Date of next AGM

LONGEST DAY CHALLENGE WE DID IT!

90 HOLES OF GOLF - 26 MILES - 13 BIRDIES - NO CASUALTIES WE STARTED 5AM AND WE WALKED OFF THE 90TH HOLE AT 7.50PM

FANTASTIC SUPPORT FROM: Chef d’Equipe - David Pepper Caddies - James Ross; Pat Hart; Robin Hart; Rebecca Gill Course Provider - Glyn Ridley, Little Aston G.C. Cameo Role - Robert Kirkland

The clock doesn’t lie – 19th June 2011. 4.47am at Little Aston Russell Embery(current staff), Joe Wilson (L’01), James Wilson (L’99), Tony Bishop (P’72), Jonathan Avill (N’81), Jonathan Hart (H’86), David Pepper (H’53) THE BERNARD DARWIN AT WOKING GOLF CLUB

In lovely golfing weather the first day gave rise to high expectations, after all three pairs of Keith (O’66) and Neil Andrews (O’63), Richard George (H’57) and Peter Gill (H’61), and John Bolsover (H’61) and Myles Elliott (N’61) had very good wins over Radley and Winchester respectively to carry ORGS into the semi-final v Charterhouse. It was therefore a disappointment to the team when the previous day's form was not carried through, losing 3-0, although the Andrews pairing battled hard to a narrow defeat despite Neil developing a back problem.

Keith Andrews (H’57), John Bolsover (H’61), Peter Gill (H’61), Sir Richard George (H’57), Myles Elliott (N’61), Neil Andrews (O’63)

'ARD MEN O’T NORTH V SOUTHERN SOFTIES: ALWOODLEY GOLF CLUB. 19th and 20th MAY 2011

Captain of the Society Charles Darby (O’75) made an inspired suggestion that the Northern half of this annual fixture be held at Alwoodley Golf Club. Alwoodley is a big, ranging classic heathland course, set in beautiful North Yorkshire countryside, half way between Leeds and Harrogate. The club made us most welcome and the course was in super condition. The eight ‘Ard Men were desperate for a win as the Southern Softies won the trophy three years ago and had vehemently clung on to it.

The singles Stableford match, of the Yorkshire meeting, on Thursday afternoon doubled as a practice round. This, and the associated Bishop’s Plate was won by John Fletcher (L’66) with 36 points. On the Friday, 36 holes of foursomes were thrashed out amongst the heather.

As this is the first time this event has been held in Yorkshire, it must be the case that the locally brewed Samuel Smiths bitter proved a little too strong for Richard Fry’s team of Southern Softies. The result was a 5½ to 2½ win for the North. Next year’s Captain is John Fletcher (L’66) and, as a full weight Southern Softie, he has already declared his revenge will be extracted; we shall see!

An early June day, sunny skies and Repton looking a picture, these were some of the ingredients of this year’s Gaudy. Although the attendance figures were not quite as strong as usual, those who made the effort to come were rewarded with a great day out.

It all started with a presentation by the Headmaster in the new 400 Hall, giving visitors the chance to see what an impressive facility this now is. There then followed a champagne reception in The Garth. As guests arrived the school Jazz Band played a selection of suitably entertaining music to get everyone in the right mood. It was yet another admirable performance by the band who have supported this occasion superbly well over the past few years, becoming an integral part of the proceedings.

More entertainment was provided by The Reptiles, the school’s vocal harmony group when guests moved into Pears and took their places for lunch. Two close-harmony songs were sung to everyone’s admiration. A sumptuous lunch was then consumed in familiar surroundings. In accordance with custom, guided tours of the school were later provided by volunteer pupils.

The current President of the ORFC, Graham Blakesley, with four of his old team mates on the occasion of this years Gaudy. From left to right: Richard Coventry (B’73), Robert Sale (B’73), Andrew Colcombe (P’78), Graham Blakesley (Grimes) (M’74), Jonathan Proctor (O’76)

“I really enjoyed showing the ORs round the House and listening to their reminiscences about when The Mitre was a boys House. “ This was the reaction of Emma Clarke, a Lower Sixth pupil who acted as a tour guide. Her opinions of the day were very positive and certainly not an exception, for all the pupils who helped were of the same mind.

Former staff attending included John Walker, Dick Morgan, Andrew Lewis, John Billington and Jill Pellow, all of whom saw numerous former pupils and, I’m sure, enjoyed their day too.

The mention of school reunions often provokes a mixed reaction and understandably so. But not in our case, when the word spread there was to be a reunion to mark 25 years since leaving The Hall House, Repton in 1986, the positive reaction of the ORs concerned was quite encouraging.

Last year, unfortunately, saw the loss of a fellow school colleague, namely Robert Billson, and it was whilst a few ORs gathered at Bob’s wake that it suddenly dawned on us that 2011 would be our 25th anniversary as an OR, 30 years since we all first met and for some 35 years since we started preparatory school life at Foremarke Hall.

25 years can do a lot to change a person and the roller coaster of life’s ‘ups and downs’ will certainly mature one. Hopefully, who has the biggest house or the fastest car wasn’t going to be a matter. They say: don't assume that the people who seemed least likely to succeed have become failures. That bully who was always getting into trouble may now be a policeman or that guy who always missed classes is now a doctor. Thanks to the twitter of Facebook, revelations of us all were soon to dispel our curiosity and our reunion would be more of a time talking about kids going off to school, 2nd marriages, economic climate etc……or so we thought!

As much as you would like to see all your old mates attend a significant reunion, inevitably some just proved too elusive and even with the power of the internet, a few ORs had disappeared off the radar! Maybe they just didn’t want to be found but thanks to the OR Society Secretaries and their database, our numbers gathered strength and all that remained was a date for the diary.

With all the notice in the world,

‘unpredictability’ can still scupper one’s best laid plans and bearing this in mind a date was chosen knowing only too well that some would not be able to make it. And as much as we would like to have met over a ‘Gaudy’ dinner night, it was just not going to happen given everyone’s’ plans, even with advance notice.

So just what do you do for a reunion after so long? Well, it was bound to be a ‘trip down memory lane’ so why not go the whole hog? And so began the day, for a few of us initially, with a morning frequent to probably one of the most beautiful, leading Prep Schools in the Midlands: Foremarke Hall.

On the eve’ of starting his new role as Headmaster, Richard Merriman very kindly gave us permission to once again visit the elegant Georgian Mansion under the careful watch of our host Mrs. Pauline Christodoulou. Miss Ramsey, as we once knew Pauline, joined Foremarke in 1980 during our last year there and so was the perfect host to guide us through all the grounds with past and new buildings and help unravel our jumbled memories of the place. But more minds are better than one and we took great delight in brushing up her knowledge and history of those days in Foremarke Hall during the seventies; days that were guided by Tom Davies, our then Headmaster. Though some time ago now, we’ll never forget the image of our icon rocking forward on his lectern staring at us all with his steely, blue eyes peering over the top and preaching his fixating words of advice, encouragement and authority. If you are reading this, Sir, we salute you and thank you for a marked era of our lives that laid the foundations for our futures!

Our thanks very much go to Pauline for a wonderful and enlightening tour of a very special place, one that invokes profound memories close to our hearts. Our thanks also go to Mr. Merriman for the opportunity to visit Foremarke again.

Back at our rendezvous in Newton Solney, one by one the once distant band of Hall brothers intrepidly reformed over a hearty pub lunch and so began the celebration of us all reuniting after so long. Whilst we supped our beers and slowly took in the gossip, emailed letters from disappointed ‘no shows’ were circulated which made us realise just how nice it would have been if all of us could have been there that day to share everyone’s news and embrace each others company again. The atmosphere was remarkably relaxed and very, very jovial. In some ways it was a shame to spoil the flow as we all had to board a minibus and continue proceedings by heading into Repton village, once again lay our eyes on The Arch with the formidable Pears School in background and meet our next host for the day, Mike Stones.

After several correspondences with Mike in his role as OR Society Secretary, helping us track down lost ORs and seeking advice on how we should go about our visit, he very kindly offered (once we had the Headmaster, Mr. Holroyd’s permission, of course) to personally show us around the school and explain all the developments that have taken place over the years and boy were there a few! The blend of old meets new was quite seamless and it was impressive to see that Repton was keeping bang up to date with technology and meeting the expectation of what a modern school should have; not just in IT but Sport and the Arts too. The new annex to the 400 Hall appeared very eye catching and as much as we wanted to go inside and checkout the splendour of the new build, time was pressing as we had an unexpected meeting with a certain retired Hall Housemaster who had been slipped word that we were on site and he wanted to meet us!

We shuffled in procession into his lounge not knowing quite what to expect and the air of anticipation was almost dumbfounding but, nevertheless, we were not to worry because as bold and witty as he has ever been Mike Charlesworth soon spoke out in his usual charming manner and made us all feel instantly at home in his pad. “So then, remind me who you all are then and tell me what you are up to now?!” he requested and who were we to refuse the demand of our faltering Mr. Chip’s?! By now we all pretty much knew what each other did so no one’s thunder was being stolen; a situation preferred at the end of the day and not the beginning!

A sobering and emotional experience meeting our beloved exHousemaster called for another beer and whilst we visited the local watering hole we met our final host for the day: Guy Levesley. We first met Guy as a ‘Gap Year’ student back in Foremarke also in 1980. Fortunately, he is a fellow OR from The Hall and today stills works in Repton School teaching drama as well as a tutor in The Hall; although now it is called the School House. Not to question why, as the turn of events over the years is quite understandable and the decisions probably quite necessary. However, we couldn’t help but feel that what made The Hall House unique has perhaps been lost. Our bygone era of ‘Hall days’ may have been more special than we had thought in the grand scheme of the school’s history?

The unfortunate timing of our visit over half-term meant that Frank Watson, present Housemaster of School House, was unable to meet us so he very kindly allowed Guy to show us around the much changed premises. Oh the memories and how they all came flooding back! With 12 of us in Guy’s tow it was hard to get a word in edge ways. “Hey guys, do you remember this…?” was exclaimed at every turn.

One’s mind was buzzing with others’ memories as well as your own, some good, some bad, some outrageous but all in all most were now very amusing; a sign that our time there was in fact momentous and endearing. By now everyone was very much at ease with each other’s company and soon it felt like we had never been apart for so many years. What differences there were in those frantic teenage days between us, just didn’t matter anymore. This revived band of brothers was definitely high in spirits by this unique occasion. Slowly, we meandered through the building pacing out the changes and remarking at the drop in height from the ‘Tip Floor’ down to the ‘Chaggers’ below….. old story! Remarkably, the original cricket stumps were still standing in the yard and being a fine summer’s day, it was only fitting that we tried to summon up the old magic of ‘Yard Cricket’ and try to recall those quirky yet well honed rules before we left our once home.

That evening, the finale was a meal out and some more rounds of beer as we exhausted our memoirs of ‘B Block’ through to the Upper Sixth. After much reflection we all unanimously agreed it had been an epic day, much enjoyed by everyone involved and we knew our visit back to Repton School could not have taken place if it weren’t for the positive invitation from the school and the support and guidance of Mike and Guy who we are deeply grateful to. Thank you all for your patience and kind hospitality, which made the day so memorable and enjoyable.

The years of time have indeed etched out different paths for us all (mainly in sales it would seem!) but, nevertheless, there we were standing briefly at crossroads with one another contemplating what meaning this might have. Long overdue as it was, 25 years certainly wasn’t too late to mark a school reunion. Talk of the next was often the topic of conversation throughout the day and should it ever materialise then hopefully we would see everyone this time seated around the table. The best moment?…. Well, all of it! The most poignant was probably when we toasted ‘absent friends’ and to Bob, to whom we owe everything for being the catalyst of our reunion that day.

Mrs M.G. Walker, has kindly sent in these photographs of New House - if you recognise any of the faces please let us know.

New House, 1951

New House, 1952

Marcus Barnett (H’83) was commissioned by The Times in association with the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, to design a garden for this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. Adrian Pepper (H’83) asked him about his career to date.

AP: When we were “bim fags” in the Hall together, I remember you being into chart music and Essex County Cricket Club. When did you develop an interest in gardening?

MB: I think you’ll concede I had more interests than just cricket and pop music. You may remember we both worked hard one summer to restart the Hall Wildfowl Trust to reintroduce ducks to the Old Trent. I suppose I have always liked nature and the outdoors, and it was inevitable that one day my career would lead me to it. Specifically, however, it was when I was in the Army that I realised I was interested in Landscape design. For some bizarre reason I am very observant. For example, I could always spot a terrorist on the street in Northern Ireland after having seen his photo on file, even if he was now bearded or disguised in some way. Similarly you need a good eye for detail when it comes to designing a garden. My wife says it’s a blessing and a curse because I always notice when she’s had her haircut but I’m told I don’t always follow that up with the right remark!

AP: You never got to meet the Abbey class of ’86, did you?

MB: Yes I missed out there. I left Repton after my ‘O’ levels. Do you know, its strange – I’ve just realised that we are the third generation of Barnetts and Peppers to have schooled together at Repton? Anyway, I am the third generation Barnett to have left Repton at the age of 16 – why that might be I don’t know. I didn’t engage at Repton but after leaving I got my act together and after formal education, I went to Sandhurst and joined the Scots Guards. I served for seven years in the Army and spent the last three years of my commission as Equerry to HRH the Duke of Kent and chose to leave at the age of 27.

AP: Did you then start an apprenticeship with an established Landscape designer? MB: Not immediately. I went to Australia to work on the Sydney Olympic Games, I spent three years in management consultancy which I loathed, and eventually I obeyed the nagging demon in my head and took the plunge to do what I had been dreaming of doing for a decade. I then studied for an MA in Landscape Design and applied for a job at the practice equivalent to Manchester United in the garden design industry. They didn’t have a role so I decided to start up on my own and it was without the doubt the best thing I’ve ever done.

AP: Did you set up in direct competition with them, trying to serve the top end of the market?

MB: That was the intention but I couldn’t take them on immediately. The company has had to evolve over the years from a new practice to a semi-mature one. We undertake highend urban and rural commissions, so for example we might do a London townhouse or roof terrace apartment, as well as country estates of anything up to 250 acres in size as well as villas in the Mediterranean and beyond. The work is always varied. I have a design studio in London but spend several days a week outside the studio on site with clients and contractors. One job we are doing at the moment involves moving 25,000 cubic tonnes of soil to make a six hole golf course.

AP: You are actually designing this course yourself, are you? What fun!

MB: It is actually. All the holes are a dog leg left to suit my game!

AP: And how did you come to exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show?

MB: This year’s Chelsea Flower Show is my fourth garden there. I first exhibited there in 2005 then 2006 and 2007 and then had a break until this year. This year we were sponsored by The Times in association with the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. The concept for the garden was to demonstrate the 'utility of plants to humankind' . I wanted the design to draw on the heritage of Kew, hence the pavilion, which echoes all the glass and palm houses, but crucially I wanted the garden to be modern and contemporary. The design therefore takes plant capillaries and cells as its core theme and these 'capillaries' radiate throughout the pavilion and planting. The link between plant kingdom and man-made structure is therefore seamless, symbolising our dependence upon plants.

AP: think the last time I heard the word “capillaries” was sitting in a Harry Grenville biology lesson. Am I right in thinking you welcomed another biologist to the garden?

MB: Yes, the garden was opened by the fertility expert and broadcaster Professor Lord Winston. He came to the garden and photo shoot to launch the garden on press day. The key

Marcus with Professor Robert Winston

driver behind The Times’ involvement was that the garden and theme was linked to the monthly science section of the paper “Eureka” , hence why Robert Winston was ideal for the launch.

AP: What did the week involve for you?

MB: Many seem unaware of the time before the flower show but we had spent three long weeks constructing the garden in addition to twelve months of planning. The show week is actually a bit of a break as it all slows down and you get to meet all manner of people who come onto the garden as well as listening to complimentary and not so complimentary remarks about the garden from public and broadcast/written press.

AP: Did the fact that it was The Times' garden mean you came in for particular criticism from other parts of the press?

MB: Not really. Rivals have to be careful not to look like they’re intentionally criticising rivals but we did get a little flack from a rival newspaper which said that new sponsors to the Chelsea Flower Show often set over challenging design concepts and that ours was a particularly hard one to deliver. But The Times’ editor, James Harding, who incidentally is a great bloke, thought that kind of criticism par for the course.

AP: The Times printed photographs of you with various members of the Royal Family.

MB: Yes, members of the Royal Family who attend the Chelsea Flower Show visit all layers of the show: retail, flower stands and show gardens etc. We were particularly fortunate to attract quite a few of them this year: The Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Alexandra, Prince Michael and Princess Michael of Kent, Prince Andrew and Princess Beatrice, the Duke of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Prince Albert of Monaco, and Her Majesty the Queen.

AP: Are they all now close personal friends?

MB: Put it this way - my invitation to the Royal Wedding must have got lost.

AP: It must have been strange to welcome the Duke of Kent onto your garden, now you are working in such a different role. MB: Yes it was. He is interested in what all of us do once we leave his household but, as he is so keen on gardens, our paths cross more than I would have expected. He is interested, and I think he finds it all quite amusing to see me there. I'm not sure the designs I've done are quite his cup of tea but we had a good catch up and a bit of a laugh. He reckoned I might struggle with the pressure of having such high profile sponsors!

AP: How was the Queen’s visit?

MB: It all happened very quickly. It was cold and the pressure from others for her to hurry along was apparent but she still came onto the garden and I explained what we up to and why. She was particularly interested in the Kew link as she’s patron of Kew.

Marcus with the Queen

AP: Did any Old Reptonians visit your exhibit?

MB: Not to my knowledge, but when I'm exhibiting at the Chelsea Flower Show again I would urge any Old Reptonian visiting the show to make themselves known and I’ll be sure to give them a drink and welcome them onto the garden. Particularly those from the Abbey 1986 to 1988 who I never got to meet! Members of the Hall, with an emphasis on A-K can stay the night!

AP: Does Repton play a part in your life today?

MB: Regretfully not as much as I would like. I went to an OR dinner at Repton when my father was President of the OR Society - I think it was 2000. It was great to be back there. The Hall has changed so much. I play OR golf which is great and I see ORs of all ages there. The chat over lunch is pretty much the same as if we were off to the grubber for a hot sausage roll and ketchup. Reptonians seem to be down to earth, and if those who turn up to the golf days are anything to go by, they’re a pretty high achieving lot too.

AP: A good combination to be, high achieving yet down to earth. Thank you,

It’s early morning on the rice fields of northern Laos. The rain is finally easing and I’m filming as a family plant their rice seeds in the knee-deep water. This in itself is not unusual but the character I’m following is doing this with one arm. His left arm was blown off 5 years ago when he set off an unexploded cluster bomb whilst farming. Today this land is still littered with unexploded bombs.

This is part of a short video I’m producing about the ongoing impact of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Laos. What a lot of people don’t know is that Laos is the world’s most bombed country, per capita, and the bombs left over from the 2nd IndoChina war continue to destroy lives and limit access to agricultural land. In a country where two-thirds of the population relies on subsistence farming this is a significant problem.

As head of the communications unit at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) raising the profile and awareness of the UXO issue in the country is one of my roles. I’ve been in Laos two years now and the UXO problem is just one that I cover in my work with UNDP.

The role of UNDP and the UN as a whole is to support the Government of Laos in its efforts to improve the well being of its people. My job is to highlight the results of UNDP work and to advocate on specific development issues, such as UXO. Working in the communications unit brings with it real variety. One day I’m filming a story about a community radio project in remote southern Laos and the next writing a speech for the UN head to deliver at a government event.

With UNDP a lot of the work is done at policy level and as a result communicating this in a language that everyone understands has its challenges. Highlighting the links between the slightly complex aid effectiveness agenda and how this benefits the people is not always obvious.

Another key component of my role is in building relationships with and supporting local journalists. Working closely with the media can be a significant challenge. This is a one party communist state and there is a reason that Laos comes 165 out of 175 in the press freedom index. However, I’m told by reliable sources that there is no censorship, just self-censorship.

In my position I have to also exercise a degree of this. The UN is in the country by invitation of the government. This doesn’t mean I can’t write or talk about sensitive issues but these do have to be tackled in more subtle ways.

This is also the case when dealing with international media. Laos is not heavily covered in the international press, partly due to its geo-political position and because it has generally been off limits to foreign reporters. Times are changing though and particularly on a regional level. My recent collaboration with the Chinese news agency, Xinhua, the first to have a foreign bureau in the capital Vientiane, has provided an additional outlet for stories about our work and development issues. The gradual opening up of the country has also helped lead to the current economic boom. Unlike the UK and the west, Laos is experiencing rapid growth rates of over 7% a year. Roads and buildings are being constructed at an extraordinary pace and the government’s revenues are being driven by the extraction of its rich natural resources. Mining for copper, bauxite and gold, timber, and hydropower are driving the economy.

This is also where some of the potential problems exist. Writing regularly about the issue of ensuring that the growth of the country benefits everyone, including those in the remotest areas, is key to our communications work. ‘Growth with Equity’ is a tagline that is repeated regularly. At the same time ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources will be key for the country’s future generations.

How Laos copes with these issues in the years to come is yet to be seen. People say that the country is at a crossroads. For now though it’s off to a meeting with the UN Communications Group. Finalising our new communications strategy tops today’s agenda.

With 8 years in London under my belt, working in sports marketing and event management, it was time to break out of the rat race and try something totally different! It was June 2010, I had recently got married to Tom and having just come back from a wonderful honeymoon in sunny, beautiful and spacious California, we were both feeling a little disillusioned with London life. There was little chance of buying a flat unless we were happy to settle for a box, I spent many miserable mornings and evenings on the overcrowded tubes into Canary Wharf, and, though some of you may beg to differ, attending football matches and sports awards dinners for a living was beginning to take its toll.

So Tom and I decided to head to the French Alps to try our hand at chalet hosting! Rather than travelling with a guilty conscience, we thought this would be the perfect way of combining work and play, whilst coming out of it, breaking even (or so we thought!). We both love skiing, can host a half-decent dinner party and whip up a cake, so how hard could it be? When we told our family and friends what we were planning to do, we were met with mostly positive responses such as ‘wow, good for you, so jealous’ and ‘why not, you only live once’ , along with the odd ‘so… what exactly is it you’ll be doing?’ . I’m sure most people secretly thought we were completely mad. It was a risk, but we were confident it would pay off. We discussed sabbaticals with our employers, both of whom were open to it, but ultimately decided to make a clean break and resigned. In October, we gave up our jobs, flat, car and put our life possessions in storage in various places around the country with family. With our 4 suitcases, we went to Buckinghamshire for a month to chill out in the countryside at my sister’s house. If we’d known the extent of the graft we were about to embark on, we might not have spent that month feeling so guilty about doing nothing! After various leaving parties and tears, we met up with our new colleagues in Putney on 1st December and boarded a coach for Meribel. We felt like it was our first day back at school again, and we felt old! We were surrounded by gap year students and recent post-grads all decked out in their trendy ski gear. After a 5hr mission to get to Dover in the freak snowfall we tried to get some sleep surrounded by overexcited and inebriated 20yr olds talking about

‘kickers’ ,

‘punters’ and ‘gnarly moves’ . A delayed ferry, puncture and 24hrs later, we arrived in Meribel, exhausted and wondering what on earth we were doing. As soon as we got off the coach and took in our surroundings, we felt better. Meribel is a very pretty resort at the heart of the Les Trois Vallees, which is the largest linked skiing area in the world. We were surrounded by mountains, snow-covered trees, wooden chalets and bright blue skies. No buses, pollution or overcrowded streets in site! We were split into groups and taken to our staff accommodation. As a married couple used to having a homely else, you can expect worse accommodation than student digs! flat, we were slightly apprehensive but had been assured that we’d have our own double room in the chalet we were hosting and, although it wasn’t luxury, it was more than adequate and we grew very fond of it during our 5 months there. For anyone We had deliberately chosen to work for a higher end ski operator and a comprehensive 2-week training and induction programme began – stocktaking, hot tub maintenance, health and safety, fire safety, customer service, cooking, cleaning, food shopping, food hygiene, wine tasting, store orders, transfers, changeover day, guest manifests... We wondered how we’d ever fit any skiing in! This was followed by chalet set up. For almost three weeks we were teased by bucket loads of snow coming down and we weren’t given our precious lift passes until set up was complete. Clicking our boots into our bindings for the first time in 3yrs was a great feeling and to know we had another 4 months of this was amazing. Reality soon dawned as our first guests arrived any day. We were excited about it and really ready for it having been in resort for nearly 3 weeks by then, not to mention sick of ‘deep cleaning’ every nook and cranny of the chalet on our hands and knees with toothbrushes and cocktail sticks. Our guests were due to arrive early evening on Sunday 19 December – the beginning of Christmas week. We were beginning to feel the pressure! Receiving our first guest manifest was an exciting moment – 7 adults, including 2 vegetarians and one with a dairy intolerance, and 1 infant. They had also requested a nanny from our company. They were on the Gatwick – Grenoble flight, due to arrive in resort about 5.30pm. We were all ready and looking smart in our uniform, the chalet was sparkling, the beds were made, the cot put up, the toilet rolls pointed, the Christmas tree decorated, log fire lit, canapés prepared, champagne in the fridge, butter cubed, bread cut diagonally, dinner table laid, candles lit, background music on… we waited and waited and waited as the twice-baked salmon soufflé starters deflated and the beef and ale pie sat stewing on the hob. They finally arrived at 1am due to bad weather in London. It was also snowing heavily in Meribel at this point but our guests arrived in high spirits with their 6-month old wide awake. Having administered our much-rehearsed welcome speech, they informed us they only wanted the champagne and 2 of the 3 courses! So at 1.30am we served up house wine to go with the beef and ale pie (mushroom bourguignon for the vegetarians), dauphinois potatoes and green beans (roast potatoes for the dairy intolerant), followed by lemon and ginger cheesecake (fruit salad for the dairy intolerant). Naturally, they wanted peppermint tea, camomile tea, fresh coffee and mints after that and thought they might as well have a cheese board too. At 3.30am, having sterilised the kitchen and taken the bins out, Tom and I shuffled downstairs to our bedroom stinking of cooking, feet aching, backs sore, hands chapped and bleeding from the mountains of washing up (even with a dishwasher), and numerous burns. We set the alarm for 6.30am to be in the kitchen for 7am latest.

“So that’s 6 poached, 1 fried, 1 scrambled, 3 portions of porridge and all fry ups with bacon but only 3 with tomato… and yes, no problem, I’ll just get you some hot milk for your coffee’ . I couldn’t address her by name as I couldn’t remember what it was! This was a common problem for the first couple of days after guests arrived. I scuttled back into the kitchen with my scribbled mess of a breakfast grid. Tom was bracing himself for the order and ready with a basket of hot croissants and pains au chocolat for me to take back out with the refilled carafe of orange juice and tomato ketchup that we’d forgotten to put out. Of course, I forgot to heat up some milk, partly because there was a baby bottle steriliser in our microwave, more likely because there were just too many things to remember! With breakfast cleared and the dishwasher on for the third time that morning, we were relieved that we’d got through it without any major catastrophes and our guests were now out on the piste so we could relax a bit. Whilst I baked the afternoon tea goodies, raspberry and white chocolate cookies (delicious!), cleaned up the kitchen and laid up the table again, Tom donned the pink marigolds and began the cleaning process in the 5 bedroom, 5 bathroom chalet. Whoever did the afternoon tea would also hoover all the communal areas, including 3 flights of stairs. With a deep red carpet throughout the chalet, not doing it wasn’t an option! Once done, we wrote a friendly ‘welcome home’ note that we’d leave out with afternoon tea, check the hot-tub, log the fridge and freezer temperatures, make baguettes for our lunch, and put the bins and bottles out. By the time we’d gone through the rigmarole of changing into our ski stuff, rushing to get all our kit together to get out to the slopes, it was no wonder we’d nod off on the first chairlift we got on! There’s nothing like your first run of the day to make you forget all about the toil of chalet hosting though. Christmas Day was the full works – posh breakfast, mulled wine and mince pies for afternoon tea, and turkey and all the trimmings for the evening meal. We escaped the kitchen for a couple of hours to meet colleagues on the piste for champagne and secret santa with the snow coming down. Back in the kitchen, we somehow managed to pull off the meal which thankfully our guests said we ‘nailed’ , not that we tasted a bite of it! Certainly a Christmas Day we won’t forget. New Year’s Eve followed a similar format, with Tom’s duties extending to setting off fireworks for the kids who were staying with us. New Year’s Day breakfast was less fun – out until 3.30am and up to cook breakfast at 7am for 4 adults and 4 kids is not a good idea! The pressure of Christmas and New Year over (the most expensive weeks of the season), some nice tips in our pocket and into January - we were well on our way to becoming dab hands. The afternoon tea cake would often be in the oven before any of the guests were at the breakfast table, cleaning times were halved thanks to a few shortcuts that we’d learnt from the youngsters, and we’d have dinner wrapped up in time to make it to the bars by 10pm latest. We were spending 11.30am – 4pm on the slopes every day (except Sunday, the dreaded change-over day), getting a quick nap in before dinner service, and we were receiving glowing reports from our weekly chalet checks about the cleanliness of our chalet. You couldn’t leave so much as a grain of sugar on the kitchen surfaces as it would be found and noted down on our report form! Tom and I had even learnt how to bicker with each other in silence during stressful moments in the kitchen and somehow we could go out and drink several jaegerbombs until 2am and not have a hangover when the breakfast alarm went off. We still lived for Wednesdays though – our precious one day off. From January onwards, it was all about the skiing and partying. We had a great group of colleagues and were working for a really fun company who organised numerous fancy dress occasions on and off the slopes, bar crawls, birthday barbecues on the piste and team challenges such as the 3 valley rally. They also turned a blind eye to the hot tub parties we conducted when the chalets were empty of guests! We were fortunate to have great guests for 99% of the time so we also had some amusing nights out with them, or would just join them at the table for a glass of wine after service which was a nice way to round off the evening. Plenty of family and friends visited and the weeks flew by. Although we were constantly reminded that we had one of the worst seasons in 25 years for snow conditions, it didn’t matter and by the end of April we were sunbathing in the 30 degree heat, having picnics and doing walks down the valley instead of skiing. It was a sad day when we did our last run, especially as we knew that we had shut down week which meant endless deep cleaning again, followed by the dreaded coach journey home. Even though we were probably ready to go home by the beginning of May, we had become happily accustomed to our little Meribel bubble away from the responsibilities of reality. We would definitely be going home with no regrets and fresh perspective. We look back with only positive and happy memories. It was such a brilliant experience and a great time in our lives to do it. And thankfully the risk paid off. After a couple of months living out of suitcases with family and friends, we are now both back in full time jobs and living in Oxfordshire, planning our skiing holiday to Meribel this winter.

I can highly recommend doing a ski season to anyone. The age range of chalet hosts, drivers, ski guides and managers was 19 – 55yrs and anyone would come out of it with amazing domestic skills, first class customer service and life-long friends and memories, not to mention pro skiing skills and patience! Just don’t expect to earn much money. If you are thinking of doing a winter season and would like any more information, feel free to get in touch. fionalharold@gmail.com

Jeremy Millensted (L’00) is the latest football international. Jeremy, 24 from Beeston, made his debut playing football for the Great Britain Deaf Football team in 2010, playing in the 91, 2-leg qualifier win against Israel for the 2011 Deaf Football European Championships. Jeremy, having worked hard to be selected for the Great Britain Deaf Football squad, had a fabulous time in the finals in Denmark in July. "It was a brilliant feeling to put my shirt on and play on the pitch against other countries. I was awarded man of the match in the first game in the group stages against Germany" , said Jeremy.

In the Group stages, Jeremy played all 90 minutes as GB fought valiantly to defeat rivals Germany 1-0. Wins against Holland 4-2, and Poland 11-0, saw GB win the Group, and qualify for the Quarter Finals. Jeremy added "We won the group stage with a 100 percent record and progressed to the quarter finals. Our opponents, Ireland, started well and were leading 2-0 at half time. Under pressure in the dressing room at half time, we managed to stay calm and focus on the game. We then fought back and thrashed them 4-2 after extra time. I was so thrilled and amazed. I played the whole 120 minutes. "

The Semi-Final pitched GB against the Deaflympics holders and favourites Ukraine. The weather was boiling hot on the day and the pitch was very dry, making flowing play difficult.

GB worked very hard through 90 minutes and kept fighting to the end, but disappointingly lost out 3-1. The team manager asked the squad not to give up and keep their chins up as there was still a third place play-off for the bronze medal. GB had only one rest day, the players were very tired and had stiff legs after the Ukraine battle. The Third Place Play-off game was a re-match against Germany, who had lost to Russia in their semi-final. Jeremy said "We were positive and ready to beat them again. Our squad had belief and we supported each other. However, it was another big disappointment as we lost 4-0. This match was totally different to the first game. I was really annoyed and really wanted the medal. Overall though, I'm so proud of what the team and I achieved as it was my first proper international tournament. Now I will look forward to the World Cup in Turkey in 2012 and hope to bring gold back to our country. "

By achieving fourth place, GB have also gained qualification to both the 2012 World Cup in Turkey and the 2013 Deaflympics (pending appeal from several countries), so watch this space.

Jeremy's appearances were as follows:

Jeremy with the team, and young mascots Group Round GB 1-0 Germany - full game GB 4-2 Holland - half game GB 11-0 Poland – didn't play

Quarter Final GB 4-2 Ireland (ET) - full game

Semi-Final GB 1-3 Ukraine - full game

Third Place Play-off GB 0-4 Germany - full game

Dear ORs,

It has been a particular pleasure to work with your most enthusiastic and supportive President, David Pepper, this year, and I am delighted, at his invitation, to write to you now to inform you of the current progress of the School and to give you my view of the challenges and opportunities that await Repton in the future. As in previous years, I hope you may wish to read this letter alongside the School’s List of Achievements published elsewhere in this edition of ‘The Arch’ – this will enable me to avoid my own thoughts becoming a mere catalogue of events and to focus on the broad perspective as well as the detail. of bunting and flags as the whole School had its very own street party, Repton style, to the accompaniment of the Common Room band, (aka the aptly named ‘The Dangerous Brothers’ , ie Messrs Bournon, Fairbrother, Hodgkinson and Mylward!), and a mass catering event superbly organised by the staffs of the School Marshal, Dale Stark and Domestic Bursar, Matt Hill, two of the unsung members of Mr Bilson’s team that do so much to ensure the smooth running of the School. A superb display of fireworks that lit up a midnight blue sky in the evening, along with a plentiful supply of hot dogs and hot chocolate, ensured I hope, that all Reptonians who were here on that day will recall where they were when that particular royal wedding is remembered in the future.

April 29th 2011 gave the whole nation, and thereby of course the School, the opportunity to share in the joyous event that was the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Since taking up my appointment at Repton I have always been fascinated by the archive material of the 400th Anniversary celebrations in 1957 and have been on the look out for an occasion to recapture something of the magic and sense of celebration that was so clearly evident on that day. The Royal Wedding, I judged, gave us our chance to do just that and so it was with great gusto that Reptonians, delighting in the good weather that was the happy couple’s deserved good fortune, joined in the national mood, defying the media cynics who told us that we were all free to spend the day as we wished according to our political sympathies, and doing instead what the vast of majority of Brits, and indeed many friends from overseas, really wanted to do, namely enjoy the kind of ceremonial event that we do better than anybody else and then have a really good party. So April 29th saw the entire area from The Arch to the Pillars of Hercules transformed into a riot Weddings of course, whether royal or not, as well as being joyful occasions, are also moments when one’s skill as a parent are put to the test, as they are, in a sense, the ultimate letting go of the offspring one has tended and nurtured over many years. And the notion that the letting go is just as much a part of parenting as the nurturing can be a hard concept to grasp. We do, of course, have many examples of it in nature to help us understand the order of things. I have been enchanted this spring watching the mother swan nurse her brood of eight cygnets on the Old Trent at the back of the Hall. First she tended her lovingly constructed nest over many weeks with the utmost care, only rarely venturing away for short breaks, having already making sure that the snapping cob was not far away to deal with any potential intruders; then days after giving birth, the pen acted as a living ferry boat to her young, carrying them on her back to introduce them to the life supporting, but also pikeharbouring waters that were to be their earliest haunts; and finally, once they had passed their initial water test, as you can see from the photograph overleaf, they were allowed to march

proudly en famille and in strict pecking order across the Square itself. Yet one should not be lulled by these charming scenes into sentimentalising the mother swan’s parenting of her

cygnets. I know, having seen it happen year after year, that come late summer, pen and cob together will usher their brood away, if necessary resorting to the snapping of beaks and aggressive flapping of wings to make the young swans realise that theirs will be a home far away from the waters of the Old Trent where they were born. Cecil Day-Lewis, in his poem ‘Walking Away’ reminds us that in the human context too, the easing of ties, properly done, is just as significant a part of parenting as the nurturing. ‘Selfhood’ , he writes, ‘begins with a walking away / And love is proved in the letting go. ’ In other words, it requires courage and love for parents to allow their children to become independent of them. And all parents whose children attend Repton, whether as day pupils or boarders, given the wholeness of life here, are exercising that love. That’s not a fashionable concept. Indeed, it is common today for many in society at large to snipe at boarding. Not so long ago I was asked to sit in at the selection of a public relations company to promote boarding education at a national level. I was there, I think, as a natural doubting Thomas. Three well-known public relations companies, each led by a powerful and powerfully-dressed lady, made their pitch. The jargon, the neo-speak, came thick and fast, Very quickly we were all ‘hitting the ground running’ and ‘reinventing (or not reinventing) the wheel. ’ There were some good ideas and some downright silly ones. ‘What you must do’ said one lady, ‘is get rid of the word ‘boarding’ in boarding schools. It’s positively Dickensian. ’ ‘Well, what’s the alternative?’ we asked. ‘We advise not boarding education’ , she replied, but live-in education. ’ That, for pretty obvious reasons, was rejected, or, in the language of that particular day, ‘hit the rocks before it was barely out of the

harbour’ . ‘Well’ , said the powerfully-dressed lady,

‘let’s try something else. Instead of boarding, why not try residential. ‘Sorry’ , we said, ‘but residential for us has connotations with the respectable elderly and the uncontrollable young but not with our type of school. ’ So let us stay with the word boarding, and give parents a bit of credit for not thinking they are sending their sons and daughters to various versions of Dotheboys Hall. And doing so, what is more, for positive reasons, not reasons of mere convenience. I’ve never been much of a fan of the argument of justifying boarding on the basis that it makes things easier for parents. That, to me, seems a defensive stance, and one that doesn’t come close to capturing the magical quality of the opportunities that boarding can bring, or the sheer concentration and power of the influence that talented teachers can have when shaping the futures of their charges in a boarding environment. Or, to put it another way, and if anyone does feel the need for an alternative to the word boarding, then how about an environment that is ‘total. ’ ‘Total’ in the list of qualities we hope to develop; ‘total’ in the life we lead- 24 hours a day and 7 days a week (Overseas educationalists, as I have mentioned to you before, never cease to be amazed by the hours colleagues put in at schools such as Repton and they are always stunned by the particular time and commitment of Housemasters and Housemistresses); ‘total’ , and I have only really thought about this in the past couple of days, in terms of the sheer number of people doing different things, who are an integral member of this community. Think of this. In one single day, boys and girls here can come into contact with teacher, tutor, Housemaster, Chaplain, Deputy Head Pastoral, Deputy Head Academic, the Headmaster (if they’re lucky, …… or unlucky), matron, the Infirmary sister, the doctor, the groundsman, the gardener, the plumber, painter, ladies in The Grubber, chefs and ladies serving teas in the houses, my Secretary ….. the list is endless. And everyone seems to know everyone else by name. This doesn’t happen everywhere, I can assure you. One of the best features of the Reptonian, I believe, is that he or she can talk easily with all the people on the site and treat them with equal value. It is not the Reptonian’s style to be condescending. So a total community, living together : an experience, I might suggest, that is never to be repeated. For university will not be the same. University life, at a different stage in a young man or woman’s development, is inevitably partial and selective. But not school. And certainly not a school like Repton. Sometimes, and often when you are least expecting it, that totality of life here creeps up on you and taps you on the shoulder in an almost tangible way. I had one such tingle of realisation, walking back to The Hall after the Palm Sunday service a couple of months ago, when in the space of a few minutes I was given a glimpse of the concentrated, dynamic and wide-ranging scope of what is on offer here. We had had a wonderfully inspiring service in Chapel, with Amelia Anderson leading us in a soaring rendition of Allegri’s Miserere beneath the cross of rushes so imaginatively fashioned by Robbie Astin and Dominic Johnson-Kerr; then followed coffee in the foyer of the new theatre so cleverly designed by Bryan Avery – do please go in there on your next visit to Repton if you haven’t already been in and give yourself a glimpse of what I hope you will agree is a School theatre with few, if any, equals in the land; and seconds later, walking back over into the main School buildings, I looked down onto the Square to see our cricketers already changed after Chapel and limbering up to face the Derbyshire U18 squad flanked by a crowd of boys and girls swelling the Paddock and giving it that unique atmosphere that you get here on match days; making my way back home I wandered through the Library, quietly but purposefully buzzing as it always is under Mr Stevens’ stewardship these days and finally, turning the corner by Overton’s Tower, I came across a group of School House boys fishing the Old Trent, and moments

later a young B Blocker pulled out the first pike of the season, a smile as broad as the river itself on his face, those perilous waters rendered marginally safer for the brood of cygnets navigating their way though the dangers of their first spring. And all of that on a Sunday, our day of rest – just think what goes on here in the week!

As ORs know better than any, to get the most out of Repton, you need to accept that totality, you need to understand, whether as pupil or teacher, that this is not just a busy School, but, more profoundly, a way of life. It’s not for all, and some staff come and go because they feel that totality intrudes too much. But for those who do have a natural sympathy with it, it is, in my view, the best kind of education, and nowhere has an intuitive understanding of that wholeness been better illustrated than in the contribution made by our departing pupils and staff this year. Simone Matthews and Frank Flight, Head Prefects, have spoken eloquently for the year group as a whole with their perfectly dovetailed combination of qualities. Simone is a dynamo, but also a good judge, and Frank not only has the kind of courage that saw him run through pain to win the Steep – he has a nice line in laconic humour too. And their commitment is shared too by those members of staff who are leaving us this year, some after many years of service. We shall miss them all : Terry Blain, sympathetic and gifted teacher and manager of Modern Languages who has used his own wide knowledge of opera to cultivate a love of that great art in the pupils;Lulu Bordoli, supreme all-rounder whether on the track, on the netball court on in the French or English classroom; Frank Watson, outstanding Housemaster of School House, indomitable teacher of English, master in charge of cricket sans pareil; Mark Sanderson, not only an expert Head of Mathematics but maestro on the keyboard too; Ian McClary, a truly inspirational Head of English but more than that, a man with a wonderfully creative and compassionate influence in so many areas of our spiritual and artistic life; Sarah Checketts, much admired not only for her dedication and talent as Head of Modern Languages but for showing us how to really use the technology; Christine Palmer, the epitome of what a good accompanist, that most valuable but under-rated of roles, should be; and, Harriet Fenn, Camille Bellagy and Catherine Charlwood move on too after shorter, but no less productive and committed spells with us. We extend to all our leavers, whether they be staff or pupils, whether they be moving onto retirement, promotion or the next stage of their education, every good wish for what lies beyond Repton, and I have indeed been fortunate in being able to make some very strong appointments, and to recruit many promising and interesting pupils to fill the gaps that will inevitably be left behind.

And recruiting pupils is one of the best bits of my job. I was reading only a few days ago the comments of a retired school principal in a guide for educational leaders called, appropriately enough, ‘Head to Head’ . ‘The two single most important duties

of the Headmaster, ’ he claimed,

‘are to recruit the highest calibre staff and pupils. ’ I agree with him about the first, but not the second. It’s all too easy to define ‘high calibre’ by the kind of rigorous entry tests that the big city day schools apply with rather less sensitivity than we conduct our own entrance procedures here. And each year I consider it to be one of the most significant achievements of the School that we guide boys and girls of a wide range of ability to achieve the maximum of their expectations. The journey made by a pupil who joins us in Set 6, and leaves us with three B’s or better at A level, and each year we have a significant number of these, gives me just as much satisfaction as that made by the scholars who win a place at Oxford, Cambridge and their equals.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why numbers remain strong at the School, but that is not something I will ever underestimate or take for granted, and for that reason we must seek to get even stronger for the future, continuing to appoint the highest quality staff and developing the infrastructure. As I have said before, facilities are not as important as people in a School, but they are nonetheless important, and are a statement of the School’s ambition, values and priorities. I am not going to spend too much time now updating you on the Development Plan – many of you have been kind enough to attend one of the separate OR presentations on that particular topic and I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to write to you all setting out the details of the Campaign for Repton and the Science Priory elsewhere. Suffice to say that despite the strong start the Campaign has made, with some £2 million of the £4 million balance required already raised, it will need the support of all constituencies of the Repton family to achieve our demanding goal of building the Science Priory in 2012 / 13. I do hope this is a venture in which you will feel able to assist us.

Whilst on the topic of finance, it was a pleasure to welcome as this year’s Speech Day Guest of Honour Mr Justin Urquhart Stewart, Founder of Seven Investment Management and legendary media markets expert. It was refreshing to have a speaker who avoided the difficult challenge of condensing the secret of success in life into a ten minute formula, but who instead gave us all, young and old (er!) generations alike, a fascinating view of the pensions and investment landscape and gave all the Reptonians present some wonderfully practical advice for the future.

Mr Urquhart Stewart was a wonderful example of a man with a first-class brain applying it in an eminently practical sense, and if education should be a cerebral adventure, neither should it ever, in my view, lose sight of the importance of practicality, whilst at the same time being fun, a challenge and the foundation of the values that will last a man or woman for life.

I hope that the Repton of today scores highly in each of these areas, but we will not be complacent as we face the future. You are always, of course, very welcome to come and see how we are doing first hand, and both Penny and I extend the warmest of personal invitations to you to do just that. I look forward to seeing very many of you in the year ahead and send you my warmest good wishes ere we meet.

• The 2011 public examinations round saw The School celebrating record A Level results with 27.9% of all entries being awarded an A* grade and 64.9% of entries receiving either A* or A grade. 84% of all papers sat were graded A* , A or B. In addition 57 pupils achieved wither A* or A grades, These results placed the School 65th in the Daily Telegraph League Table and 18th in the League Table of Co-educational schools published by The Times, where Repton was also the leading boarding school in the Midlands. • 14 Reptonians received offers or places from Oxford and Cambridge universities. Eleanor Holroyd and Kiki Betts-Dean have also been awarded Choral Scholarships. • Hannah Green (5G), Lowri McIntosh (5F) and Danielle Wilcock (5A) have been awarded Arkwright Scholarships. • A number of Repton pupils have attended the competitive Gifted and Talented courses run by Villiers Park: Charlotte Wright (U6A): Media Studies; Harriet Welch (U6A): Chemistry: Why Chemical Reactions Happen; Sophie Davies (U6M): Classical Studies: New Approaches to Old Ideas; Adrian Roseanu (U6C): Geography: Geographical Imaginations; Jamie Muirhead (U6C): Physics: How the Universe Lives and Dies; Emma Monteiro (U6M): Drama and Theatre Studies: Aspects of Performance; Phoebe Whittome (L6F): History: Urban Britain Medieval and Modern; Alexander Cole (L6C): Psychology: Social and Forensic Psychology; Sophie Donoghue (L6G): Biology: Ecology and Evolution; Edwin Wilton-Morgan (L6L): Linguistics: The Language Detective; Katherine Urwin (L6A) and Luke Avery (L6O): English Literature: Exploring Shakespeare; Serena Slack (L6M): Creative Writing: Finding Your Voice; Lauren Finch (L6A): China: Economy, Culture and Society. • Lygon Bowen-West (5S) attended the Engineering the Future course at the Gifted & Talented summer school at Lancaster University in Summer 2010. Jessica Stewart (L6A) and Sian Heap (L6G) attended the Cambridge University Sixth Form Law Conference over Easter 2011. Sophie Watson (U6G) and Annabelle Church (U6F) attended Headstart, which offers Science and Engineering university experience for girls. Calvert Hyde-Barker (L6O) has been given an honourary award by Rolls Royce. • Jessica Stewart (L6A) and Amelia Anderson (L6F) were awarded places on the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz Project and visited Auschwitz-Birkenau in southern Poland. • Imogen Wollaston (4F) won 2nd Prize in the 11-13 years category of the Wicked Young Writers Competition with her short story, Circles. Lydia Fitzsimons (3F) had her story • Carla Peters (U6F) won a Gold CREST award for her outstanding Nuffield project write-up on chimpanzee behaviour. Kamilah Lakhani (L6A) is the second Repton pupil in as many years to be awarded a prestigious Nuffield Science Bursary which she will complete with Boots UK in Summer 2011. • The School’s collaboration with Rolls Royce Pure Flight to provide activities to encourage young men and women to follow careers in engineering has been a great success: the Rolls Royce graduates involved in the scheme won a national award and the project is rolling out across schools in the UK. • A number of academic societies go from strength to strength. Med.Soc. was addressed by a number of distinguished speakers, including the Dean of Keele Medical School.The Gurney Society meetings (Science) for both juniors and seniors have been extremely well attended. The MFL Society has held regular meetings this year, including a canapé cookery course followed by a literary recital for the Sixth Form, a fascinating talk on the music of the Third Reich, a lecture on Parisian art and architecture and more light hearted linguistic fun throughout the year. • 12 Reptonians took the English Speaking Board’s Grade 8 Advanced Certificate in Spoken English and achieved awards at merit or distinction. • In the Spring, the second pupil exchange with Repton Dubai took place. Twelve A-Block pupils spent two weeks at Repton Dubai in March 2011, and welcomed their exchange partners back to Repton UK at the start of the Summer term. • Many visitors came to the School to speak. Among the lecturers to the Upper Sixth this year were David Loyn (BBC Foreign correspondent); Mrs Perween Warsi (founder and owner of S&A foods) and Trevor Finn (chief executive of Pendragon PLC). • Our third Lower Sixth Conference took place in June on the subject of Creativity. It ran from 15th-18th June and involved all members of the Lower Sixth. The conference was addressed by internationally-renowned artist and ‘spectacularist’ Keith Khan, strategy consultant Melissa Cooke, two of the Science Priory architects, David Franklin and Joe Taylor, and the Bursar. • At the annual Careers Forum in June, ORs and friends of the School spoke to the Lower Sixth about life beyond the Arch. • RAF Gliding Scholarships have been awarded to Jessica Stewart (L6A), Hayden Ball (L6S) and Gabriel Cowley (5C). Sophie Donoghue (L6G) has been awarded a place on the prestigious Air Cadet Leadership Course at RAF Cranwell. Jessica Stewart (L6A) organised a 70th Anniversary Battle of Britain Memorial Parade and lecture which included presentations by JP, PJS and the NCOs. • Under the stewardship of Lucy Watson (U6M) and Matthew Hodges (U6O), the Debating Society has had a vintage season at the senior end: we will miss stalwarts like Lucy and Matthew, as well as Tristram Fane-Saunders (U6O), Ben Hardwick (U6L), Josh Benn (U6S), Gautham Shiralagi (U6L) and Helmi BurtonPapp (U6F), who have provided the Society with many memorable moments over past three years. Luckily, there is promising talent emerging in A-Block and the Lower Sixth!

Remembering Death published after she came in the top three of the Daily Telegraph Ghost Story competition. • Xingzhi Zheng (U6G), Anqi Sun (U6F), Michael Fang (U6O), Yubo Jia (L6O) and Jake Tobin (L6S) achieved Gold Certificate in the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge. Michael and Anqi also qualified for the prestigious British Mathematical Olympiad First Round. In the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge, Francis Song (5C), Kaan Harwood (5N), Guy Davis (5L), George Moss (5O), Raees Rauf (4C), Michael Hynes (4N), Jonathan Leung (4L) and Deepak Devikanand (3P) achieved Gold Certificates. Subsequently Raees, Michael and Deepak were invited to take part in the European Kangaroo where Deepak and Raees were awarded Merits. • The Reptonian 2011 is a superb edition - the result of the vision of the Editor, Tristram Fane-Saunders (U6O), who has written for the magazine in each of his five years at Repton –

and testament to the hard work of the Senior Editorial Board, comprising Lucy Watson (U6M), Kit Rees (U6M), JMJH and Hannah Fullelove (U6M). • At the November Sale of Work, £33,000 was raised and was donated to more than 40 local, national and international charities. • The Mitre girls ran Race for Life at Darley Park in Derby in memory of Maggie, a member of their domestic staff who sadly passed away in January of this year. Fifty girls and seven members of the domestic and academic staff ran and raised £2,600 for Cancer Research UK. • The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme goes from strength to strength: 42 pupils have completed their Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award, many of whom will now progress to the Gold Award. • Joe Hilton (U6C) has been selected for a 5 week expedition to the Arctic with the Army. • This year, once again, multi-disciplinary work has been at the forefront of the studio work in the Art Department with performance pieces and installations of sculpture, film and sound being produced by Tom Hume (U6L), Freya Charnley (U6A), Somerset Geere (U6N) Charlotte Wright (U6A) and Sarah Cotterill (U6A). Painting and sculpture of a very mature nature has been made by Joe Markham (U6O) Leta Bernhoeft (U6F), Zoe Dunn (U6G) and Laurence Webster (U6L), and Catherine McGrath (U6G) had a one-woman show in Gallery No.1. • Textiles has been taught on the curriculum at A Level for the first time with astonishingly professional results produced by the pupils. • A large number of our Upper Sixth have been given offers at leading Art Schools and universities, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Camberwell, Newcastle and Falmouth. • The Sixth Form artists visited Budapest for a very enlightening weekend in March. • The Art Department was very fortunate to be loaned a remarkable collection of ceramics by the Hands family to display as the major exhibition of the year. • The School Play in November was William Shakespeare's Macbeth, staged inside and outside Pears School. • The Junior School Play was an adaptation of The Wind in the Willows. • The Senior Literary Society devised, wrote and performed a series of comic and serious sketches entitled Creative? • The Rep Theatre Company took Deathwish, a version of an A Level Drama piece, to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2010. • The Lent Term Charity Cabaret involved 180 pupils, playing over four nights to a total audience of 1200. A record sum of over £17,000 was raised for Passing It On, helping to build a new Dreamlands Junior School in Ghana. • In November 70 pupils took part in an A Level Drama Conference, a day of shows and workshops in support of their studies, hosted at Repton with groups from Denstone, Leicester Grammar and John Port Schools attending. • The Chapel Choir sang evensong in Lincoln Cathedral and gave very successful Christmas Carol Services. Radio 4 visited the Chapel, and recorded the choir for the programme Soul Music to be broadcast in September. The Chamber Choir had many memorable performances again, including the singing of the world premiere of Brett Dean’s commission, Concedas Domine (Text: IWM and CSD).The singing of an anthem by the whole School on Remembrance Day is now an established tradition. • The Unison and Harmony competitions were particularly fine this year. The Unison was won by New House and the Harmony by Latham House. • Mus. Soc. performed Elijah in November. • The Concert Band received another Silver Award at the National Concert Band Festival. • The Repton by Candlelight CD was released featuring Chapel Choir, Jazz Band, Concert Band, Foremarke and Repton's Chamber Choirs and some readings. • Our resident string quartet, The Carducci Quartet, performed throughout the school year. • The Inaugural Organ Half Hour, featured Kaan Harwood (5N), Joseph Jankinson (4L), and Kyoko Canaway from Foremarke. • Many prominent musicians played during the Subscription Series including Peter Stones (OR),Alexander Romanovsky and a memorable Schubertiade involving staff and pupils. • The Informal Concert Series has become increasingly popular throughout the year and many excellent performances have been enjoyed. • The School was a finalist in the Daily Telegraph Independent Sports School of the Year Awards and Johnny Gorman (U6C) was a finalist for the Male Sports Player of the Year award. • The Boys’ 1st XI football team had an outstanding season, winning 20 matches and scoring over 100 goals for the first time in our history. The team carried off the a2om ISFA Sixes title for only the third time in our history and was awarded the ISFA Fair Play Award 2010/2011. • Sam Graham (U6S), Oliver West (L6P) and Josh Golding (U6P) were all selected to represent the full ISFA U18 representative team in Internationals against Scotland and Wales as well as a tour of Finland.This is the first time Repton has had three players represented in the squad. Patrick Tuffy (5P) was selected to represent the ISFA U16 team. Stephen Kosmala (4O) James Frost (4O), Robbie Astin (4C) and Ryan Binns (4C) all represented the ISFA U15 team whilst Joel Atkin (3C), Marcus Schneck (3N), Roshan Sooriah (3P) and Alex Needham (3N) all represented ISFA at U14 level. Lucy Setterington (L6A) was selected to represent the Midlands in the inaugural ISFA Girls’ national tournament. • Johnny Gorman (U6C) continued to make astonishing progress in the professional game, earning 8 full Northern Ireland football caps during his time at Repton. • The School enjoyed extraordinary success on the hockey pitches this year with teams reaching seven National Finals. The achievement of the senior teams continues but, most notably, the junior teams have had their most successful ever year under SJC's guidance.The girls won the National Under 14 Hockey Championships for the first time and retained the National U18 Indoor Title. The girls were also National U18 Runners-Up and U16 National Indoor Finalists. The Boys U14 and U18 teams were both placed 3rd at their respective National Finals this year and the U16 Indoor Team also reached the National Finals. • Pupils also won representative honours in hockey: Jo Leigh (U6G) and Arjan Drayton Chana (L6S) represented England

U18s,Wiz Mumby (U6A) captained the Welsh U18 team and Rhiannon Rogers (U6G) played for Wales U21. Annabelle Church (U6F) also joined the England U18 training squad this year. • For only the second time in the School’s history, the girls managed to qualify at U18, U16 and U14 level into the Netball regional tournaments. For the first time, the U14s qualified for the Nationals and finished 9th place in the country. The U14B netball team had an unbeaten season. • In Cricket, six boys have scored centuries for the School so far this term: Edward Ikin (U6C) (twice) and Sam Graham (U6S) in the 1st XI, James Frost (4A) and Matthew Goodacre (4S) in the U15A team, and Franco Reinke (U6S) in the 3rd XI and Adam Cartlidge (4S) • In September, the U15 team played in the National semi-final of the England Schools' Twenty/20 cup at Arundel where they were defeated by Sedbergh. Last year's U14 team was crowned county champions for the second consecutive year, progressing to the North region semi-final earlier this season. • George Hodson-Walker (U6S) and Matthew Fletcher (L6S) have both played for Derbyshire CCC 2nd XI. • At the Athletics County Championships in June, gold medals went to Ali Mehdi (U6C) (800m); Fabienne Peters (L6A) (Hurdles); Christian Priestley (L6L) (400m); Hannah Forsyth (L6G) (200m); Andrew Jopson (L6P) (100m); Cameron Winfield (L6C) (200m); Luke Avery (L6O) (Discus) and Kieran Taylor (L6P) (Javelin). Silver medals went to Hannah Barker (U6M) (Triple Jump); Amelia Etherington (U6M) (200m); Frank Flight (U6O) (3000m); Dominic Chaffey (L6L) (400m); Grace Sanderson (5G) (300m); Milly Louch (5F) (Hurdles); Francesca Beharrell (4A) (Shot) and Nikolas Constantinou (4N) (Discus). Joshua Noakes (L6L) (1500m); Elliot Carlile (L6L) (Triple Jump); George Brockway (5L) (800m); Heather Marsay (5F) (Javelin) and Kamma Hvass (3A) (Shot) all received a bronze medal. • Furthermore, the 4 x 100m senior relay team (Hannah Barker (U6M), Amelia Etherington (U6M), Hannah Forsyth (L6G), Fabienne Peters (L6A)) and intermediate 300m runner Grace Sanderson (5G) have both set new School records. In the hurdles Milly Louch (5F) has set a new intermediate School record. • To date, the Girls’ 1st Tennis VI remain unbeaten for the fifth successive year, won the Midlands Finals and have qualified for the National Schools Championships (the Aberdare Cup). The Boys’ 1st Tennis IV are also unbeaten this year, won the Midlands Finals and have also qualified for the Schools National Championships (the Glanville Cup). The U15 Aegon Girls’ team won the Midlands title for the second year running, and the U15 Aegon Boys’ team are one match away from winning the Midlands title. • In Summer 2010, at the Schools National Championships held at Queenswood, the girls were runners up in the Aberdare Cup (for the first time in 22 years) and won the LoveBand Cup ISTA National Schools title for the first time in Repton’s history. • Felix Swinbank (3O) won a silver medal at the British Youth Fencing Championships in London. Hannah Walsh (4F) has been selected for Wales U18 Fencing at the UK School Games in September. • Victoria Leavesley (U6M) was awarded the prestigious honour of Gold Award by the British Show Pony Society at their AGM in Peterborough and has now qualified for Horse of the Year Show for the 15th consecutive year.

SCHOOL NEWS - CCF

CCF REPORT SUMMER 2011

The Contingent ran three residential events in the summer term 2011, in addition to ongoing weekly training. Cadets thoroughly enjoyed the RAF section and Army section military camps, which still take place post-term, in the week after all other Reptonians break up for the summer holidays. Extra this year, we mounted a CCF Duke of Edinburgh expeditions event in the Lake District, whereby NCOs (who have volunteered to augment their CCF service by additionally undergoing the DofE programme) were able to plan and execute their Silver and Gold assessed expeditions.

RAF High Wycombe Summer Camp 2-9 July 2011

This year’s annual RAF section summer camp took place at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. On the afternoon of Speech Day, the 16 strong group set out with officers Flt Lt Lee Alderman and Fg Off Gemma Hill, and arrived at High Wycombe just in time for dinner in the Mess. The first training day began with a trip to the RAF Museum at Hendon, followed by the completion of a swim-test at RAF Halton. Upon returning, cadets were joined by Flt Lt Anton Smith and Mr Dale Stark (the School Marshall, and a retired RAF man himself). In the evening the cadets gathered to commence their foot drill practice for the inter-flight competition at the end of the week. The following morning was RAF Halton for weapons’ training on both the L98-A2 and the No. 8 rifles. Cadets then headed to RAF Benson for Air Experience Flying where each enjoyed 30 minutes air time in the Grob Tutor. Next day, RAF Northolt, where the details visited several different sections (including Air Traffic Control, Fire, Bomb Disposal and Queen’s Flight). However, the highlight of the day was certainly the time spent on the Dismount Close Combat Trainer (DCCT) which many of the cadets viewed as a life-size playstation!

Special thanks must go to WO2 David Platt, who is a regular soldier serving with 49(E) Bde as Training Safety Advisor for Repton and many other CCF and ACF contingents. He supported every aspect of the training, giving advice on safety, developing both the cadets’ and the Officers’ understanding of the safe system of training. More than that, he was a human dynamo in his interactions with the cadets, who took him to their hearts, adopting with affection his signature comments of “happy with that” and, when receiving information, “roger

that” .

Wednesday saw the flights heading to Horseshoe Lake Activity Centre where they undertook a rafting challenge. After canoeing around the lake, building a raft and sailing it around the island, the cadets were rewarded for their hard work with the opportunity to divebomb from the jetty!

On Thursday, training was firing No. 8 rifles on a live range and a high ropes course. In the evening, Wendover Woods for a Nitex. The inter-flight competition climaxed with the Drill Competition on Friday where each of the three flights performed the Nationals Ground Training Routine in front of all the officers and an RAF High Wycombe Drill Sergeant. Each flight demonstrated a remarkable improvement from the beginning of the week but congratulations must go to A flight, the winners of the competition. In the afternoon, cadets travelled to RAF Northolt for a visit to Queen’s Colour Squadron.

Army Camp (Chetwynd Barracks, Chilwell, Nottingham) 2-8 July 2011

Army section carried out a self-help camp this year. 40 ACompany Army cadets (the whole of A Coy, bar those of Army section who had attended the Easter AT camp) attended what was a strikingly successful series of training opportunities. Credit is due to the CCF’s Adjutant, Capt. John Wadsworth, who had put much care and energy into planning and organising the camp – the cadets gained good insight into a range of military and adventurous activities. The training activities on Army camp were: No8 live firing, Dismounted Close Combat Trainer, Army Obstacle Course, paintballing, sailing, self-built rafting, orienteering, mountainbiking, a morning on the purpose-built command task facility at Chetwynd Barracks, a memorable afternoon white-water rafting at the National Watersports Centre, and finally a 24-hr navigation exercise walking in the White Peak area and camping overnight. In addition, the section received a display from the Chetwynd Barracks Dog-Handlers security team, and a sobering yet fascinating tour of the work of Notts Troop 721 Squadron, 11 EOD Regiment RLC based on Camp. These men and women are the “Army Bomb Disposal Team” for the Midlands. In all areas of activity, our Army cadets distinguished themselves via their positive attitude, and they ended the 6 day camp with manifestly more team discipline, cohesion and get-up-and-go than they started with. CCF DofE Assessed Expeds (Gold and Silver) Lake District 25-28 June 2011

Two expedition groups of O block cadets (drawn from both Army and RAF sections), and one Gold group (CSM Simone Matthews, SSgt Harriet Welch, Sgt Hattie Rayfield, all of Army section, plus a “civvie” Greg Fearn -who bravely coped with the three female NCOs) made excellent use of the CCF initiative to allow cadets to additionally participate in Duke of Edinburgh programme. The pupils execute much of the DofE programme (service, skills, physical recreation) as part of their normal CCF training, so it is a matter of squeezing in the practice and assessed expeditions into the busy life of the school, to fulfil the whole DofE award for our cadets. Being CCF, the cadets volunteered to plan and execute their 3 and 4-day expeds in the challenging terrain of the Lakes (Borrowdale to Patterdale, essentially), try wild camping, and generally bring their CCF skills to bear on the navigation and campcraft involved. The assessor was impressed with the self-motivated and self-responsible approach of our groups, commenting favourably about the mutual trust shown by the supervising CCF Officers (all ML(S) qualified and able to give effective remote supervision) and the cadets. The photograph shows 2 Lt Ed Shawcross warding off the midges in time-honoured fashion.

G Lawrence (Maj.) Contingent Commander

Ed Shawcross

The striking theme pervading the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme at Repton this year was perseverance and self-discipline. On both the Gold and Silver Expeditions, participants overcame considerable physical, emotional and psychological obstacles to complete their aims, at times displaying almost Nietzschean will-power. The Silvers had won the hearts of their supervisors throughout the Year – participants have a Training Weekend in Michaelmas and a Practice Expedition over the Summer Field Weekend, as well as weekly sessions on navigation, campcraft, first-aid and survival techniques, before the June Assessed Expeditions. Particularly edifying was their undisguised delight at being out in the hills, their appreciation of their peers’ contributions, and their determination to pull (not to say carry) their own weight, and to embrace the whole experience with sanguine ingenuousness. The Training and Practice Weekends, undertaken in the triangle between Matlock, Youlgreave and Tissington, were completed in conditions so clement, and over terrain so relatively gentle that lesser teams might have been overwhelmed by the shock of the Assessed Expeditions, where O Block tackled the wild uplands southwest of Buxton. Not the least of the hurdles for the participants to overcome is the occasionally Byzantine paperwork necessary before the Expedition is attempted; the groups are to be commended for the tenacity and desire to do the job properly with which they attacked this challenge; even at this stage, strong leaders emerged in each team, who channelled their peers’ efforts and ensured that the stringent criteria were met. The focus now veered dramatically from the cerebral and organisational to those of personal, physical and emotional strength. One day’s route saw the groups cover 24 km, climbing the height of Scafell Pike in the process, all the while coping with 26-degree heat and high humidity. Many physically stronger and more experienced teams have succumbed to such conditions, but there was never any question of these young Reptonians allowing themselves to give in. Quite the contrary, as they trooped into the campsite at Gradbach, clearly suffering from a tough day on the moors, they were quick to remark how much they had enjoyed the remoteness of their surroundings, and how pleased they were to have been able to suppress the urge to call it a day when the heat, literal and metaphorical, had risen above the levels they had previously thought themselves able to surmount. It was, perhaps, the quintessence of what the Award aims to allow young people to do – to draw on reserves in one’s legs and mind to drive one way beyond one’s comfort zone; team spirit, such a feature of the O Block teams, was a key facilitator in this endeavour.

The Golds, arguably at first a somewhat more disparate group, did themselves immense credit on their Expeditions in the Yorkshire Dales. Images of hay meadows, sparkling streams and tea-shops are rather deceptive: the groups were walking for up to 12 hours a day, climbing up to 800m across potentially brutal fells – Nine-Standards Rigg, Greets Moss and Buckden Pike. From the final preparations on the very first night in the hostel in Kirkby Stephen, I was deeply impressed by the L6 groups’ urgency in getting on with the job in hand, and with their constructive, coordinated focus. Again, after days that would have destroyed others, spirits were indomitable, teams determined to cajole each other along, and reflecting positively on what they’d learnt about themselves in the face of considerable adversity; they won the respect and affection of their external Assessors and Repton staff alike. I’ve been on a few coaches back from Expeditions over the years; how refreshing to hear participants looking back on their achievements with pride, and even a certain fondness, rather than resentment at rain, exhaustion and blisters. Such was the atmosphere on the Expeditions, and the calibre of the Reptonians executing them, that, on the second night, I felt a frisson of regret – not necessarily shared by those under canvas that evening! - that they would soon be over. 49 Reptonians attained the Silver Award this academic year, and 14 the Gold. With such a strong cohort coming through from O Block, it is to be hoped that we shall have even more Gold participants than the 32 who started this year’s programme –already a very strong number.

Clifford Dammers

SCHOOL NEWS - DRAMA

The first production in the newly refurbished 400 hall was a huge success. The 2011 Junior School Play was Wind in the Willows and over two nights at the end of the summer term packed houses were treated to an escape to the Riverbank and exposed to the terrors of the Wild Wood. Excellent entertainment was to be had from the likes of Mole (Jack Carter (L)), Ratty (Harry Mead (L)) and Badger (Matthew Davison (S)). Highlight of the show for many was the hilarious antics of a superb Toad (Oliver Hetherington (N)); his perfectly judged upper class accent and his arrogance delightfully portrayed. However, as always with a Repton School show, forty or more youngsters were involved, filling the stage, and at times the auditorium, with fights, picnics and court cases. All in all it was an excellent night’s entertainment.

J C Sentance

A date for the diary: The Repton Mysteries, The 400 Hall November 16th – 19th 2011, 7.30pm

Countless Reptonians have benefited from the inspirational productions of the likes of Mike Charlesworth and Guy Levesley in the 400 Hall and the school has a distinguished tradition of nurturing both the amateur actor and the aspiring professional – Tom Chambers, Nicholas Burns and George Rainsford being the latest Reptonians to follow in the tradition of Basil Rathbone. In 2011 the Governors decided to undertake a significant upgrade of the building, retaining Marshall Sisson’s much loved 1957 façade, but completely remodelling the auditorium and adding a foyer spacious enough to accommodate guests in comfort for productions in the new 400 Hall and adjoining Studio Theatre. Avery Associates, the architects responsible for the recent redevelopment of the Vanburgh Theatre at RADA, were commissioned and drew up a striking design that is contemporary in feel, yet sympathetic to the Precinct so beautifully laid out at the time of the 400th anniversary. The 400 Hall Theatre

This comprises two parts : foyer and auditorium. In addition there has been marginal re-shaping of The Precinct, partly to draw people to the new entrance door in the new foyer but also to enhance the piazza feel. The highlight of the new foyer is the Prism which allows natural light to flood in during the day and, at night, is lit internally to provide a focus for people arriving and also a back-drop for a mini performance area. The foyer also features a proper bar to accommodate a full house which will double as a ticket-office. The Auditorium contains high-quality, proper, raked seating with a capacity of over 300. The stalls level is height-adjustable, thus enabling a variety of configurations. Further flexibility has been achieved by installing an adjustable stage, also allowing for different configurations. Part of the work on the new stage front includes a Juliet Balcony. The whole project involves a high degree of technical sophistication. A tension wire grid has been used in the roof space, providing infinite flexibility for placing lighting in addition to offering a safer option than tower scaffolding. Permanent sound and lighting booths have been installed at the back of the first floor with a new high-spec sound system. Finally, the theatre has much improved cloakroom facilities and disabled access.

Any ORs who wish to visit the theatre and see for themselves can avail themselves of such an opportunity on the evening of the Annual Dinner, November 12th.

PIGEON POST

Dear Editor I was delighted to see (back page of Archive) that the Head prefect has been exercising his traditional privileges by riding a horse through the Arch.

In my time (1950s) it was widely believed that these privileges (then said to attach to the now abolished office of Head of School) included growing a beard and getting married. The word was that a particularly bold Head had canvassed with Lynam Thomas the possibility of exercising these rights and characteristically got the reply "Ers ,just you try!" Regards Roger Cooke, (O’53) (Head of School but then wifeless and shaven,57/8) Cricket, Christianity, and the Corps

Hello, I was in New House from 1956-1959. Roger (R.G) Gunner who was in the same house at the same time, sent in a photo of some of the football 1st X1, on an away trip. This was published in the latest O.R. publication, and I want to let him know how great it was to see this old photo, which had so many memories for me. Could you please pass my comments on to him. Thank you very much. With best regards , Dear Sirs You published an obituary of David Johnson (H’41), the cavalry historian. In September 1944 as a study holder in the Hall in keeping with his future, he adorned his study’s walls with swords and cutlasses – health and safety where were you then? These needed cleaning and polishing and who better to do this than his junior fag. “What do I clean these with?” “You use elbow grease. ” “Where can I get it?” “The school shop. ” So, naively, off I strode to be disillusioned. Yours truly, R.W.Jones (H’44)

I much enjoyed reading Geoffrey Morris’s reminiscences of the Corps in the late 1950s. I too, though a few years earlier, became a sergeant in the Weapon Training platoon, my specialty being the Bren Gun. We spent hardly any time actually firing the gun, but hours taking it apart and learning the names of every piece. Naming of Parts was of great importance. I do remember the Barrel Locking Nut Retainer Plunger Spring, referred to by Geoffrey, though I’m not sure if I could identify the item now. The Corps was huge in the early fifties, as important as the other two Cs, as I called them - the others being Cricket and Christianity - and it occupied a disproportionate amount of our time. We spent hours blancoing our belts and gaiters, polishing our boots, buckles and cap badges so they would pass inspection on Friday parades. As fags, we had to the same for our prefects or study-holders, who were often critical of our painstaking work and would order us to do it again. Of my worst two moments in the Corps, one occurred on a Field Day. After the morning’s exercises, we broke off for our packed sandwich lunch, which we ate in little groups of our friends, sprawled in the long grass. Before doing so of course we were required to eject all blank rounds from our rifles, which I had done. Finishing my sandwich, for some reason my finger strayed to the trigger of my 303, lying beside me, and squeezed it. There was a deafening explosion. ‘Some idiot can’t have emptied their magazine, ’ I said. Then to my horror I saw a wisp of smoke from the barrel of my gun. The idiot was me. Retribution followed at once, in the person of Major Eggar, The Bag, who came barrelling down the hill in a fury, red-faced, the sweat pouring off him, a terrifying sight. ‘Put that man on a charge!’ he roared. I was ordered to report to him at the end of the day, but when I did so, to my intense relief he rescinded the charge, probably because he didn’t really know what it might entail. The second awful memory was of a later stage in my Corps career, in the course of a House Drill Squad competition. I always had difficulty with the movement called ‘Ground Arms’ , because it meant stooping and laying one’s rifle on the ground (though why one should ever want to do that, I have no idea), and then standing up again, every man in the platoon in perfect synch of course. And as soon as I laid down my rifle I lost my balance, and when everyone else in the squad stood up straight, I was left sitting rather conspicuously on my bum, for which points were of course deducted. To make matters worse, as I struggled to my feet I nearly knocked over the fellow standing next to me, and had a horrifying vision of the whole squad toppling to the ground like dominoes. The House did not do well. Yes, cricket, Christianity, and the Corps ruled Repton in those days, and unfortunately I wasn’t very good at any of them. I did make it to the Upper Sixth, so was allowed to ride a bicycle, which Teamers were not (unless they were also School Prefects). But I would have willingly exchanged my bicycle for a cricketer’s gold braid. Tony Houghton ( L’51)

Dear Editors Many thanks for the latest number of The Arch. The photo of Latham 1937 identifies H.E.Ffoulkes sitting three from the end on the front row – my brothers and I knew him as “Uncle Hugh” a generation later when he acted as an unofficial guardian for us when our parents were in Hong Kong. He was then a Major in the RAMC, who proudly kept up his family links to North Wales. All his family treated us with quite undeserved kindness. Yours, Roger Buckley (M’58)

Dear Mr Stones I am still an avid reader of The Arch in my 92nd year. Some articles in the May newsletter have bought back memories, especially the letter from Geoffrey Fletcher concerning Latham 1937 in Pigeon Post. Although a member of the Priory House I was well acquainted with the majority of persons (and friends of a few) mentioned in the letter. I believe that one of the trophies (a shield) in the front row is The Inter-House Gymnastic Trophy won by Latham and carried in the photo (left) by E.N.C.Hall. Hall and Ralph Bragg (pictured right) represented Latham House. Ralph Bragg was the right back in the football X1 of 1936. A ferocious tackler who took no prisoners, E.N.C. Hall was a most talented footballer who never realised his full potential largely, I think to his slight physique. D.P.M. Bell was another very talented footballer. Played inside right (old terminology) in the football X1 of 1938. Suffice to say I was in the Football X1 of 1936- 7/8 Yours sincerely

Dear Editor,

As a retired British Columbian public school teacher, I sometimes meet ex pupils who recall the times we had at school together and very occasionally I receive a thank-you. With these thoughts in mind, I want to extend a belated thank-you to three wonderful teachers at Repton who, perhaps inadvertently, changed the course of my life.

I had no wish to go to Repton, I wanted to go to a technical school in the next town, but The Cross House, Repton was my father's "alma mater" and my arguments did not prevail. I was neither bright nor diligent so I entered C block. I played in the fourth house teams and never managed to complete the requisite four athletic standards. I was stunned to find that "chapel attendance" was compulsory, that bullying was rampant which reached its apogee at the hands of the senior boys who doled out "flapping" for the most trivial misdemeanours. Surprisingly enough I found that I was a crack shot on the firing range and was awarded my 'teamer' at the end of my third year. It made such a difference to the way I was treated by my peer group and staff alike. I never did see our coach, Mr. Bolland, smile unless it was at one of his own jokes!

I found myself drawn into the magic of John Emery's metal shop which became my raison d’être. I am so grateful to him for sharing some of his astounding skills with us in his spare time. As I became more involved in the shops I came under the wing of Mike Milford who spent countless hours teaching me to weld, cut, fabricate, read drawings and organise a shop. I talked to him about my difficulty in reciting the Apostles Creed. He looked at me with a slight grin on his face and told me that I was an "irredeemable iconoclast" but to preserve the indignity of a Housemaster's beating, that I should appear to mouth the words even if I could not say them and that superficial compliance with rules was an easier path to tread than open defiance against implacable odds. At about the same time I found myself in Richard Grew's Physics classes. Richard impressed me with his empathy for less than brilliant students, his tireless patience in helping us through the basics of light, heat, mechanics, sound , electrical circuits during which time I unconsciously absorbed some of his classroom management skills.

After leaving school I worked for the Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation in various quarries in the labs and explosives departments but finally found myself at Trent Park College training to be a shop teacher. When sitting in the staff room of a dreadful school in Watford at lunch one day, my life was changed forever by a simple advertisement. "British Columbia

needs secondary school teachers.

" Within months my young wife and daughters and I had emigrated to Northern Canada where salaries were 500% better than those offered by English Schools. Our contract included paid time off to go to university to obtain a degree in Technical Education. The ski hill was less than five minutes away, snowmobiling was at the back door, white water canoeing in summer but any semblance of culture was a thousand miles away. A very different lifestyle. We moved south to the Fraser Valley near Vancouver as my wife's health deteriorated and my children became of school age.

Throughout my time teaching in British Columbian schools, I daily demonstrated those skills learned under the watchful eye of those three teachers. I have had thousands of boys and girls pass through my workshops and classrooms many of whom have unknowingly benefited from those three gifted Reptonian teachers from fifty years ago. Edward Monro (C'56)

Dear Mike, As an ex-Brook OR of 1940s I may be able to "elucidate" John Swallow's "mystifying recordings on the back of his photograph of Vivien Leigh of several film stars of the period" (Pigeon Post, May'11). The one thing they all have in common is that they were British born. However some stars cited; Gracie Fields, Jessie Matthews and Wendy Hiller (the first screen Eliza Doolittle) never obtained "Hollywood" status. The writer could have added other UK exports to Hollywood of the period - Charlie Chaplin (born in Lambeth), Laurence Olivier (Vivien Leigh's husband, star of Rebecca), Leslie Howard (starred in Gone with the Wind with Vivien Leigh), Cary Grant (mid-Atlantic accent), and of course the redoubtable David Niven who crashed into Hollywood still wearing his dinner jacket after a drinks party aboard a British destroyer the night before (Oscar for Separate Tables). It seems, nearly half the Hollywood establishment in the 1930/40s were British. Also Basil Rathbone (Mitre '06 '10) should not just be remembered for his archetypal portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, but for his outstanding performance as the cruel stepfather in David Copperfield. I clearly remember Major Cattley, Housemaster of the Priory in the forties saying: "Didn't he make you hate him?"

John Reddington (B'42)

Dear Editors Thank you for the latest edition. As ever it has been read from cover to cover! I was most interested to read Ken Gregory's obituary. Clearly my memory is not nearly as good as Gerald Mortimer's, despite being an exact contemporary at Latham, as I remember neither Ken's goalkeeping exploits nor Gerald's "stunning" free kick!! I am particularly intrigued by the reference to Mowbray Preparatory School in Ashbourne Road since I also attended it, presumably some 2 or 3 years behind Ken. We would both have attended it in the war years, which would have involved a walk or bike ride to school. This was no great hardship for me as I was brought up in Friar Gate which is the town end of Ashbourne Road. This set me thinking about how many ORs attended Mowbray and were taught by the Misses Maltby.

With best wishes, Brian Whitaker (L50)

Dear Sir,

The pictures on page 17 in issue number 317 of October 2010 are of the demolition of the Priory outside toilets. One letter in the subsequent issue mentions that they were doorless but in fact not all were. The first two had swing doors (but no locks) and they were reserved for the prefects who on cold mornings would instruct their fags to warm up the seats for them. The rears in this condition provided an important function to the house in the way of social interaction and exchange of gossip and of course there was general freedom of movement. In my subsequent career as a gastroenterological pathologist I often contemplated that introspection was the fundamental cause of diseases of this region and it was a known fact that Priory boys were renowned for their relative freedom from such ailments as chronic constipation, haemorrhoids and diverticulitis. Furthermore, the arrangements gave us a good preparation for what we were to find at university.

Peter Trott (P'48)

David Pepper, President of the OR Society has sent in the picture below. There are Three OR Presidents in the photograph below.

Jonathan Fry, (H’51) President 2011, Charles Fry (H’53) President Elect 2012 and David Pepper (H’53) President 2011.

Can anyone identify them in the picture?

Country Overseas Link House/Year Email Telephone

AUSTRALIAAUSTRALIA New South Wales Queensland Perth Victoria (Melbourne) Victoria BEIRUT CAMBODIA CANADA Alberta Eastern Ontario & Quebec Western CHILE CHINA CYPRUS DENMARK EAST AFRICA EAST AFRICA (Kenya) EIRE ESTONIA FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY (East/South)

HONG KONG

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Rev Martin Hattersley Tony Houghton David Laing Nicolas Ibanez Scott Jipeng Li Richard Sale Mathilde Juul Mark Dudley Philip Hechle Brian John O'Neill Kadi Lilis Saar Roger Smith Rev James Barnett James R Chapman Martin Duncan Robinshaw Severin J B Zilg Eddie Niem David Poon Tom Goodall Julie Daniels Natsuko Ishikawa (nee Sato) Tom Mather Richard Hedley Ibrahim Dikko David Llewelyn Paul Bleckly Alistair Fairclough Orchard '46 Latham '51 Latham '70 Latham '70 Field '97 Hall '61 Abbey '91 Priory '91 Hall '50 Mitre '49 Garden '09 Priory '66 Hall '57 Hall '83 Latham '78 Mitre '01 Latham '66 Hall '85 New '93 Abbey '89 Abbey '96 Priory '94 Hall '66 New '83 Orchard '63 Cross '67 Orchard '46

Ryan Brews Peter Hall Mitre '00 Latham '57

Mark Smith Luke Allen John Wilcox Jonny Greenall Tom Mather Charles Adeogun-Phillips Jom Salakshana Omar Hadeed Charles Neil

Jane Roy Mark Wilhelm Verheyen Mike Jolley Edward Huson Robert Perks Jasmine Walker Andy Hilton Andreas Graham Anthony Edgar James Kirtland Paul Elliott Russell Elliott Douglas Balchan Shaheen Ladhani Christopher Huson Orchard '78 Orchard '87 Mitre '82 Orchard '89 Priory '94 Orchard '83 Mitre '86 Priory '99 Priory '65

Abbey '86 Cross '77 Orchard '46 Hall '70 New '71 Field '02 Brook '68 Mitre '83 Orchard '90 Orchard '88 Mitre '90 Mitre '93 Orchard '71 Cross '89 Hall '72

Edward James Hutson Elliot Charles Reid Gordon Sharp Huw Thomas Samuel Chibale Mitre '68 Hall '64 Priory '54 Latham ‘73 Mitre '95 lloyd.berger@bgih.com.au jm _ reddington@yahoo.co.uk frank@happygardener.com.au simon@afps.net.au vanessatwigg@optusnet.com.au tmather@hotmail.com aseandirectory@hotmail.com

jmartinh@shaw.ca dtbears@kingston.net dlaing@endeavourfinancial.com

richard@edacen.com miss@matty.dk markdudley@blueyonder.co.uk hechle@wananchi.com bandhoneill@eircom.net kadiliissaar@gmail.com noelsmit@campus.jyu.fi james.barnett@wanadoo.fr jim@chapmans.de martin@robinshaw.de

niemeyf@netvigator.com dgkpoon@gmail.com

info@juliedaniels.com voilino7@hotmail.com tmather@hotmail.com r-s.hedley@xtra.co.nz iydikko@hotmail.com davidlle@online.no paulbleckly@yahoo.co.uk

ryanbrews@gmail.com eat@cookingbear.com

mshsmith@btinternet.com luke@atg.com jdw@fidentiis.com jonnyg@propilots.net tmather@hotmail.com adeogun@un.org jom.salakshana@trs.co.th omarhadeed@hotmail.com Charles.Neil@difc.ae

jroy@uab.edu mverheyen@comcast.net MnJJOLLEY@aol.com eahuson@gmail.com robert _perks@baxter.com jswalker@umich.edu andyh@totallybrilliant.com andreas.graham@verizon.net ajedgar@me.com james.kirtland@gmail.com paul _ elliott0@yahoo.com Russell _ Elliott@irco.com djbalchan@aol.com shaheen@rice.edu mrhuson@mindspring.com

james@ellcorentals.com bracmed@candw.ky gsharp@cwjamaica.com hadthomas@aol.com chibale _ s@yahoo.com + 61 293374081 + 61 738083249 +618 9299 7363 (+61) 401 069 394 / (03) 90900501 + 61 394 121 206

855 16 378039

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+27 76 617 0098 + 27 33 234 4933

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961 (0) 937094217 + 255 27 256 5329 + 66 2 331 9053 & +661 8192717 001 868 632 2140 + 9714 3622238

+ 1 205 934 1757

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+1 917 475 -1059 +1 917 558 1079

+ 001 704 756 6981 + 00 1 937 322 2040 + 1 713-348-5716 + 1 206 328 6112

+ 246 256 4637 & +246 4347395

In the OR Office we are keen to ensure that we keep our records updated for all ORs. To this end we would be grateful if you could contact us if any of your details change, such as address, email, telephone numbers etc. We are also delighted to hear your ‘good news’ such as engagements, marriages, births, qualifications gained, new jobs etc. We will only publish such information in The Arch with your agreement.

Thank You!

Would you prefer to read The Arch on-line and not receive a paper copy? Please advise us if this is the case.

Please email the office: or@repton.org.uk or jcobb@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

All items are available from the Repton School Shop, The Paddock, Repton

Please contact the School Shop for price details and to place your order.

Tel. 01283 559323, or by email: shop@repton.org.uk.

OR Ties: Silk Smooth Silk non crease House Scarves: The Priory School House New House Latham House The Orchard The Mitre (Girls) Cross The Abbey Field House was

The Garden Blazer - made to order Banded white sweaters (Long-sleeve and sleeveless)

Bow Tie

OR House/Sports Ties: Brook House The Hall The Priory School House (polyester) New House Latham House The Orchard The Mitre The Cross OR Football OR Hockey OR Golf (striped) Cambridge Pilgrims Umbrellas: Large golf umbrella Ladies umbrella Miscellaneous: Large Glass Crested Tankard Small Glass Crested Tankard Large Glass Crested Goblet Crested Red Wine Glass Glass Crested Paper Weight Crested Cuff Links Crested Key Rings Brass buttons - large Brass buttons - small Repton cards Repton Postcards Large teddy bear (12”) Baseball Cap Gentleman’s Weekend Socks (pair) (Sizes: medium 6½ -8½; large 9-11) Mug OR ladies brooch Repton China Coin Tray Repton China Cup Set Repton To The End Repton Register 2007 Book Repton Register 2007 CD Son et Lumiére CD Picture of The Arch / The Garth Limited Edition Christmas Cards pack of 10