THE ARCH OLD REPTONIAN NEWSLETTER October I2009 ssue Nº 315
Thomas Richard Pepper (Hall 1949) Midlands Francis W S Russell (Orchard 1969) Pilgrims
Elected Committee Members
Appointed 2006
Simon D Armstrong (Cross 1963) Lancs & Cheshire Sanjiv Basu (Orchard 1989) Fives
J M Guy Levesley (Hall 1975)
Richard C E Lowther (Brook 1985) Tennis Club
Treasurer: John S. Wallis (Latham 1971)
2007
Other events during the year must not be overlooked Although February seems a long time ago, the drinks party in the City University Club was a good opportunity to meet some of those now toiling through the worst financial crisis in living memory I was interested to meet a member of a particularly moder n species, a hedge fund manager, who still had a shirt on his back
Paul A W indridge (Priory 1969) Appointed
I think that there is a good case to be made for extending membership of the Pilgrims beyond those that form the cream of the school’s 1st XIs to all that have represented the school in lower elevens and give service in a non playing capacity Membership could be extended to others who now and in the future have an affection for the game and enjoy following and supporting those that play it In time, this could lead to an enlargement of the fixture list, and increasing opportunities for Reptonians to enjoy one another’s company
Life
President
John F M Walker (Hall 1946 and ex Staff) Member
Hamer J E Boot (School 1995) Football Club
The Royal Thames Yacht Club is the venue for the 2010 Drinks in the City on February 16th Booking forms for both events are enclosed and if you would like any other information please call us in the OR office on 01283 559320, or email or@repton.org.uk
Appointed 2009
Vice
Assistant
Appointed 2005
Louise P Howarth (Garden 1996) Appointed
(2) OFFICERS OF THE OLD REPTONIAN SOCIETY 2009 PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY 2009 RICHARD A. HUTTON (H’56) The Old Reptonian Society The Hall, Repton School Repton, Derbyshire DE65 6FH Tel: 01283 559320 Fax: 01283 559250 Email: or@repton org uk Website: www orsociety com School Website: www repton org uk Editorial Team: Mike Stones & Jan Cobb Executive Committee
Much of this is due to the efforts of Frank Watson, who has recently completed a 10 year stint as master in charge of cricket at the school, and his predecessor Mike Stones Apart from ensuring that their pupils have been brought up in the best traditions of Repton cricket, they have instilled a desire and a commitment among their charges to continue their association with the school by representing the Pilgrims A strong nucleus now exists around which to build
President: Richard A Hutton (H 1956) Elect: John N. Kirkland (O 1951) President: Robert A. Holroyd Headmaster
Chairman: James M Ross (Hall 1968)
Cathy Twigg Staff Marketing & Development Director
Victory would have been a crowning glory, even more so as my brother John is in the midst of his two year reign as President of the Pilgrims Both of us feel a strong attachment to this competition because we were part of the team that won the trophy in its inaugural year of 1967 Nevertheless, we were very proud of the team’s performance and feel sure that it will continue to give a good account in the years ahead
THE OR AGM AND DINNER 2009
James T Leavesley (New 1975)
John F R Hird (Priory 1960) Masonic Lodge
Nicola M Obor n (Garden 1991) Staff
In April, I joined a small group of Reptonians living in France for a convivial evening at Le Sergent Recruteur on the Ile St Louis in Paris, ably organised by Reverend James Bar nett (H’59), whom I had not seen for 45 years The venue has a past record in press ganging its customers, encouraging them to drink themselves into oblivion, to find themselves on wakening to have joined the foreign legion No such fate awaited our party, although a certain amount of wallet emptying was called for Despite some miserable weather, which confined activities to indoors, the Gaudy in June was well attended The highlight was the service to commemorate the foundation of the chapel 150 years ago The school choir was in top form, and readings of the words of several of the school’s notable past churchmen and a pithy sermon by the Bishop of Derby produced a varied and uplifting programme And so, to the annual dinner in November see you there Richard Hutton, 2009 President
Peter H Neil (Priory 1975) Adam M Sinclair (Latham 1978) Appointed
Simon J Obor n (Orchard 1989)
Gover nors’
Sarah R E Taylor (Field 1998) Appointed 2008 Ex Officio Members
Charles Michael Keep (Orchard 1969 & Staff) Hockey Club
TO BE A PILGRIM My year in office, which is not yet over, has been far less arduous than I imagined Fears that I would never make the 9am Saturday mor ning meetings of the Executive Committee were allayed at an early stage by being informed that it would be most unusual for the President to attend these I cannot, therefore, give you a first hand account of what goes on in the inner sanctum of your Society, but on the outside much has happened during the year of which Reptonians can feel proud In the spring, we lifted the celebrity television dancing competition, courtesy of Tom Chambers, who was regaled in the May issue, and for much of the summer we had high hopes of the Repton Pilgrims doing the same with the Cricketer Cup After putting out last year’s winners in the first round, the team progressed smoothly through the next three, accompanied by a growing support, which by the final constituted a large assembly The team got off to a flyer, reaching 140 for 1 at the halfway point, and hopes were high that the Pilgrims would register their third championship, even more satisfyingly by overcoming the school that in the 41 year history of the competition had competed in 20 finals, winning 13 of them
2006
Appointed 2007
Front Cover: Dick Morgan, John Billington, Pat Norwood, Mike Charlesworth, John Fishley (all ex staff), in Pears School, Gaudy 2009
This year’s AGM and Annual Dinner will be held on Saturday 14th November in Pears School, Repton It is hoped that Mike and Melody Kettle, also Roger and Rosemary Thompson, will be our guests on this occasion to mark their long service to the school DRINKS IN THE CITY
Disappointingly, the middle order was enfeebled by the Old Tonbridgians’ ‘pie throwers’ and the innings subsided, despite some late hitting, to a barely competitive total, which the opposition knocked off for the loss of only three wickets
YOUNG ORs CHRISTMAS BALL
Martin G Grayshon (Cross 1961) Yorkshire
Saturday December 19th 2009. For ORs who left between 1998 2009. Invitations will be sent out soon.
2006
Anthony E Bishop (Priory 1972) Golf Club
Appointed 2005
Secretary: Mike Stones (Staff) Secretary: Jan Cobb (Staff)
Nicholas Peter Le Poidevin (Cross 1964) Law Society
Representative: Robert M Kirkland (Orchard 1959)
10th Girls’ 1st XI, 2nd, 3rd, U16A v Oundle
NOVEMBER 2009
3rd Boys’ 1st XI, U15A v Kimbolton Girls’ 1st XI, 2nd v Worksop (a) Fashion Show, Pears School, 6 30 pm and 8 30 pm 7th Boys’ 1st XI (ISFA Cup Round 2) Senior Lit Soc Play: This Woman’s Work, Studio Theatre, 7 30 pm Subscription Concert: Morgan Szymanski (Classical Guitar), Music School, 7 45 pm 8th Senior Lit Soc Play: This Woman’s Work, Studio Theatre, 7 30 pm W ind and Brass Concert, Beldam Hall, 7 30 pm
DECEMBER 2009 5th Boys’ 1st XI, U15A&B, U14A&B v Shrewsbury
DIARY OF EVENTS 2009/2010
OCTOBER 2009
16th Half term begins, 4 30 pm
21st Boys’ 1st XI, U16, U15A v Bolton (a) School Play, 400 Hall, 7 30 pm 24th Boys’ 1st XI, U16, U14A&B v Manchester GS (a) 28th Boys’ 1st XI, 2nd, 3rd, 4th v Liverpool Ramblers
9th Christmas Band Concert, Pears School, 7 30 pm 10th Christmas Band Concert, Pears School, 7 30 pm 11th Term ends 2 30 pm 19th Young OR Ball in Pears School
1st Half term ends W inter timetable begins
3rd Boys’ 1st XI, 2nd, U14A v Wolverhampton GS 4th Subscription Concert: Graham Oppenheimer with Leading Inter national Artists, Music School, 7 45 pm 5th Girls’ 1st XI, U16A v Dean Close Junior Lit Soc and Chamber Choir Concert, Library, 9 05 pm 6th Public & B Block Lecture: Beldam Hall, 7 15 pm 7th Sale of Work Boys’ 1st XI v Cambridge United 10th 1st XI (ESFA Cup) CHAIRMAN OF THE SOCIETY 2009/2010 - James Ross (H’68)
A Hall House contemporary, Martin Rowley, stayed with me recently Over a convivial glass of beer or two Martin raised the question as to what Sir John Port would have made of all the moder n Repton triumphs Cricket 20/20 champions and national champions in both girls’ hockey and football We came to the conclusion that he would probably be mildly surprised but justifiably proud of his legacy We also speculated as to what he would have made of having an OR as the current holder of the Strictly Come Dancing title Our considered view was again one of surprise but with this much talent and success that had Britain’s Got Talent not clashed with A Levels then Repton would have had that title in the bag too As a cricket fanatic it has been great fun watching The Pilgrims in this year’s Cricketer Cup which is played amongst the thirty two leading public schools At the time of writing we are in the semi final versus Eton Ramblers The side has had as many as nine players at one time under the age of twenty three which augurs well for the future There is also room for experience and this has been exemplified by another contemporary Tony Stubbs, Charlie Wall and Jon Batty the current Surrey wicket keeper and this season’s beneficiary Jon is always willing to play for the Pilgrims when county duties allow A tribute to the Club and School
I very much hope that the success of the Pilgrims inspires other young ORs to participate for all OR clubs and achieve similar feats in the competitions that they enter The following this season that the Pilgrims have engendered from all OR age groups and parents has been greatly appreciated by the team and provided a great deal of enjoyment and camaraderie Sir John Port would not be surprised
29th Repton School Music Society Concert: Handel’s Messiah, Pears School, 7 45 pm
JANUARY 2010 4th Lent Term begins FEBRUARY 2010 16th OR Society, Drinks in the City, Royal Thames Yacht Club JUNE 2010 12th OR Gaudy Day, Years 1962 1972 and pre 1950 (tbc) (3) Dates correct at time of publication
13th Boys’ 1st XI (ESFA Cup) 14th Girls’ U16 County netball tour nament 2 30 pm Field and Latham House Play, The Kidnap, by Charles Robertson, Studio Theatre, 7 30 pm 15th Field and Latham House Play, The Kidnap, by Charles Robertson, Studio Theatre, 7 30 pm Informal Concert, Music School, 9 15 pm
17th Boys’ 1st XI v Charterhouse 19th School Play, 400 Hall, 7 30 pm 20th School Play, 400 Hall, 7 30 pm Public Lecture: Martha Holmes ‘The Making of Life’ , Beldam Hall, 7 15 pm
James Ross (H’68)
6th Carol Service for Parents, Staff and Parish, 6 30 pm followed by reception in the Undercroft
NOVEMBER 2009 ‘Continued 10th Girls’ 1st XI, U16A, U15A v Uppingham (a) 14th OR Society AGM, 6 00 pm followed by OR Society Annual Dinner, Pears School, 7 30 pm
OLD REPTONIAN NEWS SNIPPETS
Richard MacPherson (N’00) graduated as a Master in Engineering, having obtained a first class honours degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Durham University For his dissertation and in recognition of his outstanding contribution to aerospace research, he was awarded the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Project Award He also gained the highest mark within his year for his Research and Development Report, the findings of which are being used by industry to continue the onward development of turbo machinery Richard has now joined Airbus, which is part of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, as a Structural Stress Engineer and will participate in their Graduate Development Programme based initially at both Bristol and Toulouse Thomas Auden (O’99) has been awarded a First Class Honours Degree from Edinburgh University in Ancient History
Mike Dryden (M'84) was a visitor to Repton in early August with his family He is currently a Graphics Designer and lives in Portland, Oregon, U S A Mike Stones met them and showed them around the School The 2 Mikes are pictured here at The Arch with Mike Dryden's wife, Jennifer, and their son, Jonathan Jonathan Edmonds (N’70) is a Major at Sandhurst and the Chief Instructor of the Late Entry Officers course In September he was posted to the Defence College of Electro Mechanical Engineers as their Training Operations Officer which is a Tri Service organisation (Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force) Arthur Schankler (P'72) writes “I noted on the list of missing ORs, the name of Elbert Gates, (H’72) Both Al and I were "exchange" students from America that year and we both in fact had gone to the same school in the U S , Cranbrook, prior to coming to Repton I regret to inform you that Elbert passed away in Montreal a few years ago after a long illness After Repton, he attended Yale University and went on to become a law professor in New York City For those who knew him at Repton in his brief time there, they should know he remained the very unique and well liked individual that I am sure they remember” (4)
Tom started the PwC graduate training programme in Edinburgh in September Roger Behn (H’43) has been awarded one of the 2009 British Columbia Community Achievement Awards for his efforts in establishing both a local museum and earlier a regional library system At the time the library served 150,000 people spread over an area the size of then Wester n Germany
Richard Brooksbank (N’79) has offered to be the OR overseas link in Johannesburg, his email address is richard brooksbank@wits ac za
John R.M. Cook (O’74) On October 7th 2008 The Reverend John Cook was instituted, inducted and installed as Vicar of Wargrave with Knowl Hill in the Berkshire, Oxford Diocese
Three ORs met up at Le Mans
Jamie Macrea (H’71) is a Member for Planning and Development on Macclesfield Borough Council and Portfolio Holder for Prosperity at Cheshire East Council
From left to right: Steve Hazell Smith (O’67), John Cameron (O’66), Tim Barrett (N’66) Joanna Haxby (A’92) married Andrew Perkins in 2003 and have 2 children, Millie bor n in 2005 and George bor n in 2007 They are now living in Suffolk William Haxby (M’87) married Kat in December 2004 and have 2 children, Toby bor n in 2006 and Jemima bor n May 2009 They are now living in Northamptonshire
Nicholas Hillman (B’85) has written an article in Conference and Common Room magazine on ‘Surviving the ‘60s’ Edward Hine (B’72) celebrated his 50th birthday on 19th March 2009, his two brothers, Charles (B’69) who now lives in San Francisco and Andrew (B’77) who lives in London both attended the party in Colton Bassett
Xavier Teasdale-Firth (O’00) has passed out from The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and has been awarded a commission in The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Simon Blunt (N’79) and Christabel Blunt (née Stanton) (G’92) a daughter Jemima bor n 4th November 2008
The Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) exists to support children who are affected by life limiting conditions (meaning that they will not reach adulthood) and also the families of these children Martin is hoping to reach a target of £10,000 This is an ambitious target but one which would make a real difference to the wonderful work of the CHSW If you would like to donate the ‘JustGiving’ website is still open All you need to do is follow this link: www justgiving com/squashathon warminster school (5)
OLD REPTONIAN NEWS SNIPPETS CONGRATULATIONS
Simon, Christobel, son Charlie pictured above at Jemima’s Christening Richard Bradbury (O’81) and his wife Celia are delighted to announce the arrival of Tabitha Lilly Bradbury, bor n 9th July 2009 A granddaughter to Brian Bradbury (O’46)
Edward Cursham (H’75) and Karen, a son, Harry George Curzon bor n on 29th August 2007 Bor n to Edmund Millensted (C’95) and Hannah, a daughter, on August 10th, named Emma Olivia Just to prove that you’re never too old, my wife Lori and I are delighted to announce that we have recently become proud adoptive parents to McKenzie Qiao Hilton (now 2 years old, her birthday is February 2nd 2007) who came to us from China after a three and a half year wait which is longer than an elephant is pregnant for! I must be mad at 54 years old but we are both absolutely over the moon! Andy Hilton (B’68) Simon Obor n (O’89) and Madeline are delighted to announce the birth of their second daughter Grace on the 20th March 2009 ‘ Melissa (née Needs) (A’90) and Stuart Helmer, a son Charlie bor n 5th April 2009 to boost the Helmer rugby / cricket team: George (6 years) and Tommy (3 years) Mark Sutcliffe (N’85) and his wife Michelle are delighted to announce the birth of their first child Matthew Alexander Bor n on 4 April 2008 Martin Priestley (C’81), Headmaster of Warminster School is completing a sponsored 24 hour ‘Squashathon’ in support of the Children’s Hospice South West Martin writes: ‘I play for 24 hours non stop The rules of squash allow a minute’s break between games I start at 12 noon on Friday 18 September on the school’s pristine restored squash court (can’t think who authorised that!) and will finish at noon on Saturday 19 September
Alexandra Morton (F’99) graduated from Durham University last year with a first class degree in French and Italian She is now taking part in a French law exchange, working for a French law firm in a scheme organised by the College of Law in Birmingham and L’Ecole des Avocats in Lyon Christopher Paget (P’01) has been awarded a BA Honours degree in Ancient History and Archaeology from Durham University and achieved Class II Division 1 (Honours ) classification Joe Steele (P’00) has been awarded a First Class Honours Degree in Fine Art at Newcastle University Peter Stones (L'05) teamed up with Ken Tatham (C’59) for a month during his summer holidays to embark upon a major renovation project in the village where Ken is Mayor, St Ceneri in Normandy The project was fruitful and the local paper included an interview with the visitor dubbed , Pierre Pierre, under the title ‘Musicien Bricoleur How is your French?’
The students of Warminster School play, in half hour slots, and provided the bulk of the opposition Jonah Barrington, one of the greatest players in the history of the game, agreed to play the final half hour against me a huge honour for me as a humble club player, and a real sign of how much he too was inspired by CHSW
We are updating our records for the ORs On the reverse of the address sheet, that came with this magazine, are the details we hold of you If any are incorrect, please, would you kindly amend and retur n back to us Thank You
MESSAGE FROM THE OR OFFICE
Pictured above, ORs attending from left to right: Henry Brown (S’00), Christopher Chapman (S’97), David Storer (M’97), Alastair MacBain (M’97), Thomas Shardlow (M’00), Jonathan Strong (H’63), Margaret Strong (G’97), Nicholas Pooler (M’97), Christopher Strong (G’96), Anne Strong (G’00), Lucy Gell (G’00)
MARRIAGES
ORs attending are from left to right: Sam Gardner (O’93), Charlotte Richards (A’99 ), Camille Dollamore née Sutherland (F’97), Head Usher Nick Jones (N’95), Andrew Dollamore (N’93), Rosie Gardner (A’00 ), Charles Bracegirdle (O’07), Oliver Jones (P’95), The Bride Sarah Nichols née Bracegirdle (A’94), Jean Paul Gordon (S’94), Best Man Joe Gardner (O’95), Harriet Cavill (A’96), Robert Goode (P’96), Matthew Bracegirdle (O’96), Nick Gardner (O’00 ), Tim Jones (C’96), Tim Smith (N’96), Hannah Edwards (G’96), Jessica Womersley (A’02), Lucy Womersley (A’00), Lucy Gardner (A’97)
ENGAGEMENTS
Sarah Bracegirdle (A’94) married Ben Nichols at St Oswalds Church, Lower Peover
The engagements are announced of: Craig Lloyd Clarke (S’96) to Maria Fe Ventura (pictured below) of Lima, Peru The wedding will take place in Peru, April 2010 Tom Auden (O’99) to Catherine McCubbin of Calstone Wellington, W iltshire Tom Bennett (N’86) to Miss Anna Goodfellow Fiona Harding (A’93) to Tom Harold on Sunday 19th April 2009 Duncan Mills (B’86) to Linnea Jonsson of Moira, Sweden Tessa Sheldon (G’97) to T im Horton The wedding will take place on 19th December 2009 in St Wystans Church, Repton Richard Talbot (P’89) to Hilary Coleman The wedding is planned for April 2010 in Hampshire (6) Nicholas Pooler (M’97) married Margaret Strong (G’97) at Our Lady and St Cadoc Church, Kidwelly on 21st February 2009
MARRIAGES (7) Toby Martin (L’90) and Amelie Gerard were married on 24th May 2008 in the Cathedral Notre Dame de Strasbourg, France
Sarah Harding (A’91) married John Jones on 4th April 2009 at St Saviour’s Church, Foremarke, followed by a reception in Pears School ORs in attendance were: Front row from left to right: Fiona McLaren ( G’91), Hannah Mather (A’92), Kate Tomlinson (A’91), Nicola Harding (A’97), Clare Chambers (A’91), Sarah Jones (A’91), Fiona Harding A’93), Melissa Wheatley (A’91) Back row from left to right: Tom Chambers (N’90), Alex Kington (N’91), Chris Cavey (P’96), Rob Fish (H’91), Ben Cavey (P’92), Verity Tate (A’94), Paul Tate (N’92)
Gemma Wheatley (A’92) married Dr Graham Barker at St Peter’s Church, Thor ner, on 17th April 2009 ORs in attendance were Melissa Wheatley (A’91), Laura Drake (A’92), Lizzie Tebbs (née Waller) (A’92) and Hannah Corrie (A’92). Ian Hall (N’90) married Laura English at St Saviour’s Church, Foremarke, on 11th April 2009 OR’s in attendance, pictured below, were: Richard Talbot (P’89), Adam Dewhirst (N’90), Nicholas Bur ns (N’90), Duncan Bell (N’90), Isy McQueen (née Adams) (A’92), Ian and Laura, Ben Greeves (N’92), David Hart (N’90), Robert Fish (H’91) and Russell Muir Charlie Pepper (B'90) married Ruth Lawson on 7th February 2009 at St Stephen's Church in North Mundham, West Sussex Old Reptonians in attendance were David Pepper (H'53), Lol Pepper (H'55), Adrian Pepper (H'83), Matthew Needham (P'80), Julia Needham (née Pepper) (A'84), Heidi Pepper (A'90), Bill Burleigh (H'51) and Mark Anselm (C'86)
OBITUARIES - BRUCE FOX (N’32)
The newspaper was renamed the Mansfield Chad After five years Harwood took a back seat in the business and concentrated
Rosemary Booth, on 22nd June 2009 Rosemary was the Accountant/Office Manager in the Bursary for over 30 years Bruce Fox on 13th July in his home at Ruretse, Gaborone, Botswana His daughter Jill Fraser writes: He was over 90 years of age and bor n on 27 09 1918 I believe that he was captain of cricket and played in the first soccer team I am not sure if he was captain of soccer or not He was the Chairman of his family company, Fox's Glacier Mints Ltd , moved to Greece in 1969, to Kenya in 1980 and to Botswana in 2001 Throughout his time in Africa he always spent three months of the African winter in Greece for their Summer with his younger daughter, Gail Sofianos and the rest of the year in Africa with his elder daughter, Jill Fraser He had a good innings
BROOK Robin Leaper Fenton (B’43) died peacefully at home in Edinburgh on 24th May 2009
Alfred Trevor Manton Harwood (H’42) on 29th March 2009 aged 80 Noel Watts (H’42) on 22nd January 2009
Lawrence George Maxwell Pepper (H’55) died on 19th March 2009
LATHAM Michael Ber nard Butler Cole (L’22) died in his 101st year on 18th May 2009
HALL Robert Hamilton Scriven (H’32) on 6th December 2008
He joined the family business of Harwood Cash & Co Ltd in 1936 and was trained for three years in all aspects of the cotton doubling industry In 1936 he joined the Royal Corps of Signals as a territorial soldier and was commissioned as lieutenant At the beginning of the 1939 1945 war he was immediately called up to be a permanent officer Serving for seven months in France, he took part in the Dunkirk evacuation and was mentioned in dispatches for rowing a boat from the beach to various ships for 23 hours continuously until his colonel ordered him to evacuate He retur ned to England and was responsible for regrouping and retraining his signals battalion Harwood suffered a serious motor bike accident in 1941 and was eventfully invalided out of military service He made a steady recovery and rejoined Harwood Cash & Co Ltd in Mansfield In 1942 he married Pamela Jobson from Duffield in Derbyshire He continued his career with Harwood Cash & Co Ltd, eventually becoming chairman In 1994 he was appointed a director of W & J Linney Ltd, owner of the Mansfield Advertiser and Linney’s shop and printing business
Continued
Paul Alexander Baglee (B’65) died in December 2008
ORCHARD Harold Woolley (O’26) on 20th April 2009 aged 97 PRIORY John Webster (P’41) on 28th April 2009
DEATH ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wilfred Burkinshaw (P’50) on 28th April 2009, aged 72
(8)
OBITUARIES JOHN HARWOOD CASH LINNEY (O’31) Mr N S Linney writes: John Harwood Cash Linney was bor n in 1918, the eldest son of Stanley and Rhoda Linney (née Cash) He was educated at Seacroft School and Repton After leaving school Harwood spent a year at a specialist school in Bonn, Germany and lear nt to speak German fluently He was also fluent in French
During the war years he acquired a sound knowledge of the business and arranged for his bother Ian, on demobilisation, to purchase half of the business which was owned by a Mansfield businessman, Arthur Gregg, a cousin, thereby ensuring that the Linney family were the only shareholders Harwood acted as an advisor to his brother and they amalgamated with the Mansfield Chronicle owned by F W illman
MITRE John Clifford Hubble (M’46) on 15th April 2009 at Stoke Poges NEW Peter Laurence Hogg (N’34) on Saturday 25th of July 2009 aged 89 John Norman Badminton (N’47) on 7th March 2009
FORMER STAFF Cyril Granshaw, 14th May 2009 Cyril was the senior technician in the Biology department
OBITUARIES JOHN HARWOOD CASH LINNEY (O’31) Continued
He died peacefully, free from pain surrounded by his family and fortified by his steadfast faith His funeral was attended by over 450 people
OBITUARIES - TIM HOLLOWAY (L’48) Patrick Hecks (L’48) writes: Richard Caton (L’48) and I both met T im at the start of the Summer term 1948, when we joined Latham House, and were firm friends from then onwards, soon to be dubbed ‘the triumvirate’ by our housemaster, BW Thomas! T im was bor n in London and then moved with his family near R ye It was there that he met and married his beloved Elaine, his wife for 51 years After their two children, Jonathan and Sally, were bor n they settled in the Cotswolds, where they remained T im, of his own admission, was not a great scholar but, after much hard study, he passed the necessary exams to enter his chosen profession, that of a Chartered Auctioneer From his early training as an agricultural auctioneer, T im diversified into the antique and fine art side of the profession and built up a highly successful business in Banbury and Streatley, and he ear ned a justifiable national reputation as a respected expert in his field T im had a lifelong passion for vintage motor bikes and cars and owned many during his lifetime He proudly drove his Jowett Bradford van, in the Holloway livery, on a television programme on vintage vehicles for Channel 4 A few years ago he rode his vintage Matchless motorbike over to the First World War battlefields on an organised trip to see where his father had fought at Passchendael He was a Churchwarden of his parish church in Churchill for some 20 years and not only was he instrumental in overseeing the complete refurbishment of the interior of the church but was always on hand to visit the sick and give advice and help when needed T im’s charitable work was legendary, not only for the church but also through the Banbury Lions Club of which he was a Charter Member He conducted many charitable auctions and was always an enthusiastic organiser of vintage car and motorbike shows which brought large sums of money Richard and I were both privileged to spend time with T im less than 24 hours before he died of mesothelioma and, although he was very weak, his indomitable spirit shone through as we reminisced over all the adventures and good times that we had shared, both at Repton and in later years He kept in touch with John Griffiths (L’48) and John Smith (L’48), both of whom attended the funeral together with the two of us, and also by e mail with Bill Kirkham (L’48) and Lyle Thomas (L’48), both of whom live in Australia Repton friends to the end!
Anthony Shillingford (9)
running the family farm in Far nsfield and building Harwood Cash & Co Ltd into the largest cotton doubling facility in Europe, eventually selling the business to Courtaulds, a large public company in 1985 In leisure time he enjoyed sailing and, with his wife, building an equestrian Arab stud called The Far nsfield Stud This became very well known and produced many winners, including their greatest horse Mikeno who went on to become the Arab champion of the world! Harwood was an expansive character with a friendly manner Many people from our business knew him and have enjoyed his company at various events over the years; they were never to be bored, more fascinated by his grasp of current affairs, and stories of the past He was a keen supporter of local affairs both from a business point of view in Mansfield and from a home point of view in Far nsfield His home, Far nsfield Hall was the setting for many village events, lunches and dinners Harwood Linney died peacefully at home on 21st April 2008
OBITUARIES JOHN HERBERT LANCELOT BELL (H’41)
John Bell was a music scholar and school prefect and was awarded the Sawyer Prize at the Royal College of Organists, and became ARCO He served in the Royal Irish Fusiliers from 1945 48, reaching the rank of lieutenant He was organ scholar at Corpus Christie College Cambridge in 1948, following Graham Price (1935 40) He did further study in Munich and his first professional engagement took him to Regensburg as conductor and choir director He then became a conductor with Carl Rosa Opera Company, a touring company After further opera engagements in Kaiserslauter n and Munster, he was appointed assistant music director and conductor at the Inter national Youth Festival of Die Feen (The Fairies) and das Liebesverbot (the Ban of Love) by Richard Wagner He recorded the overture to Der Schmied von Marienburg (The Blacksmith of Marienburg) by Siegfried Wagner and Preludio from Respighi’s Suite in G for organ and strings with the Sinfonisches Orchestra, Berlin In 1983 he was appointed artistic director of the Bavarian Symphony Orchestra in Krefeld He conducted his last concert with this orchestra on 31st May 1997 in Dunkirk He died in May 2006 in Bavaria
We have all lost a great character but should enjoy the memories
OBITUARIES - ERRATA
The daughter of Archbishop Sir John Basil Rowland Grindrod would like the following amendments to be noted
• John Grindrod's father was Basil Grindrod
A vacancy arose for an errand girl at the bursar’s office at Repton School From there, she soon rose to become School Clerk
It is illustrated with sketches that he drew at the time, he loved to talk about his wartime experiences and was keen that there should not be a legacy of bitter ness towards Germany
• The date of my father's death to 4th January 2009 not 3rd January (As my father died on the cusp of midnight of Saturday 3rd January, the doctors recorded the official date as Sunday 4th January 2009)
• Lincoln Theological College was in Lincoln (not at Liverpool University as stated in ‘The Age’newspaper)
• John Grindrod's first wife, Ailsa Newman, was from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
24th May 1935
21st June 2009
When she started, there were only four working in the office, including the bursar and a part time clerk of works Rosemary enjoyed school life She was the right hand man of four bursars, ear ning their trust and loyalty She lear ned accountancy and kept the accounts in her immaculate hand More than that, she was a motherly guide, patiently explaining the intricacies of Repton to many a new, young member of staff
After the war he qualified as a chartered surveyor and worked for the civil service Throughout his life he pursued many interests, notably art, theatre, reading, entertaining friends, holidays abroad and sport He was a painter both in oils and watercolour He was also an etcher and became a Royal academician He continued to paint until weeks before his death and had exhibited widely His wife, Audrey, to whom he was happily married for 63 years, died three years ago They were very fond of all their family, particularly as it grew and began to include members from around the world He is survived by his two children, Nicholas and me, and his many grand and great grandchildren
Chris Lloyd OBITUARIES GEOFFREY WILLATT (B’24)
Rosemary was bor n in Repton She went to Burton High School but was from a generation for whom university was not an option, and after school she went on to work in statistics for British Celanese in Spondon During this time she met Alf at a village dance, and they were married at St Wystan’s in 1956, living first in Milton Road, and then in Springfield Road
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Some 25 years ago, she and Alf moved to Newton Solney, where they made friends and were very happy Throughout their marriage, their passion was walking, to which they devoted their weekends They were members of Derby CHA & HF Rambling Club, with whom they went all over Europe and most of Britain
OBITUARIES ROSEMARY BOOTH (STAFF)
Geoffrey’s daughter, Jane Bamgbola, writes; My father, Geoffrey W illatt, who has died aged 98, was a veteran of the Second World War and of the prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III He was also an artist and keen sportsman He was bor n in Nottingham, the second of three brothers His older brother, Sir Hugh W illatt, was a former secretary general to the Arts Council and his younger brother, Guy, had been Captain of Derbyshire county cricket team As a boy, Geoffrey showed an aptitude for sport and played football and hockey for his school, Repton He played briefly for both Nottingham Forest and Ipswich just before the war and later played hockey and tennis at county level for Bedfordshire and Sussex respectively He volunteered for the RAF in 1939, becoming a bomb aimer in Bomber Command 106 squadron When his Lancaster was shot down in 1943, he was the sole survivor Captured while attempting to walk out of Germany, he was sent to Stalag Luft III The “Great Escape” happened while he was there but he had been unsuccessful in the draw that determined who would escape through the famous tunnel Later with the other PoWs from the camp, he was on the forced march that ended in their liberation by Allied forces Geoffrey’s diary from that time forms the basis of a book, Bombs and Barbed W ire, that he published about his experiences as PoW
2008/9 was another mixed season for the Old Reptonian Football Club: There were highs and lows in equal measure; there were some performances of great skill, some of great determination and others that serve only as a reminder that as a club we still have a long way to go to emulate the Championship winning sides of several years ago However whilst the games often lacked the desired result in our favour, they were never short on drama
The Old Reptonian Football Club plays in the Arthurian League, a League of Public School alumni teams that is based in London The Club also competes in the illustrious Arthur Dunn Cup each year as well as regional London competitions We always need players for our main Arthurian League teams, the Dunn side and our Veterans team, so please get in touch if you would like to play
Following some excellent performances early on in the season, including a 5 0 demolition of Bradfield away, our exit in the Dunn on a bleak November Saturday in W inchester was an early low point in the season OF SOCIETY FOOTBALL
(11) N I C K W A L F O R D ( B ’ 6 9 ) C H A I R M A NN I C K W A L F O R D ( B ’ 6 9 ) C H A I R M A N H A M E R B O O T ( S ’ 9 5 ) T E A M O R G A N I S E HR A M R B O O T ( S ’ 9 5 ) T E A M O R G A N I S E R D AV E H A R T ( N ’ 9 0 ) T R E A S U R E DR AV E H A R T ( N ’ 9 0 ) R E A S U R E R O L L I E H A S T I E ( S ’ 0 3 ) F I X T U R E S S E C R E TA R OY L L I E H A T I E ( S ’ 0 ) F I X T U R E S S E C R E TA R Y E D W A R D P E R K S ( S ’ 9 3 ) S E C R E TA ERY D W A R D P E R K S ( S ’ 9 3 ) S E C R E TA RY A L A S TA I R M E R RY ( H ’ 9 0 ) / R I C H A R D W Y N N E ( P ’ 9 2 ) S O C I A L AS L A S TA I R M E R RY ( H ’ 9 ) / R I C H A R D W Y N N E ( P ’ 9 2 ) S O C I A L S O L L I E F O R D ( O ’ 9 7 ) C L U B C A P TA I ON L L I E F O R D ( O ’ 9 7 ) C L U B C A P TA I N D A L E B I L S O N ( L’ 0 3 ) / C L AY T O N P E N N Y ( P ’ 9 7 ) R E C R U I T M E N DT A L E B I L S O N ( L’ 0 3 ) / C L AY T O N P E N N Y ( P ’ 9 7 ) R E C R U I T M E N T
BRANCHES
Veterans’ team Captain Nick Walford (B’69) walfordn@yahoo co uk 07590828719
Better performances did follow in the league and the club picked up important points with home victories and away draws over both Radley and Old Kings Scholars However after being edged out 2 3 and 1 2 by Shrewsbury and further losses to Aldenham and Haileybury, ORFC needed a win against our Dunn conquerors Old Wykehamists on the last day of the season to guarantee survival A creative and dynamic team performance with a midfield boasting 150 years’ experience (despite containing a 22 year old) and goals from Mark Stretton (H’75), Hamer Boot (S’95), Clayton Penny (P’97) and Ollie Ford(O’97), helped the ORs to a 4 2 victory, keeping Repton I in Division 1 Ollie Hastie (S’03) & Dale Bilson (L’03)
Ollie Ford (O’97) Clayton Penny (P’97) Mark Stretton (H’75) 2008/2009 Season Division 2, Final League Position: 6th Top Scorer: Hamer Boot (S’95) Player of the Season: Oliver Ford (O’97) Dunn success is the measure of the great teams in the Arthurian League and that is what we must be striving for in the long term W ith home fixtures on the Square at Repton in the first two rounds of the 09/10 competition, we will be looking for a much stronger Repton performance this season
The day began with a special Remembrance Service to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the School Chapel (more is said about this elsewhere in this issue) This was followed by a drinks reception in the 400 Hall The school Jazz Band entertained us for 20 minutes loudly and royally to start the proceedings with a swing They were much appreciated by many of the guests Lunch was in Pears School, after which the Headmaster, Robert Holroyd, gave an account of the School’s achievements and outlined plans for the future Guests were then invited to take part in tours of the school which were kindly conducted by current pupils and which ended up in Houses for tea thanks to the generosity of Housemasters and Housemistresses The Society has once more received many expressions of appreciation from ORs who enjoyed the day very much It should perhaps also be said that staff, pupils and officers of the Society enjoyed their day too! Mike Stones
Despite an inclement day the Gaudy this year was very well attended with a guest list of approximately 220 Old Reptonians coming from the years 1951 61 and 1984 94 The policy of mixing the age groups was once again a success and helped to create a special atmosphere of reminiscence There were also a number of former staff at the event ( see front cover ) It is always a pleasure to welcome them
(12) OR EVENTS GAUDY 6th JUNE 2009
Twelve players on each team made for a character and fun filled day The ranks of the O R G S were swelled by two new members, David Sharpe (N’75) and Jim Olsen (C’89) Repton had players from staff and both the Upper and Lower Sixth as well as four members of O block Repton’s top pair, Russell Embery (Staff) and John Jones (L’03), with a combined handicap of 12, obviously play their golf on much more open courses than Little Aston as the trees rather got the better of them; allowing Olsen & Bishop a 2 & 1 victory Despite the loss, a happy smile never left John Jones’ face what a great guy to play golf with!
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Tony has set up a web page for all OR golfers: www oldreptoniangolfingsociety co uk The society welcomes all new members, please log on for further details Final Results Team Matchplay: O R G S won by 3 & ½ 2 & ½ Team better ball stableford scores: 1st (43points) Rees Jones & Keep 2nd (40points) Deichmann & Kumeta 3rd (38points) Hodges & Griffiths Longest Drives on hole: 2 Toby Griffiths 8 Nick O’Brien 16 Laurence Webster Nearest the Pin on hole: 5 Matthew Hodges 9 Laurence Webster 13 Matthew KumetaTony
(13) OR EVENTS GOLF
& Matthew
Repton v Old Reptonians Little Aston Golf Club,
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Sunday May 3rd, Match Report
O R’s Swift & Staley were solidly beaten by Robert Keep (Mike’s son) & Huw Rees Jones (Diana Soper’s son) They both play off 18 with every promise of lower future handicaps New O R G S member David Sharpe (son Tom starts in New House in September) & Jon Gough, a partnership in waiting for the last 30 years, managed a two hole win over Nick O’Brien & Laurence Webster Repton’s Mathew Hodges & Toby Griffiths faired well on the longest drives and nearest the pins but lost by two holes to Phil Davies & Richard Gillham Repton’s Declan Blackwood & Harry Croft had a gritty battle with OR’s Brown & Kirk that finished all square Result of the day was Repton’s Samuel Deichmann & Matthew Kumeta beating O R’s Liam Foster and David James 7 & 6 (known as a dog licence to some of the older golfers!)
Rees Jones (L) Tony
First and foremost our unending thanks go to Glynn, Little Aston’s brilliant secretary, without whose generosity the event would not have taken place No one could remember a better tur nout for this event, and it seems that we have found just the right weekend for future years A fine sunny day’s golf was made slightly difficult by a stiff breeze
Robert Keep
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of the ORGS present top scoring Repton pair Huw Rees Jones (Latham) and Robert Keep (Latham) with their prizes
ORGS teams: Repton School Teams Tony Bishop (P’72) & Jim Olsen (C’89) Russell Embery (Staff) & John Jones (L’03) Jon Gough (H’74) & David Sharpe (N’75) Nick O’Brien (N) & Laurence Webster (L) Nigel Brown (L’73) & Simon Kirk (O’91) Declan Blackwood (O) & Harry Croft (P) Phil Davies (C’72) Richard Gillham (P’87) Toby Griffiths (O) Matthew Hodges (O) Liam Foster (C’89) David James (M’76) Samuel Deichmann (P) Kumeta (P) Alan Swift (N’75) Jeremy Staley (C’69) (L) Huw Bishop (P’72) Bishop (P’72) Philip Davies (C’72)
OR EVENTS YPRES
You are warmly invited to join members of the School’s community in a plaque dedication service at St George’s Memorial Church, Ypres. St George’s was built (1927 29) as a place where relatives of those who died in the Great War and surviving soldiers could go for prayer and remembrance
The dedication of the Repton School plaque will take place during Evensong at St George’s on Sunday 25th October at 6pm The School choir will be singing at what is sure to be a memorable event We would be grateful if anyone intending to join us could let us know so we have an idea of numbers to give the Chaplain of St George’s In addition there will be a Battlefield tour for ORs on the Sunday after noon (2pm 4pm) by Major John Cotterill, a current parent and Chairman of the Sherwood Foresters
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To commemorate the event an exhibition of OR letters, photographs and memorabilia during the First World War will be on display in T ithe Bar n during October and November
A report of the day will be in the May edition of The Arch IN PRINT
The tour will leave from the town square in Ypres at 2pm and will require walking shoes/boots and foul weather clothing and your own transport
Seeing a photograph of Repton School’s First X1 in 1908 inspired cricket enthusiast Steven Larmour to write a booklet, 100 years on, about the remarkable, talented team Almost half the side went on to play first class cricket with F S G Calthorpe playing for Cambridge University, Sussex, Warwickshire and eventually captaining England against the West Indies in 1929 30 The book records the 1908 season and then examines what happened to each player If you would like a copy, send £5 plus £1 pp to Steven Larmour at Flat 3, 44 Limehill Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN11LL
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Brian O’Neill (M’49) broke his leg in November 1953 Francis Forman Fisher sent him the following poem, on Hall notepaper, and Brian replied on All Saints Day 1953 Poems copied from original documents
THE REPLY The Hall Telephone, Repton 375. Repton Station, Repton (LMR) Derbyshire We regret the condition of B J O’Neill, with his leg wrapped in plaster from knee cap to heal. He was runnin’ along just getting a goal, When Wilkinson S F in his usual roll Hit him hard, on the run and he went down like a peg, And is now in the San with a badly hurt leg I am asked on behalf of the general lot, To send greetings + wishes to the poor little clot, We hope he will soon return healthy and fit, To entertain all with his sparklin’ wit, For without the Irish in Classroom one, The Scottish are being a bit overdone. The state of my wounds, the relief of my lassitude, Enable me now to pen lines of gratitude To friends in the form, whether ancient or young. Lines to be chanted, recited or sung. I’m somewhat embarrassed, though quite an old stager, At addressing remarks to Frank, the bold major I’ll sink lower in flight and have my wee say To that gaggle of clots, my pals day by day. To save myself trouble, with habitual sloth, I’ll pen my remarks to each all and both And joyfully tell, with leg swathed in plaster That of Wilkinson’s crack I am now nearly master. The surgeon’s attentions and the skill of his craft Did a good job of work a true Pulvertaft. Now, free from the clutches of that clever bone setter The aforementioned limb gets better and better. And so, my dear friends, here’s the state of the poll –You’ll soon have me back, quite hearty and whole If that doesn’t thrill you, you bunchof (sic) old wrecks, It won’t be cracked ankles – there’ll be broken necks All Saints Day (1953 Appropriately enough) B.J.O’N
Wester n Front Memorial Committee
Many regiments, organisations and schools have plaques to commemorate those who fell during the war and it recently came to our attention that there is no Repton School plaque
Richard Pepper (H’49)
60 YEARS OF REPTON MEMORIES
I feel that I must have blue and yellow blood coursing through my veins It all started with my father T.C. Pepper (H’18) and my uncle H M Pepper (H’23) being sent to Repton Then starting with my second cousin G T Pepper (N’47) there was a period of 12 years when there was always a Pepper in the School I, T.R.Pepper (H’49) arrived, to be followed by my brother E.J.Pepper (H’51) and my two cousins D I Pepper (H’53) and L G M Pepper (H’55) Happily the School survived this invasion I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 years as I know did all the others The younger generation being represented by my cousin David’s 4 children and my 2 The first to arrive was Adrian (A N S Pepper, H’83) followed by his sister Julia (J.J. Pepper, A’84), then came my daughter Francesca (F.L. Pepper, A’89) and Heidi (H.M. Pepper, A’90) The final pair were Charlie (C D S Pepper, B’90) and my son Oliver (O R C Pepper, B’90) My involvement with Repton took off again in 1963 with the Old Reptonian Golfing Society, which my uncle Max Pepper had re organised in the late 1950’s when he asked me to succeed him as Honorary Secretary After 25 years in 1988 I retired and Bruce Knight (H’72) took over (my best action I am told) Then the Society was kind enough to invite me to become President a role I thoroughly enjoyed for 20 years until 2008 thereby surviving 45 years of social and golfing rigours of wonderful friendship, during which time the Society won both the Halford Hewitt and Grafton Morrish twice
The first to depart was Sir Duncan Oppenhiem (B’18) who had entered Repton the same year as my father a Memorial Service being held in the School Chapel He was followed by D B Wilkinson (H’46) The Repton legend, that David undoubtedly was, had been a Prefect when I entered the School and subsequently became a much admired Master and Housemaster He was followed by Guy Willatt (B’31), an accomplished county cricketer and a Repton master for 4 years (1951 1955) Next came Alan Lee (H’50) a contemporary and an admirable Headmaster of Solihull School for 13 years The final departure was that of Repton’s Foundation Benefactor, Robert Beldam, without whose magnificent generosity Repton would be so much poorer His funeral in the School Chapel and subsequent interment next to C.B. Fry and S.A. Pears was unforgettable with the route from Chapel to Graveside being lined by the Boys and Girls with their heads bowed I intend coming to the O R Society Dinner on the 14th November and hope that a number of 1949 Hall contemporaries will as well “Floreat Repandunum”
The next highlight came in 2003, when the Headmaster, Graham Jones, asked me to become President of the Old Reptonian Society for that year, a singular honour The highlight, thanks to Carole Blackshaw (H’70) being Lady Mayoress of the City of London, were that both the Drinks in the City and the Annual Dinner were held in The Mansion House It proved to be an eventful year, mainly because of the change of Headmaster with Graham Jones retiring after 16 successful years being succeeded by Robert Holroyd Then, sadly were the deaths of 4 highly prominent ORs and the Foundation Benefactor, Robert Beldam
FROM THE ARCHIVES Continued A poem about School life, 1875 To the bell at early mor ning Clanging, ringing in our ears Snatches us from arms of Morpheus To our usual daily cares First thought, is it a whole schoolday? No! ‘tis Saturday, hurrah! Stay! This after noon there’s something That our happiness may mar Never mind, come let us hasten; Soon the second bell will ring, And being late for prayers or breakfast Eighty lines will surely bring Breakfast and first lesson over! Happy, ye in lower forms!
Even while the clock is striking Out ye come in merry swarms T ime enough; so let us hurry To the meadow, one and all There we’ll play while time remaineth At the game we love, football School till dinner; dinner over, Sixpence richer than before: Fives till three; and then you’ll see us Waiting at the school room door From three till five o’ clock you’ll find us In the field at football playing, Save some few unlucky fellows In the dingy schoolroom staying There they sit for sins atoning, Sins committed in the week, Writing, writing, ever writing Scarcely daring e’en to speak Tea at six; our games are over, Exercise and supper done; Prayers at nine; sweet dreams awaiting, And upstairs again we run Thus we spend our days at Repton, Such a life as this we lead Think you brighter days await us From its calls and rules when freed? Extract from, A Day of a Fag's Life at Repton, by his Master: The Reptonian 1878 A fag is sweeping a study) When he had nearly choked me with dust I remonstrated with him, so with the most ill judged alacrity he rushed down stairs, and retur ned with a jug full of water, with which he plentifully besprinkled the study, paying great attention to flood my cor ner, and in doing so souse my legs He then brushed it again, till he had covered the study floor ( we have no carpet, as he has bur nt, wetted, and cut it so that it had to be discarded as useless) with a uniform layer of fine mud, admirably adapted for sowing mustard and cress in, but not for the healthy development of the human plant
C.W. Hannay, Upper Vth, 1875 Reproduced in The Reptonian of March 1936
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The re union on Sunday 31st May was most enjoyable I was in the company of an old boy again the other day who thought we should send you ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of the six ‘boys’ who started together in Sept 1952 We all attended the re union where the second photo was taken We are placed in the same position on both and for some of us it was the first re union since 1956
Top left to right: Christopher Mosley; John Larard; Peter Boult Front ditto: Kerr y Brooksbank; Andrew Bannerman; Geoffrey Gyte
Christopher Mosley
Congratulations on your centenary this year! I am a ghost of times past, New House being my home between 1953 1968 I am the son of Ewart Butchers, Housemaster, who died in 1990 You might like some reminiscence from those times: I was five when we moved in from White Cottage in Monsom Lane I immediately started building a den on the tennis court (the higher bit of garden which the newer part of the private quarters has been built in) My bedroom was at the top of the house next to the stairs which went up from next to the bathroom (I expect that's all changed now) I used to have nightmares about the ash tree falling down on me and I proved to Father that it was possible by measuring the height of the tree with scout poles (6' staves) I see from Google earth that it still stands, although the extensive vegetable garden behind seems to have been grassed over Father used to feed the house plentifully from there! We used to keep chickens in the orchard and the school fire engine was housed next door in a large shed next to the house garage Both were accessed along the drive next to the squash courts For a small boy the whole house and garden were a delight There was nowhere that I didn't explore from the roof void above the bedders to the floor void under the main passageway (mostly occupied by cockroaches!) The only TV in the house was the cook's in her bedroom and we used to watch it with her all the time Poor dear, she never had any time to herself! By far the most exotic quarters in the house were the Matron's at the top over the main kitchen Those big windows overlooking the Trent Valley were magnificent It wasn't until the early sixties that the little infill private kitchen was built for my mother, Betty, opposite the dining room Before that the big kitchen was used These mass catering facilities taught me much about how to manage including how to wash and dry up plates for 50 boys, by hand, in next to no time!
Heating was quite a novelty too We initially had one enormous coke boiler for hot water which had to be stoked twice a day When we got central heating ("just to remove the damp, dear") we got another enormous coke boiler to stoke twice a day I became very expert at that! However, I preferred to keep warm in front of the drawing room fire (I see from the house website that it is still the same) I used to break up large lumps of coal in the cellar for this and split large logs One day when my grandfather was staying and he was rather old and demented he nearly bur nt the house down by putting all the dried Christmas decorations on the fire and flames flew up to the ceiling!
Jonathan Butchers
(16) NEW HOUSE MEMORIES
My rock climbing skills were bor n out of participating in the house fire drills In those days the top bedders (I suppose they don't exist now, just private rooms) had to evacuate one at a time on a curious rope and pully device down the outside of the building and we all had to practise Most boys would have died had there been a fire as it was very slow In 1957, for the 400th anniversary of the school Harry Wheatcroft, the flamboyant rose nurseryman who had been in the house, presented my father with the first Super Star rose to leave the nursery Father planted it in the rose garden behind the hedge next to the ash tree at the end of the tennis court I wonder if is still there? From New House I went first to St Wystan's kindergarten in the High Street, then on to Foremarke (note, it has changed it's spelling!) and then on to Clifton College in Bristol Our terms were always shorter than Repton's, so I could always take part in any end of term festivities with the boys in the house
To The Editor
In all I had just as good an education living in New House in 15 years as any boy who paid to come Life was very free and easy for a small boy and I wandered far and wide unhindered It was all very happy, or at least interesting Good luck and best wishes for your festivities and may New House flourish in these difficult times
Rev Ian Robinson (N’32)
I left in July 1938, abandoning the idea of working for a science degree (Industrial Chemistry) when my father was threatened with total blindness, and joined the family shipowning and shipbroking business founded by my father and his friend T G Smith in May in 1904 as Smith, Hogg & Co, just five years before New House was built (Father, who was bor n in 1879, died just short of 92 having retained the sight of one eye through treatment in Vienna just before the “Anschluss”) Peter L Hogg (N’34)
I arrived in September 1934 as 3rd Scholar (worth some £60 p a , I believe top scholarship was £120 p a ) thinking I would be well up the ranking, but was soon to find out that I was entirely wrong! I was lucky in having the late Neil Elliott to teach me the ropes, and we remained in touch until his death a few years ago I did have contact with a few others, but Michael Roberts (J M Roberts, N’34) with whom I revived the Repton Field Club, is the last of my contemporaries with whom I have contact Morgan Owen was then Housemaster, followed fairly soon by Maynard, whom I did not find ‘simpatico’ the feeling may well have been mutual Morgan Owen was quite entertaining he did not, for instance, want to hear any “cotton wool stories”
As I recall, we were the principal protagonists of the 50th anniversary celebration in the dining room on the last night of the Michaelmas Term, for which Michael Charlesworth (O’41) and Bill Agnew ( N’45), and then Assistant Director of Music) wrote a musical show, the Matron (Mrs Rickards) coached us, and a stage was especially constructed between the jam cupboard and the servery The show stopping title song was “Lock up your daughters, New House is here!” Our junior House Tutor, Richard Grew (O’46), undoubtedly had a hand in it My memory of the inside of New House is very hazy and, of lavatory lane especially, not entirely positive I’m sure it has improved dramatically I wonder if some former and current residents of New House would be interested in supporting CORD’s inter national peace building work in places like Darfur/Chad border, Burundi, Norther n Uganda and Cambodia? We’re just about to launch an innovative “toilet twinning” concept whereby, for a relatively nominal amount of money, locks of toilets in New House could be twinned with some of our latrines in Africa Alter natively, unwanted jewellery, phones, keys, coins in one of our treasure chests which we can then recycle and tur n into cash Richard Dickson(N’73) Footnote See OR Profile Dear New House Housemaster
Doctor Brian Johnson (T B W Johnson (N’54)) wishes to thank Mr W ill Odell and Mrs Odell for the excellent reception for New House Centenary on the after noon of Sunday May 31st; most thoroughly and purposefully set out for the comfort and relaxed entertainment of something approaching 100 Alumni
Andrew M. Williamson (N’59) says this is a particularly poignant occasion for those of us who entered the House in September 1959 (Richard W. Barrett, Andrew H. Quick, John O. Goldsmith, David F.B. Swallow, Philip F.B. Swallow, Andrew M. Williamson)
(17) NEW HOUSE MEMORIES Continued
The notice in The ‘Arch’ newsletter of your centenary has prompted me, as one of your senior alumni (N’32 7), to send you congratulation and some reflections I was surprised by Richard Hutton’s comments on taking over as President: life in The Hall, he says, was hard and drab in 1956 That is not my recollection of New House twenty five years earlier! Fagging for Fallows, Head of House, only involved lighting his study fire and making his toast The food was better than at prep school (except there was no supper on Saturdays: I bought bananas and cream from Ma Daimer’s just down the road) I enjoyed singing in the Chapel choir with G G Stocks at the brilliant new organ Bullying? New boys had to climb up through wooden triangles in the dormitory ceiling, which could be hazardous A memorable occasion was an assembly in the dining hall when we listened live to the King’s abdication speech Oh, and at house prayers we were not allowed to choose the hymn “A noble army, men and boys, the matron and the maid ” because they were with us! MMO was an amiable but distant figure, my football prowess disappointed him, but he selected me to be the football correspondent for the T imes, involving long telegrams most Saturdays Many staff of high calibre come to mind: John Christie, who prepared us for confirmation; Cyril Proctor, classics and later Chaplain (Frank Fisher and Richard Sale were also in the classical fourth); Col Strickland and Michael Milford, Maths; ‘Batty’ Mackenzie, Physics; Donald Lindsay, who coached me as ‘Everyman’ in the morality play in the parish church I could go on There were many excellent role models for my future teaching in Uganda In clearing my files to celebrate my ninetieth birthday I came across this article from the Uganda New Day that I thought might be of interest Kings College Budo (often styled ‘The Eton of East Africa’ much to the disgust of my Harrovian predecessor, T im Cobb) owed several new ‘traditions’ to Repton ‘ T icking’ staff; bone offs; blue books; ‘standard’ sports And the visits of the Fishers are still fresh in my mind they used to stay with us on their way to South Africa, and were welcomed by staff and pupils Best W ishes for a fine day on the 31st please greet anyone from my years and every blessing for the next hundred!
PARIS DINNER 27th JULY 2009
Richard Hutton (H’56) The President, accompanied by boarding housemaster Nigel Kew, admires the vast playing field, made entirely from the highest grade Astroturf, and comprising pitches for football, cricket and hockey, practice nets and tennis courts
The 25 metre competition sized swimming pool with six lanes and spectator seating for over 200 is another example of the highest standard of facilities that the school provides The Arch, Repton Dubai I love Paris in the springtime So do a couple of dozen Old Reptonians who once again assembled at L’auberge du Sergent Recruteur on the ile St Louis one Saturday evening in April for the third such dinner Guests included our current President, Richard Hutton ( who bumped into your Secretary in the unlikely setting of the Louvre!), next year’s President, John Kirkland, and former Gover nors, Edward W ilkinson, and John Hetherington
A fine French evening of ample and superior food and drink was sampled by all and thanks must be expressed to James Bar nett who once again organised the whole thing Mike Stones read out a message of good wishes from the Headmaster but declined to sing a song for the assembled gathering despite the latter’s suggestion ! However, despite the lack of musical entertainment, everyone enjoyed the occasion immensely and looks forward to the next one perhaps in 2 years time If you missed this one, do come along! Mike Stones
Richard Hutton (H’ 56) and Charmaine Hutton
(18) DUBAI Back in March, adding a detour to a short holiday in the Indian Ocean, my wife and I were made very welcome at the new Repton School in Dubai Situated on the edge of the desert, a few miles from the city, the school is a masterpiece of moder n construction with the widest possible range of state of the art facilities for its 1,200 pupils The senior school has just completed its first full year of operation and a successful future for the whole project seems assured The new school is keen to encourage the interest of Reptonians, but it would be advisable not to tur n up all at once
John Kirkland (O’51), John Hetherington (ex Governor) and Hannah Jarrett (A’98) Edward (C’46)) and Joy Wilkinson
Answers to the OR office, please, to either me or Jan Cobb Good luck ! Mike Stones (19)
The opener Franklin, with 58, & no 3 Gifford, with 64, kept the Old Malver nians in the hunt until the 30th over, however Repton’s varied array of bowling prevented capitalisation by the middle order, & the opponents fell 15 runs short with 6 balls to spare Special mention to Jim Blackwell 3 29 off 8 5 overs and Jack Lamb 3 53 off 8 overs including the first wicket The crucial second wicket was taken by Tony Stubbs in his spell of 2 37 Tom Poynton stepped in as captain for the visit to Stowe Secretary Frank Russell was very grateful to Jon Batty, rejoining the Pilgrims when not required by Surrey, young Eldred, who bowled well on his debut, star oarsman Simon French, and old campaigners Tom Swerling and David O‘Gram Batty (97) & Poynton (81) batted beautifully in a match winning partnership of 158, & the total of 290 8 always looked challenging French bought the openers, finishing with 2 54 off 7 overs, while Charlie Wall bowled with deadly accuracy 8 overs for 8 runs The spinners Scott Chilman & Tony Stubbs pinned down the batsmen in the middle of the innings, leading to 2 vital run outs
LORDS ASHES TEST 2009 (Editor’s Challenge)
I was fortunate to attend the first 2 days of this memorable cricket match and found that I met numerous ORs on that occasion
But first let’s remember how we won through the earlier rounds and who contributed to our success along the way A home draw against the 2008 winners, the Old Malver nians, was an enticing first round encounter for new captain Chris Paget After winning the toss, he decided to bat The opener Charlie Sindrey put on a stylish 54, while the no 3 and wicketkeeper Tom Poynton accelerated past him to reach 60, in a marvellous partnership of 98 Ed “Woody” Bridgeman’s 44 steadied the middle of the innings and allowed youngsters Lamb & Corbett to hit rapid 20’s in setting a high total of 261 9
Jonathan Fry (Hall)
Tom Hird (Priory) Tony Wesson (Hall) John Walker (Hall) Geoffrey Piper (Brook) Joe Bridgeman (Hall) Guy Tur ner (Priory) Alan Basnett (Priory) Chris Anderson (Mitre) John Ballinger (Priory) Michael Henderson (New)
REPTON PILGRIMS CC A NEAR PERFECT 2009 FOR THE PILGRIMS
FULL SQUAD: J N Batty, J W Blackwell, P M Borrington, E A R Bridgeman, S K Chilman, E Corbett, S H J French, L T Har vey, R C Kniveton, J E Lamb, A W Mace, D J O’Gram, C D Paget, T Poynton, J F Sheard, C R H FSindrey, A C Stubbs, T A Swerling, C E Wall, R F Williamson
Apart from being able to pick a fair old team from their ranks, we in the OR office would like to issue a challenge to anyone who thinks they can identify the years of entry to Repton of the above 17 If you add all the years of entry together, (using the last two digits of the year) what total would you end up with?
Here is an attempted summary of the list of OR cricketers / cricket fans whom I encountered Donald Carr (Latham) Mark Smith (Orchard) Richard Hutton (Hall) Mark Jerman (Hall) John Hird (Priory) Sam Hird (Priory)
After reaching the semi final stage in 2006, the Pilgrims finally reached their first final of the millennium in the marvellous surroundings of the Deer Park, Richmond Our adversaries were Tonbridge, the most successful Cricketer Cup side and finalists 6 times since 2000 So the Pilgrims had to play to their full potential to achieve victory
That endearingly candid self assessment was written by Eric Maschwitz OBE in his 1957 autobiography No chip on my shoulder His name is no longer recognised by the public at large, but in his day Maschwitz was a key figure in popular entertainment a writer, broadcaster, lyricist, and broadcasting executive who was said to know ‘simply everyone in show business’
The quarter final was at Uppingham, with Chris back in charge, and the main change was Ricky Kniveton behind the stumps (flown in from the Isle of Man) as Tom was busy with England U19 Paul Borrington repaid his captain’s decision to bat with a very fine opening 112, ably supported by Alex Mace, who hit 64 quick runs in a partnership of 124 Paul maintained a run rate of 5 per over throughout the innings and was unlucky to be caught in the 49th over, but his innings allowed the Pilgrims to post a searching total of 265 9
OR PROFILES: ERIC MASCHWITZ (H’15)
Continued
The Rovers were frustrated early on by another fine spell from Charlie Wall of 10 overs, 1 28, and, despite a 95 run partnership, they needed 140+ off the final 20 overs Paget proved to be very adept at buying wickets, finishing with 5 69, the first bowler to take 5+ wickets since 1992 Fortunately Tony Stubbs, the voice of experience and captain of his county over 50’s side, was bowling more economically at the other end and picked up 2 wickets for 35 off 8 overs When Lamb took the final wicket in his first over, Uppingham ended 221 all out in the 47th over Rain washed out the proposed match at home, with Eton very happy to hear that Jon Batty would be unable to play the next week, and the Pilgrims delighted to hear that Scott Chilman would be available! Chris Paget again won the toss (does he have a lucky coin?) and decided to bat on a damp mor ning On a slow outfield Charlie Sindrey’s opening 54 was worth its weight, as he and Chris (37) accumulated 95 runs off 24 overs After a flurry of wickets Jack Lamb kept a steady head in a stand of 50 with Charlie Wall (24), hitting a controlled 41 until a rush of blood in the final over By then the Pilgrims had reached 201, all out with one ball to spare Charlie Wall bowled with outstanding craft and accuracy on a drying pitch to finish his spell with 3 18 off his 10 overs with 5 maidens, and leave the Ramblers in serious trouble at 64 4 off 20 overs Paget & Stubbs kept the runs in check & took further wickets, largely due to Tom Poynton’s reactions behind the stumps Jack Lamb came on in the 33rd over to end Eton’s hopes with the removal of captain Loudon As the Ramblers finished on 135 all out in the 41st over, Lamb picked up a haul of 3 17, Poynton joined the select list of keepers who have taken 4+ catches/stumpings in a match So to the final Chris inevitably won the toss and chose to bat on a day which started overcast and became red hot in mid after noon Paul Borrington (31) & Charlie Sindrey (69) again gave us an excellent start of 60, and Charlie went on to partner Jon Batty (41) in a further stand of 78 to take the Pilgrims to 139 2 off 32 overs The team knew the run rate had to increase from here to set Tonbridge a challenging total, and unfortunately this led to a flurry of wickets with Batty seventh out in the 42nd over for 166 Lamb (33 not out) & Wall (25 not out) concentrated on survival first until the last over, whereupon they launched themselves at every ball to hit 25 runs, including 3 sixes The total set was 219 Charlie Wall repeated his opening sparse spell, 10 overs for 29 runs on this occasion, & was joined by spinner Scott Chilman, who finished with 9 overs for 28 runs However, it was the introduction of Chris Paget which induced Ed Smith to sky one straight to Jon Batty The Pilgrims continued to fight hard and were rewarded with the wickets of captain Walsh & wicketkeeper Shales, both caught behind off Lamb At 109 3 off 31 the game was still in the balance Unfortunately, no further wickets were forthcoming, as Banes took charge and steered Tonbridge to victory with a masterful 88 not out Paget mixed up the bowling as much as possible but the Old Tonbridgians were unfazed, and reached their target in the 48th over However, the Pilgrims should take pride in their performances this year and in contributing to an eventful and exciting final Angela Aulton
(20) In the formative years of both radio and television OR Eric Maschwitz (H’15) was King of Light Entertainment’ and much more besides He has written a few songs that people sing, a few plays that are still occasionally performed; he has had great happiness from women and made several good women unhappy, seen men die beside him in a war, worked hard at too many things, honoured his father and mother and in general done his damnedest (which is perhaps a poor substitute for his best) He is congenitally incapable of jealousy and lamentably unsuspicious of other people’s motives; he laughs and weeps too readily and is considerably lacking in moral courage
Finally, Eldred bowled at the death to take a superb 4 61 off 7 4 overs, as the Templars finished on 252 all out
REPTON PILGRIMS CC Continued
And the springboard for a thoroughly interesting life was a stimulating education in Derbyshire, for his first forays into the world of entertainment were made at Repton There have been other Repton alumni whose names have enjoyed a more enduring profile, but few can equal Maschwitz for sheer breadth of contribution in that sentimental genre now much eroded dubbed ‘light entertainment’
Yet even in the midst of serious conflict or perhaps partly because of it he continued to create sentimental material In particular he tur ned his hand to writing lyrics, and his wider known legacy is provided by his popular songs; A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (1940) and the earlier These Foolish Things ( Remind me of you ) Both songs are still well known and have enjoyed renewed exposure to new generations through their use as soundtracks in recent film and television productions
Albert Eric Maschwitz was bor n in Edgbaston, Birmingham, on 10th June 1901, the descendant of Silesian immigrants He had a natural talent for employing the written and spoken word and was a frequent contributor of original material to The Reptonian He also wrote a three act play about an entire family that died of venereal disease
OR PROFILES: ERIC MASCHWITZ (H’15) Continued (21)
After a fruitful life Eric Maschwitz died in London on 27th October 1969, aged 68 Amoung the multi talented ranks of Repton School alumni he may not be as well known today as some of his later counterparts, but who is to say that the Maschwitz legacy will not in the long run prove more enduring and perhaps more profound Extracted from Derbyshire Life
From Repton Maschwitz went to Caius College, Cambridge and from there embarked on a career in entertainment which embraced the disciplines of radio, television, film, stage, music and the literary world He began a stage acting career in the early 1920’s but soon tur ned to concentrating his efforts ‘behind the scenes’ He joined the BBC in 1926 and was quickly made Assistant Head of Outside Broadcasting That same year he also married the English film and stage comedienne Hermione Gingold In 1927 he became editor of Radio T imes, relinquishing that post in 1933 when he was appointed Variety Director of the BBC at that time the highest profile role in the British entertainment industry His first contribution as a radio producer was the tremendously popular light entertainment show In Town Tonight broadcast from 1933 to 1960 it became a national institution In the late 1930’s, his reputation suitably enhanced, Maschwitz went to Hollywood under contract to the leading film company MGM, for whom he wrote the screenplays of several successful films The best known and one with a further Repton link was the Oscar winning Goodbye Mr Chips (1939), part filmed at the school Indeed the award of that role to his alma mater was largely engineered by Maschwitz He undoubtedly drew upon his own experiences at Repton in interpreting James Hilton’s best selling novel, for a key theme in the movie was the way in which the fictional school Brookfields was so greatly affected by the onset of the First World War The title of Maschwitz’s autobiography No Chip On My Shoulder was a mischievous nod to this enduring success The MGM experience gave Maschwitz a real taste of the glamorous trappings of Hollywood, but all too soon he became embroiled in the rather less frivolous arena of the Second World War, retuning to England to play his part From August 1939 he was a postal censor based in Liverpool, and from November that year he served with the Secret Intelligence Service in their anti sabotage arm In 1940 he was commissioned in the Intelligence Corps and then sent to New York to work for the British Security Co Ordinaton He retur ned to London in 1942 and briefly supervised radio programmes for broadcasting to the troops He ended the war as Chief Broadcasting Officer with the 21st Army Group and emerged as a Lieutenant Colonel
Even so, such excursions were mere diversions for Maschwitz, and in 1958, at the start of the BBC ITV ratings war, he rejoined the BBC as Head of Television Light Entertainment His first contribution was to commission the hugely popular Black and White Minstrel Show, in those more innocent times Maschwitz developed this into a cult success which in time attracted regular audiences of 16 million viewers It now languishes in the growing archive labelled ‘politically incorrect’ About his job Maschwitz said refreshingly: “I don’t think the BBC is a cultural organisation We’ve got to please the people The job of a man putting on a show is simply to get an audience”
These romantic songs may have betrayed a certain unease with his own marital status, He divorced Hermione Gingold in 1945 and was quickly remarried the same year to the American actress Phyllis Gordon, a former star of the silent screen She remained his wife until his death, Maschwitz also wrote the lyrics for many stage musicals and operettas Amongst them were Balalaika, Summer Song, and Love from Judy, but most successful was the 1951 stage musical Zip Goes A Million starring film comedian George Formby Although widely tipped as a cast iron flop, the phrase ‘tur ned out nice again’ was soon on every critic’s lips as the ‘gormless norther ner’ Formby ear ned nightly standing ovations from hardened London theatregoers
His success in doing exactly that was soon acknowledged by the opposition The more commercial television company of that era liked his style, and in 1963 Maschwitz left the BBC to join ITV Despite being then in his sixties, his success in attracting an audience continued Aside from all of his ‘showbiz’ achievements, Maschwitz also found time to write several novels One of his better ones was the detective story Death at Broadcasting House (1931) spur ning realism, the plot revolves around a radio play disrupted by the murder of one of the cast Scanning shelves for Maschwitz titles may not prove fruitful, however, for when writing he often used the Americanised pseudonym Holt Marvell
OR PROFILES: HENRY ‘HARRY’ VASSALL REPTON SCHOOLMASTER WAS PIONEER OF MODERN RUGBY UNION TACTICS.
One of his party pieces was to entertain the younger ones by setting off his gold repeater watch
Harry Vassall died on January 5, 1925 , aged 64 His grave lies just yards from that of fellow sporting celebrity C B Fry, yet few visitors are aware of Vassall’s presence, let alone his credentials
Photographs kindly supplied by Peter Seddon
A former master and a pioneer of moder n rugby union, only a handful still living could have met him Harry Vassall was bor n in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, on October 22, 1860, but the greatest part of his life was spent in Derbyshire He lived in Repton for 40 years, from 1985 until his death An influential master and a fine forward, he played rugby union five times for England in the early 1880’s captaining the side once, and is considered one of the game’s great early thinkers His initial proficiency was gained as a schoolboy at Marlborough College, W iltshire, and he continued to pursue the game at Oxford in 1879, where he was an exhibitioner at Hertford College He was in the University XV for four years, from 1879 to 1882, and captained the side in his final two seasons Under his coaching, Oxford rugby gained great fame and the team at that time included a nucleus of players who were selected for England No game of significance was lost during Vassall’s spell there Vassall played at club level for Blackheath, making his full England debut in 1882 in the side’s first ever inter national against Wales, marking the occasion by scoring a hat trick of tries He went on to serve from 1884 to 1894 as honourary treasurer of the Rugby Football Union During his time at Oxford, he encouraged the then innovatory tactic of team combination and open play as an antidote to the huddled brute force mentality which had hitherto reigned As such, he is regarded by rugby historians as the man most responsible for introducing intelligence and refinement into the sport and has been labelled a pioneer of moder n rugby methods More specifically, he is credited with introducing the three three quarter formation into rugby union instead of the traditional two three quarters system He also wrote an authoritative book on the game which is now very collectable Henry Vassall came to Repton in 1885, appointed by Fur neaux whose pupil he had been when in the Sixth at Marlborough; his serious playing days were behind him Even so, the boys were fully aware of his sporting prowess and took to him readily He was that rare breed admired equally by pupils and staff alike Initially Hall Housemaster, he was appointed bursar in 1905 In 1900 he became Housemaster of The Priory (then housed in the Old Priory) Apart from his regular teaching duties, he also took the Army class, became a self appointed geology master and fronted the school’s own fire brigade He was a man of action out of school, too, spending his holidays as a yachtsman, sailing in Scotland and off the coast of Norway But he could also be deeply studious When, in 1905, he was appointed secretary of the Old Reptonian Society, he took it upon himself to research the early history of the school and its former pupils By virtue of much detailed and scholarly research into School archives he became the chief authority on Repton history; he was responsible for the drawing up of the lists of the early Headmasters, and of boys in the first hundred years of its existence He also took a keen interest in archaeology and antiquities and was responsible for unearthing a Danish axe head from the vicinity of St Wystan’s crypt, which was considered a significant find Known to many generations of Reptonians as ‘Jugs’, he was considered a great sport and a kindly figure, renowned for his booming laugh and geniality, In contrast to the more snooty Repton masters, he was totally at ease with the villagers and local children, for his great physical strength, and for his Homeric laughter He was a kind and sympathetic housemaster, admired by all for his forthright manliness and vigour, ready to leave the day to day routine of the house to his prefects, who knew well that he was always ready to support them when they wanted help "
In the Repton School history, published in 1957, it was said of him: “Joy was the keynote of Harry Vassall’s character He has been fittingly compared with one of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘ideal men’, those who ‘with laughter, song and shout spin the great wheel of earth about’ ”
The All England Series, published by George Bell and Sons A mainly instructional book with additional chapters on professionalism, refereeing & the Norther n Union 78 pages 1st Edition published 1889, 2nd Edition 1898
Extracted from: Peter Seddon writing in Derby Evening Telegraph 15 06 09, Repton Archives and from Rev R F Peachey, in a letter to Ber nard Thomas, 1957 (22) “Rugby Football" by Harry Vassall & Arthur Budd
“Though himself an inter national Rugby player, he put Repton on the map in Soccer, playing as well as coaching, hurling himself with elephantine energy and agility through the goalposts with three or four boys, besides the ball, adhering to his colossal chest His sister, who used to visit Repton to stay with her famous brother, was aptly named Vaseline "
Eventually the National called again, with the “All’s Well” offer, in a production hailed in the national press as “a masterpiece of deep feeling and cutting intelligence” where “the performances are uniformly excellent” The run culminates in a final performance on 1 October, to be filmed in high definition and broadcast live via satellite to approximately 65 UK cinemas and arts centres, and over 250 venues globally Quite a way to bring down the final curtain
OR PROFILES: GEORGE RAINSFORD (M’96)
Repton has in recent years produced an impressive clutch of young thespians plying their trade with great distinction on the screens and stages of our media hungry nation, Nick Bur ns (Nathan Barley, Manstrokewoman, Benidorm) and Tom Chambers (Holby City, Strictly Come Dancing) being particularly familiar faces The latest addition to the list is George Rainsford (M’96), currently completing a six month stint as male lead Bertram in Marianne Elliott's highly acclaimed National Theatre production of Shakespeare’s “All’s Well That Ends Well” at the Olivier George’s path to South Bank stardom was anything but pre destined Although a regular on the 400 Hall stage while at Repton, George concedes that it was only gradually that the smell of grease paint became addictive He cites one particular incident at Repton which was pivotal “By the Upper Sixth form”, he remembers, “I was a member of the National Youth Theatre, and intended to spend the summer holiday before university working with them But Ben Cavey (P’92), who’s now Creative Director (Comedy) at T iger Aspect Productions, came up one evening to The Mitre and persuaded me to throw my lot in with the Rep Theatre Company, which was taking Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus to the Edinburgh Fringe that August”
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From there it was a first taste of television, playing the estranged, drug addled son of Trevor Eve in the highly popular detective drama “Waking the Dead” George admits to being “a bit nervous” working with Eve at first who wouldn’t be, playing opposite one of Britain’s finest stage and screen practioners? especially as he’d “not really done any telly” previously, and because it is “a genre you don’t really train for” at drama school
George was eventually cast in the leading role of Mozart in that Reptonian and OR based production, and pays tribute to Cavey’s ongoing interest in his career and development “He helped me to select and prepare audition pieces, to choose my university course (Drama, Manchester) and then a drama school (LAMDA) He seemed to know instinctively what the right next step was for me personally”
For any young, aspiring actor, the “right next step” after drama school is simple paid employment The problem is the waiting for auditions, the agent’s call, the signed contract dropping on the doormat Casual employment helps to pay the bills George wryly recalls temping as a lift operator, painting toilets and selling gym membership in what actors call their “resting” periods but is the big break, indeed any kind of break, ever coming?
George is modestly downbeat about his own relatively rapid entry into the real world of the acting profession “The right opportunities came up”, he comments, “and gradually I realised I could possibly make it happen” They came up in the shape of D’Artagnan, the swashbuckling lead role in Bristol Old Vic’s production of “The Three Musketeers” , swiftly followed by his National Theatre debut in a contemporary double bill pairing Enda Walsh’s “Chatroom” and Mark Ravenhill’s “Citizenship” , including performances at the prestigious Hong Kong Arts Festival
And after that, perhaps a well ear ned holiday would be appropriate? Not a bit of it, because another important debut beckons for George, this time with the Royal Shakespeare Company, as Jamie, one of two male leads in Roy W illiams’ “Days of Significance” , a powerful and harrowing meditation on the effects of moder n warfare which will tour to Newcastle upon Tyne, Oxford, Coventry, Poole, Cardiff and Salford in October and November So George’s diary is pretty full at present, which is exactly how he likes it “When you’re working, it’s brilliant”, he smiles, “when you’re not, it isn’t” Can he actually envisage doing anything else for a living? “I’d be happy doing other things”, he claims, with at least a modicum of conviction Safe to say, though, that if his career in acting continues to develop at its current rate of knots, it seems highly unlikely that he will one day have to George in Grease 1997 George in Shakespeare’s “All’s Well That Ends Well” at the National Theatre, 2009
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OR
Now Richard spends his time travelling around those parts of Africa and south east Asia that have suffered, or are in danger of degenerating into, violent conflict, and also around the UK seeking support for CORD’s work
CORD’s values are very similar to the ethos of Repton The charity has moved beyond the 1990’s models of aid and development that resulted in much waste and corruption “We’re both in the business of capacity development helping people to help themselves And we recognise that it’s our relationships with each other, and not our advertising or campaigning, which underpins our success That’s why each year we spend less than 8% of our £2 5 million budget on all our UK administration ” However, it’s not all deathly virtuous for Richard “I’ve just launched the world’s first toilet twinning initiative a fun way of tackling the very serious issue that 40% of the world’s population doesn’t have access to a safe and hygienic toilet ”
For more information about toilet twinning visit www.toilettwinning.org or email rdickson@cord.org.uk
Richard’s jour ney had an inauspicious start “I didn’t focus hard enough on my A levels so failed to get the grades needed to go to Westminster Medical School Instead, I got a business studies degree and initially pursued a career in the City ” It was only when Richard got involved with several charities organising cause related marketing campaigns for Barclays Bank that he saw that his business skills could be used for a purpose other than just lining shareholders’ pockets “I like to think that it had been at Repton that I’d lear ned something quite profound: about the awareness of the needs of others and the need to use the talents and privileges that I’d been given for a wider benefit However, the step into inter national development wasn’t easy there was so much to lear n and also a financial cost too!”
PROFILES: RICHARD DICKSON (N’73)
A long way from New House’s lavatory lane in the 1970s! Richard in Cambodia, with one of the beneficiaries of a CORD funded irrigation scheme One of CORD’s ‘twinned’ toilets A Primar y School class in a refuge camp on the Darfur/Chad border
“In parts of Africa I’ve seen such absolute poverty where there is no formal education, no electricity and no basic sanitation and yet the people are incredibly resourceful ” In Burundi, CORD is one of the very few British agencies that works amongst Hutu and Tutsi refugees who are coming home to find their homes, schools and businesses destroyed after the decade of conflict that ended in 2005 In four refugee camps on the Darfur/Chad border, in daytime temperatures that average 45°C, CORD is the largest UK charity in terms of the number of local people that it employs mainly supporting Primary level education work for the Darfuri and Chadian refugees In Cambodia, 30 years after the end of the Khmer Rouge genocide, CORD is working with local groups to help them build a peaceful civil society and address issues associated with land grabbing, poor education and women’s rights
Helping people build peace amongst the villages of easter n Burundi or in the rice fields of rural Cambodia may seem a long way from the bedsits of New House and the summer comfort of watching cricket on The Square However, that has been the jour ney of Richard Dickson (New ’73), who is now a Director of the inter national development charity CORD
On Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June 2009, Louise Howarth (G’96) and Iain Wright ( L’82) from law firm Morgan Lewis along with 4 colleagues decided to attempt this challenge with the assistance of Louise’s brother as support crew So straight out of their central London offices, the Morgan Lewis team jumped on a train up to W indermere to be met with glorious sunshine and stunning views After about 4 hours’ sleep, we were up and on our way to the start point After various checks, safety briefings and radio checks, the team set off at 5 10am The going was good, a gentle stroll past the edge of Buttermere, and by 7am the team had summitted their first peak, Red Pike only 23 to go then At this stage the peaks were enshrouded in mist and our Duke of Edinburgh map reading skills were put to the test In short, the team completed an extra peak before retur ning to the correct course, to summit High Crag at about 8 11am, then on to Great Gable for 11 19am half way already! After a brief pause for lunch the team had Lingmell then the mammoth Sca Fell Pike with which to contend Still, no time to dwell on the task as we were already thinking about Great End, and the long slow descent down Bow Fell After a sudden thunderstorm, a cut head and various feet and knee problems we completed Day One at 7 27pm 14 hours and 17 minutes after we set off in the early mor ning mist Day Two saw a team of very sleep deprived lawyers marching through the Lake District with steely determination to make up the lost 20 minutes of Day One and complete the challenge within the 24 hours 5 10am and we were off up Red Screes The day flew by in a wealth of games, songs and any activities that we could dream up to take our minds off the aches and pains By 2 30pm, we had realised it was now do or die; we were all going to have to run the last kilometre to finish together I am very proud to say that having raised our £6,000, we all crossed the line within the time as the clock struck 23 hours and 58 minutes a supreme team effort! Louise Howarth LOUISE HOWARTH (G’96) and IAIN WRIGHT (L’82)
I am travelling in my uniform shirt as it can make the jour ney slightly easier, particularly with customs and security staff My organisation has been working in Papua New Guinea for over 40 years where it is well known and respected for the assistance it has given The logo is of an open Bible carried on two wings with the words Mission Aviation Fellowship MAF is a Christian organisation whose mission is to fly light aircraft in developing countries so that people in remote areas can receive the help they need Every three minutes an MAF plane is taking off or landing somewhere in the world These flights enable crucial work by many development and aid agencies, missions, local churches and other national groups The Good News of Jesus Christ is being spread by both word and deed as access is provided to medical care, adequate food, clean water and education So, am I a pilot? No, actually I’m an accountant! I trained with KPMG in Newcastle and then spent most of the following 15 years working at the Port of Tyne Authority That was an enormously varied job, accounting for civil engineering projects, plant maintenance, tenancies and a haulage subsidiary as well as the more obvious ships’ dues and stevedoring It was remarkably good training, in fact, for accounting at an airline with projects to build hangars or houses, maintenance of aircraft, some tenancies and a core business of moving people and cargo I was still rather surprised, though, to find myself in a job (Regional Finance Manager for MAF International Asia Pacific region) which is based in Cair ns when Australia was not even on my list of places to visit I had had a number of unusual “holidays” in Africa from a project connected with a library bus in Ghana to visiting an elderly missionary director of a hospital in Uganda to doing some book keeping for the Durham diocesan charity in Lesotho Involvement with Guiding and Rotary also helped broaden my inter national outlook so when I was ready for a change from the Port, I went to specialist recruitment agency Mango to look for a job with a charity overseas This organisation (Management Accountants for NGOs) is itself a charity which aims to improve the accounting within non gover nmental organisations Reviewing their vacancies and taking account of my experience and coeliac condition, the Cair ns job was suggested and then confirmed following several hours of interviews with MAF FIONA STEVENSON (A’83)
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Louise Howarth & Iain Wright
OR NEWS:
OR NEWS:
“Are you a pilot?” The question comes, not for the first time, as I sit in the departure lounge at Port Moresby airport, Papua New Guinea, waiting for a connecting flight to Mount Hagen
The Challenge was to walk up 24 Peaks in the Lake District (including 2 of England’s highest peaks, Sca Fell Pike and Hellvellyn), each over 2,400 ft, within 24 hours The mileage to be covered in Day One would be around 17 5 Day Two would involve another long day of mountain ridges, with the mileage covered around 14 miles The total height to be climbed would be over 13,000 feet The aim was to raise £6,000 for Care Inter national, a global humanitarian organisation which works with over 45 million disadvantaged people in 70 of the world's poorest countries
The focus for each of the four films was different perspectives on art We tackled documentaries regarding the public’s & the artist’s perspectives gaining insights from the patrons of the Tate Moder n gallery and the fascinating musings of Anthony Gormley respectively For the other two, we endeavoured to do something infinitely harder drama pieces as opposed to documentary It is a feat to tell a complete story in three short minutes The ‘historical’ piece led to a fearsome night shoot in the National Gallery where one can only assume the ghosts of muses past roam the halls but it was the ‘teenage’ piece that grabbed my attention the most This film is about a 17 year old lad who is a talented and dedicated boxer After finishing a session he gets changed and heads off to the local art gallery to see his hero an Andy Warhol poster of Muhammad Ali (As shown at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery) Happily, the atmospheric film worked out beautifully and of course the direction and tireless toil from the crew brought it all together but the things that made it were the young actor, Sam, and the boxing gym in which he trained and we filmed
It was one of those jobs that I love doing, it hardly pays the bills but I get to spend a few weeks pondering on interesting titbits in the world In this case I was hired as a production manager on a film crew commissioned by the Art Fund to make a series of Three Minute Wonders for Channel Four
Continued
Are you a pilot or an engineer, an accountant, an IT or HR specialist? MAF could have a job for you too!
OR NEWS: MOLLY TUDHOPE (G’92) and REPTON BOXING CLUB
OR NEWS: FIONA STEVENSON (A’83) Continued
Most of the time I am office based but I did manage a day accompanying one of the pilots in PNG It started off as a cargo flight, carrying chicks (smelly) for an income generating project at the Christian Leaders Training College and medical supplies for a clinic After refuelling by hand pump, the next stop was at Oksapmin, a remote village in the hills with a challenging grass airstrip where the whole community tur ned out to meet us Here we delivered food for their store and picked up goods for market At Tabubil, refuelling was by pump from the mobile bowser which was easier for the pilot but here he and the ground staff had to reinstall the seats ready to take some passengers back from the mine to their home village This was another grass airstrip with the community again out in force and this time hawkers were selling peanuts and short spears to the remaining passengers After a further refuelling by hand pump we were on the final leg back to Hagen but by this time the weather had changed, as is usual, and the pilot had to try various routes before he could find a passage clear of the cloud and rain In PNG, single engine aircraft are legally obliged to fly by visual flights rules although the pilots are equipped with and trained to use instruments We landed safely in a downpour after what had been a fairly routine day Another pilot might have been involved in a medical evacuation which is quite common, especially for pregnancy related cases in a country where mater nal healthcare is very limited As you can imagine, the costs for which I am accounting are high, particularly maintenance, fuel, insurance and staff costs Income comes partly from airfares but these are subsidised to a greater or lesser extent depending on the type of passenger (Australian gover nment is full rate but a local church pastor highly subsidised) The balance comes from donations supporting particular staff members, general gifts and donations for specific projects such as a new aircraft If you would like to support MAF in general or my work in the Asia Pacific region in particular, donations can be sent to Mission Aviation Fellowship, Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone, Kent CT20 2TN where they would be gratefully received They could also give you more information on supporting MAF or me in prayer
I have now been here for 15 months with several changes to my role in that time Initially I was accounting mainly for the Ar nhem Land programme which is in a remote part of the Norther n Territory, working largely from the regional office in Cair ns Currently I am spending a high proportion of my time in Papua New Guinea until a full time Finance Manager can be found for the country Whilst there, I oversee a department of 8 national staff, training them and encouraging them to apply good accounting procedures
Fiona Stevenson (26)
Robert Molesworth Kindersley (1871 1954) followed his older brother, John, to the Hall in 1883 However, a decline in family fortunes meant that Robert had to be withdrawn from the school in July 1887 and whereas John went to Oxford, Robert was obliged to make his way in the world Beginning as a clerk, Robert worked his way up to become a member of the stock exchange, a merchant banker and ultimately a major figure in the City: a fact symbolized by his directorship of the Bank of England (1914 46) and service on several of its committees
When Lenin died in 1924 the Politburo created an Immortalization Commission to deify the memory of the lost leader Repton has no such body but nevertheless abounds in various formal commemorations of the dear departed including scholarships, shields, cups, awards, prizes, plaques, portraits, photographs, boards, benches, screens, stained glass, the George Philipp Travel Award, the Leather Lecture, the Parker 100, the Kropacsy and Caroline Tyler Relays and, of course, the War Memorial However, arguably the most signal and durable honour that can be paid to any individual connected with the school is to preserve his or her name in some room or building It was not until Michaelmas 1917 that the practice of calling each house by the name of its current housemaster was abandoned There was a very good reason why houses originally carried the name of the incumbent: his personality not only moulded the character of the house but all of the nineteenth century houses which came after the Orchard were originally the private property of the master who founded them Today Latham is the only house still to retain the name of its original housemaster: the Rev Edward Latham The only Headmaster similarly honoured is Steuart Adolphus Pears, our ‘Second Founder’, who is remembered in Pears School or, more properly, the Pears’ Memorial Hall W ith the exception of these illustrious names I sometimes wonder how many present day Reptonians or ORs are familiar with the other notables whose names are preserved here In Repton to the End Kenneth Rose (O’39) provided a wonderful pen portrait of Laurence Arthur Burd, after whom the Burd Library is named Peter Seddon’s piece on Henry Vassall, elsewhere in this issue, celebrates the man whose memory is enshrined in his beloved Old Priory The restoration of the Undercroft, completed by 1927, was paid for largely with money collected by ORs as a memorial to Vassall; the remainder being spent on a portrait of him by R G Eves, which still hangs in the Vassall Room, which was completed in 1931 and fur nished in 1932 as the classroom of the History Sixth Under Graham Jones it became a sixth form classroom for the English department and the home of the English departmental library It now houses a suite of computers for Common Room
Molly Tudhope
The sketches that follow provide a few details regarding three others associated with the school whose memories are or ought to be enshrined in Repton’s fabric REMEMBERED IN STONE
NEWS:
We wanted to make it as authentic as possible and so my searches took me to the heart of London’s boxing world to seek out not only a pugilist who could act and identify with our project but a real old school boxing gym where you could believe you were smelling the sweat and canvas through the television screen We recce ed many places but eventually happed upon a place in Bethnal Green, the heart of London’s East End that was perfect Just taking one step in the door was like taking a step back in time There were fight posters still on the wall from all decades as early as the 1930’s, black and white victory photos with bloodied men holding heavy belts high over the heads and brown streaks and spatters covering the raised canvas of the boxing ring Not only did it look authentic but it was authentic Talking to those that worked there and indeed finding Sam , our young boxer/actor there, it was palpable the importance of this institution to its local residence Sam, a thoughtful and intelligent young man, was a picture of health and entirely focussed on his boxing with a championship bout looming a few short days after filming He was off the streets, channelling his aggression into a skill and charming the socks of the crew I think it is fair to credit much of this to the sage sporting establishment in which we stood the Repton Boxing Club established by the school in 1884 (www reptonboxingclub com)
Created the first Baron Kindersley of West Hoathly in 1941 on account of his war work in stimulating national savings, Kindersley had first introduced the concept of national savings as a means of financing a very substantial part of the nation's war
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Continued
OR MOLLY TUDHOPE (G’92) and REPTON BOXING CLUB Continued
The Rt. Hon. Lord Kindersley, GBE (H1883)
As well as his public service Kindersley engaged in several charitable enterprises He was a great servant and benefactor of the school, for example presenting it with a valuable seventeenth century Flemish tapestry whilst Chairman of the Gover nors This used to hang in the T ithe Bar n before it was sold He was a member of the Gover ning Body for no less than thirty three years, from 1918 until 1951
The B[ur nett] S[tuart] room is situated above the Design Centre and in its time has played host to the General Knowledge Competition, Film Society, Supervised Prep and INSET for Common Room
REMEMBERED IN STONE Continued effort in the Great War
John Theodosius Bur nett Stuart (1875 1958), familiarly known as ‘Jock Stuart’, was the son of a soldier and himself embarked upon a distinguished military career after Repton From Sandhurst he was commissioned in the rifle brigade and first saw active service on the North West frontier of India in 1897 98 Mentioned in dispatches and awarded the DSO in the Boer War (1899 1902), he graduated from the staff college in 1904 and by 1912 was instructor GSO2 at Staff College, Camberley He ended the First World War as deputy adjutant general at GHQ and, more importantly and unusually for staff officers at that time, with an enhanced reputation as a military strategist From the 1920s he became a leading advocate of two points of view: that Britain should develop a highly mobile, mechanized army, and that that force should not be committed to the continent in the event of another war but should rather safeguard the empire His career ultimately stalled when he was passed over as chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1936, largely because he’d promoted these views not only vigorously but publicly (through several letters to ‘The T imes’) Basil Liddell Hart captured the essence of the man when he wrote that he had a ‘sparkling mind, lively imagination, and long if variable vision’ His ‘impish tur n of mind handicapped his career but together with his informality of manner, made him beloved by his subordinates’
Whilst he was chairman of what came to be known as the National Savings, the number of investors in British gover nment securities rose from 345,000 in 1914 to 17 million by 1918 Insofar as finance provides the sinews of war Kindersley thus made a major contribution to Britain’s victory in both world wars
Sir John Bur nett Stuart (H 1889)
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Broken Promise History is full of ‘what ifs’ and the 1910 Speech Day provides one such example Lionel Ford, in his swansong as Headmaster was able to record that, ‘the whole programme [of building] with one exception had been carried out That one exception was the school museum, and that one omission was almost ready to be made good The plans were ready and the Gover nors had approved them: for a large new building to contain an art school and five or six additional class rooms, and the present art school would be the future museum They wanted to make that final building, on the site of the old Fives Courts, a memorial to the late Lord Burton (Applause) They would call it by his name by his widow’s consent ’
The Rt Hon Lord Burton was worthy of being so honoured He had been a great friend to the school as a member of the Gover ning Body, 1892 1908 (having been nominated by MPs for the County), and as a benefactor For example he pledged £50 towards the cost of the proposed rifle range for the cadet corps and offered to pay a quarter of the costs of the proposed alterations and enlargements which Ford had identified at his second Speech Day and which totalled £2,000 However, no building at Repton bears his name, so if this article serves no other purpose it can at least belatedly seek to make amends by recording the school’s lasting gratitude to Lord Burton His shade might take comfort from the poet’s words: time dissolves all monuments to selfish fame that can accrue Relentlessly the pen moves on, selecting what endures as true; and marks upon posterity the actions we cannot disown Our passage through this world is cast More tellingly than any stone John Plowright, Master of the Scholars
The Kindersley Gateway was presented by members of his family in memory of Robert Molesworth Kindersley and of his brother John and was formally opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1957, the gateway marking the formal entrance to the Precinct and The Queen’s Walk
(29) LETTER FROM HEADMASTER Dear ORs, It is once again my pleasure to write to you, at the kind invitation of your President, to bring you up to date with the current progress of the School and to give you my view of the challenges that face us in the years ahead
One of the principal events of the year has been the inspection of the School by the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate, an important occasion that takes place once every six years I believe it is important to retain a sense of humour and a sense of the human during inspections What better way to start our own Inspection, therefore, than to have the Chaplain begin our whole school service by telling everyone that he fancied Kirsty Allsop and asking everyone in the congregation to give their neighbour a hug As the Lead Inspector was sandwiched between the formidable duo of my wife and Mrs Tennant his day, and indeed the whole inspection, certainly got off to a rousing start: no wonder we received an ‘outstanding’ for our ‘Spiritual, Moral and Cultural Development’! Further ‘outstanding’ gradings were awarded in the categories of : ‘Quality of Pastoral Care’, ‘Quality of Links with Parents and the Community’, ‘Quality of Boarding’, ‘Quality of Governance’ and ‘Quality of Leadership and Management’ and we were graded ‘good’ (with ‘excellent’ or ‘outstanding’ features) in the areas of ‘Educational Experience’, ‘Pupils’ Learning and Achievement’ and ‘Quality of Teaching’ (there are no ‘very goods’ on offer!)
Thus the report paid handsome tribute to the current strength of the School, and I would like to record my thanks to all members of the team pupils, Common Room, Bursary and support staff, together with parents and ORs, for the part they have played in winning a judgment that makes for extremely favourable comparison with similar schools Pupils and Common Room also deserve warm appreciation for their efforts in achieving 83% A and B grades at A level and 67% A* and A grades at GCSE in the recent examination round But whilst thanks are important at such a time, I never want any of us at Repton to become merely self congratulatory The inspection contained a number of ideas for the next phase of the School’s development, not all of which I agree with, but some of which are spot on, and we will be looking hard at how to implement these shortly But for now I would like to concentrate on one of the categories of the inspection that seems to me to be especially important, and that is the Spiritual and Moral Development of the pupils As the Lead Inspector put it in his report ‘The personal development of the individual is at the heart of the School’s philosophy, and pupils show outstanding spiritual, moral and cultural awareness ’
This gives me and should give us all, special encouragement, because the development of young men and women with an awareness of right and wrong, with a discriminating sense of duty to others (whatever their position in society) and the courage to act on their beliefs is, ultimately, what education is all about I like that story of the great nineteenth century headmaster of Eton, Cyril Allington, who was being badgered by a particularly persistent parent because the School was, in her view, failing to provide value for money (Good to know that that was on people’s minds even then!) ‘What, after all, Headmaster’, said the mother, ‘is the purpose of my son’s education if he is not achieving good results?’‘The purpose of your son’s education, M’am’, replied the great man without drawing breath, ‘is to teach him how to die ’ And although I wouldn’t get away with such a response today, still less discourage any proper debate with a parent over value for money, Allington’s answer is worth thinking about, and it is worth us all considering how the right kinds of values, beliefs and qualities are developed in the young The gover nment would have us believe that such standards are nurtured by policies, procedures and audit They are not Furthermore I don’t believe that the confidence required to say ‘no’ to bullying, to a premature relationship or to the temptation of drugs or alcohol comes directly from expensive and often wasteful gover nment campaigns devoted to those aims Such gifts come from something far deeper : from intangible strengths nurtured in the everyday business of thoughtful human contact and sound example absorbed over sustained periods of time in stable structures such as the family, the boarding house, and, yes, Chapel These are the long term foundations that enable young people to build a lasting moral code that can withstand the stresses and strains of life, and by ‘moral code’ I do not merely mean the ability to tolerate other points of view We run the risk in society today, I believe, of overvaluing tolerance Not that it isn’t important it is, of course, one of the key defining marks of a civilised community, but if we lead the young into thinking that tolerance of the point of view of others is a moral code in itself we are deluding them Tolerance is something that grows out of a mature moral code it is not, on its own, a substitute for one And in my view it is the duty of a school to ensure that young people understand that difference The danger today, and it is exacerbated by the role of the media’s obsessive determination to champion the underdog regardless of merit, is that you are demonised if you speak out against a single aspect of any of the great contemporary liberal causes, be that anything from animal rights to social engineering to environmental concer ns, when in fact, we should be teaching the young to assess which aspects of those causes are worth fighting for and to express balanced and discriminating judgements on them without fear of reprisal The assumption that merely with the right kind of procedures in place, the right strategies, the pre defined targets, clear command structures and transparent accountability we can somehow manipulate teenagers to achieve the right ‘outcomes’ in their judgements is, in my view, a deeply flawed one Growing up is, and always has been, more complicated than that, and young people in my view need to understand less about targets and policies and strategies, and more about the human propensity to make mistakes, even if you like, to sin, about our need for forgiveness, for redemption and the role family and friends play in teaching the lessons that put these great gifts into meaningful practice in our daily lives I am proud that in the wider Repton family, in all of our homes, in the boarding houses here and in our Chapel we continue to place that spiritual dimension at the heart of all we do, and through that, achieve a genuinely inclusive and vibrant community
There was more than a touch of the WC Fields about him, ‘Do you like children?’ ‘Yes, especially when they are properly cooked ’ Teachers must like young people, and the success of our retiring staff this year can in large measure be put down to the fact that they have been round pegs in round holes, what I call ‘natural’ teachers None more so than Roger Thompson, our outstanding Director of Sport appointed to the staff by my wise predecessor John Gamell some thirty four years ago
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Roger may now be the only member of staff who still types his letters to me, and in a strange kind of way I will miss that, but he is above all someone who likes young people and translates that affection into real ambition for them and the School
LETTER FROM HEADMASTER Continued
Nowhere has that ambition been more readily visible in Roger’s determination to make Repton the country’s leading tennis School, and the 15 Youll Cup wins and 11 Glanvill Cup victories achieved during Roger’s career, as well as, equally importantly, the time he has invested in each individual pupil, whatever their level of ability, are ample testimony to the success that he has achieved How pleasing for Roger and his team that that achievement was recognised by Repton being crowned Daily Telegraph Independent School of the Year for Sport in his final lap with us Roger will be joined in retirement by his wife Rosemary, who is a Senior Mistress of rare wisdom and kindness who epitomises the civilising influence I identified earlier as being definitive in the development of our sons and daughters David Newman, our Head of Classics, enjoys, perhaps unfairly, the reputation of being the teller of the worst jokes in Common Room, but he sets an indisputably fine example to his charges in his dedication and fearless integrity and fully deserves his preferment to the Deputyship of St Olave’s York Other members of Common Room to move on this year include Fred Rule, whose patient sympathy for his pupils has benefited many Reptonians, David Exley, an OR whose intellect and games playing ability certainly mark him out as one of T imeform’s Horses to Follow for next season, and Neus Reyner, Eve Sacker and Christine Walker whose cheerfulness and consistency provide further hard evidence of my point that teachers need to like children to succeed We wish all our departing staff the very best for the next stage, wherever that may lead them And it is also right at this point that I pay tribute to Frank Watson, who is, thankfully, remaining with us as Housemaster of School House, but who hands over the post of Master in Charge of Cricket to our Director of Sport Elect, Ian Pollock, at the end of this season Those of you with a good memory will recall that I paid tribute a year ago to Mike and Melody Kettle, the other half of the Watson/ Kettle partnership, but now is an appropriate time to record my thanks to Frank for the leadership he has shown in helping Repton, along with others, to regain its reputation as one of the very strongest cricket schools in the land It is easy, in this particular role at Repton, to be dominated by the great names of the past, but Frank and his team of coaches have produced a new generation of players who are playing attacking, competitive cricket and who are hungry to get even better It was splendid to see the new generation forming the backbone of this year’s Pilgrim’s XI that reached the Cricketer Cup Final for the first time in sixteen
We saw a wonderful example of the way in which the spiritual dimension can lift a community in the splendid Service held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Chapel on the occasion of the very successful June Gaudy in which current pupils welcomed back Reptonians from across the generations For that very special day John Bowley had asked Alexander l’Estrange, one of the country’s most talented young composers, to write a new piece to be sung by the choir, and I do not think it is an overstatement to say that the fruit of this request is a significant new addition to the choral repertoire The idea behind the piece, the fusion of dissonant chords into a harmonic whole, is suggested in its title, ‘Tune me, O Lord, into one Harmony’ and the choir’s magnificent first rendition of this anthem captures the way in which a School like ours, at so many levels, functions in such a way that its whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts There is a deeply spiritual dimension to this sense of together ness, and whether young people articulate it or not doesn’t really matter what counts is that in a very real way, far removed from the world of policy agenda, they are being given the chance to develop an appreciation of the confidence, sense of achievement and sheer fun and joy that teamwork can bring I am constantly revived by the many ways in which being part of the Repton team translates itself into the highest standards of initiative and adventure in and out of the classroom How many schools can claim a significant role in a major piece of university research into adolescent well being, as we are doing via Miss Hor ne’s ‘Sleep Soc’; a co written novel, as in Ben Hunjan and Chris War ner’s ‘Fleeting Hope’; a team of Design Scholars, including four Arkwright Award winners, who have designed and built the playground equipment for the village primary school; the establishment, under Dr Ingleston’s imaginative leadership, of a Genetics Summer School not only for Reptonians but also for talented scientists from the local state sector; a Global Perspectives Conference masterminded by Dr Pitts that will bring together, in a most imaginative way, Repton and our sister school Repton Dubai, about which more can be read elsewhere in this edition of the Arch; national championship winning teams in girls hockey, football and boys cricket indeed an entire body of pupils who did a spontaneous Mexican wave on the occasion of the school photograph and still had the photographer saying that this was the most polite and relaxed group of school children he had had the pleasure to work with? Certainly, I hope that all of these examples, and they are illustrative highlights rather than a comprehensive picture, point to a determined, ambitious and interesting team at work, though I must admit I did pause and give the photographer’s second adjective a moment’s thought whilst considering if we could take it as a compliment In the end I came to the conclusion that we could, and an important one at that If, after all, we can achieve the standards to which we aspire and do so without over pressurising our pupils, we are doing them an important service, and it is interesting to note how frequently visiting parents do remark on the relaxed nature of the School, and in particular, the informal yet respectful relations that exist between pupils and staff One of the reasons for this is that we are blessed with a Common Room that likes children Sounds obvious, doesn’t it, but we all remember our own school days and I for one can distinctly recall a Latin teacher whose chief motivating force seemed to be an antipathy towards the young
The School is full, parental and alumni confidence in Repton is high, and that is something for which I and the Gover nors remain very grateful But most of all I am optimistic because every day I wake up knowing that whatever problems or pitfalls the next few hours may bring I will also witness example upon example of Reptonians radiating both the talent and the spiritual warmth that Repton stands for To be Headmaster of this School is a pleasure and a privilege Yours sincerely, Robert Holroyd Post Script: And so to Ypres……. I write this on a balmy August day, with the bustle of the term time now having receded, and somehow I am transported back to that hot and still summer of 1914, the calm before the storm when the idyll of England’s manicured lawns was shattered for ever and so many lives were taken, and countless more thrown into turmoil It is important that the young of today reflect upon these events and I am glad that we have now confirmed that in October (weekend of 24th/25th) a party of musicians from the School will be going to St George’s Chapel, Ypres, to take part in a special Service to dedicate a memorial plaque to the 355 Old Reptonians who died in The First World War News of this event came out too late to be included in the last ‘Arch’, but it has been well publicised on the website and elsewhere in recent months and you will find further details of the trip in this edition, as well as of course being able to look forward to a full review of the occasion in next May’s publication
We are fortunate in that we will be able to combine our visit with the unveiling of a memorial to those members of the Sherwood Foresters who fell in Flanders, and the boys and girls will have the privilege of playing with a Regimental Band as well as receiving a guided tour of the battle grounds from experts in the field I am sure this will be a weekend to live long in the memory and should any members of the Repton community wish to join us at that Service, you would of course be very welcome Mr Stevens, whom you will recall mounted a superb exhibition on the lives of the 355 Reptonians who died in the war some two years ago, will revive and amplify this display in advance of the trip, and make it available to all members of the community, in order that the Service itself may have the deepest possible resonance Robert Holroyd
Thereafter we will, finances permitting, proceed to the development of the Science Priory, a centre that will not only offer the highest standard of facility for Reptonians, but put us on the map as the leading provider of training for teachers both in the maintained as well as independent sectors I will, if I may, write to you separately in more detail with our plans in this area in due course So despite the note of caution that the credit crunch must inevitably sound I remain optimistic and ambitious for the future of Repton and for independent schools in general certainly those that are well managed and don’t shy from taking difficult decisions when they need to be taken
LETTER FROM HEADMASTER Continued
(31) years, and under the inspired captaincy of Chris Paget and expert off the field leadership of Messrs Hutton, Ross and Russell, we now have a squad well equipped to do well in years to come And who could disagree, despite the continued importance of the traditional format, that the Twenty:20 matches held in recent seasons on the Square in front of vital, appreciative and large mixed sex crowds have not also shown Repton at its very best? Last year’s national championship title was a fitting tribute to Frank’s leadership and he has given Ian a fine legacy on which to build Good teachers are the bedrock of a School such as ours, but facilities are important too, because they inspire and set standards that influence the young for the rest of their lives Yet the need to reinvest in facilities has, of course, to be balanced against the demands of the prevailing economic climate Last financial year saw us complete the Digital Learning Centre for Moder n Languages, the refurbishment of the Grubber, the redevelopment of the Music School (please do go and visit the new Recording Studio and newly modelled Beldam Hall if you haven’t already done so) and, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous Old Reptonian, the restoration of the magnificent Harrison and Harrison organ to its former glory This financial year we have tightened our belts in terms of capital expenditure in order to strengthen our hand for 2010 and have restricted ourselves, therefore, to the refurbishment of School House, which will, of course, be completed to the usual high standard insisted upon by the Bursar, Carl Bilson, eagle eyed Estates Bursar, Mike Critchlow, and their respective teams One of the key features about the capital spend of recent years is that it has been completed, unlike many initiatives of our current gover nment, on the basis of nil borrowing That, and the fact that the School is full, gives us the confidence to continue to be ambitious, and in Spring 2010, subject of course to Gover nors’ final approval and finances remaining strong, we will begin the greatly needed refurbishment of the 400 Hall, retaining the much loved 1957 Marshall Sissons façade but incorporating a completely remodelled auditorium inside designed by London architect Bryan Avery of RADA and Royal Court fame and a new, greatly expanded foyer so that the performers will have a setting fit for the standard of shows that are Mr Levesley’s hallmark and the audience will be able to gather without being squashed in the current cramped entrance space
Over the past few years the Careers Department has seen many changes in the way it has been guiding Repton pupils to think about higher education and the world of work beyond school and university We continue to believe strongly in the value of inviting experienced professional people into school to talk about their work, tapping their expertise and detailed hands on knowledge of individual career paths to guide and inform current Reptonians as they consider their future employment options
Beyond The Arch
The Old Reptonian body has been an invaluable source of support in one of our key career activities, the Careers Forum held annually in June Experts from a wide range of fields address small groups of interested sixth formers, outlining the nature of their work and answering questions from the pupils This year eighteen delegates contributed to the forum, generously volunteering their free time to give our pupils insight into popular areas of employment including law, architecture, the Armed Forces, medicine, financial management, investment banking and jour nalism, among others OR participation in this year’s forum was again significant, and much appreciated Old Reptonians and parents have also helped by offering work experience placements to a number of our pupils Many university courses expect to see evidence of relevant work experience to support applications for particular courses, and this has now become an important part of a pupil’s education A database of ORs and parents willing to help in this area is proving a very valuable resource to current pupils If you would be interested in taking part in next year’s Careers Forum or are willing to offer careers advice or work experience in this way, please contact the Careers Department We would be delighted to hear from you Melissa Blain
SCHOOL NEWS CAREERS DEPARTMENT (32)
The School celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the Commemoration of the Chapel on 6 June 2009 The Choir sang an anthem especially commissioned for the occasion by Alexander L'Estrange entitled 'Tune Me O Lord' The Bishop of Derby presided over the occasion and preached a memorable sermon in which he reminded us that the building of the chapel coincided with the publication of Darwin's 'Origin of Species' In a humorous reflection on how Darwin decided to marry Emma Wedgewood by compiling a list of pluses and minuses the Bishop thought it significant that even in a world of hard scientific reductionism Darwin could never contemplate himself being able to live without love The service was attended by ORs and current Sixth Form alike Rev Adam Watkinson
SCHOOL NEWS CHAPEL COMMEMORATION SERVICE
John Price and Blair Dunlop (S) in On the Razzle
Nathan Carr (N) and Wiebke Green (M) CCF Army Camp 09, Longmoor
(33) SCHOOL NEWS DRAMA
Once again this has been a busy year The School Play in November was a full scale, ambitious production of Tom Stoppard’s hilarious farce, On the Razzle John Price (S), in his last school play, was exceptional as the lead, wringing his hands in anguish at every unlucky twist and tur n, rattling out jokes with a perfect sense of timing and understanding, ably supported by the likes of Blair Dunlop (S) and Joe Knight (O) As I write JMGL is busy preparing a slightly adapted version for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe under the umbrella of the Rep Theatre Company Performances, with almost all of the original cast, take place in the last week of August at C Venues This will be the youngest group the company has taken to Edinburgh and it promises to be a very exciting enterprise Also in the Michaelmas Term IWM produced two, short, Chekhov comedies with the Literary Society Who else could have imagined Chekhov to be so funny? In the first piece, The Anniversary, Mark Harrison (L) and Claudia Johnson Sabine (M) were hilariously controlled and disciplined as a bank fell apart around them In the second, The Proposal, all three actors, Sam Kingston Jones (S), Sarah Cotterill (A) and Tristram Fane Saunders (O), were excellent as a quiet after noon tur ned to high farce The four nights of The Lent Term Charity Cabaret proved to be Repton’s hottest ticket once again There was a full report on this in the last issue of The Arch, but I can confirm that the ‘Child Rehabilitation Centre’ in Sri Lanka was able to benefit from a record sum of £11,330, a superb tribute to the 120 or so staff and pupils involved In the Summer Term the A Level practical pieces went extremely well again There were plenty of A grades and one pupil scored full marks for her acting, only the second time a Reptonian has achieved this At the end of term the Junior School Play was an adaptation of the Capek Brothers’ Insect Play, involving forty pupils There was also a short, very funny performance of Pyramus and Thisbe (the rude mechanicals’ entertainment from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) on the back of a truck in the yard on Speech Day For next year, careful planning has taken place to ensure that the range and standards of opportunity for pupils are maintained during the radical refurbishment of the 400 Hall Exciting times lie ahead!
John Sentence SCHOOL NEWS CCF
ORs may like to know that the CCF Army section summer camp 09 was a resounding success News of the RAF section's summer camp will follow shortly, but will, I am sure, be equally encouraging Army camp, held at Longmoor Camp in Hampshire, immediately after the end of summer term, was a tremendously varied series of opportunities for the 44 cadets who attended (owing to limited places, less than half of the section could attend) These Army section cadets were almost all volunteers (with a few willing pressed) the whole approach, all week, of our cadets reminded me powerfully of the enduring qualities of Reptonians, and it bodes very well for the future of the Contingent that our current A block contains some outstanding young men and women The weekly CCF is the avenue for activities (shooting, kayak, climbing, obstacle course etc ) which broaden the experiences of pupils, and the Longmoor camp added furthermore: shotgun, live rifle ranges (both ETR and Barrack), orienteering, kayak, windsurfing, catamaran rafts, paintballing targetry, section attacks, ambushes, survival skills including water purifying techniques and animal butchery and for selected cadets the chance to represent us in March at Shoot and Obstacle Course competitions My thanks in particular go to the Adjutant, Capt Wadsworth (ex 7 RHA, now Repton's SSI), whose tireless work supported all that was achieved, and to the cadets themselves I invite all ORs to raise a glass, at an appropriate opportunity, to the rude health of the Contingent Gary Lawrence Tristram Fane Saunders (O), Sam Kingston Jones (S) Sarah Cotterill (A) in The Proposal
SCHOOL NEWS - GIRL’S FOOTBALL
SCHOOL NEWS CRICKET
In the summer term the Repton girls’ football team rounded off a very enjoyable season by becoming National Champions in the ISFA Girls Cup Having progressed to the semi finals by the end of the Lent term, we first disposed of Cheltenham Ladies College on our home turf and then faced ACS Cobham an American Inter national School in the final, which was held at St George’s School, Ascot After falling behind twice to our well drilled and accomplished opponents, the Repton girls tur ned in a magnificent second half performance to win the match by 6 goals to 2, including four from midfield maestro Shona McCallin (A), who richly deserved her award as player of the match The other scorers were Lucy Setterington (A) and Abi Halidu (A) It was a proud moment when Abi Rodwell (A), who has been the driving force and dynamo both on and off the pitch, lifted the trophy The girls were all smiles on the long jour ney home after a hard ear ned victory which really puts girls’ football on the map at Repton D S Newman (34)
Repton Girls Make History
The 1st XI enjoyed another excellent season, winning 12 of its 17 games, losing only twice and remaining unbeaten against schools Hamza Siddique (S) (427 at 28 46) did not enjoy the prolific run scoring that he had in 2008 but grew into a most impressive captain and led a side which was most characterised by its depth in all departments On the batting side this was amply illustrated by the fact that though only one batsman, Chris Murrall (O) (418 at 32 15), made a hundred, as many as eight passed fifty Top of the averages was the U16, Sam Graham (S), who made only 276 runs after a late arrival into the side, but averaged 55 20 Other major contributors were Matt Sanderson (S) (325 at 36 11), Tom Cosford (L) (340 at 34 00) and Eddie Ikin (L) (323 at 26 91) The bowling was dominated, in wicket taking terms at least, by the spinners, and in particular the off spin pairing of the prolific Josh Moore (37 at 14 72) and Matt Sanderson (26 at 17 07) W ith a year left at Repton Moore has now taken over eighty 1st XI wickets and Scott Chilman’s (P’99) recent record (111) looks in his sights Seamers Luke Lacey (C’07), Ameer Ahmed (C) and Richard Lawrence (P’04) (at times) all bowled well, too, as did a third off spinner, Tom Cosford Behind the stumps George Hodson-Walker (S) was more than tidy and when he was unavailable Alasdair Fear ns (P) proved a capable understudy In the field, with Ikin outstanding, the standards were generally high both in terms of performance and behaviour Repton teams continue to eschew the mindless noise which characterises the on field behaviour of so many of our opponents and long may that be the case Frank Watson (Master i/c Cricket)
FJR Fred Rule came to Repton from Crossley Heath School, Halifax in 1991 to become Head of ICT; a post which he built from scratch As well as introducing ICT as an examinable subject, he was responsible for, and the driving force behind, the introduction of computer technology throughout the school Prior to Fred’s arrival, there was none of the equipment which everyone now uses as part of their normal routine I can’t think that anyone else has had such an influence in so many disparate areas of the School Having established the initial network with a few Apple computers, he was invited to speak at a major national conference by the managing director of Apple UK Fred was at the forefront of the introduction of new technology In the classroom he was appreciated by all for his expert knowledge, his inspiring teaching and his warm humour In the days before every pupil had their own computer, he gave generously of his time The ICT centre was open every evening and at weekends so that pupils could study No other academic department then or since has been so accessible This speaks volumes for his dedication to his subject, and to the pupils in his care Despite this commitment, he managed to play a full part in other areas of the School As a tutor in The Orchard, and more recently New House, he used his cheery good humour to good effect It is one of Fred’s great strengths that he is able to see the funny side of life, recognise the absurdness of pomposity and laugh at himself It is always difficult to feel down for long in his company His innate cheerfulness endeared him to colleagues and pupils alike In his early days, he coached football and rugby, and lately found a passion for golf Like a true schoolmaster, he was keen to share this passion with the pupils, though often it was a case of teacher being taught as, by his own admission, he is a keen player rather than a gifted one In some ways he was the victim of his own success when information and communication technology became so firmly entrenched in the everyday routine that it became less popular as an academic subject But Fred had more than one string to his bow and he taught mathematics as well as continuing to inspire his ICT students 2009 has been a difficult year, above all for the personal tragedy for which Fred and his family have the deepest sympathy of all his friends and colleagues at Repton This would have stopped most people in their tracks, but Fred paused, took time to plan his future with his soul mate and partner Andrea, and then got on with it; looking ahead with his usual cheerful optimism We wish him every success in whatever he does, and whenever anyone at Repton tur ns on their computer they can give a thought to the man who brought so much to Repton and say a silent “All the best, Fred”
Several Old Reptonians and current pupils have been in Inter national hockey action this summer Susie Gilbert (F’02) represented England's Senior women's team in the recent Champions Trophy which was held in Sydney The Champions Trophy is one of the most prestigious tour naments in hockey as it features the top six ranked teams in the world At the time of going to press, Charlotte Craddock (A’05) and Georgie Twigg (F’03) have helped England to make a good start in the Junior World Cup which is being held at Harvard University in Boston, USA Good results against France, Chile and Korea have put the team on course for a semi final place Will Byas (L6S) has also represented England Under 18's this season, Shona McCallin (L6A) helped her England Under 18 team to a bronze medal at the European Championship in Belgium and Director of Coaching, Martin Jones (C’97), has played in Inter national Test Matches against Pakistan, India and Germany in recent months
Martin Jones
The performances of several of the junior teams show great promise for the future too The 1st XI, captained by Emma Fearnley (G), won a record fifth successive National T itle in stylish fashion not conceding a single goal and scoring more than their competitors put together The boy's squad, aided by the goals of Christian Reimann (C), reached the National Indoor Finals only narrowly losing in the semi final to the eventual champions The Under 16 Girls Lent Term squad reached the National Plate quarter final failing to progress after a penalty shoot out Megan Byas (F) was the star of the Lent Term squad and also won her second National Under 18 title despite only being in A Block
SCHOOL NEWS HOCKEY
All details of fixtures and results can be found on the School's website from September 1st and any support down at the Tanyard throughout the year will always be appreciated
This year has been another tremendously successful one for Repton hockey
DM SCHOOL NEWS FAREWELL TO STAFF (35)
DAE David Exley joined Repton in September 2006, having previously worked at Sedbergh He was no stranger to the School, as a former pupil of Foremarke and an old boy of The Priory Despite only having a three year stay, David has made a huge contribution to School life
As well as working on the hockey he has also found time to run the U15B cricket side in the Summer Term and even ran the U14A football team in his first term at the School
A house tutor in The Cross during his time at Repton, David served his first two years as the Resident Tutor A caring and thoughtful presence, he has always been willing to give freely of his time to support the House
I think the largest compliment I could pay him is to say how hard it will be to replace his presence in so many areas, come September
Continued (36)
David has also been willing to give of his time during the holidays, accompanying the cricket tour to South Africa and the hockey tours to Dublin During his time at Repton, David has developed into a first class schoolmaster, contributing impressively in a wide range of areas
DSN David Newman joined Repton from St Peter’s, York in 1998 to become Head of Classics and what an impact he has made on the school in his eleven years with us! Often seen as the preserve of the academic elite, David’s determination that Classics should be open to all has ensured that numbers in the school studying Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation have grown significantly At the same time, however, he has managed to retain the highest of academic standards, with over a dozen Classicists heading off to Oxford or Cambridge during his stewardship It is an enviable record and one of which he must be very proud Yet David is not the traditional Classics teacher that his education (Haileybury followed by Magdalen College, Oxford) would suggest Ventures such as hosting a classically based Jerry Springer Show for the Sixth Form, as well as Death Factor, in which Sixth Form Classicists played the role of mythical characters trying to persuade a panel of judges to allow them into Elysium, reflect his desire to make the study of the ancient world as accessible as possible Who could forget the Classical Society meetings held in the garden of The Mitre? On one occasion he had himself produced in a wheelbarrow as the dead Agamemnon during a reproduction of Aeschylus’ great play, and how he persuaded Deborah, dressed in nothing but a sheet, to appear from their bedroom window as the goddess Athene, only Zeus knows! He leaves the Classics Department in a very strong position and his legacy will surely live on for years to come David is a man who lives his life in a truly classical manner: he relishes early starts, often sending emails to his department timed at 5:23am, is a keen athlete, competing in a number of marathons, and was even heard once bragging that the private side living room in The Mitre had the same proportions as the Parthenon! He was also never happier than when taking Reptonians on tours of the Classical Mediterranean, where he could be seen racing the pupils round sites such as the Circus Maximus in Rome, and the stadia in Delphi and Olympia I should add that he rarely lost! His competitive spirit led him to victory in the pedalo race around the bay of Tolo, yet his sporting talent did not stop there; he coached the 3rd XI Football side for many successful seasons and also did a great job taking girls’ tennis in the Summer Term In recent years, he has also been instrumental in setting up the girls’ football team who, under his guidance, reached the national final this year
In the Economics and Business Studies Department, he has taught both subjects with real enthusiasm He has proved to be an excellent teacher, who, I’m sure, will be much missed by his students He has played a full role in the Department during his time here and helped to introduce many initiatives that have improved the quality of our activities
His most significant contribution to the extra curricular life of the School has been on the sports field An accomplished hockey player in his own right, he quickly became a valuable member of the hockey coaching set up His enthusiasm and expertise on the boys’ U14A team has been vital in setting the younger players along the right lines during their first year His work with the girls’ U15A team has also been particularly successful, and I’m sure that over the next few years there will be plenty of 1st XI players who will have benefitted from a term of Exley coaching!
SCHOOL NEWS FAREWELL TO STAFF Continued
It is certainly rare that someone makes such a significant impression at Repton in such a relatively short space of time He departs for the Grammar School at Leeds with our best wishes; our loss is certainly their gain MMC
STAFF Continued
An enthusiastic advocate of professional development, she was also the architect of the staff appraisal scheme and, through her management of the INSET resources and induction of newly qualified teachers, she has continued to encourage colleagues, young and old And well beyond this formal role, there are many of us within Common Room who have relied upon, and indeed been moulded by, her wise advice, always carefully considered and generously given
SCHOOL FAREWELL TO
After many successful years as an Orchard tutor, his role in the pastoral life of the school took on greater meaning when he and Deborah entered The Mitre in 2003 in order to re open it as a girls’ house, and they soon proved to be a highly successful and dynamic pair Although Deborah was the official Housemistress, David’s role in establishing The Mitre as a happy and flourishing community must never be underestimated, and the girls were just as sad to see David (or “Daddy Sugar Nuts” as he was affectionately known in reference to his initials) move out in 2008 as they were to wave goodbye to Deborah on her appointment to Fulneck School W ith his wonderful wife already settled up the M1, it was only a matter of time before David would follow, and we were all thrilled for him when his appointment as Deputy Head of St Olave’s School in York was announced That said, it is a source of deep regret that we are losing such a terrific schoolmaster and a wonderful friend to so many David possesses those rare qualities of intelligence, integrity, humour and whole hearted commitment, and these have made him such an inspiration to countless Reptonians over the past eleven years He will be sorely missed And so, as we say ave atque vale to one of Repton’s great characters, I can only imagine what his final words might be To misquote Vespasian, “Alas, I think I’m becoming a Deputy” might just fit the bill!
NEWS
But always at the heart of Rosemary’s commitment to the Repton community has been her teaching In the classroom, in countless tutorials and on dozens of field trips and expeditions across deserts, over mountains and round the inevitable oxbow lakes RET’s pupils have always known that not only would they receive outstanding tuition during lessons, but that she would always find time outside to help with coursework or explain areas of difficulty Her hard work is bor n of a genuine interest in the world and its peoples an interest which she has communicated with passion to all her classes and I am sure that travel will feature highly on the list of retirement plans although she may well feel that that the possibilities of Ladybower Reservoir have now been exhausted In her fifteen years there have, in fact, been few areas of school life which have not benefited from RET’s talents, but chief amongst these has been her love of all things theatrical Early on, she taught GCSE Drama alongside her Geography commitments, and for many years she was joint Wardrobe Mistress alongside (and ‘Nice Cop’ to) the somewhat forthright Miss Patricia W ilmot Many of us can be grateful for Rosemary’s more sensitive assessment of our needs and her ability to find a costume that not only suited the part but fitted us, too W ith her departure, the pupils will miss a highly committed Geography teacher, the management team one of its wisest and bravest voices, and many of us an extremely good friend: a tremendously popular member of the Common Room, there have been few announcements received with more pleasure than when REH became RET on her marriage to Roger in 2003 It is good to know that, in Brewood, they will not be too far away from their Repton family, though Thompson Tours will no doubt make it to exotic parts, too My only advice to Rosemary would be that she, and not Roger, chooses the destination or it might be Burton Albion’s ground rather than Biarritz or the Bahamas!
The creation of the post of Senior Mistress may have arisen from the School’s move to full co education a few years earlier but it was no mere tokenism and RET’s responsibilities over her fifteen years at Repton have touched upon every single member of the School: the creation and introduction of a PHSE programme, launching and monitoring the School’s anti bullying strategy, and, latterly, responsibility for Child Protection These are undoubtedly amongst the hardest and most important challenges in any school, but RET’s unswerving compassion for the vulnerable and sense of justice made her the ideal choice to lead these initiatives, and she has promoted the highest standards of pastoral care across the School with courage, clarity of judgement and just as important a sense of proportion
SABT
JELD (37) RET Staff and pupil alike, we all know how it feels to join the School as a newcomer, but, in 1994, when Rosemary (then REH) arrived at Repton from Tettenhall College, she came not only as a new member of Common Room but as the School’s first Senior Mistress and indeed the first woman to sit in senior management at Repton in some 433 years of its history Some pioneers go in all guns blazing, but that is neither RET’s nor Repton’s style, and the success with which she has created what now seems an indispensible role in the School is testament to her very considerable skills of diplomacy, patience and determination
(38)
SCHOOL NEWS FAREWELL TO STAFF Continued
RST Londoners travelling by road might think that the North starts at the Watford Gap; railway enthusiasts might opt for Crewe Station; but when I arrived at Repton, many years ago, I realised that in truth the North starts at RST Here was the man with the uncompromising grit that fitted my preconception of what a true Norther ner should be Not that he thought much of me at the time: I was useless at tennis Let me explain Roger Thompson was captain of Derbyshire tennis and Head of History at Frederick Gent School in South Normanton when he presented himself for interview at The Arch in 1975 The then Headmaster, John Gammell, chatted away as they strolled round the School At the end of the tour, just when RST thought the formal interview might begin, John Gammell said “I’ll let you know”, and that was it RST was duly appointed, and he became Master i/c Tennis in 1976 When David Jewell became Headmaster in 1979, RST first hatched the plan of recruiting good tennis players who would train every day at the School The first three arrived in 1980, and success was immediate, with Repton winning the Youll Cup (boys, independent schools) in 1981 and then 14 further times under RST The Glanvill Cup (boys, all schools) was won in 1982 and then 10 further times The girls won the Aberdare Cup (all schools) four years running, from 1984 to 1987 Repton also produced a number of national champions, Phil Cooper becoming British U18 champion in 1991 perhaps being the highlight These outstanding successes did not arrive on a plate They were the fruits of RST’s phenomenal determination and leadership: he expected others to work as hard as he did Some of his colleagues in the early years disapproved of the specialisation necessary for this level of success, but this only served to strengthen RST’s resolve The scale and longevity of his achievement, keeping Repton at the top of the school tennis scene for 30 years, is a tribute to his vision, commitment and organisation RST preferred to label himself a teacher of History, rather than an Historian, and he acquired a reputation as a highly effective motivator of some of the less able pupils His video lessons became the stuff of legend, but he has always insisted that the tape was regularly paused for question and answer sessions One of his pupils was Jeremy Clarkson, who visited the School recently RST said to him: “You remember that O level coursework you did for me on canals? It was rubbish ” Clarkson replied: “I know My Dad wrote it!” RST continued his love of football while at Repton; in fact, he would have liked to have run the sport, had the opportunity arisen in his early years here Many of his tennis players became star players in the School 1st XI, and RST’s interest extended well beyond his frequent and effective refereeing One of his hobbies is ensuring that he has watched matches at all of the grounds of the clubs in the top four football leagues: a trip to Burton Albion therefore beckons in his retirement RST was, for many years, Master i/c Grounds, and it seemed a natural step for him to become Sports Co ordinator, a post which later took the title of Director of Sport He threw himself into this task with his customary vigour and thoroughness, developing a sports programme for all pupils, setting up a Sports Committee (the only one whose minutes still appear on paper), and mapping out, with the relevant staff, the routes to excellence in key sports He can be rightly proud of his contribution to the successes the School has had in recent years, but he has also presided over radical improvements to the provision for less able sporting pupils RST has also been involved in other areas of School life He was a House tutor in The Priory for many years, a role he reprised at School House when it first started (a time when this soft Souther ner got to know him much better) Those of us who have heard him sing in Pedants will understand why his favourite film genre is Wester ns rather than Musicals His sense of humour was never more evident than in a Pedants sketch of The Full Monty, when he removed a seemingly endless supply of old vests Those boyhood days in Chesterfield must have been cold!
RST has given outstanding service to Repton, never shirking difficult decisions in his direct approach, but always able to apply the human touch AFM The staff and pupils of Repton wish Roger and Rosemary a long, healthy, happy and thoroughly deserved retirement
Only four Reptonians played more matches: D B Carr 446, B H Valentine 399 C B Fry 395 and F S G Calthorpe, but only Fry with 30,886 scored more runs Adams’ highest score (239) is bettered by L C H Palairet (292), John Carr (261*), Fry (258*) and Valentine (242) His total of 48 centuries was beaten only by Fry with 94, and his career average by Fry (50 22) and John Carr (38 90) Adams was one of the best fielders of his generation and only Donald Carr, with 499, took more catches Figures may not tell the whole story, but Chris can certainly be proud of his record It is a pity that his inter national career did not do justice to his ability, but his captaincy of Sussex (he was incidentally the third Reptonian to hold that office) was outstanding: the county won eight trophies under his leadership including three championships In 2004 he was selected as one of W isden’s Five Cricketers of the Year The other Reptonians to have been given this award are L C H Palairet, C B Fry, J N Crawford and D B Carr Chris has performed vey well in limited overs cricket: he played in 369 matches, scoring 11,481 runs with a highest score of 163 His total of 21 centuries is second among current players only to Marcus Trescothik and Herscelle Gibbs
(39) PIGEON POST Sirs, I was fascinated to read of the President’s early days at the School, particularly reference to “personal faggin” He had the privilege one term of being in my study (a mere House Prefect, top floor tur n right, last on the left overlooking the Old Trent, occupied by seven of us including Charles Fry) He was probably the “bim fag”, but unusually (some of the others of that era were probably less reasonable) treated hopefully with dignity! His particular claim to fame however was in the arena of Yard Cricket sawn off bat and one side highly polished tennis balls hurled as fast as was possible The usual aim was to hit the ball onto the roof of the Hall or into the adjoining church yard, but he made semi reasonable shots! I do share his view of a very companionable house (my family then lived in Kenya) and like him my affection for the school continues I think it has always and hope continues to produce “character” In any event, best wishes and congratulations to the President Wilfrid Evershed (H’52) Sirs
J F M Walker (H’46) Dear Editor, As a somewhat infrequent participant at Gaudies (mea culpa) I should like to add my thanks to all involved in making this year’s event so memorable Any initial dampening of the spirits due to the rain was quickly alleviated by the Commemoration Service of the Foundation of the Chapel, with its old favourite hymn tunes, Cwm Rhondda and Repton, counterpoised by the specially commissioned anthem Tune Me, O Lord to words by Christina Rossetti, which the Bishop of Derby used as one of the texts for his sermon, which included Darwin’s listing of the pros and cons of marriage Later in the day we were wined and dined in style in Pears School and eloquently addressed by the Headmaster before a tour of the School, conducted in our case by two girls from the Mitre, whom we led astray from the set route by insisting that we approached our old house by way of rears track When we mentioned the site of fag calls, it was assumed that this referred to cigarettes, while stories of the effects of boiling the milk for a study holder’s cocoa should have been withheld until after we had been treated to a cream tea, backed up with a memory test in trying to identify faces from house photos of the early 50s Which brings me to my only problem of the day, shared I suspect by several of my generation identifying contemporaries at a Gaudy after a gap of over 50 years I had checked the list on the website, and noted a dozen to contact But how to find them among the throng in the 400 Hall? Thanks to Richard Cowdell, I joined a number of Latham ORs from 1951, but there were several from other houses that I never found Larger labels, stressing eg M51, would help, but could I also support the idea proposed by Kevin McDonnell’s letter in the May 09 Arch, that there should be a members only area in the website, for contact details including mugshots?
The retirement of Chris Adams (P’85) from first class cricket, perhaps too briefly reported in the last issue, gives an opportunity to see how his statistics compare with Repton cricketers of the past Chris had a long career, making his debut for Derbyshire in 1988, and playing over a period when changes in the domestic game meant that there were fewer opportunities for first class cricket His career figures are as follows: Matches 336; Innings 546; Runs 19,535; Average 38 68; 100s 48; Catches 404
Meanwhile, may I end by asking Richard whether we appeared together in a Mitre/Latham production of The Silver Box?
David Harding (M’51)
(40) PIGEON POST Continued Dear Editor
I wonder how many Old Reptonians realised the coincidence of the Three Wheeler Morgan appearing on the same page as “Bill” Blaxland in the May issue of The Arch? In his earlier years at Repton Bill owned a Three Wheeler Morgan and among other tales he used to relate one of how he tur ned it over while trying to navigate the Cross J E Gant-Ives (H’40) Dear Mr Stones
Morgan owners can be a tad quirky The club members are the cars, not the owners The Morgan enthusiast’s web site www gomog com suggests that a Morgan owner “can cry like a baby when he finds a flea sized scratch on his paint job, but will laugh with the rest of them when he spins out on a cor ner and smashes a fender ”
MOG 1 arrived first and announced itself with a throaty exhaust roar as it came up the Cooking Bear drive According to Mike, owner of MOG 1, South Africa has the oldest registered Morgan in the world that is still running The Morgan Motor Company has hand built its aluminium chassis, wooden framed sports cars at Great Malver n in England since 1909 Best regards and the best of health to all at Repton P S I was at Repton when our new President was rewriting the cricket books I remember a very lively century he scored against a visiting Bermuda (or maybe Bahamas) team Who said Calypso cricket was the sole preserve of the Caribbean? Peter Hall (L’57) It is with regret that we announce the death of Keith Workman, former Housemaster of The Cross A proper obituary will follow in the next issue During the School Chapel Service on Sunday, November 15th at 10 15am, part of the service will be dedicated to his memory
Like many I thoroughly enjoy receiving my copy of The Arch I was delighted to see the article about the Morgan car association with Repton The Morgan Club of South Africa came to our restaurant for lunch a couple of years ago, on their way to the Cars in the Park annual show at Pietermaritzburg They drove 8 of these beauties up our driveway, sounded like a World War 2 RAF base I have included a short article which I wrote for The Quill, a local newspaper, and some photos that I took on the day 'a king's ransom of Morgan's parked on our top lawn' Cooking Bear Restaurant goes Moggy. Cooking Bear Restaurant on the Caversham Road hosted Morgan car owners at lunch on Saturday 19th May The magnificent 8 were on their way to the Pietermaritzburg ‘Cars in the Park’ classic car rally held on Sunday 20th May Morgan drivers refer to their beloved cars as Mogs and a couple of these beauties sported suitable Registration numbers including ‘MOG 1’, which is a Morgan +8 with a 3 5 litre engine, and ‘MOGGY 8’ The most recent model was also present, an Aero 8 which sports a 4 4 litre engine and a R1 4 million price tag The photograph shows 5 of the 8 beauties lined up on the lawn in front of the restaurant, with the bright yellow MOG 1 second from the left and the Aero 8 second from the right
Smith Simon Q Crabtree Vanessa Twigg Rev Martin Hattersley Tony Houghton David Laing Nicolas Ibanez Scott Jipeng Li Richard Sale Mathilde Juul Mark Dudley Philip Hechle Brian John O'Neill Roger Smith Rev James Bar nett James R Chapman Martin Duncan Robinshaw Severin J B Zilg Eddie Niem David Poon Tom Goodall Julie Daniels Natsuko Ishikawa(nee Sato) Richard Hedley Ibrahim Dikko David Llewelyn Paul Bleckly Mark Verheyen Mark Smith R yan Brews Richard Brooksbank Peter Hall Luke Allen John W ilcox Jonny Greenall Alex Proctor Pearson Charles Adeogun Phillips Jom Salakshana Charles Neil Douglas Balchan Andreas Graham Anthony Edgar Paul Elliott Russell Elliott Andy Hilton Christopher Huson Mike Jolley Shaheen Ladhani Jane Roy Mark W ilhelm Verheyen Edward James Hutson Elliot Charles Reid Gordon Sharp Samuel Chibale lloyd berger@bgih com au jm reddington@yahoo co uk frank@happygardener com au simon@afps net au vanessatwigg@optusnet com au jmartinh@shaw ca dtbears@kingston net dlaing@endeavourfinancial com rsale@spider net com cy miss@matty dk markdudley@blueyonder co uk hechle@wananchi com bandhoneill@eircom net noelsmit@campus jyu fi james bar nett@wanadoo fr jim@chapmans de martin@robinshaw de niemeyf@netvigator com dgkpoon@gmail com info@juliedaniels com Violino7@hotmail com r s hedley@xtra co nz lydikko@hotmail com davidlle@online no bceurasia@pacific net ph mverheyen@comcast net mshsmith@btinter net com R yanbR@mcmotor co za richard brooksbank@wits ac za eat@cookingbear com luke@quova com jdw@fidentiis com jonnyg@propilots net adeogun@un org Charles Neil@difc ae djbalchan@aol com andreas graham@verizon net ajedgar@mac com paul elliott0@yahoo com Russell Elliott@irco com andyh@totallybrilliant com mrhuson@mindspring com MnJJOLLEY@aol com shaheen@rice edu jroy@uab edu mverheyen@comcast net james@ellcorentals com bracmed@candw ky gsharp@cwjamaica com chibale s@yahoo com + 61 293374081 + 61 738083249 + 61 8 9364 6875 (+61) 401 069 394 / (03) 90900501 + 61 394 121 206 +1 780 483 5442 +1 613 547 6551 + 1 604 925 3113 + 56 2 216 8820 07855 237559 + 357 2543 4165 + 45 3555 6490 + 00 353 1 285 9663/087 2956724 + 358 14260 1224 + 33 5 46 94 99 25 + 0049 541 181590 + 0049 6201 15807 + 852 2873 8118 + 852 9252 2128 + 91 22 6676 1676 + 39 0583 23675 + 81 80 3002 7170 + 0064 9 277 6577 + 234 809 944 4545 + 47 51 571930 + 63 2 753 1489 +34 662143442 + 27 21 531 7206 + 27 33 234 4933 +34 91 366 1378 & +34 654 328577 + 00 34 914153415 + 41 21 621 6424 + 255 27 256 5329 + 66 2 331 9053 & +661 8192717 + 9714 3622238 + 00 1 937 322 2040 andreas graham@verizon net + 1 212 988 2602 + 001 704 756 6981 + 1 863 7012680 + 1 206 328 6112 + 1 520 529 9562 + 1 713 348 5716 + 1 205 934 1757 + 246 256 4637 & +246 4347395 + 1 876 986 2870 0978 214 362 (zain network) add inter national dialling codes Priory ' 71 Brook ' 42 Orchard ' 53 Orchard ' 90 Abbey ' 76 Orchard ' 46 Latham '51 Latham ' 70 Latham ' 70 Field ' 97 Hall ' 61 Abbey ' 91 Priory ' 91 Hall ' 50 Mitre ' 49 Priory ' 66 Hall ' 57 Hall ' 83 Latham ' 78 Mitre ' 01 Latham ' 66 Hall ' 85 New ' 93 Abbey ' 89 Abbey ' 96 Hall ' 66 New ' 83 Orchard ' 63 Cross ' 67 Cross ' 77 Orchard ' 78 Mitre ' 00 New ‘79 Latham ' 57 Orchard ' 87 Mitre ' 82 Orchard ' 89 Orchard ' 89 Orchard ' 83 Mitre ' 86 Priory ' 65 Orchard ' 71 Mitre'83 Orchard ' 90 Mitre ' 90 Mitre ' 93 Brook ' 68 Hall ' '72 Orchard ' 46 Cross ' 89 Abbey ' 86 Cross ' 77 Mitre ' 68 Hall ' 64 Priory ' 54 Mitre '95
We are publishing below a full list of those Reptonians 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 for which we have Links If you would be willing to act as an Overseas Link in a country not already covered, please contact Mike Stones/Jan Cobb at: or@repton org uk or jcobb@repton org uk Country Overseas Link House/Year Email Telephone OVERSEAS LINKS (41) Note: If you require a postal address for any of the Overseas Links please contact the OR Secretary AUSTRALIA New South Wales Queensland Perth Victoria (Melbour ne) Victoria CANADA Alberta Easter n Ontario & Quebec Wester n CHILE CHINA CYPRUS DENMARK EAST AFRICA EAST AFRICA (Kenya) EIRE FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY (East/South) GERMANY GERMANY HONG KONG HONG KONG INDIA ITALY JAPAN NEW ZEALAND NIGERIA NORWAY PHILIPPINES SINGAPORE SOUTH AFRICA Cape Town Johannesburg Natal SPAIN Madrid Madrid Mallorca SWITZERLAND TANZANIA THAILAND UNITED ARAB EMIRATES USA Ohio Massachusetts New York North Carolina North Carolina Florida Washington Arizona Texas All All WEST INDIES All CAYMAN ISLANDS JAMAICA ZAMBIA Lloyd Berger John Reddington
Frank
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 Thank You! DEADLINE FOR ARTICLES for the next Edition (May 2010) is March 2010 OR OFFICE 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 Would you prefer to read The Arch on line and not receive a paper copy? Several ORs now request this Please advise us if this is the case Please email the office: 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 REPTON SCHOOL SHOP Memorabilia OR Ties: Silk Smooth £21 40 Silk non crease £23 75 Bow T ie £19 60 OR House/Sports Ties: Brook House £7 10 The Hall £9 05 The Priory £5 40 School House polyester £6 35 New House £6 10 Latham House £7 35 The Orchard £10 50 The Mitre £8 50 The Cross £7 60 OR Football £16 50 OR Hockey £12 65 OR Golf (striped) £6 10 Cambridge £16 95 House scarves: The Priory £19 90 School House £19 90 New House £19 90 Latham House £19 90 The Orchard £19 90 The Mitre (Girls) £19 90 Cross £19 90 The Abbey & Field House £19 90 The Garden £20 95 Blazer made to order £146 80 Banded white sweaters £25 00 (Long sleeve and sleeveless) Umbrellas: Large golf umbrella £25 95 Ladies umbrella £15 95 If you wish to order any of the following items please contact the School Shop Tel. 01283 559323, or by email: shop@repton.org.uk. Please note that the prices shown do not include postage and packing (42) Miscellaneous: Large Glass Crested Tankard £19 35 Small Glass Crested Tankard £15 90 Large Glass Crested Goblet £15 65 Crested Red W ine Glass £14 70 Glass Crested Paper Weight £19 60 Crested Cuff Links £14 70 Crested Key Rings £7 15 Brass buttons large £3 90 Brass buttons small £3 90 Repton Prints, Framed £48 95 Repton cards £0 75 Repton Postcards £0 10 Large teddy bear (12”) £13 85 Baseball Cap £9 50 Gentleman’s Weekend Socks (pair) £7 15 (Sizes: medium 6½ 8½; large 9 11) Mug £4 90 Coaster £2 90 OR ladies brooch £44 05 Porcelain Box £26 90 Repton China Coin Tray £3 20 Repton To The End £36 70 Christmas Cards pack of 10 £1 30
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