The Arch Autumn 2019

THE THEARCH ARCH OLD OLD REPTONIAN REPTONIAN NEWS NEWS

AUTUMN 2019 AUTUMN 2019 ISSUE 335 ISSUE 335

Officers of The Old Reptonian Society 2019 President: Susannah K C Fish (Abbey 1978) President Emeritus: Sir Michael G Pownall (Brook 1963) Vice President: Mark J Semmence (Headmaster) President Elect: L Michael L Barnwell (Orchard 1957) Chairman: Nick C Walford (Brook 1969) Treasurer: John S Wallis (Latham 1971) Governors’ Representative: Matthew J C Needham (Priory 1980) Old Reptonian Secretary: Nigel Kew (Staff) Old Reptonian Society Officer: Jan Cobb (Staff) Elected General Committee Members Lloyd A Evans (Orchard 2002) - Appointed 2014 Tom Poynton (School 2006) - Appointed 2014 Andrew J Churchill (Priory 1982) - Appointed 2015 Simon C Johnson (Orchard 2004) - Appointed 2016 Eleanor J Tyler (Mitre 2005) - Appointed 2016 Rachel E Bacon (Abbey 1986) - Appointed 2017 Ex Officio Members Simon D Armstrong (Cross 1963) - Lancs. & Cheshire Sanjiv Basu (Orchard 1989) - Fives Anthony E Bishop (Priory 1972) - Golf Society James W Blackwell (Priory 2000) - Pilgrims Benjamin D E Dewhirst (New 1996) - Yorkshire J M Guy Levesley (Hall 1975 & Staff) - Arts Martin L Jones (Cross 1997 & Staff) - Hockey Nicholas P Le Poidevin (Cross 1964) - Law Society Oliver R Pepper (Brook 1990) - Cycling Jamie R Muirhead (Cross 2009) - Tennis Club Mark R Norton (Mitre 1986) - Masonic Lodge Doug D Redfern (Priory 1989) Arthur Dunn Captain Edward R U Rhodes (New 1995) - Squash Club Edward J N Sheasby (School 2012) - Music Club Edward T Sloane (Priory 1997) - Pilgrims Michael J Watson (Priory 2003) - Football Club

The Old Reptonian Society The Hall, Repton School Repton, Derbyshire DE65 6FH Tel. 01283 559320 Email: jcobb@repton.org.uk Editorial Team: Nigel Kew & Jan Cobb

DEADLINE for articles for the next edition (Spring 2020) is 31st March 2020 Front Cover: L eavers’ Ball 2019 Back Cover: L ynam Thomas School

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Welcome to The Arch President of The Society 2019, Susannah Fish (A’78)

In my year as President of the OR Society I think that the biggest privilege of the role is forging deeper relationships with both the School and the Society. On a glorious summer’s day in June I attended Speech Day and heard an excellent, humorous, motivating, and inspiring speech from John Barclay as guest of honour.

He talked about how everyone’s contribution made a difference, not just those who won the prizes, which I hope had resonance for the audience whether a prize winner or not, a parent, member of staff, or OR. It was also exciting to hear from the Headmaster, Mark Semmence, on his first impressions and more of his vision for Repton and the global network of Repton Schools. It certainly gave me food for thought as to how the OR Society could play its part. I also listened to a fabulous concert in Pears School – the depth and breadth of musical talent in the School was breath-taking.

I had the opportunity to see at first hand and contribute to a B Block Enrichment Day. The day was themed as “Murder at Repton”, focusing on a crime scene and exploring the range of forensic sciences which may play a part in such an investigation. The B Block girls and boys were thoroughly engaged in learning in a fun and stimulating way. Inspirational and innovative teaching – I was impressed.

September 2019 marks the 40th Anniversary of The Abbey opening its doors. I started my Upper Sixth year as The Abbey opened. It has also been a real pleasure during this year to have had lunch with the girls and to discover that my old bedroom is now that of the Head of House – I thought it was the best bedroom in my day! I was also entertained at The Abbey at this year’s Gaudy, and on each occasion have been really impressed by the calibre of the young women I met. It was delightful to meet up at the Gaudy with others from my era at School and to catch up on their lives of the intervening 39 years, as well as to encourage them to attend the OR Dinner, which is being held in London on 12th November, and promises to be an excellent evening.

The OR Society continues to evolve and grow, adding value to the lives of ORs. I have been impressed to discover that, for example, all the competitions the Golf Society, ably led by Tony Bishop (P’72), enters are open for men and women, with the exception of a women-only event. Other well-established OR clubs and networks have recently been joined by a Cycling Club as well as a Netball Club. Connections are being made daily as membership of MyRepton grows and ORs are able to use it for professional as well as social networking. This edition of The Arch is reporting on our survey of female ORs to enable the continuing evolution of the Society so that it is increasingly reflective of ORs and is relevant and inclusive.

As my year as your President draws to a close, I hope to see many of you at the Annual Dinner in London. I will also be representing the OR Society and laying a wreath in the Garth on Remembrance Sunday. I would like to thank you for your support to the Society and School. I would also like to thank Jan Cobb and Nigel Kew of the OR Society for their support to me during the year. Reconnecting with old friends, and making new ones, has been a special part of this year, and has made it an even greater honour. Thank you.

Chairman of The Society 2019, Nick Walford (B’69) October, I knew that we had found a man who would do great things for Reptonians, past, present and future. He understands what Repton is all about and is commercially experienced, as a result of years in international sports marketing prior to his fast progression in the world of education. He is aware of the challenges facing the private-education sector and the importance of a fully-integrated approach in planning and executing the development of the school, the OR Foundation and the OR Society. He and his wife Alison, as well as his two charming young daughters, have settled in well and seem to relish their life in Repton.

Welcome, readers, to the latest edition of The Arch. In my last report I talked about my major ambitions for the Society, one of which was to realise the untapped energy and enthusiasm of our women ORs. Whilst the girls are a leading force at Repton, they remain largely absent from the active OR community, an imbalance which must be fixed. In order to achieve this, we first needed to better understand the attitude of female ORs to the OR Society. Rachel Bacon (A’86) has done a fantastic job in undertaking a research survey amongst our female ORs to get a clear view of how they see the OR Society currently and how the Society can cater better for them in the future.

There are clear messages for us. We need to shout louder about what MyRepton is, stressing the importance of signing up for it so that the Society has an updated database with as much information as possible about everyone’s contact details, interests and careers. The benefits of being signed up to MyRepton ensures everyone can connect with ORs with whom they may have lost contact. It provides visibility and notice of future events, including who is attending, an opportunity to catch up on news about the OR family and, crucially, to build active networks across major business sectors. 67% of respondents to the survey have not signed up to MyRepton despite there being a feature on page 6 of the spring edition of The Arch - so please everyone - get signed up!

So what were the key messages of the survey? Well, the surveys says we need: - more informal and mixed-gender social events that appeal to both younger and our female ORs. - to hold events in locations other than London or Repton - to have more business-focused events - to give events higher profile on social media - to broaden the editorial of The Arch to include information on how to contribute ( 78% of the respondents have never submitted anything to The Arch); to have more features on women, more written by women, more pictures of women, more professional profiles of women etc. 83% of respondents read The Arch regularly.

So we now have hard data to inform our future events, our editorial content in The Arch, and the gaps in how we communicate and engage with younger and female ORs. Thank you Rachel and Susannah Fish (A’78), our President, for driving through this valuable initiative and I hope you enjoy reading the full report of the survey findings. Most encouraging is the fact that 78% of respondents said that they would be willing to support the OR Society in efforts to ensure that both The Arch and the OR Society become more representative.

The Governors have done a great job in securing Mark Semmence, the school’s new Headmaster, who has started his second term in charge. Personally, upon first meeting him last

We will have had our General Committee Meeting on OR Football Day on 31st August. I shall be sharing with everyone the 3-year plan I would like us to follow. One objective is to have more women on the Committee to accelerate greater female involvement in the Society. For example, Daisy Heath-Abbott (G’06) has been the driving force behind forming our OR Netball Club which will play in London from this autumn and is another way in which OR women can connect with each other, particularly when they first arrive in London.

Rebecca Brookes (A’93) is captaining our OR Golf Team in the Silver Tassie next year, which is the first all-female independent schools alumni golf tournament which will be played at The Berkshire. Tony Bishop (P’72) in his report stresses the OR Golf Society is open to ALL ORs, so it would be great to see more female ORs join the club and get the benefit of playing at top golf courses, at heavily subsidised rates for younger players.

Repton Hockey Club created by Martin Jones (C’97) is a unique and highly successful club in only its third year of existence. The men’s team has risen to the Midlands League and has the National League in its sights. Its structure is different to our other sports clubs because it is an “open club” to all, but dominated by Repton pupils and ORs. We know that our girl’s hockey is supremely successful and female ORs are already supplying talent to the top clubs in the country. However, I know that Martin is keen to attract female hockey talent to Repton Hockey Club so if you are based in the Midlands and fancy playing for Repton Hockey Club then do get involved.

We all are aware of the growth of women’s sport overall. Yet, in the world of alumni, Old Boys’ sport continues to dominate. With a strong desire to rectify this disparity, the OR Society will support all female initiatives in order to position itself at the forefront of any new developments, such as golf’s Silver Tassie. So, if you want to get involved in helping to develop female OR sport do make contact with Jan Cobb at the OR Office.

The OR Society is whatever we as ORs want to make it. Clearly the initiatives I outlined above are in sport but most opportunities for younger and female ORs feeling connected to the OR Society will be through newly created social and career-focused events and activities. I would like to see more professional mentoring and career support for both pupils and amongst ORs. 2020 is the 50th Anniversary of girls arriving at Repton. This provides us with a clear opportunity for female ORs to get more closely connected. So, I would urge you all to sign up for MyRepton which will enable far better communication with and between ORs. If you would like to get more involved in strengthening and rebalancing the gender of the OR family network you do not need anyone’s permission, simply make contact with Jan at the OR office and let’s make new things happen to ensure the OR Society reflects the Repton of today.

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Forthcoming Events

Event Listing 2019/20

OCTOBER 2019 8th Hockey Girls 1st X1 vs Oxford University 1st X1 2.00pm th 9 Subscription Concert Series: ‘The Art of Expression’, Voces8 with Schola Cantorum, St Wystan’s Church, 7.30pm-10.00pm 10th Hockey Girls 1st X1 vs Trent College, 4.30pm Informal Concert, Music School, 5.15pm-6.00pm OR Drinks In Birmingham, Hotel Du Vin 11th Half Term begins 4.00pm 12/13th OR German Reunion, Officers’ Club, Berlin 25th-27th Repton Literary Festival 29th Hockey Boys 1st X1 vs Uppingham School (a) 2.45pm NOVEMBER 2019 2nd Sale of Work th 5 Hockey Girls 1st X1 vs Oundle School 3.15pm 9th Hockey Girls 1st X1 vs Bromsgrove School 2.00pm 10th Remembrance Sunday: Remembrance Service 10.05am Charity Concert, Beldam Hall 7.00pm th 12 OR Society AGM & Annual Dinner, Caledonian Club, London.

13th Hockey Girls 1st X1 vs Wakefield Girls’ High School, 4.30pm Subscription Concert Series: Music for two pianos with Roger Owen & Catherine Milledge, Music School 7.30pm-10.00pm.

14th School Play: ‘A Christmas Carol’, 400 Hall, 7.30pm th 15 School Play: ‘A Christmas Carol’, 400 Hall, 7.30pm 16th Hockey Indoor 1st V1 vs Oakham, 2.30pm 18th Hockey Girls 1st X1 - Midland Indoor Qualifiers 6.00pm 19th Football Boys 1st X1 vs Charterhouse, 2.15pm Hockey Girls 1st X1 vs Trent College (a), dep 3.00pm 21st Chamber Music Concert, Music School, 7.30pm-9.00pm 22nd Exeat 1.00pm 25th Hockey Boys 1st X1 - Midland Indoor Qualifiers 6.00pm 30th Football Boys 1st X1 vs Shrewsbury School, 2.15pm Hockey Girls 1st X1 vs Stowe School (a) 2.30pm

Please book online where full details of all events will be available.

DECEMBER 2019 1st Hockey Girls 1st X1 - Midland Indoor Hockey Finals 9.30am th 7 Michaelmas Orchestral Concert & Concerto Spotlight, Music School 7.30pm-10.00pm 8th Hockey Boys 1st X1 - Midland Indoor Finals 10.00am Nine Lessons & Carols for parents & parish, Chapel 6.30pm th 10 Science Priory Christmas Lecture, Science Priory Lecture Theatre, 8.00pm-9.00pm 11th Christmas Band Concert, Pears School, 7.00pm 13th End of Term JANUARY 2020 9th Football Boys 1st X1 vs Royal Russell School (a), dep 8.40am 11th Rugby Union 1st XV vs Haberdashers’ Abraham Darby 1.00pm th 14 Rugby Union 1st XV vs Derby Grammar School, 4.30pm 18th Rugby Union 1st XV vs King Henry V11 School, (a), 2.30pm 22nd Hockey Girls 1st X1 vs Nottingham Trent 1st X1, 1.45pm 24th Exeat 12.00pm FEBRUARY 2020 1st Rugby Union 1st XV vs Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School (a) 12.00pm Football Boys 1st X1 vs Hampton School, 2.00pm th 27 OR Drinks In The City, Lansdowne Club, London 29th Rugby Union 1st XV vs Warwick School (a) 2.00pm Football Boys 1st X1 vs Bradfield College 2.15pm MARCH 2020 5th OR Cambridge Dinner at Sidney Sussex College 7th Football Boys’ 1st X1 vs Ardingly College, 2.00pm Netball 1st V11, vs Oundle School (a) 2.30pm 11th Football Eights Boys 1st - Barry Burns ISFA Northern 8s 10.00am 14th Football Boys 1st X1 vs Bede’s School 1.30pm Rugby Union 1st XV vs Oswestry School (a) 2.00pm MAY 2020 16th Gaudy, all ORs invited SEPTEMBER 2020 5th OR Football Day NOVEMBER 2020 Annual Dinner -tbc

Repton Literary Festival 2019

As announced in last autumn’s edition of The Arch, the second Repton Literary Festival will be held over the last weekend of half term, Friday, October 25th - Sunday October 27th. Several changes and additions are being made to build on the inaugural festival. The 400 Hall foyer will be the focal point to make more use of the School’s superb facilities, in particular the Charlesworth Studio and the theatre.

There will be seven historic venues and even more artists and performances this year.

Our headline acts at this stage include the actor’s actor David Bradley, author and, former Director of the Globe Theatre Dominic Dromgoole, natural history writer Mark Cocker, Cooper and Fry mysteries creator Stephen Booth, Amazon’s No1 Noir Fiction author Caroline Bale, Archaeologist Cat Jarman and many, many, more. Please visit https://www.reptonliteraryfestival.co.uk for the full programme. The new programme director, ex-Repton parent John Cavey, has sought to create a broad, eclectic mix that appeals to a wide audience, including primary-school aged children.

It’s an ideal weekend for visiting Repton - do come along and join us.

Richard Harding (Hon OR) 4

RLF Working Group

Forthcoming Events Drinks In Birmingham

Our third Drinks in Birmingham will take place very shortly on Thursday, October 10th at the Hotel Du Vin. This has proved to be a very enjoyable, informal evening and is an ideal opportunity to catch up with long lost friends, do a bit of networking and lots of reminiscing; we hope you are able to join us. The cost of the ticket is £25 for ORs and guests. However, if you left the school in 2009 or after, the cost is £20. Please book on https://MyRepton.org.uk/events or contact Jan Cob - jcobb@repton.org.uk

Annual Dinner

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12th 2019 This year’s Annual Dinner will be held at the Caledonian Club, Mayfair, London. The cost of the tickets for the evening are £75 for ORs and guests and £65 for ORs who left the School in the last 10 years (2009-2019). The cost of the ticket includes pre-dinner drink, 3-course dinner and wine. Tickets are selling very fast so please book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Dress Code: Black Tie. Please book on https://MyRepton.org.uk/events or see enclosed Booking Form.

Drinks In The City

German OR Reunion 2019 The weekend immediately after DIB sees the German Reunion in Berlin. Please contact Nils Cooper on nils.cooper@gmx.de to see if there are any places left. It promises to be a great weekend of sightseeing and dining.

INVITATION – EINLADUNG The next German Old Reptonian Reunion will be on Saturday, October 12th 2019 in Berlin, at the International Club (former British Officers’ Club): Thüringer Allee 5-11, 14052 Berlin (CharlottenburgWilmersdorf).

As always the event will consist of a casual tour around the city followed by a formal dinner. During the course of the evening we will be sure to bring you the latest developments from Repton School, as well as amusing anecdotes from Repton history.

Programme: Saturday 12th October 2.00 pm - 4.30 pm City tour, meeting at the Brandenburg Gate 5.30 pm - 6.00 pm Welcoming drinks at the International Club 6.00 pm - midnight Formal three-course dinner Sunday 13th October 10.00 am - noon Brunch, location to be announced at dinner Dress Code - City tour: Casual wear Dinner: Suit & Tie (or Black Tie) / Evening dress Sunday Brunch: Casual wear Please contact Nils Cooper on nils.cooper@gmx.de to book your tickets.

We are once again heading to the very popular Lansdowne Club for our annual DITC on February 27th. We are pleased to say the cost of the tickets are the same as last year; £30 for ORs and guests and £25 for any ORs who entered the School in 2010 or after. Please book on https://MyRepton.org.uk/ events or see enclosed Booking Form.

Gaudy- OR Day 2020 We will, this year be opening the event to everyone, as opposed to selected years, with a particular focus on celebrating 40 years since Repton welcomed girls to The Abbey. The date is May 16th. Whilst the cost of the tickets is the same as last year, £35, to help celebrate the anniversary, tickets for returning Abbey girls are priced at just £25. This is also the price for any OR wishing to come who started at the School in 2010 or later.

Please book on https://MyRepton.org.uk/events or see enclosed Booking Form.

50th ANNIVERSARY OF GIRLS STARTING AT REPTON During the Michaelmas Term 2020 we are planning events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of girls starting at Repton.

When details have been confirmed they will be on MyRepton, social media and in the Spring issue of The Arch.

AGM

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12th 2019 The AGM will be held in the Selkirk Room at the Caledonian Club, Mayfair, London, at 6.00 pm. Spouses and partners are warmly invited to relax in the club for the duration of the meeting. Please note that we have very restricted space and it will be ‘first come first served’ for the places available.

AGENDA 1. Welcome & Apologies 2. A pproval of minutes from AGM November 10th 2018 3. Matters Arising from meeting on November 10th 2018 4. President’s Report 5. Chairman’s Report

If you would like a group of your contemporaries to join you at any of these events and you need any help with contact details, please do not hesitate to call the OR office on 01283 559320 or email jcobb@repton.org.uk.

6. Secretary’s Report 7. Treasurer’s Report 8. Future Events 9. Election of Officers 10. Any Other Business 11. Date and venue of next year’s AGM TBC

@OrSociety

OR SOCIETY ON TWITTER: Keep up to date with current news and events from the OR Society.

Send your stories #beyondthearch News and details on events from the Repton Houses, Clubs and Societies are also on Twitter – addresses can be found throughout The Arch.

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MyRepton

MyRepton – your new online community for alumni.

MyRepton will help you stay in touch with the School and each other, and sign up for events and share opportunities.

MyRepton is a private network for the OR community. When the site is populated with all of your details it will be an excellent source of information and will enable access to an international network of ORs and opportunities such as mentoring, jobs, internships and introductions; as well as social opportunities such as events, group get-togethers and discussions.

You will find it easier to connect with your contemporaries, share information, reminisce, and get all the latest news and events.

An alumni network is more than just connecting and keeping in touch with friends. Here are some advantages you may not have thought of... o o o o

o Search for people in specific industries, countries or companies o Get recommendations and advice from people you can trust o Be inspired by others o Profile good causes you support o Advertise your products or services o Share information about births/deaths/marriages o Mentor current students o Help Repton School to grow so others can benefit like you did...and so much more.

However an alumni network is only as good as the members within it and will take time to reach its full potential. So help the OR Office grow the network by inviting your alumni friends, telling us your success stories, sharing your photos etc.

You can create a profile - with information about your education and work as well as details of when you were a student at the school. You can easily import your LinkedIn profile which will take less than a minute! You will be able to find friends by using the information you’ve given us to help find people you might have known when you were at the school - the more information you give us, the more friends we can find!

Grow your business and social connections Find out about alumni events Share information about your success stories Recruit new staff or find a job

Step 1:

Once you’ve found a friend you can send them a connection request and a private message. By adding work and education information you will be able to find alumni working in the same industry or company as you, or who went to the same university as you. Let us know your news stories, post them on the News page. Thus far 973 ORs have signed up. Please join them!

Type the following into your internet browser address bar:

https://myrepton.org.uk You will need Edge, Google Chrome or Firefox; Explorer will not work

Sign up at MyRepton.org.uk

Step 2:

Click on the ‘Join’ button

Step 3:

Step 5:

Complete the information fields. Ignore Join with Facebook/Join with LinkedIn

Type the following into your internet browser address bar:

if you are not a member of either.

https://myrepton.org.uk You will need Edge, Google Chrome or Firefox; Explorer will not work

Click on ‘Next’, this will take you to the Consent page. You will need to complete the ‘I am not a robot’ section.

Click Join now.

You will receive an information email.

Scroll down to reveal more fields to complete.

The information asked for is required for security. We can link you to your existing record in our database.

Create a password.

You have received your authorisation email...

Enter your email and password

Select ‘LOGIN’

This is so your login is unique & secure.

Step 4:

You will receive two emails from MyRepton. The first confirming your registration request has been received.

Please check your ‘Junk’ mailbox if you do not receive our first email instantly.

Then click on this email as ‘Not Junk’.

We will check your details.

The second email will advise Acceptance & Authorisation of your registration.

This will take a day or so to do, longer if over a weekend.

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Wait for us to authorise you

To be able to share as much information as openly possible, it is important that MyRepton is for the Repton Community only and not for the general public, both in the UK and around the world. Therefore we manually check and authorise those joining MyRepton.

Step 6: Having logged in, you will see the MyRepton home page.

You can click on Profile and update your details, see all the latest news, book for events etc and explore the website.

Then click the login on the top right had side of screen.

Note you will have to login with your email and password before you can do this section.

Survey of female ORs 2019

Over the past few years concern has been growing within the OR Executive Committee that there appears to be little active involvement of female ORs with the Society. With the history of the school of course at this time there are fewer women than men, but the co-educational make-up of the school as it is now means that this will change over the coming years and it is a key objective for the Society to ensure that it provides something for everyone who has attended Repton, of whatever gender. With this in mind we conducted a survey of female members earlier this year to find out more about their thoughts on the Society and how we could make it more inclusive.

The survey was sent to female members from all years for whom the Society holds an email address and the results have made interesting reading, as well as forming a strong starting point for the society to work from. The key findings from the study are summarised below: • Most respondents have re-connected with the school at some point since leaving. The most popular events cited were house reunions, OR dinners, a Gaudy or Drinks in the City/Birmingham, with the social elements of catching up with old friends or teachers and seeing how the school has changed in recent years being the most enjoyable aspects.

• For those who have chosen not to re-connect various reasons were given for this, but those cited most often were location, timing (mid-week is not a popular option!) and a feeling that many events cater for ‘older old boys’. For very specific reasons this year’s OR dinner will take place mid-week in London, but we’ve noted your feedback for future years!

• The current events focus of mixed-gender social events is popular, but professional, sports and women-only events were also high up on people’s agendas and we are looking into what we can do to accommodate other event formats in the future.

• There was a clear message that a lack of visibility on event attendees (generally related to concerns around not knowing anyone there), a perception that the events are targeted towards older men and often sports orientated, and a lack of events targeted to the younger generation were all factors in more female ORs not attending.

• MyRepton (www.myrepton.org.uk) has OR events listings and allows registered users to see who has signed up to an event. However it was clear from the responses that the majority are either unaware of MyRepton or unsure of its purpose. My Repton allows you to sign up and connect directly with friends from your Repton years, as well as seeing who has signed up to attend events. Please do visit the site and sign up – it will certainly help to address some of the issues that the survey highlighted.

• Most respondents told us that they enjoy reading The Arch but very few had submitted anything for inclusion and many felt that women needed to be represented more fully. A lot felt that they either didn’t have anything of interest to share or didn’t really know what sort of information was wanted and both of these are things we will be working to highlight over the coming months. We are very keen to be able to feature more female OR stories – in any capacity – and we will take this forward proactively from this point.

• We were delighted to have received responses from ORs from the 1970s, when Repton first started taking girls in the Sixth Form, right through to very recent leavers. Many respondents told us what they’re doing now and this has given us a glimpse of the variety of careers that were taken up and made fascinating reading with just some examples of careers cited being full time mothers/carers, small holders, accountants, nurses, doctors, scientists, music entrepreneurs, fundraisers, lecturers, army officers, helicopter pilots and many more. The variety was wonderful to see and we hope to be able to talk to some of you in more detail about what you’ve been doing to feature in future editions of The Arch.

We offered entry into a prize draw for a Jo Malone voucher for those who completed the survey and this was won by Leta Behnhoeft (F’09), pictured here. Thank you so much to all those of you who took the time to complete the survey. The results are already forming a very valuable basis for the Society in working to include more female ORs in all aspects of the life of the Society in the future. That said, we still need your feedback to know that we’re on the right track, so please keep talking to us – contact details are in The Arch and on MyRepton.

Rachel Bacon (A’86) Full results can be found on https://myrepton.org.uk/news

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50 Not Out .....

Celebrating 50 years of girls at Repton The OR Society and School are now counting down to 2020, a year in which we will be commemorating the 50th anniversary of girls attending Repton. In celebration of this milestone we are planning a range of events and would be delighted to see ORs especially from the last 50 years at them. This is also a perfect opportunity for female ORs to update us with what you have been doing since your time at Repton. I know from listening to the findings of the survey of female ORs conducted earlier this year, for many women updating their old school, which in many cases, they attended for only two years is not at the top of their priorities, though we do know you read The Arch! So I would urge you to get in touch and update us, however big or small you think your achievements are, sign up to MyRepton and get in touch with the OR team as they would love to hear from you.

Susannah Fish (A’78)

‘70s

Carole Blackshaw (H’70) Is it really nearly 50 years since I arrived at Repton at the age of 16 in 1970?! I still remember it all so well, and the great excitement of that first day.

For me it was the first time I had taken control of my life and changed its path. I had approached the then Headmaster of Repton, Mr. Gammell, and asked if I could join the Sixth Form as a pupil. I am eternally grateful to him for enabling me to be a Reptonian and indeed all the girls who have followed me since.

I remember well my first history essay, the title of which was a quotation from Winston Churchill with the instruction, “discuss”.

The essay was duly marked and returned, but with the comment – “OK as far as it goes but why did you not question and critically review the statement?”. That was a profound moment for me. I was free to think and express myself.

This may surprise the girls of today, but in my lifetime there have been very considerable changes to the opportunities, expectations and choices for women. We have, thank goodness, come a long way in the last 50 years and that is something to truly celebrate.

I look back on the time I spent at Repton with enormous gratitude and affection. The education I received was the foundation for my future life. A Repton education is about academic excellence but also so much more. Other interests, such as sport, music and drama, flourish to a very high standard. Above all this education is enveloped in Christian values of duty, responsibility, integrity and kindness to others. My time at Repton was hugely rewarding and, above all, great fun!

‘80s

Alison Hume (A’80) It is nearly forty years since I started at Repton, the second year of girls to join the Abbey under the watchful eyes of the Pellows. Some of the friendships that were made in the early days of The Abbey have stood the test of time. I have enjoyed the two Gaudys that I have attended and been pleasantly surprised to talk to contemporary ORs who share a common bond even though we did not know each other well when at the School. I recently stayed in an apartment in Florence and was delighted to read in the visitor’s book that my former Biology teacher, Mr Fussey, had stayed there on a school trip a few years before. I remember his passion for woodlice well!

Repton participated in the English Speaking Union Scholarship programme, giving me the opportunity in my gap year to spend two terms at St Andrew’s School in Delaware, working for a senator in Washington DC in the Easter break. I qualified from Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School in 1989 and completed my GP training in the Oxford region. I have spent the last twenty years working as a part-time salaried GP near Bury St Edmunds, where my husband is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon.

My internet skills are very limited, but I have registered with MyRepton and would be happy to connect with any ORs who remember me. If any “A’80” girls are interested in a forty-year reunion in 2020, I would be happy to be involved.

The Editors add: Such a reunion is to be at the heart of the 2020 Gaudy/OR Day. It would be lovely to see lots of you there!

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50 Not Out .....

‘90s Jane Rushton (née Hughes) (A’91)

I attended Repton School from September 1991 – 1993. I was an Abbey Girl, the only Girls House at the time, run by Mr and Mrs Pellow.

From the moment I joined Repton I loved it and threw myself into as many activities as I could. I was Head Chorister under the direction of Mr Salter, Director of Music at the time, and in the 1st X1 Hockey – I played Goal-keeper, our team was unbeatable!

I also got involved in the Community Service programme and used to travel weekly to PHAB club (Physically Handicapped and Able Bodied people) with Mr Ridgeway. I was also part of the Sailing Team, with Gwen Johnstone (A’91), who was in the same year group as I and used sailing to achieve my Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award.

After leaving Repton I studied Nursing at The University of Northumbria, Newcastle.

Several of my year group from Repton had moved north to study there, so there were many familiar faces. I qualified as a Nurse in 1996 and moved to London to work at King’s College Hospital in trauma. I then moved out to Sydney, Australia to work and travel and had a great time exploring.

I married in 2001 and had a beautiful daughter called Sophie, I had always wanted to have children and was the first of our group of friends to have any. At six weeks old Sophie was diagnosed with a life-limiting condition called Tuberous Sclerosis. I was lucky to be surrounded by supportive staff at Foremarke and all of my friends. Sophie had many medical problems, and we were told that she would only live around 5 years. But after many years in and out of hospital and several operations she proved them wrong and she lived an amazing 14 years. She was so strong and taught me more than anyone about how to enjoy the simple things in life.

I now live in Abbots Bromley and two years ago took a role at Abbots Bromley School as Pastoral Co-ordinator and Deputy Safeguarding Lead and set up a wellbeing programme for pupils and staff. Unfortunately, after 2 years in post, Abbots Bromley School has shut. I am now setting up my own consultancy company, teaching Wellbeing and life skills to pupils in independent education. It’s going to be a challenge, but I am ever the optimist and know that I can carve out a really good business, as Mental Health is at the forefront of education.

I truly believe that Repton has given me the best foundations in life. Many of the friends that I made at Repton are still great friends now. Thanks to the OR Society and Social Media it is so easy to catch up and see how everyone is doing. Our year group recently met up in London for our 25th Anniversary of leaving Repton – this was kindly organised by Simon Webster (N’88) who was our Head of School. I am looking forward to many more anniversaries with a great group of friends.

‘00s

Aoife Broderick (A’07) Reflecting on what my attendance at Repton has meant to me has proved very interesting; I was actually only at the School for 6th form, and it is therefore amazing to consider the significant impact Repton still has on my day-to-day life ten years on.

As I write this, I need to reply to an email from Mr Kew regarding careers advice for a current pupil, an OR Whatsapp group is pinging with future wedding chatter, and I need to email an OR’s dad regarding my impending move to Singapore. Only upon writing this have I truly realised that being an OR seems to have permeated into most parts of my adult life.

Professionally, I have worked as a Surveyor in London for the past five years, and in that time found a fellow OR (Chris Berriman L’77) amongst the ranks of my company. After attending the OR Drinks in the City, we decided to create the OR Professional Property Club – a group which hopes to act as a networking tool for ORs within the property industry (email chris.berriman@ allsop.co.uk to join the mailing list.)

Some of my closest friends come from school; in The Abbey we had a tight year group that benefited from the unwavering help and guidance of two fantastic House-mistresses, Mrs Goodhead and Mrs Wilbraham. Since leaving their watch, I have observed the girls become doctors, lawyers, Olympians and Ironmen – how they have achieved this host of incredible feats, whilst remaining seemingly identical to the schoolgirls I met 10 years ago still astounds me.

This decade marker seems to have signalled the exciting start of (finally!) growing up with fantastic weddings becoming a regular fixture across our year group. However within this time we’ve also sadly had the funeral of Felicity Jemmett, whom we’ll all remember. This sad reminder of the fragility of life has, amongst other things, encouraged me to decide, at what feels like the cusp of adulthood, to go on an adventure to Singapore.

‘10s

Suzannah Eaton (F’14) It was the summer of ‘14 when I first walked through the famous Arch at Repton and began my journey that would last five very happy years until passing through once again for the last time at the end of the Summer Term 2019. My House during this time was Field House, where I had two incredible Houseparents, Mr and Mrs Griffiths, who had the unfortunate honour of looking after me. There were plenty of opportunities for extra-curricular activities, but it was swimming I excelled in, most notably as House captain in the Caroline Tyler event and many other swimming competitions. I made many friendships at Repton that will last a life time. My final choices at A Level were English, Government and Politics and Business Studies.

My journey now continues at Northumbria University where I will be studying Law. 9

OR News: Snippets The Cross

@ReptonTheCross

Edward Wilkinson (C’46) was the guest speaker at the Great Barmote Court’s meeting and lunch at the Duchy of Lancaster’s Courthouse in Wirksworth followed by lunch at East Lodge, Rowsley. The Barmaster was Eddie Tennant (O’81).

Field House

@ReptonFieldHse

Melissa Bettson (F’08) is the 5th generation of her family at Tuppenhurst farm, Armitage, Rugeley Staffs and has opened a B&B and Café in one of the oldest, listed barns. The Barn itself was a shell and has been carefully renovated to preserve the character but also create the facility. They are dog friendly in both the Bed and Breakfast and Café and are very excited to be opening the doors.

Nicole Bowen (F’15) has represented England U21s hockey.

Hannah Davey (F’14) has represented England U21s hockey.

Morgause Lomas (F’12) has won a Cambridge Blue in the Oxbridge 2019 Varsity hockey match.

Bekah Walton (F’16) has been called up to the full GB Athletics Senior Team to represent GB in the SuperLeague of the European Team Cup, in Poland 9th-12th August.

The Garden

@ReptonTheGarden

Esme Burge (G’12) has made her senior international debut for GB Hockey.

Kadi Liis Saar (G’09) has been awarded the Schmidt Science Fellows Award – a program of Schmidt Futures, in partnership with the Rhodes Trust. This is the second year of this innovative post-doctoral program that aims to develop the next generation of interdisciplinary science leaders to tackle the world’s most significant problems and maximize scientific opportunities for society. Kadi studies proteins, the molecules that are central to virtually all processes in our bodies. She is currently working on devising new methods for probing protein folding and aggregation in the context of neuro-degeneration. As a Schmidt Science Fellow, she will make use of new techniques, similar to those used by the computer chip and microprocessor industry, to develop a platform for high-throughput characterisation of proteomic fingerprints of individual cells, opening up the possibility of identifying previously unknown targets and disease biomarkers. This technology could have a transformative effect on human health-related studies.

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OR News: Snippets The Mitre

@ReptonTheMitre

Dick Frase (M’69) has been appointed Editor of the Honourable Artillery Company Journal.

Robert Hollinshead (M’31) and his son Ed (M’90), once again travelled to France to celebrate the D-Day 75th Commemoration.

Ed said “it was a very moving occasion and the family are so glad that Robert is still in good health to make these journeys back”.

The photo on the immediate right shows Robert in front of a banner of himself put up by the French Government of returning veterans in Arromanches.

In the centre photo, Robert is with his wife and son standing at the spot where he came ashore on June 6th 1944.

Ed also had the privilege of flying his parents back to Manchester from Guernsey. Ed is a first officer for Aurigny (Guernsey’s airline) and the company suspect that Robert is probably the oldest passenger they’ve carried in some years!

Mimi Tarrant (M’12) has been made Captain of the Harvard Hockey Team.

New House

@newsfromnew Tim Barrett (N’66) (on the left), and John Cameron (O’66) at the Gibson Racing Engines truck at the Le Mans 24 hour race, the truck proudly stating “made in Repton.” Gibson supplied engines to over a third of the 60 starters and a Gibson-powered car came 4th overall.

Nick Campion (N’86) has won the prestigious Writing Award run by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack each year. The announcement was made in the Long Room at Lord’s Cricket ground. Nick is a freelance writer and had has been published in All Out Cricket magazine, Wisden Cricket Monthly and the Times Education Supplement.

Alan Swift (N’75) founded Swift-Cut in 2011 with Derek Davies when the pair recognised a gap in the market for quality built, affordably priced plasma cutting machines.

The Orchard

@orchardrepton

Callum Smith (O’11) gained a 1st class degree in Biology from the University of Nottingham and was awarded the ‘Academic Excellence Award’ for Medicine and Health Sciences. He has also won a competitive PhD with the University.

Thank you to Michael Fadil (O’44) for sending in two copies of The Illustrated London News, featuring the 40th anniversary of the School (July 27th 1957 issue & March 2nd 1957), these will be placed in our Archives.

School House

@ReptonSchoolHse

Matthew Bowman (S’17) has signed a two-year professional contract with Dunfermline Athletic Football Club.

Felix Ho (S’97) came back to visit the School for the first time since he left.

Edward Sheasby (S’12) has been sworn in as a Community Councillor for the Royal Burgh of St Andrews.

This is the most local level of elected government and represents the citizens of the city to the higher elected authorities.

Dan Townley (S’00) has been appointed Head of Science at Eton College from September 2019.

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OR Events Gaudy

The 2019 Gaudy took place a little earlier than usual, on Saturday, May 15th. Happily, the weather was very kind to us, and, even though numbers were very much on the low side, those that came seemed to really enjoy the day. It is difficult not to enjoy a Drinks Reception in the beautiful setting of The Garth, followed by a delicious, relaxed buffet lunch in Pears School, at the end of which those present were able to hear from the new Headmaster, barely a month into the job! The opportunity then came for tours around the School and former Boarding Houses, culminating in tea. For those feeling less active the 1st XI were playing Uppingham on The Square. All in all, the kind feedback suggested this had been a most enjoyable reunion; it would just be so nice to see greater numbers in 2020.

N J Kew (OR Secretary)

Thank you to Richard Stirling (P’75) for sending in some of his photographs of the day.

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OR Events Brook House

The 150th anniversary of the opening of Brook House was certainly an event worth celebrating even though this Repton boarding establishment closed its doors 22 years ago.

A very healthy turn-out of around 100 Brook House boys at a Pears School lunch on an overcast June Saturday proved this to be the case, a lot of them wearing that evocative yellow-and-black diagonal tie.

There were representatives from all the decades from the 1950s through to the 1990s with Andrew Bobb (B’77) worthy of special note for travelling from the United States just to be there.

One might have had to take a sneaky look at a few name badges to identify some faces. But others were instantly recognisable even after a gap of 40 years or more and friendships were rekindled immediately - such is the special bond of boarding-school life.

Nick Walford (B’69), dynamic Chairman of the OR Society, who was chiefly responsible for initiating this landmark occasion, cajoled speakers from every era to reminisce over lunch about their time in Brook House. All those asked, Sam Swerling (B’53) (Fifties), Sir Michael Pownall (B’63) (Sixties), Charles Sale (B’70) (Seventies), Adam Phillips (B’75) (Eighties ) and Oli Pepper (B’90) (Nineties ) took different approaches to the request from Nick to share the experiences of their own time in Brook House.

The 1970s representative’s main concern was to get over his still-lingering upset 48 years on about being dropped by the very same Nick Walford from the Brook House junior house match football team for the final.

It was, however, a relatively pertinent subject as more than half of that winning Brook House side - Charlie Hine (B’69), Ian Glover (B’69), Nick Smith (B’69), Iain Bench (B’71) and Bill McLean (B’71) as well as Nick - were in the room.

The one common trait from all the speakers was about the lifelong friendships they had forged during their time in Brook even though the food seemingly hadn’t improved since 1869 - the year WG Grace hit a record amount of runs.

And the chatter around the tables was mainly of long-forgotten incidents during those Brook House days. They were brought back to life by the exchange of stories as if they had only happened yesterday. A great memory reminder was the organisers putting on display the wood-panelled Brook House honours boards, particularly for this correspondent. The inscription detailed him being awarded a cricket teamer in 1973 when that hadn’t been the case - however well merited!

An extra bonus after lunch was impressive new Headmaster Mark Semmence outlining his first impressions of life at Repton and his plans for the future. Mark is well aware there could be turbulent times ahead for the fee-paying school sector. So it is gratifying to know that Repton has someone at the helm with the necessary character and skill set - some of it gained working outside the teaching profession to guide the school successfully through any challenge it might face.

Sadly no tour of Brook House - sold in 1997 for a housing development - was possible in the afternoon. But Nigel Kew and Jan Cobb, from Repton, who did so much work in making sure the get-together ran as smoothly as it did, laid on trips around the fantastic facilities that Repton now offers with some charming current pupils as guides.

Continued on page 14

13

OR Reunions Brook House

Continued from Page 13

We had been limited to the uneven concrete of the high-walled, prison-like Brook House yard where impromptu games of football and cricket were just about the only entertainment.

The official schedule ended with afternoon tea in the revamped 400 Hall. But a number of us stayed on for dinner at an Indian restaurant fittingly located across the road from Brook House. Then further merriment back at the Boot Inn. The unanimous verdict was that Brook House reunions should take place a lot more frequently in future - at least more than once every 150 years.

And on a self-indulgent note, it was especially poignant for me to be back in Repton - one hundred years after my father Richard Sale (B’33) was born in 1919.

And to be able to share lunch with Brook House old boys such as John Cole (B’48), James Rushton (B’50), Rodney Dews (B’51), Paul Hudson (B’52), Christopher Gummer (B’53), Jeremy Tomlinson (B’55), John Lichfield (B’54), Sam Swerling(B’53), Geoffrey Piper (B’59), John Brooks (B’59) and Nigel Dickson (B’59) who were either taught by my father or were in football or cricket teams coached by him - and still like to talk about him with such affection.

There was also the massive rivalry in those days between Brook when John Eggar was Housemaster and The Priory where my father was Housemaster and where I spent the first five years of my live before another five in Brook House a few years later. Lucky me and lucky everyone who went to Brook House.

Charles Sale (B’70)

Thank you to John Peake (B’38) for the fantastic photograph of the years 1938 to 1942 when he was in the House with Crommelin Brown. To Richard Oliver (B’58) for sending in photographs from 1958 to1962. To Noel Cartwright (B’57) for photographs for Brook between 1957 and 1962. We put a slide show on of all the photographs and they and the discs will be passed to our Archivist.

Current and past OR Chairman, Nick Walford (B’69) and Nick Smith (B’69)

14

OR Reunions Events Field House

Field House held a reunion on Sunday, June 9th 2019. Mr & Mrs Griffiths, who retired from the House at the end of June, welcomed back numerous old girls, some of them with their own children, in addition to past Matrons; Brenda and Carol’s husband, Steve, Mike Keep & Amy Beck were amongst the many tutors who were also present as well as Mr & Mrs Tennant of course.

Jane Griffiths

15

OR Reunions The Cross

The annual Cross Reunion was again held this year in Stockbridge on 21st August. Those present as shown in the attached photo were: Left to Right Gerard Wyllys (C’52), Pat Vaughan (C’52), Andy Jenkins (C’51) and Mike Potts (C’55).

Unfortunately Pat Darley (C’51) and David Vaughan (C’53) were unable to join us this year.

There is also a photo of The Cross in the Summer Term1957 as three of them are in the photo on the front row. It has been noted that Gerard Wyllys is wearing the same blazer in both the enclosed photos !!

It was also an impressive year for sporting trophies as the House won the Senior House Match trophies for Cricket, Football, Hockey and Fives; must have been a record !

Michael S Potts (C’55)

The Hall The annual Hall ’64 & ‘65 House reunion took place at The Staff of Life in Ticknall, followed by a visit to the School.

16

Branches of the Society OR Cricket - Pilgrims

The Pilgrims had a much more positive 2019 Cricketer Cup campaign in which they made the quarter finals. We defeated Marlborough Blues in Round 1 followed by victory over Downside Wanderers in Round 2. We unfortunately lost to a very talented Malvern side in the quarter finals in a game where nearly 650 runs were scored. Malvern are a very good young team with a couple of players that have played for England U19s as well as some who have recent First-Class experience.

We tried to put together a younger, fresher and more energetic Pilgrims’ team this year. Our fielding was outstanding and our team spirit was brilliant.

Availability and continuity of selection is our biggest challenge. The Cricketer Cup fixtures are played on a Sunday and this can often clash with local league cup competitions and minor counties cricket. Round 2 against Downside Wanderers for instance, clashed with the first round of the Derbyshire Premier Cup, which resulted in us losing a number of key players. This problem is not going to go away and the only way to soften the blow is to increase our player pool.

Looking ahead to 2020, I am positive and optimistic that we can build on some of the successes from this year. I think the Cricketer Cup squad from which we pick the best eleven will be enthused by our efforts, performance and camaraderie from this year, and this will hopefully help with commitment to our 2020 campaign. Ultimately it will come down to availability of our key players for the majority of the games.

Our relationship with the School this year with the introduction of Chris Read is strong. We met with Chris as soon as he commenced his role and set out how we could mutually strengthen our relationship. Another huge positive is the introduction of the new Headmaster, Mark Semmence. Mr Semmence was a very accomplished cricketer, having represented Durham University and England Under 19s, and has been extremely supportive of the Pilgrims’ since taking over. He unfortunately missed the quarter final but was present at rounds 1 and 2. His support will be invaluable to us going forward and I think with the introduction of both Mark and Chris that cricket will have the injection and step change that it deserves at school level.

In terms of school support, the best thing to help improve recruitment, participation and performance is to allocate some resources to improve the team at school level. In 2008, Repton won the Independent School’s National T20 competition. The knock on to this was reaching the Cricketer Cup Final in 2010 as players that had been successful in the 2008 team were enthused to play for the Pilgrims and added to the previous generations of top Pilgrims’ players. Since that time, there has been a vacuum of players that are either not enthused to play or that are not good enough to have an influence on Pilgrims’ cricket at the Cricketer Cup level. I think Malvern were a fantastic example of this in our recent campaign. They evidently had a very successful team at school level with players on the verge of playing for the England age groups and for Worcestershire CCC, and they have now carried the momentum of that into the Old Malvernians and will reap the benefits for years to come. The Pilgrims will be strong when Repton cricket is strong.

Tom Poynton (S’06)

Football

@oldreptonianfc

THE OLD REPTONIAN FOOTBALL CLUB ANNUAL REPORT

Prepared by Mike Watson (P03) (Club and Arthurian League Captain) and Doug Redfern (P’09) (Arthur Dunn Captain) The Old Reptonian Football Club is a thriving old boys network based in London with over 40 players registered. The club has been under the leadership of captain Alex Evans (N’04) for the last three seasons, and he has done a fantastic job attracting and enticing recent leavers to join the club. This year will see a change to the leadership as Mike Watson takes over as Club and League Captain, and Doug Redfern as Dunn Cup Captain. Both are hugely excited at working together to continue the good work Alex has begun.

In London the squad train each Tuesday and play in three competitions annually – the Arthurian League, the Arthur Dunn Cup and the London Old Boys’ Cup. Arthurian League (Division One) Whilst the team started the year extremely well, hitting the summit of the league table in December, the season off, with the team only surviving relegation by a technicality. It must be said, however the league was the tightest it has ever been, and there were only 9 points separating 2nd (31 points) and 9th (22 points) positions, which given it’s an 18-game season highlights the competitiveness of the league last year.

With pre-season well under way and the squad looking sharp, we are aiming to improve performances in the coming season. A new home venue in Chiswick, close to where most live, will hopefully mean participation numbers stay high.

Dunn Cup Repton has a huge history in the competition, having won the competition on no fewer than 11 occasions (4th most). In recent years Repton has been close to breaking their long stretch without a cup win, which dates back to 1991. With a narrow final loss two years ago to Charterhouse, the boys are as motivated as ever to lift the cup, and with the production line as strong as it is, thanks to Matt Carrington and his staff, the squad has never looked more promising. After a QF loss last year to Old Foresters the boys will be looking to go better next season. It must be said the whole squad hugely appreciates the support from the OR network at each game along their cup runs, and hope this may long continue!

Continued on page 18 17

Branches of the Society Football Continued from Page 17

LOB Cup Having reached the semi-final two years ago, the squad fancied their chances last year. Sadly they fell in the first round to a well-drilled Old Berkhamstedians side 4-3. With huge emphasis on this competition this year which will be largely made up of league players, everyone is motivated and looking forward to a successful cup run ahead.

On The Horizon The numbers attending training and putting themselves forward for games has increased hugely from where we were say 6/7 years ago which is hugely exciting.

The work Matt Carrington does to not only produce top level players, but to communicate with the ORFC regarding the pool we should choose from (especially regarding Dunn selection) is invaluable and hugely important for the club across all three competitions.

The Dunn Cup will be made up of the very best footballers available, whilst the LOB Cup will largely be made up of the London league side. The quality of leavers has never been higher and in order to finally get a Dunn win we firmly believe we must pick our strongest players. One problem, however may be that, unlike the Charterhouse’s of this world, who play week in week out with each other, our players will be largely new to one another as they will come from a variety of year groups. This over time, however, should become less of a problem, as the squad will form a core nucleus for years to come.

Whilst we have said numbers for the league side have improved dramatically, we still often around the Christmas break seem to struggle.

As we are not a London-based school this is to be expected and we will try as ever to increase our numbers down in London to cover for those weeks when we have a fair few absentees. We as a club would be most grateful if the school can continue to push the London league sides existence to recent leavers, as not only do we offer them an immediate friendship group to those who have just moved down, but, as mentioned, the greater pool of players we have, the better the results should be Mike Watson (P’03) Club & Arthurian League Captain, Doug Redfern (P’09) Arthur Dunn Captain

Football - Repton Football Day OLD REPTONIAN 1ST X1 The ORs came to Repton with a less familiar team compared to previous years, with many players away at Alex Paget’s(P’07) wedding.

This, however, gave the 1st’s an opportunity to bring in some fresh faces, including 4 ORs who left the school last year.

The game started as you’d expect, the younger fitter Reptonians dictating a lot of play, only to be thwarted by the organised ORs’ defence. The first half continued in the same vein with the ORs struggling to find that little bit of quality to create anything. With 15 minutes left of the first half the ORs brought on the evergreen Clayton Penny (P’97) and decided to go against their footballing philosophy and play a little more direct, using the pace of Alex Clarke-Dowson (P’06) and Nick Samra (N’02) on the flanks. This proved to be a telling tactical change, the ORs were able to stretch the game and create a handful of half chances including a succession of free kicks and corners. Unfortunately, none gave the ORs a lead before halftime.

After the break the Reptonians came back into it. The legs of the ORs began to fail against the energetic Reptonians who started to play some impressive football. Luckily the OR back line of Ben Mann (P’11), Fraser Lane (L’08), Jack Bywater (C’11) and Oli Hickman (O’17) gave them no way through, leaving Oliver West (P’10) in goal little to do. This gave the ORs a great base to build from, with Jamie Slack (C’14) in front of them spraying passes left and right, creating space for the speedy OR wingers and bringing Bywater and Lane at full back space to deliver crosses. This proved invaluable for the ORs as some half chances began to fall in the box for the likes of Penny and Tom Buffin (S’14). It was the latter who eventually converted. With 4 minutes of regular time to play, Bywater flew down the right, beating a man before crossing. A Repton defender was unable to properly reach the ball, only grazing it, leaving the ball looping into the path of Buffin. Unlike most, who would bring the ball down before striking, Buffin struck the ball expertly on the volley from just inside the 18-yard box, firing it into the far corner, past a full stretch keeper. 0-1 Old Reptonians.

With just minutes left, the ORs absorbed the Repton onslaught, securing a heroic victory. It wasn’t the best game ever, but great to see the team grind out a victory against a talented and fit Repton team.

Doug Redfern (P’09)

18

Branches of the Society OLD REPTONIAN 2ND X1 We knew we were going to be up against it facing an eager 2nd XI Repton side. They are always pushing to prove their worth and potentially gain a spot with the 1st XI. We started off strong taking a 4 : 4 : 2 formation testing their defence early on with a couple of chances created by Miles Chadwick (O’10) which darted across the box to Oliver Buckland (O’12) but none of which could find the net.

Holding the centre was Declan Blackwood (O’06) and the Captain, Luke Samra (N’05) playing off each other nicely. I believe training in London has created a chemistry between these two players which resembles a younger Zidane and David’s style. This chemistry led us to our first goal.

We took an early lead with James being bought down in the box. James felt redemption as the cool, calm and collected penalty was taken, being tucked nicely into the bottom left. 1-0. Within 10 minutes, a wonderful strike saw the School equalise as Nicolas Reineke (S’06) was beaten with the ball being driven into the top netting. Nicolas had kept us in the game throughout the half but even Buffon would have struggled to have kept out this thunderbolt. The younger, fitter Repton side had started to play some nice football but we were keen to take the second half. The sun had come out making it a pleasure to be playing the wonderful game.

Alesandro Congiu (O’09) had a great game, snatching the ball off their strikers multiple times, but that wasn’t enough to keep out their second goal which was punched into the back of the net. Conj would go on to get man-of-the-match for his performance. Going 2-1 down would test our resolve but as true Reptonians we battled on. With the last 5 minutes approaching, we found ourselves defending once again. The ball, however was won back by Lochlan Hardy (C’16) making a great challenge. The ball fell to Richard Doxey (P’05) who then quickly passed it to Guy Wilson (S’06). Guy threaded it out to Tom Nevill (O’12) who drove forward up the left wing. Jack Pollard (S’12) was searching for the pass and found it seconds later with a lovely run, splitting the defence. A lovely ball came across the box from the left boot of Jack Pollard. A calm finish by Miles Chadwick took the game to 2-2. Moments later, the final whistle went. A fitting score line for a great game.

Daniel Buckland (O’08)

OLD REPTONIAN 3RD X1 Nowhere was the impact of the former ORFC goalkeeper, Alex Paget’s wedding felt harder than within the ORs 3rd XI team. With the regular stalwarts of Sloane and Kilby draining the Isle of Wight of beer, those in attendance were more akin to the current U18 Bolton Wanders players tasked with keeping the fixture alive than the Galacticos Chapel Hall has become used to in recent times.

With the squad of 14 containing only two self-identified defenders, the ORs greatest challenge proved to be coming up with something that faintly resembled an acceptable formation. The situation was exasperated when former 1st XI left back, William Boot (S’01), succumbed to a re-occurring ACL injury after 7 minutes.

In truth, the game was not one for the purest with neither side demonstrating an ability to retain the ball and control possession. While not threatened, the ORs wasted opportunities time and time again. To break the deadlock if fell to OR Veteran Chris Carlile (L’01).

Cutting in from the right on to his preferred left foot he caressed the ball into the far bottom corner, nonchalantly declaring the score 1-0 before the ball had even left his foot.

The ORs continued to demonstrate flashes of inspiration and ineptitude in equal measure with some fine wing play un-done by poor execution and finishing. It was notable that when the ORs were able to sustain continued pressure the second goal arrived following a deft finish. 2-0.

It was at this point that the School side started to grow into the game and exploit the ORs 2-5-3 formation. With gaps appearing Jack Smith (O’06) was required to make a series of impressive saves. It was one of these saves that resulted in a corner and when the School Centre Back rose un-opposed in the ORs box the resulting header bought the school back into the game.

The second half was played out in a similar vein, with the ORs extending their lead through firstly a flash of fine interplay, before a well worked breakaway resulted in an easy finish for the advancing striker.

The School raised the possibility of a comeback with a late goal on the breakaway with the two OR defenders handicapped by the remaining 8 OR outfield players observing the attacks progress from the half-way line, but in truth the result never came into doubt. While not a vintage performance by the ORs, they came away with a comfortable win.

Man of the Match: Chris Carlie (L’01) Will Charlesworth (O’01)

OR 3rd XI, courtesy Simon Earwicker

19

Branches of the Society Golf

APPEAL ON BEHALF OF REPTON GOLF

APPEAL 1 - All lady golfers Repton has been invited to enter a team in the 2020 Silver Tassie. This is the first all-female independent schools’ alumni golf tournament, which is played at The Berkshire on June 8th. Rebecca Brookes (A’93) will captain the team.

WE NEED A TEAM - If you are a lady golfer, of any age or standard, please make contact with Rebecca - rsmi98@hotmail.com N.B. - All other fixtures are open to all genders; please have a look at www.Reptongolf.com O.R golf transcends the gender and age gap.

This year’s winners of the Luffenham Heath Golf Club mixed invitation, with 46 Stableford points, were eighty three year old Tony Ruddle (B’49) and thirty nine year old Rebecca Brookes (A’93)! Is there any other alumni sport where this is possible?

APPEAL 2 - Please support the Headmaster The nature of alumni golf is predominantly team foursomes format. Despite the vibrancy of the Society, its lasting appeal since its inception in 1924 and its equal opportunity to ALL Old Reptonians, there has been no regard for it at the school.

What is needed to encourage pupils, who play golf, is a simulator and a 150 yard, artificial surface, short game, practice area.

In 2017, I asked why no consideration had been given to golf when allocating the latest £6million sports budget, I was told that golf was not viewed as a team sport so Repton was not interested.

Our new Headmaster has given strong indication that this will change and support will be given to golf at Repton.

PLEASE support Mark by sending him a brief email indicating that you agree with his stance. headmaster@repton.org.uk The first round of the Halford Hewitt attracts more supporters than the final of the D’Abernon Cup. In 2019 there were 12 supporters who paid their own way to play in the Peter Kenyon Bowl, the supporters’ tournament at Littlestone. All 12 then attended the formal, pre-Hewitt dinner at Royal St George’s, stayed in a hotel and then walked round the course to support the team in the most inclement weather - all at their own expense!

The Old Reptonian Golfing Society currently has: • 218 GDPR compliantly subscribed members • A dedicated website • 22 fixtures per annum open to all genders • A national singles knockout competition

The Society is: • Welcoming of all ages, sexes and ability levels • Financially supportive and subsidising of all members under the age of 30

The Society competes at the highest level of amateur scratch alumni TEAM golf in: • The Halford Hewitt (past winners) • The Grafton Morrish (past winners) • The Bernard Darwin (over 55s) (past winners) • The Senior Darwin (over 65s) (past winners) • The Veteren Darwin (over 75s) • The Queen Elizabeth Coronations Schools Trophy Members of the Society represent the sport at THE highest level in the world, at committee level at the R&A. • The Society Treasurer, David Pepper (H’53) has held the post of Chairman of the R&A Rules, Championship and General Committees.

• Keith Andrews (O’66) is the R&A Chairman of Amateur Status • John Bolsover (H’60) is on the Finance Committee Members of the Society currently hold the position of Secretary for The Bernard Darwin, The Mellin and The Public Schools Midlands Meeting.

A.E.Bishop (P’72), Hon. Sec.

20

Branches of the Society Golf

SCHOOL MATCH: SEPTEMBER 1ST 2019 Another super day!

Sixteen-year-old Alex Mair (P) is not only a talented golfer, playing off 7 at Hollinwell, but clearly an enthusiastic organiser. Thanks to his efforts, eight pupils came to Little Aston to join thirteen ORs and three members of staff for a most convivial day’s golf. A relaxed Pinehurst format - pairing low and high handicap players - produced much fun and allowed the more competent golfers to experience previously unknown areas of Little Aston.

The best score of the day was achieved by six handicap Will Swann (N’10) who played with 24-handicap pupil Harvey Wilson (P) bringing home 44 points.

The assembled were: ORGS PLAYERS Tony Bishop (P’72) Jamie Slack (C’14) Lloyd Evans (O’02) Richard Body (H’63) Paul Brownhill (P’80) Elliott Killington (S’16) Will Swann (N’10)

Lewis Jones (S’12) Stuart Whitehouse (L’78) Richard Doxey (P’05) Ben Mann (P’11) Jacob Truelove Cooke (O’14) David Pepper (H’53)

REPTON SCHOOL PLAYERS Ollie Hall (S) Alex Mair (P) Tom Jones (S) Will Ingham (P) Tom Jervis (S) Tom Whitwell (P) Jerry Williams (S) Harvey Wilson (P)

RAGS PLAYERS Russell Embery Darren Maydew Patrick Griffiths

A.E.Bishop (P’72), Hon. Sec.

Hockey With no formal competition and with most keen hockey-playing ORs representing Clubs regularly, it is difficult for the OR Hockey to be as active as some other arms of the Society.

We were unsuccessful in hosting a Girls’ OR Hockey event on the same day as the Football in September a number of times a few years ago with most of those willing to play having club commitments at the same time. We have since moved and settled on an annual Mixed Hockey event on the penultimate Sunday of the Summer Term.

As part of the opening of Sports Hall 2 last year, a star-studded OR team assembled in December to play Indoor Hockey against the 1st XI. This was an enjoyable evening well attended by ORs, parents, pupils and guests. The OR squad had in excess of 700 Senior International Appearances amongst them and won a competitive and high-scoring game against a mixed boys and girls School team.

The formal OR Hockey event of the year took place in late June and saw 25 ORs play a series of mini-matches against the current pupils in a relaxed manner which rounded off the season for the current 1st XI. This year the matches were played on the sand-based Astroturf with the water-based being resurfaced.

Although not formally linked to the Old Reptonian society, Repton Hockey Club works closely with the School for the benefit of the current pupil body, for Old Reptonians and for members of the wider community. Three years after forming, the Club has in excess of 300 members and has achieved unprecedented success for a club so early on. The Mens’ and Ladies’ sides have both achieved League promotion every year and now play in the Midlands Leagues, moving closer to the National stage. The Adult Indoor teams have achieved extraordinary success so far and in January will both play in National League Division One after three successive promotions.

The Adult Mixed XI are reigning National Champions and the junior teams are multiple National Finalists each year, winning a gold and two silver medals this year.

Rio 2016 Olympic Medallist, Charlotte Stapenhorst (A’11) opens SH2 in December 2018.

The Repton HC Mens’ team has a large number of ORs and filters in current pupils for the benefit of their development. The Club has struggled to recruit female ORs to play though and instead relies heavily on current pupils. The Club has a fantastic, hard-working Committee and is always looking for ways to develop.

Continued on page 22 21

Branches of the Society Hockey continued

This year, the Club has appointed a three-time EHL winner (equivalent to football Champions League) to coach their Indoor team next January. This is the equivalent of appointing someone like Jose Mourinho to coach the Repton HC side and a signal of how ambitious the Club is and how the Committee works effectively to make things happen.

During the past twelve months Esme Burge (G’12) made her full Great Britain debut, playing in the FIH Pro League quickly following in the footsteps of Erica Sanders (G’10) who had done the same earlier in the year. Olympic Gold medallist Shona McCallin (A’08) returned to the side for the European Championships after 18 months out with concussion. Our other Olympic medallists have all now retired from Internationals but remain active on the Club circuit.

Leah Wilkinson (A’03) at the opening of SH2. Leah is now Wales’ all-time most capped sportsperson.

The only issue facing OR Hockey is a lack of involvement from females, particularly given the School’s success in that area. The majority of our best leavers continue to play at strong Universities before moving to a local National League Club when they find work. In order to solve this, Repton Hockey Club will need to earn continued seasonal promotions so that the higher level might encourage people to stay to play in Repton.

Martin Jones (C’97)/Staff National Mixed Champions, June 2019, Olympic Park, London, featuring 10 ORs and 3 current pupils.

Netball

The OR Netball Society was set up in June 2019 in order to encourage younger female ORs to become active members of the OR Society and to create networking opportunities in London. Originally, the intention was to set up the OR Netball team and play against other public schools within London – after conducting some research it was clear there was no such club in existence.

All the schools who were contacted welcomed the idea of alumni netball and were keen to work with us to also encourage younger female participation within their own old societies. It has therefore been decided that the OR Netball Society will be made up of two strands.

The first strand will play every Wednesday evening in Hyde Park. These fixtures will be against other all-female teams from all walks of life. We will have various training sessions throughout the year and will encourage social events such as Christmas drinks etc. The second strand will comprise the OR Netball Society setting up the first public school Netball Society in the UK. It will consist of quarterly competitions, hosted either in London or at respective schools. This is a great opportunity for the OR Society as we will be the ones to set up, run and lead the way on this front. This strand will take a considerable amount of time and resources to ensure it is set up properly, but the hope is to have it set up by summer 2020.

The First Autumn fixture is 2nd October 2019 and will run every Wednesday for nine weeks. Members to date are: Daisy Heath-Abbott (G’06) (Captain), Phoebe Heath-Abbott (M’06), Abi Krone (M’08), Camilla Karlsen (G’04), Harriet Cornish (M’06), Amy Davies (M’09), Sophie Davies (M’06), Imogen Blackwood (A’04), Lois Haynes (F’05) and Lily Kitts (M’10).

Please email me on daisyheathabbott@hotmail.co.uk, if you would like more details.

OR Lodge In June, the OR Lodge convened for its main annual meeting at Freemasons’ Hall in Covent Garden. In the evening, OR Lodge members and guests enjoyed drinks on the balcony at the Farmers Club, overlooking the London Eye, followed by a fine three-course dinner in the club.

This year, members elected to support two charities, donating £500 to the School’s chosen Lent charity, The Neverest Foundation, and also £500 to the Hampshire Hospitals Butterfly Suite.

Freemasons’ Hall is one of London’s most iconic venues and is a popular location for film and television. It is open to the public and tours are conducted throughout the week. Members of the Lodge are planning a private tour of the building in the new year, with access to more areas than the public tours.

It will be open to all ORs, male or female, as well as friends and families. The plan is to have a pub lunch in Covent Garden afterwards.

Any ORs interested in Freemasonry or a tour of Freemasons’ Hall in London in the new year can contact the Lodge Secretary, Mark Norton, for more information.

My Repton: https://myrepton.org.uk/clubs/view/masonic-lodge Website: http://www.orl.org.uk Mark Norton (M’86) 22

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13600476

Branches of the Society OR Tennis Society 2019

@reptontennis

This year’s summer tennis season kicked off in true Repton style with a friendly and competitive OR vs current Repton team evening on Tuesday 21st May. As ever the school team were fantastic hosts and worthy opponents to the experienced but somewhat ‘longer in tooth’ OR team! The evening provided a great opportunity for all levels to get on the courts as the ORs fielded a mixed team for several short matches against this year’s school tennis 1st team. There was some fantastic tennis on show and the final score was a friendly but convincing 8-4 win for the current pupils. The match finished with refreshments and the obligatory trip to the Boot. A lovely evening and one of the highlights of the OR tennis calendar - we are very grateful to both James Rushby for organising the event and Phil Brindley (N’02) for captaining the OR team.

The other main event of the last few months for the society has been the annual inter-school Old Boys’ tennis championships, the D’Abernon Cup, which this year saw the OR team looking to regain our title (our 4th in 6 years) after a close 5-4 defeat to Reeds School last year.

We began our campaign against Eton College in the quarterfinals. The OR team of Dan Cottier (L’99), Will Reay (S’06), Dom Lea (S’11) and Jamie Muirhead (C’09) got off to a strong start with a 3-1 win away at Eton.

We got a walk over in the semi-final when KCS couldn’t find a team to make it up to the wilds of Derbyshire for our home match and so went straight into the final on Sunday 8th September, which as always is held in spectacular style in Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. This year the match was marked by a beautifully crisp September day, and, with the Old Reedonians once again our worthy opponents, we knew we were in for an excellent and contested day of tennis.

With past results standing at 2-2 between the ORs and the Old Reedonians, the OR team, of Dan Cottier, Patrick Foley (N’11), Jamie Muirhead, Rich Harrison (H’92), Alex Grocott and Phil Brindley, got off to a slower than hoped for start, trailing 2-1 after the first round of matches. Repton fought back strongly, however, to level the tie at 3-3 going into the final rubbers, with Jamie Muirhead and Rich Harrison pulling through one important crunch tie break and Alex Grocott (S’10) and Phil Brindley carrying their match confidently.

Repton kept up that momentum into the final round, with increasingly confident wins from Patrick Foley and Dan Cottier, leaving Jamie Muirhead and Rich Harrison to bring the trophy home 7-6, 6-2, closing out a very tense 5-4 victory.

As always it was a great pleasure to have so many friendly OR faces at Wimbledon to support, it makes a great difference to the team and I hope you had as much fun watching the tennis as we did playing. The standard was again extremely high this year with the OR team coming into the match fighting to regain the cup, with many of the team having put in extra hours on the court in the run up to this year’s final to avoid a re-run of 2018’s close defeat!

If you would like to get involved in any of the OR tennis events, would like to suggest new ones or would just like to support and get updates from the society I would love to hear you. Please drop me a line on muirheadjamie@gmail.com. I look forward to seeing lots of you out on the courts again next year.

Jamie Muirhead (C’09) OR Tennis captain

‘Thanks very much to Rebecca Sparks for coming to support us at Wimbledon, and thanks for taking some wonderful photos. See more of her photography @eyeforcolour’ – JM. 23

New ORs

A fitting climax to Speech Day, the Leavers’ Ball provided a wonderful celebration as this year’s Upper Sixth graduated from Reptonians to Old Reptonians. Some 450 pupils, parents and staff enjoyed a memorable Chapel service, followed by drinks in The Garth and a threecourse meal in the marquee before hitting the dance floor, and it was particularly special to have no fewer than ten OR families in this cohort of leavers.

Joseph Truelove (L’14), Jacob Truelove-Cooke (N’14).

Alistair Needler (N’82) and Johnny Leavesley (N’82).

Our new ORs with their OR parents Will Needham (N’04), Jasmine Leavesley (A’14), Freddie Holt (N’14), Rika Canaway (G’14), Charles Lake (O’14).

24

Who? What? Where? When?

The young journalist making national headlines Eleanor Sharples (M’08)

Ellie is enjoying a soaring career at the age of just 24 - and this year scooped a national award as the best young talent. She has also scored as a sports reporter and is herself a keen sportswoman, running the London Marathon in 4hrs 24mins.

She attended Bramcote School in Scarborough until the age of 13 then came to Repton, before studying Politics with Media and Communication Studies at Loughborough University.

Before moving to London to obtain her journalism qualification, Ellie returned to Repton as a Sports Assistant and then as Marketing and Communications assistant. In 2017 she started a fast-track National Council for the Training of Journalist course at News Associates in London. After 20-weeks of intense training she secured a Gold Standard NCTJ diploma.

“From here it was job hunting time,” said Ellie. “I landed a job at press agency Triangle News in south London in March 2018 where I honed my writing skills and where I found, pitched and wrote stories for national papers. “I was fortunate to get a place on the competitive Daily Mail Graduate Scheme which started with two weeks of training in their London office. We learned the Mail style and what type of stories work the paper.”

She spent six weeks at press agency North News and Pictures in Newcastle before heading up to Glasgow to work at the Scottish Daily Mail for three months – gaining her first front page story. In May, Ellie was awarded the Denis Cassidy Award for best young talent at the National Associaation of Press Agencies awards for best feature, including spotlights on a family which adopted children with Down’s Syndrome and on a four-year old boy with dementia.

Ellie has returned to London as showbusiness desk and is now a TV and Radio Reporter. “I have been fortunate to go to numerous press events, including the screening of the final series of Poldark, meet Paddy McGuiness and Freddie Flintoff as the new hosts of Top Gear and bake for Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood in the Bake Off tent,” she said.

She has also worked for the offial rugby World Cup magazine in 2015, writing about the history of the tournament, and did two weeks’ work experience at Everton FC where she wrote for the match programmes and the club’s monthly magazine.

Motor mad fundraisers do an Italian job... in clapped out KAs Six friends from Tamworth have gone the extra mile for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity - 4,000 miles to be exact - after driving five scrapped Ford KAs across Europe and raising £6,000.

Harry Taroni (O’08), a metal recycler from Harlaston, and his four friends Harry Busby (S’08), Harry Garland (L’08), Tom Bacon (N’08), Will Fox-Davies (S’09) and Regan Ross, salvaged the bangers from Harry’s dad’s scrap yard, built the cars and drove them on a grand tour to Rome in a challenge they called ‘Bangers & Cash’.

They planned their route to Italy, via France, with a detour to Paris, and then through the Alps. They couldn’t let the opportunity to raise money pass them by and they decided to support Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.

After five days of careful driving, all five of the old cars made it to their final destination in Rome, and one banger even managed to make it home, though the epic, 4,000 mile-round trip was its last journey.

Harry said: “We know countless people who have had a personal experience with the hospital and we’ve heard nothing but praise for the amazing work that goes on there. We set out to raise £2,000, which would have been £1 for every mile of the journey to Rome, but we actually managed to raise three times that, which is just awesome. We had such a laugh on our adventure, and we hope it’ll inspire young people to realise that anyone can fundraise and help a good cause while having fun - it doesn’t need to be a task!”

Miranda Williams, public fundraising manager at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “It never fails to amaze us how many imaginative and different ways our supporters can find to raise funds for us. Harry and his friends raised an incredible amount on their ‘Bangers & Cash’ tour and it’s great that they had such a good time along the way. The money will make such a difference to our brave young patients and their families and help us ensure they have the best possible hospital experience.”

If you’d like to fundraise for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity or donate, visit www.bch.org.uk, email fundraising@bch.org.uk or call 0121 333 8506.

25

Repton Memories

Thank you to Anthony Chapman (P’49) for sending photographs of Priory House 1945 and 1947 and two caps; his House cap in 1953 and cricket cap. It was his brother’s before him, but never had his name in it; there were two other names, now faded, but it is believed it had two owners before him; this dates back to the 1930s.

There are also 15 colour slides taken some 65 years ago and is still in good condition.

We always appreciate receiving any memorabilia, which we will always pass on to our Archivist.

OR Sporting Trivia

HH Stewart (L’1861) was the first OR to play in a FA Cup Final, he played the second ever final in 1873 for Wanderers vs Oxford University. CB Fry (C’1885) was the second in the 1902 final. The third OR was Will Hughes (N’08) in the 2019 final for Watford. CB Fry resumed his first-class cricket career opening the batting with WG Grace. He scored 82! Had he scored a century he would have scored his seventh consecutive century, having finished with six on the trot the previous season. Six consecutive first-class centuries is still a world record which Fry shares with Don Bradman and Mike Procter.

HA Cursham (H’1875) holds a world first-class cricket record to sit alongside his record of the most individual goals in the history of the FA Cup. He had a twenty-four year span between his debut and his next and only other game for Nottinghamshire CCC. That is unmatched. He was selected for the England team in 1880, making his international debut in a 3-2 victory over Wales. His first International goal was in his second match, a 13-0 win against Ireland. He ended his career with a FA Cup record of 44 games and 49 goals over 12 seasons.

BW Spilsbury (H’1876) played football three times for England whilst at Cambridge. He scored five goals including four in 1886 in a 6-1 win in Ireland. He scored Derby County’s first ever recorded goal in 1884. He played eight FA Cup ties for Derby County scoring seven goals but didn’t play in a Final. He did at one time hold the Repton long-jump record.

James Ross (H’68) / Edward Wilkinson (C’46)

26

Announcements Births

Sarah Ng (née Fearns) (F’01) and Fu are delighted to announce the arrival of Cassandra (Cassie) on July 18th 2019. Niece for Emily Fearns (F’03) and Alasdair Fearns (P’05).

Engagements Dan Townley (S’00) to Bethany Anne Willey on the 24th of November 2018 on Godrevy Beech in Cornwall.

The wedding shall take place in April 2020.

Weddings Matt Gough (L’01) married Claire Fuzeland at Newton Ferrers Church, followed by the reception overlooking the picturesque River Yealm estuary on August 3rd. A fabulous day in the wonderful South Hams, enjoyed by all; including no fewer than 20 ORs and ex Staff.

Left to right – ORs: Chris Carlile (L’01), Tom Jenkins (L’01), Guy Beardsall (S’01), Martin Sread (O’01), Matt Gough (L’01), Claire Gough (Bride), Konrad Karlsen (S’01), Will Charlesworth (O’01), Will Boot (S’01), Andy Gough (H’70), Woody Bridgeman (N’01), Joe Wilson (L’01), Dr Richard Hillier (Former Staff), Elaine Hillier (Former Staff), Felicity Payne (Repton Dubai Staff), Phil Davies (C’72), Charlotte Gough (F’06), Jono Gough (H’74), Will Gough (L’98), Tom Higham (L’01) and Ed Myhil (C’01).

27

Announcements Weddings

Miranda Jarrett (A’04) married Andrew Campbell on December 15th 2018 at Sedbergh School.

ORs in attendance: Left to right: Kate McCallin (A’07), Aoife Broderick (A’07), Emily Dyson (A’07), Elizabeth Kay (A’07), Abigail Halidu (A’07), Sarah Huish (A’04) and Charlotte Craddock (A’05).

Below, on the far left: Sam Trett (L’02)

Georgie Rowley (F’04), daughter of Heather Burns-Mace (née Tingley) (A’74) married Mathew Stanton on September 15th 2018 at home in Staffordshire. Maid of Honour was Susie Perks (F’01).

28

Announcements Weddings

Victoria Wallis (F’01) to Matthew Jaconelli on August 18th 2018 at Carrhill House, Ockbrook ORs in attendance from left to right: Alex Haynes (P’04), Michelle Lever (née) Hutchinson (A’01), Ruth Sibley (A’04), Mary Tate (née Bell) (F’01), John Wallis (L’71), Martin Hurst (O’77), Hannah Poulton (née) Lancer (A’01), Lawrence Hurst (C’04), Francesca Burley (née) Evans (F’04), Georgia Morgan-Wynne (A’ 04), Henry Wallis (L’72), Isabel Wallis (F’04), Lloyd Berger (P’71), Georgina Hurst (F’06) and Tim Lambert (P’01).

Farewell Brook House

James Seckham Russell (B’44) on August 3rd 2018.

The Cross

John Dunham (C’46) on August 15th 2019.

The Hall

Michael Bruce Hives (M’39) on October 25th 2018.

Brian John O’Neill (M’49) on February 12th 2019.

Alex Findlater (M’51) on May 30th 2019.

New House

David Haliburton Hadley (H’49) on April 3 2019.

Wilfred Francis Evershed (H’52) on March 29th 2019.

Latham House

The Mitre

rd

Andrew Philip Turner (L’47) on April 21st 2019.

John Michael Anthony (Tony) Houghton (L’51) on August 8th 2019.

Edward (Ted) Greenhalgh (N’47) on May 17th 2019.

Michael Andrew Linton (N’56) on August 2nd 2019.

Andrew Howard Quick (N’59) on April 29th 2019.

Robert Harold Vernon Wright (N’61) on March 8th 2019.

The Priory

Stewart John Robert Pattinson (P’41) on April 19th 2019.

Richard Walton (P’57) on December 6th 2018.

Thomas Clarkson Hill (P’66) on October 4th 2017.

29

Farewell

Robert Charles Devereux (H’43) Robert Devereux came to Repton in the depths of the war in 1942, and succeeded in winning a place at Emmanuel College to read Engineering and Law. He served in the Royal Engineers, acheieving the rank of acting Major.

His career was almost entirely with Burroughs Wellcome in Production. He became Chief Engineer in 1958 and served on the Board of the company from 1972 to 1992 when the company was taken over by Glaxo.

He was married to Anna Mary in 1954 and leaves a son and two daughters.

Charles Devereux (H’69), son

John Dunham (C’46) Dr John Dunham, 87, passed away on August 15th 2019 at Camberley Manor Care Home. John was born on July 9th 1932 in Walsall to Edward and Marjorie Dunham. He won scholarships to both Repton where he was school prefect, head of house and head of school and then Cambridge University, where he gained first-class honours with distinction and won the Ricardo Prize in Applied Thermodynamics. After a short period with Rolls-Royce where he won the NE Rowe Medal from the Royal Aeronautical Society, he returned to Cambridge and was awarded a PhD doing experimental and theoretical research on axial compressor aerodynamics. John then enjoyed a long and successful career in the civil service, being appointed Department Head and also being awarded an Individual Merit Promotion to pursue individual research and continuing to publish more of his 26 published papers on axial compressor design and related computational methods. He served as chairman to AGARD (Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development) and became a Fellow of both the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

He was an excellent tennis player, representing Cambridge at both tennis and table tennis, as well as winning many titles at the Woking Lawn Tennis club where he later served as President for more than a decade. He was also a keen choral singer, performing many works with both the Camberley Choral Society and the Waverley Singers. John was a devoted family man and is survived by Charlotte to whom he was married for 57 years, as well as three children, Anne, Liz and Peter, and seven grandchildren.

Peter Dunham (son)

Andrew Philip Turner (L’47) Andrew Philip Turner was born on November 7th 1933 in Essington in the County of Stafford. He lived with his father, Thomas, and mother Dorothy until his sister, Ruth, came along in 1936. Sadly Andrew’s father died in 1944 when Andrew was only 11years old and this had a huge impact on the family, both emotionally and financially. He had to grow up very quickly and was very protective of his mum and Ruth.

His natural flair and ability for hockey helped Andrew gain a scholarship to attend Repton School in 1947. Here he excelled in sport and made lifelong friends whom he treasured dearly. His love of hockey continued throughout all his life. He captained Derbyshire between 1964 and 1968 and Derby hockey club between 1960 and 1963.

Andrew did his National Service from 1952 to 1954, commissioned into the South Staffordshire Regiment. He served in Germany and Egypt during the Suez crisis. On leaving the Army Andrew studied textiles and gained his qualification at Salford Tech College. He was very driven and a natural people’s person that led him to become Managing Director of a cotton spinners and manufacturing company called Holdsworth and Gibb Ltd of Swinton in Manchester.

In 1966 Andrew met the love of his life, Sally Gwendolen Otterway, on a Mediterranean cruise, and they were married two years later.

Andrew’s love of sales and his natural ability to collaborate and network say him gain a position at the pharmaceutical company Hoechst UK, where he quickly built up his knowledge and enthusiasm for textiles working on a brand called Trevira within the fibres division.

Andrew travelled frequently through his work.

Andrew, on moving to Cheshire maintained his love for hockey, joining the Alderley Edge Hockey Club, continuing playing up to veteran level. He became President of the Club from 1983-1984 to 1984-85.

Andrew and Sally had three children, Rosemary, Elizabeth and Lawrence. He was a very strong family man and he worked very hard to ensure that all three children had a good education that set them up for life and always supported them in the different career options and ventures they took. Andrew worked hard and always enjoyed family holidays in the UK and Europe. He also gained great pleasure from playing with, and regularly seeing, his grandson Luke.

Andrew remained with Hoechst UK until he retired in 1996; but instead of putting his feet up and reading the newspaper, he chose to work tirelessly for different community causes.

He became a Governor for Elmridge Primary School and was very active in supporting them as the school grew into a Trust. He was very passionate with his support for The Orchard School. He also loved to pop into the school and see how the children were doing and enjoyed attending events. Andrew had a hunger for politics and became very passionate in his support and for the Conservative party.

He was Chairman of the Association from 1999 to 2004, President until 2007 and Vice President until he passed away. He enjoyed

30

Farewell

Andrew Philip Turner (L’47) Continued working at ground level, leafleting and talking to people in the various constituencies to gain their support for local elections as well as attending National Conference meetings in London.

Andrew was very passionate about supporting his church and volunteered at countless events. He sat on committees, including the Pastoral, the PPC and Churches Together. He took great pride in running the annual beetle drive and playing Father Christmas. He worked within the wider church representing the Chester Diocese. He also worked on the committee for older people and was very passionate about supporting those with Alzheimer’s. He was involved with the local Scouts, the Inter-faith group, saving the HalBarnes Post Office. Altrincham hospital and advising on the HalBarns development project, the Message Trust; a Christian charity working to improve the lives of hard-to-reach young people in schools, prisons and communities. He supported the CPRE, The Royal Horticultural Society, RSPB, English Heritage and the National Trust.

All of this community work was recognised when he was awarded an MBE in May 2013.

Andrew was a true gentleman and a pillar of the community who always put people at ease. He was incredibly passionate about the causes he supported. He will be greatly missed as a loving husband, father, friend and colleague.

Mike Roff (O’46)

Alan Leslie Ambrose (H’48) February 18th 1935 – February 22nd 2019.

I attended Alan’s funeral on 19th March 2019 together with Christopher Barnett(H’49) and one or two other ORs. It was both a sad and happy occasion. Sad because Alan, despite the valiant efforts of his medical team and unstinting support of his wife Rosemary, lost his fight against prostate cancer. Happy, because we were reminded by the fine eulogy given by his son Alastair of the great guy that Alan was. Much of what is written here is taken from Alastair’s words.

Alan Leslie Ambrose was not a contemporary of mine having joined Repton seven years before me, but we met in the 60s through squash. Between us we ran the OR Squash Club for more than 30 years. We had many battles on the squash court in London and we were very well matched. They were very competitive games. Alan’s determination and dedication to fitness in mind and body made him difficult to beat. He was coached by the great Azam Khan and played high-level squash for club and county and in national competitions with marked success, winning the Bishop Stortford Open Championship in 1979 and the Harp Lager National Over-45 Championship in 1981. He was Bishop Stortford’s Over-55 Champion between 1990 and 1994 and was in the Essex County Over-55 Team in 1992/93. He represented the ORs in the Londonderry Cup competition for 25 years. He regarded his best win to be in my last year as Secretary in 1986/87 (reported in the October 1987 edition of the Terminal Letter) when we beat Downside in the quarters to get to the semi-final for the first time but then lost to Gresham’s with their three English internationals in their team of five. Alan played Peter Chalk, who was of similar age to Alan’s 51 years and at the time when Peter was Chairman of the Squash Rackets Association. Peter had been at the forefront of English national squash and a great proponent of the amateur game. Alan had never beaten him in the 30 years or so they played from both being members of the Grampians Squash Club in Shepherds Bush. To his great delight Alan got home in the fifth game. It was a memorable and what turned out to be an historical occasion for the ORSC. Peter Chalk was at Alan’s funeral, when we were able to reminisce of those heady days of the amateur game and the part that Alan had played.

Alan came to Repton from the Dragon School in Oxford and was introduced to cricket, thus igniting a passion for the game. He was a fine batsman gaining his Teamer in 1951. We heard from Anthony Beater (H’46) at John Walker’s (H’46) Memorial Service when JFMW and Alan were in the side of the most exciting match of their time which was against Rugby. Repton had toiled away in the field on a very hot day on a dusty pitch while Rugby scored 231 runs which we were required to get in two-and-a-half hours. JFMW thought we only had one-and-a-half hours and threw caution to the wind. Great contributions came from him and Peter Cope (H’48) and Tony Lewis (L’46) and skipper Max Cropper (H’47) with the younger Ambrose scoring the winning runs in the last over.

Alan went on to play for the Pilgrims and the Free Foresters, which gave him much pleasure.

After cricket and squash came golf, in which he immersed himself with all the zeal and energy you had come to expect, progressing quickly to become a skilful and consistent player. He made regular trips to Cornwall to play with John Walker, a close friend for 70 years, at the lovely St Enodoc Club where John was both Captain and Secretary twice. A highlight of Alan’s golf achievements was a treasured tie denoting a “double hole in one” which he was awarded at Gog Ma Gog. Alan was commissioned in the Oxford & Bucks, now the Royal Green Jackets, and saw active service in Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising. He recounted many scary moments to his family, concluding that everything would turn out all right in the end, provided you paid attention to small details, a philosophy he followed throughout his life.

In business, Alan was an entrepreneur progressing from Sales Manager to Managing Director, setting up a number of companies and enterprises. He experienced both good and bad luck, always maintaining a balanced approach to all that was thrown his way.

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Alan Leslie Ambrose (H’48) Continued from Page 31 Alan was not a natural academic but through self-education developed a deep love of poetry memorising poems he would recite. He had an avid interest in the English language, becoming a national finalist at Scrabble. He spent a lot of time with his daughter Felicity discussing philosophy and reading and dissecting the great poets of whom TS Elliot was his favourite. It was particularly appropriate that Felicity should read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 65, which she did so beautifully at her father’s funeral.

In later years Alan devoted himself to various charities and good causes, in particular to Guide Dogs for the Blind, with a commitment and dedication he had displayed in his sporting and working life.

Alastair’s eulogy made clear that Alan’s life was rich and varied. He was a man of principle and integrity, quick witted with a wry sense of humour. He never balked at standing up for what he believed was right, not least the abolition of corporal punishment, which he condemned in a piece published in the Terminal Letter not long after the custom had ceased to be prevalent at Repton. He was a patient man but didn’t suffer fools and could be stern, although his moral compass was spot on. He said what he thought and wasn’t afraid to ruffle feathers if he felt someone was being treated inappropriately or unfairly.

Behind every great man is a great woman, and Alan would not have been able to forge the career he had or follow the pursuits he loved without the support of his amazing wife Rosemary. They celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in September 2018 and their vows made 50 years earlier, ‘for better or for worse, in sickness and in health’, could not have been more apt.

Alan was a man liked by many and highly regarded by all who knew him. Sartorially refined, stylish and always well dressed, he was very much the dapper Gent.

He died shortly after his 84th birthday, which Alastair reminded us is a good age, not quite the century Alan would have liked but nevertheless he would have regarded it as a decent innings.

John Hings (P’55) Alastair Ambrose (Son)

Hugh Brogan (O’49) March 20th 1936 – July 26th 2019.

“William Boultbee Sleath had the same initials as William Bagshaw Stevens [his predecessor as Repton Headmaster]. The coincidence is not quite without significance. The world was growing pompous, and the upper and middle classes vied with each other to adopt or bestow pretentious names.”

Coming from the pen of Denis Hugh Vercingetorix Brogan (in his forthcoming history of Repton), such a statement seems ironic. In fact Hugh’s exotic middle name, rather than signifying affectation, marks the fact that he came from an exceptionally cultured and academic family, for not only was his father, Sir Denis Brogan, a renowned historian (and Chair of Political Science at Cambridge), but his mother, Lady Olwen Brogan (née Kendall) was an equally distinguished archaeologist. Hugh’s Vercingetorix was indeed a nod in the direction of her work on the Battle of Gergovia of 52 BC when the Gallic leader defeated a Roman force commanded by Julius Caesar: a suitable namesake for an extraordinary individual who refused to conform to expectations.

There is perhaps nothing too unusual about a twelve-year-old writing a fan letter to Tolkien after having read ‘The Hobbit’ but the ensuing correspondence between the young Hugh and the chronicler of Middle-earth provides an insight into the schoolboy’s intellectual precocity. Not content, for example, with expressing his own preference for goblins to orcs, Hugh criticized what he considered to be Tolkien’s archaic narrative style in parts of ‘The Two Towers’ (notably the chapter ‘The King of the Golden Hall’).

Hugh attended Repton between September 1949 and July 1954, and although he considered his House, The Orchard, to have something of “a prison air” his lively mind knew no bounds. His real loves were History, English and Art but he was also grateful to teachers of other subjects, notably Arthur (‘Bill’) Bolland for helping him to overcome his difficulties with Maths. To read what remains of Hugh’s schoolboy diary and contemporary issues of the Reptonian is to appreciate the evolution of a formidable intellect nourished by his study of the past, as well as by acting, playreading, painting, concert-going and writing (including poetry and an abandoned novel, ‘Hope Hammond’, in the style of his beloved Jane Austen). Hugh’s was always a fiercely independent mind, as manifested by his unenthusiastic response to the 1951 Tory general election victory - a sentiment at odds with that of most of his schoolfellows – and his determination to be confirmed although the Chaplain, ‘Percy’ Proctor, was dubious he was ready and despite the fact that it emerged he’d not yet been baptised.

Following National Service (with the Royal Artillery), Hugh went up to St John’s Cambridge on an Open Scholarship, from whence he graduated with a starred First. There followed a spell of journalism at The Economist and a Harkness Fellowship, which enabled him to study at the Brookings Institute and Yale, before he returned to his old college as a Fellow and the life of a full-time academic. First at Cambridge (1963-1974) and then at Essex (from 1974 until his retirement in 1998), thousands benefited directly from Hugh’s inspirational teaching, whilst very many more benefited from reading his books on subjects including Rudyard Kipling, John F. Kennedy and US presidential families. His Longman History of the United States (latterly the Penguin History of the United States) remains the best single-volume overview of that nation, whilst his biographies of Sir Arthur Ransome and Alexis de Tocqueville are widely recognized as definitive. No one worked an archive harder than Hugh to uncover what had previously been missed or undervalued. In 1988, for example, Coots in the North was published, after he discovered an unnamed and incomplete Swallows and Amazons novel, in the course of researching Ransome’s papers.

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Hugh Brogan (O’49) Continued Hugh’s lifelong affection for Repton was evident in his service as a Governor (1970-1984), in his periodically returning to give lectures and in his endowing an eponymous essay competition. However, his most enduring and valuable gift to Repton is undoubtedly his history of the School: A School in England: The History of Repton (to be published by Profile Books early next year).

It is impossible to say precisely when the idea for this labour of love took root in Hugh’s mind, although he first looked at the archives in the summer of 1994. Hugh was, in general, a believer that History ends thirty years’ ago, which meant that when he began his researches in earnest it was a moot point whether his history would include the advent of girls at Repton. In the event, the passage of time and other considerations happily persuaded him to devote an entire chapter to the history of girls (and women) at Repton. And if anyone should wonder whether the fact that Hugh was not a games player might render him unsympathetic to a key aspect of the ethos of the School they will only need to read his chapter on cricket to be disabused of that absurd notion.

My fondest memories of Hugh are of him in the Hunter Room, Undercroft or the Boot, animatedly sharing his latest find from the archives. There might be frustration with the editor of a register who failed to record certain information, or with a Reptonian editor writing yet another editorial on the difficulty of writing a Reptonian editorial, or with historically inconsiderate fathers who had bestowed the same sets of initials on their sons. However, this would always be the prelude to an elegant and erudite discourse shedding new light on the School and much else besides. Repton and the world of historical scholarship has suffered a great loss in Hugh’s passing but in his last book he has bequeathed us a peerless representation of our past.

John Plowright (Former member of Staff) Left to right: Christopher Arnold (O’50) as Don Ferolo Whiskerandos; Hugh Brogan (O’49) as Mr Puff; Peter Patmore (O’51) as The Confidante; and John Beard (O’51) as Tilburnia in Mike Charlesworth’s production of Sheridan’s ‘The Critic’.The anonymous reviewer in the March 1954 ‘Reptonian’ wrote that,”Brogan had the unenviable task of conveying the character of Puff without the lengthy introduction which Sheridan had written - for this had been cut. His gestures were superb. The fussy and unscrupulous advertiser of literary wares, with his fidgeting and restlessness, made a convincing portrait ...”

William (Alex) Alexander Findlater (M’52) Born: September 25th, 1937 Died: May 30th, 2019 Alex Findlater (M’52), died following a riding accident in Punjab, India, was one of the most determined, fun-loving, charitable men of his generation. A genial scion of a Protestant family of Dublin merchants who was known to his friends as ‘the Grocer’. Alex was one of the last survivors of the largely Protestant merchant elite who held sway in the business life of Dublin for years after independence had transferred political power to the Catholic majority.

As chronicled in his book, Findlaters - The Story of a Dublin Merchant Family (2001), his forebears were Scots excise men who founded the Dublin wine and grocery firm in 1823. Robbie Burns, Scotland’s national bard, was a family friend, while James Joyce cited Alex’s great-uncle Adam Findlater in both Ulysses and Finnegans Wake.

In Dublin the Findlaters prospered. By 1906 the company had expanded into groceries, tea and provisions, with 14 shops. They built Findlater’s Church on Parnell Square, as well as the Todd Burns department store on Mary Street. Their Mountjoy Brewery, established in 1852, was Dublin’s second-largest exporter of stout by 1866. They also operated hotels in Howth and Bray. There were 21 shops by the time Alex took over the business in 1955. His father’s premature death in 1962 placed the future of the firm on his young shoulders.

Born in Hatch Street, Dublin, Alex was educated at Castle Park School in Dalkey, Repton in Derbyshire and Trinity College Dublin. Always sporty, he adored cricket, angling, boating and dancing and, later, horse riding. However, his greatest passion was hockey. He was one of the players on Trinity’s star team during a golden age for the club and had several international trials. His mother, Dorothea, played hockey for Ireland in the 1930s. She starred in the film Older than Ireland in 2015, and was Ireland’s oldest woman when she died at the age of 108 in 2017.

In 1968 Alex was obliged to close all 21 branches and sell “Findlater’s Corner”, the company’s signature block by the Parnell monument on O’Connell Street, due to stiff competition from the new supermarkets. Newspapers were impressed by how Alex assured the firm’s 178 employees “that he had made provision for their future”.

From 1969 to 1974 Alex undertook a “peregrination” to Europe, learning German, Spanish and French at language schools in Germany and Switzerland, followed by a period at Insead, the International Business School, in Fontainebleau.

Alex’s forebears built the Olympia Theatre in Dublin and the Empire in Belfast. Perhaps this encouraged him in 1974 when he coorganised cabaret shows starring Marlene Dietrich and Sammy Davis Jnr in London. In 1986, he was instrumental in bringing the Bolshoi Ballet to Dublin; 16,000 people watched them perform over four nights at a purpose-built 4000-seat theatre in Simmonscourt.

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William (Alex) Alexander Findlater (M’52) Continued from Page 33 He established, with his brother-in-law, Frode Dahl, Findlater Wines Merchants Ltd, at 147-49 Upper Rathmines Road in 1974. Boosted by his personal charm, the business flourished despite the recessions of the 1970s and 1980s. All the wines and spirits for the State banquet for Ronald Reagan in 1984 were supplied by Findlater Wines. Their “Millennium Wines” were one of the most recognisable symbols of Dublin in 1988.

Always thinking ahead, Alex and Frode computerised the business in 1984. Three years later, with his first wife, Seong, Findlater opened the Wine Epergne restaurant in Upper Rathmines, which was managed later by head chef, Kevin Thornton. In 1991 “The Chairman”, as he was affectionately known leased the Victorian stone vaults beneath Harcourt Street station. This became the headquarters of Findlater Wines importing and wholesale business, for the next decade.

One of his greatest attributes was his sense of charity. In 1993, a speech he gave while accepting a Business Heritage Award from the Dublin Junior Chamber, inspired the annual Bloomsday Bike Rally. It has raised more than €1 million for the Irish Youth Foundation and is still going strong. Along with his Bloomsday partners, Bill Cullen, Fergal Quinn and Patrick Campbell, Alex performed on the album Messenger Bike by composer Pete St John, for the IYF charity.

In 2001 he sold the firm to Cantrell & Cochrane. He was retained for “ambassadorial” duties, but he was now free to write Findlaters, his well-reviewed family history. This was followed in 2016 by his book 1916 Surrenders: Captain De Courcy-Wheeler’s Eyewitness Account. He had recently begun work on an autobiography.

In 2010 Alex married interior architect and artist Trish Fitzpatrick. They settled in Cong, Co Mayo, where they created a beautiful garden together, and enjoyed fly fishing, travelling and horse-riding.

Gregarious, confident but self-effacing, impulsive, interested, contemporary, and completely at ease sporting a topper, Alex Findlater was one of the last of Dublin’s merchant gentlemen.

Trish Findlater (Wife)

David Daniel Sieff (H’52) Sir David Sieff who has died aged 80, was the last member of Marks & Spencer’s founding dynasty to hold a seat on the company’s board. He was also a prominent figure on the Turf, and the first chairman of the National Lottery Charities Board.

Gentlemanly and urbane, David Sieff was not a merchant in the mould of his father Marcus, Lord Sieff of Brimpton – the rumbustious driving force of British retailing as chairman of M & S from 1972 to 1984 – or his grandfather Israel Sieff and great-uncle Simon Marks.

Sons of East European immigrants, the latter duo developed M & S in the early and mid-20th century from a chain of Manchester-based “penny bazaars” into a national institution.

As an executive director from 1972 to 1997 his direct responsibilities were for personnel and corporate affairs. His broader role was as guardian of traditional M&S values, which included quality of merchandise and honesty of advertising as well as high levels of staff welfare and strong relationships with suppliers.

1991-1999 marked the onset of turbulence in terms of competition, fading profits and boardroom strife, amid pressure for sharper performance, he became concerned that the old M&S values were being forgotten. He told the Telegraph in 2013 that M&S “forgot about the customer [and] lost our way”; ever courteous, however, he found praise for the then chief executive Marc Bolland’s efforts to revive the firms’ fortunes.

When David arrived at Repton, according to his father’s memoirs, he found himself “the only Jew in the school” and told the Headmaster he must observe the Sabbath so could do no schoolwork on Saturday mornings. When informed he could attend synagogue in Derby or have rabbinical tuition instead, “David decided perhaps it would be better after all to attend school on Saturdays”.

After leaving school in 1957 David went straight into Marks & Spencer. Following family tradition, he spent two years in high-street branches before joining head office, then still under the command of Simon Marks. David became an alternate director and joined the board in 1972 and was Personnel Director from 1975. After retiring from executive duties he remained a non-executive director until 2001; he was also chairman from1998 to 2002 of the British Retail Consortium.

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David Daniel Sieff (H’52) Continued His passion ouside M&S was horse racing, where he enjoyed modest success. He became President of the Racehorse Owners Association in 1975. As a jockey club steward he was noted for his perfect manner, good cigars and clear, swift adjudication of racing incidents. He was best known for his tireless behind-the-scenes diplomacy in reorganising various benevolent funds for jockeys, stable lads and others under the umbrella of Racing Welfare Charities which he chaired form 1988 to 2000.

He was also a member of the Tote Board and the British Horseracing Board, and chairman of Newbury Racecourse. In 1994 David chaired the National Lottery Charities Board, in 1999 he was knighted for his effective leadership of the board.

He had a portfolio of charitable interest in Israel, including the governorship of the Weizmann Institute of Science, founded in memory of his Uncle, Daniel Sieff, who died as a teenager. In the early 1970s he was also involved in race-relations work in London: an opera lover, he was a serving trustee of Glyndebourne.

Extracted from the Daily Telegraph and Irish Times

Roger Arnold Cooke (O’53) His Honour Judge Roger Arnold Cook who died on December 1st 2018 was a member of Orchard House from 1953 to 1958. He went on to Magdalen College, Oxford graduating BA in 1961 and MA in 1966. In 1962 he was the Astbury Scholar in the Middle Temple, being called to the bar in 1962. He practised at the Chancery Bar from 1963 to 1989, and was head of Chambers at 11 New Square. In 1989 he was appointed a Circuit Judge and in 1994 became a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn. He was authorised to sit as a Judge of the High Court, Chancery Division 1993 (unusually for one who had neither taken silk nor been the Treasury Devil) and Queens’s Bench Division 1995. As a judge he was admired by court users, clerks, ushers and lawyers for his courtesy and easy manner. Notwithstanding his professional commitments he acted as a churchwarden for 22 years.

He was a member of the Bar Disciplinary Tribunal; the Inns of Court Advocacy Training Committee and the Advocacy Studies Board.

Roger was an admired teacher of barrister pupils who, in the words of a former pupil, “was a brilliant education tutor who not only taught but also entertained the students. There was never a dull session with him in charge”.

Roger had many interests. He frequently acted in Bar theatrical productions, most notable as the Common Man in A Man for All Seasons in Lincoln’s Inn, Old Hall. He enjoyed a remarkable knowledge of many aspects of history, geography, warfare, cathedrals and many other subjects, engaging at one time in an interesting published correspondence on the origin and number from time to time of the Leopards on the Royal arms. He was always ready to share his interests with like-minded friend, frequently over a meal as he greatly enjoyed cooking.

Roger married Hilary Robertson, a fellow barrister, in 1970 and was father to four children; as he said, “with small children around you become well practised in resolving disputed issues of fact”, and that no doubt stood him in good stead in his judicial career.

A Pugh-Thomas (L’52)

John Gleadell (C’57) John Gleadell TD DL, died on February 9th 2019. John was born in Lincolnshire on August 6th 1939 and attended Stancliffe Hall Prep School near Matlock in Derbyshire from 1948 until 1952. He then entered The Cross at Repton until 1957 where he was a House Prefect and a Corporal in the CCF until he was reduced in rank for having a ‘scruffy tent’ at his last annual camp! He then spent a year at the Royal Agriculture College at Cirencester before being called up for National Service, which started at Catterick in January 1960. He was selected for Officer Training in August that year and attended the Mons Officer Cadet School at Aldershot, being commissioned into the Royal Artillery in October 1960.

He then volunteered for a three-year short-service commission and was seconded to the Ghana Army and spent nine months as part of the United Nations Force in Zaire, which was previously known as the Belgium Congo. In January 1962 he reverted to holding a National Service Commission when British officers were removed from the Ghana Army. He was awarded the Ghana Army Congo Medal and the one issued by the United Nations for service in that country.

In March 1962, having completed National Service, he joined the 4th/6th Battalion of the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment Territorial Army in Gainsborough and served continuously in the TA until February 1983. When the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was disbanded he joined other East Anglian Regiments, eventually the Royal Anglian Regiment, and in April 1977 he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 7th Battalion of that Regiment. In October 1979 John was promoted to Colonel and appointed TA Colonel of the then 7 Field Force based at HQ Eastern District in Colchester. Subsequently, due to further Army reorganisations, he became Deputy Commander of 49 Infantry Brigade based at Chilwell, Nottingham. He was a Territorial AFC to her Majesty from 1981 until 1985, being a Deputy Honorary Colonel of the Royal Anglia Regiment TA until 1992, as well as having the same appointment of the Lincolnshire Army Cadet Force until November 1995. He was awarded the Territorial Decoration with Clasps for this thirty-years’ service. He also served in the Territorial Army Volunteer and Reserve Association in Lincolnshire and East Midlands where he was a Vice Chairman in 1996. Additionally he was awarded the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977.

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John Gleadell (C’57) Continued from Page 35 During all this time as a Territorial Soldier from 1963 he was involved with the family firm of grain merchants William Gleadell & Sons Limited of Gainsborough, where he became Chairman and Managing Director from 1980 until 1987 when the firm was the subject of a takeover, but he continued as a Director until 1990. In 1987 he formed Hemswell Investments to purchase, renovate and let as commercial properties the ex-Royal Air Force Station Hemswell where he was Chairman and Managing Director until 2006. He was also a Director of Caenby Corner Estates Technical Help Company and Morton Wharf Garage Limited.

John was also much involved with other organisations in Lincolnshire, from being a General Commissioner for Tax whilst they existed, a Governor of Queen Elizabeth’s High School in Gainsborough, a Deputy Lieutenant for the County from 1990 until he died and in the arts world a Director of the Eastern Arts Board in Cambridge and a Director of the East Midlands Arts Board in Loughborough.

John married firstly Penny in 1965 which was dissolved in 1992 and he married Kate in 1993 and she sadly died of cancer in 2015.

He is survived by the daughters Sally and Jane from his first marriage and four grandchildren.

Edward Wilkinson (C’46)

Howard Victor Seaton (L’60) May 9th 1947 – March 5th 2019 As a child, Howard lived in Alderley Edge, Cheshire where he attended Ryleys Prep School before joining Repton in 1960. He was in Latham House and was an accomplished swimmer and athlete, his specialty being sprint hurdles. Throughout his life, Howard reminisced very fondly about his years at Repton and it always remained close to his heart.

In 1989, he financed renovations to the common room at Latham House and installed a small library and a much loved pool table! A few years later, he financed improvements to Repton Art School.

On leaving Repton, Howard attended Manchester Business School, which fuelled a lifelong passion for business. He started his career in Advertising, setting up his own advertising agency, ADS (Advertising Design Services) Group Limited in 1974. ADS was one of the UK’s first direct marketing agencies and was sold to a high growth AIM listed marketing services group in 1987. Howard’s particular talent was innovation and spotting market opportunities. In 1989 he set up Applied Decision Systems Limited, which became one of the UK’s elite top-three call centre businesses, and it was sold to News International PLC in 1999. Howard was a non-executive Director of Joe Browns Limited, an online fashion retailer and he provided the seed capital for the company to launch in 2001. From 2006 – 2015, Howard was the Executive Chairman of Voice Marketing Limited, a call centre business in Sheffield, which he ran with his son-in-law, James Hinchliffe (L’89). Voice Marketing was sold to Capita PLC in 2015.

Howard met his wife Lesley when they were both students in Manchester and their two children, Juliette (A’91) and Andy (L’90) also attended Repton. Over the years, Howard and Lesley extensively explored North America via motor home and the Caribbean islands on their yacht ‘Vivacious’.

Howard was a philanthropist and over the course of his life generously supported many charities. He was a benefactor of the Altrincham Garrick Theatre, the Royal Exchange Theatre, the Bridgewater Hall and was a trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. In the late 80s / early 90s, Howard was the innovator of the wonderful Edwardian Extravaganza events at Dunham Massey Hall which raised substantial funds for the National Trust. In recognition of this, Howard was honoured with a lifetime National Trust membership.

On retirement to Cartmel Village in Cumbria, Howard and Lesley threw themselves into the village community life and in 2015, on the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, Howard organised a Medieval Tourney and a spectacular ‘Son-et-Lumiére’ display on the Cartmel Priory Church. The event was an incredible success and drew thousands to the village.

Above all Howard was a champion of people, and following his unexpected death, the family received several letters from people stating that Howard’s help and influence had changed the course of their lives. Howard lived life on his own terms and with incredible determination, stamina, energy and a little luck. For the most part he realised his dreams and his family were lucky enough to share them.

Howard is survived by his wife Lesley, his children, Juliette and Andy and their respective families, son-in-law James, daughter-in-law Nina and his grandchildren, Emily, Samuel, Lola and Stellan.

Lesley Seaton, Juliette Hinchliffe (née Seaton A’91), Andy Seaton (L’90)

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Paul Dean Hawkins (L’65) Paul aged 65, of Ripley, Derbyshire, passed away at home on October 25th 2017.

Paul was born on February 28th 1952 at Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, to June Patricia Hawkins and Morris Dean (‘Dean’) Hawkins, the first of their two children. He was educated at St. John’s Primary School, Brocksford Hall School and Repton. Paul had two children, Susan (A’98) and Ruth, of whom he was very proud.

He had many friends at Repton whom he kept in touch with throughout his life. He enjoyed returning to the school for Gaudies and went to several in recent times with his daughter, Susan. He kept the Blue Books from his school days and was also an avid reader of the The Arch.

Paul had many adventures and was full of stories about these. He always saw the funny side of every situation and helped many people see the brighter side of life, from young people to disabled. Paul was very practical, training as a Master Builder and using his skills to refurbish properties, which he then rented out.

He had a full life – visits to Eastern Europe, long-haul international travel in the last 10 years to visit his daughters in Australia and Brazil, classic cars, cycling, drinking coffee (at all hours!), a love of pubs and real ale. He is sorely missed.

Susan Hawkins (wife)

Graham Robert Skinner (O’71) Graham passed away on February 22nd 2019, almost a year after being diagnosed with renal cancer. He began immunotherapy treatment at Royal Marsden hospital, initially with very positive results. However, complications arose and this treatment had to be discontinued. He remained hopeful that further therapy would be possible but ultimately this proved not to be the case. He died peacefully in hospital surrounded by his wife Michelle and four boys, Henry, Charlie, Max and Felix.

For those of us at Repton between 1973 and 1976 Graham (or “Floyd” as he was known) was the very tall, skinny drummer in various school bands and percussionist in the orchestra. However, his academic prowess (Science and Maths) went largely unnoticed, as did his sporting talent, largely because he was self-effacing by nature, quite content to let others take centre stage. He was a good footballer and after university played hockey for Derwent Hockey Club for about fifteen years to a high standard.

His real interest though, once family arrived, were his boys and his business. All of these prospered under his quiet guidance. Whilst not being overtly academic, he nevertheless had an academic mind and liked nothing better than to discuss current affairs and politics (or Spurs, whom for some reason he had always supported).

A gentle giant, he will be missed by all who knew him.

Henry Wallis (L’72)

Guy Jones (L’78) It is with great sadness that we announce Guy’s untimely death from cancer on June 14th 2019. His family and many friends are thankful that he is no longer suffering, but will keenly miss his inspiring company.

Stevie Kugelmann (Coleman) (M’78) shares his memories of his friendship with Guy from when they met at Repton School.

“Back at school, you can imagine an assortment of boys brought from different schools around the region and placed into a bubbling cauldron, that being their first year of boarding school. As we all jockeyed for position in this testosterone-fuelled environment trying to outwit, think and banter with each other, there was one boy who was part of our group but always maintained his position on the periphery. That boy was Guy. I am pretty sure it was our mutual appreciation of a specific musician that sparked our first contact, James Marshall Hendrix. It was very easy to make friends with Guy, and within a short time he had made plenty of new ones.

It was not long before Guy was given the affectionate nickname of ‘The Doctor’. Why Doctor you may ask? Dr Jones does have a familiar ring to it, and indeed Aqua would later attempt to put a tune to it, but, back then in our community when we needed a measured opinion, some good advice or just a general chat, more often than not it would be Guy we could turn to.

Time moved on, friendships developed and expanded and soon our school days came to an end. I particularly have fond memories spending time with Guy during the summer of 1984. Both Guy and I were counting down the days, weeks, months to the start of our respective moves to university. In doing this we needed to keep active and minimise parental contact thereby avoiding awkward questions like: ‘Why don’t you get a job?’

A very pivotal part of this time was Guy’s pride and joy: a bright green Citroen 2CV. I feel at this point I need to clarify what I mean by pride and joy as, to my knowledge, the only care and maintenance the car had was to ensure there was enough petrol in it to get from A to B. Guy took great pride in redefining the established manufacturer’s performance statistics of this vehicle and enormous joy in watching his passenger’s anxiety as he took the vehicle through its varied tests. Picture this bright green car bouncing along the Newton road resembling a fledgling parakeet as its hinged driver and passenger windows flapped up and down. I can see Guy’s face now, looking over to me with that ’knowing grin’, my knuckles, white as my fingers, had gradually impregnated the upholstery on the passenger side. Smiling away, his reassuring words were: ‘Don’t worry mate, it’s virtually impossible to turn one of these cars over’.

In matters concerning hitting a ball with either a bat, racket or club, I don’t personally know anybody who had more natural talent than Guy. To give you a brief example of this: I located some baseball equipment and a group of us decided to venture down to a local playing field to attempt a game. In came Guy to bat, bearing in mind this was probably the first time he had held a baseball bat. The Continued on Page 38 37

Farewell

Guy Jones (L’78) Continued from Page 37 pitch he received was executed with such perfect balance and timing that it hardly seemed appropriate to blame him for losing the ball.

In truth playing sport with Guy was always a joy, even if I was never able to take a set off him at tennis. He was constantly generous in his appraisal and somehow I felt I ended up playing with him, never against him. Again time moved on, University passed and careers had to be established. Through a series of separate circumstances Guy and I moved back to the Burton area around the same time. By the mid to late 1990s we had also independently started our own businesses.

Anyone who has ventured into the world of self-employment will know that good advice and support from a friend is one of the best assets you can have. Guy was unreserved in the support he gave to me during my start up. My particular weakness was in all matters computer related. I remember getting into a frenzy over my inability to transfer images from a digital camera onto the computer. Bear in mind that this was pre-smart phones. I called Guy who was in Birmingham working at the time. He gave me some sound advice over the phone and asked me to call on him when he returned so he could show me what to do on his own computer. When he had finished Guy said, ‘actually I have a spare of the part you need, I don’t need it anymore so you can have it.’ He reached under his desk and presented me with the exact part for me to execute the image transfer successfully. It was brand new, unused in its original box. Was it something he did not need or did he purchase it for me on his way back home? With Guy you never knew because he was all about the giving and not the receiving.

Reflecting on Guy’s life I am reminded of a poster which hung on the wall in his house. It depicted a magnificent arctic wolf looking across an ice field clearly contemplating its next move. It’s difficult to know which direction that wolf would choose, and perhaps the gaps between the ice would prove too big for it to continue its journey. I’d like to think that the wolf did find its way through and is now resting contently.

Guy had the courage and charm to truly reach out to people and touch their lives with his rare generosity, intelligence, understanding and genuine compassion whilst managing his own distressing bipolar disorder. He had a great ability to see what needed to be done and was always looking out for and encouraging his friends to follow their hearts and dreams. Many people enjoyed Guy’s fun, humorous, enthusiastic social persona and some saw his more private reflective side and his creative need for solitude and contemplation.

Guy will be remembered for his sporting prowess, representing his school and Bradford University, and latterly on the golf course. He loved music and movies, was fascinated with architecture and design and demonstrated his creativity in cooking amongst other things.

His business ‘Advance’ was established in 1996, and throughout the next decade his expertise in the world of executive coaching inspired and motivated his clients, and was, to quote one ‘a tremendous aid to professional development for me, as an individual and in a team’.

Guy had a passion for words and his wealth of knowledge and retention of facts helped him win many a pub quiz and occupied hours spent in his company.

The numbers of people who visited Guy in his last weeks and attended his thanksgiving service were a true testament to the depth, longevity and diversity of the friendships Guy made. The impact he made in these relationships with friends and with family has enriched the life of each of us and remains a testament to the many really positive qualities that made up Guy Jones.

Gillian Hartley (mother) and Alison Thompson (née Jones, sister) (A’79)

Former Staff JOHN FISHLEY (1939-2019) Despite gaining a naval scholarship to Cambridge and after national service aboard a frigate John Fishley decided not to pursue a career at sea. He toyed with, but rejected, following his father into the Church. The navy’s and Church’s loss was education’s gain and in 1961, with a First in Mechanical Sciences, John joined the staff at Repton. A recent HMI report had been scathing on Repton’s science teaching but in 1966 at the age of 27 John became Head of Physics and effected a rapid transformation. He was a leading figure in the introduction of Nuffield Physics to all boys at O level and his high professional standards and weekly departmental meetings ensured that his subject’s success at A level was outstanding. Outside the classroom he made major contributions to the CCF, running the Commando Section and Climbing Club for many years, as well as commanding the CCF for three years. He was a popular, extrovert character and was for twelve years House Tutor at New House where he was regarded with a mixture of awe and affection.

After return from a sabbatical at Sydney Grammar School (with a beard and Aussie accent!) he married in 1975 and moved to Oundle as Head of Physics but in 1979 he returned to Repton as Second Master. A stickler for rules he was well suited to this role but he combined firmness with a warm heart and understanding, and in his role as the school’s academic time-tabler he went to great lengths to allow a wider range of choices and subject-combinations than hitherto.

He left Repton again in 1985 to take up the headship of Churcher’s College in Hampshire but his stay there was curtailed by ill health and he moved to Yorkshire to take up a post as Physics teacher at Reed’s School, Drax. From this point on his family, rather than his career, became the focus of his life. Like all the best teachers, he was happiest in the classroom, passing on his enthusiasm for the subject he loved. And his young family – he had five children – were growing up and they were a source of pride and fulfilment. They were his rock, as he theirs.

In retirement John travelled and spent time as a Volunteer Project Manager with GAP and enjoyed meeting young people from Canada and Australia and elsewhere who came to Wales and Shropshire on outward bound-style courses. Sadly, in 2012 he suffered a near-fatal accident while out cycling which impaired his memory and activities. Gregarious by nature, he had many friends locally in Cawood, and made a point of keeping up with friends from his past. He will be remembered by many at Repton with great affection.

John Billington (Former Staff) 38

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Letter from Headmaster It is my very great pleasure to be writing for The Arch for my first time as Headmaster of this outstanding school. The welcome that Alison, our daughters and I have received over recent months from all constituencies could not have been warmer or more generous – qualities which I already know to be the hallmarks of this special community - and as a family we are delighted to be here in this beautiful part of Derbyshire.

Repton is a world-class school – in its heritage, facilities, culture and, above all, its people - and the relationship with the OR community is central to my vision as we move forward confidently, progressively and with respect for our distinguished tradition. Arriving in April has already allowed me to establish a strong relationship with Nick Walford (B’69) and other members of the OR Committee and to begin the very pleasurable process of meeting alumni of all vintages - at the Gaudy in May, Cricketer Cup games, and in June joining a very special celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of Brook House. And it was a real joy to share a sun-drenched Speech Day and Leavers’ Ball with the Upper Sixth as they became the latest to graduate to the OR community. I have been struck by the energy, enthusiasm and commitment with which so many ORs choose to continue their relationship both with the School and with their peers, and I very much look forward to meeting more of you at Drinks in Birmingham, the German Reunion in Berlin, this year’s Annual Dinner in London and the 2020 Drinks in the City.

We face challenging times: the uncertainty of Brexit, an increasingly competitive marketplace in independent education, and especially the boarding sector, a question mark over affordability for our parents. It has never been more important to work closely with all stakeholders across the school community and to this end I have already surveyed current parents and staff to ensure that we are continuing to offer the very best education - and the right education - to our pupils. But we can do so from a position of strength and full of confidence in our school, and I am very ambitious for its future. Highlights of last year included a strong performance in the increasingly competitive world of A Levels and another superb set of GCSE results, a quite outstanding body of musicians in our Upper Sixth, no fewer than four national outdoor hockey titles (out of a possible six), and success for the U18 footballers who retained the U18 Hudl Independent School League title, as well as reaching the ESFA Final, with the U14s taking gold in the ESFA (Small Schools) Competition. To match and maintain this level of performance, the redevelopment of the Sports Centre, now nearing project-end, will provide even better facilities: a second sports hall large enough to accommodate indoor hockey as well as netball and other disciplines, a new strengthening and conditioning suite, squash courts, vastly improved changing areas, teaching rooms and a café. We are honoured that swimmer Adam Peaty, world-record holder and Commonwealth, European and World Champion, is returning to his former training pool to formally open the development in November.

The 2019/20 academic year has begun with a palpable sense of energy and purpose, with a new timetable and new initiatives in the curriculum, outreach activity and pastoral management, and more to come, and we will also look to develop a more commercial perspective within the School. Changes in the structure of Senior Management and the Executive Teams include the appointments of Emma Bateman as Chief Operating Officer, succeeding outgoing Bursar Carl Bilson, and Andrew Cook, our new Chief Development and Commercial Officer, whose exciting new portfolio will include working closely with the alumni community to broaden participation and engagement.

Repton International continues to grow and to our existing five schools in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore, we aim to add five more by 2022. Back home, one very significant project for this year will be working towards the creation of a ‘through school’ with Foremarke, with a legal merger scheduled for August 2020 - a move which will strengthen the identity and cohesion of our community and enhance the continuity and quality of education we can offer.

We continue our drive to encourage Old Reptonians to support current and recent pupils with careers advice and work experience opportunities and the OR Office is building an invaluable database of willing volunteers; thank you to those who have already supported this key initiative. Alongside this is the growing use of the online MyRepton portal, which provides all ORs with access to an international network of alumni and to opportunities both professional and social. May I encourage you all to sign up to MyReton and take advantage of all that is can offer: further information is on page 6.

Ambition, confidence untainted by complacency, belief in what we do balanced with a real desire to engage with stakeholders and to evolve – qualities which will continue to drive us forward. I am in no doubt that I am very lucky indeed to be at the helm of a great school and a great community and I am excited at the prospect of all that is to come. I very much look forward to working with you.

Mark J Semmence

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Chief Operating Officer Emma Bateman has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of Repton School and Foremarke Hall.

Emma has a First Class degree in History and English from the University of Birmingham, where she also gained an MPhil in History and Communications. She started her career as a university lecturer and research fellow before working in the city as a derivatives trader in London and New York. Throughout her corporate career, Emma has progressed into Executive Leadership and Board-level positions, through a variety of multidisciplinary roles including HR, e-Commerce, Retail operations, IT, Digital transformation, and commercial strategy development.

During her time at Screwfix, Emma developed the retail and online propositions. At Clarks Shoes, she was the Head of UK Retail and Franchise Operations before becoming Director of IT. At BiGDUG, Emma was the Managing Director. Most recently, she was the OmniChannel Director for the fashion retailer Seasalt Cornwall, accountable for all sales channels across UK and International Markets. Throughout her career, Emma has worked across UK and International markets, and has led increasingly large and complex multidisciplinary teams.

Emma is a key member of the Executive Team at Repton and will be responsible, on a day-to-day basis, for the effective management of both schools’ finances, operations and commercial delivery.

Headmaster Mark Semmence commented: “After an international search, I am delighted to be welcoming Emma Bateman to Repton..

Emma was the exceptional candidate amongst a very strong field. We feel that her broad and successful commercial experience, aligned with her time in education, mean that she is well positioned to play a key role in helping to shape the evolution of Repton as a leading global education brand and will support the Schools as they enter an ambitious new stage of development.”

Emma said: “I am absolutely delighted to have joined the executive leadership team at Repton at such a critical time, and look forward to working closely with Mark to write and deliver the next chapter. I am excited about the opportunity to bring my commercial and leadership experience to bear, so that we can build on Repton’s tremendous history and heritage, whilst also transforming the brand for the future, both in the UK and internationally.”

Chief Development & Commercial Officer Over the last 20 years Andrew’s career has focussed on strategic corporate development, business management, marketing P.R. & Communications. At the core of his experience is a successful track record of creating, managing and delivering projects across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors all of which have been aimed at growing revenues, audience and profile. He has led the commercial growth of a national media brand, established one the UK’s leading promotional marketing agencies and worked on behalf of corporates to develop their CSR / Philanthropic strategies through third sector partnerships. Most recently Andrew was Director of Fundraising and Communications at Walking with the Wounded, a charity that supports the most ‘at risk’ veterans in society, to rebuild their lives, integrate back into society and provide sustainable independence free from third sector and state support.

Outside of work, Andrew is currently half way through his two year Executive MBA at Cranfield University having been awarded a Cranfield Trust Scholarship and during the summer represented England hockey over 45s winning Gold in the Home Nations and Bronze in the European Cup. Andrew’s new role as Repton’s Chief Development and Commercial Officer will see him join the Executive Team to implement the development strategy and maximise the commercial opportunities available to both Repton and Foremarke Hall. He will work closely with our alumni to broaden participation and engagement, and facilitate close engagement with the business community, locally, nationally and across the international portfolio of schools.

Headmaster Mark Semmence commented: “After an extensive search, I am excited to have welcomed Andrew Cook to Repton in September. Andrew’s expertise across both the commercial and fundraising sectors make him well positioned in helping to shape the evolution of Repton as a leading global education brand as we enter an ambitious new stage of development.”

Andrew commented: “It is an enormous privilege to join the global Repton and Foremarke Hall community. With the independent schools sector becoming an ever increasingly competitive market, the schools’ heritage, passionate alumni and vision of the Governing Body and Executive Team make for a tremendously exciting future and one I am very much looking forward to playing a role in cultivating for generations to come”.

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After eight very enjoyable years in charge of School House, Tom Naylor will take up the position of Deputy Head Pastoral at Repton, from August 2019. He is delighted to extend his teaching career at Repton and is looking forward to this new challenge.

Tom and the rest of the Naylor family have many wonderful memories of their time in School House and they hope that the boys who were under their care from 2011 to 2019 will stay in touch (thn@repton.org.uk).

Achievements/Activities - a review of the year • Congratulations to the following five Reptonians who received an offer to study at Oxford and Cambridge: Serena Cole (F’14) (Medicine, Trinity Cambridge); Lucas Pringle (P’14) (English, Gonville and Caius Cambridge); Sam Riley (P’13) (English, Trinity Hall Cambridge); Emily Smith (F’14) (Medicine, St John’s Cambridge), and Marcus Tarrant (S’14) (Economics and Management, Pembroke Oxford).

• An Arkwright Scholarship for Design and Engineering has been awarded to Callum Inman (O).

• Simran Iswaran (M) has been placed in the top eight of 100 entries to Newnham College, Cambridge’s Physical Sciences Prize. Lucas Pringle (P’14) came first in the Ayn Rand Fountainhead essay contest, and was highly commended in the John Locke Institute’s Economics Prize.

• Billy Collins, Matthew Archer, Will Wilkinson (all P) and Jacob Savage (L) reached the final of the Institute of Economic Affairs’ Budget Challenge.

• Georgia Armour (G’14) and Callum Inman (O) took part in the Holocaust Education Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project, visiting Auschwitz and presenting their experiences to B Block.

• The following pupils gained their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards: Imogen Nieper (F’14), Millicent Bridge (M’14), Matthew Rhodes (L’14), Amelia Davies (G’14), Lucy Knight (M’12), Madeleine Lea (M’13), Rebecca Nelson (M’13), Harriet Smith (F’16), Daniel Williams (O’15).

• There have been many school trips. The Lower Sixth Politics pupils visited Parliament in November and followed this with a visit to the UK Supreme Court. Sixth Form History and Politics pupils enjoyed a trip in October to New York, Washington and Philadelphia.

• The A Block Geographers enjoyed an action-packed five days exploring the south coast and Western fjords of Iceland. Twelve Sixth Form Physics pupils visited CERN in Geneva to learn about one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Lower Sixth German pupils went to Berlin for four days. As well as using this as an opportunity to practise speaking German, the study visit also enabled the pupils to gain a better understanding of what life was like in the former East Germany.

• Last Summer, Katherine Carr (F’17) took part in a prestigious Nuffield Research Placement at Kings College, London in the area of Fungal Pathogenesis and Immunology. This Easter her project and poster was awarded a Gold CREST award for this research project - the highest level awarded by the British Science Association.

• Callum Inman (O), Simran Iswaran (M) and Maximilian Piaszinski (S) were shortlisted in the Schools Aerospace Challenge. Their team, “Repton Revolution”, proposed a system of detection, interdiction and destruction of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).

• Zara Wedgwood (A) has been selected as one of only 25 finalists nationally for the Triumph Design Awards.

• In a new initiative the School hosted a Mathematics Masterclass with The Pingle Academy in which 15 Upper Sixth Reptonians teamed up with 15 Pingle Academy pupils and spent the morning working collaboratively on A Level material.

• Pupils are proactively exploring the wide range of career options that are open to them, attending conferences to meet with employers, supporting the Careers Fair in April, enjoying visits to companies such as Burberry in Leeds and hearing from a record number of ORs who have returned to talk at various events this year.

• Music Results at Trinity and ABRSM have been outstanding; during the Michaelmas and Lent Terms. 13 Grade 8s were achieved and a total of 12 Distinctions. During the year, Matthew Rhodes (L’14) achieved his full DipABRSM (Piano) and Rika Canaway (G’14) achieved her ARSM diploma (voice) with Distinction.

• The School’s hockey teams ended their season with four National Titles and four National silver medals from a possible ten. This haul means that Repton has further strengthened its position as the most successful school in the history of the National Schools’ Competitions winning 40 National Titles since Competitions began in 1980. Thirty-nine of the National titles have been won since 2005. The Girls’ U18, U16 & U14 treble had never previously been achieved. For the fourth successive season, almost one hundred of our pupils took part in the National Finals at Lee Valley’s Olympic Park.

• Many Reptonians have been involved with international squads this year. Lily Walker (F) has been training with the Great Britain Elite Development Squad and recently played against the Welsh Senior Squad. Stuart Kentwell (N’15) after scoring for England U18 against Holland at Easter, has been called up to the Men’s GB EDP Squad. Xavier Teyletche (N) is a recent addition to the England U18 squad. Claudia Swain (M) and Scout Butler (F) have represented England U16 this season.

Claudia scored against Ireland and captained the squad against the Netherlands. Billy Collins (P) captained Wales U18 against Scotland at Easter with George Fynn (S) also part of the squad.

• In athletics, Ella Rush (M) finished the 2019 Indoor Athletics season ranked as World No.1 U16 Pentathlete, having also set a new age 14 UK record in the indoor pentathlon with 3756 points. Having been selected to represent England Schools for the first time in 2018, she won a gold medal as part of the England Team in the Home Nations International in Glasgow.

Callum Inman (O) and Kelsey Pearce (A) competed in the English Schools Athletics Championships in 2018, both placing in the top ten.

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Precinct Teaching Block renamed Lynam Thomas School The Precinct Teaching Block has been renamed Lynam Thomas School in honour of previous Repton School Headmaster Theodore Lynam Thomas.

Theodore Lynam Thomas assumed the responsibilities of Repton School Headmaster in April 1944 having already been a teacher for 21 years and a Housemaster for ten. He successfully tackled the problems of wartime and reconstruction with enormous energy, was a shrewd judge of character and made excellent appointments to his staff.

During his tenure, the pupil roll increased by around 150 within a few years of his arrival.

This allowed for the reopening of Latham House and The Cross, while the preparatory school migrated over to Foremarke Hall.

Lynam Thomas promoted the School’s name notably through the 400th anniversary celebrations with the visit of the Queen and Prince Philip. Through the 400th anniversary appeal fund, work began on the 400 Hall, the Chemistry block and the workshops in the Precinct, which were formally opened in 1959.

It is this very building that has been renamed in his honour.

Biography taken from Repton to the End

Army Section Summer Camp 2019 Team Player, follower or Leader? This was a question posed on many occasions during the Army Summer camp at Beckingham Defence Training Camp, Summer 2019.

After arriving at Beckingham camp on a hot Saturday afternoon, the cadets where met by Repton staff who had formed the advance party, accommodation and bedding was allocated and a briefing followed on Sunday’s activities.

DAY ONE Field Craft and basic military skills were the feature of day one: Weapon Revision on the SA80 Rifle, Navigation using pacings and bearings, Communication using the handheld personal radio. Harbour Drills and reaction to effective enemy fire (REEF). The cadets showed their professionalism on each stand.

DAY TWO Ranges was the Order of the day, Repton Cadets all stood out from the other contingents with what was remarked on by Cadet Training Staff as professional weapon handling. The cadets conducted the basic and advanced application of fire using the SA80. In addition, Senior Cadets conducted training and testing on the 7.62mm Cadet Target Rifle. Background activity to the main range package comprised Air Rifle shoot and Clay Target shooting. The results from the individual shoot were fantastic.

DAY THREE Personal Development. A day in civilian clothing was a welcome break, especially in the heat and away from freshly mown fields (not great if you suffer with hay fever). A trip to Rutland Water would see cadets and staff take part in cycling, paddle boarding, sailing, raft building and command tasks. The contingent did add in their own outdoor gym activities with competitions set on monkey bars, parallel bar which resulted in an impromptu Cross Fit competition. A great day had by all.

DAY FOUR 0600hrs, back in the green stuff! Reassuringly our cadets as a section were now leading from the front.

The day comprised field craft tactics with the use of paintball equipment, something that Repton has been conducting for some years.

DAY FIVE Competition morning/Final Exercise. The cadets took part in the Drill and Turnout Competition, scoring extremely highly taking into consideration they numbered thirteen cadets whereas other contingents had in excess of fifty cadets to select their Drill team. Our Cadets had worked hard most evenings and those that found foot drill quite challenging no longer hid in the ranks but marched tall and proud. The air rifle shoot also scored well, along with our overall shoot from earlier in the week.

JC Wadsworth Major Contingent Commander

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David Wilkinson Memorial Lecture Rob Hewitt (N’04) returned to Repton to talk to pupils about his progression from our U6 in 2007 to Principal Landscape Architect for Aecom in Edinburgh.

I taught Rob Fine Art whilst he was here at Repton; at the time he was explicit and single minded about his niche ambition to follow his passion and become a Landscape architect.

It is no surprise to me that he has achieved this goal and I was delighted to welcome him back to talk about his education and career path and about his love of art and drawing. He considered how essential and versatile creative skills can be in the workplace and, as an inveterate doodler and perpetual sketcher (by hand), how embracing creativity, visual reasoning and visualised boardroom discussion, can bestow a real practical and intellectual advantage in today’s work environment, well beyond careers in the arts.

One of the slides shown at the lecture featuring Park Rangers.

Ian Whitfield (Head of Art Department)

Wicketz Festival In what was surely one of the most exciting cricketing summers in living memory, the School was delighted to welcome young players from across the country as for the second year running it hosted the national Wicketz Resident Festival. This excellent initiative seeks to create opportunities for young people to experience the game, irrespective of background and ability, with free coaching sessions held in 19 locations across the UK, from Glasgow to Plymouth and South Wales to Hull. The scheme also embraces a broader mission to help young people enhance their life prospects by raising aspirations and developing key social and personal skills such as confidence, respect, teamwork and leadership. The focus is particularly on areas of high deprivation where there are few chances to play regularly, and over the last year over 1700 young people, both boys and girls, have been able to attend these sessions.

Some 150 boys and 50 managers and coaches came together at Repton at the end of July for three days of competitive cricket, coaching masterclasses and life-changing workshops. The Royal Navy put the boys through their paces with assault courses and team-building exercises, and high-energy coaching sessions were provided by former England Cricket head coach Peter Moores and former Lancashire batsman Karl Brown. Finals day culminated in presentations in the stunning setting of the Square and the Cricket Pavilion by David Collier, the Lord’s Taverners National Chairman, before a barbecue to set the seal on what had been a great social experience for the young people, as well as a celebration of sport.

And three weeks later Repton hosted an inaugural Wicketz event for female cricketers, the last year having seen a five-fold increase in the number of girls attending Lords Taverners sessions. 55 girls enjoyed another equally successful three-day residential festival of specialist life-skills workshops, a talk from Melinder Farrell, leading sporting broadcaster and sports journalist and, of course, plenty of cricket. The School welcomes the opportunity to share its sporting heritage and its facilities with young players and to help broaden both access and horizons. Repton already enjoys a strong connection with the Lady Taverners in the form of Marilyn Fry, a past national Chairwoman and wife of Jonathan, previously Chairman of the Governors, and further generous sponsorship for this event was provided by a distinguished OR. Edward Wilkinson (C’46) Lord’s Taverners & Sarah Tennant (Deputy Head, Outreach)

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Dreamlands, Ghana

A term of education for a day pupil at Repton on average costs around £9,000. At Dreamlands School in Ghana, a term’s education costs £6, which some parents still struggle to afford for their children. This was just one of the stark realities of life in Africa that made all of us realise how privileged we were and that it was time to help those who were less fortunate than ourselves.

Over the last few years Repton has sent a team of willing volunteers over to Ghana to support various chosen communities and two different schools, providing free classes and school supplies, backed by funding efforts run through the school year. The trip is not only beneficial and exciting for the people that we visit, but it is also a real eye opener and experience for those of us who were lucky enough to travel out this summer. After arriving in Accra, originally home to the Ashanti Kings, and later capital of the British Gold Coast before Ghana’s independence in 1957, we travelled seven hours along bumpy roads to Techiman and Dreamlands School.

None of us will forget the excitement of the children and the welcome we received when we first arrived, as they all waved profusely and rushed to the bus as soon as we had arrived. The next few days was a wonderful experience of learning to teach in classrooms with very few amenities and getting to know such cheerful and friendly children.

One of our favourite team memories was the display of cultural sharing that was performed to us and in which we also got involved, giving in a dance performance of the Locomotion! It was a bittersweet feeling leaving the children behind, knowing that we had given them hours of fun in our lessons each day but also wondering what would become of them and their path to adulthood.

At the weekend, we attended a service at Paster James’ Church, the founder of Dreamlands School. As well as organising a few fun activities for their Saturday school, including face painting, origami and making loom band bracelets, we sang the Lord of the Dance to the very passionate congregation. Thereafter we progressed on to Kumasi where we reached the school of Cecelia Blessing. We relished in a day of playground painting - we mapped out and painted a large alphabet snake, hop scotch, times tables and various other animals to add colour to the school, and to our delight, the children seemed to really appreciate our artistic efforts.

Despite their hardship and difficult personal histories, it was amazing to see in both schools how happy and carefree these children were with the simple way of life that they lead, very different from our day-to-day existence. No iPhones, laptops or play stations, they were simply content to run around the schoolyard outdoors and entertain themselves.

Throughout our visit we donated stationery box supplies to various schools, footballs to different communities, medical equipment to a local hospital in Techiman and tennis equipment, netball kit and five trumpets to a senior high school.

Towards the end of our fantastic trip we were able to explore and experience the Ghanaian culture and history with visits to the Palace of Manhyia, the Last Bath at Assin Mansu, Cape Coast and Elmina slave castles and Kakum National Park, which were all truly fascinating.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time there and want to thank Mrs Nield, Mr Lewis and Miss Hearnshaw for the opportunity to have this wonderful experience and hope that Repton continues to support such a worthwhile charity.

Our thoughts are often with the children that we were so lucky to meet, and the £6 a term, which may seem little to us, but can buy a child in Ghana an education. Please give generously this year at the next fundraising.

Eleanor Bond (F)

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Valete WMAL Alastair Land, Repton’s 35th Headmaster, came to us with significant experience and pedigree: a boy at Manchester Grammar School, he went up to Trinity College, Cambridge to read Natural Sciences and from there onto Eton as a Biology Master, Winchester as Master in College and Harrow as Deputy Head Master. He returns to Harrow, having served three years as Headmaster.

In those three years, we were able to undertake much in our re-imagining of our values – Wholeness, Truth, Excellence and Respect. For Alastair, every decision was grounded in his own values and faith. A man of deeply held convictions, his own values informed every decision he made, both about individuals and the institution; in fact, his first job on arrival at Repton was to articulate the Values and Aims of the School, which were then published right across the school community and provided the framework for our educational and personal ambitions for our charges.

Without question, the Chapel was a central tenet of his time here. He not only enjoyed preaching, but also the opportunity to worship and was very proud to have been Headmaster during the republication of the Repton School Hymnbook and the installation of the Bishop of Derby as Visitor to the School.

A passionate believer in the value of the CCF, he made the time to be an active member of the Repton contingent and was instrumental in the creation of a Royal Navy Section – not an obvious move in land-locked Derbyshire! He took great pride in the achievements of those who gave of their time and it was natural to him to celebrate the commitment and sacrifices of the fallen with the presence of our current contingent in The Garth on Remembrance Sunday.

He was also fully conscious of the importance of Repton International Schools to our future and he was an enthusiastic ambassador, whether hosting visits at The Hall or travelling to the international schools himself.

But his main achievement was perhaps to take us back to a proper consciousness of our foundation and of Sir John Port’s legacy. This is evident in initiatives such as Founder’s Day, but, more significantly, he initiated the social engagement agenda and it is through his enthusiasm that we are beginning to see genuine relationships with maintained-sector schools. This stems, of course, from his personal values, principles and faith, which are deeply-held. Similarly, he sought to orientate our every activity in the School’s Values, Aims and Heritage, and such principle should be at the heart of what we can do as a sector, working with local partners.

The Repton years saw the Land/Copin family grow from three to five, with the arrivals of Martin (in The Hall kitchen, in fact) and Sophie and the move back to The Hill will reunite them in one postcode. The support of his family will serve only to further energise his leadership of such a distinguished school and one which will continue to flourish under his gentle but determined leadership. We wish him every blessing.

Father Neil Roberts and Sarah Tennant

CPB Ex-Army. Bursar. Yorkshireman.

There is a well-worn path from the British Armed Forces to the Bursary and one that has served the School admirably well over the decades. And so it was that, in 2002, Carl Bilson, with Sue, Dale and Lee, arrived at The Croft.

His modesty is borne partly of personality and partly geographical heritage, but Carl’s record speaks for itself: a formative year at Sandhurst before reading Mathematics at Cambridge, and then a career in the Royal Engineers which took him to the rank of Major and around the world, including tours in Northern Ireland and Germany. On leaving the Army, he cut his bursarial teeth at Worksop College for eight years and, to this, he added an MBA. Such, then, was the intellect and breadth of knowledge and experience on which Repton has been lucky enough to draw over the last 17 years – a period which has seen substantial growth for the School and a progressive and ambitious programme of development. There are very few areas of the site which have not been significantly improved under his lead. From the refurbishment of the Old Priory, the Old Mitre West Wing, Furneaux and Cattley Schools, to the creation of purpose-built facilities such as the new Sports Centre and the Precinct Teaching Block, the School’s facilities have been improved, extended and, in many instances, entirely transformed. It is a remarkable testament to his energy that some 65% of the classroom areas have been renewed in the last decade.

And he has been equally assiduous elsewhere: it was Carl who initiated a rolling programme of ‘mini-refurbishments’ that has seen every House benefitting on a five-year basis, and Carl who addressed the lack of investment in staff housing with another ongoing programme of improvements to bathrooms, kitchens and glazing.

But two flagship projects stand out. The award-winning refurbishment and extension of the 400 Hall created an auditorium that is the envy of the many professional theatres, let alone schools, and the Glass Foyer combines functionality with aesthetics in a way that is both practical and imaginative. And the cruise liner that is the Science Priory – the most significant project undertaken at Repton in half a century – provides extensive and inspirational teaching spaces (and possibly the best view in South Derbyshire from the Kan Library) and Continued on Page 46 45

Valete has already shifted the School’s centre of gravity. Both projects bear the classic Bilson hallmarks: a bold architectural vision, but one that does not compromise functionality and realised with a determination to ‘sweat the detail’, to ensure that every penny is spent wisely and to good purpose. Looking at the outstanding quality of the Science Priory, the remarkable thing is not that it cost £9.5 million, but that it only cost £9.5 million, and credit for that lies squarely with Carl and the Estates team.

Of course, Carl’s determination to hold on to the purse-strings with the tenacity of a peckish Yorkshire terrier nursing a particularly juicy bone is well known – and, while it may not always win him friends, surely quite right too. But perhaps less well known – not least because he does not court popularity – is his absolute commitment to the School’s educational purpose. His every decision is driven by a profound belief that we are all here to serve the pupils and our founding aims, an appreciation that our parents dig deep to pay the fees, and an enduring dedication to the institution that is more than the sum of its individual parts. He genuinely cares about every aspect of the School – as any pupil foolish enough to walk past Carl with a shirt hanging out can attest – and he has fought the corner of the support staff – ‘his’ team – with vigour, reminding us that every member of the Repton staff contributes to the quality of the pupil experience.

The vicissitudes of recent years have presented the School with significant challenges and Carl’s strength of character and purpose has our bedrock throughout this time; in this we have reaped the benefit of his Army years, as well extensive bursarial experience. It has been my privilege to work more closely with him than most members of Common Room and I can speak from personal experience and from the heart of his honesty, wisdom and unerring support. He will be sorely missed at Senior Management and Governor level.

But a new life awaits Carl and Sue in their native county. Ampleforth College is indeed very fortunate to have secured a Clerk to the Governors of Carl’s calibre and there will doubtless be other opportunities for him to make use of his professional experience; but I hope that at least as much time will be spent out on the rolling hills with Truffle, thinking Stoical thoughts and breathing the elixir that is Yorkshire air. We wish him, and the rest of the family, health and happiness.

Ex-Army – and how we have benefited from that. Outstanding Bursar, who leaves an impressive physical legacy. Proud Yorkshireman.

Loyal servant of the School. Friend.

Sarah Tennant

KIRM Kim McCallum arrived in Repton from Brentwood, Essex in September 2000 and set about communicating his passion for Spain and Spanish culture to Reptonians of all ages. He has taught Spanish at all levels and has also guided many pupils through their GCSE French. One might well argue, however, that exhorting pupils to travel and broaden their horizons is perhaps his greatest bequest. He has accompanied a number of trips to various parts of Spain and France, offering pupils a glimpse of a different way of life. Teenagers can be resistant to unfamiliar food, but Kim’s attempts to introduce them to tapas in all its forms will undoubtedly bear fruit at some stage. Old Reptonians ask after him consistently and he has been a popular figure at Old Reptonian events.

Family is admirably central in Kim’s life. His wife, Carmen, has helped many Repton pupils to take their Spanish to a higher level of fluency. In addition, many members of staff have been beneficiaries of her fabulous cooking and warm hospitality. Both Kim and Carmen feel tremendous pride in the achievements of their multi-lingual children, Francesca (ex-Abbey), Lucas (ex-Orchard) and Nicky. Valuing a sense of community and the importance of gathering people together for food and conversation are fundamental to Kim and Carmen’s philosophy: they have developed a circle of Midlands-based Spanish friends and holidays are regularly spent in Spain catching up with family. All are made welcome in the family’s beautiful flat in Jerez and Kim will proudly lead tours of that wonderful city. Kim has, over the years, studied ferry timetables carefully in order to maximise the opportunities afforded by Repton’s Easter and Summer breaks!

Moreover, Kim was an integral member of the Repton CCF throughout his time here, turning out each Wednesday in his increasingly faded, army camouflage uniform and completing a significant number of summer camps. Old Lathamites uniformly ask fondly after Kim – a testament to his sympathetic and interested tutoring over many years. Kim must surely have accompanied more ‘SLOPS’ trips than any other member of staff and it was no surprise to see him take charge of the rather archaic-sounding ‘Sunday Leisure Options’, which he oversaw for the last few years. He expanded the range and quality of activities, achieving the tricky task of balancing entertaining distraction with end-of-week relaxation. Many is the time that I witnessed Kim caked in mud, as junior rugby players splashed around trying to put together flowing passing moves. Rugby seems a world apart from sun-kissed Andalucia, but he loves it. Similar enthusiasm was also noted in some frankly disturbing performances in Pedants!

Kim has now departed, after almost twenty years, leaving the near corner of the Undercroft further depleted, to seek out new adventures in Bucharest. We thank him for everything he did here and wish him and Carmen every happiness in their new venture.

Russell Embery

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Pigeon Post

Dear Editor, I note the short report of the death of Harry Grenville of whom I have warm, if distant, memories.

“Grovel” Grenville, as he was known to us, taught me A-level Biology from 1964 to 1965. I do not think that any of this small class had taken O-level Biology. His reputation amongst the O-level boys was of his being somewhat fierce! His handling of the A-level class was quite different and taught me a lesson which has stood me in good stead ever since.

It was his view that, as we would soon be going to university, we should learn that in that setting the responsibility for acquiring knowledge and passing exams was (in those far off days) ours. He was thus not going to set us a great many tests. We should get us used to behaving more like adults and as a result becoming a university student would not be too much of a shock. The style was tutorial rather than classroom.

Self-motivation was the key.

This has stood the test of time well for me. I am now retired, but was a Consultant Vascular Surgeon in Norwich.

I have a further memory, far from serious. It was the last week of term.

“Grovel” had decided that we would still have a scholarship group meeting. These took place at his house. We grumbled amongst ourselves and trudged along for a discussion on genetic mutation. It turned out that we were to watch a television programme on monsters in the cinema! We had great fun and I think a little wine.

Dear Editor, It was a surprise and delight,to read the article by Jonathan Hall in the Spring edition of The Arch, about David Matthews and The Repton School Jazz Orchestra in the 1970s.

I remember taking the R.S.J.O. to many prep schools including the one where Jonathan Hall was Headmaster (I think it was Arnold Lodge). In addition to the many prep schools we visited, we also performed concerts at Oundle and Uppingham schools, Birmingham and Nottingham Universities and a television show for ITV. The musical directors, William Agnew and Michael Salter during that period, where obviously a little more enlightened than Mervyn Williams.

During the late 1960s and early ‘70s I became great friends with David Mathews (during the time he was having success in the greater musical world). We gave several joint concerts to the school in the 400 Hall.

On June 30th this year on the Sunday lunch time, in the speech day marquee, there was a nostalgic reunion, I conducted a concert band and David Matthews was the Guest Artist.

David Haines - Music Staff 1965 - 74.

Yours sincerely, J M F Clarke (B’60) Dear Editor, I was at Foremarke from 1965 – 1970, then at Repton from 1970 – 1975. On page 18 in the previous issue there is a Farewell to Tom Davies who was my Headmaster during my Foremarke years.

Richard Harding taught me Geography at Foremarke.

I can provide just a few names for the photo.

Left – Tom Davies (of course) Back row from left, (not including Tom Davies): 4th – Chris Parker (taught me Maths at Repton) 5th – John Billington (taught English at Repton) 7th – Mr Downing (taught me French at Repton) 8th – John Fisher (taught me Physics at Repton) Front row from left, (not including Tom Davies): 1st – Richard Harding (I think) 4th – Mr Morris (taught me History at Repton) Tom Davies taught me Scripture at Foremarke – a really decent guy – we were very lucky to have him. I think his son Alistair was a year younger than me – also a great guy.

Dear Editor, Referring to the photograph in the Spring 2019 issue of The Arch, page 18.

The list of staff playing: Tom Davies (Referee) Back row; Stephen Mostyn-Williams (Foremarke), Colin Carrington, David Jeans, Chris Parker, John Billington, Dean Lewis, Barry Downing, John Fishley, Neil Gamble, Angus GrahamCampbell.

Front row: Richard Harding (Foremarke), Christopher Richmond (Foremarke), Peter Mountford, Richard Morris (Captain) Roger Westley.

Result: Staff 6, 1st V 12 Yours sincerely, Richard Harding (Former Foremarke Staff)

For me quite a star studded photo – I hope this has been useful. As Mr Morris is in the picture I am guessing this photo was taken around 1973-75.

Regards, Duncan Toms (N’70)

47

Pigeon Post

Dear Editor, In the process of completing a model aircraft commission I stumbled on a local Bedfordshire and Repton link of which I was totally unaware until I read Fleur Marshall’s bio in the spring issue of The Arch. I’d like to share this story with you as it may be worthy of inclusion in The Arch.

2019 is a year of significant anniversaries, including the 75th anniversary of Operation Overlord. July 1st 2019 is also the 75th anniversary, almost to the day, of an unsanctioned aerial escapade by two local Bedfordshire boys and great friends, Johnnie Jordan and Ray Marshall DFC (L’33).

Johnnie Jordan, of the Jordan Mills’ family, had been dismissed from the RAF in July 1940 for persistent low flying (bizarre, considering that we needed every pilot we could get at the time) but had re-mustered as an ATA pilot, ferrying all types of aircraft from factories to squadrons and maintenance units. Ray Marshall, from a local farming family Marshall Nurseries, had served with a Coastal Command OTU (where he had claimed the sinking of a U-Boat) and with Bomber Command as a bomb aimer. In July 1944, having completed his tour, he was based at Market Harborough, instructing with 14 OTU on Vickers Wellingtons.

On July 1st 1944, D-Day +25, Johnnie Jordan turned up in an almost factory fresh de Havilland Mosquito B Mk. XVI and suggested to Ray Marshall that they take a quick day trip to France ‘ to see how the war was going on’. Ray does not appear to have needed much persuasion. They took off, flew south via Bognor Regis to Caen in Normandy through a 1000 ft cloud bank. Over France they saw flashes and explosions indicating that there was fighting going on, so climbed above cloud and found themselves in the middle of a formation of Halifax’s pounding two V-1 rocket sites. They thought they had better leave quickly so turned back for home and landed back at Market Harborough undetected by both friend and foe alike. The trip never appeared on Johnnie Jordan’s ATA flight logs, though it seems to have made it into Ray Marshall’s. In Johnnie Jordan’s own words ‘we were a complete load of idiots’ – more so when you consider this: • Allied aircraft tasked with operations during and after D-Day were marked with black and white identification stripes on the wings and fuselage. The Mosquito in which they were flying, being factory fresh and unallocated to a squadron, was not marked with these identification stripes • This particular Mosquito is unlikely to have carried any communications equipment to help identify it • The bomber version of the Mosquito was unarmed. ATA-delivered aircraft carried no armament or ordnance in any case as these were fitted at MU or squadron level • They ran the risk of being shot down by Allied aircraft as well as Luftwaffe • They ran the risk of being fired on and shot down by home-based anti-aircraft batteries • If they had been seen by authorities on the ground they ran the risk of punishment including being drummed out of both services Although neither was caught, the escapade remained a secret between them and their families until it was recorded in print in ‘A Bedfordshire Bomb Aimer’ written by his brother David. In addition, on July 1st each year Ray would send Johnnie a postcard reminding him about the event until Ray passed away in 1981.

Johnnie Jordan’s colourful flying exploits did not wane after WW2. He continued his unconventional flying style for the remainder of his time in the air. He once flour bombed a car on the A1, believing it to be Ray Marshall’s. It wasn’t.

This photo shows the model (DH Mosquito B. Mk. XVI, which I was asked to build by Mike Wells of the Wells brewing family) and the one below is of myself and Brian Marshall (L’57), Ray’s son, at The Shuttleworth Military Air Show on July 7th where we met up for the first time. I am to the left, Brian to the right. If you need anything else, let me know.

Best wishes, Mark Peacock (H’69)

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Pigeon Post

Dear Editor, In my opinion The Arch issue 334 was the best ever and I would be pleased if you pass this note of thanks to the Editorial team.

There are too many good articles to comment on. Your last article by Ross Thompson had special appeal for me knowing everyone so well when at Repton, apart from those who were in The Hall.

Dear Editor, In OR News Snippets in the previous issue there is a piece about Michael Barnwell (O’57) and a photo of Repton 92. This is a somewhat less glamorous photo of Repton taken by me at Bellows Falls, Vermont in 1982.

Best wishes, Guy Gorton (O’41)

It is also very good to hear of so many school successes again.

Best wishes, Malcolm Littlefair (N’ 46)

Please keep sending your stories and thoughts as ORs enjoy reading and responding to them. Here is a reminder of where to send them to: jcobb@repton.org.uk or write to us at The Old Reptonian Society, The Hall, Repton School, Repton, Derbyshire DE65 6FH

Lost Contacts We have a long list of ORs with whom we have lost contact. Below is the list from The Garden. If you are in contact with anyone on the list, perhaps you would like to ask them if they would like to receive copies of The Arch and correspondence from us. They can email, post, or join MyRepton (see page 6 for ‘how to’ with their current details.

First Name/Surname

Year

First Name/Surname

Year First Name/Surname

Year

Nicola Collis Jane Bromage Kathryn Stanley (nee Wych) Zoe Eaton Naomi Mason Isabel Welberry Emma-Jane Ward Katherine Taylor Ruth Shaw (nee Fletcher) Laura Cardwell Gemma Eaton Susannah Leroy (Petrie-Guy) Annabelle Reynolds Lisa Gaffney (née Bullivant) Catherine Briggs Parmjit Atwal Rachel Lake Annette Rathert (née Wolny) Alexandra Wilmington Kit-Che Wong Antonia Durham-Hall Rachel Ludlam Charlotte Wyche Charlotte Allen Katy Mayne

1991 1991 1991 1991 1991 1991 1991 1991 1992 1992 1992 1992 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1994 1994 1994 1994 1995 1995

Victoria Wren Hannah Edwards Natalie Game Sarah Phipps Selina Chu Y Chan Katherine Bavister Katie Steer India Ainsworth Anna Gledhill Camilla Edwards Anna Watkin Abigail Moroney Emma Allford Hiroko Kawabata Laura Tindle Teruko Habu Julia Mischke Stephanie Shucksmith Katie Lloyd-Wilkinson Amy Hilton Stacey Pounder Jai Han Jennifer Lloyd-Wilkinson Gemma Ruger

1995 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998 1999 1999 2000 2000 2001 2001 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002

Jessica Titcumb Sophie Lee Natasha Fletcher Liuba Bortnik Danielle Brodie Annelise Charlesworth Isabella Denyer I Wu Louise Watson Lara Clark Chantal Reid Zoe Dunn Katherine Tyson Sarah Wright Jade White Alice Williams Lara Ellar Ama Edozien Mia Gadsby Marie Limmer Philippa Davis Nicole Tse Caitlin Chadwick

2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2009 2009 2010 2010 2012 2012 2013 2015 2005 2006 2008

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Overseas Contacts Below is a full list of those ORs who have volunteered to be ‘Overseas Links’. We are very grateful to those who have volunteered, but there are many gaps in the list of countries. If you would be willing to act as an Overseas Link in a country not already covered, please contact Jan Cobb on jcobb@repton.org.uk Country AUSTRALIA Queensland Perth Sydney Victoria (Melbourne) BELGIUM BRAZIL CANADA Eastern Ontario & Quebec Toronto Western CYPRUS DENMARK ESTONIA FRANCE GERMANY HONG KONG IRELAND KENYA NEW ZEALAND NIGERIA NORWAY (Oslo) POLAND QATAR SINGAPORE SOUTH AFRICA Cape Town SPAIN South & Gibraltar Madrid Mallorca SOUTH KOREA SWITZERLAND THAILAND TURKEY UGANDA UNITED ARAB EMIRATES All Dubai Dubai USA All California Chicago Los Angeles New York New York North Carolina Texas Washington WEST INDIES All Barbados

Name

House & Yr

Email

Telephone

David Miller Frank Smith Natalie Wynne Simon Crabtree Hadrian Coulton Susan Hawkins

Hall ‘59 Orchard ‘53 Abbey ‘95 Orchard ‘90 Mitre ‘82 Abbey ’98

David.Miller@aigroup.asn.au frank@happygardener.com.au nataliedzenis@outlook.com Simon@jossimo.com notharry@googlemail hawkinsusan@gmail.com

0417 779 690 0892 997 363 / 0411 116 363 +61 41 238 660 +61 415 905 898 +32 484 593 167 +55 119 5470 2603

Tony Houghton Kamil Alam David Laing Richard Sale Mathilde Juul Kadi Lilis Saar Rev James Barnett Beate Erdmann Nils Cooper David Poon Douglas Campbell Philip Hechle Richard Hedley Liam Foster Ibrahim Dikko David Llewelyn Stephen Collyer Steve Targett Richard Coventry Alfred Cheng

Latham ‘51 Mitre ‘88 Latham ‘70 Hall ‘61 Abbey ‘91 Garden ‘09 Hall ‘57 Abbey ‘99 New ‘01 Hall ‘85 Hall ‘71 Hall ‘50 Hall ‘66 Cross ‘89 New ‘83 Orchard ‘63 Cross ‘83 Cross ‘76 Brook ‘73 Orchard ‘75

dtbears@kingston.net kamilalam@gmail.com dl@laingnet.com richard.sale@cytanet.com.cy miss@matty.dk kadiliissaar@gmail.com james.barnett@wanadoo.fr beate_erdmann@hotmail.com nils.cooper@gmx.de dgkpoon@gmail.com douglas.campbell@halbmond.de philipandroshechle@gmail.com r-s.hedley@xtra.co.nz liamfoster@hotmail.com ibrahim.Dikko@hitelcomms.com davidlle@online.no sp.collyer@gmail.com juliastevet@gmail.com richard.coventry@rcc.com.sg alfredcheng18@gmail.com

+1 613 547 6551 (647) 861 4254

Ryan Brews

Mitre ‘00

ryanbrews@gmail.com

+27 766 170 098

Mark Smith John Wilcox Jonny Greenall Ga Jeun Lee Andrew Neville Jom Salakshana Huseyin Yardimci Mark Dudley

Orchard ‘78 Mitre ‘82 Orchard ‘89 Abbey ‘02 Hall ‘69 Mitre ‘06 Hall ‘83 Priory ‘91

mshsmith@btinternet.com jdw@fidentiis.com jonny@balearic-helicopters.com gajeun.lee@gmail.com aaneville@outlook.com jom.salakshana@trs.co.th huseyin@yardimci.gen.tr mark.dudley3@gmail.com

+34 662 143 442 + 00 349 141 534 15 00 34 639 702 411 +82 10 5360 1046 +41 79 607 42 60 +66 2261 3210 +90 532 426 3504 +256 783 805 022

Charles Neil Lizzie Tebbs (née Waller) Sandy Farquharson

Priory ‘65 Abbey ‘92 New ‘97

charlesjohn.neil@gmail.com lizzietebbs@hotmail.co.uk sandyfarquharson@hotmail,com

+ 971 506 550 92 +971 52 501 8659

Mark Wilhelm Verheyen Edward Huson Robert Perks Ash Joshi James Kirtland Toby Fricker Russell Elliott Shaheen Ladhani Christopher Huson

Cross ‘77 Hall ‘70 New ‘71 Latham ‘82 Orchard ‘88 Priory ‘88 Mitre ‘93 Cross ‘89 Hall ‘72

mverheyen@comcast.net eahuson@gmail.com robertperks@earthlink.net ash@capitalrealtysolutions.com james.kirtland@gmail.com tobyfricker@hotmail,com russelliott@gmail.com shaheenladhani@gmail.com mrhuson@mindspring.com

415 203 9225 +1 773 230 9845 +1 (818) 501 9898 +1 917 558 1079 +1 917 442 0836 +1 919 813 8285 +1 281 850 4292 +1 206 697 3360

ds@griffithsandpartners.com james@ellcorentals.com

+44 7768 763 522 + 246 256 4637 / +246 434 7395

Latham ’77 David Stewart Edward James Hutson Elliot Mitre ‘68

+ 357 995 956 62 + 45 355 564 90 0797 4064 708 + 33 546 949 925 +49 175 565 8903 +852 968 803 15 +44 7500 796900 +64 927 765 77 +234 809 944 4545 +47 977 14286 07522 106970 +974 553 040 64 +65 96393097 +65 67357735

We have ‘re-permissioned’ your consent to remain an overseas contact and have your contact details published. If you have previously been included, or would like to be added, please get in touch with the OR office.

50

How to keep in touch In the OR Office we are keen to ensure that we keep our records updated for all ORs. To this end we would be grateful if you could contact us if any of your details change, such as address, email, telephone numbers etc.

We are also delighted to hear your ‘good news’ such as engagements, marriages, births, qualifications gained, new jobs etc. We will only publish such information in The Arch with your agreement. The editorial staff retain the right to edit any submissions.

Thank You!

Please email the office: jcobb@repton.org.uk or or@repton.org.uk or telephone: 01283 559320 Or write to us at: The Old Reptonian Society The Hall, Repton School Repton, Derbyshire DE65 6FH

Would you prefer to read The Arch online instead of a paper copy? Please advise us accordingly.

Our monthly School news, The Repton RoundUp, is sent electronically. Please ensure we have your email address if you would like to receive this. For the most instant updates follow @orsociety and the various school Twitter feeds.

You can ‘like’ us on Facebook or follow Repton on Instagram.

www.MyRepton.org.uk

Repton School Shop - Memorabilia

The School Shop has taken delivery of several new items to enhance the school’s range of memorabilia.

Repton Crested Socks retail at £9.99. They are sold as a 2-pair pack, one striped and one plain navy. They come in sizes 7-11 and 11-14.

Repton Jute bag retails at £5.00. Repton Lounge Pants retail at £24.99. They are unisex and are available in sizes XS,S,M, L & XL. Repton Crested Notebooks and Pencils. The Notebooks retail at £4.99 and the Pencils at £0.50p.

OR Ties:

House Scarves:

Miscellaneous:

Silk

The Priory

Large Glass Crested Goblet

Non Crease

School House

Crested Red Wine Glass

Bow Tie

New House

Glass Crested Paper Weight

Latham House

Crested Cuff Links

OR House/Sports Ties:

The Orchard

Crested Key Rings

Brook House

The Mitre (Girls)

Brass Buttons

The Hall

Cross

Repton cards

The Priory

The Abbey

Large Teddy Bear

School House (Polyester)

Field House

Repton Cricket Caps

New House

The Garden

Leisure Socks

Latham House

Large Golf Umbrella

The Orchard

Miscellaneous:

China Mug

The Mitre

Repton Crested Silver Charm (to fit all pendant and bracelet chains)

Repton China Coin Tray

Repton crested Charm with Bracelet

Repton Register 2007 Book

The Cross OR Football OR Hockey OR Golf (striped) Cambridge Pilgrims Tie

Pint Glass Crested Tankard

450th Anniversary Book Repton To The End Repton Register 2007 CD

Half Pint Glass Crested Tankard Champagne Crested Flute

All items are available from the Repton School Shop, The Paddock, Repton, which can be contacted for price details and to place your order on: Tel. 01283 559323 or by email: shop@repton.org.uk

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The Old Reptonian Society, The Hall, Repton School, Repton, Derbyshire DE65 6FH @OrSociety

Email: jcobb@repton.org.uk / or@repton.org.uk

Tel: 01283 559320