get used to the rules of the game. As a result, Poppy and I not only found ourselves winning some games but coming top two in our pool where we would come face to face with the very people that taught us the rules of the game. Would the pupils become the masters? Unfortunately, not. Nonetheless it was a really exciting moment. I honestly felt that the Fives’ courts was a really friendly environment to play in; Mr Exley has done a great job at making all players feel the Fives’ spirit. And now, although Fives’ is not my main sport, when I can, I try to fit it around my sports option. Who would have thought? Sanchia O, L6G

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n recent years, under the capable leadership of DAE, Fives has experienced something of a revival at Repton. In this feature, several Reptonians sat down to chat about Fives – what makes the game what it is, and why they enjoy it so much.

Answers by Molly B (U6M), Hattie N (U6F), Jessie MM (U6F), Scout B (U6F), Zara K (U6F) and Alex M (U6P). What do you enjoy about the game of Fives itself? Girls: The speed and unpredictability of play means that you never get bored and so many different things can happen. It’s great fun to play with your friends and all the different rules and etiquette make it really interesting to play. Of course, the music is a very important part of Fives as well! Alex: I would say that when a tight game gets going, with few points won on serve, that’s when it is most enjoyable. Close competition is the best thing about sport and the very nature of Fives plays well towards that, creating tension and excitement in what could just be a spontaneous game with mates. What shots do you love to play and why? Girls: We enjoy the cut the most because it’s great fun to hit the ball as hard as you can and when you hit it just right it’s really satisfying. Alex: Quick top step rallies are the best when you’re hitting drop shots, making use of angles and trying to smash it into the tiny gap at the base of the buttress. There aren’t many other sports where you’re constantly turning, ducking and getting into unusual positions to hit the shot. Tell me about some highlights about your fives experiences at Repton. Girls: We really enjoyed the match we managed to get in before Covid against Shrewsbury, but the highlight would have to be house Fives. It was great to see so many different people playing Fives and really enjoying it, and the final was a great game that really showed how much we improved as Fives players. (Of course, winning it was the highlight for the Field Girls).

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Alex: Playing (and beating) the opposite Shrewsbury pair in last year’s fixture was certainly a highlight with this year’s Senior House Fives being close behind as The Priory kept the magnificent old trophy, beating The Cross in the final. How does Fives add to the experience of being a Reptonian? Girls: Fives is a unique sport not found in many places, and we are so lucky to have such brilliant facilities and a great coach in Mr Exley. The sport is so old and some great Reptonians played during their time at Repton, like Roald Dahl and CB Fry. It has been really nice to add to the legacy of the sport at the school, especially in getting so many girls involved when it was very male dominant before. Fives has been a highlight of our time at Repton, and we can’t wait to hopefully come back and play OR matches in the future! Will you continue to play the game in the future? If so how and why? Alex: I hope so. I have checked that my prospective universities have courts, and I would love to continue playing as a pupil as it’s such a great thing to do for fitness, competition and meeting people. Returning to Repton for a game with some ORs or even current pupils would also be nice to reminisce on/replicate some wonder shots of the past! Girls: We are planning to go to Eton during Summer term half term to play a Fives tournament there which will be really exciting to see the original court. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we’re back playing OR games in the newly refurbished courts!

Some Questions for DEX: Why did you decide to start up Fives at Repton again? As a keen Fives player and advocate, Mr Semmence approached me in October 2019 and asked if I’d be willing to get it restarted. I absolutely loved it at school so I agreed and hope that many more current and future Reptonians will get as much enjoyment out of the game as I did. I also really like the idea that for some people, it can complement the major team games, especially in terms of skill development and for some people it can be their ‘thing’ at school where they can develop their skills significantly as almost all people start with no experience whatsoever. What was your favourite part about starting it up again and why? Seeing the enthusiasm with which people have come out to the courts and been ready to embrace something new and almost completely quirky. I enjoy trying to explain all the arcane rules, though it is satisfying that the game can be simplified to be accessible to all. The self-refereeing element of the sport also provides many moments to work on sportsmanship and relationship management and a significant opportunity for humour (I think it has allowed some of you the chance to get to know one another on a whole new level too!).

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How is it different and similar to when you were playing Fives at Repton? Quite different. For a start, girls did not have fives anywhere on the sports programme which was daft looking back at it. I am really pleased that we have a good balance between girls and boys playing now. It was part of the sports programme that all B Block boys would be introduced to the game one afternoon per week for a term (Lent term if memory serves me right). Thereafter, there was a post-chapel Sunday open session and a few other opportunities for play. We used to go on some very long away journeys to London and there would be a senior 6 and a junior 6 as a minimum for matches. Similarities will include a return to regular senior and junior house match events and fixtures with other schools. The journey of learning something new will endure too. Why did you take up the game as a pupil? I first played as part of the B Block sports programme in 1995/96! The master-in-charge at the time was a chap called Mr Bradburn, he was a superb coach of all sports and it soon became clear that you would learn plenty of new things and enjoy his company. He had a wonderful wit and way of keeping you in your place!

What three things about Fives makes it such a great school sport? I love the unpredictability of the bounce of the ball; the asymmetry of the court means the ball can ricochet off at an unexpected angle at any time and you have to adapt quickly to play the next shot. This makes each point interesting right the way through until it is won. The lack of a referee makes for plenty of opportunity to refine your sports ethics on court. If you would ‘manage umpires’ in a hockey fixture to encourage them to give your team a decision, so you can achieve this with the opposition offering you generous lets in Fives. Finally, I’d say it is a great sport because there is always lots to learn about the rules, tactics, and shots that can be hit. With everybody coming to the game without experience, this makes learning the game collaborative and fun. There is a lot of experience to build up of being on court. I hope that many more will embark on this journey in the next few years. Is there a typical pupil that plays Fives at Repton? Has that changed over the years? Typical pupil? Not really. Fives is a game that anybody should feel confident to give a go. There have been good cricketers who have played

it down the years, but mathematicians and physicists could equally lay a claim to having some sort of advantage. Perhaps even debaters would go well needing to discuss the nuances of the rules and whether a let should be played. Has this changed? Not really, there were some sporty types amongst my contemporaries that played, equally, there were characters who wouldn’t be in other sports teams who really made the Fives courts home and became highly skilled in it. To date a good mix of people have been to the courts to try it out and I hope that it continues to be a game for all. What do you think the future of Fives at Repton holds? I hope that the momentum that has been built in the last 18 months will continue. Certainly, junior and senior boys and girls house matches will become a staple feature of the Fives calendar and I will look to develop more opportunities for practice and fixtures to make best use of what will effectively be a new facility next year. As for the 13th court. It would be wonderful to bring the court in The Priory back into circulation. Above all, I want Reptonians to have the opportunity to enjoy a different game and have great sporting and social experiences in the process.

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Football

With the parting of many great players in the 1st XI, the anticipation for what was in store this season was high.

he departure of top goal scorer and Captain Jake Raine (C20) to join ORs Luke Tandy (N18) and Tommy Redhead (O19) at Furman University in the US lead to the question of who will fill this space of Captain? Jake has continued to shine across the water in the US as he continues to score goal after goal, leaving his teammates wondering if he`s feeling well on the off chance he decides not to score in a game too, as well as receiving freshman of the year in the southern conference. House football unites the most flamboyant footballer with the most determined and creates a team that produces entertainment every minute of the game. With restrictions in place, year groups had to battle it out alone. Nevertheless, passion and heart poured out onto the pitch, and dirty sports kit also poured into the laundry rooms after rainy weekends. Reims W, L6C

espite the restrictions in place for Covid-19 we still managed to have some sort of football season that ended with Repton, remarkably, lifting two ESFA Cups. The focus for the 1st XI was to finish the ESFA U18 Cup from the 2019-20 season. We had reached the semi-final of the competition by March 2020 when the lockdown intervened and so we picked up our season with an away trip to Queen Ethelburga’s. There were limitations to the conclusion of the competition as we had lost several 1st XI players from the previous season, including the captain and all-time Repton top-scorer, Jake Raine. We were also unable to draw upon the pool of new talent who had entered the school in September meaning that it was, potentially, quite a depleted team that had to rise to the challenge. However, the bulk of the side remained from last season with a back five and strong midfield nicely intact. We had a strong goal threat through Eno N (U6P) and players such as Tom J (U6S), Rohit K (U6C), Max M (U6C) and Louie H (L6S) ready in the wings waiting to play their part. We warmed up with a couple of friendly matches against Hudl League rivals Shrewsbury. A 4-1 home victory was comfortable, but the opposition gave us a sterner challenge a week later as we drew 1-1 after being behind at half-time. This was just the test we needed and we travelled to Queen Ethelburga’s confident we could perform. We had the better of the game, taking the lead only to be pegged

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back before recapturing the lead and then pulling away in extra time. It was the tough game we expected from a side that had finished runners-up in the ISFA Cup final just a few months earlier, but we displayed our trademark Repton resolve to reach our third consecutive ESFA U18 Cup Final. The final was played in October at Lilleshall against a Wilson’s School side that had shown themselves to be strong and resilient on their way to the Final. On the day, we played it perfectly. Chun W (U6O) gave us an early lead before twin brother Yat W (U6O) decided he wasn’t going to let his brother take all the glory with a second. We controlled much of the game and restricted Wilson’s to very little. We slowly ground the opposition down and, when Anye F (U6L) kept in a ball that looked to be going out for a throw and fed Eno N (U6P) he broke clear to square the ball to Louie H (L6S) who finished with, quite literally, his first touch of the match after coming on as sub. We could have nicked a couple more in the last ten minutes and we were good value for the 3-0 win that secured us our second ESFA U18 Cup in three years. Over the course of the season, stretching back to September 2019, there were many epic battles and times when different individuals stepped forward: the matches against Codsall and Thomas Telford spring to mind. I know these boys felt the weight of finishing a job started by boys who had left and who were, I’m sure, watching the live feed of the game.

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1st XI Results P 6 W 5 D 1 L 0 F 17 A 5 (FOUR MATCHES REMAINING)

U18 ESFA CUP 2019/20 - WINNERS SF QUEEN ETHELBURGA’S W 4-2 (AET) F WILSON’S SCHOOL

W 3-0

HUDL INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS LEAGUE ROYAL RUSSELL

W 3-1

HAMPTON

W 2-0

SHREWSBURY

TBC

MILLFIELD

TBC

BRADFIELD

TBC

BEDE’S

TBC

FRIENDLIES However, captain Tom W (U6P) and the boys didn’t disappoint: they rarely do. The U15 team had also seen their season cut short, having gone one better and already made the Final of the Small Schools’ Cup. This group had developed significantly over the course of the season, as the two warm-up victories over Shrewsbury suggested, given that we had lost to them the previous season. There had been some good additions to the group but, alas, they were not permitted to play in the Final as it was strictly for players who were eligible last season. We played a strong Claremont side from Sussex who had won the competition in the previous year and who had also reached the Final of the U15 Elite Cup. We competed well, despite losing key midfielder Lewis M (O) to a dislocated shoulder after only 15 minutes. We conceded just before half-time and a second mid-way through the second half. Two late goals were a little fortunate but, overall, they were a strong side and there were few complaints. However, there were, in the end, some complaints. It became clear that our opponents had – despite ESFA clearly stating they were not allowed – played players who were not at the school the previous year. Apart from being against the rules, we had left out our new arrivals who would undoubtedly have added strength to the team. ESFA had little option but to expel Claremont from the competition and award the trophy to Repton. This

is undoubtedly not the way you would want to win any tournament, but let’s remember the battles we had fought and won to reach the Final in the first place. It is also incumbent on both teams to ensure that they are operating within the very clear rules. Their error had given them an unfair advantage and so, to my mind, we were worthy winners. Sadly, these afternoons at Lilleshall proved to be our last external football before the second lockdown hit. All the other teams at Repton didn’t manage to pull in a competitive fixture all season. At the time of writing (Summer Term 2021) football is back on the agenda and the 1st XI are preparing to play their Hudl League season to, hopefully, finish this strange year with a flourish. We started the series of six matches with a strong 3-1 win against a fancied Royal Russell side with goals from Lower Sixth players Henry C (S), Henry W (P) and Gilles A (N) showing that we don’t always have to rely on that strong core of experienced and consistent Upper Sixth group that has served the school so well for a number of years. We followed this up with a 2-0 victory over Hampton. I hope that we can build on this and, with a bit of luck, lift our third Hudl League title in four years but, whatever the outcome, something tells me that simply being out playing and competing again will be a reward in itself. MMC

SHREWSBURY

W 4-1

SHREWSBURY

D 1-1

U15A Results P3 W2 D0 L1 F6 A7 U15 ESFA SMALL SCHOOL CUP 2019/20 - WINNERS F CLAREMONT

L 0-4

(CLAREMONT DISQUALIFIED FROM COMPETITION)

FRIENDLIES SHREWSBURY

W 4-2

SHREWSBURY

W 2-1

1st XI squad 2020/21 Captain: T. Whitwell (P) Squad: G. Aurelian (N), E. Catton (O), H. Cooper (S), D. Davy (L), R. Felipes (S), A. Fowajuh (L), L. Haigh (S), E. Heiskanen (P), T. Jones (S), A. Murphy (O), E. Nto (P), A. Oni (O), G. Tverkdokhlebov (P), M. Wallace (P), H. Walmisley (P), J. Williams (S), C. Wong (O), Y. Wong (O) Also played: F. Adebola (C), J. Brown (C), N. Edokpolor (S), R. Khosla (C), T. Jervis (S), M. Mackrill (C), O. Schneck (N)

U15A squad 2020/21 Captain: M. Bristow (C) Squad: R. Coulborn (S), R. Donegan (N), H. Evans (O), H. Firth (C), O. Flindall (C), V. Grassl (O), J. Harman (O), T. McDonnell (S), L. Millward (O), D. Nto (P), J. Rush (N), M. Rybalkin (P), N. Salsby (P), L. Tuinenburg (N), Z. Watson (N) Also played: Y. Bin Naeem (S), S. Sekhon (C), A. Wenham (S)

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FOOTBALL Captain’s Comments Like almost every sport in the last 18 months, football at Repton was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and many of us were frustrated with the lack of consistency of training and matches. We were, however, lucky enough to play and win the ESFA national schools cup in October 2020 which would set us up nicely for what we were hoping would be a full season after the new year. Of course, that wasn’t quite the case. With another lock down putting off all prospects of matches for the next few months, the team was forced to resort to virtual S&C sessions in the comfort of our own homes in preparation for the Hudl league. It was a gruelling few month with frustration building due to the lack of pitch time. However, the time came for us to get back to training and eventually our first match in over six months on the 6th of May. The team put on a steady performance that ended up in us beating a strong Royal Russel team 3-1. The team is raring to go for the next league games with the aim of winning the Hudl league for the 3rd time. Tom W, U6P

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ESFA FINAL Player Perspective

England Schools National Champions -- not a bad ring to it. The unprecedented events of the past year paved the way for not one, but two six-month hiatuses from competitive football and, for many, the lockdowns may have drained belief and presented the illusion that the wishes of success and trophies seemed untouchable. However for the 1st XI, this presented a window of opportunity to focus on our individual skills and to reinforce the togetherness Repton footballers are renowned for. With the unrivalled passion of Mr Carrington matched with the intricate insights of the Willington Wenger, Mr Kew, the maroon mercenaries looked well equipped ahead of their 3rd national final in three years. Lileshall National Sports Centre, former home of the rising stars of England’s national team -- Michael Owen, Jermaine Defoe, Jamie Carragher and now add Tom J (U6S) to that list, Lichfield’s Lionel, with some breathtaking pieces of skill that was sure to take the virtual crowd of their seats. Whitwell and Williams at the back proceeded to enforce their own 90-minute lockdown over the opposition. Clean sheet safely secured. Goals from both of the twins, Yat and Chun Wong (‘anything you can do I can do better’ springs to mind). Two clinical finishes. Rumour has it Fowajuh’s firepower on the wing and the heiskCannon of Eemeli still haunt the opposition to this day. And for me, after a missing a penalty in the unsuccessful 2019 final, victory and the gold medal tasted particularly sweet. Six months all made up for in 90 minutes. Eno N, U6P

Main image: 1st XI, Left: Repton v Shrewsbury 2020 - taking the knee, Above: 1st XI , U15A, U15A

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Hockey SPORT

Boys’ 1st XI

Captain’s Perspective

omewhat unsurprisingly, the last year has seen very little hockey for the Boys’ 1st XI. This really is a great shame given the quality of the team we had this year across the Upper Sixth, the Lower Sixth and even some O Block who would likely have joined us on the field. There certainly was the potential there for this 1st XI to contend for the U18 National Title for both indoor and outdoor hockey and to play at the highest level for an entire year. Seemingly, it wasn’t to be, and we have missed out on so much – whether that be a full home crowd out by the Astro, our away days up and down the country and the opportunity to play in those big competitions. Nonetheless, it is fair to say that, given the circumstances, we have done the best that we could and made the most of the situation. Our upcoming fixtures this Summer Term ensure that we will be able to play together, in maroon, against some quality opposition (including university sides and some of our closest school rivals). We hope to achieve some good results before, for some of us, our Repton Hockey careers come to a close. Zack B, U6S

Boys’ 1st XI squad Captain: Zack Brough (S) Squad: C. Buffin (S), A. Chihota (N), S. Cossey (L), H. Crowhurst (N), G. Fletcher (N), J. Gould (N), T. Kim (N), A. Murdoch (N), O. Reddy (P), S. Rollett (C), H. Scutt (N), J. Sookias (S), M. Squance (L), H. Stone (N), J. Truelove-Cooke (N)

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Girls’ 1st XI Captain’s Perspective

he 2020-21 hockey season was certainly a different one. We played a total off three matches split by two lockdowns. Our season started successfully with a draw against Nottingham Trent University and a thunderous 14-0 victory against Rugby. Unfortunately, this was to be our last match for seven months. For those seven months we were stuck in our year group bubbles training at least twice a week both boys and girls together. We were able to play a mixture of indoor and outdoor hockey with our brief indoor season culminating in a mini tournament made up of three U6 mixed teams. With the reality of training without any matches in sight there was the chance of losing motivation and quality of hockey played, however, this was never an option as the team maintained an excellent standard throughout the year. When the third lockdown hit, we resorted to weekly Zoom meetings consisting of quizzes and a brilliant Q and A with OR Esme Burge, who is currently training in the GB squad for the Tokyo Olympics. Once we were back on the pitch, we had few weeks before we were on the road to Oxford University and despite not having played a match together for more than half the year, we were able to claim a 3-1 win against a national league side with a team represented by members from A Block to Upper Sixth. Although none would wish for the past season, we were extremely lucky to have been able to play some form of hockey for most of the time and I feel as though everyone has improved greatly. This year provided many challenges for both staff and players, many of whom this was their final year at Repton. However, everyone really made the most it, and it will undeniably go down as the strangest hockey season in Repton’s history. Let’s hope for a better season next year! Scout B, U6F

Girls’ 1st XI squad Captain: Scout Butler (F) Squad: E. Barlow (G), D. Bennett (M), E. Bowman (M), M. Bowman (M), B. Brough (M), S. Butler (F), M. Butterworth (M), N. Edgar (F), S. Emslie (M), I. Evans (M), M. Jackson (M), G. Kelly (M), H. Laughton (M), L. Northing (M), C. Swain (M), I. Swann (M), O. Sykes (M)

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Swimming In the past few years Repton`s swim team has sprouted rapidly with great succession in all disciplines from sprints to distance.

his year saw Isaac-von Fintel (C20) take to the starting blocks at the Olympic trials for his discipline in 200m Butterfly. In school, there was another wave of new swimmers and scholarships into the team, who all contributed to the success of the team this year. The extent to which these athletes train is both incredible and admirable from the perspective of fellow classmates and athletes. Despite pools being shut across the country for a lot of the academic year, virtual talks with inspirational swimming professionals such as Melanie Marshall (coach to Olympic double gold medallist and world record holder for 100m and 50m Breaststroke, Adam Peaty) were able to go ahead. The Caroline Tyler Swimming relays hold a title that is honouring to achieve, as well as a privilege to receive. With changes to the format of the event, it was down to each year group, the tension grew each week as houses battled out for place and going down to the wire… after The Cross retaining the title as champions for 4 years it was time for New House to take 1st place. Reims W, L6C

100

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hen the first lockdown started in March 2020, Repton Swimming was on the cusp of following its national top 10 placings in the 2019-20 English Schools Championships with another significant milestone – the awarding of affiliated club status from the governing body, Swim England. This is not a normal step for a school, as most of the competitions we enter as Repton are school based. Swimming is different however, as with the affiliated club status Repton can compete in the national club events and our swimmers can compete as individuals in the national, regional and county championships, as well as other licensed events. As I write, 14 months on from when all large event indoor sporting competitions stopped, we are only just getting back to the point of competition, and these remain limited and small for a few weeks yet. We do however have a very promising series of events in front of us as the brakes get taken off and sport as we used to know it starts to emerge. Our club status also affords Repton Swimming an unusual quirk as we also have community members as part of our programme, representing Repton in competition. These local swimmers compete under the banner of Repton Swimming and make up a significant proportion of the club, which now stands at over 100 competing members, ranging from 8-18. The appointment of Director of Swimming Scott Talbot, who joined us from Nunawading Swimming Club in Melbourne and the Australian National Swimming programme, has been followed by the appointment of John Adye as Performance Coach, and the growth continues. In the Summer we hope to see Repton well represented in the Swim England Festivals of Swimming, their proposed return to competition events. Remarkably in April 2021, Old Reptonian Isaac Von Fintel (Cross 20182020) became the first representative to swim for Repton in a formal competition when he raced in the 2021 Olympic Trials. We had hoped these pages might be full of Repton Swimming achievements from the last year but that will have to wait until the next edition. What I can be confident about is that this isn’t even the end of the beginning for one of the school’s most recent initiatives.

Squads: Swimming U19 Boys: S. Apponyi (S), L. Nguyen (S), S. Nicholls (C), D. Skinner (C) Swimming U19 Girls: H. Torrington (G) Swimming U16 Boys: J. Bailye (S), F. Cordle (O), J. Haigh (N), C. Jamieson (L), A. Johnson (C), A. Joubert (L), L. Pollock (S), N. Skinner (C) Swimming U16 Girls: G. Broadhurst-Commyn (F), L. Burgin-Rawson (G), J. Grace (F), S. Hill (F), H. Hodgekiss (G), A. Marriott (M), P. Mathias (F), G. Rennals (G), Z. Shanker (G)

Athlete Perspective From 17 stalwart swimmers to just under 100 assiduous athletes, Repton Swimming Club continues to progress towards becoming the top programme in the country. The programme aims to create the environment where success is inevitable, based on top level coaching, creating strong relationships with its partners and good culture at all levels of the club and school programmes. Repton’s growth is shown by the recent acquisition of Performance coach John Adye who joins the Repton Coaching team. Guided by Director of Swimming, Scott Talbot, Repton is ready for the return to competition which inevitably was postponed over the British lockdown. Competitions such as the Bath & Otter Cup, the Repton Open meet (a free initiative to promote racing in the whole region), and the National Festival of Swimming are all upcoming targets for the Repton swimming Programme. Despite the 4:30am wake ups, my desire to swim has never been greater. Whether gruelling swimming training or the firstclass Strength & Conditioning sessions, (under Full time Strength & Conditioning Coach Alex Barry), every session has a purpose, every session is beneficial, every session is a step closer towards my end goal. As a Senior Performance squad member, I train at least 21 hours a week, both in and out of the pool. We swim 8-9 times each week for 90-120min and train in

the weight room twice each week for up to 60min. Although our programme is extremely intense and demanding, I have learnt, that “success waits for no one”. Furthermore, our B Block (year 9) swimmers agree that all the staff that play a part in our clubs’ development are “very dedicated” in ensuring the ongoing success into the future for Repton Swimming. These youngsters are excited to be a part of this journey and cannot wait to see how the club advances in the next five years. As well as this, they acknowledge that even though the sets are exigent, they enjoy every minute of it, because it is yet another opportunity to challenge themselves and improve. They too are eager to get back competing as a club. We are all raring to go! Even though 2020 was a year for the history books, us swimmers (like many other athletes) were out of the pool for multiple months and therefore had very little opportunity to engage with our sport. However, as we gradually return back to normality, Repton is ready to return to competitions that take place in the busy period of June and July. By August, Repton Swimming would have completed its first season, so let’s see if we can make something special happen in the water in the few next months. We are heading into exciting times, so watch this space – Repton is ready to roar! Ziyenne S, 11G

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Athletics

With last season missed, many athletes were disappointed to not have their summer term. However, with the anticipation of this coming season, the team returned for the Summer Term raring to race and ready to compete once more.

ith the Sixth Formers leading the way, standards were, as ever, high, and hopeful. The influx of new athletes from the junior years brought great relief to the veterans on the team, their keenness for success evident in both the track and field disciplines. With the addition of three new coaches this year, the training routine was fresh and intense, standards were high and potential was in evidence… With tensions rising due to competitions being smaller and, therefore, talent more concentrated, there some athletes were nervous about the return to competition, but, based on the first competition back, they can look forward to hitting targets and goals that were unimaginable two years prior ago.

Athletics squad Captains: H. Cook (A), R. Wright (C) U20s: I. Archer (M), H. Cook (A), E. Nto (P), C. Redfern (L), E. Rush (M), R. Rustom (L), N. Vandorp (L), H. Walmisley (P), R. Wright (C) U17s: H. Jackson (A), A. Joubert (L), A. Kelly (A), J. Langley (M), C. Owens (P), R. Tobin (P) U15s: F.Bruno (A) D.Wong (M)

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Netball Captain’s Perspective Due to the restrictions of Covid-19, the opportunities to train and play matches throughout the 2021 netball season have been limited.

he team have been restricted on their ability to play with new people and play external competitions. Whilst Upper Sixth only had six players everyone was fully committed to each session, putting their all in every time; having such a small group allowed all the girls to develop better connections within the team during training, and also develop very specific skills, fine tuning our play to improve our overall performance. The Lower Sixth were able to train with new players, getting used to how a new group play together, and working with one another to form connections that they can take through into the next season. Having the opportunity to train and improve together without matches has put them in a very strong position moving forward into the next season, as strong connections have already formed. Throughout the Lent term, the team got together on teams for fitness-based sessions, along with weekly S&C sessions, and, despite no social contact, it gave new team members the opportunity to integrate and participate in team activities. Whilst training online is a very different experience to training on the court, it was amazing to see how willing each team member was to commit to every session. Despite not being able to train with mixed year groups, both the Upper Sixth and Lower Sixth put all their effort into various house tournaments (with Mitre victorious in both), and it was particularly enjoyable for the Upper Sixth who took their final chance to play together with so much enthusiasm. Whilst the season has been far from one we are used to, we are all looking forward to stepping onto court in the coming weeks as we look to play a few final matches. Eliza M, U6M

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House Sports Remote Sports Day / Cross Girls / Mitre Boys

House Football BOYS B BLOCK

CROSS

A BLOCK

NEW

O BLOCK

ORCHARD

L6TH

LATHAM

U6TH

PRIORY

GIRLS B BLOCK

MITRE

A BLOCK

GARDEN

O BLOCK

GARDEN

L6TH

MITRE

U6TH

MITRE

House Cricket BOYS B BLOCK

NEW

A BLOCK

CROSS

O BLOCK

LATHAM

L6TH

LATHAM

U6TH

ORCHARD

GIRLS B BLOCK

MITRE

A BLOCK

FIELD

O BLOCK

MITRE

U6TH

FIELD

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THE CAROLINE TYLER MEMORIAL RELAYS BOYS

NEW

GIRLS

FIELD

House Fives BOYS B BLOCK

LATHAM

O BLOCK

CROSS

L6TH

LATHAM

U6TH

PRIORY

GIRLS L6TH

MITRE

U6TH

FIELD

House Basketball BOYS L6TH

LATHAM

U6TH

ORCHARD

House Netball LENT 2021 B BLOCK

FIELD

A BLOCK

GARDEN

O BLOCK

ABBEY

L6TH

MITRE

U6TH

MITRE

Steeplechase 2021 CANCELLED

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DRAMA

VA L E T E

LOOK ON EV ERY EX IT AS A N EN T R A NCE SOM EW H ER E ELSE. TOM STOPPA R D

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to keep us going even on the chilliest morning in the Old Mitre. Her lipstick is always on point. She is, beyond all things, kind, taking the time to make us all know that we are appreciated and thought of, even when times are hard.

OMS

iv (I’ve never known her as Olivia) joined the English Department at Repton on a part-time basis in September 2019, teaching B and A Block. She immediately became a warm, welcome presence in the Old Mitre’s office, often arriving in a flurry of bags and biscuits, with Percy the cocker spaniel in tow. It is difficult to convey quite how much Liv brings to the English Department. Her smile is warm enough

“...often arriving in flurry of bags and biscuits, with Percy the cocker spaniel in tow.” Liv is an exemplary teacher of English. Her pupils have benefited from her knowledge and experience and, while she found remote teaching somewhat stressful (thanks to Charlie and Harriet), her pupils were never in doubt that they were valued and supported. This year, Liv has concentrated on O Block, a challenging task even in the most normal of years, but one that she has risen to with aplomb. Liv leaves us to step into the role of Head of

She has always put the pupils at the forefront of her priorities and is a truly committed pastoral influence on the girls she looks after.

V LO

first got to know Vicky when she joined the Abbey as Resident Tutor, taking over from Maria Georgoula. She had big shoes to fill, but Vicky has contributed so much to the Abbey and to the School in the two years she has been here.

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Running the English Department and looking after the Abbey during Laura Bispham’s maternity period was never going to be easy, and I’m hugely grateful for Vicky’s humour, support and initiative during this time; we certainly laughed a great deal and I hope she appreciates that the thoughtful things she does on a daily basis, for pupils and colleagues, make such a difference. This year I’ve spent time with Vicky in her capacity supporting the LS department (as well as enjoying the odd drink or dog walk), and I’ve seen the valuable input she has as a teaching assistant; she is always ready to offer help, persuasion and sometimes even a little

English down at Repton Prep; we comfort ourselves by remembering that Foremarke is only a short drive away and that she is not leaving us at all. Not really. There are many things that I personally will miss about working with Liv daily. Her wicked sense of humour, for one. Percy for another. I will, admittedly, not miss the half-made cups of tea that are often found abandoned because Liv got sidetracked before she got as far as putting the water in. But I will miss Liv, very much. We all will. Her personality and her friendship mean that it feels like she’s been around for a lot longer than she has. I am sure that everyone who has ever come into contact with her during her time at Repton will join the English Department in wishing her the very best in her new role. We’ll see you soon, Liv! RER

more than cajoling to get the job done, and her plain-talking approach has served her well. With the number of subjects she’s assisted pupils with this year, she should have earned a clutch more A level and GCSE qualifications to her name. I know that Vicky has offered a great deal to the Business and PE departments over the last two years in addition to her LS and Abbey roles, and she will certainly be missed by those who have benefited from her coaching and netball expertise, besides everything else. This valete is testament to the vast number of spheres in which Vicky has had influence in her two years at Repton, and to the fact that she has been such a dedicated and hardworking member of the Common Room throughout. Best of luck with the next stage Vicky; you will be missed! KJC

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tangents that are both entertaining and enlightening, with scant disregard for the scheme of work. He is a first-rate raconteur, unfailing in his ability to gauge the interest of pupil and staff member alike with his caustically wry take on life. He is one of life’s thinkers, but he leavens this with a fine sense of humour and an unremitting lack of self-importance.

TJAS

im Smith made the journey down the M1 in September 2018, arriving from Ampleforth College. A Yorkshireman through and through, he was a little apprehensive about venturing so far south but it gave him the opportunity to be nearer to his partner, Charlotte, and continue to work in the boarding environment that he is so passionate about. Tim’s talent for physics has always been a massive boon for the department and his calm, thoughtful approach to the subject, combined with his deep understanding has been particularly helpful when challenging the best and brightest Reptonians. His enthusiasm can often lead to unpredictable

DJR

ince joining Repton in September 2017, Daniel Rogers has demonstrated all the very best qualities of a modern schoolmaster: he is kind and yet exacting, with pupils and co-workers alike; personally self-effacing, and yet professionally serious; he is an accomplished football (U14Bs), hockey, and cricket (U15Bs) coach, and yet a brilliant pedagogue; he is ambitious, and yet devoid of self-importance. It would be a gross act of litotes to say that Dan has been busy at Repton. It seems, within the space of four years, that he has done everything.

Tim moved into the Resident Tutor role in The Cross in January 2019 and has been an immeasurable asset to the house. His caring and consistent demeanour made him an instant success and the boys greatly value his approach to the role; he takes an interest in their lives and spends time with them outside of the formal responsibilities, going the extra mile because he cares. His quick wit, bad jokes and passion for the house will be missed by all, and a number of boys in particular, valued the time he gave them to simply listen. His career will surely take him down the pastoral route in the future and those he looks after will consider themselves fortunate to be under his wing. Tim a keen sportsman and has been heavily involved with football and tennis teams throughout his time at the school.

His commitment to the more recreational team sports players was unfailing and he was often found taking on goalkeeping responsibilities in 5th XI training, whilst still wearing chinos and tweed. He has also been a valued member of the DofE team and this was a natural fit for someone who has such a love for the outdoors. First and foremost, Tim is a golfer, and fortunately found the thriving RAGs society here at Repton. His game was seemingly always in transition and for every 300 yard drive there was a snap hook, but it played the game with a smile on his face and in good humour. Good humour was needed by his fellow golfers too, when on returning the courses after lockdown, etiquette was seemingly another casualty of Covid, as Tim proceeded to strike several of the group with wayward shots. He will be sorely missed as a teacher, colleague and friend and we wish him the best of luck as he takes on a new role at Bury Grammar School. We very much hope that he will return to visit and there is no doubt he has made many lifelong friends with whom he will keep in touch. MRW

Since his arrival, Dan’s priority has been cultivating, stimulating, and developing a love of history among the pupil body. He is a serious historian who believes passionately in the study, dissection and reappraising of the past, and his efforts to develop an interest in topics beyond the parochial confines of exam syllabuses – vanished kingdoms, subaltern figures, ‘Third World’ tyrannies - has been distinguished: one should only read the articles in the Repton Historian that he singularly helped instigate to get a flavour of this bequeathment to the intellectual life of the school. From accompanying the B Block historians on the WW1 battlefields trip to coaching a gamut of sports teams through to his rich leadership of the Marriott Society, Dan has contributed to all aspects of Repton life, and he has done so without seeking distinction or favour.

reflected in his Pied Piper-like ability to recruit historians at GCSE and A Level. Beyond the classroom, Dan is a muchrevered Resident Tutor. Straddling the Wilton and Embery eras of New House, he has shown himself to be ‘a housemaster in-waiting’ (in Easter 2021, he became ‘Housemaster of Quarantine Camp’), taking charge of the boarding house when required, and he is consistently dedicated to the ‘whole child’.

Ably teaching the full range of year groups and abilities whilst at Repton, he has been among the most popular and respected teachers on the staff body; his inimitable tolerance and unstinting diligence have been recognised by pupils, which is

Dan will be much missed – we will miss his love of Crystal Palace FC; we will miss his love of The Jaipur; we will miss his eclectic knitwear – but our loss is Brentwood School’s gain, where he takes up the positions of Teacher of History and Assistant Housemaster. Dan’s contribution has been a significant one, and we wish him the very best of luck for the future.

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customary Reptonian spirit, getting involved in as many aspects of school life as could possibly be squeezed into the course of a day. Stella was, first and foremost, a teacher of Mathematics. She was a valued member of the department who was well-liked by those she taught. Stella took on the role of Second in Department towards the end of her time with us and it was here that she was able to bring fresh ideas and innovation that supported pupils and colleagues alike. I, for one, will be forever grateful for the addition of Hegarty Maths to my arsenal of teaching tools!

SDAS

tella joined Repton for the second time in September 2017, having previously spent five years here as a girl in the Mitre. It is fair to say that on her return, she continued to embody

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Stella was no less committed away from the classroom. As resident in the Mitre and latterly as a tutor in the Garden, she built great rapport with the girls in her care, showing an empathy that is only gained by those who have spent time on both sides of the boarding house fence. Stella’s role in the extra-curricular

programme was wide and varied, having contributed at various times to CCF, Duke of Edinburgh and hockey. Perhaps her most significant role however, was in coaching the girls’ football teams and I do not think it can be underestimated how important it was for the girls to have a role-model who could advocate so well for them in a such a male-dominated arena. Stella is leaving Repton but has also decided to step away from teaching as a whole – this will be great loss to the profession. She ‘retires’ to her house in the Peak District to spend time with her partner Tom, their family of dogs and a new-found passion for home improvement. I am sure I speak for all of those who have known and worked with Stella in wishing her the very best for the future. CL

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NCR

f we think of teaching as a vocation, then surely the call to ministry is even more so, and the position of School Chaplain is uniquely rewarding but doubly demanding. We were therefore blessed in 2016 to find NCR. He came with a wealth of teaching experience: six years at Loughborough Grammar School, where he also discovered a love of boarding, followed by another ten at Reigate Grammar as Head of Religious Studies. And he is no slouch himself in the learning department, with a whole alphabet of letters after his name. However, ordination had called him from the classroom and when he joined Repton, it was from the beautiful parish of Steyning in Suffolk. But these combined experiences made him ideally suited to the job of ministering to our ‘school parish’ of young and old, Confirmed and uncertain, faithful and faithless, and to his Chaplainship he has brought the classroom authority of a teacher, the energy of a community leader and the compassion of a parish priest.

He immediately immersed himself in getting to know his new flock, rapidly becoming a very familiar sight around the site – at plays, concerts and pitchside on Saturdays, usually with a young Roberts at his side and sporting his trademark headgear.

He has the enviable ability to talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere. Pupils know that they will be listened to, understood, and then receive some pretty straight advice, not just a sympathetic tilt of the head. But, just as likely to be chatting in the Yard to the porters as to his teaching colleagues, so many in our community have benefitted from his listening ear and wise counsel. Many of us have found our way to his rather glorious office in the Old Priory, drawn by the quality of the company and the coffee.

An early priority in Chapel was to reinstate the importance of liturgy in school worship, with a new emphasis on regular participation in the Eucharist and new services like All Souls and the Battle of Britain to reflect the ecclesiastical calendars. He has been a loving steward of our beautiful Chapel building, seeing it as a space for reflection and for all, and, unashamedly Anglo-Catholic in taste and churchmanship, he has also treated his congregation to ‘smells and bells’ – the former occasionally resulting in clouds of fragrant smoke engulfing the choir stalls.

In this plethora of parishoners and pastoral responsibilities, one unanticipated role was that of Head of Department. But when maternity cover arose, NCR - magnificently shouldered that burden too – of course, with the benefit of a decade of experience elsewhere - and he has continued to lead ERS with energy and ambition through staff challenges, inspection and a pandemic, alongside his manifold other duties and the demands of a young family.

For NCR sacred music is just as important as the words and he and OMW have forged a strong partnership to promote and develop the choral elements of our worship and featuring NCR’s own very splendid voice. The Choir’s expeditions to sing Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral and St George’s Chapel have been spiritual and musical highlights for all concerned, while new Repton Hymnal has been produced to inspire the congregational singing. But his aim above all has been to ‘normalise’ pupils’ engagement with Chapel and with religion; as he rather beautifully puts it, ‘sowing the tapestry of the holy into the everyday’. For example, NCR’s Sunday sermons – taking the message down into the body of the kirk, and, remarkably, always speaking without notes – has one foot firmly planted in school life and the other in heaven, and his approach has seen Confirmation numbers rise and stay there.

Five years. Two Headmasters and two Bishops of Derby. One pandemic and one Inspection. Four Roberts on arrival; five on departure. Conversations too numerous to tally. Plenty of challenges. Countless blessings. NCR, Helen and their three boys now leave us to return South, closer to family and back to parish life. St Nicolas in Guildford will offer fresh challenges but a conducive spiritual environment and some exciting opportunities, particularly chorally and working with young people. It sounds ‘just the job’ for NCR, doesn’t it? But they take away our gratitude and our very best wishes, and they leave behind an enduring legacy of love, both divine and human. SABT

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RZW

achel arrived at Repton in 2015, and her six years with us have been marked by a tremendous variety of roles and responsibilities alongside her significant contribution to the Geography department. She is a trooper of the first degree, enhancing all she does with a professional commitment and energy.

Rachel’s self-sufficiency and independence have shone through over these trying times and JDS recalls the speed at which she walked ‘One Tree Hill’ (‘I struggle to keep up!’) and her experimental baking (‘She doesn’t use a set of scales, but instead listens for when a cake ‘sounds’ right!’) Her significant input into the pastoral life of the school is also recognised by MWTH. Rachel began as a tutor in Latham and after a brief interlude in Mitre, including as resident tutor, she returned to her roots. She has been an absolute stalwart of the Latham community and approaches her role as a tutor with great dedication, compassion and professionalism. The many boys who have been tutored by her will always be grateful for her efforts and she will be hugely missed by all in the house!

The Geography department has been blessed to have Rachel on the team, as a teacher and most recently as Head of Department. She has calmed the nerves of anxious pupils with her meticulous and rigorous approach to achieving the best from them. Rachel’s patience with Throughout her time Rachel has the most reluctant and recalcitrant pupil been deeply involved in the Repton has consistently paid off to ensure the swimming programme, including Department’s results at A Level and as Mistress i/c for three years. IMP GCSE are a reliable success story, and speaks highly of her, acknowledging that uptake to exam classes is high. It her brilliant job is to Rachel’s credit “She is a trooper of the of encouraging that her pupils have first degree, enhancing those who wanted such faith in her, to swim for fitness and they appreciate all she does with a and as their sports the care she takes professional commitment option, by being over their individual extremely inclusive needs. Rachel would and energy.” and encouraging. be the first to agree As the school targeted swimming to that she loves a spreadsheet and in this develop into a focus sport from 2018 recent world of statistics and analytics onwards, she offered extensive support, she can juggle numerous versions and taking the team away to events and colour code them all, which baffles, and establishing Repton into the school impresses the rest of us. Aside from this, swimming world by kick starting the whether on run-of-the-mill field trips rapidly developing journey of Repton standing in a freezing river or traipsing Swimming. At the Independent across a glacier in a howling gale in Schools’ Championships in 2019, Iceland, Rachel sees the positive in her problem-solving skills were put everything. She so rarely complains, that to the test when one of the girl’s when she does, we know it is serious, costumes was torn after the first race. and yet, she still manages to see the No problem for Rachel who quickly funny side or to look at ways to solve the took her off to the shop to buy another problem. Even during the strange times before the second race! of remote teaching or lockdown or hybrid teaching, nothing fazed Rachel and she positively revelled in the challenges it brought.

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Although she began in the Army section of the CCF, as well as supporting the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme, when the opportunity presented itself to establish a Royal Navy section at

Repton, Rachel grasped it with both hands and brought an invaluable skill set. RF has very fond memories of Rachel’s commitment; ‘Field Days were incredibly fun and made so much easier through her involvement, particularly her navigation of the long and rainy trip to HMS Raleigh as well as Waterside Lodge, and her outdoor experience certainly contributed to the success, and I might add survival, of myself and the RN cadets on the RN Summer Camp to Rutland Water, which found us out in a field in the middle of nowhere in a village some may say reminiscent of ‘The League of Gentlemen’! Rachel managed the tent and cooking situations with her usual aplomb and I for one was amazed at how much excitement she took from breaking into the army rations like it was Christmas morning, and equally impressed by how much she actually enjoyed the food on offer - hot or cold! Rachel has been a key member of the RN unit and she’s fully immersed herself in all our activities, (pun intended!), including the odd capsize and being left stranded on an island at Southport’s Waterside Lodge. She will be sorely missed.’ On a personal note, it has been my absolute pleasure to call Rachel a friend. Those of us who know her best know her sense of humour and delight in the ridiculous, her unashamed geekiness about cricket or the Marvel series, but most of all her patience and kindness. Alongside many others this past year has led Rachel to reflect on where her future truly lies and when she told us she was applying for a PhD, it just seemed to be absolutely the right thing to do. She leaves us to pursue a Masters and PhD in Geospatial Systems at Nottingham University, and goes with all our love and best wishes. Hopefully she will have more time to pursue her love of the outdoors. There is perhaps nothing more apt to sum up Rachel’s enormous contribution to Repton than to quote from Joni Mitchell, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone...’ As HME would say, ‘Go well’. LEW

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lice was getting very tired of having nothing to do. She was bored. She was considering in her own mind whether the pleasure of making a daisy chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking daisies when suddenly a white rabbit with pink eyes ran close to her.

How she loved it there, spending the next six-years playing happily in the Garden, and looking after the creatures who lived there under the watchful eye of grateful goddesses called Housemistresses Lees and Campbell. She also found herself to be hugely appreciated in the Crystal Palace, especially by the pupils of alchemy, who struggled with the mysterious knowledge the gods of academia expected them to know but no earthly human can ever fully understand. Alice found that she did understand the incantations and the pupils were most grateful.

“Oh dear, Oh dear, I shall be so late,” said the rabbit to itself.

Alice gave a little scream.

Following the rabbit Alice was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit hole under a hedge.

“Wake up Alice dear,” said her grateful family. “Why, what a long sleep you had!”

In a moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she would get out again.

“Oh, I’ve had a such a curious dream,” said Alice, as she told her sister all these strange adventures of hers.

“My goodness me,” said Alice as she fell. “When will this end?”

Her sister said, “It was a curious dream, but now run along and have your tea, it’s getting late. You need to get on with your life now.”

Down, down, down she fell. There was nothing else to do, so Alice began talking again. “I’m sure my family shall miss me.” Suddenly, thump! thump! Down she came upon a heap of risk assessments and documents discussing the Repton way, and the fall was over. She walked along a passage and saw the loveliest school building you ever saw. There was a magnificent crystal palace (although she preferred Leicester City) dedicated to the advancement of the physical sciences (and biology). She could also, see a superb GARDEN.

Equally grateful and impressed was the leader of the alchemic instructors, a spiky haired beast with a mighty nose. The only problem with this Mercian paradise was the instruction from the extra-curricular monsters who charged her with the recycling of paper products and the voluntary service to the community. However, Alice surprised herself (but no-one else) by being equally as good at this as her other duties.

So, Alice got up to have her tea and ran off, thinking while she ran, what a wonderful dream it had been. RGD

“I shall want to live in the Garden,” said Alice excitedly, “well maybe in the resident tutor’s flat at least.” “Oh, how I long to be out there,” exclaimed Alice, but she couldn’t quite get through the door. In her mind she felt she didn’t quite fit. She went to a table and she found a little bottle, with a label tied on that had the words DRINK ME carefully written on it. “What have I got to lose?” said Alice and she drank the liquid. She found it was very nice. It tasted of curry (but with no coriander), bad institutional coffee, and home made healthy muffins like she would make at home. Suddenly Alice found her persona adjusting to fit through the door to this academic paradise and she was able to enter.

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known for her warmth and her calm and caring approach, both by the girls and their Housemistress!

HME

uietly reliable and never self-serving, Helen’s impact on pupils and colleagues throughout her time at Repton has been tremendously rich. Helen came to Repton in 2001 with Simon, supporting Simon’s career in the English Department and then with steadfast care in The Cross. Helen’s consistent presence served The Cross well during the Earwickers’ years at the helm, and she is remembered fondly by the boys and their parents: ‘I saw her as the mother of the house; as a mum I trusted her to look out for the welfare of my boys’. During her early years at Repton Helen’s priorities were Alice and Jim, building in them the firm foundations of the lovely people they are today. As the immediate needs of childcare receded Helen joined the then Learning Support Department, bringing with her exactly the right blend of empathy, consistency and aspiration that allows children with additional learning needs to properly thrive. During the ensuing years, Helen increased her expertise and qualifications in supporting SpLDs, and also completed her iPGCE in Geography. As an academic of the highest calibre herself, Helen’s ability to teach the most gifted alongside those who lack confidence in the classroom sets her apart as a truly outstanding teacher; she is lauded by her department leaders for her ability and capacity for hard work, and by past and present pupils who acknowledge her care, her meticulous attention to detail and her unwavering support of their academic ambitions. As the Friday night tutor in the Abbey, Helen is

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Helen has been at Repton for 20 years; she has seen changes of policy and management and through the breadth of her involvement as a parent and member of staff she really does know the place through and through. Helen’s contribution to so many areas of school life has been marked by a selfless and unerring commitment to high standards and, as the last of the Earwickers depart, they will undoubtedly remain loyal supporters of all things Repton. For the Earwicker family really is invested in people and education. All four will be fulfilling roles in schools in September 2021, but now four different communities will benefit from their accumulated knowledge, commitment and experience. Jim as a lively and enthusiastic Gapper at Brambletye, Alice as a Grad role model extraordinaire at Monkton Combe, Simon moves back into boarding accommodation as surely the wisest of all residents at Marlborough and Helen joins the Common Room at Dauntseys - what lucky schools they are. In addition to the above, I believe that Helen will be best remembered for the support and friendship that she has shown colleagues. Always ready to listen, to offer a kindly phrased counter point, to empathise and to advise, Helen will leave a huge hole in our Repton lives, and in so many of our personal ones too. In the ‘happy place’ that is the Geography staff room, on the green sofas of the Personalised Learning Department, in the Exams Office and in some horrific bunkroom adjacent to a D of E field we will miss Helen’s dry wit and constant regard for us: her colleagues and friends. ‘So capable, gentle, kind and cheerful – Repton won’t be the same without her’. CJJ

PJG

atrick Griffiths joined Repton in 2000 along with his wife Jane, and children Toby and Sophie. Patrick had attended Prestfelde Prep School as a young boy, then went on to King’s Chester to study for his O-levels, followed by Wellbeck for the sixth form, and finally Sandhurst, gaining a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Military Vehicle Technology. He served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers for 23 years. Throughout his career, he was stationed in Canada, the U.K., Germany and Hong Kong, ultimately reaching the rank of Major before deciding to change tack and pursue a career in teaching. Patrick was originally appointed to teach Mathematics but he has also taught Physics during his 22 year tenure. He was initially a tutor in the Priory and quickly threw himself into the life of the school. Highly efficient, very well-liked and respected by both staff and pupils alike, he was eager to get involved in all that Repton had to offer. It soon became apparent that he had all the makings of a fine Housemaster and in 2004 was appointed to run Field House. He had very big boots to fill; the house having been previously helmed by the formidable SABT who built the house up from its infancy to a much-loved happy and highlysuccessful home to in excess of teenage girls. Patrick was only the second male Houseparent in the school’s history to run a girls’ boarding house, but it was a role that he characteristically took in his stride, and did so for an impressive 15 years. Patrick and Jane were a wonderful double act, and what could have been a difficult transition was in fact one of seamless smoothness; their light touch and careful guidance became a hallmark of the house. It was a privilege and a pleasure to tutor in the house under them for 14 years and witness firsthand, the generosity they showed in their time and care of all in their charge. Field House was the very essence of ‘home from home’. Those fortunate enough to wander through the house couldn’t help but be struck by the warmth and friendliness that waited within alongside the energy and purpose of the girls lucky enough to be there. The house has been brimming with characters over the years; each one valued and cherished for the diversity they have brought to the house and each one celebrated for their differences. I have often heard Patrick get asked how he managed to survive such a long and distinguished stint in the house and he would be the first to pay tribute to his wonderful wife, Jane. She too has given so much to the school and wider community; whether that be ‘messy church’ to relief matroning

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in the Abbey, founding member of the ‘Tuesday Evening Prosecco Club’, to hosting countless social gatherings in the house. All that, alongside raising two children, assisting Patrick in the running of Field House, quietly supporting the girls in their daily lives, and so often present (whether that be in the Music School, the playing fields, the Art School or the 400 Hall) to watch them perform. I know that both Patrick and Jane are in turn extremely grateful to Foremarke and Repton for the many happy years that Toby and Sophie spent in school and hold dear the confidence that both schools instilled in their children in preparing them for life beyond Repton. Patrick’s dedication to the job was not confined to the classroom or boarding house though and his love of sport was something else he also generously shared with the pupil body. A very talented sportsman himself, most notably playing off a handicap of 3.9 on the golf course, he was (and is) also a fine squash player, cricketer, keen runner and general allrounder. No matter what sport, he was able to turn his hand to it with his characteristic modesty and seemingly effortless ability! A founder-member of the RAGS (Repton Academical Golfing Society), he has been a stalwart attendee and whilst colleagues would relish the opportunity to be in his company, reveling in his sense of fun and humour (though keen to give him a run for his money) they often left the course defeated, resolving to spend rather more time on the driving range honing their skills! Patrick has taken countless teams, from girls’ Tennis to Under 14B football, Head of Squash and Golf to U15C cricket and more. He has an enviable enthusiasm towards everything that he does and wherever he has been able, Patrick has always ‘mucked in’. He ran the Duke of Edinburgh ‘Silver’ award for a number of years and was Head of Careers and University admissions for 4 years. He led Mathematics trips to the NEC, attended Saturday night meals out with the juniors at the infamous Cosmos’ in Derby and supported countless Repton teams at National competitions in London and beyond. I cannot do justice to the time he has invested in the school in these few short words but it is fair to say that his widereaching contribution has been outstanding.

With retirement firmly on the horizon, he could have been forgiven for taking it easy, but such is the mark of the man that if anything, he has taken on more in his twilight year. Tutoring for the last couple of years in School House, I know he has been an invaluable member of the team whose wisdom, reliability, no-nonsense and unflappable approach have been much appreciated by WGO and the boys. In the Mathematics department, he has tirelessly led the charge on all things ‘IT’ and whilst one wouldn’t wish for online teaching to be thrust upon us again anytime soon, I know he will have been in his element. If there was a gadget or an app involved, Patrick was your man! He has been a wonderful colleague and friend to so many and there is so much that we will miss about him. Admittedly it might not be his ‘Geordie’ accent whilst in character as Ant-(or was it Dec?) in the Pedants but it will be in the time that he invested in us all as people. Patrick has always made time for his colleagues offering solutions when it was difficult to see one. He has always been willing to help anyone in need, been the first to offer cover for absence, or write year group tests, and been even more content to share his findings on the latest update from OneNote. For me, it will be the genuine cheeriness in which he started each new day and his readiness to laugh and see the good in our community that I will miss. A genuinely kind, honest and decent man, it has been a privilege to work alongside him.

Nottinghamshire, and so we shall hope that it is rather more a Bon Voyage than a final farewell. Whilst Jane will have more time to spend walking, and involving herself in the work of the local church, the positioning of their new home (placed strategically between 3 golf courses!) would suggest that PJG has slightly different ideas and I suspect he will be eager to get his handicap down to scratch. I am in little doubt of the outcome! As far as the pupils past and present are concerned, his legacy will live on…not on a plaque on a tree, nor on a team shield at the back of the Common Room cupboard but in the minds of those children who passed through his care who will look back on their time at Repton with great affection. NMD

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school and house productions, including Aimwell in ‘The Beaux’ Stratagem’, Macduff in the Scottish play and -sporting a barnet of which Leo Sayer would have been proud – the Bedlam in ‘The Roses of Eyam’.

J MGL

ut JMGL in half and you will find the name Repton stamped through him, like a stick of Derbyshire rock. He first arrived in DE65 not as a fresh-faced new member of staff but as an even fresher-faced B Blocker, joining The Hall in 1975. The choice of school - his father’s alma mater - was fixed early on. But the choice of house was to prove pivotal. Under the mighty Mike Charlesworth, The Hall was the epicentre of drama at Repton and over the next five years, nurtured by his Housemaster, Guy became a leading player on the Repton stage, with a series of major roles in both

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A gap year took him to Foremarke Hall – again following in family footsteps and again the beginning of another key association. After a Drama degree at Hull, he moved into film and television as a location manager, rubbing shoulders with Sir John Gielgud, Trevor Nunn and Patrick Stewart and sharing pints with young unknowns Helena Bonham Carter and Michael J Fox. But when the crash of 1987 hit the film industry, a chance approach - or was it destiny? - brought him back to Foremarke and to life as a drama teacher. The years that followed saw Guy directing prolifically - up to five shows a year - and marked a “golden age’’ in Repton drama, as the likes of Ben Cavey, Tom Chambers and Nick Burns passed through the schools. They would be the first to acknowledge his contribution to their success in this most competitive of industries, and he quite rightly takes great pride in his continued associations with the ORs who have ‘made it in the business’. That they continue to support younger ORs seeking their first break is in large part down to the culture

of support, at school and beyond, that Guy has fostered. Another product of this period was the creation in 1996 of the Rep Theatre Company, which staged some highly innovative promenade productions at Repton and Foremarke and flew the Repton flag at the Edinburgh Fringe – most notably with a production of ‘Equus’ in 2000 that won 5* reviews. In 2003 Guy made the move across to the senior school, where he took on a portfolio of roles – technical supremo, director, teacher of GCSE and A Level Drama. Over the last 18 years he has not only provided crucial departmental continuity as assorted Directors of Drama have come and gone, but willing stepped into the breach and up to the mark when they were missing altogether. The hallmark of a JMGL production whether Repton or Foremarke, School Play, Junior Play or House Play, Showcase or Cabaret - has always a spirit of fun and inclusivity. The audience knows to arrive early, otherwise you might miss the opening ensemble scene - usually unscripted but packed with inventive cameos and always featuring a full stage of actors both accomplished and debutant. And there is always something totally unexpected - ‘Animal Farm’ enhanced with real pigs (this is rural Derbyshire, after all)

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and a stylish ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ that took us from the glossy world of theatre foyer - aka urban Athens - to a verdant auditorium forest extravagantly dressed in foliage. (The latter courtesy of local horticultural contacts - Guy does know everybody in a 50-mile radius...). In his partnership with Richard Fairbrother, the Charity Cabaret evolved into a production of high quality and tremendous popular appeal - usually sold out in days. So many important causes have been supported by the Cabarets, but none perhaps more fitting or more memorable than Richard Stilgoe’s Orpheus Trust, which creates performance opportunities for young adults with disabilities. Guy and I were privileged to visit the Orpheus Centre and that year’s production culminated in Reptonians and the Orpheus apprentices appearing on stage together. Not a dry eye in the house… A much-loved tutor in School House, Guy has always brought to his pastoral responsibilities that genuine understanding of what it is like to be a pupil at Repton and he has prided himself on provided a

“The hallmark of a JMGL production ... has always a spirit of fun and inclusivity.”

listening ear. Under his management the 400 Hall has been something of a place of sanctuary for those Reptonians who are not drawn to the sports fields - a place where many have found their niche and in the process acquiring valuable technical skills to take on to university and beyond. In fact, it is a matter of pride to Guy that all the technical requirements of a Repton show are delivered by pupils. He has also long been a key member of the PHSE team and, in recent years, has done an admirable job of mastering the Chapel sound. No one could accuse Guy of being a ‘luvvie’ and he will hate any talk of a legacy. If pressed, he would probably give an unassuming smile, talk about having had ‘a lot of fun’, and then quickly change the subject. But the refurbishment of the 400 Hall benefitted enormously from his engagement and expertise, and he must take bear at least some of the credit for its award-winning success. He has looked after it with love. I will remember the wrangling when we wanted to run Socials in his shiny new theatre… While he may be retiring from the staff, Guy is a long way off his epilogue; in fact, it’s probably just interval time. But we are lucky that he continues to live in Milton – appropriately, halfway between Foremarke and Repton – and he will remain a welcome

figure at both. However, future appearances will be on the other side of the curtain and at the front of Chapel, not the back - fitted in, of course, around trips to the National Theatre or the West End to see his protegés. An enduring proponent - one might even say, embodiment - of the power of the Repton family, there are few ORs these days who can match his engagement with the institution, and no members of staff, I think, who can get close to his record. Repton to the end. SABT

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